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June 11th, Saturday, a pleasantly warm summer evening in Chicago
Inside the storage room at Molly’s, Sylvie paces around from side to side frantically. It’s a good thing it’s almost go time, because she’s certain that at that rhythm, she’ll carve a hole on the floor so big she’ll be in France by midnight. Neither Herrmann nor Matt would be two happy about that. She’s nervous, yes, but it is the good type of nervous, like when you’re about to ride a rollercoaster. Now that she’s thinking about it, that is the very best comparison for tonight. Much like a rollercoaster, the journey to this day started slow. Really slow. Even stopped for a minute here and there. But now, it is about to speed up and forward, and even though there will be highs and lows and loops and probably even a few bumps, she knows it will be the ride of a lifetime. And it will be the very best it could be.
She walks past the mirror Stella had Severide hung up in a rare empty space on one of the walls in between shelves filled with glasses and tablecloths. It was supposed to be a temporary fix for this specific day, but Stella loved it so much she is determined to convince Hermann to keep it. “It just widens up the space so much and I can see my whole outfit in it!” she told Sylvie when they first arrived earlier today. She didn’t say it out loud, but if she’s being honest, Sylvie hopes he keeps it there too. It will be a permanent memory of this day, a beautiful story to tell every time someone sees it and asks why the hell do they have a full-length mirror in the storage room.
As she observes her reflection, looking for any loose or misplaced threads, the light strikes the accessory she has on her left ring finger, and the diamond sparkles radiantly, catching her eyes. She extends her left hand in front of her to take a better look at it. Damn! Matt hit the nail right on the head with that one. Of course, she knows Stella probably pinched in a little – a lot – but he deserves credit too. She thinks she’ll never get over how beautiful it is. The oval shaped diamond as the heart of it, the gold twisting band sprinkled with smaller gems, urgh. All of it. It’s just perfect. It somehow looks both brand new and vintage old all at once – a lot like the man that gave it to her.
She smiles and focuses back on her dress. Not to brag, but she also hit the nail right on the head with that one. But she didn’t do it alone either. Her mind drifts off to memories filled with champagne, chocolate, laughter and lots of white dresses. Man were those days fun! Wedding dress hunting can be such a bliss when you have the right girls with you, and she definitively did…
***
A few months earlier
- Ok, I want honest opinions, what do we think? – Sylvie asks as she walks towards her friends slowly. She has a good feeling about this one, but she hasn’t yet looked at herself in the mirror. The girls interrupt whatever chat they were having to look up at her.
- Yes! Now we’re talking! – Stella’s eyes are wide open as she speaks, and she beams excitedly at her friend.
- Really? – Sylvie smiles hopefully.
- Are you kidding me?! That – Emily motions her index finger up and down to indicate Brett’s look – it should be illegal.
- Totally! I’m starting to think it’d be a good idea to take that extra jump bag we keep on the Truck to the big day, just in case Casey has a stroke when he sees this.
Well, apparently, her friends have already decided on this dress. Sylvie chuckles and looks at Mackie.
- You look stunning, chief, really!
Sylvie is about to tell her to drop the “chief” when they aren’t at work (for the billionth time), but the sound of sniffs and sobs calls her attention. She looks to the phone Gianna is holding up and towards her, with which they are facetiming with her mother.
- Mom? Are you crying? – Sylvie asks gently.
- You look so beautiful honey – Mrs. Brett says, pride and tears fighting for dominance over her voice.
Sylvie smiles fondly at the screen, and feels her nerves spike up. This is the first time her mother’s cried since she started trying on dresses. She takes a deep breath before turning around to look at the mirror.
And she nearly faints.
The beautiful off-white dress (more like a creamy vanilla type color) has a deep V cut both in the front and the back. It is covered in delicate, hand-embroider lace from top to bottom, and even though it has long sleeves, they are completely see-through, only covered in lace, making it perfect for a summer wedding. It isn’t a full ball gown skirt, but it has enough volume to make her feel like an honorary Disney princess. All of a sudden, she’s no longer surprised her mom’s crying. She’s having trouble holding back her own tears. Her mind starts spinning a little and she feels goosebumps all over her body.
