Disclaimer: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med, its characters and universe belong to Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead and NBC. I'm only a fan, writing this for love of these TV shows and personal pleasure.

A.N.: Inspiration came from the final scene at PD's 3x15, which I loved so much.

Plowing Ahead

"Can you date... someone that you work with?"

As Sylvie Brett posed the question at the table at Molly's, she stirred up a few different reactions. Kim Burgess just sort of shrunk into herself and hid behind her beer, while Gabby Dawson and Erin Lindsay turned to each other and for a moment didn't say anything, and then they just laughed. Meanwhile Sarah Reese just watched it all with curiosity.

"What? What did I say?" Sylvie asked, a nervous smile on her lips as she looked from the firefighter to the detective and back again.

"No, it's okay, Brett," Gabby said, laughter still in her voice. "It's just that—Erin and I once had that exact same conversation."

"Really?" Sarah said, her eyebrows going up with interest as she surveyed the older women around their table.

"We did. About a year ago, right?" The green-eyed detective said with a nod, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Yeah, about that," Gabby replied also with a smile. "God it seems like a lifetime ago."

"I'll say," Erin agreed quietly, taking a sip from her beer.

"And what was your conclusion?" Sarah asked, nursing her drink.

"Well, it was sort of a lifetime ago," Gabby replied as Erin nodded along. "At the time, things were very different and much more complicated. Or so we thought. You see, Matt and I had broken up and that's about the time Erin and Jay broke up as well, right?"

"Yep," Erin confirmed. "Never would've guessed we'd be here today." She added with a shrug.

"Huh," Sylvie commented, looking from one to another. She was about to say something else, but Kim then spoke up.

"How did you manage that?" The CPD cop asked. "Not the being together part, I mean working together when you were broken up?"

"Well," Erin said, dragging out the word a little as she looked up at the ceiling and thought about it. "It was hard. Not being able to be with someone you want and still having to face them every day. But we started out as partners and we always worked great together so it was also easy, in a way."

"Hard is the operative word in my case," Gabby nodded along. "The thing with me and Casey was that we were learning entirely new roles. We'd always been friends and we worked at the same house, but there was no direct chain of command when I was PIC. So when we broke up we had never simply been lieutenant and candidate before. And on top of that he was my ex-fiancée."

"Yeah, it's always complicated, working with someone and having a relationship, especially in our line of work," Erin elaborated. "But it's worth it and after some experience we realize that if you can't risk it being with the person you love, then what's the point?" She finished with a smile and a characteristic raised eyebrow.

"You got it, girl! To plowing ahead and making it work," Gabby cheered on, raising her shot glass. The other four women lifted up their glasses as well and toasted to that, before they all downed their shots.

"But anyway, you already had a relationship with someone from work," Kim then turned to the blonde paramedic with a confused frown. "What about Cruz?"

"Yeah, but not really," Sylvie replied, nervously fiddling with the label of her beer bottle. "Joe and I did work at the same house and it was all fine with that, but he's a firefighter and I'm a paramedic, so it's different. It's not like you guys," she gestured over at the two women. "You and Jay are partners, doing exactly the same thing, and you and Casey, well he's your boss now."

"Ohh yeah, I get it," Gabby said. "Like I said, it was a real rough patch as we adjusted to that. But all we needed was time, and remember how much we love each other."

"I think that as long as there's love the risks are just that, risks," Erin added with a shrug. "In our line of work the risks are already there all the time anyway, so we might as well live it with the ones we love."

Gabby nodded in agreement, and the other three women grew silent as they thought about it and their own work/relationship situations.

Sarah's phone vibrated and she turned to see a new text from Joey. She smiled at that and wrote down a reply.

Kim looked over the top of her beer bottle and saw Adam sitting at a table by the door, quietly talking to Kevin over drinks. Her lips involuntarily curled up in a bittersweet smile at the sight, and she took a sip of her beer to wash down the feelings that came up with that.

Sylvie looked up and saw Jimmy sitting at the bar and laughing at something with Herrmann, who was serving drinks. He caught her eye and nodded at her, and she smiled and nodded back at him.

Erin and Gabby observed all of this, and just smiled at each other as they clicked their glasses. Who knew so much could change in a year?

A.N.: Ever since PD's 2x16 I've wanted to write something about Erin and Gabby talking relationships, and I just loved the latest episode with all the girls talking at Molly's. Also, I'd never guess Erin would be such a romantic, but I'm so delighted with that.

Also, I want Ruzek and Burgess back together already!

Btw, I'm not sure about the whole Brett/Jimmy thing, that totally came out of left field for me but it's an idea and I want to see where they go with this. (Although IMO they've been wasting perfectly good opportunities of getting Brett and Severide together, which would be awesome, but I realize they want Severide to be the perpetual hot bachelor so he can hook up with all sorts of women who come along in the story arcs ¬¬).