See, this is what happens when I really get into something. I start pumping out updates in less than 24 hours. And "Rattle Second City" going into "That Kind Of Heat" . . . that's something I'm really into.

Sylvie gets reinforcements and panics to her boys, Buck worries, Christopher is a national treasure, Matt and Kelly give Sylvie heart attacks, then she returns the favor. Also, I'm wibbly-wobbly with the timey-wimey (and canon) because this is fanfiction.

Enjoy the end of "Rattle Second City!"

***

Sylvie leaned against the wall of the building, tapping her fingers anxiously against her envelopes. When she heard footsteps down the hall, she tensed in anticipation. When Matt rounded the corner, she relaxed. "Hey," he said, eyeing the open door. "Sev's right behind me." He looked behind him quickly, the faint sound of a door shutting filling the hall, then he looked back at Sylvie. "You go in yet?" She silently shook her head. "You hear anything?"

She shook her head again as Kelly finally appeared, his keys in his hands. "You OK?" he asked in concern.

Sylvie took a deep breath, looking at her door. "Ask me in a few minutes."

"Yeah, good idea," Kelly looked at the door as if the door itself was a threat. "Case? How do you wanna do this?"

Matt cautiously stepped forward, then slowly nudged the door open. He peered inside the dark apartment, then reached for the light switch. The light bathed the room, and as Matt looked towards the kitchen, he silently pointed down the hall towards the bedroom. Kelly nodded and slipped past him, and Sylvie walked in behind Matt, taking her duffel off. Matt finished checking the kitchen area, then walked back, shaking his head. A few seconds later, Kelly returned, shaking his head. "I don't think anyone's been in here," the lieutenant said.

"I didn't leave my door open," Sylvie insisted.

Both men nodded, believing her. "Talk to the landlord?" Matt suggested.

"I left messages," Sylvie shrugged.

Kelly scratched his head, thinking hard. "Think it could've been Halleck?" he asked.

Matt looked at him sharply. "You think he could've gotten that information?"

"I'm trying to think of a worst-case scenario," Kelly shrugged. "I don't want to think it could be him."

Sylvie shuddered at the thought of that man in her apartment, and Matt clenched his jaw. "Well, in that case . . . you got an extra pillow?"

"Or two?" Kelly asked, making Sylvie blink. "And blankets."

Matt turned to him, smirking. "Rock paper scissors for the couch?"

Kelly snorted. "Hey, I'm staying with my favorite girl. I don't care where I sleep."

Sylvie looked back and forth between them, absolutely bewildered, and Matt gave her a look. "We're staying," he told her. "Till we hear back either from your landlord if he was changing out the disposal, or we hear from CPD that they have Joe Halleck in custody."

Sylvie opened her mouth, turning to Kelly, who raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't even argue."

Sylvie shut her mouth with a click. "Fine," she smiled at them. "I will get you pillows." She placed her duffel by the door, then walked forward and hugged both men tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

Kelly rubbed her back, pressing a light kiss to her neck. "Any time."

"Like we had a choice," Matt joked.

Sylvie grinned, bounding towards her linens closet, leaving Matt and Kelly to glance around the apartment warily.

***

Cocker Spaniel: Impromptu sleepover at the Brett apartment.

Cocker Spaniel: Please send help.

Grumpy Cat: Sorry, pulling a night shift. Can't.

Cocker Spaniel: Screw you, TK.

Grumpy Cat: I'm not your type.

Buck frowned at his phone, closing Eddie's fridge a little slower than he usually would.

Golden Retriever: What prompted the sleepover?

Golden Retriever: And who's sleeping over?

Cocker Spaniel: My apartment was open when I got back from shift.

Grumpy Cat: Uh oh.

Cocker Spaniel: Who do you think the first people I called were?

Grumpy Cat: Arsonist Chasers 1 and 2?

Golden Retriever: Please tell me those are their names in your phone.

Cocker Spaniel: No, they aren't.

Cocker Spaniel: But TK's correct.

Grumpy Cat: I don't see the problem.

Cocker Spaniel: Dude!

Golden Retriever: Are you worried it's Halleck?

Cocker Spaniel: Buck, I can't tell if you're serious or joking.

Golden Retriever: Serious.

Golden Retriever: Do you think it's this Halleck guy?

Cocker Spaniel: That's the worst-case scenario.

Grumpy Cat: Best case?

Cocker Spaniel: My landlord.

Grumpy Cat: I hope they would've closed the door when they left.

