Chapter Two

A/N: So I only had forty-five minutes to smash this chapter out and therefore it hasn't been proof-read so please excuse any mistakes. I'm hoping y'all are liking this… If you are, please review!

Within seconds, majority of the firehouse were headed in the way of Stella's scream. Instinctively, Stella shielded Sylvie as best she could, knowing that the blonde would probably be horrified if they had seen her like that, especially the men.

Severide arrived first, followed quickly by Casey, Shay, Boden and Hermann with the others close behind. All stopped instantly in their tracks, not really sure what to think. Shay was the first to act, switching into paramedic mode and kneeling down beside Sylvie with Stella on the blonde's other side. She looked up at Severide who got the message and ran back into the firehouse. "Dawson! Chilli! Get out here!"

A few seconds passed before the other two paramedics came rushing out. Chilli froze instantly at the sight of her partner whilst Gabby jumped right into action. Part of her wanted to throw up, another part wanted to hit herself for not checking on the blonde's wellbeing more the night before, another part wanted to physically rip apart the person who had hurt her friend, and finally and thankfully, the final part flung her into paramedic mode.

Gabby moved to kneel besides Stella, doing a once over of the blonde. Shay was doing the same and it was obvious, not only to the medics but also to everyone else, that Sylvie Brett was definitely not in a good shape.

Sylvie's face was black, blue, bloodied and swollen. It was pretty clear that at least her jaw was broken and probably her eye-socket and nose too. She had a massive gaping gash along her forehead and her blonde hair was practically dyed red with blood. Her lip was split open and both paramedics knew that she would be needing stitches, both there and on her head. There was strong bruising around her neck and they could almost hear Stella choke back a gag when she realized that they were hand marks. Her left collarbone was swollen and possibly broken, as were majority of her ribs. Gabby was certain that her left shoulder was dislocated and pretty sure that her right arm had a fracture. There was an unbelievable amount of bruising over her stomach and arms, and from what they could tell, her wrists hand been bound. Both Shay and Gabby stopped when they reached the lower part of her body, exchanging a glance before Shay spoke to the group watching on.

"Guys, can we have some room? Chilli, bring the bus around and get a blanket to cover her."

Chilli stood still frozen so Severide pulled off his jacket and handed it to Shay who gently lay it over the lower, exposed part of her body. A few seconds later, all but Boden, Chilli, Severide and Casey were still there with the rest following Shay's instructions.

"Chilli?" Chilli didn't move at the Chief's voice. "Chilli?!"

Finally, the younger woman snapped out of her daze and looked between her Chief and Brett. "Help Dawson and Shay. Severide, bring the Ambo around. Casey, come with me. Call Antonio, I'll call Voight and put the house out of action today."

Each followed their instructions although it took Chilli a little longer to act. No one wanted to move the blonde; heck, no one even knew where to start. Severide pulled the rig up as close as possible and got out a few bags, handing them to Gabby and Shay, before pulling out the stretcher.

Stella moved so that she was positioned at Sylvie's head allowing the medics more room but never leaving Sylvie's side. She placed a gentle hand on the blonde's head, careful to avoid any visible injuries, and was more than relieved when Shay said she had a pulse and was breathing. It was shallow and sounded as if she had fluid on her lungs, but at least she was breathing.

"Sylvie?" Gabby tried to keep her voice as calm and soothing as possible, gently touching her hand. "Sylvie, honey, can you hear me?"

Sylvie didn't move so Stella tried. "Brett, squeeze my hand if you can hear us."

It took a few seconds but Sylvie gave the weakest squeeze she could handle, a slight whimper escaping as she did.

"Good girl." Gabby reassured. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

Shay grabbed a stethoscope out of the ambo bag before nodding to Chilli to prepare an oxygen mask, knowing that Gabby would manage the medication. "Okay, sweetie, I'm just going to listen to your chest, okay? It's just me, it's Leslie."

Sylvie instinctively inched away from Shay and closer to Stella when the other blonde went to touch her.

Stella gently cupped her head, leaning close to whisper. "Try not to move your head, babe. You're okay. No one's going to hurt you."

