the broken road.
Very loosely based off the events of 2x20 [A Dark Day]
"...and I swear to god, if you ever hurt my sister-"
"Antonio...we've literally just got engaged...you can hold off all of the older brother talk until later, okay?" Gabby laughed as she looked at Matt who's face she couldn't describe with any other word other than terrified, and then back at her older brother, who slowly backed down.
"Matt, don't look so scared...I'm only messing with ya!" Antonio laughed and patted Matt on the back as Matt relaxed his appearance, "but seriously though...if you ever hurt my sister-"
"Antonio!" Gabby screamed, playfully flicking her older brother in the stomach.
"Ow, Gabby? Ow?" Antonio winced, "You still remember that I have a pressure point there?"
"I have an amazing memory." she smiled, hugging onto Matt.
"You sure about that…remember that one year you forgot my birthday?" Antonio joked as Gabby gave him a subtle death stare.
"I was 7, Antonio!" She explained herself. Right then, the doors of Intelligence opened with Voight hoarsely screaming down about some bomb threat at the charity CFD and CPD Marathon.
"Right...I'll see you two later...duty calls." Antonio smiled and blew a kiss to his sister as he hurried up the stairs of Intelligence.
"Okay..." Gabby said, looking at Matt, and then down at her ring, beaming,
"You know some crazy dude proposed to me last night?"
"Oh yeah...he has no idea what he is in for." He laughed as Gabby faked being offended, as they began walking down the stairs of the precinct and onto the road.
They began walking down the pavement, lined with clumps of snow from the night before, slowly melting into oblivion. Every so often, the light and sound of sirens would illuminate the street and blare into the darkness. Blue and red flags lined the streets from the annual CFD and CPD Charity Marathon. The Chicago morning air was fresh and crisp, but there was a wintry cold to it. Gabby gently snuggled her head into Matt's chest and grasped onto his arm as they continued to walk along the pavement. Matt's beanie flickered slightly in the wind, and Gabby put her spare arm in her jacket pocket in the hopes of warming up, even if it was just slightly.
"It's so cold out here..." Gabby shivered, "I'm wearing five layers but the Chicago Winter makes it feel like I'm basically naked".
"Hmmm. I wouldn't be too against that idea." Matt smirked.
"I love you and all, but please, for the sake of anyone that walks past us, shut up?" Gabby smiled.
"I love you too. Always and forever". Matt said, kissing the engagement ring on her finger. He looked back up to see Gabby about to burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" He inquired.
"I've just realised how much of a crazy person you'd have to be..." she continued as she grasped onto Matt's arm as if her life depended on it, "to marry me."
"That's so not true."
"It so is, baby." He kissed her quickly.
"I'm still freezing cold." Gabby complained "I need to warm up more", she laughed, as she snuggled her head even deeper into Matt's chest.
"Hey. I've got an idea...let's go get lunch in the diner across the-"
That's the last thing anyone heard before they were wrapped in a never-ending blanket of darkness.
Gabby slowly woke up, her head feeling like the entirety of humanity had gathered in her head, roaring in isolation, taunting her. She felt something pressing against her chest, restricting her breathing, and the concentrated dust in the air, making her cough.
Out of this shock Gabby felt herself issuing amid a mass of terrible sensations: the fearful blow of the explosion, the noise of glass, the hoarse howl of people, the rushing of men, the sudden gulf, the awful gulfing whirlpool of horror in the social life. That's when she remembered where she was before this.
"Oh god...Matt?" She wailed, almost in tears. No. They'd just got engaged...they were right next to each other.
"Matt? Matt? Matt! Where are you? Matt!" She screamed as loud as she could, unable to move as her leg was pinned under a slab of concrete. She'd hit her head when it happened and was becoming fatigued fast, and she was losing blood from the scratch on her head. It had to be an explosion.
"Matt! Matt!" She yelled again before nearly passing out. She mustered all the strength she could and reached for a metal pole that was lying next to her. "Matt! Matt! Can you hear me? Matt?" She gulped as she began hitting the metal pole against the metal sticking out from the ground, alerting anyone near her...trying to alert Matt.
"Matt! Matt!" She had to keep calling...clinging on to the possibility he was still alive. They were right next to each other when it went off... so they couldn't be far from each other now. If only she could move, she'd go get him, make sure of it. "...Matt?"
Matt slowly woke up... but he couldn't move. He was lying on his side and was pinned down by something going through his arm. He turned his head and found a metal pole in his arm, trapped in the rubble beneath him, just stopping so that his stomach was only cut superficially. He couldn't hear anything - one ear had been hit by something in the rubble and the other was pressed up against the concrete. He was exhausted, trying to wriggle around to regain his bearings of where he was. He couldn't move at all...wait. Gabby. Where was Gabby? They were right next to each to each other when it happened. He tried calling her name, tried to open his mouth...but he couldn't squeeze any words out, or string together a sentence.
"G..g..ga...gab..gab...gabby?" he said weakly, "g...g..gabb...gabby?" He managed to move his ear off the concrete that was pressing it.. and sat up against a piece of concrete, slowly. He could hear various sirens above his head. But no reply. There was nothing.
She groaned as she attempted to move the concrete off her leg. There was a pole about 20cm from her head was restricting her movement so she could barely even nudge the concrete. She had to keep going. She had to get to Matt.
