Sylvie's head hurt as she opened her eyes. Dawson and Casey's couch was comfortable, and she was well wrapped up in the thick blanket. She could smell bacon cooking and coffee brewing, so she stretched and announced herself awake to whoever was here.

"Morning, Brett. Gabby's still in bed and I don't think she's getting up any time soon. How're you doing?" Matt was cooking for the four, with pancake batter in a bowl beside him.

"If you have some Advil I won't say no, but I'm better than I thought I'd be. Bless our decision to get pizza on the way home, I really needed that."

Matt pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to her with the bottle of Advil. Sylvie took two and drank deeply, imagining she could feel the hydration going through her body. Matt continued cooking and they sat in silence until Sylvie's nerves couldn't stand it anymore.

"Thanks for everything, Matt. I know it's not easy to keep a secret like ours, and from everyone. It means a lot. Plus doing the locks, I know when I go over later to pack I'll feel safe, which isn't exactly something I've always felt. You barely know me, and you're still there to help out." She finished by drinking more of her water, trying to ignore his eyes on her.

"Kelly's been my best friend since we were kids, of course I'd do that. Plus, you've become close to him now. I know you're not right romantically for each other, but you're the only woman except Shay who he's been able to be friends with, so I'm glad he's got you. You've been here for a few months, we're family. Our job is hard enough, we've got to work together to make sure that everyone gets home. So when someone's important to one of us, you're important to all of us. Coffee?" He held a mug out to her, which she gratefully took and drank from.

The smell of the food woke the sleeping residents of the apartment, and the foursome ate together before Sylvie ducked into Kelly's bathroom to change and pack her gym bag.

"I'm heading out, I've got a Zumba class I was looking forward to later, and then I want to do some packing and work out what I can even take from the apartment. I'll text when I'm on the way back." She squeezed Gabby's shoulder, gave Kelly a full hug and waved at Matt while she left.

The Zumba class was the highest rated on Yelp she could find, and apparently the instructor wasn't bad to look at either. She paid for a course of ten classes, and was glad to see she wouldn't need to miss any because of her shifts. She changed into her leotard, and went into the class.

They were dancing along, mimicking the instructor's actions. He was facing away from them and Sylvie enjoyed watching his butt move in time to the 80s music. He turned around, calling instructions out and Sylvie's stomach dropped. The cute, best rated Zumba instructor in Chicago was Joe Cruz. Oh god.

She ignored the feeling in her stomach, just looking forward to her workout, but Cruz spotted her. He subbed out an instructor and called her to the side.

"Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent me."

"Then why are you doing a Zumba class in Pilsen of all places?"

"Because I live here, Cruz. It was highly rated on Yelp, and I just wanted somewhere to work out, that's all. I don't care who the instructor is." She just wanted to get back to the class, she didn't care who the instructor was if he didn't care.

"What do you want to keep you quiet? I don't want anyone knowing my second job."

"Everyone in the house has a second job, it seems like. I'm not going to tell anyone, I just want to get to work and do my job. I'll keep my mouth shut, Joe."

Using his first name seemed to make him realise she was serious, so he nodded. "Ok, let's get back to class. I'm not going easy on you though, Brett."

The class ended and she was sweating and out of breath, forgetting how much fun the workout was. She changed, grabbed her bag and left before Cruz could catch up with her, walking the few blocks to her apartment.

Nothing had changed since they were there the day before, Matt's locks held up against the neighbourhood, and as soon as she was inside she locked it behind herself.

The place wasn't too messy, she figured it was addicts looking for a quick score rather than someone going for something specific. It made packing a bit easier for her, and after putting some Taylor Swift on she started packing everything into the suitcases she'd arrived to Chicago with not long before.

Staring at the cases, it was nearly sad that it was what her life had ended up as. Three suitcases containing clothes and mementos, and a handful of CDs she'd been able to pack when Harrison had kicked her out of the house they shared. It'd be enough. It had to be.

Checking the time, Sylvie realised it was nearly five and Kelly would start worrying about her. She texted to ask for a ride because she'd finished packing, and he said he and Matt would be over to collect the boxes. By the time she'd finished typing that she didn't have any, she figured they were probably on their way so she sat and waited, looking at the architecture that had drawn her in in the first place.