Sylvie nodded slightly, whimpering with each movement. The women took this as a good sign. As much as they hated to see their friend like this, at least she was somewhat responsive.

"Is it okay if Shay listens to your chest real quickly?"

Sylvie didn't respond but didn't pull away either, silently allowing her to. Shay listened as diligently as she could whilst trying to be quick, before nodding to Gabby with a solum look. There was definitely fluid on her lungs.

"Brett?" Chilli spoke up for the first time. "I'm just going to put an oxygen mask on, okay? It's going to help you breathe better."

It almost felt stupid explaining what they were doing to someone who already knew but they all knew that the more aware of the actions taking place, the more likely it was for the blonde to remain as calm as possible.

All four women exchanged a glance, knowing they needed to assess her lower body. "Sweetie, I'm going to give you some morphine for the pain then we're going to take a quick look at your stomach and legs. Is that okay?"

Sylvie cried out, both from pain and fear, as she tried her best to shuffle away from the medics and closer to Stella. "Okay, okay, it's okay. You're okay, sweetheart. I've got you. They're not going to hurt you. Just try not to move, okay, honey?"

The firefighter gently shifted Sylvie's head into her lap, knowing it was probably the least smartest thing to do. At that moment though, she only cared about making the blonde feel safe. "Can you open your eyes for me, baby?"

Sylvie's eyes fluttered slowly and she grimaced in pain. Eventually, she was only able to get one eye open half-way with the other completely swollen shut.

"Good girl." Stella forced a reassuring smile, trying her best to ignore the horror she felt when she saw that Sylvie's open eye was completely bloodshot. "You're doing so well. Just look at me, okay? Just focus on me and ignoring everything else."

It was a unanimous yet silent decision that Stella was to keep Sylvie as calm as possible whilst the other three gave her some basic treatment before they scoop and ran. Chilli placed a C-collar around her partner's neck before readjusting the breathing mask; Gabby pushed morphine followed by diazepam; and Shay hooked up the heart monitor and took basic OBs. Each exchanged a glance before Shay looked up at Severide whom was making sure to stay a fair distance away.

"Can you hand me a blanket?" He did as she requested and in one swift movement, the jacket covering Sylvie's legs was removed and replaced with a blanket. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone that the jacket had been drenched through with blood. Sylvie began to cry despite the pain so Stella pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, whispering soothing words.

Shay and Chilli stood up as Stella and Gabby tried to keep Sylvie calm and went to set up the stretcher, bringing it as close to Sylvie as she could. Gabby knelt closer so that Sylvie could look at her, noticing the way that the blonde switched her attention rapidly between Stella and herself.

"Okay, honey… We're going to move you to the stretcher now, okay? Is it okay if Severide helps us lift you? It's just him and us girls."

Sylvie didn't respond but she looked up at Stella with pleading eyes and her breathing increased rapidly. Stella knew that this was as calm as they would be able to get the girl so she nodded to the others.

It was silently agreed upon that Severide would lift under her stomach with Shay and Chilli at her waist and legs, Gabby stabilizing her head, and Stella doing her best to keep reassuring the blonde.

"On three." Gabby instructed. "One, two, three."

Sylvie let out a cry that broke all of their hearts and instinctively shifted in their hold. They positioned her on the stretcher quickly and buckled her in before loading her into the ambulance. Both Shay and Stella nodded a thank you to Severide and he took the hint, heading inside the station. Stella was the first in, positioning herself so that Sylvie could see her. She squeezed her hand gently and wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks, knowing she was likely hurting her but trying her best not to. Gabby was next in, taking over in treating her friend. Shay jumped in the driver's side with Chilli in the passenger's, all knowing that Shay was the one who would get them to the hospital the fastest considering her driving record.

They arrived at Chicago Med in record time; the ride completely silent minus the soft, reassuring whispers from Stella, the beeping of the machines and the muffled cries from Sylvie. Neither Shay nor Chilli were surprised when they saw Drs Halstead, Rhodes, Manning and Choi along with nurses April and Maggie, as well as a few others they didn't recognize, and Sharon, waiting at the ER entrance. They all knew that Boden would have called ahead.

