Hello hello! What else than reading a new chapter to end the Week-end?

I have to thank you fro the reviews you let me :) I think I didn't reply (no time) but thank you, really!

Enjoy this new chapter!

Previously, on the last chapter...

Kelly is still blaming himself for what happened to Matt, because he promised to be there for him and he promised Gabby to keep an eye on Matt, but he didn't. And slowly but surely, Matt is waking up.

An now, the next chapter...

Chapter 10 : Why ?

Connor had come back in the exam room 1, the one where Matt was resting and where April was keeping an eye on him. Things had barely changed during one and a half hour: some bags were out of the IV pole but nothing more. He approached April slowly.

"No change?"

She shook her head from side to side, closing her eyes.

"It shouldn't take this long".

Connor sighed. She was right: more than two hours passed since his admission. They had to stimulate him. He took his penlight, turned it on and opened Matt's eyes.

"His pupils are still slightly ditaled. And his body temperature?"

"Up to 99,3. We should get the gastric tube out?"

The doctor thought a moment. Usually, they did this when the patient was awake, just to be sure that he wouldn't throw up and there were no additional problems.

"Prepare some warmed saline. We have to hope that this procedure will wake him".

April shook her head before going out of the room, leaving Connor alone with Matt. He wanted to know if he was awake or not before starting the procedure.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

Against all expectation, Matt's hand moved to squeeze Connor's. This made him smile a little.

"Can you open your eyes now?"

Matt was percieving all the sounds around him much better, less louder than the last time he was awake. He could feel that he regained strength. Enough strength to open his eyes now. He opened them very slowly and slightly at first. A thick blurred fog invaved his eyes, crossed by a blinding light that made him close his eyes almost immediately. Dr. Rhodes saw it and turned the light toward the wall so that it was no longer turned to Matt's face.

"All good now. I turned the light. You can reopen your eyes".

This voice was still relaxing him and calm. Matt opened his eyes again slowly, almost totally. This fog was still there. He passed his gaze to the left, then to the right and locked it on Connor. The latter smiled.

"Hello".

Matt turned his head, feeling finally everything around him, and in and on him. He moved his left arm, grabbing urgently the tubes of the breathing machine. Connor stopped him just in time.

"Oah, oah!" he exclaimed, grabbing Matt's hand. "Easy, easy... We'll put it out, but you have to calm down, easy..."

Matt didn't struggle, he let Dr. Rhodes place his hand on his stomach. April came back with the material needed to get the breathing tube and the gastric tube out.

"Here we go. You will feel something warm flow into your stomach, then being pumped. And then, April wil get the gastric tube out. You understand?"

Matt had again locked his gaze on Dr. Rhodes. After several seconds, he nodded weakly.

"Alright".

He signed to April to begin. She injected the warmed saline into the smallest tube while Matt closed his eyes and frowned. It was awful. Then she aspirated the content, removed the tape that was keeping the tube in place and pulled it to her so the tube could come out of his mouth. The procedure was more awful than feeling the warmed saline into his stomach. This made him cough, but the ventilator avoided him to breathe correctly. Once again, he grabbed the breathing tube with his left hand. And once again, Connor grabbed his hand in time.

"We'll get it out. One thing at the time okay?"

He placed again his hand on his belly and felt a pressure on his other hand, the one still in Matt's.

But he was still coughing. Barely, but still.

"He's going to puke!"

April grabbed a basin and put it on Matt's legs then straightened him so he could sit. In the meantime, Connor unplugged the breathing machine and began hurriedly to pull the tube out of his mouth as Matt coughed harder. The content still on his smotach splashed into the basin as Matt was trying to take a deep breath, in vain. The monitor turned crazy.

"Pulse at 125, sature at 92", April stated while she put a non-rebreather mask on Matt's face and passed the elastic around his head to keep it in place then pushed the oxygen at its maximum level.

"Take some deep breaths. Come on, I know you can to it".

Dr. Rhodes placed his stethoscope on Matt's chest in different positions while Matt was trying to take some long and deep breaths. The monitor stopped ringing, to the relieve of the two emergency physicians.

"Heart rate is coming down at 90. Sature's coming up at 96".

"He's stable".

He turned toward Matt and smiled while April helped him to lie down again.

"Well done!"

