A/N: I will clean this first chapter up when and if I need to, there will most likely be things I've missed but I wanted to publish it as I've worked hard on this and all I'm going to say for this chapter is...get the tissues ready! - Devil Enchantment.

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought things." - Lemony Snicket, Horseradish.

The ambulance sped through the traffic, sirens wailing and it was being driven like it was the end of everything with a police escort and Gabby knew the love of her brother's life, her best-friend and work colleague's life was in her hands. Sylvie Brett's blood stained her hands and Gabriela knew she had to do everything in her power along with Chout who let her come in the back of the ambulance to help her friend - to save her.

"You got to keep your eyes open, Sylvie…" Gabby murmured, as tears strolled down her face as she remembered how the shift started and even when her and her husband Matthew Casey had a laugh about something to do with Sylvie and Antonio the night before.

And her last words to Sylvie before they got that fateful call…

Drinks are on me, later.

Sylvie was the first on the scene, as it had been called into dispatch as a man down from unknown causes and she had been the one to tell Gabriela to not only call for back-up, but go back to the ambulance and get what they needed as they had been dealing with an unidentified mid-twenty year old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. In the back of Gabriela's mind; she blamed herself for it - for not getting Sylvie to go back to the ambulance - to let her deal with the gunshot victim and for her to go back to the ambulance.

It was Shay all over again.

"BP's 70 over 40."

"No, that's too low…"

Gabriela knew what it could mean as Hermann experienced hypovolemic shock after being stabbed and his condition did deteriorate but this wasn't a stab wound and it wasn't Hermann who was fighting for her life - it was Sylvie. She got to work, doing exactly what she needed to do without getting in the way of what Chout was doing and there was this image flashing in the back of Gabby's mind of her finding Sylvie…

Laying there in the snow, struggling to breathe as she had not only been shot in the chest; she had been shot in the shoulder too and Gabriela knew if the assailant wanted to - they could have simply shot her friend in the head or the neck. Their victim had been shot in the head at a close-range and the severity of his wound had killed him while there were at least two bullets inside Brett who Gabby presumed to have tried stopping the gunman from killing the victim.

No one would know why, why the assailant didn't just threaten her and walk away - why they shot a paramedic after shooting the victim and it wasn't for Gabby to know; as she knew it was the job of the officers assigned to the case to find out…

Sylvie hit the snow hard, gasping for air. She couldn't take in a full breath, which was more to do with getting shot in the chest first and in that moment when the first bullet hit her, she thought that this was it.

This was the end.

Her life was over, but she didn't have time to think, to try and turn to crawl away, to do anything...as the gun fired again. An awful noise filled her ears, her heartbeat was loud and above all the pain - she heard the man's voice, the attacker who had come back to finish the job.

To end his crew mate's life echoed to her what happened on a call with Jimmy Borelli, but he was gone and she was laying in the snow, struggling to breathe.

"Please," those were her only words before the pain flared up again and her vision became blurry as she heard three words leave the man's lips as he searched her jacket for her I.'.D.; not caring if he put more pressure on her wounds - the kind of pressure that caused her body to flare up with agony.

"Goodbye, Sylvie Brett."

Sylvie didn't have time to reflect on what might have happened if Gabby was there, as there was a sharp kick to the ribs by the assailant which winded her and made it even harder for her to breathe with her clutching her wounded side in agony. If it had been a fight, if she had gotten into a fight then maybe she could understand why he picked her but the white flash of pain freezed her mind for a second, followed by the agony that followed - two or maybe three bullets were inside her and one was tearing its way through her right lung.

There was a little girl, so dainty and beautiful in her own way with blonde hair dancing in a white dress. laughing as she twirled and sang a song with two adults watching her as she danced and sung slightly off-tune with the television being on in the background.

Then there was an older girl standing still, getting her photograph taken for high school and a flash of a red dress that the girl was going to pick out for her prom with the images seeming to blur together before there was a woman walking into Firehouse 51 with a bag on her left shoulder.

