And…here they were. Again.

Gabby thought maybe she could tease Matt out of his crappy mood with a bribe, so she headed to the hospital cafeteria to get him a decent cup of coffee. If she were lucky, maybe they'd have chocolate chip muffins or blueberry danishes…his favorites.

Could this night – or was it day now? – get any worse?

She'd called Matt on her way to Med while following the ambulance transporting Severide, (strike one) thinking she'd have a few minutes after arriving to pull herself together, but Matt had actually beaten them to the hospital – she hadn't expected that – so he'd been there when the medics wheeled Severide in.

She'd been parking the car. (strike two)

She'd expected him to be annoyed, not outright angry. But angry he'd become, when she couldn't tell him what happened or what Severide's injuries were. And oh was he pissed. Super pissed; he wouldn't talk to her, wouldn't even look at her and she wasn't prepared for dealing with his attitude on top of her guilt and concern over Severide.

She hadn't been the person who called the ambulance for Severide. (strike three) Pretty soon, Matt would add up the strikes and blow up at her.

She got it. He didn't want to be at the hospital, awaiting word on Severide again. Not so soon after what had happened. Though, she fumed, it had been a couple of weeks since the ER had been blown up with most of Station 51 inside.

She stirred the sugar at super speed, sloshed coffee over the rim of the paper cup, sighed. It was going to be a long night. She tossed the stir-stick, snapped on the lid, chose a muffin and a danish, paid the cashier, returned to the waiting room. She doubted she'd be able to get Matt to eat anything, but he couldn't say she hadn't tried.

She hadn't expected anyone from the station to be there, but when she entered the room, Mills gave her a small wave and Brett beamed happily at her. She'd only called Matt, so if word was out, it had come from him.

"Hey guys." Gabby greeted, set the drink tray with two cups of coffee and bag on the table, gave Brett a hug. "Sorry, I didn't know you were on your way."

"Casey called." Mills said easily. "Brett was on her way home from the gym when I texted her, so she swung by, picked me up."

Gabby looked over at Matt who sat in a chair that was in a corner, since Mills sat next to him, the best she could do, was sit nearby, so she chose to sit by Brett.

"Brought you a coffee, a muffin." She told Matt. His mood hadn't improved while she'd been gone, so he hadn't received any further word on Severide's condition.

"Got one." He said curtly.

She blinked. So he did. That there was a take-out cup from his favorite mini-mart cradled in his hands. She made a face at Mills who grinned sheepishly.

"Picked up some donuts on the way in." Brett said. "Capp and Tony are bickering where to park, but….."

"They're here? Why?" She turned on Matt who glared back. "You called everyone?"

"I called Mills."

So, Gabby turned to Mills. "You called everyone?"

"No!" He exclaimed. "I texted Brett."

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Mills asked lightly. He was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Casey and that irked her. He was in her spot and she wanted him to move. "She's my partner."

She wasn't sure why Matt had called Mills. She'd thought he would've called Boden, but maybe the Chief hadn't answered. Had Severide just been brought to the ER, she and Matt would have waited, taken him home. But Matt had been told, when he'd asked for an update, that Kelly had been taken to surgery for blunt force trauma.

Based on the amount of blood he'd reported seeing when Severide had been rushed past him, that didn't make any sense, but he'd been told the doctor would update them when he had something to say.

"So, you're here and squad, that's it, right?" She stared Sylvie down.

Brett squirmed, blushed, made a face chewing on her lip. "Uh…it's a pretty safe bet Cruz would have told Otis."

"You told Cruz?" Gabby sighed. "Who called Capp and Tony?"

"I, um, texted him to let him know I wouldn't be able to make dinner and he was with Capp and Tony, so…."

"So, everyone knows? Is coming?"

"Oh, I don't think so." Sylvie said brightly. "Capp and Tony sure, they're his men, but I doubt the others will come."

But she was wrong.

Everyone did indeed, come. Because Donna came with Boden. And Cindy was with Herrmann. And that there was Trudy.

"The hell?" Gabby whispered to Brett, waggled her fingers in a wave at Rice. "Why is everyone here?"

"Because apparently the Golden Boy of House 51 got another boo-boo and the earth must cease its rotation until Sir Severide arises from his death bed." Trudy snapped with a scowl. "Again."

Right, Gabby had forgotten Trudy Platt had eyes in the back of her head and a bionic ear. She missed nothing.

