Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. Some of this is a different take of Season 9 episode 2 and I give NBC and Chicago Fire full credit for the plot. I did change some things around to fit my fanfic, but I hope you all like it :)
CHAPTER 22
"Chief, any news on about 61 and the 10-1 call that came in?" Casey asked.
"No. I've been trying to get a hold of them and there's no answer." Boden replied.
"Chief, can I take 81 and try to locate them?" Casey asked.
"Go but if you can't get a location or find them, come back." Boden said.
"You got it." Casey said.
Casey took off to the common room where everyone else was hanging out.
"81 let's go!" Casey said.
"What's going on, Captain?" Mouch asked.
"Brett and Mackey called a 10-1 and then it went completely silent. No radio communication right now. Main sent us the last known location of 61. Let's go!" Casey said.
Stella, Mouch, and Gallo followed behind and once inside Truck 81, Stella drove to the last known location of 61 that was given to them.
"Ambulance 61, what is your location?" Casey asked over the radio.
Silence.
"61, do you copy?" Casey asked over the radio.
Silence.
"Casey, over there!" Stella said as she pointed to the bridge where Brett and Mackey had gone over.
"Kidd!" Casey yelled.
"I'm trying to stop." Stella told Casey.
Casey saw the ambulance and without thinking, he jumped out of the truck and ran towards the crash site. He ran down the embankment of the bridge and over to the ambulance. Brett and Mackey had just came to and were trying to get out of the ambulance. They finally managed to kick the windshield down in order to climb out. Brett climbed out first, followed by Mackey. Brett lost her footing and fell. Casey saw her fall and rushed over to her.
"Brett!" Casey yelled.
Brett stood up after catching herself and then looked at Casey. Casey then helped Mackey out of the ambulance so she wouldn't fall.
"You ok?" Casey asked as he grabbed Brett to steady her.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Mackey, are you ok?" Brett asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Mackey said.
"You're head is bleeding." Brett said.
"You have a cut on your head. You need to get that checked out." Casey told Mackey.
"What happened? Was it Halleck? Did he do this?" Casey asked.
"Yeah. Where is he? Where is he? I don't know where he is." Brett panicked.
"Is that his car over there?" Casey asked as he pointed to the car that was turned upside down.
Brett took a look at it and nodded her head.
"Yeah, that's him. That's him." Brett cried out.
As Brett walked over to see if Halleck was still in the car, the car caught on fire.
"Casey! We need to get him out of there!" Brett yelled as she ran over to the car.
"Sylvie! Wait!" Casey yelled but by then, it was too late.
Brett was already at the car and sitting on her knees to look for Halleck. Halleck was trapped inside the car and the gun was nowhere in sight. Mackey stood back, taking in the scene of the accident. She was scared but didn't want to show it.
"What are you thinking?" Mackey asked herself as she saw Brett and Casey trying to save Halleck.
"Matt, be careful. He has a gun somewhere in there." Brett said as both she and Casey looked inside the car and saw Halleck trapped.
"Where's the gun at?" Casey yelled at Halleck.
"I...I...I don't know. Get me out of here! Get me out of here!" Halleck yelled in pain.
"81, there's a gasoline fire! Get the extinguishers now!" Casey called over the radio.
Stella pulled into the crash site and Mouch, Gallo, and Stella got out of the truck. They grabbed all the extinguishers that they had on the truck and rushed over to Halleck's car.
"Mackey, get the jump bag from the truck!" Brett said as she tried to calm Halleck down.
Casey took a knife from his pocket and cut the seatbelt that Halleck was strapped into.
"Can you get out of there?" Casey asked Halleck.
Halleck tried to move, but couldn't.
"I can't get out! I can't get out! Get me out of here!" Halleck panicked.
"Stay calm. We're gonna get you out." Brett said calmly.
Casey ran to the other side and found the gun. He tossed it away from the accident and began looking for a way to help Halleck get out.
"Stop moving or you're gonna bleed to death." Brett said as she tried to keep Halleck calm.
Halleck was high on some sort of drug and he was screaming in pain. There was a piece of big glass that was inside his leg. He didn't care He managed to pull himself out and then removed the glass after being told not too. He was bleeding out.
