*This chapter has been revised from its original version - Hope you like it! Reads, reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated!
Chapter 3: Invitations
Four AM. You know that saying 'Nothing good happens after midnight.'? Well nothing awesome happens at 4 AM either. Perhaps that's being a little dramatic but frankly speaking, Mallory just wasn't a morning person. They'd gotten six more calls that evening and as the first half of her shift had come to an end she had only managed about a solid four hours of sleep. Even that was stretching it. Maybe it was the six cups of coffee she'd downed that had something to do with it, or the fact that she was now sleeping in a room with 12 men she'd only just met. Either one was a valid possibility. At her last job the paramedics slept in a different area than the guys on truck and the last man she'd actually slept next to... no. She refused to start going down that road again. Those thoughts had haunted her every night for months. Not anymore. New place, and a fresh start. She would simply have to adjust. To be stronger than this.
Because falling apart was not an option.
The firehouse was quiet while everybody slept and she rolled out of bed silently deciding to wash up before everyone else woke. Better she get in there before the others. Avoid all that awkward bathroom chit-chat for as long as possible. Keep the questions at bay until the bruises faded. These people were different. This place was different. She was starting over somewhere safe. Following the plan. Mallory just needed to make sure the last traces of that history faded with them. She had a feeling there would be inquisitors (Dawson) if anyone saw the marks. That was the last thing she needed.
Mallory headed to the common area after washing up, but stopped when she heard clinking in the kitchen. Sounded like someone was digging through a cabinet. Making enough of a racket to wake the whole house with their banging around. She hadn't seen anyone missing when she'd backtracked past the sleeping quarters earlier to put her bag back in her locker but she hesitated starting to backtrack a few steps. Avoid that small talk she'd been trying to stay away from. Who else got up at 4 AM anyway?
Severide popped up from the other side of the counter his hair damp as if he'd freshly showered and a sheepish smile on his face. One of those childish grins that made her relax a bit. "Morning." He casually greets. Severide had seemed a bit standoffish yesterday after they'd met, so she was genuinely surprised by his cheerfulness.
"Oh.. uh good morning."
"You're up early." He continues moving about in the kitchen looking through the cabinets as she walks closer leaning against the counter. Watching him search. "So are you." She observes subtly following it up with a curious, "What are you looking for?"
"Coffee filters. We're all out and I know Otis hides some extras in one of these pots." As he went over to dig in the pantry, Mallory reached over the counter and lifted the lid of the pot on the stove that appeared to be the only one Severide had yet to check. One that she had noticed remained untouched yesterday when Otis was cooking. Candidates had primary control of the kitchen given their kitchen duties and she'd witnessed more than a few candidates hiding their secret stash of treats and supplies in the kitchen. Time and again she'd dug in to a few stashes that the newbies had tried to hide. Candy, cookies, and that fancy popcorn that people like to drop off at the station. Paying attention surely had its perks and some of those candidates were such rookies.
Inside Mallory found the flimsy paper filters at the bottom of the empty pot. She held them up victoriously and he shut the pantry door with a grin. "Thanks. I owe you."
"Share some of that coffee with me and we're good."
"You got it." Kelly went about starting the pot glancing up occasionally while he worked. His gaze following her as she looked in the fridge for a moment. Severide watched her contemplate yogurt flavors alternating between raspberry and lemon but instead deciding on cherry. Eying the many drawers and nawing on her lip as she started to open up drawers searching for the silverware. He takes a small step around her and snags a spoon from the right drawer setting it on the counter for her.
Mallory took a spoonful of yogurt and shoved it into her mouth. The awkward silence hung in the air, just the two of them standing in the kitchen together and the sound of coffee brewing in the pot. His eyes flickered over to her every few seconds and she shifted on her feet a bit. Was he sizing her up? Had she intruded on a private routine? She ate another spoonful nervously and he finally broke the silence much to her relief. Perhaps small talk would be better than the lingering quiet after all. "So what's up? Can't sleep?"
