Here's another chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy this one.
F O U R
"I wasn't expecting you to beat me here."
Gabby glanced up from her seat on the porch, seeing Antonio walking down the sidewalk towards her, two cups of coffee in his hands. She felt a shiver run through her body as she sat on the cold concrete, watching her brother sit down on the step next to her.
"I was able to leave right at shift change." She responded, graciously accepting the warm beverage as he held it out in front of her.
"How'd it go?" He asked, Gabby taking a long sip of her coffee, shrugging her shoulders in response.
"It was… about how I expected. Once they found out, I could tell no one really knew how to act around me. Bryan pretty much avoided me, except for cornering me in the bathroom wanting to know if I'd told anyone anything, and telling me he needed my stuff out." She responded, feeling Antonio tense at her side.
"He didn't do anything else, did he?" He asked, his voice a mixture of concern and anger.
Shaking her head, she took another sip of her drink before responding. "No. I mean, I wasn't there when he told everyone we ended things, but from what Shay said, he didn't exactly give the whole truth."
"What did he say happened?" Antonio questioned, hoping this might be his chance to get more insight into their breakup.
"Just that it was a mutual decision, that we both wanted to end things, stuff like that." She responded, her eyes focused on the quiet road in front of her. "But he can say whatever he wants, it doesn't matter."
"Don't you think everyone should know what really happened?" He asked, Gabby glancing towards him. "It was his choice, he shouldn't be allowed to hide behind some bullshit lies."
"You know how it is for him there, everyone in the house loves him."
"They love you, too." He interjected, Gabby scratching her fingernail against her coffee cup.
"Anything he tells them, they'd have no reason not to believe it." She responded, ignoring his comment. "There's no point in me turning this into a fight, and claiming he lied. I don't even know if anyone would believe me if I tried to tell them what happened."
"But you can't just let him walk all over you. That's not fair, he chose this, he can't hide behind it"
"Antonio, can we please just drop it." She spoke, frustration evident in her voice. "It's done, it doesn't matter. I wasn't there when he told them what happened, it won't change anything. I don't want to make things difficult for everyone, I've done that enough already."
Antonio's eyebrows furrowed deeply, his stomach turning as he listened to her words. "What do you mean? Why would you think you've been making things hard, you didn't do anything." He responded, Gabby sucking in a deep breath, focusing on her coffee cup, refusing to look at her brother. "Did he tell you that?"
"Antonio…"
"No, answer me Gabby. Did he tell you you make things difficult?"
He was fuming, Antonio clenching his fists in anger as his watched his baby sister. Based on her reaction, he knew the answer to his question. And it made him furious.
Antonio had never liked Bryan Walker. From the moment he met the man, he saw through the bullshit, seeing straight down to the narcissistic tool underneath the bright smile and welcoming demeanor. The detective had never been a fan, and that feeling only intensified when he found out Gabby was dating him. When their relationship first started, Antonio warned her to steer clear. He tried to tell her that Walker was bad news, and she should walk away. But, Gabby being Gabby, did the exact opposite.
During the first couple years of their relationship, Antonio left it alone. He thought Gabby was happy, so he let it be. There had even been times he thought he might've misjudged the man who seemingly made Gabby the happiest woman on the planet, but those were few and far between. Their relationship was turbulent, even Antonio got whiplash from how up and down they always seemed to be. Throughout the first two plus years of their relationship, Antonio had just been waiting for a phone call from his baby sister saying that her relationship had fallen apart. But then seven months ago, he'd gotten a very different call.
When he found out Walker proposed, Antonio did his best to be supportive. He'd never seen Gabby happier than when she came to visit him, her new ring placed proudly on her hand. Despite his uneasiness around the guy, he played nice for Gabby's sake. But soon after they announced their engagement, things had taken a turn.
Their honeymoon phase after the engagement lasted for all of a few days, the fallout worse than Antonio could've ever imagined. Gabby had grown distant, she was quiet, almost as if she was a different person. She still had her moments, Antonio often seeing the stubborn, hard-headed girl he grew up with make an appearance, but she was timid. There were times he hardly recognized her, and he never knew what to do to help. He knew Bryan was the cause of the constant change in her demeanor, he just didn't know what the man was doing to her to cause such a shift.
But he was beginning to have some idea.
Hearing those words come out of her mouth, how her first instinct was to place the blame on herself, he knew the words weren't hers. All his years of training told him that this wasn't something that had come into her head on her own, the words were something she'd probably been told over and over, something that had been ingrained in her.
And the thought made him ill.
"Can we please not do this here?" She breathed out, her voice pulling him from his thoughts as she pushed herself up off the concrete step. "We only have so much time before he's gonna be home, I'd like to be gone before then." Gabby spoke, Antonio biting his tongue as he nodded. He wasn't anywhere near done with this conversation, but he also knew she was right; this wasn't the time or place for it. Especially because if she did tell him what all had gone on in her relationship, and he learned the specifics of what Walker had put her through, he couldn't promise he wouldn't kill the man.
