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 10
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…
Kelly, who was sitting between Casey and Lindsay, searched for her hand without looking away from the jury, wrapping his fingers around hers, desperate to find some comfort.
"Due to the lack of sufficient and reliable evidence, the jury finds Kevin Hadley...innocent!"
"Whaaat?!" Herrmann exclaimed from the seat behind Kelly's. "I object!" He jumped to his feet, but Boden grabbed hold of his sleeve and pushed him down onto his seat, Christopher clenching his fists tight.
"Unbelievable…" Mouch exchanged a look with Cruz, Otis cursing in Russian at the same time.
A lot of angry remarks were heard, many people voiced their disappointment…many people but one.
"No…no…no." Kelly's mind screamed. His breathing became slowed, to a point that Erin moved her fingers to the inside of his wrist to make sure his pulse was normal.
"Silence, please." The judge barked, finally getting the people in his courtroom to remain silent and give the clerk the chance to continue.
"Kevin Hadley is going to be financially compensated by the state for his time in prison, his record is going to be cleaned." The clerk finished, but many eyes remained focused on him, as if expecting him to announce that what he had said was a joke, and Hadley would never see the outside of a prison again.
A minute later the trial was over, over were the dreams and hopes for justice of the people from firehouse Fifty-one.
"You'll pay for Luke!" Herrmann hissed when his eyes met Spellman's, the later preparing to leave the room. "I'll - "
"Herrmann!" Cruz interjected before his friend could say something he was going to regret later.
Kelly barely had the patience to wait for Casey to stand up and make room for him. Letting go of Erin's hand, Squad's Lieutenant got up and shoved past Matt in silence. "I'm sorry." He muttered to Herrmann, disappearing through the double doors of the courtroom.
Severide made it to the vending machines, feeling sick, desperate for a bottle of water. Grabbing the edge of the machine with his left hand, he used his other one to insert some coins and pressed the button combination that was going to give him the desired product.
"Lieutenant, you okay? You need any help?" Spellman's unpleasant voice sounded behind him, Kelly's fingers grabbing the edges of the vending machine even more tightly. Squad's Lieutenant did not turn around, determined to not give the other man the satisfaction of torturing him.
"Never better." Kelly hissed through greeted teeth, taking the water bottle out of the machines. He slowly opened it and drank half of its content, fighting his inner demons.
"If you - "
"Hey!" Casey shouted from a few steps behind Spellman, Erin, Herrmann and Boden walking next to him. "Get out of my sight, or - "
"Or what?" Spellman turned to face the Truck's Lieutenant, his eyebrows furrowed, his body taking a fighting stance.
"GO!" Boden hissed, having sensed that Casey patients was wearing extremely thin.
With a small smile dancing on his face, Spellman followed Chief's order and disapeared.
"Son of a bitch!" Kelly uttered, hitting the vending machine with the palm of his left hand. Feeling as if his legs were going to betray him soon, he sat on the end seat of the row of chairs next to the machine and finished the water.
Herrmann made a few steps forward and sat next to the Squad's Lieutenant, leaning against the back of the chair. "I don't blame you…"
By the expression on Kelly's face, Erin could tell that he wasn't going to say anything, so she spoke instead. "I promise you we won't stop until we put Hadley and Spellman in jail."
"You better!" Christopher murmured. "I gotta go back to the hospital."
"Casey, I have to meet Voight, would you - "
"I'll take him home." Matt promised before Lindsay could finish her sentence.
A second later Kelly dropped the empty plastic bottle on the floor and rose to his unsteady feet, about to lose his balance, but Casey caught him by the arm, helping him stand. "I…I gotta do something first." He looked at Matt with pleading eyes, having realized that he wouldn't make it far alone.
"Okay."
Xxx
When Casey parked his truck in the cemetery's parking lot and looked at Kelly's pale face, he regretted taking his friend there. He could understand why it was important to Severide to visit the place, but it felt as if Squad's leader did not have enough strength left to do it.