"Now Trudy," Mouch began, "I explained to you, you didn't have to come…."

"And you did?"

"Well," Mouch hedged. Truthfully, no. But was it where he wanted to be? Yes.

"Right." Trudy drawled drolly. "And I explained to you, that this is date night and we will spend it together." She held her finger up to forestall whatever response he'd been about to make. "And if that means – since you wanted to come here – we waste our time, aah-ha," she waggled her finger. "I'm talking…because there is nothing we can do here, until I'm proven right and you're told not a hair on his hair has been harmed and his halo remains intact, date night is spent in the ER waiting room….."

"Well, not the ER waiting room." Mills corrected. "This is the surgical floor, so the waiting…" He wilted under the police sergeant's steely glare, hastily backtracked. "Right, yes, this is your date night," he nodded. "No matter where it's spent."

Mouch wisely went silent, took a seat across the room. Trudy adjusted her purse strap to sit on her shoulder, ignored Gabby, slapped Casey's knee.

"Halstead's worthless sibling grace you with his presence yet?"

He glanced up, shook his head, resumed staring at the cup in his hands.

"You let me know, you want me to light his ass on fire." Trudy informed him, stomped off to sit with Mouch. She fussed with her purse, finally turned her attention to Mouch. "I'm sure he's going to be okay, he has astounding resilience and he's a fighter." She squeezed his knee and he patted her hand.

"We're on the surgical floor. The floor where they make you turn your phone off because they don't want anything to cause a disturbance." Try as he might, he couldn't keep the concern out of his voice. "He's in surgery Trudy."

"He's going to be okay." She assured him.

"I'm sorry." Mouch said quietly.

"There's no place I'd rather be, than by your side." She took his hand to hold between hers. "We'll wait, no matter how long it takes."

"Thanks."

Time passed, some dozed, some went to the cafeteria, some sat and chatted, but all was pretty much quiet. Gabby rather thought Donna and Cindy would leave after a bit – they did have young children at home – but apparently all were with Cindy's parents and neither were leaving until their spouses received word on one of their own.

And then the stress of waiting and not knowing got to Matt Casey…Gabby said something, he added up why he was mad at her…and he snapped.

"You're blaming me?!"

"You're damn right I am!" Matt yelled right back. "You took him there Gabby!"

"Took him? He's a grown man!"

"You damn well knew if you insisted on going, he wouldn't let you go alone."

"I didn't ask him to go with me. You've tried to control him, how's that work for you Matt?"

"Don't you dare turn this around on him."

"I didn't ask him to go with me."

"Because you knew he would. You knew it Gabby!" He threw what was probably his third empty coffee cup into a trash can. "YOU KNEW IT!"

"What's this really about Matt? Are you worried about him or just mad at me?"

"Well, hell Gabby! What do you think? You're standing here alive and well and screaming in my face and where the hell are we? In the hospital, waiting to know if he's even alive!"

"So, it's my fault?"

"YES! Yes it is."

"Wha….what?" Gabby couldn't believe she was hearing right. "The hell are you thinking Matt?" She threw his words back in his face. "How can you think that?"

"I'm thinking you're safe and unharmed….if you'd've been alone, you'd be dead. We're damn lucky, as far as we know, he isn't."

Gabby was quiet, fought for her temper. She understood Casey was pissed. That he was scared. That he needed to lash out but not for the first time, she wondered why it was always her, he verbally attacked.

"That's a hell of a way to look at this."

"You should have waited."

"I didn't expect trouble."

"You didn't? In that part of town? Really?"

"I don't need this from you right now."

"What do you want from me Dawson?"

She winced when he used her last name. That was the lieutenant speaking. "Maybe some compassion? To hear you say, you understand."

"I don't."

"Matt…."

"You were told not to go there, to let Intelligence take care of it because it was a dangerous situation." Casey kept his distance, but he began to pace. "Did he know that? Did he? Did you tell him what Antonio told you?"

"You always put Severide first."

"You always put everything you want first."

"Oh, please!"

Casey threw his arms wide, spun in a circle. "LOOK WHERE WE ARE! Where are we Gabby? Do you SEE where we are?"

"Casey," Boden warned. "Not the place."

"Everything is more important than your relationship with me….the job you wanted….had to have…."

"Wow, just wow! You're unbelievable. You bring that up now?"

