If You Play With Fire

Disappointment

He sneaked out at night. Well, he did not really have to sneak out, because Matt and Gabby are at work. Once again he received a text message from the unknown arsonist. Since no one believed him, it was now up to him to convict the perpetrator.

He grabbed his mountain bike and rode to the said address, which was in the SMS. The building was already burning and from a distance you could hear the first sirens. Liam got off his bike and looked for new clues. The car from the other day whose license plate he wrote down was not here. His cell phone rang briefly. Another SMS was received - I'll see you soon!

Liam sighed. He found no clue and the sirens approached. Quickly he ran back to his bike and wanted to ride away, but too late. Truck 81 came from the right side and Squad 3 from the left side into the street.

"I can't believe it!" Matt yelled and got off from the Truck, "Liam! What're you doing here in the middle of the night?" Matt yelled angrily.

"Well, the boy laid the fire," Capp said. Severide and Casey looked at Capp angrily and Severide quickly distributed his orders to Squad 3 and also to Truck 81 as Matt is probably busy teaching his son a lesson.

"I can explain it," Liam stammered.

"Yeah?", Matt raised an eyebrow curiously, "I'm looking forward to this explanation."

"I got a text message from the man who's setting the fire," Liam said.

"Stop it! I don't want to hear any excuse from you!" Matt said annoyed, "When I work then I rely on you to be home and sleep at night and not set any fires!"

"I have NOT set a fire!" Liam yelled.

"Tell that to someone else but not me!" Matt hissed, passing his son to help with the building.

Gabby saw the confrontation from a distance.

"You've gone too far," she said in a calm voice, "Matt trusts you that he can leave you alone at night. You abused his trust tonight."

"He doesn't believe me. He doesn't even let me explain why," Liam said.

After that, Liam had to go with Gabby to the 51.

Once they were there everyone looked at him angrily.

"Dad, why can't I go home?" Liam asked softly.

Matt looked at his son, "Because I don't send you home in the middle of the night with a mountain bike," Matt said.

"And if you drive me?", Liam asked even more quietly than before. Still some people were staring at him.

"So you can sneak out again?" Matt asked irritably.

"I'll stay home, you have my word," Liam said.

"Your word doesn't count anymore!" Matt hissed, "You disappoint me more and more every day!" With these words, Matt ended the conversation and went to his office. The others also shook their heads unbelievably and made their way to the bedroom.

Angrily, he kicked the Truck a few times. Severide kept a low profile in the background, watching both the conversation and Liam as he tried to reduce his aggression.

"If you kick the vehicle again, you'll have problems with me," Kelly said, "For such aggression we have a punching bag."

"I don't care!", Liam hissed and stepped again against the vehicle. Kelly grabbed his arm. Liam tried to fight back, kicking and punching Kelly.

"Stop it!" Kelly hissed. "One thing I'll tell you, for the next shift you'll be cleaning the whole 51!"

"Fuck off! You're not my dad," Liam hissed.

"I'm one hundred percent sure that Casey agrees with me," he said, "And now calm down." Kelly pointed to a chair on the squad table. He sat down in his chair.

"Do you remember Leslie Shay?" Kelly asked. Slightly Liam nodded. How could he just forget her? That day almost Gabby would have died.

It was actually the wedding of Chief Boden and his wife Donna, but a fire interrupted the entire wedding ceremony and the paramedics and firefighters moved away.

Liam stayed with Donna, Cindy, and Hermann's children at 51. The children happily played "fire department". After a call, Cindy and Donna explained to the kids that a paramedic died. Liam was in great shock and eagerly waited for his father to come back. When he finally saw Truck 81 from a distance, he jumped from his place and right into the arms of his father.

"Daddy!" The boy sobbed, hiding his head in his father's shirt.

"Hey buddy," Matt whispered, hugging the child tightly. He really enjoyed the hug. Liam heard Gabby's voice and quickly separated from the embrace and looked around for her. She talked to Peter Mills. She looked so sad.

"Gabby!", Liam shrieked and ran into her arms, "I miss you," the 7-year-old said, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"Leslie Shay died from arson," Severide began to tell, "I don't know who you're trying to impress, but such fires can make paramedics and firefighters die," Kelly took a deep breath, "Don't you realize that you make a death-trap to your own family?"

"I have never set a fire, Kelly. It's all a big misunderstanding," Liam said.

"I hope so for you! Because at the moment you're just disappointing everyone," Kelly said and disappeared into his office.