"Alright." He responded, following her actions as he stood up, the siblings climbing the few steps to the front door. Antonio let her lead the way as they went inside, his eyes bouncing around the unfamiliar home. Despite Gabby having been living here for well over a year, Antonio had only seen the place twice; once when he'd come over for dinner when this had just been Bryan's home, and once when he helped her move in. He guessed it was fitting he was now helping her move her things out.
"So, most of my stuff is in here." She spoke, leading him through the living room towards the hallway, Gabby stopping at the first closed door on the right. Antonio paid close attention to his surroundings as they walked through the apartment, his confusion only growing as he saw the state of things.
It looked like a bachelors pad. In fact, if Antonio's memory served him correctly, it looked shockingly similar to how it had been decorated when he helped her move in. Except now, Gabby had been living here for a long time, but there were hardly any traces of her anywhere.
Following Gabby through the door into what he knew to be the guest room, he glanced around at the stack of boxes, his confusion only growing. A lot of them were opened, like they'd been gone through to find a certain item, but they were mostly packed up. They were stacked where Antonio had left them while helping her move in all those months ago.
"Did you, uh, already pack some stuff?" He questioned, Gabby taking a step towards an open box.
"No. After he ended things, I only stayed long enough to pack a quick bag." She explained, Antonio rubbing his hand over his mouth, releasing a gentle sigh.
"Did you never unpack?"
Shrugging slightly, she nodded her head out towards the hall. "I have the stuff I need in the bedroom."
Glancing around at the scene in front of him, he shook his head sadly. "Gabs, it doesn't look like you even really lived here."
Blowing air out between her teeth, Gabby went over to the closet, making herself busy as she opened the door, showing more boxes of what he presumed to be her things. "It was his place before I moved in, and he likes his stuff." She replied, not really responding to his statement. "I always meant to unpack more of my things, but I just never got around to it... At least it helps us now, though." She muttered, turning to face the large stack of boxes in the closet.
Reaching up towards the top shelf to get a box, she stopped short when she felt a hitch in her side, Gabby releasing a gasp of pain as she quickly brought her arms back down, pressing over her covered bandage.
"What's wrong?" Antonio asked quickly.
"Nothing, it's nothing." She waved him off, but he stood his ground.
"Are you hurt?"
Knowing he wouldn't let up until he got some answers, she released a soft sigh as her hand hovered over her burned side. "I had a close call yesterday, but I'm fine." She was quick to add on the end, seeing worry cloud his features. "I was in a car with a victim, we had just gotten her out before the car went up in flames."
"Gabby…"
"Antonio, I'm okay." She reiterated. "I busted up my leg a little bit, and I got burned on my side."
"You got burned?"
"Just a little bit. It went through my jacket and my shirt. But you don't need to worry, Shay kept an eye on it, she made sure to keep changing the bandages during shift. And I'm gonna continue to do that the next few days. It's already starting to feel better. You don't need to worry about me."
"You can't just tell me you've been burned and then expect me not to worry." He responded, his eyes raking over her form, needing the reassurance that she was okay. "You said your leg was hurt too, is it burned?"
"No, it's not. I don't even really know what happened there." She responded, Antonio giving her a questioning look. "I was still in the car when the fire started, I don't really remember what happened, but I got pulled out before it went up. I don't know if it just got twisted, or what happened, I just have some cuts and a pretty ugly bruise, but I'm okay."
"You swear?"
"I promise, Antonio."
Accepting her words, he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, I believe you. But if something starts to hurt, or your burn gets worse, you gotta tell me."
"I will. Now can you start getting those boxes down for me, please?" She asked, nodding towards the closet.
Antonio complied, Gabby taking a step out of the way
"So who got you out?" He questioned as Gabby began work on the opened boxes on the floor.
"Hmm?"
"You said someone pulled you out of the car."
"Oh. It was our new truck Lieutenant, Matt Casey." She responded, biting on her bottom lip as steadily taped up the boxes. "He got me out."
"Well, I'll have to stop by and thank him. Maybe while I'm there I can have a nice chat with Bryan."
"Antonio…"
"I'm sorry." He sighed, shaking his head. "I just really hate this guy, Gabby."
"Okay, well can you at least keep getting boxes down while you hate him."
The siblings worked their way into a steady rhythm as they went through the process of packing up her things, Antonio tasked with the job of getting the boxes out to the car while Gabby began going room to room, getting whatever belongings of hers she could find. It hadn't taken her very long, Gabby coming to the realization that her brother had been right. Aside from her things in the bedroom, she really didn't live here. Even though she had called this place her home for over a year, seeing how sparse her things were made her feel like she'd been more of a guest than someone who lived here. The sobering reality of it was Bryan never really let them make this place theirs, it had stayed his despite him asking her to live with him, she just never noticed until now.