"You never should have gone there! I told you Gabby! I told you! Chief told you. Antonio told you. Hell, VOIGHT told you. You knew it was dangerous, you knew he would insist on going with you and you went anyway!"

Trudy sat and watched Casey get red-faced, was reminded of Rumpelstiltskin, who became so angry, he hopped and hopped, until he pounded himself into the ground. She snickered. Or maybe he reminded her more of a muppet….he was hopping mad! HeeheeHAheeheHAHA!...if Matt's feet left the floor together at the same time, she would forever more call him Gonzo.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Not go!"

"Not go?!"

"Yes!" Matt shouted. "You don't go. You send Antonio, wait for Intelligence to hand it. He just recovered from being blown up by a grenade Gabby. Do you think we all just got over that?"

Aah! Trudy petted Mouch's knee. Right. That. Station 51 was still raw over the near loss of one of their own and the dismissal of his ability to survive by new-to-Chicago Med, Dr. Will Halstead.

No wonder everyone was here. Herself included. When Mouch had read his text, he'd gone pale, silent and when he'd put his phone back on the table, his hand had been shaking.

It was just too soon after the last near catastrophe, for everyone to not want to be here. They wanted to support Casey and were worried sick about Severide.

"I was there Matt."

"And yet you take him with you to the worst part of town."

"Oh My God!" She cried, frustrated. "You act like he's three and I pushed him in a stroller down crack avenue to buy a snort and left him alone at the mercy of whoever happened by while I got high in some dark alley!"

"Now you're being stupid."

"I'm here, and I'm safe and he was brought in. You need to be thankful for that."

"What did you just say?"

"Now baby, you know how I meant that. I love him too."

"Thankful for what? Standing in the ER while they rush him by, yelling stats and vitals, calling for help and all I see is blood!? He's covered in blood Gabby, there was so much blood and you think I should be thankful?"

"Stop yelling at me."

"You can't tell me what happened! You can't even tell me if he was shot or stabbed and where or if his brains were bashed in. You risked his life, Gabby! You put it at risk, and for what? Something you wanted and you're saying, I should be thankful? Thankful you're always selfish and put your needs and wants ahead of everyone else?"

"That's not fair."

"Fair? You want….." Casey huffed, sputtered, shoved a hand through his hair, stomped a foot. "You want to talk fair? You know how to manipulate him, guilt him into doing what you want even though it's a stupid stunt and you don't think I'm being fair?"

Gonzo. With those spindly arms, he was Gonzo, Trudy decided with a small smile. Mouch shifted beside her. Great, this argument was upsetting him even more. Someone, anyone, needed to end it.

"Hey, I didn't make him follow me. He could have walked away."

"Did you really just stand there and say that?"

"I didn't….I couldn't wait. What if she was no longer there? Time….if I had waited, then…."

"As soon as he's up and walking, I'll hug him for saving your ass, then kick his ass for being so stupid."

"For letting me go?"

"For going with you." Matt pivoted, barreled into an unmoving chest. "Get out of my way Mills."

"Sure, want to take a walk? Let's go see if we can find a Snickers in one of the vending machines. Come on."

Matt resisted, but after the fourth tug on his elbow, he allowed Mills to lead him down a hallway.

"There." Trudy murmured to Mouch, who relaxed, reached for a donut. "That's over."

"Wow," Brett sat between Cruz and Otis. "Awkward."

"Didn't realize he had such a temper." Donna commented. "He's always so calm and easy-going when I'm in his company."

"Matt Casey?" Otis snorted. "Oh, he's quick to flip his lid."

"Especially over Severide."

"Okay, but…..I mean, it's Kelly, right? I didn't know they were that close. No one would know it."

Laughter. Couple claps. Lots of jawing. Several hoots.

"Get between them, I dare you."

"Really?" Donna said doubtfully. "Huh, I'd never have guessed." Her husband told her everything, but with the birth of Terrence and the death of her father-in-law, Wallace had been rather pre-occupied and fire house gossip hadn't been first on his mind: A fox had invaded his henhouse. Then the ER had been blown up, his men trapped inside, Severide had been hurt…..

"Really?" Mouch echoed. "You wouldn't have guessed Severide is close to anyone? Don't know why, he's such a wide-open book."

"Sarcasm?" Donna murmured to her husband who nodded. "Thought so."

