A/N: The idea for this story came to me while I was working on Out of All The Hotels, and I immediately knew that I had to run with it. While most of my Chicago Fire stories are based around a Dawseride romance, this one contains a purely platonic friendship between them, and even has a slight Dawsey hint to it. It also features some Stellaride and Brettsey.
Sylvie Brett had just finished gathering supplies at Chicago Med to restock the ambulance when she saw a familiar figure disappear down a nearby hallways.
"Hey, Brett, you ready to go?" Violet called, pushing the gurney towards her partner. When Sylvie didn't immediately respond, she tried again. "Brett? You ready to go?"
"Oh, umm, give me a minute," Sylvie said distractedly. She walked over to the hallway but didn't see anything. She walked back to Violet, shaking her head.
"What's wrong?" Violet asked when she saw the puzzled expression on her partner's face.
"Nothing; it's just, I could have sworn I just saw Gabby Dawson," Brett replied. "But I must have been imagining things," she laughed. "There's no way it could have been her."
Violet had never met Gabby Dawson, but she'd heard a lot about her from everyone at the firehouse who did. She knew that Gabby had been Sylvie's partner, and was also Casey's ex-wife, but that she'd gone to Puerto Rico several years ago to help with the hurricane relief efforts. "You could always ask one of the nurses," she suggested.
Sylvie shook her head. "No, it's okay," she assured the younger paramedic. "Gabby would have told someone if she were back in Chicago. I'm sure it was just someone that looked like her."
The whole drive back to the firehouse, Sylvie remained silent, thinking about what she'd seen. There was no reason to believe that the person she'd seen at Med was Gabby, but she swore it had looked just like her. As soon as she backed the ambulance into the engine bay, she hopped out and walked over to the squad table. "Hey, Cruz, where's Severide?" she asked when she didn't see the squad lieutenant at the table.
"I think he's in his quarters," Cruz replied. "Why?"
"I need to ask him something," Sylvie said distractedly, taking off in the direction of the bunkroom. Seeing that Cruz was right and Kelly was in his quarters, she knocked on the open door. "Hey, Severide?"
Kelly turned to look at Sylvie. "Hey, Brett. What's up?"
"Have you heard from Gabby recently?" she asked, walking into the officer's quarters.
Kelly shook his head. "No, not recently. It's been a while since I talked to her," he admitted. "Why?"
"Did she say anything about coming to Chicago last time you talked to her? I could have sworn I saw her at Med today," Sylvie informed him. "It was just a glimpse, but still. It looked just like her."
"No, but it's been a few months since I talked to her," Kelly confessed. "Are you sure it was her? Why would Gabby be in Chicago, much less at Med, especially without telling anyone? Last time she was in town, 51 was her first stop."
"I don't know," Sylvie replied, shrugging. "That's why I wondered if she'd said anything to you. It probably wasn't even her. I'm just seeing things," Sylvie laughed. "Sorry to bother you." She slipped out of Kelly's quarters, heading back towards the common room.
Kelly sat at his desk for a few minutes, thinking about what Sylvie had said, and feeling guilty for not keeping in touch with Gabby better. "Hey, Herrmann," he called.
The engine lieutenant popped around the corner, poking his head into Kelly's quarters. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Have you talked to Gabby lately?" Kelly asked.
Herrmann thought for a moment. "No," he admitted. "I guess I haven't. Last time I talked to her was around Christmas. Why's that?" It was currently September.
"Just wondering," Kelly replied. Sylvie wasn't even confident in what she saw, so there was no reason in bringing it up to Herrmann. After all, Herrmann would probably be one of the first people Gabby would contact if she were back in town.
Kelly sat in his quarters for a few minutes, mulling everything over. When Gabby had first left, most of them had stayed in touch with her regularly, but it seemed the longer she was gone, the less frequently they kept in contact. He tried to recall when he'd last talked to her; it was before Stella had left, so at least four or five months ago? He was surprised to realize it had been that long and instantly felt guilty for not staying in touch. He promised himself that he'd give her a call tomorrow when he got off shift.
Gabby sighed as she walked out of the hospital. She was dreading the walk back to her motel but couldn't justify paying for a cab or Uber when it was only a few blocks away. Besides, the fresh air would probably do her some good.
She was almost back to her motel when the fatigue hit her full force, along with a wave of nausea. She lunged for the bushes lining the sidewalk, emptying the contents of her stomach into them. She was thankful for the little bit of privacy the bushes afforded her.
"Come on, Gabby," she said quietly, trying to motivate herself. "The motel is just around the corner. You can make it."
Once Gabby finally made it back to her motel room, she put the do not disturb sign on her door before collapsing onto the bed. She felt absolutely miserable. She'd definitely need to look into either finding a motel closer to the hospital or else she would need to start finding transportation to and from the hospital. She glanced down at her phone for a moment, considering finally calling someone to let them know that she was in Chicago, but decided against. She'd promised herself when she came back that she would do this on her own, and she wasn't ready to give up on that just yet.
Kelly frowned when Gabby's phone rang for a few times before going to voicemail. He'd just gotten home from shift and was following through on his promise to himself to call Gabby. It was unusual for Gabby to not answer her phone, even if just to say that she couldn't talk right then. He glanced at the clock; it would be almost lunch time in Puerto Rico, which was usually a time when Gabby had a break and some time to talk, making it even more unusual that she wasn't answering.
"Hey, Gabby; it's Severide. I know it's been a while since I've called. Sorry about that; it's been kinda busy around here. Anyways, I hope everything's good there in Puerto Rico, and I'd love to catch up. Give me a call when you can." Kelly hung up, frowning as he placed the phone on the table next to his bed. Ordinarily he wouldn't be this concerned over Gabby not answering but given what Brett had said about possibly seeing her at Med, he couldn't help but feel that something was off.