Chapter Text
Readjusting himself in the uncomfortable hospital chair, Severide continued to watch his best friend. Casey had been on shift when he’d fallen through a floor, and while he was doing perfectly fine, Kelly. So stop worrying about me, it hadn’t stopped he and Darden from racing from their shared apartment.
And they were both just as anxious as they walked in. Until this point, none of them had needed medical treatment that had required hospitalization; just minor burns, bruises and sprains. But Casey had seemed cheery enough as they entered his ER bay. His right arm was covered with ice packs, and the blonde apologized as he told them he was just waiting for a cast to be fitted. After a few minutes, Severide and Darden had calmed, and took their places beside his bed.
During their time at the academy, the three of them had never been apart. They did all their classes together, ate together, studied together and of course; lived together. It had been good for all of them; the benefits had been immeasurable. And one of those benefits had been that they could both keep an eye on Casey. While they knew that Casey could look after himself, they were aware that he didn’t really have anyone else. The young blonde had been alone after finishing his childhood in a group home, so they became his surrogate family – something they were more than happy to do.
But after graduation, they’d been sent to different houses. Of course, they’d expected it – most houses could only take one candidate. But they’d all been hoping that they’d at least be on the same shift. That way, there was only two to three days of worry a week.
And they’d almost managed it. Severide and Darden had been the first to open their assignments and had been ecstatic when they’d worked out that they were both on third shift, even if their houses were on opposite sides of the city. Casey had then opened his assignment and hadn’t even got a chance to look at it before Darden had snatched it. Andy’s face had fallen, and Kelly had then inspected the paper.
Casey was at the same house as Kelly but was on second shift.
It wasn’t like any of them really minded, but Severide had been hoping that it was either he or Darden that were alone. He knew that Casey could look after himself, but he’d still hoped that they could keep an eye on their youngest brother. But the young blonde had just shrugged it off, claiming he didn’t really mind. This was actually for the best; at least one of them was always home.
And they’d all been fine when they’d started at their houses. Candidates were always hazed, and they’d all laughed over stories. Darden and Severide always listened particularly intently to Casey’s stories, asking questions and trying to ascertain if any of the hazing he’d been receiving was a step too far. But it didn’t seem like it. Apparently, the battalion chief on Casey’s shift had an autistic son, and he always kept an eye out. Not that it was needed; the firefighters there all understood and seemed to be beyond kind.
Kelly was drawn from his thoughts as a young doctor walked in, and he had to admit; his eyes were on her. She was absolutely stunning.
She moved over to Casey, briefly checking his file. A thoughtful tongue peeped out of her lips, and Severide smirked.
“Your name is Matthew Casey?”
Casey nodded that it was, not picking up on the signs that Severide was blatantly aware of. Both he and Darden took a step back, unable to hide their smirks as they watched the interaction.
“My name is Dr. Thomas, but you can call me Hallie.”
Still totally ignorant of her flirting, Casey replied politely, reaching out his left hand to shake. Hallie smiled as she took it, then nodded across to the other two candidates, “These your friends, Matt?”
Following her eye line, Casey grinned as he nodded, “Yeah… Andy and Kelly. They’re my roomies.”
Hallie smiled, her blue eyes sparkling, “Will they be the ones taking you home after you’ve been discharged? I’d suggest staying with someone to help around until the pain lessens.”
Again, Casey nodded. To him, these questions were just procedure; he couldn’t see the hidden meaning. He couldn’t read Hallie’s tone, nor did he notice how she was battering her eyelashes. He’d once told Andy and Kelly that girls had never been interested in him, but Severide now believed that it was just because Casey hadn’t noticed their flirting; because even he had to admit that his close friend was hot.
The young student doctor excused herself, telling Casey that she was getting the supplies for his cast, and that he’d then be able to leave. Casey thanked her and watched as she walked out the door. His eyes were fixed on her hair, though. Not on the way that she was swaying her hips.
No sooner had Hallie left, Darden stood, moving over to Casey and slapping his shoulder, “What the hell, Matt?”
Casey blanched, worried that he’d offended someone, and Darden realized his mistake. Quickly backtracking, he clarified; “You’ve done nothing wrong, Matty. But she was flirting with you.”
The blonde’s eyebrows creased in the way they always did when he was confused, when he was exposed to something new. He didn’t think that she’d been flirting at all. Girls might twirl their hair when they flirt, or they might bite their lip. At least, that’s what a friend had told him in high school, and Hallie had done none of those things, “Are you sure, Andy?”
Darden snorted, “I’m sure. Very sure. Kelly?”
It was Severide’s turn to nod, “She definitely was, bud.”
For a second, Casey just looked surprised, and then confused again. Why was this student doctor flirting with him?
Unable to come up with a clever sentence, he just spluttered; “Really?”
Severide rolled his eyes, donning a high-pitched voice as he parroted, “Call me Hallie.”
