This is a rewrite of 6x11/6x12 wits lots of hurt Casey. Hope you enjoy :)
Casey stared at his boyfriend, eyes wide as his brain fired at a mile a minute trying to figure out a way he could get them both off the roof safely. Boden had just cleared the building meaning that they could let go of the valve, but with how much gas had been building, the second they let go it was going to explode.
"So what now?" Severide asked, adjusting his stance as his fingers slipped a bit. "Soon as we leave this thing, it's gonna blow."
Casey grunted as he pulled harder, head swiveling to try and glance any escape route that wouldn't end in them being blown up. He stopped short when he saw the river just beyond the roof. It was crazy but it just might work…
"How many steps do you think it is to the edge of the building?"
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his boyfriend look sharply toward him before turning his head to match where Casey's line of sight was.
"To do what? Jump?"
"Sure," Casey replied, trying to sound calmer than he felt. One wrong move, one misstep, and they'd hit the parking lot instead of the river. But if they stayed, the explosion would kill them. It was their only chance to get off the roof alive.
"We let go, make a break for it, jump into the water."
He met Severide's eyes, the lieutenant's face unsure. It was a testament to how crazy the plan was. Severide was never unsure.
"Come on, get ready," he pushed, not giving Severide any time to disagree with the plan. He'd pull rank if he had to, even though he hated doing that to Severide, but this was life or death and Casey chose life- for the both of them.
Without waiting for a response, the Captain shrugged off his air tank and turned. "Count of three."
Severide shook his head. "This is insane!"
As his heart began pounding in his chest, Casey blocked everything else out around him. He focused only on his boyfriend in front of him. His ocean-blue eyes, the scruff lining his jaw, the way his lips were perfectly shaped… and he forced himself to move.
"Let's go! One, two…"
"Damn it Casey!" Severiode said, but he saw the way his boyfriend prepared to run. They were doing this.
"Three!" And they were off, ducking as an explosion sounded behind them, the heat pounding their backs as the rush of air propelled them forward. Casey only had a second to register that Severide was next to him before he was airborne, arms flailing for purchase they wouldn't find, before his body hit the water, hard, and it swallowed him whole.
For a moment, there was no up or down, only murky darkness as bubbles rushed around his body, tickling his face and obscuring his view. Water forced its way up his nose the second he hit the surface and he tried not to choke, knowing that the second he gave in to his body's desperate plea to cough, he was doomed. With stiff legs, Casey kicked blindly, arms scrambling through the water as he tried to push himself up. It felt like he was trying to swim through setting concrete. His turnout gear had soaked up all the water, pulling him toward the bottom of the river like fishing weights on a line. Casey could feel his legs begin to get tired, a deep ache settling in them from hitting the water from so high up. Desperate, he gave one last push with his legs, his arms working overtime, and finally felt his head break the choppy surface.
As soon as his nose and mouth were clear, he began coughing uncontrollably, body rejecting the water that had rushed up his nose with the force from the jump. This only made things worse. His lungs gasped for air they didn't have and he immediately swallowed a huge gulp of water, gagging on the taste as well as from his body's desperation to still suck in air. He began coughing again, taking in more water as his lungs forced him to suck in air. He was barely keeping his head above water, his limbs growing heavy and his head beginning to spin from the lack of air he was receiving. He was taking in more water than air at this point.
Hands suddenly grabbed him from behind, pulling his body up further from the water so that when he sucked in, no water came with it.
"Breathe Casey," Severide said, breath warm against his neck. If Casey had the energy he would have sagged in relief. Severide was okay. Instead his body did the only thing that it could do at the moment, cough and raggedly suck in air.
Movement underneath him made him realize that Severide was keeping them both afloat and Casey immediately started to kick his legs, not even having realized he had stopped, but Severide just drew him closer.
"Don't worry about keeping us upright. I was able to get my turnout gear off, so I'm good. You just focus on breathing. It sounds like you took on a lot of water."