"Severide is hard to read." Herrmann agreed. "Closed off and distant, but a heart of gold."

"He has a heart?"

"Guys," Cindy warned in her mom voice. "That's enough. Separate corners if you can't play nicely."

"Kelly always does what's right." Boden said. "I give him his head, let him find his way and he always comes back."

"Sure, sure."

"Might take a while, but yeah."

"He loves his job."

"He can cause tension." Otis quipped.

"Like?" Rice demanded defensively.

"Come on Rice, you've known him for years. Since high school, right?"

"So what?"

"He's matured since then, hasn't he?"

"What's with your hostility?" Rice questioned. He wasn't happy. "I don't get it."

"I mean, he's had to….it's called personal growth and all that. Right?"

"Yeah, Darden was tight-lipped too."

"That right there." Herrmann pounced. "Tension in the house."

"Not this again." Boden sighed. "It's behind us, let it go."

"Right, right, because they weren't at each other's throats with the whole house tip-toeing around them after Darden died."

"For a year."

"And Severide all jealous, being a dick."

"Christopher!" Cindy chided gently. "Don't be daft! Kelly wasn't jealous because Heather chose to pursue Matt and not him, you dense man."

"No, oh wise woman? Then enlighten us."

"He was hurt because Heather blamed him for Andy's death and she didn't Matt."

Silence.

"Oh."

"And Brian," She addressed Otis sternly. "He lashes out when he's hurt, Matt gets that, you should by now as well."

Otis was used to being dressed-down, usually by Casey, and it didn't bother him. But being treated like he was one of Cindy's kids? Over Severide? That rankled, so he sat and sulked.

"While, we're all here, if I could ask for one thing," Boden paused, "From all of you….everyone…" That got everyone's attention, "Aah, good, I have your attention. Now, I would appreciate a prompt and affirmative response when I demand you answer me." ….all the times he begged for a response, demanded someone inside a burning building talk to him, heard an explosion, a mayday, the PASS alarm activate, the panicked shouts of those inside calling out, the seconds he waited to hear a voice or see a helmet in a window or a body come out a door, the relief he felt when whoever was in danger or distress was rescued by a brother….. "It's not like you're busy or have your hands full…"

And the tension was broken.

()()()

Mills was quiet, picked the chopped nuts off his chocolate frosted donut while everyone else laughed and teased with Boden about decisions and how hard it was to spare a hand and three seconds to key the radio.

"You're quiet." Brett knocked shoulders. "What's got you down?"

He grunted, shrugged a shoulder, used a finger to push all the discarded nuts into a small pile.

"Hey, smile." She teased. "You okay?"

"No."

She kicked herself for not realizing her partner was having a hard time….and why. The ER explosion hadn't been that long ago. Oh, long enough that Severide was hale and hearty, back on the job, but still, it had been a rough experience: assisting a surgeon to save Severide's life in the midst of a destroyed ER, under the threat of a chemical virus, amid a lockdown.

"Hey," she grabbed his hand, held it with both of hers. "I get it, I do."

He nodded. "I'm good."

He'd returned Matt to the waiting room where he'd told everyone, there was no update to share. Matt had taken a chair near Chief, and Mills had sat down with Brett at the small table, where she'd given him the donut and a so-so cup of coffee.

"Just…..thought, being there, helping was hard. Watching him fight, wondering if he was aware or awake. The doctor didn't really give him much to keep him under. And now…we're here…and…..hearing Casey go off on Dawson, finding fault, placing blame….I don't like it, don't want to hear it." He held the donut, stared at it without seeing. "But….here we are, waiting…not knowing…I think it's worse. Don't you? Least before, we were with him. Dunno if that was any comfort to him, but…" He sighed, took a bite, chewed, swallowed. "It was to me."

"He will fight just as hard this time, as he did then."

"I swear…" Mills stopped, put the donut down. "I dunno Brett, you were there, you saw what I did."

"He told Capp later, he dreamed of Shay but didn't remember when." She raised her hands so the one of Mill's she held, reached her lips and she gave his knuckles a very gentle kiss. "Could have been during the removal of the shrapnel or later in recovery, or even when he was just sleeping. Like you said, he was more unconscious then put under. He had comfort Peter."

