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1
Everyone at the station was in high spirits as houses and venues started spreading the holiday cheer through Christmas lights, plastic reindeer, and soft red pointy hats with white puffballs on the ends.
It was also Sylvie and Matt’s first Christmas together as a couple, and funnily enough, both were bouncing gift ideas for each other off of Stella and Severide respectively.
Brett was with Stella in the back of the ambo going through one of her brainstorm lists, and Stella was trying to get her to stop fussing so much over it.
The brunette casually explained, “Matt doesn’t care about the size of the present, Brett. I’m pretty sure you could just strip, slap a bow on yourself, or several if you get what I mean (wink), and call it a day… or night.”
Brett stared at her best friend and blinked a couple times to properly gesture that she was processing her words. “Okay, while I appreciate your help during my period of holiday cheer and desperation, Stella, I would appreciate some actual advice.”
Stella raised an eyebrow. “Who said that wasn’t advice?”
Brett wanted to smack her forehead. “I want something that says ‘I love you and appreciate you and everything that you’ve done for me’.”
Stella then furrowed her brows in confusion. “And my idea says what exactly?”
Brett let out a heavy and dramatic sigh. “It screams sex, Stella.”
“Which is also a form of love and appreciation.”
Brett blinked. “Okay, you’re not wrong, but that’s beside the point--”
Alarms blared.
Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambulance 61. Multiple car pile up. Roosevelt Ave. South Cicero Ave.
Stella quickly patted Brett’s shoulder. “Think about it, yeah? It’s the best gift and also a really good one to fall back on if you can’t think of anything else.”
Brett pressed her lips together, unimpressed. “Yeah, yeah.” She folded her piece of paper that held her list and tucked it into her jacket pocket, and then hurriedly closed the back doors before climbing into the ambo with Violet.
The pile-up was horrendous.
It was a seven vehicle pile up and the last vehicle was a semi-truck without a load. While that did make the situation a little less stressful, it still caused major damage to the SUV that was smashed in the middle.
As Truck pulled up to the scene, Casey took a quick look.
“Black ice,” he shouted into the radio. “Be careful.”
He barked orders as he assessed every individual he could see that were still trapped in their vehicles. A couple people were able to get out, but were bleeding from superficial wounds from the crash.
Brett climbed out of the ambo and saw a woman and man try to pry the doors open from a white SUV that was caught in the middle of the pile up.
She watched Kidd and Severide tackle the first couple vehicles in the front, and then saw Gallo and Casey tackle a vehicle towards the back.
She bit the inside of her cheek and hooked her back over her shoulder. “Violet, with me.”
Violet nodded, took her own bag, and then followed Brett to the woman and man.
“Please, help!” The woman screamed. She looked like she was in her early forties; she had a cut above her eyebrow and another right below her cheekbone with blood trickling down her face. It stained her blonde hair that messily framed her face. “There’s a woman in the front seat and we can’t get the door open!”
Brett saw the man try to yank at the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
It was a miracle that the glass hadn’t shattered, which meant the door was still probably locked.
Brett hastily told the man to back up. She reached into her bag and quickly smashed the glass with a small window hammer. She reached through the window and unlocked the door. She yanked once, but it didn’t budge. She yanked another time and felt it move ever so slightly. On the third yank, the door popped open.
Right as the door popped open, the woman in the driver’s seat groaned. Her eyes fluttered open and she slowly took in her surroundings. Brett heard her loudly gasp and knew she was about to freak out.
“Slow down, ma’am. You’re going to be okay, alright?” Brett quickly said. “Violet, get these two to safety and get a triage going.”
Violet nodded and ushered the woman and man away from the cars.
Brett pulled her attention back to the woman. She assessed her position in her seat and noticed the steering wheel was pressing into her legs.
Brett worked on cutting the woman’s belt. She was brunette, late twenties, maybe early thirties. She was dressed in a nice white blouse (now stained red with drops of blood), a black pencil skirt, and a nice wool blazer. She looked like she was on her way to work.
“What’s your name, ma’am?” Brett calmly asked.
The woman blinked a couple times. “Leslie. Leslie Atkins.”
“Nice to meet you Leslie Atkins. You look nice. Were you headed to work?” Brett asked.
Leslie nodded. “I was. I had a presentation today.” She chuckled to herself and tried to make light of the predicament she was in. “I don’t think I’ll be making it.”
Brett let a small smile form on her lips. She cut the seatbelt and unwrapped it from the woman’s body. “I’m sure your boss can make an exception.”
Leslie let out a shaky anxiety ridden breath. “God, I hope he does. I am going to make it out, right?”
“You will. I promise you that,” Brett replied. “Can you move your toes and feel your legs?” She saw Leslie nod. “Great. I’m going to ask you to tilt your whole body towards me. Can you do that for me?”
“I think so.”
Leslie tilted her body towards Brett and with a lot of grunting and shimmying, Brett was able to pull the woman out of the car. Thankfully the SUV’s crumple zone took most of the damage and kept Lesie’s legs intact.
As Brett helped Leslie away from the cars, she saw the brunette limp. Yeah, she was definitely going to feel some bruising in a few hours.
She checked in with Violet before turning back to the accident to see if anyone else was trapped. She walked forward a little and walked parallel to the multiple car pile up, trying to see if there was anyone hidden from their line of sight.
Before she could register what was happening, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her to the side. A split second later, a motorcyclist sped through.
She ultimately fell backwards on top of someone with an ‘Oof’ and then heard some distant swearing that sounded a lot like Severide.
“Damn idiot ran through traffic and the barricade,” Casey muttered angrily.
Brett turned her head a bit and saw Casey below her. His hair stuck out every which way which was not his usual signature Captain Casey look. His eyes found hers and she instantly saw the worry and fear. His arms tightened around her and never loosened, almost as if he were afraid to let go.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His tone was a little heavy and a little shaken.
Brett nodded. “I’m okay. Thanks.” She rolled over and was about to push herself up, but Casey’s gloved hands, strong and firm, reached out to hers and helped pull her up. “Sorry. I should’ve been more aware of my surroundings.”
His hands never left hers. “Don’t apologize, Sylvie. The lunatic was disobeying traffic laws and completely bypassed the barrier we had in place.” He squeezed her hands once more, making her look up at him.
He looked so relieved, yet worried out of his mind at the same time, and that look was seamlessly pulled together with his unkempt hair. And still, he looked incredibly handsome.
If he hadn’t pulled her to the side or hadn’t been watching over her, she would’ve gotten hit by the motorcyclist, who probably didn’t have any control at all since he was drifting over black ice. She would’ve been rushed to the hospital if Casey hadn’t saved her.
She gave his hands a tight squeeze and proudly smiled at him. “I’m okay, Matt. I really am.”
“Are you two lovebirds done yet?” Severide asked a few feet away from them. “Mouch and Ritter did a quick and thorough pass. We got everyone out.” They both saw Severide’s teasing smirk.
Sylvie and Matt released each other’s hands and flashed knowing smiles.
“I should go help Violet,” Sylvie said, a little bashfully, and pointed behind her.
Matt nodded. “We’ll handle clearing the wreck and we’ll see you guys back at the station.” He saw Sylvie reply with a small nod. “Be safe.”
Sylvie chuckled. “I will. Thanks.” She wanted to kiss the boyish grin off his face, but that thought was quickly shoved into the back of her mind when she had to remind herself that they were both on the job.
Two hours later, Truck, Squad, and Engine came back. Stella disappeared for thirty minutes to shower off the grime and sweat from the call about the pile up, and then walked out to the apparatus bay to continue Brett’s search for ‘the perfect Christmas gift’.
Stella found Brett in the back of the ambo running a quick inventory check.
“So, have you settled on an idea yet?” the brunette asked.
Brett bit back a grin and replied with utmost certainty, “Yup.”
Stella did a double take. Her eyes widened in minor shock. “Wait, really?”
Brett nodded and paused her ministrations. “You were right.”
Stella furrowed her brows, suddenly confused by the turn of events. “I was?”
“After the save Casey did on me today, I’m definitely putting ‘conveniently placed bows’ on the top of my list,” Brett replied, biting her bottom lip.