"Not really... first day jitters I guess. You?"
"I get up early sometimes..." He trails off looking at her again. The kind of look that made her heart beat fast. It made her nervous. The blush warmed her cheeks as she firmly asked him, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He wasn't fazed that she'd caught him staring. Just a small nod towards the doors leading outside as he asked, "You wanna see something cool?"
Mallory tilted her head a bit, debating what that could possibly mean. She was intrigued by his question but part of her wondered what his intentions were. She barely knew him after all. Was he hitting on her? Making fun of her? Up to something? He raised an eyebrow nodding toward the doors again and she gave in letting him show her the way outside. It turned out that Severide's idea of something cool involved scaling a ladder up to the roof of 51. Balancing her yogurt cup while climbing was much harder than it appeared but she managed. Severide followed her up carefully making sure she made it safely.
"So why are we sitting on the roof?" She asks and he lets his feet dangle over the side of the building, looking over at her again. She had settled a couple inches back from the edge, her legs criss-crossed and tucked neatly underneath her, yogurt cup grasped between her hands. Mallory wasn't necessarily afraid of heights as much as she was afraid of falling.
"Look." The sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon line. A bright firey orange tainting the light blue sky with shades of pink and yellow blending in. A shower of light, dancing over the quiet city of Chicago. Something that she would have photographed to remember though she was doubtful a picture would do it justice. They had the perfect view. "Wow... this is incredible."
"Yeah it really is..." He trails off leaving them in a comfortable silence as they watch the sky get brighter.
"Aren't you freezing?" He asks rubbing his hands together for warmth.
She shrugs casually, a hint of a smile on her lips as she meets his eyes. "Honestly? I didn't really notice." She hadn't bothered with a sweater yet, the morning air was so still and peaceful it did a nice job of waking her completely. Of pulling her out of her stupor. "It's so peaceful out here."
"As opposed to the chaotic snoring? I bet." Severide teases. Mallory rolls her eyes bumping her shoulder against his playfully. She actually enjoyed his company. He didn't pry or ask alot of questions. Seemed like maybe they could be friends. "Hey, you have your own quarters! What's your excuse?" He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I can see the appeal. Peace. Quiet. Sometimes it's all we get with our job."
"Yeah..." He was right of course. There wasn't anything peaceful about being a first responder. You found peace in other things, friends and family, or the solace of watching the sunrise every morning. Those things are what you held onto when the job got hard. That was your peace.
"Thanks. Kelly."
"What are those?" Gabby leaned forward curiously peering over her partner's shoulder and gesturing to the newspaper she was reading. Mallory had a highlighter dangling between her teeth, pulling it out so she could speak and waving the ad above her head for her partner to see. "Apartment listings. The Hilton is getting pricey." she says highlighting another ad. These were close enough to work that she would be able to walk or take a bus. Save her some more cash. She could manage the move in fees, though the down payments would more than likely clean out what little she had left of her savings.
"You've been staying at a hotel?" Gabby looks at her in disbelief. Her face resembling someone who'd just been insulted. As if she was nuts for even considering that. "I flew in two days before my first shift. Haven't left the firehouse yet."
"Well I've been looking for a roommate. You'll move in with me." Dawson could see her face take that whole deer in the headlights look and she quickly added, "It's a nice neighborhood! You'll love it. And you can skip all those stupid down payments and crap."
Mallory wasn't so easily convinced, but Gabby also wasn't easily disuaded. "Come on Halstead, this is what we do here. We look out for each other. You're just gonna have to get used to it. Why don't you come by after shift? Take a look around see if you like it?" Before she can answer another call comes through and they're up ready to go as soon as the address is rattled out. Their conversation temporarily forgotten.
"Ambulance 61, person in distress. 644 Jefferson Street."
