Hello! Here's another chapter for you all! I hope you enjoy!
THREE
Gabby glanced down to the checklist resting in her lap as she sat in the back of 61, her body planted on the stretcher while she went through and checked the supplies. This wasn't something that usually needed to be done right now, in fact she hadn't even mentioned to Shay that she'd be out here, but she needed to distraction. She needed to be away from everything, or rather everyone, in the house right now. Gabby was having a hard enough time dealing with the fallout between her and Bryan, but throwing Casey's presence on top of everything else had just about sent her over the edge. It felt like she was spiraling, and the only way she'd be able to get through these next twenty or so hours of shift would be to keep to herself.
Her body involuntarily shivered as the cool December air flooded through the open garage doors into the back of the rig, Gabby pulling her jacket tighter to her as she continued her work.
Buzzing in her pocket distracted her from her task, Gabby pulling the device out of her pocket, releasing a soft sigh as she saw her brother's name and photo appear on her screen. Placing the clipboard down on the bed beside her, she answered the call.
"That didn't take long."
"Huh?" Antonio questioned back, Gabby's posture relaxing.
"It's only been a few hours and you're already checking up on me." She elaborated, hearing him blow out a long breath.
"I had a free moment, wanted to see how you're doing."
"I'm fine, Antonio."
"Mhmm. Well, when you stop lying to yourself, you know where to find me."
Gabby rolled her eyes, focusing her attention on the edge of her sleeve before speaking up again. "I know you're trying to help me, but you're not."
"I'm sorry, sis." He breathed out apologetically, Gabby's bottom lip falling between her teeth. "I know this entire situation is terrible, I just wish I could do something to make it easier."
"Well, since you mentioned it, would you be able to help me tomorrow morning for a couple hours?"
She heard him hesitate for a few seconds, shuffling something around before he answered her. "Uh, possibly. What do you need?"
"I have to get my stuff from Bryan's apartment." She lowered her voice as the words left her mouth, not knowing if anyone was in earshot.
"Ahh." He replied shortly, clearly holding his tongue. "Would we be able to do it the day after? I definitely want to be there to help you, and I want you to have your stuff, but tomorrow is kind of a crazy day for me over here."
"He needs it to be tomorrow." She replied quietly, hearing a frustrated sigh come through the phone.
"He can't wait another day?"
"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Antonio. He said he didn't want to prolong this, or make a big deal out of it." She bit out sharply. "I can do it myself, I was just asking."
"Hey sis, it's okay, alright?" He replied calmly, hating that she was getting worked up. "I'll talk to Voight, let him know I have somewhere I need to be. Do you want me to meet you there?"
"Are you sure? I don't want you to get in trouble." She questioned softly, trying to get a handle on her emotions.
"Positive. Just tell me when to be there and I'm there." His soothing voice came through the phone, Gabby's eyes falling closed as she took a deep breath.
"Okay. Well then, yeah, after I get off shift would be good. I can let Bryan know we'll be there. Thank you, Antonio."
"Nothing to thank me for. I'll be there, I promise. Can't promise I won't deck the bastard when I see him, but I'll be there."
"Antonio…"
"It's the least he deserves, Gabs. How he's treated you, what he's put you through… he deserves a hell of a lot more than that." He replied sternly, Gabby's breath catching in her throat.
"Tony, please, I can't do this right now." Her voice wavered as she spoke, Gabby blinking furiously to keep any tears from falling, hearing him sigh heavily before responding.
"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I'm not meaning to upset you." He replied quickly, Gabby pinching the bridge of her nose as she sat hunched over on the bed.
"It's fine, I know you're not. I'm just… I'm trying not to think about it right now."
"I know. I love you, sis. So much. You know that."
A soft smile fell to her face, Gabby wiping under her eyes. "I do. I love you too, big brother."
"I'll see you tomorrow morning, alright? Stay safe out there."
"I will. You too."
Gabby hung up the phone, placing it down beside her as she rested her palms on the edge of the stretcher, her eyes closing as she took slow breaths. With every passing moment, getting through this day felt more and more impossible. But her only saving grace was her brother, knowing that once she did manage to get this shift over with, he'd be there for her. Just like he had been her entire life.
Matt stepped out of his office, deciding to venture out of the confines of the small room. He'd spent most of his time in there so far, getting himself situated, mentally preparing himself for what his life was going to be like here at 51.
The situation with Gabby complicated things, no question, but she seemed adamant about keeping it to themselves, which he was thankful for. He felt bad about what happened between her and Walker, but ultimately it was none of his business, and on a selfish level, part of him was glad they weren't together anymore. Not because of how it was affecting Gabby, because clearly it was. Her behavior since the moment they met told him she was taking this hard. But them not being together made it a lot easier on him. Sleeping with the ex of one of his firefighters was better than sleeping with their fiancée. It wasn't much better, but still, it was better.
Better for him, at least.
He wasn't sure Gabby took the same comfort in it. In fact, he knew she didn't. And she had no reason to.
When he found out they weren't still together, it was like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt guilty about it, but he actually felt relieved, hearing Gabby's words of Walker breaking up with her.
But he knew she didn't get to have that same feeling. There was no relief, no bright side, she was still in the same place she'd been in before, having to work with the man who left her. Except now, Matt's presence only made things more difficult for her. And he did feel bad about it. He felt guilty that something that had clearly hurt her so badly had been the thing to make his life easier. He wished it wasn't like that, but there was nothing he could do to change it.
All he could do was go along with how she wanted to handle this, which he was more than happy to do. As long as no one found out about their night together, his position here would be fine. He was more than willing to go along with her plan, that as far as everyone else in this house was concerned, they'd met for the first time today. And that was the end of it.
