Title: One Month - Chapter Seven
Summary: The days following Andy Darden's death and how it was handled. Mostly Kelly Severide, Matthew Casey, but have all.
Disclaimers: The show is property of Dick Wolfe, and NBC. I don't own anything. Just borrowing the characters to practice my writing. Only thing I own is Season 1 DVDs and they are getting well worn. LOL
A/N: Thank you for reading this and following. Forgive me for taking so long to update. I am working on it. I'm not forgetting about it. Please let me know how I'm doing. Please. So I know. Thank you.
Scenes in bold and Italic are from the show.
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A doctor finally comes out with news about Matt Casey. "Are you here about Matt Casey?" the doctor asks coming into the waiting room. "Yes we are here for Matt Casey." Chief Boden says. "Matt has head trauma and we are keeping and eye on it. So far we don't need to do any surgery as of yet. He is in a coma and we don't know when he will come out of it. His right ankle is badly sprained. He has three bruised ribs. You may go see him, only a few at a time." Doctor Rosalyn Davis told everyone. She turned to leave.
Kelly leans forward in his chair his hands covering his face as he starts to sob. Leslie Shay stands up and holds Kelly in her arms. She rubs his back. A few men went to see Casey. They all took their turn and left to come back later.
Kelly put his arms around Leslie's waist as she holds her friend. "Kelly do you want to go see Matt?" Leslie asks as Kelly stops crying. "Shay it is my fault Matt is in here. If I was only watching what was going on I would have seen the rubble starting to fall, but instead Matt sees it and has to save me." Kelly says. "It is not your fault. Things just happen. I'm sure Matt will be fine." Leslie says as Kelly wipes his eyes and stands up to go see Matt Casey.
Kelly stops at the doorway and looks over at Matt. "It's alright to come in. Talk to him. He still hears things. Tell him what is going on." Nurse Bradley says, looking over at Kelly and smiling. Kelly slowly takes a step into the room and moves beside Matt's bedside. The nurse smiles a sad smile and leaves.
"Hey buddy. You got to wake up. We all miss you. Please just be okay. I know it is my fault you're in here just please be okay." Kelly says looking down at Matt. Matt stays silent and unmoving. Kelly sees a chair beside Matt's bed and sits down.
Leslie steps into Matt's hospital room, and sees Kelly sitting beside Matt. "Hey Matt I'm praying for you. Just be okay." Leslie says, leaning down and giving Matt a kiss on his cheek. Both leave to go back to the station. Kelly was coming back to the hospital and wasn't going to leave Matt's side.
Matt lays on the hospital bed seeming unresponsive. He still hears the voices around him. At times he sees things too. He just can't respond at the moment. Lost in a world all his own , as his loved ones wait for him to return.
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Kelly Severide steps into the firehouse and heads to the locker room. He puts his gear away and takes a shower and shaves and dresses in, jeans and a blue long sleeved shirt and his leather jacket. He packs his bag with the things he needs and heads to Chief Boden's office.
The Chief looks up as Kelly comes into his office. He was expecting Kelly coming to him. "Chief I'm going back to the hospital. I'm staying there until Matt wakes up. My head isn't in the game to be out there fighting fires. Matt needs me." Kelly says, looking at the Chief. "Go. Just update us on Casey. I'll be out to check on Casey myself and you." Chief Boden says, looking at Kelly. Kelly nods his head and turns to leave.
Kelly heads out to his car and gets in and drives to the hospital. To check on Matt and be with him until he leaves the hospital. He doesn't care what the doctors think he wasn't going to leave his brother at the time he was needed.
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Kelly arrives back at the hospital and heads up to Matt's hospital room. He finds the chair still beside Matt's bed and sits down placing his bag beside his chair. "Hey, Matt I'm back. I'm not going to leave until you wake up. I'm not going anywhere." Kelly says, looking at Matt in the hospital bed. It seems hopeless at the moment that Matt might not wake up.
Where am I? What is going on? Matt wonders. He looks up and sees Andy standing near him. "Am I dead?" Matt asks looking at Andy. "No you're in coma. You're in between at the moment. No it isn't your time to come over yet. Your body needs time to heal. You were in a fire and you saved Kelly." Andy says looking at Matt. "What? I saved Kelly?" Matt is surprised. "Yeah. He isn't taking it well. He blames himself. He doesn't want to lose another brother." Andy says.
