A/N: We've reached the last of the Gish plot. I'm happy to be done with it because this plot was emotionally exhausting. PLUS, I'm super excited to show you guys what I did with the episode AFTER this one. ;)
Happy reading!
"Breathe, trust, bless me and release,
Climb, hard or never be seen.
Closed off, rescue to breathe.
Just bless me."
-"Closure" by Chevelle
Shift is coming to an end. The dedication ceremony is in a few minutes. With both those things comes the crushing realization that the goal he set for himself won't happen. They won't have Gabby's murder solved before they dedicate 61 in her memory. He knew better when he set that goal for himself but the timing seemed too coincidental.
He sends up a silent apology to Gabby as they all get in their positions and wait for Antonio and the rest of the Dawsons to make an appearance. Once they've arrived, they begin.
CFD had Gabby's name, birthdate, and date of death immortalized on the driver's side door of 61. It was an honor but not nearly enough comfort in the face of losing her.
Shay made a beautiful speech about 51 honoring Gabby's legacy by trying to be the best version of themselves they can possibly be every time the bells go off and about how they work hard every day to make her proud. It's Matt's job to unveil Gabby's name and it's nearly too much. He realizes now that this is the closure he's been lacking. He avoided closure during her funeral and the first six weeks she was gone, but now the dedication ceremony is allowing him another chance to say goodbye.
The arson investigation is doing that too.
Her killer needs to be locked away and he will help make that happen however he can.
For Gabby, for himself, for Shay, for the entire house.
This is his moment to say goodbye. It's taken far too long but he feels ready now to acknowledge that the future he had planned will never come to be, but that doesn't mean he has no future at all. Gabby wouldn't want him to throw his life away. She'd want him to do something with it, make something of it, and be happy.
As soon as they catch this Gish bastard, that's exactly what he plans to do.
Be happy.
That night they all show up at Molly's to reminisce about Gabby and enjoy each other. Mills and Brett are late and he notices the bandage on Sylvie's neck is new and Pete looks at her with extra affection. She must have told him about the call. Mills hovers a little closer than normal, with his hand constantly on the small of her back. Matt can't blame him. He'd be a bit protective too. Hell, even as her friend he feels a bit protective.
Chief joins them just before Cunningham walks in. Casey feels for Boden and his situation with his father. He has to sit back and watch someone he loves suffer. Matt would never be good at that. He'd take on any sort of pain to spare someone he cared about. He knows Boden feels very much the same.
Cunningham stops at their table. Her expression isn't encouraging.
"I have some bad news," she says reluctantly. "OFI has decided not to pursue Adrian Gish at this time."
A ripple of shock spreads throughout the group. None of them can believe it. They all question her but Cunningham has nothing further to offer them except an apology.
"My boss has been doing this for a long time. He knows what cases will stick. This one won't. At least not yet."
The conclusion is that they'll have to wait and see what happens - for him to make a mistake. Matt's tired of waiting. He's tired of letting someone else set the terms.
"Unbelievable," Shay mutters bitterly.
Casey knows exactly how she feels.
"I'm sorry," Cunningham says one last time before she walks away from them for good.
Antonio shakes his head from where he stands behind Leslie. "Hell no. I'm not waiting anymore." He looks to Boden and then Casey. "You guys have had your chance. Now we're doing this CPD's way."
He pulls out his phone and storms out of the bar.
Matt hopes Intelligence has better luck and he hopes Antonio asks them for help if they need it. Everyone at 51 will have his back. All he has to do is say the word.
And, late the next day, he does. He calls Chief Boden and asks if they can brief Intelligence on what they know so far. Boden brings himself and Severide along. They lay out the map and explain the fire scenes that are marked and how far they go back. They don't know how long Gish has been at this but they figured the more information CPD had the better.
That's when Antonio drops a bomb on them.
"His name's not Gish. He's been using a fake identity for a long time. We don't know how long."
What the fuck? Seriously?
"He torched a patrol car yesterday," Jay adds.
"You serious?" Severide asks in shock.
"Yeah," Jay replies with a shake of his head.
"It's actually a good sign," Antonio informs them. "Our plan is working."
"This helps too," Erin says as she reads the locations on the map. She turns to Kevin as he looks over the map with her. "Atwater, why don't you and me cross-reference all these fires with the name Ross McGowan and see what pops-"
"Pardon me," Boden interrupts, looking incensed. "What did you say?"
"Ross McGowan, Gish's birth name," Kevin explains.
"That is not his birth name," Boden insists.
Everyone turns to look at Boden curiously.
"What's that, Chief?" Voight asks.
Matt hates being in the same room with Voight, but he has to keep reminding himself this is for Gabby. Voight is a necessary evil.
"Ross McGowan was a firefighter. He died in the same fire that killed Peter Mills' father, Henry. Same place I got my scars." Boden sounds angrier with every word and Matt can't blame him.
An arsonist stealing a firefighter's identity is as violating as it is insulting. Especially when that arsonist is responsible for his death.
"So, McGowan's a fake ID too," Voight says with a tense tick of his jaw.
"Going back 20 years," Boden supplies.
There's a moment of silence before Voight explodes. He throws his water bottle against the wall and yells, "Who is this guy? Huh?"
"Thanks, guys," Erin says when it's clear Voight won't. "We'll update as soon as there's anything to update."
Antonio looks just as pissed as Voight. Casey's never seen Antonio mirroring Voight. It terrifies him to see it now. Antonio has always had very clear moral lines and he's afraid, given what's at stake, that he might cross them. Especially with Voight as an influence.
