A/N : And just like that, after four years, I'm back here. Don't ask me why or how, I don't even know myself. Let's just say that I had a moment of nostalgia, and ideas came to my mind, so I thought why not share them with you. Just to let you know, I haven't watched the show since the first episode of season seven, so this story, t's completely Dawsey, nothing more, I don't want any drama or anything. I have always loved Dawsey, and only Dawsey, and for me they have been and will remain the soul of the show. In short, let's get back to our subject, I wanted to do a One-Shot, but I prefer to make the pleasure last. So here's an idea I had a few days ago, it takes place after episode 7x01. I hope you will like it ! Feel free to encourage me and tell me what you think by letting some reviews.

Have a good read,

G.


It was a night like any other at Molly's. A soccer game was playing on the giant screen, the Chicago firefighters and police officers holding their beers tightly in their hands, their eyes fixed on their favorite team. Kidd and Hermann were running the bar full of regulars. And, there was Matt Casey. Sitting, alone, at the opposite end of the bar, not far from the door leading to the rear storeroom, ready to flee. Fleeing, that's what he had become a specialist in recent weeks. Running away when being asked about Gabby. Running away when being asked how he felt. And, escaping when everything around reminded him of his wife. In this case, Molly's had that effect on him. This bar that she had bought with Otis and Hermann more than six years ago, and in which he had done a lot of work, officially under the name of his construction company, unofficially to be closer to the one that at the time silently made his heart beat. He had even accompanied her in search of the so symbolic door of the bar, the door in front of which they had taken the pose like a real couple in love. He had been in love with her secretly for years. She was too, but it was no secret. It had taken them years to finally turn the corner, and here they were, five years later. He was sitting in the bar that belonged to his wife, alone, deep in thought, drinking beers. He didn't want to be here, he would have liked to spend an evening one-on-one with himself again and again, and above all not to talk about his feelings. But, once again, Severide had left him no choice. He didn't understand what was going on in his best friend's head, he had stayed up to the fact that he wanted to go to Puerto Rico to win back his wife and fix things. And all of a sudden it all came crashing down. Again.

Severide was talking to Kidd, who was preparing cocktails for a group of young girls who had come to celebrate the wedding of one of them. Severide was staring at Casey. Kidd tried to get his attention, but with the ambient noise, he didn't respond or turn his head until she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.

« Everything is alright? » she asked him.

« Uh, yeah, why? »

« You looked completely out of place! » she smiled tenderly at him.

« I...I just don't understand… »

« What are you talking about? »

« Him, » he replied, nodding at Matt. « He's completely extinguished, and I can't understand this sudden turn of events. A few weeks ago, he was ready to jump on the first plane to San Juan, he even asked me if I could accompany him to the airport and… »

« And, he never left! Maybe he was scared… »

« Afraid of what? To go find his wife? It's ridiculous ! He was ready to make an effort to make that long-distance relationship work, I tried to talk him out of it, but… »

« You, Kelly Severide, you gave him heart's advices? » she said with a surprised look, putting her hand on her chest to accentuate the astonished side.

« I just told him that it wasn't just on Gabby, and that he had to be part of it too if he wanted this whole long distance thing to work… But obviously it didn't pay off! I don't know how to help him, he doesn't even talk to me anymore. » Kelly said, feeling sad for his friend.

« But did something happen? »

« No idea, but I'll find out! » he said as he jumped up towards the opposite end of the bar. He settled down on a barstool next to Matt, who rolled his eyes, having understood what awaited him for the next few minutes. Stella had followed her boyfriend, tossed their friend another beer, and rested her elbows on the cold wood of the bar. Matt looked at them alternately, visibly annoyed by this trap. « So how are you? » Severide asked him.

« Seriously, Kelly? You have no better question… Look at his face! » Stella cut him off.

« What? I'm just trying to start the conversation! » he defends himself.

« Let me do it! » Kidd told him before turning her attention to Matt again. « Have you heard from Gabby? »

« Really? Very subtle, Doctor Love ! » Kelly slapped his forehead with his hand.

« Everything is alright? I'm not interrupting anything, am l? » Matt finally chimed in.

« Man, we're just worried about you... You still don't seem like yourself. What is happening? We are here for you, you know you can talk to us. Anytime. »

« What he says! » Stella gave him a small affectionate smile.

« So tell us! » Kelly tried to get him to open up to them.

