A/N Is this for real? Am I finally updating?! I am SO SO sorry for taking longer than a year updating this fic. After Brettonio broke up, I lost motivation for this story but I'm back and ready to continue with this story. I hope for this chapter makes up for my long absence xoxo

Sylvie were taking the kids to see Antonio before school today. She knew they would feel better if they saw him and knew for themselves that he was okay.

As Sylvie threw her hair into a ponytail, she called out for the kids, "Eva, Diego! Let's go. "

Diego walked out of his room as he thought about what Eva did last night. He walked over to Sylvie, "I'm not sure if I should tell you this," He began as he looked behind him, making sure Eva wasn't in earshot. "She called my mom yesterday, but she didn't answer. This upset Eva so if she's short or seems like she's in a bad mood-" His voice trailed off as Eva walked out of the room.

Sylvie didn't say anything, she just nodded her head, "Your dad is awake and is waiting to see you guys." She said, changing the topic. Her and Eva were getting along well and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. She glanced over at Diego, letting him know with a look that she wouldn't get upset if Eva didn't seem friendly like the other times.

"Is-is he hooked up to any machines?" Eva asked as she picked up her bookbag and draped it around her shoulder, "I don't think I can see him like that."

Sylvie picked up her purse and keys and looked over at Eva, "Just the normal machines. Nothing is down his throat if that's what you're worried about."

Eva nodded her head, clearly what she was hinting at.

Sylvie opened the door and walked out of the apartment. She wanted to say something to Eva about what Diego told her, but didn't want to break his trust so she opted to keep her mouth shut.

As they got into Sylvie's car, they all buckled their seatbelts.

"When you guys are done visiting your father, aunt Gabby is going to drive you to school, so I can stay with him," With Antonio awake, she knew they had to talk about a few things.

Diego nodded his head while Eva looked out of the window. As Sylvie peeled away, she sighed, "Are you going to pick us up from school?" She asked softly.

"I am." Sylvie replied, not taking her eyes off the road. "I am on shift so we can hang out at the firehouse," She wished she could have called out of work, she knew Chief Boden would have allowed her, but she wanted to save it for when Antonio was released from the hospital.

"I could call my mom..." Eva said. "Not sure how good that will go." She added a few seconds later, quietly so Sylvie couldn't hear her.

"No, no, I want to do this. Not just for your dad's peace of mind but also for mine." Sylvie knew the whole reason why the kids were living with Antonio now and she refused to let them go back to Laura even just for a few days. "If you guys weren't there last night, I probably would have gone crazy."

Eva and Diego smiled at Sylvie's confession, which relieved her. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she was doing right now but knew she needed the kids as much as they needed her.

20 minutes later, Sylvie and the kids entered Antonio's hospital room. As Diego and Eva walked over to Antonio's side, Gabby stood up from the chair and walked over to Sylvie.

"Hey guys," Antonio said, smiling at Eva and Diego while trying to sit up.

"Hi, dad," they both said in unison. Diego was closer to Antonio while Eva was standing back, cautious of hurting Antonio.

Luckily, his injury was covered with a bandage, and although he looked pale and weak, there was nothing the kids could do to hurt him, unless they planned on touching his bandage which she was sure they didn't.

"How are you feeling?" Diego asked as Eva walked closer to her father. Sylvie made a mental note in her mind that after school she was gonna check in on her. She seemed to be taking things hard and if Sylvie wasn't in a daze last night, maybe she'd have noticed this.

"I'm okay. Better now that I know you guys are okay," Antonio smiled softly as he glanced at Sylvie for a brief second. Without saying anything to her, he turned his attention back to his kids. "Are you going to school?" He asked, feeling guilty that he couldn't drive them.

Eva nodded her head, "Aunt Gabby is driving us."

Gabby looked down at her watch, "And as much as I hate to cut this reunion short, we need to leave now or else we're going to end up being late."

As the kids said their goodbyes to Antonio, Sylvie turned her attention to Gabby, "Thank you for staying here last night with him and keeping me updated."

"You don't need to thank me silly, he's my brother." Gabby picked up her purse from the chair and looked over at Sylvie. "I'll see you soon."

"Have a good day!" She told the kids before they left Antonio's hospital room.

As she turned around and faced Antonio, she couldn't help but let out a smile, mirroring his own.

"I was asking about you last night," Antonio admitted as he held out his hand for her to take.

Sylvie walked over to him and she took his hand, sitting down on the chair beside his bed. "I know, Gabby told me. I would have stayed here last night but the kids needed to get home."

"Before we get to that-" Antonio began as his eyes searched over her. "Are you okay?"

Typical of Antonio to ask her how she is doing while he's laying in the hospital bed with a bullet wound in his neck.

