What if it was Gabby who died in "Real Never Waits?" My take on SS2 E22. (I know, it is different from how Shay died)

The collapse happened so fast. One second, the building was holding up. Just barely holding, but it was. The next second, the building gave out. Gabby was thrown back into a spike of pain. She couldn't tell how she was injured, but she knew it was serious. Gabby cried out, hoping Shay could help her.

Slowly, Shay regained consciousness. She groaned, "Gabby?" She called out. Shay screamed as she tried to move, her leg had a nasty laceration on it. Shay pushed past it and went to find her partner.

"Gabby! Call out!" Shay shouted. She heard a small whimper and found Gabby. When Shay saw her, she gasped. Gabby was impaled by a rusty metal pole left on the ground in the chest, and there was blood dripping everywhere.

"Gabby!" Shay got the jump bag, pulling out as much gauze as she could find, wrapping it around her wound. She grabbed her radio, shouting into it, "Mayday! Mayday! Dawson's down! Casey, where are you?"

"I know where you are, I'm on my way," Casey replied. Shay started to wrap tape around the gauze, but ran short, since it was all used on other victims, and they couldn't restock.

"Dammit!" She chucked the roll across the room in anger.

"S-Shay," Gabby breathed. Shay looked at Gabby. Gabby took in a rough breath, "It hurts so much," She cried.

"I know, Gabby, I know. Just hang on, keep those eyes open," Shay pressed on the gauze around the metal, causing Gabby to cry out.

"Shay!" Shay turned around and saw Casey making his way through the fallen debris. He reached for his radio, "Severide, get me a stokes basket and a C-Collar on the 2nd floor, Charlie side! Bring a roll of tape from our jump bag as well!"

"Copy that," Severide replied. As they got the basket ready, Casey was holding Gabby's hand, muttering soothing words to her. Gabby's eyes kept fluttering open and closed, the temptation to let them stay closed weighing heavier by the second.

"Hey, Gabby, stay awake. Keep your eyes open," Casey cupped her face in his hands. Gabby appreciated the warmth in his hands, she was freezing, shivering in fact. After Casey moved his hands, he took off his turnout coat, placing it on her waist and legs.

"Matt," Gabby was having a tough time staying awake now, "It hurts so much, Matt," He kissed her, "I know, baby, I know, but you gotta stay awake. You gotta stay awake for me, Gabby," He turned around and saw Severide. He moved his coat to cover Gabby's face and Severide broke the glass. He threw the roll of tape to Shay. Using the entire roll, she secured the gauze around Gabby's wound. Severide brought the basket in and helped Casey load Gabby onto it. Severide brought her down, Shay following, and loaded her into an ambulance on scene. Shay climbed in afterwards and the ambulance started driving.

"Shay," Gabby coughed, "T-Tell Antonio I love him for me. H-he was a great b-brother," Shay held her hand tight, "No, Gabby, that's not gonna happen," She cried. But Gabby knew. The pole had done too much damage. It had hit organs; it was a miracle she was alive right now. She had seen similar types of situations and the victims had never survived.

"I-I love you, Shay, don't ever forget that" Gabby tightened the grip she and her partner had. The ambo pulled up to Med and Gabby was taken away from Shay. Will noticed the bleeding on her leg and insisted he check her over. Shay stayed silent while Will treated her leg.

"Change the bandage every so often, don't let the stitches get wet, you know the rules. You're good to work, though. I'll make an appointment to remove the stitches," Will said to Shay. Connor Rhodes walked into the room, coming from treating a patient, who Shay guessed was Gabby.

"Shay, can I talk to you? Alone?" He looked at Will. Will took the sign easily and closed the door on his way out. Connor took a deep breath, "As you know, Gabby has suffered severe injuries. She's being prepped for surgery as we speak, but I just wanted to tell you something. We don't know the extent of her injuries, but the odds don't look good. Have 51 drive down here and her family as well. You guys should be prepared for the worst," He said softly. Connor's pager went off, and he rushed off. Shay pulled out her phone, calling her chief.

"Hello?" The gruff voice was all-too familiar for her.

"It's Shay. You guys packing up?"

"Yeah,"

"The doctors say you should be here. Connor said that Gabby's odds are low, and we should expect the worst," Shay sniffled. She heard Boden clear his throat, and yell at the rest of 51, "Everyone in your rigs and off to Med! Now!" He shouted. To Shay, he said, "You call Antonio yet?