Kelly knocked on the door a few minutes later, and she opened it up to let the men in. They looked around for a moment, before settling on the cases she'd put on the floor.

"Is this it?" He asked, wanting to confirm it with her. They all knew Sylvie hadn't come to Chicago with much, but to see it laid bare frustrated him.

"That's everything I have, yeah. The place came furnished, I'm gonna have to go to Ikea to pick up a bed for the new place too." She started making a mental list of everything, but before she could think too hard, Matt and Kelly had grabbed her cases and were bringing them outside. She locked the door behind them before putting the keys in an envelope and addressing them to her landlord with a stamp on it. There was a mailbox on the corner, and she ran to drop it in before getting into Kelly's car. He smiled at her as they drove away, leaving her little apartment alone for the last time.

Their next shift started, and Sylvie felt finally used to what was going on. She was taking names and kicking ass, and it felt good to know what she was doing. She and Mills were halfway back to the house when the call came over the radio.

"Ambulance 61, injuries from a fall. 815 South Nebraska."

"That's around the corner, let's grab it. Ambulance 61 en route to 815 South Nebraska." Sylvie flicked the siren on and got them to the location, spotting a homeless man on the ground in the alleyway. It didn't take long for them to get him on the gurney and strap him in for the trip to Med, when the hairs went up on the back of Sylvie's head. She turned, and spotted the black town car that had boxed them in, then saw the gun raised at them.

It passed in a blur, but all she knew was her hands were tied behind her back, her hair was coming out of the ponytail she'd put it in that morning and her terror levels were off the charts. Mills was beside her, keeping quiet but she could tell he was as scared as she was.

"When I tell you to brace, brace," he murmured, nudging Sylvie so she could tell he meant her. She nodded slowly, trying not to let the driver and his friend notice.

"Brett, BRACE!" Mills yelled, bringing up his feet to kick the driver. Sylvie dug herself into the footwell behind the passenger seat, using the seats as leverage to make sure she was safe. The car careened and spun, landing right way up but smoking. Sylvie got her bearings after a moment and made herself kneel, pulling the door open with her still bound hands and trying to run before her foot gave up.

"Get back here," the passenger yelled, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her head up. "You hurt him, you fix him." She was pulled into a warehouse, Mills close behind her, with the kidnapper supporting his injured friend who was losing consciousness by the moment.

"I need my hands so I can see how he is." Sylvie said, proud her voice didn't shake with what was going on.

"Fine. But one wrong move and you know what happens." He cut the flex cuffs from behind her, and she stretched to move, grabbing the jump bag beside her. The guy did the same to Mills, who followed her lead.

She was slightly behind the two men, and felt the weight of her prep pads against her thigh as she moved. She grabbed a few out of her pocket, dropping them every few feet as she walked before getting into the garage and helping the driver up onto a table.

"Fix him. Now." The passenger was waving a gun around at them, screaming to fix his partner. Time felt like it stood still for them as she and Mills fought to control the bleeding before realising they had to surgically repair it without any equipment. It just felt like time was going slowly and quickly at the same time until they ran to the store room to hide from the passenger. She held onto Mills for all she could, waiting for the door to smash open and the bullets to rain in. She didn't want to die, she didn't want it to be over.

The door smashed open and the shards of wood sprayed towards them, and she shut her eyes, holding Mills' shoulder as he held her behind him. She took a deep breath in, preparing for the pain when she heard the shout.

"CHICAGO PD, DROP YOUR WEAPON."

They watched as the barrel of the gun left the doorway and they heard the metal hit concrete. It was silent for a moment before Casey called them "Mills, Brett, you ok?"

"Yeah Lieutenant, we're ok," Mills replied as the two walked out together, seeing their coworkers there waiting for them. Sylvie finally felt relief seeing them, knowing it was over.

"Sylvie!" Kelly ran up and grabbed her around the waist, holding her tight for just slightly too long to be comfortable, but he was solid and he was there and they were alive. Dawson and Casey squeezed her shoulder as they went past to embrace Mills, making sure that she was still there. Kelly put an arm around her shoulder and lead her out to be examined by the paramedics who'd come over for them. She could feel the prying eyes of their coworkers on them, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Right Brett, I want to check you out in the hospital. The cuts on your fingers are pretty deep, they're borderline for stitches. I want a doc at Med to check you out and decide. Lieutenant, we'll let the house know what's going on once we hear anything." Rafferty went to kick Kelly out of the ambo, but Sylvie held onto him.

