Hey guys. This chapter's a little shorter than the others but I wanted to get something up as it's been a few weeks since I updated. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, feedback is very welcome. I'm still having fun writing this although I don't really have an over-arching plot in mind, I just like playing with the characters!

Chapter 11

"Am I the worst mother in the world for wanting to cancel this birthday party?"

Antonio looked back at the bed he shared with his, currently, very poorly wife then adjusted his shirt collar in the mirror. "No way."

"My head feels like it's going to explode, Antonio."

He smiled. "No, I mean no way does that make you a bad mother." He sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked Sylvie's hair. "The boys won't care if they don't have a party, they're not gonna remember. Besides, it's probably their fault you're sick anyway."

Sylvie wiped her nose on a tissue. "True." Antonio went to kiss her but she pushed him away. "I look awful babe, don't. And you'll get sick too."

"I don't care" he said, "and I think you look beautiful. As always." He snuck a kiss before she could push him away again. He stood up and walked back to the mirror to finish getting dressed. "I'm going to take the boys to my Mom's on the way to work, you need to rest. And don't worry about calling everyone to tell them the party's off, I'll take care of it."

Sylvie was in no position to complain. She snuggled down further under the duvet and looked out at Antonio from beneath the bed covers. "You're an angel. I feel terrible." Sylvie paused. The irony was not lost on her. "I feel a hell of a lot better than I did this time last year though."

Antonio grinned at Sylvie's reflection. He grabbed his watch from the dresser and fastened the clasp. "I do too."

"Hey, Gabby and Matt can still come. It will be nice to see them."

"You got it."

Eva appeared in the door way with her backpack in one arm and Matteo in the other. "Dad, I'm gonna be late for school, can we leave?" She looked at Sylvie and smiled sympathetically. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great" she replied, but sat up, reaching out her arms for her son. "But not so bad that I can't give my little man a birthday cuddle." Eva passed Matty to Sylvie, who took him grtefully and kissed him on the nose. "Happy birthday baby."

"Okay okay" Antonio said when he turned to his daughter and saw Eva's folded arms and the impatient look on her face. "5 minutes."

Eva left the room, yelling down the hall for her brother. "Diego, get a move on!"

Antonio took his suit jacket off the hook on the back of the door and slung it over his arm. He bent down to take Matteo off Sylvie's lap and she groaned her protest. "You'll thank me later" he said, and she knew he was right. Two screaming one year olds was the last thing she needed when she felt this bad.

"Please bring Gabe in before you leave" she said.

Antonio hoisted his son into his arms and left the room. "Diego, move your ass!"

Sylvie heard Antonio hurry along the landing shouting for his oldest son before he appeared once more in their bedroom doorway. "Fly by birthday kiss from Mommy!" he said to Gabriel, and he swooped him down towards Sylvie, who took his little face on her hands and gave him a big kiss.

"Happy birthday!"

The baby giggled, and Antonio lifted him away. "Are you ready to spend the day with your Abuela?" he asked him. Gabriel gurgled in reply. Antonio turned to Sylvie. "I'll see you later, try and rest. Call me if you need anything."

Sylvie nodded. "Go. I love you."

"Ditto." Antonio flashed her one last grin, and gently closed the door.

Sylvie's cell phone rang which awoke her from her slumber. She glanced at the clock, it was 11:30am, she had fallen back to sleep for longer than she meant to after Antonio and the kids had left. She blinked, her blurry vision cleared and she saw the name on the caller ID.

"Hey Gabby."

"Hi. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Sylvie rubbed her eyes with her free hand and threw back the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Yes, but it's alright. I should be awake anyway. What's up?"

"Just checking in. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. How's the shift going?"

"I'm exhausted already" Gabby said. "Herrmann's got us running drills. I'm dying for a call just to put an end to this torture."

From the way Gabby raised her voice pointedly, Sylvie guessed her Lieutenant was within earshot and the thought made me smile. "You do realise you've jinxed it now? A huge call's gonna come in in the next 10 minutes, guaranteed."

"Good!" Gabby said, and laughed. "Listen, is it still okay for us to come by later? If you're not feeling up to it…"

"No, I want you to come. Really. If there's anyone I want to see today it's you and Matt. What time do you get off shift?"

