This is the story of Benny's death, but happened around 7x11 (after Severide and Stella broke up over…let's just say jealousy about Tyler), with current personnel in Firehouse (Gallo instead of Otis, Violet instead of Foster). I have to say current personnel is my favourite throughout the series.
"How many things you saved from your apartment?" asked Severide when he saw Casey taking some of his belongings out of the box he hadn't touched in a week since he moved in. A strange thing to do just before shift.
"Not much. Some medals… this is my mum's watch… some clothes, surprisingly. And…this," Casey showed Severide a framed picture of Gabby and him.
"Well, just use anything you need," Severide motioned around the apartment.
"Sure, I'll need some weights for workout," teased Casey. "Feels like starting over, literally."
"Yeah, I might have to burn my apartment to start over too," said Severide. It's been a week since he and Stella broke up, he was already able to make small jokes about it, although Casey didn't dare to touch the topic.
"Give me a warning before you do it," said Casey. "Hey, you have another sheet for the bed in my room? Other than the one that's there?" Now that he had made up his mind about not finding a new place and staying with Severide instead, he started to treat the second bedroom as his room.
"No, I didn't even know that I have a sheet for that bed," said Severide.
"Yeah, figured that out. It's quite girly," Casey smirked.
"That's Kidd's doing when she lived here," said Severide. "We're carpooling or what?"
"I'm meeting Christie tomorrow, I'll drive myself," said Casey.
"Running a little late today, gentlemen," commented Boden when they walked into the firehouse, both secretly hoping they wouldn't run into the chief.
"Sorry chief," said Casey.
"Shouldn't happen again," said Severide, then they continued walking to their quarters. Casey sat in his quarter, pulling out paperworks he promised the chief he would submit today, while Severide walked to the apparatus floor and began checking the rig.
In the common room, Violet and Ritter were cooking breakfast burrito with Gallo distracting them. When everyone started eating, Casey walked in and grabbed one before sitting in front of Ritter. Beside them, Gallo and Violet continued their morning banter. It has become their routine since Violet transferred in, and once when Violet was covering for another firehouse, the others were missing their morning entertainment.
"Casey, where's Severide?" asked Boden as he grabbed a burrito.
"Not in his quarter, I'll find him," said Casey.
"It's alright. I'll see you three after the briefing, Herrmann," said Boden. He walked back to his office.
"What's it about?" asked Herrmann to Casey. Casey shrugged.
"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, road accident."
They didn't even had the chance to do morning briefing, since they were called to a scene when they walked into the briefing room. A car was hanging off a bridge dangerously into a river on its side, the driver's side is practically above the water. When they arrived to the scene, Casey and Severide surveyed the scene. They couldn't get a look into the number of people inside the car.
"Rappel down, see inside?" asked Severide.
"Yeah. Then we might be able to pull the car up with truck," said Casey. "Truck, chain the car to 81, we'll pull it up once we got Severide's okay."
"Cruz, prepare the rope," said Severide. A minute later, he was rappeling down the bridge, needing to look inside the car from the front window. "We have one confirmed victim inside, driver, and a baby in a carseat in right side. All windows are intact!" The car swayed dangerously as Gallo and Mouch tied the front and back of the car to 81.
"Mouch, is it tied to 81?" asked Casey. "Alright, we'll pull the car. Kidd, slow and steady, on my mark."
"I can pull them out so we don't risk spinal injury!" shouted Severide from down there.
"You cannot. If you break the glass that's risking the car. It's tipping. We have the front and back latched to truck, but I cannot have you below the car. It's too dangerous," said Casey.
"At least I'll put c-collar on her!" shouted Severide. Brett tapped Violet and she got c-collar from her bag.
"Not having you below the car and breaking the window, Severide!" yelled Casey.
"Are we saving her or me?" shouted Severide.
"I said, we're pulling the car. Cruz, pull him up!" said Casey.
"No!" said Severide. Casey glared at Cruz who started to pull Severide up with a discomfort on his face. He knew he would face Severide's wrath. However, Casey is the captain, he had the scene. Then again, being in the middle of Casey-Severide row is never fun.
"Once the car is secured, Tony you get the baby, Gallo and Capp get the driver. Kidd, go slowly," said Casey. Violet passed the c-collar to Gallo. The car started to rise on the bridge on a better angle. Then again, having it on that angle made the rescue more difficult than if it was tipping on the front/back side. Severide sat on the side of the bridge after climbed up.
"Go!" Casey instructed. Gallo and Capp broke the glass on the right front seat and tried opening the door. As they succeeded, Gallo jumped inside the car and felt the pulse.
"Weak pulse, putting on c-collar now," said Gallo. He attached the c-collar to the victim and slit the safety belt. Tony pried open the passenger's door with the jaw, and cut the baby's carseat safety. He pulled the baby and passed the baby to Violet who took her to the ambulance to be checked. Meanwhile, Brett and Mouch were prepared with the stretcher to take the victim.
Once the victim is pulled onto the stretcher, Brett checked her airways. "She's not breathing. Violet, prepare for intubation!" yelled Brett.
"Baby is fine, Lieutenant, please," Violet passed the baby to Severide as she ran to Brett. She prepared the tools, and Brett intubated the victim. Casey walked to Severide who refused to look at him.
"I'm in. Let's transport them to Med," said Brett. They slided the stretcher to ambulance, and Violet went back to Severide to grab the baby.
"Thanks, Lieutenant," Violet ducked, avoided the tension between Casey and Severide, and pulled the baby to her. She climbed into the ambulance and they drove to Med. The others scrambled to do overhaul and packed their equipment, pretending not to see the rumbling volcano.
