Hello everyone and thanks for reading! So ever since the finales of Chicago Fire and PD this spring, I've been having this idea of how Kelly and Erin could help each other deal with things. In my opinion (strictly mine, I do respect people who'd be thinking otherwise), Kelly's been lonely ever since losing Shay, with friends leaving him, and Matt's not very nice comments in the last two episodes just added salt into the wound. So this is my idea of how Casey's side job - Jack Nesbitt, and the events from the finale could lead to Kelly and Erin crossing paths again, and...well something more. This is a Kelly-centric, Matt-friendship, Lindsay - love, hurt/angst/friendship fic with a very hurt Erin, and a hurt Casey (yes, lots of hurt). Lots of friendships and other -ships would have to be fixed. There will be some Dawson-being-present scenes because of Matt mainly, but this isn't and would never be a Dawsey story. I'll be updating once a week. So I really hope you do enjoy this, and thanks for reading! :)
Warning: The story contains spoilers for season 3, 2 and 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the title, any of the characters or plots of Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. I do not own the text taken directly from the show. This story is intended for fun only and I am not making any money with it!
Chapter 1
The worst day of the year
"Yeah…have a good night." Kelly muttered to the taxi driver before he got out. He'd only had two beers at Molly's…he couldn't be drunk…he had been feeling okay during most of the night, given that he had been nearly cooked inside a burning building with Dawson earlier that day…but the entire world was spinning around in front of his eyes, a throbbing headache not leaving him, breathing now requiring too much effort…
All he wanted was a hot shower and a good night's sleep…then he would talk things through with Casey. They had said things they shouldn't have, but if the blonde lieutenant still blamed him for Darden's death, then…
Kelly shook off the thoughts, his mind already preoccupied with memories of her…of his girl…of Shay…of him and Shay a year earlier, before…before a sick bastard had taken her life... The worst day of his life…and that was the night before the one-year anniversary of the worst day of his life...
Severide found the apartment door unlocked, his foggy mind assuming Casey had already come home, forgetting to lock it…yes, he realized that side job had been draining all the energy Truck's lieutenant had, exhausting him to a point where he hadn't had the strength to make it to his bedroom last time, opting for a few hours rest on the couch instead.
"What - ?" He closed his eyes and re-opened them seconds later just to make sure his mind wasn't playing games with him…
"Go…" Dawson uttered, paler than a ghost.
"Oh no…no." The guy pointing a gun at the back of Gabby's head snarled with an eastern-european accent, a smile spreading across his face. They had never seen him before….but Casey had.
Kelly's eyes darted around the living room…traces of a fight, blood…the water in the kitchen was still running and…and a body of a blonde girl on the floor…nothing made sense…and where the hell was Casey?
"You move, she dies." The guy hissed, tears running down Dawson's cheeks…she had come to the apartment just a couple of minutes earlier, with good news…instead of telling Matt he would be a father, she had found Katya's body, Casey missing and…and one of Jack Nesbitt's business partners in the bathroom…
"Casey?" Severide asked and swallowed hard, his heart beating way too fast, his eyes meeting Dawson's petrified gaze for a second time that day.
"Don't worry about him." The guy with the gun answered instead. "I needed her, but now - "
"KELLY!" Gabby yelled as she elbowed her attacker in the stomach and stepped to the left, then grabbed the gun with both hands…a life-death game…
"Ahhhhh." The guy cried, but he didn't let go. "Bitch!" He cursed and delivered a kick that sent Dawson to the floor, her head connecting with the edge of the coffee table…the last thing she saw before everything went blank was two men fighting for the possession of the deadly weapon…
It all happened too fast. Following his instincts, the Squad's lieutenant jumped forward, pushing the attacker to the floor, two sets of hands now searching for the gun…but Kelly's entire body was shutting down, unable to cope with yet more injuries…
"Let…" Nesbitt's partner hissed, blood dripping down from his nose. He felt Kelly's hands on his neck…Severide's dominancy didn't last long. The muscular guy grabbed Kelly's arms and managed to roll over, pushing the lieutenant down flat on his back. He covered Severide's mouth and nose with one hand, and pressed. "Let…go." He added, his free hand landing on the weapon. "Sleep tight." He snarled before using the barrel to render the Squad's lieutenant unconscious…he got to his knees, spat blood on Severide's pale face and looked at Dawson with a twisted grimace on his face…
Xxx
"Katya was…special. I warned her to stay away, but she didn't listen!" Jack Nesbitt raised his voice, glaring upon Matt's swollen face…he wasn't responsible for Casey's cut lip, or for the purple bruises on the lieutenant's face, or for his broken thumb…Jack's bodyguard was…and right now he was out shopping for supplies for…well, first the lieutenant who had tried to ruin Jack's perfect life would have to suffer. "Two mistakes…"
Nesbitt's voice trailed off and Matt looked up, his fingers desperately trying to free his hands from the rope restraining him to a pipe in an old house somewhere in Chicago.
"First, you working for Sergeant…Voight." Jack continued. "And second, you two talking business where anyone could see you...oh yeah, there's another one…you talk about your girl…Gabriella, and your fireman friends way too much."