"4. Should I bring something?"

"Cough syrup?" Sylvie joked. "No, just yourselves."

Gabby laughed, and in the background Sylvie heard the station alarm announcing a call. "Ha" she said, "told you."

Gabby groaned. "Alright, alright. I gotta go. See you later."

"Carter, Nicky, take the second floor. Gabby, with me to the basement, we'll meet in the middle. Larry, get ready with the hose." Herrmann grabbed his helmet and raced up to the burning building

"Be careful, this place could come down any minute." Chief Baxter watched his Truck crew go, a concerned look on his face. Smoke billowed from a second-floor window and the foreclosed house gave an ominous creak.

"Fire department, call out" Gabby yelled through her mask. She squinted through the smoke and dust but pretty quickly realised the basement was empty. She turned to Herrmann and shook her head.

"There's nobody here Chief" Herrmann said into his radio over the roar of the flames and heard the muffled reply.

"Ok, everybody out."

"Gabby, lets go."

Gabby turned but a split second later there was a crack followed by a loud crash as a supporting beam gave way and the basement ceiling caved in.

"Gabby!" Herrmann shouted. His vision was obscured by smoke and dust but he knew Gabby was no longer standing where he had last seen her. "Mayday" he yelled urgently into his radio even as he struggled over the debris to where he had last seen his candidate. "Chief, we need help down here."

He heard the crackle of voices as his men talked to each other over the radios but he wasn't listening. He pulled a sheet of plaster board aside and saw Gabby, her alarm flashing red on her chest. "Gabby, can you hear me?"

She didn't answer, but he ripped off his glove and felt for a pulse and was relieved to find one. The beam had come down on top of her hard and was pinning her legs. He shook her again and she stirred, Herrmann breathed a sigh of relief but they were far from out of the woods.

"Don't move" he told her.

Gabby surveyed her surroundings and fell back, defeated. "Couldn't if I wanted to."

"Chief, Dawson's trapped."

"Ok Herrmann, I hear you. Help is coming but the stairs have collapsed, it might take a little more time."

Herrmann tried to shift the beam himself but it was hopeless. It felt like an age before he saw the flashlight beams from the other 3 members of his company come towards him but in reality it was probably only a minute.

"Hang in there Gabby" he said, trying his best to reassure her. But she was not a green candidate, she knew the score, she'd been round long enough to see through his words. But still, he had to say it.

"I've got this Lieutenant" Carter said, brandishing a power saw. Larry held the beam steady as he cut, Nicky stood by with a collar and backboard. Eventually Gabby was free and they hoisted out of the basement to the waiting ambulance crew.

Not a second after they were clear of the building, there was another, louder crash. They all looked up instinctively at the noise and tried not to think about what could have happened if they'd spent another10 seconds in there. Herrmann thought he'd only glanced at the building quickly, but the next thing he knew one of the paramedics was shouting his name from the back of their ambulance. They'd swept Gabby inside and the rest of his crew were looking at him expectantly.

"Lieutenant, you should go." Larry patted his shoulder once and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the ambulance. "We'll be right behind you." The sirens were already whaling by the time Herrmann climbed inside.

The last few hours had passed in a daze. Sylvie eventually dragged herself downstairs at lunchtime and stood in the kitchen in her pyjamas nibbling cautiously nibbling on a slice of toast. It was strange being in the house when it was so quiet. She was so rarely home alone that it felt odd without the usual happy chaos of family life filling the house with noise. She wasn't all together sure she liked the quiet, although she conceded, in her current state it was probably what she needed. She filled the kettle and set it to boil. She took her favourite mug from the cabinet, along with a box of tea named 'Immune Booster'. She stared at it a moment, not convinced it had any actual medicinal properties despite the name but shrugged. It was worth a shot.

Sylvie carried her tea through to the living room, deciding that a change of scenery from her bedroom and some trashy TV was what she needed. She was only 10 minutes into a daytime movie when her phone rang again.

"Are you checking up on me?" Sylvie asked Antonio, teasing him. Despite how crap she felt, seeing his picture on her caller ID cheered her up, talking to him even more so. But she could tell straight away something was wrong by the serious tone of his voice.

