Life had a funny way of crossing people's paths. A little more than twenty-four hours ago, he had been dealt a devastating blow. The two things he wanted more than anything else had been denied him. Broken and hurting, he'd ended up at his Candidate's apartment; at the home of a woman he barely knew, who had opened her door to him without question. His intentions had been simple: apologize to her for being a jackass. That's when life had intertwined their paths even more. He'd almost fallen apart in front of her, felt the comfort of her embrace, watched part of a hockey game with her, slept on her couch, used her shower… She'd held him, comforted him, fed him, and let him use her own pillow and blanket despite the fact that he'd ripped into her for no reason the day before.
And now, here he was, buckled into the passenger seat of her Wrangler like it was no big thing as they headed to a little diner for lunch, just like this was something they did regularly. It wasn't normal, but it was kind of beginning to feel that way. That was the whole point, wasn't it – feeling normal again? It was going to take a lot of time and even more effort, but he thought he was off to an okay start now that the initial awkwardness had begun to fade. Casey looked at Gentry, who was kicked back easily in the driver's seat, dark hair blowing lightly in the breeze that was created by her lowered window, mouthing the words to Simple Man and keeping time by tapping her thumb against the steering wheel.
She felt his eyes, and shot him a grin, "Almost there."
"I really appreciate this, Gentry."
"You're welcome, Lieutenant. My door's always open ...You can call me Jenny, too, y'know."
He smiled a little, "Only if you call me Matt."
She frowned, "Am I allowed to do that?"
He chuckled, "Jenny, I crashed on your couch last night. I used your shower. I saw you in your pajamas. I'm pretty sure we're past the formalities part."
Gentry blushed as she smiled, making a mental note to have Abby help her find some cute pajamas. Her blush made Casey chuckle again. This was nice. Just two friends going out to eat. It felt normal to her. Hopefully it felt normal to him as well. Normal was the goal, after all.
"Hey, how's Abby liking her new job?"
She shrugged nonchalantly, "She really likes this place. She says it's classier than Stilettos. I didn't know strip clubs could be classy, but whatever. Says it pays better, too."
And then, there it was – a parking spot right in front of the diner, freshly abandoned, just waiting to be taken. That crap never happened to her. As she whipped the Jeep into the perfect spot, she added 'buy a lottery ticket' to her mental note.
"Write the date down, 'cause that'll never happen again." she said, killing the engine and unbuckling her seatbelt.
Casey grinned as he unbuckled himself and got out.
The diner was still a little busy; the late lunch crowd was replacing the regular lunch crowd. They were ushered to a table on the patio, which was just fine with Gentry; the weather was nice today, and she wanted to soak up all the sunshine she could before another Chicago winter set in. Just thinking about last winter made her shiver.
"Cold?" Casey asked, noticing her small tremor.
She laughed a little, "No. I was just thinking about how close we are to winter."
He made a disgusted sound, "Don't say winter. It's too early for that crap." A few seconds of silence passed before he continued, "So, tell me about your crush on Kelly Severide."
Heat crept into her cheeks, "Who told you I had a crush on Lieutenant Severide?"
"He did. Said you'd had it since high school."
Gentry laughed out loud, "Honey, everybody with eyes and a working set of parts had a crush on Kelly Severide. High school was a long time ago. I'm older now, and a lot smarter." She shook her head, "I've heard about his escapades, too."
Casey grinned, "Sev's not as bad as he pretends to be. A woman like you would be good for him."
"In-house relationships are frowned upon." she pointed out.
He countered with, "But not that uncommon."
Their waitress appeared, interrupting the conversation. She took their drink order quickly, leaving a pair of menus in her wake.
As he studied the menu, Casey absentmindedly propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm. Stubble prickled against his hand, "Mmm. I really need to shave."
Gentry smiled, "I kinda like the scruff. Makes you look all rugged."
Casey looked up at her, raising one eyebrow, "Rugged?"
She blushed a bright red this time, realizing that she probably shouldn't have shared that particular thought.
He chuckled and went back to reading the menu. After a few moments, he tugged at the long sleeves of his shirt, making sure that his wrists were covered. It was now instinctual to do that every few minutes.
She watched him adjust his sleeves, his movements automatic and well practiced. He'd worn long sleeves every day that he had been back at work. According to some of the others, he'd begun wearing long sleeved shirts the minute the bandages had left his arms. She wondered how far she could get with him today. "Can I see?"
Casey's head popped up, "Excuse me?"
Gentry pointed to his arms, "Your arms. Can I see them?"
