Authors Note: This is my first Chicago Fire story so I hope I did it justice. This story is completely written and will be coming out pretty quickly. Make sure to follow it to get the newest updates! I love getting reviews so please make sure to leave them for me to read!
Happy Reading!
Brett POV
I'm trying not to dwell on the events of the afternoon, but it's difficult with the pain radiating in my cheek. I'm glad we were routed to Lakeshore for the last drop off rather than to Chicago Med. I hope I never see Craig again after his reaction today. I can only image what Casey would say if he knew about this afternoon. I can picture Casey going to find him the moment he realizes he put his hands on me. "Mackey can you do me a favor?" I ask her.
"Sure Brett. What's up?" she replies.
"Can you not tell anyone about what happened today?" I ask her knowing I'm asking a lot of her.
"You're not going to put it into your report?" Mackey asks me shocked.
"Maybe I'll sit on my report until next shift and make a decision with some time on what I want to do. If I put it in the report CFD will make me press charges. I just want some time to talk to Casey and Boden about it first," I tell her honestly. I have no clue how I'm even going to talk to Casey about this. I wish I could just pretend that it never happened.
"I'll give you until next shift to tell Casey, but I think it needs to go into the report. If this blows back on you for some reason it's better that CFD knows what's going on just in case," Mackey tells me patting me on the arm.
"Thank you. I have no clue how to even broach this conversation with him. He's going to go all Captain Casey and try to find him to make him pay. I just want to forget and move on but I don't think I have any option at this point. I'll go to Boden when we get back and talk to him about it," I tell her, finally coming to a decision. I hope Boden will respect my boundaries and not tell Casey, but I honestly don't know at this point. I run all the possibilities through my head all the way until we make it back to 51. "Here goes nothing," I tell her, jumping out of the rig and heading towards Boden's office. I run into Kylee outside of Boden's office. "Hey Kylee, do you know if Chief Boden is free for a few moments?" I ask her looking on towards his office.
"Yeah. I think the rest of his afternoon is clear. Head on in," she tells me. I make my way to Boden's office and poke my head inside to draw his attention.
"Chief, do you have some time for me to talk with you about something?" I ask him shakily.
Boden's eyes leave some paperwork on his desk and come to meet mine. He offers me a light smile before responding, "Sure Brett. Come on in." I walk through the doorway and turn to close the door behind me. "What can I help you with?" he asks me as I make my way to a seat in front of his desk.
"Chief, I need to discuss something sensitive with you. I know I need to put it in my report, but I don't want to cause any more trouble. I also don't want Casey to know because, well, you know how protective he can be of his team members. I really just need your advice on what to do from here," I confess trying not to cry.
"Are you okay Sylvie?" he asks me directly.
"I'm fine Chief," I whisper as tears surface in my eyes.
"I'll do my best to respect your privacy, but please remember that sometimes my hands are tied. Take your time and tell me when you're ready," he tells me, offering me a soft smile.
"We had that call earlier about the capsized boat," I begin. He nods his head, but remains quiet for me to continue. "There were two brothers on the boat. One Squad retrieved very quickly, but the other was in the water, under the water, for over five minutes. I called another ambulance for the first brother, Craig, while we waited for the other. When 44 was getting ready to load him up he told me to save his brother or he was going to hold me responsible. I brushed it off because I get it you know. You're scared, you don't want your family to die, and again I understand the feeling. We got the brother after him being in the water all that time and we couldn't save him Chief. I heard Will tell Craig that he had succumbed to his injuries and I felt horrible that we couldn't do more. I told Gallo and Mackey that I was going to go give our condolences. Gallo went to the rig to take back the gurney and Mackey waited outside the door for me. I told him how sorry I was that we couldn't save his brother. I told him I did everything I could to help but it ultimately wasn't enough. That's when it happened, Chief. He struck me," I finish, tears pouring down my face. I can see the shock register on Chief's face, but I don't wait for his reaction. "I don't want to press charges. I've thought about it and I understand this was his reaction to a horrible day. I don't think him going to jail for assault is going to help him in any way. It was wrong, but I know he will come to his senses in a couple of days. I just need to know how to fill out my report properly to cover myself without ruining his life," I finish.