She desperately tried not to picture the image in her head, because she could practically see it, clear as day; she’d emerge from her room in nothing but a couple of ribbons, and Casey would stare, mouth wide open and eyes obviously staring.
Sylvie always thought Casey was the perfect gentleman and grade-A boy scout, but after a couple official dates and many days spent in bed, she quickly learned that he was anything but a boy scout (not that it was anyone else’s business).
Stella immediately pointed her finger at Sylvie’s reddened cheeks and ears. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”
When Sylvie met the brunette’s gaze, the blush quickly overtook her entire face. She replied, flustered, “N-no. I’m not.”
“Uh-huh.” Stella gave her best friend a toothy grin. “I am totally taking credit for this one.” Sylvie playfully rolled her eyes, and Stella then continued her onslaught of teasing.
2
Ambo was called out to a reported multiple persons in distress call.
When Brett and Violet arrived at the reported location, they both immediately became suspicious.
The reported location was at a somewhat large office; there were multiple cars parked in the lot in front of the office, but no one was outside to greet them or at least flag them down to lead the way.
Brett and Violet shared a look.
Brett unhooked her radio and spoke into it, “Emergency, ambulance 61. Do we have a contact for the call in?”
Emergency replied, “A woman named Sofia Hernandez. We have a phone number. I’ll try calling it.”
Violet looked weary. “It’s a little weird that no one is out here… and it’s eerily quiet.”
Brett agreed, “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Emergency radioed back, “The number isn’t responding.”
Brett replied, “We don’t hear anything from outside. Possible 10-1. We’re going to take a closer look.”
Emergency then replied, “Be careful ambulance 61. We’ll alert police in the area.”
Brett hooked her radio back on her shoulder and signaled to Violet. “Let’s check the front door and then the windows.”
They approached the double front doors; both had large glass windows but partially covered in drawn white blinds. Brett knocked hard on one of the doors. “Ambulance 61. We got a call about multiple persons in distress.”
Brett was surprised to see the door get pushed open, but as the door swung open, two hand guns were pointed at their faces. Brett and Violet immediately put their hands up.
Two men in black and brown ski masks forcibly ushered them inside. When they crossed the threshold, another man in a black ski mask grabbed Violet’s arm and pushed her down the hall.
“You’re going to treat my friend or else we’ll kill your blonde friend. Got it?” the man sternly asked. His voice was a thick Brooklyn accent. He pointed his gun at Brett and then at Violet. “If I see you retaliate in any way, everyone including you two will die. Got it!?” Violet flinched when he raised his voice and hastily nodded, trying to keep her cool.
“I got it.” She gave Brett a pleading look before she disappeared down the left corridor with the man right behind her.
Brett took three deep breaths. She had been in stressful and intense situations before. She needed a distraction, anything so she could call in for back up. “What happened to your friend?”
The man in the black ski mask angrily shouted, “Shut up! You don’t get to talk.”
Brett angrily spat back, “If your friend got shot, then there’s a good chance he’s losing a ton of blood. If that’s the case, then we have to take him to the hospital. There’s no way we can treat him here.” She turned to the other man in the brown ski mask. “Do you understand? He will die if we don’t take him to the hospital.”
The man in the brown ski mask made eye contact with the other man. Both looked scared albeit their brave facade.
“He could die, Richard,” the brown ski masked man pleaded.
“Shut the fuck up. If he dies then it’s his fault.”
“Are you seriously saying that!? That’s your little brother!”
Brett could see the man in the black ski mask start to consider his options. It was fuel for her. Unfortunately, she’d been in these types of situations before and she knew she had to use every bit of information she could get to sway everything in her and Violet’s favor.
Violet emerged from the corridor two minutes later; blood covered her latex gloves. She looked like she was trying to act calm, but her shaken voice said otherwise.
She informed Brett, “Two are bleeding, both from gunshot wounds. One of them was a hostage and the other was one of theirs.” She swallowed thickly. “The hostage died.”
Brett briefly closed her eyes. “How bad is it?”
Violet shook her head. “A gunshot wound to the abdomen.”
Brett watched the man with the Brooklyn accent approach them. “Your friend will die if you don’t let us take him to the hospital, do you hear me?”
The man scoffed. “Fuck that guy. We’ll split the shit three ways then.” He pointed his gun at Violet and then at Brett. “Which means you two are no longer needed.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Parks!? That’s my little brother!” Richard angrily yelled.
Parks then pointed his gun at Richard. “Fine. We split the money two ways.” He shot his gun twice and both Brett and Violet let out a short yelp.
Richard fell to the ground with two bullet wounds in his chest.
“What the fuck!?” The man in the brown ski mask screamed. “Parks, are you insane!?”
Parks was about to point his gun at him, but a shot burst through one of the windows to the side and hit the man in the brown ski mask in the side. He screamed in pain and hit the floor.
Chicago PD stormed the entrance and the back of the office all at once, yelling and screaming.
“Chicago PD, put the gun down!”
Parks immediately grabbed Brett and pointed the barrel at her head. “I’ll fucking kill her! I fucking swear it! I’ll kill her!” He looked behind him and in front of him, and then pointed his gun every which way. “Get the fuck away!”
Brett held her breath and counted to three in her head. She remembered the self defense training she did with Burgess and Upton as clear as day (mostly because they put her through the ringer and then some).
Since Parks was more worried about the cops that surrounded him than he was about her, she took matters into her own hands. She forcibly knocked the back of her head into his chin, elbowed him in the stomach and then lowered herself a bit to elbow him in the groin.
All at once, a pair of hands grabbed her and cops swarmed in, shouting orders and profanities.
A body covered and shielded hers as she watched cops tear the gun out from the man’s hand while he was still doubled over and groaning in pain.
She heard a curse in her ear and then, “Are you okay?”
That voice.
She pulled away a little and saw Casey’s face.
“Matt, how…?” she asked, dumbfounded.
Voight appeared beside them and scoffed angrily, “Guy doesn’t listen to anyone these days.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gallo crouch next to Violet and then quickly enveloped her in his arms.
Matt kept his hands on her waist as he inspected every part of her. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Brett felt his hands start to feel underneath her jacket. She blinked; she was still trying to process what had just happened in the last hour and what was currently happening. “No, no. They didn’t,” she tried to reassure him.
Matt met her gaze; he looked so rattled and on edge. “Are you sure?”
Brett reached for his hands and gave them a tight squeeze. “Yes, I’m sure. Really.”
Matt should’ve waited until later when they were alone, but he couldn’t. He wrapped his arms around Brett and hugged her tightly. “Stop scaring me so much,” he murmured.
Sylvie chuckled and hugged him back. “It’s definitely not by choice.”
Matt let out a shaky laugh and planted a long kiss at her temple.
Later, at Molly’s, Gallo animatedly described how the call went down.
“You should’ve seen it!” Gallo exclaimed excitedly. “Voight was like ‘PD only’ and Casey replied ‘screw you, you’re not my boss - Brett is in there and I'm going in whether you like it or not’ . He rolled with PD while Kidd was screaming for him to come back. Brett tore the gunman a new one - absolutely demolished him! Casey then ran through everyone and grabbed Brett, shielding her with his body. Then the PD swarmed in. ‘Chicago PD - hands where I can see them! Get down on the ground! Down on the ground!’ ”
Matt’s arm was wrapped around his girlfriend when he unconsciously recounted his heroics based off of Gallo’s rendition. He winced as he remembered bits and pieces that would’ve normally resulted in quite an earful from Boden and probably a conduct unbecoming. Sylvie turned her head a bit and met Matt’s slightly regretful gaze. She leaned into his side as he affectionately squeezed her waist.
Severide raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You hit the guy while he was pointing a gun at your head?” he asked Brett.
Sylvie shook her head. “The gun wasn’t pointing at me and he was definitely too flustered to do anything so, I thought it was an opportune moment.”
Kidd shook her head and pursed her lips. “You two are definitely meant for each other - cowboy heroics for this one,” she pointed at Casey. “And cool badassery for the other one. A match made in heaven.”
Cruz was in disbelief. “I can’t believe you actually hit him.” He then turned to Casey. “And I can’t believe Voight didn’t cuff you and throw you in the back of a car.”
Severide smirked. “It’s Casey. You think handcuffs and a locked door will keep him from Brett?”
