Nobody else is dying today

by GygyFr

AU based on the warehouse story line, what SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED during this episode (5x04, nobody else is dying today) in my opinion. AU

Hello dear readers! I know, I did this OS and I didn't update my stories, shame on me, but here's the thing: after having watched this new episode of Chicago Fire (5x04, nobody else is dying today), he had so many questions and numerous critisms.

Matt had inhaled the acid fumes as well as Ken idd, and he had nothign?! Really?! I know that Matt is kind of a superhero, but he can't fight against sulfuric acid (one of the most corrosive mineral acid in the world by the way).

After THAT, I decided this morning to rewrite the entire warehouse storyline. YES, I DID IN ONE DAY! And it was a challenge for me, because I decided to write it straight in English (usually, I write in French, then I translate in English), so please, don't beat me too hard of the English mistakes etc *puppy eyes*

This story is mostly based on this storyline though, but I added more details, how the characters were seeing and handling the situation etc. And of course, I decided to write the end of the storyline because it didn't fit with the scenario (how Matt could get out of this without a scratch or anything while he inhaled a lot of fumes?)

I trully hope you will like the OS (yes, it's a tiny bit a long one), and I am looking forward to read your reviews ^^

Have a nice reading (Oh, thank you MEGHAN for the help with the dialogues^^)

---

Today, Matt wasn't working, at least not as a firefighter. He just had a fight with Gabby, the woman he loved, when in fact, he had lied to her. He hadn't planned to play golf at one, and even though he didn't remember Gabby telling him that she cancelled Bonnie, he had perfectly planned to pick Louie off the daycare, this son he didn't have with her the way he had imagined, but he accepted him with joy. The truth was, he had planned a big surprise for Gabby with the help of this little three-year-old guy while she was on shift, like the rest of the crew. But before that, he had to check something on behalf of the city: the council would vote Monday on a contract with a warehouse for decontamination supplies, and it was in his neighborhood. He had to check if this place was respecting well the standards for this contract, and who better than a firefighter to do that? He wanted this to be over as soon as possible, so that he could pick Louie off daycare and start his surprise at home. After having dropped his son, he headed to the warehouse, where the boss was waiting for him. He didn't even remove the child seat he had set on the passenger seat to transport Louie. He didn't care, in fact, he was somewhat proud of having become a dad, no matter how. The building was almost completely made of bricks with a small metal door. As he parked his pick-up, one man got out of the building, waving at him. He waved back as he turned down the engine and started getting out. The man was undoubtedly in his forties. He was wearing a brown pants and a light-yellow shirt with long sleeves.

"Alderman Casey!"

"Hey" Matt simply replied.

"Gary Melville. Thanks for coming out!"

The man was friendly, Matt felt immediately at ease with him. He approached him and shook his hand.

"Thanks for opening up your warehouse on a Saturday."

Matt knew how hard it was to keep a warehouse open during the weekend, he already had some trouble with this while he was working as a constructor.

"That's no problem", Gary assured with a kind of fake smile. "Although, I thought the contract was a done deal. I mean, we do have the best decontamination supplies in Chicago."

In fact, Matt knew he was one of the only ones with these supplies in the city, so the possible contracts were restricted.

"Vote is all set on Monday. I just heard that no one had been by to actually look things over", Matt said in a serious tone.

"Huh... Well, who's better than a real Chicago firefighter, right? Come on in! This way!"

Gary opened the door, letting Matt enter the room. It was a huge space with several casks on the concrete floor, numerous boxes were stacked on couple floors, but two large white barrels caught his attention. They weren't ordinary ones, he was sure. He decided to go on for now, he would ask Gary later.

"Come on!" he heard. "Okay, hold there for a second."

Two men were working: one was driving a forklift tank as the other was helping him with the directions between the barrels on the floor. Matt and Gary then headed toward his office, a small space with thin walls and faked glass windows. As Matt was looking all around him, two big pools of aluminum shavings were landing on the floor, just like this. He pointed it with the file he had in hand.

"You're making your own aluminum?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, absolutely", Gary answered as soon as Matt had finished his sentence. "We manufacture all our decontamination pools on site, so we can supply emergency response to any hazmat situation", he explained then.

As Matt was a firefighter, he could easily follow the explanations of Gary, because he knew the standards for all hazmat procedures.

"As you can see, we keep the frame folded for easy transport", he continued as Matt was still looking around him.

He heard a door open, looking over the noise he had just heard to see who it was.

"Hey, I got all those faxes you're looking for in my office."

It was a girl, too young to work in such a place. She was blond, with brown eyes, she was wearing a jean pants, a gray tank top and a red checked shirt. She had a paint roller in her left hand, listening to music. He frowned.

"You always have kids hanging around here?"

He didn't know why at first, but Gary started laughing.

"That's Laurel, that's Ken's daughter", he said calmly, waving at her.

Not to seem rude, Matt smiled at her and waved as well.

"Hey."

She removed her headphones, it looked like she didn't like being here.

"I could have stayed at home, but no. Stuck in here doing slave labor", she stated, anger in her voice.

"You don't wanna paint, don't get grounded. Get back in the break room", the man who apparently was her father said, very seriously and sharply.

She sighed, her eyes rolling as she put her headphones back in place.

"Whatever."

She went back in the break room, Matt staring both at her and Ken moving near the white barrels he had seen when he entered. He was very curious about them, because these tanks were only used for specific products, such as highly corrosive acid. Gary asked to follow him in his office, he watched the two men one last time before focusing on his alderman duty.

"Woah, woah, woah, watch out!"

A thud noise made Gary and Matt turn toward the two employees.

"Oh God!"

Matt's eyes widened when he began to realize what had happened. The forklift tank had just slammed into one of the white barrels, and opaque white smoke was already out of the hole made by the truck. He was ready to scream out loud to not move forward the tank, but Ken was already receding.

"Milo, look out!"

More smoke came out of the hole, and the liquid was splashing and spreading to the floor quickly. He didn't really know what it was, but when he saw the driver becoming dizzy and losing consciousness, he realized how bad the situation was. When the man who was helping Ken started screaming, the situation went bad to worse. Matt was completely frozen in front of the man who was screaming in pain.

"What the hell?" he asked as he stepped forward, in shock.

Milo screamed louder, kneeling on the floor before falling forward into the pool of liquid that was still going through the hole in the barrel. His firefighter instincts suddenly awoke. He approached the man who was screaming in agony, but he soon stopped before putting his feet into the forming pool. He placed his arm over his mouth and nose to not inhale more fumes. In fact, he already inhaled enough fumes to feel the product start burning his throat. He wanted to cough, but he would mean inhale more fumes. Matt then soon realized that the liquid spreading on the ground was sulfuric acid, and the man he saw lying on the ground had no chance to make it out alive. He had no choice but to watch him die in atrocious suffering.

"What the hell?" he repeated, knowing that he would probably have no answer at the moment.

