Title: The City Between Us
Chapter 10 – Another Obstacle?
"HANK! STOP!" Oliva Benson yelled in shock as Erin's collapsed frame suddenly came into view on the road before them.
Hank Voight slammed on the breaks of the 4X4 and quickly got out; Olivia Benson at his side. "ERIN!" He shouted as he ran toward her. "Oh God…" he stated in fear as Olivia quickly called for medical help; a helicopter already en route from their search and rescue base.
"Erin!"
"Hank…K-Kelly…hurry…" Erin wheezed as she heard the voice of her boss fill her ears and knew she was safe.
"Hold on…damn you're freezing. Okay I got you. You're safe now," Hank said as he quickly pulled off his jacket and then draped it over Erin's somewhat shivering frame as Buddy came and stood beside them and barked excitely. "Where's Kelly!"
"Help…him…"
"Erin! Where is he?"
"There…" she pointed down the road.
"Down the road…how far?"
"Look…for the reflector. Hank…his leg it's caught in a…bear trap…bleeding bad…hurry…" she wheezed as Hank looked up at Olivia in fear.
"I'll stay with her, you go," Olivia urged as Erin told him about the reflector. "Hurry!"
As if on cue, Buddy looked up at Hank, started to bark and then darted in Kelly's direction.
"He's with…us," Erin managed as Hank wasted no time in hurrying after the excited canine. "Olivia…Kelly's hurt…bad…"
"Hank will get him. Come on…gotta get you up off this cold ground."
"Bottom of my left leg…is broken. Can't…get up," Erin told her as Olivia helped her get upright with as little pain as possible. "Cold…"
"You'll feel this. Deep breath. Okay…Erin, what happened to the pilot?"
"Died in the air…or on impact," she managed in a soft tone as they slowly limped back toward the waiting Jeep. "Tired. How long…missing?"
"A week. I can only imagine what you two have been through."
"Hell," Erin huffed as they neared the means of their salvation. "We were out of food…this was it…last hope…last chance."
"Then we have good timing," Olivia commented as she heard the dog bark in the distance and then looked up in concern. But when she looked back at Erin, she instantly noticed the younger woman start to slip into unconsciousness and knew she had to keep her awake until the medics arrived. "Erin!"
"Yes…here…cold…tired…sleep."
"I know but you gotta stay with me. Tell me about the dog," Olivia encouraged as she closed the back door and then hurried into the front of the Jeep and turned the heater up full blast. She looked ahead into the darkness before her and felt her own agitation grow as she was torn between going to help Hank or keeping watch over Erin. But she knew just how much Erin meant to Hank so she stayed put. Hurry Hank…just hurry…
"Severide!" Hank shouted as he shone his small flashlight ahead and around his feet as he continued to look for the reflector. The dog had bounded off the path but he knew if there was one trap there was bound to be more. He tried to call the golden lab back but it was in vain, he and the Chicago firefighter had obviously bonded over the past week and now the lovable dog felt a duty to the fallen human – no matter the risk to its own life.
"Severide! Call out if you can hear me!"
However, the barking paid off as Hank found the reflector and quickly deviated to where he finally saw Kelly Severide's unmoving frame. "Kelly! Hey…" Hank stated loudly as Kelly's brain forced his body to jerk awake. "HEY!" He shouted once more which just served to agitate Buddy a bit further – understandably so. "Kelly! Open your eyes!"
"Yeah…hey…here…"
"Okay this is gonna hurt like hell but I gotta get this off."
"Okay…Erin…where's….AHHHHHH!" Kelly yelled in pain as Hank was able to pry the claws of the trap open and release Kelly's leg; his screams made the already agitated dog bark louder.
"Buddy…it's okay…okay," Kelly murmured as his eyes squeezed shut with a fresh pang of pain.
With the bottom part of his shirt now ripped and with the flashlight stowed between his teeth, Hank wrapped the cloth around the cuts in the bottom part of Kelly's leg and then quickly scanned the area for any more traps. He spied one a few meters away from the road and knew the dog got off rather lucky.
"Alright…time to get you some real help."
"Erin…"
"She's safe. She's with Olivia Benson and the medics should be here anytime. Alright…up we got. Again…this is gonna hurt like hell."
"I'm rea….ahhhh!"