"Alright sis, I've got all the boxes in our cars." She heard Antonio's voice ring through the hallway as she stood in the bedroom, her body planted by the bed as the last box of her things sat in front of her. "We'll need to be careful when we open my backseat, I had to get a little creative with the last few." He joked, Gabby looking up as he appeared in the doorway. Seeing the pensive look covering her face, he furrowed his eyebrows, stepping into the room. "You alright?"
"Yeah, just finishing up with the rest of my stuff." She deflected, nodding towards the half-full box sitting on the bed, comprised of some random belongings she'd found during her last sweep of the place. "Do you still have the packing tape?"
"It's in the kitchen, want me to go get it?"
Shaking her head, she bent down to grab a hold of the box, picking it up slowly. "No, that's okay, I can do it out there."
"Alright. Is that the last of it?"
"Mhmm." She responded, taking one last glance around her former bedroom. "Let's get out of here."
Antonio nodded in response, turning to leave while Gabby began walking. But she only made it a few steps before the cardboard slipped from her grasp, the box crashing to the floor, spilling its contents all over the rug. Antonio turned back around at the noise, seeing Gabby release a frustrated sigh, her hand running over her forehead as she kneeled to the ground. The detective followed suit, crouching down across from her, moving the box back to its upright position before Gabby began throwing her things back in there.
She grabbed what was in her line of sight, Antonio helping return her belongings back to their home, Gabby reaching under the bed to retrieve some of the items she knew had bounced under there.
Blindly feeling around, she grasped at whatever she could, her eyes narrowing in confusion as she felt something she hadn't been expecting. Gabby grabbed ahold of the satin material, pulling it out from under the bed as she sat back on her heels, her eyebrows furrowing as she inspected the foreign nightgown. Although from just holding it in her hands, she could tell it didn't leave much to the imagination. Her bottom lip fell in between her teeth, her grip on the clothing loosening as she released a shaky breath.
Antonio sat there silently as he watched his sister, clearing his throat uncomfortably as she held the lingerie in her hands. But the awkwardness he was feeling soon turned to confusion as he watched her angrily throw the material back under the bed, forcefully reaching for the last of her things and tossing them back into the box.
"Do you not want that?" He asked, Gabby shaking her head as she haphazardly closed up the cardboard.
"No, uh-" She cut herself off, swallowing thickly as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's not mine."
Antonio's face went rigid at her words, his eyes glancing back towards where she had discarded the material, anger flooding his body as he realized the implications of what her words meant. His hands clenched tightly at his sides, fury burning through his body. "That piece of shit." He bit out through gritted teeth.
Before she could respond, they heard the front door shut, Bryan's voice echoing throughout the apartment. "Gabby? You still here?"
Wordlessly, Antonio pushed himself up off the ground, rage coursing through him as he headed for the door. But he didn't get very far before Gabby grabbed his arm, blocking his exit with her body.
"Please, don't do anything Antonio. I just want to get out of here." She pleaded, her brother shaking his head.
"He needs to know he can't treat you like this. He's a dick, the least he deserves is me beating his ass." He responded in frustration, pulling his arm from her grasp.
"Can we please just go." She tried again. "The last thing that would help is you sending him to the hospital and ending up in jail. Nothing you do to him will change anything."
"He was cheating on you, Gabby!" He spoke angrily. "I can't just let that go. How are you so okay with this?" He questioned exasperatedly, fire flooding his veins. But his anger quickly softened as he looked at his baby sister, realization washing over him. She couldn't look at him, Gabby unable to meet his eyes, her jaw trembling slightly as she focused on the ground, folding her arms protectively over her chest. Blowing out a sad, heavy breath, he spoke again. "You knew."
"Gabby?" Bryan's voice broke their discussion as they heard him walking down the hallway, the firefighter sure to be in the bedroom any second.
"Please don't do anything stupid." She pleaded one last time, turning towards the door as she saw him round the corner.
"Hey, I didn't know if you were still here. You didn't say anything." He spoke awkwardly from the doorway, glancing behind her to her brother. "Oh, hey Antonio. I didn't know you'd be here."
"I wasn't gonna let my sister move out on her own." He responded coldly, Gabby able to feel the anger radiating off her brother's body as he stood behind her.
An uncomfortable air filled the room, Bryan biting his tongue as Gabby turned towards Antonio. "Can you take my last box out to the car please?" She asked quietly, Antonio's releasing his harsh glare on the man, his gaze instantly softening as he met his sister's eyes. He nodded silently, bending down to pick up the last of her things before heading for the exit, his shoulder bumping into Walker's forcefully as he left the room.
Bryan stumbled back at bit, bringing his hand up to rub over his arm. "I see Antonio hasn't changed." He responded, shaking his head.
Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Gabby decided against commenting, knowing any words she said were bound to cause a fight. Instead, she walked towards him, Walker bringing his hand back down to his side as she got closer.
"So… I got all my stuff. I don't think I forgot anything, but if I did, I guess you can just give it to me at the house." Gabby spoke, trying to keep her voice firm. She didn't want to show him any signs of weakness, despite the pain settling in her chest.
"Sounds good." He responded, shifting back and forth on his feet.
Taking another step towards him, she reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulling out the silver key that didn't belong to her anymore, holding it out in front of her. "Here."
Wordlessly, Bryan took it from her, tapping it against his fingers as Gabby stuck her hands inside her jacket pockets.
"And, uh-" She cleared her throat, pulling out the velvet box that had been weighing her down all morning, Bryan's eyes landing on the small square box in her hand. The box holding the ring that was supposed to be hers forever. "This belongs to you."
Slowly taking it from her, he drew in a deep breath, snapping it open to look at the object that was meant to represent their lives together. Closing it quickly, he slid it into his pocket, looking up to meet her eyes.
"I am sorry, Gabby." He nearly whispered, Gabby blinking back the unshed tears sitting in her eyes. "I'm sorry we couldn't make this work… I really wanted it to."
She bit the inside of her cheek as they stared at one another, her stomach heavy with dread. She wanted to believe him, and for a split second, she did. She believed he always meant to be with her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But then the second was over, reality crashing down around her. Despite how much she wanted his words to be true, she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in her gut telling her they were all lies. That he was only saying them for her benefit.
Actions spoke louder than words. And his actions told her all she needed to know about what he had wanted out of their relationship.
She needed to get out of here. It felt like the walls were closing in around her, the years of broken promises and forced lies crushing her.
Shaking her head, she walked past him through the doorway, swallowing thickly as she felt his eyes on her. She forced herself to turn back, meeting his gaze as they stood feet apart.
"Bye Bryan." She whispered, dropping her head and walking down the hallway, moving as quickly as she could to the exit.
Matt glanced up to the sign outside the bar as he stood on the sidewalk, confirming he'd come to the right place as he walked up the steps, desperate to escape the cold evening air. Stepping inside the bar, he took in the new surroundings as his eyes bounced around the busy room, quickly finding a group of familiar faces. From what he could make out, nearly all of 51 was here, either posted up at the bar, or serving from behind it.
Sliding his way through the crowd, Matt made his way over to them, coming up to stand beside Severide, placing his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Casey! You made it." Kelly spoke loudly, Matt getting the impression his new friend had already had a few.
"Yeah, I finished up my job early, decided to stop by and take you up on your offer." Matt replied, sitting down on the stool next to Kelly, glancing up to see Shay walking towards him behind the counter, armed with a glass of beer. The paramedic placed the drink in front of him, Matt flashing her a smile. "Thanks Shay."
"No problem, it's on Kelly." She replied, Severide waving her off before turning towards Matt.
"You said you finished up a job?"
"Yeah. I do construction part time."
Severide nodded, opening his mouth to respond but he was cut off by a man coming up behind him, grabbing his shoulders roughly and shaking him, Matt turning to see a clearly inebriated Walker standing behind them.
"Severide, I finally did it!" He spoke happily, Matt glancing at him with a confused gaze, Kelly wearing a similar one.
"What did you do?... Did you just get here?" Severide asked, the thick smell of alcohol hitting his nostrils.
"Shay, can I get another one!" Walker yelled down the bar, before turning back to Kelly. "I'm a free man, Severide. I'm finally out." He spoke with a grin, Matt taking a swig of his beer as he listened to him.
"What does that mean?" Kelly questioned, Shay walking towards them with a beer bottle in hand, her hard gaze focused on Bryan.
"Dawson's officially moved out, I have my home back." Casey nearly choked on his beer as Walker spoke, seeing Shay's entire body tense, Kelly grimacing at the firefighter's words.
"You might want to cool it on the beers, man." Severide responded, grabbing the bottle from Bryan, turning to face his friend. "So wait, Dawson moved out?"
"Yup, her and Antonio got all her things this morning."
"Oh, wow." Kelly breathed out, Matt glancing between Severide and Shay, earning different reactions from both of them.
"What?" Bryan asked.
"Nothing, it's just… I guess we all thought you two would patch things up. That's what usually happens. But this is real, you two are done."
"It sure is. We're over. She gave me the ring back this morning."
Casey saw the gleam in his eye, and the slight smirk resting on his lips; Walker looked almost thrilled at the fact that his relationship was over, and Matt didn't know what to make of that. Looking up at Shay, the blonde appeared as if she was ready to murder him. Like if he said one more stupid, drunken thing she'd lunge across the bar and strangle him, and Matt couldn't blame her. From the short time he'd been around the paramedics, he knew they were close. If he were in her shoes, he knew he wouldn't appreciate the excitement radiating off the man from the fact that he'd ended a serious relationship and broken the heart of his best friend. Hell, he didn't even know Dawson that well, and Walker's behavior was annoying him.