Images come to Matt's mind. How he pushed Kelly out of the way. His head hurts and things start to fade. He loses sight of Andy and he still hears what Kelly is saying. He wants to wake up but Matt can't for the moment make any part of his body listen. Andy is right. His body does need time to heal.
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Kelly is walking around the hospital needing to get away from Matt's room for a little bit. Also there is a nurse that should have retired a long time ago, giving him the evil eye because visiting hours are almost over. He didn't want to cause any trouble but that might be impossible with this battleaxe. She has a sour look on her face. She could make plants wilt.
He returns to Matt's room and sits in the chair beside his bed. "Sir visiting hours are almost over. You have to leave. You can't stay here." Nurse Olivia Bennett tells Kelly as she steps into Matt's room. Kelly looks at the woman and gives her a, Yeah right look. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving. This man here is my brother he saved me and is here instead of me. You can keep telling me but I won't listen no matter how many times you tell me. I'm not leaving until he wakes up and tells me to leave and even then I may not go anywhere." Kelly says, in a matter of fact way.
Nurse Olivia gives him a dark look. "I can call security and have them remove you." The nurse tells Kelly. "Call them I don't care. I'm not moving from here. It could have been me here laying in this bed but Matt…he pushed me out of the way." Kelly says, blinking away tears. Nurse Olivia took a deep breath. She turned to leave and went back to the nurses' station. Nurse Olivia, doesn't know when she became so callous and uncaring, and so unsympathetic toward people. To many things happening in her life and what she sees in the job.
Nurse Olivia picks up the phone and calls someone and then hangs up the phone. Hopefully maybe she can start to care again and reach out toward the people instead of chasing them away.
Thirty minutes after visiting hours are over Kelly is looking for the nurse to come back with and army to remove him but instead two orderlies come into Matt's room with one of those cushioned lounge chairs and sets it beside Matt's bed and leave. Nurse Olivia returns to the room and goes over to Kelly and hands him a pillow and a blanket. Kelly takes the things and Nurse Olivia turns to leave.
Kelly goes over to the lounge chair and lowers the back so he isn't sitting upright. He places the pillow under his head and covers up and closes his eyes and sleep over takes him.
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Something wakes Kelly up in the night. Alarms are going off. He is confused as he sits up. He is told to leave the room. The doctors and nurses are trying to save Matt Casey. He is rushed into emergency surgery.
Kelly is scared that Matt won't make it. He is sitting in the waiting room alone. He doesn't have the heart to call anyone yet. He is shaking like a leaf in the wind of change. Nurse Olivia Bennett notices that Kelly is sitting alone. He reminds her of her son she lost so long ago to a drunk driver. One of the many hurts in her life that made her bitter.
She goes over to the young man and sits down next to him. She takes his hand in hers as she runs her thumb over his hand in soothing circles. She can tell he is shaking and he is breathing fast and shallow. She keeps running her thumb over his hand. Slowly he calms down just a little. He still doesn't know that she sat down beside him and took his hand. He is lost in his own thoughts that are condemning and blaming. He just can't lose his brother.
Kelly's phone vibrates in the seat next to him but he doesn't notice. Nurse Olivia stands and grabs the phone to answer it. "Hello? This is Nurse Olivia answering for Mr. Severide. May I take a message?"
"Hello this is Wallace Boden. I was just calling and checking up on Matthew Casey. How is he?" Chief Boden surprised, at who answered Kelly's phone. "I'm sorry but Matt Casey has been rushed into emergency surgery. Mr. Severide could use a friend here." Nurse Olivia says into the phone. "Okay. I'm on my way." Chief Boden says hanging up his phone and heading to the hospital.
Nurse Olivia hangs up Kelly's phone and puts it in the same spot it was before and sat down. She takes his hand in hers again. Running her thumb over his hand. Giving him comfort in his time of need.
I can't lose Matt. He's the only brother I have left. Matt you have to be okay. Please be okay. If it weren't for you I'd be the one here and not you. Please be okay. Kelly thinks as tears fall silently down his face.
Wallace Boden walks into the waiting room and notices a tormented look on Kelly's face. He sees the nurse that answered Kelly's phone sitting beside Kelly. Leslie Shay is behind Chief Boden and steps around him and goes over to Kelly. Nurse Olivia Bennett stands up and sees Leslie coming over. She places Kelly's hand in hers and smiles and goes back to the nurses station.
