Hey everybody! I'm so excited to see so many people interested in my writing! I'm really glad that everybody is appreciating the Sevasey angst as much as I enjoy writing it! Here's the next installment of Shots Fired! I'm not sure it'll be too much longer, but I'm highly interested in hearing your opinions!

Casey shifted slightly in his hospital bed, grimacing when his injured shoulder was jostled. The blonde next to him lightly smacked his leg.

"Bad Matt," Shay scolded. "No hurting yourself before big brother returns to mother hen you!"

Matt smiled lightly before frowning. "How long has Kel been gone, Shay?"

"Kel?" Shay shook her head minutely. "He's…he's been gone just about the amount of time I expected him to be, so not too long."

The lieutenant's brow furrowed as he nudged his bedmate's shoulder lightly. "Liar. You're worried about Kelly, which means he's been gone longer than you expected him to be. I mean really, Shay…you're watching reruns of Dr. Phil way too intently to be perfectly calm at this moment."

"I like Dr. Phil, Matthew. It helps me come up with clever advice to give you and Kelly during your near death experiences." Shay seemed to consider lying to the injured man again before sighing, realizing that Matt would never truly believe she wasn't concerned. "But yeah, I told him to only be two hours when he left. He agreed wholeheartedly, saying he'd be back. I thought you being stuck in here would be like a fricking Severide beacon, you know? I mean he never leaves when you need him, even when you don't think you do."

Matt sighed, concern mounting for his surrogate brother. It'd been nearly an hour since he'd woken up to find the room being void of Kelly. "So he's been gone over three hours, huh?" seeing the paramedic nod, Matt scrubbed a hand over his face. "Alright, well let's think for a second. Kel went to confront Heather, right?"

"Yep," she confirmed, randomly clicking through TV channels. "Said he needed to talk to her about some things."

"Great…well the good thing is that she has the boys at home tonight," the truck lieutenant remembered, his worry for Severide continuing to mount. Shay shot him a confused look. "Oh, well I mean at least we don't have to worry about her trying to actually kill him."

"Oh," Shay shrugged, settling on a vacuum advertisement. "Well that's at least slightly positive."

"Yeah, but I also don't think he's been chatting for almost three hours…" Matt conceded. "Have you tried calling him?"

At this, Shay rolled her eyes. "What? Geez why didn't I think of that? I could just call the man I've been worrying about for hours!"

"Okay, okay…" Casey held his one hand up defensively. "Stupid question, I get it."

"He hasn't answered any calls or texts," Leslie admitted, noting the stress beginning to build in the fireman. "But I'm sure it's nothing, Matt…maybe he lost his phone or something?"

The paramedic watched carefully as the injured man seemed to sit up straighter, despite the obvious exhaustion and pain he was still fighting off. Holding out his good hand, Casey gestured towards the phone. "Can I borrow it for a second?"

"Matt…is this a good idea? I mean I'm sure Kelly will be back soon, and you really need to keep your heart rate down. You've had a very eventful day," Shay argued lightly. "Besides, I've already tried Kelly, I told you."

"I'm not calling Kel," he countered, reaching for the phone anyway. "I'm going to find out just what Heather said to him, and how long ago he left the house."

There were few times that Shay could actually remember Casey taking on the protective role in the brotherly relationship he and Severide shared; but he was no less capable, she decided, and just as fierce. Seeing the blue eyes harden with newfound determination, she handed the phone over easily.

Heather Darden couldn't sleep. She'd tried ample times in the few hours since Severide had left. She'd even indulged in a bottle of wine to try and help herself settle down and relax, but it was no use. Ever since Andy had died, Heather felt herself fluctuating between her mind whirling at a million miles an hour and it being totally empty and numb. She knew that she missed her husband and loved her sons. She knew that she appreciated Matt's constant efforts to help, and the attention he gave her. She also knew that she blamed Kelly because it was easier, easier than facing the reality; the reality that her husband had elected to storm into deadly situations, day after day. The reality that Andy had died, leaving behind two boys and a wife, while his 'brothers' lived to tell the tale, returning home to their solitary lifestyles and beer.

