''How did it go with Hallie last night?''

''Don't ask..'' Casey looked while Severide threw his stuff in the trunk of the black car. Severide looked back to him. ''Sorry, I thought she was still into you. What happened?''

''I said, don't ask.''

''Fine, fine.'' Severide closed the trunk. ''So, you want to go to your house first to pick up some more stuff.'' Casey nodded, waiting for Severide to help him the car.

''Have to pack my house completely in a few months, can't live there anymore.''

''That is a shame, I remember that you just moved there only a years ago. ''

''I know, but I am looking for an apartment now.''

He liked seeing his street, it seemed to long ago that he had been there, while it were two weeks in total. Every house was the same, but his House was the only one where the curtains were closed. ''Feels good to be home.'' Some of the neighbour kids were playing on the edge of the street with a ball and Severide stopped suddenly. ''It is this one, right?'' Casey nodded. ''I wasn't sure, I mean, they are all the same.''

''yeah, it is this one.'' Severide parked and helped him out of the car. He wheeled to his pick-up, touching the metal, knowing he was had to say goodbye to the pick-up sooner than he wished, he had always imagines himself still driving the thing when he was an old man, Hallie cursing that he could never say goodbye to that thing. Severide stood behind him; ''I am sorry you had to sell it.''

''It was getting old anyway.'' He said, picking the stickers of with his nails.

''Do you want to go inside? It's cold.'' Casey nodded, crumbling the sticker in his hand. ''Let' go inside.'' At the stairs, Severide lifted him up, carrying up the stairs and waited for Matthew to open the door. One of the older neighbours kids came running up the stairs with the wheelchair. ''There.''

Without saying anything else he just walked away without saying anything else. Casey smiled. ''At least some kids are still attentive.'' Severide grinned. ''A lot are, just never the ones that you notice, because the ones that you notice usually annoy you.''

Casey wheeled to the living room, opening the curtain, looking around. His eyes reached the small picture frame on the dresser, which had always been there even though he already broken up with Hallie before. He looked at a picture from their high school, where they were sitting together on the stands to watch a game. ''You were in a band?'' Casey turned around. ''Yeah, I played the bass for some time in a rock band.'' He blushed as Severide as looking at a picture with the band. It had been two years ago when he had stopped with the band, to spend more time with Hallie. Severide walked up to him and looked at the picture in his hands.

''Be honest Matthew, what happened last night between you and Hallie.''

''Nothing.''

''You can better tell me now, I will find out anyway.''

''Kelly, it is none of your business.''

''I will find out, since she is parking her car right there.''

Casey looked out of the window. ''What does she want?'' Hallie stepped out of the car, walking up to the front door. ''Do you want me to let her in?'' Severide asked, frowning while looking at her walking up the stairs.

''I want to know what she is doing here.'' Severide walked to the door, opened it.

''What are you doing here?''

''Is Matt here? I need to give something to him.'' She moved her hand through her hair a little nervous. Severide stepped aside, letting her in.

''Matt, I am sorry about last night.'' She walked up to him. ''I know that what I said maybe was a little mean.''

Casey didn't react while Severide sneaked into the kitchen, giving the two in the living room a little more privacy.''

''Just, why won't you give us a chance? Do you think I want to be helpless?'' He asked then, calmly looking up to him.

''Of course not! And I don't think you are going to be helpless, I am sure you can manage.''

''Then, why don't you give us a chance? I still love you and I thought you did too, you were the one coming back to me.''

''I don't know!'' Hallie yelled, tears in her eyes and biting on her lip. 'Do you think it is easy for me to see you like this?''

''That is the biggest shit I have ever heard, Hallie, I haven't changed, I am still the same person inside and I thought that you, out of all people, would realize that!''

''Matt, I can't do this.''

''Why not?'' He asked desperately. ''Why won't you try?''

''Why did you have to run past the fire station? Why didn't you just let the boys do what they were doing? Why do you always need to be the hero? You knew that those boys were dangerous.''

''Hallie, just go.'' He said, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

''Matthew, I-''

''Go!'' He said again.

''Matthew,please, I-''

''Hallie, I said that you should go, please go. I thought that you out of all people wouldn't think different of me, wheelchair or not.''

She grabbed something out of her pocket and threw it onto his lap. With a loud smack she closed the front door. Casey grabbed the ring lying on his leg, realizing she still had it after they broke up. He threw together with the picture, that was still in his other hand, on the floor and wheeled to the kitchen, to see Severide playing with his phone, headphones in.

''You don't look happy.'' He said looking worried at his friend. ''Tell bro Kelly what happened between you and Hallie.''

''She rejected me two times in 24 hours.''

''Why? I thought she loved you. I thought you had rejected her last night.''

''She doesn't like my new situation.''