He knew he couldn't do anything for Milo, but Ken still had a chance to live. So, he dropped his file in one of the frame as he took the biggest breath he could to not inhale the fumes, and headed toward the forklift tank. He swung Ken towards him to catch him and bring him down the tank, then tried to drag him to the ground. He struggled because of the weight of the employee. Matt had already lifted more weight, but it was a while ago, he had barely the strength to pull him. Trying to not take a breath, he saw at the corner of his right eye that Gary hadn't moved an inch, in complete shock.

"You gotta get away from these fumes! Run outside and call 911!" he screamed at him while having to take a breath anyway.

"Right!"

His urge to cough subsided when he finally entered the break room, closing the door and breathing deeply. At the time, Laurel was still painting the closets of the small kitchen, listening to music. When she heard a strange noise coming from behind her, she startled, turning straight. Her eyes widened by the sight of Matt pulling her father and resting him on the floor.

"Dad?" she said, removing her headphones and getting up. "What happened?"

Matt moved away the table near them while the girl knelt near the face of her dad.

"An accident. Your dad inhaled some fumes."

She raised her head to see the face of the man who just kind of saved her dad. She did recognize him, she saw him earlier in the warehouse. But above all, she recognized him from television: he was one of the alderman from the city council of Chicago, he was her alderman representing her neighborhood, she was sure of this, but she wasn't able to put a name on him. He watched over the door, knowing that the liquid would continue to spread. The room being not sealed at all, it could flow under the door to enter the room and make them die in agony, just like Milo. He did not even focus on Ken nor his daughter, the top priority was to ensure a safety margin by the time help would come.

"We have to block that off, or we're dead."

The girl stood up again, staring at him like a complete stranger, puzzled while he was searching something in his pockets. Finally, he found what he was looking for.

"Here", he said to her, getting out a Swiss Army knife from his pants pockets. "Use this."

He then took the big cloth covering the ground.

"Cut off this drop cloth in wide pieces, roll them up, and stuck them underneath. You got that?" he explained with gestures to ensure that she understood everything as she continued to look at him, the knife in hand, obviously in shock. "Here, take it."

She took it, still unsure about what to do with it. She didn't understand anything, she was lost and too confused to move an inch. How he could give her orders when he was nothing for her? When he saw that she still didn't move, he took her arms and shook her a little bit.

"Go! Now!"

She rushed to the door of the room, swinging the cloth on the ground while Matt stood up and stopped in front of the sink. He looked at the dishes not wiped dragging on the sink and saw a bowl, large enough to do what he had in mind. He had to slow down the effects of acid on Ken's body, and for that, he needed something specific. He knew he wouldn't find anything powerful enough against sulfuric acid, but he had to try. He took the bottle of dish soap in hand. From his high school memories, dishwashing product was alkaline, which was the opposite of acid. Although the pH was near neutrality, dish soap was alkaline enough to slow a minimum the burns on his face. He poured a large amount of it in the bowl and filled the rest with cool water, then grabbed a cloth before heading back to the man lying on the ground. In the meantime, the young girl was still frozen, holding back a sob before doing what Matt had requested. She cut large pieces of clothes and put them under the door. Matt knelt down, soaking the cloth in the bowl before removing the excess water. He then passed the cloth over Ken's face, wherever he could find burns from the acid. After finishing, Laurel turned to her father to see how he was. He was unconscious and Matt was still passing the cloth over his face. She saw him drop it, and then pinch the nose of her father and her mouth open while he was just a few inches from his face. He quickly blew three breaths despite his burning throat. She knew this procedure, she had a first aid course in her school. This meant that her father was not breathing. While Matt checked his breathing, he put two fingers on his carotid artery to see if his heart was still beating. He frowned, trying to concentrate on what he felt at his fingers and what he could hear. Nobody saw it, but his whole body trembled. It was not fear, it was his firefighter instinct that worked for him, it was his survival instinct that kept him alert. Above all, he had inhaled fumes too, and it did not help.

"Is he okay?" she asked with a broken voice, still holding back a sob as she still didn't know what really happened.

"His acid burns aren't too bad", he reassured her while taking back the cloth in hand to pass it again over Ken's face. "He's breathing on his own, which is a good sign."

He knew how Laurel could feel at that moment: anxiety, fear, all kinds of emotions that could make anyone crazy. Even he, the one considered to be one of the best firefighters in Chicago, was scared. Who would not at such a moment? He knew she needed reassurance, which was logical.

"Gary's calling 911, so the medics should be here soon."

As the father was breathing on his own and he couldn't do much for him right now, he decided to come help the young girl to caulk the door. He rose, lowering in the level of Laurel to take a large piece of cloth and place it under the door. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Wait, where's Milo? Is he still out there?"

Matt sighed, realizing that he couldn't lie to her, not for this question.

"Your dad's forklift ran into a tank, something toxic. I guess it's sulfuric acid."

Laurel then remembered her physics classes. They had talked about sulfuric acid as one of the most corrosive mineral acid known. And of course, she worried.

"Is he…"

She wanted to say "okay", but she knew it wasn't the case. She somehow knew that he wasn't because otherwise, he would have been in here with them and he wasn't.

"He didn't make it."

Soon, she felt completely dizzy as she fell backward and she sighed.

"Oh my God… Oh my God!"

"Hey."

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!"

"Hey, hey, Laurel!" Matt screamed when he turned toward her and saw that she didn't handle it as he wished. "Right?"

It hadn't been his best idea at the moment, but she had the right to know the truth after all. He was one of her father's colleagues. Now, he knew that putting in the distance a panicked teenager in shock should be one of his priorities. He placed his hand over her shoulders, trying to reassure her with his presence as she looked straight in his eyes.

"My name is Matt Casey, I'm a firefighter", he reassured her as he could. "I know you freaked out, but we're safe in here for the moment. What I need you to do…"

He took a new deep breath, not taking into account that his lungs and throat were on fire. He had to keep a cool head to keep the group alive by the time help arrives. And above all, he had to ensure keeping both an eye on Ken and distract the girl. And for that, he had a great idea.

"Is to sit with your dad and keep an eye on him for me. Can you do that?"

He could feel the sweat running profusely down his face. He hadn't made much effort so far and it wasn't that hot in this room, but he knew that his body was beginning to react to the inhalation of sulfuric acid. He said nothing, he did nothing either to not arouse suspicion of the girl who appeared to be very smart for her age. She turned her head, resting her eyes on her father, worried. She wanted so much to be with her, hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be fine, that they would be out of here soon. She had almost forgotten that her father had punished her. She nodded, still shivering et holding back the same sob as earlier.

"Ok, good."