But he knew it wasn't his place to comment on it. He didn't know them, he wouldn't say anything about it unless Walker's behavior started to affect the job. And that definitely didn't apply when they were off shift at a bar. So Matt stayed quiet, listening intently to the conversation happening inches away from him, unable to keep himself from glancing to Shay and Kelly every few moments.
"Wow. Are you guys okay?" Kelly asked as Bryan shrugged.
"This may be a shitty thing to say, but I'm great. Truly, I am." He responded, Kelly raising his eyebrows slightly.
"Asshole." Shay muttered under her breath, Matt looking to see if Walker had heard her, but it didn't appear that he had.
"And Dawson?"
"I don't know, really. It's not my problem anymore. I think she's okay, I don't know. Even if I did ask, I doubt she would give me an answer. You know how she is, she can make things difficult."
"Maybe it was just because she was engaged to a prick." Shay spoke again, her voice louder. Severide definitely heard her this time, but somehow, Walker hadn't. Or if he had, he ignored it.
"All that matters now is I finally get to have some fun." He spoke, a sly smirk resting on his face as his eyes bounced around the room, Kelly shaking his head.
"Man, are you sure that's a good idea right now. I mean, do what you want, but you just broke up with Dawson. Maybe it's not the best idea to do this here…"
"Why should it matter, she's not here. I can finally have some fun." Walker responded, finding the gaze of a woman across the bar, his smirk widening. "Speaking of, I have somewhere to be. Later guys." Bryan spoke, grabbing his beer before walking away from the small group.
"Kelly, I'm gonna kill him." Shay breathed out, tossing her rag down angrily on the bar.
"Shay, there's nothing you can do. That guy… that's not Bryan, I don't know why he's acting like this, but it's not him."
"Bullshit." She shot back. "He's a dick, Kelly. He always has been. He never cared about her, you heard him. He was all but jumping up and down over the fact he dumped Gabby."
"We don't know the whole story."
"Why are you always defending him?" She replied frustratedly, "Gabby's your friend, too, remember? He treated her like garbage, and you don't care."
"That's not true, Shay."
"It is true. If you're gonna be an asshole like him, at least own up to it." She bit back, slamming another beer bottle down in front of Severide before stomping down the bar, needing to distance herself from him.
Blowing out a sigh, Severide turned to Casey who'd been sitting there quietly, focused on his beer. "I'm sorry about that. I know you probably think we're insane by now…"
Matt waved him off, shaking his head. "It's fine. I came in at a weird time for you guys, I know things are difficult right now."
"Yeah, that's one way to describe it… I know Walker's kind of crazy tonight, he's not usually like this. I'm not sure if the breakup is just hitting him really hard or what, but this isn't usually him." Matt stifled a scoff, knowing enough about the situation to know Walker didn't care one bit about the end of his relationship. But he couldn't say that.
"It's fine, I'm not his Lieutenant right now." Matt responded, earning a nod from Severide.
"And then that with Shay… she's really protective over Dawson. Especially when her and Walker first started having problems, so that's kind of what caused that." Severide spoke with a sigh. "I'm sorry you're getting dragged into all this, but welcome to 51 I guess." Kelly chuckled dryly, Matt smiling as he shook his head.
"It's sure been interesting so far, that's for sure." He mused, the two taking sips of their beers while they sat at the bar.
The night wore on, Matt soon finding himself alone at the bar after Severide had gone to try and get Walker to slow down, the man's alcohol intake starting to become an issue. Everyone else from 51 had dissipated around the room, giving Matt a chance to look around at his surroundings. He had been waiting for Kelly to come back for nearly half an hour when the squad Lieutenant appeared with Walker by his side, Severide saying how he was gonna get the man home, telling Casey that he'd take a raincheck on the hockey game.
The first few minutes after Kelly left, Matt debated going home as well. He was tired, and a few extra hours of sleep couldn't hurt. But he had yet to make any move, the firefighter sitting perched on his bar stool, nursing the same beer he'd had since he came in.
"You good, Casey?" He looked up at the sound of Shay's voice, Matt nodding as she came to stand across from him.
"I am. Are you?"
Sighing heavily, she nodded, tossing her rag over her shoulder. "I'm sorry about all that, I'm not the biggest fan of Bryan, but Kelly and I should've had that conversation in private." She apologized, Matt shaking his head.
"You're fine, I know you're just looking out for your friend. And in your defense, he was acting like an asshole." Matt spoke, earning a grin from Shay.
"You heard that, huh?"
