Hello! I don't really have anything to say until you read this chapter so let's just get into it. Settle in, it's a long one. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Nine days.

It had been nine long, endless days since Antonio had left for Puerto Rico. Nine days of Matt waiting anxiously for a phone call, keeping his phone on him at all times with the ringer on. Nine days of dread filling his gut every time he'd call Antonio, just for him to tell Matt they hadn't found anything. It was nine days of Matt holding his breath, waiting for the phone call that would hopefully bring his world back into focus, rather than a phone call that would shatter it completely.

And the wait was becoming unbearable. With each day that passed, the more his hope faded. The more he realized that whatever had happened to her had been worse than they hoped, seeing as how she hadn't been found yet. As the days kept passing, he felt himself slipping away from his reality. He did his best to focus on shift, at least while on call. He had to, or he'd endanger the lives of his men, as well as his own. But aside from those moments, he found himself daydreaming. He'd take any free moment to replay memories of him and Gabby in his mind, it was the only thing getting him through the days. Because it was better than the alternative. It was better than thinking of what happened to her, it was better than thinking of what could be happening to her at this very moment. And it was better than thinking of what might have already happened to her.

He never remembered a time in his life when he felt so helpless. Not after Hallie died, not after he and Gabby broke off their engagement, not after they had lost their first child, not even when she left him, he'd never felt this powerless before. But sitting here in his office at the firehouse, he was completely lost. He felt like he was barely functioning, like he was living his life just waiting for a phone call.

Matt knew everyone in the firehouse was worried about him. He'd heard the whispers surrounding him and Gabby since the outburst at the firehouse between him and Antonio, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that either. This was his third shift since seeking out Antonio that day, but he'd kept to himself as much as possible. Boden had pulled him aside his first shift back, but Matt gave him next to nothing as to what was happening. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to explain what had happened and have to go through every detail Antonio had given him, he couldn't handle it. Kelly had tried the hardest out of everyone to get him to open up, but Matt wouldn't budge.

Aside from Kelly and Boden, it was clear to everyone else in the house that something was going on. With the exception of calls, Matt kept himself holed up in his office, maybe appearing once a shift for food, which he'd get and then take back to his office. The door was always shut, the curtains always drawn. He'd cut himself off from the rest of them, not having any desire to be anywhere other than his office.

During last shift, they'd taken to trying to get him to talk. Whenever they'd get back from calls, they would try to start up a conversation with him before he disappeared into his office, but the Captain was having none of it, as he'd mumble something incoherent or ignore them completely before heading back to the peace and quiet he wanted.

There would be moments on shift where he'd think about going to tell them what was going on. Or at least go and tell Boden, and having him relay the message, but he ended up talking himself out of it. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know, he just didn't have the energy to tell them. He didn't have the desire to stand there and be bombarded with questions. Not when it would do nothing to help Gabby.

So he'd taken to staying cooped up in his office, working on paperwork when necessary, but other than that his mind was filled with thoughts of her. It was the only thing that brought him any relief right now. And the hope he'd soon be making new memories with her. That's what he was holding onto. It was the only thing keeping him afloat.

"Hey man."

Matt jumped in his chair as Kelly's voice filled the small room, Casey turning to face him as he saw his friend standing in the now open doorway. He had no idea how long Kelly had been standing there, he hadn't heard if he knocked or heard when the door opened.

"Hi." Matt said, clearing his throat after he spoke.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine." Matt replied shortly, turning his body back to face his desk, making himself busy with the stack of paperwork in front of him. As he ran his eyes over the papers, he could feel Kelly's gaze on him. While he hoped Severide would leave him be, it was becoming clear that wasn't going to happen.

"I talked to Antonio."

Matt's eyes flew open, as he spun around quickly in his chair, finding Kelly in the same spot against the door.

"What'd he say? Did they find her?" His voice was rushed and panicked, Matt standing up before Kelly had a chance to respond.

"He told me nothing's changed since you called him," Kelly watched as Matt's hopeful demeanor deflated in an instant, the broken man seemingly cracking more, slumping down into his seat. "Why didn't you tell me about what's going on?"

"I just-" Casey's mouth went dry at the thought of having to explain everything. He didn't know what to say, and thankfully Kelly sensed that.

"You don't have to go through this alone, Casey."

"I'm not what's important here, Severide." He spoke bitterly, releasing a sigh of frustration.

"Yeah, you're right. But that doesn't mean this doesn't affect you," Kelly reasoned, "it doesn't mean you have to deal with this by yourself."