Matt let her go to join her dad as he continued to stick the cloth under the door. On all fours, she joined her unconscious father and took his hand, while Matt finished his work and stood up, actively passing his arm over his forehead to wipe the maximum amount of sweat he could. To know his environment, Matt looked around him. The room was partially covered with paneling on the walls and off-white paint for the other part. On the ground, there was the gray carpet strewn with green squares. On the left of the door, there was an information board and a coffee machine. On the adjacent wall, a painting of a tree hung alone in the middle with below three blue bins, for sorting waste. Some kind of open closet was here to put the microwave above and so eat lunch. On its right, another bin, gray for non-recyclable household waste. There were many boxes in corners, ruining the beauty of the room. Opposite the entrance, there was a kitchenette with ample storage space, a fridge and more boxes. On the last wall, there was a cupboard with a first aid kit, there was also a water fountain and a large locker to store things. There were three tables that filled the rest of the room: two were coral color, with four seats well welded to the table, such benches. The last was more modern, a brown one with six faked wicker chairs. This lasted a few minutes. He took out his phone to see if he had any signal. They were locked in this room for at least ten minutes, and help wasn't still there while his own firehouse was four minutes from here at most. It worried him. Did the boss run away without calling 911 to save his life and his business? When he saw that he had no signal where he stood, he did like all those people who raised their phone to have a better signal while it was useless. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Laurel was busy looking after her father and she clutched her hand. As for her, seeing Matt pacing around and continuing to squeeze the hand of her father, she looked up at him. He had his phone in his hand, searching for a signal. This made her laugh inwardly: how many times she had tried to have signal in that room without ever succeeding?

"You can't get a signal in here, trust me. I've tried."

He dropped his phone, still worried about not hearing the fire trucks arrive on the scene.

"We should be hearing sirens by now", he said, still looking at his phone.

Laurel tirelessly continued to keep an eye on her father. She saw him move, but not clench her hand, he didn't open his eyes. Why he didn't wake up as he moved? Matt replaced his phone in the back pocket of his trousers, watching the father and daughter together. One day, Louie would become as older as she and he suspected now that it would hard to have a teenager at home. If he couldn't handle this girl, how could he claim to know how to manage a child? He could see the concern on her face. He needed to find a way to relax, by any means.

"Grounded, huh?"

Surprised by the question, she slightly raised her head as he approached her and her dad, kneeling near him to check how he was. She smiled and placed his hand back over his stomach while Matt was checking his pulse.

"I snuck out. Stayed out late."

"How late is late?"

She hissed, frowning.

"One in the morning?"

He raised his head, still checking Ken's pulse. How many times he snuck out when he was younger, and he didn't care. He just wanted to have fun with some friends. But now, he was a father, and he knew he would never accept to see his son staying out this late.

"Yeah? I'm team dad on that one. What do you, fourteen?"

"Fifteen", she replied very quickly, acting like an offended girl. "He's out late all the time, working."

Her chest and heart tightened when she saw Matt checking for her dad's breathing and she saw him frown slightly.

"I can't believe he even noticed I was gone… Or cared."

This offended Matt. As he had a tough childhood, he had thought the same about his parents: his dad was beating his mom, and they didn't care about him and his sister, that was what he had thought for a very long time. But now, everything was so different. Being a dad was different. He knew that both parents cared about their children, no matter what or when.

"He's your dad. Of course, he cares", he let out as he straightened.

He glanced at the door to see if the sheet was still holding on against the acid. He knew he wouldn't last long; at first, it had to hold until help arrived, but they were still not there. He had to check what was happening right in the warehouse, but he couldn't open the door, otherwise he would inhale toxic fumes and endanger his life and those of Ken and Laurel.

"You know who says stuff like that? People whose dad took them to go fishing a lot", she said while Matt stood up and started moving toward the door.

Not even thinking about what he was going to reply, he looked at the red table near the entry. With his size, it could fit for him to see above the door, through the dirty window.

"Actually, my dad died when I was a little older than you."

"Aw."

Now, she felt bad for saying something about the child-father relationship and fishing. The man she barely knew had confessed something terribly difficult, and yet, he was giving her this speech. What was going on in his head to overstep her prejudices? She looked down, ashamed of what she had said, but she thought back about her relationship with her dad. It really went down after this event a year ago.

"My mom died last year", she confessed as Matt was dragging the table and glued it to the door.

He stopped, also feeling bad for the girl. They both had lost one of their parents, and he knew better than anyone how it was to lose someone this young. Anger, hatred filled your body, as if nobody or no one could even get them down. He looked back to her and met her gaze. She had the same look he had had when he had her age, when his dad had been murdered by his mom.

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever… It sucks."

She was right, having just one parent instead of both of them sucked. He knew this so much.

"Yeah, it does."

He climbed on the chair, then on the table, putting his hands over the door on the thick layer of dust that was covering it. The window had not been washed for a long time, and it was so dirty that it was difficult to see through. Despite some difficulties, he could see what was happening. There was a huge pool of liquid acid covering the concrete floor of the warehouse with lots of white and opaque smoke, and there was the lifeless body of Milo lying in the middle of it. He looked from side to side, as he was used for each call to take the situation in hand and have all the data at his disposal. To the left, his eyes fell on what he saw in the distance, focusing more on this form lying on the ground. A faded yellow shirt? Brown pants? It was Gary, his face was covered with burns from the acid, his eyes were wide open and he was not moving, his phone in hand and a folder with him. He died before he could even call 911, he didn't do what he had requested, they were on their own. He straightened up, his arms hanging down his body, as if he had already given up the fight when it had barely begun. Not having lost sight of Matt a second, she soon realized that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she stood up.

He turned to her, realizing that he had to somehow lie to her not to frighten her. She had been scared to death when she had learned about Milo, then telling her that help wasn't coming soon would undoubtedly worsen the already tense situation.

"I'm just checking how things were out there."

It wasn't a real lie, he did check how things were out there.

"I know what it looks like when grownups lie."

He turned to her again, to see how she could see that he was lying. She gave him the look. She was too smart for him. He knew he couldn't really lie to her. He knew that. So, he decided to tell her the truth, even though he felt that it wasn't the best idea he had had.

"Looks like Gary tried to go back to his office before he went outside", he explained, going down the table and reaching the floor.

"Why would he do that?"

"Probably to get away the records on what he was up through here?"

He sighed, thinking to every word he had to use to not frighten her. But he had no idea, he had to tell her the truth like this, with no ideal words at all.

"The point is, fumes got him, he never called 911."

Suddenly, it hit her. Gary never called 911. Help wasn't on its way, they were all three alone against an acid pool. She tried to hold back her fear, trying to stay strong, but inwardly, she wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. She was going to die.

"Nobody's coming."

"Nope."

She looked over Matt's right shoulder as soon as she thought of having seen something strange coming in the room. There was some thick and white smoke passing through the cloth they had placed underneath the door.

"Oh God!"

Matt turned suddenly to see what was going on, and when he saw the acid fumes, his eyes widened and he turned back to Laurel, fear in his eyes. Yes, he was scared, such as the young girl. But he had to act before he would be too late. He was a firefighter, he knew how to handle such a bad situation like this one, he had seen situation even worse than this one and he was still there, alive and in one piece. He had to think, and fast.

"Remove everything on the table! Now!" He asked as he threw himself on the ground near Laurel's father.

