Thank you everyone for the reviews! Please continue to comment and leave reviews. I'm loving this story and I will be incorporating Firehouse 51 and the other characters from Chicago Fire in later chapters. I'm trying to build a slow burn between Sylvie and Matt and I know this story might seem to be dragging, but it's getting better. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter :)
CHAPTER 6
"So, this is where you disappeared too, huh?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. I needed to clear my head." Sylvie sighed.
"I can leave you alone if you want me too." Matt said.
"You don't have to leave." Sylvie smiled.
Matt returned the smile.
"In that case, I'll stay." Matt flashed a half smile.
The coolness of the breeze swept across their faces. The wind blew through the trees and even though it was Spring, the nights were still very cool. Sylvie was deep in thought when Matt interupted her.
"So, is this what you were telling me that you did when you were younger?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. I don't know why but there is something about a cool Spring night after it rains that makes it feel so peaceful." Sylvie said.
She began shivering and wrapped herself up some more with the blanket.
"You're freezing." Matt said.
"I'm ok. Really." Sylvie replied.
Something was on her mind but Matt didn't want to push the subject. They sat on the porch swing in silence for a little while until Sylvie started to move her foot that was going numb because she sat on it too long.
"You ok?" Matt curiously asked.
"My foot went to sleep." Sylvie complained with a slight chuckle.
"Do you mind?" Matt asked.
"Sure." Sylvie chuckled.
"Just place both of your legs on my lap and I'll massage your feet." Matt grinned.
Sylvie did as she was told as Matt said and placed her legs on his lap. She felt a cramp go up her legs, making it hurt a little bit.
"Stupid leg cramps." Sylvie blurted.
"I hate it when that happens." Matt joked.
Sylvie laughed.
"Me too. I usually soak in Epsom salt while in the bath after work." Sylvie sighed.
Matt could feel Sylvie relaxing as he massaged her feet. She started to fall asleep.
"Hey sleepy, maybe you should go upstairs to bed." Matt chuckled.
Sylvie was almost asleep but she was also groggy.
"Take me to bed." Sylvie laughed.
Matt chuckled.
"Wait, that didn't sound right." Sylvie's face turned red.
"Can you stand up?" Matt asked.
Sylvie positioned herself and tried to stand up. She was really tired.
"I can but I need some help. I'm just really tired I'm used to falling asleep by now." Sylvie said.
Sylvie used Matt to hold onto and they walked upstairs to their rooms. Sylvie walked into her room and thanked Matt for helping her. Matt walked into his room and smiled. The next morning, Sylvie was making breakfast.
"Hey sis, I'm gonna go check on mom and dad at the hospital. Think you could feed the horses before you and Matt come to the hospital?" Evan asked as he placed his empty bowl in the sink.
Evan decided to eat a bowl of cereal instead of the breakfast that Sylvie was cooking.
"Uh, yeah. Tell mom and dad that I'll be there after I clean up a bit. I know how mom hates a dirty house." Sylvie chuckled.
"I will. I'm gonna take her to get something to eat and get her out of the hospital for a while. Love you." Evan said as he gave Sylvie a quick hug and then left.
Matt was upstairs taking a shower. Matt replayed the image in his head of Sylvie on the porch swing with her legs in his lap. He also heard Sylvie get up very early this morning. Matt wasn't entirely sure, but he thought it was around 6:00 a.m. He finished showering and got dressed. He walked back into his room, placed his duffel bag on the floor by the night stand, put his shoes on, and headed downstairs. He could smell the scent of the food that Sylvie was making.
"Smells great in here." Matt smiled.
"Thanks. I've already made some fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and sausage. I'm making pancakes, gravy, and bacon right now. I'm gonna bring my dad some fruits and veggies since he just had surgery. Evan is suppose to take mom out for breakfast." Sylvie explained.
Matt stood there looking a bit nervous. Sylvie gave him a look and chuckled.
"Grab a plate off the table and get some food before it gets cold." Sylvie said as she placed the finished pancakes on a plate.
Sylvie poured the gravy into an empty bowl and placed the bacon on a plate and the placed the pancakes, gravy, and bacon on the table. After Matt had gotten a plate full of food, he grabbed a fork sitting beside the stack of plates on table and started eating breakfast. Sylvie finally sat down and did the same thing. After they were finished eating breakfast, Sylvie placed the leftover food in containers and then placed them in the refrigerator.
"I forgot how great of a cook you are." Matt admitted.
Sylvie was taken aback. Did she hear Matt correctly? He actually noticed her cooking when it was her turn to cook.
"I didn't think you noticed." Sylvie said.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I noticed. It's hard not to notice the best cook in the whole house." Matt teased.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Sylvie grinned.