"I'm sorry Severide, but I really don't need whatever pep talk you're trying to give." Matt snapped, his hard glare finding Kelly's eyes. "I don't give a shit about how this is affecting me. It doesn't matter. None of this matters, the only thing that matters is Gabby." His anger was rising with each word, but Severide said nothing. He knew every emotion Matt had been holding in was now getting ready to burst.

"How I'm feeling is the last thing that matters." He spoke, anger rolling through his body in waves. "I shouldn't even be here right now, having this conversation with you. I shouldn't be in Chicago, I shouldn't have been here these last five months. I should've been with Gabby, I should've been with my wife!" He cried out, pushing roughly on the arms of the chair as he threw himself up, the object banging into the wall as Matt came face to face with Kelly. "I shouldn't have been here, and I sure as hell shouldn't be here now! I should be with Antonio in Puerto Rico, looking for her. But instead I'm here, and none of it fucking matters!" He shouted, his emotions finally boiling over.

"Then why aren't you in Puerto Rico?" Kelly asked simply after giving Matt a second to calm down, his voice remaining steady. He knew he wasn't the reason for Matt's anger, the broken man just had no other outlet for it.

Kelly wasn't expecting the bitter laugh that fell from Matt's lips as he took a step back towards his desk. "Antonio didn't think my presence would be helpful. He thought I'd be too much of a distraction."

"Is he right?"

There were a few moments of silence, Kelly seeing Matt's defensive and angry demeanor beginning to falter.

"...I don't know, maybe." Matt said softly, his hand coming up to rub across his temple. Kelly watched him carefully, trying to figure out where his head was at. "I just don't get how me being here does anything, how would me being out there, looking for her, be a bad thing?" Matt asked helplessly, trying to gather his emotions.

"I need her back, Kelly." He said quietly after a moment, his voice laced in desperation. "I need to know she's okay... I need to see her. I need her to come home."

Kelly took a deep breath, his eyes locked on the shattered man in front of him, trying to gather his thoughts before saying anything. He knew Matt was searching for answers, that he was looking for someone to tell him the right thing to do. And the last thing Kelly wanted to do was make things worse.

"Antonio's gonna find her." Severide settled on, putting a comforting hand on Casey's shoulder. "You know that he won't give up till he finds her."

After a few seconds, Casey nodded in agreement.

"I know, it's just-" He cleared his throat, trying to stabilize his voice, "I can't just sit here and do nothing. I should be one of the people out there looking for her, she deserves as many people looking for her as possible. If it were me, I know she'd be out there looking. How can I not do the same for her?"

"Then go."

Matt furrowed his eyebrows, Kelly's words sinking in slowly.

"Go to Puerto Rico, help Antonio and the others look for her." Kelly said once he saw Matt's reaction. "If that's where you think you should be, go."

Matt opened his mouth to respond, but before he could the bells sounded throughout the house, calling Truck, Squad, and Ambo to an office building fire.

"Casey, you gotta get out of there, the smokes turning black." Chief called through the radio, Severide standing outside on the pavement beside him. They'd finished their initial sweep, squad having just gotten out, and the majority of truck having gotten out as well. As far as they could tell, they had managed to get to everyone, but the fire was spreading fast. The building was sure to go up within moments, and the window was closing for a safe exit.

"On it, Chief." He spoke, walking quickly down the hallway back to the stairs as the fire licked his back. He could feel the heat rising around him, as walls of fire surrounded him on either side. "Truck 81, everyone out?" Casey questioned through the radio. He had been with Kidd, but he'd sent her out with the last victim a few minutes ago. He needed to make sure his men were safely outside before he left.

"Everyone's out Casey, get yourself out here. It's not looking good." Boden replied back instantly, Casey pushing open the door to the stairs.

Outside, Boden and Severide watched the building with worry, seeing how black the smoke was getting, and how the fire seemed to only be intensifying. It didn't sit well, knowing one of their own was still in there.

Their worst fears came to light when a loud explosion blew out the windows on the top floor, a large flash of light bursting throughout the new openings in the building, black smoke barreling into the sky.

"Casey!" Boden called through the radio, knowing his Captain was coming from the top floor.

Casey heard his name being called, as he grunted back into consciousness. He found himself pressed against the far wall in the stairwell, his ears ringing as he blinked his eyes into focus. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but from his surroundings he figured it couldn't have been more than a minute, at most.

