Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire or any affiliated shows, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.

Hi everyone, welcome to An Occupational Hazard. I hope that you like it.


Chapter One

The lieutenant of firehouse 51's rescue squad 3, Kelly Severide was sitting in the quarters with the door only slightly ajar. He was trying to work through a steadily building mountain of paperwork, but it seemed like every time Kelly would start to get into the task, he would quickly break into yet another harsh coughing fit. As weeks passed, Kelly couldn't help but notice that the coughing was becoming more frequent, and he couldn't take a flight of stairs as fast as he used to. That said, Kelly was not one to admit a weakness, and he would be damned if he was to let anyone know that he was getting worried.

"Still getting over that cold?" Severide's girlfriend, Stella Kidd asked, poking her head through the doorway.

"I'm fine," Kelly replied automatically. He paused, "Really, Stella. I'm good. It's just a cough." Though an annoying thought that flashed through his head told him that was utter rubbish.

"Maybe you could ask Chief for some furlough?" Stella suggested, moving to rub her boyfriend's shoulders. "We could rent a cabin, just the two of us. Have a break, you know?"

"Sounds good, we should definitely do that sometime," Kelly replied. "I'd better get back to it," Kelly motioned to the paperwork. "See you later?"

"You bet you will."


Barely an hour later, and no further into his paperwork, Kelly heard the bells go off. It was a high rise fire, all units were set to respond.

Kelly went to move, but as he did, he broke out in another coughing fit, but this was different. A few seconds in, Kelly noticed a coppery taste in his mouth, he pulled his hand from his mouth only to realise that his hand was splattered with bright red blood. Kelly reeled back, but the coughing fit was over, and he had to get out to the truck.

Trying to forget the incident, Kelly quickly wiped off his hand with a paper towel, and hurriedly tossed it in the trash as he raced out to the truck.


The call started out like any other, as Chief Boden assigned each incoming truck a floor to search for casualties. Squad 3 was assigned to the floor where the fire was reportedly spreading from, the seventeenth floor.

Kelly had to force back a groan as he heard their orders. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he could climb half that many stairs, yet he followed the orders, and led his team into the burning building.

It only took five floors for Severide's team to notice that something was very wrong. Usually, Kelly would be leading Squad 3 into a call, but today he was rapidly falling behind. Then the coughing started, Kelly was trying to brace his ribs with one arm, while he covered his mouth with the other.

The squad team stopped in their tracks. They could see the pain in their lieutenant's face.

Without waiting for Severide's approval, Joe Cruz grabbed for his radio. "Squad 3 to Battalion-" Cruz stopped mid sentence as a fine mist of blood issued from Severide's mouth.

Kelly tried to protest, but as Cruz got back on the radio to alert the Chief, Capp and Tony began helping Severide back down the stairs.


Paramedics Sylvie Brett and Emily Foster hurried over to the building's entrance as Capp and Tony carried Severide outside with Cruz following close behind.

"What happened?" The two paramedics questioned in almost perfect unison.

"We don't know. We were on the fifth floor, and he couldn't catch his breath, then he started coughing up blood," Cruz replied shakily.

"Okay, lay him down," Brett responded.

We've got it from here guys," Foster added, placing an oxygen mask over Severide's face, ignoring his continuing protests.

Wallace Boden took the opportunity to step in, they were after all still in the midst of a rescue mission. "Cruz, take over for Severide. Resume searching the seventeenth floor."


Once the rest of his squad was gone, Severide lay back against the gurney, he was too tired to fight anymore.

He glanced down to see Emily taping an IV line to the back of his hand. His gear had been stripped off, and his favourite shirt cut down the middle to allow Brett to attach a cardiac monitor.

This was embarrassing.

"We're taking you to Med," Brett said after taking a moment to look at the monitor.

"Do you have to?" Kelly protested tiredly.

"You know we do," Sylvie answered, moving to help Foster load Kelly into the rig.

Boden helped to close the ambulance doors, before tapping them firmly to indicate it was safe to go, and as Kelly lay in the back of the ambulance, he just knew that this was going to change everything.


At the hospital, Kelly was quickly settled into a treatment room, and numerous medical tests were ordered. He wished that Stella could have been with him there, and wondered whether anyone had even told her about what had happened yet.

Before the blood tests were even back from the lab, Dr Will Halstead was confident that based on the initial CT scan results, he knew what had caused Severide to cough up blood. He braced himself for a tough conversation with his patient.

Kelly was sitting on the edge of the bed, still hoping to be allowed to leave in time to finish his shift. But when he saw a Dr Halstead approaching, he sensed that this would not be the case.

"Lieutenant, please get back in the bed. I need to discuss your CT scan results with you."

Severide sighed, but complied with the request. He was feeling very tired still.

"Your scan showed a number of varying sized masses on your lungs," Dr Halstead said bluntly. "We will need a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, but you should prepare yourself that the news may not be good."

"What are you saying, doc?"

"I'm saying that based on the scan I can be reasonably confident in saying that this is a serious finding. You will need further testing, but it is most likely advanced lung cancer. Unfortunately, it's quite common amongst first responders due to environmental exposures."

"But it might be something else?" Severide said, clutching at proverbial straws.

"In all honesty, it would be highly unlikely to be anything other than a malignant disease. I'm very sorry."

"Can I go home?"

"Not yet. I would like an oncologist to come down, and speak with you first. They may or may not want to admit you while you undergo further testing."


After Dr Halstead left the treatment room, Severide noticed that he was visibly shaking. How could this be happening to him?

Sure, Kelly had met Chief Biden's old friend, who was dying of cancer caused by the job, but it had never crossed Kelly's mind that it could happen to him.

Then Kelly remembered his old girlfriend, Anna Turner, and how he had watched her waste away from cancer, and ultimately watched her die. He couldn't end up like that, he was a firefighter, not some cancer victim who slowly fades away from a horrible disease. It simply wasn't possible.

The room felt too small, as though the walls were closing in on him, and his breaths became rapidly shallower.

It had been many years since Kelly had suffered a panic attack, but as he waited for the oncologist to come speak with him, the all too familiar feeling re-emerged.

Someone must have noticed his distress, as after several minutes a nurse administered an injection which must have been some kind of sedative, and within seconds, Kelly began to regain control of his feelings, as he felt the sedative take over.


To be continued...

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