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Sylvie sank onto her bunk and briefly closed her eyes. This shift had been so uncomfortable. Sure, she had been the one to ask Greg out, and they'd gone on a few dates, but that didn't mean she wanted Casey to know about them.
After all, he was the reason she rejected Greg the first time at Molly's. She wasn't over Matt, so she shouldn't be dating someone else right now. But Stella had convinced her it was time to try and move on. Boy, had that backfired.
Now, she'd been on shift with both the man she still loved but couldn't be with, and the man she was trying really hard to move on with. She was sure both of them were confused with her. Matt hadn't known they were dating, but Greg greeted her after briefing and Matt overheard, and she could tell he knew something was going on. And Greg was probably equally puzzled, because she'd been avoiding him ever since their conversation in front of Matt.
Somehow, she'd managed to evade both of them, despite their close quarters. Ambo had been busy, which helped immensely, and now there were only a few hours left on shift. A few more hours to avoid facing Casey and Greg at the same time, and she'd be free.
"Hey." She jumped. She'd gotten too stuck in her head and let Greg sneak up on her. So much for avoiding him for a few more hours.
Greg laughed at her nerves. "Sorry. I've been trying to find you for hours. Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just, you know, busy day." She waved weakly towards the app floor.
He gave her a strange look. "Yeah sure. But if I didn't know better, I'd say you're avoiding me."
Before she had a chance to respond (not like she had any idea what to say), she was saved by the bells.
Truck 81, squad 3, engine 51, ambo 61, battalion 25, apartment fire
She raced to the ambo, thankful she didn't have to answer Greg just yet. They arrived on scene, and her and Mackey started setting up triage as all the firefighters masked up for a primary search. She helped with victims as much as she could, until Boden came over to her.
"Brett, Severide found a woman with a possible spinal injury. He needs medics to stabilize her so they can get her out. Suit up and bring Mackey."
"Yes Chief." She turned to grab Mackey and pushed down her nerves. Last time she entered a fire scene it didn’t go well, and the events were permanently engraved in her memory. But she couldn't show weakness right now, especially with Mackey. She was supposed to be the leader.
Soon, her and Mackey were led by Boden to a second floor apartment. She didn't see any flames, but there was definitely some smoke. They'd have to work quickly.
They found Severide in the bedroom. "Hey," he called as he spotted them, waving them over. "I’m sorry for calling you in, I didn't want to chance moving her, she said her legs are tingling. The fire is above us, it collapsed her ceiling a bit and she jumped under the bed for protection, but not before she got hit."
The woman was awake, and looked panicked. Ignoring what happened the last time she'd been in proximity of a collapsing floor, Brett crawled under the bed a bit, until she could get a closer look. "Hey, I'm Sylvie, what's your name?" She asked.
"Mallory. Help me."
Sylvie nodded, trying to get the women to calm down. "Don't worry, we'll have you out of here in no time."
Brett and Mackey worked quickly, stabilizing the woman. They'd brought the scoop stretcher, and soon Mallory was ready to be transported out of the fire.
Boden's radio crackled. Casey was asking for assistance. "Go Chief," Severide called, "we've got this."
Boden nodded. "Be careful." Then he was gone.
Brett crawled out from under the bed. She walked to the far side, opposite of Mackey and Severide. "I'll push, you guys pull," she said.
Severide and Mackey nodded. However, at that moment, more rubble began falling from the ceiling. Brett yanked on the backboard, pulling Mallory out of the way as the rubble rained down, smashing the bed.
Casey couldn't believe he hadn't lost it yet. That Grainger guy was filling in for Hermann. The guy who asked him if Brett was seeing anyone was here, working at 51.
And as if to make matters worse, he accidentally overheard them talking. They were dating, he was sure of it. And why should he care? She deserved to be happy, and he clearly wasn't the one who could make her feel that way. He could move on too. He just had to find the right girl. Sydney clearly wasn't it. But he'd find someone. Or at least that's what he told himself. So why was he having a harder time now than when Gabby left?
Sighing, he set down his pen and put his head in his hands. He'd spent nearly the whole shift in his quarters. He didn't want to see Grainger with Sylvie if he could avoid it. But he was starving. He glanced out towards the bunk room and immediately regretted it. Brett was sitting on her bunk, talking to Grainger.
