good/right/real

Chapter 9: When You Walked In

"I'm gonna be down a man on Squad for a couple of shifts," Severide says with a tired sigh as they walk toward the Firehouse that morning. He puts his phone away indicating he'd been checking his texts. "Mills didn't pass medical."

"Shit," Matt says in surprise. "I thought his leg was all healed up?"

"It is. His leg isn't the problem. Apparently the blast did some damage to his eardrum? It's causing vertigo."

"That's why he fell off the truck at the accident," Matt states in understanding.

"And why he passed out when we lowered him into that manhole the other week."

"That's..."

"Fucking awful?" Severide supplies for him. "Yeah, it is. That kid worked his ass off for his Squad spot."

"What's he planning to do since he can't be on Squad?" Matt asks curiously as they reach the app floor.

"Boden helped him transition into a paramedic spot at Austin," Kelly tells him. "There's a chance it'll clear up someday. I think Mills is thinking he can pass the time as a medic and then move back over. But...we'll see. It's a long shot."

"So was Mills even making Squad to begin with," Matt tells him, admiration for the younger man showing in his voice. "He's a very determined guy. He'll make it happen."

"You've got a new candidate coming today, yeah?" Severide asks, clearly wanting a change of topic.

He nods and the tension in his jaw ticks. The reason why they're taking in this candidate still pisses him off. Welch is a dick. "Yeah, a candidate Welch booted because he didn't want a female firefighter on his truck."

"What a dick," Severide mutters. "Who the hell cares as long as she can do the job? What's her name?"

"Stella Kidd. Word is she's pretty good. We'll see."

Kelly freezes mid-stride. "Kidd?"

"Yeah, you know her?" Matt asks, intrigued by Kelly's reaction.

"Uh, yeah, I...I met her when I was instructing at the Academy last year."

Matt narrows his eyes on him. He looks antsy - cagey. It's more than just knowing her from the Academy. He smirks at Severide before asking about it. "I realize, I have no right to mess with you about this if the answer is yes but...did you two hook up?"

"No!" He says insistently. A little too insistently. "We didn't hook up. She, um, has a husband. A very jealous husband."

Matt presses his lips into a flat line to purposefully hide his amusement. "And you know that he's the jealous type, how?"

"It doesn't matter," he says, feigning carelessness with a shrug. "I just do, okay?"

"Sure," Matt says, holding back a chuckle. "It's not gonna be a problem having her around, is it?"

"No," he replies immediately. "It'll be fine. She's talented and capable. She'll be great on 81."

Matt nods. "Thanks. That's good to know."

"I've got paperwork to catch up," Severide says quickly. "I'll see you at the Morning Briefing."

Severide doesn't wait for a response from him before he's marching off to the bunkroom. Matt grins and wonders what the hell happened with Stella Kidd to make his friend want to run and hide. Because that line about paperwork was bullshit. Matt's certain of that.

"Hey," Shay says as she steps out of the common room. "Was that blur I just saw Severide?"

Matt nods and laughs. "Yeah, something's up. He bolted the minute I mentioned my new candidate."