Cocker Spaniel: Me, too.

Golden Retriever: In the meantime, you get a sleepover with Matt and Kelly.

Cocker Spaniel: Yes.

Golden Retriever: The two guys you have crushes on.

Cocker Spaniel: See my problem now?

Grumpy Cat: No.

Cocker Spaniel: TK!

Grumpy Cat: You get a free sleepover with your crushes!

Cocker Spaniel: This isn't exactly the context I would want for a sleepover!

Buck couldn't help it. He burst out laughing at Sylvie's text, trying hard to cut it off. "Buck?" Christopher called from the living room.

"What brought that on?" Eddie asked, leaning against the wall with a frown.

"Sorry," Buck shook his head, shoulders shaking as he walked over. "TK and I are teasing Sylvie about something."

"Who?" Eddie frowned.

"Sylvie and TK are Bucky's new friends!" Christopher chirped, smiling as Buck entered the room. "They're awesome!"

"Yeah, they are, buddy," Buck smiled, ruffling his hair. "Though Sylvie's in a bit of a rough patch right now."

"Is she the paramedic who had that bad ambulance call?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, that's her," Buck nodded. "Turns out when she got home from shift, her apartment door was open. She closed it when she went to work."

"Oh, no," Eddie gulped.

"Yeah," Buck nodded. "So her captain and lieutenant are spending the night with her just in case."

"That's nice of them," Eddie nodded.

Buck snorted. "Oh, that's an understatement."

Eddie frowned in confusion. "OK . . . what aren't I getting?"

"Nothing I'd share without Sylvie's permission," Buck shook his head.

"I hope she's OK," Christopher frowned, fiddling with his hands.

"I'll tell her you said that, Superman," Buck smiled, texting on his phone. "I think she'd appreciate that."

Golden Retriever: Christopher says he hopes you'll be OK, Sylvie.

Grumpy Cat: That kid is a national treasure.

Golden Retriever: Tell me something I don't know.

***

The completely befuddled look on Matt's face had Kelly in hysterics as he sat on Sylvie's coffee table, Sylvie struggling to hold her laughter in as she held her phone above her head, waiting for Matt's clues. "That, I . . . " Matt struggled, then shook his head. "No," he finally said. "Pass."

"No!" Sylvie pouted, dropping her phone into her lap and glaring at Matt. "You cannot keep passing!"

"I told you, I'm terrible at accents!" Matt protested.

"In Matt's defense, that one did say Yiddish," Kelly chortled, holding his hand over his mouth.

Sylvie raised an eyebrow challengingly. "What's the excuse for the Boston or Transylvanian accents, then?"

Kelly paused. "Sorry, Matt."

"Screw you, Kelly!" Matt glared.

"Oh, yeah?" Kelly smirked. "I dare you to do the next one. If you do, no matter what, I'll do the one after you."

Sylvie turned her pout back to Matt, who huffed. "Fine," he nodded. "I promise." Sylvie nodded, then put her phone back on her forehead. "Oh, jeez," he groaned, reading the accent he had to do.

"Oh, come on!" Kelly rolled his eyes as Sylvie glowered.

"OK, OK, OK," Matt held up his hands, scooting back on the couch. "Um . . . " He considered what to say, then grimaced and spoke in an exaggerated accent. "That's a stable table you have there, mate!"

Kelly choked on the sip of beer he took, and Sylvie bit her lip to try not to laugh. "Australian?" she squeaked.

"Yes!" Matt whooped, raising his fists in the air triumphantly. "Yes!"

Sylvie finally lost her battle with her laughter, doubling over where she sat, almost knocking heads with Kelly, who was laughing just as hard. "That . . . " she wheezed. "Was so, so terrible!"

"Oh?" Matt gawked, unable to keep from smiling as he looked between his two best friends. "And you are . . . a very mean person! Know that?"

"Yeah," Sylvie giggled.

"You do?" Matt scoffed. "OK. Good."

Kelly guffawed. "How much have you had to drink, Matt?"

"Apparently not as much as you!" he retorted.

Sylvie let her laughter die down, looking between the two firefighters as they mockingly glared at each other. In less than two hours, they had distracted her completely from the potential scare regarding who opened her apartment. Just the way they smiled at her made the rest of the world disappear . . . and while that made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world, it scared her to death, too. So when they looked at her with those wide smiles, she ducked her head bashfully, checking the time on the wall. "It's really late," she whispered, clearing her throat. "Um . . . Matt, you're probably right, I'm sure it was just the landlord. Neither of you have to – "

"Just stop right there," Kelly held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks.

