Ambulance was an anomaly in it's shortness, the rest of these one shots will be much longer. Thank you for reading so far and I hope you continue! I do not own anything Chicago related
B is for Baby
"I'm just saying."
He was exhausted; and he still smelled like vomit, even after two showers - and he'd practically scrubbed a layer of skin away, but it didn't matter, it was in his pores. Though she wasn't any better off, it was a small constellation. He hated junkies. And Sylvie was starting to learn just how much.
"Yeah, you've mentioned."
She was laughing at him a little, he could tell; but he was just so tired of being dumped on by homeless people. Literally. "I do this for you, you know."
"Oh and I so appreciate it," she snickered back, shoving him away from her as he just grinned at her. "Wanna get a drink? It won't help the smell, but it might help with your mood," she waited a beat, before adding. "And I'll like you more."
Jimmy shoved her back, shaking his head. "You're a bad friend."
"I'm an amazing friend. You're the idiot who stepped in front of me to get vomit all over yourself, courtesy our heat stroke victim."
His eyes narrowed at her, mouth opening to tease her right back, when a noise caught his attention. Swinging his head around, his eyes landed on the dumpster outside the Firehouse. Sylvie was still walking, but when he hadn't retaliated she stopped and turned around, calling his name. "Jimmy?"
He was about to turn away, writing off the sound, when he heard it again; it was muffled, but instinct made him start for the dumpster. "Do you hear that?" he asked her, glancing over his shoulder at Sylvie. The blonde was bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands pulling her hair away from her neck as sweat started to collect there. There had been a heat advisory warning since 9 in the morning; it was almost noon and with the humidity it felt like the temp was pushing in the high 90s. And she was too hot for Jimmy's shit.
"I don't hear anything," she told him. But Jimmy wasn't listening, and instead of stopping, lifted the lid of the dumpster, shaking his hand to get rid of the sting of hot metal. Before Sylvie could open her mouth to ask him what he was doing, he was climbing in. "What the hell are you doing?"
"There's something in here," he called back to her, tossing things out of his way as he dug through the trash. Sylvie made a face at him, walking over just to get a breeze on her skin.
"You wanna smell worse than you already do?" she asked him, propping her hands on her hips, not putting too much effort into what he was doing. "It's probably just a cat trying to get away from the heat, c'mon Jimmy, let's go."
Jimmy's next words, however, made her skin go cold, his dark eyes boring into hers when he lifted his head to find her standing too far away to hear what he did. "Sylvie, I think there's a baby in here."
Her heart leapt into her throat, lungs constricting at his words. "What?" Jimmy was already back to looking through the trash, and she couldn't even feel how hot it was it was. "But there's a safe haven at the Firehouse, who would leave their baby in the dumpster?"
Jimmy reappeared a few seconds later, not wearing his shirt, and for a moment Sylvie had nothing to say, her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth as she just stared at the way the muscles in his arms moved. Before she noticed that he still had his shirt, it was just bundled around something in his arms. Her stomach tightened as the baby's sluggish cries finally reached her ears, her arms coming up automatically as Jimmy turned toward her.
"Chance of hyperthermia, he's burning up," Jimmy was saying, passing the baby down to her so he could hop out of the dumpster with as little skin-to-metal contact that he could manage. Sylvie shook her head, checking the baby's pulse. "Strong rapid pulse, no sweat on the skin," Sylvie nodded along as Jimmy fired off a list of the little boy's symptoms, not even blinking as he reached for the baby to take him out of her arms.
"We need to get him to Chicago Med, I think everyone's still inside," Sylvie told him, already walking back toward the firehouse. He was close behind her, eyes on the baby in his arms, so he didn't notice when Otis walked out and spotted them.
"Dude, put on a shirt. You're embarrassing the rest of us."
Jimmy barely acknowledge him, except for a quick and to the point - "Jealous?" before breezing past him. Otis turned as they didn't stop to chat, making a face at Sylvie's back. "Is that a baby?"
Sylvie turned to nod at him, walking backwards as she shouted the situation at him. "Jimmy found him in the dumpster. Hey, call Chicago Med, let them know we have a possible hyperthermic baby en route."
In the cool shade of the garage, Jimmy stopped at the table near the door and set the baby down. He glanced at her as she walked up, checking his vitals more thoroughly. "No gasping or petechiae," he told her. "Grab a ventilation mask, but I don't think we need to do CPR. Get me some saline and ice packs, too."
"Rectal thermometer?" Jimmy nodded. "You're going to try evaporative cooling?"
"Hoping it'll be fast enough," he said, unwrapping his shirt from the baby and checking his skin for any burns. She was gone before he finished speaking, and Jimmy was too busy checking the baby to notice that there was a crowd of people gathering behind him. He only looked up again when Sylvie dropped the supplies on the table, immediately handing him a pack of saline to start the cooling process.
"Hey guys, we got this," the blonde paramedic was saying, staring passed Jimmy at their coworkers crowded behind them. Jimmy looked around sharply, but only for a second before his attention was back on the baby boy. Sylvie handed him his shirt with a pointed look, taking over care so he could take a moment. He pursed his lips but let her silently order him back, recognizing that she was the PIC and she had authority. But that didn't mean he had to stop working.
Pulling his t-shirt over his head, Jimmy turned and nodded to Gabby. "Hey, Dawson, call your brother for me? I don't know about you guys but I'd like to find the person who thought throwing a baby in the dumpster was a good idea."
She nodded, completely on board, her voice hard as she stepped away to get the police on the phone. "No problem."
"Hey, Jimmy." He turned back to Sylvie as she called for him, watching her pull her stethoscope from her ears and nod to the baby. "His temps coming down. Take over?"
He was already nodding, lifting up the little boy and cradling him to his chest. His skin was still hot, but he was getting fluids back into his system, and his core temperature was starting to drop. Jimmy glanced at his partner. "Wanna drive?"
She smirked at him, hitting his arm lightly. "Thought you'd never ask."
