A/N: So I wrote this during my time off at work, which is in the middle of nowhere at a girl scout camp, and was inspired by the tumblr prompt in the summary. Enjoy! Also, change of the last episode of season 1, the prison

XXX

"Casey, you alright in there?" I ask worriedly. As a friend, of course. Why else would I care? It's not like I liked him or anything.

Except, I did.

I liked him so much it hurt. I liked him so much I dreamt about it.

But he was with another girl. Hallie Thomas, a smashingly beautiful doctor in the ER who he'd been serious with for years-since I met him, when I started at 51.

Unfortunately, everyone but him knew it too. I took so much crap from the guys, because of my unrequited love.

"Yeah, we're good." Comes back through, and I snap out of wherever I was. We hear a call, and Pete and I go in. We need to deal with another inmate who is injured-badly.

XXX

All I hear over the radio is "Oh, shit!" from Severide, and I know in my heart that it's Casey. He would throw himself in front of a bus for any of the guys in the house. Then promptly get up, bursh off dislocations and breaks, and say, in his Matt Casey voice- "I'm fine."

There was a reason that, behind closed doors, he was Matt-I'm-Fine-Casey.

"Severide, what's going on?" I ask. I have to know what to prepare when I get out of here.

"It's Matt."

And that's all I need to panic.

Pete centers me, and purposely doesn't tell me he knows Hallie and Casey are done. He knows I would bail on this scene to go save Casey-even though I'm with Peter.

I save this patient, and leave him with Pete. He's a qualified medic. He can do this job. I run out to the Ambo, where I meet the crew.

Everyone except truck.

Of course.

XXX

Hours later-or at least it seemed like it-the Truck comes stumbling out.

Matt's holding something to his head, and I don't want to think about what that means.

"What have we got?" Leslie asks, and I snap out of it.

"He took a pretty good whack to the head, unconscious for maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Nothing major." Cruz reports, and Casey just stands there. As if he doesn't know what's going on around him.

The guard they saved pats him heartily on the back, and he closes his eyes and moans miserably. That's all I need to get him lying on the stretcher. I grab my sunglasses out of the front seat, and put them on him. The pain lines recede somewhat, and I turn down the lights inside, only leaving on what I need to see by in the sunlight.

"Thanks…Dawson" he says haltingly.

Then he seizes.

Thank god Severide's in here, keeping him on the gurney, and somehow Leslie found room back here, because I'm frozen. Everything I've been taught just flew out the window, looking at the person I love-there, I've said it-seizing on the gurney in front of me. "Gabby!" Leslie yells. It doesn't work.

He stops. Looks at me, confused again.

"You're gonna be fine, Casey." Severide says quietly. Casey turns his head towards him, then falls unconscious again. Thankfully, we've gotten to Lakeshore. The ER takes him from there, and I just stay in the back of the rig, unsure what to do now that he's gone. Leslie takes me by the hand and helps me to the waiting room, where I am handed a glass of water, and I sit there for what must have been hours, but I wans't sure of the passing of time. I just kept staring into my glass of water. Finally someone comes out and asks for me-well, Matt Casey, but I was the only one there. Everyone else was still on shift, as shaken as they were. Leslie must have driven Severide home hours ago, and Hallie's on shift as well. She'll be in to visit briefly, but they know I'm his-hell, my shirt says CFD, and I've been sitting here, he's a firefighter, they just assume I'm the contact. Then she says the best thing I'd heard that day.

"He's ready for visitors if you want to see him."

I sprint past the poor woman, desperate. I can navigate here anyways, probably better than she can.

I walk in, and he's just stirring. Finally, I whisper his name as he head turns towards me.

"Matt…"

And I cry. Finally, I've let go everything.

XXX
He doesn't stir for hours. But I'm sure he heard me. The only time I saw him stir was then.

But I receive exactly one visitor. Pete.

"Gabby."

"Hey…" I trail off, unsure of what he's doing here.

"You just tell me honestly, that you don't have feelings for Casey?…You tell me that and this right here becomes day one"

I hesitate.

"Gabby."

"I can't tell you what you need to hear, it wouldn't be the truth." I respond, heartbroken.

He leaves.

And I cry.

Again.

But he stirs, and Hallie's there, and the nurses and doctors, and I slip out. I don't need to be here right now.

But god, how I wish I was needed here right now.

XXX

So, thoughts? Comments? Ideas for other stories?