The team sat in the waiting room, waiting for news of how she was doing. All Casey could think of was if this was going to be a repeat of Hallie. She had been breathing on her own in the ambulance, she had a heart beat. That's what mattered, because he knew she couldn't be dead. In that moment, he did what Gabby had done earlier that day - paced the hall back and forth. While the rest of the Firehouse 51 Family sat, Casey's footsteps were the only thing they heard besides their own breathing.
"Family of Gabriela Dawson," Dr. Kendra said softly to the waiting room, knowing all of them were her family. Casey walked over to her.
"I'm her fiance," he said almost solemnly. She walked him away from the waiting room, but the team stood and looked at them, waiting for any sign of the prognosis.
"She was breathing on her own when she came in, but she went into cardiac and respiratory arrest. She's on life support, Matt," she said quietly, "and there's not enough brain activity to safely take her off." He was stunned. She was alive, but only machines kept her alive. Tears started to roll down his cheeks and he hugged Kendra. He knew that she and Gabby knew each other when Shay was around, knew that this impacted her too. She was the only thing keeping him standing.
"Matt, it's up to you how long she stays on life support. I'm not going to push you one way or another, but it doesn't look good," she told him, rubbing his back as he sobbed.
When the team looked at the scene, they knew it wasn't good. Herrmann and Otis seemed to be the most affected, aside from Casey. They had gotten to know Gabby over the course of the last few months with Molly's. They didn't know what was going to happen without her.
Casey let Kendra go, wiping away the tears. "I want to see her," he told her quietly. Kendra nodded, leading him and the rest of the team to the ICU.
"There's one visitor at a time right now," she told them. Casey nodded but disagreed.
"Two? Please?" he said. She nodded and walked away. Casey was the first to walk into her room, to see all the tubes and machines. She had bruises on her arms and face, along with small cuts littered across her skin. He sat in the chair, taking her hand in his gently. He expected her to wake up any minute, but it didn't happen, her limp hand still in his.
Boden was the first to walk in, laying a hand on Casey's shoulder. He looked at Gabby, couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girl that was like a daughter to him was practically dead, a heavy feeling in his heart. He couldn't lose another person, couldn't handle it.
"If you need anything, Matthew, let me know. Time off, less hours, anything. We're all here for you," Boden told him, patting his shoulder before walking out.
The next person to walk in was Herrmann, who sat next to Casey in the other chair. She looked peaceful to him, like she was just sleeping - aside from the machines. She was like a sister to him, someone who shared laughs and beer late into the night when neither of them wanted to head home - just a few more minutes was her favorite line, and he'd go along with it every time. He never knew what was going on for her at home, but he knew it was stressful. But at this moment, there was no doubt that Casey loved Gabby unconditionally, that even though they may have had their differences it didn't matter in the end. Herrmann eventually stood and walked out, hoping that she was going to be okay in the end.
Otis was next in line, taking the seat that Herrmann had sat in previously. He didn't know Gabby as well as Herrmann had, but that didn't matter. They'd had their moments, and they were the best of friends. He knew all about what was going on with Casey and her, knew her deepest thoughts. And she knew his, knew his insecurities and his aspirations. He couldn't believe the woman laying in the bed was his best friend, wanted to believe that if he yelled loud enough she'd wake up. But the room was silent except for the machines and the occasional cry of Casey.
Each member of 51 went in sad and came out changed. They couldn't believe the strongest person in the house was laying there in that state, couldn't believe something like this could happen. It was one thing to lose someone, but it was another for them to be alive but not living. They were visiting a living corpse, and if that didn't change them, then what would?
Eventually, it came down to Kelly. He stood next to Matt, hand on shoulder similar to Boden. "Matt, you need to go home, get some sleep, come back in the morning," Kelly told him softly. He knew the pain Matt was feeling, knew that he would never be the same. When Shay died, Kelly turned in on himself and shut everyone out. He didn't want that to happen to Matt, not after Gabby pulled him out of the self-destruction caused by losing Hallie.
"I'll go home when she wakes up," he mumbled in response. Kelly sighed, knowing trying to get him to go home was a losing battle. He knew that this would change Matt in ways nobody would expect, knew that the Matt they knew was gone.
"I'll be back in the morning before shift. Do you want Herrmann to cover for you until you're ready to come back?" Matt just nodded, leaning back in the chair. Kelly sighed again, leaving the room. At the doorway, he looked back, wishing there was someway he could help Matt, wishing there was a way to bring Gabby back to him.