Cruz let out a small laugh. “Ah, true. Very true.”
Casey wasn’t enjoying the constant poking and prodding. He was about to tell them to shut it until he felt a hand on his thigh. When he turned his head to look at Sylvie, she was smiling to herself, watching Cruz, Severide, and Kidd spew ridiculous teasing comments at them. She looked so relaxed and at ease, which was quite a change considering the day she just lived through. He decided to give in and let their friends have their fun.
3
The kitchen had sprung a leak. Not her kitchen. It was the firehouse kitchen.
What made matters worse was that it was right before lunch, which meant there was a big mess in the common room and everyone was hungry. Scratch that, everyone was beyond hungry and on the verge of ‘hangry’.
Cruz grumbled his annoyance as he watched Casey maneuver throughout the firehouse kitchen to fix the leak.
Casey rolled up his sleeves and surveyed the pipes underneath the sink. He mumbled to himself as he poked around. He walked away for five minutes and came back with a tool set he kept in his truck. He took out a wrench and started to tighten some of the pipes, but the leak still persisted.
Cruz watched the Captain poke around some more and then saw him come out from underneath the sink and turn on the faucet. A burst of water forcibly spurted out of the kitchen faucet and splashed all over Casey’s polo.
Casey growled his annoyance as he turned off the water with more force than necessary. “Well, there’s definitely something wrong.”
Cruz crossed his arms over his chest as ‘hangry’ turned into ‘just plain angry’. “You don’t say.”
Casey gave him a pointed glare. “Hey, I’m trying to fix this. Don’t get pissy at me.”
“I’m not. I didn’t say I was,” Cruz retorted.
Mouch was the one that intervened before things got out of hand, because a ‘hangry’ Cruz and a pissed off Casey was a bad combination that could turn much, much worse. “Why don’t we just order some pizza?”
Ritter raised an eyebrow from the long table. “You mean salad. I thought we were going to try to give up greasy foods.”
Mouch narrowed his eyes at the candidate. “Yeah, that was until things went to hell, otherwise we’d be enjoying delicious meatball sandwiches a la Cruz. The only thing that can fix this afternoon is a greasy pizza.”
Ritter furrowed his brows and was about to mention the amount of healthy sandwich fixings there was in the fridge until the alarms sounded.
Ambulance 61. Person injured. 122 North Harley Boulevard.
Before anyone could say something, the doors from the bunk room opened and out jogged Sylvie.
Like a Baywatch commercial (much better than that, actually), Casey couldn’t tear his eyes away from her jogging towards the doors to the apparatus bay. She met his gaze and beamed at the goofy smile that was plastered over his face that he didn’t even know he was wearing.
Mouch’s attention was focused on Ritter, and Cruz was too busy trying not to laugh at Casey’s ‘there goes my girlfriend’ face (yeah, it’s a face and Casey wore it all too much for it to not be noticed).
Before anyone could warn her about the mess that spread further from the kitchen than anticipated, Brett let out a surprised yelp. Her shoes squeaked and then slipped across the water that pooled out from the sink and out towards the commonly used walkways.
Doom settled in the pit of her stomach as she was thrown backwards; she shut her eyes and braced herself for the eventual blow to her back, but instead felt a hand on her wrist and an arm wrap around her.
The hand on her wrist tugged her forward and then moved behind her back. A pair of strong and sturdy arms hugged her tight as her hands grabbed onto the nearest thing she could reach. When she opened her eyes, she realized her fists were squeezing a white polo.
“You okay?” Casey asked.
She craned back and saw a worried storm in his blue eyes.
She was too focused on the fact that her and Matt’s chests were pressed together and his arms were securely wrapped around her to properly answer him.
After a couple beats, she finally replied, “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am. Thanks.”
He gradually released his hold on her and gave a curt and professional nod. “Sorry, I should’ve put a caution sign down.”
She shook her head profusely. “No, no. It’s not your fault. I should’ve been watching where I was going.”
His stomach fluttered as he swam in her familiar sweet scent. “I guess we were both a little distracted.”
She let out a flustered laugh and then realized that she should’ve been ten feet away from the ambo already. “Um, I should…”
He understood her urgency and, as if out of habit, decided to lean in and press a chaste, yet soft, kiss to her lips. “Be careful out there.”
Her heart fluttered at his gesture; he seemed to always let her know he was thinking of her right before she left for solo calls. She noticed it even before they started dating. She quickly nodded and murmured a soft ‘bye’ before she made her exit towards the double doors.
Casey didn’t realize how frivolous he looked while he was watching her leave until he turned around and saw everyone’s eyes on him. He looked between Cruz, Mouch, and Ritter, and noticed they were all wearing knowing smiles.
He furrowed his brows and huffed, “What?”
Cruz didn’t bother wiping the shit eating grin off his face. He was ‘hangry’ and felt like he had nothing to lose. “Nothing.”
Between the leaking sink, his empty stomach, and Cruz’s attitude, Casey wasn’t in the mood to put up with everyone’s shit, so he pulled a displeased and vexed face and gestured to the area around the kitchen.
“Cruz, grab a mop and start cleaning up this mess. Ritter, order a pizza, salad - whatever. I don’t care. Get something in here before we start tearing each other apart.”
Cruz pursed his lips and decided to keep his retort to himself. As ‘hangry’ as he was, he didn’t feel like suffering from Captain Casey’s wrath. “You got it, Captain .”
4
Casey walked across the apparatus and stopped along Truck 81. He pulled out his clipboard and started checking things off his list as he saw them. He adjusted a few pieces of equipment that were (to him) out of place, and then absentmindedly tapped his pen on his clipboard. He then took one last lap around his truck.
When he finished, he habitually looked over at ambo and did a double take when he saw blonde hair leaning against the side nearest to the turnout room.
Curious, Casey made his way over and wasn’t surprised to see a magazine in her hand.
“Hey,” he murmured, trying not to startle her.
Sylvie looked up and instantly beamed at her boyfriend. “Hey.”
He looked back at the double doors to the common room to make sure no one was about to come out, and then he looked over at the table to the side and saw that Capp was very much preoccupied with a book.
Seeing that the coast was clear, he turned his head back to his girlfriend and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips.
She suppressed a giggle as she instantly melted against the feeling of his lips.
“What are you doing over here?” he curiously asked.
She closed her magazine and held it up. “HGTV.”
Casey’s lips formed a sweet smile. “Too rowdy in the common room?”
She looked around the corner of the ambo to look at the double doors. “Mouch and Herrmann were getting into a heated argument over some soap opera on TV. I’m just over here for the quiet.”
Casey hummed. “You know, you’re always welcome to hang out in my quarters if you’re looking for some peace and quiet.”
She bit her bottom lip and replied, “I know, but it’s been a little hard to concentrate when I’m in your quarters.” He gave her a puzzled look, so she elaborated. “You’re a distraction, Matt Casey.”
He raised his eyebrows and soon, a small smile formed. “Oh.”
His heart fluttered as he saw the fondness in her gaze; her eyes, so soft and blue and familiar, made his stomach flip. He couldn’t stop the urge to kiss her again.
When they pulled apart, she let out a short laugh. “Twice in two minutes at work? That’s a new record.”
His lips hovered near hers as their noses bumped together and murmured in a completely tranced voice, “You’re making it harder and harder to stop.”
She chuckled and had to put her hand on his chest. “You’re right. We should probably stop.” She gently pushed at him.
He growled in annoyance, closed his eyes shut, and then sighed. He covered her hand on his chest with his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I hate it when I’m right.”
She chuckled again and gave him a chaste kiss. He looked at her perplexed and she couldn’t help but laugh at his face. “For the road.”
“That’s not helping,” he replied dryly and then she laughed.
God, he loved the sound of her laughter.
He loved any sort of down time they had together, more so at work than anything else, because between all the stress from multiple calls (emotionally and physically), down time meant being able to destress, relax, and take a breather and who better to do that with than his girlfriend.
Spending time with her at the station put his mind at ease and made him feel a whole lot lighter than his usual self.
All of that joy and warmth he was feeling in the pit of his stomach stopped suddenly when they both heard a call from the apron.
It sounded like there was a man in distress. His voice was shaky and a little squeaky.
