First Heartbreak
It was a Saturday night and Matt and Sylvie weren't due at the firehouse until Monday, so they decided to make what was a rare trip to Molly's to spend some time with their friends. Now that their kids were grown up – the boys in their senior year of college and Annie in junior year of high school – Matt and Sylvie found themselves with a lot more free-time in their hands. It was strange to go from being kept constantly on their toes by their bubbly kids to having relaxing nights in, just the two of them. This was why they decided to take full advantage of a night off and head out for a change.
Once they got there, they were immediately greeted by Stella and Severide who cheered their friends for actually making it out. All too often they resorted to staying in and watching TV for an evening. Severide insisted that they were still young enough to get out there and enjoy life – Matt Casey's old man knees begged to differ.
Halfway through their evening, Sylvie's phone started to vibrate in her pocket. She lifted it out and saw Jack's name flash across the screen.
"Hi honey, you ok?" she asked, wondering why her son would be calling her on a Saturday night. It was much more his style to go AWOL at the weekend and then call on Monday pretending like Sylvie hadn't been desperately messaging him for at least an hello.
"He-hey mom!" she said with an awkward laugh. "I'm good, funny story though…"
Sylvie sighed. What had he done now? Jack wasn't a bad guy by any stretch of the imagination. He was incredibly sweet – but the biggest troublemaker you could imagine. He was always getting himself into binds in the name of having a good time – and his dashing good looks and charming smirk often meant he got away with it.
"So, I came home to steal some food—" he began as Sylvie ran a hand over her forehead.
"Jack." She scolded. That was a bad start already. Sylvie was food shopping for three people these days since the boys moved out for college. If something was missing from the fridge, she knew who to blame. Jack made it a habit of sneaking in and our undetected.
"But that's really not important right now, you can scold me later. So, I was raiding the fridge – great risotto by the way – and as I was raiding, Annie came home. I said hello and I noticed her eyes looked a little bloodshot and she just stared at me for a second before bursting into tears and running upstairs." Jack explained as Sylvie frowned, catching the attention of Matt who looked at her concerned.
"Oh…" she mumbled. What could have upset her daughter so much?
"I mean – I don't think it's me but I also wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it was me…" he replied, knowing he knew exactly how to push his sibling's buttons. But he hadn't seen Annie in a week, so surly it wasn't him this time. "I was going to check on her but I'm kind of scared to go in… thought maybe you or dad would be better at handling this one."
"Ok honey, thanks for calling us, we'll be home soon." Sylvie said as she and Jack hung up.
"What's up?" Matt immediately asked as Sylvie grabbed their coats from the stool beside her and stood up.
"Annie just came home in floods of tears…" Sylvie told him quietly.
Matt frowned, "She was out with Austin tonight. Maybe something happened with him?" he asked, referring to Annie's boyfriend of just over a year. Sylvie and Matt liked Austin. He was a sweet boy, an all-star football player and they trusted that Annie had good judgement.
Sylvie nodded her head as she and Matt quickly left the bar to go to their daughter.
When they arrived home, they immediately went upstairs and found Jack pacing in front of Annie's door – and Elliot sitting on the floor bouncing a ball against the wall.
"I called Elliot for back-up." Jack explained as Elliot smirked at them.
"We give exceptionally good bear hugs when called upon and can act as proof that not all men are trash." Elliot reasoned with a shrug.
"So it is about Austin?" Matt asked, desperately wanting to know what was going on.
"Just a guess" Elliot replied.
"Ok…" Sylvie said as she nervously shook her hands in front of her. She felt like she and Matt were about to walk into the lion's den, but their daughter needed them right now. "Get some pizza on standby." She told the boys who mock saluted her as she and Matt approached Annie's bedroom door and Sylvie gently knocked on it. "Annie? Honey?" they called but got no reply. "Ok, we're coming in…" she said as she slowly opened the door.
They stopped in the door frame and froze when they saw Annie lying in bed, holding onto her pillow tightly. Their hearts broke from seeing their daughter so upset.
Matt cleared his throat, seeing that Sylvie was already at a loss for words, "Annie?" he asked again.
"I don't want to talk about it" Annie mumbled from her bed as her voice cracked.
Matt and Sylvie moved further into the room and closed the door behind them.
"Come on honey, sit up" Sylvie encouraged as Annie reluctantly pulled herself up and Matt and Sylvie sat on either side of the bed. "Annie, what happened?" Sylvie asked quietly as she brushed her daughter's blonde hair off her face.