He didn't bother getting into the back of the rig, but sat up from with Sylvie, and she'd be lying if she didn't admit she was distracted by the way he took care of that baby. It was starting to look like there wasn't too much damage done, if any, and as the baby started to move and make noise, Jimmy relaxed.
"He's pretty cute," Sylvie teased lightly, something uncoiling in her chest as the hospital loomed closer. Jimmy didn't even look at her, just kept catching itty bitty fingers with one of his.
"Yeah he is," he agreed, but there was an oddness to his voice that made her look over at him. "Who the hell throws a baby away?" Jimmy asked quietly. "In the middle of the summer, with a fire station ten feet away?"
He heard her shift uncomfortably in her seat, but he didn't look up. Really there wasn't anything she could say that would justify the actions of whoever did this. You didn't throw a baby in the trash ; Jimmy didn't care who you were, or how desperate, you just didn't do it.
He glanced up as the ambulance slowed, his eyes picking out Dr. Manning in the cluster of doctors by the ambo bay. "We get him checked out and take him back to the firehouse," said Jimmy, making the statement sound like a mantra.
"Social Services will want to take him, Jimmy," said Sylvie quietly, putting the ambo into park. He looked over at her, an easy grin slipping onto his face.
"I know," he said, and he did, he knew and he'd follow the law. "But it could be hours waiting for them, and we need to keep him in our custody, right?" She wanted to argue with him, he could tell, and he knew there were a dozen points she could make over why he wouldn't be able to keep the baby. But for some reason she didn't burst his bubble, Sylvie just closed her mouth and with a tight-lipped smile, climbed out of the ambulance.
So he let it go. Shifting the baby in his arms, Jimmy followed Sylvie out of the rig, and was immediately accosted by Dr. Manning. Nat's hands probed and checked the little boy, but when she moved to take him out of Jimmy's arms, he pulled back. "I'd uh...I'd rather stay with him, if that's okay."
And he could see the same look in her eyes that he'd seen in Sylvie's, how this was a bad idea, how he was going to get attached. But Nat just shrugged. "Fine with me, he seems comfortable enough with you. This little guy needs as much stability as he can get." She gestured for him to follow her. She asked questions about the baby's temperature and behavior, where he was found, and halfway through her exam in the NICU they were met by Sylvie, who immediately crossed to stand by Jimmy.
"Antonio's at a scene, he won't be able to come by until we're back at the firehouse," she was saying, making faces at the baby on the exam table. He grinned toothily at her, his feet kicking into the air. "Wow, he looks so much better," she breathed, grabbing onto a little foot to tickle, causing the little boy to shriek happily.
"You guys were lucky you found him when you did," Natalie commented, making a couple notes in her chart. "We could use more paramedics like you." Jimmy noticed her glance at him, and smiled a little in thanks. He was just grateful the kid wasn't worse off. "I'll check to see if CFS is here, you'll need to release him into their custody."
Jimmy heard Sylvie inhale a little too sharply, but if Natalie noticed she didn't say anything, as for him, he was holding onto the exam table a little too hard. "No problem," he said, meaning it. It sucked that the poor kid would be put in the system. If he'd just been dropped off at the safehaven they could take him back to the firehouse and wait for CFS to find something, no problem. But this was an abandonment case, and technically the firehouse had nothing to do with it.
Twelve minutes later though, after one of the nurses had found a dinosaur printed onesie to put the baby in, Natalie and a woman Jimmy assumed was the Social Service worker came back into the exam room. Jimmy was holding the baby, one little hand against his shoulder to hold himself up as he looked around.
"He's about 8 months," Natalie was saying as she lead the woman inside. She spared Jimmy a soft smile, gesturing toward him, then to Sylvie. "These are the paramedics who brought him in. Jimmy Borrelli, Sylvie Brett from Firehouse 51. This is Takenya Mayberry from Chicago Family Services."
"I've worked with 51 before," the Social Worker mentioned. "Chief Boden runs a close house."
"We're like family," said Sylvie. "Do we need to sign something for you to take him or -?"
"Actually," she interrupted, holding up a hand to stop the blonde. "We have a situation."
"You can't take him," Jimmy answered for her quietly. Takenya nodded, her lips pursed.
"We just don't have anyone to take him at such short notice. The best we could do is get him into a shelter for the night, or until we can place him."
Sylvie's head was lowered, her eyes closed, with her fist pressed against her lips when Jimmy looked over at her. She looked regretful, and pained to hand the child they'd rescued off to the worse circumstance. He made a snap decision, his chest tightening when he looked back at the Social Worker.
"I'll take him."
All eyes swung onto him, and Jimmy unconsciously drew the baby closer to him, feeling a tiny hand pat against his cheek as his attention was jarred. He glanced over at the baby, unable to help the smile that spread over his face when the little boy smiled at him first. "Are you sure you want to do that?" Takenya asked seriously. He opened his mouth to answer, but fingers caught his lip and pulled, so Sylvie jumped in.
"Definitely. We'll take him until you can find him a home."
Takenya looked at Natalie, and took a deep breath. "Well, that settles it." Jimmy's eyes brightened, catching Sylvie's when she glanced at him excitedly. "We'll keep in touch, but I trust Boden's people to take care of this baby."
Nearly an hour later, laden down with baby supplies from the Maternity ward director, they were back in the ambulance on their way to the firehouse. Jimmy was driving this time, finally relinquishing the baby to Sylvie who took the opportunity very seriously - by making faces at the tiny human. Suddenly something occurred to her.
"Should we name him something?" she asked, rolling her head up to look at him. Jimmy 'hm'd thoughtfully, glancing at her arms.
"How 'bout Rex?" he teased, referencing to the dinosaur pjs he was wearing. Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Or Littlefoot, that's another good one."
"I hate you, be serious," she scoffed, rubbing her hand over the baby's stomach as he fussed. "What are we gonna name you."
"Hopefully he already has a name," Jimmy pointed out. "Start listing them until he responds to one."
