Oh boy, we've officially got our longest chapter yet. Have fun!

Chapter Sixteen

Severide stared helplessly down the hallway as members of 51 sat in the waiting room a couple yards away from him, his eyes staying glued to the entrance of the room he knew Casey was in. April had come and spoken to them moments ago, saying they were running tests, and that he was in good hands; everything Kelly knew nurses said when they didn't have any information to give.

Squad and Truck had only been at the hospital for maybe ten minutes. The minute they rushed in, Brett and Foster updated them on Matt's condition. How his vitals were stable in the ambo, but he never regained consciousness. How they didn't find anything that might explain the state he was in. How the second they'd got there, Dr. Rhodes had whisked him away into a room, not having come out since.

But Kelly kept his gaze on the room, somehow feeling that if he kept looking, it would give him information faster. Deep down, he knew it wouldn't do anything. But it made him feel better.

As he stood there stoically, his eyes suddenly widened in realization. He wasn't sure what made him think of it, or why he suddenly remembered, but it was like his mind cleared from the haze it was in and he could only think of one thing.

Gabby.

"Shit." Kelly muttered, cursing himself for momentarily forgetting. For going this long since Matt got hurt to think of calling her. With one last glance to Matt's room, he took the few short steps to the waiting room, walking through the crowd of firefighters as he made his way to Boden.

"Have you called Dawson?" Severide asked, the Chief's face remaining neutral before shaking his head side to side. "Alright, I'm gonna call her, let her know what's going on." The Lieutenant spoke, pulling his phone from his pocket. He didn't want to keep this from Gabby any longer than he had already, but he knew he had one other call to make first.

He went to his contacts, finding the person he was looking for, putting the phone to his ear as it started ringing. He walked to the back of the waiting room, seeing a few eyes on him as he passed his coworkers.

"Hello?"

"Antonio, it's Kelly." He saw more members of the firehouse look to him as he spoke.

"Severide. What's going on? Everyone okay?" Kelly heard the nervousness in the man's tone.

"We're at med... Matt got hurt on our last call." Kelly spoke as steadily as he could.

"Is he gonna be okay? Did you call Gabby?"

"I don't know anything on his condition yet, just that they're running tests. I found him passed out on the top floor, he was by himself so no one saw what happened. And I'm about to call her… I wanted to call you first, cause I know she doesn't have a car." Kelly spoke, Antonio connecting the dots as to what he was asking. "I don't know if you're working, I can go and get her if you need me to-"

"No, no, I'll go. Thanks for letting me know, I'm leaving the district now. You're gonna let her know?"

"Yeah, I'm about to call her. I'll see you in a bit." After their goodbyes, they both hung up, Kelly immediately clicking on Gabby's name, dreading this conversation.

"Kelly?" He could hear the nervousness in her voice, like she knew what this call was.

"Hey Dawson…" He spoke, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. Heads around him snapped up, their focus on Kelly as he took a deep breath.

"What's wrong, Severide? Is Matt okay?" She sounded like she was about to start crying, Kelly feeling a stabbing pain in his gut as he heard the emotion her voice carried.

"We're at med… I don't know what happened, I wasn't with him." He started to lose some of the composure in his voice, not wanting to freak her out but the image of finding him flashing in his mind was making it difficult. "But he was unconscious when I found him, Dr. Rhodes is working on him. I don't know anything other than that." He regretfully told her, wishing he had more information to give.

"I- I don't-" Kelly could hear her breathing increase, knowing she was struggling with digesting the information. "I need to call a cab, or something- I don't…" She was rambling, Kelly sensing she was on the verge of full blown panic.

"Gabby… Gabby, hey- take a breath, alright?" He tried to soothe her, seeing the concerned glances of those around him. "Everything's gonna be fine. I called Antonio already, he's coming to get you and he's gonna bring you here, okay?" He hoped he was doing something to calm her down, not liking that she was alone right now. Hopefully, Antonio would be there soon.

"Okay, okay." He heard less panic in her voice, thankful she'd managed to calm down, at least a little bit. "Thank you, Kelly."

"Of course. I'll call you if anything changes before you get here, okay? I'll see you soon."

"Okay, thank you." The two said goodbye, Kelly hanging up, releasing a deep sigh. Looking up, he saw the eyes of the entire firehouse on him.

