UPDATED AN: My account was hacked earlier this year and my stories either stolen or deleted. It took some time, but I'm finally able to reestablish myself on FF. PLEASE let me know if you are interested in my re-continuing my stories! I'm happy to continue posting for past readers and future readers alike! PM me or review with your thoughts!

This is an AU take on 'Just Drive the Truck', because I felt that there could have been a lot more damage and opportunities to explore the characters' relationships to one another. So I'm taking a bit of liberty with this fic, and temporarily ignoring Mills' plight by not making it a part of this piece. Anything you recognize from the show is not my property. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts or requests!

Crash Course

Squad Truck 3 quickly pulled out of the bay, following closely behind Truck 81. As the fire trucks rushed to the scene the occupants of each hurried to ready themselves for the coming inferno. Severide grinned at his men. "You ready, boys? We see the smoke…it's gonna be hot!"

Just ahead of them, Truck 81 raced through an intersection. Out of nowhere, Truck 66 plowed headlong into the side of 81, sending it careening on its side before it slid. The squad truck slammed on its brakes, screeching to a halt in front of the tragic scene.

For a long moment nobody said anything, each individually processing. Severide's mind spun frantically. That was 81, it was one of their own. And it was Matt, his brain screamed. CASEY he inwardly screamed, dangerously close to screaming it for real. Instead, he bit out a curse before grabbing for his radio. "Mayday Mayday…Truck 81 and Truck 66 have collided! It's bad…We're going to need ambulances, as many as you can get!"

His voice seemed to spur the rest of the team into action. Scrambling out of the truck, the rescue squad hurried to help their fellow firemen. Shattered glass and debris covered the asphalt, crunching underneath their boots. They split up, Severide making a beeline to 81 with Newhouse behind him, as Capp and Tony headed to 66.

Severide's run to the overturned truck appeared to take hours in his mind, negative outcomes whirling. Casey couldn't be dead. They'd survived worse than this before, but his brain wouldn't listen. Memories flashed through his mind; Andy dying, Matt coming out of the window on fire, Matt seizing in the ambulance, Shay…

Shaking his head, Kelly banished the thoughts, scaling the truck. A huge dent decorated the side of the fire engine. Matt's side of the engine, he reminded himself, moving to the bent front door. Bracing himself, he peered through the broken window, taking a second to assess the situation. Casey hung at an odd angle in his seat belt, appearing dazed.

"Matt?!" he called. The blonde in question groaned lightly in response. Kelly felt a twinge of concern before he started inspecting the rest of truck crew. Cruz looked shaken but was moving and he heard groans from inside the truck's back compartment. "Is everybody okay?" he called out. "Hermann?"

"Yeah," Hermann managed. "Mouch is bleeding pretty badly around his eye, but we're all just a bit banged up."

Noticing Newhouse climbing up next to him, Kelly motioned for a prybar. "Alright, just hang tight! We're going to get these doors open in just a sec. Casey? Matt you need to answer me…"

The Lieutenant in question gave a strangled yelp as he turned to blink up at his friend. "Kel?" he managed.

"Hey, bud," Kelly smiled briefly, grabbing the prybar from Newhouse. "We're opening the doors now, okay? Hold on everybody!"

Both Severide and Newhouse wedged the prybars into the warped door frame. Exchanging glances, the squad members simultaneously threw their weight onto their respective bars, prying the door open. They quickly repeated the process on the back door. As soon as it was bent open, Severide leant inside. A bruised Hermann was applying a tshirt to Mouch's bleeding face. Otis was trying to get through to Cruz.

"Hermann," Severide barked to gain the other man's attention. "Can we get him out? Dawson should be here by now."

"I can get up," Mouch confirmed, standing with Hermann's help. Stumbling towards the opening, he accepted Kelly's outstretched hand.

Between the two squad members and Hermann, they managed to get Mouch out of the fallen fire engine and down to the waiting paramedic. Hermann and Otis quickly followed, heading to help the others with Truck 66. Kelly turned his attention back to an unresponsive Casey.

"What should we do, Lieutenant?" Newhouse asked, looking worriedly towards the other truck.

Kelly followed his gaze and frowned at the yelling and scrambling accompanying the other vehicle. "I'll handle Casey and Cruz…" he quickly decided. "Go report to Capp. They look like they need more help and I'm not leaving them like this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I've got it," he assured him, not comfortable leaving Matt to anybody else, especially when he wasn't protesting how 'fine' he was yet. Looking back into the front of the truck he grew more concerned. Matt was once again suspended limply, facing the concrete below. Cruz was still shakily gripping the steering wheel. "Cruz?" he called, hoping to garner the driver's attention. But the man didn't do anything to suggest he'd even registered the lieutenant's presence. Frowning, Kelly used a more commanding tone. "Joe!"

