OK, I promise there's going to be more of the 9-1-1 shows soon. I just had to get through these first two Chicago Fire episodes because goddamnit these are just the perfect Sylverasey angst episodes. And this chapter is 6.1K words of all of it.

Squad and Truck rush to 61's rescue, Sylvie has a crisis, Kelly takes her on an adventure, and Sylvie has a realization that leads to her having another crisis. Poor girl just can't get a break. Oh, and Buck and TK do get to yell at her.

Enjoy!

***

Sylvie wasn't sure how long she was out of it after the rig crashed, but when she finally forced her eyes opened, she was looking at a spiderweb of shattered glass that made up the windshield. She lolled her head to the side, grateful her seatbelt held her in place, and she reached out for Gianna, who was closest to the ground. "Mackey?" she asked hoarsely. "You OK?"

Gianna weakly lifted her head up, blinking up at Sylvie, then reached for her arm. "Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I'm OK." Sylvie sighed in relief, and Gianna looked around, seeing the ground right past her shoulder. "What the hell?"

When she turned back around, Sylvie's eyes widened, seeing what she hadn't before. "Oh, my God . . . you're bleeding!"

"I'm bleeding?!" Gianna raised her hand for her head, and sure enough, her fingertips came away red. She whimpered, looking around wildly. "Where is he?" Sylvie grabbed the edges of the window, and she hauled herself up, trying to peer out of the rig. "Do you see him?"

Sylvie shook her head miserably. "I can't see anything." She dropped back down into her seat, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Man, she really wished she hadn't left her phone back in Matt's office when she had gotten her coffee. "OK, we have to get out of here."

***

81's sirens were the only thing that Matt could hear above his racing heart as he switched between looking out the window and calling over the radio. "61, what is your location?" he tried again. Nothing came through the radio, and Matt fidgeted in his seat, refraining from snapping at Stella, who, despite whatever was happening between her and Sylvie, had her foot glued to the accelerator. "61, respond! Do you hear me?"

***

"We're past West Cermak now," Tony told Kelly, his foot similarly all the way on the accelerator, their rig roaring down the streets.

"Alright, keep your eyes open," Kelly ordered. "God only knows where they ended up."

"Copy that," Capp nodded, shifting in his seat to get a view out both windows.

Joe did the same, one hand in a fist against the window. Kelly refrained from telling his friend to keep himself calm.

He'd be a hypocrite if he even tried, considering he was torn between finding Sylvie to help her or ordering Tony to stop the rig by whoever thought it was a good idea to mess with their honorary squad member.

***

Gianna squirmed, trying to free herself, but she winced. "Brett, I'm stuck!"

"OK," Sylvie nodded, shifting back in her seat. She managed to get her legs out from under the dash, and she lifted them as high as she could. She slammed her left boot into the windshield, pushing with all her might. The glass frame creaked, starting to push outward. Gianna lifted her feet up, too, and she joined Sylvie in kicking the glass.

***

Matt checked his watch, estimating the time between when the ambulance had left and when Gianna had made the 10-1 call. "We should have seen them by now," he said.

"I haven't seen anything, Casey," Mouch said from behind him.

***

"How far are we from 51?" Joe asked, twisting in his seat.

"It's not too far," Tony answered.

"So 61 is close," Kelly deduced, looking out the window and radioing one more time. "Brett? Mackey? Respond!"

"Wait!" Capp leaned forward, eyes wide. "Lieutenant! Down there!"

Kelly turned to see where Capp was pointing past Joe to their left, and Tony risked a glance as he drove. Joe sharply inhaled, and Tony's mutter of "Oh, my God" told Kelly it was bad.

He didn't expect just how bad it would look, though.

***

"Whoa, hang on!" Stella sat upright, then pointed past Matt. "There! Down there!"

Matt craned his neck to look, and his jaw dropped when he saw the busted guard rails on the bridge . . . then he saw the ambulance on its side in the ditch below. "Damn it," he swallowed hard. "That's Brett's rig!" He scrambled for his radio. "Severide?"

***

"Yeah, we see them!" Kelly didn't take his eyes off the rig as Tony veered into a U-turn; Capp yelped behind them at the sudden turn, but didn't complain. "We're pulling around now!"

***

Matt watched Squad 3 take the U-turn, then looked at Stella when she kept driving. "Kidd!"

