Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter for you all, I can't believe we're on chapter twenty five of this story already, that's crazy. I hope you all like it!
TWENTY FIVE
Gabby let out a yawn as she walked into the garage, covering her mouth with her hand as she moved past the ambulance, exhaustion filling her entire body.
"Casey keep you up late?"
Dawson's tired eyes narrowed as she glanced towards the voice, seeing her partner standing beside by the back of the ambulance, a smirk covering her face when Gabby let out an annoyed huff. The PIC rolled her eyes as the blonde walked towards her, Shay watching her with an amused grin.
"Well, good morning to you sunshine." Shay spoke sarcastically, Gabby continuing her path into the firehouse. "So, as I was saying, you and Casey have a fun night?" She asked again, keeping her voice low as they moved through the garage. "Although he managed to get here on time, so I'm not sure if that really counts as an excuse for you being ten minutes late."
"Casey did not keep me up late." She responded sharply, Shay's eyebrows raising as they got to the double doors. "I slept alone last night, thank you very much." Gabby gave her a challenging stare before walking inside, flashing smiles to the firefighters in the common room before turning the corner, Shay following close behind.
The blonde waited until there was some distance between them and the rest of the house before speaking up again, knowing this wasn't a conversation meant for the curious ears of the firehouse. "So, if it wasn't Casey, what was it?"
"I missed my alarm." Dawson replied lamely as the two got to the locker room.
"So you were at home?"
"Yes."
"Why weren't you at Casey's?" Gabby eyed her curiously as she began opening her locker.
"I'm not there all the time, Shay." She countered, the blonde looking around before turning back to Dawson, clearly unimpressed.
"Uh huh, sure…" She responded, taking a step closer to her friend. "You're not, uh-" Shay cut herself off, Gabby tilting her head to the side.
"Not what?"
"You're not distancing yourself from him, are you?" Shay asked, Gabby sighing deeply.
"What?" Gabby questioned, Shay raising her eyebrows expectantly. "Shay, I literally just spent a night in my own bed, why are you reading into this?"
"Because of everything with Walker, and then with how you feel about Casey... I don't want you to push him away before you even find out how he feels."
"I'm not pushing him away." She defended. "I left his place yesterday afternoon, after being with him since we got off last shift." She replied, Shay cocking her head to the side. "So, whatever you're worried about, don't be."
"Okay, snippy." Shay shot back, Gabby sighing as she rubbed over her forehead.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just tired." Gabby responded, Shay nodding as she gave her friend's arm a comforting squeeze.
"It's fine, Dawson. I'm just glad to know things are good. I'm gonna get back out to the rig, hurry up so you can come help me with inventory, won't ya?" She asked, smacking Gabby's butt before she walked away, Gabby scoffing lightly as she watched Shay leave, the PIC shaking her head before returning her attention back to her locker.
As she put away her things, Gabby couldn't help but ponder over what Shay had said, or more so how she said it. Her partner seemed genuinely concerned that Gabby would distance herself from Casey, and Gabby didn't know why. Sure, she didn't have the best track record in the past, but spending one night in her own home shouldn't mean anything. And she wasn't sure why Shay cared so much.
A hand sliding around her back took her by surprise, Gabby jumping in shock as she was abruptly pulled from her thoughts, her head slamming into the locker.
"Jesus Gabby, are you okay?"
Gabby brought her hand up to press against her throbbing forehead, the paramedic turning to see Casey standing by her side, his hand still around her waist. Slowly, she nodded, wincing slightly as she pressed down a little more against her head, blinking a few times before meeting his eyes.
"I'm fine, I just didn't know you were here." She replied, Matt frowning softly.
Casey felt terrible for scaring her, and he realized as soon as he'd gone up behind her that he shouldn't have greeted her like that. He should've known better. She'd been on edge a lot lately, Matt seeing her get startled on more than one occasion, and if he'd thought more about it, he never would've snuck up behind her.
He wasn't sure the reason for her behavior as of late, but he did know while she'd always been a little jumpy, it had gotten a lot worse since the issue with Walker at Mollys. The last few days, he'd notice her get spooked a few times, and the night he'd woken her up from her nap and she looked almost afraid of him, it had been things like that that had worried him. And if he'd thought anything past being excited to see her when he walked into the locker room, he never would've greeted her that way.
"Let me take a look." He prompted softly, his thoughts moving to her head, Gabby dropping her hand as she raised her eyebrows.
"You remember I'm the paramedic, right?" She questioned, Matt rolling his eyes before beginning to inspect her skin. Her forehead was already a little red, and although he didn't think she'd hit hard enough to leave a bruise, he knew they wouldn't know for certain for a few more hours. "See?" Her voice broke him from his trance, his gaze moving from her forehead towards her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine."
"Yeah, I don't know… I might need to keep a close eye on you just to be sure." He responded lightly, Gabby chuckling before turning away from him, Matt standing by her side as she faced her locker.
