Warning: The story contains spoilers for season 3, 2 and 1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the plot of Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. I do not own the lyrics of the songs used. I do not own the text taken directly from the show. This story is intended for fun only and I am not making any money with it!
Chapter 9
"GET HIM OUT OF MY COURTROOM!" This time the judge yelled, making a sign to two of the guards to escort Squad Lt. out. "One hour brake!"
The two guards hurried to get to Kelly, the younger of them pushing Squad Lieutenant in the direction of the door. Severide's eyes met Spellman's, and even though no words were said out loud, Kelly read his lips – "prove it".
"I WILL!" Kelly yelled, jerking his arm free.
"Mr. Severide - " The younger guard barked, reaching out to grab Kelly's wrist.
"Don't touch me!" Kelly hissed through greeted teeth, elbowing the guard roughly in his attempt to avoid being touched by the man.
Casey, alongside Lindsay and about 80 more people, had to watch helplessly as the older guard twisted and tied Kelly's hand behind his back, while the other one handcuffed him…
Xxx
Matt was one of the first people to make it to the hallway after the one hour brake was announced for a second time. He looked around, desperate to locate Kelly, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"That shrink…I think she's not helped him much." Casey turned in the direction of Spellman's unpleasant voice, his fist tightening so much that his knuckles turned red.
"Hey!" Boden growled from behind his lieutenant, stopping him from finishing what Kelly had started. "Get out of my sight!" Chief turned to look at Spellman, thankful that another couple of guards had walked Hadley back to a cell through a different exit.
"You're all insane." Spellman muttered before disappearing somewhere in the crowd.
A few seconds later Erin finally managed to shove past all the people and joined them, her face pale, as if belonging to a ghost.
"Where's Kelly?" Matt looked at her, panic evident in his voice.
"Let's go." She muttered, leading the Truck lieutenant to a room at the end of the corridor, Boden staying there with Dona who had just joined them with their son. The CPD detective flashed her badge and the officer standing by the door let them in reluctantly, not leaving his position.
Kelly was standing in the corner of the room, facing the wall, leaning his head on it, his body trembling because of the adrenalin rush.
"Take the handcuffs off!" Lindsay barked, showing her badge to the officer next to Kelly. "Now!" She added, stepping toward her friend and waiting impatiently for the officer to unlock and remove the cuffs.
"Kelly, look at me." She demanded firmly, Matt listening to what she was going to say, too frustrated to be able to offer his friend any comforting words.
When Severide didn't show any sign he had heard her, Erin rested her hands on his hip. For her surprise, he didn't protest and let her guide him to the closest chair.
"If you don't trust me, you should have just said it!" Severide uttered, his harsh comment targeting both Casey and Erin.
Matt opened his mouth to argue, but the state attorney walked in, the expression on her face – as if somebody had just died. "Spent the last fifteen minutes defending my main witness' behavior!"
"How bad?" Erin shot her a glance.
"You threatened to kill Hadley!" The attorney ignored Lindsay's question and focused her attention on the Squad Lieutenant.
"He walks out of that courtroom free, I'm gonna do it" He growled, his body taking a more aggressive position, as if preparing for a fight. Casey placed a hand on his right shoulder, gently pushing him down.
"You're not going back to the courtroom, Kelly!" The state attorney announced. "For safety reasons, your testimony's going to be taken tomorrow in the absence of Kevin Hadley and the other witnesses. And to get a better feeling of where you'll be going if you touch Hadley, you're spending the night in the arrest!"
"You must be joking!" Casey let out a frustrated sigh.
"The judge was going to give him a week…"
Xxx
It was around 9pm and Kelly was laying on an uncomfortable bed in a cell in pitch darkness, eyes wide open. He had tried going to sleep, something he really needed, but all he could think of was the trial…he knew what the reality was, knew that his emotional breakdown in court was like a "get out of jail" card for two monsters…the same monsters who had killed Shay, the same monsters who had turned his life into a hell.
He wasn't sure if he was dreaming, or it was real, when he heard a familiar voice arguing with one of the CPD officers. When two people stopped in front of the cell he was in, he didn't bother turning his head around to see what was going on.
Erin fixed her eyes on the lifeless figure laying on his left side with knees pressed against his chest. "Thanks." She granted the officer with a smile when he unlocked the door so that she could walk in. Lindsay eyes darted around the unpleasant room, falling on the untouched dinner, before focusing on Kelly.
"What are you doing here?" Severide asked icily, rolling on his back.
"Thought you might need a roommate." When her attempt to break the tension failed, Lindsay's face acquired a serious expression once again. "Voight pulled some strings so I can stay with you tonight…off the books. Promised Matt I'll take care of you."
Kelly didn't admit it, but he felt relieved that he wouldn't have to spend the night alone with his thoughts "How did it go?"
"Kara testified after me, then Boden, Herrmann and the rest of the guys." Erin rushed her answer, hoping that Kelly would decide to save himself the additional pain and drop the subject.
"Did they confirm I'm a drug-addicted freak accusing innocent souls of being killers?"
