1. Odds and Evens

Matthew Casey liked order. He always had. Schedules and plans and goals were how he kept track of his life, even if this intense need to organize went against what most people would expect from him. That was Casey; the jock in high school who carried around a planner; the leader with an aversion to public speaking; the firefighter who occasionally felt anxious at great heights. Change never really suited him, unless it was put into motion slowly and with much warning in advance.

But change rarely happened that way. And that was precisely the reason why Matthew Casey was not enjoying the annual community building outing he was currently at. Every year, it was a day spent walking through Millennium Park. This year, however, due to Shay's perseverance, it had finally been changed to a day at Six Flags, right outside the city, instead. He didn't do roller coasters. At the ripe age of 7, he had decided they were simply unnecessary and dangerous, and from then, no one had really been able to convince him otherwise. Which meant he had been reduced to guarding the majority of his colleagues' water bottles as they took turns risking their lives for non occupational reasons.

"You know, you could just try one."

Casey's thoughts are interrupted by the smiling face of Gabby Dawson. "People'll think you're too scared."

"Dawson, I'm a firefighter."

"Yeah, well then Mr. Firefighter, get a move on. That red one's calling your name."

Dawson winks at him and heads over to the rollercoaster. She's seldom like this with him. He notices that everyone gets to see this carefree side of her that alludes him every now and then. He wonders in surprise why that is before he can convince himself not to take the seat next to her on the ride. In the end, he tries out quite a few of rides with Dawson, by his side, playfully patronizing him. As expected, he hates each coaster. He has an amazing day.

2. Respect

"You want to know the honest answer?" Dawson asks him, her expression earnest and hesitant.

"Yeah." He nods. He needs to know. And he needs to know it from her. He's not sure why - they've never been terribly close - but for some reason, he's here, asking her, not Hallie, and her answer matters.

"If I held that information out of that report I thought about how I'd feel looking people I respect in the eye." She then takes a breath before speaking again, as if the words she's about to convey are taking too much energy away from her and she's still considering whether or not to share them, "I guess specifically how I'd feel looking you in the eye. That's when I knew I would have done the right thing."

She looks at him with complete trust, as if he were everything that was right with the world. Her blatant, unwavering faith in him shockingly shines through. After a short moment, her face breaks out into a tiny, relieved smile and he just nods again mutely, with little facial emotion.

Because inside, his mind is reeling. He feels warmer and bigger and stronger and greater and every other feeling he has always wanted to feel, knowing that someone thinks he's worth it. Knowing that that someone is her makes it the sweetest surprise. He feels ready to take on Voight. To fight.

3. Interests

"Dawson? What are you doing here?"

Dawson turns to face him before answering his own question with another, "Me? What are you doing here?"

"I volunteer at the pediatrics' ward for the-"

"Oh me too! I haven't see you here before though..." she suddenly interrupts.

"Yeah since volunteering for the unit is usually Thursday nights or Saturday afternoons, and Hallie has the morning shift on Thursdays and Saturdays, I come in on Saturdays, so I can see her for a bit too," He explains.

He notices Dawson's eyes inspect the floor at the mention of Hallie's name and wonders if Dawson knows about Hallie's shifts on Saturday and chooses to come on Thursday. He wonders if she will start wondering why he is here then, on a night when Hallie isn't. The truth is, the divides between what he and Hallie want continue to grow and he's not sure he can talk about it just yet.

Before he can spend more time on his disconnected thoughts, a nurse ushers them to the pediatrics ward, and both he and Dawson spend the next couple of hours entertaining the little wonders. He watches Dawson channel her inner child and transform in front of him, to fit the companionship of every child, from a six year old girl to an early teenage boy. He finds himself mesmerized.

4. Tension

He's walking passed the rest areas when he hears it. Music. Definitely coming from one of the rooms where they could all catch a quick nap between shifts. When he finds the room, he quietly opens the door to reveal a frustrated Dawson. She looks up from the video she's viewing on her iPhone and immediately turns an adorable shade of pink.

"Dawson?" He enquires. "Whatcha doing?"

She looks as though she wants to make a run for it, but instead she lets out an exasperated sigh. "Pete. Well you know, Pete and I..." her voice begins to trail. He knew. A week ago, everyone had found that she and Mills had gone out a couple times. After both were mercilessly teased about it, each stated that it was nothing serious, just some light fun. It's been on his mind ever since.