"Well, look all you want, I don't mind." She responded softly, Matt's head tilting to the side as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, Gabby raising her eyebrows with a challenging grin as she quickly glanced to him.
Releasing a soft laugh, Matt shook his head, Gabby's smirk growing as he kept his eyes on her, Casey thankful to see her a lot more relaxed than she was when he first came in. That was another thing he had noticed over the last few days; no matter how uneasy she became whenever he'd inadvertently startle her, she always immediately relaxed when she registered it was just him. He wasn't sure what that meant, or what had her acting so strange, but he wanted to help her. He just didn't know how to.
"So…" He spoke up again, watching as she closed her locker, making sure to secure it in place. "How was your night at home?" Gabby turned her body towards him, seeing him lean his weight into the lockers.
"It was good, I got to spend some time with Antonio, he got sent home early so I was able to have dinner with him." She responded, Matt's eyebrows furrowing.
"Sent home early?" He repeated, Gabby hearing the concern in his voice. "Everything okay?"
"He's fine, they were chasing down a suspect and he got roughed up a little bit so he got sent home, but he's okay. He said it was unnecessary." She explained, Matt's body relaxing.
"Good, I'm glad he's alright. And I'm glad you had a nice night with your brother… I know I've been kind of taking up a lot of your time lately." He continued with a soft grin, Gabby tilting her head to the side, knowing there was some truth to his words. Aside from those days after the incident with Walker, most of her time had been spent with him, not that she was complaining.
"Well, you're awful needy." She teased, Matt raising his eyebrows, biting down on his bottom lip. "Though the time at home was nice, maybe I should do it more often."
"I don't think so." He responded quickly, Gabby scoffing lightly. "I like having you around."
"Yeah, well, sex whenever you want is a good incentive to let me keep that key to your apartment."
Matt's eyebrows furrowed as the words left her lips, watching as she averted her eyes. It wasn't even her words that left him a little uneasy, it was the way she said them. She sounded almost sad, and he didn't like it. But she spoke up again before he could figure out what to say.
"Oh, speaking of going home, remember that apartment I was looking at a few shifts ago?" Still a little stunned from her previous words, he simply nodded, trying to focus on her new topic. "Well, yesterday I called and set up a time to go and look at it." He could see the genuine excitement in her eyes, the look bringing a soft smile to his face.
"That's great, I know how much you like that place." He responded with the same level of enthusiasm, Gabby's grin widening when she heard how excited he sounded. "When are you going?"
"Tomorrow morning after shift."
"Is Antonio going with you?" He asked, Gabby shaking her head.
"Nah, he has to work. I thought about asking Shay, but I might just go by myself-"
"I'll go with you." He cut in, Gabby's eyebrows raising in surprise, Matt clearing his throat. "I mean, if you want someone to go with you, I will. I'd love to see the place." She smiled softly at his hesitant words, slowly nodding in agreement.
"That'd be great, actually. You don't have a construction job or anything?"
"Nope. I'm free all day. I'd love to go with you." He spoke again, Gabby's bottom lip falling between her teeth as she nodded, unable to stop the grin growing across her face.
"I'd love that." She responded softly, Matt nodding.
"Good, then uh- it's a date." He spoke quickly, Gabby feeling her chest tighten at his words, that combined with that Casey-grin she'd come to see a lot of the last few months flooding her body with a comforting warmth.
"It's a date." She repeated, her words barely audible, Gabby not trusting her own voice as she watched his smile widen.
Before he said another word, Matt glanced around the locker room, ensuring they were still alone, before leaning in and kissing her firmly. Gabby pulled away as quickly as he leaned in, her eyes widening as a surprised grin spread across her face.
"Not here, Lieutenant." She warned, her words only encouraging him.
"Come on, everyone's out in the common room." He prompted softly, grabbing a hold of her waist, pulling her towards him before kissing her again, Gabby unable to make herself pull back this time as she pressed into him, her hand coming up to rest over his cheek.
"How have you two not gotten caught yet?"
The sound of Severide's voice sent them into a panic, the pair pulling apart quickly as Gabby jumped at his unexpected presence, her head colliding with the row of lockers once more.
"Motherfuc-" She cut herself off with a sharp breath, her hand coming up to hold over her throbbing head, the second hit hurting worse than the first. Matt rested his hand over hers gently, still grimacing from the sound of her head smacking the locker.
"You kiss your Lieutenant with that mouth?" Severide questioned with a proud grin, Gabby narrowing her eyes as Matt stroked his thumb over her head, feeling how warm her red skin felt.
"She sure does." Shay's voice filtered into the room, Gabby rolling her eyes.
"Oh great." Dawson murmured, seeing her best friend come around the corner, stopping beside Severide, both standing with their arms crossed over their chests.
"You all are being so loud, by the way. It's a good thing everyone else is too busy shoving their faces to be, you know, walking around and hearing something they probably shouldn't. And Dawson, I thought I told you to hurry up, I'm not trying to spend all morning doing inventory- What happened to your head?"