"Austin and I broke up" she said quietly as she looked at her hands to hide her teary eyes. "It uh – it was a mutual thing. He's leaving for California in the fall and we just decided it would be best to part ways now…" she explained as her parents remained silent, trying to find the right words to say. Instead, Sylvie wrapped her arm around her, holding her close, while Matt held onto her hand tightly. They felt like complete novices. The boys hadn't experienced heartbreak like this. Sure, a few girls had come and gone from their lives, but it was never to this scale. And while Matt and Sylvie had experienced heartbreak themselves over the years, trying to coach their daughter through it wasn't something they were prepared for.
"I just—" Annie began, trying to find the right words, as she finally looked up and let her tears freely flow. "I gave so much my myself to him. I loved him deeply and that's something I don't want to regret but I feel like I have to. That somehow regret will make it easier to move on."
"Oh Annie…" Sylvie began as Annie snuggled into her mother's shoulder. "I think it's much better to be able to say you loved someone too much than not enough." She said as Matt gulped. That felt all too familiar to him. He didn't regret his relationship with Gabby. He was proud of himself for giving his all rather than simply letting her walk away from him without her knowing the love she was leaving behind. "And if you love the wrong person that much, imagine how much you'll love the right person." Sylvie added. Matt's heart fluttered at that comment. Gabby wasn't the love of his life. She was a love. But Sylvie Brett – he held his love for her above every love he'd had. She crept into his heart without him even realising and he loved her with everything in him. They'd been together for 25 years and it was without a doubt the best 25 years of his life.
Matt watched as Sylvie turned in her seating slightly so she could really look at her daughter. This forced Annie to now lean against her dad as Matt immediately wrapped an arm right around one shoulder to the other, holding her tightly against him.
"Annie, love has taught me a lot of things over the years and one of the biggest lessons I took from it is that you're going to fall in love over and over again until you find the one – and when you do find him, you'll be grateful for all the heartache because it shaped you into a person who will be ready to love him with everything you have. I know it hurts now and it probably will for a while. But don't ever forget that you are just one step closer to a happiness you'll never be able to come down from." Sylvie told her with the sweetest smile that Matt couldn't help but mimic.
After Sylvie's words, Matt felt like he had finally found his words of wisdom on love; "The first time you fall in love – it changes you." He began quietly, as Annie snuggled deeper into his chest, her head now leading on the inside of his bicep as he kept a tight hold around her. He could remember his first love all too clearly. Hallie meant so much to him and she always would. "Those feelings may never go away, but that doesn't mean you're incapable of feeling the same way about someone else. It doesn't mean you can't feel more for someone else. First loves are special… but last loves are priceless, and I can't wait for you to experience that." He told her as he smiled against her head.
"Until you find the Matt Casey to your Sylvie Brett" they heard Elliot say from the door as he and Jack appeared, and Annie couldn't help but smile at their comment.
"I'd count myself pretty lucky if I was ever able to have what you have" she said as she looked at her parents.
Sylvie placed her hand on Annie's cheek and delicately rubbed it with her thumb, "You'll find your forever Annie Casey." She said with a little wink. "Your heart is far too big for you to not."
Annie smiled and closed her eyes as Matt kissed the side of her head, letting her rest and breathe for just a moment.
"Ok, enough of this soppiness, it's brother time!" Jack announced as he and Elliot ran over to the bed and jumped on Annie – just seconds after Matt and Sylvie made the sensible decision to slip off the bed.
"Oh my god!" Annie groaned and laughed at the same time. "You two weigh a tonne! This was funny when I was like 5 but not so fun now!"
"Oh you'll never be able to escape these hugs Annie, even when we're 80 years old can being absolute terrors in our old folk's home." Elliot told her as they continued to wrestle with each other.
"God help me…" Annie grumbled as she continued to squabble with her brothers.
Sylvie and Matt stood by the door watching with smiles on their faces. Their kids could be ridiculous when they wanted to be, but they would always have each other's backs.
"Those were some pretty sweet words about heartache" Matt said to her quietly.
Sylvie nodded her head, "You've got to live something to really learn from it." She'd had her fair share of broken relationships and hearts.
"You got that right" Matt replied as he wrapped an arm around her waist and delicately kissed her temple. "I love you" he whispered as Sylvie smiled softly.
"I love you too."
Sylvie and Matt took one last glance at their kids and saw that Annie had managed to break free from Jack and Elliot's hold. She rushed over to her parents and pulled them in for a hug.
"I love you both so much. Thank you." She said to them as they hugged her back tighter than ever.
They knew this wouldn't be easy for Annie for the next while, but they also knew she had a lot of love around her to fill the void and she would get through this a better person for it.
