*Author's Not* This story does incorporate some parts from the March 4, 2020 episode of Chicago Fire and I give full credit to NBC and Chicago Fire. I do not own the storyline that they used but I did borrow and changed a few things. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've had several family issues I've been dealing with lately. I have read the reviews and I appreciate them so much! Please continue to leave reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

CHAPTER 7

Brett opened the door to Casey, who was standing there with Brett's duffel bag.

"Here's your bag. I think you might need it." Casey laughed.

Brett chuckled.

"Yeah, I do." Brett smiled.

"So, have you heard from Julie?" Casey asked.

"No." Brett quickly answered.

"So, what color suit should I wear to the wedding? I wanna match with you." Casey chuckled.

Brett laughed.

"I'll let you know closer to the wedding." Brett giggled.

"Sounds good. I'll pick you up tomorrow before shift to see Mr. Larson, then." Casey noted.

"I'll be ready." Brett smiled.

Casey smiled back and then left. Brett stood in the doorway watching Casey walk down the hall to the steps with a huge smile on her face. Once he was out of her sight, she walked back into her apartment and closed the door. She was too giddy. There was something about Casey that made her smile and feel good about herself. Unlike her past relationships, she felt safe and secure with Casey, even as friends. It's the safest she's ever felt but a part of her just couldn't stop thinking that maybe there was a chance that Gabby and maybe Antonio, would show up at Cruz's wedding. A few days later, Brett met Julie at a restaurant for breakfast.

"So tell me a little about yourself. Like, what's your favorite movie or song?" Julie asked.

"I love La La Land. I've watched it about a hundred times or more." Brett answered.

"Me too." Julie smiled.

They talked a little bit before Brett headed to the firehouse for her shift. During the morning briefing before shift started, Boden went over a list of things that he needed done but was a bit cranky due to the diet that Donna, his wife, had placed him on. Lucky for Brett, Ambulance 61, Truck 81, and Squad 3 all got called out onto a call before Boden really went off. When they came back from shift, Casey and Severide were on odds. They had disagreed about how to handle a call. Brett, Stella, and Foster just laughed.

"Men. Can't live with them. Can't live without them." Stella laughed.

They laughed and headed inside where they were greeted by Lily, Otis's former girlfriend.

"Lily!" Brett squealed in excitement.

Brett, Foster, and Stella gave Lily a hug.

"We've missed you!" Stella said.

"I know. I'm sorry I haven't been around much. It's just when Brian died, I..." Lily trailed off.

"We get it. How have you been?" Brett asked.

"It's taken me a long time to accept that Brian wasn't coming home to me." Lily explained.

"Hey, you're one of us and always will be. You always have a home here." Stella said.

"I know. Herrmann told me the same thing." Lily giggled.

"He's right, you know." Foster said.

Lily's phone rang. It was a text message.

"I hate to cut things short, but I have to go. Let's meet up at Molly's one night this week and catch up." Lily said.

"Absolutely." Foster said.

Lily gave them a hug and then left. While Foster and Stella hung out in the common room, Brett was in the bunk room looking at two baby pictures of her with Julie right after she was born.

"Hey." Casey said.

"Hey. Are you ok?" Brett asked.

"I don't know. I can't shake this call. I mean, what if that woman was still alive and nearby somewhere? I could have given Severide and Squad a few minutes to check and make sure no one was there, but I didn't." Casey said.

"Yeah but if had and he didn't find anything, he would have kept searching until he got swept away by the tides coming in or worse. You did the right thing.
Don't be so hard on yourself." Brett said.

"That woman was so young." Casey said.

"Matt, you did what you thought was best. You assessed the situation and all the possible outcome and made your decision based on the temperature of the water, the weather, everything." Brett explained.

Casey sighed.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over this but the fact that you do that, well, that just makes you a great person and a great captain." Brett smiled.

"Thanks. I appreciate the compliment." Casey chuckled.

"It's not a compliment. It's the truth." Brett smiled.

"What do you have there?" Casey asked.

"You wanna see?" Brett asked with a smile.

"Sure." Casey replied.

Brett handed him the two pictures.

"No." Casey teased.

"Yep. Julie gave them to me when we had breakfast." Brett chuckled.

"Well that was nice of her." Casey smiled.

"That was the day I was born. Go figure." Brett smiled.

"That's pretty cute. I mean, you were a cute baby and you're still cute today." Casey teased.

"Cute?" Brett asked jokingly.

They both chuckled.

"The fact that I was in the arms of a teen mother still shocks me but I guess I'm one of the lucky ones that got adopted into a great family." Brett said.

"How are things going with the two of you?" Casey asked.

"Good but I don't wanna get too close. There's always that possibility of her leaving and I don't want to get close. Plus, her husband gives me bad vibe that I can't shake but I don't want to say anything just yet." Brett said.

"I get it. That's how I felt when Gabby came back for that gala." Casey said.

"What happened?" Brett asked.

"It brought up bad feelings and if you hadn't pushed me into going to the gala, I wouldn't have gotten closure for myself. I can't speak for Gabby but I can speak for myself and I feel like that chapter in my life has completely closed." Casey explained.

"So, if she were to show up at Cruz's wedding, you wouldn't be tempted to give her another chance if she asked you?" Brett questioned.

That's a question that Casey wasn't ready to hear. He didn't know how to answer that. A part of him thought about it several times but he could never answer the question. The truth is, he always had a special place for Gabby in his heart but she hurt him so badly and it took Brett's friendship and kindness to help him get over the damage that Gabby had done.

"I might be. I don't know. She and I hooked up the last time she was in town and although it was closure for me, it might not have been closure for her. I haven't seen or heard from her since that night." Casey explained.

