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Matt Casey loved that his girlfriend was an organizer; he could appreciate everything having a place where it belonged. It made finding things much easier… most of the time.
Except that they had just moved in, and he was still figuring out where everything was.
Sylvie was out with Stella and Violet, which left him digging through the desk, looking for what he needed.
He could call, but she was having a girls’ day at the spa and he didn’t want to interrupt that.
Matt’s phone rang, and he swiped it off the desk after seeing his best friend’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey man.” Kelly greeted him. “What are you doing today?”
“Trying to take care of our renter’s insurance, if I can figure out where Sylvie stashed our lease.” He opened another drawer, thumbing through the papers that all seemed to be Sylvie’s personal files, then closed it. “She’s organized, but I have no clue where she put everything.”
“Sounds boring.”
“Well, it needs to be done, so…” He said with a laugh as he opened the next drawer; all his personal documents.
Sylvie’s drawer, his drawer; if he knew his girlfriend at all, the next drawer would be the documents involving them both, like the lease.
“Well, do you want to come over and hang out after? Or I could come there.” Kelly said. “I’m bored.”
“I told Sylvie I’d put the bed together for the guest room. Her parents are bugging to come visit.” Matt opened the third drawer; sitting on top was a folder with lease written on it in Sylvie’s neat print.
“I could help.”
“You must be bored.” He said with a laugh as he pulled the folder out and sat it on the desk. “If you’re that bored, sure. We can order some food. I think Sylvie mentioned they are going to get dinner after the spa.”
“Alright, cool. What time do you want me to come over?”
Matt went to close the drawer before the paper on top caught his eye.
SHEETS ON FIRE in big, bold letters would’ve caught his attention anyway, but below, in a smaller font, by Cyrus Mayberry & Sylvie Brett, was what made him raise an eyebrow at what looked like a manuscript.
“You still there, man?”
He’d forgotten his best friend was on the line. “Yeah, I’m still here. What was that?”
“What time do you want me to come?”
“Oh, uh, give me an hour to call the insurance company.”
“Okay…” Kelly replied. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Matt closed the drawer; whatever it was, it was Sylvie’s, and he could only assume it was an accident that it was in with their documents. “I’ll see you in an hour.”
Matt’s attention was divided; he was finishing up his phone call with the insurance company, but his mind kept wandering back to what he’d seen in the drawer.
He opened the drawer, glancing at the front page again.
“Mr. Casey?”
“Yes, sorry.” He pushed the drawer closed again, focusing his attention back on the phone call.
Once he finished his call, he opened the drawer to put the lease back, but stared at the page again.
Matt could only assume Sheets on Fire had to be a romance novel, based on the title alone.
It was no secret Sylvie was constantly reading romances; she carried a book with her everywhere she went, and he’d spent an entire afternoon putting up bookshelves in this office for her collection of books.
Sylvie writing a romance novel wasn’t even surprising. Well, not to him.
He could imagine she’d have no trouble writing a romance novel; Matt knew Sylvie had a dirty mouth. He knew it very well.
Sylvie Brett in private was a very different Brett than the woman who lectured people on cursing in the firehouse.
What did surprise Matt was Sylvie being able to keep it a secret; notoriously bad secret keeper Sylvie Brett keeping a secret that big from him and everyone else? That was surprising.
Except she didn’t keep it from everyone else, he reminded him as he looked at the other name on the page.
Cyrus Mayberry didn’t mean a thing to Matt; he racked his brain, trying to remember if she’d ever mentioned the name, or if he’d ever met anybody with the name.
They’d had a floater come through 51 with the last name Mayberry, but it’d been when Sylvie was in Fowlerton with Kyle, and he’d only lasted a shift or two.
Matt tried to remember his first name, but he knew he’d never bothered to learn it; none of the floaters had lasted more than a shift or two.
Replacing Sylvie Brett was an impossible task; none of the floaters they’d had come through came close to her level of talent, much less fit in at 51 the way she did.
He remembered Kelly having known him; an old friend of Shay’s. He was pretty sure that’s what he’d told him.
Thinking of Kelly got Matt out of his head; he’d be there any minute.
Matt put the lease back in the drawer and shoved it closed; if she wanted him to read it, she’d show it to him.
He’d respect her privacy, that was that; he’d just forget about it, pretend he’d never seen it.
Forgetting about it wasn’t working; his mind kept drifting back to the third drawer of the desk, whether or not he wanted it to.
“What’s with the face?”