He looked Matt and observed him attentively. He closed his eyes slowly.

"You're tired?"

He reopened them and shook his head hardly, up to down.

"Okay then... We will let you get some rest".

His blue eyes closed slowly, and he slipped into a deep sleep... Connor exhaled deeply while April was smiling.

"We let him get some rest. Can you run his blood tests again?"

"No problem".

"I'll talk to Severide and Dawson. To give them the new".

He left the room again to go to the waiting room. He stopped again in the entry when he saw that Gabby was talking to another woman. She was blond with blue eyes, crying loudly in Kelly's arms while Gabby was comforting her. This time, he approached them, calmy. Kelly had rested his eyes on him, Gabby did the same soon after. And finally, this woman he had never seen before. She wiped the tears that were still streaming down her cheeks and inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

"So? How is Matt?" Gabby asked.

He didn't look at her, looking at this blond woman with red eyes.

"Christie, meet Dr. Rhodes. He's treating Matt. Dr. Rhodes, meet Christie, Matt's sister".

Connor was surprised for a moment, before approaching his hand to shake hers.

"Nice to meet you", he said after Christie took his hand.

"I have to ask you again?" Gabby asked.

He turned his head toward her, and shook it slightly.

"No need, thanks".

He took a deep breath.

"Matt is awake. We extubated him and pulled the gastric tube out. He's still very weak but I think he's out of the wood now. We'll do his blood tests again just to be sure, we'll monitor him closely but everything will be alright soon".

"So... My brother is okay?"

Connor locked his gaze on Christie.

"He's far from okay ma'm. What Matt did to sleep, even a few hours, shows how his health is very fragile now. Although he probably didn't want to end his days, he swallowed fifty pills, which is not nothing. This is almost the lethal dose. If Kelly hadn't intervened very quickly, I think your brother couldn't have been saved".

Kelly fully opened his eyes, surprised by this speech. Connor knew that he was blaming himself for what happened to Matt, because he didn't hear him fall in the bedroom, and the doctor wanted to cheer him.

"W-what?" he said with a trembling voice.

"If you hand't intervened in time to call 911 and provided first aids, Matt would have never arrived in hospital alive".

Gabby finally understood: Connor thought that Kelly had called 911 and kept his cool to save Matt. Suddenly, Christie hugged Kelly tightly. She had tears in her eyes, but this time, it was tears of relief.

"Thank you...", she whispered. "Thank you for saving my little brother".

Kelly hugged her and closed his eyes.

"He's also my brother, Christie. I'd do everything for him".

Gabby and Connor smiled.

"We still can't see him?"

"Dr. Charles will talk to him when he will be awake, then he will come to see you and bring you next to him", Connor assured.

Gabby smiled at him very slightly and shook her head up to down.

"Thanks..."

He smiled in return and left the waiting room, leaving the two firefighters and Matt's sister inside it. Several hours passed in a calm tension. It was unexpected for the emergency physicians. Generally, night was a synonym of numerous accidents, especially on a friday night, as a large majority of young people came out of nightclubs, highly drunk and/or drugged, ending their eventful night in the ER.

Matt was still sleeping when Dr. Rhodes came again into the room about three hours later. His third blood results came back after he saw that in the second results, Matt was still under the effects of the sleeping pills. April paged him so he could see the results. He took the files ans read them attentively, comparing them to the last blood results.

"He's still under the effetcs of the benzodiazepine".

"Even after five hours?!"

"It can happen yes. He swallowed fifty pills, don't forget it. It takes some time to lessen their effects".

"How much extra time?"

Dr. Rhodes sighed, closing his eyes.

"I think in an hour or so, the effects should wear off".

He placed his hand on a still sleeping Matt's forehead.

"His temperature?"

"99,5 fifteen minutes ago".

"It shouldn't be this high".

"I check again?"

Connor nodded, then April took her thermometer and passed it on his forehead.

"I hope it's just a reaction due to the ingestion of these sleeping pills", Connor whispered.

"99,1".

Connor sighed in relief. It was just the sleeping pills. At the same time, Matt's eyes opened, making Connor smile.

"Our sleepy head is coming back!" he said calmly.

Matt turned his head toward this voice, and locked his gaze on Connor's. His left hand slipped to his mouth, but the oxygen mask avoided him to touch it. He frowned and Dr. Rhodes looked at the monitor.

