Hello hello everyone! It's not the end of this story, but I can see that it's not as good as wanted (for you I mean). But here we go: a new wafe of inspiration caught me and I wrote the following of the storyline I began at the end of the 18th chapter (51 is my family).

I trully hope you will like and understand what I wrote at the end (with Kelly and Hermann's plan. You'll know what I mean with reading).

Enjoy!

External POV

It was almost a month since Kelly had returned to work at the firehouse, such as Gabby. In fact, Kelly took a shift while Gabby kept an eye on Matt, and the next day it was Gabby who worked and Kelly who took care of him. Nobody really wanted to leave him alone in the apartment. Matt was still saying that everything would be fine, that there was no danger, but Gabby and Kelly knew it wasn't true: Oleg was still free, wanting to kill Matt all costs for having killed his business. He wasn't safe, not after what Oleg had already done to him. Today was Gabby's turn to stay at the apartment and Kelly had to go to work. He trusted her, she was going to keep him safe. Back into the firehouse and heading to the lockers room, Hermann ran to him, a tablet in hand.

"Severide wait!"

"I can change before? Or is it urgent?"

A big smile was outlined on his face, a smile like he had almost never seen. Kelly frowned, puzzled and perplexed.

"Good news?" Kelly asked by taking the road of the lockers room.

Hermann followed him to his locker and sat on the bench while Kelly was changing.

"I think I've found the house for Dawson and Casey".

Kelly froze, surprised, then turned to Hermann. The latter nodded slightly, his face lit up.

"You heard well".

"You sure this is THE house? It's not that I don't trust you, but your plans almsot fell into the water before. And I don't want to screw up on this one".

Hermann said nothing, but handed him the tablet he had in his hands. Still puzzled, Kelly took it into his own hands and lit the screen. He saw the house. It was a 1380pi² house with four bedrooms and a large bathroom, a kitchen opened to a huge living room, and a 1100pi² garden. It was the dream of a lifetime for Casey. In addition, the house was in the same neighborhood, near the firehouse.

"Oah, she looks... This shack looks nice. The price also has to be good", Kelly remarked sarcastically.

Hermann smiled again, got up and approached Kelly. He put one of his fingers on the tablet and made down the text. Far below, the price was written.

"That's impossible..."

Kelly's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it.

"There's something fishy, it's not possible..."

"No cost to not look by ourselves".

Unable to speak, the two men looked each other in the eye. Kelly's face began to glow too.

"You warned the other?"

"I wanted to tell you this before".

He finished dressing after having restored the tablet to Hermann and closing his locker, he reflected.

"Okay. Let's go for a ride. I warn chief, we take our gear and we keep our radios on".

"Understood, I gather everyone in the common room".

Kelly nodded and parted from Hermann to see Boden who was also changing while his colleague gather the guys in the common room.

"Chief?"

Mechanically, he turned while doing his tie.

"Severide, what can I do for you?"

"Do you remember when I asked the guys if they could raise some money and help me find a home for Gabby and Matt?"

"Indeed, but it was about two months ago".

"I know chief. But... We may have found THE house".

Boden straightened, surprised. He also wondered about this house now.

"I just saw the ad, the house seems to be perfect for them. I am pretty sure", he reassured.

"You put aside enough money to buy it?"

"With the help of the others, we put aside a lot of money. Overall I think I set aside about... I will say a little more than 150 000$".

"And the house would cost how much?"

Kelly smiled and gave the price to Boden, who also widened his eyes. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

"I had the same face!" Kelly explained laughing.

"It is impossible that... There has to be something down there".

"That's why we would like to take a look. Now. We will see this house, we take our gear with us and we keep our radios on".

Boden sighed, becoming serious for a moment.

"You know that technically I should not allow this ride?"

"But you will, right? To Matt. And Gabby. And mini Dawsey".

He took several seconds to think before answering.

"Go ahead. But keep me informed".

"I'll call you once there".

Boden nodded while Kelly was leaving the office and walked toward the common room. All firefighters were there, including high-ranking officers from the firehouse. They were all waiting for an answer.

"We can go".

They cried almost of joy in knowing this, then moved towards their trucks to get in and head for the house in question. Truck 81 led the way as it was Hermann who had the address.

"Hermann? Aren't you afraid that Casey could see us? I mean, it's not far from where he lives".

"Nah. If he sees us, we will say that we had a call not far away, a gas leak or something".

"But Casey is not that stupid. We never managed to lie to him about anything. He feels it when we lie to him".

"Then try to be as convincing as possible. Now focus on the road and drive".

"Yes sir..."

The rest of the ride was very quiet, nobody really dared to speak. After ten long minutes, they arrived at the house. All down their trucks, they approached the house. It was still inhabited. The curtains of one of the room slightly stirred, and soon after, the door opened, revealing a distraught woman.

"My God, there's a problem? With the house?"

"No, Madame, no! There is no problem. We're just... Somehow here as civilians. We saw your ad..."

"Ah... I knew that the price was not legal".

She seemed almost depressed, sorry.

"In fact, maybe we would be interested".

She looked up, eyes wide open.

"Interested? By my house?"

Firefighters all nodded simultaneously.

"One of our colleagues is going through a hard time and... And he needs to rebuild his life elsewhere. This house would probably be a way for him to start a new life", Severide explained calmy.

"And... The low price would allow him to do it, right?"