He took his arms and passed them around his neck and lifted Ken, not without difficulty. He had to lie down in height, away from toxic fumes while they continued to enter the room. Laurel pushed aside all that was on the table, meaning numerous plastic plates, a piles of used paper towels and a small cardboard box. He then placed the father on the table: first he sat him down, making counterweight with his own body, so that he didn't fall back hardly. He ran his hand at the base of his neck, just above the shoulder blades to lie him down, assisted by Lauren. Immediately after, he walked to the kitchen to find something to delay the arrival of the acid in the room. There had to be something in the kitchen that could help him. He didn't care about Laurel nor his father for the moment, too concerned to keep all three alive. Ken was breathing with great difficulty, much more than when he was on the ground, which greatly worried the young girl. Matt began to look in all the drawers, looking for a very specific ingredient, something that was often used in cooking but was also used by firefighters. But he couldn't find what he sought. His last hope was the fridge. He opened it, looking everywhere, and he finally saw this miraculous box that could save their life: baking soda. Firefighters used it on thr scene when water couldn't be used, usually when frying fires or liquid hydrocarbons. He ran to the door, taking a deep breath to not inhale too much toxic fumes. Kneeling down, he removed a little the cloth to pour a thick layer of baking soda between it and the acid.

"What's that?" she asked as he was still pouring baking soda.

"Baking soda helps to neutralize the acid. But it won't work for long."

He heard Ken have a coughing fit, as Laurel was calling him with a broken voice, worried. Soon after, he regained consciousness, taking his daughter's hand and squeezing it. Matt felt relieved as soon as he heard Lauren's voice: she was happy. He turned back, heading to the family.

"What happened?"

Matt took a deep breath despite his still burning throat and lungs. He wanted to scream, but he had no right, he was probably the only one able to save them. He had to remain strong, for the group.

"Forklift pierced the tank."

Ken tried to sit, gritting his teeth and frowning. His lungs were also on fire.

"Oh God!"

"Easy, take it easy", he required as he helped him to sit on the table.

Ken cleared his throat, closing his eyes to fight the dizziness and the burn sensation.

"Gary said to stack the drums high enough to hide the tanks."

"I'm guessing he doesn't have the permit to store sulfuric acid", Matt stated immediately after having realized that hiding these tanks meant that he had no right to have them in here.

"He always wanted to make savings. He's making cash on the side, Storing the tanks for a friend."

When she realized that her father knew about the tanks filled with sulfuric acid, she got angry. How her father could dare bringing her with him while he knew that it was highly dangerous.

"And you brought me here?!"

"What was I supposed to do? Leave you at home, alone?"

Matt was hearing everything, but he had to find a way to get out of here before it would be too late. He then saw a sort of vent in the wall near the floor.

"Guys! What's on the other side of this vent?"

"Office", Ken answered immediately, knowing that they were in a tough situation.

"With a landline?"

He nodded slightly, answering that indeed, there was a landline in the office next to them. Matt took back his knife, opening it and kneeling in front of the vent. Fortunately, there weren't head screws, so his knife could well fit to remove them and the grille. One by one, he removed the screws, then the grille. He put his foot through the opening and gave a great kick to remove the grille that was on the other side and have access to the office and the phone. He then looked through the line, trying to see if he could go through it in order to call 911 and finally get some help. He began to pass his arms and tried to pass his head, but he couldn't go through the hole. After several seconds trying, he gave up, catching his breath. His chest was literally on fire, and the more he was making efforts to get out of here with Ken and Laurel alive, the more it hurt. He knew it, but if he did nothing, it was death for the three of them.

"I need to widen this up if I want to get through."

"Or I could go."

Matt turned, realizing that she was right. She was fitting perfectly to get through the hole and call 911.

"No way", her father objected, trying to reach her arm and hand.

But she didn't care, she was determined. She could do it, to save her father.

"I can fit. All I have to do is call 911, right?"

Matt glanced at Ken, feeling the growing concern towards his daughter facing the danger she might encounter. But Matt was confident. There was nothing to fear, she just had to call for help. Plus, they had no other choice.

"Yeah."

She approached as he still glanced at the father.

"I can do it", she said, very determined.

Reading the concern on his face, like any father would be at his place, Matt sighed, putting his trusts on the teenager.

"Okay. Just go in, use the phone and come back."

"Right."

She knelt down, starting to go through the narrow hole while her father called her. He wasn't feeling well, dizziness hit him in waves. But Matt didn't see it, he was focused on the girl. He heard her coughing as she had done most of the way. She had never coughed before, it indicated nothing good.

"Wait, wait. Come back!"

He helped her to come back in the room, grabbing his phone in his pocket. Even with a picture, he would be able to see the thick white fumes if they spread through the office. He passed his arm through the hole, taking a picture of the door, and enlarged it to see what was going on. Underneath the door, he could see a thick white fog entering the office. The acid was already there, and it was their only way to exit or call for help.

"Fumes are already in there", he said, sighing. "We need to seal this off."

They began to look everywhere, Matt in the red locker with all the employees' stuff, Laurel looking across the kitchen. She had to think like Matt, she had to think like a responsible adult and a fireman to find the solution. Even though she was young, she loved watching the stories of MacGiver, and when she really looked around everywhere, her gaze hitched on the floor, where she had put her brush and the rest of the sheet. She took the duct tape in hand and called Casey. He turned, Laurel sending him the tape.

"Perfect."

She had good reflexes, a good idea. She joined Matt near the hole as he was starting to seal it off.

"Hold this", he requested as Laurel put her finger on the duct tape on the wall.

Matt made some bands he stuck one below the other with the help of Laurel, and thus to the bottom.

"Two more. Here."

He let the girl deal with the duct tape, trusting her enough now. He had to see how things were out there again, because the acid could still spread through the warehouse. He climbed back on the chair and on the table, looking again through the dirty window that allowed him to see in the storage space. The acid is still spreading, but that didn't really worry him at that moment. What worried him the most was that it was spreading to the pile of aluminum shavings at breakneck speed. This obviously bode nothing good at all. When Laurel saw that he didn't move, still staring through the window, she got worried.

"What is it?"

When he came down, saying nothing, she asked him again, more worried.

"Nothing", he said, looking around and shaking his head from side to side slightly.

"The hell it is!" she stated as he looked again into the red locker for something. "What is it?!"

He couldn't lie, she could see that something was going on, she wasn't an idiot girl. Matt sighed, looking at her while she crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"The acid's moving toward a pile of aluminum shavings."

As she didn't understand what she meant, she asked for further explanations.

"So?"

"When sulfuric acid touches aluminum, there's a chemical reaction", he explained to the teenage girl, still looking for something. "If acid hit those shavings, there's gonna be an explosion."

Finally, he found out what he was looking for: gloves. He had to pierce the wall with all his strength to get out of here with Ken and Laurel.

"We gotta get out of here!" he said, alarmed.

He knew that the situation they were in just went from bad to worse. So, he took one of the fake wicker chairs, and turned to. He kicked the back of the chair, et grabbed one of the legs, shaking it to remove the screws and use the leg as a chisel.