"Yeah, a little bit." He chuckled, his eyes glancing around the room before landing back on Shay. "But I can't say I blame you." He told her, Shay watching him with curious eyes, Matt speaking up before she could question it. "So, uh, does Dawson ever come here?" Matt tried to ask as casually as he could, but he knew he'd failed based on the way Shay's eyebrows furrowed at his question. "Pretty much everyone else is here, but she isn't. I was just wondering, didn't know if this was her scene." He clarified, Shay pausing for a second before nodding.
"She does, she's an owner." Shay replied, Matt's eyebrows raising in surprise. "But she hasn't been around much lately…"
"Cause of Walker." Matt finished, Shay remaining silent, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him carefully. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's okay." Shay responded quickly. "I'm just kind of surprised you picked up on that after like, one shift. Although I guess the breakup and everything makes it self-explanatory." She spoke, Matt nodding softly.
"Is she doing alright?" He questioned, watching the paramedic take a deep breath.
"She's… hanging in there, she's definitely taking it harder than Walker is." She replied bitterly. "Although I'm pretty sure the entire house is taking it harder than he is. But Dawson will be okay, she bounces back quickly." Shay explained, Matt thinking over her words as he took another sip. "Speaking of… do you and Gabby know each other?"
Matt felt his breath catch in his throat, his mind blanking for a moment before shaking his head. "No, why do you ask?" He questioned, finding his voice.
"I saw you kept looking at her on shift yesterday, thought you might've known each other." She responded with a shrug. "And, from what I can tell, you seem to be more on Gabby's side with this whole thing, which is surprising considering Walker is on your truck, so I just thought maybe you two knew each other."
"We don't know each other." He responded, earning a nod from Shay, the blonde paramedic clearly waiting for more of an explanation. "I thought she looked familiar, when I saw her at the house. I was trying to remember if maybe we'd worked together or something, but I couldn't place her." He covered. "I didn't mean to creep you out or anything." Shay grinned at his words, shaking her head.
"You weren't, don't worry. I just didn't know if you guys were friends. I guess I was kind of hoping you guys knew each other." She admitted, Matt tilting his head in confusion.
"Why?" He questioned, Shay releasing a heavy sigh.
"With everything going on, I thought it might help her to have another familiar face on her side at the house." Shay elaborated. "Everyone at 51, they all love Gabby but Bryan is like everyone's favorite person on the planet, which I don't really understand." She muttered the last part under her breath, shaking her head before continuing. "So even if they don't mean to, I feel like they're gonna side with him." She vented, her eyes widening slightly after a few seconds as she caught Matt's gaze. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm even telling you all this, I'm sure you don't care about all the house relationship drama. I'm not trying to make you pick sides here or anything."
"No, it's okay." Casey quickly assured her. "I'm not taking sides in this, I don't know either of them so I'm just trying to stay out of it. I know what Dawson's going through is hard, and Walker doesn't seem to be making it easy on her, but I'm trying not to get too involved when it doesn't really concern me." Matt explained, earning an understanding nod from Shay.
"That's smart." She mused. "Not something I'd probably ever be able to do, but smart." Matt shook his head in amusement, earning a laugh from the woman.
"But even though I'm trying not to involve myself, I also don't mind you venting, if you need to." He spoke with a smile, earning a matching one from Shay.
"I like you, Matt Casey." She responded, Matt chuckling as he took another sip of his beer.
"Thanks, Shay."
"Truce?" Shay glanced up from her newspaper as she sat in the common room, finding Severide standing in front of her with a fresh cup of coffee in his outstretched hand. It had been a few days since their fight at Molly's, and things had been tense between the roommates, Shay spending the last day and a half doing what she could to avoid him. Seeing her raise her eyebrow at him, he sighed, sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry for the other night."
Glancing from him to the coffee, Shay reached for the mug, a small, hesitant grin resting on her face. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't be taking it out on you, you're not the person to be mad at. At least not for this." She joked, relaxing a bit when she saw him let out a deep chuckle.
"It's okay. I know you're just looking out for Dawson." He replied quietly, Shay nodding as she took a sip of the warm beverage. "Is she alright?" Severide questioned, looking past Shay towards the other paramedic sitting at the end of the long table across the room, her head buried in her book.
"She's… I don't even know. She's staying with Antonio until she can find her own place. I went and checked on her yesterday, looked at her burn to make sure everything was still okay. Physically, she's alright. Mentally… I don't know, Walker really hurt her. I still haven't gotten her to tell me exactly what happened, but she's not doing well." Shay spoke sadly, her mouth forming into a frown. "And what about Walker? You get him home the other night?"
"Yeah, I did. He passed out as soon as I got him there, though. And he wasn't kidding, all her stuff was gone. You would've never known she ever lived there." He spoke softly, Shay shrugging her shoulders.
"From what I saw, it never looked like she really lived there to begin with." Shay muttered, Kelly blowing out a heavy sigh, patting the blonde on the arm.
"She's gonna be okay, Shay. Like Walker said, they thought it was for the best. But still, I can't imagine how hard this is."