Casey gagged on a particularly rough cough and felt Severide pat his back. "You'll be okay, Case. Help is coming."
As if on cue, Casey heard the sounds of the ladder extending and Kidd's voice as she yelled, "Kelly! We're coming, just keep holding on to Casey!"
"I'm not letting go!" Severide yelled back and tightened his grip around Casey's chest. Casey wanted to say thank you, to say so many other things about how much he loved the man behind him and was so grateful they were alive, but he could only wheeze as he focused on his breathing.
"Almost there!" Kidd yelled and Severide began to move them, supposedly angling them to make it easier for her to reach.
"How you two doing?"
"I'm fine," Severide said, shifting Casey again so he was now floating on his back. "Casey took on a lot of water and his breathing's bad. Grab him and I'll swim over to the ladder."
Through blurry eyes Casey saw Kidd start descending over them, slowly being lowered by the pulley system truck had set up.
"You sure?" She asked, almost right next to them now. "I can clip Casey on and help you over the ladder."
Casey felt Severide shake his head behind him. "No, Casey needs help. I got my turnout gear off, I can make it."
Kidd didn't say anything, but Casey assumed she nodded. He had placed his head back so it was floating in the water, his body going lax with exhaustion.
Then there were hands on his front, pulling him forward until something was clicked into place. Then the hands shifted, grabbing his arms and anchoring so he wouldn't slip.
"I'll see you on the other side," Severide whispered, placing a hand briefly on Casey's head before it was gone and he was being pulled up.
"Don't worry Captain, we'll get you checked out and you'll be good as new in no time," Kidd reassured as they swung in the breeze. He could only nod, coughing again as his lungs seized.
Halfway to the parking lot, Casey's body was wracked with chills as the cold wind met his equally cold body. The water temperature had been frigid, but his body was only registering that now since he could breathe a bit easier.
As soon as their feet touched the ground, people began to rush around them. He was unbuckled, his body on its side, his sodden turnout gear so much heavier out of the water, and Kidd disappeared. He barely had a moment to wonder where she went when two hands began to work on the front of his turnout coat, quickly pulling it off, before he was hoisted up into a sitting position and a soft blanket was draped around his shoulders. Arms smoothed the blanket out, making sure it was wrapped all the way to the front with no gaps, before they disappeared and a body pressed against his back, arms wrapping around his shoulders.
"Sev?" He managed to rasp, throat raw.
"Yeah, it's me Case. I'm okay. But you're shaking like a leaf."
Casey blinked. He was shaking, body trembling as the wind cut through his wet clothes like a blade made of ice.
"You okay?"
"Yes, I promise I'm fine. You're the one who thought it would be a good idea to drink half of the Chicago River."
Casey chuckled but it immediately turned into a cough, his body jerking as pain shot through his chest.
"Easy, easy, babe. Don't talk, just breathe."
Kidd suddenly reappeared and in the next moment an oxygen mask was placed on his face. Casey sucked in deep lungfuls of the cool, sweet air, his body tingling as it drew in the oxygen it so badly demanded.
"We called a second ambulance. It should be here soon," Kidd said as she secured the oxygen mask in place before she grabbed another blanket and draped it over the one Severide had given him.
"No," he said weakly, shaking his head. "I don't want to go to the hospital."
"Case…" Severide chastised, running a soothing hand through his wet hair. "You should go get checked out, you could have water in your lungs."
Casey drew in a deep breath and was relieved when he didn't immediately break out into a coughing fit.
"I'm okay. Swallowed more water than I breathed in."
Severide gave a humourless laugh. "Like that's any better."
"Let me at least take a listen before you make any decisions," Kidd said, meeting his gaze and he nodded.
There was silence for a moment as she listened to him breath, instructing him to take long deep breaths. She moved the stethoscope around his chest, pausing each time as she listened. Finally she pulled the stethoscope from her ears, looking at Severide as she said, "Overall his breathing doesn't sound too bad. There's a bit of congestion, but nothing too serious."