Sylvie furrowed her brows and went to check, while Matt was right behind her.
She saw a man in his mid twenties male, Asian, black hair and hazel eyes, on the apron. He looked scared. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and his hands were shoved into his jacket pockets.
“I-I’m looking for ambulance 34,” he said shakily.
Sylvie and Matt both gave each other a concerned look.
“That ambulance is at station 44. You’re about ten miles off. What’s your name? Are you looking for someone?” Sylvie curiously and sweetly asked. She recognized the man’s body language and did her best to accommodate that. She wanted to be as helpful as possible.
They both saw the man’s eyes drift to the ambulance they were standing in front of.
“Are you from this one?” he asked, pointing at the number ‘61’.
Sylvie nodded. “Yeah.” The crease between her brows became more prominent as worry settled in her stomach. “Is everything okay? If you’re trying to find someone that ambulance 44 took, they’re probably at Chicago Med. I can call them for you if you’d like.”
Matt saw the man’s face suddenly change - a flash of anger.
“You were there,” the man murmured through clenched teeth. “The car crash on Pershing and Winchester.”
Sylvie remembered that call; she and Violet assisted the Truck, Engine, and Ambo from Station 44. They took an older Caucasian male to Chicago Med. From what she remembered, it was a brutal accident. Will from Med told her that their patient would be okay, but she didn’t hear anything about the other victims. Sylvie quickly looked at her wristwatch; the call was about four hours ago.
“Yes, I was.” Sylvie felt sympathetic. Maybe the man was looking for his family? No. He would’ve been given a ride to Med, or at least known where they were taken. “Who are you looking for?” She repeated. “Maybe I can help.”
Matt saw another flash of anger, but this time, it didn’t go away.
The man grit his teeth and tore his hand out from his jacket pockets.
Both Matt and Sylvie’s hearts stopped when they were suddenly faced with the barrel of a handgun.
Sylvie’s hands flew up as she felt a sudden rush of fear. Thanks to her track record with guns, she was able to quickly control and steady her emotions.
Casey’s eyes widened and his heart thumped loudly in his ears; the barrel was being pointed at Sylvie, as if the man didn’t care for his presence and only cared about the ambulances that were at that specific crash.
“There’s no need for that…. uh…”
“Damien,” he replied angrily with his jaw clenched. “My parents and my brother were in that crash and you let them die.”
Sylvie blinked a couple times as she tried to work out a plan. “Damien, are you sure they’re dead? I can call the hospital and figure out what happened.“
“They died five minutes after they got to the hospital,” he seethed. His hand that was holding the gun began to shake. “You let them die! You didn’t do anything to help them!” He jutted the gun out further and stepped towards Sylvie.
Sylvie hated it when people blamed first responders for deaths. She and everyone else that responded to calls didn’t deserve the guilty conscience. However, she was different. They were taught to leave their emotions at the scene, but she could never do that. She couldn’t treat her feelings like a light switch and suddenly decide to stop caring for people. “I wasn’t the one that took your family to the hospital, and I’m sure whoever took them did everything they could to get them to the hospital as fast as—“
Matt instinctively stepped in front of Sylvie and held his arm out behind him to keep her shielded.
“Matt—“ Sylvie gasped.
“—She wasn’t the one that drove your family to the hospital, Damien,” he steadily said. “And no matter who did, they had no intention of letting your family die. We do everything we can to save people and sometimes things don’t turn out the way we want it to.”
Damien grinded his teeth together and jutted the gun out again. “Shut up! Shut up !”
Sylvie grabbed onto the back of Matt’s blue CFD jacket and tugged hard. “Matt, please, let me—“
“ She did this!” Damien yelled. “I know she did!” He pointed the gun at that part of Sylvie’s head that wasn’t covered by Matt’s body.
“Hey!” Matt shouted as loud as he could to grab the man’s attention. “Don’t look at her! Look at me. Point the gun at me, Damien!”
Hatred ran through his veins; his thought process and all logic was thrown out the window, so he did as he was told and pointed the gun back at Casey’s face.
Casey knew he was looking for someone to blame, so he tried to put all the blame on him. There was no way he was going to put Sylvie in harm’s way. His instincts as Captain and her boyfriend kicked in; he was going to protect her no matter what.
“Matt!” She scolded him through her teeth, but his hand found her arm and squeezed it tight. He wasn’t going to let her get hurt.
Matt stared at Damien and maintained full eye contact. “Your family’s death wasn’t on purpose. Everyone did everything they could to help them.” He purposefully held his gaze to make sure he wasn’t thinking about harming anyone else. “You have every right to be angry, to be upset, to hate what happened to them, but you can’t blame the people that did everything they could to keep them alive.”
Sylvie noticed the man’s demeanor change. He looked sad, as if he were remembering the lives of his parents and brother, the good times and the bad. His bottom lip quivered as tears formed at the corners of his eyes and then slowly fell down his cheeks.
Sylvie stepped forward a little and saw Matt shift and adjust to her position.
“Damien,” she began softly and solemnly. “I’m very sorry for your loss. I really am. I’m sure your parents and brother fought as much as they could, but do you think they’d be okay seeing you like this? Would they want to see you hurt others on their behalf?”
Damien’s features softened at the thought. “No, they wouldn’t.”
“There’s no shame in feeling angry.”
Damien’s hand that was holding the gun lowered a little. “They loved my brother and I…” He let the tears roll freely. “...If it were my little brother in my place, I’d hate him for doing this.” His hand lowered to his side.
Matt carefully stepped forward, and cautiously and slowly reached his hand out towards the man. “Give me the gun, Damien.”
Damien handed Casey the gun and Casey let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He made sure he put the safety back on before carefully placing it next to him.
At that moment, Severide, Cruz, Herrmann, Boden, and Stella all ran out from the double doors, to the apparatus bay, and onto the apron.
Severide’s eyes immediately flew to the gun in Casey’s hand and then to the Asian man in front of him. He saw Sylvie’s position, protectively tucked behind Casey.
“What the hell happened here? We heard yelling,” Stella asked in a panicked tone.
Boden looked worried and angry at the same time. His voice nearly startled Sylvie. “Explain to me what happened and tell me why I shouldn’t call the cops this very second.” His gaze fell on the Asian man.
Damien ended up confessing to Boden, much to Matt and Sylvie’s surprise. It might’ve been Boden’s demanding and rugged demeanor that pushed him to say something. Boden did call the cops, but asked that they let Damien off easy.
The cops took the gun and put Damien in the back of the car with the intent to question him a little. They did promise to let him off easy, but not without issuing the proper punishment for something that could’ve easily gone horribly wrong.
After the cops took statements and eventually left, everyone talked a little to Brett and Casey to see if they were okay. Boden spoke to them briefly, but mainly asked if they needed to talk to someone about what happened. Both shook their heads and reassured their Chief that they were fine.
Severide briefly made eye contact with Casey and gave him a curt nod. It was their way of wordlessly communicating to each other.
Stella asked Brett how she was doing and Brett replied with some reassuring words. They talked a little and Stella left after giving her best friend a lingering hug.
After everyone left, Casey turned around with the intent of reassuring his girlfriend, but was met with an angry blue eyed glare.
He widened his eyes, scared and a little confused.
“Matt Casey!” she hissed.
Matt furrowed his brows. “What? What did I do?”
“I could’ve handled that on my own, you know? You didn’t have to do that . You didn’t have to put yourself between us to-to… to shield me from danger. I knew what I was doing,” she angrily explained.
While she did sound angry, he knew she wasn’t furious. She was upset that he did that for her and he understood how she felt, because if she did the same thing for him, he’d be angry at her, too.
He let out a small sigh. “Sylvie--”
“--Don’t you ‘Sylvie’ me,” she quickly retorted. “I could’ve handled that.”
“Yes, you could have,” he agreed with her. “And you did - I mean, what you said really got to him.”
There was a hint of worry in her tone. “Then you didn’t have to step in front of me.”
“I had to.”
“No, you didn’t. We just talked about that--”
Matt shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I stepped in front of you, because he could’ve easily pulled the trigger.”
Sylvie pursed her lips. “He wouldn’t have. I didn’t sense any intent to harm us. If anything, he looked scared.”