Leslie Shay sits down next to her roommate with a worried expression on her face for Kelly. He didn't even notice her or the chief come in. She puts her arm around him and rubs his back. Slowly he leans on her shoulder and she just comforts him. Kelly's head slowly lowers to Leslie's shoulder as she keeps rubbing his back in soothing circles. His eyes are heavy and they close in much needed sleep after the rude awakening from earlier.
Wallace Boden takes a seat across from his squad lieutenant and his roommate. He would wait to update everyone when he heard more news about Matt Casey. No need to wake everyone up just to wait.
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"Family of Matt Casey?" Dr. Rosalyn Davis asks coming into the waiting room at six Am. Wallace Boden stands up and nods his head. The doctor goes on. "Matt is in the recovery room. The swelling got worse and we had to go in and relieve the pressure. He is still in coma. We don't know when he will wake up. You can visit but make it short. He'll be back in his room in about thirty minutes." Dr. Rosalyn Davis says turning to leave.
Leslie Shay looks over at Kelly as he sits up. He runs his hands over his face and through his hair. He sees Chief Boden and Leslie Shay. He remembers them coming in but he was lost in his own world. He vaguely remembers Nurse Olivia Bennett sitting beside him and taking care of him. The grouchy nurse. Surprising in and of itself.
He looks over at the nurses' station and sees that she is busy. She looks old enough to be his mother but still in good shape for her age. Her features are less grim looking and pronounced. She seems like a weight has lifted from her shoulders. She looks up and sees Kelly looking in her direction and she smiles his way. He smiles back and turns back to Leslie Shay and Chief Boden.
Matt Casey is placed back into his room after and hour in recovery. Kelly goes to see Matt. Just to see for himself that he is still okay. Leslie Shay goes to see Matt also and support Kelly. She takes his hand in hers. He squeezes Leslie's hand. Both leave the room. The other firefighters are starting to come in and check on Matt Casey.
"Hey Kelly you want to go out and get some breakfast this morning?" Leslie asks, looking at Kelly. "Yeah sure. I need a change for the moment." Kelly answers. Both head to the elevators and go down. They go to a diner near the hospital.
Leslie is worried about Kelly. He isn't eating much. He ordered coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. "What? Quit looking at me." Kelly sees Leslie looking over at him. "I'm just worried about you." Leslie says taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm fine just say prayers for Matt. He's the one that needs to get better." Kelly stands up having finished his breakfast and pays for his and Leslie's meal. Leslie hurries to catch up with him as he leaves to go back to the hospital.
Kelly heads over to the gift shop and steps into the store and sees a small bouquet of flowers. It is pretty and smells nice. He pays for the arrangement and leaves and goes to the elevator and pushes the up button.
He steps onto the elevator as Leslie quickly gets on before the doors close. Kelly sees Nurse Olivia at the nurses station and sets the small bouquet of flowers on the counter in front of her. She looks up in surprise as Kelly heads into Matt's room for the day. Nurse Olivia gathers her things to head out until her shift later that day. She picks up the small bouquet of flowers. Touched that Kelly did that for her. No one has done anything for her since her son died and she and her husband split up and divorced. She clocks out and heads to the elevators to head home.
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Matt sees Kelly sitting by his bedside. He wishes his body would heal faster but his body needs the time. Andy is with him "Matt to let you know it isn't your fault or Kelly's fault that I died. I didn't listen for your orders and I was impatient. I paid the price for that. So when you go back just let Kelly know that. He blames himself." Andy says to Matt. "Okay I will." Matt says, looking at Kelly who is telling him about what is going on. Things start to fade as a headache comes on. Matt still hears Kelly talking to him.
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Through out the day Kelly talked to Matt and walked the hospital. Kelly doesn't want to leave the hospital. He is afraid that something will happen to Matt when he isn't there. The rest of the crew from the firehouse come to visit Matt and to check on Kelly. The days pass in a blur as Kelly keeps his vigil at Matt's bedside. On the third day Nurse Olivia Bennett goes to find Kelly at Matt's bedside.
Kelly looks up at Olivia. "There is and extra bed at my house for you to borrow. You can't keep doing this to yourself. You have to take care of yourself." Nurse Olivia says seeing dark circles under Kelly's eyes, his unshaven face, and his clothes were getting just a little loose.