"She has spinal injury. You know pulling the car at that angle without c-collar will risk her the ability to walk," said Severide.
"You cannot break the glass from the bottom," said Casey.
"I could! You weren't there, you didn't see the angle her head was at!" said Severide.
"You would be in that damn ambulance, you didn't see the angle the car was at!" yelled Casey. He stared at Severide, and marched down to the truck. Squad had finished packing by then, and just waiting for Severide to join them.
"And here we go again," whispered Stella to Mouch. Although it had happened repeatedly over the years, and they knew the bond between those two were too strong to really break them apart, the whole house hated being in the middle of a warzone. The officers would stay in their quarters, and every time they walked in the firehouse they would shoot daggers with their eyes toward the others.
"You tell Violet she needs to do two room services," Mouch said to Gallo, who smirked.
"Are we done?" asked Casey. Patrol had arrived to secure the car.
"Yes, we are," said Stella.
As Truck rolled back to the firehouse, Casey was immediately called to Boden's office regarding staffing for First Shift. He needed to fill out evaluation to a floater who joined them the previous week as First Shift needed a permanent member. He signed his evaluation sheet in Boden's office, and bumped into Brett and Violet who walked from the apparatus floor.
"How were the victims?" asked Casey.
"Both stable when they arrived," said Brett. "Hey, remind me to pick up some more c-collars when we run to Med?" she said to Violet.
"Did that already when you were in the nurse station," said Violet. Brett grinned and latched her arm to her younger colleague.
"You're the best, doughnuts on me tomorrow," she said adoringly.
"Now who's the best?" Violet laughed and they walked to the common room.
"Whose turn is it to do lunch?" asked Gallo.
"Pretty sure not mine, I just did breakfast," said Violet.
"Isn't it the point, they who do breakfast do lunch?" asked Gallo. Violet and Ritter snorted.
"You guys are horrible," sighed Gallo. "At least someone help me cook."
"I'll do it," said Brett. "Back in my days, I like doing Cruz' turn. So, what do I need to do, chef?" asked Brett while washing her hands and opened the fridge.
"Burrito bowl?" asked Gallo. Brett nodded.
Meanwhile, Squad was immediately called to another scene in a pasta factory, and only rolled back to the firehouse after noon. Severide went to his quarter, while Tony, Capp, and Cruz walked to the common room, and saw leftovers.
"Thank God it's not pasta. I cannot smell another can of tomato," said Capp, shrinking his nose at the salsa bowl.
"What happened?" asked Herrmann.
"Pasta factory accident," said Cruz. "A 200 gallon machine got jammed, a worker got his fingers stuck in the machine. Had to drain the entire thing to free him."
"We're out of pasta sauce, we could use two gallons out of those," said Gallo.
"Thank God not pasta tonight," said Cruz.
"Truck, let's run some drills," said Casey from the door.
"On it!" Gallo jumped over the sofa.
"You do it again and Casey might think you enjoy drills that he'll make you do it three times a day," said Herrmann.
"You're just jealous Ritter didn't jump for drills," teased Casey.
"Alright, Engine, we're doing drills too!" said Herrmann.
"Should I do that?" asked Ritter. Herrmann glared at him. He faked excitement then jumped over the sofa to everyone's laughter.
"Mouch," Casey raised his eyebrows at the sofa.
"Aaah, I would jump over the sofa too back in my early days, Casey. You weren't born yet," said Mouch.
"Where's Kidd?" asked Gallo.
"Already setting up the tools," said Casey. They all went outside.
"Should I tell the Lieutenant that lunch is ready?" asked Violet to Brett.
"I think he knows, he is just avoiding Casey," said Brett.
"This happened often?" asked Violet.
"Once in a while. When this happen… we stay out of the way until it is resolved," said Brett.
"And how do we know it's resolved?" asked Violet.
"Oh you'll see. Besides, they are roommates now. They can't stay mad at each other that long," Brett walked to the fridge. "Ice cream?"
"Yes please," said Violet.
They didn't have joint calls until later, each units was called separately so Casey and Severide easily avoided each other. Casey knew Severide would come around, he just needed to clear his mind. He planned to talk later that night. However, He didn't get a chance, as around 7 pm, when everyone was still in the common room, he heard Severide got a call.
"What? I'll be right there," said Severide. Casey opened his door and found Severide already on his way.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Benny had a stroke," said Severide. "Tell Boden I'm going to Med. Tell Cruz he's acting Lieutenant."
"Got it," said Casey, walking to Boden's office.
When Severide arrived at Med, he received words that his father had died before he could see him. He stumbled to the nurse station and told Maggie to tell the firehouse. After all, he would be out of service longer than he thought. Maggie ushered him to the doctor's lounge while waiting for the hospital to do administrative work.
"What happened?" asked Severide to Dr. Bekker who walked in to talk to him.
"He was brought here by a 911 call, the cleaning lady at his place found him because his newspaper was still outside," said Dr. Bekker. "He was unresponsive when he got here. We put him on vent, and he crashed about 10 minutes before you got here. We tried everything we could, but he was asystolic. I'm so sorry."
"Thanks, doc," said Severide. Maggie stepped inside.
"We've contacted the firehouse. Anyone else we need to call?" asked Maggie. Severide shook his head.
"Casey," Boden knocked on Casey's quarter. "Benny Severide died before Kelly made it there."
"Damn," cursed Casey. "Chief, can I…"
"Yeah, go. Kidd will be acting Lieutenant on Truck. I'll try to take the house out of service," said Boden. "Stay with him. He shouldn't be alone."
"Copy," said Casey, then ran to his car to go to Med. He briefly wondered if Severide would appreciate his presence, considering their argument in the morning. But as angry as he ever was to Severide, he always appreciate the other man being there for him, and he hopes it works the other way around too.
