Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is my first time writing a fanfic, but I've been watching Chicago Fire for as long as I could remember. I'm very open to constructive criticism and advice. This chapter is a tad bit shorter only because I wanna see how it does for Chapter 1. Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy!

WARNING!: The theme of this fanfic is to show the life of someone who has been exposed to gang violence and drugs. If this material offends you, I HIGHLY suggest you do not read my work. I've tried to make everything in this story as accurate and realistic as possible. I do not live in the Chicago area so my locations could be a little off, but I tried lol. I wanted to make this because I have personally seen the impact of addiction. I wanted to help break the stigma of addiction and add a new perspective through this story.

Chapter One

{4x09}

"Gabby! Get us another round!" Boden ordered cheerfully,

"Coming right up, Chief!" Gabby and Otis happily poured alcohol into the little shot glasses with the Molly's logo on them.

Molly's had been packed. Everyone from Firehouse 51 and the Friday night crowd gathered into the bar to simply have fun. This night was strictly for celebration, and nothing was going to get in the way of 51 having a good time. (Especially when beer was involved.)

The shots kept coming and coming. Gabby had to confess she even had a few after Otis convinced her to break Herrmann's number one rule:

Never drink on shift.

If only she listened to him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The night got older into the wee hours, and eventually only a few members from 51 remained.

"Damn... what time is it?" Kelly groaned as he put his head down onto the smooth wooden bar top.

Gabby was mindlessly washing beer mugs in the bar sink as Otis snored sitting at the table across with Cruz on his phone and Mouch drunkenly staring off into space.

Gabby rolled her eyes at Otis agitated.

"Hey? Need some help?" Matt offered hopping over the bar.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Glad my co-workers are helping with this mess." She sarcastically complained.

"If I could remember, Herrmann left and that's when we trashed the bar?" Casey was getting a headache from trying to recall everything.

Gabby was absolutely right even though she had been drinking. Molly's was an absolute mess. The bar smelled like puke, beer spills were everywhere, broken glass was spread all over the floor, and Otis, Capp, and Kelly had to be woken up. Boden, Donna, and Patterson left at one point but neither of them could really remember when.

"Kelly it's 3:45 in the morning."

"What?" Kelly just groaned louder.

"You asked what time it was." Casey added,

No response.

"What're you laughing at?' Gabby caught Casey chuckling as he dried off the freshly cleaned glasses.

"I don't really know, tonight was just one of those nights we'll be laughing about for a while." Casey emphasized.

"If anyone even remembers it..." Gabby smirked as she gazed into Matt's eyes and reached in for a kiss.

"What the hell?"

Gabby and Matt turned to see Brett coming back from the bathroom.

Brett seemed to be the only other person who wasn't blatantly drunk other than Casey and Dawson.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked concerned. They saw Brett lift up one boot as red liquid dripped from it.

"Gabby..."

Dawson and Matt quickly ran to her aide and examined the puddle that was coming from the supply room door..

"Gabby, that's blood..." Brett said softly.

Matt tried softly pushed on the door, but something was blocking it.

Dawson's heart sunk as she ran behind the bar and then into the supply room.

Matt immediately called 9-1-1 as he watched Brett catch up to Dawson.

"What's going on Matt?" Cruz was beginning to sober up and Mouch was now snapping back into reality.

"I-I-don't know," Matt stuttered, "There's blood, I don't know what's going on."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oh my God..." Dawson's legs froze. Her throat swelled up and she couldn't breathe or talk. Brett immediately turned around and couldn't stomach the sight in front of her.

Dawson's heart dropped as her shaking body made her way closer to the bloodied limp body in front of her. She put her trembling fingers onto his cold skin and felt no pulse. She kept them there, hoping to feel something.

The only thing she could focus on keeping her fingers on his pulse. Gabby felt light-headed and her vision was dizzy. She could only see Brett throwing up in the corner, and the sirens she heard began to become muffled.

"Gabby, let go..." Matt was telling her softly as he put his hands on her shoulders and slowly pulled her off of him. She hadn't blinked and looked absolutely empty with his blood all over her new shirt that she was so happy to wear tonight. She didn't notice the time that went by, she didn't notice the police force that was ready to begin their investigation, she didn't notice her brother's tear stained faced. All she could notice was the knife that was covered in a crimson blood.

"Please, get her out of here." Antonio begged as he and his squad began their investigation.

Matt nodded and slowly guided her out leaving Antonio to his work.

"Who's the vic?" An assistant officer asked trying to get a head-start on the case,

"Christopher Hermann." Antonio answered quietly as his own words pierced through his heart and the rest of the Intelligence Unit.

XXXXXXXXXX

{Present Day}

Cordova left the table to make sure the trucks were ready for any calls that the day would bring.

"Goddamn, that dude is a little bitch."

"Lyon, chill out." Severide was annoyed already, and it was only fifteen minutes into shift.

"And watch your mouth too." Casey added.

Keon Lyon slumped back into his chair in the common room. Brett glanced at him in pity from across the room and felt the same way when she looked at Cordova. She glanced at the long scar on his neck, but it didn't distract her from his light brown skin that caused his grey eyes to glow.

"Why is everyone around here so cliquey?" She pondered to herself,

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the alarm calling for Truck 81, Squad 3, and Ambulance 61 to respond to some kind of disturbance. Brett was always frustrated about how vague the information was.

On the way there, Gabby could tell something was off with her best friend.

