Severide's POV
Matt and I heard the sound of Everly screaming and turned around just in time to see a semi collide with Ambulance 61. The ambo rotated and flipped onto its side, crushed by the truck.
"Gabby! Grace!" Matt yelled, running towards the accident.
I heard the rest of Firehouse 51 yelling and running as we all raced towards our girls. Casey and I got there first, calling out for Dawson and Everly. The driver of the semi stumbled out of the truck and headed towards us, apologizing profusely.
"My tire blew! I lost control! I'm so sorry!" he yelled, hobbling over.
We saw the gurney shift inside the ambulance as Gabby struggled to move. I saw Grace's chestnut curls farther in and raced towards her. I gasped quietly when I got close enough to see what had actually happened. Gabby looked relatively okay. She just had a gash on her leg and some scrapes across her forehead.
Grace was a whole other story. There was blood pooling around her from a cut that ran adjacent to her hairline from behind her left ear to the back of her neck. Most of her body was being crushed by the gurney, but I had a feeling it wasn't anything good. I grabbed a nearby wad of gauze and pressed it to the cut on her neck, applying pressure.
"Grace, stay with me. Please stay with me," I said, my heart breaking at the thought of losing her.
I couldn't lose Everly. Not after everything that happened with Shay. I could not lose another person that I loved.
"I need a backboard and a c-collar over here now!" I yelled.
"Grace?" I heard Dawson say behind me.
I turned and saw Dawson standing there, Casey helping support her weight. There were tears in her eyes, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was in pain or because of Everly.
Otis came running up with a c-collar, followed closely by Cruz with a backboard. I took the c-collar and gently wrapped it around Grace, trapping the gauze underneath it. I ran my fingers over her blood-drenched hair, brushing it out of her face.
"Grace, you've got to wake up. Come on," I said, rubbing my knuckles along her sternum.
There was no response and I could feel my heart drop to my stomach. A few moments later, a second ambulance rolled up. The transferred Grace onto the backboard and loaded her onto the gurney and into the ambulance.
"Sev, go with Everly. Truck will take Gabby to Med and Squad can meet us there," Casey said.
I looked to Boden for confirmation and he nodded his agreement. I immediately got in the back with Grace and Matt closed the doors. I heard the sirens get switched on and we raced towards Chicago Med. I watched as Chout worked on Grace. He was in the middle of starting an IV when Everly started convulsing.
"I'm going to have to drill. I need you to hold her left leg down," Chout said, grabbing an IO kit.
I held Grace's leg still while Chout cut her pants up to her mid-thigh, pushing the fabric out of the way. He got the drill ready before looking up at me.
"You might want to look away for this," he suggested.
I took his advice and looked at Grace's face. I heard the sound of the drill and I flinched a little as the needle was driven into her bone marrow. Chout pushed Ativan and the seizing subsided.
"She should wake up in a second," he said, moving to sit in the seat by Grace's head.
A few minutes later, she still hadn't come to and Chout was beginning to look worried. I opened my mouth to ask what was happening but before I could get a word out, we had arrived at Med. The doors opened and Maggie was there, along with Dr. Halstead and Dr. Rhodes.
"Talk to me," Maggie said.
"26 year-old female paramedic. She was unrestrained in the back of Ambulance 61 when a semi crashed into it. Positive LOC. Lacerations to the neck, arms, back, and legs. She started convulsing en-route, so I pushed 2mg of Ativan. She has not regained consciousness," Chout said, wheeling Grace into the ER.
"Okay. You're going to Trauma 2," Maggie instructed.
I followed the team of doctors and nurses into the room, but stood off to the side so as not to get in their way. I watched as they worked, desperately hoping that things were okay. A few seconds later, I heard rapid beeping from the machines next to her bed.
"She's crashing! We need to intubate!" Dr. Rhodes yelled.
I watched in horror as they intubated Grace, a nurse standing nearby with the paddles, ready to shock the young paramedic if needed.
"Her stats are rising," Halstead said, a touch of relief in his voice.
"There's free fluid in her belly. She's bleeding somewhere in there," Rhodes said, running an ultrasound wand across Grace's abdomen.
