Hello people! Welcome to wannabewyler's Chicago Fire story called Of Memories and Flames. It's my first story for this show and I was originally going to wait till I had written every chapter for this story before uploading but my sister (a HUGE Chicago Fire fan) had just read it and got awfully emotional so I decided that it should go up immediately. Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Enjoy and review please!
They're all sitting in the hospital waiting room at Lakeshore; have been for the past two hours. They're all waiting for the news on just one person. They're all covered in dirt and blood and injured themselves; they're still in their uniform and taking up majority of the waiting space but they don't care. Otis was sporting a broken arm whilst eating an apple and wincing every time he breathed because of bruised ribs. Cruz' face was covered in cuts and his left hand and arm was bandaged due to the deep cut that runs from the back of his hand to his elbow. Mouch and Herrmann were merely bruised with small cuts on their skin; they were hardly affected by the blast. Mills has two broken ribs and a concussion but he's sitting in a chair next to Shay who has her ankle in a cast. The rest of Squad 3 got out with only bruises and cuts like Mouch. The Battalion Chief which had been in charge of the disastrous call had waited around for an hour, checking on everyone before heading back to House where he was going to update everyone despite the doctor's protests due to the concussion he had. Severide was pacing up and down, staring at doctors and nurses as they passed, hoping they would be the bearers of good news. Boden was standing, staring at them all and digesting how they were coping with everything. Donna stood to his side, changed from her wedding dress into something more comfortable and suitable, and she was wiping his face free from blood and dirt. This was not how he wanted his wedding day to go and he had tried to persuade her to go and enjoy the rest of the day, even suggesting he leave as well but she had made a scene and claimed that she would wait here, regardless of where he was because she wanted to hear the news as well.
Casey was a mess.
Nobody knew what to do or say. They'd all spoken to each other, everyone voicing their concerns for the paramedic and firefighter who was still in surgery but not to him. To them, they could see the similarity of what happened to Hallie but nobody pointed it out because then everyone would remember how that ended and everybody would be filled with anything but optimism, regardless of how much of a fighter Gabriella Dawson was.
Herrmann was sitting opposite Casey and was watching the Lieutenant wishing there was something he could do or say but knowing there was nothing he could. He watched, with wide eyes, as Casey pulled out a black box from his pocket and dusted the dirt off the top before holding it, closed, in his hands. "Is that what I think it is?" With the silence broken for the first time in an hour, everyone's eyes were on the two of them. Casey smiled sadly, raising the box so it rested on the tip of his fingers but still supported, so that everyone could see it.
"Yep." The one word was the first he had said since Gabby had been taken away from the building in an ambulance. Cruz and Otis both leant forward, as if getting closer to them would help them hear the words that were not being spoken. Boden had his arms now wrapped around his new wife as he too waited for words that didn't look to be coming.
"And she said?" Mouch asked, breaking the new found silence. Casey laughed quietly before burying his head in his hands and sobbing quietly.
"I didn't let her answer." His voice came out muffled due to trying to stop his tears but still loud enough to be heard by them all. "We got the call just after I asked her." Nobody knew what to say but Shay was the first to make her move, standing up and shoving Kelly's worrying hands away as she limped over to Casey.
"Matt, we spoke about it before we went into the building." He looked up at her, no emotion on his face but the grief in his eyes so obvious. "She was going to say yes. She will say yes." He smiled sadly, flipping open the lid of the box and looking at the diamond ring nestled within its depths.
"That is a beauty." Herrmann told him, smiling at the sight of the shining ring which had come out undamaged of the explosion. "Just like it's soon to be wearer." He added and watched as Casey's face lit up at thoughts of his girlfriend. They all nestled back into silence and Shay nestled back into her chair with the assistance of her overprotective best friend. The silence was broken again when Antonio, Gabby's brother, burst into the waiting room with a worried look on his pale face.
"How is she?" He demanded, his voice wavering. Casey stood up, stumbling due to the deep cuts which littered his legs and made his way slowly to his friend. "Casey, tell me she's okay." But the look on his face told him everything he needed to know and he cursed. "Damnit." He turned and noticed a nurse sitting at the reception and he rushed over, shoving Jay who had accompanied him, out of the way. With Antonio shouting at the nurse who was telling him that she didn't know a thing and that he would have to calm down, the doctor, who was covered in blood and looked dead on her feet, walked into the waiting room.
Before she could even open her mouth to say Gabby's name, they were all up on their feet and heading towards her. "How is she?" Casey asked, his voice barely audible. The doctor smiled sadly.
"She's out of surgery. She has a broken leg and two broken ribs. Her spleen was ruptured and she's had a nasty bump to the head but she is currently stable." The doctor rubbed a hand over her face. "She's fighting the drugs and she's in and out of consciousness, sooner than we expected but she's a fighter. She's in room 214 but we're going to need to keep an eye on her and run some more checks because-" The doctor never got to finish what she was saying to Casey as he had already sprinted, despite his limps, down the corridor to see Gabby.
Antonio, who had joined the group had heard what the doctor had said but stuck around instead of running off. He'd seen the look on her face and knew that he wanted to be prepared for whatever he was going to face. "What else is it?" Antonio asked and she attempted a smile, but knowing Gabby due to their jobs and slight friendship, it came out more as a grimace.
"The bump to the head was a large one and had us concerned that she was going to end up in a coma or do her harm to the point where we'd induce one but that isn't the case. She's fighting the drugs, as I said, and we believe that the bump to the head has affected her memories."
"Affected how?" Shay asked, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. The doctor grimaced again.
Room 214. There was the door, shut and ready for him to open. Once he gained the courage. He knew that the sight wasn't going to pretty; she was going to be covered in bandages, cuts, bruises and more bandages but he could just picture the smile that would light up her face when she saw him and how he'd relax immediately.
All he had to do was open the door to room 214.
His hand was on the handle as he took deep breaths before turning it and wandering in to the room which was silent bar the beeps of machinery.
Gabby was currently awake, staring down at an object in her lap, her phone, with a furrowed brow. He tried to ignore the bruises and cuts which were marring her perfect skin and instead tried to focus on the fact that she was alive and awake. He shut the door behind him, the click grabbing her attention and she looked up at him. He grinned and limped his way to the chair next to her, plopping himself down before grabbing the hand closest to him, her left.
"How are you?" He asked and watched as her frown deepened; he was confused as to why she looked confused but he didn't care.
"I'm fine." She answered slowly and to her it seemed to relieve him. He opened his mouth to ask her another question but she quickly got in before him. "Do I know you?"
"Get to the point doc." Herrmann demanded his voice cracking. They had all gotten to the point; Shay had collapsed into the chair nearest her whilst Mills and Severide were speaking to her and Antonio had slid down to the floor against the wall, his head between his knees as he tried to calm himself. The others were scattered, not as close in a group as they were when she had first walked out but they were still listening to her, hoping that good news would come out of it.
"She doesn't know who Gabriella Dawson is." The doctor admitted with a sigh.