"He's technically my next of kin, Rafferty, we've each other's POA. Let him ride along, he's just gonna pull up with all of 51 if you don't let him." Rafferty nodded at Sylvie's words.

"Sure, whatever. An extra person won't make much of a difference."

The trip to Med didn't take long, and Sylvie got away with just two stitches on the base of her middle finger from sawing herself free. By the time she was stitched and got her antibiotic shot, the rest of the house had arrived.

"Boden and Donna are upstairs, the baby's still on the machines but they're starting to be optimistic about what's going on," Herrmann said, smiling at Brett's clean and bandaged hands.

"Wait, they had the baby, what? You should have told me!" She stared at her coworkers who had the grace to look slightly sheepish with her glare.

"We were slightly busy looking for you and Mills, come on. Can we see him yet, Herrmann?" Kelly said, finally giving Sylvie a little bit of space.

"Not yet. They're waiting till he's off the machines to let anyone see him, including Mom and Dad. Boden said to go home, 51 is out of commission till the morning. I'm heading to Molly's and if any of you want a "oh thank God we got our medics back" drink, come on down." He gave Mills and Brett a thumbs up as he left, smiling at them.

"God, a glass of wine sounds so good right now," Sylvie said daydreamily.

"Let's get down there then. I'll give you a ride home so you can change and we'll head around." They waved goodbye to their coworkers, ignoring the quizzical looks on some faces.

"Who wants what date for when they announce to everyone they're dating?" Otis smiled as he pulled out his date planner and an 8 colour pen, selecting pink for the Brett and Severide discussion. His colleagues crowded around calling out dates.

Within two hours Sylvie felt like a human again, and she happily accepted Kelly's ride to Molly's. The bar was quiet, and they just sat and talked to their coworkers, laughing about Donna's Squad Truck delivery and the awkward request Kelly would have to put in for a new turnout coat. Sylvie's phone buzzed, and she opened it up to read the message before dropping it and sighing.

"Great, just great. My new roomies have decided to fill the other room with someone else. More house hunting for me it seems like. It just sucks." She drained her glass, and Kelly picked it up to get a refill for her. Gabby came over, nobody wanting to leave Sylvie alone.

"I heard what you said, the house fell through?" Sylvie nodded in response. "Look, I'm keeping this quiet for the next little while, Matt and I broke up earlier. I'm staying on my brother's couch for the next while, but I need to find somewhere. I saw a lease available on a two bed in Wicker Park, I'm viewing it tomorrow. Do you want to view it with me and see if we can be roommates?" Gabby's voice cracked slightly while talking, and Sylvie put her uninjured hand over Gabby's, squeezing slightly to let her know she was there.

"Sounds perfect. I'm getting pretty fed up of couch life, can't imagine what it's like sharing with your brother."

"Thanks Brett. Can you not tell Severide till Casey does? I don't want him to have a scene here." Sylvie nodded at the older woman, who squeezed her hand and left as Kelly arrived with their drinks.

"Everything good with Gabby?" He asked, depositing her white wine in front of her.

"Just checking in on the roommate situation. Gave me some ideas about what to do next." Sylvie couldn't lie, but talking around the truth helped a little.

"Sounds good to me! What do you say we finish these, go pick up some burgers for us and Matt, and head home. Gabby's working tonight so there's no point in getting her anything."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sylvie responded, toying with her glass.

The smell of the Little Bad Wolf burgers were mouthwatering in the car, and Sylvie was reminded how little she'd had to eat that morning before she drank her wine. By the time they pulled up in front of the apartment she was terrified to go in and see what would happen, but couldn't hide it anymore.

"Before we go in…it's not my place to say, but Gabby said something happened between her and Casey earlier on. I don't know what he's gonna be like, but I don't want us walking in there happy and then having to deal with whatever's going on." Kelly turned and looked at her, nearly spilling the cokes in the travel carton.