As they pulled up to the address they were blocked and bombarded by a crowd of nearly sixty people out in the street. Dawson hit the breaks on the ambo when pedestrians started surrounding the rig, reaching for her radio. A riot seemed to have broken out and the lot was filled with people yelling and angrily shouting. Mallory rolled down her window partially ordering the people to move and clear the way but no one paid her any mind. Either they couldn't hear her or they just didn't care. They were furious. "61 to main, requesting immediate police presence to our location for crowd control." Gabby says just as someone climbs over the hood to move closer. Not ten seconds later their radios crackled to life and a voice came through. "Copy that 61, CPD is in route."
"We should stay put till the cops get here. We don't know what we're dealing with." Mallory gave her partner a small nod of agreement. Dawson was PIC but she agreed whole heartedly that if they walked into something clearly dangerous it could end badly for both of them. The amount of calls like this in Hawaii were next to none. Nowhere near the number of violence related calls here in Chicago. If they could stay put that's what they should do.
A loud frantic banging made them both jump. A young boy started hitting Dawson's window repeatedly to get their attention, the palms of his hands smearing bloody handprints all over the glass obstructing their vision. He couldn't have been more than 14, and his eyes were wide with something she recognized. Fear. Panic. Dawson warily lowered her window enough to hear his scared voice shouting over the noise that surrounded them. "Are you okay? Are you bleeding?"
"You're paramedics right?!" He asks ignoring her question entirely. Mallory leans over the center console to hear him better. "We are. Are you hurt kid?"
"No no it's not me. My uncle, he's bleeding real bad. I-I couldn't stop it." Mallory unbuckled her seatbelt quickly and Dawson did the same hopping out of her side. There were a few people that she had to shove out of the way to get out, but Mallory managed to squeeze by the people to get on Dawson's side. "What's your name?"
"C-Charles. Charlie." He stutters and Dawson opens up the back of the rig handing her the jump bag and grabbing some extra supplies. "Okay Charlie the police are coming and we're gonna help your uncle but I need you to stay in here until we come back alright? You'll be safe in here." The kid shakes his head back and forth automatically. "No no I can't- I can't let him die!" He took three steps backwards bumping into a screaming woman who didn't seem to notice.
Mallory's hand shot out catching his wrist before he could push further back into the mob. "Charlie look at me. I promise we are gonna help your uncle, but you have to listen to us. Now where did you last see him?" The kid pointed toward the center of the crowd and she ushered him into the ambulance giving Dawson a look. "Alright. Wait here, we're gonna get him. Now Charlie." Mallory orders sternly.
She shut the door as soon as he was inside and Gabby clicked her radio one more time. "Main what's the ETA on CPD?"
"CPD is one minute out 61." One more minute. Judging by the blood on Charlie's hands that uncle didn't have another minute. It could be a surface wound or he could be bleeding out. It wasn't a risk they could take. Gabby shook her head firmly. "We can't wait. Let's go just.. stay close okay?" Mallory nods and her partner leads them into the crowd through the people.
There was a lot of pushing and shoving as people tried to get closer to the center of all the commotion. She stood on her tippy toes trying to see a path through and she spotted some of the people pulling a body from a car window and hitting him. Crap. "Fire Department! Get back! Clear the area now!" Dawson had made good headway getting them closer but she was shoved sideways knocking her into the bustle by a big hulking guy. "HEY! DAWSON!" Mallory exclaimed. The sound of glass breaking and loud police sirens filled the air. Halstead reached for her partner trying to grab her but Dawson was gone. Instead, Mallory buckled back receiving an elbow to the jaw as the same asshole that knocked Dawson pushed past her. It was complete chaos. "Get BACK! Dawson! Hey! MOVE!"
Police had arrived and started clearing the crowd back. Mallory still had no visual on her partner but she was able to reach the patient who was slumped up against the car and holding his side with a bloody hand.
"Sir? Can you hear me? What's your name?"
"J-Jaaack." He slurred. Jack had a steady stream of blood pouring out of his nose and covering his mouth, but the unmistakable stench of liquor radiated from his breath. He was wasted. "How much have you had to drink today Jack?" She asks, her tone laced with irritation. Mallory didn't blame the angry mob for their reaction. Driving drunk was idiotic. He started to move swatting her hands away angrily. Mallory was struggling to hold him steady and pack the wound on his side that was leaking blood. "Hey You! Come hold him!" She orders the detective that was nearest to them.
