It was the last call that had finally done her in. The entire House had been called out to an apartment fire. At eleven o' clock at night, every tenant occupying the building was tucked away in the shelter of their home. By the time the firemen and paramedics had searched the building, not a single floor was void of flame and smoke. They watched as victims of all shape and form scampered down the fire escapes. The young being carried on hips and backs while the old were jostled around in the commotion.
Without an extra moment's thought, Lieutenants Severide and Casey assertively instructed their men on how to proceed. Kelly led the men of his squad into the roaring flames, closely followed by Casey, Herman and Cruz. They were allowed 30 minutes before Chief Boden declared the structure to dangerous to continue the search. He called back all of his men over radio and two by two, the filthy firefighters filtered out of the building. Paramedic Leslie Shay fought to keep up with the treatment of injuries coming away from the disaster. But even with the overwhelming demand of her attention, she kept one eye on the figures still retreating from the building. Severide had yet to make a reappearance since disappearing into the smoke, she knew this for a fact despite the complete chaos that surrounded her.
"Have you seen Casey?" Dawson asked as she wrapped blankets around a family of four. Shay shook her head, not allowing herself to become any more concerned about the situation than she already was. She had a job to finish first.
After another barking order from Boden and a moment of eerie silence, Lieutenant Matt Casey's voice broke through the radio. "Casey and Severide coming out with three more."
The two paramedics immediately responded, making their way to the Chief where they would wait for the remaining firefighters. It did not take long before they began to see a tall figure disrupt the smoke the pouring out of the structure and soon they could make out Casey, stumbling under the load he was carrying. He balanced a child in each arm, both looked to be abut four, their smooth covered faces pressed up against his shoulders. As they moved closer, shay saw one more child clinging to the Lieutenant's back. Mouch helped unload the traumatized children and Dawson ran forward to care for them.
"Where's Severide?" Boden questioned Casey as soon as his breathing apparatus was removed.
"We found one more on the way out, he was fright behind me." Casey gratefully took the bottle of water that Herman offered him and immediately poured a large portion of it over his head before taking a sip from it. Shay's attention never left the entrance of the building as she began to count backwards from ten. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had decided that if she were to reach one before there was any sign of Kelly, she would go in there herself to drag him out.
Nine Mississippi…Eight Mississippi…
She only made it to seven before they saw a suited figure clumsily rush out of the smoke. Although his helmet remained in place, Severide no longer wore his mask, using his oversized coat to filter the smoke instead. He made it three more unsteady steps before he fell to his knees, coughing violently.
"Shay!" He croaked. Shay lept to action, reaching before anyone else could. She immediately noticed where the mask had gone, to the toddler he had swaddled in his arms. "I don't think she's breathing."
Shay carefully removed the mask and slid two fingers along the little girl's neck. Her own heart stopped while she searched for a pulse from the toddler. The small cry of relief that escaped her lips was inevitable when her fingertips felt something beneath the filthy skin. "She has a pulse, just barely."
"We have to go now!" She cried to Dawson.
They were nine blocks away from Lakeshore Hospital when their small charge coded. For once Shay was in the back while Dawson took the wheel. She fought hard to retrieve the pulse she had lost, her partner shouted desperate alternatives as she became frantic. But by the time they reached the Emergency Room ambulance bay, there was nothing more that they could do. White clad doctors solemnly took the fragile child out of their custody and Shay watched as they crashed through the ER doors to attempt their own try at a miracle. The paramedics long enough to witness the outcome.
The ride back to the Firehouse was one of the complete silence, neither one offered comfort to the other. They had been on this job too long to know that words could not relieve the hurt that came with it. All of the trucks had been returned to their rightful place by the time the ambulance pulled into the garage. Dawson was the first one to jump from the cab as soon as they were parked, slamming the door shut behind her and making her way further into the Firehouse. Shay remained behind in the driver's seat, feeling numb and completely exhausted, too tired to move. This call had done her in.