"Gabby's on her way with Antonio." He spoke quietly, not knowing what else to say. He knew they'd all heard at least his side of the conversation, so he figured they knew that already. But all the eyes on him were making him uncomfortable. Without saying another word, he walked back through the crowd, taking up his original spot by the desk, his eyes locking back on Matt's room.

Matt drew in a deep breath as they pulled up to the fire, seeing the house in front of them set ablaze. He pushed his door open, practically stumbling from the rig as a wave of nausea hit him. He steadied himself, grabbing on the side of the door, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to suppress the unsettling feeling. It took only seconds for the feeling to seemingly pass, Matt moving to shut the door when a loud ringing sound filled his ears. Squeezing his eyes shut tighter, he hunched over slightly, pressing against his forehead trying to get the ringing to stop. He didn't know what was going on, but he forced himself to stand straight, hoping that if he managed to get to work, the ringing in his ears would end.

"Captain?" Kidd called out, having seen his odd behavior since he nearly fell from the truck. All of 81 were standing there, waiting for orders, noticing something was wrong with Casey.

"Yeah- let's go." He spoke, breathing out through his nose, forcing his eyes open as he started walking towards Boden.

"You sure you're okay?" Herrmann asked, Matt waving him off, signaling he was fine.

The ringing had dulled to a softer tone, but it was still present. Thankfully, the nausea had passed and he felt more equipped to do his job. But he ignored the weakness he was feeling in his legs, figuring he probably just needed something to eat. Whatever the issue was, it could be addressed later. Right now there were people who needed help.

"Casey, I want Truck to do the sweep on the top floor. Severide, have squad do the first floor and basement. Let's do this quickly- the smoke's already looking bad." Boden ordered, the firemen nodding as they masked up, following their leaders inside.

Matt lead the way up the steps, ignoring the dizziness he was feeling with each step. The smoke was thick as they got to the top step, Matt seeing fire burning the walls on either side of the hallway. He knew they needed to do this quick. Casey called out orders, having Otis come with him all the way to the end of the hall.

They got to the last room, Matt opening the door, immediately being met by an unconscious man lying in the middle of the floor. He and Otis hurried to his side, another wave of nausea hitting Casey as he bent down next to this man.

"Kidd." He called through the radio. "We need you down at the end of the hall, last door on the left." It took only seconds for her body to appear in the doorway, coming over to them.

"Help Otis get this guy out?" He asked, not trusting his own body at the moment to be able to get this man to safety. Usually he would push through, but something was telling him he wouldn't be able to. "I'll be out right behind you. Is everyone from truck out?"

"Yeah, they just went down." Kidd confirmed, her and Otis lifting the man, Matt watching as they disappeared through the doorway. Bent over on the ground, he placed his hand over his chest, suddenly finding it harder to get air into his lungs. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew he had to get himself out of here.

Downstairs, Severide and Cruz had just come up from the basement. Luckily the fire had been localized to mostly upstairs, but they knew once it was in the walls it would be harder to contain and spread faster. They found no victims on either floor they searched, Kelly glancing around and seeing no one else in the house aside from Joe and himself.

"Squad, everyone out?" Kelly asked over the radio, hearing the confirmation that all of his men were waiting outside. The two men headed for the exit, but stopped immediately when they heard the unmistakable sound of a pass alarm going off upstairs. His head snapped towards the stairs, Kelly rushing to the steps with Cruz in tow.

"Who's still in here?" Kelly called frantically over the radio.

"Casey, why?" Boden responded immediately as Kelly got to the top of the steps, dread filling his body as he looked at the flames surrounding him, trying to follow the sound of the alarm.

"His pass alarm is going off."

"...Hurry and get him Severide, smokes turning black." Boden spoke nervously over the radio, Kelly anxiously moving through the flames. Getting to the end of the hallway, he found the source of the alarm, seeing an unmoving Casey laying in the doorway.

"We found him, he's unconscious." Kelly spoke quickly into the radio, doing a quick once over to see if he could figure out what had caused him to lose consciousness. He didn't want to move him incase there was an injury, but Kelly saw nothing that would explain his current state. Nothing had fallen on him, there was no debris around him. Aside from the fire, there was nothing that could explain what had knocked him out. Not knowing how much time they had left, Kelly decided to risk it as he instructed Cruz to help lift him up. While they carried him down the hall, Kelly shifted Matt's weight to be able to reach his radio. "Brett, Foster- be ready."

