Sorry about the issue! Never published a fic before and trying to get used to the system. Apologies.

When Gabby woke up she felt a wave a nausea pass over her. Where was she? She looked over and saw Shay. She remembered. She let the wave pass and then stood up. She was careful not to hurt Shay. She felt such guilt about the crash. She walked downstairs and jumped as she saw Severide. "Morning" he smiled. She half smiled back "hi"

"Shay Ok?" He asked worriedly. Gabby nodded. She moved stiffly.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked, with equal concern. Gabby nodded and had a long drink of water. She breathed slowly. God concussion was bad. Poor Shay. Gabby sighed softly and made her way to the shower. She had to sit down in the warm water. She let the pain rip through her. When she felt a tiny bit better she throughly cleaned her leg. It wasn't too bad. She gently let soap run over her. What she wouldn't give to just sleep for months. She brought her knees to her chest and breathed deeply. She allowed herself to reflect on the accident. Why hadn't she seen that car? Why had she taken so long being ready to go? Why couldn't she had grabbed Shay? Did she even deserve to be here with Shay after that? Was Shay insane? What was everyone going to say? She stood up and wrapped towels around her. She walked into Shays room and sat on the bed Shay had vacated. She quickly redressed and bandaged her leg. She dried her hair and then went to find Shay. Shay was curled up on the couch. She smiled when she saw Gabby "hey girlfriend" she joked. Gabby smiled and sat next to her "you feeling ok?" Gabby asked her

"I'm good" Shay smiled "you alright"

Gabby just nodded. She was sure she was fine. One hundred percent fine. Shay snaked her arm over Gabby until it fell onto her chest. Gabby smiled and put her hand on Shays leg. After half an hour Shay stood up "I need to get groceries"

"I can go" Gabby said quickly

"We can go together" Shay smiled "first date"

"Romantic" Gabby laughed. She watched Shay disappear up the stairs and then took a few painkillers. Soon enough Shay reappeared and they went to the store. Shay skipped about like a child. Gabby felt exhausted. She watched Shay and felt so glad she was ok. Shay didn't know what was wrong with Gabby. She had noticed that Gabby's bright brown eyes had become dull. Shay felt as though Gabby was hiding something from her. She watched as the beautiful paramedic walked along. She was smiling but it seemed forced. Shay took Gabby's hand. Gabby wanted to admit the pain she was in but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Shay studied Gabby and detected a limp "what's wrong with your leg" she asked quietly

"Oh erm just a scratch" Gabby said quickly. Shay narrowed her eyes and made a mental note to to ask again at home. Gabby was careful to keep her pain hidden from Shay. When they had finished shopping Gabby carried the bags to the car. Shay walked behind her and looked at her leg. She saw the slight bulk of the bandaging on Gabby's leg. Shay drove home. She watched as Gabby seemed uncomfortable. Gabby knew she wasn't doing a good job at hiding it any more. As soon as they got through the door Shay threw the bags down "let me see your leg"

"It's just a scratch" Gabby said and kissed her head "nothing to worry about"

Shay watched as she started unpacking. She walked over and stopped her "let me see and I'll stop worrying"

Gabby couldn't think of a reason to argue. She nodded "ok" she said regretfully. Shay took her hand and led her to the couch. She watched as Gabby avoided eye contact. Shay knelt down and rolled up Gabby's jeans. She peeled away the dressing and gasped "Gabby!" She said worriedly "this isn't a scratch"

Gabby looked at her "it's not so bad"

"God Gabby what the hell! Why didn't you say this must be so painful"

"It's not" Gabby said. She wasn't lying. She could barely feel it over the constant throb of her head. She let Shays warm hands dress it. Shay kissed her "Gabby you don't have to hide this from me. I'm fine"

"I didn't want you to worry" Gabby said truthfully. She let Shay hug her. Shay finished unpacking the shopping. Gabby's entire body seemed to ache. She felt sluggish. She felt as if she had a cold or something. She tried to shake it off. Shay sat down next to her.

After having lunch and dinner the pair decided to head upstairs. Kelly had been in and out. He liked that Gabby and Shay were finally together. Shay and Gabby lay next to each other talking for a while. Soon enough they fell asleep. Shay woke up in the middle of the night and watched as Gabby breathed gently. She seemed relaxed. Gabby felt Shay kiss her cheek. She didn't have the energy to wake up. Besides, sleep took the pain away.

When Gabby woke up she became aware that Shay was stood up. She quickly went over and hugged her from behind. Shay smiled and turned around "morning"

"Morning" Gabby smiled

"First shift back" Shay giggled. Gabby watched her and smiled "yeah". They pulled on their uniforms and headed to Shay's car. Cheers went up as they walked in. Shay revelled in teasing the guys. Gabby seizes the opportunity to slope off and take some painkillers. She sat in the locker room. She rested her head in her hands.

"Hey here she is" Herrmann said as she walked in. Gabby looked at him "hey Herrmann"

"You ok? You look kinda peaky"

"Just hoping I don't nearly get Shay killed today" she sighed and stood up. Herrmann watched her "hey you know it wasn't your fault Dawson"

She smiled and shrugged before disappearing. Herrmann frowned. He loved Dawson like his own but he didn't know what to say. She clearly felt guilt. He contemplated telling Shay but decided Gabby wouldn't appreciate that. Maybe he should tell Boden. But then Gabby wasn't the type to go and confess all her feelings to Boden even if he did tell the chief. He was brought out of his dilemma by the buzzer. Just the ambo. Shay jumped in. Dawson sat next to her. Shay grinned "let's go" she smiled.

Gabby stared at her. All she could see was Shay blood covered and unresponsive.

"Gabby?" Shay said. Gabby blinked and smiled before nodding "yeah" she mumbled. Shay frowned. They pulled up. It was some drunk guy. Shay watched as Dawson hauled him into the ambo. They drove to Chicago med and dropped him off. Shay watched Gabby's discomfort at being at med. She took Gabby's hand "hey you need to forget about the crash" she said softly

Gabby nodded. If only she could. But her dizziness was a constant reminder. When they got back to 51 Shay pulled Dawson into the locker room and kissed her "I love you" she breathed. Gabby rested her head on Shay's chest. She felt Shay breathing. She put her arms around Shay's waist. Shay rested her arms over Gabby's shoulders. They just stayed there. Shay felt Gabby relaxing. Gabby felt her head pound so much she was almost hallucinating. When the buzzer went off Gabby wanted to cry. When they got there it was house fire. Shay and Gabby dealt with three cases of smoke inhalation. They drove up to Lakeshore- it was closer. Gabby wasted time on the paperwork. She didn't want any more calls. Back at the firehouse she crawled to her bunk and fell asleep. Shay watched her. She was worried. Something was going on. Finally shift ended. Gabby was so glad. When they got to Shays she felt as if she was going to collapse. Shay watched her.

"Erm I'm just gonna go and grab some stuff from my place" Gabby said. She headed to her car and shakily drove to her flat. She unlocked the door and staggered inside. She let moans of pain leave her lips in the silence. She headed towards the sink. Water. Before she could reach the sink she collapsed onto her knees as a splitting pain enveloped her body. She moaned and managed to pull herself up. She staggered another few steps before the tile floor rushed up to meet her and everything was dark.

Thanks for reading!