"It's Gabby. There was an accident, a building collapse."

Sylvie sat up. Something like this was her next biggest fear. The possibility that one of her friends would get hurt on the job was always hovering at the back of Sylvie's mind. "Is she okay? How bad is she?"

"She's, erm…" Antonio hesitated. "She's awake but in a lot of pain. They're doing x-rays now, the doctors are worried about spinal damage." Sylvie gasped, but Antonio continued. "Listen baby, I know you're sick, but my Mom rushed over here out of her mind. The boys are here at the hospital, I'd drive them home but I don't want to leave my Mom."

Sylvie had already started pulling her boots on. "Antonio, I'll come. I want to come. I want to be there. Are you at Med?"

"Yeah. Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"Yes." Sylvie answered. "I'll be there soon."

All Sylvie could think about on the drive across town was how Gabby had been there for her this time a year ago when she was most in need of help. Sylvie had to be there for Gabby now, no question. She told Antonio she would drive over to collect Gabe and Matty, but Sylvie knew she wouldn't be able to leave either, not when her best friend was in danger.

The automatic glass doors slid open and she raced into the emergency room. Antonio was in the lobby waiting for her and he caught her as she ran into his arms.

"How's Gabby? Where is she?" Sylvie searched her husband's face frantically for a clue.

Antonio rubbed her shoulders with both hands to soothe her. "She's waiting on the results. Casey's with her. She's awake, she's talking and she's starting to get some feeling back in her legs. It's good."

Sylvie let out a long sigh and rested her forehead on Antonio's chest.

"Where are the boys? With your Mom?"

Antonio shook his head. "Mom went to get some of Gabby's things. Maggie snuck the twins into the hospital's day care."

"I know I should take them home, but I want to stay."

"Sure thing" Antonio said. "They'll be alright for a while." Sylvie hadn't even noticed she was shaking until Antonio took hold of her hand. "Baby, come and sit down." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and let her through to the waiting area where Gabby's crew were sat, anxiously waiting for news. Herrmann stood up when he saw them coming Sylvie greeted him with a small smile.

"What is it with Dawsons getting into trouble on this day, eh?" He tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood but Sylvie could tell he was scared. Gabby wasn't just his candidate. She knew how much he cared for her, how much he'd be blaming himself for letting harm come to her.

Sylvie reached for his hand. "It'll be okay."

"Hey, Mom…." Antonio spotted his mother approaching over Sylvie's shoulder, a hastily packed hold-all over her shoulder. Sylvie turned her head to watch her approach. The older woman was looking drained and deeply worried and Sylvie understood. No matter if your child was 1 or 31, you spend every second of your life worrying about them. Antonio and his Mom were speaking in hushed voices and were too far away to be heard by Sylvie or the rest of Truck 27 but Sylvie had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She watched Antonio walk towards his mother and wrap his arms around her protectively. Sylvie sat down in an empty chair and lay her head in her hands.

Sylvie gingerly pushed open the door to Gabby's room. Matt smiled at her and she quietly shut the door.

"Hey" she said. Gabby was lying flat on her back with a neck collar on and her left leg in plaster. Sylvie stepped closer to the bed and surveyed her friend.

Gabby sensed her hesitation. "It's just a precaution."

"Are you in pain?" Sylvie asked hesitantly.

Gabby took a deep breath. "I'm okay. I think. They've got me drugged up pretty good. Anyway, my leg's definitely broken. The orthopaedic surgeon came by, they're going to have to put some pins in there but at the moment they want to monitor me to see if…" Gabby's voice trailed off and a tear slid down her cheek.

On the other side of the bed, Matt squeezed Gabby's hand tight and leant down to kiss her. "It will be okay" he said. Gabby wasn't sure whether she believed him.

"You don't need to be here." Gabby said to Sylvie, "It's an important day, you should be at home with the boys."

Sylvie shook her head. "No way would I be anywhere else. If it wasn't for you there's a good chance we wouldn't have anything to celebrate today."

"C'mon" Gabby said, trying her best to be jovial. "Are you always going to bring that up?"