- We might need that jump bag sooner than you think – she chuckles, looking back at Stella through the mirror.
- Take it easy there, Mrs. Casey to be. The Mr. will murder me if you die on my watch. – Stella replies whilst taking a few photos of Sylvie.
Considering how emotional she already is, that was probably not the best moment to refer to her by her future last name. Sylvie takes another deep breath to hold the tears at bay, and turns around half-way to check the back of the dress. There’s not an inch of it she doesn’t love.
- Would you like to try it on with the hat? – the voice of the sails lady who’s been helping them, Mara, calls everyone’s attention. Sylvie nods her head positively, and the woman excuses herself saying she’ll be right back.
- Hat? – Emily asks confused.
- Uh, yeah – she smiles at their confused expressions - It’s kind of like my thing. Being a farm girl from Fowlerton, Indiana, I always thought I’d do justice to my roots and get married in a hat, not a veil. I know it sounds silly, but it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do.
The girls look at her with a surprised expression whilst trying not to show their concern.
- Uh, ok, but uh, what kind of hat exactly are you… wow – Emily starts to voice what they are all thinking, but she interrupts herself when Mara comes back with and opened hat box, and Sylvie pulls out of it what is probably the prettiest hat any of them have ever seen.
The color is an exact match to that of her dress, and the telescope crown fits Sylvie’s head perfectly. A fine white satin ribbon involves the brim, forming a delicate bow in the back, and on top of it, a beautiful crown of small white flowers and dark green leaves decorates the hat into perfection.
- Damn. – is all Stella manages to say. Emily’s had her jaw dropped for a few seconds now, much like Mackie, and Sylvie’s mom is sobbing at this point.
The color, the lace, the low cut, the long see-through sleeves, the hat, the woman. It all ties up together in a perfect kaleidoscope of sweet and sensual, romantic and elegant, sophisticated and simple. To describe it in one of the bride’s favorite quotes, it is the perfect combination of cute and sexy.
It is Sylvie Brett.
She walks back to look at the mirror again, and she bites her bottom lip to refrain from gasping. The same peace and calm that invaded her heart when she accepted Matt’s proposal fills her mind now. This it. There’s no need to keep looking.
She observes the hat more carefully, running her fingers through the brim. She lost count of how many fond smiles she’s had on today, but here’s another one. The beautiful piece reminds her of her little girl days back at her parents’ farm. Her mother used to read a story to her every night before tucking her into bed, and it usually involved a true love’s kiss. She suspects that is the reason why she grew up to be a hopeless romantic. Her little brother used to mock her romantic hopes since, well, pretty much the day he was born, but her father always told her that he was too young to understand. Even after they were both grown adults, it still took him a while to grasp the concept. The memory of Mr. Brett both warms and crushes her heart, and she has only one more question about the dress, but it isn’t for Mara.
- Mom – she calls out looking at the screen in Mackie’s hand. She doesn’t even try to hold back the tears. When it comes to her dad, it is a lost battle and she knows it – do you think dad would like it?
Mrs. Brett takes a deep breath and smiles widely.
- No sweetie, I don’t think he would. I think he does.
Sylvie smiles in between her sobs, nodding her head positively and mutters “thank you” whilst sweeping her tears away. She misses her dad every single day, but ever since she got engaged, she’s never missed him more.
Stella stands up and hugs her friend tightly. She pulls back when Mara’s voice cuts through the moment, but keeps an arm around Sylvie’s waste, as she does to Stella.
- So, are you going to take it?
Sylvie is about to answer when Stella speaks first.