He and Cruz got him down the stairs as carefully and quickly as possible, Kelly's mind racing as he tried to piece together what had happened. He didn't know why Matt was up there by himself, or who from truck had been with him last. Obviously he was okay before everyone else left, or they wouldn't have left him alone.

Soon enough, they got outside, more firefighters waiting by the door to help carry Casey down to the awaiting gurney. As soon as his limp body was placed on the bed, Brett and Foster got to work, Kelly removing his helmet and oxygen mask so they had access to his airway.

"Did anyone see what happened?" Foster asked quickly as she checked his breath sounds.

"I don't know, I just heard the alarm. He was unconscious in the room, who was the last person with him?" Kelly asked, his eyes flashing around the members of truck standing there.

"Kidd and I were- he sent us out with the other victim." Otis spoke, nodding to the guy who was being tended to by another ambulance. "He was fine. He said he was coming out right behind us."

"We gotta get him to med." Brett spoke, everyone worried about the fact he hadn't regained consciousness. Severide helped load him in the back with Foster, slamming the doors shut, 51 watching as the ambulance sped away.

"I know we're all worried about Casey, but we have to get this fire contained first, then we can focus on him." Boden ordered, everyone knowing he was right. The sooner they finished up here, the sooner they'd get to hospital to be with Casey. But they wouldn't be able to keep from worrying.

The uncertainty of the situation was weighing heavily on Severide as he began giving orders to his men. There were no obvious signs of trauma. Matt wasn't bleeding, he hadn't been hit by anything. There was no sign as to what caused his unconsciousness, and that's what was worrying Severide the most.

Gabby felt her legs shaking slightly as she hurried in through the double doors of the hospital, glancing around as she tried to find a familiar face. Turning the corner, she found herself looking into the waiting room, seeing a group of people she hadn't seen or talked to in months. If she wasn't in such a panic, she might've taken a second to think through what she wanted to say to them. But right now she was too worried about what was happening with Matt to care so much about seeing them again.

Stumbling forward slightly, wringing her hands together in front of her, her eyes darted around the group, looking for the one person she's had contact with. She found him leaning up against the far wall, his eyes on the ground, Boden standing strong beside him.

Chief was the first one to see her, him looking over from Kelly and locking eyes with her. A quick look of shock flashed over his face, before it morphed into a small smile, giving her a comforting nod. He nudged Kelly, the man looking up, Gabby watching as he looked to Boden before his gaze shifted to her.

An immediate frown formed on his face, seeing the clear worry covering hers, noticing her trembling body immediately. "Hey Gabby." His soft voice flooded through the quiet space, pushing himself from the wall. The heads of 51 snapped up, all eyes immediately on her as they watched Kelly approach her. None of them knew what to say, seeing her again for the first time. Taking in her appearance was like a shock to the system. She looked the same, mostly. But there was something different, like she was the Gabby they'd always known while at the same time she was a complete stranger.

"What happened, Kelly?" Her voice was shaking, Severide wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug as soon as he got to her, trying to give her any comfort he could. He rubbed up and down her back before pulling away, keeping a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know." He blew out a deep sigh, seeing more unshed tears fill her eyes. "We were sweeping the house, all of truck was out except him. I was leaving the building when I heard his pass alarm going off. When we got up there, he was unconscious."

A lone tear fell down her cheek as she listened to Kelly continue the story. "There were no signs of what caused it. As far as I can tell he didn't get hit by anything, I- I don't know what happened, Gabby." He knew hearing the whole story only worried her more, seeing more tears roll down her face.

"No one knows what happened?" She asked quietly. It was a question for the whole group, but Gabby addressed it to Kelly. He shook his head, moving to stand beside her so Gabby had a better view of everyone.

"No, Otis and Kidd were the last ones with him." Kelly spoke, eyeing them both, silently ordering them to elaborate.

Otis spoke up first, clearing his throat. "He seemed fine in there, Dawson. We had a victim and he called Kidd to come help me get the guy out, nothing seemed out of the ordinary." He felt strange, speaking directly to her. But it was like she was looking through him. Everyone in the room could see how worried she was.

"He was acting weird before we went in." Kidd spoke, Kelly's eyebrows furrowing at the new information.

"What do you mean?"