Gabby could barely keep up with the blonde's sporadic thoughts, Matt rubbing over her head one last time before dropping his hand, glancing towards their friends with an unimpressed look covering his face.
"She was too busy making out with Casey to help you." Severide responded lowly with a chuckle, Shay raising her eyebrows.
"Oh good Lord." Shay breathed out, "Do you two ever stop trying to get into each other's pants?" She questioned, Gabby and Matt both wearing different guilty looks over their faces. "Of course you don't. You know, you two really suck at this 'keeping it between us' thing. Between the sex in his office, and boning in the back of the ambulance-"
"Shay!"
"I'm sorry, what did you do?" Severide asked with an amused smirk, Matt narrowing his eyes. "You two really fucked in the same place we treat patients?"
"Oh my God." Gabby breathed out.
"Easy, Sev."
"What? You two did it, not me." He laughed.
"We cleaned up afterwards." Gabby defended, Severide grimacing.
"Barely." Shay challenged, Kelly shaking his head.
"Okay, gross. That's too much information. I don't need to know all that."
"I don't know why we're talking about this at all." Matt huffed out, Shay flashing him a smirk.
"Because you and Dawson were making out in the middle of the locker room." She spoke quietly, Gabby gnawing on her bottom lip.
"Well, if Kelly wouldn't have opened his big mouth-"
"Hey, all I did was walk in here. You know, like anyone could've done. Which is why if you two really are trying to keep this," He paused, waving his hand back and forth between the two of them, "a secret, you should probably keep the making out behind closed doors."
"Thanks for your advice." Matt responded sarcastically, glancing to Gabby, seeing her watching him with an almost amused grin. "What?"
"Well, I mean Severide kind of has a point." She responded lighty, Matt's playful glare zeroing in on her. "I said not to do that here."
"See? Even your woman agrees with me." Kelly defended, Matt taking a deep breath.
Before he or Gabby could respond, the bells rang throughout the house, calling 61 out for their first call of the day.
"That's our cue, let's hit it Dawson." Shay spoke, turning to leave.
"I thought that was Casey's job?" Severide asked with a grin, Shay chuckling.
"That was a good one." Shay responded proudly, patting his shoulder while Casey purposefully ignored his comment, turning back towards Gabby.
"You sure your head's okay?" Matt asked softly, Gabby meeting his eyes before nodding slowly, reaching out for his hand that hung by his side beside the lockers.
"I'm fine, I promise." She assured him, giving his hand a firm squeeze before dropping it, following Shay out of the locker room.
"Ah young love." Severide joked, Matt narrowing his eyes before stepping away from the lockers, heading out of the room.
Out in the firehouse, Shay and Gabby quickly moved through the hallways to get towards the garage, Shay waiting until they were close to the rig to speak up. "What did happen to your head, anyway?"
"I smacked it against the lockers, twice." She responded, the blonde grimacing as they climbed into the ambulance, preparing to head out for the call. "The first time Matt came up behind me, I wasn't expecting him and I jumped. The second time was Kelly's doing."
Shay nodded, pulling out of the garage into the driveway, sirens blaring as she moved out into the street, driving towards their destination.
"What were you and Matt doing in there anyway? Before Severide interrupted?"
"What do you mean?" Gabby questioned, Shay having to slow down while she waited for traffic to clear.
"You and Matt are usually pretty good about keeping things professional, at least where people can see you. I wasn't sure what changed."
"Oh, well he was just excited. I am, too, I guess." Gabby responded, Shay waiting for more of an explanation. "I'm going to go see that apartment we were looking at, the one you found. And Matt said he'd go with me to check it out."
"Did you ask him or he did offer?" Shay pressed, Gabby glancing towards her friends with a curious look on her face.
"He offered." Dawson replied, waiting to see if her partner had anything else to say, but she didn't respond. "Why?"
"No reason. Did he say anything else?" She questioned, Gabby feeling her cheeks get hot instantly, her eyes darting down to her lap. With one quick glance from the road, Shay noticed the change in her friend's demeanor, seeing her soft smile. "What?"
"He, uh- he called it a date."
Shay's mouth curled up into a grin, the blonde shaking her head as she chuckled. "Smooth Casey, real smooth."
"But then after that is when he kissed me, and that's when Severide walked in." Gabby finished, Shay nodding as she kept weaving her way through traffic.
"What did you say?"
"Hmm?"
"When Casey said it's a date, what'd you say?"
"Oh, well… I didn't really say anything."
"Casey not give you any time?" Shay asked with a smirk, Gabby scoffing lightly as she shook her head.
"No, it wasn't that, I just didn't really know what to say." She replied, Shay glancing to her with a questioning look, silently urging her to elaborate. "I mean… I'm not even sure he was serious, for all I know he could've just been messing around."
