Hey all! So here in my new story! I want to thank Rebecca (ItsWhatIWrite – if you don't know her stuff…go check it out! Its awesome) for helping me with this, for bouncing ideas and for editing my chapters, it means a lot to me!

I hope you all like it, please let me know what you think!

Now that I am all caught up on Game Of Thrones… OMG! …I will be able to spend more time writing so these chapters (and that of When Things Happen To Change) should come fairly consistently, at least I hope so.

Before I start however; lets take a minute to talk about Chicago Fire and Dawsey! The writers have put too much time and effort into creating the idea of both Matt and Gabby being parents or having a family for Matt not to be with Gabby at the end of this season. Dawsey will be fine, I honestly, truly believe that, it only makes sense to have them together, both Jesse and Monica love their characters together and the writers have said they are the backbone relationship of the show so I have faith.

Now on to the story! :D

Chapter 1 – High Horse

"You know what? Fuck you Severide all right! I'm sick and tired of this shit, get off your fucking high horse!" Matt didn't even wait for a reply, no doubt it would have been an array of profanities sent his way but he was over it; tired of the same old argument each week, tired of Kelly bringing up the same thing day in and day out. Rising from the couch, Matt reached for his keys and his phone before opening the front door, letting it slam loudly as it closed behind him.

Kelly watched as Matt left the apartment, he should have expect Matt to react the way he had, but he wanted to talk to him, he wanted to bring up what he had been thinking for a while, the things that had been bothering him for a while. He listened as the walls shook as the door slammed, shaking his head before moving back his own room; no doubt he was going to hear Matt when he came home.

Matt was furious! How dare Severide pull him up the way he had been? He of all people should be able to understand what Matt was going through, or at least understand why he was acting the way he was. Sure he would spends nights hanging his head over the toilet because he had drank so much his body couldn't hold it in and he knew that wasn't good for him, but at this point he didn't care. And Kelly Severide, king of drowning his sorrows should not be running his mouth about what Matt should and should not be doing.

Pushing opening the old heavy door to Molly's, Matt sucked in a deep, warm breath, it was cold outside so it was nice to walk into a warm room. It was almost midnight and Molly's was pretty full but there was always a bar stool ready for him, or at least that's how it felt recently, he had been spending a fair amount of time there.

"Hey lieutenant." Herman was already in front of him with a beer as he sat down, knowing that look he had meant that he wanted a drink and he wanted it yesterday. If Herman had his way, he would be sending Matt right back where he had come from, knowing that his lieutenant was falling off the deep end but felt that if he drank at the bar, he could monitor what he was drinking and how much he was drinking and just keep an eye on him.

Reaching for the beer Matt sighed, "Hey Herman, busy tonight?" He may have been pissed and well, pissed off, but Matt wasn't a dick, he had no issues having a chat while he drowned himself in alcohol. It also helped to try and prove to Herman that he wasn't drunk already, that he hadn't sat in his living room for the last 4 hours finishing off the six-pack that had been cooling in the fridge.

Of course he knew this was stupid, of course he knew that drinking wasn't going to solve his problems, make him forget or even make him feel better but he just wasn't sure what else he could do. Everything he did reminded him of that day, everywhere he went she would be there.

And he hated it.

When he was on shift, he was professional, like nothing had happened; he was 100% sober and never made a mistake, always the first one to stand up for his men, have their backs if needed. On his construction jobs he was the same old Matt, meticulous, professional, hard working but the minute he got home, the top of a bottle was being popped, usually the first of many and he would eventually wake up on the couch, feeling like shit but getting right back into work.

Herman nodded, "Yeah we have been, I think I need another pair of hands." He laughed before moving to the other side of the bar, taking orders, laughing and talking, leaving Matt to sit by himself, his drink in his hand and his head down.

Sighing Herman, looked down the bar, his smile falling as he watched his lieutenant, the man who was usually so strong, so strong willed and so calm, he was falling apart, losing himself in his own pain. Herman didn't know what to do to help him, he had never seen Matt like this before, and so he just placed another beer in front of his lieutenant and let the night wear on.