"What are you doing?"

"This pipe goes clear through the next room. If I can get a little leverage…"

He didn't finish his sentence, he didn't feel the urge to. He spread two blue bins and took down the table adorning the wall to have space around him. Then, he began to bang around the pipe to remove the concrete that held it sealed to the wall, Laurel and Ken looking at him. His eyes were burning, his mouth, throat, airways and lungs were burning like he was in hell, he was shaking. He could feel it, but as he was banging the wall, nobody could see it, and he was grateful for that. When he saw that there was no longer enough concrete to hold the pipe, he turned it to unseal it, then pulled it to remove it and threw it to the ground as he stared through the hole it had left. Laurel was carefully looking at him, admiring his courage despite the fatigue he was trying to hide to her and her dad. Suddenly, her dad stopped looking at her and she could see the fear in his gaze. She turned to see what was scaring her dad like this, just to realize that a part of their homemade sealing had dropped.

"Mr. Casey!" she screamed to catch his attention.

He turned, seeing what was going on, and he ran to the door to seal it off again.

"Give me a hand!" he requested as he dropped the improvised chisel.

He took back the duct tape on the table and headed toward the door.

"Just hold that", he asked as Laurel coughed again, inhaled some fumes.

He created a new sealing at the top of the large duct tape square they had already done. He heard behind him a heavy breathing, and turned back. It was Ken, still feeling dizzy.

"You're alright Ken?"

"I'm just… A little winded", he tried to reassure everyone, using his own shirt as a fan.

"Dad?!"

"Why don't you lie down, and rest for a minute?" he stated, finishing the sealing.

Ken laid down on the table, still breathing easily and closing his eyes while his daughter approached him and took his hand. Matt wiped again the sweat forming on his forehead and rolling profusely down his face as he approached the family.

"Dad? You okay?"

He tried to nod, but Matt knew that he wasn't okay. His airways had been damaged from the inhalation of sulfuric acid, just like his one was starting to be. Suddenly, Matt had an idea: if baking soda could be used to neutralize the acid, he could be used to breathe easier and ease the burning sensation from the inhalation of acid.

"Laurel, give me your shirt."

She didn't ask questions. Now, she trusted the man enough to execute his orders. She put it off and handed it to Matt as he took the baking soda. He unfolded the shirt to pour some baking soda in one of the ends.

"It'll make you feel better Ken. Hold on", he reassured as he rolled the shirt up and sealed the extremities. "Okay, I want you to tie this around your dad's face and mouth, like a mask."

"Okay", she said, unsure.

"Here."

'Okay."

She started putting it over her dad's mouth, scared to choke him with her own shirt. But if this man she got to know over the passing minutes asked to do it, it was for good reason: to help her father. she made a knot as she could behind his head to keep the shirt in place. Matt climbed again on the table to see through the window. The acid was still escaping the white barrel and spreading on the concrete floor and the pile of aluminum was starting to slightly smoke. As he moved his head more to the right side, he saw the unthinkable: a totally nude jack on the bare floor. He did no gesture, he said nothing, not even a sigh. He jumped from the table, grabbing the gloves he had found earlier, removed his lieutenant jacket, put them on and grabbed the homemade chisel to hit the wall again and enlarge the hole. Each time he threw a hit on it, each time his lungs cried in agony, but he didn't care, he didn't pay attention. He just had to get this family out of this, at any cost. He had no time to think about his own family, right now, he had to move fast before it was too late. He continued to hit, taking quick breaths each time he hit the wall to calm the sensation of burning from the inside. He felt the sweat begin to stain his hair, his clothes, dripping from his forehead to fall to the ground by big drops. Lauren had understood perfectly that this sudden urge to enlarge this hole meant that something was not right in the storage room. Curious by nature, she climbed on the table and stood on tiptoe to look out through the window. Even if he had heard her, Matt couldn't do anything, he was too busy to smash the wall to scold her. She saw a nightmarish scene: Gary and Milo were lying on the ground, apparently dead for a while, the ground was covered with acid and toxic fumes. A sudden red light in the corner of her right eye caught her attention. She turned her head towards the bright light, frightened. A fire was beginning to take at the aluminum pile, as Matt had predicted.

"Mr. Casey? The acid's hitting the shavings. It's… Hissing", she said, unable to describe what he was seeing.

At that moment, Matt began to panic. They were out of time, the place was about to explode. He had to find a better way, much faster to get them out of this room before the big explosion. He looked around again, maybe he had forgotten something. Suddenly, behind the pile of cardboard, he saw a fire extinguisher. He let out a slight sigh of relief, throwing the boxes away and taking the fire extinguisher before going back to hit the hole he had slightly enlarged. He activated the fire extinguisher in the hole and over the surrounding wall as to cool it enough and to be able to hit with all his strength with what he had in hand. And he hit again and again, with more strength, until he was out of breath, but he still hit the walls, enlarging even more the hole, until the other wall went down as well. He cleared the whole, looking through it to see a door leading to the outside. He tried to pass through that hole, but as earlier he didn't fit and couldn't pass. Laurel looked through the dirty window, just in time to see the jack start burning as well. The short-circuit spread through the cables, making the electrical circuit to hiss each time it hit a jack. As she turned her head, she heard a coughing fit coming from her dad. He was trying to get up, struggling to take a breath and starting to fall forward.

"Dad? Daddy! Daddy!"

She jumped from the table, kneeling hurriedly to her father to catch up before his head could hit the floor. As Matt heard her distress, he turned in time to grab Ken's head. He undid the knot behind his head, pulling the shirt off and posing it on the table nearest him. Time was really out now.

"Laurel, I need you to see if you can pass through that hole."

"But…"

A loud explosion startled her as she raised her head, curious, worried and scared.

"Is that the explosion?" she asked while Matt was checking for any breath sounds from Ken.

But he wasn't breathing. He couldn't bear the fact of having to take care of Ken and his daughter at the same time. She had to get out of here to call 911 and save her dad. It was the only option.

"No, that would be louder. But I need you to tell me what's happening in there."

Despite his burning lungs, Matt took a deep breath, he pinched Ken's nose and open his mouth to blow all the air he had in his lungs into it.

"Okay, okay."

She stood up, heading toward the hole to see what was happening in the next room. The electrical circuit was still spreading, and hit the box on the right wall, startling her again. Matt was already up, finding a way to ease the situation with Ken. He had a paramedic training at the Academy, he knew what to do and how doing it, but he had to find everything he needed for that. He came back in the kitchen area, trying to find what he needed.

"The box on the wall is shedding sparks everywhere", she explained to Matt.

"Laurel, listen", he asked as he opened all the drawers to find some supplies. "The acid is hitting the conduct on the warehouse floor. I need you to go through that hole, go out the door and call 911."

"What?"

Matt poured the rest of the dish soap he used earlier in a big bowl, adding water, not taking care of Laurel and her state of mind.

"What about my dad?" she asked, standing up and going near her father, worried about what Matt was doing.

"I need to stay here to help him", he stated.

