Antonio sat in the chair across the room from Sylvie staring at her, she was asleep and the only sounds in the room were the steady beeps of her and the baby's heart rate monitors. He was pissed but couldn't decide who he was more pissed at, himself for not noticing that Sylvie was exhausted to the point of hospitalization or Sylvie for pushing herself so hard. He'd been so overwhelmed at work and trying to get back into the swing of things that he had left her to handle more than she should have while working twenty-four hour shifts. He stood and stretched not able to take the sitting and waiting anymore, he had enough of sitting in hospital rooms to last a lifetime and needed to escape for just a little bit.
"He's not answering anyone's texts or calls and it's been four hours Gabby!" Sylvie was panicking, she knew Antonio would never leave her alone in the hospital and take off for hours without letting her know he was going. "Hey, it's Antonio he's okay, Adam and Kim are looking for him. I bet he stopped somewhere and got caught up talking or helping with something." Gabby was trying to keep Sylvie calm but she was barely keeping herself together. Antonio never disappeared without answering and he would never leave Sylvie alone, her imagination was running wild.
"Why did he leave in the first place? He's never just left." Sylvie was crying, she couldn't hold it back anymore, her tiredness and the stress of the day finally got to her. Gabby climbed into the bed with her and wrapped her in her arms. "Shhh, it will be okay just calm down, the stress isn't good for you or my little nephew." Gabby was trying her best to calm her but Sylvie was too far gone, the only thing left to do was let her finish her meltdown and hold her while she sobbed.
Gabby's phone rang and she grabbed it before it woke Sylvie, she had fallen back asleep after she had finished crying. "Hey baby, have you found anything yet?" she whispered to Matt. "No, were in the area his GPS and phone last pinged. It's dark but were looking, how's Sylvie?" Gabby looked down at Sylvie sound asleep with a pained look on her face. "She's asleep but she's exhausted and worried. Please find him quick." She begged him. "We will, I promise. I'll call if we find something, love you." He answered. "Love you too." She whispered as she hung up her phone and readjusted herself to lie down next to Sylvie.
Voight stood there looking at the group in front of him, his own Intelligence team and Firehouse 51. "Okay, Antonio's phone and GPS last pinged in this area, I want you in teams of two, you're gonna fan out and search over every square inch of this area for his truck and him. If you find something immediately report it on the radio. Check every door, stairs, and window on every building. Don't leave anything unturned. Do I make myself clear?" he asked as everyone nodded their heads. "Okay, good, get going."
Antonio didn't know how much longer he could hold on. He thought the water would be warmer in July but it was the middle of the night and he was shivering in his wet clothes trying to cling to the wall and the little boy. "I know it's cold but I need you to stay awake okay buddy." He said through chattering teeth as two big eyes stared up at him, the little boy nodded. His arms were killing him, he kept switching back and forth between arms but it didn't matter, three hours of hanging there had taken its toll. He screamed out again for help but he knew in the middle of the night and the sound of the waves hitting the wall there was little chance of being heard. He had dropped his cell on the ground before he jumped in underestimating the height of the wall.
He had only wanted to take a break from the hospital and clear his head before Sylvie woke up so he drove to a part of the river he was familiar with, an industrial area that was quiet at night and parked his truck. He took off on foot wanting to walk some of the anxiety out when he heard something, it almost didn't register but he stopped and listened, "Help." He knew he heard it that time, it was faint and barely audible but it was a cry. "Call out, where are you?" he yelled as he looked over the edge searching for the source of the cry. He spotted him, a boy maybe ten clinging to the wall. "I'm coming hold on." He ran to where the boy was and tried to reach down but was too short. Without hesitation he jumped in and grabbed him, "I got you." He reassured the boy as he attempted to push him up but the wall was a good twelve feet, there was no way they were getting back out.
"Antonio!" Kim yelled as her and Adam walked the street looking for any sign of their friend. "Seriously what was he doing down here and what the hell happened?" Adam was getting frustrated. "We don't know that he was down here, we only know his truck is." Kim pointed out as she tried the door to a building, she jiggled the handle and it was locked. "Antonio!" she called again. "We'll find him." She said determinedly as she made her way toward the river wall shining her light in every window she passed. Adam was chattering pointlessly when Kim threw her fist up and he automatically stopped and waited for instruction. Kim placed her finger over her lips and motioned for him to follow her forward. She thought she heard something but wasn't sure of the direction it came from. She listened again but didn't hear anything. "I thought I heard something, I guess I was hearing stuff." She sighed and motioned for Adam to turn around and start to head to the next street.