Hank hoisted Kelly onto his feet as best he could; Kelly's lips uttering a painful cry as he tried to put weight on it. With Kelly now supported on his hip, Hank slowly made his way toward the road with Buddy at their side. The walk was slow but the movements as painful as they were kept Kelly Severide awake and mostly alert until they got back to the Jeep.
"Kelly!" Erin exclaimed in painful exhaustion as she pushed herself out of the back of the Jeep to give him as supportive a hug as possible. But just as his weary frame began to falter, another set of headlights appeared – the medics had arrived.
"Bout damn time," Hank growled as Olivia could only offer him a sympathetic expression and then help Erin toward one of the waiting medics, while two more rushed to help Kelly before he fell back to the ground.
"Looks like…I won."
"Can I owe you?"
"I'll hold you to that," she smiled as her arm rested on his and he looked at her with a concerned expression. "They'll both be okay now. Time to go home."
"Thank you for not giving up."
"Was never an option."
While the medics worked to get both Kelly and Erin ready for ground transport to the waiting helicopter, Olivia drove back to basecamp while Hank got on the phone to Antonio at Firehouse 51 and then Jay back at Intelligence headquarters.
XXXXXXXX
"What? Are you sure? Both?" Antonio asked excitedly as an instant hush fell over all those in Firehouse 51 who looked on intently. "Thank God," he uttered in relief as a small smile displayed upon his face and he looked at his wife, his sister and then his brother in law and nodded. "Everyone will be glad to hear that both are alive and well and coming home."
"YES!" Was the happy chorus that went up seconds later as Antonio relayed the information to all those gathered around him.
Benny hugged his daughter and then pulled his phone and texted Hank for an official update. It was late but he didn't care; his son was alive and coming home and that's all that mattered.
"It's a miracle," Gabby whispered as she hugged her husband and looked up with a happy smile.
"Told you they'd be fine," Matt shrugged and then chuckled.
"Pretty sure I told you that."
The somber mood that hung over Firehouse 51 for the past week was finally lifted and all those inside could finally go home that night; their shift long over, knowing their family was coming home.
XXXXXXXX
Kelly's mind raced with thoughts that ranged from meeting Erin the first time in the small airport in upstate New York, to their ill-fated flight, the crash, nearly falling off the mountain – twice, seeing her fall into the lake, his leg getting caught in the trap but in between all those dark thoughts were glimpses of hope by means of a kiss – or two. But at the same time he would see an image of him waking up and her walking off with a faceless man; a smile on her face and him left standing alone to watch as she left his life for good.
"Erin…" his lips whispered under the oxygen mask which meant they were never heard by the medic at his side; his words also drowned out by the road noise and the helicopter blades already going as they neared their means of medical transport.
They hit a bump and his eyes squeezed shut as small pangs of fresh pain started to reverberate throughout his body. The drugs that coursed through his system waged a battle against the willpower that wanted to stay awake until they were both in the same room and awake enough to talk. He had heard her start to say what he thought was 'I love you' but he was in so much pain and could only curse his bad timing as he interrupted.
'I have something special to tell you…' he remembered her words as the darkness raced in to claim his consciousness for the next few hours.
"Erin…" he whispered once more as the darkness claimed him.
A few minutes later Erin's eyes fluttered open and she tried to raise her head to look at what was happening around her as the medical transport vehicle stopped and they were both carried toward the waiting medical helicopter. She tried to glance over at Kelly to see how he fared but could only blink rapidly and gaze a few seconds upon his unmoving frame and wish he would look at her before her view was blocked by the middle divider of the helicopter as their transport stretchers were loaded in and then secured for the ride to the nearest hospital.
"Let's go!"
Hank slapped the side of the helicopter and then turned back to Olivia with a small smile. "Ready to get back to civilization?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
XXXXXXXX
The next time Kelly opened his eyes, the view was different, he felt warm, his head still pounded but he lay on something soft and there was no smell of anything outdoors.
"Welcome back…"
"Where…where am I?"
"Chicago Med."
He heard the familiar voice and lifted his weary eyes in the direction of the voice and gazed upon the relieved face of his father who leaned in and offered him a warm hug.
"You were flown right from New York to here as per Voight's request."
"No one says no to Voight," came a small chuckle as Kelly lifted his head to look at Will Halsted and offered him a grateful nod before he looked back at his father.
