There were better and worse places to be, Casey thought. Well, probably a few more better ones on the whole. He took a breath but it didn't seem to get enough oxygen into his lungs, which felt like they were crisping up with every passing minute. It wasn't the smoke; he had his mask and there was very little in the air anyway. It was the heat, the vicious, raw heat. They were in a factory, a very big ceramics factory, with a fire above them engulfing two floors. Specifically, they were in an oven.

There hadn't really been any option, had there? He'd had a split second to decide whether to take shelter or to get them out of the factory, and he'd decided on the shelter. But an industrial kiln, of all things? Fireproof, maybe. Heat resistant, no. The temperature was unbearable, black spots danced before his eyes, his arms felt heavy, his heart pounded slowly.

Then there was the question that he kept coming back to, one that his head was answering negatively, his heart positively; was he glad that Dawson was in here with him? It was selfish, unspeakable, unfair and irrational but as he sat and looked at her, and she at him, he felt calm.

Hurry up guys, he thought, as he closed his eyes against the heat.

Earlier:

It had been another slow day, following a string of slow days that made everyone feel like it was the calm before the storm. Everyone was on edge, waiting for a call, waiting to find out what Chicago was brewing up for them. On Monday, two days previously, two boys had got stuck in the air con units of their own school, and that was about the most of it. The only thing they had to look forward to was the arrival of the new candidate; it diverted their anticipation into something more positive, rather than the increasing sense of dread as the calmness persisted.

When the candidate arrived, Casey waited at the table as everyone got up to welcome him, studiously cleaning his mask while watching from under his brows. The candidate's name was Hank Mauden, and he'd excelled in all physical tests. Casey had been on hand to meet him already at the exams and had sat in on his interviews with Boden. He'd been fairly impressed. Mauden was fit, smart and personable.

But… There was something about him that just didn't sit right. Casey put it down to another alpha male on the block. He was cautious about how he'd take to Severide, whether he'd treat his elders, like Mouch and Herrmann with respect. Would he be respectful of Dawson as a firefighter and Brett as a paramedic? As he watched though, Mauden grasped Mouch's hand in a shake and pulled him close to mutter an aside in his ear. For a moment, Mouch looked shocked, then he threw back his head and laughed. That set everyone chuckling. Cruz was saying, 'what? What's so funny?'

At that moment, Dawson walked in the door. She didn't even look at Casey, but went to greet Mauden, all smiles. Mauden turned, caught her elbow and gave her a kiss on the cheek. What? Casey thought. Someone wolf whistled, probably Otis. Casey felt an absurd burn somewhere at the base of his skull. Dawson admonished Mauden and shook his hand, but Casey swore he saw her blush. Was he good looking? He was bigger than Casey, smaller than Severide. Apart from that, he was just a guy as far as Casey could tell. He had hair, thick hair, and fair skin. And a nose, and eyes… Fresh faced, Dawson would say. Square jawed.

No, it wasn't the way he looked that rankled with Casey, nor was it his swagger. Casey knew enough to know not to judge someone by their swagger. It was the way he was so perfectly presented. His voice was rich and warm, his eyes were wrinkled with laughter lines, his shirt pressed. For god's sake, you have a problem because he's normal?

Casey shook his head physically to stop himself. He was being ridiculous and protective.

Only Herrmann seemed to share his views. Casey caught his eye; he was stood behind the kitchen counter, slurping at his coffee with one eyebrow raised. When he caught Casey's eye, he raised the other eyebrow in a look that said, Well, what've we got here then?

Feeling flustered from watching Dawson greet Mauden like that, and angry at himself for feeling flustered at all, he waited until Mauden had pretty much arrived at his table before he set aside his mask.

'Welcome to the circus, Mauden,' He said, standing up and grasping Mauden's hand.

'Thanks, man.' And then, before he could stop himself, Casey said:

'What? No kisses?' Herrmann snickered behind him.

'Only for the pretty ones.'

'Wrong, Candidate. Not your teammates, you understand?' The smile faltered on Mauden's face. Casey forced himself to relax. 'C'mon, you want some coffee? Herrmann just brewed some, then I'll show you upstairs.'

Dawson had already disappeared, on her way to wherever it was she had to be, a better place to be than here with him, clearly. Only he didn't know where that was, of course, not anymore. Damn, he thought, why was she being so damn cold about it?

'Cheers, man,' Mauden said, setting down his bag, his smile somewhat cooler. Herrmann took him over to the coffee machine, already chatting away.

'We've had a pretty slow few days. You should've started last week, had an office fire on the twenty first floor. Since then, nothing. Zilch, zero. Just your standard cats and jokers. We been having a basketball tournament to keep ourselves busy. The final's tomorrow, it's going to be huge. Brett and Severide vs Mills and Otis.'

'Slow week? That sucks. I can't handle sitting around, you know?' There it was, a flash of insolence, a subtle putdown that Casey had been expecting.

'Don't worry,' Casey said, 'we don't sit around much.' And he made a mental note to include Mauden in the next draw for basketball. Perhaps against Severide and Brett, who were like a whirlwind together, for his first game. That would shut him up.

Boden had arrived and Mauden squared his shoulders. Casey moved aside for the two of them to greet, then headed out to the front of the house, hoping to bump into Dawson. They'd sworn to be friends, to go back to normal – normal being before their engagement, of course – but Dawson barely even spoke to him anymore. She wasn't outside though, so he sat in the chill morning air, and watched the traffic, trying to work out why he felt so bad.

Later, Herrmann caught up with him by the lockers.

'You OK, Casey?' He asked. They both knew exactly what he meant: Mauden.

'Yeah, everything's OK. Good to have a new recruit. We'll have to see how he handles a ball though.'

'And a fire,' Herrmann said. Casey relaxed a little, because he knew for sure than Herrmann was on the same wavelength as him. And right then, the alarm sounded.

'And a fire,' Casey repeated, as they ran out of the room.