"When we got there, he kind of fell from the rig. I don't know what happened, but I thought he just tripped. But then he was hunched over for a few seconds, and kind of holding his head."

Gabby's eyes moved to look at Kelly, as both of them heard this for the first time.

"We asked him if he was okay, he said he was fine. Once we got inside, everything seemed okay with him, but it was weird." Kidd spoke, her eyes darting back and forth between Dawson and Severide.

Gabby thought over everything she knew, gathering that whatever had caused his lack of consciousness was probably the same thing ailing him when they got to the call. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was caused from an injury during the explosion. That he was keeping an injury from her because he didn't want her worrying, or that he had an injury he himself didn't know about. Either way, the sinking feeling in her stomach made her nauseous, swallowing thickly to try and make this feeling go away. But it wouldn't.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kelly saw Gabby falter by his side, her releasing a small gasp of air as her legs started to give out from under her. He quickly turned towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her upright, members of 51 shooting up from their chairs as the scene unfolded in front of them.

"It's okay, Gabby. Let's sit down for a second." He kept his voice calm, not wanting to make things worse. Held tight within his grasp, he guided her to the nearest seat, holding onto her until she was secured in the chair. "Can someone get some water?" Kelly asked quickly, squatting down in front of her, placing his hands on the arms of the chair. Foster was the first to move, heading for the nurses station to get a cup of water for her.

Her legs were twitching as she sat there, her head falling into her hands as she thought over the endless possibilities of what could be wrong with Matt. Was it something internal? Was it related to the injury that caused the bruise on his back? Had he hit his head again? Dozens of thoughts were swarming her brain, not even noticing how 51 had closed in around her, forming a half circle around her shaking form.

Foster was back after a few moments with a small cup of water, handing it to Severide who held it out to Gabby. "Drink some of this." He spoke, leaving it in front of her face until she slowly grabbed it, taking a small sip to appease him. She didn't care so much about making herself feel better right now. She'd feel better when she knew more about Matt, when she knew he was okay.

"Have any doctors or anyone been out to talk to you all?" Her voice was quiet, only audible because the liquid had soothed her dry throat.

"April was out here a little bit ago, all she said was that they were running tests." He told her, pushing the cup of water towards her mouth again, holding firm until she reluctantly took another sip. He couldn't do anything for Casey right now, but he damn sure was going to do whatever he could for Gabby.

Once half the water was gone, she leaned down, placing the cup onto the ground, sitting herself back up. When she finally looked up, she saw how close everyone had gotten to her, and it was making her nervous. Gabby wasn't used to being around this many people, and it was causing her anxiety to skyrocket. She caught a few of the worried gazes of her former coworkers, before she looked back towards her lap, pulling on the ends of her jacket. She closed her eyes, moving to rest her head in her hands as she took slow, deep breaths, doing what she could to center herself.

Kelly had been watching her, and her behavior was worrying him. "He'll be okay." He assured her once more, knowing she needed to hear it. From his crouched position, he could see her eyes open even though her head was down, seeing a tear fall down onto her jeans.

"I can't lose him, Kelly." Her broken voice came out in a whisper, lifting one hand up to wipe away the tears on her face. "After everything… I- I just got him back, I can't lose him. Not again." She was talking so low the words were hard to hear, but Kelly did. As did most of 51. They could hear the pain in her voice, and that combined with how visibly shaken she was, they were starting to understand what Matt had been talking about. How her leaving maybe wasn't as black and white as it originally seemed.

"Don't think like that." Kelly spoke immediately, moving to rub his hand comfortingly over her knee. "You're not going to lose him, Gabby." He spoke as confidently as he could, but in the back of his mind he was having the same worries as she was, the uncertainty of the situation causing his worst fears to come to light.

Herrmann cautiously stepped closer to Gabby, Kelly pushing himself to stand up and backing away from her as Herrmann got closer, Severide not wanting to crowd her. Silently, Herrmann put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze as she looked up at him.

"He'll be okay, kid. He's always been a fighter." He gave her a soft smile as the words left his lips, hoping to give her some strength. She gave him a small smile back, not able to muster up much more than that. She moved her hand to rest on top of his, Herrmann staying by her side as the group stood there in silence.

