SUMMARY: Written through the eyes of Lieutenant Matthew Casey. ***SPOILERS For Season 1 Episode, "Leaders Lead".
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The characters of Chicago Fire do not belong to me, and I do not own the rights to them (sadly). :( I just like playing with them. ;) All ideas belong to Angel Estrada at Stokes Fanficz (and LtCasey51 on Twitter), so please don't plagiarize! This is my first CFD one-shot, so please be gentle. :) ...Oh yeah, and this is completely un-beta'd. :) Feedback (As well as Con-Crit) is very much welcomed. :) ***SPOILERS For Season 1 Episode, "Leaders Lead"***
Casey called in sick to work today, something he absolutely never does, but he needed this day to himself, and if anyone really knew Casey, they'd figure out why.
He drove in silence, a million thoughts racing though his mind. He couldn't believe it.
One year to the day.
When he finally made it to the cemetery, he stepped out of his truck with a small bag in hand. He blew out a breath and walked to Hallie's grave.
Casey stopped and stared down at the stone, silent, shaking his head. He knelt down and slowly lowered a hand to touch the stone before taking a seat next to it.
"Hey, Baby," he said softly, "I know how much you hated me having cold pizza all the time, so I thought I'd bring some for old time's sake." Casey chuckled lightly and took a piece out of the bag, taking a bite. "This... This doesn't feel real." He exhaled heavily and took another bite before speaking again. "I drive by your house a lot. I keep thinking, maybe, one day, I'll drive by and you'd be there, smiling back at me like you used to do. They say time heals everything, right? A year later, I'm still waiting."
"There's been so many times I wished I could pick up the phone and call you. I really could've used you these last few months. It's been pretty rough. I almost didn't make it through a few calls," he sighed and paused for a moment, "but I'm sure you know. You're probably the reason I pulled through, right? You couldn't deal with me just yet, huh?" He chuckled lightly as a few tears escaped and trickled down his cheeks.
Casey put the slice of pizza back in the bag and squinted into the sun, then back at her grave.
"I miss you so much, Hallie," he choked out before he finally broke down in tears. He put a hand over his mouth as he started to sob, then pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his crossed arms on them with his head face-down on top of his arms. Every emotion he'd been suppressing for the last year was being released right now, and he couldn't control or compose himself.
"I never stopped loving you."