"I can't leave him." Kelly says a look of despair on his face. "He'll be okay. Come get some rest. He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself." Nurse Olivia says. Kelly grabs his bag and stands up to follow her.
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The two get to Nurse Olivia's house half and hour away from the hospital. Mrs. Bennett unlocks the front door and the two step into the front hallway. Nurse Olivia showed Kelly where to hang his coat and she lead him to the guest room and pointed out the bathroom which is down the hall.
"Thank you Mrs. Bennett." Kelly says stepping into the room. "Call me Olivia. You're welcome." Olivia says heading for her room. Kelly texts Leslie Shay and lets her know where he is at so she doesn't worry. He heads into the bathroom and starts the shower. He gets the clothes he will need. His sleep wear. He undresses and steps into the nice warm water. After about ten minutes he is finished and dries himself off. He dresses .
Kelly looks into the mirror and decides to shave later. He heads to the guest bedroom and lays down after he pulls the blinds since the sun is starting to come up. He burrows under the covers to get comfortable. He closes his eyes and sleep claims him.
Many hours later Kelly wakes to the smell of food being pulled out of the oven. He slowly sits up and throws the covers off and gets up to make his way out to the kitchen. It has a country feel to it. Nice and homey. The cabinets and cupboards are painted a nice white color. The handles are made out of silverware. There are baskets set up in spots that are containers for holding flour, sugar, and other ingredients for cooking.
Kelly sees a lot of food set on the table. Wow Olivia it is just us two." Kelly says looking at roast beef, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots. For dessert he saw a cherry cobbler setting on the oven. "I don't mind. I haven't cooked for anyone on a long time." Olivia says sitting down at the table. She gestures for Kelly to take a seat.
Kelly pulls out the chair across from Olivia and sits down. Olivia bows her head and says a silent prayer. "Dig in before it gets cold." Olivia says grabbing the serving dish of roast beef and putting some on her plate, then handing it to Kelly who took it.
Both took a bite once they had their plates full. "This is good. Thank you for your kindness." Kelly says. "You're welcome." Olivia says. Both enjoy the wonderful meal and Kelly goes back for seconds. Once the meal is finished Kelly washes the dishes up and everything else.
After doing the dishes Kelly grabs some cherry cobbler and sets it on the table and sits down to enjoy it. He than washes that small serving plate up and goes to change into a pullover shirt and jeans. He goes to shave. After he is finished he nods in satisfaction. He feels so much better. He packs up his stuff so he doesn't mess up Olivia's room to much. He goes out to the back porch.
He sits down on a deck chair. Just enjoying the view. Olivia has a flower garden and the fall flowers are starting to bloom. Olivia sees where Kelly went and goes out to join him. "I have a late shift tonight so we'll go back to the hospital then unless you get a call about your friend Matt." Olivia says. "Okay sure. Thank you for letting me rest here and the other things too." Kelly says. "Hey no problem. I need to start to reach out to people again and I started with you. I've let bitterness and anger rule to long in my life." Olivia says.
"Well…Thank you." Kelly says. Both sat in silence just enjoying the view and the company. "Tell me about your friend?" Olivia asks. "His name is Matt. We're brothers not by blood but by choice. We're both firefighters and he is lieutenant of truck and I'm squad lieutenant. Lately we haven't been as close as we were. Our other brother Andy died about two weeks ago. I blamed him. I couldn't handle it so I blamed Matt for putting Andy through the window. It wasn't anyone's fault." Kelly says.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Olivia says. "This last fire was intense. A school bombing. Some were hurt but no one was killed. Jose Vargas, Herrmann, Matt, and I were doing a last search of the last hallway. Matt found someone and Vargas found someone. We were heading out and I was the first in line. I didn't see what was going to happen. Matt pushed me out of the way. It could have been me in the hospital but Matt is because he saved me. I pray he is okay. I can't lose another brother." Kelly whispers as he blinks his eyes refusing to let any tears fall.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Olivia asks. "It happened at the fire Andy died at. I'll get it checked out but I'm scared." Kelly says. "Please do get it checked out. I notice you rubbing it a lot." Olivia says. Kelly nods his head.