He reached for a towel, taking the bowl in hand and grabbing something else he dropped on the table.

"It has to be you."

"No, no. I can't do that, I can't leave him, not after my mom", she admitted, not holding back the sob from earlier.

This time, Laurel wasn't strong, she couldn't leave him, she couldn't leave her dad in here. She was still a young girl after all, it was out of strength for her to see her father like this as she needed to get away from him to help him.

"Laurel", she said, this time more seriously and hardly. "I'm sorry about your mom. It's not fair you have to worry about your dad too."

He opened the spray nozzle. Then, he picked out his knife and opened it, and cut the slight tube used to bring the product to the spray.

"Nobody else is dying today."

He put his knife in the bowl, the dish soap was used here as a sterilizer. He then put his hand on the table, ready to fight with the teenage girl about the situation despite his own shape.

"Not if you do what I'm asking", he said very seriously.

She looked up, meeting his eyes as she still held her dad's hand. She sighed, realizing what she had to do to save her dad. Of course she wanted it, but she was so scared. But on the other hand, she had no other choice.

"Okay."

"Here, use this", he said, handing her the rest of the drop cloth they used earlier. "Cover your head with it, it'll shield you from the sparks."

"Okay."

She grabbed the cloth, sighing again as she tried to calm down enough to do what Matt was asking. She needed one more answer before going out of the room.

"After your dad died, did your mom was still acting like a family?"

As Matt was clearing the small tube he had cut with the dish soap, he simply replied, not thinking about the consequences.

"Not exactly."

It was true: after his dad died, his mom went to jail, his sister never came back to Chicago and he had been on his own even since. He barely was sixteen when it happened, but it felt like it was yesterday for him. He exhaled through the tube to remove the water locked into it and wiped it.

"Dad made us all these family diners", she said, smiling. "God, I hated them."

"Lauren, we're out of time!"

He didn't want her to be in the room when he would have to do this, he needed her to get out of this and call for help.

"If he wakes up, can you tell him diners weren't so bad?"

He wiped his knife, looking at Laurel seriously. He said she hated these diners and asked him to say the contrary? Realizing that it was to cheer her dad up while she would be outside, he had no choice but to say yes.

"I'll tell him."

A thud explosion shook the room, concrete pieces started falling from the ceiling.

"We're out of time! Go! GO! NOW!" he screamed as he protected his supplies.

"Okay! Okay!"

She kissed her dad's hand one last time, grabbing the drop cloth and heading toward the hole. As for Matt, he grabbed his tools and the bowl, kneeling now near Ken's head as Laurel was passing through the hole, the cloth used as a shield from the sparks. Finally in the next room, the sill used the cloth as a spark when the box on the box on the wall spread more sparks in a sudden. She screamed, freaking out a little.

"How're you doing Laurel?" Matt screamed back, so that he could be heard by her as he removed the excess water from the cloth he had taken.

"I'm good", she replied, convinced that she was indeed good and she would be good. She gathered all her remaining strength and courage, she took a deep breath and ran across the room traveled by sparks, shielded by the big cloth.

"Laurel?"

He heard the door close, and sighed in relief, realizing that she was now out of this hell, calling 911, finally. He got back on what he was doing, meaning do an improvised tracheotomy on Ken as he could no longer breathe on his own through his nose and mouth. His airways were too inflamed, irritated, burned and swollen to be able to breathe correctly. He placed his fingers on his throat, starting at the top and slowly going down, trying to feel the cartilage rings. He had to use his knife between the second and fourth ring, below the vocal cords. Once he felt the second ring, he used his other finger to go through the fourth ring. As he felt it, he grabbed his knife with his free hand, took the deepest breath he could, and finally used his knife to cut the skin and the thin muscles of his neck. Then, he took the slight tube and pushed it through the hole he had made with the knife. He forced the tube until he felt it sink into the wound: the tube had passed through the trachea. He let out a slight sigh of relief, taking a deep breath to exhale into the tube, so that air could go into the lungs of Ken. After two blows, he saw that he started breathing on his own again. His relief was short as a big thud explosion resounded and its breath removed the cloth from under the door, allowing the acid to enter the room, free. He started coughing, acid reaching his mouth and nose. He grabbed Laurel's shirt and pulled it over his face to breathe through it and ease his breathing. About five minutes later, he finally heard the sirens, maybe it was his firehouse responding to this call.

As the whole firehouse 51 came on the scene, they soon realized that Casey's car was parked in front of the address of the call. And the first to notice it was Dawson, when she got out of the ambulance.

"Oh God, that's Matt's truck!" she said in shock.

Laurel ran toward chief Boden, asking the firefighter to hurry, scared and making no real sense.

"you guys gotta help! My dad and Mr. Casey are still inside!" she stated.

As he saw her anxiety, Boden placed his gloved hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"Okay, just tell me as much as you can."

"There was acid. We got stuck in the break room. Mr. Casey blew a hole on the wall to get out, but now in the room, there're sparks and fire."

She was out of everything when she heard what she had just said, and she panicked. There was a fire in the room where her dad and Matt were.

"Okay, okay."

Boden urgently grabbed his radio and turned it on.

"Battalion 25 to main, requesting a power shut-off on my location. Herrmann! Find a way to cut off the power on site!"

"Okay. Hey!" he asked to the truck team. "Spread out, cover the sides! Find me those readers!"

Today, he was the acting lieutenant as Casey wasn't here. It didn't please him because it was his team, but he had to lead it anyway. At least, they were listening to him. Severide turned toward his team, signing that he had to move fast.

"Everybody mask up! Tony, Capp! Grab chemical extinguishers, Cruz! Couple sledgehammers!"

"I'm on it!"

Everybody was working, leaving the paramedics and the young girl on their own.

"Come on, let's get you checked out."

Sylvie had the situation in hand, as Gabby's concern grew at every second.

"Gabby!" she tried to catch her attention.

Matt was still breathing hardly through the shirt, blowing some air into the tube to help Ken's breathing, but he was out of air now. He coughed hard as he heard a door open in the next room: help.

"Casey!"

He sort of sighed, relieved to know that it was indeed his firehouse responding to that call.

"Severide", he said in most of a whisper.

With the rest of his strength, he explained the whole situation to his brother.

"I got fumes coming in through from the spilled area. One civilian. I had to improvise a crick!"

"Alright!"

Sparks were coming from the electric panel on the wall, it was already on fire, and when the power not out, it could lead to a very bad situation for everyone.

"You gotta make the whole big enough to get him out on a backboard!"

Soon, Matt was out of breath and had to use the shirt again, but the baking soda had stopped taking effect, it was out of use now. He had to inhale the fumes from the acid and the fire the time for Severide and his team to get them out.

"Tony, Capp, take an extinguisher on that panel! Cruz, we're gonna use the sledgehammers on this hole!"

"Copy that!" Cruz simply replied.

They were going to hit the wall when the electric panel exploded again, sending more sparks everywhere through the room and making them throw down to avoid the sparks. Severide grabbed his radio, they really needed this power shut-off.