Sylvie grabbed some fresh apples and carrots from the refrigerator and Matt helped her out. They headed to the barn and fed all the horses and cleaned up the stalls. Sylvie was cracking up watching Matt clean the stalls, but if it made her laugh, he would do it a million times. When they were finished cleaning out the stalls, Sylvie brought each horse out one by one and brushed them. Matt helped with the brushing of the horses and after they were finished, they walked back inside, grabbed their jackets, Sylvie grabbed her purse, and before leaving, she made sure all the doors were locked. They headed to the hospital and after they arrived, Sylvie went to see her dad. Matt stayed back in the waiting room but was surprised when he saw Sylvie come back so fast.
"Matthew Casey, get your butt over here." Sylvie demanded with a laugh.
Matt just laughed. He couldn't help it. Matt followed Sylvie back to her dad's hospital room.
"Dad, this is Captain Matt Casey. He's my coworker at Firehouse 51. He's the one that I told you about." Sylvie said.
Sylvie told her dad about Matt but Matt was curious to know exactly what she said about him. He wasn't complaining but he was curious.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Patrick, Sylvie's dad. Sylvie told me that you brought her here. Thank you." Patrick said.
"No need to thank me. Sylvie is a very good friend and all of us at 51 are like family. We do whatever we can to help each other out." Matt said.
"I hope I'm not crossing a line, but Sylvie had mentioned that you lost your apartment to a fire. How's everything going?" Patrick asked.
Matt gave Sylvie a look. He knew she had a big heart, but he wasn't sure where this conversation was going.
"Everything is going good. Uh, one of our coworkers, Kelly Severide, is letting me stay at his place until I find something." Matt answered.
"That's good." Patrick answered.
Before anyone could say anything, one of Patrick's doctors had came in to check on him. Sylvie and Matt stepped outside of the room.
"I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to say anything about that. I was trying to explain how all of us are like family." Sylvie babbled.
Matt chuckled.
"Look at me, it's ok. Really." Matt softly said.
Sylvie looked at Matt and smiled.
"By the way, I wanna take you out to dinner tonight. On me. No arguments." Matt whispered.
"Well, I can't argue with that." Sylvie smiled.
The doctor came out of the hospital room and Sylvie and Matt walked back in and visited with Patrick for a while. Evan and Elaine returned and everyone got to catch up with each other. Matt saw how Sylvie lit up around her family but also understood why she didn't like the town of Fowlerton. Matt stepped out of the room to go to the bathroom down the hall and he heard several nurses and doctors gossip about Sylvie and how it had to take her father having a heart attack for her to come back home. Matt walked back into Patrick's hospital room where Sylvie, her brother, and her mom were talking to her father. They all continued to chat for a while until Sylvie and Matt decided to leave. Evan left as well to go pick up his girlfriend, Amelia, who was just getting off of work at a law firm. When Matt and Sylvie got into the truck, Matt looked at Sylvie.
"Uh, when I went down the hall to use the restroom, I overheard a lot of the doctors and nurses talking about you." Matt stated.
"Let me guess. They were saying things like, 'it took something big like this for her to come back home' or 'it didn't take her long to find a new boyfriend after having another failed engagement' or my favorite one, 'who would want to marry Sylvie Brett because she's a user." Sylvie smirked.
Matt could see the hurt in her eyes.
"That pretty much sums it up." Matt answered.
"This is why I hate coming to Fowlerton. Every single time I come home, even if it's for a weekend visit, I get talked about like I'm some sort of disease. Everyone here in this town knows everyone and their business. For me, living in Chicago, I don't have that problem. No one except you and the guys at 51 really know me. I love my parents but the people in this town want to talk about how I abandoned my family to go chase a dream. Every time I come back here, I always get asked if Chicago was too fast pace for me or if I have to find another job because no one in Chicago wants me. I hate Fowlerton and I hate the people here. The only ones I care about are my family." Sylvie cried out.
Matt pulled her into a hug and then wiped away her tears.
"Look at me. All of those people are just jealous that you finally got out of this small town and actually made a name for yourself. All of those people are just jealous that you actually had the guts to do what they couldn't do. You, Sylvie Brett, are truly amazing and any man would be lucky to marry you someday and you are beautiful, both inside and out. I know you couldn't hate anyone, but you do dislike certain people and that's alright. You're human." Matt softly told her.
Sylvie pulled him into another hug and then pulled away.
"Ok, maybe I don't hate the people, but they do annoy me with the way they act. Can we get out of here?" Sylvie asked with a smile.
Matt turned the truck on and drove them back to her parent's house. After they got there, Sylvie and Matt went to the barn where the horses were.
"Riding helped clear my mind when I was younger. I haven't been on a horse since I was sixteen." Sylvie said.
Matt, curious to know why, asked.
"What happened?" Matt asked.
"Believe it or not, I used to be in equestrian competitions when I was a teenager and I was really good at it. I was offered a job after high school but I new that I didn't want to make it a job. It was a hobby and loved it but riding horses just wasn't my passion. I didn't want to go to med school but I did want to save lives, so I went to the Academy and now, I'm a paramedic." Sylvie smiled.
