Summary: AU from episode 1.15 "Nazdarovya!". Hank Voight has a problem. And the Dawsons owe him. [Dawson siblings, Dawsey, with some sideline Dawson/Mills, and the rest of the crew, of course]

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Chicago Fire, or anything having to do with it. It's just my favorite show, fast-tracking to become my all-time favorite due to Dawsey. So don't mess that up Chicago Fire PTB!

Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Lovers

Somewhere on the South Side, somewhere near Lake Michigan

Breathe in. Breathe out.

It was infinitely more difficult to do when you were running for your life.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

There was nowhere to hide. He was out in the open, he'd long ago lost his cell phone, they were tracking him closely, and he'd made a gross misjudgment in thinking he could get closer to the lake and actually get away. Granted, having guns pointed at you could severely hamper logical reasoning…

Breathe in. Breathe out.

If he could make it to the trail, maybe he would be alright. Maybe…

A shot rang out and he heard the bullet's impact somewhere to his left. There was no maybe now. He was a dead man. The deep freeze of panic made his breath catch for a millisecond. And then there was another shot, this impact he couldn't hear. He couldn't hear it because he could only feel it.

Breathe in…

He'd tried.

Breathe out…

Lakeshore Hospital

Antonio Dawson sat in his hospital room waiting impatiently for the doctor to come with his discharge orders. He'd woken up ready to go, and they made him wait until the doctor was available in the afternoon. It was way past time for him to be out of there. The sterile walls and ridiculous ambient hospital sounds were beginning to drive him crazy. So, he sat on the edge of his bed, fully dressed, left arm in a sling and CPD badge dangling from its chain around his neck. When he heard the door open, he let out a sigh of relief and bent to pick up his overnight bag.

"Finally! I'm ready to bust outta this joint," he said, sitting back up. He did his best to hide his wince as it pulled at the still healing wounds and sore muscles. Instead of the doctor though, his gaze met that of his unsympathetic sister.

"Yeah, well, you're stuck with someone who is as equally unhappy about the idea of you doing so," Gabriela Dawson told him, crossing her arms in a way that reminded him so much of their mother.

"Ah, now there's a sight for sore eyes," he said with his usual grin. Gabby rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, I saw you two days ago," she told him. He shrugged.

"You're still a sight, my favorite sister," he said. She approached him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Stop buttering me up. I'm you're only sister. And trying to get on my good side is not going to help you when mom gets a hold of you," she warned.

"I stuck up for you when you broke abuela's flower pot," he told her with a small pout. Gabby glared at him.

"I was 11 years old, 'tonio! I think I've paid you back for that," she said. Antonio raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay. But I looked out for your boy for you," he said, giving her a quick wink. The way she shifted on her feet told him he'd scored a point on an unknown vulnerable spot. There was more to the Matthew Casey story there that he would need to check into later.

"I saved your frickin' life," she answered back. Well, a Dawson certainly knew where to hit. He'd be remiss as a big brother if he hadn't taught her well in the art and value of counter attack. He held up his hands in show of peace.

"Alright, alright. I'll deal with the consequences," he said. She gave him a look.

"Damn straight. You know you should be here a few more days… You were shot in the chest," she said fiercely. Antonio grabbed her hand, knowing what that day had cost her. He couldn't imagine having to be in her place, her life hanging in his hands. It would have killed him if anything had happened to her… and he knew she felt the same for him. They'd always been close. And he'd always taken that for granted. But when she'd come to tell him what she'd done to secure his safety, the safety of his family… there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

Yet staying in the hospital even one more hour was the one thing way beyond those limits. Being a Dawson herself, she had to understand that. He was actually saved from having to sell that thought to her as the doctor walked into the room.

"Detective Dawson," the man said, looking over the paperwork in his hands. "You know I would advise an additional 48 hours seeing as you were just taken off of IV medications yesterday…"

"I know," Antonio remarked. The doctor looked him over quickly.

"But I can see that you're going to be one of those patients," he said with a put-upon smile.