"Oh, not this again." Shay breathed out, Gabby narrowing her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you keep overthinking everything when it comes to him." She answered sharply, Gabby releasing a heavy sigh.
"Shay, this isn't as simple as you want it to be. Believe me, I wish it was. But I still don't know where him and I stand. It's like every time I think we've gotten somewhere, we take a step back. He confuses the hell out of me sometimes and I never know what he's thinking."
"Which is why you need to talk to him." Shay responded without missing a beat, Gabby clenching her jaw before turning her body, her gaze focused out the window. "You're killing yourself over this, sitting there falling for him more and more each day, but you're not even willing to talk to him about it. If you want to be with him, you can't be afraid to talk to him."
"I'm not afraid." Gabby defended, Shay shaking her head.
"Afraid, scared, worried, apprehensive… whatever you wanna call it, it's keeping you from letting him in. And it's not fair to either of you."
Gabby breathed deeply, biting down on her bottom lip roughly, her eyes moving forward, focusing on the cars around them as they drove through the city, nearing their destination.
"I'm trying, Shay." She breathed out softly, refusing to look towards her partner. "I'm trying to trust myself with him. I want to, but- it's hard." She admitted, shaking her head as Shay pulled up the scene. "After everything with Bryan-... I promise I'm trying."
"I know you are, honey." She responded sympathetically, rubbing Gabby's leg, trying to give her some source of comfort before they climbed down from the rigs, knowing their personal lives were now put on hold.
Matt returned to his seat at the table in the common room, fresh cup of coffee in hand as he sat down next to Severide, the room filled to the brim with second shift's firefighters. Everyone, aside from 51's paramedics, was in here, everyone broken off into their own groups as they waited around for them to be needed. It had been a slow morning so far at the firehouse, Shay and Dawson being the only ones who'd been called out so far, the two of them still out from their first call. But other than that, it had been a pretty slow morning, though Casey would never voice that out loud, knowing how superstitious a few of his fellow firefighters were.
"Do we know what we're doing for lunch?" Mouch spoke up, Casey glancing to man across the room, hearing Herrmann scoff.
"It's still morning."
"I know, I'm just preparing." He responded quickly. "Dawson hasn't cooked for us in awhile, do you think maybe she'd make us something? Her food is the best."
"I don't know, you'd have to ask her." Herrmann replied, the telltale sign of the ambulance backing up into the garage faintly being heard throughout the room. "Looks like the girls are back, so you'll find out here soon."
It took them a few minutes to appear, Casey keeping his eyes peeled to the door, ignoring the snickers from Severide as he did so, Matt seeing Shay come in first, Dawson following close behind. The second he laid eyes on her, he grimaced, seeing her previously clean paramedic uniform now soiled in what he could only assume to be the remains of vomit, and a lot of it.
"Damn Dawson, what happened to you, kid?" Herrmann spoke up, everyone glancing towards the paramedic, seeing her shaking her head in disgust.
"Combative drunk." She replied shortly, the paramedic nearly gagging as the smell hit her nostrils again.
"At ten in the morning?" Herrmann asked, partly impressed and partly horrified.
"He had a good night, apparently." She said before turning towards her partner. "I'm gonna go ahead and jump in the shower." She told the blonde, Shay giving her a supportive nod.
"I'm sorry again, Dawson." She called after her friend, Gabby waving her off.
"It's not your fault." She responded before continuing down the hallway, Shay shaking her head before walking into the common room.
"What happened, Shay?" Severide asked, all eyes moving towards the paramedic.
"Guy was drunk off his ass," She answered, walking towards the table, collapsing into the seat beside Kelly. "And yet he was also somehow hungover, I still don't know how long he'd been drinking, but he was stumbling around the street. We were trying to calm him down, and he wasn't a fan."
"He didn't hurt you guys, did he?" Casey questioned, Shay shooting him a knowing look before shaking her head.
"Nah, I mean he was hurling insults left and right, but nothing worse than what I hear from Kelly every day." She responded with a smirk, earning a few laughs from around the room. "He was screaming and yelling, Dawson and I were about to give up and just let CPD handle it, but then his screaming turned into vomiting, and Dawson got caught in the crossfire." She explained, Matt shaking his head in disgust.
"Poor Dawson." Herrmann spoke from the couch.
"Yeah, it was gross. I don't know how she didn't puke, I almost did just seeing it. If I were her, I'd be showering for the next week."
Matt pushed back his chair as Shay was talking, the paramedic cocking her head to the side as he glanced to her.
"Where are you going?" She asked, Kelly wearing a soft smirk.
"I'm gonna go get some paperwork done." He answered, Kelly's grin widening as Shay gave him a knowing look.
"You haven't had any calls yet." She pointed out, biting back a laugh.
"It's from last shift." He replied without missing a beat. "I wanna try and get some of it out of the way before we get called out."
