A/N: Apologies for that cliffhanger... here's Chapter 14.
Antonio's POV.
"Ambulance 61 requesting police back-up, paramedic down."
Antonio heard the words as he descended the stairs, his heart stopping in his chest as he hurried over to Platt at the front desk who had just frantically called Burgess and Tay. "That's my sisters ambo, what's going on?"
"I don't know, Antonio," Platt exclaimed, chucking the keys of a patrol car to Burgess. "Get there as fast as you can. We've got an ambo coming from Med, I don't know what the hell happened but someone's hurt. Their radio went dark."
"Burgess, I'm coming," Antonio called, hurrying down the stairs after her and Tay, the idea of going to get lunch for the Intelligence unit completely erased from his mind. He pulled open the back door of the patrol car and slid in, the car moving away from the district only moments later as Burgess quickly pulled away from the station.
They reached the scene minutes later, Antonio tensing up as he saw the ambo, the lights still on. The three of them exited the car and drew their guns. Antonio walked toward the ambulance on unsteady feet, his gun raised up as he checked the front doors of the ambulance for anyone before heading around the back.
The back doors of the ambulance were pulled open completely, the gurney half inside and half outside the ambo, a bunch of medical equipment was strewn across the floor of the ambo. Antonio tensed up as he saw the blood on the snow near his feet. With a deep breath, he took a step to the left side of the ambo, his gun still raised.
It almost fell to the ground at the sight of Sylvie.
She was leant up against the wheel on the side of the ambulance, her hands pressed to her side and covered in blood. He winced as he fell beside her, instantly checking to see if she had a pulse and letting out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding when he found it.
"Sylvie, baby, come on," he muttered, putting his hands over hers. "Where the hell is that goddamned ambulance!?" She was unconscious, and he could see the blood on the radio from where she'd obviously radioed in for help, her hand having fallen into the snow. She was freezing. Even if he knew it wouldn't help much, he pulled off his leather jacket and lifted her a little, placing it around her shoulders in any attempt to keep her alive and warm. "Baby, stay with me, come on. Goddamn it! Come on, Sylvie. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine."
His hands moved back to cover the one holding the wound, hating the fact that it was her blood all over his hands now.
He didn't know where Burgess and Tay had gone, but they'd disappeared completely. He hoped that they were tailing the asshole that had done this to her.
At least another five minutes passed before the ambulance pulled up in front of 61, Antonio called to them as they pulled out the gurney and ran over to him. "Gunshot wound to the right side, she's bleeding out." He spoke, hoping the worry in his voice wasn't conveyed. They quickly worked on stopping the bleeding before lifting her onto the gurney.
"You gonna ride along?" The paramedic asked. Antonio waited for a beat but shook his head instead, hating the fact that he knew he had to stay.
"No, I need to find the other paramedic she was with. Keep her alive, though. I'm counting on you for that!" He stated.
Antonio turned around and sighed as the ambulance carrying Sylvie drove away. He hurried to the house to the left of the ambulance, knocking on the door quickly. A middle-aged woman opened it.
"Have you seen a woman around here lately? Short dark hair, paramedic?" He asked, his voice hurried and full of worry.
"Yeah, she went into the apartment across the road from here, some asshole got shot," the lady said, casually, shrugging.
Antonio thanked her quickly before hurrying across the street and to the other apartment building. He knocked on it, yet no one answered as the door swung open under the sheer impact of his fist on the door. He raised his gun in his hand and stepped inside the apartment, keeping his back to the wall and the door as he checked the rooms.
After clearing the house, he moved outside, letting the door close behind him. There was a small flat in the back yard and the door to it was completely open. He could hear Gabby's voice inside.
"I'm gonna need you to stay still for me, okay? God, where the hell is Brett!?" She groaned. Antonio frowned and hurried through the yard, gun still raised as he reached the door.
Gabby turned around, fear in her eyes at the gun, yet she quickly realised it was her brother. "Oh, my God. Antonio, what the hell are you doing here?!"
"How badly is he hurt?" Antonio asked, motioning to the guy on the ground in front of her. Gabby's hands were packed on top of bandages wrapped around his thigh. "Can he walk?"
"He got shot in the thigh, but he can walk if you help me. Have you seen Brett and the Gurney?" Gabby asked, standing up. Antonio pulled him from the ground of the flat, ignoring her question as Gabby threw the bag over her shoulder and helped Antonio pull him back through the house and out to the ambo.
"What the hell happened, Tonio?" Gabby winced, pulling the gurney out fully and, with Antonio's aid, putting the man onto the gurney. They pushed him inside, closing one of the doors. "Tell me what happened. I'm not leaving until you do."
Antonio sighed, shaking his head and glancing to his hands which were still covered in Sylvie's blood. "Damned asshole must have been using a silencer," he exclaimed. "Listen, I'm going to have to get a statement when we get to the hospital. All I'm telling you right now is that Sylvie has been shot, and we need to get to Med. Now."