"Get this fire put out!" Casey yelled at his crew.
They all used the extinguishers to put out the fire. Mackey came back with the jump bag.
"Mackey, we need to try to stop this bleeding." Brett said.
They tried to stop the bleeding and then another ambulance finally arrived. Brett and Mackey somehow managed to get the bleeding to stop and then helped the other paramedics get Halleck into the ambulance. They walked back over to Truck 81 where Gallo tended to Mackey's cut on her head and made sure that she was fine. Casey came over.
"Let's get you both to Med." Casey said.
"No, I'm fine." Brett said.
"Yeah, I'm fine too." Mackey replied.
"You both were just in a bad accident. Boden wants you both to go to Med to get checked out before coming back to the house." Casey said.
Brett and Mackey couldn't argue. Their head was hurting and they both had major headaches from the accident.
"Alright 81, let's head to Med." Casey yelled.
"Copy that, Captain!" Stella yelled back.
Mouch and Gallo helped Brett and Mackey into the truck and after everyone was inside, Stella drove to Med. As they arrived, they were greeted by Maggie and April.
"Hey guys, what happened?" Maggie asked, surprised to see Brett, Mackey, and the rest of 81.
"There was an accident. Can you get a doctor to look at Brett and Mackey before we take them back to the firehouse?" Casey asked.
"Sure. No problem. April, take Sylvie to Baghdad and I'll take her to Trauma 1." Maggie said, referring to Mackey.
Brett went with April and Mackey went with Maggie. Due to the pandemic, Casey and his team waited outside of the hospital for Brett and Mackey.
"What was that guy thinking?" Stella said in frustration.
"He was high on drugs. He wasn't thinking." Casey said.
"He tried to kill Brett and Mackey and who knows who else." Stella said.
"I know but the important thing is that they are alright." Casey said.
Back inside, Brett was being examined by Dr. Will Halstead.
"Any loss of vision or dizziness?" Will asked.
"No." Brett replied.
"Is there any ringing in your ears?" Will asked.
"No." Brett said.
"Nausea? Vomitting? Any symptoms of a concussion?" Will asked.
"Just a killer headache." Brett said.
"Alright, I am gonna get a CT scan just to rule out anything serious and then we'll go from there." Will said.
"Thanks, Will." Brett smiled.
April came back into the room and took Brett up to get a CT scan. Meanwhile, Dr. Natalie Manning was with Mackey.
"My name is Dr. Natalie Manning. What's your name?" Natalie asked.
"Gianna Mackey." Mackey said.
"Gianna, can you tell me what happened?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah, uh me and my partner were in an accident involving our ambulance." Mackey said.
"Alright. So I'm just gonna ask you some questions and then we are gonna get you a CT scan just to be on the safe side to rule out any other possible issues. Alright." Natalie said.
"Sounds good." Mackey answered.
"Any nausea or vomitting?" Natalie asked.
"No." Mackey replied.
"Loss of vision or dizziness?" Natalie asked.
"No." Mackey answered.
"Headaches? Ringing in the ears?" Natalie asked.
"Just an awful headache." Mackey said.
"Maggie, can you take Gianna to get a CT scan?" Natalie asked Maggie.
"You got it." Maggie said and then did as Natalie asked.
April and Brett had just returned from getting a CT scan. Will came back in shortly after and gave Brett some good news.
"Good news is there is no permanent damage but the results do show that you have a concussion. So I reccommend taking the rest of today and all of tomorrow off. If you still have a headache, come back in and we'll see what's going on. Other than that, do you have any pain anywhere else?" Will asked.
"No. Just a bit sore." Brett replied.
"Take it easy. Get some rest and other than that, I'm clearing you to return to work in two days. That means today and tomorrow you are off work. I can't tell you how many times I have to tell that to a patient because they don't listen. Got it?" Will asked.
"Got it." Brett smiled.
"Here is a prescription for medication to help you rest. Any problems, come back." Will said.
"Thanks, Will." Brett smiled.