Sylvie nodded. "Okay, good plan," then she hesitated. "What are names, I can't remember any." He laughed at her, which made the baby laugh, and Sylvie turned her head to pout at him. "I'm on the spot, okay? You think of some, its hard."
"Adam, Nick, Logan, Johnny -"
"Hogarth, maybe? Or Clarence?"
He laughed, and the next ten minutes spent headed back to the firehouse consisted of trying to one up each other with ridiculous names. When Sylvie started pitching Lord of the Rings characters, Jimmy had to put his foot down.
"There's no way we can name him Aragorn, do you know how hard it would be to live up to a name like that?" Jimmy shook his head. "Any Tolkien character should be off the table." He tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful shrug. "But I still think Stormageddon would be a cool name for a baby."
Sylvie snorted. "Oh, Magneto is off the table but Stormageddon gets another pass? Please."
The bay was empty when they finally pulled in, which turned out to be great timing as the for now unnamed baby started fussing in Sylvie's arms. She passed him off to Jimmy without a word as he met her around the ambo, trading her the diaper bag of supplies for the tiny human. The eight month old babbled incoherently at him, twisting around in Jimmy's arms to see everything around him.
"Aw, he's like a curious little monkey," Sylvie cooed, earning his attention when she ran her hand down his back. Jimmy's eyes brightened and swung onto her.
"Curious George."
Sylvie tilted her head at him, then looked at the baby and it tilted even further, a cutesy smile spreading over her face. "George huh? I like that, what do you think, huh sweetie?"
'George' smiled at her, then dropped against Jimmy's shoulder, hiding his face from her. Jimmy smirked down at him, shaking his head. "Little flirt," he muttered. "He's definitely feeling better, he's got a hell of a personality."
Sylvie whacked him in the side. "Hey, language. We've got a baby in the house, everyone's going to be on their best behavior."
Jimmy sent her an odd look, following her into the house and into blessid A/C. "Please tell me you're not going to set up a swear jar or something; this is a firehouse, people curse."
She just sniffed, turning her nose up. "Well not until George is out of our custody."
He was about to fire off something back, when he spotted Boden coming down the hall toward them. He slowed at the same time Sylvie did, and when Jimmy looked over at her to see how she was handling their impending ass chewing, he saw her looking wary with her bottom lip between her teeth. "You worried?"
She flinched slightly. "A little. I don't have the best track record when it comes to letting go of patients."
George clutched at the collar of Jimmy's shirt, tugging and wiggling closer to get into a more comfortable position, and the movement of the baby seemed to lessen the fire in Boden's eyes. He stopped a few feet away from them, his hands on his hips, looking between the two seriously.
"I just got off the phone with CFS," he started off warningly. "They wanted to express their gratitude in 51 volunteering their services. And just to be clear," he continued, interrupting both of them as they opened their mouths to explain. "I am not mad. That child should be in our custody. But this is not something the two of you need to do alone. All of Firehouse 51 will be volunteering their services, understood?"
Jimmy could hear the warning to not get attached behind his words, and he nodded along with Sylvie obediently. "Any word from Antonio about who left him in the dumpster?" asked Jimmy, desperate to change the subject. Neither he nor Sylvie were on shift, but he doubted Boden would let either of them take George home with them; and there was no way Jimmy was leaving him with second shift.
"Not yet," he said after a moment of staring at Jimmy, relaxing a little. "Gabby said he would be by later to go over a few more details with you, but she wanted you to know an investigation has been opened."
"Good."
Boden shook his head, staring at George, and moved closer to Jimmy to get a good look at the little boy's face, his hand reaching out to rub against one tiny clenched fist. "What are you calling him?" he asked, not sugarcoating anything, and Sylvie winced.
"George," she answered guiltily. "We just wanted something to call him, and what if no one ever claims him?"
"There's a reason we don't name the children left at the Safe Haven," said Boden gruffly, straightening up with a stern look. "It prevents us from getting attached, and you cannot get attached." There was a moment of silence, with Boden just staring at them silently, measuring them up, until he turned his head and waved them away. "But this is not one of those cases," he conceded softly. "A person needs a name, and I trust you both to be professionals."
He dismissed them without another word, and even though Jimmy could feel his eyes on them as they headed away, he didn't dare look back.
"I'm going to set up a schedule to rotate babysitting duty," said Sylvie quickly. Jimmy gestured to the night house. "I'll see if I can get him to sleep."
And that's where Antonio found him half an hour later sitting on a bed reading while George slept in one of the cribs they kept around for Safe Havened children, the firehouse having emptied earlier in the day by a massive building fire leaving just him and Sylvie around. His blonde partner had gone out to stock up the kitchen on food, leaving him alone in the empty station. Jimmy looked up as Antonio called his name, setting aside his book and standing up.
"Hey, you find anything out yet?" the Detective shook his head, coming to a stop at the crib and looking down at the sleeping baby.
"I was hoping you could answer a few things for me," Antonio said instead, backing away so he wouldn't disturb him and gesturing Jimmy to follow. "Gabby said you found him in one of the dumpsters?"
"Yeah, right outside the apparatus bays," he said gesturing in the general direction. Antonio nodded.
"Time?"
"Closer to noon, we had a call that got out of hand so none of us left until after eleven."
Jimmy watched him purse his lips as he nodded again, jotting down a few things that he'd said. "Alright, I think that's all I need. He's sticking around the firehouse for now?"
"CFD doesn't have room for him, volunteered our services."
"You and my sister have the same way of thinking," Antonio muttered, one last scribble of his pen before he pocketed his notebook and looked up at Jimmy with a sigh. "I'm just waiting on camera surveillance, see if I can find whoever left him."
"What do you think will happen?" asked Jimmy, arms folding over his chest. He was relieved that Antonio was working on this, that something was getting done, but the fear that George's mother could get him back after what happened was still there. "To whoever abandoned him, I mean."