Matt wandered around the maze of hallways that was 51, trying to find his way back to the common room. If this had been any other set of circumstances, he would've spent the entire morning getting to know his new coworkers. They hadn't even been called out yet, which Matt found to be strange, him having heard over and over how busy this house was, but the radio silence should've given him the time to learn more about everyone here. It could've given him a lot of face to face time with the people he'd be spending days with, but he found himself needing the time alone. He needed a minute to gather himself after what he unsuspectingly walked into. It wasn't the ideal situation he'd been hoping for, that's for sure, but surprisingly, it seemed like everything would turn out okay. That despite what had happened last night, it wouldn't affect his work here. And he was beyond thankful for that. He couldn't be moved from another house, his career wouldn't survive it.
"There's our new Lieutenant." Herrmann's voice caught his attention as Matt entered the common room, everyone looking up from their seats. "We thought you might've gotten lost." The older firefighter snickered, Matt chuckling.
"It was close. This place is like a maze."
"Yeah, you'll get used to it. Settling in okay?"
"I am." He responded, his eyes moving around the room, taking in the faces of those around him, trying his hardest to remember names. Some of them he knew already; Severide, Herrmann, Shay, and Walker were the easy ones to remember, for different reasons. And of course, Gabby, but as he glanced around, she was nowhere to be found. He hoped that her absence wasn't because of him. But, considering everything else she had going on, even if he was part of it, he knew he wasn't the only thing keeping her away from the group.
"Wanna come sit, Casey?" Kelly offered, nodding towards the open seat between him and Walker.
Nodding slowly, Matt walked towards them, placing himself down in the chair.
"So, what's your first impression of 51, Lieutenant?" Walker asked, leaning back into his seat.
"It's been great so far. Everyone here is really welcoming. I didn't know what to expect, but it seems great here."
"What house did you come from?" Shay asked before taking a bite of her apple, the blonde perched next to Severide.
"Well, uh, I haven't been at a house for awhile." He answered, clearing his throat. "I was stationed at 12, for a bit. But the last few months I'd just been picking up a few random shifts." Matt replied carefully, earning a few nods.
"Good story there?" Kelly questioned, Matt shaking his head.
"No, just some personal stuff. Nothing really interesting." He covered, Severide nodding in understanding, not wanting to press the issue.
"Well, we're all glad you got put here. Lieutenant Stephens is a great man, and was one hell of a firefighter, but we all knew he was ready to step down. We were a little worried about what kind of guy we'd be getting, but it seems like we've lucked out." Severide spoke with a grin, Matt shaking his head.
"Well, let's go on a call first and we'll see about that."
"Fair point." Kelly responded, resting comfortably in his chair as he clasped his hands behind his head. "So, what else is there to know about Matt Casey? You from Chicago?"
"Born and raised."
"You got family here?"
"My sister, yeah."
"Jeez, Sev, what is this, twenty questions?" Walker asked with a chuckle, Kelly waving him off.
"You got a girlfriend? Maybe a Mrs. Lieutenant Casey?" Matt felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest at the question, but did his best to hide how much the harmless words affected him, shaking his head side to side.
"Nope, just me. What about you? You married?" The snort from Shay answered his question, Matt smirking at her reaction as he glanced between the paramedic and firefighter.
"Kelly? Married? That's funny. He can't commit to anything, let alone a relationship."
"That's not exactly true."
"It's a little true." She commented back, Matt listening to their banter.
"So, Severide can't do commitment, good to know. What about you, Shay?"
"She's not much better than I am." Kelly retorted, earning a punch to the side from his blonde best friend.
"Ignore him. I'm, unfortunately, just as single as Kelly is right now. I'd been dating someone for a few months, but she ended things a couple weeks ago. So right now it's just me." Matt nodded understandingly, flashing her a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, Walker here is the only one who seems how to do commitment." Severide grinned, Matt's back tightening as he glanced to the firefighter, seeing a tense look on his face. "At least you and Dawson have figured that whole thing out. Maybe there's hope for the rest of us."
Casey went quiet as he tried to keep from staring at Walker, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach, knowing that the words coming out of Severide's mouth were a lie. Bryan looked equally as uneasy, the man shifting in his seat as he avoided the comment.
"Hey 81, would you all mind showing me around the rig?" Casey asked, needing a change of scenery as the unsettling feeling had yet to pass.
"Of course not, Lieutenant." Walker spoke up first, quickly pushing himself from his chair. The man seemed just as uncomfortable as Casey, clearly wanting to get away from this conversation. And Matt couldn't blame him.
The members of truck walked out into the garage, leaving Severide and Shay alone at their table, a few random members of engine sitting together across the room. Once Walker disappeared through the double doors, Kelly turned to Shay, his eyebrows raised in question.
"Has Walker seemed a little off to you?" He asked, Shay glancing out through the doors as she nodded.
"Yeah, he's been acting strange all morning, especially whenever Gabby comes up."
"What is the latest with them, do you know? I didn't really wanna get into it earlier with Casey there. I was trying to save him from that mess as long as possible."
Shay shook her head, releasing a heavy sigh. "I have no idea. Gabby hasn't exactly been herself lately. She never wants to talk about it. I know they were fighting all last shift. Hell, everyone knew they were fighting all last shift." She grimaced at the memory, Kelly nodding in agreement. "Obviously, they came separately this morning. There's something going on there, but I don't know what it is. I never want to ask, because when I do she just shuts down."
Huffing out a breath, Severide glanced around before responding, lowering his voice. "I know they love each other, but my God I miss how things were before they got together." He mused, Shay pursing her lips together. "Especially since the engagement, it's like the old Gabby disappeared. And I know her and I were never that close, not like you guys are, but I miss the old Dawson."