Shay and Chilli jumped out first, Chilli making sure the others backed away a bit while Shay gave the rundown to Sharon and Maggie. "Sylvie Brett. 27. Found outside the firehouse this morning. Obviously assaulted. Suspected hypothermia, broken jaw, eye-socket, wrist, shoulder, possible ribs and pelvis…" She paused, nauseated. "Most likely raped and with the amount of blood, likely tearing and internal bleeding. We've given her twenty of morphine, fifteen of diazepam and she's on 90% 02. BP is low at 92/45, pulse rate is tachy at 121 and sats are only 68%. Barely responsive but is aware of her surroundings."

Chilli made sure that only Shay, Sharon and Maggie were close before knocking gently on the back door of the ambulance. Dawson opened one of the doors and looked around before opening the other. She wanted nothing more than to keep Sylvie protected and not seen in the shape that she was, but she also knew that the blonde needed immediate help.

"Sylvie? Honey, we're here, okay? We're at the hospital. Stella, Shay, Chilli and I will be with you the whole time, okay? Just focus on us."

Sylvie's only response was to look at Stella whom nodded and forced a reassuring smile. "It's okay."

Gabby jumped out of the ambulance first and with the help of Shay and Chilli, unloaded the stretcher as gently as possible. Sylvie let out a cry but calmed slightly when Stella jumped out and was by her side in seconds. Almost instantly, the doctors and nurses went to pounce on her as if she were just another patient but they were quickly held back by Sharon and Chilli.

"Take her to Baghdad."

Moving as quickly as they could while trying to keep the pain of the transport to a minimum, Shay and Dawson pushed the stretcher into the closest trauma room with Stella by Sylvie's side the entire time. Pretty quickly, the room was filled with doctors and nurses and Stella, Gabby, Shay and Chilli all felt like slapping them.

Maggie took charge, knowing they needed to move Sylvie from the stretcher to the bed and do a full workup as soon as possible. Gabby stabilized Sylvie's head, whilst Shay, Chilli, Stellla, Maggie and April all grabbed the sheet Sylvie was lying on.

"On three. One, two, three."

Sylvie let out a scream followed by agonizing cries as they positioned her on the bed. Everyone was acting quickly, doing their jobs the way they usually would, but not taking into account the terrified girl lying in front of them. Sylvie's heart monitor started beeping stating that her heart was very tachycardic and her breathing became rapid, shallow breaths. Shay was the first to pick up on it, leaning down close to Sylvie after signalling for the others to back away slightly.

"Sylvie? Honey, you're having a panic attack. I need you to try and slow your breathing for me. Take slow, deep breaths, okay? In and out, in and out."

She demonstrated the method but as hard as Sylvie tried, she couldn't stop. She reached out for Stella ignoring the pain whom instantly took her hand. She couldn't speak but managed to mouth out the words. "Can't breathe."

"Shhh… It's okay, you're okay." April upped the oxygen as Stella gently stroked Sylvie's forehead. "Just try to breathe slowly. You're safe. We're here. You're going to be okay."

"Give her another five of morphine and two of lorazepam."

Gabby, Shay and Chilli looked up as Dr. Will Halstead's voice came into the room, quickly followed by Dr. Connor Rhodes. "Order a full-body X-Ray and a head and chest CT."

Dr. Rhodes put on his stethoscope and went to listen to Sylvie's chest but the blonde instantly pulled away, instantly crying due to the pain but worried more about the male who was about to touch her than the physical pain she was in. Her heart rate spiked once again and the blonde whimpered, barely breathing.

"No…" Sylvie's voice was barely a whisper but everyone in the room could hear and see her pain. "Please…"

The blonde instinctively shifted closer to Stella despite her pain as if to shield herself from the view of others. They all picked up on it but Dr. Natalie Manning was the first to act, turning to the males in the room.

"Everyone out." Stella, Gabby, Shay and Chilli all knew that didn't mean them, at least not immediately, but the rest of the Chicago Med team obliged. "Now."