Matt nodded in agreement. "We're staying, Sylvie."

Sylvie looked between both of them one last time. It was Matt, that time, who raised his eyebrows challengingly, Kelly giving her a daring smirk. She finally nodded, conceding a battle she knew she had lost hours ago. "OK," she smiled at them. "Thank you again."

"Of course," Matt smiled back.

Kelly stood from the table, twisting in place. "I'll recycle that," he held out his hand for Matt's beer bottle.

Matt handed it over, and Kelly headed over to the kitchen as Sylvie picked up the pile of blankets and pillows from the chair nearby. She turned back to Matt, and a mischievous smile formed. "G'night," she gave her worst Australian accent, trying hard to contain her laughter at the offended look Matt gave her. "Sweet dreams, mate!"

Matt squawked, and Sylvie burst out laughing. "OK, that's worse than mine, and you know it!"

"You're both awful!" Kelly declared, walking back in as Sylvie cackled.

She backed up, watching Matt shove one pillow and blanket at Kelly, muttering "Sweet dreams, mate" under his breath as he set up the couch. Sylvie watched them fondly, enjoying seeing Kelly rib Matt before she disappeared to her own room.

***

Cocker Spaniel: {Image: Sylvie sneaking a picture in the mirror at a coffee shop. She, Matt, and Kelly were in their CFD jackets.}

Cocker Spaniel: I survived, boys.

Golden Retriever: That's our girl!

Sylvie grinned, pocketing her phone as she exited her car, Kelly and Matt exiting Kelly's car behind her. "Thanks for the coffee, guys," she added.

"No problem," Matt casually slung an arm over her shoulders.

Kelly watched them head into the common room, then turned when he noticed Mouch and Herrmann on the drive with reporters and cameras. "What's that about?" he asked the Squad table.

"Something to do with a patio opening behind Molly's," Tony shrugged.

Kelly blinked. "There's a patio opening behind Molly's?"

Joe smirked. "Ritter had the exact same reaction, and Herrmann hated it."

Kelly laughed. "Guess we have a new place to hang out after shift, huh?"

"Mmhmm," Joe nodded, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee.

Kelly frowned, seeing Capp not even bothering to hide his smirk. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"You, Casey, and Brett showing up at the same time?" Capp grinned.

"You and Casey bolted pretty quickly," Tony added.

Kelly sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sylvie thought her apartment was broken into." Joe spat his coffee back into his mug, making Tony scoot back. "We camped out at her place."

"Is she OK?" Joe demanded, Capp looking towards the common room with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "Nothing happened, thankfully." He smirked. "Except learning Casey does a horrible Aussie accent."

"Oh, really?" Capp grinned.

"Really," Kelly snickered.

The bells chimed, and when their rig was the first named, Kelly clapped his hands. "Let's go!"

***

Pyrotechnics in a photography studio was something Matt absolutely hated. The fire ripped through the building quickly, and it seemed like for every civilian he found, three were left to be rescued.

So when Stella told him she saw two civilians going the wrong way, Matt didn't hesitate. "Take this woman out, and I'll – "

"No, no, no, no, no!" Stella shook her head. "I got 'em, all right?"

"Kidd, this building's running out of time," Matt snapped. "Take her and go!"

He could see her clench her jaw, but she finally obeyed his order, grabbed the model, and headed down the hose line. Matt watched her go to make sure she didn't follow him, then he turned in the direction he saw her point. He moved through the building, squinting through the flames, then saw the familiar flash of silver armbands bordered by red on his best friend's coat. "Severide!" he shouted to be heard.

"Doing one last sweep, Casey!" Kelly yelled back.

Matt nodded, twisting when he heard faint calls to his left. Two models were weakly reaching for him, and he crossed the room as quickly as he could. Just as he reached the models, a loud crack made him instinctively duck and cover his head. When he turned around, his eyes widened when he saw flames roar from the room he had just seen Kelly duck through. "Severide!" he called.

He didn't hear a response, and when the models' begging became hoarse, he turned around and rushed to them. "All right," he held out his hands, grasping their arms and steadying them. "Come on."

"Fire department! Call out!"

Matt thanked the firefighting gods when he heard his candidate shout over the flames. "Over here!" he called. "Help these two!"

Gallo appeared in the doorway, taking one of the women. "This way, this way!" he urged. "Can you walk?"