"Maggie," Casey walked to the nurse station. Maggie pointed to the doctor's lounge. "Thanks," said Casey, then walked to the lounge. Severide was hunched on the sofa, his eyes were empty.
"Hey," Casey walked to him, and got no reaction. "Kelly," he crouched down in front of his friends. Last time he saw, Severide's eyes were full of rage, disagreeing with him on the call. Now, it was hollow, saw right through his head. Casey sighed and sat beside him, putting his hand on Severide's back. He finally got a reaction.
"He died," said Severide.
"Yeah. You saw him?" asked Casey.
"No, they were gonna call me," said Severide.
"Come on, let's sit outside," said Casey. Severide stood up and walked to the waiting room like a robot. Casey followed him.
"Kelly, you're ready?" called Maggie. Severide looked at Casey, seemed lost. Casey squeezed his shoulder to elicit response.
"I'll be here," said Casey, and sat in the nearest chair. He pulled out his phone to call Boden. Surely by then Boden had announced it to the firehouse, as he got messages from Cruz, Herrmann, and Stella. He didn't reply as so far he had no new information.
When Severide walked out 10 minutes later, he plopped beside Casey without saying a word.
"He was a donor. They are preparing him for surgery," said Severide.
"What happened?" asked Casey. "Didn't you meet him yesterday?"
"Cleaning lady became suspicious because newspaper was still there. She called 911."
"Damn…" Casey put his hand on Severide's back. "Anyone you need to call? Benny's daughter?"
"Yeah, Katie…" Severide pulled his phone out of his pocket and just scrolled until he found Katie's name. He stared at the phone as if it would call Katie without his prompt.
"Want me to do it for you?" asked Casey. Severide shook his head and stood up. He walked outside the hospital and paced back and forth while calling Katie. After several minutes, Casey walked outside and sat on a bench, battling the freezing temperature, keeping an eye of Severide. He texted Christie to cancel their plan tomorrow, and immediately got a call.
"Yeah?" Casey answered Christie's call.
"Matt, aren't you on shift?" asked Christie.
"I was. I'm with Severide in Med. His dad died," said Casey.
"Gosh. He shouldn't be alone," said Christie.
"Funny you said that, you left after dad died," spat Casey. "Sorry, Christie… that was uncalled for. I didn't mean that," Casey quickly backtracked.
"I know, that's why I said he shouldn't be left alone. Because see what I did to you? To us?" said Christie apologetically.
"I'll call you tomorrow," said Casey.
"Anything I can help?" asked Christie.
"I don't know… he is being operated now. Organ donor," said Casey. "God knows how long it will take."
"I see, Matt, anything you need, or Severide needs, you call me?" said Christie.
"Yeah," said Casey. He felt a headache forming. In the past couple of years, he had mended his relationship with his sister, they were in much better place then when their dad died or when their mum was out of prison. He had to apologise properly to Christie. He looked at Severide who no longer walked back and forth, but now sat on a bench away from him. He walked to Severide and grabbed his shoulder.
"Kelly, let's go inside. It's freezing," he coaxed. Severide didn't say anything. "I'm gonna wait inside. Don't go anywhere. If you're not inside in 10 minutes, I'll call rescue team, which most likely would come from 51." With that, he walked to the ER waiting room.
Ten minutes to the dot, Casey marched outside to find Severide. He was surprised to see Severide talking with a lady outside. As he walked closer, he recognised the lady more.
"Christie?" asked Casey.
"Hey Matt," said Christie. She handed Casey a cup of coffee she had been holding. "Here. Thought you might need it," she said. Casey realised that Severide was holding the same cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Casey bent forward and hugged Christie. "You didn't have to come."
"I was just getting out of my office earlier," said Christie. She gave a bag of sandwich to Casey. "I don't know if you both had dinner already."
"I think we should sit inside," said Casey firmly.
"Come on, Kelly. You can tell me about your father inside," said Christie. She pulled Severide standing and they walked to the ER waiting room, taking up chairs in the corner. Christie managed to get Severide to talk, and he also talked about how his sister's flying from Florida tomorrow, and he had not been able to contact his mother. Casey could see Severide loosen up a bit after talking.
"It's my mum," Severide waved his phone, then walked to the other end of the room, pacing back and forth while talking on the phone. Casey sipped his coffee, feeling the headache that was starting to form slowly disappear.
"Thanks for coming," said Casey. "He was half catatonic earlier… good you managed to get him to talk."
"Yeah. Learned the hard way that not talking about it only made it worse," said Christie.
"Sorry for what I said, Christie. I didn't mean to bring it up, open the wound… I was on edge, with…" Casey pointed to Severide.
"It's okay Matt. I never apologised for abandoning you. You were very young, I should've taken care of you," Christie patted Casey's cheek. Casey pulled her close and pecked her forehead. Christie leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Eeeh. You took me in when Gabby left me. Are we good?" asked Casey.
"Of course. We are great," said Christie. "You'll still walk me down the aisle, right?" Christie got engaged just before Casey got divorced, so for a week before Casey was ready to live back in his own apartment, he stayed in Christie's guestroom while helping her and Violet pack to move into her fiance's house.
"My pleasure," Casey squeezed Christie's shoulder. He took comfort in having Christie there, momentarily forgetting about Kelly and Benny Severide. It was like they were little and they were still close with each other, he lost count how many time he sneaked into Christie's room at night and curled up with her. Severide sat in front of Christie.
"You know any place… funeral home? Maggie asked earlier," said Severide.
"I know a place where my ex-in law's funeral was held. I'll text Matt the detail when I get home," said Christie. "You need help with the cemetary? Church arrangement?" she asked.