The guy knelt down and held Jack while she filled the syringe with a sedative and injected it into his arm. "Keep him still." He struggled for a few seconds longer until he finally gave up slumping tiredly again. Mallory laid him back on the ground using the gauze to pack the wound on his side. It was a deep gash but it hadn't punctured anything. A surface injury. More than likely a slice from a knife. She taped the gauze down over it and started taking his vitals.
"You seen my partner?" Mallory thought even if he hadn't, he'd be willing to look while she handled the patient. The guy seemed nice enough. He had helped her after all.
"Gabby? She's with the girl."
"What girl?" She hadn't seen a girl in distress though her attention had been elsewhere at the time trying to help the drunk guy and find her partner in the midst of the chaos. After Dawson had slipped away in the crowd, the bystanders had gotten crazy and Mallory wasn't surprised that other people had been hurt. "This genius ran some kid over." Well that explained the angry mob. "Idiot. 61 to dispatch come in."
"Go ahead 61." The response was instantaneous and she unhooked the blood pressure cuff from Jack's arm. The gash had leaked a lot of blood but he was stable. "Roll another transport to our location."
"Copy that 61, Ambo en route."
"Hey partner there's someone I want you to meet," Gabby waved to the cop in the brown leather jacket who happened to be the same detective that had helped her out earlier and he jogged over to where they were loading up with a friendly smile on his lips contradicting his whole tough guy image. Mallory set the clipboard down so Gabby could make the introduction as he reached them. "This is my brother Antonio."
Antonio Dawson was a ruggishly handsome man that carried an aura of authority. It was the kind of presence that demanded respect. He reminded her of Jay in that sense. The kind of person you looked to for leadership. Antonio is a few inches taller than Gabby but not by much, with sharp defined features that didn't really resemble those of her partner. Perhaps it was the softness of Gabby's characteristics reflecting her own nature that seperated them, but the eyes... there was no mistaking the eyes. They were identical. Antonio shook her hand politely.
Things had died down considerably thanks to Chicago PD. Mallory finally located her partner when she was handing off the girl to the second ambo. Unfortunately they were stuck with Jack who had stabalized and settled on moaning and loudly complaining about them taking forever. Antonio promptly pointed out that the only place he was going after getting stitched was straight to lock up. That made him shut up. When they'd gotten back to the rig, Charlie was gone and Jack was no help in answering their questions. At least they'd gotten to make sure the kid wasn't hurt.
"Looks like someone popped ya pretty good." He gestured to her jaw that had a nasty purple bruise maring the skin and her split lip. That guy who elbowed her had been one of the first arrested by CPD. Her hand gently touched the skin with a frown. She'd hoped it wouldn't be too obvious. "Hazards of the job." She says with a shrug of her shoulders but they both nod in agreement. As a first responder you didn't know what kind of danger could come with a call. The upside was you usually ended up with a good story to tell down the road.
"So Mallory's moving in with me tomorrow." Gabby cheerfully says. Mallory knocks her shoulder lightly giving her a look but her partner just grinned mischeviously. They hadn't even discussed everything yet, but Mallory had a feeling that it didn't really matter. Antonio's eyebrows shot up but he didn't seem all that surprised. It wasn't unusual for his sister. They'd been raised with a strong family ethic and frankly it was just the type of person she was. That's why he worried about her so much. "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night? I'll get Laura to whip something up. We can properly welcome her." She wasn't entirely sure if the offer was a genuine invitation or an excuse for Antonio to interegate her. Mallory figured it was probably the second one.
"Oh I don't wanna impose-" She tries but her partner knocks her shoulder the same way she'd done before interrupting her resonse quickly with a short and blatant acceptance, "We'll be there 'tonio."
"Great, I gotta go get statements. See you guys."