As the night continued, or so it had felt, Matt sighed as he looked down at his beer, half finished, as much as he had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol lately. He had seemed to lose interest in the drink he had in his hands, instead he had lost himself in the replay of the past weeks hockey game that was being shown on the TV, his eyes focused on the screen intently.

That was until someone bumped into his side, laughter in his ears that made him shudder, it was light and happy and carefree. There was a part of him that wanted to smile, that sound was almost like music to his ears, her laugh was infectious, if only he could have let it flow over him.

Turning in his seat he eyed the girl who stood there, dark skin, dark hair, bright, wide smile on her face. She too turned towards him, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder, "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to bump you. Are you alright?"

But Matt just eyed her for a moment, she was beautiful but he had let the alcohol take over him and he huffed turning back to face the front.

In the moment of silence the girl watched him, she hadn't meant to knock him, she had apologised for doing so and yet here he was, huffing and brushing her off. "Hey, I apologised alright. Don't have to be a dick about it." This caused Matt to turn again, he really shouldn't have been angry, he really shouldn't have bitten back but he was drunk and he was quickly losing patience with this beautiful girl.

"And you said it now, if you don't mind…" He turned again, he was never the sort of person who would abuse a girl, not that he was sexist just believed that he had more self control, especially if the girl really hadn't don't anything wrong.

As he continued to stare forward he head a scoff and an asshole fall from her lips before she spoke to Herman. This girl was clearly a regular, addressing him by name, Hermann returning the favour, although Matt mad missed the name that tumbled from Hermann lips. With one last sideways glance the girl grabbed her drinks and moved away, leaving Matt with a stern looking Herman. "You know 'tenant she did apologise…"

It was clear that Herman had seen what had happened between them but Matt was too far-gone to care, he was tired and angry and sad and just wanted to sit in peace but that wasn't going to happen. So he stood, throwing some money onto the counter before making his way out of Molly's not even bothering to glance back at the girl who huffed when she saw him leave.

Gabby needed a drink, she had had a long day on shift the night before and just needed to have a bit of fun, so when she had gotten a text from Shay inviting her out to Molly's for the night, she had jumped at the opportunity.

There was a lot going on in her life, she had been single for a while, her ex causing more damage than she thought possible and also for being an ass who wanted nothing more than just sex, so much so he would find it elsewhere when she was on shift. She had hated the fact that she had let him into her life, there were so many warning bells that she had ignored and she only had herself to blame for that but she was moving on, enjoying her life, enjoying her job and enjoying spending time with her friends.

Moving through the crowd, Gabby moved along with the music, earning a few glances from some of the men that were at the bar but she wasn't interested, all she wanted was a drink and to enjoy herself. As she moved over to the counter she caught Herman's eyes, thankful that she knew him well because she didn't have to wait long to be served but as she came to the bar she had to step out the way of the person leaving, accidentally bumping into the man sitting at her side, she placed her hand on his shoulder, steadying herself but also using it to calm him down as well.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to bump you. Are you alright?" She looked over to the man, his bright blue eyes staring back at her, his face stoic. She blinked, waiting for something to come for his mouth but all she received was a huff before turning away from her.

Gabby watched him, shocked that he was being so rude to her after she had apologised, it was an accident after all. The place was busy, she was sure it wasn't the first time someone had bumped him but here he was brushing her off rudely. Gabby was never the sort of person to hold her tongue, she would bite if she felt it necessary.

And bite she did, "Hey, I apologised alright. Don't have to be a dick about it." This caused the man to turned back to her, his blue eyes darker this time, maybe she shouldn't have said anything, she didn't know how he was going to react but he was being a dick and she was going to call him on it.

The man huffed again, this time speaking to her, "And you said it now, if you don't mind…" before he turned away once more, bringing his drink to his lips.

Gabby scoffed, "Asshole" before turning to Herman she took the drinks he had placed down her for, before glancing to her side as she turned away, wanting to say something else to the man but decided against it.

It only took her a moment for her to reach Shay and her friends; handing out drinks she watched as Shay smiled, "What happened?" She knew her too well, it was clearly written on her face that she was pissed about something suddenly, taking her drink from Gabby she waited for a reply.