“But, I didn’t know that, Sylvie,” he calmly replied. “What I saw was a guy that just lost his family and was angry at anyone that was on that call. And if there was any chance he would have hurt you, I wanted to stop that.” He moved towards her and intimately reached for her hands. He squeezed them ever so slightly. “I get that you can take care of yourself. You’re definitely more than capable, Sylvie, but I never want to see you get hurt. If there’s ever a way to make sure that you’re safe, then I’m taking it. I don’t care what you say.”
He held his breath as he held her gaze. His eyes softened and then he murmured, “I don’t want to lose you, Sylvie.”
She frowned at his words; she didn’t realize the gravity of his choices until he put them into words. And those words were a hell of a lot more meaningful when he said them out loud.
“You’ve had close calls before and… that Arnow fire…” he trailed off. “I’m going to do my damn hardest to keep you safe.” His expression hardened and his eyes grew a little darker.
The Arnow fire. Even though everyone wanted to put it behind them and remember Otis for who he was and not how he passed, there were still a lot of unspoken words. She knew Matt kept each death in his back pocket, even if he tried not to. There was always some lingering guilt he kept on his shoulders. He didn’t need to say anything about it for her to know. The way he acted and reacted to life threatening situations was proof enough. He was trying so damn hard to protect everyone, even if it meant punishing them or yelling at them as their Captain. Matt cared. He always did.
The corners of Sylvie’s lips lifted slightly. “Thank you, Matt.” She let out a small sigh and ran her hand through her hair; she felt terrible for being so stern and forward with him. “Really, thank you. I know it’s not easy, especially after… that . You were only looking out for me.”
“I know you’re a badass, Sylvie. You’re always able to see the silver lining in stressful and unfortunate situations.” He loved that about her. “But, it never hurts to have someone in your corner.”
Sylvie bit her bottom lip as she smiled. She wanted to kiss him; she wanted to pull him in by the collar of his Captain polo, or maybe by the pockets of his blue CFD jacket, and really kiss him. But, the fact that, out of the corner of her eye and unbeknownst to him, Stella was between the truck and ambo, and watching them through the slightly tinted windows of the partially closed garage. When their gazes met, Stella broke out into a huge grin and gave her two thumbs up, trying to tell her to go for it.
She knew she and Stella were going to have a long conversation later.
As if the universe knew when to interrupt a good moment, the alarms rang and, of course, it was a call for Ambulance 61.
Both of them let out small exasperating sighs.
Matt then gave her a reassuring smile and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. They were used to the poorly timed interruptions, but that didn’t mean it became easier to deal with. They safely assumed all of their private and intimate moments would be interrupted.
“Stay safe out there, okay?” he said with a worried face.
She flashed him a bright smile. “Always.”
“Radio us if you need back up.”
She nodded curtly and shifted back into professional mode. “Will do, Captain.”
(It made him suppress a beaming smile.)
5
It was an extremely dangerous call.
Truck, Squad, Engine, and Ambo were called out to a crash on a highway overpass. The overpass had four lanes, two going each way with a wide concrete divider between, and bordered by more concrete and some railing on top.
A drunk driver (in broad fucking daylight) sped through the overpass and didn’t make the turn in time. They had hit two other cars into each other and almost smashed straight through the concrete border.
The overpass and the highways running beneath it were quickly blocked off by CPD, and CFD were able to park straight to the scene.
Casey jumped out of Truck and immediately called out orders and made sure everyone knew about the front of one of the cars that had smashed through the concrete border and was practically teetering.
Mouch took a moment to look at the rest of the overpass and noticed that the cars caused a lot of damage. “Captain.” He pointed out several flaws. “This isn’t good. The border protected the cars from going off completely, but they did a hell of a job messing it up.”
Casey understood what he meant. “Yeah, and it doesn’t help that the cars are so close to the edge.” He then yelled into the radio, “Go in pairs, do not go alone, and be mindful of where you step.”
Severide and Kidd were busy saving a little girl and her parents out of the SUV that the drunk driver hit first. While they were getting them out, they heard Ritter and Gallo call out.
“Hey, the guy in the car on the west end is pinned. We can’t get him out through the passenger side,” Ritter called through the radio.
Casey replied, “Cut the belt or shatter the windshield.”
Gallo and Ritter gave each other worried looks.
Gallo replied, “We already cut the belt. The steering column is pinning him in. We can shatter the windshield, but getting him out is going to be difficult. The front of the driver side is floating off the overpass.”
Ritter then cursed. “He’s unconscious and has several lacerations. A pretty big one on his neck and a lot on his arms. And that’s only what we can see.”
“I’m on my way,” Brett replied through the radio.
Before Casey assessed the variables and weighed the options, his thoughts were interjected by her voice that carried through everyone’s radios. He looked in Ritter and Gallo’s direction and saw Brett jogging towards them.
He cursed under his breath and began to jog. With the front of the car going off the edge and the condition of the victim, he wanted to make sure everyone was safe.
When he got to the trio, he saw Brett following Ritter and Gallo fingers as they pointed out their various observations. He saw Brett nod a few times before taking her jump bag off her shoulder and preparing to head through the passenger side.
Before she could get too far, he grabbed onto her shoulder. Curious, she spun around and was met with his overly worried gaze. For a few moments, no words were spoken, and they didn’t have to be, because they both knew what the other was thinking and not saying.
He then grounded out, “If you feel like things are going south, like something is wrong, you get out of there . Copy?”
“Copy.”
“I mean it, Brett,” he squeezed her shoulder a bit harder.
She held his gaze and stared at his darkened blue eyes. “I know. I’ll try to be careful.”
“Don’t make me ask for a pinky promise,” he replied lightly and with a small smile.
Brett smiled with him before she headed back into the car.
“Gallo, I’m going to assess his wounds and do my best to treat them, at least enough to be able to get him out here.”
“Copy that,” Gallo replied.
“Ritter, hand me the c-collar when I ask for it,” she said.
Ritter nodded. “Gotcha. C-collar on standby.”
She didn’t need to get close to the victim to see the terrible laceration on the victim’s neck, the same one Ritter pointed out over the radio. She used bandages and gauze as a quick fix, or as much of a fix that could be done whilst near the edge of the overpass.
While she was tending to the larger cuts on the victim’s arms, her eyes drifted over the edge of the overpass and she instantly felt light headed. She shook her head and took a couple deep breaths. She murmured encouraging words to herself while she worked.
She called for the c-collar, took the hand off from Ritter, and then applied it to the victim. She assessed the situation in front of her and tried her best to move the steering column, but it wouldn’t budge.
She grunted as she tried to move it again, but no such luck.
She looked at the victim’s position and nearly cursed under her breath. When she crawled back out through the passenger side, she was met with Casey, Gallo, and Ritter’s curious gazes.
“He’s stuck in there. I tried moving the steering column, but it won’t budge, not even a centimeter,” she informed them.
“How are we going to get him out?” Gallo asked.
Brett held Casey’s gaze. “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”
Casey’s expression hardened, almost as if he were trying to steel himself for her next words. “What’s your idea?”
“We remove the windshield and pull him out by the shoulders. The steering column doesn’t give us any room to get him out through the passenger side, but it's stuck in a forward position. We can pull him out head first.”
Casey looked angry. “No. Absolutely not.”
Gallo furrowed his brows. “Why not?”
Casey kept his disapproving look at Brett. “Because pulling him out on the driver side means being close to the edge of the overpass where there’s nothing to keep you from falling over.”
“Then why don’t we hook onto the car and pull it back?” Ritter asked.
Brett shook her head. “The trucks are blocked by the other cars and there’s no clear shot to hook. We could risk shifting the other cars while everyone is still working on getting people out. And taking too long risks the victim’s life, especially with his current injuries.” She let out a controlled sigh. She met Casey’s gaze; he was deep in thought. He was going over any and all decisions and trying to pick out the most reasonable one and also the least dangerous, but there was always a give and take.
Casey turned to Gallo. “We can’t hook the car but we can hook you. Do you think you can pull him out of there?”
Gallo gave a look of determination and nodded. “I can, Captain.”