"Sylvie, are you sure you're okay? That's the first thing I need to know," he asks me gently.
"It's fine Chief. Nothing is broken. It'll bruise more than likely, but nothing makeup can't cover," I reply, still crying slightly.
"Sylvie, this man hit you and that is not okay regardless of what has happened in his life at that moment. I think you need to file charges with CPD. This has to go in your report Sylvie, but they will assume it's been handled here at the house. They won't verify charges. You need to think of your safety," Chief lectures me.
"I know it isn't okay. I'm just trying to give the man a chance to heal from what he's feeling," I tell him trying to back him off the ledge.
"Sylvie, I need Casey and Severide to know what's going on. They need to keep an eye on you while you're out," Boden tells me.
"Please don't. Casey will go nuclear about it and I don't want him doing that. He heard the guy threaten me and almost lost it then," I beg hoping he will back down.
"Let's compromise. We tell Severide so he can keep an eye on you during your calls and ride with you to all the calls I'm not available to. Does that sound fair?" Boden asks me grumpily. I nod my head even though I don't really want Severide to know either. Boden picks up his phone and dials Kylee "Can you have Severide meet me in my office ASAP?" he asks her before hanging up the phone a moment later. "I'm so sorry this happened Sylvie," he tells me after a few moments of silence. I can't bring myself to look up at him as the tears come down even harder. I jump when I hear a knock at the door proving to myself that I'm more afraid than what I've been admitting to myself.
"Chief, you asked for me?" Severide says, poking his head in the door.
"I did. Come in. Shut the door. Have a seat please," he instructs him. I see Kelly's legs settle into the chair beside me before I look up into his eyes.
"Brett? You alright?" he asks me immediately, seeing the tears falling from my face.
"Yes. I'll be okay. Thank you," I reply, wiping my eyes gently trying to avoid agitating my cheek bone.
"There's something that Brett and I would like to discuss with you, but it needs to remain in this room. No one else in this house can be notified without express permission from both myself and Sylvie including all other Lieutenants," Chief explains. I see as Kelly looks between me and Boden before nodding his head in agreement. "As I'm sure you are aware, the second patient from the boat accident this afternoon was pronounced dead at the hospital. Sylvie went in to check on the brother and offer condolences for the firehouse and he struck her," Chief continues.
"What?!" Kelly shouts immediately, turning his attention to me. "Brett are you okay?" he asks me again angrily.
"I'm fine. I don't feel anything broken. It's just going to be a bruise," I whisper, avoiding eye contact.
"Brett has requested not to press charges and has asked that we keep this quiet. I asked her to let me tell you so that you could help keep an eye on her while you're on calls with her," Boden explains further.
"Sylvie, Casey needs to know about this. He wouldn't want you to hide this from him. If this happened to Stella and she didn't tell me, I would be devastated. Take a few days if you need to, but you need to let him know," Kelly tells me, reaching out and pulling me into a hug. "I've got you though. This son of a bitch won't get anywhere near you when you're with me. I promise."
"I just don't want to upset him. I'll tell him in a few days once I've had time to compose myself," I tell them both. I take a glance at my watch and realize it's nearly eight p.m. "If it's okay with you guys I'm going to take a shower and get ready to go lay down," I add.
"Sure, get some rest, but let me know if you need anything," Boden says, standing to his feet and heading over to open the door for me. I take one last glance at Severide and Boden and leave to head to the showers.
Casey POV
"Has anyone seen Brett?" I ask the crew huddled in the common room.