Startled out of his daze, Cruz released the wheel and looked around at the damaged fire engine. Then he noticed Casey dangling above him. "Oh god…Casey!"

The blonde in question grimaced slightly, his eyes tightly screwed shut. "S'okay…"

"Cruz!" Kelly interjected. "Don't worry, we'll get him out of here. But I'm gonna need your help."

"Severide…" the driver started, noticing Kelly leaning through the door way above. He also noticed the concern and anger shining in the squad lieutenant's eyes. "I had the light. I'd never have run a red without checking…I…"

"You had the light," Severide interrupted. "Tony was following you through the intersection. But this is a conversation for Boden. Right now, I need you to tell me about Matt. Is he still conscious?"

The driver nodded, looking closely at his Lieutenant. "He has a cut near his hairline and a few other scrapes…he's conscious but he's squeezing his eyes shut. I think he's in pain. His pulse is racing and he's not responding to us talking."

"Damnit, Matt! Open your eyes right now!" With a groan, Casey turned his head towards the commanding voice. Watery blue eyes opened to hold Severide's gaze, pain swirling in their depths. Kelly noticed the clenched jaw and reigned in his mounting concern and anger at the entire accident. Reaching down, he stretched to gently probe the hairline laceration. "Is it your head that hurts, Matt?" he asked, praying it wasn't another head injury.

The blonde shook his head minutely. "Shoulder," he bit out. "Kel…the belt…"

Severide quickly moved to feel along Matt's right collarbone. As he gently felt along the bone to the shoulder joint, Casey released a strangled yelp, his left hand shooting out to grip Severide's sleeve. "Shh….hold on, Matty," Severide soothed. Ignoring Matt's soft groans, Kelly felt along the swollen, angry joint. "Ah, damnit, Matt…"

"Kel…the belt," Casey repeated, a bit more forcefully, before squeezing his eyes shut again.

"The belt?" Cruz asked worriedly from below.

"Hey! Open your eyes, Casey!" he barked, turning frantically to look at the rest of the scene. Members of his squad still swarmed the opposite vehicle, attempting to cut the front of the truck open. They'd be of little use to him now, and too many bodies would only jostle Matt further. Cursing he removed his jacket. "Cruz, the crash dislocated his shoulder and hanging against the locked seatbelt has put constant pressure on the luxation, forcing it farther out of place. It's sorta like twisting the knife in a stab victim. I can't pull him out like that…so we're gonna have to cut him down instead. I'm coming to you."

Swiftly, Kelly lowered himself into the back of the truck, landing in a crouch. Maneuvering himself to join Cruz in the front compartment, he was concerned to see Casey once again limply facing the concrete. Handing Cruz a knife he wordlessly switched places with the driver. "Just hang on bud," he muttered, reaching up to brace a hand against Matt's right hip and left shoulder, holding him away from the belt. "Cut it, Cruz…"

Cruz swiftly used the knife to slash the seat belt away from Matt's frame. Without the suspension of the belt, the blonde's body fell towards the driver's seat. Severide's strong arms stopped the descent, catching Matt against his chest and stumbling a bit backwards. Cruz reached out to steady the pair.

"Matty?" Kelly asked, feeling his friend's body shake against his own. Shock and adrenaline, he realized. "Talk to me, bud."

"M'fine," the blonde said shakily. "Don't worry about me, Kelly…"

Severide snaked an arm around Casey's torso, holding him upright. He smiled lightly. "As happy as I am to hear you say that, you are not fine, bud. And I'm allowed to worry about you. Especially when I see you in a collision with another fire truck. And when you can't even talk to me because you decided to donate an arm to your damn truck!"

Cruz felt as if he was intruding on a private moment, so he worked on making his way back to the other compartment. Kelly, meanwhile, began gently prodding Matt's shoulder, eliciting soft groans.

"Alright trouble magnet…your shoulder feels dislocated and that damn seatbelt you were hanging out on forced it backwards. We've got to get you out of here and stabilize the joint, okay?" Severide explained, doing his best to stay focused. "Cruz? I'm going to hand him to you, okay?"

The driver nodded, moving to aid his lieutenant through the opening. Matt stumbled towards Cruz, right arm hanging limply. As soon as Casey made it through to Cruz, Kelly slipped through, moving to the doorway. Quickly glancing over at Matt's wobbly frame, Severide decided it would be better to stabilize the joint before trying to extract him.

"Joe, hold him upright as I take the jacket off," Kelly instructed, swiftly slipping the left arm out of the sleeve. Gently grasping Matt's right hand, he pulled the injured arm upwards, forcing himself to ignore Matt's hiss of pain and the muscle spasms of the hand in his grasp. Smoothly, he removed the thick jacket from the bad arm. "Hang on, bud…" he muttered, bending the arm at the elbow and moving it to rest against Casey's chest. Kelly tucked the forearm behind the red suspender.