"No. He's undercover right now, we can't get a hold of him,"

"Okay. We'll be there 5 minutes tops,"

After they arrived, they all sat down in the waiting room, in unanimous silence. They thought Gabby's surgery would take a long time, so they were surprised to see Connor come out, ripping bloody gloves off. As soon as 51 saw him, they all stood up. Shay already knew what he was going to say, though. Her mind trailed off, not listening to the words he was saying, except for one sentence.

"I'm sorry, but she died on the table," Connor looked at them sadly.

Shay could feel anger overcoming her body. Anger from the fact that she couldn't save her best friend. Her fists clenched, urging to punch something. The next thing she knew, her fist had gone through a wall, and it was now bleeding. But she didn't notice the blood.

Gabby was gone. From some stupid fire that caused a building collapse. And she never got to say goodbye. Tell Gabby everything she wanted to say. Antonio would never see his sister again. And he didn't even know that she was dead. He hadn't even seen her for weeks and now he would never see her again.

Shay swallowed. Dead. A word that would haunt her forever. Connor took Shay's hand, which she didn't notice, and wrapped it in gauze. He then left, giving 51 some needed space. Shay sat down, lost in her mind. Her mind was still trying to accept the fact that this wasn't all a dream. It wasn't a dream where she would wake up, go to work and everything was fine. No, this was reality where Gabby was dead. But she didn't want to believe that. Shay felt someone hug her, but she couldn't distinguish who it was. She felt several hands pat her back and rub her shoulder.

Shay had failed Gabby. They had once made a promise to take care of each other, but Shay couldn't keep it. Shay stood up, running out of the hospital. She could feel tears streaming down her face as she ran. It took Shay several minutes to realize she didn't know where she was going. She knew her way around Chicago, so she knew where she was, but Shay was in a random place. She slowed down, noticing how tired she was. She sat down on a nearby bench, her head in her hands. Her breathing was shallow, streams falling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Gabby!" She cried, "I'm so sorry!" Shay would never see her best friend again. Shay just sat there crying silently, hearing the murmurs of passersby. Shay ignored them, not in the mood to tell them off, like she normally would.

"Hi," Shay looked up to see a little boy in front of her. Shay smiled, just a little. Enough so the boy would know that his presence was welcome. A father quickly rushed to get his child, "I'm so sorry, he wandered off. Are you okay?" He saw her tears. Shay sniffled, wiping her tears away, "Rough workday. I'm just not coping well right now," The mother of the boy came and got her son, while the father sat down beside Shay.

"I'm Avi. I know I have no right to ask this, but do you want to talk about it? It's not good to hide feelings inside, they're going to come out and it's going to feel worse than it does now," He said. Shay sniffled again, trying to not burst out in tears. She stayed silent, but she really did want to talk about it. Avi must have seen this and gently asked, "Let's start with something simple. Where do you work?"

"Firehouse 51 as a paramedic," Shay mumbled. Avi nodded, "You enjoy it?"

"Yeah. Been a paramedic for a long time,"

"Who's your partner?"

"G-Gabby Dawson," Shay inhaled shakily. Avi smiled, "I know her brother, Antonio. I don't think I ever met her, though,"

"You a cop?" Shay asked. Avi shook his head, "Shot in the line of duty. Limited mobility in my right arm,"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Shay muttered, "There was a fire today," She said. Avi looked at her with soft eyes, "Did anything happen?"

"F-Floor collapse," Shay started to cry; her emotions were coming out, "We were trying to save a victim, a-and she was thrown back. Impaled by a m-metal pole. I-I couldn't save her," Shay was completely in tears now. Her emotions were flying high now, she wasn't able to control it. Avi gently pulled her in for a hug, letting Shay cry into his shoulder. After a few minutes of crying, Shay wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, embarrassed. Avi shook his head, "It's okay. You needed to let your feelings out," He rubbed her shoulder, "Do you live nearby? I can drive you back," Shay told him to go to 51 and he drove her back. Shay walked into the Firehouse, seeing everyone moping around. Kelly was the first to notice she was back and pulled her into a hug. It wasn't a happy hug. It was a 'you're back' kind of hug. He kissed the top of her head, handing her a plate of food that was made earlier.

"I don't wanna eat," She mumbled to Kelly. He nodded, "I know. Just a bit, please. For me," Shay complied, only eating as much as she knew that Kelly would be satisfied with. Boden then came out of his office, "51, listen up! I took us out of service for the rest of shift, you aren't gonna work well in this condition. Go home, get some rest, then come back," He could feel the mood in the room, and he continued, "Look, I know things aren't gonna be the same around here. They never will. But we must lean on each other. She wouldn't want us to fall apart. She would want us to remember her for what she was. A hero,"