Severide descended down the steep embankment, watching carefully as he was propelled further down so he didn't bump into anyone in the chain and send the kid, or anyone else, into the icy river below.

"Down on yellow!" He heard Casey yell from above and saw the Captain start descending as well.

Severide reached the young boy quickly, moving to secure him before his grip could slip from the man's hands, the only thing keeping him from plunging into the river.

"Alright, hang on. I got you," he reassured the small boy.

"Hold on yellow!" Casey said and immediately moved to secure the man holding the boy. If any of them fell, it would be bad for everyone involved. The faster they were secured, the better their chances.

The boy wiggled in his grasp, letting out scared whines. "All right, I got you." Severide finished tying the rope around the kid's waist and immediately lifted him so he was in front. "All right, we're in line!" 51 didn't need to be told twice. He felt the line tug as they pulled and Severide moved with it, keeping one hand firm on the kid while he used the other to balance himself as he half-walked, half got dragged up the hill. In no time, both he and the kid were at the top of the hill, the paramedics waiting as Severide wasted no time in handing the kid off so he could be seen. Casey followed with the guy he had rescued, Herrmann halfway down the hill to get the next person, and then Severide was repelling back down. With Herrmann being pulled back up, Severide made quick work securing the next victim. They were almost done. Only a few more people and everyone would be safe.

Severide had just handed his victim off when Casey went down again. There were only three people left and one was at the very top, not needing rescue, just for the people he was holding to be secured. This made it so Casey didn't have to go too far down to get the guy who was furthest away, but it also meant that the drop was a lot higher now.

A yell caught Severide's attention and he whipped his head to see Casey fully dangling above the embankment, struggling to keep the guy he was trying to secure from slipping. Before Casey had been able to hook him on the line, the man had slipped.

"Casey!" Severide called, ready to go down and help. Boden lifted a hand, stopping him. "Hold Severide. Kidd, give him more slack. Casey, position yourself under him! Get leverage so you can secure him."

"Got it!" Casey grunted and fell back as Kidd gave more slack, now positioned beneath him so that Casey would stop him if he slipped again. Unfortunately the victim was now panicking. Casey was struggling to get the rope around him as the guy squirmed, grappling for purchase that he would never find.

"Hey, man, cut it out!" Severide yelled, but it was no use. The man wasn't listening to anyone as he continued to panic. Severide watched as Casey hooked the rope around the man's waist. He was so close to having him strapped. But then, the man made an attempt to jump further up and his legs flew out behind him, his right foot kicking Casey square in the face. Severide and the rest of 51 could only watch on in horror as the next events unfolded.

As expected, Casey's head snapped back and with that motion, all of his weight shifted down, pulling completely on the rope. Under normal circumstances, the rope would keep Casey secure with Kidd holding it locked in place. This time, however, there was a loud snapping sound followed by Kidd's horrified yell and then Casey was free falling, his rope's anchor point no longer connected. Severide's heart sank as he watched the man and Casey fall. They rolled down the cliff, Casey falling faster with all of his gear. What felt like minutes actually unfolded in seconds. The man's momentum had sent him off to the side where he rolled until he hit the concrete barrier, stopping his fall. Casey, on the other hand, was sent straight down the embankment. Tumbling fast, Casey was propelled into the edge of the concrete barrier, his head striking it hard, before his lax body tumbled into the river below.

"Casey!" Severide screamed, but it was too late. The blonde was nowhere in sight. The Squad lieutenant scanned every inch of the water in the area Casey had disappeared. If Casey had been snagged by something, holding him down...Then, as if by a miracle, Casey popped up from beneath the water. Severide's relief was only brief as horror seized his chest. Casey wasn't moving.

Severide body began to move without thought. Still hooked up to his rope, he began propelling down, barking orders to anyone that would listen.

"I need a stokes basket and c-collar down here now!" He vaguely heard the commotion above as 51 rushed to get the things needed to rescue Casey.