"Benny went to that church at the corner of Bucktown," said Severide. "I'll have to talk with my sister about scheduling… when she gets here, I think."
"Probably you can let them know, and confirm the schedule ater?" asked Casey.
"I can do that, if you need to," said Christie. Severide nodded. "I'll call them first thing in the morning."
"Thank you, Christie. I appreciate it," said Severide.
"You're my brother's brother. Guess that makes you family," said Christie. Casey pulled her closer, tucking Christie's head under his chin. They sat there comfortably for a while before Christie looked at her watch.
"I'll go home if it's okay with you two. Remember, call if you need anything," said Christie.
"Thank you. Matt will text you the funeral plan," said Severide. Christie hugged him.
"Try to get some sleep, yeah? It will be overwhelming tomorrow," said Christie. Severide nodded. Christie ruffled Casey's hair and pecked his forehead.
"Thanks, Christie. Tell Violet and Ben I say hi. Text me when you get home," said Casey. Christie left them.
"I can't believe you called her, but it is nice having her," said Severide.
"I didn't. I cancelled our plan tomorrow and told her I'm at Med. Next thing I knew, she sat with you outside," said Casey.
"Who is Ben?" asked Severide curiously. He knew Violet, Casey's niece, but it was the first time he heard about Ben. Last he heard, Christie was divorced.
"Her fiance. Violet played matchmaker, it's her best friend's dad," said Casey. "You had dinner at the firehouse?" he asked. He didn't see Severide during dinner, but then again, they were at odds with each other; Severide had been avoiding him the whole day.
"No," Severide shook his head. "Mikami was on call," he smirked.
"You're depending too much on her," commented Casey disbelievingly. "Christie brought sandwiches," he added, giving the bag to Severide.
"Not hungry," said Severide.
"Eat anyway," insisted Casey. Severide had no choice, he had two bites and rewrapped the sandwich.
"Satisfied?" asked Severide. Casey shrugged. It was better than nothing.
An hour later, Casey had shared the details with Boden, Herrmann, and Kidd. They couldn't get out of service, and it's not like they can do anything anyway. In the meantime, Severide had paced the waiting room enough times to be on the receiving end of glares from many people, and Casey decided to take him to the chapel. Severide is not a religious person by any means, but he went to church as a child, and Casey hoped the place would give him peace as opposed to the anxiety-inducing waiting room. Severide sat in a pew, silent, not acknowledging Casey who sat beside him. Finally, Maggie texted Casey to bring Severide back to the ER.
"Kelly, we need to know where to deliver the remains," said Maggie. Casey showed his phone to Maggie.
"They are already expecting him," said Casey.
"Okay, I'll let them know," said Maggie.
"Is there anything we need to do now?" asked Casey.
"No. You can go to the funeral home tomorrow to bring Benny's clothes. Oh, Kelly needs to sign some documents," said Maggie. Severide followed Maggie inside. A couple minutes later, he walked back outside. Casey clapped him on the shoulder then walked him to his car.
"We're not going back to the firehouse?" asked Severide.
"Nope. Boden's order," said Casey.
"Damnit, Casey, I need to be working," said Severide.
"No you don't. You want to be working, you want to forget this happened, but you are in no shape to work. Go home, rest. Tomorrow morning we'll go to Benny's place, you pick up his uniform, and we'll go to the funeral home," Casey laid out his plan, arranged by Christie. He was silently glad Christie helped them, he had no idea what he was doing. When his dad died, it was a mess and while he tried to come to terms with everything that happened, his extended family did all the arrangements. With Hallie, her family took care of everything.
"Whatever you say," said Severide. While Casey was driving back to their loft, he remembered that they drove separately to Med. Guess they needed to go back and pick up Severide's car in the morning.
"Go freshen up, then sleep," said Casey once they stepped into the loft. When Severide was in the bathroom, Casey took the liberty to move all the liquor and beer bottles to his room. Just a week ago, when Severide broke up with Stella, he drank like a frat boy and ended up drunk and hangover.
After sending Severide to bed, Casey ate Christie's sandwich, washed it down with a beer, and went to his own room.
Casey woke up early in the morning to texts from Christie, giving him all contacts for funeral arrangements like hearse service and cemetary. Casey didn't know how Christie knew all this stuff, he didn't even know that any of Jim's parent had died. He thanked Christie, then went to the kitchen as he needed some coffee. Severide was sitting on the sofa, his eyes were blank just like when Casey first met him in the doctors' lounge the previous day.
"Severide," Casey called as he walked to the coffee maker and prepared the coffee. "Christie sent this, you might wanna take a look," Casey showed his phone to Severide.
"My mum will arrive today. She was his… on-off. Last one. She said, Benny arranged cemetary for himself already," said Severide. "I need to go to the firehouse, talk to Boden, go to HQ for funeral arrangement."
"Alright. We'll go to the firehouse, then to Benny's house, drop his uniform off at funeral home, and HQ?" Casey mentally calculated their plan for the day. Severide nodded. "To Med too, your car is still there," said Casey.
"Right," said Severide. He went silent for a couple minutes. When the coffee is ready, Casey poured two mugs and brought them to the sofa. "Hey, what was it like when your father died?" asked Severide. "Sorry, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it." The topic of parents was so sour for Casey, when Severide and Darden first befriended him im fire academy, they stayed away from the topic like it was a plague.
"Barely remember. My mum got arrested… Christie came and went back to school as soon as the funeral was done. I was left with my aunt's family, who resented me by the way, since her sister was in prison. Only a couple weeks after that it settled in, that I basically had no family left," said Casey.
"Christie's there," protested Severide.
