A/N I will admit that this story to me feels a bit rushed and disjointed at points, but as I've suffered major writer's block since May. I just wanted to write this to get back into writing as I've had loads of ideas to write, but just couldn't write them. Hopefully this will have solved my writer's block so I'll be back to writing stories like I used to! So any constructive criticism is welcome.


As Squad were hurtling towards the construction fire, Severide had no idea was he was about face. Something he had not ever considered happening. He was still reeling from the loss of Shay, and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle the death of another friend.

"Severide look!" Tony's voice brought his attention from looking out of the window, only to see Truck eighty-one on its side, equipment strewn across the intersection.

Oh God, he's dead, Matt's dead, he's gone.

Severide couldn't remember what he said to control, he was too busy staring at the aftermath of Trucks eighty-one and sixty-six, getting closer and closer, becoming harder to ignore as fake. It was really happening and he did not know if he had lost another friend. While any loss from the House would be hard to bear, the loss of his best friend Matt would just be the final straw, he couldn't see himself surviving the loss of Matt so close to the loss of Shay, it would wreck him.

He's not dead, he's not, he's not. He can't be.

After putting Mills, Capp and Tony to work on sixty-six, he clambered up eighty-one not once looking at Newhouse, his eyes were trained on the passenger side door that wasn't opening. If it wasn't opening then Matt was hurt or worse…

Matt's okay, he's okay, he has to be okay.

He pulled open the door and leaned over, "Hey Casey! Casey, you okay?"

The figure in front of him turned with a grimace, "Yeah, but Mouch is hurt."

The relief hit him like a ton of bricks. Matt was alive and talking, he breathed a sigh of relief, and allowed himself a few seconds to look at Matt and check his friend was alive with his own eyes.

While he went on to check on Mouch, a large part of him was wondering how fine Casey actually was. He knew his friend was prone to not telling the whole story in regards to his own health, especially when his team on Truck was concerned.

Throughout the rescue his eyes kept training back to Matt, who was sporting some scrapes on his face. He didn't seem to be hiding an injury, but that did not mean that once they got to Med that Severide would let Casey leave without being checked out. He knew his friend too well to let him just act like everything was okay, especially considering the state of the passenger side of eighty-one. While he was beyond relieved that Matt was up and walking around, a part of him felt like it was too good to be true. His worry was knocked up a notch when the memory of the last time Matt was hurt, was pushed to the front of his mind. Matt had been lucky again when that beam came down on him, and now with the thought of another possible knock to Matt's head, and what it could do to Matt. Kelly was almost expecting Matt to just collapse on the floor.


Once everyone had arrived at Med, Kelly watched as Matt flittered about between his team members, checking to make sure they were all right. He walked over to his friend, who was now leaning against the main desk.

"Are you going to get yourself checked out?" he asked, with his arms crossed, showing with his body language what the answer he was expecting would be.

Matt rolled his eyes, "I'm fine, I don't need checking out. It's just a couple of scrapes."

Kelly sighed and put an arm across Matt's shoulders. "Well as Hermann only had a couple of scrapes and you still sent him to be checked out. You should as well."

When Matt went to protest, Kelly just began herding him over to a nurse, who took one look at Casey and directed him to a bed. Feeling eyes watching him, he looked over to see Boden watching them, Boden nodded and smiled a little before walking over to the waiting Chiefs.

"See? Even Boden agrees you needed to be checked out," he smirked.

"You two are just a pair of mother hens," retorted Matt with a joking smile.

"You can be just as bad you know," Kelly countered, his smiling growing when the nurse announced that Matt was fine.

"Told you so," muttered Matt.

Kelly rolled his eyes, "Aren't you the one always saying better safe than sorry?"

Matt shrugged, and before he could add anything Boden waved him over. Matt sighed, "Hear we go."

Kelly patted his shoulder in support and went to stand with the others all the while watching as Casey talked to the Chiefs. He sighed seeing that from the look on Matt's face, things weren't going well, especially for Cruz, who he knew Casey would defend, just as he would for anyone on his team. He couldn't help but occasionally stare at Matt; a part of him just couldn't believe how lightly Matt had gotten off from the crash.


The next day once he had returned to the apartment, he saw Matt just sitting down on the sofa, with one arm braised against his chest as he winced his way down. Kelly panic swarm in his chest, wondering if the nurse missed anything, he walked over to the sofa, dumping his bag by the door in his haste.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, he sat on the edge of the coffee table so he was facing Matt. His hands gripping his knees tightly, trying to not let his worry show.

Matt nodded, "I'm just a bit stiff and sore. I can't have moved much in my sleep and I think my muscles have seized up a little."

Kelly's shoulders slumped in relief, knowing that Matt really was okay. Matt frowned, "Hey, are you okay? You're looking a bit worried there."

He looked at his injured friend with wide, terrified eyes, as he thought of Molina still in the hospital. "It's just…eighty-one got off so lucky, compared to sixty-six. And I can't stop running it over and over in my head, that sinking feeling in my chest when I saw eighty-one on its side." He raised a shaking hand to run through his hair.

Matt grimaced as he leaned forward to shake Kelly's shoulder, "Hey, we're all okay."

Kelly shook his head, "But you might not have been! Look at Molina and the others on sixty-six! Trust me, it looked bad! And I only saw the aftermath, I didn't actually see the crash!" He took a shaky breath, glad for the small reprieve of not watching his best friend's truck get smashed onto its side. "I've lost Andy and Shay, I couldn't loose you to, especially now. You're the one who convinced me it was time to come back, and you persisted despite my arguments, and I'd never have forgiven you if you'd gone and got yourself killed today."

"Hey, I'm still here, I'm not going anywhere," Matt murmured as he pulled Kelly in for a hug.

"Better not," croaked Kelly, as he forced his words through the lump in his throat. Blocking his mind from going down the route of how yesterday could have ended instead. Another funeral for a death in the line of duty, the type of funeral two of his best friends already had.

After calming himself down, Kelly moved so he was sat beside Matt and together they watched TV, Matt making sure to avoid the news, which had been reporting the crash non-stop. And Kelly relaxed knowing that he had not lost his best friend and brother, and if he had anything to do with it, he would not loose another person who was close to him.

The End.


A\N I might come back and edit this, because like I've said I'm not completely happy with this.