Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or the characters of the show. NBC and Mr. Wolf own them. I'm not making any money whatsoever off of this story.

Author's Note: I wanted to clarify where I'm going with this story. If anyone has seen the show Rescue Me (the full series is available on Netflix if you're interested), you know that PTSD and its effects are a crucial plot thread in the show. I am drawing inspiration from that plot thread for my story. I just really like the plot of a tormented firefighter seeing and talking to his dead buddy. I think I will end up writing more than three chapters, most likely around five or so. I will still be updating once a week. Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who has read my story so far. Fanfiction is fun for me, and if others get any enjoyment out of what I've written then I'm happy. Please don't hesitate to leave a review or feedback, I would love to hear suggestions or critiques.

Chapter Two

"Hey, buddy. You're not just going to stand there with your mouth open, are you?"

Casey gaped at the sight of Andy Darden, sitting at his dining room table with his legs propped up on the tabletop. "I get it. This is just part of that dream, right? You're just breaking my balls. Or I'm breaking my own balls, because this is a dream. I'm dreaming you're sitting here right now."

Andy looked puzzled. "No, I don't think so. You're walking around. You're awake. By the way, how do I look? I think I look pretty good for a dead guy, right?" Andy grinned from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Maybe I'm a little bit pale, but I'm dead. Give me a break." Casey chuckled and sat down next to Andy at the table. "You look better than you did in my dream, that's for sure."

Andy frowned. "You've been having a really rough time lately, haven't you, Matt?" Casey flinched at hearing his first name. "Why do you think that? I'm sitting here talking to a dead guy, who I think I actually see sitting in front of me. That's completely normal." Andy laughed. "I know you almost bought it at that fire, and ever since you haven't been yourself. You couldn't have said it any better. You're talking to a dead guy. That should be a wake-up call for you, man."

Casey swallowed thickly. "I had a month off work to recover. I almost lost my mind. I had to go back." Casey laughed at his choice of words. "Well, I guess you could say I did actually lose my mind a little bit. I've been blacking out at random times. I don't even know it is going on until after I come back around." He picked at a hangnail. "I'm scared, Andy. I'm scared I'm going to blackout at a rescue. I'm scared Gabby's going to find out. I'm scared that I don't have any control over anything that is going on in my life right now." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly against the hot burn of tears.

Andy's eyes were soft and gentle. "You went back to work too soon, Matt. If the doctor knew, hell, if Boden knew what you were going through, you wouldn't be back at the house. You know you're not just lying to everybody else; you're lying to yourself too. You're going to get hurt, or…" Casey cut off Andy and spat back angrily, "Or what? I'll get someone else hurt, or killed? That's what I do, isn't it?"

Andy looked sorrowful. "That's not what I meant. Come on, you know I'm not mad at you. I was the stupid son of a bitch who couldn't listen and wait. I know you! We were like brothers. If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're a much tougher bastard than you look. Everything you've been through proves that." Casey's thoughts were flooded by the events of the last two years. His and Hallie's engagement, his and Hallie's broken engagement, Andy's death, Heather's DUI, his taking care of Ben and Griffin, Hallie's unexpected death, the Dardens' moving away, starting a relationship with Gabby, and finally his traumatic brain injury. Fuck the traumatic brain injury; he was a mess already without having to deal with that.

"I feel like I'm coming unglued, Andy." Casey's voice cracked on Andy's name. "Firefighting is one of the only things I have left. If I tell someone what's going on, I'm finished."

Andy placed a hand over Casey's shoulder. He couldn't feel a thing. "You're tired, Matt. You need to rest. I know you. You'll make the right decision."

"The right decision is to go back to sleep?" Casey rubbed his tired eyes. Andy laughed, and pointed to the couch. "I'd say that's your best bet, unless you want to wake up Gabby. Congratulations on that, by the way. I'm glad you're not alone right now. She's good for you, man."

Casey crashed on the couch and pulled the oversized fleece blanket around him. "Yeah, she really is." He sat back up and looked back where he had last seen Andy. He was gone. Casey sank back down on the couch and tried to clear his head. These dreams lately were just getting worse and worse.

Hours later, Gabby woke to an empty bed. That wasn't so unusual lately, Matt had been having trouble sleeping since he came back home. She suspected nightmares, but he hadn't offered to share, so she didn't ask. His behavior had been odd enough anyway, and she didn't want to risk him shutting her out. She knew she would find him fast asleep on the couch downstairs.

She stretched out over the top sheet. Today was going to be a good day. Somehow, both of them had been able to get the same day off, which was a miracle in and of itself. A day spent relaxing together was exactly what they needed. First, she needed to get moving and start some breakfast. She hopped out of bed, slid her feet into fuzzy slippers, and slipped on a cozy robe.