For Erin, it felt like it wasn't Kelly speaking…it was like he was a total stranger, a lifeless creature living in the body of a good man. "Please, don't do this to yourself, Kelly." She uttered, not sure whether to touch his trembling hand. "I do believe Hadley and the scumbag helping him belong in jail, and we'll find a way to stop them. The whole team's working on the case…"
"Listen - "
"No, you listen!" The CPD detective raised her voice in frustration. "I can't watch you destroy yourself anymore! You wanna get revenge – prove that judge you cannot be trusted, it won't be hard after today! Then when Hadley gets out, just kill him on the street outside…I won't be there to stop you…nobody would…but I'm telling you it won't help you feel better." Erin turned around to hide her watery eyes. She hadn't cried in a long time, years maybe…she was strong after all. And yet, the thought of giving up on the man she loved with her whole heart was enough to break her down. "I'm gonna leave you - "
"I need you." Kelly mumbled, his voice sounding scared…
And this is how it feels when I ignore the words you spoke to me
And this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you
And this is who I am when, when I don't know myself anymore
And this is what I choose when it's all left up to me
(Red – "Breath into me")
Erin froze on her feet for a moment, but then quickly wiped away the burning tears and stepped closer to the bed, sitting on the edge so that she could have eye contact with him. "You have me. But I need you to keep the promise you've made to Matt and let us help you…just trust us, okay?"
"Okay." Kelly wanted to tell her how he was feeling about her, but instead of words, a silent cry escaped his lips. How could he be with her? He was a dead man walking…what could he give her? Was he going to put her in danger? He rolled on his left side, burying his head under the thin duvet, feeling Erin's every movement as she laid next to him, wrapping him into a gentle hug…
That night they didn't sleep…they didn't talk…they didn't move even…that night Kelly allowed himself to cry, like a little baby…for Shay, for Andy, for Herrmann, for Luke who was still in a coma, for his own life that he had lost…and Erin – she was there, holding him into a protective hug, listening to his sobs and pain, the pain of a man who had to find his way back to life.
Xxx
Next morning Casey left home early, dressed up in the same suit he had worn the day before, Dawson sitting on the passenger sit of his truck in silence. He hadn't anticipated how long the trial would be…truthfully, he had thought it would be over in a couple of hours. Instead, he had to go to the courtroom for a second day in a row and listen to Spellman's and Hadley's lies.
Ten minutes before the start of the trial, Casey found Erin just as she hit one of the vending machines close to the courtroom, not getting the chocolate bar she had paid for.
"Rough night?" Matt didn't mean to scare her, but Lindsay turned around quickly, ready to shoot him. "Sorry." He murmured, handing her some spare change for the machine that finally let her have her breakfast.
"We talked." Erin's eyebrows furrowed, the corners of her mouth twisting into a sad smile, but she didn't say anything else about her talk with Kelly, although Casey had a pretty good idea what their conversation had been about. "Kelly's staying in the arrest until he testifies in the afternoon…we'll hear the jury's decision by the end of today." She explained, walking into the courtroom, Casey following her to the same seats they had occupied the day before. He wanted to ask whether Voight's team had made any progress, even though he suspected that the answer was going to be negative, but then two officers walked Hadley in. Kevin looked in their direction, satisfied to see that Kelly wasn't there…it meant that his plan had been successful.
Five minutes after the start of the trial, Spellman stood by the witness stand and swore to tell the truth only, something he wasn't going to do.
"Mr. Spellman, would you tell us what's happened to you?" The lawyer jumped straight to the important questions, impatient to win the case.
"Yes…I worked at firehouse 51 for a few months, but I was asked to transfer out as I couldn't really fit in there. My working style was very different from theirs…I know everybody personally and I was absolutely devastated when I read about Leslie Shay's death in the paper. I went to her memorial service last week, to pay my respects, when suddenly Lieutenant Severide accused me of being an arsonist. I wanted to give him my sincerest condolences after the service. Instead, I was nearly beaten to death."
"Your honor, the tape from the security camera from the back exit of firehouse 51 proves it." Hadley's representative announced, preparing to play the tape.
"Son of a bitch!" Mouch murmured so that only Boden and Herrmann heard him, focusing his attention on the video.
Unsurprisingly, the video confirmed Spellman's words, a professional mouth reader confirming that Spellman had only given his condolences to Kelly, without insulting him in any way.
When the video was over, Hadley's lawyer granted his client with a nod, before turning his attention to the judge. "Your honor, I believe that what you've just seen confirms that Lieutenant Severide is not only mentally unstable, but he is a danger to others."
The next one to testify was Kevin Hadley himself. He swore that he had never been in contact with Spellman, implying that he was an innocent victim, rotting in jail while the real arsonist was out there…
Xxx
"Antonio, it's not looking good." Erin murmured over the phone, Casey and the guys from Truck 81 standing close to her, listening to her every word, anxious to know whether Voight's team had found new evidence. "Tell me you've got something!"
"We turned Spellman's house upside down…nothing! He's not renting any other property or storage unit. Atwater's checked his credit card balance – he spends small amounts of money on food, alcohol, sends what's left of his salary to his kids. Basically he hasn't bought anything that might be used to start fires…Halstead's been to the fast food place he works at now, nothing suggests that he might be an arsonist. His boss says that he's usually quiet but always punctual and does the job well.