"You think…..he thought about joining her?" Mills blinked, voice suddenly raspy. "He's…..his dad's an ass, I guess his mom wasn't always there for him…he lost Shay. The one constant thing in his life….is Casey and, I think they hate each other."

"No. He has friends, family, a job he loves," She patted his hand, let it go. "His bond with Casey is deeper and stronger than people think."

Mills blew his breath out, gave her a small smile. "This job isn't supposed to be so emotional."

Twenty or so minutes later, Herrmann went to check for an update. They weren't used to having to wait to find out about one of their own and it was starting to tick off everyone.

He received the usual blow-off; 'the doctor is still with him, we'll let you know.'

"Have we ever waited this long?" Tony murmured to Capp. "Not asking for a play-by-play but I've gotten used to being catered to."

Finally, Casey lost all patience, stomped out of the waiting room and down the hall, looking for someone, anyone, to verbally accost. Enough was enough. It was time someone gave him some answers and he was going to get them if he had to cajole, coerce or threaten.

"Hey Matt," Maggie greeted with a cheerful smile. "What can I do for you?"

He blinked, looked around. How the hell had he ended up in the ER?

"I want an update on Severide." He said rudely. "Now."

"Kelly?" She sounded surprised. "He's here?"

"In surgery."

"What?"

"He was brought in hours ago. Someone, a nurse I guess, came out, told me, they'd taken him to surgery, there was a waiting room on the 5th floor. Every time we ask for an update, we get blown off….I'm done waiting."

"Okay," She said easily. "Sorry, I just came on shift, didn't know he was here. Let me look." She tapped on the keyboard, hit the touch screen, frowned. "Huh."

"Huh? What does huh mean?" He snapped. "Define huh."

"Just a minute Matt." She warned. "I just got here." She tapped some more, frowned. "Uh…..you said…the surgical floor?"

"What is it? They never even told us what happened, how bad it was." Casey demanded. "What….." He gripped the counter so tight, his knuckles turned white. "Is he….is it…" He swallowed. "Was he shot? Stabbed? Serious? How bad? How serious….is it? Surgery? He's still in surgery? There was a lot of blood, but they said blunt force trauma, so…."

"What? Oh, Matt, no." She touched his hand, caressed his knuckles with her thumb, took a deep breath. "Is someone here with you? Gabby maybe?"

"Just tell me Maggie."

She took a deep breath, blurted out. "He was discharged 2 hours ago."

Struck stupid, Casey stood still. Didn't move, didn't blink, didn't breathe. Out of everything he'd been prepared to hear Maggie say – serious, stabbed, shot, severed artery, compromised organ, brain injury, spinal damage, amputation, paralysis, life-threatening injury, death – discharged was not among them.

"What?" He finally managed. "He was….what? Say that again." His brain was slowly wrapping around the truth. "When?"

"No concussion, no internal bleed, no swelling, no confusion, no brain injury, good vitals, clean bill of health. Dr. Halstead saw him, discharged him."

"I saw him Maggie, I was here when they brought him in. They ran right by me….literally ran…yelling." He smacked the counter with an open palm. "The blood….there was so much….and…." and there'd been monitors and tubes and wires and oxygen masks and nurses and doctors had come running and he never thought a gurney could roll that fast and…all that blood….

"It wasn't his Matt." She said gently, again covered his hand with hers, typed with her fingers on the other hand. "He suffered a blow to the back of his head. He was confused about where he was when he regained consciousness, but it quickly cleared and he was sent home." She touched the screen, swiped and tapped. "There is a Steven Kelly in surgery, blunt force trauma."

"Ho….home? He went home? He's home?" He pulled his hand from hers. "I'm gonna kill him."

"The police spoke to him briefly here and he was released." She watched him walk away. "Matt? Where are you going? Are you here alone? Matt? MATT!"

Matt walked down the hallway, took five flights of stairs, hoping the red-haze that colored the air around him, would dissipate by the time he reached the 5th floor.

Nope. It didn't.

He entered the waiting room staring straight ahead. Conversation ceased, everyone was standing but Casey didn't notice the surgeon in scrubs – ignored Gabby's attempts to gain his attention - kept walking.

He didn't speak, didn't even pause, just raised his hand, made the round-up motion with an extended finger, crossed the waiting room and exited through a different door than the one he'd entered. He walked down the hallway, called the elevator and marched right out of the hospital without a word or side-look to anyone.

Everyone scrambled, left the surgeon standing speechless – abandoned.