They’d gotten the guest bed put together, and they’d just ordered pizza; there was a baseball game on the TV that Matt was paying no attention to.
“What?”
“Your mind is not here, dude.” Kelly said with a laugh. “It hasn’t been all day. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. Been a long day.”
Kelly made a sound that clearly told Matt he didn’t believe him. “Alright then.”
“I’m gonna get another beer.” He stood up, grabbing the empty bottle off the coffee table. “Want one?”
“Sure.”
Matt opened the fridge, grabbing two bottles; his back to Kelly, he tried to keep his tone nonchalant. “Hey, what was that paramedic’s name that floated through when Sylvie was gone? Something Mayberry?”
“Uh, yeah, Aaron. Why?”
“Oh, a buddy of mine mentioned his house needs a new paramedic. He seemed competent.” Truthfully, he couldn’t remember a thing about the man, but he couldn’t imagine Shay having been friends with any incompetent idiots.
“And your mind went to a floater we had over two years ago for two shifts?” Kelly questioned with a raised eyebrow. “What house?”
“The 105.”
“Who do you know over at the 105?”
Matt did know the Captain at 105, albeit not well; he shot his best friend a look. “What’s with the interrogation?”
“What’s with the obvious lie?” Kelly retorted with a laugh. “You’re a shit liar, Case.”
That was true; he was a terrible liar, always had been.
“I heard a name today and I’m trying to place it, that’s all. Does the name Cyrus Mayberry mean anything to you?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever met anybody named Cyrus, period.” Kelly shot him a questioning look. “Does this have something to do with Brett?”
“No.” He knew he answered that too quickly, suspiciously quickly. “Let’s just drop it and watch the game, huh?”
It was driving him crazy.
He’d just read one page to confirm that he was even right in his assumption it was a romance novel, then he’d put it back; that was the rationale he used as he walked into the office again after Kelly had left.
Matt opened the drawer and picked up the manuscript, but as soon as it was in his hands, he sighed and sat it back down.
No, he wouldn’t read it without permission.
He was going to ask Sylvie about it, though; he knew she’d tell him what it was if he asked.
She’d probably let him read it if he asked.
Did he even want to read it? He’d never read a romance novel in his life. He rarely read fiction at all.
If there was ever going to be a romance novel he was going to read, it would be something Sylvie Brett wrote.
“Matt?” At the sound of Sylvie’s voice, he closed the desk drawer, walking out of the office; she was just hanging her jacket up as he walked into the living room and she flashed him a wide smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He returned the smile, crossing the distance between them to kiss her. “How was the spa?”
“Oh, it was amazing.” Sylvie said with a smile. “How was your day?”
“I got the insurance stuff taken care of, and the guest bed put together. Sev came over and helped.”
She wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling herself against his chest. “Thank you for taking care of all that.”
“No problem.” He smiled as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him again, a deeper kiss than their last; he could taste the wine on her lips. “Had a few drinks with dinner, huh?”
“I did.” She grinned as she stepped back, her hand capturing his as she did. “And you know how I get when I have red wine.”
Her hand slipped from his as she walked backwards towards their bedroom, a smirk on her face.
“I do, yes.” He replied with a matching smirk. “But -”
As she turned towards the bedroom, she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor, and all the questions he had about Sheets on Fire and Cyrus Mayberry all disappeared from his mind.
After they’d showered together - leading to round three of the night - Matt watched Sylvie standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom, brushing her hair out as a part of her nightly routine.
They’d only officially lived together a month, but he’d had her routine memorized for the past year.
“You’re being exceptionally quiet tonight.” Sylvie remarked, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all.” He said with a smile as she turned towards the bed, quickly closing the space between her and the bed.
“Then what’s up?” She sat on the edge of his side of the bed. “I know you, Matt Casey. Talk to me.”
“I kind of accidentally came across something in the office when I was looking for the lease.”
“Something? What?”
“Sheets on Fire.” Matt watched as her eyes widened as she stood up. “It was in the drawer with the lease. I’m assuming that wasn’t where it was meant to be.”
“No, it was not.” Sylvie paced as he sat up on the bed. “Did you read it?”
“No, I didn’t want to invade your privacy like that.” He looked at her face, the undeniable pink tint on her cheeks. “Are you blushing?”
“Uh, maybe.” Her hands moved to cover her cheeks. “It’s not that I didn’t want you to know about it, or even that I don’t want you to read it. It’s just, what if you hated it? That sounds ridiculous, but I’m proud of it and -”
“It’s not ridiculous.” He reached out to grab her hand, stopping her pacing, and pulling her down on the bed next to him. “I don’t have to read it. I wouldn’t if it makes you uncomfortable. But I have little doubt of your ability to write a romance novel.”