"Hold on, Case! I'm coming!" He wasn't even sure that Casey could hear him, but he needed to let him know that help was coming.

As he reached the bottom, he thanked whoever was listening above that Casey's rope hadn't been pulled fully into the water. It gave him the perfect tool to pull Casey in since he was still strapped to it. Severide would have jumped in the water in a heartbeat, but not only would that subject him to the freezing water, but he would also have to untether himself and Casey needed him to be able to pull him back up the steep hill.

When his boots hit the dirt at the bottom, Severide repelled to the right and swung his body around as he dove for the rope, grabbing it before it slipped off the edge of the embankment. Severide took that moment to look out at where Casey was still floating lifelessly. He felt his chest ease slightly as he noticed that the Captain was floating on his back. If he had been face down… Severide shook the thought off. He wasn't going there, not while Casey was still in danger.

It took a lot of effort, Severide using all of his leg strength as leverage to pull Casey back to shore, his soaked turnout gear adding even more weight. Just as Casey was close enough to reach, Herrmann appeared next to him, c-collar in one hand and stokes basket tethered on a new line to his right. They didn't have to say a word to one another, knowing what they needed to do. In sync, they both reached down, grabbing a part of Casey's turnout coat and hauling him out of the water. There was a shallow flat portion here at the bottom of the embankment and Severide and Herrmann laid Casey flat on it. Severide took the c-collar from Herrmann and immediately strapped it around Casey's neck, taking a brief moment to access Casey. It was obvious that Casey had head trauma. Not only was he still not moving, but there was a large gash on the left side that was bleeding sluggishly on the side his head where it had impacted the concrete.

They would have to deal with that later. As Severide leaned down, placing his fingers to Casey's neck as he listened to the blonde's chest, more pressing issues made themselves known.

"He's not breathing!" He said to Herrmann who was watching with wide eyes, stokes basket at the ready. Severide ripped open Casey's turnout coat, exposing as much as his chest as he could from his uniform layers without the medical shears they had on their trucks and the ambulance. He would need to start CPR before they could move him. The priority was getting Casey breathing again before they could complete the rescue.

"Severide, Herrmann, report!" Chief Boden called over the radio. Severide didn't answer, already moving in position to start compressions, but he heard Herrmann say, "Casey's out of the water, but he's not breathing. Severide's starting CPR."

A hushed silence fell over the hill, everyone at the top going silent as they realized how bad the situation was. If they didn't act fast, they could lose their Captain.

Severide wasn't going to let that happen. He pumped Casey's chest, desperately pleading for the blonde to open his eyes. "Come on, Case. Come on man! Don't do this!"

Time seemed to slow as Severide continued compressions, the gurgle of the river, the wind in the trees fading until all Severide could hear was his own pounding heart as he pounded Casey's for him.

"Damnit, Casey, breathe!" he ordered the unresponsive Captain. He continued compressions, more desperate than he had ever been, and could have collapsed himself when all of a sudden Casey lurched forward, water spraying from his mouth as he started to cough, deep, wracking coughs. While it sounded more than painful, it meant that Casey was breathing that he was alive. Quickly, Severide and Herrmann grabbed Casey, making sure to support his head and spine since he had a head injury and who knew what else, as they tipped Casey on his side to help clear the water from his lungs.

They stayed there for a few moments, Severide whispering encouraging words to the blonde as he patted his back gently. When the coughing and retching faded, Casey's breath still raspy but coming clearer than before, they rolled him onto his back again. Severide shared a look with Herrmann, the relief he was feeling plastered over Herrmann's face.

"We got him back, Chief," Herrmann said into his radio, voice shaking. "He's breathing. We're loading him in the stokes basket now."

"Thank god," Boden replied and Severide heard quiet cheers as Boden must have told 51 the good news. Casey wasn't out of the woods yet, but his chances of recovery were a lot better now that he was breathing again.

