Note: Final part of chapter 3. Continues where part two left off.

Nerves Pt.3

Grace's POV:

We reach the scene of the call. Structural fire my ass. This may of been a building at one point, but now it's a crumbling mess of rebar, concrete, and brick. "Damn." I curse.

"Ryan!" Rafferty yells at me. I rush over to her side.

"You go with Shay. You will assist the boys with evacuations. I'll remain here until you bring the wounded over to the ambo. You say you're a certified EMT. Now's your chance to prove it and earn your stripes." Rafferty commands.

"On it. Where's Shay?" I ask.

"Already inside with Severide and Casey. Hurry up and keep her safe, but make sure you don't die either. I can't suffer through something like that again." Her words are firm, but her eyes are full of concern.

"You can count on me." I reply.

She smiles and shoos me off. I nod at her and sprint over to help Shay and the others.

After roughly ten minutes or so, Shay and I finish removing the civilians from the danger zone, and the boys continue working on extinguishes the fire. Now, the three of us-Rafferty, Shay, and I begin assessing and treating the injured.

"How many wounded?" Rafferty asks the both of us.

"Two." We say.

"Anyone in critical condition?" She asks us again.

"Nope. Both victims have minor lacerations and burns. The man has a cracked rib, and the woman has a dislocated shoulder and a fractured femur." I say quickly.

"Alright. Bring them over Ryan. Shay, stay here with me and we'll start on the prep-work."

"Be right back." I reply. I rush over to where the couple is and escort them carefully, one on each side to the ambo.

"Impressive." Shay announces as I transport them over to Rafferty and Shay's location.

"Thanks. When you're the only woman in your squad, you learn survival of the fittest, among other noteworthy things." I reply.

"Hmm? A war hero and a scholar? What else lies beneath the surface Ryan?" Shay jokes.

"Probably a bad case of PTSD." Rafferty deadpans.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one here who has it." I respond, playing off the comment as bad humor.

"Whatever. Can we please finish this?" She asks us.

"Of course babe. Sorry." Shay replies.

"Good. Now Ryan, you make a splint, pop her shoulder back into place, and Shay get the backboard and fluids ready."

"On it." We say. I make the splint in less than five minutes and I place it on the woman's arm. I also tell her to hold still and bite on this cloth while I re-align her shoulder. Meanwhile, Shay and Rafferty hoist the man onto the backboard and Shay hooks up the IV to his arm.

"Finished." I tell Rafferty.

"Good. Take over for Shay so she can drive us to the hospital." Rafferty says.

We lift the man into the ambo and bring his wife along for the ride as well. It's a quiet ride over to Chicago Med. I try to comfort the poor woman while Rafferty monitors the man. We arrive at the hospital less than ten minutes later and make the delivery.

Afterwards, we head toward 51. The Chief and the boys were already back by the time we pulled into the firehouse.

The three of us get out of the rig, and as we're about to head to the lounge, Chief calls over Rafferty and Shay. They leave me behind to talk to him. Probably to get their opinion on my performance. "Great." I whisper under my breath.

"Don't worry about it. You did great, and stayed calm under pressure." Severide says to me as he was walking behind. The comment was obviously his attempt at comfort.

"Thanks." I simply reply.

"Welcome. Now go get your locker set-up rookie." He smirks before joining the other guys on Squad.

As I'm walking toward the locker room, everyone stares at me, smiling. 'Wow.' I guess I made a good first impression. All I have to do is keep it up, and not let them down.

I see Casey leaning against one of the counters, and I ask him, "Hey Lieutenant. I was wondering if you knew when Dawson would be coming back to visit. I have something to talk to her about. A personal matter involving a mutual acquaintance of ours."

He solemnly nods. "Please call me Casey. And yeah, she just texted me and said she would visit at the end of shift. Is this about Jones?" He asks me.

I can't lie to him. "Yes, I just want to clear the air and explain a few things that Rebecca never got a chance to tell her. The whole tragedy was more complex than Dawson realizes."

He frowns. "I understand. I'll make sure she doesn't run off like last time." He replies.

"Thanks, appreciate it Lieuten...I mean Casey. How'd you know?" I ask.

"Simple. I asked Chief about it. I was a little suspicious about how a beginner at the fire academy who only wants to volunteer ended up choosing her choice of firehouses to shadow." He responds.

"I see. Good instincts. Well anyway, I'm going to go set up my locker. Thanks again." I answer.

"No problem. And Ryan?" He asks.

"Yes sir." I say.

"Umm...nevermind." He stutters.

"Alright. Talk to you later." I tell him.

He just shakes his head and goes back to reading his paper.

Hmm...weird. I wonder what his question was? Oh well, I have other more important matters to attend, and besides if it was serious, then he would go ahead and ask right?

I'm lost in my own thoughts as shuffle over to an empty locker and begin setting up. This is going to be a very long shift. And the worst part has yet to come.