« Gabby is home… »

« What? » Severide and Kidd shouted in unison. « When did she come back? » Severide asked.

« Where is she? » Stella added.

« I meant, she was back home. It was the day I wanted to go to Puerto Rico. When I came back home from shift, she was there, at the apartment, busying herself. Bags were at the foot of the sofa, I thought she was back for good this time, that we were going to be able to start off on the right foot, resume our life where it had stopped two months before after all this story of fertility, aneurysm, need for air… Just… Just, a come back to normal, her and me, happy… »

« And, what happened? »

« Her contract has been extended, she was offered a permanent position as a project manager over there in Puerto Rico, she didn't know how to tell me, so she came all the way to Chicago to tell me, to be able to talk face-to-face, but she was already packing her things back, so… »

« But… I don't understand… And, she just walked away like that? » Stella asked him, visibly saddened by the whole situation. « It's not her, she loves you too much for that… » she whispered, barely audible.

« She, uh... She offered me to go with her… »

« And? » Kelly pressed him, unable to take the situation any longer, wanting to understand what was going on.

« And, I told her I was a Chicago guy… »

« I'm sorry, what did you say to her? I'm not quite sure I heard you correctly!» Kelly raised his voice, shocked by his best friend's revelation. When Matt didn't add anything, Kelly just can't control himself : « You're not serious, Matt!»

« I know, I know, I'm an idiot...I didn't even take the time to discuss it with her, I just replied that without thinking! »

« Come on man, you are kidding? It's a joke, right? » Kelly insisted, unable to bring himself to believe in this charade.

« Kelly… » Kidd tried to calm him, seeing their friend's discomfort.

« You really told your wife, the woman you've loved for so many years, with whom you've been through some of the hardest times of your life that… Shit, I can't even bring myself to say it out loud! Damn, Casey, you were supposed to go get her, fight for her! I can't believe it! » Kelly let out all his frustration, his anger. Admittedly, he had no word to say on this whole situation and was certainly not the best person to give couples advice, but no, a story like theirs could not end like this. He was far from romantic, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. « I know I'm far from exemplary and I don't have any lesson to give about married life and relationships in general, but seriously? What kind of man says that to his wife? Holy shit ! Such a waste! » he got annoyed, before taking a sip of his beer and standing up, leaving Matt and Stella speechless. Matt took his head in his hands. Stella didn't know what to add so she put a sympathetic and comforting hand on his shoulder.


A week later, Kelly was still on a loop about that "Chicago Guy" story. It was a hard feeling to explain, but he resented Matt. After all they had been through, how could they have reached this point ? Sitting at his desk in his office, he was determined to help them. Many stories could end badly, but not Gabby and Matt's one. He was surfing on his laptop when someone knocked on the door. Kidd was at the door, and as soon as he saw her, he innocently closed his computer.

« What are you hiding? » she asked him, standing against the door.

« Nothing at all! » he tried to lie to her.

« Kelly Severide, I know you better than that! Why do I get the feeling you're on a secret mission? » Kidd raised her eyebrows.

« Okay, Okay… » he held up his hands in defense. « Close the door, » he demanded. He then opened the flap of his computer, and appeared the reservation of two plane tickets for San-Juan in two days.

« What did you do ? »

« I can't bear to see him like this! And I can't imagine Gabby's current state since the day the love of her life told her he couldn't come with her because he was a Chicago guy… I mean, everyone cares about Matt because he's in front of us and we can see his disarray, but has anyone been concerned about Gabby even once in the last few weeks, in the last few months? » he asked, already knowing the answer to his question. Stella shook her head no, realizing that she had rarely taken the time to contact her or to check on her. « Here...She got some dire news when she wanted to start a family with her husband, she had to deal with this whirlwind of bad news, this bomb that nearly detonated them...Then she left to help all these people, and no one, myself included, took the time to ask how she was doing, how she lived that distance… We should have put ourselves in her shoes, we should have tried to understand why she had taken off for a while… But no, we were too focused on our own problems, our own lives, our routine, and I feel bad about all of it… »

« Kelly, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault, » she said as she sat up on his bed.