Sylvie had been nervous that day when she told Gabriela Dawson that she was the new paramedic on Ambulance 61, replacing Chout and even when she told her that she just went to where she was told to go.

That was the first day. The first day of her being at Firehouse 51, being a paramedic on Ambulance 61 and working alongside Gabriela Dawson.

Now she was dying in the snow, while her work partner and best-friend was running towards her, sliding in the snow a little because of how fast she was moving and her eyes were flickering shut as she didn't want to keep them open any longer. She couldn't keep them open long enough…

Gabriela was here to save her, but Sylvie had been so insistent that she checked on the man first, the twenty-something year old male victim whose name they didn't and she didn't know if the words escaped her lips or not.

Sylvie knew that Gabriela had radioed it in before the man with the hate-filled shocking bright blue eyes and wearing a black jacket with his hood being up, covering his hair showed up and he wasn't successful at hiding his clean-shaven face but that didn't matter -

Gabby was safe, she was unharmed and okay, as she had been at the ambulance before the gun was fired at least five times...maybe more but Sylvie never kept counting - as there was this searing agony flaring inside her.

All Sylvie could think about was how happy she was Gabby wasn't hurt…

She's safe. She's okay. That's all that matters.

It was better than okay that she wasn't there in the snow with her, dying, that she was safe and even if there were tears strolling down her cheeks - it didn't matter. Her friend was safe and sound with that being what mattered the most. Thinking of a scenario where they were both bleeding out in the snow, with no one being able to save them, stole the air from her lungs and made her chest ache.

"Gabby…" her voice was soft, so faint that she thought Gabriela couldn't hear her speak but there she was, pressing her hands against her wounds and telling her that it was going to be okay, that help was on the way and to save her energy.

Antonio, Sylvie's thoughts were scattered, I love you so much...and I hope you forgive me. Please…. You've got to be strong...if I don't…

She was on the edge of consciousness, unable to focus on anything but the pain and the soft tone of Gabriela's voice, trying to get her to stay awake - to stay conscious before help arrived. She couldn't fight the darkness, this never-ending black-hole that appeared in her vision and there was this voice, a familiar voice in the back of her mind telling her it was okay to let go.

Her ears were hurting, the sound of her heartbeat was erratic and it was trying to beat harder than it ever beat before with her lungs hurting. There was movement and voices that she couldn't quite register before she seemed to be lifted up, so effortlessly, so casually and then there was sound of doors shutting behind her.

"You got to keep your eyes open, Sylvie…"

She blinked several times, her vision blurred but she could tell that she was in an ambulance, though she wasn't certain if it was Ambulance 61 or another ambulance taking her away and her eyes felt like they were stinging as there was Gabriela, staring down at her with tears strolling down her face.

Oh, Gabby. Please, don't cry...not for me…

She was tired and in pain, that she knew it would all slip away if she wanted it to end as she could let go and to give in to the quiet. To the darkness that lay ahead of her and maybe she'd see a light...she'd see something before it was her time to go.

Memories flashed into her mind and Sylvie wasn't willing to give up. There was so much she had to do, things to say, so much that she wanted to fight and nothing around her seemed to register in her mind. This was a fight for her too - a fight for her mind, her body, everything she had or was set to lose.

Maggie enters the main area and tells the team that there was an incoming trauma patient coming with Doctor Rhodes preparing himself for the trauma patient's arrival; with none of them knowing who it was going to be coming through the doors. There was a sudden movement of activity as the rest of the team got ready for the incoming patient and by the time, they're organised - the blue and red lights that were flashing slowed to a stop.

"Doctor Rhodes!"

The chaos began when the automatic doors swung open and Chout is the one who is already rattling off information as April came to the realisation that it was Sylvie Brett who was a paramedic assigned to Ambulance 61 and she was also one of her friends.

"What happened?"