Adrenaline pumped through his body, running through his system wildly as he suddenly felt a searing pain in his left arm. Propping himself up against the wall, his eyes widened as he saw fire burning over his gear, the flames dancing across his arm and part of his leg. He quickly patted against the fire, ignoring the pain the pressure against his arm was causing. He could worry about injuries later, right now he had to focus on getting the fire out.

As the flames disappeared, his slightly unfocused vision saw how the sleeve of his turnout coat was slid halfway up his forearm, leaving his skin exposed, aside from the thin long sleeve shirt he'd been wearing.

Ignoring the excruciating pain making itself known, he used the wall to push himself up. His entire body was sore, his muscles screaming at him to sit back down, but he couldn't. Finally able to look at his surroundings, he saw that the wall that had previously separated the top floor of the office building from the stairwell was now partially gone, the structural integrity having taken a substantial hit. Matt knew he was lucky to have been partially hidden behind the closing door when the explosion happened, cause while the force of the blast had sent him flying into the opposite wall, he couldn't imagine the damage that would've be done had he not had the cover.

"Casey!" Boden yelled, Matt only now registering his voice again. He wasn't sure how long the Chief had been calling for him, but he knew he needed to make it known that he was okay, relatively.

"I'm good Chief," he coughed out, bracing himself against the wall as he started the descent down the flights of stairs.

The men left outside released a collective breath in relief, happy to hear the voice of their leader.

"Severide's on his way to help, are you injured?"

"I'm good." He spoke again, willing the dizziness away as he continued his path down the steps. His head was spinning, clearly having taken a good hit, more so than he initially realized. But he could worry about that later, right now he just needed to get out of here.

"Casey!" Matt felt hands on his sides, steading him. He looked up, seeing Kelly standing in front of him, holding him up. "Let's get you out of here." He said quickly, wrapping Casey's arm over his shoulders, putting his own arm around Matt's waist to support him as they made their way down the stairs. Kelly knew they didn't have much time, they all knew it was a matter of time before there was another explosion, or worse, the structural integrity being so damaged that the building collapsed in on itself. Severide had no interest in him or Casey still being in this building when either, or both, of those things happened, so he worked to get them out as quickly as possible.

He could tell Casey was labored, if anything he had gotten his bell rung pretty good. But he saw the firefighter cradling his left arm towards his chest, and he noticed the slight limp in his step. While Kelly was certain the outcome could've been much more severe, he knew Casey hadn't gotten out unscathed.

"We're almost there, buddy." Severide told him, and with every step he could feel Casey supporting more of his own weight. He was now more aware of his surroundings and more able to carry himself as they reached the exit.

When their bodies came in contact with the fresh air, Matt ripped his mask off, desperately breathing in the clean air while Severide led him to the ambulance. Matt saw the gurney now within his reach, as his body collapsed down onto it. He was handed a bottle of water by Foster, as he placed his mask and helmet down on the bed next to him.

"You alright?" Boden asked, Matt feeling the eyes of 51 on him.

"I'm good, just a little banged up."

"Let Brett check you over, make sure nothing's wrong."

"Chief, that's not-" The look Boden gave him shut him up, as he downed a few gulps of the water.

It didn't take long for Brett to find the burn covering his arm, the blonde paramedic grimacing as she moved his sleeve up his arm.

"Chief," she called him over, Matt eyeing her before looking down at his arm. He had to admit, it looked pretty bad. "He's got a second degree burn here, and part of his shirt has burned into his skin. This needs to be cleaned, we should take him to Med."

"Do it."

"Chief-"

"This is not negotiable, Casey. Go to Med, get treated. As soon as you get back to the house, come to my office." He ordered before walking away, leaving no room for argument. Blowing out a sigh, Matt stood up, giving Brett and Foster the chance to put the bed in the back before Matt climbed in the ambulance, setting himself back down as Brett climbed in with him, Foster shutting the doors.

During the ride, Brett checked over everything else, wanting to make sure she didn't miss any other injuries. While they were driving, she decided to try and get Matt to open up, figuring this was as good a time as any to figure out where his head was at. But before even opening her mouth she could tell he wasn't fully present.

"How have you been lately, Casey?" She asked, Matt finally meeting her eye.

"Fine." He said shortly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He said sharply, his eyes narrowing. Brett knew she was treading into dangerous terrain in this conversation, but her curiosity was too high.

"Is there something going on? With Gabby?" His features tensed as the words left her mouth, his lips pursing together. "It's just- with Antonio being here, and Chief kept asking if we've heard from her, I figured something had to be going on."