Then she looked at Casey. "If you really don't want to go to the hospital, I won't make you, but I'd like you to finish this breathing treatment and get warmed up before you go anywhere."
Casey nodded, relief flowing through his body. He didn't want to be stuck in the hospital for who knows how long. All he wanted to do was go home, take a hot shower, and cuddle with Severide in bed.
Severide helped him to his feet slowly, supporting him the whole way up. It took a lot of effort, but Casey managed to lock his knees so he didn't go crashing back to the ground.
"Oh, one more thing," Kidd said to Severide as she paused from where she was putting away the stethoscope. "If his breathing gets worse, he develops a fever, anything like that, you take him in, you hear me?"
"I will. I promise."
She nodded, satisfied, and turned back to the jump bag.
After they made it to the squad truck, Severide having directed them there since the back had open space for Casey to be more comfortable, it took about half an hour before Kidd told them they could go home since Casey's breathing had improved further and the violent shivering had stopped.
Exhausted beyond belief, Casey was barely conscious as Severide helped him into Boden's car. They were both, understandably, excused from the rest of their shift. Boden was taking them back to their place. They would just have to grab their stuff from their lockers next shift.
Everything was a blur as they somehow made it back to their apartment. As they made their way down the hall, Casey made a noise of protest when Severide turned into the bathroom instead of their bedroom door.
"I know you'd love nothing more than to sleep right now," Severide said as he gently placed Casey so he was sitting on the toilet lid. "But we both just took in the infested waters of the Chicago River and I know you'll feel better after a hot shower. So we're going to get clean and then we can go to bed. That sound okay to you?"
Casey thought this over for a moment, wanting nothing more than to sleep, but then he focused on his body and how it felt. His skin was grimy, grit crevassed in his neck and hair, and for the first time he realized that both he and Severide smelt… bad.
"I think that's a good idea," he mumbled, nose wrinkling in distaste.
Severide laughed, the sound bringing a smile to Casey's face, and said, "atta boy."
The shower was quick but heavenly. Severide had turned it to the hottest setting and the heat sunk into Casey's sore body deliciously, the chill that was still present in his bones fading away as the steam hugged every part of him. He groaned as he felt his boyfriend rub shampoo onto his head, massaging the soap until it lathered into a thick foam.
"That feel good?" Severide asked, the smile on his face evident in his words.
"S'great," he breathed, leaning back into Severide's warm well-muscled chest. "Thank you."
"Anytime, Case. I'll always take care of you."
"If I could lift my arms I would return the favour, but they don't seem to want to work right now," he said and suddenly stiffened before turning, with effort, to face his boyfriend who looked at him with concern.
"Are you okay? You must be hurting too. I'm sorry I'm making you take care of me. I should be taking care of you too."
Sev's face softened and he rinsed his hands under the spray before he gently cupped Casey's face.
"I promise, I'm okay. Sure I'm a bit stiff, but you swam the whole time with your gear on. That added serious weight. As soon as I broke the surface I was able to get mine off. So let me take care of you. I like to do it and it'll make me feel better."
Casey closed his eyes and leaned into Severide's touch. "I love you."
Severide pulled him toward him in return, ducking down so their lips met in a gentle kiss, as if Severide was afraid Casey would shatter if he kissed him any harder, before he pulled back and said, "I love you too. Now let's get rinsed off so we can cuddle in bed."
Casey sighed in great relief as his body dank into their mattress. A moment later the bed dipped as Severide got in and then an arm wedged itself under Casey's back before it pulled him back against his warm chest, his boyfriend crossing his leg over Casey's as he always did when they were cuddling.
"You're warm," Casey breathed as he settled against Severide's front, his boyfriend's body heat leaching into him in a way that had sleep pulling at the corners of his mind.
