Hours passed again, and firefighters were trying to not think about Casey, but it was impossible. They were on edge. After eight hours of unbearable waiting, a doctor finally arrived to give some news. Everybody stood up.
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« You are here for Matthew Casey ?
-Yes doctor. He is fine ? He... He is fine ?
-I would like to say yes, but I can't. The operation isn't over, but we have to do a rotation to avoid surgical mistakes.
-So... How it looks then ? He will be OK ?
-The bullet that hit your friend wasn't our main problem. His ribcage failed, and his ribs and sternum punctered both lungs and the heart. He also had several fractures, includind swellings and a huge hematoma on his brain. He lost a lot of blood but we were able to stop the bleeding and with transfusion, his blood pressure is rising gradually. But I fear for the future.
-I... I don't understand ».
Gabby was beginning to have tears in her eyes again. The doctor took a deep breath.
« I don't know if we can restart his heart. And even if we can, it will be very low. We will have to let him in the CCU to let his lungs and heart heal and regain strength. This will be long, and probably painfull. But if he survives the operation and the next 72 hours, I think he should heal ».
The doctor left, but the firefighters remained standing.
Six more hours passed, and nothing. The anxiety was growing again. The coffee machine was already empty, but nobody had the stregth to eat. Gabby gasped when she felt someone was approaching her.
« Gabby...
-Christie ».
The two women hugged each other, for support.
« Sorry, I couldn't arrive before. Still no news?
-Not since the last time ».
The other firefighters were watching a black and empty eye.
« Um ... Guys, meet Christie, Matt's sister ».
Christie did what she could to have a slight smile on her face.
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Where am I ? I... I don't know where I am...
« Casey! »
Casey was inside a bed when he opened his eyes. A light blushed him and he finally blinked.
« Hey, wake up buddy! »
His vision was blurry, but he could recognize this voice. This, was not a possibility...
« Andy? »
Eyes fully opened, Matt saw a huge smile on the face above him.
« I see that you still remember me!
-Are you kidding? How could I forget you? You're my bestfriend! But... Why are you here?
-Don't you know?
-I... I was at home, and... there was a man with a gun...
-Yeah? And then?
- He... Well... I don't know but I think he shot me, said Matt seeing his chest with some pain, but nothing happenned. Am I dead?
-Not for them », Andy said showing to Matt the OR.
They were now in the operating room. Casey was intubated and connected to different machines, while the surgeons were doing their best to treat him. The body of Matt was pale, his heart still hasn't an activity. But his mind was terrified by what he saw.
« You okay Matt?
-How? I am dead, man!
-And yet they are trying to save you!
-Why are you here then?
-I am here to convince you to stay among the living. You must live.
-And why I'll listen to you? I lost you, I lost Hallie, I lost my father, we almost lost Hadley and Vargas, Shay died too...
-But you have to live ».
Matt turned, surprised. He recognized that voice too. There were actually two people.
« Shay! Hallie! »
She fell into Matt's arms and he kissed her tenderly.
« Hallie... »
He had no words. Andy and Shay watched them with soft eyes.
« Hallie ... I have to stay here.
-No Matt, you must return to your place. With your family in the firehouse 51.
-Hallie, I can't ...
-Matt, you have Gabby, you have Severide, you have all these people around you! »
Matt didn't realize they had changed of place and were in the waiting room. All firefighters were there. Christie too. They seemed upset, and they were crying,...
« Gabby and Kelly are worried for you... You have no right to do this to them.
-But...
-Matt... We can wait you know. We are dead, you're not. You have to stay alive. For all of them ».
Hallie took Casey's hand and walked slowly to him.
« You must forgive Dawson, Matt.
-What?
-The fault she did. With the acid truck. You know, you've blamed her professionally and personally.
-This is not that Hallie ... I'm his lieutenant, and she is my candidate. This is breaking the law if we put ourselves together.
-The law says that you shouldn't be married. And you're not. Technically, you're the right. I even order you to get back together. You deserve to be.
-Casey, Shay continued, Dawson has always been there for you after Hallie's death, when you needed help with Andy's boys. She never judged you and she always loved you. And she still loves you.
-And I want to tell you something that you don't know and you don't have to know: she's pregnant of you. You have to stay alive, for her, for the baby ».
Opon-mouthed, Casey nodded slowly. He understood. He had to stay here in the real world.
« Buddy? Can you tell Heather, Ben and Griffin that I love them so strong for me please?