"What about you? Why were you bitter and angry?" Kelly asks. "I had a son. His name was Marcus. He was so sweet and caring. He helped people out when he could. He was such a gift in my life. Well one moment in time, my son stopped to help someone along the road late one night. A drunk driver ran into him. My son was killed instantly. The driver walked away from it. After that my marriage failed and my husband walked away. I was a nurse for along time. Over time I started to become callous, uncaring, bitter and angry. Until your friend Matt came into the hospital and with him came you. You sort of remind me of him." Olivia says.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Kelly says. "Thank you so much. I will never forget him." Olivia says. Both sit outside to enjoy the view and to relax. Kelly's thoughts aren't far from Matt. He prays that Matt is okay.
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Matt notices that he hasn't heard Kelly talking to him in awhile. He is glad that Kelly seems to have gone home to get some rest. Andy is still beside him. "Matt it is soon time for you to rejoin the land of the living." Andy states. "Yeah I know. My body is slowly healing and I want to wake up. Andy I'll miss in my life. You are my brother. I wish you didn't have to die but it was such a joy to know you." Matt says.
"Yeah I know. Remember it is not your fault or Kelly's fault that I died. I acted without regard to listening to my lieutenant. Also my time was up." Andy says. "I'll remember." Matt replies. Matt hears a voice. It is Kelly. He is back. He is talking to him. Why is he crying? Kelly needs him.
There is light that appears and Andy Darden steps into the light. His time is up for staying to help out his two friends, his brothers. He needs to go. He still wouldn't be far from them or his family. The light closes around him as he sees Matt start to wake up from his coma. His in between time over. Time to move forward.
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Kelly steps into Matt's room and sees that he still hasn't woken up from his coma. "Hey Matt. How are you doing buddy? You need to wake up soon." Kelly says setting his bag down on the floor beside Matt's bed and sitting down in the chair.
Kelly tells him of where he went. Talking to him. "Matt come on and wake up. I need you. Please just open your eyes. I can't lose another brother." Kelly spoke laying his head down in his arms which were placed on Matt's bed. Tears started to fall down Kelly's face.
Kelly looks up startled by a hand reaching out to him. He takes Matt's hand in his. Matt's eyes open and he sees Kelly's face and smiles. "You alright?" Matt whispers out. Kelly jumps up and runs to get a doctor. "Matt's awake." Kelly says.
Matt gets checked out as Kelly waits impatiently for them to finish up. He calls Chief Boden and lets him know what is going on so he can let the others' know the news. "You can go back in. He seems fine but let us know if anything is off. His memory seems fine but we want to make sure it is really okay. So let us know." the doctor says. "Yeah sure. Okay." Kelly says sitting back down beside Matt.
Matt looks over at Kelly with a inquiring look on his face. "Hey Kel?" Matt asks. "Yeah what is it Matt?" Kelly looks over at Matt, glad that he is awake. "Shouldn't Andy be here also? Where is he? Could you call him and let him know I'm awake?" Matt asks looking at Kelly's surprised look.
Oh crap! He doesn't remember that Andy died. Kelly thought as he gets up to get the doctor again. Matt is wondering what is going on when Kelly gets up to leave quickly. The doctor quickly comes back in. "Hey Matt can you tell me the date?" Doctor Callen asks. Matt says the date and it is before Andy died. He doesn't remember the recant history in his life.
"Don't tell him anything different. Tomorrow we will run scans on his head and see what is going on. I'm sure he'll remember. I'm sure it is due to swelling." Doctor Callen says leaving the room.
Kelly sits back down trying not to look so worried. "Are you going to call Andy and have him come in? I want to see him." Matt says looking at Kelly. Kelly's heart is breaking for his friend. How was he going to tell him about Andy's death? This is a hard situation. He hopes Matt gets his memory back sooner rather than later.
"Why aren't you calling Andy? May I call? I want him to be here." Matt says, getting agitated. "Matt calm down. Heather and Andy are out on a date together." Kelly says noticing Matt put his right hand to his head. "Okay." Matt says laying down getting comfortable and his eyes closing in sleep.
Kelly steps out of the room and leaves a message on Heather's answering machine about what is happening and not to tell Matt anything. He calls Chief Boden back and lets him know the latest news. The two would talk more later.
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The next morning Matt is taken for a battery of tests and head scans. To see what they were dealing with and to help Matt cope more. The rest of firehouse fifty-one shows up to visit Matt and let him know he isn't alone in his fight. They also knew not to tell him about Andy.