I'm so SO glad that people are enjoying my writing! I too enjoy Sevasey angst and the wonderful brotherly relationship that they share. The writers on Chicago Fire have such beautiful opportunities that they let slip through their fingers, so I do my best to pick up the slack! Here's the next part of 'Shots Fired'!

Shay carefully led Severide over to his parked car, noticing the slight shivers wracking the man's frame. "Alright tough guy, where are the keys?"

Kelly seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. "M'okay, Shay…"

"I disagree, so…." Shay shook her head. Ignoring his protests, she began feeling around in the man's pockets until she found the car keys. "Ahah! Alright, climb in, Kel."

Severide sighed and climbed into the passenger seat, emotions still whirling. Shay started the car and cranked the heat on full blast. Making sure Kelly was settled, she slowly pulled out of the parking lot. "How're you feeling?"

"Honestly? I don't know…I mean I knew the talk with Heather would be rough, but I mean…she blames me for Andy, Shay," the Squad Lieutenant started, clearing his throat. "And she says I'm a danger to be around, and that that's why Matt's always hurt. And it really sucked to hear that, you know? I mean…God, Andy was my best friend for forever. I mean I'd known the bastard nearly my whole life. And then his frickin' wife thinks that I'm responsible for him dying…for his kids being fatherless…."

The paramedic's heart clenched painfully, reaching for her roommate's hand. Squeezing lightly, she sighed. "I'm so sorry, Kel. I know she must've really upset you. It's been a really rough day, huh?"

"Yeah, that's an understatement; I mean…the argument and Matt playing hero and then all of this drama…" Severide trailed off suddenly, turning to Shay quickly. "Wait, if you're here, who's with Matt?"

"Uh, the couple dozen nurses, doctors, and surgeons currently working at the hospital?" she offered, heading towards their loft. "We'll just clean you up and then head back there in just a little bit."

"Shay…." Kelly groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "We should just go back now. I'm fine, really…besides you can't just leave Trouble alone like that. Who know what could happen to him?"

"Are your Big Brother senses tingling?"

"No, but…"

"No buts, Severide. We're going to get you into dry, warm clothes and then head back to Matt. He's probably resting, alright? He was looking pretty sleepy when I left him," Shay argued firmly, pulling into their lot.

"He looked tired?" Kelly perked up. "Like exhausted? Or drowsy?"

"Like he'd gone through life-saving surgery a few hours prior," the blonde continued, pulling the fireman out of the car. "Now march upstairs, mister… if you don't strip out of those wet clothes soon, I'm going to have to do it for you."

"You wouldn't…you're not interested in any part of this," he gestured, practically skipping up the stairs.

"No, but I know plenty of nurses who would be," she quipped. "And if I'm going to have to go through the pain of stripping you, I might as well make it worth my while…"

"…Pictures?" he gulped as she unlocked the door.

"Damn right, I was serious about that calendar, Kel…so hop to it! Out of those clothes and into nice, dry and warm ones!" she ordered, snagging him a Gatorade from the fridge. As soon as he was out of sight, she sighed, muttering under her breath. "Matt, you'd better not make me a liar."

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Watching Shay rush to Kelly's aid had come as an immense relief to Casey. The second he'd realized Kelly would be at Andy's gravesite, a terror had filled him. Visiting a grave was never an easy thing, and to visit the grave of a 'brother' who'd recently died was even harder. The few times that he and Kelly had gathered enough courage to go, it had always ended with anger, frustration, tears, and copious amounts of alcohol. The concept of Kelly suffering in silence, with only a headstone as comfort, was terrifying to Matt, especially knowing what Heather had told him. The panic had nearly driven him to rip the IV's from his body and rush to his friend's side himself. Thankfully, Shay had been just as eager to find the squad lieutenant and had set off immediately.

"Kel will be okay…Shay will find him…" he reasoned, feeling relief coursing through him. In the wake of her rapid departure, the injured fireman eased himself back into the pillows, sighing shakily.

The stress and concern for his brother had been building exponentially since he'd noticed the man's absence. Knowing that the blonde paramedic was in the process of rescuing the man helped immensely, but new symptoms appeared in the wake of his respite. Matt's head began to throb at the base of his neck, sending painful stabs in rhythm with his pulse. The shakiness he'd attributed to relief continued to increase, until the lieutenant found himself lightheaded and dazed. Sluggishly, he reached toward the nurses' call button, concern growing. Unfortunately, the blackness clouding his vision proved too strong, and Matt found himself spiraling into unconsciousness.

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A nurse on the third floor frowned at the sudden lack of data from room 313. There weren't any alarms going off though, so she ventured to check in on the patient. The man looked to be sleeping soundly, his heart monitor showing normal rhythms. She noticed the pulse/ox monitor had slipped from his finger and deftly returned it to its proper place. Noting the slight sweat developing on the man's brow, she made a note in his chart before leaving him to sleep. A slight fever with a surgery like his was to be expected, and it seemed to have broken. The doctor would make rounds again soon anyhow.

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Severide quickly stripped out of his clothes, realizing belatedly how wet and cold he actually felt. Shivering slightly, he pulled on warmer clothes and slipped into boots. Shrugging on a sweatshirt, he took the stairs two at a time, eager to return to the hospital.

"Ready!" he called, much like a kid headed to his first day of school.