"We can come another time, if - "
"No." Kelly growled, opening the door, holding a bouquet of dark red roses in his other hand. Matt quickly followed him out of the car, holding a bouquet himself, and they slowly walked to Shay's grave without exchanging any more unnecessarily words.
When his eyes fell on the name carved into the beautiful marble stone, Kelly froze, finding it hard to breathe, the terrible feeling that he had failed Shay not leaving him. But when Casey touched the cold stone and placed the flowers on top of the grave, shading a single tear filled with so much pain, Kelly regained some control over his emotions. He stepped forward and knelt down, not bothered by the muddy ground. Casey moved aside to give his friend some privacy, hiding his watery eyes.
With his hand trembling, Kelly placed the roses next to Matt's, his tears leaving wet marks on the stone. "Hey, Shay…I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise…Hadley…he won. He's probably out of jail already…walking around free, and you're…here." He paused, touching the letters one by one, for a second forgetting that Casey was watching him. "I've let you down, again…I thought I'd have the strength to fight him, but I don't…they win." Severide's eyes focused on the flowers, the dark red color taking his mind back to the building where all had happened, to the lifeless figure of his best friend, to the pool of blood under her blonde hair. "I'm sorry." Severide uttered before pushing himself up and walking away without looking back.
"Kelly!" Matt called out loud enough for Squad's Lieutenant to hear, but he just kept walking. Casey hurried after him, helping him get into his truck after they made if back to the parking lot. Getting into the driver's seat, Truck's Lieutenant stopped himself from asking what had just happened, and drove away, heading to his place.
Walking into Casey's apartment, Kelly murmured "hi" to Gabby and crashed on the couch, not bothering to change his suit for something more comfortable. Matt gave his fiancé a kiss and watched in concern as his friend picked up the remote for the TV and began switching from one channel to another until he found a rerun of a basketball tournament. Kelly threw the remote back on the table, pretending to be watching the game.
"So what's the plan now?" Matt sat next to his friend, keeping his voice firm and steady.
Kelly shot him a glance, a grimace appearing on his face. "Watch the game."
"And when it's over?"
"I don't know, Casey, watch football, or tennis, or something else!"
A short, deep sigh escaped Casey's mouth. He turned his attention to the game and saw the final few minutes with Kelly, who seemingly did not care about it. And when it was finally over, and a commercial about washing powders appeared on the screen, Truck's Lieutenant waited patiently for his friend's next move, having the feeling that Kelly was close to reaching his breaking point for the day.
Severide picked up the remote and surfed through the channels, but he found nothing on that could take his mind off all the heavy thoughts. "Ahhh, damn it!" He cursed, smashing the remote against the table, small pieces of plastic and a pair of batteries flying around the room. The noise made Gabby jump, but she did no leave her spot in the kitchen, having taken her anger out on a couple of plates an hour earlier.
When the adrenalin rush was over, Kelly remained seated on the couch, leaning his back on a throw pillow, concentrating on his breathing. "I've got no plan, Casey."
"I told you we'll figure it out together, right?"
"Yeah…you know what, I'm tired of playing Hadley's games anymore…I don't care if he's free or in jail, I don't care if he wants to finish me, I…I just don't want to care!" Kelly was trying to believe his own words, but every fibre of his body was hungry for revenge. And there was only thing stopping him from hunting down Kevin Hadley and Spellman…the thing was called love, the woman – Erin Lindsay.
"So what you're gonna do?"
"I can buy that boat business over at Grace Lake with whatever money I've got left…"
"But?" Matt pressed further, even though he knew what the problem with Kelly's idea was.
"Erin's in Chicago." Severide replied in undertone, his feelings for the CPD detective evident in his voice.
"You two - " Matt grinned for a second, his smile vanishing when a new wave of pain flashed through his friend's face.
"She deserves better than me, man…I…I've no idea who I am anymore."
"Why don't you talk to Kara? You know she can help - "
"No!" Severide barked icily, the sudden change in his tone taking Casey by surprise, Truck's Lieutenant starting to think that it was going to be one of their usual dead-end conversations.