"You're still a bit cold," Severide said, tracing his finger gently across Casey's forehead before he trailed it down his jaw. "You just sleep. I'll keep you warm."
And with that, Casey's body took the invitation greedily and the wave of sleep pulled him under.
- - - - Sick Casey next! - - - - -
Casey woke with a start, his head foggy as he looked around the dark room. It took him a moment to decipher where he was and what was happening. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was just after 11pm. A warm body next to him roused his memory further. The river. He and Severide jumping. Then they had crashed in bed.
He supposed they had fallen asleep sometime around 6 since their call had started in the late afternoon. He had felt kind of lousy as they had fallen asleep. His throat still hurt a bit, his body ached, and he was still a bit chilled. But now, he felt marginally worse. His body was slick with sweat, now overheated instead of the chill that plagued him before, and he almost gasped as a cramp shot through his abdomen, sharp as a knife but thankfully only lasting for a few seconds. He supposed that's what had woken him since the apartment around him, and a still sleeping Severide, was quiet.
Carefully, Casey sat up, gently grabbing Severide's arm that was resting on his stomach and moving it to the empty space on the bed next to his boyfriend. Severide didn't even stir and despite how horrible he felt, Casey smiled softly. He could only see part of Sev's face, the rest obscured by the pillow, but he looked so peaceful as he slept, the lines on his face from their job as well as being a lieutenant smoothed out, leaving nothing but soft tan skin that Casey loved to plaster with kisses. He'd usually do it now, waking Severide up as he kissed his face. Severide would just smile, rolling on his back and pulling Casey close. But another cramp had him hunching, so he left the confines of the bed and walked to the bathroom so as to not disturb his boyfriend. He'd grab some medicine and hopefully that would help enough that he could get back in bed. Casey was still exhausted, his body craving nothing more than sleep. But with the pain in his abdomen, he knew that wouldn't be possible.
He rifled through their medicine cabinet, scanning each bottle and reading the labels until he found the ones he was looking for. Casey grabbed the Pepto Bismol and the Gravol and walked into the kitchen. Reading the labels more closely under the dim light of their stove, he figured the Pepto would work best for his symptoms. The stomach cramps were not accompanied by slight nausea, curling deep in his stomach and leaving an unpleasant taste in his mouth. As he lifted the bottle to read the dose, he thought about having to swallow the pink liquid, how chalky and thick it was, and almost gagged. There was no way he was going to be able to take that. He placed it on the counter, pushing it out of his view, and grabbed the Gravol. THe thought of drinking anything at that moment, even water, made him want to throw up right there, so he chose to dry swallow the pill instead. It was unpleasant as the dry pill made its way down his throat, but it didn't set off his gag reflex like he knew any liquid would. All Casey could think about was the water he had accidentally ingested earlier from the river, how dirty it must have been and how much he had actually drank, the water filling his stomach… This time he did gag softly and he immediately brushed the thoughts from his mind. All he needed to do was sit on the couch and breathe, relaxing his body and not thinking about anything to do with drinking.
The couch squeaked as he sat heavily, leaning forward so his chest was almost to his knees, his arms scrunched beneath him as he rested his face in his hands. He could do this. Everything was going to be fine. He just needed to take deep breaths.
The plan worked for a solid ten minutes. Things settled down and Casey was able to relax somewhat. But then his body decided it had other plans. The pains had become more frequent, the nausea more intense. He tried to breath through it but then a taste hit the back of his throat, reminding him of the river water as it had flooded his mouth and the damn gates broke. Casey gagged, hard this time, and immediately stood knowing he lost the battle against his stomach. He walked quickly toward the bathroom and didn't even bother turning on the light as he stumbled toward the toilet, knees cracking on the floor as he lifted the lid and gagged again. He barely had time to take a breath before his stomach lurched and he heaved, the Gravol that hadn't even had time to dissolve completely reappearing in a gush of what was, disgustingly, mostly water- river water.