"Matt?

"Casey?"

"Lieutenant?"

"Hey."

"Casey?"

When Matt never broke stride, Mills took to his heels, followed him all the way to his truck. He wasn't sure Matt was going to let him in, was prepared to vault over the side of the bed, if need be, but Matt waited for him to open the passenger door, get in.

He was sure Severide still breathed, or Matt would have sat down and cried with the rest of them….so where the hell were they going?

Obviously Matt wanted them to go with him, follow him, or he never would have come back to the waiting room and rounded everyone up. He hadn't need words, a simple motion had relayed his intent.

Mills glanced back at the confused crowd milling around the parking lot, yelled out the window he'd send a group text to notify everyone where to go, when he knew where they were going.

His last look in the passenger side mirror, revealed some turning on their phones, drivers of various cars, getting behind the wheel.

***000***

Kelly Severide wasn't happy he'd had to find his own way home from the hospital, but really, he was too tired to care. He didn't know where the hell Gabby had gone, but when he laid eyes on her, she was going to get one hell of a tongue lashing, because Christ, they lived together, she couldn't have waited, brought him home?

She'd manipulated him into going with her on a search for some homeless, alleged witness on a rough street, in the wrong part of town. He hadn't wanted to go, had had to make the decision which was the lesser of two evils; Casey on his ass for letting her go alone, or going with her and getting it over with.

Not wanting yet another fight with Casey, he'd gone with Gabby and he'd been knocked into next Tuesday, woken up in the hospital. At least she was safe, unharmed and…..somewhere out of his verbal reach. He was hoping by the time she did surface, he'd have let go of some of his anger and resentment.

Though, he snickered, if Casey found out what happened before Kelly saw Gabby, he wouldn't need to blister her ass with his caustic tongue; her on again/off again boyfriend/fiancée would do it for him.

He paid the cab driver, got out with only a wee bit of difficulty. He wasn't hurt, just stiff….a body tended to tense up when it saw pain headed its way.

"Shit." Visions of a hot shower, warm bed and scrambled eggs with toast motivated him to scurry up the sidewalk, let himself into the apartment.

He'd been assured by the nurse, then Dr. Halstead that Gabby was fine, had suffered no injury, hadn't been attacked, and had followed the ambulance in, in her own vehicle.

So then, where the hell had she gone? He'd waited for her to come in, a nurse had gone to get her, but she hadn't been found. Annoyance had put him in a snit, so when his call to her went to voicemail and his text hadn't been returned, he hadn't bothered trying to find her. He didn't need her, could get himself home from the hospital just fine.

And he had.

He threw his keys onto the counter, shed his coat, let it fall to the floor, walked into the kitchen for a beer. His feelings were a little hurt, no one had bothered to call, ask how he was doing, did he need anything.

And he was angry that Gabby hadn't hung around long enough to give him a ride home. That really rankled. Apparently, she'd been informed he was going to be okay and had just left him there.

He'd tried calling Casey for a ride home, then Capp, said fuck it when both went directly to voice mail, called a cab and here he was.

Didn't matter. He didn't need them. Didn't need anyone.

Yeah, he'd been knocked out by a hit to the back of his head. No lumps or bumps, no gash, no cuts. He didn't even know why Dawson had called for an ambulance. Geesch! Come on! A couple smart slaps to his cheeks and he wudda woken up.

But still, he thought someone would have checked in on him.

He sat down on the couch to take his boots off and…woke up a couple of hours later, went to take a shower.

When he returned to the living room, clad only in a towel, intending to scramble some eggs with cheese and peppers while his skin cooled from his too hot shower, he came to a sudden stop, lifted his head and stared into the faces of three women he never expected to see in his apartment: Cindy, Donna and oh boy, Trudy.

He frowned, look around. Oh.

Brett stood by Mills, the coat he'd left on the floor, nestled in her arms and she absently petted a sleeve. Mills looked upset, she looked sad.

"You left the hospital." Trudy didn't form it as a question, it was a flat-out accusation. "You left the hospital by a back door."

"Uh…."

"You left the hospital, by a back door."

Kelly sighed. He was in no mood for this. "Let me get dressed." His gaze wandered over everyone gathered in the living room – literally everyone.

Everyone.