''Like you had a choice.'' Severide said, indignant. Casey shrugged. ''I know, but I can't force her to be with me, I also don't want her to be with me out of pity.

Severide stood up, looking at his friend leaning against the kitchen table with his chest, staring out of the window. ''Don't you dare to feel bad about her, she doesn't deserve it. You deserve better.''

Casey shrugged. ''I don't know. I don't know if I will ever feel the same for anybody else.''

''You will, what do you need from upstairs? Or do you want me to carry you upstairs?''

He wasn't sure if he should, so he was sure it was better to ask, since Matthew really seemed to hate it when he needed to be carried. Even when he had to help him out the car, Matthew immediately was short and rude.

''Just grab everything out of my closet, I will sort it out here.''

Severide nodded, walking up the stairs. Casey wheeled to the fridge, starting to sort all the groceries in his fridge, throwing everything on the counter and the ground that was past the expiration date, gagging when he grabbed one of the glass bottles of milk. He knew he should have asked if somebody could clean out his fridge, but somehow he had forgotten about it. Severide came running down the stairs again, holding a suitcase, flipping open at the table. ''I got everything I could find.'' Casey nodded, closing the fridge and going back to the table. ''Can you still manage?'' Severide asked, knowing Matthew still had a lot of trouble with sitting up for so long. ''Don't worry, I can.''

Firmly he started to throw out several clothes. ''Woah wait, are you throwing out all of your work shirts?'' Casey nodded, not looking up. ''But you could still use them as T-shirts, right? I thought you needed a lot of them.''

''I don't want them anymore.''

''I think you should keep them.''

''I think you should shut up. It are my T-shirts and I don't want them anymore.''

Severide sat down on the table, shutting the cover of the suitcase after pushing Matthews hands out.

''I don't want you to throw them all out and away. You are going to regret that, I am going to repeat it till eternity. Once a fire fighter, always a fire fighter. Wetter you are still in station or not.''

''Fine.'' Matthew wanted to grab the T-shirts from the ground, nearly losing the balance in his weak abdomen muscles. Severide reached out, pulling him backwards and grabbing the clothes from the floor.

''Thank you.'' He mumbled grimly, throwing the suitcase open, cramming in the shirts without folding them and throwing it shut again. ''Let's go.''

''You don't want anything else?''

''What would I want as in else?''

''I don't know…I thought that maybe you wanted to take some pictures or something. You are going to be there for months. But if you need something later I can alwa-''

''I don't want to take any pictures.''

Severide frowned; ''Are you sure?''

''I am.'' Casey said, looking up to him with a restrained trait around his mouth.

Severide sat down at the table again, facing him.

''I am worried about you and I know I am not the only one. I know this is really tough and I am not going to say that the fight will be easy, because it won't be. You will have to start living a whole different life, but please, don't give up. Don't become bitter and emotionless.''

Casey nodded, pulling his mouth in fake laugh, his eyes filling with tears.

''I mean, if you do want to talk with me, I know we never have really been friends before. Even when Andy was still with us, I just hope that you feel the same as me. That we have become friends the last two weeks.''

Casey smiled, sincere now. ''I was afraid that you were just sticking around out of pity.''

Severide shook his head. ''No, I would miss your great sarcastic comments on daytime TV.''

Casey smiled again. ''I'd miss you making me smile even when feel hate for the whole world.''

Severide grabbed his suitcase from the table. ''So, do you want to pack something else now you can think again?'' Even though he had expected Matthew to take more stuff now, Matthew still shook his head.

''No, I don't need anything else.''

Severide nodded, pulling the suitcase from the table and walking down the stairs, throwing it in the trunk of the car by Casey's bag, walking back to pick up his friend.

When they drove away, Casey turned around as far as he could to catch a glimpse of his house until the last second. ''I still don't like selling it.'' He sighed.

''I'd offer you the room that is still free in the apartment with me and Shay for the time until you have sold it and bought a new one, but….it has two floors.''

''Thank you, but that won't be helpful.'' He smiled. ''Or you would have to carry me up the stairs every time''

''Sometimes, I have a drunk Shay for that.'' Severide laughed, trying to keep the conversation light.

''Do you want to go to the rehabilitation centre right away or do you want to have lunch first?'' He added.

''Lunch, I would love to eat some fast food after all the hospital food and the healthy food I will still get for the upcoming months.''

Severide nodded. ''Fine, but I guess you can still go outside sometimes to have lunch and dinner.'' Severide parked the car at the parking spot of a dinner. ''Here?'' Casey nodded. ''Food is fine.''

….

''I am sorry to ask, but did you still have no contact with your family?'' Severide said, after they ordered and their food arrived. Casey looked up. ''My dad is dead, I lost contact with my mom and I had nearly no contact with my family anyway. They don't even know, at least, I didn't call them. Hallie was the one who was called since she still was on the list as my first contact person.''