"Wait, what? Why didn't you tell me already?" He didn't yell, but he was close to it.

"Because Gabby asked me not to tell anyone, and specifically mentioned you. I'm only saying it now so I don't have to look him in the eye and say I didn't know. She's staying with her brother right now."

"Fuck. Ok, thanks. I get it, if things had been reversed I'd be the same. Let's go bring him comfort food."

They arrived into the dim apartment, and the first thing Kelly saw was Matt measuring a piece of drywall to fit a hole in the wall.

"Who looks worse, you or the other guy?" Kelly said, trying to make a stupid joke.

"I dunno, my knuckles got it pretty bad," came Matt's reply, staring at the hole he'd put there.

"Matt, you're bleeding. C'mere, let me at least clean it out, there's so much bacteria in that kind of thing. We brought food." Sylvie led him to the table and grabbed their first aid kit, cleaning out his grazes with alcohol pads while staring at them. They weren't deep, but they'd hurt like hell for the next few days.

"Where's Dawson, Matt?" Kelly asked, keeping his voice even. He hadn't seen his friend this bad even when Hallie had left him the first time.

"She's gone. Said we couldn't keep our relationship and our jobs, and work needed to come first. She packed her bags and she's gone." He sounded dazed and shocked. Sylvie finished what she was doing and grabbed her burger and tater tots, pulling them out.

"I'm gonna go eat in your bedroom, give you guys some space," She whispered in Kelly's ear, leaning her head into his shoulder for comfort. Between eating and the exhaustion of the day she'd had, she didn't even realise when she fell asleep on his comfortable bed.

She woke to her phone ringing, and she grabbed it and answered without checking the number. "'Lo?"

"Sylvie Brett? It's Antonio Dawson, Gabby's brother. Intelligence picked up your case thanks to who you're dealing with. Look, it's not looking good. Lullo's got people scared, he might walk. Can you come down to the 21st? We've got an idea, but I need you to agree to it."

She was wide awake with his words. "Yeah, sure. I'll be in within an hour, need to get dressed and stuff. What do I do when I get there?"

"Tell Trudy you're there to see intelligence. And wear something CFD related, it'll help you get in."

She dressed quickly, pulling on her CFD quilted jacket as she left Kelly's room. Matt was already in the kitchen, a fresh coffee beside him.

"How's your hand doing, Matt?" She asked, pulling down a mug and filling it for herself.

"It'll get there. Thought you'd have been up later after the day you had yesterday." He put on two extra eggs for her, scrambling them with his own. "Hard or soft scramble?"

"Soft, thanks. One of the detectives called, they need me to go over and talk about what's going on. Not sure when it'll be done, so I was going to get a cab." She sat at the island counter, sipping her coffee and watching him cook.

"If Kelly's still sleeping I'll bring you over. Who were you talking to there?" He started serving up eggs and toast, passing the plate over to Sylvie.

"Antonio, I think? It wasn't Jay anyway." She knew exactly who she'd spoken to, but didn't want to inflict any extra wounds.

"Gabby's brother, he's in intelligence with Jay. Probably not a good idea for me to walk in with you, but I'll give you a ride and make sure Kelly's up by the time you're finished. Eat up and I'll bring you." He pointed at her food with a fork, handing it over to her.

The drive to the 21st was quick, and Sylvie blended in with the uniformed crowd in the lobby. As she walked up to the desk the Sergeant gave her a once over.

"I'm going to assume you're Brett? Randy told me about you and what happened yesterday. I'll buzz you upstairs, go up and to your right, into the cage. Dawson and Voight are upstairs waiting for you." Sylvie nodded and turned to go upstairs, hearing the harsh buzz let her in the door.

Halstead stood as he saw her come up, checking her over. "You doing ok, Brett? Med didn't miss anything?"

"Nah, stitches in my finger, some scrapes and bruises and what's looking like a mildly impressive black eye. I didn't have time for makeup to hide it, is that ok?" She asked, looking at the two men she didn't recognise.

"You look fine. Thanks for coming down, you probably didn't want to leave bed today," the older man said, his gravelly voice nearly too deep for her to listen to.