Shay snickered lightly, pulling a beanie on to his head before handing him the Gatorade. "You feeling better, Kel?"

"Yeah, I'm alright…much warmer," he admitted.

"Excellent! Any self-loathing or extreme guilt?"

"Um…no, I guess not…"

"Good! Because none of this was your fault, and if you insist on blaming yourself, I'll insist on you sleeping here tonight. I'll go back to the hospital without you," Shay threatened, watching the man's eyes as he absorbed her words. Kelly paused before nodding. "Alright then, let's go!

Severide was oddly quiet on the ride to hospital, staring blankly out the window. When they finally arrived and parked, Shay found herself being dragged across the lot, nearly losing her footing.

"Kelly! What're you doing?" she shrieked. The lieutenant ignored her, leading her quickly to the stairs. "Um, elevator? We're not all classically trained at scaling staircases!"

"Brother senses are tingling," he responded tightly, practically hauling the blonde up the three flights of stairs.

At this, the paramedic stopped complaining and did her best to keep up, though she still ended up panting heavily when they reached the third floor. Severide, however, wasted no time in getting to Matt's room, sliding through the doorway as if on ice. Managing to keep his footing, he quickly moved to Casey's bedside.

"Matt?" he said softly, looking his brother over. Matt was pale and breathing shallowly, a sweat on his brow. Perching on the bed, Kelly gently framed his friend's face, frowning at how clammy the man felt. "Matty? C'mon, Matt…talk to me!"

The blonde in question groaned weakly, eyes fluttering weakly. "…el?"

"Hey," Kelly smiled softly. "Hey bud…how're you feeling?"

"S'weird…" Matt slurred, causing Severide to gesture wildly at a newly arrived Shay.

Breathing heavily, the paramedic got the message and turned around to get a doctor. Kelly, meanwhile, turned back to his brother. "What's weird, Matt? Are you sick, man? Dizzy?"

"R'lly light…li…"

"Lightheaded?" Severide guessed. "Since when, Matt?"

"Sh…shay lft…" he managed softly.

"Damnit," the squad lieutenant cursed. "Just hang on bud, okay? Just a second…"

Just then, Shay returned, doctor in tow. The physician immediately moved toward to injured fireman and checked his pulse. Frowning, he looked at the monitors before turning to Matt. "You say you've been feeling lightheaded, Lt. Casey? Anything else?"

"He feels clammy," Kelly supplied quickly.

"Alright, it seems that Lt. Casey is having an adverse reaction to the pain medication that he is receiving. They can, at times, mess with one's blood pressure. In this case, the blood pressure has been lowered. We'll get that changed out right away and the adverse effects should wear off quickly, okay?"

"No, not okay!" Severide began, only to be cut off by Shay.

"Thanks, Doc. That's what we figured," she placated, seeing the doctor out of the room.

A seething Kelly, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Matt. "Hear that, Matty? It'll all be better soon, okay? Just lemme see those blue eyes…please?"

Casey could hear the concern sinking into his friend's voice and tried to do as he asked. Blinking sluggishly, he managed to open them just enough to sooth Kelly's anxiety. "Hi…"

"Hey bud," Kelly smiled, as a nurse moved to switch the pain meds. "Just a little longer, okay?"

"He'll be fine, Kel," Shay soothed, moving to sit near the bed. "But you, Matthew, are in trouble with me. I specifically asked you before I left how you felt, didn't I? I also asked about your blood pressure, didn't I? So please tell me why you decided that it was totally fine to stay quiet on that matter, huh? To not let me help you before I went to rescue Kelly? You almost made a liar out of me, Matt! A liar! Do I look like a liar? Do NOT answer that, Kelly…"

"Okay, easy there, Shay," Severide interrupted, moving to hug the ranting paramedic. "He's sorry, I'm sure…right, Matt?"

The truck lieutenant nodded, finally opening his eyes normally, feeling the lightheadedness disappear. "I'm sorry, Shay. I really didn't know until you left and I tried to press the call button but I think I passed out."

"You did what?" Kelly turned, looking sharply at his younger brother.

"I think I fainted, but it's okay, right? You're okay, Shay rescued you, and now you guys fixed my meds…we're all good again," Matt continued, hoping to escape a lecture this late in the night.

Severide could feel the anxiety and frustration beginning to build up in him once more but sighed deeply instead, scrubbing a hand over his face. "You know what? I'm too tired for this. It's been a hell of a day and we're all a mess. How about we try to get some rest, huh? We can talk more in the morning, with coffee or something."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Shay agreed, moving towards the bed. "Scoot over, Blondie!"

"Shay..." Kelly warned, stopping when he saw the two blondes reclining comfortably, Matt even handing Shay the bed control. "Alright, Goldilocks, and what am I supposed to do?"

"Well I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to catch the two of you in bed together," she countered, pointing to one of the bags she'd provided earlier. "There's a pillow and sleeping bag in the duffel, and I suppose there're always those lovely chairs."

Grumbling halfheartedly, Severide retrieved the aforementioned items and made himself a comfy camp in the corner of the darkened room. Glancing over at the blondes happily cocooned in the hospital bed, he couldn't help but smiled. If he could always count on these two people being in his life, he could handle any heartache the world decided to send his way.

So….whatdya think? Leave me some reviews people! Let me know your thoughts! Should I release Matt from the hospital? Should I show some TLC at the Shaveride loft? Has Heather given up so easily?