"He is a Dawson," Gabby said from his side. The doctor gave her a smile too.

"I can presume that he'll have plenty of people to watch out for him?" he asked. Gabby nodded.

"Oh yes. Our mother will have him under lock and key. And that's without his wife also standing guard. And, of course, his sweet little sister," she said, batting her eyes at Antonio innocently. The doctor laughed again at Antonio's displeased look.

"Don't remind me," he told Gabby.

"Well, I obviously can't clear you for work for at least a few weeks. We need to see that wound in your chest completely healed and we'll need to see you back here in a week for a follow-up. We don't want any complications sneaking up on us," the doctor told him. Antonio let out a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. I got all that. Got my release papers?" he asked. The doctor let out a breath as he shuffled some papers.

"The top sheet is basic dressing care. The second is the prescription for painkillers. Don't overwork that arm too much. You'll need to work your way back up to full movement. Which is what the third sheet is for… your orders for physical therapy." When the doctor moved to pass the papers to Antonio, Gabby stepped in and took them.

"I'll take those," she said with a warning look to her brother. "If you give them to him, he'll 'forget' them someplace. These will go directly into the hands of his loving wife." The doctor chuckled.

"I think you'll be just fine," he said. Antonio let out a huff of a laugh.

"Says you," he commented before standing up. "Are we good? Can I escape now?"

"Yep," the doctor said. "Just don't forget the follow-up in a week. You can't get any more painkillers without it."

"Thanks, doctor," Gabby told him, reaching to shake the man's hand. He nodded to the both of them before leaving.

"Ready?" she asked, reaching to take his bag. Antonio rolled his eyes.

"I was ready yesterday." Gabby shook her head at him as they left the room together.

The Dawson Home

Gabby watched as her brother settled himself onto his couch. His pained wince made her wince.

"When will Laura and the kids be back?" she asked, tracking his movements to be sure he didn't need her help.

"Tonight. Police escort and everything. Perk of being in protective custody. So don't worry your pretty little head," he said. Gabby narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't you make me smack you," she warned. Antonio looked over his shoulder at her with a grin.

"I'd be a nice change. These kid gloves you're treating me with are a bit unnerving," he joked. He tried to duck out of the way when she actually did swat the back of his head, but wasn't fast enough.

"Feel better? You got your smack," she growled. "You were freakin' shot in the chest in front of me, alright? I know what you've been through, and you can't hide that from me like you can from mom and Laura." Antonio sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't say that," Gabby told him as she brought over a couple of pillows and helped to prop them under his arm.

"No, you need to hear it. I've thought it a lot, but never said it. I'm sorry that I ever got you involved in this. I should never have been into the firehouse while undercover, I should never have told you anything, I should never have asked you to cover for me… There are a lot of should nevers. That's not something I'm proud of, especially when it concerns you. You're my sister, I should have been protecting you. Not involving you," he said, letting his head fall back against the couch in defeat. Gabby sat down next to him.

"Antonio Ramon Dawson, you know that I would have gone all 'Gabby' on your ass and demanded to know what was going on, no matter what. You're my brother, that's how this thing goes. So I would have been involved anyway. If you haven't figured it out by now, that's how your little sister works," she said with a sigh. She leaned into his good arm and laid her head on his shoulder. "It was not your fault, not all of that, not the shooting, and definitely not Voight. No matter what you may think, I am glad I was there to help you. Otherwise, you would have been alone." Antonio kissed her on her forehead.

"I know what you're trying to do. And it just doesn't change the facts, Gab," he said. "I let it get out of control. And it almost cost me you, Laura, the kids… who knows what the hell else." Gabby sat up in order to look him in the eye.

"But it didn't. And that's what you have to remember," she said. He nodded, taking her hand in his.

"You're the best sister a guy could have, you know that?" he asked with a small smile. She smiled back.

"Well, that's funny, you're the best brother a girl could have. Apparently we Dawsons broke the mold," she joked.

"Damn straight," Antonio agreed. "Now… I know you've got better things to do today than to watch your brother take his pain medications and then pass out. So, go. Get out of here." Gabby chuckled.