Casey nodded in appreciation. “Okay.” He leaned over to speak into the radio. “Herrmann, I’m going to need a hook up for Gallo. Keep him short in case he tips over.” He turned to Gallo once more. “I want you to hook yourself to the victim once you get a chance. I don’t need anyone going over the overpass today, got it?”
“Got it,” Gallo immediately replied.
Casey, Brett, and Ritter all watched Gallo from the side as he slowly crawled over the hood of the car. He ripped off the windshield with a crowbar with ease and reached into the car to grab the man from underneath his arms. He lifted up and out as slowly as he could, being very careful with the victim’s injuries that were only temporarily treated.
Brett furrowed her brows when she saw the unmistakable sign of blood on the victim’s leg.
“Tell Gallo to stop,” Brett hastily said out loud.
Casey looked confused, but did it anyway. He yelled into his radio, “Gallo, stop!”
Gallo halted.
“What is it?” Ritter asked Brett.
“His leg. He’s bleeding and it’s not a small injury,” Brett replied. She carefully walked up to the car and crawled from the passenger side. Her eyes widened at the sight of blood pouring out from the victim’s left leg.
She immediately crawled out and hastily said, “He has a really deep cut on his left leg. There’s blood pouring onto the car seat.”
Casey looked at the victim concerned. “Can you treat it from the passenger side?”
Brett shook her head. “I can’t get an angle from there. The steering column is in the way and my guess is that before Gallo started to pull him out, the steering column was what was pinching the wound, but now that we’ve moved him…”
Casey grit his teeth. “He’s bleeding out.” Brett nodded.
Ritter’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.” He turned to Brett and saw that glint in her eye, the same expression he saw whenever she was faced with a challenging problem. It was the same expression he saw right before she checkmated him at chess during lunch last shift, feigning beginners luck. “You have a plan, don’t you?”
Brett met Ritter’s gaze and nodded, but her expression was troubled.
Casey huffed and then swallowed thickly. “Tell me what it is.”
“I squeeze onto the hood with Gallo. Gallo pulls him out and I put a tourniquet on him. That gives us enough time to pull him over the hood and put him on a backboard.” Before Casey could retort, Brett continued, but more urgently this time. “The more time we argue over this, the less time the victim has before he bleeds out.” She met Matt’s very concerned and worried gaze. “Please. Let me do this.”
Casey’s lips pressed firmly together, as if he were contemplating the little choices he had. “We can’t hook you up and we don’t have enough time to get the aerial out for a hook.”
“And I can’t hook onto Gallo if he’s going to have the victim hooked onto him.” Brett understood what he was trying to say. “I’ll be as careful as possible.”
Casey was angry, because he had no other choice. “You better.” He leaned into his radio. “Gallo, wait for Brett to get there. Listen to her instructions.”
It took Brett twenty seconds to carefully climb onto the hood and crawl towards Gallo. With each second that passed, Casey’s heart pounded louder and louder in his chest. He murmured impatient words to himself as he watched Gallo continue to lift the victim out of the car.
With Brett’s careful instructions, Gallo was able to pull the victim far out enough for her to apply a tourniquet on his thigh to slow the bleeding. Afterwards, she reached for one of Gallo’s carabine and attached it to the belt loops of the victim’s jeans. She patted Gallo’s shoulder and told him to finish pulling.
Gallo successfully pulled out the victim from the car and then carried him with one arm underneath his knees and the other underneath his lower back. He grunted as he maneuvered himself along the hood.
Brett was watching Gallo hand off the victim to Ritter when the car beneath her started to shake and slide towards the edge of the overpass.
It all happened in what seemed like a slow motioned flash.
Casey heard the sound of the car’s belly grinding against the concrete as it started to slide further off the overpass. His eyes immediately flew to Brett. She wasn’t off the hood of the car just yet.
Brett’s eyes widened at the sudden shift. She saw Gallo leap off the hood, but the shake caused her body to jolt back. She yelped as she felt herself slide with the car and towards the edge of the overpass. She reached out, trying to grab onto anything, but could only find the slippery paint of the hood.
Without thinking, Casey threw himself onto the hood and immediately reached out for Brett’s hand. He thanked the fucking stars and all of the gods in the universe that his hand found her forearm.
Brett grunted from the sudden jolt from being caught and immediately grabbed onto Casey’s wrist. Her shoes found something to stand on, but as soon as she put her weight on it, it broke off and fell all the way down off the overpass. She then heard a very loud smash beneath her. She closed her eyes shut and murmured to herself, “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.”
“Hang on!” Casey yelled. He grit his teeth when he realized the only thing that was keeping him from following Brett off the ledge was the metal shell of the blown out tail lights of the car next to them. He grunted and groaned as he tried to pull her up, but there wasn’t enough for him to pull off from. His feet were barely touching the ground since his body was so far over the hood.
Casey then yelled over his shoulder, “A little help!”
Casey felt arms wrap around him and then felt a shallow pull.
“Shit!” Gallo swore. “Captain, the oil from the cars! It’s too slippery. I can’t get a good grip.”
When Brett heard Gallo, she began to frantically look around her. She tried to look for anything she could grab onto, but the only thing that could possibly be of any help was the stem of a shattered side mirror. It wasn’t like she could move around either, because that could make it much harder on Casey’s end.
The car moved; metal grinded against concrete, again.
Her options were running out.
“Sylvie!”
She looked up and met her boyfriend’s fearful eyes. She willed herself not to assume the worst, but seeing his expression, she could tell he was already thinking of it.
“I’m not letting go,” he reassured her firmly.
“Matt…” She didn’t want to think of what he was trying to say or what could inevitably happen, so she looked away.
“Sylvie, look at me.”
She was scared. She was terrified. She was starting to freak out. Her heart was practically yelling at her through her ears. And he could see all of those emotions swirling in her darkened blue eyes when she met his gaze once again.
“I’m not letting go,” he reaffirmed. “I’m not…” He then gave her a pleading look. “...I’m never letting go of you, Sylvie Brett.” With what little strength he had left in his arm, he tightened his grip on her forearm.
There was a hallowed feeling in the pit of Matt’s stomach. He knew that feeling; the feeling of helplessness. The feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. His gut was trying to warn him that his last chance was fastly approaching
With what remained of his strength, he pulled. He let out a strangled and drawn out groan as he used everything he had to pull her up. She moved a little bit, but it wasn’t enough. He huffed a defeated gasp and was about to try again, even though he knew he had nothing left in him, until he felt something hook onto the hip of his turnout pants.
“Gotcha!” Severide yelled. “Herrmann, reel them in!”
Matt and Brett shared a look of utter relief. He held onto Brett as he was being pulled in and didn’t dare to let go even after she made it over the hood safely. Even with both of their feet planted firmly on the ground, he still didn’t let go.
He pulled her into his arms, not caring about the eyes around them, and hugged her as tight as he could.
“I thought you said you’d be careful,” he murmured into her ear. His voice was filled with both dread and relief.
After such a close encounter, she allowed herself to give into the moment. She wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her nose into his neck. She briefly pressed her lips to the soft skin.
She let out a short laugh of relief, “I meant to. Maybe we should’ve gone through with that pinky promise.”
He replied with a short laugh, but he didn’t unravel himself from her.
Stella raised her eyebrows at the couple and leaned towards Severide. “Should we remind them where they are?”
Severide chuckled as he watched Casey and Brett prolong their embrace. “Eh, let them have their moment, but give them thirty seconds.”
Stella nodded in agreement. She knew, if the roles were reversed, that they’d be doing the same thing.
Clean up took over two hours.
When they got back, Casey nearly collapsed onto the cot in his quarters; he was mentally and physically exhausted.
Boden heard what happened to Brett over the radio and took ambulance 61 out of service for a few hours as soon as it came back.
Casey was about to succumb to the heaviness in his eyelids when he heard a series of small knocks on the frame of his door. He sat up from his spot and saw his girlfriend’s smile.
“Hey,” she softly greeted him. He noticed her paramedic jacket was off and her long sleeved CFD undershirt was now replaced with a short sleeved one. Her pants no longer looked like she had been rolling around in dirt and debris, and her face was clean and practically glowing.
He smiled at her despite his tiredness. “Hey. How are you?”
“I should be asking you that,” she replied as she slipped into his quarters and closed the door behind her. She sat next to him on his bed. “How’s your arm?”