"I'm sleeping on a friend's couch, not much to leave. What do I need to do?" She wanted it over and done with. The one who she thought was Gabby's brother came over and gestured to a chair for her to sit down.

"I'm Antonio, Gabby's brother, we talked on the phone?" Sylvie nodded so he'd continue. "Lullo knew he was sending someone after you and Mills, and so did his wife. What his wife didn't know was that they'd be sending someone after someone who looks like, well, you. She's coming in in thirty minutes to be here when he's released, and I want you to sit beside her in the waiting area. Ask her why she's here, she'll be nice and do the same to you. Tell her what happened, that you don't know who's behind it and you're terrified for your life. Get juicy with it and she'll take the bait to lure him in we think." Sylvie paled at his words, looking even whiter behind her bruises.

"I don't know how much your sister told you, but I am an awful liar. I don't know if I can do this." She wanted out, but she didn't want to look over her shoulder for all time.

"You can do this, Brett. The wife's anger will help us put him away. Right now she thinks he's just into drugs and that's why he's here, but when she sees you looking innocent and beaten up it'll help make the case a bit better." The older man said. "I'm Sergeant Voight, head of this unit. If you tell me you don't want to do it, we won't make you. But I think you're the key to stopping this."

Sylvie took a deep breath and stood. "Where do you want me to be?"

The waiting area was industrial plain, but quiet considering it was 11am. The drunks were home and nobody who had been involved in anything that morning had been arrested yet. Sylvie sat there, bouncing her knee with nerves. She cringed every time she bounced it a little too high and the pain in her thigh was ignited, but she couldn't stop the nervous tic. Before long a middle aged woman swept into the room. She wore all black and had her hair in a chic up-do. Sylvie smiled at her, then stopped, the movement of her cheek muscles too sore to take.

"Are you alright?" She asked, looking at Sylvie over the rim of her sunglasses.

"Stiff and sore. A detective was meant to be in to take my statement an hour ago, but I'm still waiting. Are you waiting on one too?"

"No. My husband was brought in on some trumped up charges, I'm here to bring him home. What happened, your face looks bad?" She removed the glasses with that question, her hazel eyes fixing Sylvie's blue ones.

"I don't really remember. I'm a paramedic, I was called to a scene and then someone came up behind me and took me and my partner. I don't know why they did it, or what they wanted, but they held us at gunpoint. I'm just glad they lost control of the car so they couldn't do whatever they wanted to us." The realisation of how close she came to dying hit Sylvie all at once, and she let out a sob before closing her eyes so tears didn't fall out. She was safe, she was alive, it was going to be ok.

"Oh you poor girl? Did they catch whoever did it?" She squeezed Sylvie's hand as she cried, and Sylvie tried to calm down.

"They did, but they think someone hired them deliberately? I don't even know, I just try save lives. I don't know how someone can be so angry at a paramedic to do this. I'm just tired and hurt and I wish yesterday hadn't happened." As Sylvie finished speaking, Halstead knocked on the waiting room door.

"Paramedic Sylvie Brett? We've just got a few more questions before we can finish up your statement. Do you want to come through here with me? We'll keep you on the ground level so you don't have to risk anything in your thigh with the amount of damage it has." She stood and nodded to Jay.

"Thanks for being so nice to me. I hope everything works out for you and your husband," she said before walking out with Jay, who immediately brought her up to intelligence. They hovered around the camera feed from downstairs, before watching as Lullo's wife made her way to Trudy at the desk.

"Sergeant? I need to report a crime," she said, getting Trudy's attention. Whatever else happened was lost in the cheering between the group that it was going to come to an end.

"Good job, Brett. We'll wait till she leaves before letting you go. Antonio, why don't you bring Brett home?" Voight said, posing his order as a question.

"It's fine. Kelly made me promise that I'd let him take me for lunch seeing as our breakfast plans got cancelled, he's going to be waiting outside once I text him to pick me up. Thanks very much for the offer Sergeant, Detective."

It didn't take long for Paola Lullo's words to cause a full confession from her husband, and Sylvie was allowed leave. Kelly was waiting for her in the reception area, and helped her down the stairs and into his car before bringing her for a celebratory lunch. It was just what Sylvie needed to finally feel like she was getting through it.