"Hey! Uh-there was a kid, Charlie. He said our patient was his uncle. Might know what happened." Antonio writes something down and says a quick thanks. As he jogs away Gabby gives her a satisfied smirk and Mallory rolls her eyes. When Gabriella Dawson set her mind to something, she made it happen. "Lesson number one Halstead, Never EVER turn down a free meal. Especially when Laura's cooking."
"Noted. Let's get Mr. Jack Daniels over to Lakeshore."
Mallory turned into the garage, her first time driving he ambo had been smooth and easy. A nice decompression on the ride back. "Hey! We heard what happened. You guys alright?" Though he asked after them both, Casey went straight to Gabby barely sparing her more than a glance as the others trailed out behind him. Almost all of them had come out to the floor when they'd pulled in. Dawson had mentioned they'd probably heard it over the radio already and she'd been right.
Hermann gently lifted her chin turning her face side to side to examine her face. She'd used the side mirror on the way back to see it for herself. It was a nice shade of purple now and her bottom lip burned a little but it didn't bother her much. Certainly wasn't the worst she'd had though she wasn't entirely thrilled at the idea of answering everyone's questions until it disappeared.
"A riot broke out. Caught an elbow to the face." The older man grimaced at her explanation, shaking his head in disproval. All of them seemed a bit peeved they'd been in danger. Severide loomed behind him with a few others, but the squad liutenant's eyes zeroed in on her face with a concerned frown. She wasn't entirely sure if they were genuinely concerned or worried that she'd crack up on her first day but they treated Dawson with the same concern so she relaxed a bit. Chalked it up to her own insecurities.
"Pretty quiet for your first shift huh kid?" Hermann jokes. He was right, she'd seen more action in the last 24 hours than she had in a week at her old job. This was still her first day. Couple hours longer, probably would be a few more if Dawson got her way and managed to get her over to see her place after shift. Could be a good thing. She wouldn't mind having another female around. It had been a while since Mallory had a girl friend. Someone to keep her company. Might help her finances a bit too. Definitely liked the idea of getting something resembling financial security. Setting up roots here.
After reassurring the guys that she was fine several more times, Mallory collapsed onto the sofa beside Mouch adjusting herself a bit to get somewhat comfortable. She didn't get how he could lounge on those cushions all day. The sofa was real worn and the cushions could barely be called cushions anymore. Figured it had probably been around about as long as Mouch himself. Definitely added character to the room.
'Function over form'. She could hear Jay's voice remind her. His little motto that excused his lack of taste went right along with his labeling of things as 'vintage' or 'gently used' when they weren't even close to that condition. Suppose it was a Jay thing. She wasn't against buying or thrifting things. Hell, as a kid one of her favorite things to do on the weekends was wander into thrift stores and spend her allowance on little trinkets and such. Mallory loved classic items. Actual vintage things. But she also knew when it was time to let things go and toss them before you started waking up with kinks in your neck. Something that had clearly been lost on her older brother.
"Makes you look tough." Mouch says offering her an encouraging thumbs up. He was an interesting guy. Seemed a little ditzy of matters outside of his job but still lovable. She'd gotten that insight through Dawson post-introductions yesterday. Gabby had supplied some house history on their way to calls. Harmless info so she could get better aquainted, though Mallory was sure her partner was just trying to make her feel included. Less of an outsider. "Thanks Mouch."
Dawson had grabbed the spot on her other side and let her head fall against Mallory's shoulder with her eyes shut. Probably not the best place to try and catch some real sleep though. Sounded like someone was banging around in the kitchen again. Almost always had someone in there cooking or cleaning. Maintaining the house. Couple of the guys were playing cards again, bickering about rules and such at the dining table. She figured Gabby was used to it by now though. Her head certainly felt heavier as she drifted off. Mallory felt a twang of jealousy longing for the ability to sleep.
