Sevasey Drabbles

Can't it Wait?

When Casey woke up he found himself in an unfamiliar room. He was lying almost flat on a bed. He could see Severide sitting in the left corner of the room, and as he looked around he spotted Boden in the other corner. He couldn't think what had happened or where he was. There was a constant beeping noise in the room and his face felt irritated. Clumsily he brought his hand up, trying to remove the obstruction but the entire process was exhausting and his arm fell limply back down to the bed. His eyes closed and the resounding noise lessened as he fell back to sleep.

The next time he opened his eyes it felt like some time had passed, but not much time had gone by at all. The obstruction on his face was different this time, not quite so irritating. He found his voice and spoke to one of the figures sitting in the room. "Kel…"

Severide sat upright as soon as he heard his name, it was only a whisper but he'd only been dozing, waiting for Casey to wake. "Matt. Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I dunno… where are we?" he coughed out.

"We're in the ER," Severide responded.

"The ER? Oh God…"

"Hey, hey, it's ok, you're al right, everything's all right," Severide soothed immediately.

The panicked thoughts and memories that he wasn't quite sure were true or just nightmares disappeared from Casey's mind with Severide's sudden reassurance.

"That's it, you just need to rest. You're being admitted, they'll be taking you to a different room soon…"

Casey's vision faded to black.

They all remained in the ER for another hour. Severide and Boden, both still wearing turnout gear, followed Casey up when he was moved to a private hospital room. They had to stay in the waiting room for a short time as they transferred Casey though. "You didn't tell him?" Boden questioned as he watched Severide walk over to him with a coffee in his hand.

"Huh?"

"You said he woke whilst I was sleeping," Boden responded. It had been a long and hard day for the entire CFD.

"Yeah, and yeah, I couldn't tell him, he knows, he remembers but he's confused and… and hurting, so, I didn't say anything…"

"We have to tell him," Boden insisted firmly.

"Can't it wait?"

Severide knew it couldn't wait and when Casey next woke, when he was much more lucid than before, and whilst it was just the two of them in the room, just Casey and Severide, no Boden, no nurse or doctor, Severide was going talk to him. He would explain everything.

"It's ok," Casey spoke before Severide could say anything. His voice was raspy and hoarse. "I think I know."

"You remember what happened?"

"I remember yelling when I saw the propane tanks, and falling... I remember falling, then I couldn't really hear anything, or see anything… then you were there, and I couldn't get Herrmann out… are they…" He swallowed. "How long have I been here?"

"Almost twenty-four hours now," Severide told him.

"They're dead? All of them?"

Severide nodded.

"Cindy and…"

"Everyone's been told," Severide interrupted, aware of how much effort it was taking for him to speak.

"I'm sorry, tell them that I'm…"

"There's no need. They're all here," Severide explained.

"What?"

"They're all here and have been waiting to make sure that you're ok," Severide reiterated, offer a small smile, although he knew it wouldn't be much comfort.

"That I'm ok? What? What's even wrong me?" he questioned, looking around at the monitoring equipment.

"You got knocked about pretty badly," Severide answered simply.

"I'm not dead," he stated, there was a hint of anger in his tone, annoyance at the unfairness of it all.

"No. And I am so glad you're not," Severide responded softly. "Everyone is here for you."

"I feel fine," he insisted, although he couldn't help but cough out every few words.

"You're getting some nice drugs. You have a concussion, couple of lacerations that needed stitches, some broken ribs, broken fingers, strained wrist, smoke inhalation…"

"Doesn't sound so bad. The bodies were recovered?" he asked, moving the topic back away from himself.

"They're dead, Matt, I'm sorry. I don't think we would have been able to save them," Severide responded.

"Kelly's right," Boden spoke as he entered the hospital room, his arrival had almost gone unnoticed. "They've completed the overhaul, Matt, none of this was your fault," he said, knowing what Casey needed to hear now, and that was the truth.

Casey shook his head. "We should never have been in that building."

"No. The tanks were being stored there illegally, looks like the fire was started by a couple of people who were sheltering in the building, they must have left when it started to spread," Boden told him.

"That's the initial report?" he questioned, his voice still raspy.

"Yeah, and there's nothing to suggest anything else happened," Boden continued.

"Need me to write my report?" he asked, his voice cracking with the strain of talking now.

"That can wait," Boden responded.

"I can do it…"

"As far as I know, you're getting a lot of painkillers right now," Boden told him.

Casey just shook his head. "Can you get the doctor? I want to get out of here, I need to get out of here…" He pushed the covers back, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he even didn't stop as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

"Hey, Matt, stop, all right, stop. You're not going anywhere. You need the oxygen." Severide was holding his upper arm now, trying to stop him from moving anywhere.

"I feel fine…" he said insistently, breathing heavily, struggling to catch his breath.

"Yeah, that beeping noise says otherwise," Severide warned him as the monitor noted the change in his heart rate.

"I… I… I can't…"

"Look at me," Severide instructed. "Matthew, look at me."

Boden watched from the end of the bed as Casey focused on Severide, and his breathing eventually evened out. Exhausted now, Severide helped him lay back properly on the bed.

Severide replaced the bed covers and smiled down at him. "You need to rest, and your body needs to heal." He sat back down on the chair and spoke again. "I'll be here when you wake up." He was sure Casey wouldn't sleep peacefully, and he knew Casey was worried about what he would see when he closed his eyes, but his presence was the only reassurance he could offer.

"I want to be on my own."

"Oh, right, yeah, sure, bud… we'll let you get some rest," Severide said hesitantly. He really didn't want to leave Casey alone right now, but he couldn't stay if he wasn't wanted.