good/right/real

Chapter 13: Wait and See

Maybe ambushing Jim and his girlfriend at that restaurant wasn't the best idea. But he's fed up with pain and loss and fucking injustice. Not to mention, assholes. Jim, Harrison, Welch...

They're all bastards who get away with being bastards and just this once he can't let it happen.

Besides, he's standing up for his sister. Maybe she doesn't have the strength to fight Jim right now, but Matt does. He'll take this on for her and Violet and he will fucking win because he's goddamn sick and tired of losing. He gets the name of a divorce attorney from Newhouse and decides to make an appointment for after he's off shift tomorrow. Jim won't make this easy so Christie is going to need all the help she can get. Before he's even had a chance to call this Bankhead guy a call comes in.

Juvenile in distress turns out to be a little boy with his head stuck in a balcony guardrail. It's a close call but between himself, Severide, and Herrmann the boy is fine. In his peripherals he keeps an eye on Brett and the boy and grins as he overhears her talking to the kid about snakes. The boy loves snakes and Sylvie apparently raised them as a kid. He knew her country girl charm would keep things interesting.

He and Severide exchange a look when the mom seems like she's going to be difficult but Sylvie handles it with appropriate firmness. Shay thinks so too by the way she's beaming at her with both pride and amusement.

After clean up and getting back to the house, Matt calls Bankhead and discusses the details of Christie's case. Bankhead says he'll take a day to dig into it and then asks to meet with them the next morning. Matt agrees and then convinces his sister to at least hear the lawyer out. With that done, he stretches out and sips on his coffee to give himself a moment before he starts working on paperwork. During his quiet moment, Brett appears at his door.

She looks guilt stricken with her eyes downcast and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

His brow furrows. "Everything go okay with the boy?"

She nods and then looks up at the ceiling with a shrug. Uncertainty is illustrated through every bit of her body language. "The little boy is fine, yes, but...I wouldn't say everything is okay." She pauses, shakes her head, and then finally meets his eyes — looking pained. "DCFS took the boy. Something about her record being flagged and him being taken away from her once before. It was...hard to watch."

"Wait, that mom? I never would have suspected that with the way she put herself at risk to save him," Casey replies in confusion.

"Yeah, me either. The little guy seemed perfectly happy and healthy," she agrees. "Something about it isn't sitting right with me." She sighs and then tries to visibly shake it off. "Nevermind. I did my job. I got him to the hospital. Dropped him off. Now, I'm done. Right? That's what we're supposed to do."

"That's true. We can't get involved in every call," Casey tells her. "But...I don't know I think sometimes pulling off a rescue goes beyond the initial save, you know?"

She blinks at him surprise and then a slow smile overtakes her face. "You're the first person to say something like that to me. I keep being told not to ever get involved or attached. Once we drop them off, we let it go."

"Majority of the time I would agree with that," he says, lifting one shoulder carelessly. "But every now and then...you can't help it. It's who we are as first responders. We help, and if we don't then why are we here?"

"I like that," she admits with a soft grin. "You're a good guy, Matt Casey. But enough about me, how'd it go with your sister? Did you tell her about Jim?"

He sighs and nods. "I told her and it went as well as could be expected I guess. We're meeting with a divorce attorney after shift. We'll see what he says."