April went to get the discharge papers so Brett could leave. After Mackey got back with her CT scan, Natalie came in shortly after and gave her the same news that Will gave Brett. Both women were to come back if they had any problems. Maggie and April came back ten minutes later with their discharge papers and they left. Casey and the others were patiently waiting outside for them when they emerged.
"So, what did the doctors say?" Stella asked as she spotted her best friend.
"We are off the rest of today and tomorrow and then we can return to work." Brett said.
"Yeah basically we just have a concussion but nothing serious." Mackey replied.
"Alright, well, let's get back to the firehouse." Casey said.
Everyone got inside the truck and Stella drove back to the firehouse. After they got back, Mouch helped Brett and Mackey out of the truck.
Boden greeted them on the apparatus floor.
"Brett. Mackey. What's the verdict?" Boden asked.
"Concussions for the both of us but we are cleared for duty the day after tomorrow." Brett said.
"Alright. Well, we can't get a new rig until tomorrow, so enjoy your time off. You've earned it but make sure you get me that incident report before shift is over. If you both wanna go home right now, that's no problem. You can fill out the incident report on your next shift." Boden said.
"I'm good to stay, Chief. I mean, we can't really do much but I'd feel useless if I went home." Brett said.
"I'm good to stay too." Mackey replied.
"Alright, well. Get some rest." Boden said as he walked away.
Brett and Mackey headed inside. Mackey went straight to the the locker room to grab her things to take a shower while Brett stayed back. Brett grabbed her makeup bag that contained a few toiletries and then she grabbed her towel. As she started to make her way to the locker room, Casey stopped her.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Casey asked.
"I'm hanging in there..." Brett said as she looked at Casey for a minute.
He gave her a look back and then she snapped out of her thoughts.
"It's funny. I climbed out of there and saw you running towards me. How did you get there so fast? I mean, I don't remember seeing the others there." she said.
"Uh, yeah, they were there." he said, hiding the fact that they were pulling in as he got there.
"It's always been you." she said before realizing she said that out loud.
He gave her a look.
"Uh, I just mean that whenever I need someone to talk to or I have something happen, you're there for me as a friend. Thanks for that." she covered.
Before Casey could say anything, Capp interrupted them and Casey had to leave. He gave her a small smile and then awkwardly walked away to go see Chief Boden. Brett looked like she had just made a complete fool of herself. She can't believe she slipped up and said that to Casey. She panicked. She went to find Stella because if anyone could calm her down over what she just did, it would be her best friend.
"Hey, so you're still good to help me with the Girls On Fire training today, aren't you?" Stella asked.
"Uh, yeah. No problem." Brett answered.
Stella knew by the tone of Brett's voice that something was wrong.
"What happened?" Stella said.
Brett pulled her into the turnout room.
"I think I told Casey that I'm in love with him." Brett said.
"You think?" Stella asked.
"I said 'it's always been you.'" Brett replied.
"That could mean a lot of things." Stella said, hoping to reassure her best friend.
"Could it though?" Brett asked.
"Is it really wrong for Casey to know how you feel about him?" Stella asked.
"Given his history, yes." Brett said.
Stella realized what Brett meant by history. It was the one person who could come between both Brett and Casey...Gabby Dawson. Gabby still played a part in their lives, even after being gone all this time.
"Oh...uh, so what are you gonna do now?" Stella asked.
"Pretend it never happened and try to forget it. I don't know what else to do." Brett said.
"If that's what you wanna do, then do it. Here's some advice though, tell him how you feel. I know that Gabby has to be brought up, but it's better to talk about it now rather than later." Stella said.
"Why are you always right?" Brett asked.
"I'm not but sometimes, I do give great advice." Stella said.
Brett and Stella gave each other a hug and then Brett went to take a shower. After the day she had, she just wanted to wash all of the thoughts from earlier away. She went to her locker, grabbed a change of clothes, and then headed to the shower. She got undressed in the women's bathroom, wrapped her towel around her and then headed to the shower. She put her clothes and towel on the bench outside of the shower, turned on the water, and then stepped into the shower. The warmth of the water hitting her body felt good. She washed her body and her hair and then just let the water hit her body as she sat down in the shower. She cried quietly in the shower, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She laid her head on top of her knees and just sat there, hoping that this was just one horrible nightmare. Stella came into the locker room and heard the water running from the shower. She walked over and saw Brett's clean clothes sitting on the bench and heard the shower running. Stella knew it was Brett.
