Thank you everyone for the reviews! I hope you all continue to leave feedback and reviews! This story mentions Sylvie's mom, dad, and brother and I have changed their names from the previous fanfic story I wrote with her parent's names in it. I hope you all enjoy this story!
CHAPTER 3
Matt and Sylvie had a long drive ahead of them and knew that the last thing Sylvie wanted to do was talk. They were parked at a gas station where Matt had stopped to get gas.
"Alright, so I have a big bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream chips, some Skittles and Starbursts, some donuts, and of course, drinks." Sylvie chirped.
Sylvie tried to fake a smile and act like this was just another random road trip, but Matt knew better.
"Well, since you were on snack duty, do you also want to be on music duty? I mean, it will be hard for me to drive and try to find a decent station that actually has decent songs." Matt chuckled.
"Yes! You do realize that this means I can play anything and you don't get a say, right?" Sylvie teased.
"Yep and I got a feeling I'll regret this, but you're the boss." Matt flashed a smile.
"Hey, you're the one who put me in charge, so it's too late to change your mind." Sylvie joked.
Matt loved that Sylvie was smiling and was laughing. He glanced over at Sylvie before pulling out. Although her big, beautiful, bright blue eyes had been covered in tears earlier, he saw her beautiful blue eyes shining right now and it made him happy. He needed to see her happy and smiling because his heart ached for her. A piece of Sylvie's hair covered one of her eyes. Matt gently brushed it out of her hair. The touch of his hand sent shivers down her spine.
"There. Now I can see those beautiful eyes." Matt whispered.
Sylvie's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but give a smile.
"Well, just for that, you get one song of your choice to use between now and the time we get there. Choose wisely because you can only use it one time." she joked.
"I think I'll save that song for later down the road." Matt smirked.
They both laughed and Matt pulled out of the gas station.
"Hey mom, it's me. Uh, a friend of mine that I work with is bringing me to see you and dad. It's a little after 1 p.m. and we should be there by 4." Sylvie said over the phone.
"Sweetheart, you two be careful. I know the storm was pretty bad outside so take your time and be careful." her mom insisted.
"We will. I'll call you when we are close. Love you." Sylvie said to her mom.
"I love you, too." her mom said as they both hung up the phone.
Matt's mind raced with the thought of hearing those words again. Maybe he and Sylvie can be together someday or at least go out on a date, but now wasn't the time. His primary focus is making sure that she's alright and that he takes her mind off of everything for the next three or four hours.
"Are you kidding me?" Matt chuckled.
"What? I like the song." Sylvie said.
"You listen to Def Leppard?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. You seemed surprised." Sylvie noticed.
"Well, yeah. I haven't met anyone who knows more than one Def Leppard song. I usually hear Pour Some Sugar On Me from everyone but never any other song. They are one of my favorite bands." Matt pointed out.
"Blame my parents. They love the 70s and 80s music. Every day after school there was usually some sort of 70s or 80s song playing on the radio. My little brother would always blast some sort of AC/DC or Metallica in the car on our way to school when we were in high school. Drove me completely crazy." Sylvie reminisced.
"How much older is your brother?" Matt asked.
"A year. I remember when my mom told him that he could drive to school but only on the condition he took me with him. He hated it. At first, he would play that sort of music just to irritate me, but over time, I grew to like the music." Sylvie said.
"So, your brother is the one who got you hooked on that type of music, huh." Matt said.
"Yeah. I remember when I got a car for my seventeenth birthday. My mom told me and my brother that we would have to rotate cars unless we got a job. My brother being the ever so charmer that he is, convinced my mom to let us both drive our cars separately and that we had to pay for our own insurance. Well, my brother talked one of his many girlfriends into paying his car insurance for a year." Sylvie laughed.
"A year? How in the world did he get away with that?" Matt chuckled.
"Let's just say that he owed me. I told our parents that he and I were working in an after school program and she bought it...that is until she came to school one afternoon and found out that we lied to her about it. I was staying after school, that part was true, but it was because I was failing math and when my mom found out because the school called, she grounded me." Sylvie explained.
"Sylvie Brett got grounded? No way." Matt teased.
"I got grounded for three months and couldn't drive my car. My mom found out about my brother getting one of his many girlfriends to pay his car insurance when her dad called and said that his daughter told her that she was paying for it. Because I covered for my brother, I got grounded for another month and he got grounded for the rest of the school year. Needless to say, we couldn't do any extracurricular activities at school until the next year. That's the short story and that's the story I'm sticking with." Sylvie stated.
Matt chuckled. He tried picturing Sylvie as a troublemaker or even getting in trouble but he couldn't. It amused him.
"So, what about you?" Sylvie asked.
Sylvie knew a little about Matt's background because Gabby had told her but she didn't know the whole story and didn't want to push the subject.