"No, she left too. We weren't on good terms since then, until a couple years ago, until she came to terms that I forgave mum. Only when she got divorced we really repaired everything," Casey answered flatly. There was a reason that Christie wasn't at any important events of his life: fire academy graduation, lieutenant ceremony. First time Severide met Christie was by accident: Casey was with Christie and Violet at a grocery store, and he tailed them for a while, thinking that Casey secretly had a family. Only when he was caught following them that Casey introduced them, and Severide could see the similarities between the siblings. Since Christie got divorced, the siblings had weekly meetings, and Christie popped into the firehouse more often since Dawson left. Turned out she was never a big fan of the missus, but said nothing the whole time.
"Must be hard on you that young," said Severide. He sipped his coffee and closed his eyes for a second. "Let's go," he stood up.
At the firehouse, all the companies were out, so they just hung around in the common room. Casey picked some food from the stove, clearly whoever was cooking was interrupted by the alarm.
"Hey," Brett and Violet strolled in. "Where are the others?"
"We just got here," said Casey. "Popped in to see the chief."
"Sorry for your dad," Brett hugged Severide.
"Sorry for your loss, Lieutenant. Anything we can help?" Violet followed and hugged him too.
"Nah… it's taken care of," said Severide. "Case, should we just go to Benny's house? I'll call Boden later," said Severide.
"I just started this," said Casey, glancing at his plate. "You should eat too.. Mikami, he hasn't had anything since yesterday." Violet looked up from the coffee machine.
"What are you, five? Tettertale," Severide stuck out his tongue at Casey.
"And you sure look like a five year old," Brett commented. Violet giggled and picked out a plate.
"Did Gallo cook today?" she asked, scooping out food on her plate and sat. "You should eat though, Lieutenant. Don't tell Gallo I said this, but his pancakes are good."
Casey piled up pancakes, butter, and syrup on a plate and shoved it in front of Severide. "Eat up." Severide rolled his eyes, but relented and started eating.
"Quiet shift?" asked Severide.
"The opposite. We had continuous calls since 2 am," Brett glanced at Violet who nodded. "We didn't even have time to grab coffee in a decent place, we had one from doctors' lounge at Lakeshore."
"It was tasteless," said Violet. She looked up at the clock, and everyone could read her mind: no more calls until shift is over.
"It was. But it kept us awake," Brett shrugged. "So ready to collapse on my bed."
"Yeah?" asked Violet.
"Alright, don't make me feel old here, Violet. What are you doing after this?" asked Brett.
"I'm babysitting," said Violet. Brett groaned.
"Kelly," Chief Boden walked into the common room.
"Chief," Severide stood and, after receiving condolendes from Boden, he followed Boden to the office.
"How is he really?" asked Brett.
"Overwhelmed. His mother and sister are coming either today or tomorrow. We're going to Benny's house to get his uniform. He wanted to talk to Boden about possibility of having a CFD funeral," Casey shrugged.
"Isn't that for line of duty death?" asked Violet. "My ex-captain's father was a CFD commissioner. Died because he slipped in the bathroom. No CFD funeral, however hard he tried."
"Usually, yes. No harm in trying, though," said Casey.
"You'll let us know if he needs anything?" asked Brett. "Kidd took it hard too. She felt she should be there for him, but hesitated since they broke up. And she subbed for you. We had a call right after you left for Med."
"I'll let her know if there's something she can do. Probably it will make her feel better," said Casey. Severide walked back to the common room. "How is it?" asked Casey.
"Chief will meet me in HQ today at 2," said Severide. "Come on, Benny's house."
"You're not going to finish that?" asked Violet innocently, pointing to Severide's half-eaten pancakes. Severide sat down and continued eating obediently. Casey and Brett gaped and grinned, respectively.
"Does the kid you babysit eat that easily too?" asked Casey.
"I wish," Violet walked to the stove and started cleaning. "Three sisters, aged 4 to 10, they are like rabbits on steroid," she commented. Brett almost choked on her coffee when she laughed.
"I don't see Benny's star anywhere," said Severide, getting out of Benny's bedroom. "Benny got a medal in 1994. He talked about being buried with it all the time."
"Maybe someone else has it," said Casey.
"Maybe," Severide groaned. "I don't have time to deal with that. Going from ex to ex… no one has time to do it."
"I'll have it taken care of," said Casey, pulling out his phone to text Stella and Herrmann. They had been asking about helping Severide in any way. "Found his uniform yet? His helmet is in the front closet."
"Nah, I'll go look for it," Severide went to the bedroom. Casey purposely didn't go with him to give him privacy. When Casey peeked into the bedroom ten minutes later, he saw Severide weeping silently, Benny's folded uniform in his hands. He sat back down on the sofa, knowing that Severide needed privacy. The only time he saw Severide cried before was when Shay died and he watched the video Shay last recorded.
Casey sat and flipped through the TV for some time until Severide walked out of the room with Benny's uniform. His eyes were swollen and his face were red. He pulled out a beer from the fridge and sat beside Casey.
"You know, losing a dad at 15 or 35 is still losing a dad. You don't have to pretend everything's okay," Casey clasped his hand on Severide's back. Severide shook his head.
"You don't understand. Last words I said to him…" said Severide.
"I don't. But I do know that the last words my father said to me is that I was a loser, and I would never be anyone worthy in anyone's life," said Casey.
"He didn't," Severide looked at him. "How could he?"
"It got to me, you know," said Casey. "I regretted that I didn't argue with him. That I didn't say anything to him. I got to live with that. But that's that. I didn't become what he said, just because he said so."