"I was so damn worried," he whispered as he pulled back and let his hand rest on his son's rough cheek before he straightened up and then looked down with a small smile. "Survivor…like your old man."
"Remembered some of the stuff you taught me as a kid," Kelly told his father in truth as Matt Casey's frame came into view.
"Hey buddy…welcome back," Matt greeted as he clasped Kelly's hand and gave him a brief hug before Gabby was next with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"We'd knew you'd make it back," she smiled warmly.
"Voight told us a few of the gory details," Benny stated seriously as Kelly slowly nodded.
"Where's Erin?"
"Room down the hall," Will replied. "She should be awake by now. You can go and see her if you want. We tended to your leg. You'll be off it for a few weeks but at least everything will heal fine. Few cracked ribs, some bruising, cuts and dehydration. What the hell happened up there?"
"Hell," Kelly retorted as Will's pager went off and he took his leave. "I need to see Erin."
"I'll go see if she's up," Gabby said before she took her leave.
"I need…to see…Erin," Kelly huffed as he slowly sat up and then winced as he did so. "Stomach hurts…"
"That other IV is food…liquid stuff," Matt teased as Kelly's lips pursed.
"What I need is exlax," Kelly chuckled as he swung his legs over the edge of the small bed. He looked at his bandaged leg and then up at his father with a heavy frown. "That accident…was too close. A few times…was even closer," his voice trailed off as he looked back down at his hands that some reddish patches from where the skin was chaffed and scuffed. "The fires that I've been in…they were damn scary but when that plane was about to crash I've never been so terrified in my life. When that old man…never shoulda got on that plan."
"Voight said they found a grave marker. Was it the pilot?"
"Yeah he and…Buddy! Where's Buddy!"
"He's at the Firehouse with Otis. Think we found a new mascot," Matt smiled as Kelly felt a pang of relief wash over him.
"He was the old man's and then he…he's mine now. Just can't let him go to pound. Wouldn't seem fair after all that. Erin and I can share custody I guess," he gently smiled.
"Trust me I don't think Boden is too eager to get rid of him," Matt said with a happy tone as Kelly tried to stand up. Matt and Benny each took an arm and helped Kelly steady himself on his feet.
"Damn…that hurts," Kelly groaned as he reached for the single crutched and then looked at his somewhat battered appearance in the small mirror beside the bed. "I look like grizzly Adams."
"I think Lumbersexual is in now," Matt teased as Kelly shot him a deadpanned glance. "The rest of the guys said they'd come by later and are planning a big lunch back at the house."
"Never thought I'd be happy to be back in Chicago," Kelly smiled as Benny slapped him on the back.
"So…a week alone in the woods with a beautiful woman," Benny grinned as Kelly's lips pursed.
"Really dad? She had a broken leg, I had cracked ribs. She fell into ice and got mild hypothermia and I stepped into a bear trap and oh yeah…we survived a plane crash, had only Cougar jerky to eat and nearly lost a dog all the white trying to avoid wiping our asses with poison ivy leaves. Yeah dad…real romantic," he replied in sarcasm as Matt chuckled and Benny shrugged.
"Naysayer," Benny winked. "I'm sure she'll want to see you…" Benny told Kelly as Matt went in search of his wife. "I'll order in some dinner. Unless you want…jerky?"
"Never…again," Kelly smiled as he wrapped his personal robe around his weary frame and slowly limped toward the door to his hospital room and outside and into the hallway. Being back in civilization felt good but he would be remiss to admit that he did enjoy the time with Erin in the cabin…the time when they were both warm and the pain and danger had subsided for a few blissful minutes.
He neared her room but then paused just before he reached the doorway and came into view. He heard her voice but it was the man's voice that instantly set him on edge. He hoped it was her partner Jay as she said he was involved with someone on their Intelligence team but it wasn't…
"Jake…"
'Jake…my ex fiancé…' she had told him.
Jake? What the hell is he doing here! Kelly's mind growled in anger as he got the unwanted answer a few seconds later.
"I realized just what I nearly lost. Erin…I want a second chance. Will you…marry me?"
A/N: alright so yup in the movie…the fiancé is there but hey had to get a bit of romantic tension in here so…hehe would love your thoughts as always before you go. I had originally planned to end it with 10 chappies but your reviews have encouraged me to write a few more so keep em coming!