"What's wrong, Brett?" She asked sternly,

"Nothing. Why?" She snapped back. Gabby was silent for a moment

"Got it... It's that time of the month. I'll leave you alone."

"Shut up!" Brett laughed, "It's just that Cordova guy. Who knows how long he's going to stay? Everyone around 51 always treats new guys like they're bad or something. Keon has been here for like a year and a half and everyone treats him like he pissed in their cereal."

Gabby smirked.

"What? You know I'm right!"

"Umm, you've had a crush on Keon since he walked in on his first shift. You just want an excuse to talk about him" Gabby mentioned,

"That has nothing to do with it, Gabby." Brett said murmured to herself.

Gabby immediately was caught off guard with her tone and started to see what she was saying. She just decided to leave it alone until they could talk at the firehouse. Brett was clearly upset.

XXXXXXXXXX

Firehouse 51 parked in a col-de-ac near 10th street. The neighborhood was gloomy and humid and the house that called was boarded up with wooden planks on the window and the roof looked like it could collapse any minute. There seemed to be no signs of life between the few houses until a man opened his door waving for them to come near him.

"Sir, what seems to be the problem?" Chief Boden strolled up to the panicked older man standing in his doorframe claiming to be the one who called 9-1-1. His forehead was absolutely drenched in sweat. Dawson and Brett approached him with their aid kit.

"No, no! It's not me. I'm fine! A man was just shot in my backyard. Scared the life out of me!" His arms were shaking as he wiped his forehead with his handkerchief.

"I didn't know the fire department would show up, hopefully you guys can get him out of here safely." The old man led Boden, Casey, Dawson, and Brett through his cluttered home to the backyard. The rest of Squad 3 and Truck 81 stood watch in the front yard waiting for the police to show up.

The man in the backyard began screaming in pain as Dawson and Brett ran to his side. But before they dropped down to help him, they glanced at Boden.

The "man" was no older than twenty and was wearing a blue bandana that represented the Simon City Royals. The gang had been recently having turf wars with People Nation up in North Chicago.

"Be quick." Boden ordered nervously as the gang member began to scream again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Chief, need any help?" Cruz radioed Boden after hearing screams.

"We'll be out asap. A gang banger was shot in this guy's yard. I want us out of here as quickly as possible. Keep your heads up. I'll let you know when we're on our way."

"Got it, Chief." Cruz replied.

"Why didn't the damn police show up? We have axes not guns! Besides, why are we even responding to a call in North Chicago?" Lyon stated obviously,

"I heard a bus caught fire on the turnpike and a bunch of units responded leaving us with this mess. Let's just not complain and hope they don't come back. To finish the job" Kelly ordered hushing the much younger fireman.

Cruz approached the older man who just got done asking if they wanted any green tea.

"Sir, did you hear any other shots?" Cruz asked curiously,

"Please, call me Dean. Dean Links." Cruz shook his wrinkled hand firmly.

"Truth be told, I have insomnia. I fell asleep for a few hours, and minutes after I awoke I heard the shot. I'm not so sure what happened before that. I called my neighbors and they told me to immediately call the police after they saw some boys running around their yard. These damn hoodlums." Dean shook his head.

Cruz was furious that this man had no idea what was going on but couldn't blame him for not having knowledge on gangs. They may have just gotten called into the middle of a turf war.

"Chief, we have to go, now." Joe radioed to Boden anxiously. "On our way out now." He replied back. Dean said his thanks to 51 and slowly made his way back into his smaller, run-down home.

"Where are the police?" Cruz ran up to Boden angrily, "There was that bus accident near Logan Square and they're having trouble getting to us," Boden was annoyed as well. After Dawson and Brett were sent on their way to Chicago Med, everyone hurried into their trucks.

Before anyone could even open a door, a swarm of gang members dressed in red began shooting across the street at men dressed in blue.

Boden and Cruz took cover behind Boden's car, and everyone else hid behind the trucks.

"They're fighting with People Nation!" Cruz shouted over the gunfire to Boden, but he simply didn't care who was fighting with who. He just needed to get his men out of here.

Behind the trucks, everyone stood still trying not to flinch at every gunshot.

"Kelly, what the hell do we do?" Stella's voice trembled, "They know we're here and they're leaving us alone." Kelly answered calmly,

"Kelly is right. They don't want anything to do with us, guys. We just need to wait this out." Casey yelled to his men reassuring them with safety.

They could hear sirens in the distance after five more minutes of shooting went by. The gangs were beginning to scatter and flee but took some final shots.

Two members of the Simon City Royals ran by Cruz and Boden, running as fast as they could. A few last shots pierced the air, and one of the two men were shot. They face planted right into the ground dropping their silver shining gun that slid across the hard concrete. The other gangster didn't even look back.

Cruz and Boden looked at each other wondering if they should help him. Their idea was immediately shut down when the gangster slowly but surely regained his balanced as he pressed on the gunshot that grazed his arm. He grabbed his magnum and turned back to Boden and Cruz.

The gangster had brown hair that was lightened by the sun with eyes that matched the same color as chestnuts. He was tall with broad shoulders and looked like he was in pristine physical shape.

Boden's eyes locked with the gangster's, and Wallace could see right through that blue bandana that hid the true identity of this boy. His heart sunk and he was having trouble focusing as the boy ran off leaving a trail of blood behind him. Boden shot up as fast as he could and ran after him

"Chief? What the hell?" Cruz yelled, but immediately joined his chief in the pursuit.