"Truthfully? Child abandonment is only a Class 4 felony, maximum jail time is 3 years." That didn't seem like enough time to Jimmy, his eyes sliding away as he nodded. Antonio shook his head a little, trying to catch his eye. "The kid will either be put into foster care or into the custody of next of kin, but that's the best we can hope for.."
"That sucks," he said honestly. Antonio lifted his arms in a what-can-I-do gesture, already turning away.
"Is what it is, Borrelli. Sorry."
Boden had called everyone back that evening to go over the situation with George; Dawson had been enthusiastic about taking care of the baby boy, while people like Kidd and Otis shared some halfhearted looks. Sylvie stood beside him, going over the schedule so everyone could take a shift.
"Why are you and Jimmy taking care of this kid?" asked Severide, raising a hand from his spot crammed into the corner of the couch. "Where's CFD?"
"It's either us or a shelter," said Sylvie, her tone putting an end to the discussion. Jimmy was leaning against the kitchen island, his arms folded across his chest and his attention on Hermann who was holding the baby.
"Cute little guy," said Mouch, reaching across the table to nudge his cheek lightly with his fist, making the baby squeal. "Who'd abandon a baby."
"I just thank God for Jimmy," said Dawson seriously, looking over at the dark haired paramedic like he was her personal hero. "I can't even stand thinking about what would have happened if he hadn't pulled him from the dumpster."
"Makes me sick," said Hermann darkly, pressing a kiss to the top of George's head, making the little boy look up at him and immediately stick his fingers up his nose. "That's right," he cooed down at the baby. "Antonio's gonna find your mom and she's gonna go to jail for this."
"We don't know it was his mom," said Sylvie defensively, crossing the room to pull George out of Hermann's hands, and he let go reluctantly, pursing his lips at her.
"Don't be naive, Brett, odds are the mom did this." Sylvie tried to ignore him, moving away from Hermann and all his negative energy and over to Jimmy, who's face immediately brightened. George reached for him immediately, but Jimmy didn't try to take him from Sylvie, and seemed content to just let him babble softly and run his tiny fingers along his watch..
"I'm not being naive," said Sylvie finally. "I just don't want to jump to conclusions that's all. He could have just as easily been left by his father, or any other relative who couldn't look after him."
"Whoever did won't get away with it," Jimmy vowed, looking up at her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen on his face before.
"The baby doesn't leave the firehouse," Boden interrupted, his voice booming and ending all conversations. "Jimmy and Sylvie have volunteered to stay until Second Watch is over. Hermann and Dawson are taking the next shift."
"I told Cindy about what's goin' on, she's gonna come by for a little while to help out," said Hermann, nodding to Jimmy and Sylvie. And after that everyone started leaving. Hermann and Mouch looked at each other while Sylvie and Jimmy were occupied, both standing at the same time and heading over to them.
"Well don't you three make the cutest little family," Mouch said conversationally. Jimmy glanced at him, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It's like a Lifetime special."
"Little guy's lucky to have you," asid Hermann, sounding proud, wiggling his finger at him until George caught it and started chewing sloppily. "Cindy'll be here early with me to take care of him."
"We're calling him George," said Sylvie, unashamed, leaning in and pressing her lips to the baby's forehead tenderly.
"Don't get too attached," Hermann warned her, fitting Jimmy with an equally stern look. "Giving him up will be hell if you do."
"We'll do our jobs," said Jimmy defensively, feeling Sylvie's hand press against his back. He looked over at her, but she wasn't looking back, all of her attention on baby George as he continued to teeth on Hermann's finger. Mouch raised his hands up, backing off silently.
"Never said you couldn't," he explained. "Just warning you, like everyone else already has."
And that was an understatement. Jimmy felt like he couldn't hold George without someone looking at him sternly and telling him off for bonding with the child. But he didn't say anything; not until George jerked away from Hermann and reached for Jimmy once again, nearly pulling himself out of Sylvie's arms as distressed tears filled his eyes.
Jimmy took him immediately, wrapping his arms around him securely as Sylvie silently went to pull a bottle of baby food from the fridge. Mouch shook his head, turning to head out. "You two are a well oiled machine," he muttered, and Hermann followed shortly after, but not before giving Jimmy one last warning look.
"I'll see you two in a few hours."
Sylvie waved goodbye to him, and the movement caught George's eye; he imitated her, tears still in his eyes, and his bottom lip still trembling. Sylvie 'awe'd sympathetically, kissing his little nose gently. "You're just having the worst day, aren't you Georgie," she cooed, busying herself with getting him some food.
Jimmy stayed silent, just staring at her as she fed the baby in his arms. He'd taken care of his nephews when they were babies, kids of his cousins in high school; he loved kids, and it broke his heart that someone would throw one away like trash. "I've always wanted kids," he admitted to Sylvie softly, feeling her look up at him, wide blue eyes staring into him.
"Yeah?"
He nodded. "Probably since I first held my nephew. I don't know, something clicked I guess."
Sylvie fell silent, processing his words while she fed George. When he'd had his fill she took him back from Jimmy and he snuggled into her shoulder, one hand fisting against her breast. "You don't have any?" He shook his head. "You ever gotten serious enough with someone to consider it?"
Again, he shook his head. "No. What about you? You ever want kids?"
Sylvie nodded, a small smile ghosting around her mouth. "Someday, if I find someone." Her smile drooped a little as she reconsidered his question. "I did get close, once," Sylvie sighed. "I was engaged in Indiana, Harrison; had a pregnancy scare with him a couple months before the wedding was supposed to be. I think that might have been what scared him off."
Jimmy reached out to run his hand down George's back, and the sleepy boy snuggled further into Sylvie's shoulder. "We got a couple hours until Hermann and Cindy get here," he said casually, his eyes boring into hers when he looked up at her.. "Tell me about Harrison."
Their conversation about Harrison took three hours, and splintered into learning about his ex's; they ended up sitting on the couch facing each other, George sleeping on his back between them, when Cindy and Hermann showed up to give them a break.