Antonio was barely hanging on, he was beyond tired and his eyes were starting to droop, he heard something, talking he thought and his eyes popped open and he yelled but his voice was hoarse and not very loud but he kept trying. He waited for a moment but didn't hear anything, he sighed and checked the boy, he knew he was in bad shape. "Aiden I need you to open your eyes." He tried shaking him but he didn't wake up. "Come on I need you to open them, please." Antonio was crying, he couldn't go through this again. He knew it was useless but mustered all his strength and screamed as loud as he could.
"He could be." Adam stopped and looked at Kim who had wide eyes and she spun and started running with Adam right behind her. "You heard that right?" She yelled over her shoulder. "Yeah I did, where the hell was it coming from?" She stopped at the end of the alley they had just come back up. "Antonio!" She screamed. She was shining her flashlight everywhere trying to get a hint of movement. "Adam, where did it come from?" she was frantic; she knew she heard it and she was positive it was him. Adam radioed to Voight, "We pretty sure we heard him boss, can we get some assistance over here?" Adam yelled into the radio.
Kim was screaming for Antonio to call out. "Kim, shhh, be quiet a minute." Kim went silent and she heard it, it was very faint but it was her name, she looked over the edge into the water and shined her light. "Shine it further down." Adam instructed, her flashlight hit someone clinging to the wall. "Oh god! Antonio!" she screamed as she took off in a sprint to his location. "Hold on we'll get you out." She breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped to her knees and attempted to reach down for him. "We got you, just hang on." Adam hollered down to him, "Boss, we found him, we need the squad guys here now." Adam yelled into the radio. Kelly rounded the corner with Cruz close behind, "We're here." Kelly panted out of breath. "He's in the water ten maybe fifteen feet down with a kid." Adam explained.
"Capp, get squad here now." Kelly radioed Capp their location. "Hey Tony, I'm coming down. Can you hold on another couple minutes?" Antonio nodded his head, completely out of energy and his throat was on fire from screaming, he couldn't yell anymore. Kelly saw squad round the corner and ran to meet it; he grabbed the gear and ran back setting it up as quickly as possible. "Okay, I'm coming down."
"I'm going to put this around the kid and tie him to me, then I'm going to get a harness around you and they will pull you up" Kelly explained as he reached Antonio. Antonio was exhausted, "just get him up, he's been out for awhile, I'm okay."
Antonio came over the edge and was pulled up to his feet, immediately a body came flying at him and wrapped him in a hug. "God, I was so worried about you, don't ever do that again." Kim didn't want to let him go. "I'm fine, I promise." He croaked out. Kim held him away from her and looked him over, "what the hell happened?" she was confused on how he would end up in the river clinging to a child. Antonio shook his head, "later, I'm going with the kid." He said as he pointed in the direction of the ambulance and started for it.
"How is he?" Antonio asked the medic as he climbed in the ambo. "He's alert and his vitals are steady, how long were you guys in there?" Antonio shook his head, "I have no idea, a couple hours at least." The medic looked at him and smiled, "You saved his life, you're a hero, be happy about that." Antonio shook his head. "Maybe later, will he be okay?" Antonio needed Aiden to be okay; he couldn't take any more tragedy. "I think he'll be fine. Any clue who he is? I tried to ask his name and he isn't talking." Antonio had been holding Aiden's gaze for several moments as the ambo rushed towards the hospital.
"His name's Aiden Holden, he's nine." Antonio reached over and brushed Aiden's hair out of face. "You're being really brave buddy, do you want me to stay with you at the hospital until we can find your mom?" Aiden nodded his head. "Okay, we're in this together then, I won't leave you." Antonio held his fist up and Aidan reached up and fist bumped him.
"Hey, Syl" Gabby whispered while gently shaking Sylvie's shoulder trying to wake her without startling her. Sylvie opened her eyes and blinked at Gabby, "They found him." Sylvie quickly sat up, "Is he okay? Where was he? Where is he?" Gabby held up her hands, "Whoa, I don't know details, Matt said he would explain when they get here. There was something about a kid and the river, he's on his way in the ambulance."