Once his body started, it didn't want to seem to stop. He heaved again, vomiting up another rush and panted when he was done, waiting for the next round. It didn't take long before he gagged again, stomach lurching and bringing up more stomach contents. It was after this bout, however, that a warm hand was placed on his back as a familiar presence, one that brought him so much comfort just being next to him, appeared.
"Hey, Case," Severide said softly, voice thick with sleep as he rubbed gentle circles on the blonde's back. "Not feeling too good I see."
Casey answered him by lurching forward again, Body heaving but barely bringing anything up. He fell into cyclical hell, his body insistent on purging everything even though he was totally empty now. At last his body relaxed and he groaned as he fell back, not falling far before he met Severide's chest. His boyfriend wrapped one arm around his chest, his thumb rubbing soothingly under the base of his throat, as he reached over and flushed the toilet for Casey. Then he moved back and wrapped his other arm around Casey's front, pulling him closer to his chest.
"When did you start feeling sick?" He asked casually, as if sitting on the bathroom floor in the dark was something they did often.
"Woke up and felt bad," he admitted, snuggling deeper into Severide, his boyfriend's scent washing over him in a soothing wave.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Thought I could ride it out, but you see how that turned out."
Severide snorted. "Do you feel any better after that? Or do you still feel like you're going to throw up?"
"I feel better than before, but my stomach still doesn't feel great."
Severide didn't reply as he kept rubbing gentle circles with his thumb.
Casey groaned and sank back, feeling Sev shift to support him better. "This sucks. After the day we had, why did I have to get sick on top of it?"
A chuckle rumbled through Severide's chest, vibrating into Casey's back. "I don't mean to laugh when you don't feel well, but did you stop to consider that today's events are the reason you're sick? I mean you took a couple good gulps of Chicago's finest river water. No telling what was in it."
The taste in the back of his mouth, the grit of the river on his tongue… it all made sense. He couldn't stop from gagging softly and he shifted in his boyfriend's embrace. "Don't even talk about that right now. I want to throw up just thinking of it."
A gentle kiss was planted on top of his head. "Got it." Severide shifted so he could duck down, resting his head on Casey's shoulder as he looked at the blonde. "You ready to move? This bathroom isn't all that comfortable."
Casey whined but didn't resist as Severide helped him to his feet, making sure to go slow in case his boyfriend got dizzy. Then he helped Casey back into bed, pulling the covers so Casey could slide in and then tucking them around his body. A rough but warm hand came to rest on his forehead, sitting there a moment before sliding through his hair, brushing back a few unruly locks that hung over his forehead.
"Now you're a bit warm instead of cold," Severide said as he walked over to the corner of their bedroom, picking up a small trash can before he walked back over and set it down right next to Casey's side of the bed. "Seems like you can't win today, hey bud?"
"Next time I suggest jumping into the river off a roof, just let me blow up instead."
His boyfriend smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed, resting one of his hands on Casey's leg.
"How about we try not to get stuck on a roof in the first place. That sound like a deal?"
"Yeah," he murmured sleepily, blinking slowly as the warmth of the bed began lulling him toward sleep.
"Okay, get some more sleep. The trash can's there in case you need it. I'm going to do a quick run to the store down the street to get you some supplies. I don't want you getting dehydrated on top of everything else."
"Might be good for me. I've had enough water for a lifetime."
Severide snorted. "Sleep Case. I'll be back soon."
Casey sank further into the bed, pulling the covers up till they met his chin. He felt Severide move, his weight lifting from the mattress before a kiss was planted on his forehead and then his boyfriend was gone. As Severide left for the supplies, Casey couldn't stop the warm feeling in his chest knowing that he was in safe hands with Severide. With him by his side, Casey knew they could get through any obstacle that came their way.
This is part 1 of 2. I'm going to be doing another chapter with lots more sick Casey with Severide looking after him :3