"Hey, Otis! We really need that power cut-off!"

"Truck's on it", his chief stated.

Matt became more and more dizzy, looking at the fumes entering the room. He wanted to move the cloth again to block the door, but he had no longer strength for this. Suddenly, Ken opened his eyes.

"Ken, I know it's hard, but it's better if you stay still, huh?" he said as he coughed one more time.

Tears burning his eyes, he asked for his daughter, worried about her.

"She's okay. She got out", he reassured the father. "She wanted me to tell you: she didn't mind the diners."

Matt tried to take a breath, but struggled to take a good one. He barely had the strength to breathe properly now.

"After we get out of here, you should try those again, huh?"

Ken nodded as the truck team finally found the readers, they were all locked. They had to use big wire cutters to cut the padlocks. Once done, the removed a part of the panel, and everyone pulled the readers one by one.

"Power should be off!" Otis assured.

But it wasn't the case, the electric panel exploded one more time, spreading sparks even more than previously. They threw themselves again to the floor, Severide grabbing his radio once again.

"Negative! It's still hot! We get pinned down here!"

Truck looked everywhere, but there weren't readers anymore on their panel. It had to be something else.

"We gotta pull the main line to feed out of the meeter!"

Boden sighed, know that it was a high-risk move, but they had to do it. He glanced at the paramedics, moving straight to the team's position. Gabby's concern grew even more. Matt had to be okay. Chief Boden secured the rope around the line, giving the end of it to the team as they were ready to pull.

"You're all ready?"

"yeah."

"One, two, three, pull!"

They pulled at the same time, the main line getting out of its base, sending sparks everywhere as well, but at least the power was off now.

"How are you doing in there?"

"Power is off, we're secured!" Severide screamed through his radio. "Capp! Grab a backboard!"

"Copy!"

As Tony was putting down the fire with his extinguisher, Cruz and Severide started hitting the wall to enlarge the hole enough to slide a backboard. After many hits, he looked through the new hole, seeing that Matt and the other guy with him weren't moving at all. With the explosion, Matt tried to protect Ken's face and himself, but it was too late. The acid got his lungs and he couldn't straighten once again. He was out of strength now, for good.

"Casey!"

But he didn't move, he didn't reply. Capp came back with a backboard, but now, the hole wasn't large enough because Matt was now barely conscious, and he could help from his side to put the father on the backboard and get out on his own. He firefighter put the backboard down as Severide requested another backboard and a second ambulance, worrying Gabby. She had already a lot going on her head, and now she had to think about this? It was so unfair. Cruz and Kelly enlarged the hole, enough for one of them to go next to Matt and Ken and help to put them on the backboards. Kelly went through, heading down to Matt and put him on his back. He cracked open his eyes, looking straight in the eye of his friend as he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on buddy."

Ken seemed a lot more injured than Matt, so he put his own feelings aside and decided to place him down the backboard before his friend, and got him out with Tony and Cruz's help. They headed the backboard toward the nearest paramedics, but they weren't Gabby and Sylvie. They were waiting for Matt, obviously. They sent the second backboard in the room, and Severide helped his brother to get on it as he coughed hard. He couldn't help but to cough more and more. They had to get out of here before it would be too late.

"Pull him!"

Cruz and Tony grabbed the backboard, pulling it and didn't wait their boss to get out of this hell with Matt. He joined them as soon as he passed through the hole gain, heading toward Gabby and Sylvie this time. Matt was still coughing and breathing hard when Gabby grabbed her stethoscope and put it on his chest to check his breathing. His lungs were crackling, it wasn't good.

"We need to get to Med, now!"

Worried about Matt, Gabby was now scared to death by the sight of her beloved in such a situation. He hadn't opened his eyes, he was breathing sharply and hardly, they had to move fast. They placed the stretcher on their ambulance, Gabby heading inside while Sylvie was taking the key to drive to Med. Usually, it was the contrary, but this time, they knew their places. Gabby had to stay with Matt. She carefully placed an oxygen mask around his face to ease his breathing and she ripped off his sweaty shirt to settle three electrodes on his chest and monitor his vitals. A quick beep then invaded the back of the ambulance, meaning that Matt's heart was dancing samba in his chest. She secured an IV on his arm while Sylvie was parking the ambulance near the entrance of the ER and began to open the door. They got their stretcher out, heading toward the ER of Chicago Med.

"Thirty-seven year old male, sulfuric acid inhalation", she informed the doctors and nurses rushing to them as soon as they passed the door and while Matt kept coughing so hard that he could barely breathe. "Pulse at 160, BP at 15 over 11, O2 sat' at 94% with the oxygen mask."

"Trauma 1!" Maggie screamed.

"There're two others coming!"

The stretcher was still rolling, pushed by Sylvie while Gabby had taken the right hand of Matt and was squeezing it hardly, as to show him that she was there. He was now barely conscious, still coughing without stopping and keeping his eyes closed. Once arrived in the room, Brett glued the stretcher to the emergency bed for the transfer, the nurses and Will grabbed the cloth under Matt while Gabby dropped his hand, worried.

"On my count. One, two, three!"

Everyone lifted this body traveled with spasms and landed him on the bed. Brett took away the stretcher from the ambulance, trying to call Gabby in order to get her out of the room, but it was impossible. She had to stay, she couldn't and didn't want to be elsewhere but alongside Matt. Seeing the scene, it hurt her to see the one she considered as her best friend suffering like this for the man she loved.

"I want ABG, a tox screen and CBC, hurry!" Will ordered while he was putting the bed in a half-seated position.

April nodded, taking what to run a blood test at one of Matt's arteries. She turned his left wrist, the medical and nursing staff knew well that this area was one of the most accessible for an artery. She stung in the recommended area, and soon, she filled two tubes to be analyzed quickly by the lab.

"Matt, I want you to take some slow, deep breaths for me."

Will Halstead grabbed his stethoscope, placed the tips of it in his ears and its head over Matt's bare chest in order to check for breath sounds. Matt perfectly understood what he had to do, but he couldn't. His body was barely responding, his mind was fading, he was beginning to let go. When Dr. Halstead realized this, it was panic.

"He's in acidosis! Bring a BIPAP with 2.5mg of abulterol nebulizer, and call the rea to bring down a vent! Now! And check if radiology is free for a chest x-ray and a CAT-scan!"

April turn to take the phone and call the unit requested while another nurse left the room, running to find a BIPAP and albuterol.

"The vent is here within two minutes", April confirmed, taking back her place near Matt to assist Will. "Radiology can take Matt in five minutes for chest x-ray. For the scan, they're overwhelmed."

"Call them back, and tell them it's an emergency!"

"Right away."