"What about Hadley?"
"Nothing!...He's got no friends, no living relatives, no money - "
"Damn it!" Lindsay cursed, her brain refusing to come up with any more ideas. Before she had the chance to ask Antonio more questions, her attention was caught by the two CPD officers escorting Kelly to the now almost empty courtroom. "Antonio, get us something!" She barked, pressing the "end call" button on her phone.
Looking down, too embarrassed to face all the people watching him, Kelly walked past his brothers and into the courtroom, the door closing behind him. Besides the judge, the clerks and the jury, he recognized the state attorney sitting on the front row and Hadley's lawyer, but the man in his fifties next to him, he had never seen before.
"Lieutenant Severide, I took the time to read everything about you last night and I strongly believe that you're a good man, going through something terrible." The judge said, while Kelly took his place behind the witness stand, thinking of the promise he had given to Erin and Matt. "I hope that you've had enough time to reconsider your attitude, and to make sure you don't end up in jail for something stupid you might do, I want you to attend one-to-one sessions with Doctor Robert Shaw once a week." The man next to the lawyer smiled warmly, earning an icy look from Kelly. "He's one of the best psychiatrists I know and has helped to a lot of people. He's going to report back to me, and if you refuse to go or skip a meeting, I'll send you to jail for threatening Kevin Hadley in my courtroom and assaulting , resulting in a significant bodily harm. You two can discuss a suitable day and time after we're done here."
Kelly bit his lips to stop himself from telling the judge that he wasn't meeting any shrinks. When Severide didn't protest, Hadley's lawyer stood up, taking a final look at the list of questions he had prepared…
Xxx
An hour later Casey found his friend in the men's toilet, sitting on the dirty floor, leaning on the wall closest to the sinks, tiny drops of blood dripping from the knuckles of his right hand.
"It was either the wall, or that lawyer." Kelly growled, looking up, his eyes meeting Casey's.
"I'd have punched the wall, too." Matt said truthfully, sitting next to his friend. "But if they set him on fire as a thank you, I won't rush to save him."
"Hope they do!" Severide retorted, leaning the back of his head on the wall and closing his eyes, letting his frame relax a bit. "You know what he asked me?"
Matt found it unnecessarily to reply and remained silent, expecting his friend to continue.
"Lieutenant Severide, you're claiming that Kevin Hadley set multiple fires in the autumn of 2013, targeting you and your colleagues." Squad Lieutenant explained as if talking to himself, mimicking Hadley's attorney's voice. "Was there anything else going on in your life at the same time that was upsetting you? – Yes, I found out that the woman carrying my supposed child had slept with another man and the kid was not mine, not to mention the arsonist trying to kill me!" Kelly heard Casey mutter a curse, but didn't stop, having the sudden desire to let it off his chest. "So you were upset? Angry? - Yes, I was; And you needed to blame somebody for your misery? – No, I did not!; Is it true that you and some of your colleagues are victims of an arsonist right now, the fires being identical to the ones before, as confirmed by Arson Investigations and CPD? Yes, it's true; And one of them resulted in the death of Leslie Shay, your best friend?...So how is it possible for my client to have set those fires, when he's in jail? – Why don't you ask your witness, Spellman, who's helping your client for God knows what reasons!; Tell me, Lieutenant Severide, have you ever seen my client start a fire? – No.; So you didn't see him do anything wrong before he nearly burned to death? – He was holding a bottle of gasoline, ready to blow us up!; My client claims that he'd picked up the bottle to take it outside. Instead of helping him, you accused him of being an arsonist and jumped on him, resulting in him dropping the bottle and setting himself on fire - "
"Kelly!" Casey interjected, ending his friend's monologue.
"So now I'm the bad guy?"
"No, you're not." Matt reassured him, but the hurt expression on Kelly's face didn't go away. "Everybody believes you."
Kelly shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning upwards to form a grimace. "After what was said in that courtroom, I'm not sure I believe myself anymore…maybe I really am insane and it's all in my head…"
Before Casey could reply, Herrmann walked in, informing them that the jury was ready to announce its decision.
"Hey, no stupid moves this time, okay?" Matt warned him firmly after Herrmann left, helping Kelly get up the floor.
"I've got it under control." Severide muttered in response, cleaning the dried blood on his hand before following Casey down the corridor into the courtroom.
It wasn't long before the jury walked in, the facial expressions of the people deciding Hadley's faith revealing the outcome of the trial before any words were spoken…
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I've said it before, I'll say it again – you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for reading, for the reviews and the support!
Another very angsty and tense chapter, but more Linseride this time. I really enjoyed writing the scenes between Kelly and Erin, hope you liked it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Kelly opening up to Matt is a good start, right? I know, the monologue made him sound crazy…It seems that he's going to keep his promise and let them help him…Oh, wait, he's told nobody that he must talk to a shrink now. Is he going to do what the judge ordered him, or he's going to skip the meetings and get into more trouble?
And yeah, the most important thing – the outcome of the trial. What do you thing is going to happen?
I'd love to hear your opinion, no matter what it is, so please review! Thanks!