He couldn't look away. Why was he watching? He didn't want to see, that's why he had eaten basically nothing and was hiding out in his quarters.
Just when he thought the confusion might overwhelm him, the bells rang, snapping him out of his stupor. He ran to the truck.
They pulled up on an apartment fire, already blazing. He wouldn't have thought anything of it if not for the look on Severide's face. "What?"
"Me and Benny. We used to live in one of these apartments. Long time ago." Severide's eyes looked distant, like he was lost in the past.
The information surprised Casey. He knew Severide moved around a lot with Benny, but he wasn't aware of this particular information. He put a hand on Severide's shoulder. "Hey, focus. Save lives now, think about it later."
Severide snapped out of it. "Yeah you're right." With that, they both headed in.
Casey was laser-focused on the job after that, up until he brought out two victims with Boden. The fire had spread his team out pretty thin, and Boden had come to help him when he found two victims and couldn't carry them down the stairs alone.
As they handed the victims off to medics, their radios crackled to life. It was Severide.
"Chief, the ceiling came down over me, Brett, and Mackey. We’re all okay, but Brett and the victim are separated from us, on the other side of the rubble. We can hear Brett but we can't get to them."
Casey turned to Boden, shocked. "Brett's in the building?"
The chief nodded, looking concerned. "Yeah I had to send them in. Possible spinal injury needed stabilizing."
Casey still had nightmares about the last time he'd called medics into a fire. The way Brett was in so much pain she could barely talk. Losing Otis. He'd vowed to never order paramedics into a fire scene again. Now, the medics had gone in, and he hadn't even been aware. And to make matters worse, they were in danger again.
Casey turned to rush back into the building, but just then, an explosion sounded from the second floor. Dark smoke rose from the top of the building
Brett couldn't believe it. The fire she got called into led to a collapsing ceiling. Again. Luckily, this time only a portion had fallen, and she wasn't standing on it or under it. But, it had separated her from Mackey and Severide.
She could hear them though. After the noise died down and the dust settled, she heard them calling her name. "I'm here," she called. She caught sight of them, but only through a small gap in the rocks. The smoke in the air had thickened, and she coughed slightly.
Severide called out their situation into the radio, and then turned towards the rubble. "Is the victim okay?" he asked.
Brett looked at Mallory. She was now unconscious, but seemed to be in one piece. "I think so," she answered.
She could see Severide thinking. "We've got to get you guys outta there," he called.
Brett nodded, not sure if he could see her. Severide and Mackey could make it to the door, but the rubble blocked her. The only exit she had was the window, but they were on the second floor. "Any ideas?" She asked.
Before he could say anything, a distant explosion caused the room to rattle. Brett winced, but the rest of the ceiling remained intact. Boden's voice came over the radio. "Everyone out of the building. Now. Brett, Mackey, Severide, can you guys find an escape route?"
Brett answered. "We'll figure something out."
Mackey spoke up. "Umm, appreciate your confidence, but how're we gonna get to you and the victim?"
Brett took a breath. They didn't have many good options. "Severide, do you have your sledge?"
"Yeah." He sounded confused.
"Can you slide it to me through the gap?"
He obliged. She picked it up, and swung it at the left wall. Clang. The sledge hit marble. The bathroom must be on the other side, she realized. She wouldn't be getting through that way. She turned and swung at the right wall.
This time, the sledge broke through cleanly. Looking through the hole, Brett could tell she was looking at the apartment next door. Unfortunately, there were flames in the room, along with more rubble.
She was hoping to smash through the wall, move into the adjoining apartment, and smash through the wall again further up, back into Mallory's apartment. Then she could exit with Severide and Mackey. But rubble and flames stood in her way.
She knew the fire would soon be in Mallory's unit. Grimacing, she knew what she had to do. She called back to Severide and Mackey. "Meet me in the hall."
"What-"
"How-"
She cut them both off. They were out of time. "Just do it," she called.
She used the sledge to smash a bigger hole in the wall and dragged the backboard, with Mallory aboard, into the adjoining apartment.