"Kelly - "
"I'm not talking to anymore shrinks, Matt! I wanna forget about Hadley and Spellman and…Shay, and resume my life somehow…is it so damn much?!"
"No…if you're ready to put it all behind and let CPD deal with those two."
"Yeah…"
For some reason, the whole plan couldn't put Casey's mind at ease. He was having the terrible feeling that Kelly was refusing to acknowledge the result from the trial. He feared that his friend was going to bottle it up and not deal with the pain and anger, turning into a bomb ready to explode, with two psychopaths out there who could easily trigger it. The fact that he was on shift on the next day, meaning that he would have to leave Kelly alone, was scaring him even more. "Why don't you come to the station tomorrow?"
"I'll pass." Severide uttered in remorse. "You've got the keys for the Herrmann's house?"
"What's in your mind?"
"I just need time to clear my head and…I don't know, do something productive with my time…"
Xxx
"Kevin." A smile appeared on Spellman's face when he opened the door of his house the morning after the trial and Hadley walked in, dropping his bag on the floor. "Was expecting you last night."
"Went out…enjoyed my freedom." Kevin grinned, following his new best friend to the room he was going to live at.
"Yeah…I bet Severide had a good night, too." Spellmann continued their small chat, feeling enormous satisfaction. "I followed him and Casey after the trial yesterday…to the graveyard." He laughed, the hatred in his voice making Hadley even happier.
"If he likes it so much, it's gonna be his permanent home soon…" Hadley's voice died out as he looked through the window, enjoying the blue sky and the sun.
"And what about the others?!" Spellman snapped, the smug disappearing from his face. He picked up a photo from the nightstand, a photo of him and his family in the park, pointing his oldest kid. "The deal is I help you get out of jail, then you help me destroy every single member of that damn firehouse! I lost my family because of them!"
"I know what the deal is!" Hadley hissed through greeted teeth, the morning sun falling on his burned skin. "Who's next on your list – Casey?"
"He and Severide urged their people to transfer me out!"
"See, I read your mind…And you're underestimating me! I've had enough time to think of what to do to Casey to both satisfy your desire to hurt him and finish Severide…it's a win win for both of us…"
Xxx
"Calm down, Casey, he's okay!" Erin informed the Truck's Lieutenant over the phone. It was dinner time and it was already dark outside, but she recognized Kelly's frame, sitting on the floor next to the staircase of Herrmann's new house, dry paint all over his t-shirt. The CPD detective had been on her way to the house to join her friend when Matt had called her, worried sick that Squad's Lieutenant's phone had been off all day.
Lindsay ended the call and walked closer to Severide, placing a deliciously smelling bag on the floor next to him. She looked around, finally realizing why everything in the living room looked so familiar. She sat down next to him. "Had to choose between Indian and Chinese…" She said, taking a pack of shrimp chips and two take away boxes out of the bag.
"Chinese's better." Kelly offered a fake smile before opening one of the boxes. "No forks?"
"Mr. Yau and his father got offended when I asked for forks...had to take the chopsticks and get out of there." Erin giggled, amused to see that Kelly was good at manoeuvring them to get the bamboo shoots surrounding his chicken into his mouth. "You've been practicing?"
"It's one of the few things Benny's ever taught me…We used to go to that sushi restaurant on my street, no forks…then I turned fourteen and realized what a jerk he was."
"You've talked to him?" She asked suspiciously.
"This morning…he apologized for not being able to come here and testify…"
"Kelly, you know he cannot help us…Vince Keeler's case - "
"I know!" Squad Lieutenant growled, raising his hand to indicate he didn't want to talk about his screw up dad.
"And your phone?" Lindsay pointed the device that was now lying on the floor, its display broken into tiny pieces, its battery a few inches away.
"Slipped out of my pocket." He lied, finishing his dinner.