"Have fun." She replied, Matt glaring as she released a soft laugh, Casey beginning to walk away from the table. Luckily, it didn't seem like anyone else had picked up on Shay's questioning of what he was doing, everyone having gone back to their own conversations as Matt pushed his chair in.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Matt began walking towards the conference room door, choosing that path to take towards his destination, Casey not missing the curious stare he was getting from Walker.
The man hadn't said another word to him after Casey chewed him out last shift, and the second Bryan realized his Lieutenant was watching, he quickly looked away, returning his attention to the newspaper in his hands
Casey could only hope he'd gotten through to the firefighter, and that Bryan would listen to his new orders. In Matt's short time at 51, Walker had been the cause of more than enough problems, and the last thing any of them needed were more issues.
Blowing out a sigh, Casey shifted his focus back to Gabby as he walked through the firehouse, heading towards the bunkroom just in case any of his men came after him for something. When he got to his office, he placed his coffee down on his desk before heading for the bathroom. He knew, aside from Shay, no one should be coming in, everyone in the house having heard that Gabby was showering.
Slowly slipping in through the locker room, Matt quietly walked towards the showers, hearing the sound of the water running filling the room. As he came around the corner, he saw Gabby standing outside the shower, still clothed as she waited for the water to warm up.
"Hey." Matt called softly from his position a few feet away from her, not wanting to risk startling her for a second time that day. He learned from his mistake last time, and it was something he would definitely continue to be mindful of.
Gabby turned towards the voice, a soft smile forming over her face when she saw him, Matt taking that as a signal to come closer. "Hi."
"So that call sounded pretty rough." He commented as he came to a stop beside her, Gabby grimacing as she nodded, sticking her hand into the shower to test the temperature.
"It wasn't fun, that's for sure." She replied, turning towards him. "Also, you might want to stay back, I'm kind of vomit-y." She warned, Matt shrugging as he took a step closer.
"Nothing I can't handle." He spoke, Gabby's eyes tracing over his face before she nodded in response. "But I don't want to keep you too long, I know you want to shower… I just wanted to come check in on you, make sure you're alright."
"I'm fine." She told him, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I'll be better once I'm cleaned off, but I'm good."
"Good." He spoke, flashing her a soft smile before glancing back. "Well, I'll get out of your way… but, uh, do you want me to go ahead and throw those in the wash?" He offered, eyeing her stained shirt and pants. Gabby followed his line of sight, wincing when the intense smell filled her nostrils again, Gabby lifting her head back up and nodding.
"If you don't mind, that'd be great."
"Of course not." He replied with a grin.
Gabby checked the temperature one last time, making sure it was suitable before she carefully began peeling the puke-covered clothes from her body, Matt taking the items carefully.
"I'll get these started for you." He told her, trying not to focus on the fact that she was standing in front of him nearly naked, knowing the effect she had on him in the past. Just the sight of her was enough to get him all riled up, but he knew this wasn't the time for that.
"Thank you." She responded, Matt giving her a nod.
"I'll see you out there." He spoke, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss against the side of her head, his lips lingering there for a moment before he pulled back. Without another word, he flashed her a soft grin, one Gabby matched, before he left the locker room, leaving her to shower in peace.
Gabby turned off the faucet, effectively stopping the stream of water falling over her body, a slight chill running through her spine at the immediate change of temperature. Surprisingly, Gabby had managed to have a relatively long shower, the twenty minutes spent in this small cubicle being exactly what she needed after the way this morning had gone.
Luckily, the drunken man's vomit had only covered her clothes, none had got on her person, so the shower was more so for her peace of mind than it was out of necessity, but she felt much better nonetheless.
Knowing she was more than likely on borrowed time, Gabby knew she needed to speed up the rest of this process, the paramedic sticking her hand out past the shower curtain, reaching for her towel. But her eyebrows furrowed when she was met with nothing but the cold tile wall, Gabby blindly feeling around until she was completely certain her towel wasn't where she'd left it.
Grabbing ahold of the curtain, she used it to shield her body as she slowly stuck her head out, her eyes immediately moving towards the floor beside her shower, assuming her towel had fallen off its hook, but it was nowhere in sight.
"Looking for something?"
Gabby felt her muscles tense up at the sound of the unwelcome voice, her grip on the shower curtain tightening as she looked up, seeing Walker standing across from the row of showers. His body was leaned up against the wall, Gabby seeing her towel clutched in his grip, the firefighter wearing a smug grin.
"What do you want, Walker?"
"Just came to say hi." He spoke, his smirk never faltering as he held out her towel. "Here's this, by the way."
He was too far away for her to be able to reach it without leaving the shower, and he knew that. He had come in here just to mess with her, just to assert some kind of power over her, and he knew he had her in a vulnerable position. Walker was aware she didn't want to be around him, he knew he made her uncomfortable, and he was using that to his advantage. He'd cornered her in the most vulnerable place possible, with no way for her to get out.
And as she slowly came to grips with the position she'd found herself in, she couldn't help but think back to last time Walker had cornered her in a shower, and the nightmare that had become.