"What… " Casey hissed, unable to tell if his teeth were in his mouth, his entire face numb. "Do you want?"
"Hmmm." Nesbitt smirked, pacing around the small room. "Did Voight mention what happened to the last idiot who tried to trick me?"
"What?"
"Nah, don't wanna ruin the surprise." Jack turned around, ready to leave, but stopped at the door. "Don't worry, you won't be alone for too long…your company's on their way..."
Xxx
Voight stepped out of Bunny's bar, tears welling in his eyes…hell, he hadn't cried in years, since his wife had passed away…but Erin…Erin giving up on everything she had achieved…on life…he couldn't live with that…he wouldn't live with that. Losing Nadia had been hard on all of them, but Lindsay…
His phone buzzed, but he ignored it, getting in his car instead. He would sit there and watch…and wait for Lindsay to leave. Then they would talk again, alone, without having Bunny around.
He had just started the engine when his phone buzzed again, and it kept ringing for a minute longer until Hank glanced upon the ID of the caller, cursing Antonio…what could be that important?!
"What?" Voight grumbled, not taking his eyes off the bar's entrance...he froze when Antonio spoke, panic in Dawson's voice…they had screwed up, big time. "Meet you there." He ended the call and slid his phone into his pocket, then pushed the door of his car open and got out.
Hank hurried back into the bar, his gaze immediately falling upon Erin, her chin resting on top of a beer bottle, tears rolling down her cheeks…
"I told you - " Bunny blocked his way, but the look Hank shot her forced her to shut up…
"Out of my way!" He hissed through greeted teeth, shoving past her, and made his way to Lindsay's stool…she didn't even look at him, instead kept staring at the wall, a painful grimace on her face.
Erin wished she was drunk already, but a single beer for breakfast couldn't do the trick.
"Let's go." Hank demanded the same way he had done half an hour earlier, and she finally turned her head to meet his eyes.
"Hank - " Her husky voice was so low, pleading.
"Two from Fifty-one have been kidnapped."
"She doesn't work for you anymore." Bunny interjected, resting her hand on top of her daughter's, a small smile dancing on her face.
It took Voight all the self-control he had not to strangle Erin's mom with bare hands. Instead, he ignored her, focusing his attention on the one who needed it. "Casey and Kelly Severide."
"Hank, I…" Erin's voice trailed off, and she tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat, unsuccessfully…Kelly Severide. She hadn't heard that name in months…hadn't seen that face in even more months. As her mind quickly dwelled on memories of them, together, she could see the irony…they had stopped being…together, because Kelly hadn't been able to deal with Shay's death, using alcohol as an excuse…now she was doing the exact same thing. But…she was born into bad news. "People die around me."
"No…"
"Go find them." Lindsay mumbled and rested her eyes on Bunny, simply to avoid seeing the look in her mentor's eyes…it was for the better…
Voight glanced upon the clock on the wall, cursing it under his breath. "All the lives we've saved…you've saved." He told her and turned to leave but stopped dead in his tracks. "You know where to find me, if you change your mind."
Xxx
"I love you, you know?"
"Kelly."
"I know. I love you too."
"Kelly!"
He could swear she was right beside him…he could feel the warmth of her body…Shay's face flashed in front of his eyes, and Kelly tried to grab her and pull her back into his world…
"Severide!"
The voice calling his name forced him to finally open his eyes, but the dim light made him close them again. He groaned in pain and remained still. He wanted to rub his burning face, but his hands were tied behind his back…to a chair. He finally allowed himself to look around…yes, he was tied to a chair in a cold, damp room.
"Casey." Severide mumbled, his dizzy mind finally recognizing the figure of his fellow lieutenant positioned on the floor…underneath the bruises he saw Matt's wan face, his limbs tied around a pipe.
Unwillingly, Kelly gasped for air, sharp pain going through his chest, the pounding in his head getting stronger…
"Hey…hey!" Casey raised his voice, having given up on the attempts to free himself hours earlier, when Nesbitt and his lackey had deposited Kelly's unconscious body onto the chair, leaving them alone for the hours to come… "Look at me."
Severide's eyes landed on the blonde lieutenant, and he tried to focus on his breathing, but his entire body aching made it impossible. "You…okay?" Kelly managed weakly.
"Think so." Matt lied, and Kelly didn't buy it, but the truth was that Casey's condition was much better than his friend's…
"Dawson…" Kelly mumbled, pressing his eyes shut once again…if the room would just stop spinning around…
"Huh?"
Silence…Matt glared upon his friend…he had only seen him so dead-pale once, just after Shay had been pronounce dead. "Severide! What about Gabby?"
Squad's lieutenant glanced upon Casey for a brief moment, then his eyes darted around the room for a few more seconds before he focused on Matt again and blinked, clearly disoriented.