"Let's get her down to CT and see what's going on."
"I'll let them know you're coming," Maggie said, already dialing the number.
Dr. Rhodes looked over at me before looking to Will. Halstead stepped away from Grace and headed towards me. He led me into the hallway and we watched as Grace was wheeled towards CT.
"What's going on?" I asked, desperate for information.
"She's in pretty rough shape. We're going to get some scans and see what's going on inside her body and go from there. It looks like there's internal bleeding which may require surgery, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. There's some kind of head trauma, but we won't know the extent until we see the scans."
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"I'll keep you updated as we know more," Halstead said, avoiding my question.
I nodded and took a deep breath. The doors to the ER opened and Matt came in, followed by the rest of Truck and Squad, carrying a protesting Gabby. He deposited her into a wheelchair and looked to Maggie for instructions. She led them into one of the open rooms and signaled for Dr. Manning to follow her.
"How's Everly?" Otis asked as I headed towards them.
"They just took her down for a CT. We won't know much until after they see the scans. She seized in the ambulance and then her stats bottomed out when we got here so they had to intubate. All they can say right now is traumatic brain injury and potential internal bleeding," I said.
"She'll be fine. Grace is stronger than all of us," Herrmann said.
Gabby and Matt joined us in the waiting room a little while later. Gabby had only needed a handful of stitches in her leg and a bandage above her right temple. She gave me a much-needed hug and a quick hand squeeze before sitting in one of the waiting room chairs.
We all stood up when Dr. Rhodes came out into the waiting room.
"She's in the ICU getting prepped for emergency surgery. She has some internal bleeding that we need to fix. There is a build up of pressure in her brain, but we'll keep an eye on it. She doesn't need an epidural sensor yet and we're hoping that the intracranial pressure will go down on its own."
"Thank you," I said.
"No problem. Either Halstead or I will keep you all update."
We all thanked Dr. Rhodes and he gave me an encouraging smile and a clap on the shoulder before heading back into the ICU.
"Alright everyone. We still have a couple hours left on shift. I've already let headquarters know that Ambulance 61 is out of service. Casey and Severide. Which one of you wants to stay here and update the house on Everly?"
Casey and I looked at each other and I shook my head slightly. I couldn't stay here. I would drive myself crazy waiting for news and I wouldn't be able to handle it if Grace died.
"I'll stay here," Casey said.
"Okay. Dawson, do you want to stay here, go back to 51, or go home?" Boden asked, looking at the injured paramedic.
"I'll stay here with Casey and keep everyone updated on Grace," she said firmly, almost daring her husband to argue with her.
Casey just nodded, not protesting Gabby's choice. The rest of us headed back to Firehouse 51 in a tense silence, nobody saying anything.
When we got back to 51, Squad settled at our table and Truck went into the common room while Boden went straight to his office and closed the door. I picked up one of the newspapers that was scattered across the table and started reading.
"Incoming," Cruz said a few minutes later.
I looked up and saw Jay Halstead and Adam Ruzek walking up the driveway. I stood and went to meet them.
"Hey. What's up?" I asked, shaking their hands.
"How are Dawson and Everly?" Ruzek asked.
Ruzek and Halstead were almost as close with Grace as I was, so I understood their worry.
"She's in emergency surgery to stop some internal bleeding. She also has a traumatic brain injury, but they're not operating yet. They're going to monitor her and hope that meds can control the brain swelling on their own."
"Keep us posted?" Jay asked.
"Of course. Is that all you came about?" I asked, slightly confused.
"No, we're here on police business too. Is Boden around? We need to talk to you, him, and Casey," Adam said.
"Boden is here, but Casey is at the hospital with Gabby and Grace. Do you need me to call him back here?" I asked.
"That would be great if he can get away for a few minutes," Ruzek said.
I nodded and directed them to the common area while I called Casey. He showed up a little while later, and we all headed to Chief Boden's office.
"How can I help you?" Boden asked, standing from his chair and coming around to the front of his desk.
