A/N: So this is by far the longest chapter I have ever written, let me know what you think :)

Disclaimer: All I own is Katie, Avalon and Emily


Firehouse Fifty-One was near silent with an hour left- sixty minutes, 3600 seconds- in a twenty four hour shift. Overnight bags were being repacked, bunks made up for the next shift and Paramedics Dawson and Shay were already in the process of making a fresh batch of coffee, looking forward to putting their civilian clothes back on. Members of Squad, Truck and Engine were gathered around the break room, half heartedly listening to the morning news report as Chris Herrmann called out the scores of local games from the Sports Section of the Sunday morning paper. Nobody wanted to say the 'q' word, but as the minutes ticked by they were relaxing more and more, looking forward to having the next twenty four hours off. The clock struck five past seven and as some began a mental count down the overhead dispatch alarm went off, causing the majority to curse.

"Squad Three, Truck Eighty-One, Ambulance Sixty-One to a single vehicle accident on Danvers and Remington. Squad Three, Truck Eighty-One, Ambulance Sixty-One."

A unanimous groan went up as everyone scrambled into their turnouts and into their appropriate vehicles, sirens wailing and lights flashing as Ambulance, Squad and Truck pulled out of the apparatus bay and towards the accident. As cityscape passed on both sides Lieutenant Kelly Severide watched it fly as the Squad truck roared through the streets, a sense of foreboding churning his stomach and the single piece of toast that he had eaten before the call. Something wasn't right and the closer they got to the corner of Danvers and Remington the worse the sense became.

When Capp screeched to a halt and parked, Severide jumping out, he immediately understood the sense of foreboding, memories meshing with the present sight before him. The acid of his stomach tried to fight its way up his esophagus, and it took nearly all his strength to push it back down. Assessing the situation as he moved closer, Kelly noticed Matt Casey step up beside him, the blonde's blue eyes sweeping the scene.

"Are you okay to deal with this?" Matt asked in a hushed tone, already planning ahead as he saw the silver Toyota rock on its roof, the near entirety of the vehicle concaved, its passengers side mere inches from taking out a fire hydrant.

"So far so good," Kelly responded, withholding the words 'I Think.' Barking a few orders he accepted the Jaws of Life from Clarke, moving in closer.

Crouching a little to peer inside and to estimate how close the victim was to the door and how they were trapped he felt his blood freeze in his veins. Brunette hair was matted to a heart shaped face by blood, the red substance shining in the morning light. Dawson was in the backseat, carefully putting a C-collar on and trying to get answers from the victim. When she asked what the victim's name was Kelly thought he was going to faint when the brunette hoarsely whispered 'Katie.' Was this some sick nightmare? Jaw clenched and his protective goggles on, he made sure that Dawson was covering Katie as he started the Jaws of Life, working it through the metal with Clarke backing him up.

Meticulously cutting through the vehicle and helping Dawson and Shay to get Katie onto a backboard and then a stretcher, Kelly couldn't help but draw comparisons to the day over a decade ago. Same type of vehicle, same flip rotation and point of impact, same part of town, and the victims were near identical. Listening to Dawson bark orders as she pushed the stretcher to the awaiting ambulance Kelly felt absolutely useless and like he had failed once more. After storing Squad's gear and getting back into the cab, Kelly noticed absently that it was eight a.m on the dot as they cleared the scene


He's fully changed and waiting in the break room for Shay to finish changing when he sees Dawson and unconsciously calls out to her, asking for a status update on Katie. The Latina's eyes darken, her lips turn down at the corner and she gently shakes her head, looping the strap of her duffle over her shoulder. She couldn't say it but when he asks Shay as they get into his car, he gets the full story. Katie had flat lined three times on the way to the hospital and Dawson had successfully brought her back, but when she flat lined as they wheeled her into the ER of Lakeshore Memorial Hospital there was no bringing her back, time of death listed as seven passed eight in the morning. The ride to their apartment was missing its usual mindless chatter; his blue eyes glossed over in thought and focused on the road. Shay was worried but when she asked if he was okay all he did was nod.

Kelly even skipped their post shift breakfast in favor of disappearing into his room, the door closed and what sounded like uttered apologies and quiet sobs slipping out from beneath the door. Shay was oddly scared for Kelly, standing outside his door with her cell phone in one hand and the other clapped over her mouth as tears built in her eyes. She hardly ever cried but when she did it always involved Kelly in one way or another. Her thumb darting around the touch screen of her iPhone she fired off a text to the one person she figured could help her best friend where she couldn't.


Matt Casey drove through downtown Chicago towards his most recent job site, his cell phone balanced on his left knee as the sound of a dial tone echoed through his Bluetooth. His fingers crossed as he held the steering wheel, he hoped that the number he had gotten from Connie was the right one- that it really did belong to Avalon. Chewing on his lower lip as he made a right hand turn, he cheered softly when a relatively familiar female voice answered.

