A/N: This is a story idea that's been swirling in my mind for a few months and I thought I would finally start to get it on paper. Leave your predictions, thoughts, questions, and comments in the comment section.

There was something off about Stella. She had been distancing herself a little bit each day from her closest people. It was weird and so unlike her, ever since she and Kelly had gotten engaged just three months prior they both seemed even more head over heels with each other. But something was definitely up with her.

Kelly had first noticed her odd behavior about five weeks ago. It started with her being secretive about her phone, shielding it towards her when Kelly glanced over her shoulder. This wasn't that weird by itself, there was mutual trust in their relationship and Kelly had no reason to think she was hiding something.

But then it became more than just hiding her phone. Stella was distant whenever they were having conversations late at night, a tradition they both cherished for when sleep evaded them. The first few times it happened, Kelly chalked it up to having a busy shift with very few moments of peace. After weeks of this happening though, he began to get concerned. It wasn't like Stella to be squirrely or distant with him.

"Hey, have you noticed anything weird with Stella recently?" Kelly asked Matt Tuesday morning as they were getting ready for work. Stella was still getting ready so he was betting on roughly three minutes to inquire about his observations before she came into the kitchen area.

"Um… not really. Why? Do you think there's something wrong?" Matt responded, briefly glancing up from his morning coffee.

"I don't know, she's just been acting a little off recently. I don't know why and I don't want to push her to talk about it until I know something is actually wrong," Kelly explained.

"I haven't noticed anything being off at the station, but she has seemed a little distant at the loft. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though, give her some time and she'll open up to you when she's ready," Matt reassured.

Just as Matt turned back to his coffee, Stella walked out of her and Kelly's room, ready for work. She made her way into the kitchen, reaching for a travel coffee mug while offering a smile and "good morning" to both of the men. Glancing at his watch, Kelly noted that they needed to get a move-on in order to make it to shift with plenty of time to change before their morning briefing.

The three firefighters grabbed their bags and coffee mugs and headed downstairs. Outside their building, they silently piled into their respective cars, each one having something to do right after shift and needing a way to get there. The three cars pulled out of the lot and headed towards firehouse 51, ready for the shift ahead. Kelly couldn't shake the thought that something was up with Stella, but he decided that it wasn't worth dwelling over before shift even started.