No Ordinary Love

Cigar Chats and Smoke Eaters

S11 EP18

Casey came back! So after a late night convo with Our Own Rosie, we jokingly talked about a Cigar Chat.... and this was the result...

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Oh my god!! What the hell?!
It was pretty fair to say that whoever she had been expecting to see when she walked into that room, it wasn't the man who was standing grinning in front of her with the floppy hair and a prep boy smile.

After a moment of stunned silence, Stella threw her arms around him, her face coming alive with joy.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to town, you jerk!"

"It was kinda last minute."

And that was how Matt Casey appeared back at 51, stunning Stella .....and everyone else.

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Wandering around the house now, had he known it, there was a permanent smile pasted on his face. So much had changed, and so much hadn't. The house looked the same, echoing with snatches of people no longer here....especially Andy Darden..... he would never forget his once best friend or the bond they had shared. And other ones they had lost on the way, Shay....Otis... or the memories of the years with Gabby, his ex wife and whilst the time since they parted got longer and the pain of their divorce was gone, the memories still formed part of the fabric of his past, and that would always remain. And then later, a lot later. Sylvie. Quiet and humble, Sylvie. An all-American good girl but one whose heart he had ultimately broken when he had left for Portland to go and take care of Andy's two boys.

For old times' sake, he wondered over to his ex quarters, only standing in the open doorway of the empty office.
Hermann had made it his own. A picture of Cindy and their kids on the desk. Rightly so. But that didn't mean that his memories from that room didn't sing to him. The hours of paperwork, the heated exchanges with his team, and with Severide. Ah yes, Severide. His now best friend. After the wedding, despite mutual promises of visits and phone calls, their lives and jobs had got in the way for both of them, and too many weeks would go by before they spoke. And now Severide was in Alabama on some international arson investigation program, and although they had spoken about it, neither had thought that he would be away months. He hadn't missed the sadness on Kidd's face yesterday when he had asked her if he was still in Alabama, despite her trying to mask it under a smile of false bravado.
Automatically, he took the dozen steps to his friend's office, his eyes narrowing a little seeing Kidd sitting on the bunk, her head down.
For a solitary second, he thought about turning around and leaving her in privacy, but she looked up and saw him, shadows in her eyes, but they were gone in an instant.

"Hey, Captain."

"Lieutenant, Kidd."

She got up, straightening.

"Squad is out on a call.... so I came in here..." Casey was thinking that he didn't want her to have to explain. "I feel closer to him in here.... " Clearing her throat, there was a hint of embarrassment in her voice, and in the way, her eyes flickered away from making contact.

Casey held his hand up. "No need to explain, Kidd. Casey took a step forward and looked around the quarters. " I miss him from Portland, and I'm not married to him..."

Watching her take a breath with a resigned nod, he had a sudden idea.

Casey headed towards Sev's desk, pulled open the bottom drawer as if looking for something, and then smiled. Some things never changed, he thought with satisfaction, opening the box and taking out two cigars. Turning his head towards Kidd, he held up the cigars.

Stella's face broke into a grin for the dozenth time since she had first seen him yesterday, and her mouth curved upward. Seeing Casey was the best thing.