"I'm trying!" Stella insisted, looking along the bridge and further for a place to put the rig.

Matt gritted his teeth, hand on the door handle. "Let me out!"

"Yeah, hold on, I'm gonna turn around!"

"Squad didn't!" Matt pointed out, pushing the handle.

Stella gawked as Matt threw the door open, not even hesitating to drop out of the moving truck. "Casey!" she yelled as he hit the ground running, almost tripping over his feet at first.

Mouch stared, eyes bugged open, and Gallo looked torn between disbelief and awe. "Damn!" he finally sputtered out.

***

"Holy – !" Capp's jaw dropped when he saw Matt jump from 81.

Kelly shook his head. "Damn it, Casey," he grumbled. "Tony?"

Tony knew what he was going to say before he said it. "Can you at least wait for me to slow down?" he asked.

Kelly grinned sheepishly. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes!" That came from Capp in the back.

Kelly huffed, turning to Tony as the firefighter switched to the brake. "As soon as you figure out where to put the rig, get down there."

"Copy that," Tony nodded, checking the speedometer. "And . . . clear!"

Kelly shoved the door open and dropped to the ground. He landed much more gracefully than Matt, but it allowed him to gain ground quickly. Matt was only a few seconds ahead of him in launching over the guard rail; Kelly was right behind him.

***

It took several kicks, but the windshield finally gave way to Sylvie and Gianna. The glass fell out with crackles and pops, and Gianna panted heavily, looking at the gap. "I think I can fit through that."

"Wait, wait, wait," Sylvie held out her hand, stopping Gianna in her tracks. "Let me go first. He might be out there."

"OK," Gianna gulped and nodded.

Sylvie took a deep breath, then slipped out of her seatbelt and climbed onto the dash. "Watch your eyes," she warned, flinching as she stepped on glass.

"OK," Gianna nodded, averting her head as she wriggled her way out of her seatbelt.

Sylvie stepped on the edge of the window, then held out her hand. "Give me your hand," she urged.

Gianna grabbed it tightly and managed to get out of her seat. Sylvie watched her, then carefully grasped the window edge. She carefully stuck her head out of the windshield, then dropped to the ground. She landed on her knees, wincing when she felt the glass poke her glove-covered hands.

"Brett!" Her head shot up when she heard her name be called, and she stumbled to her feet when Matt barreled into view, Kelly just steps behind him. "You OK?" he asked in concern, grabbing her arm and looking her up and down frantically. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Sylvie nodded numbly, looking past the officers for their rigs. They hadn't come in their cars, had they? "I'm OK."

"What happened?" Matt demanded as Kelly gave Sylvie a look of his own before grabbing Gianna's hand, helping her climb out of the ambulance. "Was it Halleck?"

"Yeah," Sylvie nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I don't know where he is."

Kelly peeked past them, then pointed. "Is that his car?"

Sylvie looked past him, and her eyes widened when Halleck's vehicle suddenly lit up with flames. "Whoa!" she ran forward. "Help me get him out!"

"Sylvie!" Matt shouted. "Wait!"

"Tony?" Kelly called into his radio, running after Sylvie. "What's your status?"

"Just parked, Lieutenant!" he answered.

"Standby for orders!"

"Copy that!"

Sylvie skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees, peering into Halleck's car. "Careful," she warned as Matt crouched next to her. "He has a gun!"

Kelly scowled, leaning down and smacking the car to get a stunned Halleck's attention. "Hey!" he glared. "Where's the gun?"

"I don't know," Halleck shook his head, looking around. "I – I can't get out!"

Matt leaned back on his heels, checking the car as he clicked his radio. "81, we've got a gasoline fire. Get the extinguishers down here."

"Copy that," Stella answered.

"Squad, all hands down here," Kelly said into his radio. "Got a victim to get out." He paused. "Unfortunately, we can't do to him what I know we all want to." Sylvie shot him a glare at his final words, even as Tony confirmed they were on their way. Kelly scooted forward, taking an army knife from his turnout pocket and sawed away at the seatbelt. 81's sirens cut off as Stella parked the truck, and Kelly looked at Halleck, scowling. "OK, can you slide out of there?"