"I wouldn't really listen to anything Walker says…" She mumbled, Kelly tilting his head curiously.
"What do you mean?"
Glancing around, Shay dropped her head, leaning in close to her friend. "Walker lied about their breakup."
Her words only confused him more, Kelly glancing to Gabby before looking back at Shay. "No he didn't. She moved out, gave him the ring back, they're over."
"He didn't lie about them being broken up, he lied about how they broke up." She clarified quietly, Kelly waiting for more explanation. "He broke up with her. Gabby had no say it in, he blindsided her with it the night it happened. She had no idea he'd been wanting to break up, she was wanting to fix things between them."
Severide's eyebrows furrowed, an unsettling feeling filling his gut. "But why would he say it was mutual when it wasn't?"
"So he didn't look like more of an asshole than he already is, I guess."
"Shay-"
"Hey guys." Casey's voice broke through their conversation as the truck Lieutenant came into the common room, nodding towards Severide and Shay.
"Hey Casey." Shay responded, Kelly nodding back as the man walked past their table, heading for the counter. Matt grabbed an apple from the bowl, turning back around to see Severide walking towards him, the firefighter coming to a stop beside him.
"Hey man, I'm sorry about the other night. I know we were supposed to watch the game and everything."
"It's no problem. I know you needed to take care of that." Matt responded, his eyes flickering towards Gabby, before looking back towards Kelly. "And I got to know Shay a little better, it ended up being a nice night." He spoke a little louder, earning the attention of the blonde paramedic, the woman turning around in her seat with a grin on her face.
"Yeah, Casey and I had a nice chat. Better watch out, Kel, I might have you replaced here soon."
"Ha ha." He replied dryly, shaking his head. "But anyway, we'll definitely have to reschedule, maybe next time we can just have the beers at our place." Kelly spoke, nodding towards Shay.
"Sounds fun." She responded, Matt flashing them a soft smile.
"I'd like that." He replied, taking a bite of his apple.
"Antonio? What are you doing here?" Matt's attention moved towards the entrance at the sound of Gabby's voice, seeing a man walking up to the table she was sitting at. From his quick glance, Matt saw a badge around the man's neck, Casey quickly understanding this man was a cop. He just wasn't sure how he knew Gabby, and what he was here for.
"God, I hope Walker is hiding somewhere." Severide muttered under his breath, Matt's eyebrows furrowing as he watched Gabby stand up from her seat, the man coming to stop across from her.
"Burgess and I were in the neighborhood, asked her if I could stop by and check in on my little sister." The man spoke with a grin, realization settling over Casey, Severide's comment about Walker quickly making sense.
"Mhmm." Gabby responded, clearly unimpressed with his explanation. "Well, you can leave I'm fine." She dropped her voice, but Matt was still able to hear her words.
"I'm not just here to see you." He spoke, walking away from his sister as he moved further into the room. He stopped by the couch, patting Herrmann on the shoulder as he passed by. "How you doing, Shay?" He asked once he got to the table, leaning down to give the paramedic a hug.
"I'm doing good, Antonio. It's good to see you." She replied with a smile, not having seen the man when she stopped by his place to check on Gabby. "How's the job treating you?"
"It's good, been keeping me busy, but I'm alright. Hey, Severide." Antonio greeted, stepping closer to shake Kelly's hand.
"Hey man."
Antonio's gaze landed on Matt, Casey's eyes flashing behind him towards Gabby for a split second, seeing the weary look on her face. "You must be Casey." He spoke, Matt's eyes narrowing in confusion, unable to keep himself from glancing back to Gabby again. Matt couldn't imagine Gabby would've told her brother about him, about what happened between them, but the cop clearly knew of him. Matt just wasn't sure in what capacity.
Swallowing thickly, Matt nodded, shaking the man's hand. "Yeah, Matt Casey." He introduced, Antonio grinning at him.
"Antonio Dawson." The man replied, releasing his grip on Matt's hand. "You're actually part of why I stopped by, I wanted to thank you."
"Uh, for what?" He questioned, seeing Gabby walk towards them in his peripheral vision.
"Gabby told me about what you did, pulling her from the car the other day. I just wanted to say thank you for saving her." Matt released a silent breath, tension leaving his body as he shot the man a soft smile.
"Oh, it was nothing. I'm just glad she's okay." Matt replied, glancing towards Gabby, the smile still resting on his face.
"Alright, enough talking about me like I'm not here." Gabby spoke uncomfortably, earning a few laughs from the group.
Glancing around the room, Antonio took notice of who all was in here, or rather who wasn't here, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Don't worry sis, I'm actually about to leave, I can't stay long. I just wanted to check in, and meet Casey here. But I'll let you get back to your work." He responded, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "It was good to see you guys, nice to meet you Casey." Antonio spoke, walking away from the group, Gabby's eyebrows furrowing at his quick turnaround. She felt like she was missing something, that he wouldn't have come all the way here just for that, but he turned the corner before she was able to question him.