"Gunshot wound to the chest…"

Maggie had been shocked when she saw April approach her, rushing towards her like the world was ending as Rhodes demanded medical records and for them to go into trauma room three with the question that had been on the tip of her tongue fading away as she saw the patient being wheeled in by Chout and a distraught Gabriela Dawson who had blood sticking to her hands.

She wheeled her chair back suddenly, towards the nearest computer that was free and began typing in the information that she needed to type so she could access Sylvie's records and there they were - all her details flashed up on the screen.

"What happened?" Those were the same words that had echoed from Rhodes with her having to force herself to remain calm, to become disassociated because even if Sylvie was a friend - they had to remain professional.

She forced herself to focus on what she was doing, what she needed to do as she scanned the information before printing it for Connor, Will and the rest of the team to look at as April was the one to tell her quietly that Halstead had immediately gone to help Connor after seeing who was brought in, and of course the state that Gabriela was in.

"April…"

"She was shot…"

Maggie struggled to process that information, but she had to remain focused on the job at hand as there was more than one patient to treat in the emergency department and she prayed deep down that Sylvie would pull through, that she would be strong enough to survive the injuries she sustained.

April had grabbed the documents out of the printer and as soon as she did that; she was gone - having gone back to where the team was assessing the injuries Sylvie sustained and how critical her condition was.

It was then in that moment that Maggie stood up from her chair, knowing she had to do something as Chief Boden, Antonio and the others would have most likely been informed with her seeing how distraught Gabriela was - standing there, watching as Rhodes was trying to get Sylvie to talk as she was conscious again.

"Pneumothorax…" said Halstead who was prepping a large hollow, flexible tube that would be placed into Sylvie's chest to drain the blood and air from around her lung with Maggie having guided Gabriela away to a waiting room and sat with her for what seemed like hours.

It was all one big blur to Gabby after they had reached the hospital, after they transferred Sylvie from the stretcher to a hospital bed and once Doctor Rhodes along with the team working beside him started treating her best-friend. She was so disoriented, trying so hard to process everything that happened, that went wrong in such little time - it made her feel sick.

"...Gabby!"

Matt reached her so quickly, that she barely managed to blink as the tears made her eyes red and the world around her had become a blur of colour that melted to grey with there being a weight in her chest, that made it hard for her to speak - to breathe.

The violent red that stained her shaking hands had been wiped clean rigorously by Maggie, though she had been gentle when she did it as the charge nurse had sat with her until she was called away but to Gabriela; the image of Sylvie's blood coating her hands would stay in her mind for the rest of her life.

"Sylvie...she's...it's…" Gabriela cursed silently for not being able to focus, not being able to manage to get the words out of her mouth and there was this silence that filled the air afterwards which made her feel worse.

Her best-friend, the love of her brother's life...was in a critical and unstable condition. If she survived the journey to the operating theatre then it would be a miracle but if she died…

It was hard for her to explain what happened to Matt and to the others who came from Firehouse 51; she had given her statement to one of the police officers on what happened when they arrived on scene, why Sylvie had been the one to stay with the victim and what happened when Gabriela got to her work colleague and the victim.

"They've put a chest tube in to let the blood and air out of her lung," Gabby's mouth felt dry, as she spoke, interrupting what-ever Severide was going to ask her as Matt sat down beside her, having wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close; gently rubbing her arm.

Each of them processing the news of Sylvie being in a critical and unstable condition in their own way with Severide leaning against the far-wall in the waiting room, his shoulders slumped and his fists clenched and Boden had gone to try and get more information on Sylvie's condition.

While Herrmann was looking down at the floor and Otis was sat next to Mouch as Cruz was pacing back and forth, not stopping and Capp was sat next to Stella whose shoulders were low, her hands clenched together and her teeth dug into her bottom lip as she didn't know how to react to what was going on.

Antonio was the first to arrive, bursting through the waiting room doors with Voight and Burgess following him as the others were dealing with the leads on the assailant who was at large and his eyes were burning as he reached his sister who had got up, saying something to him as Gabriela's arms slipped around her brother's waist, her hands still shaking.