The blonde blinked, realization dawning over his features, “… oh…”
Kelly couldn’t help but grin, glancing across to see a similar expression on Darden’s face. Casey was still frowning, but there was also hope in his eyes, and his mouth twisted into a smile as he blushed slightly, “What do I do? I mean… how do I…?”
And even though Darden knew what Casey was asking, he decided to clarify first; “You like her. Don’t you, bud?”
Casey’s smirk disappeared, and Darden mentally slapped himself. He forgot how careful he needed to be when wording things at times, because Casey’s adorable frown had once again crossed his face, “Hallie’s been nice so far. I have no reason to dislike her.”
While Severide might nudge someone else and tease them for avoiding the question, he knew that Casey just needed clarification; “Do you want to get to know her more, Case? Possibly as a girlfriend?”
As they watched, Casey’s smirk returned and his left hand flicked. It wasn’t often that Casey allowed any of his stimming behaviors to be seen – he’d probably managed to hide it his entire time at the academy, and likely did the exact same at his firehouse – and Severide knew that he had his answer. He and Darden smiled at each other. This was as exciting for them as it was for Casey.
Knowing that their friend would probably be going from utter basics, they stuck their heads together, ready to give him a crash course in flirting.
“Do I have to tell her I’m autistic?”
Darden paused. Hallie wasn’t stupid. She was a doctor, and Andy had no doubt that autism would be covered in med school. Casey might be good at hiding it, but anyone who spent any real time with the blonde be blatantly aware of it. More importantly, though, Darden knew that Casey felt more comfortable if those around him knew; that way, they would at least understand if he did something strange.
“You don’t have too, Case, but if telling her makes you more comfortable; you should go for it.”
Before Casey had the opportunity to weigh up the pros and cons, there was a light knock at the door, and they all turned to see Hallie. She gave them a kind smile – and bless her, didn’t look in the least bit uncomfortable – and waited. Severide and Darden both stood, heading towards the door.
Casey’s eyes widened, jerking slightly as he sat up straighter, “Wait, where are you going?”
They both looked back, only feeling slightly guilty that they were leaving. But it wouldn’t be fair to Hallie if they remained in the room, and they knew that Casey had to do this for himself.
“We’ll just be outside, bud. Here if you need us.”
The blonde froze. In everything that Severide and Darden had said, he hadn’t realized that he’d be alone. But before he could protest, they’d both politely excused themselves, going to wait out in the hallway.
Casey was still wide-eyed when he glanced back at Hallie, utterly smitten by her beauty. He’d noticed before, of course, but that had been when he’d thought that there was no way she was interested in him. Now that he knew that she was, it was different.
The crash course that Darden and Severide had given him flew out the window, and he opened his mouth and blurted; “I’m autistic.”
Hallie just smiled at him, chuckling lightly and relaxing her shoulders, “I know, Matt. It’s on your file.”
Matt just paused. He knew that Hallie was being kind; he could see it in her body language, “Oh… uh… you don’t mind?”
The young doctor just smiled again as she shook her head, finally taking a step closer and setting down the supplies. Casey’s brow furrowed. He knew what Darden and Severide had told him, and he trusted that they were right. But he needed to be sure. The only issue was that they had told him not to ask if she was interested… but he felt as though he needed to.
Deciding that asking permission might work, Casey glanced back up, “Can I… ask you a question?”
Lightly, Hallie reached across, taking Casey’s good hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, “I’m interested in getting to know you, Matt, and I would like to go out sometime. I don’t mind that you have autism.”
Casey didn’t know how to respond to that, and he bit his lip as Hallie started prepping the bandages. She moved to his right side, softly telling him that she was about to start wrapping his arm.
“Why are you interested in me?”
Hallie had almost jumped at the question, because it had come seemingly from nowhere. But she recovered quickly, not surprised that it had come up, “I overheard you talking with your friends, you were making me laugh. I asked my attending if I could fit your cast just so I could talk to you.”
She’d blushed as she’d said the last part, and Casey noticed. He knew that he should reassure her, but he was struggling to find the right words, “That’s a little creepy, but I don’t mind. Because you seem really nice.”
That earned him a huge grin and another light chuckle, and Casey knew that she was being nice. He blushed himself, glancing down slightly, “Sorry. Kel says I have the tact of a drunk flamingo.”
Resting Casey’s arm back against the pillow, Hallie smiled even wider, “No, that’s fine, Matt. I like it. I think it’s funny – in a good way.”
Casey allowed himself a smile at that, before timidly asking her about herself. Hallie answered happily, and Casey was amazed at how easy it was. Kelly had thrown himself down on the couch and declared that he was never dating anyone ever again enough times that Casey had assumed it must be near impossible – but talking to Hallie was almost as easy as it was talking to Andy or Sev.
He didn’t even realise that she’d finished setting his cast, and, all too soon, she was apologizing and telling him she had to get back to her shift – her attending had wanted a nurse setting his cast in the first place.
Before she left, though, she lightly took his right hand, as gentle as ever as she wrote her number on his cast.
Along with a little smiley face.