"Did they give you anything?" Matt pressed…Kelly had been out for hours…and Casey was already sure his friend had been drugged…how on Earth he had dragged Severide into the Nesbitt's business?! Gabby even? Katya…she had tried to warn him…He had said things he regretted…but it wasn't the time for apologies…he wasn't even sure Kelly was listening to him…he just hoped he'd get the chance to fix their broken friendship…
"No…I…I don't know." Kelly shook his head, then opened and closed his mouth to get some air. "Came home and…and he was pointing a gun at Dawson. Think he said he wanted her…got into a fight…the last thing I saw was a body in our kitchen…"
"Katya…"
"What the hell…Matt?!"
"It's Nesbitt…he's seen me with Voight…Katya…she didn't deserve this." Matt grimaced, playing the whole thing in his head. "Nesbitt and the son of a bitch he's working with want to know what I've told Voight… now he thinks I've told you everything…"
"I…don't know what happened to Dawson." Kelly continued the incoherent conversation, each man trying to make sense of what he had been through, neither of them in a state where they could process it all.
Casey sighed in frustration. "Katya had heard them talking. She came to the apartment, wanted me to take her to see Voight…she was ready to tell him everything and get out of the country…next thing, Jack and two of his lackey burst through the door…made me…watch him kill her…" His voice slowly died, his eyes looking at nothing in particular anymore…
The silence in the room now was terrifying…but neither of them had the strength to break it…
Xxx
"They wouldn't be so late….not for this." Herrmann murmured, his comment directed to Boden. Mouch nodded in agreement. Everyone from Fifty-one was at the cemetery on the day that marked a year since losing one of their own - Leslie Shay…everyone but Shay's two best friends and their Truck's lieutenant. They were all worried now…because they knew Kelly Severide wouldn't miss the ceremony, no matter what…because they knew that no matter how hard it was, they'd be the first to arrive and the last to leave…because they knew the wound in Kelly's soul was still open, that he missed her, that he re-lived that day every now and then…that he often came to visit her grave, just to be close to her, to touch it, to touch…her.
"Severide's phone's off." Otis told them quietly, his eyebrows furrowed.
Boden sighed and pulled out his mobile, then scrolled down his contact list until he reached Dawson's, and dialed…three rings and no answer…
"Not good." Christopher mumbled.
One more ring and Boden moved his finger up to the end call button when someone finally picked up.
"Chief Boden." Wallace recognized Antonio Dawson's voice, and his grip around the device tightened.
"Antonio…where is Gabriella?"
There was a long pause, as if Antonio didn't know what to say. "Lakeshore…she…she has a concussion and needs a few stiches, but other than that she's going to be okay…"
Boden exhaled in relief, but Dawson's tone hinted that there was much more to the story…much more, and he already suspected it was related to his lieutenant's side job. "Casey?"
"We don't know, Chief. There's been a fight, we found a body, and…and he and Severide are missing."
"Missing?" Boden gritted his teeth, a dozen eyes now pointed at him, no one daring to say a word…not again, they couldn't lose anyone else…not on that day, a cursed day.
"We're heading back to the District…meet me there in thirty minutes, and I'll explain everything we know so far."
"Yeah…"
The line went dead, but Boden's phone remained pressed against his ear for a few more seconds until his brain fully processed the detective's words…that couldn't be happening…but it was…and he was ready to rip Voight apart…but Voight was the only one who could find his men…
"Chief?" Cruz broke the silence first.
"Go to Lakeshore and stay there with Dawson…let me know how she's doing."
Xxx
Matt's eyes fluttered open only to see Kelly struggling to stay awake…but Severide finally let his eyelids drop, and he didn't make an effort to lift them up again…
"Kelly." Casey uttered, his throat too dry to allow him to raise his voice. "C'mon…can't leave me…alone now."
Matt grimaced, powerless, and for a countless time he looked around…maybe there was something in there he could use to free himself…maybe he could yell and someone outside would hear…but there was nothing he could use, and there was nobody outside. He noticed the sporadic up-down movements of Severide's chest and started wondering whether the injuries he had sustained after he had met that grenade at Chicago Med had something to do with his deteriorating condition…whether he had missed something after his friend had jumped in front of that truck to stop it…whether something had happened during that last shift, the one he had skipped…if…
Kelly moaned something incoherently, and the only word Casey understood was her name…Shay.
"Severide…damn it, stay with me."
Kelly slowly looked at Matt and opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words escaped his lips.
"Kelly, focus on - " Casey instinctively glanced upon the door when it creaked open…Nesbitt and his Russian partner entered, a knife in Jack's hand…
Xxx
"You've changed your mind?" Voight barked, having just climbed the stairs to Intelligence, his eyes now resting on Erin, a mug of streaming coffee in her hands.
"Hank, I…we have to find them…"
"My office." The sergeant instructed and she obeyed, avoiding Halstead's gaze, ignoring Olinsky's encouraging smile. She made sure to close the door so that the rest of their Squad would not hear a word…
Sooo, yes, lots of hurt as promised. I tried setting the scene in this chapter, hope it wasn't too hard to follow all the different scenes/characters. Hope you like it so far, but whatever your opinion, please do let me know, every single review would be really appreciated. :)