"Chris told me about this poor little guy," Cindy said gently, leaning down to get a good look at the baby making cute wuffing sounds in his sleep. She shook her head, pinning Jimmy with a look similar to the one Dawson had earlier. "You, Jimmy, are my hero."
"She's been goin' on nonstop about you," Hermann halfheartedly complained. "Jimmy this, Jimmy that, Jimmy needs to babysit again."
"I would love to watch your kids for you if you ever need a break," said Jimmy, sounding honored, while Sylvie's hand shot up in the air.
"Oh, can I help? We'll make living room forts and watch old school Nickelodeon cartoons."
"Jack your kids up full of sugar and pizza," Jimmy agreed, grinning wickedly at Hermann. "Homemade stuff too, they can add their own ingredients."
"You two are going to be such good parents," said Cindy with a small laugh, shaking her head at them. Sylvie flushed appreciatively, while Jimmy looked away with a small embarrassed smile on his face. The older woman then swatted lightly at them both. "Now get out of here, you've been here all day."
"You sure you don't need us to stay?" asked Jimmy, reluctantly getting off the couch, his eyes on George the whole time. "I can-"
" Go ," Hermann stressed. "You've both got a round on me at Molly's, take a break. We'll look after George just fine."
"But-"
"Jimmy, go ," said Hermann again, steel beneath his voice. "If anything happens you'll be the first to know."
Sylvie reached for his hand and pulled him away. "He'll be fine," she convinced him softly. "Cindy and Chris have five kids, they know what they're doing."
He nodded, not looking convinced. "What if he wakes up and we're not here -"
"C'mon, Jimmy," she insisted. "He's in good hands."
She managed to convince him to leave the firehouse, both stepping out into the much cooler evening; they chatted casually, but it wasn't like that morning, and Sylvie could tell Jimmy's mind was on George back at the firehouse and not her sitting next to him at the bar. She sipped her wine and stared at the side of his face, watching a vein above his eyebrow twitch until he finally swung his head around to look at her.
"Okay, what?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, accompanied by another sip of wine. "Just wondering how many beers it would take for you to loosen up."
He looked away and raised his beer to his lips, shooting a perplexed second glance her way before taking a drink. "What makes you think this isn't me relaxed?"
Sylvie shook her head, leaning closer across the bar until she was in his personal space. "This is not the guy I was talking to this morning," Sylvie told him. "This is Paramedic Jimmy, all business, waiting to read the scene and come up with a diagnosis."
"That's not true -"
"Jimmy you have looked at your phone every thirty seconds since we sat down," she interrupted, and to make her point, she picked up his phone from the bar top and clutched it to her chest, leaning back as he made a grab for it. "I am keeping this for the rest of the night," she told him sternly. "You are off the clock, so relax ."
Jimmy stared at her, with a narrow gaze,before he looked away and waved to Gabby at the other end of the bar. "Fine, you win," he told her. "Another round?"
Sylvie straightened, feeling victorious. "Shots," she declared, propping her elbow on the bar and her chin on her hand, batting her eyelashes at Gabby as the latina stopped in front of them. "Shots with embarrassing names that Jimmy won't say out loud but will secretly think are delicious," she clarified, and Gabby tossed her a wink.
"I gotchu, girl."
"You are the actual worst," Jimmy chuckled, grabbing a couple pretzels from the bowl between them to snack on. And for a few seconds he tried not to think about George; he took his shot ("Good boy," Sylvie said patronizingly, which earned her an ice cube down the back of her shirt in retaliation.), he got another beer, and he was almost relaxed, when Sylvie jumped a little and pulled out his phone..
Jimmy's eyes sharpened on her as she frowned down at the screen. "What?" Jimmy's heart started thudding in his chest. "Sylvie, what?"
She looked up at him uncertainly, and he could see that she was warring with herself over giving him his phone. "It's Hermann," she said finally, holding it out for him.
taking Georgie to Chiago med er. you should meet us there. - Chris
Jimmy took his cell to read and reread the text from Hermann, pulling his wallet out of his jeans to toss a few bills onto the bartop to pay for their drinks before he looked up at her. "Well let's go."
"Jimmy -"
"Sylvie, let's go," his voice was insistent, but he didn't think he'd been too harsh; still she grimaced and, after sharing a look with Gabby, nodded to start following him out of the bar.
"What the hell happened," Jimmy hissed to himself, knuckles white against the steering wheel of the car he wouldn't let her drive for him. He didn't expect Sylvie to answer, he knew she didn't know anymore than he did; but when he felt her hand take one of his off the steering wheel and hold onto it tightly he didn't feel like he was the only one invested in this child anymore.
"It's going to be okay," said Sylvie quietly. Jimmy squeezed the hand she was holding his with, but he couldn't answer. Jimmy's thoughts had descended into dark and twisty, and he would be hard pressed to change his mood until he knew George was fine and healthy.
Hermann was waiting for them when Jimmy pulled up, phone in hand; Sylvie must have told him where they were coming into the hospital from. Hermann had his hands up, his expression serious but calling for silence as the two paramedics walked up to him. Jimmy had questions held behind his teeth waiting to fire at the older man, but he waited until he explained what happened.
"He had a seizure," Herman told them, then made a sound to cut them off and both Sylvie and Jimmy started talking at once. "It wasn't severe, but we took him to Dr. Manning. They're doing some tests on him now to see if it was just a situational thing, or if it's something else."
Jimmy jumped at the opening to say something, anxious and worried and not getting any of the answers he needed fix the gnawing sensation in his gut. "Where is he?"
"One of the exam rooms," said Hermann with a sigh. "Cindy's with him, so don't be worried that he's alone."
There was one question answered, and if Jimmy could have picked anyone to stay with George it would be Hermann's wife. Cindy was warm and nurturing and tough as nails; he was grateful for her. Hermann seemed to understand that, but that his gratitude only went so far, because he stepped to the side and gestured for the two of them to follow him.