"Matt? Matt!" She yelled again, still hoping for a reply. He had to still be alive. She looked down at her finger, surprised to see the engagement ring still there. The fact that she still had it had to be a sign of hope, right? He must still be alive.
"Matt? Matt!" She yelled even louder, using all of her strength before collapsing back against the concrete, breathing heavily. "Matt..." she breathed. She began hyperventilating "Mattt...Matttt...come on Mattt..." She constantly held on to that tiny thread of hope, praying for a response. Like that response was her key to survival...the one thing she needed in the world, and she refused to give up the hope that it was still out there.
She lifted her hand up to her head, staining it with crimson. It was now bleeding more profusely and even if she couldn't find Matt, if she didn't get out of here soon, bad things could happen.
"Matt...please...no" She began crying, blubbering. She banged her fists against the concrete behind her in frustration, prompting an "Ow?" from someone else...a voice she recognised.
"Matt?" She said, racing up, trying to turn around to face the concrete wall behind her.
"G..g..gabby? I...is that you?" She heard the voice reply. It was Matt.
"Yes...yes it's me" she breathed a massive sigh of relief, "Oh my god, you're okay. Are you hurt?"
"Don't worry about me...I've got a scratch on my stomach and there's a pole stuck in my arm...all I care about is you...are you okay?"
"I'm fine...my leg's crushed by a bit of concrete and I've got a gash on my head but...oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay."
"Me too. They'll be here soon. They'll find us."
30 mins later
"Is that light?" She said, hearing the workers trying to remove the rubble above their heads. The yellow rays of sun blasted into the dark hole they were in and illuminated it, Gabby breathing another sigh of relief.
Matt blinked a few times before replying, "I think so. I told you...they're getting us out of here...we're going to be fine."
"I never thought I'd be so glad to feel the freezing cold air again." Matt laughed, as a firefighter, none other than Kelly Severide, jumped down. Matt looked surprised to see Kelly, but nonetheless, just wished he could get out of here as soon as possible.
"Oh for god's sake...it had to be you, didn't it Severide?" He laughed.
"I can see you still have your sense of humour." Severide replied.
"I'm here too Kelly!" Gabby piped up.
"Oh god...maybe I should just go back up, it's two of you. You'll find your own way out" he joked, as Matt punched him in the stomach.
"I swear to god, Kelly, get me out of here." He laughed. "Is Gabby okay? She's behind the wall?"
"Yes, you moron, I'm the same as you asked me 30 seconds ago." Gabby sarcastically added. "Kelly, can you believe I'm marrying this idiot?" She said as they all began laughing in sync.
"I've got no idea how you handle him." Kelly laughed, moving slightly away from Matt and sheltering his stomach so that he didn't get punched again.
"Neither do I, Kelly." She laughed, then whispered so only Matt could hear, "I'm joking, baby." and continued giggling.
"That's my Gabby" He smiled, "See. She's fine" he said, in attempts to calm Matt down, " now stop blabbering you control-freak, and let's get you both out of here. The first-person Gabby saw as she got out of the rubble and into the light was Antonio, sitting there being comforted by the rest of his team, his eyes watering.
"Wassup, Antonio." She smiled as he ran up to her.
"Oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay Gabby!" Antonio stuttered, trying not to cry.
"Remember, I'm unbreakable." She laughed. "You on the other hand..."
"Shut it, lil' sis." He laughed, "How's Matt?"
"Worse off than me, but he's still okay. He's gonna be fine. We both are. Now stop worrying."
"I'll never stop worrying, Gabby." He said as he and Severide watched Gabby and Matt be loaded into separate ambulances and taken to Chicago Med.
A few hours later, they'd both been checked out by the doctors and fixed up. Matt's arm had been put in a sling as well as his stomach being stitched and bandaged and Gabby had crutches for her leg and stitches in her head. They were in awe as they began to walk out of the hospital...in awe of how many people were affected, and how much worse off they were.
"I can't believe we got so lucky." Gabby smiled.
"How so?"
"I mean, compared to everyone else here...we were barely scratched. I mean, it's just..." She began tearing up but was cut off as Matt kissed her.
"What was that for?" She asked, wiping the tears from her face.
"I love you, Gabby. And I never want to lose you. I don't want it to ever come this close again." He said, looking directly into her eyes,
"I love you too, Matt." She stopped briefly, "You know, the engagement ring's completely unharmed." she joked.
"Really..." he laughed, trying to act genuinely surprised.
"Really. Look." She said, raising up her hand so Matt could see the ring.
"I definitely do have good taste."
"Shut up." She playfully scolded him.
"I still can't believe it's completely fine."
"Yep...not a single scratch."
"It must be some sign."
"Woah? Zen Matt? That's a side of you I've never seen before. I like it." She joked, a big smile spreading across her face, and her cheeks blushing an adorable shade of pinky-red.
"Shut up, I'm serious. It's a sign" He laughed, brushing her silky, chocolate brown hair out of her eyes, resting his hands under her face, cupping it in his hands.
"That what?" She smiled sweetly, eager for his response.
"That we're meant to be together... forever and always." He said, as he pulled her in for a slow, passionate kiss that would last forever.