"Pretty much" Sylvie said. "I'll always owe you." Sylvie took Gabby's hand. "I'm here for you okay? Whatever you need."

Gabby smiled, despite the tears in her eyes. "I need you to give my nephews birthday kisses from me."

Antonio found Sylvie in the daycare centre. He paused outside the room and watched his wife play with their sons through the large window. Gabe held up a purple building block and Sylvie took it from him with a smile.

"I thought I'd find you here" Antonio said when he entered the room. He crouched down beside Sylvie and kissed her on the temple. "Are you okay?"

Sylvie took a deep breath, but didn't meet Antonio's eyes, choosing instead to lean forward a little to help Matteo to select the very best block for their tower. She didn't answer, she couldn't. "How's your Mom?" she asked instead, deflecting focus from herself.

"Calmer. She won't leave, I've tried."

"I don't blame her. If it was my child…."

"Hey" Antonio said, cutting her off. "Gabby will be fine,"

"Antonio, you don't know that."

Antonio sat down, and nodded, accepting what Sylvie said. "Okay, I may not be a doctor, I may not know anything about the medicine. I don't know whether she'll physically be okay, but I do know that whatever happens, we'll all be here for her." Antonio turned Sylvie's head so she was forced to look at him. "She will be okay."

Sylvie looked up and stared deep into Antonio's dark eyes. She nodded slowly. "Is there any more news?"

"No. and Casey told us all to go, said he'd call when they knew more."

Sylvie slumped back, leaning against Antonio. "I don't want to leave."

Gabe discarded his bricks and crawled towards his parents, clambering onto Sylvie's lap, desperate for attention. Sylvie hugged him protectively.

"I know, but we have to. You're sick, you need rest. These guys need feeding. Plus Eva and Diego are home from school now and they're pretty mad that I didn't call them about Gabby, so I've got to go and deal with that."

Sylvie lifted her son so he was in a more comfortable position on her lap. She sighed. "Life goes on right?"

"Right" Antonio replied. He stood, and picked up Matty.

"Hey, thanks for doing this" he said to the nursery nurse as they were getting ready to leave. "We really appreciate it."

She smiled. "Any time. Your boys were as good as gold."

Sylvie slipped her arm that wasn't holding Gabe around Antonio's waist. "Thank you again" she said to the nursery nurse, then to Antonio "you're right, we should go home."

Walking back through the waiting area, Sylvie felt a pang of guilt at leaving when she saw the looks on Herrmann and his crew's faces. They were resigned to spending the night, although it was not yet evening, their loyalty to one of their own was a feeling the Sylvie knew all too well.

Despite his worry, Herrmann's face visibly brightened when he saw Antonio and Sylvie approach with the twins. "Hey guys" he said, "happy birthday."

Next to him, Larry sat up a little straighter. "That's right" he grinned. "I remember."

Sylvie blushed. She didn't want to know what exactly he remembered from that night. She suspected whatever his memories were not that flattering to her.

Antonio bounced Matty on his hip as he began to fuss a little. "Please call if there's news" Antonio said to Herrmann.

"Absolutely."

In the car on the way home, Sylvie looked in the rear-view mirror to see both boys nodding off in the car seats. "Dammit" she said aloud and turned around in the passenger seat to get a better look. "They're not going to go down later at all."

"We'll make it work" Antonio said, glancing quickly across at Sylvie. "Don't worry."

"What's this?" Sylvie asked, mostly to herself, and lifted up the bag that was in the footwell. She signed when she realised. It was the bag from the party store. Sylvie held up a packet of balloons to show Antonio.

He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry" he said, "I was looking forward to it too."

Sylvie rummaged deeper into the bag and pulled out the banner she'd bought just yesterday. 'Happy First Birthday!' it read in big shiny silver letters. She ran her fingers across the lettering. "There's no point hanging this up now" she said. Antonio chanced another glance across to see what it was Sylvie had now and a cheeky grin spread across his face.

"We'll just have to save it for next time, babe."

Sylvie looked up, wide eyed, to tell him off. "Antonio! Don't even think…"

He just winked at her and set his eyes back on the road ahead. She should say more, curb those thoughts of his before they went any further, but she was just too exhausted.