"Enough sibling bonding already?" she teased as she stood up.

"Well, you're a pain in the ass on a good day," he grinned. She gave him a narrow-eyed look.

"I love you, you know that, but I won't hesitate to call abuela to come look after your skinny butt. She'd do it in a heartbeat," she threatened. Antonio held up his hand to ward the threat off.

"Alright, alright. Love you too. Now seriously, get outta here. I'm going to go sleep some of this off, get some energy back for when the kids get home," he said. Gabby snorted a laugh.

"And their boundless energy will be all the punishment you deserve," she said, knowing her niece and nephew well enough. Gabby picked up her jacket and shrugged into it. "You'll call if you need anything?"

"Of course," Antonio told her. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I mean it. Call. Don't go Independent Dawson on me and set your recovery back."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Alright, if I don't get going, Herrmann's going to have a fit. I've already missed four text messages from him," she told him. "Get some sleep."

"You're worse than ma," Antonio grumbled as she walked towards the door.

"I didn't hear that," she sang back to him before heading out.

As Gabby walked out to her car she double checked those four messages from Herrmann, smiling as his incredible anxiety could permeate through 140 characters. She responded that she was on her way, hoping to cut short the rant she was sure to receive about being a responsible business owner. The missed call alert on her phone caught her eye as she closed the text window. It was an unknown number, but there was no message left. With a shake of her head to dismiss it, she climbed into her car. She had bigger things to deal with today.

When she finally pulled up to the bar she could already see Herrmann pacing and Otis trying to get him to calm down from his perch on the bar's front stairs. With a roll of her eyes and a fond smile, Gabby opened the car door and got out.

"What the hell took you so long?!" came the immediate question from an exasperated Herrmann.

"Calm yourself, Christopher. I had to make sure my brother didn't break out of the hospital and go tearing off on his own," she said, wrapping her coat tighter around herself as the cool breeze picked up. Whatever Herrmann was going to say was cut off at her pronouncement and he swallowed hard.

"How's he doing?" he asked, all the previous exasperation melting into sincere concern. Gabby smiled.

"He's actually doing pretty great, considering. Still his smartass self," she said. Herrmann grinned and pat her on the shoulder.

"Good to hear, kiddo," he said.

"Now… you summoned my presence, what am I here for?" she asked. Otis groaned.

"Don't get him started," he pleaded. But Herrmann grinned as went to open the door for the two of them.

"I have a few ideas we need to talk about," he started. Otis and Gabby shared a look before stepping through.

"It's going to be a long afternoon," Otis warned her, already knowing what some of those ideas entailed.

"It's still a big N-O to calling it the Bombardier," she said, trying to get that subject out of the way.

"Seriously, we can cancel that out immediately by majority if you get on board with… Mustache Pete's," Otis suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. Gabby gave him a look that clearly said 'Really?'.

"No! It will be called Bombardier's. There's no failing with that name. You'll both come around to it, I know it," Herrmann interrupted before she could say what she was projecting.

"Nope. Not going to happen," Gabby told him, sitting on one of the stools and folding her arms over her chest.

"Then what do you want to call it? I have yet to hear a suggestion from you," Herrmann told her, a curious look on his face.

"I honestly don't know. But it is not going to be Bombardier or Mustache Pete's," she told them both. Both Herrmann and Otis shrugged.

"Alright, that'll be tabled for now," Herrmann said. Then he grinned. "Now, let's talk design…"

Gabby let her forehead fall to the bar with a groan. "Yep. Long afternoon."

"Told ya," Otis warned her, patting her on the back and grabbing a stool for himself.

Metropolitan Correctional Center

Hank Voight looked across the table at his lawyer and union representative as they relayed to him the details of the charges against him. He'd been waiting weeks for a formal charge and a court date, and now that they had one, it was full-time preparation. Of course, they were already talking about heading in the entrapment direction as a defense. But Voight knew that there was much more involved than the simple "deal that got him". There was something much bigger at work here than his situation. And the ace up his sleeve could only be played as a last resort.