They loaded the unconscious, but still breathing, Captain into the basket and then they were hauling him up, Severide keeping a firm grip on the basket the whole way up. As soon as the basket reached the top, it was whisked away and Casey was loaded into a second ambulance that Boden must have called the second he fell. 61 was already gone, the man that had caused Casey to fall rescued and loaded up as they were rescuing Casey. By the time Severide was hauled up and unhooked, Casey had already been whisked away too. One look at Boden told Severide they were thinking the same thing. It was time for a 51 trip to Med.

Severide paced the floor of the waiting room, surprised the floor wasn't worn out from how many times he had done exactly this over the years. The rest of 51 sat in the chairs around the room, slumped in their seats, solemn looks on their faces. Casey had been rushed into the back two hours ago and they hadn't heard anything since. All they knew was that he was still breathing when he arrived.

Footsteps walking toward them had Severide freezing mid-step. He turned and saw Will Halstead approaching. Severide met him halfway. "Casey?"

"Casey's okay," he started and the whole room sighed in relief, tension melting in the air. "Sorry it took so long. We did a few different tests since he hit his head, but they came back clear. While he has a concussion and had to get stitches to close the gash, there was no significant brain damage that you need to worry about."

Severide let out a long breath and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "What about his breathing? I had to do CPR after I rescued him."

"Overall, his lungs sound good despite what happened. He's on oxygen and we're monitoring him closely for any signs of pneumonia or anything like that. We want him to stay a few days just to make sure everything is good, but we're optimistic. Once the few days are up, as long as no further issues arise, he can go home."

"That's great news," Boden said, appearing to Severide's right.

"Can I see him?" Severide asked.

Will nodded. "Room 117, down the hall to your right."

Severide gave a quick nod of thanks before he set off down the hall. When he spotted the right door, he wasted no time in walking inside. Casey was laying in the bed, IV in one arm, oxygen cannula strapped to his face, and a large bandage taped to his pale face where the gash had been.

As Severide walked closer, Casey must have heard him since his eyes fluttered open. The Captain smiled when he saw it was Severide.

"Hey, Sev," he said softly, voice a little hoarse.

"Hey, man," he said back as he pulled up a chair and sat in it so he was close to Casey's left side. "You scared us."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault. Just an unfortunate circumstance with that guy you were trying to save."

Casey sat up straighter, eyes flashing in panic. "How's the guy? He fell with me right? Is he okay?"

Severide held out his arms. "Woah, easy. It's okay. The guy has some cuts and bruises but he's fine. I think he's even been discharged already."

Casey sagged back into the bed. "Good. That's good."

"You, on the other hand, decided to take the hard route down. You hit your head pretty good and took a dip in the river. I had to go down there and pull your ass out."

Severide was trying to keep things light, not only for him, but for Casey's sake, but his wavering voice gave him away.

Casey turned his head to look at him, his eyes serious. "I heard you did CPR on me. Saved my life."

Severide sat back and rubbed his neck. "Yeah, but it was no big-"

"Kelly," Casey cut him off and Severide's gaze snapped back to the blonde. "It was a big deal. You saved my life. Thank you. I don't know how I'm going to repay you."

Severide nodded, knowing that it was important to Casey that he knew how much Severide's actions meant to him. But then he tried to brush it off, not used to so many emotions.

"A box of cigars and a promise that you'll do the same for me if my ass ever needs saving."

Casey remained serious though, his gaze still locked intently on Severide. "Deal. I'll always watch you back, that goes unsaid. Whenever you need a hand, I'll be there."

There was silence for a moment as they shared that promise, but then Severide leaned back, striking a more casual pose.

"I'm not talking about any cigars here, either. They better be those fancy imported ones that you can only get at the specialty shops."

Casey laughed as the mood in the room lightened. While they had almost lost Casey, things would be okay as long as they had each other to rely on.

"I think I can manage that."