Sylvie slept better than she thought she would that night, waking up later than normal to a quiet apartment. She had three hours until she was going to meet Antonio for lunch, and she was excited to meet him and see what would happen. She showered and shaved her legs, taking her time to do her hair and makeup before dressing. It was still November in Chicago, so she grabbed a heavy jacket to wear over her jeans and sweater.

Gabby was lying on the couch with the curtains closed, a glass of water almost empty in front of her. She waved at the noise of Sylvie moving through the room, before sitting up slowly. "How much did I drink? Can you get me water and an Advil?" Sylvie grabbed her glass and filled it, handing over the painkillers and glass to her. Gabby took them, drank, then stood up. She kept her balance and smiled, taking in Sylvie's outfit. "You've got a date, what's going on?"

Sylvie smiled, trying to hide her worry about Gabby's response. "I'm getting lunch with a friend, that's all. We're going to Portillo's for sandwiches." She sat on the couch beside Gabby to settle in for the talk.

"Who with? Is it a friend or a friend?" Gabby's insinuation was clear, and Sylvie laughed.

"I'm getting sandwiches with your brother, Gabby. We're just getting food, he helped me get you home from Molly's last night."

"That's bull. He told me you were cute, you know. He's gonna think it's a date, are you ok with that?" Gabby blinked the hangover cloudiness from her eyes and stared straight at Sylvie, making Sylvie feel like she was under a microscope.

"We made out last night after you went to bed, but I wasn't going to sleep with my friend's brother for a one night thing. So we're getting food, and we'll see what happens." Gabby smiled at her, making Sylvie feel better.

"Good! You could be good for each other. His divorce is settled, and it was tough on him. Laura didn't get what being a cop is like and what it can do to and for you. You're a paramedic, you get it though. Good luck, and I want the PG rated details when you get back, he's still my brother." Gabby chased her off the couch, before flopping back down with her eyes closed. Sylvie quietly left the apartment, getting the El to make her way to Portillos.

It was a Friday afternoon, and things weren't too busy. They'd missed the worst of the lunch rush, and Antonio had arrived first to grab them a table. She ordered an Italian Beef sandwich, a shake and a slice of chocolate cake, and he did the same.

The first few minutes were awkward as they tried to work out what they were doing. It was the first time they'd been without any of their coworkers in the same place, and it took time for them to relax and just talk. Before too long Antonio was telling her stories about his time in Intelligence and how he'd worked on cases, and she explained how she ended up in Chicago in the first place.

"I guess that was breaking first conversation rule number one, don't mention your exes," she said, taking a sip of her strawberry shake.

"We're both adults, I don't blame you for mentioning it. I'm gonna guess Gabby mentioned my divorce to you. After the last time I was shot, Laura couldn't put up with my job anymore. It's not pretty, but we've divided custody and the kids are ok which is important. I see them most weekends and I'm over for dinner every few nights." He squeezed Sylvie's hand to punctuate his words, and she smiled.

"Once we finish this food, wanna walk down to Navy Pier? It's cold but the ferris wheel is fun, and I think we could enjoy it." Sylvie nodded, and after he paid - against her wishes, but he got there first - they walked hand in hand down to the pier. She hadn't been down here since she'd moved, and the bright colours made her grin. She managed to pay for the ferris wheel, and they sat in their pod, watching the city skyline as they rose. It didn't take long before they were near the top, the stop start motion of their trip a constant as people got on and off. She looked around, but before long felt Antonio's cool lips on the side of her neck. They made out like teenagers in the pod for a few moments, separating before they made it to the bottom of the wheel.

The rest of the date was spent hand in hand watching everything. He brought her through the Pier and showed her different attractions, before they decided to walk the Riverwalk together. It was cold but beautiful, and they stayed close together as they walked, Antonio pointing out different buildings and their histories.

"I don't want to presume anything, but we're nearly at my apartment. Do you want to come up for a coffee to heat up?" He'd wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked, holding her close to him. Sylvie smiled at his words.