Sylvie started to climb out of the bed and was unhooking herself from all the wires and machines. "What are you doing? You need to rest." Sylvie looked at Gabby like she had lost her mind. "No, I NEED to see my husband, you know your brother, the one who has been missing for hours and is being brought in by ambulance." Gabby sighed, she knew she wasn't going to win this battle because she would do the exact same thing if it were Matt. "Okay fine, just keep the IV in and I'll help you with everything else and your riding in a wheelchair."
Antonio stared at Aiden who hadn't cried once through the whole ordeal, he didn't want to leave his side until he knew his mom was there with him but he also needed to check on Sylvie. He knew she had to be worried about him disappearing and that was the last thing she needed. The ambulance came to a stop and Antonio jumped out to help the medic get Aiden out. The medic called the boys vitals out to April, Maggie yelled to take him to a room. "Antonio we're putting you in room 3." Maggie informed him. "I'm fine, I'm staying with him." He answered as continued to follow Aiden to the room he was assigned. "Just so you know, your wife is on her way down and I bet she's going to have something to say about that." Antonio stopped and looked at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and continuing to follow Aiden. "Bring her to me when she get down here please." He said over his shoulder.
Antonio was sitting in a chair across the room from Aiden's bed, he had shut his eyes for only moment when he felt someone crawl into his lap, he opened his eyes to find himself buried in a mess of blonde curls and Sylvie entangled around him. "What happened?" Sylvie was curious, she knew nothing, she had come straight down and hadn't talked to anyone. Antonio held his finger up to his mouth and pointed at the bed where Aiden was sound asleep. He helped her up and motioned for her to go to the hall.
Antonio shut the door behind them, "I'm fine, I found a boy in the river and I jumped in without thinking and underestimated the height of the wall." He stared into those big blue eyes and could tell she had been worried and he felt horrible for putting that on her. "I'm sorry," he started but Sylvie grabbed his hand and pulled him into the empty room next door, she could tell he felt guilty and that was the last thing she wanted when he did something so selfless.
She pushed him against the wall and held him there with one hand against his chest just staring into his eyes. He began to speak and she shushed him, she leaned in and kissed him, she let it linger before pulling back and placing her forehead against his. "You are a good man and I know you don't always believe that but you are. You're a good husband, a good father, and a good friend. What you did does not require an apology and I'm a big girl and not as fragile as everyone seems to think, so stop worrying so much about me." Antonio let out a deep breath that he had been holding since he jumped into the water and realized he didn't have a way out, he could feel his body relaxing and the only thing he wanted to do was climb into bed with Sylvie and sleep for a week.
"I promised the boy I would stay with him until his mom got here." Antonio sounded defeated. "Then I'm waiting with you, Gabby went back up to get Dr. Kinney to discharge me so I can go home after you get checked out." Antonio peeked up at her and smirked, he knew she wouldn't let him leave without being cleared. "I'll get checked out, I just wanted him to be seen first."
"Antonio." He felt someone shaking his shoulder and opened his eyes to find April standing there, the room was still dark and he didn't think he had been asleep very long. "Ms. Holden, Aiden's mom, is here and she is asking to speak to you privately before coming in to see him." April whispered trying not to wake Aiden. Antonio looked over and saw Sylvie playing on her phone and reached out for her hand clearly wanting her to come with him. He nodded at April and stood to follow her out the door.
April led him and Sylvie into a consult room down the hall where a woman who didn't look like she could be a day over twenty-five sat. She stood when they entered. "Are you Detective Dawson?" she asked. "Umm, yes, Antonio and my wife Sylvie." He introduced them. She came around the table and wrapped Antonio in a hug. "I'm Sam, thank you so much for what you did and being there at the right time." Antonio hugged her back, "I'm thankful I was too and it's my job, I would do it a thousand times over."
"No, it's more than that, you were his guardian angel. His friends were just going to leave him there and refused to even acknowledge that they had seen him today. They finally confessed after they found out he was found and was safe." She was clearly upset by the friends' actions. "He said they were playing dare games and his was to do a handstand on the river wall and he slipped and fell and when they couldn't reach him they ran away and never came back." Antonio filled her in on part of the conversation that him and Aiden had while they were clinging to the wall.
"I have to remember they're nine year olds but still I just want to throttle each one of them for leaving their friend there like that, they're all in severe trouble." She had been in contact with each of their parents over the last twenty minutes. "I had him young and everyone has always just assumed I would mess up but I love him and I would be lost without him, do you have kids?" She smiled at Antonio. Antonio nodded, "three, two girls and a boy, and number four, another boy right here." He reached over and touched Sylvie's stomach.