"We're here in regards to the accident that put Grace Everly in the hospital and injured Gabby Dawson," Jay said while Adam pulled a notepad and pen out of his pocket.
"Why? The man said his tire blew and he lost control of the vehicle. It sounded like an accident," I said.
"We checked his story and it doesn't match up. Can you identify him for us?" Adam asked, holding out a photo array.
We all looked at the photos and pointed out the same man.
"That is Tanner Martin. We reviewed security cam footage from a bakery across the street and it shows Martin hitting Ambulance 61 and then slashing one of own tires to make it look like it had blown. It's looking like this was attempted murder," Jay said.
"Why the hell would he try to kill Dawson and Everly?" Casey asked, clearly angry.
"That's what we're trying to find out. Have either of the girls said anything about making an enemy or being followed or anything out of the ordinary?" Ruzek asked.
"Gabby hasn't said anything to me. And Everly has been living with us for a few months, but she hasn't said anything either," Casey said.
"Why was Grace living with you and Dawson?" Jay asked.
Matt hesitated. I could tell he didn't want to be the one to spill Grace's secret, so I stepped in.
"Grace and Andrew split. She moved in with Dawson and Casey after she found out he had been cheating on her. It sounded like it was a pretty ugly split," I said.
Jay, Adam, and Chief Boden all looked at me in shock. I could tell that they wanted to know more, but none of them pushed for more information out of respect for Grace.
"Maybe Andrew has something to do with this. We'll look into it," Ruzek said, putting away his notepad.
"Andrew is a good person. He wouldn't try to kill Grace or Gabby," Casey defended.
"I'm sorry, but we have to check out every possible lead. We just want to make sure whoever was a part of this, get brought to justice," Jay said.
Matt just nodded understandingly, still clearly not liking the idea of a friend of his being accused of attempting to kill his wife and her best friend.
"Is Dawson still over at Med?" Ruzek asked, putting away his notepad.
"Yes. She's waiting for Everly to get out of surgery and getting an x-ray of her leg," Casey said.
"Okay. We're going to head over there and talk to her and check in on Grace. Thank you for your time," Jay said, shaking Chief Boden's hand.
"Anytime. Keep me posted on this case?" Boden requested.
"Of course," Ruzek assured.
Jay, Adam, Casey, and I all headed out to the driveway.
"Casey, Voight wanted me to tell you that he's willing to hand this case over to another team if you don't want him working on it," Jay said.
"No, I want Intelligence on this. Including Voight. Someone tried to kill my wife and one of our best friends. I want you all working this," Matt said without hesitation.
Both Ruzek and Halstead nodded before getting in their car and driving towards the hospital. Casey said a quick goodbye to everyone and headed in the same direction. We all sat quietly, doing our own things, waiting for the alarm bells to go off. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long.
Truck 81, Squad 3. Assist the police.
We all headed out to the apparatus floor geared up quickly. When we got to the scene, we were greeted by one of the multiple police officers on-scene.
"I'm Lieutenant Severide. What's going on?" I asked.
"We have a man who barricaded himself in the women's locker room. He's unarmed, but we need you to break the door down," the officer said.
Herrmann and I exchanged looks before grabbing our halligans and motioning for our men to follow us. The officer led us to the locker room before stepping aside. I jammed my halligan between the door and the frame and yanked.
"Herrmann, come help me," I said.
Herrmann slammed his halligan against mine, driving it deeper into the space. When it was all the way in, he dropped his halligan and grabbed onto mine, helping me wrench the door open. Once the door was open, a handful of officers ran in to arrest the offender.
"Well that was fun," I said, heading back outside.
"What an idiot," Otis said.
We all nodded in agreement before loading up and heading back to the house. My phone rang just as we pulled into Firehouse 51. I looked at the caller ID and saw Matt's name and photo.
"Hey, Casey. Any news?" I asked as everyone crowded around me.
"Severide, I need you here now," Matt said, his voice shaking.
"Matt, what's going on?" I asked, worried.
"Gabby's in emergency surgery. Her kidneys and spleen started hemorrhaging and they had to take her in to stop the bleeding. They didn't catch it before because she was just sore all over. I can't lose her and Grace, Severide. I can't do it."