- No-no-no, that’s not how it’s done. Allow me – she gives Mara an almost patronizing smile and a dismissive wave with the hand that is not on Sylvie’s back and then turns to her friend, with a serious expression on her face, but a teasing one on her eyes – Sylvie Brett – she speaks slowly - are you saying yes to the dress?
Sylvie thought she had her tears under control now, but thanks to Stella and her sweet and thoughtful question, her eyes are leaking again.
- Yes! – she says, smiling against the drops running down her cheeks - Yes! Yes!
There are collective chuckles and cheering between the ladies, and at this stage of the game, everyone’s cried at least a little bit. Emily and Mackie stand up to hug Sylvie as well, after which she grabs the phone and talks to her mom for a few moments before hanging up.
- I’ll get more champagne to celebrate! – Mara’s voice barely cuts through their laughter and excitement.
Sylvie pulls back from the girls to take another look in the mirror. She let’s out a breath that she feels like she’s been holding her whole life.
This is her dress, and she can’t wait to wear it on her wedding.
***
Back to that pleasantly warm summer evening in Chicago
Well, here she is. Wearing her dress, on her wedding day. She pulls the skirt upwards a little bit, just enough to take a look at her heels again. Their blue tone is almost the same as her eyes, and they are borrowed from Stella. She particularly loves the shiny straps it wraps around her ankles. Once Sylvie let’s go of the skirt, it covers the shoes completely, so she doesn’t have to worry about looking weird or mismatched. On her ears, she has a medium sized set of pearl studs that belonged to her grandmother, thus checking out all the boxes: something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
- There you go – Stella walks in with Sylvie’s bridal bouquet just as she is retouching her lip gloss. The bunch of flowers includes red, pink and white roses, as well as some greenery – My God you’re a vision!
Sylvie smiles.
- Oh, stop it, you’ve seen me already!
- I have, yes, but there’s something extra about you tonight. Like a bridal glow or something.
Sylvie chuckles at her friend’s remarks.
- Is my make up ok? Too much, too little? – the bride turns around and asks nervously.
- Absolutely perfect – Stella tranquilizes her.
- Are you sure?
- Wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.
Sylvie takes a deep breath and yet again, smiles. She’s going to do that a lot tonight isn’t she?
- Ok, I’m a little afraid to ask this right now but you did remember you were in charge of finding someone to give me away, right?
Stella fakes irritation.
- Would you please have a little more faith in your made of honor?! Of course I did!
Not everything had been a bed of roses during wedding planning, and this was one particular bed that felt more like thorns than roses. Sylvie always thought her dad would be the one to walk her down the aisle, but when his heart attack took him way too early, she and Matt had been together long enough for them to meet, but not enough for him to ask for his blessing. When she did get engaged, her first impulse was to choose her little brother to give her away, but her mother asked her not to. It would be way too painful for her to walk down the aisle on her daughter’s wedding with a complete stranger. Sylvie understood, but she also knew that as much as she didn’t want to walk in alone, it would also be way too painful for her to even consider someone else. In comes Stella. She trusted that Stella knew her well enough to be able to figure out just the right person for the job.
- Chout! – Stella informs and shrugs, as if remarking on the weather or something.
- What?! – Sylvie nearly panics at her friend’s response.
- What what?! Who wouldn’t want that walking unicorn on their wedding?
- Stella he’s not even invited!
Stella notices Sylvie’s taking her seriously, so she drops the act with a laugh.
- Sylvie, I’m kidding. No pun intended there.
- Oh God – Sylvie sights, smiles and then playfully hits Stella on the arm – you can’t do that to a bride! You of all people should know, you’ve been one!
Stella dismisses her by changing the subject.
- Speaking of my dear husband, he had me give this to you – Stella hasn’t been married for that long, but ever since, whether on purpose or not, she hardly ever calls Severide by anything else other than “my husband” - It’s from the Mr.
She raises her eyebrows and with a smirk, hands Sylvie a small, handwritten note, which she opens eagerly.