Casey's apartment wasn't big enough for everyone to be in the living room, so they were jammed together and he was having a hard time making out faces…..Mouch, Herrmann, Otis, Cruz, Boden, Capp, Rice, Tony….Casey.

He blinked. Who the hell were some of these people?

"Oh honey, you don't need clothes where you're going." Trudy said. "You can just waltz that cute little tooshie of yours right out to my car."

"I'm sorry?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Uh, no." He took another look around the room. "What's going on?"

"You don't get to walk out back doors of hospitals, take a taxi home, while we're all waiting to find out how dead you are." Trudy shook a finger in his face. "There are consequences for your actions."

"Say what?"

"The hell were you thinking?" Casey pushed through the crowd, moved closer, hugged Severide so tightly the squad lieutenant grunted. He pulled back and delivered a light punch to Kelly's jaw that did no more than make him blink. "Jesus Christ Kelly!"

Wait, they were mad at him?

"What the hell is everyone doing here?" He scowled, rubbed his jaw, eyes on Casey. The Chief's wife? Cindy? Seriously? The hell?! "What's going on?"

"Gabby called Matt." Cindy said calmly. "Herrmann got a group text from Mills. You'd been attacked, she was following the ambulance and Matt was at the hospital, awaiting your arrival."

Kelly just stood, blinking like a woman whose fake eyelashes were too big/heavy. He tried a time or two, to say something but couldn't form a coherent word.

"We arrived with pastries and coffee." Donna added. "Settled down and waited."

"And waited." Cindy frowned. "No one came with information or updates and when we asked, we got no answers." She made a face. "So we waited some more."

"Matt finally went down to the ER, found Maggie." Donna continued but Severide looked lost. "We thought you were in surgery and you'd been discharged over two hours ago."

"Went down to the ER?" Severide repeated. "Down? Where were you?"

"And you left through a back door." Trudy was nodding. "You left. The hospital. Through. A back door."

"I didn't….." He was confused. "I left….through the ER…not a back door…they called a cab. I thought Dawson would be…." He shook his head. Water must have dripped in his ears. "I called her…" and every single head in the room swung to stare at Gabby, who pulled her phone from a pocket, winced. "You were all doing what?" and every single head in the room swung back to stare at Kelly. "Wait, you thought I was where? What were you even doing at the hospital?"

"Don't." Matt growled. "Don't you dare. Just don't."

"Waiting." Cindy was now glaring.

"Sitting with our thumbs up our asses."

Perplexed, Severide dragged a hand over his face. "Why?"

"Because. You. Were. In. Surgery."

"At. The. Hospital." Donna told him. "On the fifth floor."

"Everyone?" Why the hell was everyone talking in short, abrupt sentences? "I didn't…..I wasn't….who told you that?"

"You didn't leave a voice mail." Gabby accused a still taken-aback Kelly.

"I sent a text."

She looked, found it, read it out loud; "'hey, where are you?'" She scowled. "What the hell kind of message is that?"

"I wasn't ready to face Casey."

"Why were you calling?"

"I wanted a ride home."

Matt sat down on the sofa, laced his fingers together, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Kelly," Chief said quietly. "Matt was told you were taken to surgery, we've all been in the surgical waiting room, wondering what happened to you, thinking about how bad it was, and….you're home taking a shower."

"I never had surgery. I was treated in the ER and released. Yeah, I came home and took a shower….. I was covered in….." He shrugged. They'd cleaned him up in the ER, but a hot shower with soap was always better than wipes and washcloths.

"Someone else's blood." Casey muttered.

Severide winced, frustrated, but it wasn't his fault. "I still don't get why everyone was at the hospital. Why were you…..you all there?" He looked at the clock on the wall, decided not to mention he'd fallen asleep on the couch. "All this time?"

"Because, you ass, where the hell else would we be, you're rushed to the hospital and taken to emergency surgery?" Rice raised his voice, but wasn't exactly shouting. "You think we're going to leave Casey there all by himself? Sit home, go to Molly's, we don't know if we're ever going to talk to you again? The hell's the matter with you?"

"But...how did you know?"

"You really think Dawson wouldn't call Casey? The word wouldn't go out? We wouldn't be here?"

Otis covered him mouth to cloak a fake cough. You go Rice, let him have it!

"But I wasn't…..I didn't….there was no surgery. I'm fine."

"WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" Oh, Rice was yelling now. "Fuck you Severide! You call someone, you hear me?! YOU CALL!"