"Well, for what it's worth, if he was still alive, I'll beat the truth into him," said Severide. He got reminded of young Casey whom Darden dragged to meet him in the fire academy. Casey nearly never looked straight into someone's eyes and wasn't eager to make friends. No wonder he had no confidence if his own father talked him down like that.
"I know you would," said Casey. "And… whatever you said to Benny, it doesn't define you. Don't let it eat you up," said Casey. Severide let his tears fell. Casey squeezed the back or his neck, taking Benny's uniform from Severide. Severide buried his face in his palms and sobbed openly.
"You ready?" asked Casey when Severide finally stopped crying.
"Yeap, let's do it."
After dropping Benny's uniform at the funeral house and settled the payment, they went to CFD HQ. Casey didn't have any intention to walk in there otherwise absolutely needed, so he decided to wait in the car playing chauffeur. He pulled a report he brought to finish, the report from the hanging car yesterday. He was nearly done when Severide opened the car door and jumped in. Without asking, he knew the outcome of the meeting.
"At least you tried," he tried to give some encouragement, though he knew it fell flat.
"No such thing as nice try," quipped Severide. "When I'm dying, throw me into a burning building so it would be a line of duty death?" Casey frowned. "Sorry, too early for a death joke?"
"Never the right time," said Casey.
"Hey, can you drop me off at Med? I'll grab my car, then pick up my mum. She's flying in now," said Severide.
"Sure," said Casey. "I'll do your paperwork for last shift."
"You don't have to, Case. I can do it," said Severide.
"I know. But I have plenty of time. Don't worry about it," said Casey. "And Christie called, the church can do the service anytime this week. The Chaplain is okay during this week too. Just need your schedule. Anything else not taken care of?"
"Limo? Benny sure took care of everything beforehand," said Severide.
"I'll let her know," said Casey. He dropped Severide at Med parking lot and drove to the location Herrmann told him to join the treasure hunt for the medal.
"Hey, didn't catch you last night," said Casey as Severide walked out of his room to the kitchen. He went home around 8 pm, and Severide was already asleep. He even walked in to check on Severide, in case he was sick as he slept in unusually early. Severide didn't even stir when Casey felt his forehead to check for temperature, which was normal, to his relief.
"Yeah, crashed pretty early after dropping my mum at her hotel," said Severide. "It's not our shift," he commented when he saw Casey was in uniform.
"Boden switched us with first shift so we can have the day of funeral off," said Casey. After Severide's mum flew in yesterday, they decided the funeral date, and searched Benny's house once again for the medal. Casey, Stella, Herrmann, and Mouch also went around Benny's exes' houses to find the medal, and got nothing but Benny's complicated love life story and a flirtation toward Casey, to the amusement of the others.
"Ah, I see," said Severide. "What's this?" he asked when Casey handed him a folder of paper.
"Last shift report. Just need your signature," said Casey. Severide signed it without reading it. "You didn't want to read it first? Maybe I wrote something you didn't agree with."
"Nah, you were right. That car might've tipped over if I put any weight or even touched it," said Severide. "Thanks for doing this."
"It's fine. Kidd did half the shift anyway," said Casey. "We went to Benny's exes' houses yesterday. Haven't found the medal."
"We?"
"Kidd, Mouch, Herrmann, and I," said Casey. "They've been asking what can they do to help you. So I enlisted their help, we went to look for the medal."
"Gee, thanks."
"Hey, stop by at the firehouse if you're not doing anything. It might do you some good," said Casey.
"What, you wanna keep an eye on me?" asked Severide.
"So you'll have something decent to eat," said Casey.
"I'll think about it," said Severide. Casey took his coffee mug and left.
"Casey," Stella knocked on his door, an hour after they got back on a call. Casey turned to face her. "How's Severide really doing?"
"He took it hard," said Casey. "They didn't end on a good note." Stella nodded, looked deep in thought. Casey could see how troubled she was. "Hey, if you're still carrying torch, act on it."
"No, I… I care for him. I don't know about torch. I just feel… helpless, you know? Nothing I can do for him, and we couldn't even find the damn medal," Stella sounded really upset now.
"Shut the door," Casey motioned, noticing Stella wouldn't appreciate anyone walking in the bunk room and overheard them. Stella plopped down on Casey's bunk.
"I don't know how to help him. I don't even know if me helping would inflict more pain for him," said Stella.
"Look, this is a long road for him. Just because you can't help now, doesn't mean you can't do anything at all."
"I'm worried. With Anna…"
"Yeah, that is what I'm worried about. With Shay, he was unconsolable," said Casey. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." There's a knock on Casey's door.
"Hey," Severide peeked his head. "Sorry, not a good time?"
"Hey, I'm so sorry I haven't gotten the chance to see you," said Stella. "Sorry for Benny. Is there anything I can do?" She walked the two steps to Severide then hesitated to close their gap, but eventually gave him a hug. Severide brushed a hand on her back before pulling back.
"We were just discussing who might have the medal," said Casey.
"Forget it, he had 10 exes," said Severide.
"We've been to 5, halfway to go then," Stella shrugged.
"Is there any chance he gave it to his friend in the CFD? Or any bank vault?" asked Casey.
"There's no proof of that in the house, or that his lawyer told me of," said Severide.
"You came to join us for lunch?" asked Stella.
"I was bored," said Severide. "Benny took care of his own funeral arrangement is weird, he wasn't a planner when he lived. And my mum and Christie arranged what he had not… the limo, the church service… I have nothing to do."
"Join us then," said Casey. "It's been a slow shift, knock on wood. I'm running drills after this."
"Who's cooking?" asked Severide.