Herrmann had his questions about everything that happened that caused her to leave, but seeing her here in front of him, his questions were now aimed more towards what happened to her after she left. The scar on her forehead was worrisome enough, but it was the difference in her demeanor that had him concerned. Maybe it was just the stress of the situation, but this wasn't the same Gabby Dawson he'd known all those years. She was a shell of the woman she used to be. He couldn't help but wonder what all had happened to her to cause her to lose so much of herself.

Seeing Gabby was seemingly okay, Kelly took a few more steps back, glancing around at the group and seeing all of their eyes fixated on her. He couldn't blame them, when he'd first seen her that was his instinct, too. Although at that point, she still had more visible injuries. But he just hoped she wasn't uncomfortable, or better yet, he hoped she didn't even notice all the eyes trained on her.

As his eyes bounced around the room, that's when he saw Antonio heading towards them. Breaking away from everyone, Kelly met him halfway, the two standing away from the group.

"Is she okay? Did you find anything else out about Casey?" Antonio's voice was frantic, having seen the state Gabby was currently in.

"No, nothing yet. She- I don't know how to explain it, she freaked out after hearing exactly what happened. Her breathing got heavy and her legs gave out on her." Kelly spoke, Antonio rubbing his hand over his mouth tiredly. "We got her some water, she's not shaking as much. I think she's calmed down a little, I just… she'll feel better when she can see him. When she knows he'll be okay."

There was a silence that hung in the air between them, Antonio not wanting to ask the next question on his mind.

"...Do we know he'll be okay?"

Kelly opened his mouth to respond, wanting to give a definitive yes. But he slowly closed it back, knowing he couldn't. Because no one knew what was going on, or how serious this was. They knew nothing.

"I...I really don't know."

"Kelly." April's voice grabbed both of their attentions, Kelly not able to read the look on her face as she approached them. She looked slightly optimistic, but mostly weary, and it worried him.

"Is he okay?"

"He's awake." Kelly blew out a sigh of relief, Antonio following suit as well. But the look on April's face wasn't promising. "But, we think there might be an issue."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kelly folded his arms across his chest. "What kind of issue?" He asked apprehensively.

"Well we're not really sure exactly what we're dealing with, he seems to know where he is, and he remembers what happened. He knows what day it is, what year it is, he seems to remember everything."

"Then what's the problem?" He asked impatiently.

"He keeps asking for Gabby." Kelly and Antonio shared a look, both of them confused as to why that would cause any red flags. "But she's been gone for months. Everything appears normal aside from remembering that she's not here. He's insistent on seeing her." She spoke, glancing to Antonio.

"Wait- that's the only reason you think something's wrong? There's nothing else?" Kelly looked for confirmation, which he soon got in the form of a nod. "Oh, thank god." He breathed out in relief, April eyeing him in confusion.

"Am I missing something?"

"Gabby's here, she's been back a few weeks." Antonio answered, a look of relief mixed with understanding covering April's face.

"Well, that explains why he kept looking at us like we were insane when we wouldn't bring her to him. She's here right now?"

"Yeah, over there." Kelly spoke, pointing to the group of firefighters. He then realized you couldn't see her anymore from where they were, seeing as how everyone was huddled around her. "Can she go see him?"

"Of course."

The three walked over to 51, April breaking her way through the wall of firefighters.

"Gabby?" She asked softly, Dawson's head snapping up at her name. She didn't say anything, afraid of the answers she might get if she asked a question. "Matt's asking for you."

A sound of relief escaped her lips, Gabby pushing herself up from the chair immediately, the group of firefighters taking a few steps back. "He's okay?"

April gave a slight nod, "He will be. Dr. Rhodes can explain more to you than I can, but Matt had an undiagnosed concussion, which was causing his symptoms. But he'll be fine, should make a full recovery." Gabby's eyes fell closed as gratitude washed through her body, more tears escaping as she ran her hands over her head. She felt a hand on her back, Herrmann having moved to stand behind her.

"Told you he'd be okay." He spoke with a lightness in his voice, Gabby looking up and smiling at him appreciatively.

"Can I see him now?" She felt better knowing it wasn't anything too serious, but she was sure this heavy weight wouldn't be lifted from her chest until she laid eyes on him. Nodding, April held her arm out, signaling Gabby to follow her as the two walked through the waiting room.