Voight was the one who demanded to know more about what happened after approaching Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton who arrived after being dispatched to the hospital after the calls came in about Sylvie Brett having been shot while attending a call.

To Antonio, it was as a big of a blur to him as it was to his little sister who could have been shot too, she could be as in a critical condition as Sylvie was and with those dark thoughts plaguing his mind; he squeezed her a little tighter.

Chaplain Orlovsky had been sat next to Gabriela when Antonio arrived; after he was given a call by Herrmann to come to the hospital and he saw the expression on Wallace's face as he returned to the waiting room, shaking his head when Capp asked him if there was any news.

"You okay, Chief?" asked Chaplain Orlovsky, as he got up to go to where Boden was now standing, not being far away from the others as those at 51 were a strong and connected family with the family being broken that day; as Sylvie's condition was unknown since they got the sudden update that she was taken in for emergency surgery by a nurse.

The void of sound made it clear to him that it wasn't a sensible question to ask, but he knew it was the right thing to do as recent events had been tough, tough on all of 51 yet no one had been as affected as Boden who had struggled to get members of House 51 back together when Anderson separated them and sent several of them to different stations across the city.

"You've been through a lot lately, you all have and now this…"

"All of the recent troubles, everything including my own are nothing compared to this." His words were sharp but there was this lump in the back of his throat which made him look away from the Chaplain; as he couldn't bear to glance at Antonio and Gabriela.

To hear one of his own had been shot in broad-daylight wasn't how he thought that the last few hours of the shift was going to go the way it did but now Sylvie's life was hanging in the balance, because of some gunman with a vendetta against a crew-member or someone he knew.

All they could do was wait and Severide had been the one to punch the wall when Upton had been the one to inform them that Intelligence were being pulled from the case, that another district was going to deal with finding the assailant as Voight had been called back to the 21st District.

Tick, tock.

Hours went by and members of Firehouse 51 had finally finished their shift, letting the second shift take over with them having rushed back to the hospital, filling the waiting room that Gabriela, Antonio, Chaplain Orlovsky, Trudy and Cindy were in. As Herrmann, Severide and Casey were down at the emergency department - at the desk, as Casey wanted to try and find either Maggie or even Goodwin to ask if there was any update that another nurse might not have known; but Severide couldn't see Maggie anywhere and Goodwin was in a meeting because of an incident that occurred only days earlier.

"Is there any update on Sylvie Brett's condition?" Herrmann heard Matt ask the nurse who was at the desk with her having to ask if they were a relative, as the information on a patient's condition couldn't be just given to anyone.

A third bullet had been discovered, having shattered one of her rib bones and had penetrated the left lung with no one knowing how it had been missed, how the wound hadn't been dealt with straight away like the other gunshot wounds had been. Knowing that information when the three walked through the waiting room doors, was heart-breaking as the nurse had been unwilling to share too much when she realised who they were.

The oxygen content in her blood had dipped to a very low level and it explained why her blood pressure dropped so low with her having lost consciousness twice, if not three times since Gabby found her in the snow.

Severide was beyond angry, about how it could have happened, that it happened to Sylvie and because he was being reminded of Shay... who was killed in the line of duty, fours years earlier which still took a toll on him from time to time.

Please, let her pull through. Let her live. His thoughts were a contrast to his emotions as he was the last one to walk through the doors and his stomach dropped when he saw the sombre expression etched across Antonio's face. The sadness that flowed through the detective was like poison to his spirit, as it was like the fire inside him was gone and all there was an empty, broken shell.

Gabriela was being hugged, fiercely by Stella with the two having tears strolling down their cheeks and to see everyone so broken, so sad made Kelly's heartbreak even worse as he didn't know what to say or do to comfort any of his family.

His emotions flared up when Upton had returned from getting a call as she was back with Jay who looked more than annoyed and they discovered that because of who Sylvie was to Antonio, what she meant to the rest of the Intelligence Unit - Chief Lugo wanted them pulled from the case, so another district would be the ones to deal with it.