Rephrasing her answer, Dawson states, "He loves to dance. And I suck at it. So I was hoping YouTube would give me some insight...but I guess. Ah! Dance and I do not get along." Dawson

He laughs, "Well you can't learn on your own, with only your phone for companionship. Luckily, I'm pretty good at dancing, and I take pity on the hopeless. Give me that." He takes her phone, selects a song, sets it on the bed, and extends a hand towards her. "Gabrielaa" He questions dramatically. She resists for a moment, before taking his hand and letting him take the lead.

He speaks the steps aloud and she does her best to follow along, but by the end of the second song, they're both in hysterics over the lack of progress she seems to be making. The next song to shuffle up is slow and it gives them a chance to catch their breath. They sway back and forth, when she looks up at him and sighs, "Maybe this just isn't my thing." He answers immediately, "Not true. It's music, all you have to is feel it. Like right now." His eyes lock onto hers and he feels a surprising distinct flash of heat run through him.

He's suddenly incredibly aware that she's in his arms. And her body is soft and small against his own. And her dark eyes have flakes of gold in them. He's not quite sure if he's in control of his body at the moment, so he tries to break their eye contact, in an effort to lessen the building tension between them. Instead, his eyes flicker to her lips and the want he has to kiss her hits him like a blunt force.

The force is overpowered by the sudden invasion of Spice Girls, and too soon, he finds much to his relief and misery, that Dawson has broken away from him. He imagines he must look a little dumbfounded, because Dawson proclaims, "What? They're a world sensation, okay? Everyone's allowed a guilty pleasure!"

He smiles and looks down at the ground that suddenly seems hugely interesting. When he finally looks up, he hopes the Spice Girls and physical distance from Dawson will remedy his sudden need to kiss her. It doesn't.

5. Truth

As he approaches the locker room, he watches Shay march out. His presence halts her march for a moment, but as he smiles at her, she only looks at him blankly before heading on. When he enters the locker room, he sees Dawson, with half her face in her hands, looking up at the ceiling.

"Something wrong?" he asks. She jumps a little at the sound of his voice, but her face settles into an ambivalent expression as she regards him. "Yeah...just had a talk with Shay." "Everything alright? Trouble with the happy couple?" He teases her. She looks distracted and it dawns on him that this seems serious. He takes a step towards her, "Dawson, are you okay? Need to talk?"

"I'm fine. Really. Good." She gets up, picks up her bag and heads towards the door. As he stands there in confusion, she walks back towards him, seemingly making a decision. For the first time that day, she really looks at him.

"Shay's right. And I should say something. Before I go insane. Because. Well."

"Dawson, you're not making any-"

"I fell for you okay? And you don't feel the same way. I mean...it's not your fault. Life's a bitch. Thing's happen. It's just that..." She suddenly looks horrified at her words. For a second, her face mirrors the confusion that his does, as she tries, so very hard, to make a choice again. He tries to make it easier for her, to say something...but before he can, she speaks again. This time, her speech is calm and dignified, in a way only she can speak.

"It's not my fault that I started to have feelings for you. It's not your fault that you didn't feel the same. But what's happening now...this waiting. this worrying, this wishing. This madness. This is my fault. And I need to walk away. I'm sorry. I need to walk away." And with that, Dawson leaves the locker room, without sparing him a second glance.

As he stands there, through all his shock at everything she just confessed, he can't ignore the growing ache that tells him he has lost something so valuable that he never realized he had.

1. Beginnings

Gabby feels good. Shay had promised she would.

She's not over him though. Shay had promised she would be.

She tells herself to be fair - it's only been a day since she had her little scene in the locker room, she's got to give it more time. Sigh. For someone who had harbored an unrequited crush for a year and a half, her need for instantaneous results now was rather shocking.

Her doorbell rings and she lazily gets of her couch, consulting the time. It is 7 in the evening and Shay isn't supposed to come over to drown their sorrows in alcohol for another two hours.

She opens the door. She knows Matthew Casey. She knows he likes order and he only does gradual change.

But the Matthew Casey standing at the door advances a step towards her and lays a soft kiss on her lips. When he pull away, he looks straight into her eyes and asks, "Dinner?"

A/N: I hope you all liked it! I love Casey/Dawson and Hallie/Casey...don't know which one I like more, so this was a start to figuring out which ship I want more, so I'll stop being confused! What do you all think? Such a great show isn't it? I love everyone on it!