- Oh my God! – Sylvie says fondly, as she reads the only sentence written in it.
- What is it?
- The last movie we watched together before tonight was Pretty Woman, and I told him what my favorite quote was… can’t believe he remembered!
Sylvie turns the note back to Stella, in which she reads: “In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really great time tonight! - Matt.”
- Uau! Nicely played chief! – Stella nods her had slowly, quirking down the corners of her mouth in an impressed expression.
Sylvie smiles in agreement as Emily bursts through the door.
- It’s time! – she glances at Sylvie and continues – how is it possible that every time I look at you, you look prettier?!
- Thanks, Em! – Sylvie blushes a little as she starts to walk towards the door and into the indoors bar area of Molly’s.
The bridesmaids and groomsmen are waiting, already starting to form a line. Her girls are wearing different types of beautiful blush pink long dresses, and the men all have matching ties. Mackie and Gallo are the first two, followed by Cruz and Chloe, Sylvie’s dear friend Olivia and her husband, Matt’s sister Christie and her new husband, Foster and Scott (Julie’s widower) and finally, an expectant Severide waiting for his wife.
Everyone is startled by how beautiful Sylvie looks, and she doesn’t remember ever getting so many complements all at once. She blushes furiously but smiles almost enough to feel her cheeks ache as she walks to the end of the line, bumping fists with Mackie and hips with Olivia, getting a quick hug from Christie and Chloe, a pat in the arm from Cruz and a bear hug from Severide.
- How’s Matt? – she asks joyfully.
- Shaking like a leaf, but happy as a clam in high tide – he answers with his most iconic shit-eating grin.
Sylvie bursts out in laughter and Stella looks at him proudly. This is just what her friend needed to keep her cool, especially in these last few minutes before they really get going. After catching her breath, Sylvie looks back at Stella.
- Ok, let’s do this! Where’s my giver?
Stella doesn’t need to answer. Sylvie was so overwhelmed by the compliments she didn’t notice someone standing behind them, and she nearly chokes on her own spit as she hears the words “reporting for duty” in a very, very familiar voice. She knew trusting Stella was the safest bet, but if she needed any confirmation, this was it.
Happy tears pool her eyes as she turns around to see Boden approaching her with a smile on his face. He offers her one of his arms, in which she rests her wrist, and she notices he’s very emotional himself. Boden grabs her hand with his free one and looks at her.
- You look very beautiful tonight, chief – he complements her kindly.
- You look very handsome yourself, commissioner – she replies, gidly.
- I hope you know, Sylvie – he continues, squeezing her hand – how honored I am to be here tonight.
- Feeling’s mutual, Wallace. And I’m sure I speak for both me and Matt – she squeezes his hand back with a big smile. It still feels weird not to call him chief, but she’s beyond happy that he made commissioner. He deserved it and Chicago needed it. It also still feels weird to hear people like him calling her chief, even though it’s been a few months since she got promoted to Paramedic Field Chief.
When she looks ahead again, Stella is peeking through the door that leads to Molly’s patio, and when someone on the other side gives her the all clear, she secures the door wide open, yelling her way back to Severide in her most authentic lieutenant tone of voice.
- Ready people, we’re going in!
Sylvie corrects her posture and walks forward slowly, hand hooked on Boden’s arm, stopping short of the door.
***
Her mother and her little brother enter first. Casey smiles at them, and he can tell her mother was already crying before she walked in. So far, he’s managed to hold his emotions back pretty well, but he is not even going to pretend to believe he’ll be able to do that once Sylvie walks in. She’s already gorgeous as it is, he can’t even imagine what she looks like tonight.
Because the musical gift runs in the Brett family, after accompanying her mother to her seat, her brother stands up and positions himself in front of the microphone prepared for him, amongst a few musicians, just left of the improvised altar, where Casey waits.
