A/N: I had a 7 chapter lead and now I have a four chapter lead as I posted 3 chapters in a row without writing more, lol. I'll have to work on that soon so there might be a slight delay before I post again. I'm going out of town for the weekend so I wanted to post a chapter before Friday.
Thank you so much for all the kind words! I enjoy chatting with you guys in the comment section so much!
Happy reading!
angellwings
"You've got a friend in me.
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too.
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you.
We stick together and can see it through,
'Cause you've got a friend in me."
-"You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman
Next shift, Kevin Hadley calls the Firehouse and requests to speak with Severide. He only wants to speak with Severide and it pisses Matt off. It was his girlfriend (almost fiancé) who died! He should be there! But if Hadley has information then Casey has no plans to get in the way of that.
When Severide gets back to 51, he seems to think Hadley's jerking them around, but they don't have much time to talk. The bells go off almost as soon as he gets back and lead them to an accident scene involving Chaplain Orlovsky. The Chaplain is pinned in longer than Matt would like and loses a lot of blood, but he made the call to save the civilian first. He keeps questioning that decision but deep down he knows the Chaplain would have approved of him saving the woman first.
Still, it's reassuring when Brett seeks him out to talk. She and Shay have just gotten back from dropping off Orlovsky. He can tell she doesn't have particularly good news but at least she's not tiptoeing around him. She leans against the doorway in his quarters as she updates him.
"He's stable but unconscious. They've got him on the vent," she tells him hesitantly.
"Do they think he'll recover?" He asks from his seat in front of his desk. He was supposed to be doing paperwork but his focus is shot.
"It's a waiting game at this point," she answers. "I'm sorry, Casey. I wish I had better news."
He nods slowly and releases a heavy sigh. "The extra time he spent pinned in—Do they think it made things worse or…" The sentence fades as he has no idea how he planned to end it. Lucky for him, Brett understands what he's asking even if he doesn't.
"It's hard to say," she tells him. "But what I can tell you is that the Chaplain wouldn't have had it any other way."
Matt rubs a hand over his face but eventually nods. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Still, I feel like I should be doing more. He's been invaluable to me since...since Gabby. I feel even worse because I keep wishing I could get his perspective on this arson situation. How selfish is that?"
She shakes her head at him and moves from the doorway to sit on his cot. "It's not selfish. You respect him. Of course you want his opinion. Did Severide learn anything new?"
"Somebody sent Hadley a clipping and supposedly he has a return address on the envelope it came in. The warden is supposed to toss his cell. It's more wait and see. Hopefully, they find something."
As if the Universe heard him, Leslie appears in his doorway. "Severide got something from the prison. He just took it to Boden."
He's up and marching toward Boden's office before Shay manages to finish her sentence. Leslie follows closely behind. They arrive just as Chief's expression shifts from dismissive to concerned. He's holding an envelope between two fingers and standing from his desk, looking stiff and alarmed.
Severide takes the envelope back from him and storms away from the office. As he walks past Leslie and Matt he nods for them to follow. Casey casts one backwards glance at Boden and finds him on the phone. He looks preoccupied with worry — haunted by something.
"What's going on?" Shay asks Severide as they fall into step beside him.
"The return address is where the fire that killed Henry Mills happened," Severide announces, his jaw ticking angrily.
"The fire that burned up Boden?" Casey asks in shock. "Does that mean that this guy is responsible for that one too?"
"I don't know, but we're done waiting for Cunningham to come to us. I'm taking this to her." Severide pauses and meets Matt's eyes. "You coming?"
"Hell yes," he replies immediately.
"I'll let the guys know you'll be on your radios," Leslie says with a fiery glare at the envelope in Kelly's hands. "You guys just focus on taking this asshole down."
"Don't worry. We'll get him," Severide swears with a thick layer of determined grit in his voice.
Fuck yes they will. Whoever this sick bastard is, his days are numbered.
To say Sylvie is surprised to see Peter walking into 51, a half hour after Casey and Severide took off like bats out of hell, is an understatement. She wasn't sure the two were related at first, but then she caught Leslie's knowing sympathetic stare. Something's up. Something bad.
Peter finds her in the common room with a warm smile. "Hey."
"Hey!" Sylvie says brightly, barely hiding her concerned suspicion. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"
"Boden sent word to 105 that he needed to see me. Thought I'd ask you if you're up for breakfast in the morning while I'm here."