"Come with us," Mouch wrapped an arm around the other. "Go ahead, go ahead. Stay low, stay low. Heads down!"

Matt watched them go, then trudged across the building to where he had seen the doorframe collapse. "Severide!" he called. "Severide, you OK in there?" He peered through the glass, and his eyes widened when he saw Kelly slumped on the ground, mask off, his PASS alarm wailing. "Kelly!" he banged on the glass. "Kelly, can you hear me?" Kelly winced, and Matt grabbed his radio. "Mayday, mayday! Severide's down!"

"Do you have eyes on Severide?" Boden demanded.

"Yes, but I can't get to him!" Matt responded.

"Kidd, where are you?"

"Outside changing air bottles, Chief!" Stella answered, sounding angry.

Sorry, Kidd, Matt thought. Not sure how much I would trust you with Sev, considering how uncomfortable he's started to feel around you. "Casey, can you get to him?" Boden asked.

Matt looked around. The door was no option, he knew that right away. His eyes landed on a statue nearby, and he compared the height of the statue to the distance to the wall. "I'm gonna try something," he answered.

"You got two minutes," Boden told him.

Matt nodded, rounding the statue and looking it up and down. After determining the tipping point, he leaned up against the statue, pushing with all his might. He grunted with the effort, putting as much as he could into pushing. Finally, the statue tipped and crashed through the wall, sending plaster everywhere. It was more than enough for Matt to grab the axe he brought with him and rip apart the wall, enough for him to climb through. "Kelly!" he yelled.

"Emergency!" Boden's voice could barely be heard over the flames lashing around him. "All companies evacuate the building immediately! Evacuate now!"

Matt finally found his friend collapsed under metal shelving, and he hurried over, finding his PASS alarm, and his oxygen mask. "Kelly," he sighed in relief, grabbing the mask and placing it over his face.

Kelly coughed, then blinked up at him. "What took you so long?"

Matt glared. "You are paying for that, Sev." He grasped one end of the shelving. "Come on!" Kelly pushed from below, and Matt shoved the shelving aside. The captain watched in satisfaction as it crumbled away, then he grabbed his axe. "OK, we gotta go!"

Kelly shook his head. "There's someone in here!"

***

Sylvie spun around when she heard another explosion, and she stared in horror at the rolling flames. It had never gotten easier since the Arnow fire to see Matt and Kelly run inside with their crews . . . but for the rest of Squad and Truck to be outside, with Kelly down and Matt trying to help him while racing against the clock for the fire . . .

"Severide, report!" Boden's yell cut through her thoughts. "Casey, report!"

Stella looked ready to punch something as she bounced on her feet, Mouch looking worriedly between her and the building. Capp and Tony had drifted closer to the building, looking ready to charge into the studio themselves while Joe placed himself between the ambulance and the truck. Sylvie clenched her radio tightly, mentally determining what injuries she might have to treat.

"Medic!" Matt's voice shouted from nearby, and Sylvie felt her knees weaken when she saw him and Kelly descend the steps, a burned, bleeding man draped between them.

Gianna sprinted over, and Sylvie bolted after her. "Everybody's out, Chief!" Kelly reported.

"I got him," Gianna ducked under him to grab the man.

"You got him?" Matt checked.

"Yeah," Gianna nodded, pulling him away.

"OK, 51," Boden turned to Herrmann, who was atop the engine. "Drown the basement."

"Copy," Herrmann nodded, turning the hose on.

Sylvie ran to Kelly, frantically checking him over. "What happened?" she asked, close to pulling his turnout off.

"Shelves landed on me," Kelly grimaced as she prodded at him. "I'm just sore, Brett."

Sylvie scowled, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "Let me be the judge of that, you idiot."

Kelly's face fell, and he cupped her chin. "Hey," he said quietly, making her look at him. "Sylvie, I'm OK. I promise, I'm fine. Matt got me out."

She swallowed. "Thank God," she whispered, voice breaking.

Kelly tugged her in for a hug, and Sylvie buried her face in his chest, squeezing her eyes shut. A few seconds later, she felt Matt's arms go around them both, and a whimper escaped her. "We're good, Sylvie," Matt promised. "We're OK."

***

Cocker Spaniel: I hate firefighters.

Golden Retriever: Ouch.

Grumpy Cat: If I'm dual-certified, can I be a paramedic and you won't hate me?

Golden Retriever: Leave me in the dust, why don't you?

Grumpy Cat: Absolutely.

Grumpy Cat: I don't want Sylvie to hate me.