"Hey, you ok?" Stella asked from outside the shower curtain.
"Uh, yeah...uh, can you pass me the towel on the bench?" Brett asked.
Stella grabbed the towel and then handed it to Brett. Brett dried her body off before wrapping the towel around her body and stepping out of the shower.
"Walk with me?" Brett asked as she grabbed her clothes and headed for the women's bathroom.
Stella followed behind her and Brett headed into one of the stalls in the bathroom to put her clothes on.
"How's Mackey?" Brett asked.
"She's a bit shaken up but other than that, she seems to be fine. Cruz, on the other hand, well, he's being Cruz." Stella said.
"Sounds like him. Hey, have you seen Casey?" Brett asked.
"Uh, I think he's in his office." Stella said as Brett came out fully dressed.
"Ok. I just have to ask him about the paperwork for the ambulance. Since I've been here, we haven't wrecked an ambulance." Brett said.
"You sure you're ok?" Stella asked.
Stella could tell that something was bothering Brett but Brett wouldn't say what was bothering her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit rattled from the accident. That's gotta be the worst accident I've ever been in." Brett said.
"I bet." Stella said.
Brett and Stella walked into the locker room, where Brett put her things away in her locker and put her work boots back on. I'll be there after shift. Helping with Girls On Fire will be a great distraction unless something happens and I can't make it." Brett said.
"Hey, if you wanna go home and get some rest, I can get Kelly to help." Stella said.
Brett put her hand to her head.
"On second thought, I think I'll just go home and get some rest." Brett said.
"No problem." Stella said as she gave her friend a comforting hug before leaving.
Brett stood up and headed to the bunk room to rest. The rest of shift was pretty quiet for her and Mackey. Truck, Squad, and Engine kept getting calls, but Mackey and Brett were just ready to get out of Casey, Herrmann, Boden, Severide, and the others were currently out on a call. Brett and Mackey were in the bunk room talking.
"Hey, would you get upset if I just bailed once shift is over?" Mackey asked.
"No, not at all. Most of us usually go to Molly's after shift but I may just stay home. I'm not sure yet." Brett replied.
"So, what can you tell me about Gallo?" Mackey asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, uh, I don't really know him that well. I know that he lost his family in a fire when he was younger." Brett said.
"Really?" Mackey asked.
"Yeah but I think that's his story to tell." Brett replied.
Mackey understood all too well. Mackey went to the common room to watch TV and to take her mind off of things. Thoughts of the accident kept running through Brett's head.
"I swear Matt was there before the rest of Truck." Brett told herself.
Why was she overthinking how Casey got to her first? Why was she overthinking everything? It's not like he's in love with her, or is he? Brett finally decided to finish the report on the accident and then placed it on Boden's desk after she was finished. Mackey had already finished her report while Brett was in the shower. Brett walked out of Boden's office and looked at the clock. Shift was almost over. They only had about two hours to go and she could go home. Everyone came back from the call. Casey went to Brett as soon as he saw her.
"How's the head?" Casey asked.
"Better. I'm just ready to go home." Brett said.
"Well, shift is almost over." Casey chuckled.
Brett got quiet.
"I'm gonna go check on Mackey. Can you tell Boden that the incident report from the accident is on his desk?" Brett asked.
"Yeah. Sure." Casey said.
"Thanks." Brett smiled and then left.
Brett walked into the common room and greeted Mackey.
"You alright?" Brett asked.
"Yeah." Mackey sighed.
"Look, my first day here wasn't nearly this eventful but I wanna tell you what happened to me while adjusting to a busy firehouse." Brett said.
"Alright." Mackey answered.