"Me too." Shay murmured sadly. "She hasn't really been acting like herself for awhile, and I know all Walker tells you is how difficult she's being," She spoke, her words tasting bitter as they left her mouth, "but something's going on with her, and it has been for awhile. I'm worried, Kelly. But she won't talk to me."
"I didn't mean anything by that earlier, by the way." Severide clarified, Shay eyeing him. "I love Dawson, you know that. But Walker is my best friend, so yeah I hear him vent about her. Just… some of the things he's been saying lately, part of me doesn't understand how they're even still together. He seems miserable, and she doesn't look much happier."
"Yeah, I can only imagine what all he's been saying about her…"
"I know you don't really like him-"
"I used to not have a problem with him," She interjected, "but you've seen some of how he treats her… he's an asshole, Kelly."
Blowing out a sigh, Kelly clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I try not to get involved in their relationship. You know how they are, one day they hate each other then the next day they're fine. I'm sure that's all this is."
Shay opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the bells ringing throughout the house, signaling truck, squad, and ambo to a car accident a few miles away.
Their conversation got put on hold as they raced towards the garage, joining in the madness of everyone sliding on their gear, hurrying to get out into the city.
Matt blew out a deep breath as he hopped down from the rig, releasing the nerves from his body as he surveyed the scene. Truck pulled up first, squad right behind them as they took in the chaos around them. A van had plowed into the driver's side of a car, the crushed metal sitting in the middle of the intersection, smoke billowing from the hood of the hit vehicle.
"How do you wanna play this, Casey?" Severide asked, Matt's eyes bouncing around the street, quickly working through a plan.
"You all work on stabilizing that car, Otis and Mouch, get the back of the van hooked up to the rig. Once we can get the driver out, we need to get it moved. Herrmann, go see how the van driver is doing. Walker, get an extinguisher, that smoke doesn't look good." He called out orders, everyone getting to work as soon as the words left his mouth.
"You heard the man, squad lets get to work on this car." Severide ordered, men running in different directions as Casey headed towards the crushed car, going around to the far side, knowing that was the best angle he'd have on the victim trapped in the car.
"Where do you need us?" Casey heard Shay's voice come through the radio, Matt looking up to see 61 just pulling up to the scene.
"Shay, go check the guy in the van. Dawson, I need you over here with me." He called immediately, the words leaving his mouth before he even registered them.
Ducking down, he looked into the car through the busted passenger side window, finding the driver seemingly frozen in fear, her hands clasped tightly to the steering wheel, despite her side of the car being smashed in. He saw her shaking, blood covering various parts of her body.
"I'm Lieutenant Casey, can you hear me?"
His words snapped the girl from her shock, tears streaming down her face as she strained to move towards the sound of his voice.
"Try not to move. Keep as still as you can, alright." He told her immediately, the girl's tears increasing as panic coursed through her. Her breaths were shallow, Matt grimacing as he saw the gruesome gash in her left arm. "You're gonna be fine, we're gonna get you out of there." He assured her, soft whimpers escaping her mouth. "Can you tell me your name? I'm Matt."
"Jordan." The girl replied, her voice hoarse as shock filled her system.
"How old are you, Jordan?"
"Sixteen."
"Okay Jordan, we're gonna get you out of there soon, alright? Just give us a few minutes." He tried to keep her calm, Matt's head snapping up as he heard Gabby's voice.
"What do we got, Casey?" She asked, squatting to the ground to place her bag down.
"Sixteen year old girl pinned in, she's got a deep cut on her arm, and I'm sure there's more injuries but I can't really tell specifics. We need to get a collar on her, she's trying to move."
"Matt!" The girl called, fear dripping in her voice.
"I'm right here, Jordan." He responded, ducking his head back down to look at her.
"I can't feel my legs. I… I don't know what's happening."
"Hey, Jordan listen to me. You're gonna be fine, my friend Gabby is coming in and she's gonna help you, alright?" Matt kept his voice steady, doing his best to keep the girl calm. "Just stay still, and take slow, steady breaths. Gabby's coming in to help." He reiterated, looking towards Dawson, who had the c-collar in hand.
"Hi, Jordan." Gabby spoke, her soft voice breaking through the noise. "I'm Gabby. I'm gonna come in there and make sure you're okay. You're doing a great job staying still." She praised gently, looking towards the passenger side window, knowing that was her best source of entry. But the shards of glass coming from all directions made it tricky.
Before she even had to ask, Matt punched out the remaining glass, double checking quickly to make sure none was left to cause any injury, Gabby flashing him a small, thankful smile. She began scanning the door, trying to figure out the best way to maneuver the small space.
"Come on." Casey spoke, holding his arms out, Gabby eyeing him curiously before understanding what his gesture meant. Knowing she didn't have another choice, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, letting him lift her into the car, sliding her in legs first, Matt keeping his grip on her until he knew she was settled.
Taking a step back, Casey watched as Gabby began to work on Jordan, continuously saying reassuring words of encouragement to the scared girl as she collared her, Casey taking a moment to survey the rest of the scene. Members of squad had stabilized the car Gabby was in, a few of them going over to help Shay and another ambo remove the unconscious van driver. Walker was standing at the front of the car, every so often blowing the extinguisher over the smoke, but his eyes were glued to Casey. There was a look in his eyes Matt couldn't quite read, but Casey was sure the firefighter saw him help Gabby into the car.
"Walker." Matt called, snapping the man from his headspace. "Eyes on the smoke," He scolded. "There's one of us in there."
Bryan's face hardened, the man nodding before returning his attention to the front of the car, Matt grabbing his radio. "Herrmann, how much longer until we can get that van moved? We need a stretcher and backboard over here."