Almost immediately, her lungs protested and she began to cough. The smoke was thick here, and the flames were much closer than she liked. But she didn't have much choice. Staying low, she dragged Mallory through the apartment, trying not to jostle her. Flames blocked the door, so she used Severide's sledge to smash through another wall, pulling Mallory into a third apartment.
She finally caught some luck in the fifth apartment they entered. The smoke was still thick, but the flames weren't as bad, and no rubble blocked her route to the door.
Brett was grateful, because her lungs couldn't go much longer. She was gasping for air, both from the exertion of dragging Mallory and from the smoke she was inhaling.
Crawling over, she grabbed the door knob. It was warm, but not enough to burn, fortunately. She pulled it open and pushed Mallory into the hallway, collapsing next to her, coughing and wheezing.
She heard footsteps. "Brett!" Severide yelled, Mackey on his heels.
"I'm okay," she gasped between coughs.
Mackey gave her a look but didn't say anything. Severide pulled off his mask, giving her a few draws of fresh air. He would've let her keep it, but she pushed it back to him. "Can't afford to have you inhale a lot of smoke. We have to carry Mallory out of here."
Nodding, Severide put his mask back on. "Can you walk?" He asked.
Brett nodded. "Yeah of course," she said. However, she wheezed right after, which didn't help her look convincing. Severide and Mackey both offered her a hand, and pulled her up. She was a bit dizzy, but didn't say anything. Instead, she helped Severide and Mackey pick up the backboard, and they carried Mallory out of the building, Brett gasping and coughing most of the way.
Matt basically had to be restrained from going back into the building. He knew it wasn't safe, but Brett was in there. And so was Severide. And Mackey. He was only worried more about Sylvie because she was the one who was separated. Despite everything, they were still friends. He was allowed to be worried about his friend.
Surprisingly, Kidd was the one who stopped him. Even though Severide was also still inside, Stella was much calmer.
"We heard them over the radio. They're fine. We're gonna stay calm unless we have confirmation that they're not fine. Besides, Brett said they'd find a way. I believe her." Hearing Sylvie over the radio had been comforting, but it wasn't enough for Matt.
Eventually, he'd calmed down. After seeing Ritter reassuring Grainger, who was also looking very worried, Matt had immediately stopped.
Now, everyone except Brett, Mackey, and Severide stood outside the building, staring anxiously at the doors.
After what felt like hours, Casey finally saw movement. First, Severide appeared, holding the front of a backboard. Some of the tension drained out of Casey. Then, she appeared, carrying the back of the stretcher with Mackey.
For one moment, all the anxiety left him and he felt relieved, running towards them. But he was immediately filled with worry again when he got closer. The rest of Squad took over carrying the victim, freeing Brett, Mackey, and Severide.
The latter two turned their concern to Brett. As Casey got closer, he realized her face was blackened. That meant she was much closer to the fire than she should've been. She was also wheezing and panting, evidence she'd inhaled a lot of smoke.
"What happened?" Casey asked, staring at Brett with concern.
Severide opened his mouth but Brett beat him to it. "I'm fine. I inhaled some smoke, but I'm okay." She coughed.
"You're going to see a medic. Now." Casey commanded.
Brett looked ready to argue, but then she stumbled a bit. Casey caught her by the shoulders. "Woah. Come on, let's get you to an ambo."
Sighing, she nodded. He put his arm around her waist and led her to the nearest medic. Once she was sitting on the back of an ambulance, breathing in fresh oxygen from the mask on her face, his anxiety eased for good. And brought him back to his senses. What was he doing? He and Brett weren't on the best terms right now, and he definitely shouldn't have been acting so protectively. He hadn't touched Sylvie that much in weeks.
To make it worse, Grainger was here. Scanning the scene, Matt found him. He was staring at the two of them with concern and something else Casey couldn't read. Matt caught Grainger's eye, motioned his head towards Brett, then turned away. Leaving Grainger to make sure she was okay.
Sylvie laid her head against the passenger side seat. As if she needed this shift to be anymore of a mess, Boden had forced her to go to Med. So now she had extra paperwork. She was fine. She told everyone that, and she was right. After getting some oxygen for 30 minutes, the doctors let her go. Now she was headed back to the house, where she was sure Casey and Grainger would be waiting.