“You’ve never even read a romance novel in your life.”
“True, but I know you.” Matt reached up and brushed his thumb over her lower lip. “And I know better than anybody you’ve got a way with dirty words.”
The pink hue on her face deepened. “Matt!”
“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Sylvie. You know I love it.” He framed her face with his hands, leaning in to kiss her; when he pulled away, the blush was still on her cheeks, but she was smiling at him. “You never have to be embarrassed with me about anything, I hope you know that.”
“I do.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Do you want to read it?”
He’d been going back and forth on that most of the day; romance novels didn’t typically appeal to him, but there was nothing typical about one written by his girlfriend.
It was a look in her mind, to get to know another side of her, and that wasn’t an opportunity he’d ever turn down.
“If you want to let me, yes, but you don’t have to.”
Sylvie nodded and sighed. “Let me think about it, okay?”
Her hesitation only increased his curiosity, but he nodded. “Of course.”
They’d settled in to watch TV; more specifically, Sylvie watched HGTV while Matt paid very little attention to the TV and more to her.
She usually commented on what they were watching through the episode, but she was being unusually quiet until she sighed and muted the TV, climbing off the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.” She disappeared out of the bedroom and he watched her leave in confusion, then waited for her to return; when she came back a minute later, she had Sheets on Fire in her hands. “Okay, a few rules for reading this.”
Matt raised an eyebrow as she held the book up. “Okay.”
“First and most importantly, and I feel like it goes without saying, but nobody at 51 finds out about this. Ever. Even Stella doesn’t know about this.” Sylvie said, her expression serious. “Second, you cannot read this in the same room as me because I will get anxious watching you for reactions and trying to figure out what you’re thinking.”
“Okay.” Matt reached out to take it from her, but she pulled it back towards her. “More rules?”
“Just one.” She said with a laugh. “When you’re finished, you have to promise to tell me what you honestly think. Don’t try to spare my feelings.”
“I promise.” He said, reaching out again. “Can I read it now?”
She nodded, handing the book to him. “Okay.”
“If you don’t want me to read it around you, I’ll go to the living room.”
“Tonight?”
“Why not? It’s not that late and we don’t have shift in the morning.” Matt got off the bed, pausing by where she was standing. “Thank you for letting me read it.”
“Of course. I hope you like it.”
He kissed her and then headed for the door; when he glanced down to the top page, he paused again, turning back towards the bed. “Who’s Cyrus Mayberry?”
Sylvie froze, her hand hovering over the remote she had been about to pick up. “Oh, I can’t tell you that.”
“What?” Matt said with a laugh. “Why?”
“Because I swore to secrecy.” She said, not meeting his eyes with her own. “Sorry, I can’t tell you.”
“Why would someone write a book and not want their name on it?” He glanced down at the book again.
“They have their reasons.”
“Okay...” Matt turned back around and walked out of the room.
He dropped the book onto the couch and grabbed a beer from the fridge before sitting down, picking it back up and opening it to the first page.
Matt had only read through a few sentences when he read the character’s name; Genevieve Lawson.
The memory came back in an instant; sitting around the table when Sylvie had come across a firehouse romance online, and she had read it aloud at the urging of Otis and Cruz.
It hadn’t taken long to figure out that it had been someone in their firehouse that was behind the story; Genevieve Lawson, the paramedic sleeping with Lieutenant, and Melissa Jay, her lesbian partner, were obvious giveaways.
Matt sat the book down and walked straight back to the bedroom. “You read it to the house.”
Her face instantly turned to the same rosy hue it had before. “I didn’t think you’d remember that.”
“Sylvie, you were basically reading porn out loud in a firehouse. It’s not something that’s forgettable.” He’d tried not to listen at the time; it seemed weird to him at the workplace, even before they’d all realized the connection to 51. “You read your own writing out loud to everybody and then acted like you had no clue who wrote it? I didn’t think you had that in you.”
“No, not exactly.”
“It’s the same story. Genevieve Lawson? Melissa Jay?”
“It is, technically.” Sylvie admitted. “But it’s practically been rewritten. You know there’s a co-writer. I figured out who it was after I read the story, and we worked on it together.”
“So Cyrus Mayberry is the pen name of somebody at 51?” He’d been curious about her writing partner before, but now his interest was even higher.
“Yes, but I still can’t tell you who.”