"Oh nothing, just a prick at the bar that's all." They both looked towards the bar, hoping that Gabby could point him out to Shay but with the amount of people already standing there it had become to hard to see him. She just shrugged it off, turning back to her friends, laughter taking over them all. Shay glanced over Gabby's shoulder, her smile fading for a moment, realising who she was motioning to, her brow furrowing before turning back to Gabby.

Sliding into bed Matt groaned, his head had already started to pound, the alcohol had taken over his sense already, but it was at this time that his mind would drive him crazy. He would remember every touch, every word, every look and every feeling that he had ever had while with her and he hated it. I made him feel sick, it made him feel angry and it also made him sad.

Sighing he lay in the silence of his bedroom, the quiet only being interrupted by the sounds of the very few cars outside; the lateness of the night adding the silence outside. He was staring at the stark white ceiling, why did he have to pain it so white? He was still so angry, so full of hatred and resentment that he was barely sleeping and any time he was sleeping, it was full of her face, that smile and those eyes and that pain.

Swearing under his breath, Matt rolled onto his stomach, the movement causing his head to spin, the alcohol really starting to affect him, thankful he was laying down at least, he focussed on the bright red flickering of his alarm clock, the time ticking down till 6am, when his alarm would sound and he would force himself from his bed and back to work.

Work.

Somewhere Matt didn't really want to be, somewhere where he couldn't really hide away for too long, the sounds of laughter and happiness slowly killing him. He tried to be happy, tried to at least look happy to stop people from asking how he was all the time.

It had worked, for the most part, the people he worked with had stopped asking how he was doing and even though he knew they meant well, it was starting to frustrate him. Kelly and Hermann on the other hand, while they didn't ask how he was, they would watch him, keep a close eye on what he was doing and he could tell when they wanted to say something but didn't. He didn't blame them though; there were a few times where he had brushed them off rather harshly when they had mentioned it.

Matt had seen Kelly watching him from the corner of his eyes for the better part of the day, his hands wrapped around the coffee mug, debating whether to say something or not. Matt had been out most of the night, barely getting out of bed before midday; Kelly was really starting to worry now. He was now talking about heading out to Molly's, his third drink in his hand already, midnight fast approaching.

Sighing, Matt turned the page on the paper he was reading, not bothering to look up at Kelly. "Are you going to stare at me all day?" He raised his eyebrow, still not looking up at Kelly, bringing the drink to his lips.

Kelly thought for a moment, how did he approach this subject with Matt, placing his mug down on the bench, he moved to lean against the counter by Matt's side. "How you doing?" It was such a loaded question, one that had been asked of him many times over the past two months.

"Fine. Why?" Still not looking up at Kelly, he tried his best to ignore him.

Kelly placed his hand over the paper, stopping Matt from reading, or pretend to read, causing Matt to groan. "Casey man. You can't keep going like this, it's been two months, tell me what is going on?"

Slowly, carefully, Matt lifted his head to look Kelly in the eye, narrowing them for a moment before his mouth opened, "Move your hand away from the paper Severide…" He was gritting his teeth, standing slowly to be eye to eye with him.

This was a side of Matt Kelly hadn't seen before, it worried him even more than the drinking. "Matt, come on man, this isn't healthy for you. This isn't you. The drinking? I don't know what happened but you gotta stop this. All of this-"

Matt exploded, pushing himself away from the bench, swiping his hand across the top, sending his half empty beer bottle crashing to the ground. "You know what? Fuck you Severide all right! I'm sick and tired of this shit, get off your fucking high horse!"

"Tenant, you coming to Molly's for Shay's birthday after shift?" Cruz looked over the table at Matt who was sitting at the end of the table, head down, eating a bowl of noodles he had made for lunch and reading a paper he wasn't actually paying attention too. Slowly he looked up, seeing everyone watching him closely.

"Ah yeah, of course…" It was a strange question to be asked, why wouldn't he be going for Shay's birthday but he had been isolating himself a little more recent, so he should be surprised they would be curious. He looked down at his plate before looking up at Shay and smiling, it was her birthday after all.