"It doesn't concern you." He spoke firmly before she could continue, Brett sighing.

"But if there is-"

"It doesn't concern you, Brett." He spoke louder, his voice cold as the ambulance came to a stop outside Med. He stood up, pushing open the back doors before Foster had the chance to even get out of the driver's seat.

"I'll be back once they clean this up." He said, keeping his back turned to her, jumping down from the ambulance, his body language and attitude a sure sign that he didn't need them coming in with him.

An hour and a half later, Matt walked into the firehouse, his arm covered in a fresh bandage, an old CFD shirt covering his body as his other one had to be thrown away. He saw the worried eyes of his firehouse family looking to him, but he waved them off. "I'm fine guys." Was all that was said as he made a beeline for Boden's office.

The Chief waved him in the second he saw him, Matt closing the door behind him after he entered.

"How's the arm?"

"Brett was right, it's a second degree burn. They got it cleaned, I just have to make sure to change the dressings." Boden nodded, looking over his Captain. While he looked a little worse for wear, he seemed to be okay. Or, as okay as he'd been lately.

Crossing his hands on the desk in front of him, Boden leaned forward, Matt watching his movements with a curios eye.

"I want you to take some time off, Casey." Matt opened his mouth to protest, but Boden raised his hand, signaling the man to stay quiet. "I don't doubt you're okay after the call today, but something has been off with you. And I know it has to do with Dawson," Matt tensed as her name rang throughout the room, "and your reaction to me just saying her name only reassures me of that."

"Look Casey, I don't need to know what's going on, but clearly there is something. And I don't feel comfortable having you out on calls right now." Matt again opened his mouth to argue, but this time shut it on his own accord, letting Boden's words sink in. "I think you need to take some time and get your head on straight."

Casey sat there in silence for a moment, Boden giving him all the time he needed before responding.

"Okay." He whispered out, lacking the energy to fight Boden on this. Though Boden was initially shocked that Casey gave in so easily, that only further assured him he was doing the right thing.

"Call me in a few days, we'll see how you're doing then." With nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement, Casey stood up and went for the door, leaving the room without another word.

He walked down the hallway, past the common room where concerned eyes followed him until he disappeared out of their view. As he was standing in the locker room gathering his things, he heard someone walk in, Matt looking up to see Kelly standing a few feet in front of him.

"You good?"

Matt nodded, putting his bag over his shoulder as he shut his locker. "Chief's ordering me to take some time off, get my head straight."

"Might not be the worst thing in the world." Kelly agreed, Matt giving him a look before nodding slightly.

"Yeah, maybe." Matt started walking past him, before Kelly turned to stop him.

"With what we talked about earlier, where are you with that?" Kelly asked curiously, Matt staring off into space absentmindedly for a moment before answering.

"I don't know. I guess that's what this time off will help me figure out."

Antonio wiped the sweat from his brow as he walked into the small police station. In the days they'd been here, the team had set up home base inside a local station in San Juan. As expected, there was no resistance from authorities here once they explained their situation, and they promised they'd help as much as they could. The local authorities were so thankful for all the help the task forces provided during their rebuild, and hearing that someone who was only here to help had gotten into some trouble, they were more than eager to do whatever was needed to aid in finding her. But unfortunately for them, gang violence was nothing but a commonality here as of late, so that alone didn't give them much to work with. Without any names, it was hard for them to investigate much into the incident.

Their first day here, Antonio and Voight had met up with Chief Hatcher, trying to get as much information out of him as possible. But as Antonio had suspected, he didn't have much else to say aside from what he'd already told the detective. While Hatcher and the crew had run-ins with the gang before the day of the incident, they'd had no other push back since that day. And with no one in the task force knowing which gang it was, or knowing any members by name, it was practically impossible for them to get anything useful from the altercation.

While Antonio didn't know exactly what to expect from being here in Puerto Rico, it was quickly apparent that they had next to nothing in leads. There was nothing that showed them where she went, or worse, where she was taken. None of the other paramedics in her task force knew where she was, and none of them had heard from her since the day she left work.

Being here was proving to be more frustrating than Antonio originally thought. He wouldn't stop until he found out what happened to her, that he was certain of. But since they arrived, it was nothing but dead end after dead end. They were running out of leads to look into, they were running out of people to speak to who may have some idea of what happened to her. With each passing day, he was becoming less and less hopeful that they'd ever find out where she was.