Until then, he'd keep his mouth shut and let his lawyer do the talking.

When Antonio opened his eyes the sun was just setting below the horizon. He'd kept to his promise of resting, which would surprise the hell out of his family. What was even odder was that it wasn't the waning light that had caused him to wake, but the gentle chime of the doorbell. With a pain-filled grunt, Antonio pulled himself up off the couch. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't even remotely close to being back to normal yet. It took him longer to get to the door than usual, and when he reached it, he realized that with Gabby at her new bar and Laura and the kids coming back from wherever they had been stashed for protection, he wasn't really expecting anyone. The cop in him caused him to be a little wary, especially considering the past few weeks. So, to see Lieutenant Matt Casey standing on the other side of his door when he opened it couldn't have surprised Antonio more. The firefighter looked a bit uncomfortable standing there, hands tucked as far as they would go into his jacket pockets. Taking pity on him, Antonio nodded the blond man inside.

"Matt," Antonio greeted as he shut the door behind him. "What brings you by?" The other man smiled.

"You mean other than checking in on you myself?" Matt nodded to the sling. Antonio smirked back.

"Appreciated. I got lucky. But I've had it on good authority for many years that I'm just too stubborn to die," he joked. At the other man's pointed look, Antonio held up his free hand in surrender. "Alright, alright. I get it. Too soon yet. I'll take that as fair warning to change my material before the females in my family give me a permanent bruise on the back of my head."

"You did get lucky," Matt commented with a false lightness. Antonio beckoned him into the living room, carefully eyeing the firefighter, knowing there was more on the man's mind. "And so did Gabby."

Ahhhh, there it was. Antonio could see the anger bubbling just under the surface. Perhaps this is what had Gabby so uncomfortable.

"I take it you've talked to Gabby?" Antonio asked. The other man tensed slightly. Again, more to the story. Interesting.

"She told me she'd talked to Voight." But the detective could see that it wasn't much beyond that. He held up a hand to pause the discussion.

"As is usually the case with the exploits of one Gabriela Dawson, I have a feeling we'll need a beer for this. Just don't tell the wife," he said, going into the kitchen to grab a couple from the fridge. When Antonio re-entered the living room, Matt was leaning against the back of the couch, arms crossed. He took the drink gratefully.

"I'm going to tell this to you straight," Antonio said, settling in on a nearby chair. "If you think Gabby going to Voight was sanctioned by me, you're very much mistaken. I'd have died twice over to keep her out of the son of a bitch's crosshairs." He popped the top off the beer and took a large swig. He relished the taste of the cold brew for a moment before bringing his attention back to the troubled man in his living room.

"The fact is, Matt, Gabby's like me. We try to keep each other in check, but ultimately, she's done something for me that I would not have hesitated to do for her. I can't condemn her for it. Especially since it saved my family. I owe her for life, because of it," he said earnestly. The other man looked to absorb that information for a moment.

"Now," Antonio continued. "If you're thinking my sister set out to betray you, and because Voight had had his sights set on you and your fiancée in the past…"

"No," Matt's reply was instantaneous. "That's not what this is about. That's never been what it's about."

"Then what's it about?"

"It just that she… she…" Matt paused and ran a frustrated hand over his face. When he looked back to Antonio, the older man finally pinpointed it. He knew that look. He knew it very well, in fact.

"… she put herself willfully into harm's way knowing the possible outcome. And you don't know how to react to that," Antonio answered for him. "It's actually got nothing to do you with you. Or Hallie. Or anything like that. It's got to do with what you know Voight is capable of and her not paying that any regard."

Matt popped the top off of his own beer and took a long drink of it. It was enough of a confirmation for Antonio. The man swallowed hard and then his blue eyes held Antonio's hard. "Is he going to be a problem?"

