Best Friend To The Very End

Not Everyone Make It

Truck and Squad pulled into the firehouse, met by 2nd shift, waiting to take over. Not a word was said, not even a greeting. What if. What if firehouse 18 was still open, would everything be different? It played on all their minds but what was worse was that they'd take it home, dwell on it until next shift and every day after that. Their relationships and families would suffer too. In one way, they'd never be the same again.

Pouch lifted her head off the couch and watched the sombre faces walk in, she rested her head back down and closed her eyes. She could understand what had happened without a word being said.

Casey sat at his desk. A blue folder caught his eye. He picked it up and looked at the front. 'Hannah Kate Severide' was written across the front. He had no idea why her folder was in his office instead of her dads. A piece of paper slipped out as he put it back down. Now he understood why. There was a knock on his door. He turned around and saw Dawson standing there.
'Hey' He said
'Hey' She replied, fidgeting with her phone 'What's that?'
'Hannah's attempt at saving 51' He said putting it back in the folder 'Any news'
Dawson nodded her head 'Brett just called, It's not good'
Casey nodded his head
'We're gonna head down to med, to be with Kelly'
'I'll meet you there'

Kelly sat at the table, staring blankly in front of him, as Connor explained everything.
'There was a tear in her aorta, the main artery from the heart, and it slowly expanded. In the end, it was too late, she'd lost too much blood and there was nothing we could do to save her, I'm sorry'
Lindsay held Kelly's hand. Kelly nodded his head.
'What about Hannah?' He asked
'She has an acute subdural haematoma, that's about all I know at the moment but once I find out more I'll let you know.'
Kelly looked at Erin 'I can't lose her too' He cried
'She'll be fine, I promise' She said as she rested her head on his shoulder
Boden's phone began to ring. He put his hand on Kelly's shoulder 'I'll be back' He said as he walked out of the room
'No matter how hard you try not everyone makes it' Erin said quietly as she sat with Kelly, still holding his hand
'Matt' Boden said answering the phone
'How are they?' He asked
'Uh, Katherine didn't make it'
'And Hannah?'
'We don't know much yet'
'Dawson and the others are on their way down there now'
'What about you?' Casey asked
'I'll be down there soon'
'I'll see you then' Boden replied before he hung up the phone

Erin, Kelly and Chief Boden walked out into the waiting room. At the same time, Katherine's parents came in.
'Where's my daughter?' Her mum asked Maggie at the front desk, distraught
'What's your daughter's name?' She asked
'Katherine Anderson, and our grand-daughter Hannah Severide. They were in a car accident'
'Severide' Maggie said to her self quietly
'Are they OK?' Katherine's mum asked again
'Dr. Rhodes' Maggie called out
'Yep' He said walking up to the desk
'This is Katherine's parents'
'Mr and Mrs Anderson, I'm Dr Rhodes'
'Our daughter, is she OK?' Her mum asked again
'Do you mind if we go somewhere more private?'
'Just tell us now, please'
'Your grand-daughter sustained pretty serious head injuries and she's in a critical condition'
'And Katherine?' Her dad asked
'Katherine sustained a tear in her aorta, I'm afraid she didn't make it. I'm sorry'
'No!' Katherine's mum cried as she fell to the ground, still in her husband's embrace
'Mr Anderson' Kelly said as he went up to them
He looked up 'Kelly?' He questioned
'I'm so sorry' He apologised
'Thank you' He replied as he tended back to his distraught wife

'Has Anyone seen Casey?' Cruz asked as they sat waiting
'Uh, he said he was coming later' Dawson replied
'This is really eating him up isn't it' Borrell questioned
'Yeah' Dawson replied 'More than usual'
'Has anyone tried talking to him?' Otis asked
'You know what he's like, he's almost as bad as Kelly' Dawson replied
'I know someone, I'll make a call' Herrmann added getting up and walking outside

'Hey' Casey said as he bumped into Borrelli out the front of Med.
'Hey Lieutenant'
'How is she?' Casey asked
'She's still critical. She's in surgery, their trying to stop the bleed'
'The extra time she spent pinned in, how much worse did that make?' Casey asked
Borrelli shrugged his shoulders 'One minute more, no one will really know' He put his hand on Casey's shoulder and walked back into the hospital
'Hey Matt' He heard someone say behind him
Casey turned around 'Chaplin, what are you doing here?'
'In 51's hour of need, where else would I be?' He replied 'Christopher Herrmann called me, told me you weren't handling it too well'
'I'm fine' He replied
Chaplin looked at him
'I keep second guessing, If I had got her out first and left him paralysed would we be in this situation?'
'Matt you can't blame yourself for things out of your control' Chaplin explained 'You made a decision on what you thought was right at the time'
'If Han doesn't make it I'll never forgive myself, Kelly will never forgive me'
'She will get through this' Chaplin reassured 'Hannah's a fighter, and I can guarantee you, whatever the outcome Kelly will forgive you'
'All I can say is that sometimes bad things happen to good people and we can't fix it, your job is to help as much as you can, then eventually somewhere down the line the good people will be Ok'