"That'd be lovely," she replied, kissing his cheek. They kept their strolling pace as they got to his apartment building, and managed to keep their hands off each other until they'd gotten into his apartment. After that, all pretences were dropped.

Sylvie felt alive with him, her back against the wall. They stumbled to the couch, kicking off shoes and removing their jackets as they moved. She ended up with her boots and socks off, jacket off and sweater up around her chest as his hands moved, groping and feeling all of her as they made their way to the bedroom.

Antonio invited her to stay for dinner, but she didn't want to overstay her welcome or make Gabby worried. They kissed goodbye at the front door to his apartment building, and she got into an uber to make her way home. She was home within twenty minutes, and opened the front door to see Gabby sitting on the couch watching NCIS.

"Hey! How was it, what did you do?" She turned to look at Sylvie, eyes widening slightly when she saw her hair and how dishevelled her clothing was. "Wait, I don't want to know. Are you happy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am. I don't know what'll happen, but I'm happy." Sylvie poured herself a mug of coffee and stood at the counter, waiting for her friend to make a comment.

"That's the important bit. I know he's my brother, but you're my best friend and I want to make sure you're ok with it. I can slap him upside the head and the only thing that'll happen is Mama will yell." Gabby refilled her own mug as Sylvie stood motionless.

"I'm ok. We talked, he told me about Laura and the kids, and we're just going to play it by ear I guess. Whatever happens will happen." Sylvie drained her mug, the caffeine just what she needed. "I'm gonna go for a shower and make dinner, what do you want to eat? I'm thinking stir fry." She walked off to Gabby agreeing, and got into a hot shower.

There were love bites on her collarbones, and one sucked in at the base of her neck. She thought Antonio would be similar, but couldn't fully remember. She showered and stretched, the hot water easing muscles that hadn't been used in months. After she was clean and dry she put on a comfy tee and a pair of sweatpants, going into the kitchen to cook.

Their second day off passed peacefully. Antonio had texted her a few times to let her know he was with his kids for the Saturday, and he'd be in touch. She spent most of it on the couch with Gabby, watching the first snow of the year come down outside. It was peaceful and just what she needed before another shift at 51.

From the moment the first bells went off at 8.07am that morning, Sylvie essentially didn't stop. The thawing and refreezing of yesterday's snow meant that traffic accidents were the topic of the day, and she was left dealing with a lot of cuts and grazes. They only had a few runs to Med, handing off to the ER team. It didn't leave a lot of time for them to do anything except eat and restock. Finally things calmed down around ten that night, and she sat on the couch curling up with Pouch. Kelly handed over a mug of coffee, which she accepted gratefully.

"Haven't seen you around today," he remarked, sitting beside her and shifting the dog into his lap so he could.

"It's been one of those days. So many car crashes, it's been non stop. What about you?" She asked, turning over to look at him.

"The same. We were at the same crash at Clark, right? We'd two others, but I don't think you were at either of them."

"Yeah, we had Clark. Then we had a couple near the lake, it was patch them up and move along. Mills is on paperwork duty tonight, but I'm pretty sure we did nine? Maybe ten, I lost count eventually." She rubbed behind Pouch's ear as she spoke, and the dog laid into her.

"Tough night. Wanna get breakfast after shift tomorrow? I was thinking that diner on Loomis, they do good pancakes." He smiled as he spoke, and Sylvie couldn't resist it. They hadn't had time to themselves since she'd moved, and it'd be good to spend time with him.

"Sure, sounds like a plan-" Before she could say anything else, the bells sounded.

Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Road Traffic Accident on South Blue Island Avenue and West 18th Street

"Let's go, Brett," he said, holding out his hand to help her up. They made it to their respective rigs and drove down to get to the scene.

It was chaos. A SUV had plowed into a minivan, and there were three kids in the back of the minivan. Sylvie put on her game face and went to work, taking the van while Peter checked the SUV. The driver of the minivan was gone before they'd gotten there, but she worked with Squad to get the roof off the car, calming down the kids in the back seat as they did it. The eldest had helped her hold a turnout coat over them as the glass broke to protect their faces, and they all worked together to get them out safely. Another ambo had arrived to take the passenger to Med, and she and Mills brought the kids in the back of their rig to the hospital.