He sees Stella’s head poking through the door, looking at their officiant, asking for confirmation with her thumb pointed up. Said officiant, who also goes by Peter Mills, takes a quick glance around, making sure everything is going according to plan, and reciprocates the gesture.
As Stella goes back inside and the first couple starts to walk towards them, Mills takes a look at his former lieutenant. He was more than honored when Sylvie called inviting him to officiate her wedding, and a little startled when she said who was the groom. It took some explaining and contextualizing, but he understood. It actually made a lot of sense, the two of them. He may be a little biased, given their history, but he doesn’t remember seeing neither Casey nor Sylvie this happy before, which in turn makes him happy.
Couple by couple, the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk towards Casey, separating as they get to him, the former lining up on the left and the ladder on the right behind Matt. He didn’t think he’d had trouble holding his emotions at this stage, but he also didn’t know Sylvie had asked her brother to sing an acoustic version of “Bless the Broken Road” and that just makes things really, really hard for him. Severide and Kidd are the last ones to come in, and seeing his best friends’ watery eyes does not help at all. Kelly pats his back when he finally gets to him, almost as if he was wishing him good luck with that plan of not crying, as well as admitting he’s already given up himself.
All of the guests stand up, anticipating the bride’s entrance. Casey’s heart is beating out of his chest already, and Sylvie isn’t even in his eyesight yet. He takes one final look around the patio. All of the light bulbs were changed from white to yellow, as well as installed additional lighting across it. The tables were spread in two big sections, creating an aisle in the middle, in which there is a long and slender white carpet.
The altar where he’s standing was created with a wedding chuppah he made himself, following Sylvie’s requests. It is decorated with red, pink and white flowers, as well as some greenery and twinkly lights. In fact, the entire patio is decorated following this pallet, including the center pieces and tablecloths. He and Sylvie looked at a lot of places. Historical cathedrals, fancy buffets and even the beach. But it had to be here. This is where they first admitted how the felt for each other, even if, at the time, it was only with their eyes. Neither of them had second thoughts about it, especially after seeing how excited Herrmann got, but seeing it like this makes him evermore sure of it. The soft sound of footsteps drags him back down to Earth and he looks forward towards the door.
And then, just like that, she walks in.
With Boden.
And that does it for him. He’s not sure if it is the song, the fact the Sylvie looks impossibly stunning or the fact the Boden is the one giving her away – or, most likely, the combination of it all, but he’s the very definition of contradiction as he sobs like a baby whilst displaying the largest smile anyone has seen on his face. Ever. Severide places a comforting hand on the back of his neck, right where it meets his spine, but he’s not doing much better either. Casey is thankful for his best man’s attempt to help, but he simply can’t bring himself to look at anything or anyone else other than Sylvie.
When she first walks in, he can tell she barely knows what to gasp at first. Her eyes move frantically from the decorations, to the twinkly lights spread over the fences, to friendly faces smiling at her, like Maggie and Ben or Jay and Hailey.
But then, she looks at him. It doesn’t take long before she starts crying herself, and much like him, smiling like an idiot all at once. Damn this is going to be a good night. This is going to be a great night.
Boden delivers her hand to him gently, and they both hug their former chief, who barely manages to keep a straight face himself as he walks towards the seat Donna saved him. Once everyone else has also taken their seats, Mills starts.
- Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of this chief and this chief… oh, I’m sorry, I meant this man and this woman in holy matrimony – Mills is not exactly the comedian of the group, so he’s relived when people laugh at his little pun, including the couple holding hands in front of him – I have known these two amazing people for a long time now, and I can tell you with certainty that there is nobody else in the world who deserves the happiness I see in their eyes more than they do.
Sylvie smiles fondly at her former partner, but quickly turns her eyes back to her fiancé, as does Matt. Mills says a few other words which they both are sure that are beautiful, but much like when Gallo spilled the beans about that call to rescue 61 some years ago, they get lost in each other’s eyes and don’t really listen to anything else. Next thing they know, they are both saying “I do”, and Mills is requesting the rings.