"I—I'm fine. I also wasn't the one nearly fighting for my life. So, maybe let me ask you if you're okay?" She asked softly, as she looked down at their fingers intertwining. It amazed her how much she not only cared about him, but also adored him in their short time of being together.

"Hey, I'm okay," he replied, reassuring her. "I was told that you were the paramedic first on the scene, so I know I wouldn't have been okay if it wasn't for you." Antonio took a deep breath, as he gave her hand a squeeze, "and I also know it couldn't have been easy trying to stay calm through all of that."

Sylvie wanted to joke about how she was trained for this, she wanted to keep the conversation light, but her body betrayed her. Without wanting to, her mind flashed back to seeing that it was Antonio who was shot and how she almost lost him. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheeks. Antonio let go of her hand as he wiped the tear away. As soon as he did, he took her hand again and let her process everything.

A few minutes passed without them saying a word, but the silence wasn't an uncomfortable one. Antonio could sit there for hours and hold her hand without saying anything and he would have been content, especially if that was what she needed.

"I feel like I need to tell you something," Sylvie began.

"You aren't breaking up with me, are you?" Antonio joked and when Sylvie didn't say anything, Antonio grew anxious and nervous. "That was a joke."

"Clearly," Sylvie flashed him a small smile to let him know she wasn't planning on doing anything stupid. "It's not about us." She said, not knowing how much he could take. It may have seemed like nothing to her, it may have not been that way for him.

Antonio relaxed as his eyes locked on hers. "Okay. What is it?" He urged her to tell her what was wrong.

"I promised Diego I wouldn't say anything, but Eva tried calling Laura last night, but she didn't pick up the phone. I'm only telling you this because I want to make her feel better, but I don't know how."

"Great." Antonio muttered. "And when Laura finds out I was shot and didn't tell her, she's going to turn into a mama bear. It's a role she loves to play."

"Sorry," Sylvie winced, not realizing maybe she, herself, should have tried to call Laura. "I didn't realize she may have not liked me watching the kids."

"No, hey, that isn't it." Antonio tried to reassured Sylvie but failed. "Maybe not, but Eva tried contacting her and I'm sure she was trying to since she found out I was shot. This is on her."

"I just don't want to cause problems between you and Laura."

"The only person she can blame is herself." Antonio sighed. "But I am grateful, so grateful, that you took care of the kids for me. You didn't have to do that."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Besides, as much as they needed me, I needed them. They kept me calm and sane, and I'm glad they weren't alone."

Antonio stared at Sylvie for a few seconds, amazed at his girlfriend. Amazed that while he wasn't looking, he met the perfect person for him. Shaking his head from those thoughts, "Anyway, you wanted to know how to make Eva feel better, just distract her mind. She overthinks a lot, and being a teenager, I'm sure you can do things to distract her."

Sylvie nodded her head, "Okay. I think I can do that."

"Do you have to work today?" He asked.

"I do. I'm hoping we aren't on call when the kids are out of school, but if so, I'll ask Jay to pick them up for me. He told me if I need any favors to call him." It was also because of his involvement with Antonio's shooting that made him feel guilty and he wanted to help in any way he could.

"Or you could call my mom and ask her too." Antonio suggested.

"Right—um," Since their relationship was fairly new, she didn't meet his entire family yet and wasn't sure if she was ready for that. "I can get Gabby then."

"I wish you could stay," Antonio said, he wasn't ready to watch Sylvie walk away yet.

"I do too, but this way, when you are released from the hospital, I can take a few days off to take care of you."

"I like the sound of that," Antonio murmured as he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss against her soft skin.

Sylvie smiled as she stood up and regrettably let go of his hand. "I'll check in on you throughout the day, though."

Being a paramedic, she was able to have plenty of chances to come to the hospital and she knew Gabby would be okay if she snuck away for a few seconds to check on him.

"I-I'll miss you," Antonio confessed although that wasn't what he meant to say. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but also didn't want to do it when he was in a vulnerable state. It wouldn't be any less true, but he wanted it to be perfect.

Sylvie smiled softly as she leaned down, wanting to give him a kiss on the cheek before she left. Before her lips touched his cheeks, he moved his face and her lips landed on his. Although she was surprised, she moved her hand on his face as the kiss deepened.

A few seconds later, she pulled away from the kiss, not wanting to stop but knowing if she didn't, she never would have.

"Damn," she breathed out, her forehead resting against his. "That's one way to make sure I come back."

Antonio chuckled as Sylvie moved her forehead from his and stood up, "Try to recover quickly so you can come home."

He nodded his head as he leaned against his pillows, never taking his eyes off of her, "Be careful today, okay?"

Sylvie nodded as she moved to the door and then turned back to look at him, "I will." She gave him one last smile before she headed out of his room and headed down the hallway and towards the elevator.