"And then Kelly frickin' Severide darkens my door with more bad news," she scoffs angrily, pouring herself more wine. "You might as well go celibate, Heather. Because it won't be long before the whole frickin' house 51 goes up in smoke."

Before she could get any further in her rants, a shrill ring cut through her quiet kitchen. Seeing an unknown number on the screen, she answered it cautiously. "Hello?"

"Hi, Heather."

"Matt?!" she sat straighter immediately. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm…I mean, Heather where's Kelly?"

"What? I have no idea, I mean…didn't you get shot? Are you alright? Severide said you had to have surgery and…"

"Yeah I was shot, I'm fine. I need to know where Kelly is! When did you last see him?"

Heather felt anger beginning to build once again. Matt was brushing her off so effortlessly, it was painful. What had happened to their borderline romance? "Look Matt, I don't know. He was here around 8? He didn't stay long, I assure you that. The bastard left in a huff a few minutes into the argument. He had the audacity to warn me against dating you…said you were his brother and I had no business hurting you. But honestly? Seems like Kelly Severide brings enough hurt to his brothers on his own. I mean first Andy, and then you were shot and…"

"Ah hell, Heather," Matt cut her off. "Did you say that to him?"

"Well yeah! I mean what right does he have to lecture me when he clearly is the common denominator in all the men I care for getting hurt?"

"The common denominator is the job," Casey bit out harshly, too tired and concerned to fully control his emotions. "I don't have time to talk this out with you again, Heather, I'm sorry. I stand by what I said this morning. It wouldn't be right. I have to find Kelly…now, so I'll talk to you later."

Before Heather could say anything he was gone, a dial tone the only sound in the dim lit house.

Hanging up rapidly, Matt tossed the phone down on the bed, frustration clear on his face. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he turned to the blonde beside him. "Damnit, well okay. So she screwed that up big time. I mean, I knew it would be an argument but to tell Kel that he caused it all…"

Shay had carefully watched the younger man's face during the exchange with Heather and was beginning to feel a bit concerned. His blue eyes had hardened, stress and concern tinging their depths. "It sounds like he left hours ago…where the hell could he be? I mean, I know Kelly pretty well, but I never imagined he wouldn't come back. Did he go off to run or box or something? Let off some steam?"

Casey shook his head tiredly. "No, it's too late for that. He'd have been back by now. I'm really starting to worry, Shay. Kelly doesn't usually just disappear…"

The two blondes sat side by side, silently worrying about the third member of their newly formed trio. Shay felt guilty just sitting there; Kelly was out there somewhere and she couldn't figure out where. "I'm sorry Matt…I should've stopped him from going. I…"

"Oh God…" Matt cut her off, paling rapidly, the heart monitors beeping quickly.

Shay snapped immediately into paramedic mode, reaching for his wrist. Feeling his rapid pulse, she turned toward the lieutenant. "What, Matt? Does your shoulder hurt? Are you feeling dizzy? The meds could be affecting your blood pressure…"

"No no no," Casey muttered, framing Shay's face with his good hand. She stopped her frantic medical rambling to look at him intently. "I know where Kelly is. You have to go get him, Shay…right now!"

"Where is he?" she asked incredulously. "And how do you know? Is this some brotherly telepathy or something?"

"He's with Andy," Matt continued, ignoring her comment. "He's got to be at the gravesite. It's the only place he'd go… Shay when he goes there, especially by himself…"

"Things go south, I got it!" she concluded, already off the bed and moving to grab her purse. Slinging it over her shoulder, and snagging her phone, she spun to face the blonde. "You'll be okay, right? You still look really pale, Matt."

"I'm fine, just go!" he insisted.

"Alright, but don't move! Or die!" she ordered, practically sliding out the door.

Kelly Severide didn't know how long he'd been kneeling there, feeling the damp grass soak his knees. He didn't feel the freezing wind chapping his lips or hear the 'Doctor Doctor' ringtone drifting jauntily from his pocket. All he could see was the hard granite headstone in front of him, fueling his distraught mind.

"God, Andy…" he whispered dejectedly. "Why'd you do it? Why didn't you listen to Matt? I heard him tell you not to, hell the whole house heard him on the radio! The whole house heard me on the radio, saying there wasn't a vent! Why'd you have to be so goddamned stubborn? You left me…you left Matt…you left Heather and the boys…you just…left."