Casey turns to Severide, expecting him to pull the ring out of his pocket, but the squad captain shrugs, and his expression tells Casey he doesn’t have it. It takes him about three seconds of pure panic to notice Kelly’s mischievous grin, and his friend quirks a brown at the beginning of the aisle ahead of them, gesturing to it with a quick motion of his head. Apparently, Sylvie and Stella just went through the same process, because she’s already looking that direction when he turns his face.
This is when both him and Sylvie distinguish two mini human beings walking towards them, holding hands and smiling adorably like two little angels who decided to give their wings a break for the night. Sylvie thought she wouldn’t cry anymore tonight, but she was wrong. Very wrong. As she watches her baby sister Amy carry her ring and little Brian carry Casey’s, it is impossible for her not to also see Otis and Julie walking right beside them, smiling and pointing towards her and Matt.
He manages to keep his own tears at bay, but only because at that particular moment he doesn’t have to say anything. He swipes Sylvie’s tears clear of her face a little before she bends down to pick up his ring from the little gentleman; she proceeds to point him towards his dad, but he had already seen Chloe a few steps behind her, and the little guy runs to his mom’s arms as soon as his task is done. She picks him up affectionately, and Sylvie can clearly see the pride in both her and Cruz’s eyes, as she glances at him over Casey’s shoulders. Amelia also runs to Scott after Casey picks Sylvie’s ring, but not without kissing her big sister good luck first.
- Sylvie – Matt starts, and now he’s 100% he’s going to cry yet again. Damn it. He puts the ring on her finger gently, stacking it perfectly with her engagement ring – With this ring, I promise to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you. I promise to respect, protect, comfort, and support you in every way that I can. I promise to at least try to play whatever game you request and watch HGTV with you every Sunday afternoon. Or at least, most Sundays – Sylvie as well as everybody else let out a light laugh – I promise to be honest with you at all times, and most of all, I promise to try to do everything I can to make you as happy as possible. Always.
He leans in and gently places a kiss on her hand.
Sylvie smiles, swallows down the knot on her throat and puts the ring on Casey’s finger.
- Matt, with this ring I promise to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you. I promise to celebrate your accomplishments and mourn your losses as if they were my own. I promise to respect, protect, comfort, and support you in every way that I can. I promise to always keep my ringer on for you. – he smiles fondly as he hears her saying that - I promise to stand by you, no matter what – wherever you go, we go. I promise to be honest with you, to cherish you, and to always, always do my best to keep that smile on your lips – she cups his face gently as she says that, pushing away a tear that scaped his rigid control.
She pulls her hand back to his before Mills speaks again, a childish excitement glowing through his face.
- I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.
This time, Casey pulls his hands away from hers and uses them to frame her face, gently pulling her in for a kiss, as everybody around them cheers, claps and screams.
When they pull away, both of them have huge smiles on their faces.
- I love you – he says first.
- I love you – she parrots - oh, speaking of which – Sylvie says, keeping her hands at his waste – if I forget to tell you later, I had a great time tonight too.
- Thank you - Matt giggles and kisses her again, a little longer this time.
They pull away and turn towards their guests, who are still cheering them one.
- Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Matt Casey! - Mills screams over everyone’s excitement and sounds like a regular soccer narrator.
The newlyweds raise both their arms up, without letting go of each other’s hands, celebrating with their families. As she stands there, her husband by her side, and her family members start to walk up to congratulate them, Sylvie realizes something. All her life, she always thought she was a “happily ever after” type girl. Don’t get her wrong. She’d never deny her love for old fashioned romances involving princes and princess and happy endings, but the truth is, they’re not real. No one is constantly happy under any circumstances, no matter how great they’re love is. But now that they made it here, after the long, crazy journey it took them, she also realizes she doesn’t care. She’s happy to dodge each and every single curve ball life throws at her as long as she has Matt by her side. And now she does. Forever.