It was by luck that Sylvie made it to work in time and was dressed in her uniform before her shift started. She was sure Boden would have understood but still, she never wanted her personal life to intervene with her professional life.

As soon as they were all settled in and caught up on what to do for the day, Sylvie headed into the kitchen. Sylvie poured herself a bowl of cereal and then walked over to the table and sat down. She began to eat when Stella asked her how Antonio was doing. She was sure she could get the information from Gabby but knew she wanted to also see how the two of them were doing. "He's good, hopefully can be released in a few days," Sylvie replied, a huge smile appearing on her face.

Sylvie was trying so hard to hide the smile because she knew her coworkers would catch the smile and start asking questions, but she couldn't help it. She was so relieved that Antonio was okay and would be home soon. She was so worried that this could have easily put a strained on their relationship, but instead it just made them stronger.

Before they could have questioned Sylvie though, the alarm blared.

"Ambulance 61, personal injury"

Sylvie sighed as she stood up and rushed out of the firehouse. As much as she was glad to have a busy start to the morning, she wished she could have at least finish her bowl of cereal.

Sylvie ran to the passenger side and got inside. She didn't even care about Gabby driving because truthfully, it was a little break she needed to collect her thoughts. Sensing she needed a little break before they saved someone, Gabby didn't say anything, she turned on the sirens and pulled out of the firehouse.


30 minutes later they walked back into the firehouse. Luckily it was just their frequent flyer, it was a call that normally annoyed Sylvie but right now she was glad it wasn't someone who was in dire need of help.

"Hey," Gabby said, grabbing Sylvie's attention. "Let's do some inventory."

Sylvie nodded her head and then she walked back out and headed back towards the ambo.

"I figure you could use a distraction and didn't want them to start asking you questions," Gabby explained as she climbed into the ambo and then Sylvie did the same.

"You're a good friend," Sylvie grinned.

"Not for long," Gabby said, causing Sylvie to stare at Gabby in confusion. "You think I could stay with Antonio all night and have no questions afterwards?"

Sylvie sighed as she sat down and started counting the supplies they had, she then picked up the clipboard from the cabinet to write down how many supplies they had, "Go for it."

"Maybe not questions but observations, definitely," Gabby began. "When Antonio woke up last night, the only person he kept asking for was you. I should also add that he was still out of it until this morning."

She nodded her head but didn't say anything, knowing Gabby wasn't finished.

"I guess I just didn't realize how serious you two were," Gabby commented.

"I didn't either," she confessed. "But I also wasn't thinking about it until this happened."

"I get that. No sense on questioning where your relationship is going, especially when things are good."

"Good?" Sylvie echoed as she placed the clipboard down and she smiled softly, "things are great. I mean, minus the whole getting shot thing, Antonio and I are great."

Gabby smiled, loving seeing her friend happy, "I feel like I need to apologize."

Sylvie picked up the clipboard again, reading the next supplies she needed to count. She shot Gabby a puzzled expression, "For what?"

"You may not have realized this, but I wasn't the biggest supporter of you and Antonio being together," she admitted.

"No, you don't say," Sylvie said, sarcastically.

"Right," Gabby said, shaking her head. "But now, I don't know-maybe I was wrong. You two do seem perfect for each other."

"Yeah?" Sylvie asked as she turned her full attention on Gabby, forgetting yet again what they were supposed to do.

She nodded her head, "Not once did you complain about Antonio being shot. You never once said you couldn't do this or you didn't sign up for this, or how this isn't fair to you. Hell, you are even taking care of his kids."

She laughed, "It's funny you mention this because I think Antonio thought I was breaking up with him. I think he was waiting for me to say I couldn't do this-" Sylvie's expression turned serious, "not realizing what I couldn't do, what I can't do, is walk away from him. It seems so silly because our relationship is still fairly new to have these strong feelings, but I do."

Gabby placed her hand on Sylvie's shoulder, "Hey, love isn't measured in time. You could fall in love within hours or it could take months. Love just happens without thinking about it or sometimes or even wanting it to happen."

"Wait, wait—" Sylvie shook her head, "I don't-I don't love Antonio. Sure, I care about him deeply and I see myself one day maybe falling in love with him, but it hasn't happened yet."

Before Gabby could respond the alarm blared.

"Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61."

Sylvie and Gabby put away the supplies and Sylvie took the clipboard with her. Gabby then closed the ambulance door behind them.

"Look," Gabby said as she looked at Sylvie, "You can convince yourself that you don't love Antonio because the last guy you loved nearly destroyed you and made you leave your hometown, but for what it's worth, you have a good thing going, don't let fear win." Gabby said before she walked over to the passenger side, allowing Sylvie to drive this time.