As they walked through the emergency room, Gabby did her best to keep herself calm, feeling her nerves rise with each step as she got closer to his room. But knowing he was awake and talking kept her grounded. They stopped in front of what Gabby assumed to be his room, April sliding the glass door back. Gabby followed her in, clasping her hands together tightly as April pulled back the curtain that was hiding him from sight.

When she laid her eyes on him, she was unable to stop the fresh tears that fell from her eyes, raking over his form as he sat upright in the hospital bed. He'd been stripped of his turnout gear and Captain's shirt, the items sitting in a pile by the bed. There were wires attached all over his chest, connecting to different machines by his bedside. In the quick once over she did, she found no new bruises and marks covering him. He looked the same as he did this morning, and she found herself comforted by that.

When he looked over from Dr. Rhodes, a wide smile graced him face, his eyes crinkling as he saw Gabby standing in front of him. But the smile soon faded, seeing the clear concern written in her features and the tears in her eyes. "I'm okay, Gabby." His raspy voice met her ears, a warmth filling her as she heard him speak.

Dr. Rhodes had looked over towards her, Gabby glancing towards him, the look on her face asking him if Matt was telling the truth.

"He is." Dr. Rhodes confirmed, Gabby blowing out a sigh of relief. "The explosion he was in about two weeks ago, he got a concussion from that but never knew it." He explained as Gabby walked over to the bed, trying to calm her shaking hands. When she got to his bedside, Matt immediately reached out for her, Gabby grabbing onto his hand with both of hers. "I'm honestly surprised it took this long for more of the serious symptoms to manifest themselves. I guess going back to work triggered it, but next time you have those consistent headaches Casey, and the dizziness, don't ignore them, alright? Especially if it's after you've hit your head."

A frown fell to her face as she heard what Rhodes had said, her eyes moving to Matt's as he looked down towards their conjoined hands.

"Are you guys keeping him for observation?" Gabby asked, deciding to deal with Matt lying to her once they were alone.

"We will for a couple more hours. Normally, we'd keep him longer with the symptoms he was having, but if you'll be with him, I know you know what to keep an eye out for." Dr. Rhodes spoke, Gabby nodding.

"Yeah, I will be."

"I'll come back to check on you in a little while, you feeling okay Casey?" He checked one last time, Matt giving him a nod. "Okay good. Let us know if anything changes, it's good to see you Dawson." He greeted as he walked towards the exit.

"You too." She replied, waiting until he had shut the curtain and door before turning back to Matt, a look of anger mixed with worry etched on her face. He met her eyes, waiting for her to start yelling at him for worrying her, and for keeping this from her. But instead, she dropped his hand and wrapped her arms around him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder as she held him. He was shocked, to say the least, that he wasn't getting a lecture right now, but he wasn't complaining. He wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her to him with all the strength he had.

"When Kelly called me, saying they found you unconscious, I… You scared the hell out of me." She trailed off, Matt closing his eyes as he felt guilt rush through his body.

"I'm okay, Gabby. I swear." His words caused her to pull back, Matt keeping his arms around her waist so she couldn't get too far. She rested her arm on his shoulder, standing up straight as she leaned slightly into his body.

"I asked you over and over again if you were ready to go back, and you told me yes." Her voice was quiet, clearly wanting answers as to why he lied to her. "You said you were fine, but you obviously weren't. You knew you weren't."

"I… I thought they were just headaches. I didn't know it was anything more than that, or I would've told you. I was so worried about everything else, I dunno, I didn't think much of it... I'm sorry."

Sighing softly, Gabby moved her hand to run over the side of his head. "I know you probably thought it was nothing, but constant headaches are never a good thing, and you know that." She spoke firmly, Matt nodding at her. "Promise me you won't keep something like this from me again?"

"I won't." He assured her, squeezing her waist lightly. Leaning her head down slightly, she placed a soft kiss to his lips, neither one of them wanting to pull back but she eventually did.

"But don't think I forgot what Dr. Rhodes said about the dizziness." She whispered softly against his lips, pulling back completely as she looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What was he talking about?"

"I had a few dizzy spells, that's it."

"Matt-"

"It only happened twice." He tried to assure her. "I thought it was just from being tired, or that I needed to eat something." She gave him a pointed look, and he could tell she wasn't sure if she believed him. "I swear, I didn't think it was anything serious. I know I should've put the two together, between that and the headaches, and known something more was going on. But I didn't, I was so worried about you and everything with us, it just didn't seem like a big deal." He ran his hand over her hip as he spoke, keeping her tight within his hold. "I would've never ignored it if I thought it was something like this."