Golden Retriever: . . .

Golden Retriever: How long does it take to become a paramedic?

Cocker Spaniel: You two aren't even gonna ask what made me say that?

Golden Retriever: Casey and Severide?

Cocker Spaniel: That obvious?

Grumpy Cat: Uh huh.

Grumpy Cat: Are they OK, though?

Cocker Spaniel: They're fine, yeah.

Cocker Spaniel: Just another close call of many.

Golden Retriever: Hug 'em tight.

Cocker Spaniel: Bruised their ribs doing it, I think.

Grumpy Cat: I want that hug.

Golden Retriever: Ditto.

Sylvie smiled, dropping her phone on her bunk and rubbing her eyes. "Sylv?" Kelly's quiet voice behind her said.

"Yeah?" she looked over her shoulder.

"C'mere," he gestured for her.

She picked up her phone and followed him into his office, and she frowned, seeing the box on his bunk, which Matt was looking through curiously. "What's all this?" she asked.

"New equipment headquarters wants Squad 3 testing this weekend," Kelly said. "Hopefully we'll get done in time on Saturday to make that Navy Pier trip we talked about."

"Hey, we can always reschedule," Matt shrugged. "If this equipment does what it should, this'll help everyone out."

"What can it do?"

"Well, this," Kelly picked up one device, "is a new life detector listening system. Picks up heartbeats in zero visibility."

Sylvie blinked, impressed. "That could really be useful."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded, putting it back in the box. "Look, uh," he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"We both are," Matt told her.

"I know," she sighed, plopping down on the mattress. "I guess this is just what I get for being best friends with two officers who risk themselves above their crews."

Kelly frowned, seeing her pick up the life detector device and point it in their direction. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"I think it works," she mused.

"Oh?" Matt grinned. "What makes you say that?"

Sylvie smiled cheekily. "It says you two have good hearts."

Kelly burst out laughing, and Matt shook his head fondly. "Cheesy," he grumbled, plucking the device from Sylvie's hands.

"Oh, you loved it," she grinned at him.

"Yeah, I did," he kissed her temple.

The bells rang, and Kelly groaned when it called for Squad 3. "Save the cheesiness when I get back," he pushed off the wall.

"Have a good run," Sylvie wished.

"Thanks," Kelly hurried out of the office, running for the apparatus floor.

***

"And the break-in?"

"Not sure it was a break-in," Sylvie answered TK's question, pouring herself another cup of coffee, her back to the rest of the room. "For all I know, it could have actually been the landlord."

"But they didn't think so?"

"Sev didn't think so," Sylvie corrected. "Matt brought up the landlord."

TK hummed. "Heard anything about Halleck?"

"No, not yet," Sylvie shook her head, picking up her mug. "I think Burgess is dropping by later today with an update."

"Good," TK huffed. "I don't like this."

Sylvie snickered. "Why, I didn't know you cared."

"Hey, someone needs to be the sane one between me and Buck. That's you."

Sylvie burst out laughing. "And why am I the sane one between you boys?"

She heard a muffled choking sound behind her, but didn't pay attention as TK laughed. "We already established you're the angel between the two of us. Who else would it be?"

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Dumbass."

"Your dumbass."

Sylvie snorted. "Go hang out with your cop, OK? And if you're snooping on me, let everyone know I'm just fine."

"Copy that, princess."

"Bastard."

TK's laugh was the last thing she heard before the call disconnected. She shook her head and took a sip of coffee, turning around to head for the bunkroom.

She almost ran right into Stella, who had her arms folded and was looking at her with an unreadable expression. "Hey," she said slowly.

"Who was that?" the female firefighter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A friend," Sylvie said slowly.

"You don't have many outside of the house and Intelligence."

"And Med," Sylvie reminded her. "And spin classes."

Stella scowled. "Cheating on Casey and Severide, are you?"

"Who's cheating on who?" Gallo asked as he walked into the common area.

Sylvie sighed. "Something would have to be going on for me to cheat on anyone. If you must know, I am perfectly capable of having friends no one else knows about. Is that a problem?"

Before Stella could answer, the bells rang again. "Ambulance 61," the intercom chimed, and Sylvie put her mug down, running for the apparatus floor. "Wellness check. 5121 West Cermak."

Gallo watched her leave, then looked at Stella, who was scowling after Sylvie. He silently backed out of the room, looking for Ritter.

"Gallo?"

Gallo jumped, spinning around on his heels. "Oh," he sighed in relief. "Hey, Cap."