"Just another minute, Lieutenant." His voice came back through the radio, Matt looking over to see Cruz helping Mouch hook up the van to the front of 81, Otis in the driver's seat, ready to pull the van back as soon as he could.
"Casey!" Gabby's voice hit his ears, Matt leaning down. "Can you get me some gauze and bandages?"
"Got it." He responded, squatting down to grab the supplies from her bag, reaching in through the window to hand it to her, watching as she went to work on Jordan's injuries.
"How much longer until we can get this van moved?" Gabby asked again into the radio, Matt hearing a nervous tone to her voice.
"We're moving it now." Herrmann responded, Matt glancing inside.
"What's wrong, Dawson?"
"We need to get her out of here now." She replied firmly, Matt nodding despite Gabby being unable to see him. "She's got glass impaled in her stomach."
"Alright." He responded with a grimace, moving towards his radio. "Shay, you free?"
"Just got the guy out, ambulance 87's got him. What do you need?"
"Be ready over here with the backboard and stretcher, as soon as this van is moved we gotta get this girl out. She's impaled in her abdomen."
"On it."
"Alright, we're ready to move the van. You guys good, Casey?" Severide called to him from the other side of the car, Matt holding his hand up to signal him to wait.
"Dawson, you good?"
"Yeah, let's get her out of here." She repeated, Matt nodding as he gave Kelly a thumbs up.
The process began, the screeching of the van being heard throughout the street, Matt taking a step back as the front of the car settled onto the pavement, hearing Jordan shriek at the jolt of it hitting the ground.
"Shit." Severide breathed out.
"Dawson, you guys okay?"
"Jordan, it's fine. You're okay." He heard Gabby comforting the girl.
"What happened?" Casey called to Kelly.
"No one put supports on the front side, and it looks like the van hitting the car messed up the tire and it had lifted the car up. Are they okay?"
"Dawson?" Matt spoke, not having yet gotten an answer.
"We're okay." She responded.
"Who was supposed to put those supports on the front?" Severide screamed as he moved towards the car.
"Sorry Lieutenant." Capp yelled back timidly, earning daggers from his Lieutenant, knowing he was in for a lecture once they returned to the house.
"What's the best way to get her out?" Casey asked as Severide and Shay came up to the now reachable driver's side of the car.
"These doors are gonna be impossible to open, we might need to go in through the back windshield."
"Let's do it." Casey said, 51 beginning the process. They got the back window out, Herrmann crawling through with the backboard. Watching from beside the passenger side door, Casey could see smoke start to flow through the air vents, and everyone else noticed it to.
Herrmann and Dawson got her onto the backboard, being as careful as possible as the firefighter slid out of the back of the car first, Gabby staying put in her seat as she helped push Jordan through the opening. They barely got her out before more smoke started pouring in through the vents, Gabby coughing as the thick air filled her lungs.
"Dawson, get out of there!" Casey yelled, gaining the attention of 51. Gabby turned around, her eyes widening as she saw black smoke hitting her face, and she saw the flashes of flames peeking behind the vents.
"Dawson!"
It happened in an instant, Gabby scrambling to the passenger side window as the flames shot through the vents, fire filling the air around them. A loud boom caused members of 51 to duck as the car flashed over, fire consuming the vehicle.
She expected to feel excruciating pain. To feel heat consuming her body, but she didn't. She knew she hadn't made it out on time, she should have still been in that car, and she couldn't figure out why she wasn't.
It took her a few seconds to register what happened, for her to feel the body underneath her, for her to realize she was on the hard ground. Finally opening her eyes, she was met by a turnout coat, her eyes looking up to see Casey underneath her, his arm wrapped tightly around her body. He had pulled her from the car, the two tumbling to the ground in the process.
Fire billowed out from the vehicle, causing Matt to drag them back, sliding across the pavement to get them away from the heat.
She wasn't sure how he had gotten her out in time. But he had. He'd yanked her from the car, leaving her with a few scratches and cuts instead of multiple burns.
Matt felt a twinging pain shooting through his lower back as members of 51 came to get the fire out. He knew it must've happened during the fall to the ground, the pavement underneath them unforgiving as he'd fallen, his injury not helped by Gabby's weight landing on top of him. But that wasn't really important right now. He was just thankful he'd managed to get her out. It could've been a lot worse, he knew that.
He'd acted on impulse when he saw the smoke, not even registering his actions as he'd grabbed whatever part of her he could to get her from the car. He knew he'd pulled her forcefully, and he hoped he hadn't hurt her. But even a few injuries from that were better than multiple burns covering her body.
"You guys alright?" Severide asked frantically as he came around the car, watching the scene unfold in front of him. But Gabby didn't respond to him.
"You okay?" Casey whispered, registering the death grip Gabby had on him, and how her body was shaking.
It took her a few seconds to answer, her hand clenching the material of his jacket tightly. "Yeah… I'm- I'm okay." She breathed out, Matt moving into a sitting position, Gabby's grip loosening as she rolled off of him, sitting down on the pavement by his side. Casey's arm was still wrapped loosely around her back, feeling how tense her body was.
It had been a close call. Too close. And they all knew it.
"You okay, Gabby?" Her head snapped up as she registered Bryan's voice, seeing a few members of 51 now crowded around her and Casey, the fire having been put out.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She found her voice, glancing to Casey. "Thanks." She spoke quickly, ignoring the pain coursing through her body as she pushed herself up from the ground, unable to hide the grimace on her face.
"You should get checked out at med, Dawson." Severide spoke, Gabby shaking her head.
"I'm good." She waved him off, her eyes finding Shay's over by 61, her partner clearly worried as she was trying to focus on Jordan. Wordlessly, she grabbed the ambo bag and began moving towards the ambo, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through her leg each time she took a step. She knew she'd have a few bruises, but right now she couldn't focus on that. Jordan needed to get to med, and quickly.