"I think I saw her in Boden's office about twenty minutes ago," Gallo says settling at the table next to me with a few snacks. Why is Sylvie with Boden I wonder. I head towards Boden's office and see the door shut and I do indeed see the back of Sylvie's head and Kelly as well. I'm about to head over to ask if I need to join when I see Boden get to his feet followed by Brett. I step out of sight and tuck into a corner of the hallway where I can't be seen. A moment later Brett comes out by herself heading down the hallway. I can tell she's been crying and I'm concerned. I'm not sure if I want to go to Boden and ask what's going on or if I should just follow Sylvie and ask her. I take a few moments to mull it over before I decide I need to rely on Sylvie to talk to me instead of going to Boden. I give her a few minutes before I decide to go on a hunt to find her. I head to my quarters first, but I find them empty. I take a glance over towards her bunk and yet again find it empty. I decided to head into the locker room to see if I can find her here. I hear the shower in the back stall running so I head into the showers. "Hey Sylvie is that you?" I call out.
"Yeah it's me Matt," she answers immediately. She doesn't sound like she's crying anymore, but I'm still worried about her. I strip off my clothes and slip into the shower with her. I can tell she is surprised when she feels my arms come around behind her. "What are you doing?" she chuckles at me.
"You seem off and I wanted to come check on you," I tell her honestly.
She stares at me for a moment before answering, "it's just been a rough day. You don't need to worry about me. What you should be worried about is what Boden is going to have to say if he catches us in the shower together at work."
"Let's make it quick then. Let's get showered then you can come to sleep in my quarters with me again," I tell her pulling her into my arms and laying her head on my shoulder with the water cascading down her back. She's downright beautiful inside and out. I thank God every day that she is mine and that I finally get the chance to love her the way I've wanted to for so long. I release her after a few moments like this so we can both get showered quickly and get ready for bed. I pray to God that he lets us go all night without a call so that I can keep her to myself again.
We've finished our showers, uncaught in our secrets, and have headed back to my quarters. I make sure to draw the blinds, but it's clear to the rest of the firehouse that she's in here with me and has been for the last few nights on this shift. I lay down on my bunk on my back and cradle her in my arms as tightly as I can until we both drift off to sleep.
Brett POV
I wake up the next morning before Matt does and step out into the bunk room to head to the bathroom. Everyone except Mackey is asleep so I tiptoe quietly around trying to avoid waking them up. I do my business in the restroom, but run into Mackey as I step out of the stall. "Brett, your cheek," she tells me with a look of shock on her face. I step up to the mirror and see the large purple bruise covering my left cheek.
"Oh no! I have to get this covered before Matt sees it!" I tell her. I reach for the door to go grab my makeup when I hear someone outside of the restrooms talking.
"You stay here," Mackey says, "I'll go grab your makeup out of your locker for you so you don't run into anyone." This girl is my life saver for sure. I head back into a stall and hide there until Mackey returns with my makeup. "Here girl I have it and the door is locked," she tells me knocking on my stall door.
"Thank you! Now I have to work my magic with this and hope it's not too hard to cover," I tell her. She takes my phone from my hand and takes a picture of my face. "You need to show this to Boden so he has proof of the damage from the incident. How did he take it yesterday?" she asks me as I begin dabbing concealer over the large bruise.
"He wants me to press charges and wants me to tell Casey, but he's giving me time and space to do so. I put it in my report and it has been filed already. He also made me tell Severide so he could keep an eye on me if we had any calls last night. I have no idea how we got the whole night call free, but I'm not complaining," I tell her, chuckling slightly.
"I can't remember the last time we got a full night of sleep in this house! You're right, it was great!" Mackey replies. I finish dabbing on the makeup and turn to look at Mackey for her approval. "It doesn't look too bad. It's not like you to wear so much makeup, but the shade is so similar to your actual face that I honestly doubt Casey will notice much," she reassures me. I throw all my makeup back in my bag and head out to the common room to grab some breakfast. If I can just make it until shift ends at noon today I can buy myself a few days at home solo until the bruising heals the majority of the way. If I go out to see Casey I can just make sure to have my makeup done well. I take a seat beside Stella placing my bowl of Mini Wheats on the table.
"Did you do something else with your makeup today?" Stella asks me randomly.
"I bought some new foundation and figured I'd go for a glam look this morning since we'll be off soon anyway. Do you like it?" I ask her nervously.
