Author's note: I meant to finish this chapter in time to be able to post it on New Year's Eve, but I got sick with a fever, so I couldn't :/ Anyway, I wish you all a happy new year! :D
...
Oliver made a long face when it was time to get back to his own room, but he didn't protest. A deal was a deal. Apart from that, he had started to get really tired. Casey noticed it and picked him up. "Time for bed. What room are you in?"
"203," came Oliver's reply followed by a big yawn. He lifted his hands to make sure the firefighter hat Casey had made him wouldn't fall off his head as they walked down the hallway. He swore to himself that he was going to keep it forever, until the day he was going to be a real firefighter and beyond.
"Happy New Year, Oliver." Dawson's voice was soft and quiet as she spoke, leaning against the door frame of his room watching Casey tuck him in.
"Happy New Year," the little boy muttered as his eyes fluttered closed. Casey figured that he would probably be asleep in less than a minute. He smiled a little and took a step back from the bed. "Sleep well." He carefully took the paper-hat that was in danger of being crumpled and set it onto the night stand next to Oliver's bed. Then he turned around and walked back over to Dawson, who gave him a soft smile. "You're really good with kids."
He shrugged a little and smiled back. "I just like them."
They left the room and started walking down the hallway that led them out of pediatrics. A pleasant silence hang over them for a while until Dawson glanced at a clock on the wall. "Half past eleven," she muttered and slightly turned her head to look at Casey, "Should we go see if the cafeteria is still open?"
"Yeah, sure." He nodded and they made their way to the nearest elevator. He pushed the button and glanced over at Dawson while they were waiting, remembering the last time they'd been on a hospital elevator together. A small frown appeared on his face as he thought back of how Dawson had passed out. Seeing her hurt was something he would never be okay with. It affected him more than he would ever admit to himself.
"You okay?"
He snapped out of his thoughts and briefly looked into Dawson's concerned eyes. The frown on his face hadn't gone unnoticed by her. "Yah, fine," he quickly said, putting another smile on his face. The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. "So...when are they going to discharge you?" He didn't say it, but he wanted her out of the hospital and back at work. He wanted to be sure that she was alright, he wanted her to be okay and kicking ass like she usually was. He had missed seeing her around the firehouse the past days. A part of him needed her there, she was the one he would go to if he needed someone's honest opinion and the one who would always be up for drinks after shift.
"Tomorrow." She leaned against the wall of the elevator. She was, for the most part, happy that she'd be able to go back to work soon. The downside was that she wouldn't be working with Shay anymore. It was an unpleasant thought, but the real terrifying thing was the reason behind it, the coma. All she wanted was for Shay to wake up and be alright.
Casey nodded slightly and gave her a warm smile. "Good."
They walked out of the elevator and into the cafeteria. It was still open because it was New Year's Eve and there was a surprisingly large amount of people sitting around, eating cake and whatnot.
"I can recommend the strawberry cake," Dawson said as they got in line.
"Really." Casey lifted an eyebrow in a mocking gesture as he glanced at the various cakes before looking back at Dawson with a big smile. "So that's what you've been doing the past days, eating your way through cakes," he teased.
"Well...there wasn't much else to do," Dawson admitted with a chuckle. Casey gave her another amused look, then grabbed two pieces of strawberry cake and two coffees. After paying, finding a free table was quite the challenge. The cafeteria was filled with patients and relatives who had come just in time to eat some cake, drink some coffee and watch the Fall of the Big Apple on the big TV that was hanging on one of the walls.
"I guess it's forbidden to leave the cafeteria with food plates and eat the cake in your room where it's quiet?" Casey asked, still looking around for a free table although he was pretty sure there was none and there wouldn't be one anytime soon.
"Oh yes," Dawson said, putting on a fake serious expression. "We really shouldn't do that."
They exchanged quick looks, smiled mischievously and then left the cafeteria before anyone could notice.
Dawson closed the door of her room behind them and walked over to the bed, shoving the blanket and pillow to the headboard so they could sit and lean back.
"Ten minutes until New Year," Casey said as he sat on the bed, the plate with the strawberry cake on his lap. Dawson smiled and sat next to him, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.
"Just in time to watch the Big Apple fall." She snuggled back against pillow and blanket and picked up her fork. Casey had already put a piece of cake in his mouth.
"You were right."
"Hm?"
"The cake, it's really good."
Dawson chuckled lightly and looked at him. The bed wasn't too big, so their shoulders were almost touching as they were sitting next to each other. Casey turned his head and looked back into Dawson's eyes. For a moment it seemed as he was frozen in time, he actually felt like he was physically frozen and completely unable to move, just staring into her eyes, seeing all of her kindness and passion in them. It was one of the things about her that deeply fascinated him. There was so much life behind her eyes, so much beauty shining from the inside out that sometimes he found it hard to look away. There were moments when he just wanted to give in and keep staring, no matter how creepy it might be, but he never fully gave in. He always pulled himself together, sometimes sooner and sometimes later.
"Told you." Dawson smiled softly and averted her eyes as she took a sip from her coffee. Casey forced himself to avert his gaze as well and direct it on the TV. The countdown had started and while eating cake and drinking coffee, they both watched the Big Apple fall and finally come to a stop, indicating that the New Year had started.
"Happy New Year, Dawson."
"Happy New Year to you too," she replied with a smile and put the plates and empty coffee cups on the nightstand. "Do you want to go up to Intensive Care to visit Shay and Severide?"
"Yeah." Casey nodded without hesitating. He cared about Shay in a different way than he cared about Dawson, but at the end of the day he was still worried about her. Everyone at the firehouse was.
Casey watched as Dawson grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. She had moved towards the nightstand to put the plates away and when she'd come back, she'd sat a bit closer to him than before. She probably hadn't even noticed, but he did. Her perfume was invading his nostrils, it was a soft smell of vanilla and flowers. Before he knew what he was doing, he had gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She looked up at him, a mix of confusion and tenderness in her expression, her big brown eyes staring right into his. He slowly pulled his hand back and she didn't say anything, but neither averted their gaze. Their breaths were soft and slow, matching the complete silence of the hospital room. Their gazes moved over each other's face, to the cheeks, the lips and back to the eyes. It was like a silent game, a game without words and they were playing it to the point where neither of them was going to stop or pull back. Their faces were inches from each other and they both knew it was going to happen, they were just fully savoring the moment before it did. And then, as if synchronized, their eyelids slowly lowered and Casey closed the gap between their lips.
He kissed her as if he'd been waiting for that very moment his entire life and she kissed back with no less desire. If she had ever kissed Matthew Casey in her dreams it had been nothing compared to this. For one moment, the world around her faded and she felt absolutely safe.
After what seemed like seconds and hours at the same time, they both slowly broke away, opening their eyes again and looking at each other as they did so. Casey was first to slowly avert his eyes and clear his throat. "Uhm. ..should we go?"
Dawson watched him quietly for a moment, trying to figure out if he regretted what just happened, but it was hard to tell what was going through his head. His expression didn't reveal anything, sometimes he just had too good of a poker face. Dawson moved a hand through her hair while Casey got off the bed. "Yah, sure."