Severide extended his hand out as Gabby walked away, helping Casey up from the ground. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just glad I got her out." Matt blew out, being met by nods from the firefighters around him, Severide patting him on the back.
"Good work, Lieutenant." Herrmann spoke, Casey flashing him a soft smile.
"It was nothing. Let's get finished up here and back to the house." Matt told them, reaching down to pick up his helmet that had fallen off during his and Gabby's crash to the ground, disregarding the pain he felt move through his lower back.
Gabby stood at the nurses station, tapping her pen rhythmically against the countertop as she worked through the paperwork. Her and Shay had managed to get Jordan handed off to the doctors, Shay having gotten her stable during their ride. They weren't sure if she was paralyzed, but Gabby hoped the loss of feeling was just temporary. She was only sixteen years old, with her whole life ahead of her. And now, she might be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, all because some guy ran a light.
Releasing a soft sigh, Gabby finished up the last line of the paperwork, handing it off to the nurse before turning around, finding Shay standing close to her. She hadn't even realized her friend was there, but the blonde was watching her carefully, her eyebrow raised as her eyes raked Gabby's body, searching for signs of injury.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Shay."
"Is that why you're still limping?" She questioned, Gabby taking a deep breath before stepping around her partner, thankful Shay missed the wince on her face as she placed weight on her injured leg.
"I'm a little sore from Casey pulling me from the car, but it's fine. I just need to walk it off." Gabby replied, Shay turning around to follow her out of the hospital, but the blonde stopped in her tracks as something caught her eye.
"Gabby, wait." Gabby heard the pleading tone to her voice, turning around slowly. "What happened to your side?"
"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion, Shay coming up to her and gingerly lifting her arm.
"You got burned."
"What?" Gabby looked down, seeing a patch of her jacket had been charred, and she could see the skin on her side, the fire having gotten through her shirt as well.
"You don't feel that?"
Gabby shook her head, looking back up to Shay. "No, but I was kind of just focused on my leg. I didn't even notice."
"We should get you looked at. Clearly this is worse than you've led on."
"No, Shay, come on, let's just go back to the house. We don't need to wait around here for that."
"Your skin is burned, Gabby."
Glancing back down towards the injury, she looked at it. They saw burns every day, and this was definitely one that wasn't anywhere near serious. Her skin was red, and she'd probably have a few blisters, but it was nothing that wouldn't heal on its own. "You can patch it up for me. I really just wanna get out of here."
Shay watched her partner closely, before ultimately giving in. "Fine. But I'm looking at it before we leave." Gabby nodded in agreement, the two walking out, Shay having to slow her pace because of Gabby's slight limp. Every thought in her head was screaming at her to force Dawson to get checked out. Between the pain in her leg that clearly hadn't eased up, and the burn on her side that the woman hadn't even noticed, letting Gabby walk out of here went against every thing she'd be taught in her years on the job. But she had to trust her friend when she said she was alright, Shay knowing she'd be keeping a closer eye on her than usual.
The paramedics got out into the rig, both climbing in the back, Shay shutting the doors behind her. Gabby sat down on the stretcher and began removing her jacket while Shay got out the supplies.
"I just want it on the record that I think this is a mistake." Shay spoke as Gabby slowly peeled the shirt away from her body, bringing the material up to rest over her shoulder, giving Shay plenty of room to work.
"Yeah, I know."
It took about ten minutes for Shay to clean and dress the wound, the woman wrapping a bandage around her stomach to keep the dressing in place.
"I'm gonna want to look at that and change your dressing in a few hours." Shay spoke, throwing away her trash and reaching into the compartment under the bench, pulling out an extra shirt.
"Okay. Thank you, for doing that." Dawson spoke, removing her burned clothing and putting on the new one.
"Of course. You need me to look at your leg?"
"No, I'm alright. Let's just get back to the house." Shay reluctantly nodded as she finished cleaning up the mess they'd made, the two women getting down from the back of the rig and moving to their seats.
The ride back to 51 was done mostly in silence, a heaviness looming in the air as Shay drove through the streets of Chicago. Gabby seemed to be lost in her own little world, her gaze focused out the window, while Shay decided it best to keep quiet, letting Dawson work through her thoughts on her own.
After they pulled into the garage, Shay and Gabby climbed down from the rig, the PIC shivering as the cold air hit her bare arms. Luckily, she had an extra jacket in her locker, but she knew she'd need to put in the order for a new one sometime today.
Shay hung back behind Dawson as they walked in, Gabby's limp still slightly detectable as they moved to the double doors.
"Hey, they're back." Cruz called, gaining the attention of the room as the two paramedics entered.
"Hey guys." Shay spoke as Gabby turned to the right, intent on heading towards the locker room.
"Dawson, Boden's looking for you." Severide called, his words stopping Gabby in her path as she walked the few steps back towards the entrance to the common room.
"Why?"
"No idea, he just came in about ten minutes ago, said to tell you to go see him when you get back."
Nodding slowly, Gabby took off in the other direction, slowly walking past the common room, doing her best to conceal the pain her leg was in. Although she wasn't doing a very good job.
The room was silent until Dawson was out of view, Casey hanging back by the counter as he watched her limp away.
"She okay, Shay?" Herrmann asked, Leslie sucking in a deep breath as she stepped inside the room, crossing her arms over her chest.
"She's shaken up, but she's saying she's fine." Shay responded, earning some nods from around the room, Matt understanding this to be a common occurrence. "But she didn't want to talk about it, so I left it alone." She spoke, coming towards the round table, falling into the open seat next to Kelly.