It was their second day here when he and Voight went to check out her apartment, and that day showed to be more challenging that he thought. All of her things had been bagged and tagged as evidence, so he wouldn't find it in the state it'd been left in, but when he stood outside the front door, he couldn't help but picture what might've happened to her inside that apartment.

When he walked in through the newly replaced door, his breath caught in his throat as he looked around the apartment. While her things had been collected, the furniture hadn't yet been put back in place. Aside from fixing the front door, the building owner had been instructed to leave the apartment be, seeing as how it was now part of an open investigation.

He wasn't sure how he was going to feel, walking into her home for the first time, but he was not expecting the chill he felt that ran through his body. This place didn't feel like a home, it felt oddly impersonal. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that all of her things had been removed, or if it was how she never should've been here in the first place. Or maybe it was because he knows her home had been invaded. Maybe it was a mixture of all three, he couldn't quite pinpoint exactly why he was feeling like this. But all he did know was the sight of the overturned furniture made his stomach flip, feeling bile rise in his throat. Seeing the shattered glass of the coffee table, it's wooden frame bent. Seeing every part of her home ransacked made his chest tighten. Based on what he was feeling currently in this apartment, he could only imagine the feelings Gabby had while her home was being torn apart. He could only imagine the fear that ran through her, and it made him sick. He never wanted his baby sister to feel that kind of pain.

It was safe to say that they weren't able to find anything from her apartment, and once they exited the building, Antonio never wanted to go back there. That same day, they had gone through her things that were now evidence, but those didn't give them much insight either. It was one of the first dead ends they'd had, but at the time they had no idea just how many setbacks they'd have in their short amount of time here.

Experiencing the failures and setbacks first hand was bad enough, but every day when he'd have to get on the phone to call Casey, and explain, again, that they hadn't found anything, it somehow made the sinking feeling in his gut worse. Knowing just how hard they were searching, but they kept coming up empty. And to keep having the same depressing conversation every day with Casey was only making things harder. He knew he couldn't ignore Matt's calls, that would only make the man more frantic, and Antonio really didn't want to ignore them. But having to say it out loud, that they were no closer to finding her, and then hearing the desperate pleas and exasperated cries of why they couldn't find her, it was making the situation nearly unbearable.

Part of him wishes he allowed Matt to come with them. Even though he stands by his reasoning, he also would be fine never having to call Matt again with the bad news that they were unable to find anything. But somehow, Antonio knew that as bad as the phone calls were, having Matt here in person, seeing first hand just how little information they had, would be ten times worse.

So he made sure to keep Matt in the loop as much as possible, as promised. He told him every lead they'd explored, and the subsequent dead end that always followed. He knew Casey was frustrated and upset, and the man never bothered hiding those feelings, but he hoped Casey knew just how hard he was working. That he wasn't going to stop until he found out what happened. So every day he continued to call Matt, giving him any information he had, and telling him of his plans for the next day, and what his next steps were in trying to find her.

The last few days, Antonio had spent his waking hours following up any new area of investigation he could think of. He'd taken to asking around to different task forces, to other people here to help the rebuild who might have had a run-in with Gabby, even if there was no proof of them ever even meeting her. But as he predicted, those conversations were another dead end. While some of them knew who she was, they only saw each other on rare occasion. It was another lead that led him nowhere.

No one knew where she was, that was obvious. And Antonio didn't know where to go from here.

Matt paced around the living room, his cell phone sitting silently on the coffee table, the image almost taunting him. He had yet to get a call from Antonio today, and it was causing his anxiety to skyrocket. Normally, with it only being a little after seven in the evening, he wouldn't think much of it. Antonio had usually kept to waiting until the later hours of the night before calling, not wanting to call before he ended his day. But with Matt having been sitting aimlessly around his empty apartment for the last couple of hours, he found himself going stir crazy. He needed to know if they'd found anything. He needed to know if anything had changed.

He continued to lap the confines of his living room, ignoring the twinge of soreness he'd feel shoot through his thigh every time he turned too quickly, ignoring the sharp pain that would travel down his left arm every time he involuntarily clenched his fists that were hanging at his sides. The occasional discomfort kept his mind from wandering too far, as he kept his senses alert, waiting for the moment the phone would ring.

Glancing back towards his phone one more time, a scoff escaped between his lips, before he changed his path and headed towards his bedroom.

He refused to sit around and wait any longer. He didn't care what Antonio thought, he wasn't going to stand back and just wait for something to happen, not anymore. Gabby deserved more than that, she deserved more from him.