"I'm not sure how much Gabby told you or if she told you anything, but my childhood wasn't all that great. My sister and I used to be close but our father was very abusive. One night while my sister and I were at a friend's house, our father got mad at our mom because she came home five minutes late. When my sister and I came home, our father was beating our mother and at one point started beating the two of us. I watched our mom grab a gun and kill our father. My sister could never forgive our mom for killing our dad and that day shattered our family. Christie, my sister, had a hard time forgiving our mom. It took us years to mend our relationship but it wasn't easy." Matt explained.
Sylvie was shocked. Gabby had told Sylvie that Matt had a rough childhood but that's all Gabby said.
"How are things now?" Sylvie softly asked.
Matt didn't want Sylvie to cry. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He pulled off onto a restroom exit and then parked his truck in a parking lot at the rest area. He looked over at her and noticed the sad look on her face. He placed his hand on her face and brushed the hair out of her eyes.
"Well, you basically know the rest because of what happened with Gabby but I'm ready to start over again." Matt blurted out.
Sylvie reached up to where Matt's hand was cupping her face and touched his hand and smiled.
"I'm happy for you. You deserve to be happy." Sylvie whispered.
Deep down, she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a kiss but now wasn't the time. She didn't want to kiss him because of what's going on with her dad and their stories about growing up. If they were going to kiss, she wanted it to mean something more than just a kiss. He wanted the same thing but neither of them said anything.
"You deserve to be happy too." Matt whispered in a low, deep voice.
He took her hand in his and brought their hands down onto the console. She squeezed his hand for reassurance. They got out of the truck to go use the restroom and to stretch. They had been driving for a while and needed a little break from the road. Sylvie met Matt back at the truck.
"You good?" Matt asked.
"Yep. Let's go." Sylvie smiled.
They got in the truck and headed back down the road.
"Ok, so tell me, what do you think about this song?" Sylvie said as she put on another song.
"Come on, who doesn't like Michael Jackson songs?" Matt joked.
Sylvie laughed. He loved her laugh. He loved her smile. She had the kind of smile that lit up her whole face.
"Ok, but what about this song?" Sylvie said as she put on a 90s song.
"Wait, is that...Nirvana?" Matt asked with enthusiasm.
"Yep. Hey, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is a freaking anthem." Sylvie said as she jammed out to the song.
They goofed around in the car while the song played. When it was over, Sylvie turned on another song, this time, it was more of a pop style song.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before you played a pop song." Matt teased.
"What can I say? I like to listen to the BackStreet Boys from time to time." Sylvie giggled.
"I would have taken you for more of an 'NSYNC fan." Matt replied.
"I mean, 'NSYNC is fine but not as great as BSB." Sylvie laughed.
He didn't care how ridiculous their conversation was, if it meant that Sylvie was laughing, then that's all he needed.
"Hey, do you remember earlier when you said that I get one song of my choice?" Matt asked.
"Yeah." Sylvie replied.
"Well, I want to cash in that song on the way back to Chicago." Matt grinned.
"Wait, what?" Sylvie asked, confused about what he had just said.
When they had stopped at the rest area, Matt made a decision to stay in Fowlerton for as long as Sylvie needed him. He knows that she needs a friend from Chicago to be with her during this time. Her friendship with Hope Jacquinot wasn't so great. Hope was a close, childhood friend of Sylvie's but after Sylvie found out that Hope had stolen some money from her previous employee and that she forged an order to get Stella transferred out of Firehouse 51, along with not giving Stella her check with the others, Sylvie had enough. Sylvie had trusted Hope and Hope had betrayed that trust.
"I decided to stay in Fowlerton with you for as long as you need me too. I know Kyle and Hope might be at the hospital, so I figured that I could be there as a support system for you. The last thing you need is to deal with is having Kyle and Hope show up and grudge up the past. I hope you're not mad at me for deciding to stay." Matt said.
Sylvie was touched. She knew that Matt was a thoughtful and caring man, but she didn't expect him to stay with her in Fowlerton.
"No, that's fine. I really appreciate that." Sylvie stuttered nervously.
"I'll stay at a hotel so you can just call me when you need me." Matt said.
"Or...or you could stay with me at my parent's house. I mean, it's a huge house and my brother wouldn't mind having another guy around to talk to." Sylvie suggested.
"Are you sure? I mean, I can stay in a hotel." Matt said.
"Don't be silly. You're staying with me at my parent's house and that's final." Sylvie firmly said.
"Alright." Matt agreed.
They were close to Fowlerton when Sylvie called her mom.
"Hey mom, we are close Fowlerton." Sylvie said over the phone.
"Alright sweetheart. I'll let your brother know. How much longer until you get here?" her mom asked.
"We are about ten minutes away. I'll see you in a few minutes. Love you." Sylvie said.
"I love you, too." her mom said.