Halleck attempted to move, but he shook his head, eyes blown in panic. "I'm stuck," he said. "My leg, it's . . . it's caught on something!"

Kelly looked over the car, hearing footsteps quickly approach. "Casey, with me on the other side!" he ordered, standing up as his men appeared. "Tony, Capp, over here!"

"Don't move," Sylvie ordered Halleck, reaching for his hand. "We're gonna get you out."

He whimpered pathetically as Kelly and Matt jogged around the vehicle, Capp and Tony joining Sylvie. "Hurry! Don't let me burn!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have done something this stupid," Capp retorted as Joe joined Gianna.

Tony snickered quietly, and Sylvie gave up on glaring at every overprotective firefighter down in the ditch. She heard a faint clatter, and Joe growled. "He aimed a gun at you guys?!"

"Not now, Joe!" Sylvie barked.

"Brett?" Kelly called. "There's a bracket under the dash. It's cutting into him."

Halleck screamed, face contorting in pain. "Get me out!"

"Whoa, hey!" Kelly shouted. "Stop moving!"

More footsteps approached, and Matt sat back on his heels. "Get the fire out, now!" he ordered. "Kidd, bring me the Sawzall!"

"Copy!" Stella dropped her extinguisher, and Mouch came into view on their side of the car, blasting the car with his extinguisher.

Halleck started thrashing, and Tony jerked back when blood sprayed near him. "Whoa, stop moving!" he shouted. "Stop moving!"

Halleck screamed in pain, and Sylvie gasped in horror. "Wait, wait, wait!" she tried to stop him. "Don't do that!"

There was a sickening sound of metal sliding out of flesh, and Halleck shrieked. "Oh, God!"

"God, this man is more insane than you said he was!" Capp stared in shock.

"Yeah, and that was his femoral artery," Sylvie gulped. "Mackey!" Gianna stumbled into view with Joe. "There's a jump bag on the truck," she said. "I want you to find it and bring it down here. We gotta stop this bleeding. Joe, help her find it."

"Copy that," Joe nodded, putting a hand on Gianna's shoulder.

The girl shook out of her stupor, nodding shakily. "Right," she said. "OK. Got it."

Sylvie watched them run off, then she turned back to Halleck, who was squirming in pain. "Get him out," she ordered.

Tony and Capp moved in, each grabbing one of Halleck's shoulders and arms. He thrashed against them, screaming the entire time, but the two squad firefighters managed to get him out of the car as Mouch and Gallo finished putting the fire out. As soon as Sylvie saw the cut in his leg, she clapped her gloved hand on the wound, covering the bleed as best as she could.

***

Jay watched with a critical eye as the paramedics loaded Halleck into the ambulance that arrived, his wrists cuffed to the gurney. "Is it bad I kind of wish he hadn't been saved?" he mumbled to Kim, who was watching with him.

"Nope," she shook her head.

"Good," Jay nodded, stepping away from the ambulance. "Just checking."

"Watch his heart rate," Sylvie warned. "It's pretty amped up. My guess is meth."

"There's a surprise," Capp drawled.

Sylvie rolled her eyes fondly as Gallo finished placing the gauze on Gianna's head wound. "Any dizziness, loss of vision?" he asked.

"No," Gianna shook her head, swallowing. "I'm fine. Thanks, Gallo."

"Yeah," he smiled at her.

Sylvie walked back over, taking a deep breath, and Matt and Kelly looked her up and down. "We'll get you and Mackey over to Med," Matt decided. "Get you checked out."

"Oh, I don't need to go to the hospital," Gianna shook her head.

"Yeah," Sylvie nodded quickly in agreement. "I'm . . . I'm totally fine."

Liar, Jay's detective radar went off immediately, but he turned to see what the officers' reactions would be. Kelly scowled, about to argue, but Matt nodded. "Fine," he said. "Let's get you back to the house, then."

"Mackey can ride with you guys," Kelly said. Jay was initially confused, and it looked like Matt wanted to argue until a scowl from 81's driver caught his eye. It seemed Matt noticed, too, because he nodded without complaint and gestured for Matt to head for the rig. Joe looked warily at Gianna, then Stella, before nodding and stepping back. Kelly wrapped an arm around Sylvie, who leaned heavily into his touch as he led her towards the squad rig. Tony and Capp formed up behind them, and Joe brought up the rear. "I'll ride to Med with Halleck," Kim volunteered.