"Here," Cruz offered, holding out a shredded CFD tshirt.

Kelly nodded in thanks, using the shirt to secure the upper arm against Matt's torso. Casey's face had gained a small amount of color back and he smiled weakly at his surrogate brother. "See? M'fine…"

Cruz let out a snort. "We disagree, Lieutenant…"

"C'mon," Severide instructed. "Let's get out of here and then we can talk about the fact that I had to save your ass…again. Cruz? If I go up first, can you get him part way?"

The driver nodded as Casey pouted. "Kelly, I can make it…"

Severide rolled his eyes as he began his ascent. "Sure. But since I now have only one arm of yours I can grab if you fall, I think we'll do it my way."

Once again perched on the side of the truck, Severide turned to reach a hand down to his brother. A shaky hand grasped his hand as Casey clumsily found various foot holds. Cruz spotted him from below, aiding in his ascent. Once Matt got close enough, Kelly reached his other arm to grasp Matt's elbow and used his weight to pull the younger man to the top of the overturned vehicle. Casey shakily moved to sit next to Kelly on the metal surface; his pain and adrenaline were exhausting him. Severide noted the move and his brow furrowed, but he returned to the doorway to help Cruz out of the truck, finally clearing the fallen truck.

"Now to get you down…" Kelly stated softly. "How do we wanna do this?"

"If I go down first, you could almost repel him down," Cruz suggested. "Like grab his good arm and support his weight as he leans back and walks down the truck?"

Severide nodded. "That'll work, but let's get to it…before trouble's adrenaline wears off and we're left with a weak, pain ridden Matt."

Cruz agreed, swiftly glancing over at the blonde man. Still far too pale, Matt was resting his head against Kelly's knee as he stood. Joe swiftly descended from the truck, easily reaching the road. Signaling to Severide that he was ready, he moved to be able to spot Casey's climb.

The squad lieutenant carefully knelt next to his friend, mussing the blonde head. "C'mon bud, one last adventure and I'll let you pick the movie when we finally get you home."

Matt nodded and made his way towards the edge. Offering his good hand, he locked grasps with Kelly and moved to stand with his back to the edge of the fire engine. Nodding to Severide, he carefully leant backwards. Kelly used his own weight to counterbalance Matt's, easing himself lower and lower until he was lying flat against the truck, his arm dangling over the side as Matt safely reached the asphalt. Scrambling to his feet, Kelly followed him, reaching the ground seconds after his friend. Gently, he wrapped an arm around Casey's torso, easing him towards one of the many ambulances.

Along the way, they were intercepted by a concerned Boden. "Casey! Severide! Is he okay?"

"Dislocated shoulder, Chief," Kelly explained. "The seatbelt made it a lot worse because of how long he was stuck. Cruz and I were able to extract him."

Boden smiled inwardly. As if Kelly Severide would ever have left Casey behind. "Get him to a paramedic then…Joe? Are you okay?"

Cruz nodded shakily. "I'm alright Chief..."he managed, looking at the chaos that surrounded them. "I had the light. I know I had the light…"

Boden nodded, gripping his shoulder comfortingly. "Tony backed up your story, but that's not important now. What matters is that everyone from 51 made it out. Go get yourself looked at."

Cruz nodded mutely before heading in the direction that he'd seen Severide take Matt. Coming up alongside an ambulance, he saw Casey being looked at on a stretcher, gripping Kelly's hand as he grimaced. Joe smiled briefly at the concern and affection he noted in the squad lieutenant's eyes; quickly followed by frustration as the paramedics made him step back momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, Cruz approached Kelly.

"Listen, Severide…I know I had the light, but I am so sorry that this all happened. I'd never want anyone to get hurt…" he stuttered, uncomfortable talking so openly to the other man.

"Look, Cruz, I already told you that that's Boden's problem. And I know you had the light…this was just a terrible accident…you don't have to explain anything to me," Kelly assured him, trying to quench his inner turmoil. This had been too close. First Shay and then almost losing Matt? And to something so preventable?

"Except I feel like I do. I've seen the way you and Casey are together and it, well it reminds me of the way I am with my younger brother. And I know that it's the worst feeling in the world to think that they're dead or hurting and you can't do anything. So from one big brother to another…I'm sorry for what happened. But Casey's lucky to have you and you're lucky to have him, even though younger brothers can be annoying," he grinned lightly.

Kelly smirked briefly. "Yeah they are pains, aren't they? But I guess that's all part of the territory. Annoying younger brothers, the need to protect them, and the comfort of knowing you'll always have each other."

So that's it for this one! What did you think? Did you like it? Do you have any suggestions? PM me or Review! I'll happily post the rest of this story in the next day or so with proper encouragement!