"You're gonna have to show me because I honestly find it hard to believe that you had done that." Matt laughed.
"Alright hot shot. I'll be back." Sylvie said as she went inside the house.
After a few minutes, she came back and was dressed in an equestrian outfit from head to toe.
"You wanted to see me ride, well don't say I didn't tell ya." Sylvie smirked with a smile.
Sylvie opened up Annie's stall and saddled up the horse and then rode the horse. Matt followed behind and watched as Sylvie looked like a natural. Sylvie forgot how great riding a horse felt. After several minutes, Sylvie came back to the barn and put the horse back into her stall. Afterwards, she and Matt went back inside and watched a movie.
"Alright, well, you definitely proved me wrong, Sylvie Brett." Matt teased.
"Good because it's always hard to prove Matt Casey wrong." Sylvie playfully hit Matt with a couch pillow.
Matt laughed.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Matt playfully teased.
He grabbed the other couch pillow and playfully hit Sylvie.
"You did not just do that." Sylvie joked.
Matt playfully hit her again and the next thing that either of them knew, they were playfully hitting each other and somehow, Matt started tickling Sylvie, which led to Sylvie laughing so hard, she had to go to the bathroom. When she came back from the bathroom, she playfully hit him again and they went back to playfully fighting with each other. They went on like that for about thirty minutes before they finally stopped. They were out of breath from laughing.
"There's that smile." Matt softly told Sylvie.
Matt was on top of Sylvie, breathing heavily from their play fight. Sylvie blushed. Her face was turning red from Matt's compliment.
"Well, you took my mind off of everything." Sylvie said.
Matt quickly raised up and sat up on the couch. Sylvie repositioned herself as well and they were now sitting next to each other.
"I need to get this house cleaned before mom and dad come home. Would you mind helping me?" Sylvie asked.
"What do you need done? It looks clean to me." Matt chuckled.
"Well, I'm gonna wash laundry for my parents. I need to wash the dishes, take the trash out, and just make sure everything is dusted. Evan is with Amelia
"I think I can help you with that." Matt teased.
Sylvie and Matt got up and Sylvie went upstairs to get the hamper in the bathroom full of dirty laundry and brought it downstairs to the laundry room that was between the kitchen and living room. Matt washed the dishes and took the trash out for Sylvie. After she got the laundry started, Sylvie started sweeping the hardwood floors in the house. Sylvie told Matt where the mop was and he filled the mop bucket and mopped behind Sylvie. The only problem is that Matt mopped him and Sylvie into a corner where they were forced to stay in Sylvie's bedroom until the floors dried.
"I can't believe you mopped us into a corner." Sylvie laughed.
"Yeah, now you know why I never mop the floors at the house." Matt retorted with a laugh.
They both laughed.
"Is that why you always have Gallo and Ritter mop the floors?" Sylvie asked.
"Shh...it's my secret. Don't say anything." Matt joked.
"Scouts honor." Sylvie joked.
They laughed some more and Matt looked at the pictures on Sylvie's walls. Her bedroom was painted in a warm tan or beige color on the top of the walls with a dark maroon red looking color painted on the bottom. Her bedroom was warm and inviting and was filled with pictures of Sylvie from the time she was adopted all the way up until she graduated high school and went to the Academy to become a paramedic.
"Is this you?" Matt asked as he saw a picture in a picture frame.
It was a picture of Sylvie playing Volleyball in high school.
"Uh, yeah. I played volleyball in high school." Sylvie replied.
"I never would have guessed." Matt said.
Matt continued to look around and saw pictures of Sylvie with Harrison, which didn't sit well with Matt as he wanted to be the one in those pictures with her but he hid that from her. He saw pictures of her and Hope and there was one that really stood out to him. It was Sylvie wearing a beautiful midnight blue dress with small rhinestones.
"When did you take this picture?" Matt asked.
"Oh, that one? I had that taken a few weeks ago. I was helping a friend with a photoshoot for her art show in New York." Sylvie admitted.
"You look amazing." Matt smiled.
Sylvie blushed but smiled. Matt walked over to where Sylvie was standing.
"I think the floor is dry." Matt whispered.
Sylvie went over and checked the floor. It was dry and they headed downstairs. Matt put the mop bucket up and rang the mop out.
"Just put the mop outside on the porch to dry." Sylvie called from the laundry room.
Sylvie was putting the clothes in the dryer and started the dryer. She put a new load of laundry in the washer and turned the washer on and then walked over to the couch and sat down. Matt joined her and it didn't take long for Sylvie to fall asleep with her head on Matt's shoulder. He fell asleep shortly after.
They took a long nap and by the time they woke up, it was about 5:00 p.m. Matt told Sylvie to go get ready for dinner, since he told her that he was taking her to dinner. He followed Sylvie upstairs to change clothes for dinner.