She nodded, moving to brush her hand over the top of his head, running her fingers lightly through his hair. His eyes fluttered closed as he leaned into her touch. "I know you did none of this on purpose, but please never do this to me again." She breathed out, her voice soft.

"I won't, or at least I'll try not to." He spoke lightly, a small smile resting on his face. Before she could respond, he pulled her in for another kiss, the two happy for the close contact after the day's events.

"So… what exactly happened in there?" She asked once they pulled back, keeping herself close to him, continuing to run her fingers through his hair. After hearing what Dr. Rhodes had to say, and hearing Kidd talk about how he was acting before the call, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

Taking a deep breath, Matt began explaining everything, Gabby feeling him lightly squeezing his fingers against her side. "I felt fine, but when we pulled up to the scene, I started to feel...weird, I don't know." He explained, his eyes glancing downwards, missing the frown that formed on her face. "I felt nauseous, and just- off. Like I got tired all of the sudden. And my ears started ringing, it kind of freaked me out." He admitted, Gabby bringing her free hand up to his face, gently adjusting his chin so he was looking at her. "But I pushed through it... figured I could deal with it after. So I went in."

"Your body was trying to get you to slow down, baby." Her voice spoke softly, Matt nodding at her knowingly.

"At first I felt okay, I thought whatever it was had passed. But by the time we got to the victim, I could tell there was something wrong. I called for Kidd to come help Otis... I knew I wouldn't be able to get this guy out." He told her, Gabby running her thumb lightly over his jaw while he told his story, knowing the action comforted him. "I tried to get out of there, but it was like I couldn't breathe anymore. I felt lightheaded and wasn't able to really see anything. The last thing I remember is trying to get to the door of the bedroom, and I guess that's where I passed out. After that, all I remember is waking up in here."

Gabby nodded as he finished explaining himself, leaning down to place a kiss to his forehead, holding her lips against his skin for a few extra seconds. She didn't move far when she pulled away, Gabby resting her head down on top of his, feeling him tighten his hold on her.

"I'm glad you're okay." She whispered, feeling his body relax into hers. She knew how much this entire thing scared him. Though he tried not to ever show it, accidents on the job always rattled him more than he'd let on. She knew this situation would be no different.

"Now that we've talked about me… I want to talk about you." He spoke, breaking the calm silence that had settled between them. Pulling back from their embrace, a quizzical look spreading across her features. "Antonio stopped by after his visit with you." He prefaced, seeing realization fall onto her face. "He said you seemed upset, that you'd been crying."

Gabby blew out a sigh, glancing down between them, her eyes glued to the fading CFD crest on her shirt. "What's going on, Gabby?"

"It was just.. a rough morning." She admittedly quietly, making herself look at him.

"What happened?" He prompted after she'd gone silent again.

"I got a little anxious, more than I have been." She started, Matt giving her a small, understanding nod when she looked to him. "I was having a hard time being alone, and I've been worried about you being at work, which now I know wasn't completely unjustified, but I thought it was just me being paranoid, which was making me more anxious." She did her best to explain to him where her head was at, not wanting to keep anything from him. "Everything became too much, and I started freaking out. But I'm okay, I just got overwhelmed."

A sad smile covered his face, Matt moving to grasp her hand in his. "It's okay. I know things have been hard, after everything. Do you think… maybe, you might need some help with this? To get past everything?" She knew what he was asking her, and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it.

"I don't know, maybe. I do think things are getting better." Matt nodded in agreement, squeezing her hand. "I'll think about it, if things get worse I might have to."

"It's nothing you have to decide right now, it's just an option." He assured her, Gabby nodding knowingly. "I just want you to be okay."

Smiling softly, she gave him a quick kiss. "I know, I just want you to be okay too."

"I think I went back to work too early." Matt spoke after a beat of silence.

"Honestly, I think you did too." She agreed quietly. "I was wanting to talk to you about it when you got home, but, you know, you had a change of plans." She spoke lightly, Matt smiling.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But now, I'll definitely be taking time off. Granted I don't have a choice, but I think it's what's best for the both of us. At least for a few more shifts. After speaking with Antonio, I planned on going to talk to Boden, ask him if I could have more time off. Even before everything happened at this call… I don't know, I don't think either of us were ready for me to go back."