Cindy had George in her arms and was quietly talking to Natalie when the three of them finally walked in. George babbled happily when he saw them. Natalie folded her arms across her chest, leaning her hip against the exam table as her eyes fell onto them. "You guys got here pretty quick."
Sylvie nudged Jimmy with her foot. "He drove, so..." It went unspoken that Jimmy was concerned, that was obvious. Natalie sighed and twisted around a little to pick up George's chart.
"The baby has myoclonic-astatic epilepsy," Natalie explained, handing over George's chart to Sylvie, while Jimmy flipped through all the medical diagnosis he knew. But Natalie filled him in before he could ask her what it was. "Doose Syndrome is what it's commonly known as. And it's not that common at all, about 2% of children with epilepsy have it."
"How dangerous is it?" asked Jimmy, glancing over Sylvie's shoulder to get a look at the chart.
"It varies," said Natalie carefully. "His seizure started after he woke up, which is what usually occurs in juveniles, and after the episode his head dropped?" Natalie looked at Hermann for confirmation, who nodded.
"Did a lot of research after Lee was born," Hermann explained. "He had some epilepsy throughout childhood, but it's disappeared now, thank God."
"That atonic episode is what made me suspect Doose Syndrome. Those occur in 100% of these cases."
"How do you treat it?" Jimmy asked, jumping onto the tail end of Natalie's sentence. Sylvie placed her hand on his back warningly, rubbing small circles along his spine. Natalie looked at the baby still in Cindy's arms and sighed sympathetically, reaching out to tickle his arm gently.
"We have to treat the seizures," she explained. "The ketogenic diet works very well in children too, so that's an option. But the bright side is two-thirds of children enter into remission and have normal intelligence."
"So it just…"
Natalie sighed. "It just depends."
Jimmy chewed on the inside of his lip for a few moments, then nodded to George. "Can we take him back to the firehouse?" Natalie shook her head.
"I want to monitor him overnight, find the right medication for him and make sure he doesn't have anything more serious going on."
"I'll stay with him," Jimmy offered immediately, but Hermann shot him down.
"We'll keep with the schedule Sylvie set up," he announced to the room, and Jimmy had to stop himself from arguing. "Switch shifts every few hours, no reason you need to be here by yourself the whole time."
No matter what Sylvie told him, she couldn't get the sour look off Jimmy's face; she knew he was thinking about George. It was hard to fight him, because she was worried about him too, but now more than that she thought Jimmy was becoming too attached to the baby. She was usually the one going above and beyond on stuff like this, it was strange to see Jimmy doing it now.
It had been too late to go back to Molly's after leaving the hospital, so Jimmy had driven her home and said goodnight. She hadn't been able to get a hold of him since, except for a few half assed text replies. Sylvie was anxious to get back on shift so she could keep an eye on him. So it wasn't entirely unexpected that, when Boden called out her name as she hurried down the hallway, she tripped over her own feet turning around and almost fell flat on her face.
Catching her balance, Sylvie waited until Boden had caught up with her. "Chief?'
"I want to talk to you about Jimmy."
Straight to the point, and Sylvie's heart started beating a little faster. "What about Jimmy?" she asked slowly, afraid of what he might say.
The older man sighed, and Sylvie knew he knew that Jimmy was - "Some concerns have been directed to me about how much Jimmy has bonded with George. But I want to know," he started, holding up a hand as she opened her mouth to start defending her partner. "If, in your opinion, Jimmy has gotten too attached to that baby."
Sylvie stilled. Either way she said it she felt like Jimmy was screwed. One one hand her opinion about her partner was crucial, on the other - she had problems in the past with getting too attached to patients. But she hadn't had a chance to get overly involved with George this time, Jimmy had taken over the crazy train on this one.
"I really don't think there's anything to worry about," she bluffed with a nervously over exaggerated smile. "Jimmy cares , sure. He's...you know...a caring guy."
They stared at each other for a beat, then two, and Sylvie had a feeling that Boden was waiting for her to break. But to her relief he conceded first, nodding his head slowly. "You'll come to me if it becomes more than that?" He said it like a question, but Sylvie could hear the unspoken command underneath it. Jimmy needed to back off, and fast.
"Of course," said Sylvie, voice still bright and fake. She turned to go, and once she was out of eyeshot of the Chief, booked it to the locker rooms.
"Oh thank god," she said gratefully, spotting Jimmy in front of his locker pulling his shirt over his head. He turned when he heard her voice, nodding to her in greeting.
"Hey, sorry about -"
"Jimmy, you need back off." Her voice was stern, and it made him pause, staring at her in confusion.
"Look, Sylvie…" he started off slowly, taking a few careful steps toward her. "You're the one who said you had a thing for me, but I didn't think I was acting any different -"
" Oh my god, no," she interrupted him again, feeling mortified about that incident all over again. "No, I'm talking about George."
His confusion disappeared, and Sylvie watched him cross his arms over his chest, prepared to get defensive. "What about him?"
Sylvie sighed, crossing the distance between them and taking his arm, leading him toward the benches and sitting him down next to her. "Jimmy, I know how hard it is to let go of patients," Sylvie said, deciding to start it out on safe territory. "The way Boden describes how our job should be, just dumping patients off at the hospital and forgetting about them, that's impossible to do all the time. They stick with us."
"Did Boden say something?" Jimmy asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "Because I'm fine-"
"No, Jimmy," Sylvie interrupted him gently. "You're not fine. Look," she shifted uncomfortably, tucking her hair behind her ears as she faced him fully. "You remember your first day at 51?" The look his gave her told her yes, no shit , and Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Ok, kinda hard to forget your brother wrapping you in saran wrap and locking you in the trunk of a car, but I remember your first day too. I remember that whole day. You showed up, Chilli and I got a call where were delivered a baby in the back of the ambulance, and the mother died. He had no one and I...I got too attached to him."
Jimmy looked away for a few moments to process her words, and Sylvie sat in silence with him. It was hard to admit that getting attached to patients was a weakness, but it was, and most of the time it bit them in the ass.