"Where's my mom?" The eldest one asked. The younger two had wrapped themselves around Sylvie, so he was sitting on the gurney, strapped down in case they stopped suddenly.

"They're taking care of her, sweetie. Because we were first on scene, they give us the kids to get back. It's not too safe for you to be around a car crash or in the cold for too long, so we'll take you to the hospital where they'll check you out." She rubbed his hair, feeling small pieces of glass in it but no cuts.

"Ok. Thanks Miss…" he trailed off "What's your name?"

"I'm Sylvie. It's nice to meet you."

"Thanks Miss Sylvie. I'm Jaden."

It didn't take long for them to arrive, and Sylvie transferred the kids to a waiting nurse. They were tired and stressed, but seemed to be ok for the moment. She waved goodbye to them as they were led away, wiping a tear from her eye as she turned.

"I hate these cases," she said, blinking back the other tears she could feel coming.

"So do I. Let's go back to the house," Mills replied, handing her the keys to the ambo to drive them back.

By the time they arrived to the house, Squad had returned and were sitting at their table on the app floor. Sylvie waved over and got some waves back, before returning to her position on the couch. The rest of the shift was the q word, and she actually managed to get some peace and quiet there. Kelly arrived up to her around seven am and sat down.

"Still good for breakfast?" He asked, smiling again as he did.

"I don't think so, sorry. I'm tired and I just want to go home and sleep for a year, or at least a few hours. Can we rain check and do dinner instead, or are you busy?"

"Dinner works! I can bring pizza over to yours, or do you want to go out?" He asked, looking more upbeat now they had a specific plan to nail down.

"It's probably not a good idea. Gabby's still hurting over everything, and I don't think seeing you is a good thing for her. I'll come up to the apartment and we can have food? Matt can join if he wants, or if you want just the two of us that's fine too." Kelly put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed in thanks.

You're too damn good for us, Brett. I'll order deep dish for the three of us, and you'll probably be stuck watching the Bears game, but we'll explain it all to you." He stood to go change, the third shift team starting to wander into the common room.

"Perfect, five work?" They nodded and both went to change, Sylvie putting on her clothes and finally feeling ready to leave. Gabby waved her on to leave, wanting to run drills with Herrmann before heading home. As Sylvie left, she spotted Antonio who walked up and waved.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said, smiling at him. She wanted to hug him, but didn't want their whatever was happening to be clear to everyone else.

"I'm not in work until nine, I thought we could grab breakfast before I head in? How was your shift?" He asked, taking her duffle from her shoulder.

"Busy, there was a lot of accidents. Let's go get food, I'm starving." Antonio led her to his car and they drove to a diner down the street from the 21st precinct. She looked out the window at it when they pulled up, smiling but wary.

"You know if we come in here, we're essentially announcing we're seeing each other, right? I'm ok with that, are you?" She asked, smiling at the broad smile that broke out over his face.

"Let them talk, I've heard the rumours about you and Severide. It's none of their business what we do, but they do really good waffles here and I'm in the mood for them." He got out of the car and fully opened Sylvie's door before she could get it open.

The diner was busy, but they grabbed a table and ordered quickly, Antonio keeping an eye on the time. Shift change was at eight for most first responders in the city, but Voight kept his team to a different schedule. Sylvie filled him in on the way her shift went, and he consoled her about the kids she'd helped. All too soon it was time for him to go into work. Sylvie was dead on her feet, and ordered herself an uber to get back to her apartment and nap.

They stood outside the diner waiting for her uber, and when it pulled up she decided to lean in and give Antonio a searing kiss in front of everyone, before saying goodbye and getting into the car. She waved leaving, and about twenty seconds later her phone beeped. Picking it up, she laughed at his text.

You are a dangerous woman, Brett. Dinner tomorrow night?

Sure, tell me when, where and the dress code.

It didn't take long to get to her apartment, and she managed to trudge up the stairs and unlock the door, firmly locking it behind her. She collapsed on her bed still in clothes, and fell sound asleep.