His head was starting to pound, he could feel it in the side of his head, that familiar tightening pain he had become accustomed to, too much alcohol and not enough sleep. Maybe he would find someone at Molly's to take home with him to help him forget.

Even for the night.

Maybe.

As he raised his spoon for another mouthful, the bells rang loudly throughout the firehouse, each person stopping in their tracks as they listened out for who was being called. Each of them abandoning what they were doing when they were all called out to a car accident.

Each vehicle pulled at the scene moments later, the sun beating down on them as they organised themselves, most of them had been hanging round in their turnout pants and t-shirts to reduce the warmth. Chief had instructed those to go and do what they had to, sending Casey and Hermann straight to the more damaged of the cars, Severide and Capp heading to the other as it requires squad to open the door.

Matt wished he could have been back at the firehouse; his head was pounding, the sun heating up his skin instantly, as he approached the car, he barely took notice of the people watching. It was nothing unusual for people to be drawn to chaos however part of him didn't understand how people can sit there with their phones out, gawking, he kinda hated it actually but he kept going. He needed to get his head in the game, this was his job and no matter what was going on in his life, this was where he was at his best.

He did however notice the dark, wild hair of a girl that was leaning through the driver's side window of the car, seemingly making sure that the driver had been ok. He could see her backside, her shirt riding up a little, what the hell was she doing?

He sighed, he understood that people wanted to help; it was actually good to know that someone had decided to help before arrived but he was starting to have enough of people trying to be heroes. It also made his job harder; he didn't need today to be made harder at all.

Reaching the car, he pulled on his gloves, looking down to make sure they were right, he spoke, not even looking at the girl he was talking to. "Alright miss I'm going to have to ask you move out the way." When there was no reply he reached out and touched the girls shoulder, vaguely away of Shay and their PIC Williams heading towards the other side of the car.

"Miss I said I'm going to have to ask you move." He was a little more forceful this time, annoyed she had ignored him the first time he had spoken, he really needed her to move, he really needed to assess the situation and this girl was in his way. He sighed.

But this time he got a reply; the bite back was feisty, Shay smirking as it came. "You know, if I didn't have to keep this guys from bleeding out I would but I kinda do, so I'm not really going to move." She snapped back, 'blood fire fighters' she thought, struggling not to roll her eyes, as she glanced back at the man, inwardly groaning when she saw him.

This was when Matt's eyes snapped up leaning over her side into the car, close enough to smell her perfume, he could see her hand at the driver's throat, holding what looked like a jacket to the wound. That's when she spoke again, this time completely ignoring Matt standing next to her, her eyes focused on the paramedic at the passenger's side window, "Glass shattered from the windscreen, I've been able to stabilize the wound, looks to have missed the artery but he doesn't have much time."

Williams nodded, opening the passenger side door to slide into the car, looking over the rest of the driver, "All right Casey, I'm gonna need you to help our friend here and make sure you keep them both steady when we move him we can't risk the glass moving. What's your name hun?" The older man looked toward the girl, noticing the intent look in her eyes as the focused on the driver, blood has travelled down her arms and onto her top, but it didn't seem to faze her, she was too focused on what was happening in front of her.

"Gabby", Was all he got in return, her eyes lashing up to Shay who smiled back, not going to say too much as right now was not the time.

"Alright Casey, I was you to lean over Gabby and place her hand over hers, don't put too much pressure on because we don't want it to move but just keep her steady." He waited for Matt to nod, Herman and Mouch now behind Williams, waiting for the next order. "Ok guys when I say we are going to slide his legs straight over the bucket seats and then lift gently" he had the back board ready, the only way out through the drivers side window due to the injury.

As this happened Matt his grunted slightly, he didn't like the idea of having this girl helping, what did she know? What if she made it worse? But doing as requested Matt leaned against her back, reaching his long arms over hers to rest his hand on here. He glanced down at the girl, Gabby, smirking as her breath hitched slightly, glad he was having some affect on her considering she was less than polite when she'd spoken to him. Matt was by no stretch a condescending person but he didn't appreciate people being rude to him no matter the situation, he was a professional man, having someone he didn't know involved in a rescue.