Lieutenant Kelly Severide watched as Dawson walked across the larch common room and straight toward the end of the table where he and Casey sat. her face remained completely unreadable as she took Casey's hand and, without a word, lead him toward the bunk room. Kelly turned his attention back toward the garage, waiting for a sardonic blonde to make an entrance. He gave it one full minute before he gave up and went searching for her. It did not take long before he found her behind the wheel of the bus, hands still gripping the steering wheel, eyes fixed on some imaginary object ahead of her. She did not even notice him coming up beside her until her wrapped his knuckles against the window. He immediately regretted the action as she shook in fright at the sound. Kelly offered her an apologetic grimace and she opened the door for hi, remaining fixed in her seat.
"What happened Shay?" He asked quietly almost afraid of startling her again.
"She didn't make it," Shay spoke in a flat tone. "A doc at Lakeshore declared her right after we got there." Kelly hung his head in defeat after she spoke the words he had known were coming. He found the tiny girl, her bright pink pajamas barely visible in the thick haze. She had remained untouched by the flames, it was the smoke that had gotten to her. He would forever remember the toddler's mother and the hysterical way she screamed after word had been passed around about who the ambulance had driven away with. Chief Boden had calmly ushered her toward a police vehicle at the scene, instructing the uniformed officers with it to take the woman directly to the hospital.
The two of them remained silent for another moment before Kelly began to gently tug on her hand, helping her out of the cab. "C'mon, shift is over. Let's go home."
Fireman Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek was on a mission. He was set on moving the remainder of his stuff out of Severide and Shay's apartment, the one that until recently, he had shared with them. He intended to get everything moved in on trip, but realistically he knew it would take several more before he would be completely moved out. The motivation to complete the chore had changed drastically since completing his last shift, it now seemed to be the hardest thing to do now. What he had seen in the last 24 hours was more than he had wanted to see in a lifetime, if he had not chosen to be a firefighter. But despite the heaviness he now carried with him since leaving the Firehouse that night, Otis felt obligated to finish what he had been promising his ex-roommates he would do for over a month now. He stopped by the apartment he now shared with Cruz after shift long enough to change into fresh clothes and then went to claim his belongings at his previous place of residence.
"Otis? What are doing here?" Severide asked after Otis had let himself in with the key he still carried.
"I was just going to get the rest of my stuff and be out of here for good." Otis explained while balancing several empty cardboard boxes.
"Oh, you could have waited to do that. There's no rush."
"I wanted to get the room cleared so you could start renting it sooner…plus I think I'd rather stay busy tonight." He said and Severide nodded in understanding.
"Let me know if you want any help and help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." Severide told him before going about opening the two bottles of beer he held in one hand and taking out the tub of Shay's favorite ice cream from the freezer with the other hand.
"I will thanks." Otis walked toward the flight of stairs that lead up to the bedrooms. While he climbed the steps he watched Severide retreat back to the leather couch in the living area below him. He handed Shay one of the bottles of beer before sitting next to her. She immediately covered him the blanket that she was already buried under and continued the movie, a Jason Statham action film, they were watching on the flat screen.
Otis had gained a lot of insight into the lives of the Squad Lieutenant and the paramedic while rooming with them, maybe more than he wanted at times. His original theory that there would be a constant parade of gorgeous women coming through the apartment had quickly been derailed soon after he moved in. he was still recovering from the financial blow of having his possessions stolen by Shay's crazy ex and the emotional scars brought on by witnessing his cousin do the walk of shame after spending the night with Severide. What surprised Otis the most while he lived under the same roof as the two was seeing the relationship his roommates shared. The depth of their loyalty for one another was implausible. He had seen the duo work together for several years now and the relationship they had at the Firehouse, but there was something different between them when they were out of uniform. They were completely devoted to one another and somehow that worked without the same expectation any normal couple would have for one another. Otis sometimes felt like a scientific study should be done on the pair to fully understand their bond.