He flexed his right hand a bit and then moved his arm around. “It’s okay. It’ll probably be sore in a few hours, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
She furrowed her brows and moved over to his right side. She took his arm in her hands and started massaging in circular motions from his wrist up to his tricep.
“Feel better?” she asked.
He beamed at her, not realizing how they were both leaning into each other. “A little.”
She chuckled right before feeling his lips brush against hers. Their kisses started slowly; his lips followed her lead, but only for a short while until he remembered what happened hours before. She noticed his pace quicken and pulled back before they could complain about oxygen.
“I could’ve lost you,” he shakily breathed out in admittance.
Her hands framed his face; she ran the pads of her thumbs along his five o’clock shadow. She could see the exhaustion in his face and all of the conflicting feelings that resulted from the call in his eyes.
“I’m right here, Matt,” she murmured reassuringly.
“I know, but--”
“--And I’m not going anywhere either,” she finished. His eyes searched hers. He was amazed by her ability to move past her fears. He was always in awe of her. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to come back to you. I know what happened was scary for you, too, but we have to keep moving. I got out of it alive and that’s all that matters.”
He agreed with her, “You’re right. I know you are.” He sighed heavily. “No matter how many times we tell each other we’ll be safe or careful, or however many times we get out of it alive, I don’t think it’ll ever get easier. There is never a doubt in my mind how much I love you and care for you, and wish you had a safer job. But, this is who we are. This is what we do and we love what we do.” His lips slowly formed a wide and endearing smile. “I love you, Sylvie Brett.”
Her loving expression softened at his words. “I love you, too, Matt Casey.”
He leaned in and gave her a very slow and sensual kiss on the lips. He gently pulled at her waist. “Stay with me tonight?”
She pulled back a bit and gave him a questioning look. “And risk getting reprimanded by the Chief?”
He shrugged. “I’m sure he can give us a pass tonight.”
She beamed at him. “Okay, but you’re taking the blame if we get caught.”
He laughed and kissed her again. “Promise.”
1
It started out as a really bad fire.
When Squad, Engine, Truck, and Ambo arrived on scene, the fire looked like it had been blazing for a long time. It was a one story office space; dozens of employees spilled into the parking lot with their mouths hung open in awe as the building charred.
A man ran up to Boden frantically telling him that their company accounted for everyone but three people.
While Brett and Violet set up a triage to check on everyone in the parking lot, Truck and Squad climbed into their gear and grabbed what they needed from their compartments.
Boden shouted orders to Casey and Severide, and both shouted orders to their teams.
Brett turned her head and worriedly watched Casey’s firefighting jacket disappear into the smoke filled entrance of the office.
“They’ll be okay,” Violet said with certainty.
When Brett turned around to meet Violet’s reassuring smile, she tried to smile as well.
“Yeah, they will,” she agreed.
She looked back once more and saw Severide disappear into the office, followed by Kidd. There it was; that feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was so familiar to her, yet she could never get used to it. It was never easy for her to watch the people she love risk their lives and run into burning buildings day in and day out.
While she and Violet assessed everyone in the parking lot that sustained minor burns and smoke inhalation, she kept an eye on the chatter on the radio.
When Boden asked for updates, it sounded like Severide and Gallo found two of the three missing employees.
Severide shouted into the radio that they were both coming out with the two they found. Boden told them words of encouragement and then asked for an update from Casey.
There was a slight pause that seemed to grasp and squeeze at Sylvie’s heart, and then his voice came over the radio.
“I found the last one, but she’s unconscious in the corner of the bathroom on the south end.” There was another pause. “It looks like she’s taken a bad hit to the head. There’s blood running down her face.”
Boden furrowed his brow and replied, “How bad is the wound?”
“I can’t really tell. There’s too much smoke in here,” Casey replied.
Boden grumbled under his breath. He turned his head and let his eyes scan the area until he searched who he was looking for. Brett met his gaze and then saw him wave her over.
“I’m sending Brett in,” he informed Casey. When she approached Chief Boden, she saw his determined look. “Brett, suit up. You’re going in there. Bring a c-collar and a backboard. Assess the victim and get them out.” He then leaned into his radio. “Cruz, Kidd, take Brett in.”
“Roger that,” Cruz replied.
“Copy that, Chief,” Kidd replied.
There was a time when she would’ve felt a stinging in her throat or heard a pounding in her ears. Climbing into turnout pants held terrible memories for her; the Arnow fire to be specific. Even though it wasn’t spoken over the radio, she knew Casey was kicking himself. Even though it was out of his hands, he would’ve done anything to keep her out of burning buildings.
As much as she didn’t want to think of the horrible things that could happen while she was in there, she had to focus on the task at hand. She reminded herself over and over that there was an unconscious and bleeding woman in the building that needed her, and that alone was what seemed to steel herself for the inevitable walk into the burning building.
She put a mask and helmet on and was led into the building by Cruz and Kidd. She followed their instructions and stuck close to them.
Ash flew about; half burnt papers littered the hallways and pictures of miscellaneous office advertisements that were cracked and broken lay off to the side. She could hear the unmistakable sound of fire blazing and cracking in her ears.
They went down multiple corridors before they approached the bathroom. The bathroom wasn’t in a bad shape, but that certainly didn’t make the situation any lighter. The fire was practically swarming the areas around them, meaning it was caving in on them and fast.
When she turned the corner of the bathroom, she was met with Casey’s concerned look that was drowning with inner turmoil. She could tell he was desperately trying not to think about the last time she was with him in a burning building.
When Sylvie’s eyes landed on the unconscious woman between the sinks and the stalls, she immediately went into PIC mode.
She kneeled in front of the woman and quickly assessed her head injury. The wound wasn’t terrible, but it certainly needed some stitches. She opened the woman’s eyelids and quickly shined a light in her eyes.
“She has a minor concussion, ” she announced before she pulled out some gauze and wrapped it around the woman’s head. She secured it in place with a bandage clip and ushered Cruz over. “Help me lower her onto the headboard.” She secured the c-collar onto her before lowering her down onto the headboard and securing her to the headboard.
“We got her,” Kidd announced. She gestured to Cruz to get the other end of the backboard.
Cruz nodded and grabbed the end. He turned to Casey and gave him a pointed look, “You got Brett?”
Casey nodded. “I got her. Hurry, get the victim out of here.”
“You got it, Captain. Keep our girl safe,” Kidd yelled right before she and Cruz carried the woman out of the bathroom.
Casey squeezed Brett’s shoulder and then yelled over the sound of the blazing fire, “Stay behind me and stay close, copy?”
Brett gave a determined nod. “Copy.”
The two left the bathroom and as soon as they walked down the adjacent hallway, a crash could be heard in the distance, followed by the hastened crackle of fire.
“What’s your status?” Boden asked through the radio.
“Cruz and I are bringing out the victim. We’re about two hallways out,” Kidd replied through the radio.
“Brett and I are right behind them. We just left the south bathroom,” Casey replied.
Casey’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Boden reply to all of them.
“I’m going to need you guys to double time it. The roof is starting to collapse. The west end just caved in.”
“Shit,” Casey swore. He looked down the other way and sure enough, the fire was heading straight for them. As if on cue, the roof further down the hallway collapsed and Casey knew it usually meant the domino effect. He looked up and saw the fire burn through the rafting above them.
He was more concerned about Brett’s safety, so he grabbed her by the shoulder and nudged her in front of him. “Go! Go and keep going. Don’t look back!”
She did as she was told and quickly retraced her steps. She trusted Casey that he was hot on her heels, making sure the roof wasn’t going to cave in on them.
She heard Casey swear again and then heard a loud crash and sizzle behind them. Another part of the roof collapsed.
“Keep going!” Casey shouted, again.
Brett quicked her pace this time and just as she rounded the corner of the last hallway before the exit, she heard another loud crash, and then a heart piercing yelp and a grunt. She immediately turned around at the sound and saw Casey on the floor with his leg pinned underneath metal shelving.
The metal shelving was from an adjacent room, but the walls that separated the room from the hallway were torn apart and charred. It looked like the shelving gave way and spilled into the hallway at the worst time possible. What made it even worse was that the shelving wasn’t empty. There were office supplies, large storage boxes and what looked like desk legs and accessories still secured to the shelving, thus adding more weight to its already heavy appearance.