"April? Go find me a nasal canula please, I think our man wants to talk".

"Right away".

She left the room, leaving the two men alone.

"You're thirsty?"

Matt closed his eyes, and slowly, he shook his head up to down. Connor took a glass and pourred water inside, took a straw, sat near his head and removed the breathing mask.

"Just a few sips for now".

He took the straw between his lips, and took a few sips. To his relief. So much relief he was groaning of pleasure, with his eyes closed.

"Your throat is dry, it's pretty normal", Connor confirmed, removing the straw and the glass of his vision. "You're better?"

"Y-yeah".

Matt frowned by hearing his voice. It was hoarse, as if he lost it.

"It's normal, don't worry. You've been intubated for a few hours. Do you remember what happened?"

Matt swallowed and looked in the vacuum, lost. He was thinking about what had happpened.

"Pills", he whispered so that his throat didn't hurt him.

"Correct. May I ask you some questions? Simple, just like the last time".

He nodded briefly. He knew it was the procedure. So he knew he had no choice, even if it was annoying.

"Can you tell me your name and the date?"

He cleared his throat, answering with a whisper and his eyes closed.

"Matt... Casey. Friday, march 25th. 2016. Last time I checked".

Instinctively, he looked the clock in front of him, and Connor said nothing, seeing he was focussing on it. Even if his vision was still blurred, he saw that it was 7 and a few minutes. And he saw no lights outside.

"It... It's 7am and... It's Saturday, march 26th?"

Connor shook his head up to down.

"Correct. 7:25am".

"Five hours..."

Matt closed his eyes: he was tired of not sleeping peacefully, or for a long time. He wanted to sleep for a long time and without nightmares.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Earth?"

This made Connor laugh, such as Matt. But he was interrupted by a coughing fit because of his dry throat. Dr. Rhodes grabbed the glass of water again and Matt took a few sips with the straw.

"I'll bring some ice chips later, but now, answer seriously".

Matt sighed.

"USA, Illinois, Chicago, Chicago Med... Still in the ER?"

"Yep. ICU are overflowed, we kept you here".

When he saw Matt nodding, he continued his check-up.

"Repeat after me: cigar, flower, door".

"Cigar... Flower... Door... I have to keep them in mind?"

"Yes, it's important".

"Okay".

"Can you spell 'world' backward?"

"Uh...D... L... R... O...W".

"Okay, do you remember the three words?"

"Uh... In order?"

"If possible".

"Uh... Door? Cigar? And... And I don't remember the last one..."

"Don't worry, it can happen, you're still under the effects of the pills".

Connor grabbed a pen in his hand and showed it to Matt.

"What is it?"

"A pen?"

Then he pointed to his watch.

"And this?"

"A watch. You're left-handed?" Matt asked, seeing he was wearing his watch to his right wrist.

"Yep, seems to be".

Matt feigned a smile, as Connor.

"Repeat after me: no ifs, ands or buts".

"No... Ifs? Ands? Or Buts? What is this phrase?"

"Annoying in every way, I know... Here. Take this paper with your left hand, fold it in half and put it on the floor".

So Matt took the paper with his left hand, folded it in half and threw it on the floor. Dr. Rhodes picked it up and wrote something on it.

"Do what is written on the paper".

Matt read it carefully. 'Close your eyes'. And then, he closed them slowly.

"Alright. Almost done. Copy this design shown".

Connor tended the paper to Matt, who grabbed it. And Matt copied the two overlapping polygons.

"Okay, one last thing. Write a complere sentence, with verb, subject, and correct semantics".

Matt thought, grabbing the pen that Connor tended to him. After several minutres, he wrote something and tended one last time the paper and the pen. Connor looked at what he wrote and stood up.

"Okay, now try to get some rest, the time for the pills to not be effective on you. You need to rest".

"Flower..."

Connor turned to Matt with a puzzled look on his face.

"What?"

"Flower... The last of the three words".

Then Matt turned his head to not face the doctor anymore. Matt was in a good apparent mental shape, indicating no damage due to the ingestion of the sleeping pills. After exiting the exam room, he looked at this paper again, at what Matt wrote. 'Why am I still alive?'

What will happen next: Matt will escape the hospital without attracting attention.