She nods and smiles fondly at him. "I'd love it." Her eyes slide to Shay, worriedly. "If you're up for it."
He nods while his warm gaze turns into pure heat. "Good. I'm thinking I'll make you something. At my place. Alone."
"Oh," Brett says as her cheeks flush and her smile widens. "I really like that."
He chuckles and takes one step away from her. "Thought you might."
She watches him walk down the hall toward the bullpen and then rounds on her partner. She needs to know what's going on.
She sits down next to Leslie, leans toward her, and whispers. "What was that look you gave Pete?"
Shay's shoulders sag with a tired sigh. "The arsonist who killed Gabby might have also been responsible for the fire that killed Henry Mills."
Holy shit. The person who killed Gabby may have also killed Peter's dad? She didn't think this situation could get any worse. Clearly, she was wrong.
"This is insane," Sylvie says as she stares after Mills.
She's tempted to camp out at Connie's desk and wait for Pete in the bullpen. He's going to be upset once Boden finishes with him. He hasn't talked to her about it, but she knows how Pete still struggles with his father's death nearly every day, especially in light of his injury and being removed from Squad.
Only a handful of minutes pass before Mills is stomping back down the hallway with a thunderous expression on his face. Sylvie should give him a minute alone but she can't. His face causes a pang in her chest. She follows after him and catches up just as he reaches the apparatus floor.
"What happened?" She asks as her hand lands on his bicep.
He turns with an angry stare and fisted hands. "They think my dad's death was caused by arson. But they don't know for sure. And Boden thought I deserved to know. He thought I deserved to know that my father might have been murdered?" He's pissed. He has every right to be. "So now I just have to do what? Live with the uncertainty? Sit around and pray that Casey and Severide and Antonio can prove arson and have my dad go from a hero to a victim?"
His voice is raised and everyone on the floor can hear him now. Capp, Tony, and Newhouse send them concerned glances. Pete kicks a nearby trash can, sending it tumbling over and garbage spreading across the concrete floor.
"What I wouldn't give for a drill with the sledge right now," he mutters as he bends down and sets the trash can right side up. He starts to reach for the garbage but Sylvie grabs his hand to stop him.
"I'll get some gloves from 61 and pick that up later," she assures him. She places herself in front of him and frames his face with her hands. Her steady blue gaze pointedly captures his incensed brown eyes, imploring him to focus on her. "I'm sorry, Pete. I know this has to be incredibly hard on you. But you're not alone, okay? We're all here, and Casey, Shay, and Severide are all in the same position as you. We're going to get answers. No one in this house or Intelligence is going to let this case go unsolved. Okay?"
He nods and covers her hands with his. "Yeah, yeah," he says as he takes in a deep calming breath. "You're right."
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the Chief's buggy pull back in and knows Matt and Kelly are inside. They're back from seeing Cunningham.
"If you need to go home," Sylvie says gently. "Then go back to 105 and talk to them. It's okay to take the time you need to digest this. We can put off our date if you want too-"
"No," he says quickly. "I think the date will be just the distraction I need. We're not cancelling it."
She smiles warmly at him and nods. "Okay, then go back to 105, ask for a relief, and go home. I'll meet you at your place after my shift. Promise."
His expression softens and warms as his eyes travel all over her face. He always does that. He looks at all of her as if he's taking in every detail.
"Would it be inappropriate to kiss you here?" He asks with half of a smile.
She hears two car doors slam but no footsteps. Casey and Severide are watching them. Most likely out of concern for Mills.
She chuckles lightly and nods. "Probably. I think the Lieutenants are watching."
He laughs softly at her. "I doubt they'd care." He swiftly closes the distance between them and drops a lingering but chaste kiss to her lips. When he pulls away his eyes are brighter, though still sad. "And honestly, I don't give a shit if they do."
She blushes but aims a fond smile at him as he steps back from her.
He clears his throat. "I'll see you in the morning for breakfast at my place."
She nods. "Yes, you absolutely will."
He leaves with a quick wave to Severide and Casey. Sylvie breathes a sigh of relief. He's hurt but he'll be fine. Eventually.
"I take it, Boden told Mills about the return address?" Matt asks as he and Severide approach her.
"Yeah," Sylvie replies before she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. "He was understandably upset."
"I'm going to see Cunningham again after shift," Severide informs her. "She's gonna look for similar cases to try and establish a pattern."