« Yes, I feel bad. Gabby is the only person I know who has always taken the time to help people around her, for whatever reason. She never judged us. She helped Shay recover, she helped me get out of my addictions, she helped Matt through the hardest times of his life, even when she was madly in love with him and he was mourning the loss of another woman...Gabby, she's our little sister, to all of us here, she's the heart of this firehouse and we didn't pay enough attention to her, and in the end we didn't give her back everything she gave us, on the contrary… I have the feeling that maybe we ran out on her… And that… »

« And that Matt has given up on her too, right? »

« He let her go... He didn't fight for her, and I can't take it, I'm sorry! »

« And, what are you going to do? »

« I'm going to kick the skin on his ass! He will go to Puerto Rico, whatever the cost! No matter what, he'll get his ass on that plane, and he'll go talk to the woman he loves! And believe me, he better give it everything and make it right or I'm going to kick his ass, and he'll remember it! » he rose from his chair under the amused gaze of his girlfriend. Stella was amused, but proud. Proud to see him get mobilized for his best friend, for the one he considered his little sister, and not to give up on them, what they have done.


The next evening, after a day of post-shift rest, Kelly walked into the apartment Matt shared with his wife, without even bothering to knock on the door. He had always kept a spare set of keys, and was a specialist in how to surprise the couple at unexpected times. However, that night he found Matt, unsurprisingly, on the couch, beer in hand, staring at the wall. Again. Matt jumped when he heard the back door slam. « Severide, you really going to have to stop with this mania of entering like that! It's not a mill here! » he got annoyed.

« I couldn't care less! »

« Excuse-me? But, what's wrong with you? » Matt stood up, approaching Severide glaring, the tension palpable.

« No, Casey, I'm not going to fight with you! God knows I have things to blame you for these days, but no, you will not drag me into this path, and especially not tonight! »

« And you will do what? This is my place here, so now, get out ! Leave me alone! »

« Oh, no, bro, it's not about to happen! » Kelly smiled, heading into the hallway where the Caseys' bags were stored. Without bothering to explain himself, he took a khaki duffel bag, and then headed to his friend's bedroom.

« What the hell are you doing? » Matt watched him work, shocked.

« I'm trying to talk some sense into you! »

« What the hell are you talking about? » Matt followed Kelly to his own room.

« I'm talking about that, Matt! » Kelly said louder than he wanted to. « I'm talking to you about all of that! » he repeated showing him the pictures hanging on the wall, those of him and Gabby when they were kids, those of them together, smiling, happier than ever. « How long has it been since you last smiled, Matt? And don't talk to me about that blonde who's hovering around you, it's just windy, you know that. You've been lying to yourself for weeks! You are faking it, you pretend that everything is fine, but no, Matt. You are missing a part of yourself, if not the most important part of you. You are not you without her. You are not complete without her. You miss her to death. You can't live without her. Matt Casey is no-one without Gabby Dawson. You are bonded as few people are in the world. She screwed up, you screwed up, okay, but now maybe it's time to put your ego aside, take the first step and get things back on track, don't you think? » Matt was speechless. Kelly, yes, Kelly Severide saw it up to date.

« It's too late… » Matt sighed.

« It's never too late, Matt. »

« I just want… »

« What ? What do you want? »

« Her, » Matt replied with tears in his eyes. « But, I screwed up. »

« So you just have to pull yourself together and let me help you! » Kelly smiled as he swung the bag in front of his eyes. Matt looked at him skeptically. « You, me, a plane to Puerto Rico tomorrow! » he told him, quite proud of himself.

« And the job? » Matt got worried immediately. « I'm captain, I can't just walk away without warning!»

« I handled it all, don't worry! We have ten days ahead of us, and whether you like it or not, you're going to get on this plane with me, and I don't want the "I'm a Captain Guy" excuse, reference to you know what! » he told him, rolling his eyes. « So, now either you let me pack your bag with some randomly chosen tacky clothes, or you move on, gather your things, and think about what you want to say to your wife in a few hours! » He winked at him, leaving him facing his bed and his empty luggage. Matt, although moved by all the events, ends up sketching a smile and taking in his hands the frame that still sat proudly on his bedside table. It was a photo of him and Gabby a year ago, after the party she held to celebrate his new rank as Captain. He smiled at the proud look she had on him, then stroked his thumb over her smiling face. They were happy. And they still will be. « I will fight for you, Gabby. I am going to give everything I have to earn you back, » he said to himself, more determined than ever to get the love of his life back in his arms.


A/N : And here is the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and can't wait to read the continuation of this story ! I'm sorry if there's some mistakes, english is still not my maternal language ! Feel free to leave me a little comment to tell me if I should continue or not. Love, G.