"Did they check her out at med?" Walker asked, everyone in the room listening intently. It wasn't lost on anyone how Bryan's first move wasn't to check on Gabby, the firefighter having not even asked about her up until this point, and Casey couldn't help but feel a little agitated at him for that. Matt knew it wasn't his place to have an opinion, but he couldn't help it. Even though Walker had broken up with Dawson, at some point in time he had loved her enough to marry her, and Matt couldn't understand why he was seemingly so indifferent about what happened to her.
"No, I tried to get her to but she wouldn't. Her leg is still hurting her pretty bad, she's been limping on it, but she wouldn't let me look at it." Shay responded, Severide placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And she got burned."
"What?" Herrmann was the first to question it, Matt's eyes widening at the information.
"She has a burn on her side, burned through her jacket and her shirt. I bandaged her up, but she wouldn't stay to have a doctor look at it. I guess she got caught by some flames before she got pulled out." Shay spoke, Matt shaking his head.
"I thought I got her out of there in time." Casey murmured, everyone turning to look at him as they heard his words.
"Casey, it would've been way worse had you not gotten to her when you did. Trust me, she's lucky you were there." Shay responded, Matt giving her an unconvincing nod in return.
"Well, I'm just glad she's alright." He responded, feeling uncomfortable with the eyes of the firehouse on him. His gaze locked with Walker's, the man staring at him for a second before looking away.
Everyone eventually fell back into their own conversations, Matt moving from his place at the counter towards the table, sitting a chair over from Severide.
"So, first call here and you've already saved one of our own." Kelly spoke with a grin, Matt rolling his eyes as he settled into his seat. "That's gotta be some sort of record." Casey ignored the comment, Kelly chuckling at him as he went back to his newspaper.
"How should we play this?" Matt's eyes moved up from his phone when he heard Shay's voice, seeing her turned towards Walker, the two sitting across the table.
"Huh?"
"Gabby. We all know she's gonna do her typical Gabby thing where she closes herself off and pretends she's fine, but that never helps anything. That was a close call today, and she's already been acting like something's wrong." Shay stopped to take a breath, eyeing Bryan carefully. "We need to look out for her."
Matt saw the man's shoulders tense, Bryan sighing deeply as he faced the blonde paramedic. "It's not really my place anymore, Shay."
Severide's ears perked up as he dropped the newspaper in his hands, turning to look towards Bryan while Shay's eyebrows rose in question, a look of confusion settled into her features.
"What are you talking about?"
"Guess I should just get this over with now." Walker mumbled, pushing his chair back and standing up, the cold look never leaving Shay's face. "Hey guys, there's something I need to talk to you all about." He started, gaining the attention of the entire room as he spoke, Matt watching as Walker's eyes bounced around to the different faces. "Last night, Dawson and I decided to end things. For good."
A shocked silence fell over the room, Matt's face remaining neutral as he caught the many surprised and confused looks of his new coworkers.
"We just realized things weren't working, and we weren't happy anymore. So we figured it would be best to call it quits."
Casey's eyebrows furrowed unintentionally at the man's choice of words. That wasn't exactly what happened, in fact from the little Gabby had told him, that wasn't at all what happened. Walker had dumped her, and from what he could tell, she wasn't apart of the decision. So he wasn't sure why Walker was making it seem like it was a mutual thing.
"Ah, man, Walker, I'm so sorry." Herrmann voiced, Bryan simply shrugging at his words. Matt's attention was pulled from Walker when he caught a glimpse of Shay, the woman silently fuming in her seat. He could tell she was holding something back, but it seemed like she was going to lash out at Bryan at any moment. Despite looking like she wanted to kill him, Matt watched as Shay quietly slid her chair back and left the room, most likely going in search of her partner.
"Maybe you two can patch things up." Mouch spoke from his seat on the couch, Walker shaking his head.
"No, it's definitely over. But we're okay, and we don't want it to be weird for you all. We'll be fine, we just wanted you all to know what was going on. It's for the best." Bryan told the room before returning to his seat, going about his business like nothing had happened.
Gabby stepped into the open doorway of Boden's office, tapping on the frame lightly as the man looked up at her, giving her a soft smile and waving her in.
"Come on in, Dawson. Shut the door behind you."
Doing as ordered, Gabby came in, closing the door and heading for the chair across from his desk, Boden watching her closely as she moved.
"How are you feeling? That was a pretty close call today."
Gabby shrugged her shoulders, not even phased by the fact that he heard about what had happened. "I'm alright. My leg is a little sore, and I guess I got burned on my side." His eyebrows furrowed at the new information, Gabby continuing. "But Shay looked at it, I'm fine. Gonna need a new jacket, though, but I'm fine."
Boden nodded apprehensively, trying to get a read on where her head was at. But he wasn't having much luck. "And how are you doing with everything else?" He asked softly, Gabby's bottom lip falling in between her teeth.
"He told you." She stated quietly, the Chief giving her a sad smile.
"He did. Walker told me this morning you all had broken up." Gabby nodded, biting down on the inside of her mouth as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "I am sorry to hear about that, Dawson. Truly, I am. But I need to know it won't be an issue, the two of you continuing to work together."
"Is this you saying you'll have me moved if it's a problem?" She asked quietly, Boden shaking his head as he sighed.
"That's not what I'm saying, Dawson. I said the exact same thing to Walker when he told me. I don't want either of you to be moved, but if it does become a problem, one of you will most likely be transferred, yes." He responded, clasping his hands together on the desk in front of him. "Look, I left it alone when you two got together, and when you got engaged. You two are in different companies, so technically, there was nothing wrong with it. But if you two can't work together, then that is a problem. I need to know you can both be professional and not let your personal issues affect how you act out on calls."