Sam's eyes followed and lit up when she noticed Sylvie was pregnant, "Oh a new baby, when are you due?" Sylvie chuckled, "Six weeks, but it feels like an eternity." Sam leaned into Sylvie and gave her a hug, "Thank you for having such a selfless husband, he truly is a hero, I wish you and your family all the best." Sylvie looked over at Antonio and winked, "Thank you, he's our hero too."
It was seven in the morning and neither one of them had slept, Aiden was reunited with his mom, Sylvie was discharged, and Antonio was given a clean bill of health. Sylvie sat in the passenger seat staring at Antonio, she could see the worry and stress was taking a toll on him, he looked exhausted mentally and physically. "I'm not going back to work." She knew he didn't want her to but he would never ask her to quit, he would let her make up her own mind of when she was ready. Antonio sighed and looked at her, "thank you." It was all he could think to say, he knew she didn't want to quit yet but he would be lying if he said it didn't make him feel better.
Sylvie sat at Antonio's desk and watched as Sophia ran away from Adam laughing as he pretended to be a monster. She remembered not too long ago being so scared to be up here like it was a forbidden place but now it felt like a second home, she felt just as at ease here as she did in the firehouse. She had spent the better part of the past week floating between the firehouse and district, she was bored out of her mind at home and still had a week until her due date.
"Okay listen up." Jay was standing at the end of the room in front of whiteboard, "This is VERY important." Everyone stopped what they were doing to pay attention to him and he flipped the board over. "We are officially on Baby Dawson watch and the pool is now open." He started laughing as he pointed at the board with a calendar marked with time slots. "Ooh, put me down for a hundred dollars on Wednesday at 7pm, that's the due date right?" Adam hollered from across the room. "Yes and I'll take tomorrow at 9pm for a hundred." Jay started scribbling names onto the board. "This is not happening." Antonio looked annoyed as he came out of the kitchen and attempted to take the marker from Jay's hand.
Jay ran away from him giggling like a little kid attempting to hide behind Hailey, "Yes it is, who's next?" Jay said pointing to Kevin. Antonio stood blocking the board, "It's fine, just let them have fun besides I'm going to win." Sylvie said nonchalantly motioning Antonio to come over to her. "How do you figure? We're picking dates today, you can't possibly know exactly when you will have the baby." Jay responded looking at her skeptically, Sylvie just shrugged and smirked at him, "I'll go last." Was all she said.
Everyone took their turns; the pool was well over a thousand dollars. "Anyone else?" Jay asked. "Platt wants fifty on tomorrow at 2am." Kim said as she came up the stairs. "Antonio?" Jay looked at him. "I'm out" Antonio didn't want any part of it; he didn't want to bet on his child. "Sylvie?" Sylvie looked at Antonio and winked before answering Jay. "Put me down for a hundred on Thursday at 11pm." Jay looked at the board, "The day after the due date?" he asked. "No, I meant today." Everyone turned to look at her and she laughed.
"Oh that's no fair, you're cheating." Jay whined from across room. "You're in labor?" Antonio had a panicked look on his face. Sylvie smiled and nodded her head, "I have been for about three hours, I'm just waiting it out." She chuckled.
Adam rolled over and grabbed his phone as it buzzed on the nightstand. "Did she have the baby?" Kim asked as she squinted from the brightness of his phone. "Jay's going to be pissed, Trudy won the pot, he was born at 2:01 am." Adam laughed. "God we'll hear about it for weeks. Let him them know well be up after work tomorrow, I'm going back to sleep." Kim kissed him on the cheek and covered her head with the blanket.
Antonio sat in the recliner next to Sylvie with the baby on his chest, he was exhausted and the sun was starting to rise. Sylvie was sound asleep in the bed and Eva and Diego had left awhile before. Everything had gone smoothly and her and the baby were perfectly healthy. "Hey little man" Antonio looked down at the little bundle nestled against his chest. "You know you chose a very special day to arrive, today is a very good man's birthday, he was a hell of a friend."
Antonio tried not to cry thinking about Al, it had been a little over two years since he was killed and the hole it left in the unit was still unbearable. "It's kinda funny you chose today because you're named after him, his name was Alvin and you are Elias Alvin, one day I'll tell you all about him." Antonio reclined his chair and covered himself and the baby with a blanket. "I think we should probably try to sleep before you get hungry." He whispered as he closed his eyes.