He stomped his way into the half empty closet, pulling out a small suitcase from under a row of his shirts. Ignoring the rush of pain that surged through his arm as he picked up the case, he walked back into the bedroom, throwing it onto the bed. He quickly went to his dresser, pulling out random articles of clothing. He couldn't bring himself to care about which clothes he picked out, that didn't matter. What did matter was him not sitting around here wasting another second, when he could be out there looking for her.

After haphazardly tossing the clothes into his suitcase, he walked the short distance to the bathroom, lazily grabbing for a few things to hold him over until he got there. The longer it took him to get packed, the more frustrated he found himself becoming. Frustrated that this packing was seemingly taking forever. Frustrated that he hadn't ignored Antonio the first time and flown to Puerto Rico himself nine days ago. Frustrated that he didn't go with her in the first place, frustrated the he let his pride get in the way of their relationship. He was frustrated with it all.

The blaring ringtone coming from his cell phone broke him out of his packing haze, Casey running out into the living room as quickly as he could. Collapsing down onto the couch, he grabbed his phone, seeing Antonio's contact lighting up the screen.

"Hello?" He answered frantically.

"Casey, hey."

"Did you find anything? Did you find her?"

This was how all their conversations had started since Antonio left, and just like every other one, Antonio answered with a sigh.

"No, nothing yet."

Matt hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees as his free hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the pounding headache making its presence known in his skull.

"You haven't found anything? At all?" He asked softly, the desperation in his voice making itself known.

"Nothing you don't already know…" Antonio trailed off, Casey sighing. "I spent the day asking around to different people from other task forces, thinking they may have spoken with Gabby in the past," Antonio started to explain, knowing the next words out Matt's mouth would be asking him what their current plan of action was. "I was hoping that someone might know something, that she might've reached out to someone for help, but we came up empty." Matt sat still for a moment, digesting the information.

"What do we do now?"

"I...I don't know Matt."

Matt felt his chest tighten at Antonio's words, intaking a sharp breath of air.

"I'm not gonna stop Matt, tomorrow we're gonna regroup and figure out where to go from here. But I'm not giving up."

"I know you aren't." Matt replied, taking a deep breath as he stood up from the couch. "I'm coming."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm coming to Puerto Rico."

"Matt-"

"No Antonio," he said defiantly, "I did what you asked, I sat back and let you all handle it. But we still haven't found her. Whatever you were worried about me getting in the way of, that doesn't matter anymore. Not when it's been over a week and we're no closer to finding her. I'm not sitting back anymore, I'm coming to help look for her."

"Casey-"

"She would do the same for me and you know it. I can't just sit here and wait, not anymore." He paused to take a breath. "I know you don't want me to come, but I'm not asking."

Antonio remained silent for a moment, Matt's chest heaving up and down as he tried to normalize his breathing.

"Okay." He gave in, a small smile coming to Matt's face. "Text me when you land, I'll send you the address of where we are."

"I will. See you soon, Antonio."

With one last goodbye, the men hung up, Matt sliding his phone into his back pocket as he started the walk back towards the bedroom. He was barely a foot inside before he heard knocking on the back door. Cursing under his breath, he waited a moment, hoping the person would go away. He knew it wasn't anyone from the firehouse, they were still on shift. And unless it was a neighbor, there was only one person he could think of who it might be, and he was sure he didn't want to be speaking to them tonight.

Nearly a minute passed and he thought he was safe, until the soft tapping on the glass sounded throughout the silent apartment again. Releasing a huff, he rubbed his temples before beginning the path to the back door. He was intent on telling her to go away.

But as he rounded the kitchen island, he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked towards the door. It felt like the wind got knocked out of him, like he couldn't remember how to breathe. His mind was playing tricks on him, it had to be. There was no way he was seeing things clearly.

He closed his eyes tightly, rubbing over his eyelids as he tried to clear his mind. But when he opened his eyes, they were still there. They weren't part of his imagination. They were real, she was real.

She brought her hand up, waving softly, further assuring him he wasn't going insane. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he carefully walked towards the door, refusing to take his eyes off her in fear she'd disappear again.

When he got to the door, he reached for the handle, opening it slowly, watching as a soft smile fell onto her lightly bruised face. He stood silently, watching as her healing busted lip fell between her teeth, the gentle wind of the cold November night blowing her hair over her shoulders. He slowly blinked again, opening his eyes to find her still planted directly in front of him, her chest rising and falling with each slow breath she took. But it wasn't until her soft voice filled his ears, that he finally believed what he was seeing.

"Hi Matt."