Well, at least her side was empty again. Groggily, Kelly got up from their bed and ventured downstairs in search for his wife. It had been three weeks since the incident and, in those three weeks, they had moved into their new house and Maddie was currently seeing Dr. Charles for her problems. His feet padded through the wooden floor and into the room where he just knew she was in.
The door was ajar. Kelly peeked inside the baby's room and saw her standing in front of the wall, her fingers curled around a paintbrush as they delicately painted the beige walls. True to his word, he had assembled the crib. He was thankful that his Firehouse 51 family helped them out in this difficult time. Matt had fixed anything that needed to be fixed in the new house which included the sink and some of the floor tiles while Otis, Cruz, Capp, and himself did most of the heavy lifting and that included that fuchsia couch from their previous apartment. Sylvie, well. . .she was being an angel by making sure Maddie and Brianna went to their therapy sessions.
"Hey." Maddie said softly, "You can come in, Kelly." She was facing him, the moonlight illuminating her very round figure.
Standing behind her with his chest pressed against her back, Kelly observed her current artwork. "Is that a giraffe?"
She nodded. "I'm planning to add some monkeys too. Our baby is going to wake up in a jungle."
She grimaced and dropped her palette and paintbrush on the nearby table. Maddie sat in the rocking chair while Kelly pulled up the foot rest to sit on and prop her swollen feet on his lap. His hands started to knead her ankles first then her feet and she could only hum in response.
"That feels nice." She tipped her head back and exhaled, "Kelly, I'm really trying."
"I know, Mads." He replied, "And, I'm really proud of you. I can see your progress and it's what he would've wanted."
"It's just. . .it feels like JJ getting shot was my fault, you know? I mean, why didn't he shoot me when he literally looked at me right in the eyes? Why did it have to be JJ?" She ran a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry. These are just my 2 AM thoughts."
"It's already three in the morning actually."
"Huh. Bummer."
"The first time that I got my heartbroken was when my mom died." Kelly told her; he'd mentioned this before but never really elaborated. "She used to read a lot of Anne Lamott's works. Her favorite quote from her ─ if I can remember it correctly ─ is something about a broken heart being like a broken leg and how you'll eventually learn how to dance with a limp." He met her eyes, "It helps when someone is willing to dance with you."
![✓VEGAS [CHICAGO FIRE]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/203266691-64-k338968.jpg)