"Yeah Girl! It looks great. I was just surprised because you don't wear makeup often," she replies, turning her attention back to Kelly and Gallo. I breathe a sigh of relief because if Stella didn't see the bruise then I know for sure that Casey won't see it either. I'm finishing my bowl of cereal when I see Boden step out to place his own bowl into the sink. I see Casey finally enter the common room and grab a bowl of cereal. He's on his way to sit next to me when I call out to Boden.
"Chief, do you have a moment?" I ask him before he sneaks back into the hallway towards his office.
"Sure do. Walk with me," Boden replies, motioning towards his office. I grab my bowl and place it in the sink before following behind Boden. I see Casey give me an odd look before turning his attention to Kelly who shrugs his shoulders. I should have waited a little longer till Casey was distracted more.
"I won't take much of your time Chief. I just wanted to send you a picture for you to put into the folder for evidence in case we needed it later," I tell him.
"It doesn't look too bad this morning. I'm assuming if you have a photo it's because you put makeup over it this morning. Is that correct?" he asks me, reaching for my phone. I nod, handing him my phone with the photo on the screen. "Brett this is bad! You're sure it's not broken?" he questions me again.
"I didn't feel any cracks and nothing was dislodged. It hurts to move my cheek, but it isn't impossible. Nothing is broken Chief. Do you need this picture?" I answer him before following up with my question.
"Yes I do. Send it to my email and I'll print it and place it in the file," he tells me, effectively dismissing me. I take the cue, send him the email, and head back into the common room for the next three hours.
"Ambulance 61, Man in distress, 139 Walnut Street," the operator announces with the bells going off. For the first time in a long time, I really hope we have a busy morning so I can keep some distance from Casey. I run out the doors to the rig and off Mackey and I go.
Casey POV
I see Brett follow Boden back to his office again and my concern for something being wrong is growing. I turn my attention to Kelly who is sitting at the end of the table talking to Stella. "Severide, is there something going on I need to know about?" I ask him directly. He immediately drops my eye contact and looks to Stella before returning them to me.
"Casey, everything is okay. Trust me that I'll handle whatever I have to," he says, being very vague.
"Is Brett okay?" I ask him directly again.
"She's fine. Don't worry. Everything is under control," he tries to reassure me without giving me any further details. It's confirmed, something is going on with Brett and no one is sharing. I know I worry too much about her, but I can't let her slip through my fingers. I've waited long enough to finally get this chance with her and I'll do anything I have to not to lose it.
Ambulance 61 doesn't make it back to the firehouse until almost 11:45 which is just about the time we switch off with the next team in the house. I've been dying to be close to Sylvie hoping she will tell me what's going on. She darts directly into the locker room to start packing her bag as soon as her and Mackey are back in the house.
"Hey, want to come with me to Molly's tonight then maybe come home with me and spend the night?" I ask her hoping she will say yes.
"Yeah sure! I'm gonna go home for a few hours and get my apartment picked up, but I can meet you there at seven tonight if that works for you," she replies, wrapping her arms around me.
"Seven sounds good to me," I tell her, kissing her forehead before releasing her to finish grabbing her stuff for her bag. As soon as she's ready to go I walk her out to her car and head home to clean the apartment before she comes over later.
Casey POV
I make it to Molly's at about 6:45 that evening to wait on Sylvie. I've spent most of the afternoon preparing things for tonight. She's been so down about losing that patient yesterday that I wanted to do something special for her. I cleaned the whole apartment, put satin sheets on my bed and put flameless flickering candles around my bed. I made sure to pick up her favorite red velvet cake from the bakery and some flowers for her side of the bed. I want Sylvie to know and feel how much I love her. I grab two beers from the bar before having a seat at her favorite table to wait for her. I see the rest of the firehouse slowly showing up as I wait for her. Mouch, Ritter, and Gallo are already in some heated discussion about old firefighter ways versus new firefighter ways. I glance another look at my watch and see it's 7:15. I pull out my phone and decide to send Sylvie a text when I see that she hasn't called me or texted me.
'Everything okay? Was I supposed to pick you up?'
