April 2014

Gabby had just finished cleaning up while Casey was out doing a construction job when there was a knock at the door. When she opened up, Shay was standing there with a bag in hand and in tears. Gabby led her inside, and sat her on the couch.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, handing Shay a box of tissues. The woman sniffled and wiped away the tears before leaning against Gabby.

"Me and Kelly got into a huge fight," she told her. "He's changed and I know why, but I never thought things would come down to this. Can I stay here for a while?" she then asked.

"Of course," Gabby replied. "I'll get the guest room setup. Stay as long as you need to." Shay smiled and gave her a hug. Gabby didn't know what was going on, but she hoped it would blow over, Leslie and Kelly were the best of friends and she didn't understand how something could change that. It must have been really bad to make her walk out.

After Gabby finished getting Shay's room ready, she walked back out to the living room where Shay had fallen asleep on the couch. She sat down in the chair and opened a book, curling up under a blanket and reading. It was quiet, peaceful, but she knew her friend was hurting and she wasn't sure what she could do for her.

Casey came back not much later. She heard him come in and hushed him, motioning to the couch then to the bedroom. He nodded and walked into the other room, Gabby not too far behind. She glanced at Shay one more time before shutting the bedroom door behind her. When she turned to Casey she gave him a look of desperation, sadness, and confusion.

"Is there a reason Leslie's asleep on your couch?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Kelly apparently did something very bad - she won't tell me what - so they aren't living together and I'm not sure if they're even speaking to each other," she told him, sitting next to him. "What am I gonna do?"

"You'll help her through it," he responded, wrapping his arm around her. "Like you always do." She nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. "And I'll talk with Severide, see what's going on from his end." She smiled, knowing he had her back.

"I wanted to bring something up," she said, changing the subject from Shayveride to them in one quick motion. He looked at her, waiting for what she had to say. "So, you're over here a lot, like I don't even know if you ever go home," she started, laughing a little bit. He chuckled along. "And, I was thinking, what if we move in together?" It was something they'd talked about a few weeks ago, just tossing the idea around but not considering it at the time.

"Well, would we want to stay here, at my place, or get a new place?" he then asked. She hadn't given that too much thought. She liked her location, liked the space at his place, but she kinda did want a fresh start.
"A new place," she told him. "We can bounce back and forth until we find the right place." He nodded with a smile, kissing her forehead and hugging her to his side. "Pizza sounds good," she then said as she realized she hadn't eaten today and that she was fairly hungry.

"Sounds good to me, but you're gonna be the one to wake the sleeping bear," he said, grabbing his laptop from the bedside table to order online. She stood up, gently faux punching him in the shoulder before walking back out into the living room. She shook Shay awake.
"Come on, Leslie," she said, shaking a little bit more. "It's time to eat." With the promise of food, she woke up with a groan.

The rest of the night, all Gabby could think of was the problem between Severide and Shay. What could he have done that would put a rift between them? What could be so bad to do something like that? She didn't talk much at dinner, but Casey and Shay had been talking about the Blackhawks most of the night, about life in general - gossip, games, and women. When it came time to go to bed, Shay parted ways and went to her room.

"Night," Gabby said right before Shay shut the door. She heard the lock click, and then turned to Casey. He shrugged and stood, taking her hand and leading her to their room. They got ready for bed, then laid down. She curled into him as he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm worried about her," she confided.

"I know you are, but we're gonna figure it out and help them figure it out too," he assured her. She hoped he was right. She couldn't imagine what Shay was going through right now, couldn't imagine how she'd feel if this was her and Casey.

The next day at work wasn't easy. It felt like there was a rift. Severide and Squad stayed at the Squad Table. He didn't converse with anybody outside of Squad, didn't eat with anybody else. Rather than eating what Mills made, they'd ordered in. Gabby could tell Shay wasn't holding it together very well, so they'd played the same rules and stationed themselves out of the station - Boden approving after noting all the tension. Gabby hoped Casey could get to the bottom of it before they got back to the house at the end of the night.

"It's gonna be okay," she reminded Shay as they sipped on their coffee. The other woman nodded, not saying anything. "What did he do anyways?" She took another sip of coffee, eyes widening slightly.

"He's been drinking more than usual," she told Gabby. "And it's started getting out of hand. I gave him the ultimatum and he chose, knowing it runs in his family." Gabby couldn't believe Kelly Severide could have a drinking problem. Okay, maybe she could. But she never would have thought it could be true. She'd never seen him drunk, never seen him drink a lot at once. But, she knew she could get through to him. Casey knew she'd had the same problem, had kept her in line when they were out at the bars with friends. And she hoped he'd support her in talking to Kelly after shift.

The rest of the shift was uneventful: a minor car accident, faulty fire alarm, and a kid with a broken arm. When it was time to go, she hung around Kelly's car, waiting. She'd already sent Casey to his place where they were staying that night and Shay back to the apartment for some alone time that she probably needed. She saw Kelly walking towards her.

"I don't want to talk," he told her, tossing his duffel in the back. She sighed.

"Shay told me everything," she confessed. "I've been where you're at Kelly." He rolled his eyes as if he didn't have a problem and started to get in the car. She stood in front of the car.

"Out of the way, Dawson," he told her. She stood there, not saying anything, not moving. She moved whichever way he tried to pull out until he got back out. "I'm listening."

"Get help," she told him. "I told you, I've been where you are. Antonio had to vouch for me, to get me help so I wouldn't get a DUI. Partying every night, drinking the hangover away. It helps you relax, unwind. Our jobs are stressful, but something pushed Shay over the edge. You pushed her away, Kelly." He sighed, crossed his arms and leaned against the car. "And if you don't get help, you're gonna fuck up and you're gonna lose this job. You're going to lose what you worked for. Consider it, and if you decide it's worth it to get the help, come talk to me." She turned away, not wanting to see his response, not wanting to hear a word come out of his lips. He had thinking to do, and she had to let him do it - they all did.