-Andy ... I think it's not necessary, they know that.
-Please.
-...Right.
-And ... You may say to all the firemen to remember me? »
Matt smiled. Shay spoke.
« Explain to Severide I don't blame him, and I love him strong. And Dawson that she continues like that! She's the best!
-Don't worry! I will tell him ».
He turned to Hallie. She took his face and kissed him warmly.
« I give you my approvement. For Dawson and you. You deserve to be together ».
He smiled. Casey felt a severe pain in the chest. As a strong electric shock that ran through it.
« Now you have to go ».
The light disappeared and darkness settled...
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« Family Matthew Casey?
-Yes ».
All firefighters said the same thing at the same time.
« I'm sorry but I have to speak only to his family.
-Doctor, his colleagues are his friends, and his friends are his family. If you have something to say, then say it to me here and now. They also need an answer ».
Chief Boden thanked Christie for these words.
« Fine. I suppose during rotation the doctor came to talk to you.
-Yes.
-So I will explain what we did to him ».
The doctor took a deep breath before continuing his sentence.
« He suffured great damage. He has a fracture skull in three places with a three-inch gash in his forehead, a grade III concussion with significant swelling in the frontal lobee, and a hematoma in his previous trauma which was a year and a half ago. We removed the hematoma but we can't do anything for the swelling. His ribcage failed because of the fracture of all his ribs and sternum. Two of his ribs punctured both lungs and his sternum touched the heart muscle. We repaired the damage, even if it took much time. The bullet wasn't a problem because it touched no vital organs. We also had to remove his spleen which had explosed. His C5, L4 and L5 vertebrae are broken. We had to insert a metal rod along his spine at the level of his lower back because the fracture wasn't stable, and if we didn't do this, he might have been paralyzed. His left hip is broken too, we had to fix it wasn't stable too, and his jaw is aslo broken. He has a big wound on the left leg and a sprained right wrist ».
Everyone had their hand on their mouth. The injuries were inoumerous.
« For his hip, we had to do an intramedullary rodding. It's a procedure used in fractures where a simple cast wouldn't be sufficient. We place a rod down the center of the bones to hold it in place. The recovery time is repairs down with the rod is much shorter than if we were to go with straight cast ».
Gabby, Christie and Kelly cried. This can't be possible. Matthew Casey was in really bad shape because of this fucking Nesbitt.
« To avoid the pain, we put him in an induced coma, and we did a spinal anesthesia. It's an anesthesia of the lower body to avoid too much pain with injecting an analgesic in the cerebrosinal fluid and this, temporarily. Similary, because of the ribcage failure and its consequences, we put him on ECMO, the time that his lungs and his heart are healed as they had been hit hard. It's a machine used to assist the ventilation when it's not enough to properly oxygenate the blood. A cannula collects the blood, a system removes carbon dioxyd, injects oxygen and another cannula rejects it into the bloodstream.
-So... It's serious...
-Yes... We put our best nurses on his case, but even for us, it's hard to see a patient in his state. I mean, I don't know how he manages to still be alive. He should be dead with this kind of injury. No offense you.
-We can see him ?
-I wouldn't recommend this at this time. He is hooked on a ventilator, the ECMO, two drains to promote fluids drainings, a Swan-Ganz catheter to monitor his heart vitals, a catheter to urinate, whoch he hasn't yet done, a NG tube to nourish him, heparin to prevent clottings, fluids to keep him hydrated and purify his bloodstream, morphine to relieve pain and a number of drugs to eliminate every possibility of infection and to keep him sedated, and blood to replace the one he lost.
-Oh... Oh god...
-I told you. His condition is highy critical. He was tranfered to the CCU.
-He... He has a chance to recover ?
-Yes.
-I rephrase my question : He has a chance to FULLY recover ?
-The next 72 hours will be critical, but if it happens, I think he can regain some of his functions, but certainly not entirely. In the best case, we will keep him sedated for at least a week, then we'll reduce sedation, see if he wakes up. And if this is the case, see his neurological and motor status.
-You... Do you think his injuries will prevent him to working ?
-Honestly yes. His neurological injuries are likely to be susbtantial, perhaps memory loss, partial or total, movement difficulties as well as breathing difficulty for quite a while. If he makes it, he will need help, a lot of help. And not just physically, but also mentally. That will depend of Matt and how determined he is. We monitors him very closely, always with a nurse at his side during the first three days.
-I... I still have to see him, said Gabby.
-Me too. We have to be with him. Always ».