Once out of the room, Natalie continued. "No males in the room. April, you stay. Maggie too if we need you."

"But-"

Natalie stopped Dr. Rhodes in his tracks, knowing what they were all thinking. Head trauma, internal injuries, possible emergency surgery- she needed to be checked over immediately and by all departments.

"No males."

With that, Natalie and April made their way back into the room, closing the door and curtains behind them.

Natalie approached the bed with caution, noting how Sylvie clung to Stella despite her obvious pain and distress. "Sylvie, I need to check you over, okay? To see where you're hurt. April is going to grab the X-Ray machine and we'll take you up for a CT scan soon but right now, I need to listen to your chest and stomach, and check for any external injuries. Is that okay?"

Sylvie looked up at Stella first then at Gabby, Chilli and Shay. Gabby nodded reassuringly at the blonde.

"They can stay with you if you like?" Natalie already knew the answer but asked anyway. Sylvie didn't respond but shifted slightly so that Natalie would have more access.

Natalie was as gentle and fast as possible as she checked Sylvie over. The morphine and benzo had kicked in a little more allowing Sylvie to breath a little better but Natalie could hear fluid in her lungs. She decided against an immediate chest tube, instead opting to wait for the X-Ray. Sylvie's eye-socket and collarbone were definitely broken and her shoulder was definitely dislocated. Natalie wasn't entirely sure without an X-Ray regarding her jaw, ribs and opposite wrist but she suspected at least a couple of fractures. She dreaded what she had to do next.

"Sylvie, I need to look down low now, okay? I need to see how injured you are."

Sylvie shook her head and began to physically shake causing Stella and Gabby to come closer. "We're going to be here the whole time, okay? I promise, no one is going to hurt you."

"Just try to take deep breaths, sweetie. It's just Natalie. No one else can see."

Sylvie hesitated but nodded ever so slightly after a few moments. Almost everyone in the room was able to stifle their gasps before Sylvie could hear them minus Chilli, who looked apologetically between the rest of the group. Sylvie had bled through the sheets and blankets and still had blood trickling down her legs. Her thighs were bruised and no one even wanted to imagine the kind of damage Natalie was looking at only inches above.

Sylvie was crying and shaking, holding as much of a death grip on Stella's hand as she could considering the pain. The firefighter simply gripped her hand back while Shay ran a hand over her forehead, gently reminding her to breathe.

After what seemed like hours but was realistically only a couple of minutes, Natalie covered Sylvie with a blanket again and changed her gloves. She pulled Gabby, Chilli and April aside, speaking as quietly as possible.

"There's major internal and external tearing. She's going to need surgery as soon as possible but I want an X-Ray and CT scan done first to check for any other major bleeding."

April took that as her que to grab the portable X-Ray machine whilst the other three went back over to Sylvie. "Okay, Sylvie, we're going to do a quick X-Ray down here then head upstairs for a CT scan." She paused, looking between the others. "And then we're going to need to take you into surgery."

Sylvie began panicking again, her eyes darting between the other women in the room. Stella acted first, squeezing her hand. "It's going to be okay. You're safe here. And I will personally make sure that there are only females in the room. Does that sound okay?"

Sylvie whimpered but settled slightly, allowing Gabby to kiss her forehead reassuringly. April arrived back with the X-Ray soon after and confirmed most of what they suspected- a broken eye-socket, fractured jaw, dislocated shoulder, fractured collarbone, spiral fracture to her wrist, five broken ribs and a small pelvic fracture, not to mention the need for numerous external sutures. Before heading up to CT, Natalie ordered another 10mg of morphine and another five of lorazepam- enough to keep her calm enough for both the scan and the surgery knowing that neither Stella nor any of the medics would be allowed in the operating room.

By the time it was time to take Sylvie into surgery, she was passed out- a mixture of pain, medication and pure exhaustion. It took Chilli and Shay to pry Stella and Gabby away from the blonde's side respectfully, but they all watched as she was pushed into the operating area before slowly heading down to where they assumed the rest of the firehouse and probably the police were waiting.

For now, it was just a waiting game.