"Thanks," Jay nodded, watching with interest as Kelly bypassed the officer's seat in front to climb into the back of the squad rig himself, then help Sylvie up with him. Capp climbed in after them, and Joe took Kelly's usual spot. "I think I've got a call to make."

***

Boden was waiting for them the moment the rigs pulled back into the station, Herrmann's crew gathered by the Squad table as well. "Brett," he moved forward as Joe and Capp helped Sylvie out of their rig. "Mackey," he turned as Mouch helped Gianna jump down. "Talk to me."

"We're OK, Chief," Sylvie answered, hugging herself.

"Yeah," Gianna nodded shakily. "I'm . . . I'm fine."

Boden looked at them long and hard before nodding. "So, what do you need?" he asked. "A ride home? Talk to a counselor?"

"Not for me," Gianna shook her head.

"Yeah," Sylvie agreed. "I just want to get cleaned up and get back into service."

"Not gonna happen," Boden said. "I can't get a replacement ambo until tomorrow, so . . . " Sylvie groaned, and he shrugged. "Enjoy the break. You earned it. Once you've decompressed, you get me the incident reports."

"Copy that," Sylvie nodded.

"You got it, Chief," Gianna agreed.

"Come on, let's get you something," Joe put his arm around Gianna's shoulders. "Maybe an ice pack?"

"Joe," Gianna whined, but she let Joe lead her into the common area.

"Hey," Herrmann walked up to Sylvie in concern. "You OK, girl?"

"Yeah," she smiled weakly. "I'm OK."

Herrmann nodded dubiously, then looked at Matt and Kelly, who were stripping off their turnout gear. "Keep an eye on this one," he ordered.

"Hey!" Sylvie protested.

"Oh, we plan to," Matt snorted.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Sylvie demanded, turning to them.

"Sure," Kelly shrugged. "Say the word, we'll leave you alone."

Sylvie opened her mouth, but wilted at once. "No," she mumbled.

"Yeah, that's what we thought," he beckoned to her, and Sylvie sagged against him. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Matt followed them inside, past where Joe and Gianna were having an argument at the kitchen counter, Gallo and Ritter watching with wide eyes. "I'm just glad both of you are OK," Matt sighed as they headed into the bunkroom. "I mean, you're both lucky to be alive, let alone unhurt."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded in agreement. "The ambo was totaled."

"Completely," Sylvie nodded, looking through the items on her bunk. "But we got out of there, thanks to you two."

Matt snorted. "No, you got yourself out of there. Seriously, did you see her?" he turned to Kelly. "Just climbed out through the windshield like it was nothing."

Kelly chuckled. "I can see that."

Sylvie looked through her belongings, checking what she needed for a shower. "It's just the craziest thing . . . climbing out of there and seeing both of you. How did you get there so fast?"

Matt blinked. "Well, it wasn't just us," he hastened to say. "We all responded quick, rushed down there together."

"Mm," Sylvie tilted her head. "Funny . . . I just didn't see anyone else at first."

"Well, I kind of had to tell my guys not to rush in there since we figured it was Halleck," Kelly scratched the back of his head. "Otherwise, it . . . may not have just been Halleck that Halstead and Burgess arrested."

Matt snorted loudly. "Oh, like neither of us saw how you were when you realized it really was Halleck."

"As if you didn't want to do something to him!" Kelly retorted. "I'm not the one who considered the gun before tossing it away!"

"I didn't see you reach for it!"

Sylvie watched them squabble between themselves, caught up in their moment and realizing . . . they were actually debating which of them would want to hurt Halleck more because of what he did to her. "It's always been you two," she blurted out. Their conversation halted in its tracks, and both leveled her with their signature "paying one hundred percent attention" looks. She gulped at their intensity, frozen where she stood. "I just mean that . . . you two are always the ones there for me in a crisis. That's – that's all I mean." She felt her cheeks flushing, her brain becoming more scattered as she tried to recover from her blunder. "I'm just – I guess I'm just trying to say . . . thank you for being such good friends."

Matt blinked rapidly, like he was trying to process her words. "Uh," Kelly held out, searching for his own words.

The door to the bunkroom opening cut them off, and Jay walked into the room. "Not up for discussion," he announced, pointing to the man in red scrubs following him.