“I wouldn’t say anything.”
“I promised, Matt.”
“Fine.” He said with a sigh. “But if you can figure it out, so can I.”
“Knock yourself out.” She said with a laugh. “Good luck.”
He remembered a high school English teacher once saying that writers always put a bit of themselves into their writing, and he could absolutely see glimpses of Sylvie in hers, but what struck him the most of the spot on characterization of the Lawson and Jay characters, based so obviously off Dawson and Shay.
Matt was over a hundred pages into it when he realized; Shay.
Shay was the key to figuring out the real identity of Cyrus Mayberry; Sylvie hadn’t known Leslie Shay. She couldn’t have gotten her character so right.
Matt mentally went through the list of people at 51 when Shay was there.
It wasn’t Gabby, he could say that with certainty; she’d told him she hated English class, and he knew she never never had patience for romance novels. She wasn’t much of a reader, anyway.
He figured it was safe to eliminate Kelly from the list of suspects; Kelly Severide writing a romance novel was an idea so bizarre, it made him laugh just to imagine it.
He couldn’t exactly picture any of the Squad guys being her writing partner; he’d never even noticed Tony and Sylvie talking outside of calls.
Admittedly, he’d learned to expect the unexpected with Capp, but an explicit romance novel? It didn’t seem likely.
Eliminating the most illogical candidates from the list, it left him with Herrmann, Cruz, and Mouch; they’d all acted surprised by the story when Sylvie had read it, but it had to be one of them.
He could see Herrmann using a pen name and swearing Sylvie to secrecy; he couldn’t imagine writing a graphic story going over well with the Catholic Church he attended every week.
Cruz and Sylvie’s friendship, and previous relationship, made him the most likely option; he could only imagine you’d have to be pretty comfortable with someone to write something like that.
Mouch was the least likely of the choices; he didn’t exactly have the best reputation for being a romantic - the story of his first proposal to Trudy a perfect example of that.
Matt sat the book down as he thought about that.
The main character, an older firefighter, married to a police Sergeant.
It made sense, even if it weirded him out a little; the character’s obsession with Lawson would hint towards Mouch harboring some kind of crush on Gabby, at least at some point, but it would make the most sense.
Matt stood up, leaving the book open on the couch; the bedroom light was still on and he could tell Sylvie was still awake, even if her eyes were closed.
“Cyrus Mayberry is Mouch, isn’t it?”
Sylvie opened her eyes, tilting her head towards him. “I’m not confirming that.”
“You aren’t denying it either!” He said with a laugh. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. The character is married to a police Sergeant.”
“I told him that would be a giveaway if we ever got published with my real name on it.”
“You tried to get published?”
“We had an offer.” Sylvie pushed herself up into a sitting position. “But CFD caught wind of it and told us we’d violate the code of conduct if we did.”
He could see why. “Oh.”
“Yeah. We had fun writing it, anyway.” She said with a shrug. “Are you coming to bed? It’s getting kind of late.”
“I’m almost halfway through it.” He replied, crossing the distance between the doorway and the bed, leaning down to kiss her. “Don’t wait up.”
Sylvie shot him an amused look as she leaned back on the bed. “Okay. Goodnight. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Matt flipped the bedroom light off as he walked out. “Goodnight.”
“Good morning.” Sylvie’s voice put a smile on his face as he turned his head towards her.
“Good morning.”
She rolled over onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. “What time did you finally come to bed?”
“About three, I think.”
“Did you finish it?”
“I did.” And he’d re-read a few parts more than once. “It was great, Sylvie.”
“Yeah? You liked it?” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “You’re not just saying that?”
“No, I’m not just saying it. I promised I’d be honest with you.” He said with a laugh, pushing him up to lean against the headboard. “And honestly, it took me a minute to separate the characters in the story from the people that obviously inspired them, but once I did that, I really got invested in the story and the characters.”
“I’m so glad you liked it!” She said with a grin. “I’m really proud of it, even if nobody else will ever see it.”
“I was thinking about that last night. I’m not sure there aren’t ways around that.”
“What do you mean?”
He was no expert on the CFD’s code of conduct; he’d generally tried to live his life in a way he’d never need to worry about breaking it, but he knew the basics they taught at the academy.
“Mouch is already using a pen name. If you use a pen name too, and maybe changed the city where it takes place, CFD isn’t even going to take notice of it.” He suggested with a shrug. “There were only a few details that specifically placed it in Chicago, otherwise it could be anywhere.”