Gabby gave him a nod, showing him she agreed with him. "Yeah, I don't think we were either. I know we wanted to be, but it's been harder than I thought, being alone. I don't want to keep you from work, but-"

"You're my priority here, Gabby." He interrupted, not liking where her sentence was heading. "I'll take off as much time as you need, as we need."

"Okay." She responded quietly, but Matt could tell she wasn't completely convinced.

"Also, I don't care where we are, if I'm on shift, if it's in the middle of the night, whatever the situation, if that happens again, everything becoming too much- I want you to tell me." He spoke sternly, Gabby eyeing him for a moment before nodding.

"I will."

The smile that fell to his face was enough to bring one to hers as well. "Good."

Before the two could say anything else, they heard the door slide open, both of them looking over in time to see Dr. Rhodes come in, holding Matt's chart.

"Hey doctor."

"Hey Casey, still feeling okay?" Matt only gave a nod, Connor looking towards Gabby. "I'd feel comfortable letting you go in about an hour or so. I just want to go over everything with you two, even though I know you all know most of it." He explained, the two nodding.

Dr. Rhodes started going over everything they needed to know, Matt finding himself tuning out most of it. He caught bits and pieces, hearing Rhodes say how he couldn't work for at least two shifts, and he was going through the things that Gabby needed to know and the things she needed to look out for, but he wasn't worried about missing that information. He knew Gabby would be paying close attention, and he felt himself becoming more and more tired as he let his mind wander. Although he felt better knowing what was causing his issues, that didn't make the symptoms go away. The past few minutes he'd been feeling a headache creep up, which he knew would continue to happen for a while. Rhodes had told him it would, but it didn't mean it was any less uncomfortable. He didn't want to say anything and worry Gabby more, but the feeling was becoming painful. As he sat there quietly, he slowly felt that feeling of nausea creep into his system, but this felt more intense than just feeling queasy. He could feel a pressure moving up his chest and into his throat, causing him to gag.

"Matt?" Gabby asked, seeing his movements and hearing the gagging noise escape through his lips. Reading his body language, she knew exactly what was about to happen. Quickly grabbing the plastic basin from his table, she held it in front of his mouth just in time as he threw up into it, his body shaking as he emptied the contents of his stomach.

"It's okay." Gabby soothed, rubbing his back up and down as he was hunched over, not knowing if another wave would hit him. Dr. Rhodes handed Gabby a new basin, the two switching them out quickly, just in case he got sick again. While Connor got rid of the full container, Gabby continued to comfort him, knowing how much he hated being sick. He was still shaking slightly and she felt horrible for him. She knew this was part of his recovery, but it hurt her seeing him in so much discomfort.

"This is all part of it, Casey." Dr. Rhodes spoke, Matt having heard him but he gave no verbal response. He still felt like he needed to throw up again, but he was trying his hardest to get the feeling to pass. "I can prescribe you some medicine for the nausea, if you want."

Seeing Matt still not in the position to answer, she did for him. "Yeah, let's do that." Connor nodded, just as Matt threw up again in the basin Gabby was holding. She grimaced, hearing the retching sounds coming from him, wishing she could do anything to help.

When he finished the second time, he fell back against the bed, his head looking up as he kept his eyes closed. Dr. Rhodes took the container from her, Gabby moving her entire focus to Matt. She ran her hand over his forehead, watching him breath slowly through his nose.

"I know it's not fun, but this part of it shouldn't last very long." Dr. Rhodes told them, Gabby nodding with a sad smile on her face. "I'm gonna go get that medication in for him, if you need anything or he gets sick again, let us know." Gabby gave him a nod of acknowledgement, moving her eyes back to Matt as Connor left the room.

She continued moving her hand over his forehead, hopefully soothing him as he kept his eyes closed. For a minute, she thought he'd fallen asleep, but then he spoke up again.

"Sorry for that."

She rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Even when he was this sick, he couldn't help but apologize for something out of his control. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Matt." She assured him, smiling softly as he leaned into her touch. "Now, you should try and get some sleep. Rest up a bit before they kick you out of here."

He smiled, opening his eyes slightly to look at her. "Whatever you say." He said softly, his eyes falling shut again, letting himself drift off as he focused on the feel of her fingers running softly over his head.