'No, I died…'

Kelly's head snapped up suddenly, searching the dimly lit graveyard for the source of the voice. "What the hell…" he uttered weakly. "Andy…?"

Seeing no one else in the cemetery, Severide shook his head wearily. "I'm going crazy… I can almost imagine you're here, Darden. God, if only you were. What would today have been like, huh? Would you have been hit instead of Matt? Nahh… the damned hero would've shoved you aside too. And then both of us would've been lecturing the moron about personal safety."

Sniffing lightly, Kelly moved to lean against the edge of the tombstone, reminiscing about his fallen brother. "You always were the first to lecture us about getting hurt on the job. You'd fret over the injured one and yell at the other. 'You're supposed to look after each other…' God, the rants you used to go on. 'Kelly, Matt's the youngest of us. We've got to keep an eye on him out there.' Or when you'd get back from a trip and one of us had a new bruise or something…you'd lecture us about our inability to stay safe when you're gone."

The Squad lieutenant laughed lightly before sobering. "You'd have kicked my ass today, Andy…the past several weeks really. Ever since we lost you, I've been a total ass to Matt. I…I've blamed him for you dying, I've thrown it in his face repeatedly, telling him that I hate him, that he's why you're gone…though I really know you did that yourself, you jackass…I haven't been there for him, and it's shown. He caught on fire the other day, frickin' fire…can you believe that? He got punched by my dad too. And if that wasn't weird enough, your wife, of all people, has been actively pursuing him…"

Lowering his face to his hands, Severide let out a shaky breath. "She blames me too, you know. Says I'm the reason your boys don't have a father. The reason Matt is always in harm's way…in some ways I'm glad you weren't here to see this morning. Our fighting would've torn you, put you between us. And then seeing Matt…God, Andy there was so much blood. They said I was the only thing keeping Matt from bleeding out…from actually dying… and then where would I be? Alone…"

The distraught man shivered briefly, tears coming anew. In that moment, he felt the emotional weight of the day just overwhelm him, sending waves of fear, anger, and worry crashing down. No longer capable of fighting back sobs, he sat huddled, crying unabashedly in the shadow of his fallen brother. He was so distracted, he didn't see the headlights streak across the sleek stones, or notice the lithe figure running frantically towards him.

"Oh God, Kelly!" Shay cried, throwing herself down next to her roommate and encompassing him in a tight hug. Feeling his tears soak her jacket, she held on even tighter, running a hand through his hair. "Shh..shh it's okay. It'll all be okay…"

"Andy's gone, Shay…and I almost…almost lost Matt," he cried, trying to rein in his rampaging emotions.

"But we didn't okay?" She soothed. "Matt's fine, thanks to you, and me of course. But he's alright, he'll make a complete recovery. Besides, the idiot threw himself in front of a speeding bullet…who does he think he is? Superman?"

Kelly let out a watery laugh at that, shakily sitting up from his roommate's embrace. Rubbing a hand wearily over his eyes, he took a deep breath. "How'd you find me anyways?"

"God we were so worried, Kel," Shay admitted, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "And I didn't really find you, Matt did. We got worried when you didn't come back and then I tried your phone and there wasn't an answer. So Matt called Heather…"

"He did what?" Severide cut her off, feeling concern beginning to grow once more.

"Relax, Kel. Matt called to find out what time you left and then they had a brief argument before he hung up. He was desperate to find you and then suddenly he realized you'd be here after what she said to you, so off I went!" she finished with a bit of a flourish, using her hands to emphasize.

Remembering the things Heather said, Kelly hung his head, anger deflating. "Well maybe she was right…"

"Matt didn't think so," Shay insisted, standing up. "He even told her that it wasn't true. C'mon…let's get you cleaned up and in some dry clothes and then let's head back to Little Brother, okay? I'm worried he'll skimp on the chores I left him."

So Severide has been recovered! And Matt and Heather have had a brief encounter…will it be the last? Will Matt be okay when the roommates return to the hospital? PLEASE leave me reviews with your thoughts and suggestions! I'm aiming to update again on FRIDAY! Let me know what you think!