"If you had the chance," Jimmy started, interrupting the silence with a soft voice, turning his head to look at her again. "Wouldn't you do whatever it took to make sure he was alright?"
Sylvie's stomach sank, realizing she'd have to tell Jimmy the whole story. She hadn't even told Chili what she'd done. "I did," she admitted quietly. "I kind of broke the rules."
"Which you're known to do," he pointed out gently, and Sylvie winced.
"The rules as in...the law." His eyebrow shot up. Trying really hard to look innocent and nonchalant, but knowing she was sucking at it, Sylvie continued. "I sort of stole my patient's chart, and found his dad. And I kind of bullied him into being a parent..."
" Sylvie …"
"And I know what you're doing isn't even close to what I did," said Sylvie quickly, just incase that was what he was thinking she was trying to imply. "I'm just telling you to be careful or you could."
But Jimmy was shaking his head as he stood up, looking down at her with a dispirited look on his face. "If I'd have been your partner last year I would have had your back through that. I always do. The least you could do is back me up on this."
Some emotion she couldn't name flared up inside her, and Sylvie stood abruptly as Jimmy turned to go, to try and stop him or tell him that she did have his back - she was just worried about him, and that wasn't such a terrible thing. But she didn't manage to get anything out as she stood there silently watching him walk out. Sylvie sunk back onto the bench with a long groan, rubbing the heel of her hand against her forehead.
And she thought about the dozens of times Jimmy had her back, no question, never second guessing her decisions, and it made her feel guilty for not automatically doing the same for him. He'd been there for her more than Chili, more than Mills even, and he had been her best friend. She didn't know when Jimmy had taken over that spot.
With a new resolve, Sylvie stood up and headed after Jimmy, needing to prove to him that she was there to back him up no matter how crazy he got over this baby thing. But before she could actually find him, the sound of her name being called had her turning, her face brightening as she saw Gabby walking toward her with George in her arms. The baby immediately became active when he saw her, squawking cutely at her and waving his arm.
"Hi, Georgie!" she cooed, waiting for Gabby to reach her. "The hospital released him?" she asked, glancing briefly at Gabby for confirmation. She nodded, holding up a large plastic bag full of medications bottles.
"They've got him on a bunch of stuff I can't pronounce, but Natalie and Will said he should be fine as long as he keeps to his meds. Hopefully no more seizures."
"I'll say," breathed Sylvie, reaching for the boy and bouncing him on her hip, grinning happily down at him. "Oh, Jimmy's going to be so happy to see you."
"They really bonded, didn't they?" Gabby asked, staring fondly down at George as Sylvie tried to keep him entertained with funny faces until she could break away and find Jimmy.
"Yeah, you could tell?"
"He seemed like he was looking around for someone that definitely wasn't Hermann, all day," Gabby told her. Sylvie's grin softened, and she looked away. "Are you worried about it?"
She didn't hesitate this time. "Not at all."
But Jimmy, on the other end of the firehouse, was starting to have second and third and fourth thoughts about what Sylvie had said. At first he'd brushed it off, what he was doing she had done a dozen times and more. He'd gotten mad at her for calling him out on bonding with a victim, for not having his back; but the more he replayed what she told him the more he knew how much trouble he was in.
"Jimmy." Boden looked up, sounding surprised as he knocked on the Chief's office door. The older man beckoned him inside when he noticed Jimmy was just hanging in the doorway, unsure. "What can I do for you?"
Jimmy's face was solemn. He'd learned a lot being partnered with Sylvie, and that honesty was usually what got you off the hook for shit you weren't supposed to do. He took a deep breath and sat down across from Boden, leaning forward until he elbows were resting on his knees, and exhaled slowly. "You have a reason to be concerned," he said slowly, staring at the items on Boden's desk, picking his words carefully. His chest tightened as he thought about George, alone in the hospital without him, and it forced him to continue. "I've gotten too attached to…" he trailed off needlessly, kneading his thumb into the palm of his hand.
"I wanted to do the right thing," he continued when Boden didn't say anything, but Jimmy was too distracted by what he was thinking about to look up. "And I feel like the right thing is taking care of George. No child deserves to be left like that." He wanted that boy to feel loved during what should have been the most innocent time in his life, not abandoned.
He fell silent after that, listening to Boden sigh and the faint squeak of this chair springs as the Chief leaned back. "Jimmy," he started off deeply, and finally he looked up across the desk to meet the other man's eyes. "I understand that you want to do right by this boy, and I commend you for it. But the bond you've formed with him won't do you any good when the time comes to let him go." Jimmy nodded, feeling a pang in his chest just at the thought of giving up George. "I am glad you came to me, and for now it hasn't gotten out of hand. I'll know when it does."
A knock on the open door caused both men to turn and look, Jimmy straightening up with an apprehensive look in his eye. Antonio nodded to them both, leaning his shoulder against the door. "Glad I found you both here."
"Has something happened with the abandonment case?" asked Boden, leaning onto his arm rest so he could get a better look at the detective. He nodded.
"Found the mother. We have her in custody."
Jimmy was on the edge of his seat, ready to stand and confront this woman. His eyes were burning holes into Antonio. "And?" he prompted.
"Her name is Brittney Potter, the baby's name is Dustin," Antonio started, walking into Boden's office and taking the seat beside Jimmy. For a moment he stared at Jimmy, seizing him up, before he slid his eyes away and focused on Boden. "Heard from Gabby he has a seizure disorder?"
"Please tell me that's not why she left her baby in a dumpster," begged Jimmy, his eyes a little wide, showcasing his horror. Antonio shook his head slowly.
"Wish I could," he admitted. "Actually, she had no idea that leaving him in the dumpster was against the law. She thought 'safehaven' meant just leaving him anywhere at the firehouse."
"She can't get off the hook with an excuse like that, can she?" asked Jimmy, a wild expression in his eyes. "All she had to do was -"
"She didn't know, Jimmy," Boden interrupted him, his voice almost gentle.