Someone tapped her shoulder lightly and she tries not to move much or disturb her partner's rest when she looks over at Severide. His face is impassive, but he offers her an icepack wrapped in a few papertowels pointing at his own jaw where her bruise was and she takes it gratefully. The cold shocks her skin but the burning subsides and she lets it rest against her face. Otis plops down on the floor by the couch leaning back against Dawson's leg and she doesn't budge.
"So what happened? Why were they going crazy?" Otis curiously asks. Gabby stays silent and Mallory's pretty sure she's actually fallen asleep so she answers. "Some idiot drunk ran a kid over in front of the entire neighborhood. They weren't so pleased."
The alarm rang loudly and the dispatcher came over the intercom speaker echoing across the house. Gabby groaned sitting up tiredly and rubbing her eyes as they all listened for who it was. "Engine 51, truck 81, squad 3, Ambulance 61, structure fire, Carlinville Academy."
The smoke was visible at least a good mile out. As they came up on the scene, the principal rushed up to Casey and Mallory unloaded the gurney while Dawson grabbed the monitors. "How many people still inside?"
"Just three on the second floor. We evacuated the rest of the staff. Everyone else is home. Teacher work day."
"Alright Otis! Mouch! Charge the line back us up. Hermann and cruz with me. Let's do a ground floor search. Make sure no one else is in there." Casey shouts over the noise. Severide waits for Casey to give his instruction before ordering his guys.
"Capp, Vargas with me second floor search. We'll go up through the arial."
Kelly and the squad guys climbed the Arial to the second floor window of one of the classrooms smashing it open to get inside. Gabby and Mallory waited anxiously while the guys entered the building watching the dark cloud of smoke tainting the sky.
Truck's search had confirmed no victims on the first floor and minutes later Capp appeared with two teachers that Tony guided down the ladder. They looked fine, coherent and aware of their surroundings. Maybe some mild smoke inhalation. The two administrators reached the ground when Kelly came out with one more from the window.
Severide had one hand gripping the rail and the other guiding the man down when the window behind him exploded. He was thrown sideways ricocheted by the blast and when the smoke cleared, the only thing keeping him from tumbling down to the cement 50 feet below was the strength of his left arm.
Okay so I've rewritten this about five times and I'm still not entirely satisfied with the chapter but here it is. It's not perfect but hopefully it will get us moving along in the story. I've laid some foundation here that will come into play later on in the story (Like wayyyyyy later). If some things aren't entirely clear they will be soon. I'm setting up the chapters so you will slowly learn more about Mallory as the members of 51 get to know her, though I'm sure some of you can guess the general idea of this first plot line. I'm shooting for around chapter 30 to delve into the actual first season but that will depend on the length of each chapter and how much can be written without overdetailing it. I'm considering alternating perspectives between Mallory and Severide as well as Dawson and Casey (About Mallory). Would you guys like to have part of a chapter or an entire chapter from one of those four? Maybe a bit down the line? Heads up: Kelly and Mallory are the central storyline of this fic and how their characters develop. Some Dawsey, mostly focusing on the friendships between the four of them and how that progresses through the fic. I think that while Mallory eases into the new job I'll keep writing calls. She's establishing herself as a paramedic in a different city and how she's going to work alongside Gabby so there will be some more calls but down the line I may only write one or two per chapter.
Also, the SeveridexHalstead scene in the beginning is the start of their friendship not a cheesy romantic movie scene but it's something to remember down the road. :) I like the idea that Severide is willing to open up to her a bit because she's so closed off and that Mallory feels like maybe they could be friends. She's not at all ready for anything romantic and I think that Severide and Dawson are the kind of people that will keep prying at her until she lets them in. Gabby's easy going nature and Kelly's subtle support balance the scales so she's not scared off. I feel like that's how firehouse 51 becomes a safe haven for everyone on the show. They know when to push and when to back off and I really want to include that in this fic as a slow process that brings her into their little family.
Who else loved that Kelly/Stella scene at the end of the last episode? I'm not a big Stella fan but that was sweet 3 Anyone super psyched for the 2 hour movie next week?! Next chapter will establish details for the spin-off PD fic that are important! Hope you liked it!