"Can you please go?" She asked, her eyes narrowing on him. She knew she didn't have a lot of options here, in fact she really had none, but the last thing she would do is show him fear.
"Why don't you just come out?" He asked with a grin, Gabby suddenly feeling like she needed another shower just by how he was looking at her. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."
Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat, her mind racing as she tried to find some way out of here. Aside from jump making a mad dash out of the room, she was coming up blank. For one, she knew she had limited options once she actually got out of the shower, and two, she had no idea what Walker would do if he tried to stop her.
"Get out. Now." She nearly shouted, hoping that if he wouldn't leave, maybe at least someone would hear her.
"You know, I don't think I will. I've been standing here for over ten minutes waiting for you to be done, I can wait a little longer."
Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing she'd have to make a decision sooner or later. But suddenly her prayers were answered when she heard the door swing open in the bathroom, Gabby seeing Bryan's body tense up.
"Hello?" Gabby called immediately.
"Dawson?" She heard Severide's voice, relief filling her entire body. "Oh shit, are you still in the shower? I thought you were done, I'll get out of here-"
"No." She spoke quickly, Walker's eyes narrowing.
"Is everything okay?"
"Can you come here?" She asked, hearing his footsteps cautiously approaching.
"What's going on, are you- what the hell are you doing?" Severide's eyes narrowed angrily when he caught sight of Walker, seeing the man holding onto Gabby's towel, his body tensing with rage. "Why do you have that?"
"Severide, look-"
"Get out of here." He growled, stomping towards the man, ripping her towel from his grasp.
"Sev-"
"It's Lieutenant!" He barked. "Now get the fuck out of here."
"I was just joking around, jeez lighten up." He spoke with a chuckle, putting his hands up in defense before beginning to walk away.
"Yeah, I know exactly what you were doing." Severide replied angrily, hearing Walker laugh again before leaving the room. Severide ran his hand over his mouth, releasing a heavy sigh as he waited to make sure Walker was gone before turning back to Gabby. "You alright Dawson?" He questioned, slowly taking a few steps towards her shower, only getting as close as he had to to be able to hand her the towel, a frown forming over his face when he saw how small she looked. Severide had known Dawson for a long time, he'd seen her in some of her worst moments, but he'd never seen her looked as afraid as she did right now.
Nodding slowly, Gabby reached out for the towel, Kelly immediately putting more distance between them, unable to imagine how uncomfortable she felt right now. "I'm good, thank you."
"Of course, yeah." He told her, heading for the exit. "I'll make sure no one comes in until you're done."
"Thanks Severide." She responded before bringing the towel into the shower with her, quickly drying off before tying the material around her body tightly, Gabby not feeling secure until her body was covered.
She didn't want to let Walker get to her, she knew he only did this because he knew he got a reaction out of her; he knew he frightened her, especially in a position like this. She knew he was only messing with her because he could.
But what really worried her was she wasn't sure what he would've done had Severide not come in when he did.
Severide had his hands clenched at his sides as he paced back and forth in the hallway, his mind running all over the place. Gabby had left the bathroom a few minutes prior, giving him one last quick thank you before heading off towards the garage, Kelly having yet to leave his spot outside the door.
He was angry, beyond it actually, but he also felt so incredibly stupid.
He felt stupid for not seeing what kind of man Walker was from the beginning. Bryan had played him, he'd played everyone, and Kelly was so angry at himself for not seeing it earlier. He had no idea how he never noticed Walker's controlling behavior, how he never noticed how Gabby acted around the firefighter.
For years, Severide believed every lie he told him. Every time Walker placed blame on Dawson, every time he talked bad about her behind her back, every time he'd play off his actions as a joke; Kelly was blind to it all, and Gabby was the one who suffered.
She put up with him for years, all the while Kelly thinking Gabby was the one causing the issues between them. He'd been led to believe that she was the one causing problems. But if the last few months were any indication, Walker was the one to blame.
He knew relationships were messy, that Gabby was most likely not completely innocent in all this, but from what little he knew about some of the things Bryan had done, nothing she could've done would have warranted that. She couldn't have done anything to deserve being cheated on for over a year. And nothing would excuse him harassing her outside her own shower.
And the thing that really made his stomach sink was that for everything he did know about that Walker had done to her, he was sure there were a hundred things he had no idea of.
Shay had been right about Walker all along, and instead of trusting her instincts, he went along with Bryan because they were friends. Because he thought Shay was just being too protective. But he was wrong. Walker was an asshole, an asshole who had managed to break Gabby Dawson down, and that was something he didn't even think was possible.
The woman he just saw in the bathroom, that wasn't the Gabby he'd known since she came to 51. That wasn't the stubborn, hard-headed woman Bryan had always painted her out to be. She was timid, and unsure. That was someone who was scared of the man in front of her, someone who had every right to be scared of the man in front of her. Severide just hates that it took something like this for him to completely see that.