''You still don't want to have contact with them?''

''No, my sister will know if she contacts me, but she never does. She must have sene it on the news, but didn't contact me.''

Severide shrugged. ''They didn't say your name. But she should know by the number of the fire house.''

Casey shoved his fries to Severide. ''I am full, but no, she doesn't know the station number I guess, but I think it is better if she doesn't.''

''Are you sure you don't want any more fries? Thought you were hungry. But it is your sister and I guess I can't change your mind.''

''No, you can't, thank you for respecting that, and no, I don't want any more frie-'' His sentence was interrupted by his phone ringing, showing Voights number.

''Casey speaking here.''

''This is detective Voight. One of the boys is at the station, he confessed the shooting.''

''Did you arrest him?'' He said, surprised, as the message came so suddenly.

''No, he came here himself.''

''Why did you walk in here, does the rest know you are here?''

Casey was looking at the boys expression from after the glass while Voight was questioning him. Severide was sitting next to him, looking at the boy with an angry expression on his face.

''Out of guilt, the rest doesn't know I am here.''

Severide's angry expression seemed to loosen up.

''Why doesn't the rest know you are here?''

''I was walking around the neighbourhood, as I am doing every day, to see what is happening and to tell to the rest, when I walked past mister Casey's house and saw that the other man had to carry him up the stairs. I can't live with the idea that our group was responsible for that.''

''He must be lying.'' Severide whispered.

''I don't think he is. I think he was the guy who carried the wheelchair up the stairs.'' Casey whispered back, his mouth opened, seemingly surprised.

''Have you fired the gun?'' Voight asked.

''No, I didn't. I was supposed standing at the window of the fire house, I was the one mister Casey tried to stop. A boy named Terrance Fields did. He goes under the name Treeweed in the group. I don't know him so well.''

''Thank you for telling us. I hope you understand that you are still under arrest for breaking in and complicity.'' The boy nodded, was led out of the room by another cop.

The whole was to the rehabilitation centre, Casey was quiet. He kept hearing the words of the boy in his head, the name Terrance Fields and he tried to remember if it had been the boy running up the stairs to help them. He had been just as tall, same haircut.

''Are you thinking about the boy?''

Casey nodded, feeling sad that they had nearly reached 87th street.

''If what he said is honest, than he is really brave. I mean, for a criminal. He is never going to have a life again, even after he served his time in jail. They will kill him when he comes out of jail. ''

''I know, we ended up in the same boat, never having a life again thanks to that one bullet.''

Severide stopped the car, parking it on the side of the road.

''I thought you were looking forward to rehabilitation, to being able to life on your own again.''

Matthew shrugged. ''it just all seems so useless. I was hoping that it wouldn't be so permanent. The moment I enter that centre it feels like I am permanently paralyzed, by which I permanently lost my job and Hallie. Lost everything I cared about.''

Severide looked at the road in front of them, not knowing what to say. He exhaled slowly.

''What do you want me to do? Not bringing you there?''

Matthew shrugged again. ''I don't even care anymore. It is not like I have choice.''

''No, you don't have one except pushing everyone out of your life right now.'' Without explaining any further Severide started the car again, driving farther. He knew that Matthew knew what he meant.

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame

Severide pushed the volume of the radio so far down it was mute and they drove in silence. He stepped out of the car at the centre and helped Matthew out.

''I am sorry I have to bring you here. Please try to make the best of it, I will stop by as much as I can.''

Casey nodded, nervous. They went to entrance together, Severide carrying his stuff, which were carried away inside by somebody else.

''So, bye.'' Matthew mumbled, smiling sad.

''Bye, see you as fast as I can.''

…..

Severide woke up the next morning from his phone. It was earlier than his alarm and he jumped out of bed. ''This is Kelly Severide, hello?''

''This is the CRC, are you Matthew Casey's relative?''

''Yes, I am.'' No, he wasn't, but he was the listed person. The nerves roared stomach, afraid for what was coming.

But even while he was expecting it, it felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart.

…..

NOTE: I don't know if the Chicago Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) exists, if it does, I didn't know. If it doesn't, it does now.

This was the last chapter for the upcoming two weeks, because I am leaving to England for 12 days this Friday and there is another story I want to finish before I leave, and I am not home a lot this week. (After Death for those who are wondering and reading both stories) I am going to travel from city to city without laptop so there won't be much opportunity to write. I think chapter 6 will be posted on Tuesday the 30th of July. But I am not sure if I should continue the story, since the views are narrowing down quickly every chapter, the feedback is getting less, so I hope you want me to continue, please tell me. I will decide by the feedback I will hopefully get on this chapter, which I hope you like. So, I hope to see you guys back when I return from England!

If not, thanks for reading the first few chapters and I am sorry for writing a bad storyline.

Stay safe!

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