Antonio didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Yes. The difficulty lies in whether he is going to be a direct problem or if he's going to play his hand more subtly. The way he's going to see it is that both Gabby and I owe him. Gabby more, because of her personal request. But me too, because my life was saved, quite literally. He's going to have heard that through the grapevine. And to think he doesn't have his connections both in and out of prison would be naïve and put us at a disadvantage. He's going to use this, no doubt about it. And he's got a long memory. He very much knows Gabby's connection to 51, if you catch my meaning."

"Goddamn it," Matt muttered more to himself. Antonio nodded, as he took another drink of his forbidden beer.

"I hate to say this," he started. "But I'd rather it this way." Matt straightened as he narrowed his eyes at the detective.

"Excuse me? You just said yourself that Gabby's now in Voight's crosshairs," he said incredulously. Antonio held his hand up in supplication to ward off the predictable anger. He'd find it funny at how easily the other man was showing his emotional cards if the subject itself wasn't so serious.

"Yes. As much as I hate that she is, I'd rather it be Voight. The devil we know. We can at least begin to predict some things with that. We have our own leverage, should we need it. The gang that we took down, thanks to Gabby's ill-thought-out but successful intervention, would have been a hundred times worse. Don't you get that? They wouldn't have stopped at me, Matt. They wouldn't have stopped at my wife, or my kids. My whole family would have been fair game with targets on their backs. Everyone near and dear to me, because that's how they play," he informed with a hard swallow. "And with their connections, people just disappear. I don't want that shadow looming over our shoulders. The 'what if's' and nightmares involved with that is a rabbit hole I don't even want to think about." It looked like Matt hadn't even thought about the other option. The look on his paled face was pained as he realized that there truly had been no good decisions to be made.

"So what you are saying is now we wait?" the fireman asked after a moment, his grip on the bottle tightening in frustration. Antonio nodded.

"Have you actually talked to Gabby?" he asked. Matt let out a breath, remembering the last actual conversation they'd had.

"I've just been… too angry. I'd rather we leave it where it is for now, before I say something I regret." Antonio nodded once.

"Okay. I get that. Just… don't be an idiot." Antonio suspected that they were both being idiots. But in this case, he needed to protect his sister's feelings as well. She felt something for this man in front of him, and had endangered that to save Antonio's life. He owed her something back for that in this area.

"I've been an idiot more than a handful of times over the past few months," the fireman admitted with a solemn look. Antonio smirked to himself. Of course he knew all about his cousin's Christmas party. It hadn't taken long to get around his family like wildfire that Gabby had showed up with him. And from what Gabby had actually let him in on, it hadn't exactly gone well despite the fact that whatever this all was, it was certainly mutual. The evidence was right in front of him. But… the Voight situation certainly hadn't helped matters.

"She didn't do it to hurt you."

"But sometimes that's a consequence. And sometimes it's about more than the hurt."

"Yes. Yes it is." Antonio took a final drink of his beer as a silence fell. There was that quote going through his head that Gabby always told him when he'd gone to her after a fight with Laura. Something about hurting the ones we love the most… Somehow he doubted that it was something that would bring any sort of clarity to this situation, so he kept it to himself.

"So when do you think you'll be back to work?" Matt asked, finishing off his beer as well. Antonio rolled his eyes.

"The doctor says a few weeks, but I'm pretty sure my mother would have me tucked in bed for the next month and Laura would rather I quit, I think. She doesn't say it, but I know it," he said with a chuckle.

"What does Gabby say?" The chuckle became an outright laugh, causing Antonio to wince at the sudden action as it pulled at a sore spot.

"You kidding? She told me to stop mooching off all the innocent sympathizers and get off my good for nothing ass pretty much the second I was coherent," he said with a grin. Matt chuckled along.

"Sounds like Gabby," he said. Antonio just laughed again.

"Ain't that right," he agreed. But then the smile slipped off his face. "I will regret for the rest of my life, though, that she was the one that had to see it. She puts on a good face, but I know what it did to her."

"She held it together, though," Matt commented. "She was solid at 51, no matter what." Antonio smiled with pride.

"She always will be, too," he agreed. Matt stood up straight and picked up his and Antonio's bottles.