It took Otis nearly two hours to finish packing because he kept finding his belongings in the most unusual places. DVDs behind dressers, a toothbrush in the hallway closet and a graphic novel under the sink in the bathroom were just a few of his delays. He moved around as quietly as possible, aware of the company stationed downstairs. He felt guilty for his intrusion after one trip to the first floor when he overheard the stifled sobs coming from Shay as she buried her tears into Severide's shoulder. Otis wanted to ask what was wrong, witnessing firsthand what such emotions did to the small blonde, he wanted to help. But he was sure he knew what the cause of the grief was, it was exactly how he felt after today, he just had not allowed himself to stop long enough to think on it. As Severide held her in a comforting embrace, Otis saw the Lieutenant's own eyes glisten in the dull light and he had the desperate need to retreat back upstairs before he was caught up in what they were feeling.
When he came back downstairs half an hour later with a heavy box full of his stuff, the apartment was still and quiet. The light from the kitchen showed a sleeping Severide ans Shay, still on the couch. Otis could not help but sigh in relief. He had just about reached the front door when someone on the other side knock. He quickly looked around for somewhere to set down his heavy load, after coming up empty, he resorted to dropping it on the ground.
"I'm coming." He grumbled after they knocked again. He opened the door to reveal an attractive brunette. "Detective Lindsay, what brings you here?"
"Brian, right?" Lindsay asked.
"Yeah, or Otis if you prefer." He replied easily.
"Is Lieutenant Severide here? I just have a question for him and he's not answering his phone."
"Yeah he's here." Otis stepped aside to let the detective into the apartment.
"Coming or going?" She asked when she saw the box left on the floor.
"Going, I'm in the lengthy process of moving out."
"Severide that bad as a roommate?" Lindsay teased.
"Nah, it's the classic 'my fault not his' situation." Otis said and she looked confused by his answer. "It was time for a change."
"Sure." Linsday was still giving him a strange look when he lead her toward the kitchen and the living area adjacent to it. When Otis turned back around he saw a look of shock pass across the detective's face and then obvious discomfort. He followed her gaze back to the couch and could only begin to imagine what we going through her head at that moment. He was not thick enough to not notice the tension and mutual attraction that had strung itself between Severide and Lindsay. There was obviously something going on but no one could say exactly what. And now she was Severide tightly holding an attractive blonde to his chest, a blanket shared between the two, fast asleep.
"That is not what it looks like." Otis said quickly, keeping his voice low, not sure if he should wake up Severide or not.
"I didn't say anything." Lindsay tried to keep her voice even but Otis heard emotion slip into it.
"Shay is the roommate." He tried to explain. "The lesbian roommate who has never in her life been attracted to the male sex… according to her." He watched as her stiff stature slipped a bit. Otis was unsure about how much to unveil to the police detective but he decided neither Severide nor Shay seemed to be especially guarded people so he took a risk.
"They've lived together longer than I've known them. I don't know what it is, but they never get sick of one another. Anyone who says Severide can't commit to a relationship hasn't been around him enough."
"I…" Linsday seemed to be at a loss for words, her eyes remained focused on the pair passed out on the couch.
"You could wake him up if you want, but this last shift was pretty rough. It took a lot out over everyone, especially the Lieutenant and Shay…I'm pretty sure it took her half a dozen beers and a good sized serving of mint chip ice cream to get her calm enough to sleep."
"It's fine," Lindsay shook her head to bring her attention back to Otis. "Will you must let himj know that I need to talk to him about the case he and Mills got tangled up in few weeks back."
"Sure, no problem." Otis said and he followed her back toward the door.
"Thanks Otis." She said before leaving. "For everything."
They shared a look of understanding before Lindsay retraced her steps to her car. Otis carefully closed the door behind her and turned back toward the couch. His face set in a n uncharacteristic frown as he imagined what it would be like to be Kelly Severide for a day. Oh the women.