"Avalon? It's Matt Casey," he said, flinching when he came up with the possibility of her not remembering him. "From Firehouse Fifty-One?"

There was hesitation on the other end of the line. "I know who you are. What do you want Matt?"

The words are out of his mouth before he had time to process them, let alone decide not to use them. "Kelly needs you." And when he realizes that he had let them slip he tries his best to clear it up, faintly recognizing the tinny sound of him being on speakerphone himself. "There was an accident today and I think you are the only person that will be able to get through to him."

Avalon snorted. "Then send him to a therapist." She whispered something to someone who he couldn't identify.

"It was identical to Katie's accident." It was a low blow to be that blunt, and her sharp inhalation made him wince. "Same vehicle, same area, same situation. Avalon, the driver was an eighteen year old brunette named Katie."

"I don't need to know this," Avalon protested. "We haven't been together in eleven years; whatever Kelly is up to isn't any of my business." In the background on her end there was an excited squeal and some sort of chatter.

Matt scoffed. "Katie was a friend to both of you and when you left you missed seeing Kelly fall into a downward spiral; all he did was eat, sleep and work. No girls for nearly four years, he stopped drinking and he started running just to escape. It worked for awhile and then last year Andy died right in front of us and Kelly still blames himself. You remember Andy, right? With the wife and two little boys?"

"I remember," Avalon snapped, her mind conjuring the image of a tall, gangly brunette who constantly cracked jokes throughout the Fire Academy's graduation reception. "Again, what does this have to do with me?"

"I need you to try to get through to him. His roommate called me in a tizzy saying that he went directly to his room and when she went to check on him she could hear him crying an apologizing to thin air. He needs you Avalon, even if you just call to tell him there was nothing he could have done."

"Do you know why I left Matt?" she hissed, not giving him a chance to respond. "I left because he never told me that he was the first responder to Katie's accident. If that's the case, why should I give him a chance to talk about this Katie?"

"Because the Avalon I remember wasn't such a bitch." It was out in the air before he could take it back and Matt swore to himself, yet he was on a role. "You used to care about him, like he was the only person in your little universe and I understand being heartbroken and betrayed, hell, my ex fiancée left because she didn't want kids after stringing me along for years, but don't let that stop you from being a decent human being."

"A decent human being?" On the other end, Avalon clenched her jaw. "You're treading on thin ice, Matthew."

"Then I'll get off the pond. Look Avalon, I may be asking a lot of you and you may not be ready to confront your issues, but think about it. I'll text you his number and address and you can do what you wish with it."

Before she could protest Matt had hung up, shooting her the text message full of Kelly's contact information.


Avalon stared at her phone as if it had offended her, not the man who had been on the other end of the line. Emily was sitting on the counter, measuring out balls of homemade oatmeal raisin cookie dough and placing them on a baking sheet as the oven preheated, her little ears listening intently to every word Matthew Casey had spewed. Making faces to the cookie dough Emily watched as Avalon set her phone aside, ignoring its chime to indicate an incoming text.

"Are you done with the dough?" Avalon asked, completely ignoring the whole discussion, taking the baking sheet when Emily nodded, sticking it into the oven and setting the timer. Leaning against the counter top for a moment she began to clean, viciously scrubbing black linoleum and stainless steel.

"So are you going?" Emily said out of the blue, peering into the oven and watching the dough harden and rise. "To Kelly's, I mean."

"No."

"Oh." Emily picked at the hem of her tee shirt. "Can I go back to looking at the albums?"

"If your hands are clean; I'll be over in a second."

Scampering towards the teal blue couch Emily dove for 'her' cushion, pulling the albums she had been looking at earlier back to her lap. Waiting for her aunt to join her she grinned impishly behind a curtain of black hair, carefully selecting the page where she wanted to start. Marking it with her finger she got comfortable as Avalon eased down beside her.

"This is where we left off," Emily said innocently, pointing to a page covered in pictures of Kelly, Katie and Avalon, all of them wearing a costume in each. Chattering randomly and throwing questions left and right she carefully dipped her hand into the pocket on her aunts hooded sweatshirt, drawing her iPhone out with deft fingers, Avalon none the wiser. Huh, perhaps years of watching Leverage did come in handy. Continuing to chatter she unlocked her aunt's phone and opened the message from Lieutenant Casey, selecting the number in the text message and calling it, letting it ring a few times before hanging up. Putting the phone back into her aunt's pocket she yanked her hand back when it began to ring and Avalon reached for it.

"Hello?" she answered. "How did you get this number?...I did not," Avalon protested. Avalon turned and glared at Emily. "Oh really, well I think I need to have a discussion with the little minx who stole my phone and called you." She listened for a moment. "Dammit Kelly I didn't call you!" Kelly must have asked a question. "Matt gave it to me. He conned my number from Connie, called me and said he would appreciate it if I spoke to you…yeah, well he's convinced that he can easily guilt me into calling you."