Antonio walked down the hallway, glancing back to make sure no one was following him as he began moving through the firehouse. He did come to here to check on Gabby, and meet Casey, but he had one other agenda in mind during his visit.
It didn't take Antonio long to find the man he was looking for as he pushed open the bathroom door, seeing the firefighter standing at the sink, washing his hands. Bryan's head snapped up at the sound, huffing out a heavy breath as he saw the detective through the mirror.
"Whatever you want, Antonio, I don't have the time." He replied, drying his hands as he turned around.
"I just want to know why you did it." Antonio's voice was firm as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Why I did what?"
"Why did you propose to my sister when you had no intention of marrying her?" Venom dripped from the older Dawson's voice, Bryan shaking his head as he walked towards the man who was blocking his exit.
"I'm not doing this right now." Walker tried to slide past him, but was stopped by Antonio's hand pushing against his chest.
"Answer the question."
"Antonio…" He bit out, the detective shaking his head.
"Or answer this question for me. How long had you been cheating on Gabby?"
Walker's eyes narrowed, pushing Antonio's hand forcefully from his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Bullshit. How long were you cheating on her?"
"Back off, Antonio." He spat, shoving against Antonio's chest, moving him out of the way.
Fire spread through his veins, Antonio grabbing Walker by the shirt, slamming him up against the wall.
"What the hell." Bryan choked out, Antonio pinning the man with his forearm.
"I don't know exactly what you put my sister through these last three years." Antonio's voice was quiet, anger burning in his eyes as he held the man firmly to the wall. "But listen to me when I tell you that you never deserved her. And I swear to God, if I hear anything about you making things worse for her, I'll put you through this wall next time, do you understand?" He bit out, Bryan breathing heavily. "You got what you wanted, you turned her life upside down. Now just leave her alone."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, I haven't said anything to her." He defended, shoving against Antonio until the man backed off.
"And you better not. I won't let you hurt her again." Antonio spoke harshly, glaring towards the man as he moved to the door, walking through it without another word.
Bryan adjusted his rumpled shirt, anger flooding through his system as he moved to the door, whipping it open and stomping towards the common room. As he got down the hall, he saw who he was looking for in the crowded room, finding Gabby sitting at the table next to Shay.
"Hey!" He shouted as he walked in, earning shocked looks from everyone around him. Gabby looked up immediately, her eyes widening as she saw Bryan marching towards her. "I don't know what lies you've told your brother about what happened, but knock it off!" He yelled, Gabby shrinking in her seat as his loud voice filled the room. Shay stood up, holding her hand out as he leaned over the table.
"Back up, Walker." Shay bit out forcefully, positioning herself in front of Gabby.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Dawson responded once she found her voice, her words unsteady.
"Your brother is fucking insane, that's what I'm talking about!" He shouted, slamming his hand down against the table, causing Gabby to jump in her skin.
"Walker, stop." Kelly spoke from behind him, pulling him back from the table.
"She's been telling her brother lies about what happened, then he comes in here threatening me. I thought breaking up with her would end this shit." He replied furiously, Kelly pushing him away from the table.
"Bryan, you have to calm down." Kelly tried again, glancing back towards Gabby, Shay having her arm wrapped around Dawson's shoulders protectively. The rest of the room watched on in shock as the scene unfolded in front of them, too stunned to move.
"Sev, she-"
"Walker!" Casey's voice boomed throughout the room, everyone stopping as Matt pushed himself up from his seat. "Go check how much salt is in the truck. There's a storm rolling through tonight."
"Lieutenant-"
"Now." He barked, arms crossed over his chest. Realizing this was a battle he couldn't win, Walker gave in, shooting another glare towards Gabby before forcefully pulling himself out of Kelly's grip.
"Tell your brother to back off." He spat towards the paramedic before disappearing out of the room, slamming the door against the wall as he went into the garage.
All eyes fell on Gabby once he was gone, tears welling in her eyes as she quickly slid from Shay's grasp, standing up and leaving the uncomfortably silent room without another word, unable to stop the single tear that slid down her cheek as she went.
And there's another one. Walker seems like a real winner, doesn't he? But for the other characters, I always liked the dynamic between Casey and Shay on the show, so I enjoyed getting to include a little bit of that in this chapter.
I know a lot of you have been curious as to why Gabby would even be with someone like Bryan in the first place, but there's a lot of background there we have yet to get in to. As the chapters go on, you all will continue to get more insight into things that happened in the past, with both Gabby's and Matt's previous relationships. As well as why the house loves Walker so much, despite him being kind of terrible. Answers to all that, and more, are coming as we get further into this story. And I'm very excited.
I hope you all enjoyed this one. I cannot thank you all enough for the support and kind words you all have given me with this story. I'm so excited to hear what you thought of this one. Thank you for reading.