Will knocked on the door of the room where Kelly and Erin were waiting
'Hey' Erin said as Will walked in
'How is she?' Kelly asked
'She made it through surgery, we managed to stop the bleed' He explained 'But there is a high chance she has received some degree of brain damage'
'When will we know?' Kelly asked
'We'll keep monitoring her and running test which should give us a clearer picture in a couple of days but there's also the possibility she'll never regain consciousness'
Kelly didn't say anything
'But she is in an induced coma at the moment to protect her brain from swelling, giving her a better chance. And we've also put her on a machine to help her breathe'
'I wanna see her' Kelly said
'Come with me then' Will replied
'I'll stay here' Erin replied
Kelly nodded his head in agreement, knowing it was best
Will and Kelly walked into Hannah's room, there were loud sounds made by the machines keeping her alive. He looked at how small his little girl looked on the hospital bed. She had a large cut down the side of her face where her head hit the window. Her arm was in a cast. He ran his hand down the side of her face.
'Hey Squirt' He said as he held her hand 'Everythings gonna be OK, I promise'
He tried to hold back the tears
'I'm here for you every step of the way but I need you to promise me you get through this OK? I need you more than you know and I love you more than you'll ever realise. But I need you to fight, like the tough one you are'
Severide kissed her on the cheek as he sat down next to her, still holding her hand
'I love you squirt'

'What's that?' Dawson asked as Casey held an envelope in his hand, addressed to McCloud
'Hannah's letter' He replied

Hannah's Letter;

Reasons as to why you should save Firehouse 51;

You may see my name is Severide. Yes, you thought right. Benny Severide is my grandfather and Squad Lieutenant Kelly Severide is my dad, but I want you to forget all that for a moment. I don't want my last name to influence what I'm about to say.

I believe that Firehouse 51 should remain open because lives will be endangered if it's closed. Closing 51 will be a danger to response times, lower man-power on Truck, Squad and Engine, it would also put hard workers out of a job, leave families to rely on a smaller, single income. Some even none, and possibly result in them losing their homes.

What benefit do you have closing a firehouse? Will the extra money 'saved' go on pay raises for firefighters, new equipment, updated trucks or improved firehouses? Or will it go into the back pockets of politicians?

Every morning I wake up I know I 'm safe. I know if ever I find myself in trouble I know there will always be someone to save me. But everytime another firehouse is closed down the fear begins to take over bit by bit. I worry that I will find myself in trouble some day, help will be too far away and it might be too late for me or someone I love. If I lost someone because of CFD 'budget cuts' I would have to live with it for the rest of my life, I can live with it but I don't want anyone else to carry the burden. Have you seen a bunch of firefighters come back from a call after they've lost someone, knowing full well if the house around the corner was still open they would have survived? Have you ever heard the silence when they walk back in? I have. In that silence, you can feel their pain and guilt. But what's worse is when they bring it home with them. It affects their partners, their children, their whole family. They may seem like their over it by the next shift but they'll never forget it. They'll remember the date, their name, where it happened and why. Why their family is broken, why they blame themselves every time it happens again and again for the same reasons.

I hope you never find yourself in that situation, on either side. And I hope me or someone I love never has to go through that.

Firehouses are more than places where firefighters live while on shift. They are safe havens for everyone, a place for young children to learn about, and hopefully idolise, firefighters. It's a place where race, gender, religion and age don't matter and everyone's treated the same. I am grateful that I got to grow up in a firehouse around men and women who risk their lives every day to save strangers. They have taught me so much more than the schools could ever do. They taught me how to respect others, that it never hurts to help someone and if ever you're in trouble a firehouse is your safest place to go.

I hope this letter makes some sense to you. If it doesn't, what I'm trying to say is closing 51 or any other firehouse is a big mistake and won't just risk lives it will affect everyone, financially and mentally.

Thank You for taking the time to read my letter and I hope it has some influence on your final opinion.