"Actually... He's not aware. It's a surprise".

The woman was even more puzzled now.

"Well... You want to come in?"

Kelly smiled and stepped forward, nodding, followed by Hermann. The others had not moved. No need. The two men knew Casey well enough to know if it was the right house. The two friends then went back inside the house. They were surprised.

"I... Posted the ad because there is a lot of work to do. The house is poorly insulated and it's getting old. Part of the wood is beginning to fall apart, almost everything is to redo. My husband has already bought a new house at the other egde of the town, so we try to sell this one. Without much success until today".

Hermann and Kelly looked at each other, both with the same idea in mind.

"Are you thinking about what I'm thinking?"

"I think so".

They then turned to the owner.

"Madam, could you help us?"

"Spill it out".

"If we buy the house, we would need you for something".

She crossed her arms to her chest, waiting for the explanation.

"Our colleague, who's going through a bad time as we told you. He is a self-contractor in construction, especially wood construction. You... You might call him on your behalf and get him here and estimate the amount of work it would be?"

The young woman didn't know what to expect, but certainly not this.

"I don't really understand..."

"If he comes to see the house for an estimate, we'll know about the amount of work through your help, then we can see if we buy your house to do the work", Hermann began to explain.

"And if we buy your house, if you can still help us a little more...", Kelly added.

"A little more?"

"To summarize: you help us to get an estimate, if it is affordable, we buy your house. But the time to do the renovation, is that possible for you to... To stay in the house? So that... Our friend had no suspicion? Please?"

Kelly almost begged this woman to walk with them. But she was really lost.

"I-I... I can call my husband? He will probably be more... Well, I'm not good at this, it's my husband who does this stuff".

"No problem. We don't have a call for now".

The young woman turned around, took her phone and called her husband. Working nearby, in five minutes, he was there.

"Honey, why there are firefighters out... Side..."

Surprised too, the end of his sentence was almost inaudible.

"There is a problem with the house?"

"Darling? They are there for the ad".

"Oh".

The husband looked at the two firefighters from head to toes.

"You are... Interested?"

"I explain. We have a colleague who has to rebuild his life... And we would like to surprise him. We're seeking a house for him, his future wife and their unborn baby, and when we fell on the ad, we immediately thought that your house would be THE house".

"As you surely have understood, there is a lot of work to do before we can live in it. This is why we lowered the price to its maximum, because we knew that the price of the work would be high and we didn't have the money to undertake them".

"We know, your wife kindly explained it. Our colleague owns a wood contruction business, and we wanted to know if you could help us in our surprise to him. He can realize an estimate on your behalf, and if it is affordable for us, we buy your house and we pay all the work".

"But..."

For the husband, there was necessarily a but somewhere. Even if he had to work with firefighters, he knew beware.

"If the price is reasonable for us, he will do the work for sure. But not to arouse his suspicions... We..."

Kelly did not know how to explain and ask this favor to people he didn't know.

"We would like to know if you'd be willing to stay in this house during the work to not arouse his suspicion".

The husband raised his hands, as if to stop the two firefighters.

"Wait, I resume. If the price of this work and the price of the house are in your budget, you buy the house, your friend do the renovation that you will pay, and this friend will live in this house without it realizes anything. And for that, you ask us to stay in the house during the work", the husband summed up.

"To make it simple... That's it", Severide assured.

"And... That should... take how long?"

"I don't know yet, I think that when he will make the estimate, and above all if you accept, he will tell you how long it should take".

"I see. Well, I'm ready to call your friend for... For an estimate. And we can see after that what we're gonna do, alright?"

"No problem! I give you my number, I would be free almost all the time".

Kelly wrote his phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to the husband.

"And if this maniac isn't available, call me at this number. I will be free".

He then registered his own number on the same piece of paper. Just then, the radio crackled and main called them on a car accident.

"We gotta go. Here, I give you his work number. You can call him".

Kelly gave him Matt's number before Hermann and he went running toward the trucks.

Much later in the morning, Gabby came to the firehouse for her shift as a PIC. She was accompanied by Matt, as every day for about a month, then he came again with Kelly in the apartment. That way, he could take some fresh air and he could see his colleagues and friends.

"Hey! Casey!"

His men saluted him as every three days and gathered around him, keeping their distance to not scare him.

"How are you ? You don't go crazy too much at the apartment?"

"I... I'm turning the corner. Slowly. But surely. I would like to go back to work but... Chaplain Orlovsky hasn't cleared me... So I wait".

He forced a smile and looked down.

"Casey, give yourself a little time to... to pick up the pieces. Okay? It takes time to heal internally and be back in 100% before going back to work. This won't be long, I'm sure", Hermann tried to reassure.

"Thank Hermann. Thank you to all of you... For your support".

All addressed one last smile at Casey and spread out to go home. Kelly stopped next to him and tapped his shoulder slightly.

"Let's go home?"

"Uh... Kelly? Could we... Go somewhere before? I...", he began, but stopped, not knowing how to explain himself. "I... Received a call from someone who... Who would like an estimate for a renovation. He uh... He said it was urgent and... And it's in the neighborhood, not far from here".

Severide knew what he was talking about, but acted as if nothing had happened. He was also glad to know that Matt had agreed to take a little work to not get bored in the apartment.

"Of course. If I can help you", he assured.

"Thanks".

They got into the car, ready to go to the house. Matt's possible future house, without his knowing.