Matt was stretched across the couch, his gangly legs dangled across the armrest. He was sound asleep. Gabby hated to wake him; he looked like he was getting some real sleep for the first time in ages. She didn't even remember him getting up last night. She must have been out like a light too.

She headed to the kitchen to start some coffee. Hopefully she could just wake up Matt quietly and gently with the smell of breakfast. He needs to sleep in as long as he can. Gabby measured out enough coffee grounds for a full pot. I wonder if I should do something fancy for breakfast, or just stick to the basics today. She had gone to the grocery yesterday, the fridge and pantry was completely stocked for whatever they felt like making. She finally decided on whipping up some Greek yogurt pancakes with fruit and honey and some scrambled eggs.

The coffee smelled amazing, rich, and dark. Gabby hunted in the fridge for some veggies to chop up and mix into the eggs. Peppers and mushrooms sounded good. She chopped the pepper into quarters, and nimbly diced one of the quarters into small chunks. The mushrooms were next. With the veggies all chopped, she went to fix the pancake batter next. She had cracked the egg open into the yogurt cup and begun to mix it together when she felt warm hands encircle her waist.

"Good morning, beautiful," Matt planted a kiss on her cheek. "I smelled coffee. I thought maybe we had kitchen elves taking over the house or something." Gabby laughed. "You can help if you want. I measured out some flour and baking soda. You can mix this into it." Gabby held out the plastic yogurt cup. "Did you sleep okay? You were out when I came downstairs this morning."

Matt mixed the pancake batter. "Yeah. Slept like a baby. I thought I heard something in the middle of the night, that's all. I got up to check, and I guess I just fell back asleep on the couch." He changed the subject deftly, "What do we have on the agenda for today? Anything special you want to do?"

Gabby poured two cups of coffee and opened the fridge for some creamer. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I told Antonio I'd stop by the bakery; I need to give Laura some photos. Eva's doing some kind of family tree project for school. That won't take too long. Other than that, the entire day is free."

Matt stirred the hazelnut cream into his coffee. "I was thinking, you know, if it's okay with you, we could stop by the cemetery. I wanted to leave some flowers on Hallie's grave, and stop by Andy's too. I know they're not at the same cemetery, but they're not too far away from each other." Gabby flipped the pancakes and nodded, "We can do that. We can stop on the way and get some flowers to take with us." She paused, mentally switching gears. "We could pick up a bottle of wine to go with dinner tonight. I was thinking we could stay in and have a quiet night. We can watch a movie and just take it easy."

Matt immediately picked up on Gabby's reluctance to go out and do anything, well, outside of the house. Not after what had happened the other night at the restaurant. It was probably just better for him to agree with Gabby at this point. He could prove to her he was doing okay. It just might take some time, that's all. "Sure, babe. That sounds good." He set the table with two plates and forks. "Did you bring in the paper this morning?"

Gabby shook her head. "No. You want to go grab it while I finish up here? I'll have a plate ready for you by the time you get back." Matt grabbed his coffee cup and placed another kiss on her cheek. He walked to the front door, ignoring the spot in the dining room where he had seen Andy last night. He opened the front door to an unusually sunny morning. The paper was halfway to the street, as usual. He hopped down the front stoop to recover the newspaper. He had the paper in his hand and had just started to turn back around to walk back inside when something across the street caught his eye. He shielded his eyes from the sun's rays, squinting to look.

The coffee cup he had been holding shattered on the concrete walkway, coffee splashing halfway up his pajama-clad legs. It was Hallie. She was standing directly across the street; staring at him. Matt was breathing heavily now. "Why can't you just leave me alone! Just leave me alone, leave me alone!"

Gabby had run from the kitchen the second she heard the crash of ceramic. "Matt! What's wrong? What happened?" She pulled him around to face her; placed her palm on his cheek. "You're ice cold. Who were you talking to?"

Matt pointed across the street where he had seen Hallie. "Look across the street. Someone's messing with me." Gabby rubbed Matt's shoulders. "There's nobody there, Matt. Are you okay? I'm worried about you." She stooped to pick up the shards of the coffee cup. It's happening again.

Matt looked disoriented, confused, and more than a little angry. "I'm sorry. I thought I saw something. The sun must have gotten into my eyes. It's really bright out here this morning." He cleared his throat. "I got the paper, anyway. Let's just go back in and have some breakfast. We're gonna have a good day today, I promise, babe." Gabby nodded. She didn't quite believe him, but arguing at this point was going to get her nowhere. "Okay. Sounds good."

Every single strange action from Matt was suspect to her now. She wasn't a doctor, but he was acting like he had some serious, lasting effects from his traumatic brain injury. All she could do was keep a close eye on him; try to make sure he was okay. All the same, she was still going to shoot Severide a text later. If Matt wouldn't listen to her, maybe he would listen to Severide.

To be continued in Chapter Three