Brett hastily made her way to him. “Casey!” She kneeled beside him to make sure he was still conscious and thank god he was. “Casey. Matt, are you okay?”
He grunted and tugged at his leg, but it wouldn’t budge. “Shit! My leg is caught. I can’t get it free.”
Brett immediately looked around for something, anything to help lift the shelving off his leg enough for him to slip out.
“Brett, you have to leave!” she heard him yell.
No. She wasn’t going to do that. Instead of listening to him, she kept looking around for something to use.
He grabbed onto her turnout pants and yanked on it hard to get her attention. “Brett! I mean it. You need to leave now ! The roof will collapse any minute!”
She was looking at something before she moved out of his grasp. “I’m not doing that, so don’t tell me to do that ever again!”
“Brett!” He tugged at his leg again, hoping it would do something, but it was no use. His leg was pinned down. “Sylvie!” he shouted.
She grunted as she lifted something off the floor down the hallway. She came back with a towel and a metal rod that was most likely from the supports above them. She wrapped the towel at one end of the metal rod. She tucked the other end of the rod underneath the shelving that was pinning Casey’s ankle.
“I’m never leaving you, Matt Casey,” she told him as she wrapped the towel around her hand as well. “So, don’t you ever tell me to abandon you. Fire or not, I’m never doing that to you.”
“Sylvie,” he pleaded. “Please-- I’ll figure it out. I’m not going to lose you to another fire. Please, just-- you need to go!”
She ripped off her mask and tossed it to the ground. “I’m not losing you either, Matt.”
With a loud grunt and a groan, she put her whole body weight on the metal rod with her hands pushing down into the towel. Her brows creased and her face contorted as she pushed harder and harder.
Casey saw the shelving move, but only by a couple inches. It turns out, those couple inches was all he needed to slip his leg out from underneath.
He scrambled backwards when he tugged his leg out from too much force. He looked up at Sylvie in awe and saw her look of relief. God, he wanted to kiss her, but that would have to wait. He had to remind himself of their current predicament.
He immediately got onto his feet and ushered Sylvie onto hers before nudging her down towards the hallway.
The two emerged from the building and were met with happy smiles and sighs of relief from their co-workers.
Boden wore a proud and relieved smile on his face. “Engine 51. Hose it down!”
While Engine was hosing the building down, Casey and Brett were off to the side, and Violet right next to them to conduct an assessment.
“Holy shit, are you two okay?” Kidd asked as she approached the two.
Casey nodded. “My leg got pinned at the last turn. Brett got me out.”
Kidd gave Brett a huge smile. “Wow. Thank god for all that time at the gym, huh? Maybe firefighting is your calling after all.”
Brett laughed and then fell into a coughing fit. Casey’s face contorted into a look of concern.
“You okay?” he asked worriedly.
She nodded. “I’m fine.” Another cough. “I just need to catch my breath a bit.”
Casey furrowed his brows and was about to cross over the line of professionalism and into boyfriend mode when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Boden wants us to stick around for clean up,” Severide told him and gestured to the others with a jerk of his head. “We already have a plan in place.”
Casey gave the lieutenant a solemn look before turning back to Sylvie. Violet waved him off and flashed a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, Captain. I’ve got her,” she said.
Casey nodded curtly. “Thanks, Violet.” He reached for Sylvie’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze and a thankful smile. He only left when she saw her smile, too.
After that call, ambo was seemingly on calls one after another with hardly any breaks in between. Casey didn’t have time to catch up with her or ask her how she was doing. He barely saw her in the common room eating before they were called out again.
Ambo was called out early in the morning and didn’t get back until late. By the time Sylvie and Violet were able to shower and change, everyone from shift had already left.
After a much needed nap and some HGTV, Sylvie then caught up with e-mails and browsed through Pinterest. She was about to look through her fridge and think about what to eat for dinner when she heard a knock at her front door.
When she opened the door, she was met with a pleasant surprise.
“Matt,” she greeted him happily. “Hey.”
He wore an apologetic grin. “Hey. Sorry. I would’ve come over earlier, but one of my clients had an emergency and--”
“--Matt,” she calmly and sweetly interjected. She grabbed his hand, laced her fingers with his, and squeezed lightly. “It’s okay. I was tired from shift, when I got back I pretty much passed out.”
He beamed at her and then leaned into her presence. He missed her so much. Work was so hectic for them, it felt like he hadn’t seen her in days.
He reached behind him to close the door and then felt her tug on his hand. She led him into the living room where he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. He pressed his lips to the side of her head and then kissed her forehead.
“Someone missed me,” she playfully teased.
That sparked something in him, because god , did he miss her.
Ever since that office building fire, she had been the only one in his mind. Half of his time spent in his office, sitting in front of a pile of paperwork with a pencil in his hand, his thoughts were purely occupied by her . He couldn’t get her look of determination and certainty out of his mind; the one she gave him right after he told her to leave him with his leg pinned down.
His lips dipped lower and found hers; he deepened each kiss that followed, loving the feeling of her soft lips against his. He felt her smile against him and took that as a sign to go further. He lowered himself a little, wrapped his hands under her thighs and lifted her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist and her lips never left his.
He carried her to her bedroom, bypassing the couch and what unsavory memories it held. His knees hit the foot of her bed and then he carefully lowered her onto the mattress. Their lips continued to dance and mingle, and her hands continued to caress and skim over the apple of his cheeks.
He pulled back ever so slightly to give them a moment to come up for air, but all the while, his eyes never left hers.
She beamed at him, loving the affectionate smile on his face and his softened look. At that moment, he looked so much younger.
“Not that I’m complaining, but is everything okay?” she worriedly asked. She could tell, from the moment she saw him at the front door, that something was off.
With his stomach pressed against hers and her legs framing his hip, he wanted to nod and continue getting lost in her completely, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. That’s what made them so good together; they understood each other and pushed each other to communicate, and even before they started dating, it felt easy to just open up to her.
He gave her a lopsided smile. “Back at the office fire, I told you to leave,” he confessed and then he brushed his lips against the corner of her jaw. “But, you didn’t.”
Her ocean blue eyes searched his slate gray ones. She shook her head. “I couldn’t do that to you, Matt.”
“I realize I’m technically not your superior, but that still doesn’t mean you can ignore a direct order.” He didn’t sound mad, only because he was completely taken by her and her ability to stay calm in such a stressful situation.
Her smile faded as she longingly looked into his eyes. She could remember that moment clear as day; she knew her exact feelings when he told her to leave. She could admit that she was scared and frightened, moreso about his well-being and not about the fire that blazed uncontrollably around them. “Matt, even if we weren’t together or instead of you, it was Kelly or Stella or anyone else…” Her lips slowly curled. “...I don’t think I’d ever be able to just… leave, at least not without trying my damn hardest to do something about it.”
He furrowed his brows.
And she continued, “I love you, Matt Casey.” His lips formed a beautiful and loving smile when he felt her thumb run over the apple of his cheek again. “You’ve saved me so many times before. I want to be able to do the same for you.”
He leaned in and brushed his nose against hers; he leaned in and softly kissed her. “I love you.” He flashed a toothy grin and then kissed her, again. He peppered kisses along her neck and then on her collar. “I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
“I chose to stay, Matt.”
“I know.” He frowned anyway. “But, it doesn’t make it any easier. I don’t want to ever see you get hurt.”
“Now you know how I feel when I have to watch you run into burning buildings or climb aerials to get on top of burning rooftops,” she replied with a throaty laugh.
He pulled away to lovingly stare at her. He loved seeing the twinkle in her eye that attributed to her happiness. “Guess we chose the wrong professions,” he playfully added.
“No, we definitely chose the right ones,” she replied encouragingly. “We just care so much about each other that we don’t want to fathom how we’d feel if anything bad happened, but I think that just means we’ve found the right person to fall in love with.”
He gave her a wide, beaming grin, and gave her a deep and loving kiss. She giggled against his lips and let herself get lost in him. Her hands ran along the back of his neck and scratched lightly at the little hairs, further deepening their kisses.
He felt like he was falling in love with her all over again.