April took back the phone, trying to explain the situation to the physician heading the radiology. Gabby remained there, totally still, frozen by what she saw. She was a paramedic, she had been a firefighter for two years, she had seen horrors, but when he was your soul mate, it was the most terrifying scene in the world. She felt bad for him, she was crying for her beloved, she was shivering. Everything was in slow motion before her eyes, nothing was working as expected. She could just feel her heart beating a mile a minute, her breathing was cut when she heard Matt coughing and almost spit his lungs. Still keeping an eye on what was happening in the trauma room 1, Sylvie headed up to the nurse's office, where Maggie was to sign papers, following the standard procedure. At the same time, the nurse who left the room came back with the vent. She hooked it to the breathing tubes of the special oxygen mask requested by Dr. Halstead. She put the straps around the head of Matt, securing the mask over his nose and mouth, then turned on the vent after having pushed albuterol into it, so that it could be blown on his face and be inhaled and act on his airways. Thanks to it, Matt began to breathe much better within a minute. He was still coughing, but it had diminished in intensity. He kept his eyes closed, trying to take the biggest breath he could while Will checked again his breathing with the stethoscope on his chest. Matt's pulse came down, slowly but surely, his breathing became more steady, but still superficial. His eyes were still closed, but at least, they had avoided the worst.

"Radiology is ready to take him right away."

Another good news. Will also knew that Gabby wouldn't want to leave his side, but she had to during the exams.

"Take him up to radiology", he asked April, while he headed toward Gabby. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her slightly. She looked him straight in the eye, worried and still in shock.

"I-is he…"

"He's not okay right now, but he'll be. I promise."

She tried to wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks as she got out of the trauma room and approached Sylvie.

"How is he?"

As she was unable to utter a word, Dr. Halstead talked for her.

"We run a chest x-ray and a CAT-scan to see the damage occurred by the inhalation. As he was still breathing on his own, it shouldn't be too bad. I will know more about it within an hour or so, and I will come back to talk to you after that, okay?"

Still unable to talk, Gabby simply nodded, completely in shock. The images of Matt coughing this hard and breathing sharply got her worried about her beloved. She was still shivering as she sat down on a chair. Sylvie knew that she wasn't ready to move, and wouldn't move an inch anyway. It was obvious, and she knew Gabby so well. Soon, the other firefighters joined the two paramedics, asking about how Matt was, but they had no clear answer. About an hour later, Will came back in the ER and stopped in front of Gabby. She stood up, crossing her arms nervously.

"Chest x-rays and CAT-scan showed some acid burns along his airways, but it didn't go down his lungs. He's very lucky, it could have been much worse after what he's been through."

"S-so… He's okay?"

"He's resting, he's still breathing on his own, but he needs supplemental oxygen and some prednisone to reduce the inflammation of his airways. We keep him at least overnight to monitor him, standard procedure."

"Can I go see him?"

"Of course. Like I've just said, he's resting, so two at the time, alright?"

Will knew the firefighters so well; he knew that they all wanted to go see him right away at the same time, but Matt wasn't ready for this, not right now. Gabby was the only one who moved to follow the physician. They all knew that she needed some privacy with him, even Kelly, who was so worried about his best friend, had accepted this. Yes, she had to be the only one with him at the moment, they could see him later, when he would be able to handle everyone at the same time. When Gabby entered into the room, she got relieved to see that color had come back to Matt's face. His was seated in half-way, his eyes were closed and his head slightly bent to the left. He looked so serene. There was a big nasal cannula stuck into his nose to provide him the necessary amount of oxygen he needed, plus the albuterol helping to dilate his airways. Matt was very lucky, his injuries could have been much worse. He could have died, but with his firefighter skills and his experience, he had been able to stay alive and keep alive two other people. Even though he couldn't save two lives, a father and his daughter were alive thanks to him. She finally let out a sigh of relief, holding back tears to stream down her face, her hands still shaking about the concern she might have had for the man she loved. She approached slowly, scared to wake up Matt, but he wasn't asleep. He tried, but he couldn't at the time. He hardly cracked open his eyes, they were still on fire because of the fumes. He had tried to counter their effects of the acid, but it quite didn't work well. He saw Gabby walking toward him, sadness and concern on her face. He could read into her like an open book.

"Hey", he whispered weakly.

"Hey", she replied as she took a seat and grabbed his left hand.

He kept his head still, each movement still occurring waves of nausea, but when he felt this warm hand on his, he squeezed it tenderly. She looked at him carefully, trying to read his mind.

"You got me really scared", she finally admitted, holding back a sob.

"Sorry. It was… An accident."

"What happened in there?"

"The forklift… Pierced a tank of sulfuric acid. I've been able to carry Ken into the room and…"

Suddenly, it hit him as he began to panic.

"How are they? They're okay, they… They're okay?"

"Matt, calm down. Calm down, they're okay", she said in a haste, trying to calm Matt.

He rested his head on the pillow, waiting for explanations and further information from Gabby. She knew that he needed them as well.

"The young girl…"

"Laurel", he interrupted.

"Laurel. Uh, she's okay. She also inhaled some fumes. She's monitored like you and she will be released tomorrow morning. The father…"

"Ken."

"His airways have been damaged and his face is slightly burned. Doctors hooked him up to a breathing machine to relieve his lungs, but he's out of the woods. Thanks to you, they're both okay."

Matt closed his eyes, relieved to hear that they were going to make it.

"I am sorry."

"About what?" Gabby asked, frowning.

"The fight, this morning. I…"

"I forgive you" she interrupted him before he could explain more, smiled at him. "Although, you didn't tell me that you took some classes to move up to Squad."

Matt reopened his eyes, frowning. He didn't know what she was talking about, because he never took classes at the Academy about the acid.

"You knew how to manage a crisis with sulfuric acid, which is a job for Squad company, not for Truck."

He realized what Gabby had understood: she was right, taking care of such hazardous things was a job for Squad, such as Kelly's squad. It wasn't something for anyone.

"I did take some classes at the Academy", he admitted while closing his eyes. "And… I had the best notations in physics and chemistry when I was in high school."

"You… You have learned this in high school?"

"You never had classes about acid-alkaline? To counter an acid, use an equivalent alkaline. I had nothing near me to counter sulfuric acid, no alkaline does in reality."

"But… You used dish soap, it's neutral, isn't it?"

"In reality, it's close to neutral, but not neutral. PH is 7,5", he said, smiling. "Besides, even though I didn't take classes at the Academy, I am a firefighter for about twenty years now, I've already seen Kelly responding to a hazardous situation, so I kept watching. And with my experience…"

"I still have some things to learn about you", she laughed.

"You don't know everything about me."

Matt had trouble to stay awake. He was tired and the medications they gave him was very strong. But he was relieved: he was alive, he still had his little family, stronger than before.

"Where's Louie…", he managed to say, before drifting into a deep sleep.

In the warehouse, he didn't even think about Louie, about Gabby. Because he had to stay alive, he didn't have time to be sensitive and filled with emotions. This warehouse visit had ruined his big surprise for Gabby, but he had plenty days to make it out with the help of his son. He could do it later. Now, he had to focus of his healing, of getting out of here to join his family back at home and going back to work as soon as possible. Because he was a firefighter, he was a dad, he was a soon-to-be husband. He had his family.