They hung up the phone and Matt took the exit to turn off at the hospital. Within ten minutes, they had arrived at the hospital and Matt parked the truck. They got out of the truck and walked inside. Matt felt protective of Sylvie for some reason. Neither of them were sure if Kyle or Hope would be at the hospital, but it was something that Sylvie didn't want to deal with. Her ex fiance, Chaplain Kyle Sheffield, had taken a job near Fowlerton and had asked Sylvie to marry him before he left. Sylvie moved back to Fowlerton with Kyle but Sylvie hated it. She missed Chicago and her friends at 51. She broke up with Kyle because she didn't want to be a stay at home wife and not work. Kyle understood why Sylvie left and didn't hold it against her, but Sylvie's mind was going a million miles a minute.
"Hey, you ready?" Matt asked.
"No, but I have no other choice." Sylvie said.
Matt took her hand and squeezed it.
"I'll be right beside you the whole time. If you get scared or nervous, just squeeze my hand." Matt softly said.
Sylvie half smiled and Matt let go of her hand. They walked into the waiting area where her mom and brother were waiting.
"Sylvie!" her mother cried out.
"Mom, this is my friend, Captain Matt Casey. He works with me at Firehouse 51. Matt, this is my mom, Elaine Brett." Sylvie smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Brett." Matt said politely.
"Thank you for bringing my little girl to us." Elaine Brett said.
"You're welcome." Matt replied.
"Evan, this is my friend, Captain Matt Casey." Sylvie said as she introduced her brother to Matt.
"Nice to meet you, Evan." Matt said.
Evan held out his hand to shake Matt's, who gladly shook Evan's hand.
"Nice to meet you, too." Evan replied.
Sylvie looked around the waiting room and there, in the corner of the room with her hands to her face, sat Hope. Right beside of her, sat Kyle. Sylvie didn't want to talk to either of them, at least not here in the hospital. She wasn't ready to face them. Her family came first. Her primary focus was on her family and Matt.
"Have you guys eaten anything?" Matt asked Elaine and Evan.
"No. We've been right here waiting for the doctors to come out." Evan spoke.
"I'll go to the cafeteria and bring some food for everyone." Matt said.
"Would you mind taking Sylvie with you? Um, Kyle and Hope are sitting over there and I don't think she's up for visitors right now." Elaine said.
"Of course, Mrs. Brett." Matt said.
"Any friend of Sylvie's is a friend of this family. Just call me Elaine." Elaine insisted.
"Alright, Elaine." Matt answered.
Matt walked over to where Sylvie was standing.
"Hey, your mom and brother haven't ate yet. Why don't you and I go to the cafeteria and get some food?" Matt asked.
Sylvie was interrupted by her train of thought.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Sounds good." Sylvie said.
Matt looked in the direction that caught Sylvie's attention.
"Hey, not right now. Let's go get some food for your mom and brother and we can go from there. Ok?" Matt suggested.
"Ok." Sylvie answered.
Matt and Sylvie quickly walked past Hope and Kyle. Sylvie hoped that neither of them would stop her and Matt. Kyle and Hope looked up and Kyle immediately jumped up and walked over to Sylvie and Matt.
"Sylvie? Hey, how are you?" Kyle asked.
"Uh, fine." Sylvie nervously said.
Sylvie grabbed Matt's hand and squeezed it. Matt knew what that meant. He squeezed it back to reassure her and then Kyle noticed Matt standing beside of her.
"Hey, Matt. How have you been?" Kyle asked.
"Good." Matt answered.
"Sylvie, I'm so glad you could be here for your family." Hope chimed in.
Sylvie grew more annoyed and agitated.
"Of course I would be here. Where else would I be?" Sylvie said.
"Sylvie, that's not what I meant." Hope said.
Sylvie's blood started to boil and she squeezed Matt's hand to let him know that she needed to get out of there.
"It was good seeing you guys, but we have to go." Matt said as he and Sylvie quickly walked away from an awkward situation.
Matt and Sylvie went to the cafeteria and bought food for her mom, brother, and the two of them. This was going to be a long day and the last thing that they needed was to have Hope and Kyle make a jab or some sort of conversation with them that would set Sylvie off. Sylvie had a lot going on and if it weren't for Matt, she would have lost her cool with Hope and Kyle.
"Hey, thanks for everything back there." Sylvie half smiled.
"Of course. Like I said, I'm not leaving until you want me too." Matt reassured her.
Sylvie gave him a hug and he held her for as long as she let him. After what seemed like an eternity, Matt and Sylvie pulled away from the hug and walked back upstairs to the waiting room where Elaine and Evan were waiting. Matt gave Elaine and Evan each a to go box filled with a small salad, chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and a roll with packets of Italian, Ranch, and Thousand Island salad dressing. There was a small corner table near where Hope and Kyle were sitting. As much as Sylvie didn't want to sit there, she had to put aside her issues with Hope and what happened between her and Kyle in order to focus on her family. Evan and Elaine knew about the whole situation with both Hope and Kyle and although Elaine was upset that she and Kyle didn't work out, she knew that her daughter had never been more happy than she was being in Chicago.