"There no excuse!"
Antonio and Boden stared at him, neither saying a word, but their expressions sympathised with him. He couldn't remember getting to his feet, but he refused to be embarrassed about making a scene. A noise from the doorway made him look up, meeting Sylvie's eyes. Boden motioned her in and, with the baby (Dustin, Jimmy mentally corrected himself) on her hip she moved to stand next to Jimmy.
"I take it you found the mom?"
Antonio stood, nodding. "We arrested her," he said, looking at Jimmy. "There's a chance a jury will sympathize with her, but Dustin's grandparents are willing to take custody of him."
Sylvie looked confused. "Dustin?"
Jimmy reached out toward the baby and rubbed the back of his fingers over his arm. "That's his name." Sylvie shrugged, a disinterested frown on her face.
"I like George better."
"Mr. and Mrs. Potter are outside, waiting for their grandson," said Antonio, and Jimmy froze. "They'd been estranged from their daughter for a few years. They hadn't even known she had a baby until we took her into custody. They seem like nice people."
"And they're here?" asked Sylvie quietly, glancing at Jimmy out of the corner of her eye. "They want him now?"
"They're next of kin," said Boden. Jimmy nodded, snapping out of his daze suddenly.
"Right," he bit out. "We uh, we'll met them." Boden simply nodded, and Antonio gestured for them to follow. Out of earshot of the Chief, Sylvie pulled Jimmy to a stop, turning around to face him.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her hand firm against his arm. Jimmy's eyes flicked away from hers briefly, landing on Dustin. The little boy smiled at him, arms coming up to be taken out of Sylvie's arms. She passed him over quietly.
"No," said Jimmy finally, gently pulling a tiny hand away from his nose. "But it's the right thing to do."
He didn't say another word and Sylvie didn't make him, the two walking like they were on their way to the gallows and Antonio was their executioner. He was waiting for them beside a middle aged couple who must have been Dustin's grandparents. The woman looked anxious beside her husband, one hand gripping his arm and the other curled into a first against her chest. She wilted slightly when she spotted them.
"You two must be the paramedics Detective Dawson was telling us about."
When Jimmy didn't say anything Sylvie took the reigns of the conversation, putting on a bright false smile. "Yes, ma'am. Jimmy's actually the one who found your grandson."
Sylvie looked at her partner as the grandfather thanked him for his service, and she watched him nod at the appropriate times, but he wasn't really in the conversation. He kept looking down at Dustin, brushing his hair back; he lifted the baby more securely into his arms for just a moment, before he put a strained smile on his face and passed Dustin off to his grandmother.
Without a word he turned and left, leaving Sylvie alone with the couple fawning over their new grandson. She watched Dustin's head turn to track Jimmy before he was distracted by the new people in his life. Sylvie folded her arms across her chest tightly, pushing down her own feelings. Antonio squeezed her arm sympathetically, catching her eye briefly, before leading the Potter's out of the firehouse.
Maybe it was because Jimmy hadn't been able to say anything; he'd done exactly what he said he would if someone came to claim George. But Sylvie had seen the look on his face, she knew how attached he was to that little boy, and to watch him hand him over had been heartbreaking. He didn't know if these people were going to be good to George, and neither did she. But dammit if she wasn't going to make sure they knew he deserved to be treated with all the love in the world.
"Excuse me!" Sylvie was jogging to catch up to the couple, stopping them before they had made it to the street. The couple stopped and turned, looking confused why the crazy paramedic lady was chasing them out of the firehouse. Sylvie stopped in front of them, her heart pounding with what she was about to say. "I'm sorry, I know you want to get your grandson home, but I just need to say something." She took a deep breath and glanced at George, reaching out to rub her hand against his back. "You've got a really great kid to look after," she began. "He's been through so much, so I need you both to promise me, that no matter what he does when he grows up, and no matter how much trouble he gets into or how mad you get...you can't use this against him."
The shock on their faces would have made a lesser person wince, but Sylvie was pretty much immune. "What did you just say?"
"His mom abandoned him in a dumpster," said Sylvie bluntly, pointing over their shoulders. "That dumpster. And it was a miracle that Jimmy heard him and fished him out. Jimmy Borrelli saved your grandsons life. He's the best person I know, and Jimmy….all he wants is for that little boy to know that he's wanted."
The Potter's stared at her for a good long while, then at each other, before Mrs. Potter held Dustin closer to her chest and nodded. "He will always be loved with us."
Sylvie headed back into the bay to look for Jimmy; finding him sitting on the bumper of the rig by himself. She sat beside him without a word, kicking her toes against the concrete as she debated what to say. He was just staring off into space, not saying a word of acknowledgement to her.
"He's gonna be fine," she finally said, looking sideways at him. He quirked his eyebrows, but that was all the indication he gave that he heard her. Sylvie scooched closer to him. "His grandparents seem like really good people. They're going to make sure he never remembers this." Jimmy glanced at her, then away again. She moved closer, their shoulder brushing, and tried again. "You were really great with him."
His lips quirked a little at the corners. "Thanks."
Sylvie returned the smile, placing her hand over his. "You know what? Let's make a deal." Jimmy turned his head to look at her fully, and Sylvie continued strong. "In ten years, if neither of us are married or whatever, we can have a baby together."
He actually laughed, and it was so nice to see him smile again that a coil deep in her chest loosened at the sight. Sylvie sighed happily, glad she managed to boost his mood, and stood up. Stretching her arms over her head, she turned as Jimmy nudged her calf with his foot to get her attention, a wide smile still on his face.
"Deal."
Sylvie beamed at him, letting her arms drop to her sides. She punched his shoulder lightly. "I'm going in, see you in a bit?"
"Yeah, for sure," he told her, some of the mirth disappearing from his eyes. As Sylvie walked away, she turned again as Jimmy called after her. All she saw was heat in his eyes. "You ever change your mind and want one sooner, let me know."