Lindsay didn't buy it, but said nothing, spending the next minute enjoying her food and admiring what Kelly had done to the house…
"I've seen this furniture before, Kelly…" Her tone was calm and casual, but she could not ignore the fact that everything Shay and Kelly had owned, every single piece of furniture from their apartment, was now at Herrmann's house.
"I was gonna give everything to charity…can't afford to be paying for the storage unit anymore…Herrmann needs it more." Severide explained, a sad smile appearing on his face. He picked up the empty box of Chinese food and stood up, leaving it on the small table he had put into the living room, Erin doing the same.
"You'd need a couch…and a table at some point."
Kelly looked at her with a dull expression, shaking his head. "You see that red stain?" With his index finger, he pointed a small dark red stain near the right armrest. "Shay's birthday, two years ago, we had a bit too much wine, she laughed at my stupid joke so damn hard that she dropped her glass on the couch…"
"Kelly - " She touched his cheek.
"It's just…It brings back memories, Erin..."
"Okay." Lindsay's lips lifted upwards, the smile not staying on her face for long. "Herrmann's clan would be happy to have a TV."
"Yeah…I've left a few DVD's in that cupboard as well…"
"Now that you mentioned DVD's - " Erin grinned. "How does a cinema evening sound? "Unfinished Business" starts in fifty minutes." She looked at him with a cheeky smile.
"If it's as boring as the last movie we saw - "
"Halstead watched it last week…"
"He's seen it?" Kelly's eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't help it but laugh when Lindsay looked at him, amused. "We need to keep up with him."
"So we're going?"
"Oh yeah…but I need to change my shirt first."
Xxx
"So, you're telling me you went out with more girls than Severide in high school?" Cruz asked the new Squad guy Chief had brought, Scott Rice, in a serious voice, Otis chuckling next to him, Matt reading his paper and listening to their talk with half ear. He wasn't sure whether to like the new guy or not, but with Capp stepping up as an Acting Lieutenant of Squad 3 while Severide was on suspension, they needed somebody to fill in the spot.
"Casey, my office!" Boden's angry voice sounded from the hallway. Leaving the paper on the table, Matt followed Chief to his office, closing the door behind. "It's only 7am and I've already had a hell of a day!"
"What's up, Chief?" Matt dared to ask, soon to regret it. He sat on the chair across Boden's desk.
"I've just got a call from Doctor Robert Shaw, a psychiatrist, does it ring a bell?"
"No." Casey answered truthfully.
"Severide's not mentioned anything about him?"
"No, Chief."
"Apparently, after what happened in court the other day, that judge ordered him to meet Doctor Shaw once a week, or the next one to be sentenced is gonna be him…the doctor's not heard anything from Severide!"
"Sentenced for what?"
"Assaulting Spellman, threatening to kill Hadley in court…do I need to continue?"
Casey sighed in frustration, not knowing what to say. "That Doctor Shaw called you?"
"He did!" Boden barked, hitting the top of his desk. "He's been trying to contact Kelly for two days now, no result, so he's decided to call his superior, meaning me! And if Severide does not call him back by the end of today, he's gonna take Hadley's place in jail and meet that shrink against his will!"
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Okay, you're the best! Can't thank you enough for reading, reviewing and the continues support!
Hmmm, Hadley's out and wait, what? They're planning on hurting Casey? Ouch…It would definitely bring on more angst…and more Linseride and bromance of course!
Kelly's trying hard to keep up his promise and fight his demons, but is he really doing a good job? Probably not, ignoring the problems won't make them disappear (unfortunately)...and his words to Shay…How do you think the whole shrink problem would play out?
Another question – I really liked the new guy – Scott, in the last episode and actually think he might fit into the story (he knows Kelly since their teenage years, probably been friends with Andy Darden and has lost his wife). Would you like to see him in the story?
And finally, what do you think of the Kelly/Casey/Erin moments in this chapter? Thought that a cinema night with Lindsay wouldn't hurt while Matt's working, hope you like the idea.
I'd love to hear your opinion, no matter what it is, so please review! Thanks!