"Everything all right?" Matt tilted his head, folding his arms.

"Oh, yeah," Gallo nodded. "I'm fine. Just, uh . . . " He looked back in the common area. "Kidd was acting a little weird."

Matt tilted his head. "Weird how?"

Gallo fidgeted, wondering how much to say. "She seemed . . . way too curious about who Brett was calling a few minutes ago."

Matt frowned thoughtfully. "Huh. Thanks, Gallo."

"No problem, Cap," Gallo nodded.

***

"They weren't kidding about 51 being a busy house, huh?" Gianna asked as Sylvie drove down the road.

"Yeah," Sylvie chuckled. "Some shifts I don't even get to eat breakfast until . . . " Something got her eye in the side mirror, and she eyed the black vehicle on the ambulance's tail. "Dinner," she finished slowly.

Gianna frowned, noticing her concern. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Sylvie shook her head, trying to get a closer look while still paying attention to the road. Gianna leaned over to look out her window, trying to see what was wrong as well. The vehicle finally pulled into the lane next to them, and Sylvie's face drained of color when she saw Joe Halleck behind the wheel, gun aimed at them through the window. "Oh, my God!"

Halleck slammed the vehicle into the ambulance, and Sylvie lurched against her seat belt, feeling like a rag doll being thrown around. "Stop!" Gianna shrieked.

"Call a 10-1!" Sylvie shouted, trying to regain control of the ambulance.

Gianna fumbled for her radio. "Emergency!" she shouted.

***

"This is Ambulance 61 requesting a 10-1!"

Kelly sat upright in the passenger's side of the squad rig as Tony drove back from their call. "Wait," Joe twisted in his seat, Capp doing the same. "Was that – ?"

"Mackey," Kelly reached for his radio. "Ambulance 61, this is Squad 3!" he called. "What is your location?"

***

Before Gianna could respond, Halleck rammed into the side of the ambulance again. Sylvie tried to get control of the ambulance again, only for the wheels to skid. Her eyes widened when she saw them heading right for the guard rail on the side of the bridge.

***

When Kelly didn't hear a response, he twisted in his seat. "Cruz, keep trying," he ordered. Joe nodded, and he turned to Tony. "We're finding them."

"Copy, Lieutenant," the driver nodded.

***

Matt absently reached for his cell phone when it rang, keeping an eye on Stella, Gallo finding a magazine nearby to read. "Casey."

"Mackey just called a 10-1," Kelly said curtly, and Matt froze in his tracks before snapping his fingers rapidly. Gallo looked up in concern, and Matt pointed towards the apparatus floor before taking off. "What was the location of 61's call?"

"What was 61's call?" he shouted over his shoulder to Gallo.

"5121 West Cermak!" Gallo yelled back, causing Mouch to look up from the couch and Stella to do a 180 on her way to the locker room.

"5121 West Cermak!" Matt told Kelly, running for the truck. He heard Kelly relay the address to Tony as he climbed into the truck, and he saw the rest of his crew join him just as the bells rang again. He barely listened, and his blood ran cold when he heard it was an assist for 61. "We're heading out."

"We're joining you," Kelly said. "We're coming from the opposite direction."

"Got it," Matt said as Stella turned the sirens on and pulled out of the firehouse. "Quick as you can, Sev."

"You, too, Case."

***

"Dispatch, this is Squad 3," Kelly said into his radio, clenching his other hand in a fist as he heard Joe desperately call for Gianna. "We're heading to assist Ambulance 61."

"Copy, Squad 3," the dispatch center answered. "Keep us updated."

"Copy," Kelly answered, releasing his radio.

"We'll get there, Lieutenant," Capp told him.

Kelly took a deep breath, feeling his adrenaline spike as Tony hit the accelerator and the horn. "I hope so."

***

Matt looked out the window, one hand clenching his radio, the other holding tightly to the side of the rig as Stella roared down the streets, Gallo and Mouch anxiously behind them. "Come on," he muttered, heart in his throat. "Come on."

***

Sylvie squeezed her eyes shut as the ambulance broke through the guard rail. I'm sorry, she mouthed to Matt and Kelly, hearing Gianna scream next to her.

When the nose of the ambulance crashed into the ground, all Sylvie thought before she blacked out was she really should have had the courage to let Matt and Kelly know just how important they were to her.

***

To be continued with "That Kind of Heat!" . . . and boy, is that episode gonna be a doozy, if most of you remember how it ended.

graphic by marvelity