"Gallo and Violet. The cooking process is more entertaining than the food," said Stella. They walked to the common room, Severide receiving hugs from everyone, and sat around, waiting for the food to be ready, but secretly watching Gallo and Violet bickering while cooking. Their tacos were huge success, too, so there were no complaints. Someone hugged Severide from behind. He froze.
"Guess who?" whispered Katie.
"Hey," Severide turned and returned Katie's hug. "Why didn't you call? I could pick you up."
"It's alright. How are you taking this?" asked Katie.
"Eh, I'm alright," said Severide.
"Hey, heard you were looking for this," Katie opened her purse and took out a small box. "Mum said your friends came to her house asking for a medal. I guess this is it. He gave it to me when I moved."
Severide didn't say anything, he pulled Katie into a bone-crushing hug. Beside him, Casey and Stella glanced at each other and smiled.
"Are the others really coming?" asked Severide. They were getting ready for the funeral service. Severide took it particularly hard, since it would be a regular funeral, not a CFD funeral. After the funeral, Benny would be interred in a cemetary outside town, with only Severide, his mother, and Katie present, at Benny's request.
"Everyone said they'll come, hence why Boden requested shift change," said Casey. "Ready?" He paid close attention to Severide who had spent minutes trying to tie his black tie. His hands were shaking. "Need help?"
"Stupid tie," murmured Severide, then let Casey walked to him and helped him with the tie.
"Done. You're meeting your mum and Katie at the hotel?" asked Casey.
"Yeah. Picking them up, dropping them back," said Severide. "And then back here before you send out search team."
"Hey, in my defense, you've done stupid things before," smirked Casey.
"Fair enough. I'll be back before dark, mum."
"You sure you don't want me playing chauffeur today?" asked Casey. He had offered the night before, and was met with rejection immediately.
"I'll see you at the church, Case."
Severide couldn't stop his tears from streaming down his face when he sat after giving eulogy at the funeral. He felt his mum put her hand on his thigh and Katie beside him, tucking her hand into his bigger one. Severide looked down at her sister's hand. Behind him, Matt sat between Stella and Christie.
"You know what I'm more proud of than being his daughter?" whispered Katie. Severide looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Being your sister."
"Don't be cheesy," scolded Severide silently, but his smile betrayed him.
Severide stopped listening to the chaplain after a while, and his mind drifted to his childhood. How his parents fought all the time, and he climbed down his bedroom window to escape his own home. How Benny spent hours on the dining table, with pictures of fire site and multiple notes, and he would explain to him about the point of origin and burn marks. How Benny came to his school on career day, and got a call in the middle of presentation. The next day, he brought newspaper to school with Benny in the headline, carrying two kids to safety. His tears threatened to slip down his face, and he quickly wiped it away.
He was poked from behind. Casey pushed him standing. It was time to carry the casket outside.
"You ready?" whispered Casey. Severide nodded, putting on his gloves.
When they walked outside the church, a couple fire trucks with purple decorations rolled in and formed into formation, a typical CFD funeral. Severide glanced at Boden, he knew that Boden must had a role in that. His tears rolled down his face. He had to control his breathing through his mouth to calm himself down. As he walked past the barricade of firefighters, he felt nothing but relief. This is the funeral his dad wanted. Benny was always a firefighter, and he died a firefighter.
"Sleep tight, dad," he repeated what he said in the church when he pushed the casket into the hearse. He clapped on the door to signal to the driver to drive. He felt Casey's hand on his shoulder. He quickly wiped away his tears before turning back to face the firetrucks. "You did this, chief?"
"I just gathered some friends. All who owed their life to Benny. Or their career. Or both," said Boden.
"Thanks chief. I don't know how I can repay you…" said Severide.
"It's for Benny. You don't owe me anything," said Boden. Casey guided him to the group of firefighters, now crowding around the church entrance, most have stories to tell about Benny. Severide recognised some of his dad's longtime friends, some from his last house. He accepted the condolences as best as he could before he had to leave for the burial. Casey left him to walk by Christie.
"How is he?" asked Christie.
"Trying to be strong," said Casey.
"He has people rallying around him. He'll be fine," said Christie, looping her arm with Casey's.
"Yeah," Casey smiled. "I'll tell Severide we're leaving, then I'll drive you home," said Casey.
"I'll come with you," said Christie. They walked to Severide who was in the middle of his father's last house firefighters. Casey tapped Severide on the back.
"Severide, we're leaving," said Casey.
"Thank you for your help, Christie. Don't know what I would do with the church if not for you," said Severide. Christie pulled him into a hug.
"Anytime you need, Kelly. You keep Matt out of trouble all the time. I owe you a lot," said Christie. Severide chuckled.
"It's more the other way around, Christie," said Severide.
"You know… the upcoming days will be the hardest. Just promise, don't cut off people from your life. Talking from personal experience," said Christie. "Took Matt and I more than a decade to repair what we lost."
"Promise," said Severide.
"Are you two talking about me?" asked Casey.
"Oh please," Severide let go of Christie and clapped Casey in the back.
"Remember. Home before dark, or I'll dispatch the whole house. Including Herrmann kids and Trudy," said Casey.
"Ay ay, Captain," Severide saluted Casey. Casey jabbed him on the arm and said goodbye to some he could find, then ushered Christie to his car.
"I was just about to send out search team," said Casey when Severide walked into the loft just before sunset. The light that shone through the window illuminated Severide's pale face, his eyes red and swollen. He looked drained.
"Yeah, told you," said Severide.
"How was the burial?" asked Casey. Severide shrugged. "Wanna talk about it?" Severide shook his head. He pulled his tie and threw it on the sofa. "Okay. Eat," Casey pointed at the oven.
"What is it?" asked Severide.
"Christie's lasagna," said Casey.
"Save me a bit," said Severide.