“That’s brilliant! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that! I think I was so bummed when they told us we couldn’t publish, I shoved it in a drawer and tried not to think about it again.” Sylvie exclaimed, then leaned forward to kiss him, her hands framing his face. “I’m so glad I accidentally put that copy in the wrong drawer.”
“You think that offer’s still good?”
“I have no idea, but if not, we’ll find somewhere else.” She grinned. “I’m so glad you liked it.”
“I really did. It’s not like I have a lot of things to compare it to, but I thought it was great.” Matt’s smile shifted into a smirk as she straddled his lap. “And very imaginative.”
“You think?” Her fingers trailed down from his neck, down his chest as she bit her lower lip. “You know, there’s a scene in there that I wrote, but I’ve never actually tried it. It’s kind of a fantasy of mine.”
“Oh, really?”
“Actually, there’s two, but one we’d have to be at the firehouse for.” Sylvie smirked before leaning in closer to whisper in his ear. “You know page 142?”
Matt’s eyebrows shot up at the page number; that had absolutely been one of the pages he’d read more than once. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Wanna try that out?”
He groaned in response as she kissed his neck. “Oh, absolutely.”
Matt’s promise not to say anything to anybody about Sheets on Fire had seemed like a simple idea at the time, even when she reminded him before they walked into 51.
Once he saw Mouch, he realized it would not be that easy; he’d barely acknowledged his presence throughout the day, although he spent most of it they weren’t on calls closed up in his quarters.
After dinner time, he looked up at the sound of knocking on his door. “Come on in.”
The door opened, and Mouch stepped inside. “Hey Captain.”
“Hey.” Matt looked at the paperwork in front of him. “What’s up?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Matt glanced back over at Mouch. “No.”
“It feels like you’re mad at me and I have no idea what for.” Mouch replied. “You’ve barely said two words to me all day.”
He knew Sylvie planned on talking to Mouch about trying to get published again, and mentioning that Matt knew, but 61 had been out on back-to-back calls all day; she hadn’t had the chance. “I’m just busy with paperwork.”
“Okay, but you’ve avoided me specifically.”
“I’m not mad, Mouch.” He knew Sylvie might not be thrilled if he told him first, but he wasn’t going to let Mouch think he was mad at him. “Or do you prefer Cyrus Mayberry?”
Mouch’s hand went to the back of his neck as he rubbed it. “Uh, what?”
“I read it, Mouch.” He said with a laugh. “I was trying to avoid you until Sylvie could tell you that herself.”
Mouch reached behind himself to close the door. “She was sworn to secrecy!”
“I found it, and I was able to figure it out on my own. The police sergeant thing was a giveaway.”
“Captain, I hope I can count on your discretion here.” Mouch stated. “The only people that know about this are Sylvie, Trudy, Cindy, and well, Otis did.”
“I won’t say anything.” Matt said with a laugh. “But you think Cindy hasn’t said something to Herrmann about it?”
He could only imagine Cruz knew, too; if Otis knew, there was a very slim chance of him keeping that from Cruz.
“The bond of book club is sacred.”
“If you say so.” Matt replied. “But I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Mouch turned towards the door. “Out of curiosity, what did you think?”
“I liked it.” He considered mentioning the publishing idea, but he’d leave that to Sylvie. “Although I don’t have much of anything to compare it to regarding romance novels. Not usually my thing.”
Mouch opened the door, just as Sylvie walked into the bunk room.
“Mouch! I was just going to come to look for you.”
“The Captain already told me he knows.”
“Oh, but - ”
“It’s fine. I just need to go find out if Cindy kept her promise to secrecy too.” Mouch hurried out of the bunk room before she could explain further.
“Okay, I guess I’ll talk to him later.” Sylvie said with a laugh as she walked into Matt’s quarters.
“You’ve been busy today.” Matt grabbed her hand, pulling her down onto his lap. “You must be exhausted.”
“You’d think, right? But I’m energetic. I found the name of that publisher. I’m going to call them tomorrow and see if they’re still interested.”
“I’m sure they will be.”
“I’ve tried not to worry about it today but I can’t help but think about it.” She said with a smile. “I thought it wasn’t a possibility.”
“You deserve it, Sylvie. It’s a great book.”
“You’re the best.” Sylvie smiled, resting her forehead against his before sighing. “I need to go inventory.”
“Go. I’ll be right here when you’re finished.” Matt smiled, kissing her quickly.
Sylvie climbed off his lap and paused by the door. “Or give me an hour and then come find me, and we can try that other thing I said I’d never done.”