"Okay. I'll be right there. Hang tight," I said, already heading towards the locker room.
I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket before grabbing my bag and heading to Chief Boden's office.
"Chief, I have to go to Med. Casey needs a friend. Gabby started hemorrhaging internally and she's in emergency surgery. I think he's worried that something will happen like when they lost the baby and I can't let him go through this alone," I explained.
"Go. Be with them. I'll call headquarters and see if they can take 51 out of service for the shift. If so, we'll all be right behind you," Boden said, picking up his phone.
"Thank you, Chief."
I ran to my quarters and grabbed a few things before heading back out to the common room.
"Severide! What the hell is going on?" Cruz asked.
"Chief will fill you in. I've got to get to Med," I said.
While I was driving to the hospital, all I could think about was how Dawson had saved my life after Shay died. And then when Everly cam to 51, she made me realize that it was okay to move on. Shay would have loved Grace and as much as it broke my heart to know that they would never meet, I knew that Shay would approve.
I parked and headed inside, making a beeline for the surgery waiting room. I found Matt pacing back and forth, talking to someone on the phone. He looked like hell, but I decided I wasn't going to mention it because I probably didn't look much better.
"Hey," I said when Casey ended his phone call.
"Hi," he replied.
I could see the anxiety and worry in every line of my best friend's face. He twisted his wedding ring absentmindedly as he started at the doors to the surgical floor, willing for someone to come out and give him an update.
"Matt, they're both going to be okay," I said, only partially believing my own words.
"I can't lose them both, Sev," he said, tears in his eyes.
"I know, Matt. I know," I said.
I knew that Casey was in a world of hurt. Usually he didn't get so emotional this quickly, but that was his wife and one of his closest friends behind those doors. I was going through the exact same thing, but on a much lower level. I loved both of those women, but Casey was married to one of them. I had to keep reminding myself that what Matt was going through was worse than my own suffering.
The doors opened and Dr. Halstead came out, looking exhausted.
"Casey, Severide," he said.
"How are they?" I asked.
"Grace is out of surgery and Gabby should be out in the next hour or two. We managed to stop Grace's internal bleeding, but the swelling in her brain hasn't gone down. We'll do another scan in 12 hours and if it hasn't improved by then, we'll have to do a craniotomy to relieve some of the pressure. Hopefully the meds will start to work though and we won't have to open her up. Until then, we're going to give her another blood transfusion just to be safe and to help get her strength up."
"What about Gabby?" Matt asked.
"Gabby is doing well so far. Dr. Rhodes is working on her. He stopped the bleeding in her kidney and is almost done with her spleen. So far, there haven't been any complications and we're hoping to keep it that way. Either he or I will be out here in a few hours to give you an update. Give the nurses a little bit to get Grace settled and then you can go see her," Will said.
"Thank you, Doctor," I said, shaking his hand.
"Anytime."
Will headed back through the doors and left Matt and I standing there. The main doors behind us opened and the rest of Firehouse 51 trailed in. By the time we had relayed the update that Will had just given and answered their onslaught of questions to the best of our abilities, a nurse came out and told us that Grace was settled and we could go back to see her one at a time.
"Severide, you should go first," Boden said.
"Thank you," I said.
I followed the nurse to Grace's room, stopping just outside the glass door. I saw her laying there, all bandaged and hooked up to a ventilator and I almost turned around and left.
"Are you okay?" the nurse asked, looking at me concerned.
I nodded and slowly slid open the door, stepping into the room. The sounds of the machines filled the otherwise silent area. It was slightly unnerving to see the blood entering her body from the bag hung on the IV stand. I took a deep breath and sat in the chair that one of the nurses had put next to the bed.
"Hey, Grace. It's Kelly. Everyone from Firehouse 51 is here. They all want to see you, so I won't stay too long. I just wanted to remind you that I love you. You're my best friend. You aren't allowed to leave me," I said, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.
I kissed her hand and stood to leave when all of the sudden I felt her squeeze my hand. I looked down and watched her bright green eyes flutter open.