"This is nuts," Sylvie says as she turns to look at them. "How could this guy get away with this for this long? And if you guys hadn't responded to that storage unit fire would you ever have known about it? It's too coincidental."
"Even the smartest criminals slip up," Casey says with a shrug. "Storing those materials the way he did...he made a mistake and we caught it. It was lucky, sure, but I'm glad it was us. It's personal and unlike someone else, we aren't ever going to let this go. Not until we catch this son of a bitch."
Severide nods his agreement. "He's right. It had to be us. No one else would commit the way we are."
She doesn't doubt that. No matter the odds stacked against them, she'd bet good money on Casey and Severide any day of the week.
While they were out, Chicago Med called asking about next of kin for the Chaplain. After splitting off from Brett and Severide, Casey pulls Herrmann aside to ask if he knows anything Matt doesn't. In all their sessions, Orlovsky never spoke of any family besides his mother and Matt knows she passed fairly recently. Herrmann doesn't know of anyone else right off the bat but he says he'll ask around and see what he can find out.
He wishes there wasn't so much going on at 51. Adding this on top of the arson investigation ratchets up Matt's guilt and grief. He feels as though he made the right call at that accident scene but the niggling doubt in the back of his mind won't go away. Even after being assured by Herrmann and Brett that he made the right call, it's still there.
So, after shift he plans to head over to the Chaplain's address. Maybe his building manager will know something or maybe there's an address book that might help him out. He owes the Chaplain quite a bit and he can't go home until he checks it out.
As he's leaving he runs into Sylvie. She's staring down at her phone in concern and rolls her eyes with an air of fond annoyance. She looks up as she puts her phone away and spots him.
"Hey," she says, falling into step beside him. "What are you up to?"
"I was gonna go check out Orlovsky's place to see if I could find any information on next of kin for the hospital. It'll be a good way to preoccupy myself while Severide meets with Cunningham."
"You want some company?" Sylvie asks. "My plans just got delayed. Seems Pete didn't take my advice and stuck out the rest of the shift. He got a call just before it ended and now he's got reports to fill out. Are all you CFD guys ridiculously stubborn?"
He chuckles at her and nods. "Pretty much. And I would appreciate the company, yeah. If you don't mind?"
"I wouldn't have offered if I minded, Matt," Sylvie says with a kind smile.
"You wanna ride with me? I can bring you back here for your car when we're done," he offers.
She nods. "That would be great."
They head to his truck and on the drive over to the Chaplain's they make small talk.
"How was it working with Kidd on Ambo?" He asks.
"Really great, actually," she answers. "She's a talented medic."
"Talented firefighter too," Matt agrees. "I'm honestly glad 105 didn't take her. Couldn't have asked for a better candidate on Truck. Did I hear right, though? Did she move in with you?"
Sylvie nods. "She did. I'm not sure for how long, but it's been fun having someone else around the apartment." She pauses and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before she continues. It's a nervous habit of hers, he noticed. "I'm not sure about this husband. He reminds me a little too much of Harrison. Hopefully the distance will be good for her. I know it helped me see things for how they really were. Maybe it'll help her too."
"You're a good friend, Sylvie," Matt assures her with a small smile. "Kidd will make the right decision. She's smart. All you have to do is be there for her like you have been. It'll work out."
Stopping by the Chaplain's is a bust. The building manager knows nothing and there's no contact for any family among Orlovsky's things. The only thing it does is point out to Brett and Casey just how much of the Chaplain's life is dedicated to others. He's a great man who spends all of his time taking care of everyone else. The guilt weighing on Matt's chest only increases.
Once they're back in his truck and on the way to the firehouse, Sylvie seems to read him like a book.
"You made the right call, Matt," she reminds him. "If you'd done anything differently things might have been so much worse. The Chaplain would tell you that himself if he could."
He nods. "I hope that's true."
"It is," she says confidently. "Don't beat yourself up about this, okay? You're outstanding at your job. You weigh the variables as best as you can in the moment and you do it really well. Sometimes, bad things happen and we can't prevent them. No matter how much we wish we could. What happened to the Chaplain is just one of those things."
Her words follow him home long after he drops her off at 51. Bad things happen to good people all the time. She's right. It doesn't mean it's anyone's fault or that blame needs to be placed. He's seen it time and time again, call after call.
How did she know he needed that particular reminder?