"Jay!" Sylvie whined.

"Nope," Will shook his head, folding his arms as best as he could with his medical duffel over his shoulder. "Jay told me your rig was completely totaled and on its side. I just looked over Mackey, and she's fine, but it's just you left."

"Will – !"

"Can I use one of your offices?" Will looked at Matt and Kelly.

"Yeah, I'll just write my report in Severide's," Matt pointed.

"Great."

"Will, please," Sylvie begged.

Will pointed and raised an eyebrow. "Sit."

Sylvie's mouth clicked shut, and she straightened, dropping her belongings back on her bunk. "Yes, sir," she mumbled, not looking at anyone as she walked past the officers.

Will smirked smugly, walking after her into Matt's office and shutting the door behind them. "Wow," Jay remarked with a grin. "That's impressive."

"Yeah," Kelly said slowly, looking oddly at where Sylvie had disappeared.

Jay seemed to realize something was off, and he looked between Matt and Kelly worriedly. "Did we interrupt something?" he asked.

And really . . . how could Matt and Kelly answer that? "I have no idea," Matt finally said.

Jay nodded slowly. "While Will's checking Brett out, mind if I get your statements?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "Go ahead."

"Awesome," Jay gestured to the conference room. "This shouldn't take too long."

***

"OK," Will shut the blinds on the door and the windows. "All I really want to check are your ribs and your head for a concussion – "

"I basically just told Casey and Severide that I'm in love with them," Sylvie blurted.

Will stopped, then did a 180 to look at her with wide eyes. "Was that what was happening when we walked in?"

Sylvie dropped onto Matt's bunk, closing her eyes. "I think my brain got more rattled in that accident than I realized because I just blurted out, 'It's always been you two.'"

Will nodded slowly as he opened his bag. "OK," he said. "Well . . . that could mean a lot of different things, right?"

"Could it?" Sylvie asked hopefully. "Really?"

"It could!" Will pointed out. Sylvie groaned, and Will pulled out Matt's chair, sitting in it. "OK, look, Sylvie . . . what is wrong with them knowing how you feel? Unless that's changed in the . . . " He looked at the calendar on Matt's desk. "Less than two months since you moved?"

"It hasn't," Sylvie mumbled. "I can't feel that way, Will."

"Why not?"

Sylvie flashed back to how Gabby easily brought Matt back into her web when she returned last winter and all of the little things Stella had done whenever they were in the same vicinity, how the distance had grown between them every time Kelly spent more time with her. "I just . . . I just can't," she said lamely. "Trust me." She sat back up, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm just gonna pretend that I didn't say what I said and then everything can go back to normal."

Will hesitated. "Are you sure that's the best thing to do?"

Sylvie glared at him. "I didn't say it, OK?"

Will sighed. "OK," he nodded.

"Thank you."

He smirked. "You can thank me by letting me check you over."

Sylvie sighed, this time in mock annoyance. "Fine."

Will laughed. "Jacket off, come on."

"Well, if you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could have just asked!"

Will's laughter rang in the office, making Sylvie smile.

***

"You what?!"

Sylvie winced at the feedback she got through her AirPods at TK's shriek. "OK, I knew this was a mistake."

"Oh, no," Buck glared at her through his FaceTime screen. "You are telling us everything, starting with why the hell didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I had my phone in Matt's office!" Sylvie protested as she leaned against the wall of the bunkroom, occasionally looking around to see if anyone was walking by. "Then I had to get checked over, then I had to give my statement, and then a shower because I was gross – "

"OK, yeah, fair," Buck sighed.

"But I messed up."

"How did you mess up?" TK frowned. "You didn't ask for Halleck to crash into the ambulance, did you?"

"No," Sylvie shook her head.

"You saved his life even when you didn't have to."

"I'm a first responder! I save lives no matter what they've done!"

"So where's the mess up?"

Sylvie bit her lip. "I'm in love with Matt and Kelly."

Buck snorted. "You told us this literally the second night we knew each other."

"Buck!" Sylvie groaned.

"He's not wrong," TK shrugged. "We've known this."

"Yes, but I think I just told them!"

TK's eyes lit up. "You did?!"

"How'd it go?" Buck demanded.