They leave with worried glances back at the unit of Intelligence officers. They're sick of waiting, but it's not worth it if it's not done right or else they're just as bad as Gish. Hopefully, Antonio remembers that.
The next day, he gets a call around dinnertime. Shay's just left to meet Sylvie someplace and he and Kelly aren't doing much of anything aside from having a couple of beers.
He answers immediately upon seeing Antonio's name, thinking it's an update on the case. Antonio doesn't even bother with a greeting.
"Is Shay with you?"
"No, she just left. What's up?"
"Shit," Antonio curses. "Call her. Call her now. Tell her not to meet Sylvie. It's a trap set up by Gish."
"Fuck," Matt curses. "On it. Where'd he have her go?"
"The address is 6 South Loomis Street."
He hangs up and immediately dials Shay, motioning Severide out the door.
"What's going on?" Severide asks as he follows.
"Shay's in danger. Gish is after her," Matt tells him. "Grab your keys, your car is faster than my truck. We need to go to 6 South Loomis St."
"Jesus Christ, yeah, I'm on it."
They hop in the car and take off while the phone is still ringing. Shay picks up and Matt's heartbeat calms. Only for a moment though because before he can tell her to get the fuck out of dodge the signal cuts out. She's getting in an elevator. Matt calls Antonio and gives him an update. They're on their way too.
By the time they arrive on the scene PD has stormed the place and a perfectly healthy Shay is being led out of the building with Antonio's arm around her. Severide barely has the car in park before he's bounding out the door and wrapping himself around her.
"Holy shit, are you okay?" He asks as he grabs her face in both of his hands and looks her over.
"I'm okay," she assures him. "I'm okay!"
She's coughing lightly and reeks of gasoline. Severide and Casey share a look. The bastard tried to light her up. It wasn't enough that he took Gabby from them, he was going to take Shay too?
"Did you get him?" Matt asks Antonio through a sneer.
"Trust me, that son of a bitch won't be setting any more fires," Antonio says angrily. "He's down for the count."
"Thanks," Matt says with a stiff nod. "For getting to Shay before he could."
"Gabby would have never forgiven me if I let anything happen to her best friend. You don't have to thank me," Antonio assures him as he walks away to update the rest of his unit.
"It's over," Leslie tells them both as she tightens her hold on Severide. "Antonio shot him. The bastard's dead."
Relief floods him. Not happiness, really. He can't say he's happy for all the loss they suffered or the danger Leslie was in, but he's relieved that they can close the door on it. They can move on. Gabby's killer has been brought to justice. There's satisfaction in that fact - resolution.
Maybe now they can all have a little peace.
Pete picks Sylvie up to go to Molly's just as she gets a text from Matt. Peter's phone goes off at the same time. She has a pretty good idea it's a group text before she even opens it.
"It's over. They got him."
"Oh my god," Sylvie mutters across her open front door.
Pete's staring at his phone in shock too. "I can't believe it. Antonio really did it."
"I wonder how they finally got him?" Sylvie asks. Something about Matt's vague text worries her. Why so short on the details?
"I don't care as long as he's not out there putting anyone else in danger," Pete tells her. "My dad and Gabby deserved justice. The fact that they got it is all that matters."
Sylvie nods and steps out of the apartment, locking the door behind her. "You're right. That's all that matters."
She knows there's more to the story, though, the minute they cross the threshold into Molly's. Shay looks jumpy and haunted and Severide is hovering. Mills makes a beeline for Boden and Sylvie heads straight for Shay.
"Hey," she says as she takes the stool next to her. "What happened? Everything okay?"
"The bastard came after her," Severide says when Leslie stays silent. "That's how Antonio got him. He killed him while he had Shay cornered."
His arm skims across Leslie's back as he explains. Shay sighs and takes a long gulping sip of her beer.
"I'm fine," she tells her. "Don't worry about me, Farmgirl. He came close but there's not a mark on me."
Sylvie gasps and then wraps her arms around Shay, accidentally letting Severide's arm get caught up in her hug. Shay reciprocates and rests her chin on Sylvie's shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Sylvie whispers, shutting her eyes tight and trying not to imagine a world where they weren't so lucky.
"Ambo 61 has to take a step back from the drama," Leslie jokes. Sylvie can hear the tears in her voice even if she won't admit to them. "First you with the abduction and then what happened today. What problem children we are."
Sylvie chuckles and gives Leslie one final squeeze before she pulls away. "Yeah, we really need to tone it down, huh?"
"Next shift we better get nothing but frequent flyers and fender benders," Shay says, glancing upward to the ceiling. "You owe me, Universe. You got that?"
"Where's Matt?" Sylvie asks, glancing around the bar.
"He's outside working out a few things with Antonio," Severide tells her. "He still has some of Gabby's things that the family wants back."
She nods as Pete joins them. He flags down Herrmann and orders drinks for himself and Sylvie. He reaches over and squeezes Shay's arm.
"Glad to hear you're okay," he tells her.
"Thanks, Mills. Glad to hear your dad's killer got his," Shay responds.
"That makes two of us," he says with a deep calming breath. He drops a kiss to the top of Sylvie's head as he stands behind her. "I've been angry all week. It feels good to let some of that go. It feels like…"
"Closure?"
They all turn to find Matt with a longneck bottle in hand and a sad smile on his face. Herrmann leaves Sylvie and Peter's drinks in front of them and walks away to serve another customer. They pick up their beers as they acknowledge Matt.
"Yes, exactly," Pete agrees. "Closure."
"I'll drink to that," Severide says as he holds up his bottle. "To closure."
"To closure," they all repeat as they clink their bottles together.
And now they start to rebuild and move forward.
Together.