"It won't." Gabby replied firmly, straightening her back as she sat there. "At least on my end, it won't."
"Alright. You're dismissed."
Gabby nodded, pushing herself up from her chair and walking towards the door, exiting without another word.
But she only got a few steps out the door before she saw Shay, the blonde waiting for her at the end of the hall, her arms crossed over her chest as she stood there, staring at Gabby with a sad look in her eyes. And Dawson knew what that look meant. In that moment she knew Shay had been made aware of her broken engagement, which meant the rest of the house probably knew as well.
Sucking in a steadying breath, Dawson walked towards her, the two meeting halfway.
Wordlessly, Shay wrapped her arms around Gabby, bringing her friend into a secure hug. The two stood there for a few moments, Shay running her hand up and down Gabby's back, squeezing her tightly. Dawson felt tears welling in her eyes, but refused to let them fall, knowing they weren't exactly anywhere private.
"You know, don't know?" She whispered, Shay pulling back but staying close, keeping her hands on Gabby's arms.
"Walker told us a few minutes ago. Honey, why didn't you tell me?"
Taking a deep breath, Gabby looked away, feeling Shay squeeze her arms in comfort. "Well, it was his decision so I figured he should be the one to let everyone know." She replied softly, Shay's head tilting in question.
"Wait, what?" She asked, Gabby watching her closely. "What do you mean it was his decision?"
Furrowing her eyebrows, Gabby took a step back, wrapping her arms across her chest protectively. "What did he tell you?"
"He said you all decided to end things, that you both thought it was for the best."
Dawson could stop the scoff that escaped through her lips, shaking her head as her eyes fell closed. "Of course he did." She muttered, bringing one hand up to cradle the side of her head.
"Gabby, what really happened?" Shay asked, concern filling her voice.
"He, uh- he got home last night and said he didn't think this was working out anymore. Basically that he didn't want to be with me anymore and he wanted to end things. I had no idea he'd been wanting to break up with me." She whispered, avoiding eye contact as the words left her mouth.
"That asshole." Shay muttered, anger filling her body.
"We've been having problems, which I know everyone knows, but I never thought he wanted our relationship to be over…" Gabby's voice was soft, Shay hearing the pain and hurt in her words, her heart breaking for her best friend. "But it is what it is. I can't do anything about it now."
Shay saw Gabby putting those familiar walls back up around herself, the blonde sighing as she placed her hand on Gabby's arm.
"He's such a dick. I'm so sorry he did that to you." Seeing her pulling away from her, Shay wrapped her arms around Gabby once more, feeling her PIC eventually relax into her hold. "I'm here for you, you know that. Whatever you need."
"I know. Thanks, Shay." Gabby responded quietly, squeezing her tightly before pulling away. "But right now all I want to do is forget about it."
Biting her tongue, Shay just nodded, wrapping her arm around Gabby's shoulder as they began walking through the house. "Then that's what we'll do." The blonde spoke, leading Gabby through the hallway. "What do you say we go for a drive, have a late lunch away from the house today?" Shay offered, a warm smile falling onto Gabby's face as she leaned her head down on Shay's shoulder.
"That sounds perfect." Gabby responded, neither woman glancing into the common room as they headed for the garage, having to separate as they went through the door. "Thank you." She whispered, Shay grinning widely at her as she wrapped her arm around her again, Gabby's arm going around her side.
"Anything for my best friend." Shay responded, rubbing over Gabby's arm as they walked to the rig, intent on doing her best to keep her friend in good spirits.
Matt glanced down to his watch as he stepped out of his office, beginning the walk towards the locker room to change out. His first shift at 51 had just finished, and it had been eventful, to say the least. He felt like he was finally able to relax, now that he'd gotten through his first shift, especially seeing as how well he was beginning to fit in here. The situation with Dawson aside, everyone here was amazing at their jobs, and he felt like he really fit in here. Despite still getting to know these people, it felt like he'd been working here for years. He was able to come into this group with no problems, and for that he was thankful. He had an incredible group of men on his truck, and he was sure as hell proud to lead them.
Despite the slow morning, the pace around the firehouse had picked up immensely yesterday afternoon, there barely being a moment until the evening where at least one, if not multiple, companies weren't out on a call. The fast pace proved to not be nearly as challenging as he was expecting, and in fact, he welcomed it. He was able to be thrown into the job and his men quickly found out how he runs his truck, and from a firefighting standpoint, things had gone seamlessly.
But there was one issue that seemed to keep coming up, despite Casey trying to ignore it. And that was Walker. Matt still found himself weary around the man, and he wasn't sure how long it would take that feeling to go away. Even though he felt better about the situation once he knew Bryan and Gabby weren't together anymore, he still felt weird around Walker. He felt like he was lying to his men, and that was the last thing he wanted. But he also knew there was no way he could tell anyone what had happened. From what he could tell, Gabby was already having a hard enough time around here, he wouldn't do anything to pile onto that. And selfishly, he needed his and Gabby's secret to remain just that; a secret. Even though he knew it was for the best, he felt uncomfortable about the entire thing.
From early on during his shift, Matt had quickly found out that Walker was one hell of a firefighter. He might've been the best one on truck, by far; the man was damn good at his job. But Casey also picked up on some things he wasn't sure if he liked. Walker had one gigantic ego, and while Casey hadn't had any problems on that front yet, he knew it was there. That kind of attitude was dangerous with a job like this, it could be the difference between life and death, and Matt knew he had to keep an eye on it.
And another thing that really bothered him was how he treated Dawson.