"Hey, you okay?" Kelly stopped his pacing, looking up to see Shay walking towards him, a look of concern covering her face. "What's going on?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing." He responded, clearing his throat. "What's up?"
Shay eyed him curiously for a moment before ultimately dropping it, crossing her arms over her chest as she met his gaze. "I need you to do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"I need you to talk to Matt."
Kelly's eyebrows furrowed, his stance mimicking the blondes. "About what?" He questioned, Shay looking around before she took a step closer to her best friend, dropping her voice.
"I need you to find out if he has feelings for Gabby."
"Shay…" Severide sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not getting involved in this."
"Please Kelly, I need to know."
"Why? Wasn't that the whole point of their… whatever you want to call it. That there were no feelings involved, it was just sex? Why are you wanting to know now if he- oh don't tell me." Shay saw the second realization settled over his face, the blonde biting down on the inside of her cheek roughly as she narrowed her eyes.
"What?"
"Dawson's falling for him, isn't she?"
"Severide-" She tried to interject, but he cut her off, shaking his head.
"I fucking knew it, I tried to tell you all that this would happen, and that it was a bad idea."
"Can you just find out, please?" She snapped, Severide's eyes narrowing in on his friend.
"What do you want me to do? Say 'Hey, Dawson's in love with you, do you love her too?'." His words caused her glare to deepen, the blonde smacking his arm roughly.
"You're not gonna say a word to him about Gabby's feelings-"
"So she does have feelings for him." He replied, Shay sucking in a frustrated breath, giving Kelly a pointed stare.
"If she finds out you know…" Shay spoke, shaking her head, Kelly watching her closely, waiting for her to continue. "Look, I'm trying to get her to talk to him, to let him know how she's feeling and what's going on, I've been trying… but she's scared." Kelly's face softened, his thoughts immediately going back to what had him so angry moments ago. "She's scared to let him in after everything Walker put her through, so I need to know if he feels the same way. Before I keep encouraging her to put herself out there, I have to know, because I won't let her get her heart broken again, Sev. She can't get her heart broken again."
Kelly sighed softly, his hand coming up to run over his mouth, the firefighter thinking over her words before eventually nodding. "Fine."
"You'll do it?"
"I'll do it." He confirmed reluctantly, Shay grinning from ear to ear as she pulled him in for a hug.
"Thank you."
"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for Dawson." He clarified as she squeezed him tightly, Shay scoffing in his ear before they pulled back.
"Like I care about the reason." She responded quickly, Severide rolling his eyes as they heard the bells ring out, calling 61 out again. "I gotta go, but thank you. You're a saint." She told him, beginning to jog down the hallway.
"Yeah, I know." He called after her, shaking his head as he watched her disappear around the corner, Severide feeling that familiar tightness form in his chest.
His brief conversation with Shay had distracted him from everything with Walker, but only for a moment, and it was like his uneasiness had come back with a vengeance. Blowing out a heavy breath, Severide made his way towards the bunkroom, needing to talk to Casey. He had every intention of trying to figure out where he stood with Dawson, but that wasn't what he needed to discuss with him right now.
Whipping the door open, Kelly stepped into the bunk room, seeing Matt walking back from the laundry room, the man unaware of his presence.
"Hey Casey." He spoke, gaining the Lieutenant's attention before he got to his office, Matt's steps slowing as he flashed Severide a smile.
"Hey man." He greeted, his smile soon fading when he saw the tense look on Severide's face. "What's wrong?"
"I need to tell you something." He spoke, Matt's eyebrows furrowing as he turned his body towards his friend, giving him a nod, urging him to continue. "And I'm not just telling you this because Dawson's your… whatever," Matt's confusion only grew, the man unsure of where this was going, "but I'm telling you because Walker is your firefighter, and you need to know." Severide saw Casey's entire body tense at the mention of Walker, Matt clenching his jaw tightly.
"What did he do?" He asked roughly.
Sighing heavily, Kelly took a step closer to Casey, Matt's worry only growing. "I went into the bathroom, and found Walker outside Dawson's shower." Matt's body went rigid, anger coursing through his system. "I didn't see the whole thing, I don't know what all happened, but Dawson called me over, she sounded upset, and when I came around the corner Walker was standing there… he was holding her towel and wouldn't give it to her."
Matt's throat tightened, his fists clenching as he tried to control his anger while Kelly continued. "I got him to leave, and I tried not to stay too long after that, cause... you know, but when I handed her towel to her, she looked scared, or she looked like she had been scared, I guess. But I thought you should know."
Drawing in a deep breath, Casey nodded, Severide able to feel the anger radiating off his body. "Thank you for letting me know." He responded sharply, shaking his head. "Ambo got called out, right?" He asked, searching for conformation, which Severide soon gave in the form of a nod. "Okay… I'm gonna go deal with this." He spoke firmly, straightening out his back before heading for the door, Kelly following close behind.