Avalon's eyes widened and she pulled her phone away from her ear to stare at it, easily getting to her feet and locking herself in her room. With the door shut behind her she pinched the bridge of her nose.


It was a bit disconcerting to receive a phone call from your ex-husband where one moment he's ranting about how you had called him (when you hadn't) and asking where you had gotten his number, and then the next he's apologizing, sounding choked up and half way to hung over. With long fingers pinching the bridge of her nose Avalon drops like a dead weight onto her bed, phone to her ear as she listened to Kelly.

"I froze Av, I took one look at the scene and all of a sudden it was like I was back there with our Katie, stumbling towards the wreck and continually calling for her to look at me even after the EMT had told me she was DOA. Matt had to make me conscious of the fact that I wasn't there and I thought I could handle it, and I was handling it right up until Dawson said that her name was Katie. It was like looking at her twin!" The voice that had always sounded like Kelly gargled daily with whiskey and gravel now sounded just downright hoarse, like someone getting over a nasty bout of laryngitis.

Unsure of what to think or say, Avalon made a noncommittal 'hmm' and let her ex continue, wondering why she was wasting her time.

"When the ambulance left she was still alive; Dawson said that she flat lined three times en route and for a final time in the lobby to the ER; they couldn't bring her back. Thinking about it now all I see is our Katie and my sister and…"

Avalon cut him off unintentionally. "You have a sister? Since when?"

"Since Benny couldn't keep it in his pants; her name's Katie and she's twelve years younger than me. Half sister…."

Nose wrinkled at the thought of her ex father in law, Avalon shuddered. The guy had always been a little bit weird. When Kelly went without saying anything for an extended period of time Avalon worried slightly. "Are you still there?"

He hiccupped. "Yup."

"You aren't drinking are you?"

"Surprisingly no, but my roommate is going to kill me; I just finished all three of her pints of Ben and Jerry's."

Avalon snorted a chuckle. "You always did have a sweet tooth." Her eyes scrunched shut and she cursed at herself. "I didn't mean…"

"S'okay."

Avalon pulled a pillow towards her, hugging it to her chest. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

"Gee thanks," Kelly retorted. "That's okay, I don't know why I'm still on the phone with you…it's just, I think it's because you knew me when I knew Katie and Shay has no clue about it or what I was like back then."

"Shay?"

"From Fifty-One; she's my roommate."

Letting out a little 'oh' Avalon actually smacked herself on the forehead without meaning to and let out a little 'ow.' The sound of the timer going off gave her the perfect escape. "Well, I need to go."

Kelly actually sounded disappointed. "Oh…hey Ava? Can I see you again?"

Leaving her room and holding the phone to her ear using her shoulder, she reached for two pot holders and pulled out the cookies, responding as she set them atop the stove and turned the oven off. "I'm not sure. I'm not in the place to have a relationship right now; I've got Emily to worry about and besides, I'm not too sure you and I would be a good idea. We tried that once, remember?"

"I also remember that for a while we were perfect for one another."

Pushing the cookies out of Castiel's reach, Avalon rolled her shoulders. "Perfect is overrated."

"Yeah well…"Kelly broke off with a chuckle and she could imagine him shaking his head. "Alright, thanks Ava."

Hanging up and tucking her phone back into her pocket Avalon stood staring at the three dozen cookies she had baked, in the process of mentally divvying them up when Emily sauntered in, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

"Was that Lieutenant Severide?" Emily giggled, darting out of the kitchen in laughter as Avalon playfully threw a dish rag at her.

Picking out her to-go tins, Avalon cocked her head, an idea she would probably regret coming to mind.


Leslie Shay was confused, blonde brows furrowed as she stepped into the apartment she shared with her best friend, a container under her arm and a note in hand. Calling out with the assumption that her roommate was still barricaded in his room, she flinched and let out a shriek as his head popped up over the back of the couch, bleary eyed as if he had just woken up which would explain how he hadn't known about the box on their stoop.

"Hey Kel, there's a package for you," Shay said, passing it over the back of the couch with the note that she had already skimmed.

Enjoying the look of confusion he wore, she curled up in their shared recliner to watch him open the box. The plain brown cardboard box bearing his name was slit with Kelly's pocket knife, revealing an aluminum platter with an attached plastic lid, much like one would find at a takeout restaurant. Stacked inside was what looked to be a dozen oatmeal raisin cookies along with another note. Reading it to himself, Kelly smiled before reading it allowed.

Severide-

Oatmeal raisin in case you still had a sweet tooth. Thank Casey for sending me your address (without me asking!). PS: This isn't me giving in, in Matt's words I'm just being a decent human being.- A

Popping the tin and taking a cookie, Kelly was completely oblivious to Shay asking who 'A' was and where her ice cream had disappeared to.