During his first shift, Casey wasn't sure the three of them had been in the same room except for roll call. In fact, now that he thought about, he'd only really seen Gabby out on calls. She'd hidden herself away while they were at the house, only appearing when necessary. And it wasn't lost on Casey that once Walker had told everyone of the separation, Shay and Dawson hadn't spent much of their downtime at the house. But from the little interaction he saw, he couldn't help but think Walker wasn't the nicest guy in the world. He'd taken a few shots at Gabby throughout their shift, and made a couple snide comments that were clearly directed towards her even if he didn't say her name. He'd talk about how lucky he felt to be out of that relationship, and how Gabby had been nothing but a headache the last few months. How it was nice to finally be a free man again. It was childish, to say the least, and Matt didn't care for it.
Casey couldn't tell if Walker thought he was lightening the mood, or if he was trying to put people at ease once news of their separation broke, but to Matt, it only made him weary of the firefighter. And, from what he could tell, it was making the house uncomfortable too. It wasn't even because it was directed towards Gabby, Matt just didn't like the way he was acting. As far as he was concerned, Dawson was just another coworker. That's how they needed it to be if this was going to work, his issues with Walker didn't stem from the fact he was talking bad about the woman Casey slept with the night before. It was that he thought it appropriate to make the comments at all. For as talented as Walker was at his job, he could come across as a real asshole. And Casey wasn't impressed.
But he tried to keep his feelings to himself and out of the job. Casey knew he came in on a rough day for both Dawson and Walker, and that maybe he wasn't like this all the time. He wanted to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, despite being the one to end things, it had been a slightly twisted coping mechanism for him. Matt didn't want to judge him too harshly, knowing it had only been a day since his and Gabby's long relationship had ended. So he would wait a few more shifts before making his final judgements about the man. But so far, his behavior had rubbed Casey the wrong way.
But even with all of that, he couldn't help but love being here. He felt lucky to be placed at this house, and despite his initial worries about how the situation with Gabby would affect things, he was feeling better about it. There was no reason this couldn't work.
Turning into the locker room, Matt walked down to the last row of lockers, stopping in his tracks as he saw Gabby and Shay seated on the bench. Gabby's shirt was pulled up, folded up under her bra line, Dawson holding the material out of the way while Shay wrapped a white bandage around her torso.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." He spoke, his eyes darting away from the scene in front of him.
"It's okay, I'm just finishing up." Shay responded, securing the bandage before sliding back, giving Gabby the chance to pull her shirt down.
Once she was covered, his eyes found hers, their gazes locking momentarily as Shay sat there oblivious, cleaning up the trash from changing Gabby's dressing. He swallowed thickly, unsure of why he felt so uncomfortable walking in on them. It wasn't like he saw anything, and even if he had, it's nothing he hadn't seen before. But he guessed that was why he felt so uneasy. And from the look in her eye, he figured she was feeling the same way.
"How's the burn healing?" He asked, moving toward his locker, Shay patting Gabby's shoulder before leaving the room, going to throw the trash away.
"It's alright, I'm still a little sore but I'll recover." She responded, Matt nodding.
"I'm, uh, I'm sorry you got hurt." He told her. He hadn't had a chance up until now to talk with her about the call, and he wanted to let her know how sorry he was. "I know you got burned, and Shay said your leg was a little roughed up. I should've pulled you from the car sooner."
Gabby furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head as she stood up and moved to her locker. "You don't owe me an apology. You probably saved my life. Or at least saved me the life I have now. I meant to tell you earlier, but thank you. For what you did."
"I'm just glad you're okay." He responded, trying to settle the nerves in his stomach. "...You are okay, right?" Since hearing of her injuries the day before, he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she was more hurt than she let on, but he hadn't seen her, or had the chance to make sure she was alright.
"Yeah, I'm okay." She responded softly, Matt feeling someone of the tension leave his body at her assurance, the two locking eyes again as they stood there, neither one able to look away.
It wasn't until they heard voices approaching did they snap out of their locked gaze, Severide and Walker turning the corner as Gabby focused her attention on the inside of her locker.
"So, you've finished your first shift. We should celebrate." Severide spoke with a grin as he walked past Matt, Casey pulling out his bag and searching for his clothes.
"What do you have in mind?" Matt questioned.
"Maybe some beers. And the Hawks game."
"Sounds good to me." Matt responded lightly, pulling his tucked in polo from his pants, beginning to change out of his shift clothes.
"Damn, what happened there Casey?" Kelly asked as Matt removed the clothing from his body, turning to face the man with a confused look on his face.
"What?"
"You have a huge bruise on your back, you get in a fight or something?"
"No, nothing like that." Matt spoke, turning to try and see what Kelly was talking about. "Must've happened when I pulled Dawson from the car." He replied, Gabby lifting her head from her locker to see the deep purple and yellow bruise wrapping around his lower back, disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants. Noticing her watching him, Matt gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "It doesn't hurt or anything." Casey spoke, Kelly seeing Matt's gaze on Dawson, both Walker and Severide glancing towards her.
Knowing exactly whose eyes were on her, Gabby simply nodded, pulling her bag from her locker and shutting the door. "Thanks again, Casey." She responded, leaving the room without another word.
Turning back towards his locker, Matt caught the hard look covering Walker's face, but the man didn't say a word, Severide changing the subject.
"So, I don't know what your plans are, but a couple of the guys here own a bar, Molly's. It's a really cool place, and we'll all be there tonight if you wanna stop by."
"Yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks."
So, there's another chapter. There was kind of a lot going on, but looks like Casey's fitting in nicely at 51. His first shift went well, considering.
There's a lot of interesting things coming up with this story, I hope you guys are excited. I know some of you have mentioned you're interested in learning more about Gabby's and Matt's pasts, and I'm super excited to get into those as well.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story, it means a lot. And if you can, I'd love to hear what you all thought of this chapter, and what you think might be coming up for our favorite first responders. Thanks for reading!