Herrmann got to the emergency room first, practically shoving the doors apart as they slid open. He spotted her in the corner, huddled in a chair. Halstead and Ruzek were with her. Halstead was taking notes. Ruzek put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Sarah!"
Tears began to roll down her cheeks as Sarah bolted from her chair and ran to Herrmann. She buried her face in his shoulder and shook with silent sobs.
Herrmann wrapped his arms tightly around her and stroked her hair. "Shhhhh." he soothed, "I'm here, sweetheart, I'm here. Everything's gonna be okay."
Chief Boden was the next person through the ER doors, Cruz and Otis on his heels. "What happened?" he asked Halstead.
"They surprised a burglar." Halstead explained, "Guy shot Casey twice and tried to run, but Sarah took him down. He tried to shoot her, too, but she got the gun away from him. He came at her and she shot him with his own gun. Twice."
Oh, this was bad. Really bad. Boden nodded, "Is he dead?"
Halstead lifted his notebook, "No, but he's gonna wish he was when he sees these charges."
"We've got witnesses." Ruzek added, "Sarah was defending herself."
Good. Boden sighed in relief, "Okay. Any word on Casey?"
Halstead shook his head, "Not yet. …There's something else you need to know about this, Chief."
Something else? Fantastic. Boden frowned, "What's that?"
"The guy is Sarah's ex husband. Apparently he got out of jail sooner than expected."
At this, Boden sighed heavily, shaking his head, "Do I even want to know why this nut-job was incarcerated?"
"Domestic violence. I pulled the report up on the way over here." Halstead glanced at Sarah, "He roughed her up pretty bad once. Almost killed her."
The waiting room had begun to fill with both firefighters and police officers. Mouch and Platt arrived seconds before Brett and Dawson did. Sarah managed to get herself under control enough to pull away from Herrmann.
"What happened?" Brett asked, wrapping her partner in a tight hug.
"Matt was taking me home." Sarah sniffed, "He noticed my door was open, and that's when Aaron came out. He didn't even hesitate – he shot Matt and tried to take off."
Brett brushed a stray strand of Sarah's hair back to its place behind her ear, "Who's Aaron?"
"My ex husband. I thought he was still in jail." She looked up at Dawson, tears welling up in her eyes again, "I got the gun away from him…and I shot him."
The agony that reflected in the medic's eyes touched Dawson. Despite the fact that she was angry at Sarah for keeping her relationship with Casey a secret, she couldn't help but feel bad for her. Without a word, she pulled Sarah into a hug.
The ER doors swooshed open again, revealing Severide and April. Severide pushed his way through the small crowd, trying not to look as panicked as he felt. Sarah immediately went to him and he held her tightly, relieved that she was unharmed. "Are you okay?" he murmured, kissing her hair.
"No." she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder.
He began to rub her back as he felt his shirt begin to dampen, "You're moving in with us."
"But-"
Severide looked up at Herrmann, who nodded in agreement, "No buts. That's an order."
…
"C'mon, baby. Wake up for me."
He was trying. He'd been trying for what felt like hours. They must've given him the good stuff. Stitches and medical tape tugged at his chest with each breath. He felt her fingers trail through his hair just before she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. With a whole lot more effort than he ever thought was necessary, Casey forced his eyes to open.
Sarah was perched on the edge of his bed. Her eyes were rimmed with redness. She smiled, "Hey, handsome."
He grinned up at her, "Hey, beautiful."
Carefully, she leaned down and kissed him. Fresh tears stung her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"I am now." One tear sprang free and dripped onto her cheek. "This is all my fault."
Gently, Casey wiped the tear away before it got to her chin. Lifting his arm was a whole lot harder than he thought it would be. He'd never had this much trouble with sedatives before; they must've given him the really good stuff. "How is this your fault?"
"The man that shot you is my ex husband. I didn't know he was out of jail yet." She sniffed and looked down at the white hospital sheets, "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be hurt. I should've known he would track me back to Chicago."
He lifted her chin, making her look at him, "And what would've happened if I hadn't been with you?"
"I don't know."
"You could've gone to Zimbabwe and he still would've been able to track you. I would rather be lying right here, stitched up and patched up, than sitting at home knowing that you were dead because I wasn't with you."
Trying to keep her emotions in check, Sarah leaned down and kissed him again. "How much do you remember?" she whispered, resting her forehead on the pillow beside his.
Casey sighed a little, "Everything."
"Then...you know what I did."
"...Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her.
"They said he'll probably never walk again. Or get out of jail again."
Casey nodded, giving her a comforting squeeze.
She was silent for a long moment, "Matt?"
"What baby?"
"I don't feel bad about it. I shot a man. Twice. And I don't feel bad at all. I thought I did at first, but… Does that make me a monster? I'm a medic, and I shot somebody. I took away a man's ability to walk. And I don't regret it. Am I a monster?"
The squeeze turned into a hug, "You're not a monster. You did what you had to do to survive." He kissed her cheek, "Let's not think about that right now, okay? Right now, let's just focus on us."
…
Author's Note: Thanks to Ain'tEasyBeingBreezy, Sarrabr4, Ghostwriter, TheIrishShipperholic, and SweetKittyCat for the reviews! Thanks to lynnenikko666, SweetKittyCat, BGio89, nerdnaticos, and lee.j.p for the follows/favorites! Thanks also to my readers!