For a second on the scene, she'd forgotten everything that happened with Casey. He'd been so worried, and it was almost like old times, him fussing over her. She almost would have welcomed it, except Grainger was right there. She wasn't sure what he thought, but she should've told Matt to tone it down. In her defense, she was more focused on breathing in the smokeless air at the time.
"You okay?" Mackey pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah I'm good." She smiled at her partner. Before she was ready, they had arrived back at 51. Boden was waiting.
"I took ambo out of service for the last hour of shift. You guys have had plenty of excitement for the day. Finish your paperwork and head home."
He looked stern, and she decided not to protest, even though she wanted to. She headed inside. Just as she feared, Greg was waiting for her, sitting on her bunk. She sighed and braced herself, sitting next to him.
He turned. "Are you good?"
"Yeah. Just some smoke inhalation."
He sighed, looking relieved. And then wasted no more time getting to the point. "So the Captain is the reason why you hesitated to give me a chance. He's the reason you think you're cursed."
She nodded. "Yep. I'm really sorry, Greg. I never should've dragged you into this so soon, when I haven't sorted out everything with Casey."
He shook his head. "No, don't be. I appreciate you giving me a chance. It means you really thought I might pan out for you. There's no shame in trying to move on. But I don't think now is a good time for us to be dating."
She nodded again. He was right. "I agree. And I'm really sorry."
He smiled at her. "Again, don't be. I'm just really glad you're okay. Figure things out. I'll be around. If you ever feel like giving things a second chance when there's better timing, give me a call." He rubbed her shoulder, got up, and walked away.
Casey paced in his quarters. Brett was finally back from Med, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. But right now, she was talking to Grainger. Eventually, after what felt like forever, the Lieutenant left, rubbing her on the shoulder.
Casey waited a minute, then stepped into the bunk room. "Hey, there you are. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. No lasting damage?"
She shook her head. "Nope. Smoke inhalation."
He studied her expression. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yep. All good." She looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't.
He nodded awkwardly. "Good." He wanted to stay, but he didn't feel like he could. He went back to his quarters.
About an hour later, as shift was ending, there was a knock on his door. Sighing, he turned. He just wanted this shift to be over. Seeing it was Grainger, he bit back a second sigh. "Come in," he called.
Grainger stepped in, shutting the door behind him. Casey raised his eyebrows."Hey Captain, I just wanted to thank you."
Casey wasn't ready for that. He furrowed his brow. "For what?"
Grainger smiled. "For being so professional and respectful, even though I was dating the girl you clearly still love. For not beating me up when I asked you if she was seeing anyone."
"Wha-I-," Casey stuttered. He didn't know how to respond to that. But Grainger wasn't done.
"You probably would've fooled me, except then she got stuck in that apartment fire. The worry you showed? It was more than just worry for a colleague. Anyone who was paying attention could see it. Anyways, my shift here could've been all kinds of awkward, but you were great. So thank you."
Again, Casey opened his mouth. Again, he didn't know what to say. He just nodded.
Grainger still wasn't done. "Just so you know, we broke up. No one wants to be with someone who's still stuck on someone else. So, go figure it out. Brett deserves the world. If you can't give it to her, let her go. I'd be happy to be the one for her. But right now, she's still caught on someone else." Smiling, Grainger left his office.
Casey had a hard time processing everything Grainger had said. Him and Brett broke up. That shouldn't have made him feel so happy. However, the thing that really stuck out to him was when Grainger said No one wants to be with someone who's still stuck on someone else. Is that what Brett thought? It probably was. And it broke his heart that he'd ever made her feel that way.
If today had taught him anything, it was that he couldn't let Sylvie go. Letting Gabby go had been hard, no doubt. But it hadn't been impossible. But Sylvie? He'd tried to let her go. And failed miserably. Clearly, that wasn't happening.
If he couldn't let her go, he needed a new plan of action. He had to get her back. He didn't know how, but it was the only future that made sense to him. He couldn't move on without her, so he had to show her she was number one. It was the only way.