A/N: Alright, who thought I'd fallen off the face of the planet? Yeah, I kind of did too...but I've crawled my way back! I won't bore you with the details, just know that I'm planning to buckle down and work my way through all my in progress stories, starting with the most recent and working my way back until they are all completed. So, if you all see me start anything new (other than a random one-shot here and there), feel free to throw things at me!

As far as this story is concerned, I think there are probably two, possibly three, chapters remaining in my originally planned storyline. I hope you enjoy this one!

Abby impatiently tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as she slowly inched forward in the snarled highway traffic entering downtown Chicago.

"Oh for Christ's sake," she muttered under her breath. "Why they hell aren't all these people at home with their families? Don't they know it's Christmas?"

Glancing at the clock, she gritted her teeth and shook her head. It had been nearly an hour since she'd left her parents' house and she was barely halfway to her destination. It was times like these she wished it wasn't against regulations to use her lights and siren when she off duty. At this rate, it would be another hour before she got anywhere near where she needed to be.

"So much for spontaneity," she sighed, clicking through her radio presets as traffic ground to a dead stop again. She was almost relieved when her cell phone started ringing - at least it was something to do.

"Kowalski."

"Abby, it's Lina. Where are you?"

Abby frowned at the question. "Um…in my car. Why?"

"Pull over."

"Lina, you're scaring me."

Abby heard Lina sigh on the other end of the line. "Abby, just pull the car over. Please?"

Abby shrugged and pulled out of her lane into the shoulder, putting the car in park and leaning back in her seat. "Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere in this traffic anyhow. Now what's going on?"

"You're pulled over?"

"Oh for God's sake, Lina, would you just spit it out? You're acting like someone died." Abby paused, suddenly feeling like someone has sucked the air out of the car when Lina didn't immediately contradict her. "Oh God…Lina?"

"No one's died, Abby…"

"I sense a 'but' coming," Abby said hesitantly.

Lina sighed audibly. "There's been an accident."

"Oh God," Abby gasped. "Brody."

"How did you…?"

"Because my father and my brothers are all sitting my parents' living room as we speak," Abby snapped. "You wouldn't be dragging this out if it were anyone else. What happened? Is he alright?"

"I don't know," Lina admitted. "I'm on my way there right now, but traffic's a nightmare. All dispatch could say is that there was an officer-involved traffic collision at exit 27 on the Kennedy Expressway. Brody and Rodriguez were pursuing a suspect."

"What aren't you saying?" Abby asked anxiously. "And don't even try bullshitting me, Lina, I can hear it in your voice. You wouldn't sound this worried if there weren't something else."

Even over the phone, Abby could almost hear the internal debate Lina was having with herself.

"Lina…"

"They called for a helicopter evac, Abby."

Abby's jaw dropped slightly as she leaned back against the seat and shivered at the chill that flooded over her.

"Abby, it might be nothing. We don't know who it was called for, just that…"

Shaking her head, Abby barly heard what Lina was saying as she heard the unmistakable whir of a helicopter pass just above her car. Glancing out her window, she felt her heart skip a beat when she realized where she was. Exit 26, the sign ahead read, almost mocking her with how close and yet how far away she really was.

"Screw it," she muttered, flipping her phone closed and tossing it in her pocket before pulling on her coat and pushing open her car door, grimacing only slightly at the blast of cold air and rain that hit her as she stepped outside and took off running.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, you can't come under that tape!"

Abby groaned as a young officer rushed towards her as she finally reached the edge of the scene almost twenty minutes later. Gasping for breath, she shook her head and tried to push past him.

"Ma'am, you can't come in here," the officer repeated gruffly, putting his hands on Abby's shoulders and pushing her back slightly.

Abby felt a surge of anger and urgency as she shook his hands off of her. "Don't you dare touch me," she snapped, reaching into her coat and pulling out her badge. "Now I suggest you back the hell off unless you want me to launch an IA investigation that'll still be haunting you when your grandkids are sworn onto the force."

"I…" the officer began, not getting to finish as Abby brushed past him and surveyed the scene in front of her.

The whole thing looked like something out of a horrible nightmare - metal crumpled on the side of the road, paramedics rushing back and forth from the cars to waiting ambulances, the smell of gasoline and burning rubber hanging heavy in the wet air.

"Oh please, God, let him be okay," Abby whispered pleadingly. As she frantically scanned the crowds of people gathered near the ambulances, the truth of her situation hit her like a ton bricks. If her prayer wasn't answered, if he wasn't alright - this would be her Christmas memory. She hadn't understood it the night before, or even this morning, but now it couldn't be clearer. If Brody didn't make it, her Christmas memories wouldn't be filled with the scent of fir trees and her mom's pecan pies - they'd be filled with gasoline and burning rubber, the feel of the cold rain seeping into her bones, the panic churning in her stomach.

And, like Brody, she wasn't sure she could celebrate with memories like that seared into her mind.

"Abby!"

Turning around, Abby spotted Lina hurrying toward her, an umbrella in one hand and her notebook in the other.

"Abby, how the hell did you get here so fast? Traffic's a disaster out there!"

Abby shrugged. "I was only one exit away."

Frowning, Lina quickly took in Abby's rain-soaked appearance. "What did you do, run here?" Arching her eyebrows in disbelief, Lina's jaw fell slightly open when Abby didn't respond. "Holy shit, Abby, did you run here? In this weather?"

"It wasn't that far."

"It's at least a mile," Lina protested, glancing back down at Abby's feet. "And you're wearing heels."

"Where is he, Lina?" Abby asked, turning back to the chaotic scene behind them. "Is he okay?"

"He's not here, Abby."

"What do you mean, he's not here?" Abby asked in disbelief. "You told me he was here. I can see Rodriguez over there. Where the hell is Brody?"

"One of the paramedics said they took him to Cook County," Lina said gently. "Abby, come on, let's get you some dry clothes."

"No." Abby shook her head and shook Lina's hand from her arm. "What's his condition? Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

Abby nodded and glanced around, her gaze settling on the paramedics climbing into an ambulance a few feet away.

"Abby?" Lina called out in confusion as Abby started walking away.

"Wait!" Abby called out, quickening her pace as she approached the ambulance, completely ignoring Lina behind her. "Where are you headed?"

"Cook County," one of the paramedics said, slamming the back door front and moving around the side of the ambulance.

"Got room for one more?"

The paramedic frowned and looked Abby up and down skeptically. "Were you in the crash?"

"No."

"Look lady, it's against regs to have…"

"Screw the regs," Abby interjected. "They took my boyfriend to County, I have to get there, I…"

"You'd better just take her." Abby could have cried in relief when she heard Lina's voice from behind her. "You can tell your boss you were doing a favor for CPD."

The paramedic hesitated for a moment, glancing back and forth between Lina's badge and Abby. "Alright," he said, pulling open the passenger side door. "Get in, we've got to get a move on it."