"He can't do that."

"It's not that simple, Cruz."

"Then we'll…"

"You can't do anything. Not without breaking the law and…" Hailey didn't want to finish what she was saying, she hated what she had been told on the phone as much as Jay did as she wasn't too close to Sylvie; but she had interacted with her several times at Molly's.

"Who cares about the damn law!" Severide watched Casey give Cruz a warning look but no one, not even Otis could have expected him to slam his fist into the wall as the two were standing up, letting Trudy and Cindy sit next to Mouch and Herrmann. "Sylvie could…"

"Cruz, don't."

Tensions were running high again and with the words escaping Cruz's lips; Antonio's head snapped up and there was this sudden fire in his eyes, as his heart broke at the sound of his little sister crying and how a pain filled gasp escaped Stella's lips.

"Sylvie could could be dying right now and they want them off the case because of how personal it…" Cruz continued, not having realised that there were a few of his friends glaring at him, especially Matt who was ready to say something in the heat of the moment when Boden's hand rested on his shoulder.

"Shut your damn mouth, right now. Before I do it for you," Antonio snapped at him, his gaze daring the other man to continue - to keep saying that Sylvie could die and he didn't realise he had moved, that he even stood up.

It was all one massive blur, because he had been so angry, so enraged that he couldn't be part of taking down the assailant who murdered a crew member and severely injured his girlfriend - to hear Cruz rant about how Sylvie could die was the last straw.

There was this warm, wet feeling on Cruz's face that hadn't been there minutes earlier and this sharp, stinging pain below his eye that made him shut his eyes instinctively before they snapped open as Matt and Boden were there, holding Antonio back from doing any more damage.

Jay stood in front of Antonio, trying to calm down as there had been a rush of movement from a few that were gathered and even some exclamations as Otis had jumped up out of his chair before Mouch hastily pulled him back down.

In that moment, Antonio realised why his hand was stinging and why Cruz's face was already swelling up from the hard-hitting punch that no one managed to stop him from swinging. He didn't want a fight with Cruz, he didn't want a fight with anyone but the person responsible.

"Antonio! Cálmate! Coño! Él no estaba tratando de ser un pendejo!" exclaimed Gabriela who got a confused look given to her by Herrmann who wanted to understand what her and Antonio or even Cruz and Gabby said to each other in Spanish.

"Lo siento mucho, hermano. No quise…" Cruz responded, so quickly, that it made Jay's eyebrows raise but he didn't dare look behind him as he saw the look on Gabby's face, warning Cruz that it wasn't the time to try and apologise to her brother.

"Wait, what did they just say?" Herrmann was given a look of not now from his wife as she shook her head, having been shocked at the sudden burst of violence - at the blood dripping from Cruz's face but he refused to clean it up as he stared at Antonio.

"Mama guevo," Antonio suddenly burst out with the insult and Cruz looked more than offended by the words with Gabriela having flinched as she never expected her brother to call Cruz that, not even when she knew all the emotions were running high.

"Antonio!"

The sound of the doors opening stopped him from snapping at his sister, from telling her that Cruz shouldn't have said what he said in the first place and he wasn't going to apologise for it - not for punching him in the face, that was for damn sure.

It was like time had stopped as Cruz had been pushed back by Severide who had reached him just as the doors opened and it wasn't who Antonio thought it would have been, as it could have been Doctor Halstead or Doctor Rhodes who walked through those doors…

A nurse with long dark brown hair and cold green eyes had come through the doors, a stern gaze in her eyes as she had either heard the commotion or someone alerted her to the raised voices in one of the waiting rooms.

"What is going on in here!"