She woke to knocking on her door, and her name being called. "Sylvie. Sylvie. SYLVIE," Gabby called, knocking her fist against the wall.

"Huh? Wha?" She shot up, wondering what the hell was going on. Gabby laughed at her motions, calling her again.

"Sylvie, it's like one. You won't sleep tonight if you sleep much longer, you ok?"

"Yeah, fine. You just home?" Sylvie rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up.

"About an hour, stopped to get lunch. I picked up one of those strawberry chicken salad things you like, wanna come out and eat?"

Sylvie nodded, and came out to eat while stretching her limbs out. Gabby handed over the carryout container and she tucked in, the waffles from the morning basically gone already.

"What did you do then, just come home and sleep?" Gabby asked once Sylvie had stopped wolfing down her lunch and was eating more manageable bites.

"No, I went for breakfast with Antonio actually. He didn't start till nine, so we ate and then I came home and crashed. I wouldn't have woken up for dinner if you hadn't called me, thanks for that." She speared a piece of goats cheese with her fork, smiling as she pulled it out of the tangle of leaves.

"Breakfast already? Nice. Do you have plans again?"

"Yeah, we're going for dinner tomorrow, his work dependant. He said he might pull a late raid, but if it's clear then we're heading out. He still hasn't told me where though!" Gabby laughed at her words.

"I've never seen him even pretend to be romantic, this is a nice change. He's being sweet on you, good job."

They talked about nothing and everything for the next few hours, until Sylvie's phone buzzed with a text from Kelly checking her pizza preferences.

"Crap, I've gotta go. I agreed to get dinner with Kelly, he's checking what I want for pizza toppings so he's probably about to order, I better go." She grabbed her jacket and waved goodbye to Gabby, hurrying to grab an uber to Kelly and Matt's.

She arrived at the door just as the pizza guy was leaving, so Kelly welcomed her in with a smile, his hands full with the pizza boxes. Matt waved at her, opening three bottles of beer and bringing them over to the couch. The beers and pizzas were passed around, and the Bears game ended up on TV for them. Sylvie just laughed at Matt and Kelly yelling at the screen, the Bears finally looking like winning a game against the Falcons.

By the time the game was over the table was littered with beers, and Matt begged off to go to bed. He waved at Kelly, but wrapped his arms around Sylvie in a hug.

"Missed having you around, Brett. You were a good roomie, even without having your own room. If you ever need a new one, you know where we are." He let her go and went to his own room, leaving Kelly and Sylvie on the couch.

She'd stopped after beer three, and Kelly brought her a glass of water with his next bottle. They sat there watching SportsCenter until Sylvie sat up a little.

"We're buds, right Kelly? Like, we're buds and we don't have a romantic thing even considering happening, right?" Severide turned to look at her, confusion written all over his face.

"Duh. You're officially like the annoying little sister I've never had. What's going on?" He asked, taking a deep swallow from his beer.

"I've started seeing someone, and I thought you should probably know that I am. It's only new, but we're hopeful, y'know?" She smiled thinking about the few dates that had gone so well.

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Who is it, do I know them?" He was genuinely interested, but Sylvie was scared of his response when he found out.

"It's Gabby's brother, Antonio. We've been on a few dates, and after work yesterday he appeared and brought me for breakfast. I didn't blow you off, he just appeared after we swapped plans-"

"Syl, Syl, I didn't even think that, calm down. Matt and Gabby told me he went through a divorce last year, I'm just glad you're happy. Maybe don't tell Matt yet cause he has a Dawson family thing, but I'm glad for you. Are you public or anything yet?"

"Not yet. The divorce, the age difference, the we know each other's coworkers both in and out of work and his unit had to save me from being kidnapped like two weeks ago thing kinda spoiled it." Sylvie drained her glass and laughed at her own stupid joke.

"Yeah, that'd do it for sure," Kelly responded, following what she did and draining his bottle.

"Yeah. I'm beat, I'm gonna head home and crash. Thanks Kelly, I think you're my best friend in this city." She hugged him goodbye and left to head home.