He hesitated. No one had asked to see his arms, not even Severide. He'd gotten used to always wearing long sleeves. The sleeves had become somewhat of a safety blanket for him. They covered up the biggest and most visible scars from his ordeal. They kept him from looking at the marks that would forever mar his skin. And they kept people from asking questions. Was he ready to show his scars to anyone? No, not at all. What would Gentry say? Would she be repulsed? They weren't exactly pretty… But, if he wanted to get better, he was going to have to get uncomfortable.
She sensed his unease, "You don't have to if you're not ready."
He wasn't ready, but then again, he wasn't sure he would ever be ready. Slowly, he pushed both sleeves up to his elbows and laid his arms on the table. He kept his eyes on her to avoid seeing his scars.
She hated the pain that reflected in his eyes. Had she pushed him too far? Probably. But, it was too late to back out now. As she looked down at his arms, she couldn't help but gasp a little.
"I know, they're awful." He tried to pull away, but she caught his hands.
"No." Carefully, she ran her fingertips over first his right forearm and then his left, gently exploring the scars that crisscrossed his skin from his wrists to his elbows. "Matt, they look amazing."
"No, they don't." He was amazed by how reverently she touched him. Every move she made sent a zap of electricity through his body. It occurred to him that she was the first person to touch his arms since his bandages had come off.
"They do, honey, they really do. The last time I saw your arms, Severide was cutting chains off of you." She turned his hands over and examined the underside of his arms, "Wow, you heal well."
"I wish they'd go away altogether." Casey quietly muttered.
"I know." She looked up at him but kept her hands on his arms, "They're a part of you now, though. But, they don't have to be a bad part."
"What do you mean?"
"You survived, Matt. I don't know how, but you did. These scars are just proof of how strong you are." That sounded sappy as hell, but she was trying to make him feel better. Was she the first person outside of a doctor's office to see his scars? Probably. He had taken a big step just now. It was progress.
He offered her a small smile, grateful for her pep talk, but not believing a word of it. Yeah, he'd survived two months in hell, but he was pretty fucked up now because of it. He'd probably always be that way in some form or fashion. Gentry was just trying to make him feel better. Gently, he pulled away, "If you say so."
A black SUV pulled into a spot near the patio. Immediately, Casey was on edge. Black SUV's were rarely a good thing. The fact that Antonio Dawson got out of the driver's side didn't help. He was working today.
"Hi, Antonio!" Gentry grinned, standing to hug the detective across the small patio fence.
"Hey, Jenny." Antonio smiled, "How's fire life treating you?"
"Pretty good. I really like it."
"Good." He extended his hand to Casey, "How've you been, man?"
Casey shook his hand, "I'm better."
"Good. Um…I was gonna call both of you, but since you're here, I'll just kill two birds with one stone." He took a breath, "Jack Nesbitt was apprehended in Cancun about two hours ago."
"Bastard." Gentry muttered under her breath. After their rescue mission and Abby's mid-shift exit, Nesbitt had high-tailed it out of Chicago. They honestly hadn't expected him to be found.
Casey nodded, "How soon do you think he'll go to trial?"
Antonio shrugged, "You know how it is, Matt. Could be weeks, could be months. We'll let you know." Quickly, he glanced over his shoulder at the SUV, "I gotta run. It was good seeing you both. Be safe."
"You, too." Casey had seen someone shifting around in the passenger seat of the SUV. He didn't need to be able to see through the tinted windows to know who it was. It was a good thing that she hadn't gotten out; he wasn't sure he was emotionally stable enough to deal with her right now.
"Bye, Antonio." Gentry waited until the SUV was pulling away before she spoke again. "I'll go with you."
He knew what she was talking about, "You'll have to. You, and Abby, and Sev, and your dad and his partner will all have to testify."
"I know, but even on the days I don't have to testify, I'm gonna go with you." Somebody needed to go with him for moral support; reliving that nightmare would be very traumatic
It was a kind gesture, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her tagging along with him to court. He didn't want to recount the whole story. He didn't even want to tell Gentry about the torture that he had endured at the hands of a former firefighter, let alone tell complete strangers. He just wanted to bury the whole incident in the back of his mind and take it with him to his grave. But…he couldn't let Katya's death go un-avenged. "Jenny, you don't have to do that."
"I want to go with you." Carefully, she reached across the table and put her hand on his sleeve-covered arm, "We're friends now, remember? Friends always have each other's back."
…
Author's Note: Fluffy little lollipop chapter, I know. Fair warning: the next chapter deals with some stuff that may or may not bother some people.
Anyway…
Thanks to aussietrueblue, HermioneandMarcus, airmac, and Sarrabr4 for the reviews! Thanks to girlwiththerednails and Vsanson11 for the follows! Thanks also to my readers!