"So, I was on this call with my partner, Peter Mills at the time and we had gotten this call to treat a victim, who had apparently been ran over. As we were getting ready to load him onto the ambo, this car comes out of nowehere and these guys get out and kidnapped us. Now, one thing you should know about me is I'm a stickler for having alcohol pads and I left a trail of them from the car accident to the warehouse building that Mills and I were in. You see, the men got us out of the car and then managed to crash the car to make it look like we were dead. Turns out, the men needed Mills and I to save a guy's life. That was the first time I had ever been put in the position of having my life in danger. With this job, you never know what to expect and you need to be ready at any given day. That's why when Halleck pulled the gun on me, yeah, I was scared, but if I die, it's not gonna be at the hands of him. Always be prepared for anything. This job is crazy but very rewarding in the end. Remember that." Brett said.
Mackey took a minute to process what Brett had just told her.
"So, this sort of thing has happened to you before?" Mackey asked.
"Yeah but not crashing the ambulance." Brett chuckled.
Mackey chuckled.
"Thanks, I really needed to hear that." Mackey smiled.
"Anytime and hey, you did great out there. Not bad for your first shift." Brett complimented Mackey.
They continued to talk for a little while and before they knew it, it was close to shift being over.
Mackey smiled and then headed to the locker room. She grabbed her things and counted down the minutes until it was time to leave.
Meanwhile Brett paced back and forth in the bunk room with Stella and kept looking at Casey in his office.
"I still can't believe I told him that and now, I have to ride home with him. Aah, why did I have to go and say that 'it's always been you'
to Casey? Why did I just have to go and do that?" Brett frustratedly said to Stella in a quiet tone.
"Brett, calm down. That can be taken different ways and what's wrong with telling him your feelings? If it's got something to do with Gabby, then yeah, I understand, but she's gone. She left him." Stella said.
"So? Remember she randomly showed up a few months ago with no warning or anything? What happens if she did that again and I've already told him how I feel? Stella, I can't be second choice. I just can't." Brett explained.
"Just take it day by day." Stella said.
"Easy for you to say. I live with him." Brett joked.
"True." Stella said.
Brett looked at the clock and saw that shift was finally over. She headed to the common room where she saw Mackey bolt out of the firehouse in a hurry.
"Hey Brett, have you seen Mackey?" Cruz asked.
"Uh, yeah. She left as soon as shift was over." Brett said.
"I knew this was gonna happen." Cruz said.
"Hey, whatever you're thinking, don't. Mackey handled herself out there. Give her a chance." Brett said.
"Thanks, Brett." Cruz said as he left.
Cruz left to go find Mackey while Brett went to the locker room to get her things. Things were awkward with Casey and having to go home with him in the same vehicle would be even more awkward. Brett had to make a decision and fast. Maybe she could walk home or maybe she should just suck it up and ride home with Casey. Speaking of Casey, he had just finished changing clothes and was grabbing his things from his locker when Brett walked in.
"You guys going to Molly's?" Casey asked nervously, hoping Brett wouldn't pick up on it.
"Of course. We own the place. We're always there." Herrmann said.
"What about you? You up for going to Molly's tonight?" Casey asked Brett.
"Yeah, I think I might go." Brett said.
"Do you want me to wait on you?" Casey asked.
"Uh no, I think I'll ride with Stella. I know she's got the Girls On Fire Program today and I know I need to take it easy, but I can help watch the girls do their thing." Brett fibbed.
"Oh...alright, well, I guess I'll see you at home then." Casey said.
"Yeah unless Stella wants to get ready together, then you know how she gets." Brett said.
"That's true. Well, see you at Molly's then?" Casey asked.
"Uh, yeah." Brett smiled.
Casey left and then Brett grabbed her things from her locker and then started to leave.
"Hey kiddo, how you feeling?" Herrmann asked Brett.
"I'm alright. My head hurts but other than that, I'm alright." Brett said.
"If you come by Molly's, I'll let you have a free drink. You and Mackey both." Herrmann said.
"Thanks, Herrmann." Brett smiled.
Herrmann gave her a small smile and then she left. She called her insurance agency to find out when she can get her car fixed and find out what is taking so long with everything. After spending thirty minutes on the phone with them, the insurance agency gave her confirmation that her car would be fixed soon but she can go pick up a rental car that they will pay for until her car gets fixed. After hanging up the phone, she joined Stella and explained everything to her. It was about to be an interesting evening for Brett.