"Christie said, and I quote, make sure he eats," said Casey. Severide just nodded and walked to his room.
"Do I need to spoon feed you or do you prefer I call Brett and Mikami to put an IV on you?" asked Casey a couple minutes later, walking into Severide's room to see him sprawled on the bed, his eyes closed.
"That sounds good," murmured Severide.
"Are you sick?" Casey became concerned. He placed the back of his hand on Severide's forehead, checking for temperature. Severide swatted his hand.
"Tired, didn't sleep last night," Severide muttered. "Alright, I'll eat, so you don't finish all the lasagna. Been too long since a girl cook for me." He rolled out of bed.
"First, that's my older sister. Second, Mikami cooked yesterday. And I have no hesitation in calling her tomorrow to babysit you if you don't eat," said Casey. Severide dragged his feet behind Casey to the sofa. Casey shoved a plate of lasagna to his face.
"Tell Christie thanks," said Severide.
"Already. She also made enchilada and brownies, in the fridge," said Casey. Since Gabby left, Christie always made sure he left with food whenever he came. Not that he would complain, though, Christie's lasagna is the best.
Casey walked out of his bedroom, following the sound of muffled cries from Severide's bedroom. He had an idea what he was walking into. He peeked in and saw Severide sat hugging his knees, like a scared child. Casey slipped inside and wordlessly sit beside Severide, putting a hand on his back. He grieved for Severide. Since knowing him in the academy, only once he saw Severide cry. Severide didn't even cry during Andy's funeral. Or maybe he did, Casey was just too busy ignoring him to pay attention. Severide always hide his emotions, unless it was anger. Knowing that Severide didn't even try to hide his cry made Casey relieved, but also concerned.
After however long it was, Casey lost count and sometimes dozed off, the cries finally stopped. Severide wiped his eyes with his blanket and hid his face in the blanket.
"Thabks," Severide's voice was muffled by his blanket and clogged nose from crying.
"Anything, Kelly," said Casey. "You wanna talk?" Severide shook his head. He groaned and clutched his head. "Headache?" asked Casey. Severide nodded. "You need aspirin?" Casey offered. Without waiting for an answer, Casey pushed himself from the bed and went to grab aspirin and a glass of water from the kitchen. He pushed two to Severide's hand and handed him the glass. After gulping down the pills, Severide held his head and leaned back to the headboard.
"Back to sleep," said Casey, pulling Severide to lying position and tucking him in, giving him some subtle pats on the back. He waited until he heard even breathing from Severide, then left the room. He sat in front of the TV, flipping through the channels without audio. It was 3 am and only thriller and news programs were playing, so he settled for the thriller program.
"Hey," Severide poked Casey's legs which were stretched onto the table. "You slept here?"
"Accidentally," Casey stretched his back.
"Was it you who came to my room last night?" asked Severide, his voice hoarse from all the crying, and his eyes were swollen.
"Huh?"
"Did you come to my room?"
"Yeah… I… I heard you. I sat with you until you calmed down," said Casey. "Sorry I just walked in like that…"
"Did I do anything embarassing?" asked Severide.
"You are always embarassing," Casey accepted the coffee mug from Severide. "You cried, then you had a headache and slept. Not much window to be embarassing."
"When I woke up this morning, I thought Benny was here last night," said Severide. "He used to came to my room if I had nightmare, waited until I was asleep. Thanks."
"Glad I could help," said Casey. "Feeling better, though? Headache?"
"Still have some, but considerably better," said Severide. "Breakfast?" He opened the fridge. "What the hell?"
"What?"
"Where's all these food come from? Mac and cheese? Christie?"
"Nope, it's your favourite kindergarten kids. Ritter, Gallo, Mikami. The bread is also from them, they scuffled about it yesterday at the firehouse. Brett and Kidd sent the doughnuts. Cindy sent you another pan of lasagna, which I froze. Tony's wife sent something, pasta I think… Chloe made the tomato soup. Even Foster came yesterday to drop a casserole. You should've seen me got home yesterday, I had to do multiple trips up the stairs. We have enough food for a week or more," said Casey. "And I don't get to pick the first doughnut, they're yours, quote from Brett."
"What, they don't have to…" Severide were lost for words. He was a bit distanced from the house lately, since he and Stella broke up he tend to shut himself in his quarter instead of hanging out in the common room or even in squad table. The first time he really hung out with the others was when he came last shift. He didn't think they would go to such trouble to send him care package.
"They wanna be there for you. You know what Christie said? You have people rallying around you, you will be fine. Take all the time you need to grieve. But this time, no Vegas wedding, no running away."
"Aw, no Vegas? We can go and pick up two gorgeous girls? When was the last time we were both single?" teased Severide. Upon Casey's stern look, he put up his hands. "Okay, no Vegas."
"Tell you what. I got a construction job. I'll bring you along," said Casey.
"Matt Casey's definition of fun, ladies and gentlemen," Severide laughed, bringing the box of doughnuts to the sofa and put it between him and Casey. "This is my definition of fun, eating doughnuts in front of TV in the morning before I need to meet Benny's lawyer tomorrow."
"You're gonna be okay?" asked Casey seriously. This time, Severide stopped short of answering, taking time to ponder his answer.
"I will be. Thanks, Matt. I don't know how you put up with me."
"Eeh. It's too late to find new friends. Tried, failed." Casey swatted Severide's arm. "Besides, you make me look smart."
"You wish."
"It's true."
"It's not."
Not a lot of Stella scenes, but we have Christie! Seeing her in recent episode made me wish we have gotten more of her, I like her and can totally see Casey and Christie trying to catch up for the years they were estranged.
Which episodes should I write about next?