Casey walked with a purpose as he stomped down the hallway, his eyes peeled for one man in particular as he moved through the firehouse, soon finding the man in question sitting at the round table in the common room, surrounded by firefighters.
"Walker!"
Matt's booming voice startled the room, some of the men flinching at unexpected noise. Standing in the middle of the entrance, all eyes fell onto the Lieutenant, seeing anger rolling off him in waves as he stood there, all the firefighters looking at him except for one. "With me. Now."
His tone left no room for discussion, but that didn't deter Walker from trying. "I'm kind of busy, Lieutenant." He responded, unfazed by the anger directed towards him.
Narrowing his eyes, Matt stormed into the room, everyone following his movements as he came up behind Walker, forcefully grabbing him by the back of his collar and pulling him from his chair.
"Jesus Christ." Walker responded quickly, caught off guard by the firm grip of his Lieutenant. "You trying to assault another one of your firefighters? Let go of me." He spat, shrugging out of Casey's grip when he got to his feet.
"If you're going to act like a fucking child, you're going to be treated like one." Casey fired back, ignoring the wide-eyed stares from the other men in the room. "Now come on." He growled, gripping Walkers arm tightly before dragging him out of the room.
"...What just happened?" Herrmann spoke up first, Severide shaking his head before leaving the room.
In the hallway, Bryan ripped himself from Casey's hold once again as they approached Boden's office, Matt practically pushing him through the open door.
"What's going on?" Chief stood up from his desk the second Walker barreled through the doorway, Boden seeing the anger etched into his Lieutenant's face as he came in behind him.
"You wanna tell him or should I?" Casey questioned roughly, his arms crossed over his chest. Walker gave nothing but a scoff in response, Matt's eyes narrowing before he looked to Boden, seeing their Chief waiting for some explanation. "Walker was harassing Dawson-"
"Oh please." Bryan interrupted, Boden's eyes turning to his firefighter. "I wasn't harassing her, I didn't-"
"He was standing outside her shower." Matt cut in, Boden's eyes narrowing into a glare. "He had grabbed her towel and wouldn't give it to her. It took Severide kicking him out for him to leave."
"Is this true?" Boden's rough voice filled the thick air, although he already knew the answer.
Huffing out a breath, Walker straightened his spine, glancing between his two bosses. "I was just messing around, it was a joke."
Boden's eyes fell closed, the older man shaking his head as he ran his hand over his mouth.
"You think harassing people in the shower is funny?" Casey asked in disbelief, Walker rolling his eyes.
"You're not mad at me because of what I did, you're mad because of who I did it to."
"Walker." Boden warned, but the man ignored him.
"You and Dawson have this weird friendship that I'll probably never understand, but her and I have a history. From long before you were ever in the picture, so I don't give a damn what-"
"Walker!" Boden's harsh voice cut him off, Bryan clenching his neck as he glanced towards his Chief. "You're dismissed the rest of shift."
"Chief-"
"You're dismissed." He nearly barked, Walker shaking his head angrily. "That kind of behavior is never warranted. Never. This is a place where people are supposed to feel safe, and now Dawson can't even shower without worrying about you coming in there and… what? What exactly were you trying to accomplish by this little stunt?"
"I was just messing around."
"Sexually harassing a coworker is not just messing around."
"Oh, come on Chief. I didn't sexually harass anyone, it was just a joke. It's not like I tried to get into the shower with her." He replied exasperatedly, Matt shaking his head in disgust.
"What you did is sexual harassment, there's no other way to describe your actions. And that is never tolerated here. I want you to go home, and maybe think about whether you still want to have a future here. Because if something like this happens again, I'm not so sure you will." He spoke firmly, Walker clenching his jaw. "Now go."
Without another word, Walker turned on his heels, storming out of the room, Matt watching him until he was out of sight. Drawing in a deep breath, Casey glanced back towards Boden, seeing the Chief already watching him.
"Is Dawson okay?"
"I haven't seen her since before it happened, I found out from Severide." He explained, Boden nodding slowly as he ran his hand over the side of his face. "But Kelly said she looked scared, and I don't blame her. I don't know what all was said between the two of them, but Severide didn't seem to think it was anything good." Casey continued quietly.
"I don't know what he was thinking." Boden breathed out, shaking his head as Matt took a step forward.
"I'm not sure he was thinking… Or I hope he wasn't. But I think we both know that's not what happened here, he knew exactly what he was doing."
"Yeah, I know." Boden answered, releasing a heavy sigh. "I need to talk to Dawson, hear from her what all happened." He spoke, Casey nodding in response, the Lieutenant wearing a pensive look on his face. "What is it?"
"I just… I don't know what to do with him, Chief." He responded, shaking his head, meeting Boden's concerned gaze. "And I don't think this is gonna stop anytime soon."
Well… yikes. Walker's definitely pushing his luck, at Gabby's expense, and Matt seems to think things will only continue to get worse. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens from here, if Walker will back off or only escalate things.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on everything! Thank you for reading!