"I'll get rid of the evidence for you on my way out," he said, effectively closing the conversation. Antonio smirked.

"My marriage thanks you," he joked as he pushed himself out of the chair. Matt paused at the door and turned to look at him.

"Thanks for letting me drop in unannounced," he said. Antonio nodded.

"Not a problem. And considering our shared nemesis and the fact that he seems to turn up like a bad penny, it wasn't exactly unwarranted," he said. Matt let out a breath.

"You'll let me know if anything comes up?" This wasn't just a request because of the history between the man and Voight.

"Of course. As long as I get the same promise," he said, reaching out to shake Matt's hand.

"Of course," Matt told him, gripping the offered hand. Then he held up the bottles. "And I owe you a beer."

"Don't you worry, I'll collect," Antonio told him. Matt nodded before turning and opening the front door. "And remember what I said… don't be an idiot." The fireman paused as he contemplated the door handle for a moment. Then he nodded as he pulled the door open.

"'Night," he said softly before pulling the door closed behind him.

"'Night…" Antonio answered to the empty room. It wouldn't be long before Laura and the kids got back. He looked around the home he and his family had lived in for the past 10 years. He'd been right when he told Matt that he was on Voight's ledger in big, bright red pen. He probably had been since the moment he'd slapped the cuffs on the man and hauled him off to prison. And now Gabby was involved, right up to her knees at the first jump. He hated that he and Gabby were now the epicenter of what was to come with Voight. And he hated even more that those closest to them would inevitably feel the aftershocks without ever being a part of it. As he shifted his stiff shoulder and winced at the resulting pain, he only hoped he could keep them all safe.

After the door closed behind him, Matt Casey stood on the Dawson's front porch and looked out over the calm street. The haziness of the evening caused the streetlights to glow an eerie orange, and that eeriness seemed to seep right down into his bones. A storm was coming…

Matt took a deep breath and walked quickly down the front sidewalk, careful to hide the beer bottles in the recycle bin near the curb before heading to his truck. He certainly didn't want to be the unintentional cause of a future marital dispute among the Dawsons.

Ever since Voight had been put in prison, Matt had been able to sleep more easily. To know that a man like that was behind bars, where he deserved to be after everything, was a weight off of his shoulders. A weight that had been beginning to suffocate him. But when Gabby had told him of her involvement in trying to get Antonio's shooter and what it took for her to do it… that weight had settled right back down over him. Matt knew, firsthand, what Hank Voight was capable of. The man gave no quarter. Everything was fair game. And with Gabby owing the man a favor, that did not bode well at all.

There was nothing he could do, though. This wasn't his fight. Gabby had made it perfectly clear that she would do what she needed to do. And he'd made it perfectly clear that he couldn't support it. This was completely out of his hands. And it killed him. As much as he hated it, Antonio had been right. It was going to be a waiting game. But he would certainly do his best to help minimize the fallout.

A shaking finger dialed a phone number that was written on the back of the other hand.

"Hello, you've reached the voicemail of Gabriela Dawson. I'm not available to take your call, so leave a message and I'll get back to you. Thanks…"

A small, pained whimper escaped as the phone was disconnected.

To be continued…

Author & Story Note: OK, so the prompt behind this was that my huge question in that whole "Gabby goes to Voight" situation was why would Matt get so angry that he wouldn't talk to Gabby for a whole month? There was definitely more to it than the fact that Voight came after him and Hallie. If that were the case, he'd have just wished her luck and been done with it, letting the matter be what it needs to be but him staying out of it. But as she mentioned, he'd pretty much frozen her out. So… why that much anger? Or was it just more than anger? We obviously know the ultimate reason for it all now, but at the time, there was very little in way of explanation of it. I also feel that more could have been done with that "favor" storyline, although I understand now that it was all a setup to get Chicago PD off the ground. So thus begins this fic. Please be patient as my time has been limited and will be for the next few months, so I will update this as much as I possibly can in that time. I just cannot promise regular updates. I hope it's interested you enough to stick with it. LOL!