This was when Antonio tuned out the conversation that Mouch had with the nurse, as he pulled away from Matt and Boden who loosened their grips, ever so slightly and Jay didn't know what to do as he never expected his friend to walk away, to leave the waiting room -

Matt struggled at first to grab Gabriela, to stop her from chasing after her brother as he understood that Antonio needed to deal with it in his own way and knowing if it was him in Antonio's position, he would try be strong in front of his sister at first.

Antonio found himself standing in the chapel, minutes later with no idea as to why he chose to go there instead of going for some fresh air, anything to get away from it all for just a minute or two despite not having gone to church for a long time…

I wish I could be strong, Sylvie. For you…

His hands shook as he made the decision to pray, to pray for her, to speak to God and to plead with him to listen - to do something, to do anything, to save her life. Even if he had to trade places with her, he didn't care.

He wanted Sylvie to live.

There was a velvet engagement ring box hidden in his jacket, it had been hidden at Jay's for weeks until he got the courage to ask his friend to give it him back and they had been having a discussion earlier that week about when he was going to propose to Sylvie.

Jay understood his friend was getting ready to start fresh with Sylvie, with his children as Eva was now living with him and he saw Diego whenever he could...but his friend understood more about the situation too. Erin had left for New York, before Antonio returned to the police department, to work alongside his old team again and her leaving had put Jay in a bad place, but now…

Antonio had a similar box in his jacket, though the colour of the box was black and he desperately wanted to give the ring to Sylvie, to propose to her - to hear her say yes and yet all he could do was pray for her.

To live.

If you die sweetheart, know that your life, your happiness, your smile...was my life's best part, that you were everything to me and...I can't...I don't. Oh, please...Sylvie, don't go.

"I can't lose you." Antonio whispered, looking up as his hands were shaking as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling the box out and he couldn't bring himself to open it; to look at it in case he was given the worst news that could ever be given to him…

"Antonio."

He turned his head, so fast that it made him feel sick as he felt drained from all the emotion flowing through his body; his thoughts were breaking him as he couldn't stop thinking of how badly hurt Sylvie would have been...of how she must have looked when they brought her into Chicago Med's emergency department.

No one was standing there, not even at the doors. There was simply, no one to be seen and he was confused because he knew someone said his name.

"Is someone there?"

Oh, how stupid did he feel asking that question out-loud but he couldn't help himself, as there was this feeling deep down inside him, churning away at his insides and his heart hurt. He couldn't say anything else out-loud as there was an interruption by Chaplain Orlovsky.

"is everything alright?" asked Antonio, standing up abruptly and made himself stand straight despite his body having shook as the tears wouldn't fall, wouldn't stroll down his cheeks like an avalanche - they simply made his eyes burn.

He didn't remember what Orlovsky said to him, as he found his feet moving faster than his mind was and there he was...almost twenty minutes or so had passed since he left the waiting room with him taking a deep breath as his lungs hurt from running.

Gabby wasn't in a grief filled state, neither was Stella or any of the others - there was no sympathetic glances or screaming or anything of the sort. There was just silence. Antonio knew that was the worst, because it meant any minute now...either Doctor Rhodes or Halstead or someone would be walking through those doors with news.

...Maybe there was hope after all.

Maybe Sylvie was alive, in a critical but stable condition, being put in the recovery room before going into intensive care unit and being monitored by nurses. He had to believe that, he had to believe it for his sake and for Gabby's...for everyone. Especially for Eva and Diego, as they shared a close-bond with Sylvie and Eva wanted her to be part of the family, despite the hostility at first...as she desperately wanted her parents to get back together, for them to be a family, to be whole again.

Nothing could prepare him for what would happen next...

Connor Rhodes knew he had a difficult task ahead, as he had dealt with his own emotions so quick when he first saw Sylvie laying on that stretcher, and how fast he got to work with the team to get her condition stabilized.

He would break down later…

Unlike Will who had been so angry, so pissed off that he stormed out of the operating theatre, shouting at another staff member to move out of his way - that Connor knew he had to be in control of the situation.

To face a whole team of firefighters, officers, friends, colleagues...it was terrifying him to the core as he took a deep breath and checked to make sure there was no blood on his hands, nothing would make them assume the worst at first.