"Whether you like it or not, we care about you." Mills said. "We get a call you're taken to the hospital in an ambulance, we're going to be there."

"It wasn't that long ago, we nearly lost you." Brett added, hugged the coat. "Casey gave your name, the nurse heard him wrong and gave him the information on a Steven Kelly who was…."

"Not my fault. I didn't do anything…."

"You left the hospital Severide. You just left!"

"I came home!" He was feeling defensive, attacked.

"You don't just leave the hospital." Donna scolded, then repeated. "You call someone."

"I did."

And all heads swung back to Gabby.

"Phones are required to be off on the surgical floor." She said defensively. "We left and followed Casey here."

"I called Casey, Capp, wanted a ride home."

And heads swung to Capp, who blushed. "My phone is still off, I drove, so Tony got the texts from Mills."

And all heads swung to Casey.

"I don't even know where my phone is." He said tonelessly. Christ, they'd all been in the hospital, with their phones off, and Severide had been five flights down, calling for a ride home. How fucked up was that?

"Then you keep calling, until someone answers their phone. You don't just leave the hospital and take a cab home." Trudy said. "Mark my words, when I'm done with Halstead's brother, 51 will have a doctor in their pocket. He will never again release any of you without contacting someone first because I am never going through another night like this one."

"Look, I'm still confused. I don't what happened, how wires got crossed, but I'm cold and hungry and I wanna lay down….so, if everyone would go…." Severide expectantly waved a hand at the door, shot a look of retribution at Rice when he burst out laughing.

"Oh Lieutenant." Rice snorted. "Group texting is great, you've no idea what's coming your way."

"You're the one leaving, boy-toy. I took the next week off." Trudy announced. "It's been decided while you recover, I'll be your nurse. At my house. Get your ass out to my car."

"Wait…what?" He shook his head to clear it of non-existent cobwebs. "Recover from what?" And when the hell had Trudy Platt taken control? Chief had allowed it? "I'm cleared to return to work..."

"Move." Trudy's tone brooked no nonsense. "Move now, on your own, or I'll have you carried out."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Trudy stepped closer. Closer. Closer until her nose touched Kelly's.

"Your 'I'll-do-everything-on-my-own-to hell-with-everyone-else' attitude is not going to get you your way with me."

He could feel her breath on his cheek but it never occurred to him to step back.

"If your friends are lily-livered and shrink under your sharp tongue, let me assure you, I have six men at Intelligence and a platoon of uniforms who won't quibble. If it takes tying you to the bed and emptying your bed pan, trust me, I will beat that 'I-don't-need-anyone' crap out of you."

She was serious, because finally, two of the faces he couldn't place were identified; Atwater and Ruzek hung back by the door.

Oh-oh.

"Ohh, I see it." She taunted him. "You want to try me, don't you?" She cackled darkly at the emotions to cross his face; anger, confusion, rebellion, desperation, dismay. Panic? "Go ahead. I dare you. Many have tried and all have failed."

And he stood frozen with a frown.

"By the time I'm done with you, by the time I'm ready to let you go, you will think of other people besides you, yourself and Kelly Severide."

He blinked.

"That's right." She crooned. "Your actions affect every single person in this room and the next time Randy puts you before me, when he's upset over you, you will damn well take a minute and consider how he feels before you flee the hospital through a back door and take a taxi home."

"I didn't flee….there was NO backdoor!"

"I will put you in your place. Randy is upset and shaken and it's your fault. My car is outside." She took a step back. "Randy, buckle him in, in the backseat."

"Touch me, and your fingers will be in a cast." Severide warned Mouch who was torn, didn't know what to do. Kelly swallowed, looked to his usual ally and have-his-back buddy, but Casey was stone-faced, his eyes red-rimmed and swollen, and…..Christ, he was pale.

It was his haggard appearance, the obvious upset he was trying to hide, the fact he wasn't yelling that had Kelly Severide, clad only in a towel in a Chicago winter, marching to the tune of Sergeant Trudy Platt.

A blanket was wrapped around his shoulders, dragged the floor and he was hustled into slippers he didn't own. Wrapped and bundled, Mouch behind him apologizing, and Atwater and Ruzek leading the way… somehow he was in the backseat of a warm car, the seatbelt was buckled and with a thump on the trunk, he was driven away.