Stella and Severide come in and join me at the table. "Where is Brett tonight?" Stella asks me.
"I don't know," I reply confused. "She told me earlier that she would meet me here at seven, but I haven't heard from her and she isn't responding to my messages. Kelly's eyes grow wide and I can tell he's nervous.
"Try calling her," he says immediately, not offering any explanation. I don't question him, I just pull my phone out again and call her immediately. It rings four times before going to voicemail again.
"Casey we need to go check on her," Kelly says, jumping off his stool and grabbing his coat. "Stella, are you good here until I get back?" he asks her quickly.
"Yeah! Go Go. Let me know when you find anything out," she replies to him ushering him towards the door. We run to Kelly's car down the block and I jump in the passenger seat as quickly as I can.
"Severide! What the hell is going on?!" I yell at him pissed.
"I'm not supposed to say anything because Boden ordered me, but I feel like this is important. Remember that guy from the boat incident yesterday?" Kelly asks me, shaking his head clearly struggling with breaking a direct order from Boden.
"You mean that Craig guy?" I ask him, confused.
"Yeah. Apparently he threatened Brett yesterday on scene," Kelly begins.
"Yeah and?" I cut him off already knowing this part of the story. "Wait, you think this has something to do with him? She told me that she thought he was just angry and that it would blow over," I say trying to figure out where he is going with this.
"Apparently Sylvie went to give him our condolences while he was in the hospital and he hit her. He almost broke her cheekbone. That's what we were talking about in Boden's office," he informs me, clearly waiting for my outburst.
"He fucking hit her?! You guys didn't tell me?!" I yell at him angrily. How could my best friend, my Leitenant, my Chief, let someone hit the love of my life and not fucking tell me.
"She begged us not to. She didn't want to file charges and said she wanted a few days to tell you, but I'm worried he's gone after her tonight," he tells me. I don't know what to say so I choose to say nothing. My mind is reeling after the information that I've just been given. We pull up outside of Brett's apartment building and Kelly and I jump out. I climb the stairs up to the third floor where Sylvie's apartment is. I knock on the door, but there is no answer. I pull my keys out of my pocket and use the key she gave me to let myself and Kelly inside. The apartment is completely dark other than a lamp in the corner of the room. I can see that something has occurred here because there is broken glass in the kitchen and the living room looks disheveled.
"Sylvie? It's Matt. Are you here?" I call out to her hoping she's here. Her apartment is eerily quiet. I walk around the apartment looking room by room searching for her. Panic is beginning to set in as I get to the last room of her apartment and realize that she isn't here. Severide flicks on the lights for the living room and I'm shocked by the sight that I see. There is a large blood stain on one of the cushions and I can fully see the extent of the damage to the living room. "Kelly, we need to call the police!" I shout out. Kelly immediately pulls his phone out of his pocket and immediately begins making a phone call. I take another lap around the apartment trying to piece together what may have happened here. I'm so angry that this all happened. If Severide and Boden had just told me what had happened I would have been with her tonight and she would have been safe. I find Sylvie's phone laying in the bathroom so I crouch down and pick it up off the floor. I type in her passcode to see if she has any recent calls or texts that might give me a clue as to where she is. When I open her phone lock screen I see my phone contact up on the screen. My attention is pulled as Kelly enters the bathroom.
"I just talked to Jay. The intelligence team will be here in a few. Jay said not to touch anything," Severide tells me patting me on the shoulder gently. "I'm really sorry Casey. If I had thought it was this bad I would have let you know," he adds.
"I wish you would have. She was trying to call me," I tell him, showing him the screen of Sylvie's phone. A feeling of dread washes over me unlike any feeling I've had before. I'm not sure if it's the anger that both my Chief and my best friend let the love of my life get hurt, the fact that she was trying to call me for help, or the fact that I have to deal with Voight to get her back but I hate this whole thing. I place Sylvie's phone on the floor where I found it and stand back up. I look Kelly in the eyes and shake my head before stepping past him towards the living room. "You might want to call Boden," I add.