SUMMARY: Lieutenant Matthew Casey took some much needed time off to clear his head, due to the first anniversary of Hallie's death... but will he survive his first shift back at the Firehouse? ((Slight crossover with Chicago P.D. characters, due to ChiFi character history, but focus is on Chicago Fire)) ***Rated T for traumatic scenes***
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), and my amazing co-writer, LMS, so please don't plagiarize! This is our first CF chapter fic, so please be gentle. :) ...Oh yeah, and this is completely un-beta'd. :) Feedback (As well as Con-Crit) is very much welcomed. :)


Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25... Reported structure fire...

That's all they heard and Casey jumped up from the table and led them out to the bay, donning his turnout gear and quickly climbing into the front passenger seat of Truck 81, the rest of his men following suit.

Casey had taken some much needed time off to get his head on straight, due to the anniversary of Hallie's death, and, as luck would have it, this was his first day back.

They radioed to dispatch, acknowledging the call, and the address was repeated for them. Running red, they raced to the scene.

As they approached, Casey donned his air pack. "This one's cookin', guys!" He exclaimed, noting bright orange flames and thick, black smoke emanating from the structure. "I'm pretty sure this place was abandoned!"

When Cruz pulled 81 up to the scene and parked, Casey jumped out, putting his helmet on.

He quickly made his way to Chief Boden, who was running errands not far from their current location when the call was received and had already been the first on scene.

"What do we got, Chief?" Casey asked curiously, gazing at the fully involved structure before them.

"Abandoned warehouse fire. Started on the bottom floor and it's quickly working its way up. Send Cruz to vent the roof with Mouch. Take Otis with you to see if there's anyone inside," he said, nodding his head to Casey.

Casey listened intently, taking in Chief Boden's every word. When Boden finished talking, Casey nodded. "On it!" Casey turned to his men and shouted instructions.

"Cruz, Mouch! Head up to the roof and start venting! Otis and I will start up top and work our way down! Let's go!"

He put his mask on as they moved closer to the building. "Smoke's moving fast, so we need to move, too!"

They saw fires often, but some were worse than others... and this was one of those fires.

Otis heard Casey call out to him and he nodded his head, following him toward the building. He donned his SCBA and followed Casey inside.

Visibility wasn't too bad as they made their way up to the top floor, but he knew the lower floors would pose a challenge. "Where's Rescue?" He thought aloud, knowing that more hands on deck would be a huge help in a building like this. He didn't recall hearing any radio traffic from Squad 3.

"Fire Department! Call out!" He yelled a few times, glancing around for any movement, and attempting to listen over his air pack for anyone who may be responding. "Call out!"

"Call out! Fire Department!" Otis echoed Casey, hoping that if anyone was inside, they would respond. He made his way to the top with Casey, continuing to call out. He pushed open a door with his elbow. "Anyone in here? Call out!"

"Sixth floor's clear, Chief," Casey radioed as they finished their sweep of the first floor they were searching. "We're moving down to five!"

As they made their way to the fifth floor, Otis pushed the nearest door open, smoke billowing out.

"This room is filled with smoke, Casey. I can't see a thing!"

Casey had been sweeping the room directly across from Otis, making his way to the next one when he heard him call out to him.

"I got this one! Check that door!" He pointed to the room he'd been on his way to, then entered the room that Otis had opened the door to.

"Hey! Anyone in here? Fire Department! Call out!" He stayed low and close to the wall, following it blindly with his right hand as his left searched with a flashlight, which wasn't very helpful, due to the lack of visibility from the smoke, which continued to multiply.

Casey could feel the heat rising, which meant that the fire was spreading and getting pretty close. He made his way out of that room, discovering no occupants, and went in search of Otis.

"Otis! We gotta keep moving! Fire's spreading fast!" His heart was pounding from the adrenaline. "Let's clear the bottom floors!"

Casey keyed the mic on his radio once again. "Hey, Chief, how's the venting coming?" He looked around and spotted flames shooting up down the hall. "We're moving to the fourth floor now! Smoke's pretty bad up here, Chief, and we've got fire on the fifth! We need an attack line in here!"

Chief listened as Casey relayed all of the details of the situation inside the building. He took a step back and looked up at the roof. He radioed to Mouch, asking how it was going. Mouch responded that it was almost vented.

"Casey, a couple more seconds and the roof will be vented," Boden responded. "Just keep moving and stay alert! It's moving fast! And Casey, stay focused," he said assertively. He was still worried about his mental state, but he knew he could trust the Lieutenant in a situation like this.

"We're good, Chief!" Casey radioed back to Boden, knowing full-well that Boden was referring to him and him alone, but he played it off as if it was a general statement.

He led Otis down to the fourth floor, still wondering where Rescue was, but they were on the front lines this time, and he knew they had to keep their mouths shut and just get the job done.

As they made it to the fourth floor level, Casey began identifying themselves once more. "Fire Department! Call out!" Visibility was just as bad on this floor, but the bright orange flames that were now surrounding them from all sides helped to atleast shed a little light, making it easier while difficult at the same time.

He looked in front of him, repeating, "Call out," as he swept. Casey checked every door along the way, until he came across one that wouldn't budge. He glanced at Otis before putting all of his weight into the door, forcing it to bust open, and he stumbled over a body.

"We've got a victim on the fourth floor!" Casey radioed to his Chief. "We need a ladder up here in the back!"

Chief put a lot of his faith into Casey because he was a good man, a good lieutenant, and a great leader. He really hoped he was truly prepared for this. He kept his radio close, ready to respond to Casey when he called out, and ready for any surprises that may come to their way.

He heard Casey tell him that there was a victim, and he immediately responded. "Get him to the window, Casey! Ladder's on its way!"

As soon as he finished radioing up to Casey, he quickly motioned for the rest of the men on the ground to move the ladder toward the fourth floor window as soon as they could. Within minutes, the ladder was erected and in position, ready to receive the victim from Truck 81's Lieutenant.

"We got the ladder, Casey! Send him out!"

"Otis! Grab his legs!" Casey lifted the victim under his arms, and noticed what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the front of his head. He didn't see any signs of life, and he blew out a breath. He began carrying him towards the window, once Otis had a hold of his legs.

Once at the window, Casey busted it open. "Ready when you are!" He called out, finally spotting Squad 3 pulling up to the scene as he looked down below, and he felt a slight touch of relief.

They lifted the victim through the window, holding onto him until he was secure, then he turned back to Otis, pointing as he gave orders.

"I'm going to finish sweeping the rooms on the other side of the floor. You finish this side up, and we'll meet halfway!"

Casey hurriedly made his way to the opposite side, continuing to identify himself incase anyone else may still be in the structure. As he opened one of the doors, he spotted another male sitting in a corner, up against the wall.

"I've got a second victim, Chief! Give me a ladder on the other side- It's getting pretty hot up here!"

As he tended to the victim, the man began to cough. It was too dark to really see anything, but Casey knew he was alive, and he knew that he had to save him.

"Hey! Listen to me! I'm going to put my mask on your face! Keep it on- It's going to help you breathe!"

Casey quickly took his mask off, placing it over the victim's face, and he spotted flames as he glanced back towards the door.

"Where's that ladder? Flames are spreading quick, Chief! There's no way I'm getting back out the door! Otis, what's your status?"

Casey coughed forcefully and glanced around, checking out the window for help, and he saw that Severide was waiting for the ladder to fully extend so that he could get both men to safety.

Casey went back to check on the victim, who was still hanging on, and that's when he heard an explosion... and the floor soon collapsed beneath him, sending him and the victim crashing four stories to the basement level.