"...It's bad, isn't it?" The question snapped him back to reality, as he was there in the waiting room with so many eyes on him - it made him blink several times and he knew he couldn't stutter, he couldn't hesitate but he couldn't become a heartless bastard either.

Sylvie was a friend, she was the soul of Firehouse 51 and had been since not long after she arrived, working alongside a few paramedics before finally Gabriela Dawson had her back once again and now…

"Sylvie lost a lot of blood and she crashed on the way to the theatre, but we managed to bring her back…" At Rhodes's words, Gabriela's heart raced faster than it had done before, when she had been sitting in the waiting room with only Maggie by her side with her forcing herself to get her breathing under control.

She was standing next to her brother, his hand gripping hers so tight that she thought he might break a bone in her hand but she stood with her shoulders straight and her eyes focused on the one person who mattered at that time - who she needed to listen to.

Rhodes seemed to hesitant, like he didn't want to say anything else but it was his protocal to and he couldn't wish that some other doctor was in his place, telling them the news because he would have been so angry if he couldn't have tried to help her…

"...The first bullet tore through her right lung causing it to collapse and fill with blood which made it harder for her to breathe," this was it...these were the details that even made Upton's stomach churn, as she felt sick to hear what happened to Sylvie.

He went on with the explanation, knowing he would be accused of not sharing all the details but he had to be decliate about it too. He had to show compassion and it was so hard not to swear, not to curse the man who caused such severe injuries to Brett.

"Doctor Halstead found bruising on the left side of her chest…"

That was when the world seemed to explode, there were different voices - all sounding so similar in pitch and tone until it was Boden who had to shout - who had to step away from his wife, Donna as she had been given the news of what happened by Cindy and rushed over and shout at those gathered to listen to Doctor Rhodes.

"It was touch and go from the moment that she was brought in…" Rhodes felt like this was it, that this would be the end of everything he knew as he saw the look in Antonio's eyes, the hollow expression on his face.

Please, don't say it. Please, Rhodes...don't say it. Gabby pleaded in her mind, as she gripped her brother's hand, squeezing it and Matt wanted to be the one to hold her, to comfort her but right now she needed to be the strong one for her brother's sake.

"I'm sorry but Sylvie…"

Blood rushed to Antonio's ears and there was this emptiness inside of him, a heavy feeling deep down in the pit of his stomach and he didn't have to hear the next words because he knew. He knew when he was in the chapel, when he was praying...when he heard the voice.

The emptiness in his heart, the numbness pounding his mind, the tears which flowed from his eyes, instead of making them feel like they were on fire and the sheer nothingness that took hold of his soul threatened to engulf him.

His legs buckled, knees having sunk but Gabriela wrapped her arms firmly around his waist and there was this noise - this scream that he heard…

Antonio didn't realise the unearthly sound came from him.

Sylvie was gone, she was dead and there was nothing that would bring her back. He wanted to scream more, he wanted to shout at God, at Rhodes, at anyone…

Just give me her back...please. God. Don't punish her. I can't live without…

"...Tonio…" Gabriela whispered in his ear, there were words spoken by her that he missed as his mind couldn't function as there were all sorts of different reactions in the room and Rhodes had to stand there, listen to the gut-wrenching scream that came out of Antonio's lips -

But screaming wouldn't bring her back, it wouldn't put her soul back into her body and she wouldn't breathe again…

She wouldn't laugh. Or smile or dance, or even show up at his front door in the middle of the night, wearing a long coat and lingerie hidden underneath. She wouldn't walk through the waiting room doors and say APRIL FOOLS.

It wasn't April Fools.

It wasn't a joke, it was all real…

AN: I'm leaving it here because I've got another part to this that I'm going to write, which is basically going to be the aftermath of what happened - of what happens to the murderer who not only killed a crew member but a paramedic. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, for breaking hearts. - Devil Enchantment.