"Gabby, it is not your fault," Antonio reassured her, his hands now holding hers as they sat in the break room in the emergency department at Med. "Do not blame yourself for this, sis. It's that goddamned asshole's fault that shot her. You had no say on the matter."
"I should never have told her to go get that stupid gurney on her own, Antonio," she shook her head. "I should have known better considering how much trouble she's in with the threats."
Antonio had come back to Med with Gabby, letting Halstead and Manning tend to the gunshot victim they'd picked up. He'd convinced Maggie to give them an update on Sylvie. She was being looked after by Dr. Rhodes, they were working on getting the bullet out of her and stopping the bleeding. Making sure the bullet hadn't hit anything important that could seriously damage her.
He'd sat Gabby down to ask her what had happened before they'd gotten the call, yet Gabby could only tell them what she could remember. She'd told Sylvie to go and get the gurney from the ambo, but she hadn't come back. It hadn't occurred to her that anything bad had happened. She'd been focused on helping the man.
"Listen, Gabby," Antonio sighed, gripping her hands tighter. "You were just doing your job, that's your main priority. Don't beat yourself up over this, sis. It's not your fault. Sylvie's strong, you said that to me when I first asked her out. She's gonna pull through, and she is not going to blame you."
The door of the break room opened and Matt came rushing in. Gabby looked up, before standing and rushing to him too, wrapping her arms around him. Antonio stood, patting Gabby on the back and leaving the two of them alone in the break room, figuring that wherever Matt was, the rest of the firehouse was.
He spotted Cruz and Otis in the waiting room and made his way toward them, stopping in front of them. "How you all doing?"
Cruz shrugged. "We all just want to know if Brett's okay. Do you know anything? We haven't heard anything since they went on call."
Antonio nodded. "Last I heard she was in surgery. The bullet didn't go straight through. But Maggie was positive, so you've got that to hold onto." He reassured him, glad that Brett knew someone like Cruz who, even though their relationship hadn't worked out, still cared deeply about her.
"Man, I hope so," Cruz sighed, sitting back down in the chair of the waiting room. "We can't lose her, Antonio."
"I know you can't, and you won't, Cruz," Antonio put a hand on his shoulder. "She's gonna pull through this, I know she will. You know how strong she is. You know."
Hours had passed. It was getting dark by the time Dr. Rhodes appeared in the waiting room, looking as if he hadn't performed any sort of surgery in hours considering how clean and fresh he looked. Antonio stood immediately, followed by Matt, Gabby and Cruz.
"The gunshot wound you brought in, Gabby, will be fine. The bullet didn't hit anything important," he began.
Antonio rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't give a shit about him!"
Gabby, who was behind him, stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Tonio, don't." She warned him.
With a glare from Rhodes, Antonio sighed and shook his head again, letting Rhodes speak.
"Sylvie Brett will be fine," he continued. "She's going to be in here for a few more days while we make sure she's okay. The bullet didn't hit anything vital. That shooter must have had very good aim or Sylvie was just incredibly lucky."
"Can she have visitors?" Gabby asked from beside Antonio.
Rhodes nodded hesitantly. "Only a few, though. She's not awake just yet, but I can let two or three of you in there just to be there when she wakes up. I'll let you figure out who that'll be for a moment while I consult with Maggie about something, come on through and I'll take you up."
He walked out of the waiting room as Antonio turned around to face the rest of the people who were there for her. He watched as a few of them discussed among themselves who was going in and sighed. "I don't care who comes in with us, but Gabby and I are going to be there when she wakes up, no matter what you say," he spoke.
Everyone's eyes moved to him and he caught Boden's specifically, nodding at him as he agreed - Gabby needed to be there because they were best friends and partners, and Antonio needed to be there because she was his girlfriend. Cruz sighed and stood up from his chair which he'd only recently sat down in again.
"I'll come too, I need to see her," he suggested. Antonio nodded, watching as Gabby gave Matt a quick kiss before walking up to Antonio. He wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"She's going to be fine, sis. We're gonna find the bastard that did this to her, and he's going down," he said to her, following Cruz through the emergency doors.
They stopped in front of Rhodes who looked at who had decided to come along and nodded. He motioned for them to follow and they made their way up slowly to Sylvie's room.
Antonio felt his heart break a little at the sight of Sylvie, unconscious and laying on the hospital bed, hooked up to machines to give her fluids and blood to help her regain her health. He took the seat closest to the bed and took one of her hands in his, glad that it was different than the last time he'd held her hand - while they were both covered in blood. Gabby and Cruz both took seats on the other side of the bed as the three of them waited for her to wake up. He knew, as he watched Sylvie, that he was going to make the man that shot her pay.
A/N: Another Antonio POV, though I'm sure it wasn't what you were hoping for... Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!