"That's understandable." Brett said.

"You're still going to be my date to Cruz's wedding, aren't you?" Casey asked.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Casey." Brett teased.

They both chuckled and after talking, Casey went back to his office. The rest of the day went by pretty fast, surprisingly. They only had two calls the whole entire shift. After shift had ended, Brett was at Molly's with her birth mother, Julie. Casey came in and Stella nearly bit his head off because of the diet that she agreed to do with Boden.

"Hey, is Kelly around?" Casey asked Stella.

"What do I look like?" Stella hatefully said.

"Sorry for asking." Casey said.

"Sorry, it's this stupid diet." Stella said.

"I get it." Casey said.

"Hey Casey, you see who Brett's with?" Stella said as she pointed in Brett's direction.

"Is that..." Casey started to ask.

"...her birth mother? Yeah, it is." Stella said as she finished Casey's question.

Casey made eye contact with Brett, who happily smiled and motioned for him to come over to her and Julie. He walked over with a small smile on his face.

"Matt, this is my birth mother, Julie. Julie, this is Captain Matt Casey." Brett said as she introduced the two of them.

Julie took notice of how Brett and Casey were looking at each other. The three of them chatted for a bit before Julie received a phone call from her husband,
Scott.

"Excuse me, I have to take this." Julie said as she excused herself.

"You two seem to be getting close." Casey said.

"Just trying to get to know each other. That's all." Brett said.

Before Casey could speak, Julie returned.

"I'm sorry to have to cut this short but I'll see you tomorrow before I leave to go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomorrow." Brett smiled.

Julie smiled and then left, leaving Brett and Casey alone together.

"So you guys are meeting up tomorrow?" Casey asked.

"Yeah. She said she wants to talk to me about something. I have no idea what it could be about." Brett said.

"How do you feel about that?" Casey asked.

"I don't know. I guess I'll find out tomorrow." Brett said.

They talked for a bit before leaving Molly's.

"I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow." Brett smiled.

"Alright. See you later." Casey smiled back.

They left and they both headed home. The next morning while waiting at a restaurant for Julie, Brett started to wonder if she really wanted to get close to her birth mom. Julie arrived with her husband, Scott.

"Sylvie, this my husband Scott. Scott, this is Sylvie." Julie said as she introduced them to each other.

"So, Julie tells me you are a paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department." Scott said.

"I am. I've been with them for about five or six years now." Brett said.

"What made you decide to be a paramedic?" Julie asked.

"That's easy. I love helping people and if I can save the life of a person, then I know that I've helped that person and their family." Brett said.

It was partially the truth. The rest of the reason for why she became a paramedic was due to the fact that she was adopted and felt abandoned by her birth mother. Now that she knows why Julie gave her up, she is still afraid of getting close to her because she's afraid that Julie will leave her again.

"So, we have some news to share with you." Julie said.

"Ok." Brett said curiously.

"Scott and I are thinking about moving to Chicago. The main office to his job is here in Chicago and we have been discussing the possibility of moving here and if we do, that would give us a chance to get to know each other but of course, with your boundaries. I don't want to come between you and your family." Julie said.

Brett was thrown. She wasn't ready to have Julie come to Chicago but she didn't really have a choice.

"We know this is a lot to take in, but Julie really wants to get to know you." Scott said.

"I understand. I'm just a little in shock. That's all." Brett said.

"So, how long have you and Matt been dating?" Julie asked.

That threw Brett off. Was it obvious that she had a little crush on Casey?

"Oh, we're not dating. He's just a good friend. He recently lost his apartment in a fire, so he is staying with one of the other guys in the firehouse until he finds another apartment but we are just friends." Brett rambled on.

"Are you sure there's nothing more going on between the two of you? I see the way he looks at you." Julie said.

Brett wondered what Julie meant by that. They continued to chat for a little while and then Scott and Julie left the restaurant, while Brett stayed back for a bit. After taking in everything that Julie and Scott told her, she paid for her breakfast and left. After driving home, she went inside her apartment, changed clothes, grabbed her iPod and keys, and went for a long walk around the block. Casey just happened to be down the street working on a client's roof when he spotted Brett walking down the street, not paying attention to anything. He smiled, watching her walk by in deep thought. He realized that she was supposed to meet Julie this morning. Brett was ready to scream. She made it all the way down the street and around the block before she stopped. She dialed a phone number and listened to the phone ring.

"Hello?" a woman's voice asked.

"Hey mom. How are you and dad?" Brett asked.

"We're good. Sylvie, sweetie, is something wrong?" her mom asked.

"I have something to tell you and dad. It's about my birth mother." Brett said.

"What is it?" her mom asked.

"I don't want you to be mad or upset with me but she reached out to me and made contact. I have a lot of questions mom, and she's the only one who can answer them." Brett said.

"Sweetheart, your dad and I told you when you were eighteen that if you wanted to find her or wanted to reach out to her, you have our support. Sweetheart, if you need to meet her and have your questions answered, we won't be upset." her mom said.

"That's just it. I've already met her. I have so many questions for her and she and her husband told me that they are moving to Chicago." Brett said.

"How do you feel about that?" her mom asked.

"No matter what happens, you will always be my mom and I love you and dad so much. I'm not sure what's going to happen but I need answers, mom." Brett said.

"Honey, if that's what you want, then your dad and I support you. We have to go but you can always call us anytime. We love you, sweetheart." her mom said.

"I love you, too." Brett said as she and her mom said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Brett could finally breathe a little bit. A big weight had been lifted off of her shoulder and she felt at peace.