After dinner, Kelly and I strolled hand in hand down the streets of Chicago. As we walked, we talked about our future together.

"I'm so nervous about adopting Eden," I admitted, looking down.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because what if the court doesn't approve the co-adoption?" I asked, looking at Kelly.

"Then you'll adopt Eden and later down the road, when we get married, I'll adopt her."

"We're getting married?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I hope we will eventually," Kelly admitted.

"The infamous Kelly Severide is ready to settle down with a woman and raise a family? What has this world come to?" I teased.

He made a face at me as I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. We walked a little farther before we made it to the waterfront. We sat there for a while, watching a family play on the beach.

"I still can't believe we're parents," I said, breaking the silence.

"Me either. I've always wanted to start a family with you, I just didn't think this was how we'd be doing it," Kelly said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Have you really always wanted to start a family with me?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, I was originally going to have a baby with Shay, but then everything happened and I decided you would be a suitable replacement mating partner," he joked.

I pulled back and punched his arm, but he smiled and pulled me into a hug. After a little while, the sun had gone down and the remaining warmth of the day faded as darkness started to descend.

"I wonder how Eden is doing. We should call and check in," I said, pulling out my phone.

"Grace, you know she'll be fine. She's with Dawson and Casey. They love her and she loves them," he said, looking at me.

"But she just got out of the hospital and what if she's fussy and they regret offering to take her for the night?" I asked, worried.

"One call," Kelly said, holding up a finger.

Gabby answered the phone with a laugh.

"I was wondering when you were going to call," she said.

"I'm just checking in. How's she doing?" I asked.

"She's fine. We just gave her a bath and now Matt is feeding her. I'll send you a picture," she said.

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed. I looked at the picture and smiled. Eden was cuddled into Matt, sucking happily on a bottle while the firefighter looked down on her with a smile.

"Alright, I'll let you go then. Thank you for watching her," I said.

"You're welcome. Now go have fun and stop worrying about her!" Gabby said with a laugh.

I hung up and shoved my phone back into my bag. Kelly stood before turning and helping me up.

"Where are we going now?" I asked, letting him pull me into a standing position.

"Every great date ends in ice cream," he said with a grin.

"You and I have very different views on how a great date ends," I teased.

Kelly's eyes widened for a split second before he playfully threw me over his shoulder, racing back to the car. We drove to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away from our place. After we ordered, we sat at one of the tables and ate our ice cream. We ate in a comfortable silence, Kelly's fingers occasionally brushing mine.

"I'm really nervous for my meeting with ADA Stone tomorrow," I admitted quietly.

"Why are you nervous?" Kelly asked, setting down his spoon.

"With everything that's been happening with Eden, I'd almost forgotten that Andrew goes on trial soon. It's like we've been in a different world. I don't want to go back to the world where my ex-fiancé tried to kill me and my partner."

"That's completely understandable," Severide said, taking my hand.

"I think that this trial is going to be really hard. I think that deep down I'm just not ready to admit that the person I was with for so long ended up being someone who was willing to kill me."

I saw a flash of pain cross Kelly's face and I felt a pit in my stomach. I had never thought about how deeply all of this had really affected him. I'd almost died that day. It seemed so long ago, but I knew that it still felt like it was just yesterday.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"Why are you sorry? You have nothing to apologize for," he said, frowning.

"I never considered how you were handling all of this. I've been so selfish."

"You are anything but selfish, Grace. This situation isn't about me. It's about you and giving Andrew what he deserves. I'm fine. You're here, you're healthy, and you're mine. That's all that matters."

"I love you so much, Kelly Severide."

"I love you even more, Grace Everly. Now let's go home," he said, pulling me to my feet.

As we walked home, we reminisced about the last few months. We talked about everything that had happened between Andrew, Eden, and us. By the time we got home, I felt like a whole new person. I finally felt whole again.

"It's weird not having Eden here. We've spent so much time with her over the past few days," Kelly said as we walked through the front door of the loft.

"I miss her," I admitted.

"There are some benefits to not having her here tonight though," Severide said, smiling slowly and inching closer to me.

I let him slowly pull my jacket off, watching as he draped it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs before turning his attention back to me. He ran his fingers down my bare arms before pulling me in for a sweet kiss. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him carry me effortlessly up the stairs. We fell into bed and I looked up at the man I loved so deeply.

"I love you so much," I whispered as we melded into each other.

"I love you even more."