"You ready 'tenant?" The backboard was ready to go, Cruz and Mouch were now standing by the driver side door, waiting for the patient to come out. "Ah yeah, ready!" Matt called out again glancing down at the girl who had now glanced up at him as well. Williams spoke again, "All right Gabby, Casey on the count of three we are going to turn him slightly onto the board so you'll both have to lean in a little and then back out so we can slide him out."

They both nodded, just waiting patiently for all this to happen, they would do as they were told. As Williams counted down to one, Matt pushed himself against Gabby as she leaned forward, they bodies with no space between them for no more than 30 second, which for some reason felt like longer, until the both felt the tell tail sign of the backboard being moved.

As this happened Matt took a step back from Gabby, their hands still covering the wound but this time with less urgency as he moved away, reaching for the side of the board to help carry. "Good job there kid" Williams spoke to Gabby, smiling as the walked to the ambo, another paramedic taking over as they placed the driver on the stretcher. As the doors closed Williams glanced back to her, expending his hand. Smiling back, Gabby shook it for a moment before Williams headed off toward to from of the ambo, speeding off moment later.

Matt groaned, his head was now ready to explode, the sun was hot and he was stressed, the same way he got stressed after every call, it was the adrenalin running through him, he rubbed his head. He really shouldn't have drunk as much as he had last night, he was dehydrated now and it sucked. Moving towards Chief, they fell into deep conversation about the situation, getting Truck sorted in the clean up, moments later hearing someone clear their throat.

Both turned to find Gabby standing there, rubbing her hands together, trying to clean them off as much as possible without actually having anything to clean them off. "Miss, my lieutenant was just telling me about the work you did, you probably scared that mans life." Both Gabby and Matt looked up at the Chief, it was clear that Matt hadn't really said it, but it was nice to hear anyway.

Chief held his hand out for Gabby, who was still rubbing them on her pants before shaking his hand, hoping to get the blood off. "It's just Gabby and it's not problem. I actually came to ask you, that was Ambo 61 that came from your house yeah?" Gabby glanced behind her to see Shay standing by the Ambo, laughing at something that Williams had said.

Boden and Casey eyed the girl, confused, why did it matter that it was ambo 61 and why was she asking. Taking that as her yes answer, Gabby continued, "That would make you Chief Boden. I'm Gabriella Dawson. I'm the new PIC on 61 starting next shift." Matt was shocked, they had been told that they would be getting a new PIC but they had never been told who it would be.

He couldn't believe it, of all people - Boden had pulled him from his thoughts, "Ah Miss Dawson. It's a pleasure and if your work is anything like what we saw today, you are going to fit in really well at 51." With a nod Boden left Gabby and Matt alone needing to deal with someone. She turned to Matt, part of her needing to get away from him or else she would say something she would regret, "Well lieutenant, I guess I'll be seeing you next shift." She moved past him, following the call of the CPD who was calling out for her.

"Ah Miss Dawson. It's a pleasure and if your work is anything like what we saw today, you are going to fit in really well at 51." With a nod Boden left Gabby and Matt alone needing to deal with someone. She turned to Matt, part of her needing to get away from him or else she would say something she would regret, "Well lieutenant, I guess I'll be seeing you next shift." She moved past him, following the call of the CPD who was calling out for her.

As she moved past him, she bumped into him accidently, turning suddenly to look at him she sighed, "I would apologise but I know you don't accept apologises." With two fingers brought to her forehead on a salute style, heading toward the police, Matt just watching as she walked away, completely shell shocked at this girl.

What was she talking about?

"Next time someone bumps you at Molly's maybe you should accept their apology…" Matt looked down at Shay, confused for a moment before he realised what she was talking about.

Gabby was the girl from Molly's, the girl who had bumped, the girl who had called him an asshole because he didn't speak to her.

God and now she was in the firehouse with him. Groaning, he rubbed his head, his headache was getting worse and his anger growing.

Thoughts? I do hope to update soon so let me know if you want more