A Cold for Christmas

Christmas morning. A happy day for many people, and equally unhappy for probably an equal amount of people, if Matt Casey had to guess. Outside everything was covered in snow, deceptively beautiful, but as soon as you set foot out the door you got hit with the subzero winds that would make it very tempting for anybody to stay inside for the remainder of the day, and if possible, the entire Chicago winter as well.

As such, it was not a particularly good day for them either. In theory it should've been. They had the day off shift, he'd gotten a turkey and put it in the oven last night so it would be ready for lunch just in time to eat and watch the football game on TV. He and Severide didn't particularly go for decorating the apartment, but they did get a tree and if Casey said so himself, they did a pretty good job of decorating it. In theory everything should've been perfect, but that was a word almost as bad as 'slow' or 'quiet' in the firehouse.

The blonde lieutenant walked into the living room and saw Kelly Severide laying on the couch, shivering under a heavy blanket. Casey had known something was wrong as soon as Kelly came out of his room. He was a shade paler than usual and wouldn't even have his morning coffee. He had just enough stamina to make it to the couch before collapsing, complaining about an assortment of bodily aches and chills, and he'd been there ever since.

Casey stepped over to the couch and looked down at his best friend.

"How're you doing?"

It was a stupid question, of course, it was obvious from looking at the darker haired man that he was completely and utterly miserable, but Casey had finally realized several years ago those stupid questions were the only things that could actually get a dialogue started.

Kelly's teeth were practically chattering as he shivered and replied, "N-n-n-no different. I'm s-s-sorry, Matt."

Casey reached down and brushed a hand over Kelly's hair, which was getting to be in need of a trim. "It's alright, Kelly. Wait here."

Kelly glared at him through one eye and asked, "Is that a joke?"

Matt returned a minute later with the thermometer from the bathroom. Turning it on and pressing it against Kelly's temple, he heard it beep and read the digital numbers. 100.9.

"When was the last time you took Tylenol?" Casey asked.

Kelly glanced at the clock. "Ab-b-bout three hours ago."

Casey looked at the clock as if double checking.

"I don't think a little overlap will hurt you, I'll get them."

He headed into the kitchen and returned a few seconds later with a glass of water and two pills in his hand.

"I think we should get you back in bed, you can stretch out better there and rest," the blonde lieutenant commented.

Kelly nodded reluctantly. He took the blanket with him as he stood up and wrapped it around himself during the short trip back to his room.

"I know people always stress getting a fever down...but I don't think sweating this one out would be a bad idea," Casey said as he helped Kelly back into bed.

The Squad lieutenant's knees knocked together and his teeth chattered as he pulled the blanket tighter around himself and said, "That s-s-sounds good to me." He kept the couch blanket around him as he pulled the bedcovers up over him. He groaned, "Any part of me that's not covered is freezing."

"Do you need another blanket?" Casey asked.

"Brr-r-r-r-r," Kelly shivered, "maybe...my feet feel like ice."

Matt went over to the closet but didn't find anything he could use, so he went over to his room and returned with a large plush blanket and draped it over Kelly, tucking it under his chin.

"Do you need anything?"

Kelly shook his head.

"Okay, well, try to get some sleep, and I'll see how you're doing in a while."

Kelly weakly nodded. "Th-th-thanks."

"Let me know if you do need anything."

Kelly nodded again. "Okay."

It had been quiet for a couple hours. Casey hadn't gone in to check on Kelly because he figured if it was quiet, the Squad lieutenant must be asleep, and if he was asleep, he wouldn't know how miserable he was, so let him sleep. Still, it was hard not to worry. Kelly rarely got sick. Matt was well aware of the stereotype of men turning into babies if they got a cold and having to be waited on, well, this was far more than just a cold.

As he stood in the kitchen, Casey couldn't help wondering who got the bright idea Christmastime should also be cold and flu season. There seemed to be something disturbingly ironic there, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Finally, he decided he better see how Kelly was doing, and he took the thermometer with him.

Pushing the bedroom door open, he saw Kelly asleep, for the first time that day, laying perfectly still, not shaking and shivering with cold. He was willing to take that as a good sign.

"Kelly?"

"Hmm?" Severide turned his head and opened his eyes.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"I...don't know," Kelly softly replied as he moved to sit up. "What time is it?"

"12:30."

Kelly groaned softly. "Sorry."

Casey walked over to the bed and put the thermometer against his temple again.

"You didn't ask to get sick, Kelly, this isn't your fault."

The thermometer beeped and Casey checked it. 100.1.

"Your fever's going down," he showed Kelly the readout.

"Good."

"Do you feel up to eating anything?"

Kelly shook his head. "Not yet."

"You feel like getting up?"

"Not particularly."

Casey shut the thermometer off and put it on the dresser.

"Mind if I join you then?"

"Huh?" Kelly's brain was slow to process what Casey said before the blonde lieutenant pulled back the covers and slipped in on the other side of the bed. "Matt, you're gonna get sick."

"We're sharing a bathroom, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen, but I'm not worried," Casey responded. "It's Christmas, you shouldn't be alone...and I don't want to be alone."

Kelly weakly laughed. "You're a strange man, Matt Casey."

"Thanks for noticing," Matt responded coyly. "So you just wanna go back to sleep?"

Kelly nodded.

"Good, me too."

Kelly laughed again.

Casey moaned as he settled in under the covers. "Now I know why, you've got the good mattress, and the softest sheets."

"Shut up," Kelly said with a weak laugh.

Matt turned on his side and smiled at his friend. "Merry Christmas, Kelly."

Kelly smiled tiredly. "Merry Christmas, Matt."

That evening Kelly finally felt up to heading out to the living room so they could watch the final football game of the day and have some dinner.

"Kel," Matt called from the kitchen, "You feel up to a turkey dinner?"

"Uh...not really," Kelly answered.

Casey emerged from the kitchen carrying two bowls on plates. "I didn't think so, so I went with plan B."

"Chicken noodle soup?" Kelly asked as he reached for one of the bowls.

"Nope, turkey noodle soup, technically it's still a turkey dinner," Matt explained.

Kelly smiled sadly as he twirled his spoon in the soup. "I'm sorry I ruined the whole day."

"You didn't ruin anything, Kelly," Casey told him. "We'll have leftovers tomorrow when you're feeling better...besides I checked the scores on the last two games and we didn't miss anything."

Kelly laughed.

Casey smiled at him. "Besides that, I got what I wanted for Christmas."

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"A quiet Christmas, at home, with my best friend."

Kelly weakly snorted. "Strange way to go about it."

"Yeah, not exactly how I would've planned it, but it still worked out."

"I guess so." Kelly let out a small laugh, "Saddest part...this is actually one of the better Christmases we've had, and I'm factoring in our whole childhoods."

"Amen," Casey responded.