"It didn't," Sylvie huffed. "Because the Halsteads thankfully intervened before I made a fool of myself."

"Oh, for the love of – " TK groaned.

"So both of them haul ass to get to you and debate murdering this guy for you, and you still haven't told them you're in love with them?" Buck asked.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to say that!" Sylvie glared. "What, tell my best friends that I'm the kind of person who falls in love with more than one person at a time, and by the way, it's the two of you?"

"Yes," TK deadpanned. "Literally, it's that simple."

Sylvie groaned. "Guys, it's a bit more – "

"Hey, Sylvie?" Kelly walked in from the locker rooms.

Sylvie balked. "Gotta go!"

"Wait, Sylvie – !" Buck protested.

She ended the FaceTime call and took out her AirPods, walking to meet Kelly. "Hey," she smiled nervously, looking him up and down. God, he had no right looking as hot as he did in a sweatshirt, leather jacket, and jeans. "Where are you off to?"

"Gallo managed to find me the name of the deputy chief who towed 61 off," he said. "There's something I need to get from the rig. Wondering if you wanna come with? You know, say your final goodbyes?"

Sylvie smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Yeah, sure."

"Awesome," Kelly grinned, then poked his head back into the locker room. "Casey!"

"Yeah?" he appeared in the doorway.

"Molly's tonight, right?"

"Oh, after today? Definitely." He looked at Sylvie. "First round's on me, alright?"

She smiled tightly. "Yeah, I could go with a drink later."

"Wonderful," Matt grinned in relief. "See you then?"

"See you, man," Kelly nodded.

***

Kelly pulled up to the junkyard, and the man at the gate waved them down. "Hey, how's it going?" he nodded politely, Sylvie smiling from the passenger seat. "Lieutenant Kelly Severide, CFD, Squad 3," he held up his badge, then pointed to Sylvie, who held up hers. "PIC Sylvie Brett, Ambulance 61. I think you got her wrecked ambulance?"

"Uh huh," the man nodded.

"We just need to get something out of there. It will only take a few minutes."

The man held out a hand. "Authorization?"

Kelly blinked, taken aback. "We need authorization?" Sylvie asked, dumbfounded. "It's from the CFD! That's my ambulance in there! Why do we need authorization?"

"You need a Form 10-22C signed by the officer that brought the vehicle in," the man explained.

"Seriously?" Kelly ground his teeth together. "Can you just do us a solid, man? We just need to get something out of there before it gets sent to the crusher, alright?"

"Look, bro," the man scowled. "Get me a Form 10-22C, or you're S.O.L."

Sylvie forced a smile. "Great. Real helpful." Kelly backed the car up, and the man walked off. "You're getting in there, aren't you?" Sylvie asked softly.

Kelly smirked at her. "I won't tell if you won't?"

Sylvie giggled. "Deal." Kelly winked, driving his car around the fence, peering into the junkyard. Sylvie looked out the window the entire time, then pointed. "There it is!"

Kelly parked the car next to the fence. "This is our stop, then."

Sylvie climbed out of the car, then turned to see Kelly take a duffel bag out with him. She looked at the bag, frowning when she heard tools clanking. It finally sank in what he was here for, and she turned to look at the remnants of 61 in understanding. "Oh," she said quietly.

"Yeah," Kelly smiled sadly. "Oh."

Sylvie smiled at him. "Thanks for inviting me for this."

"Of course," Kelly nodded, looking at the fence they had to climb over. "You've rode with this vehicle since the dedication. There's no one else I'd rather want here than you."

She flushed at his words. "Let's get it, then."

Kelly nodded, finding a makeshift ladder from metal lying on the ground. He rested it against the fence and tossed his duffel over, then gestured to Sylvie. "I'll be right behind you." Sylvie climbed up and jumped over the fence with ease, brushing her hands off when she landed in the junkyard. Kelly scaled the distance easily, then picked up his duffel. He rested his hand on the crushed hood, then walked around to the driver's side. "Keep watch?"

"Aye aye, Lieutenant," Sylvie mock saluted, making Kelly grin as he opened his bag.

***

"Yo!" Tony grinned, stopping Gallo's storytelling in its tracks. "We were wondering when you were showing up!"

"Sorry," Kelly smiled, dressed now in a casual Henley and leather jacket, Sylvie in a denim sleeveless blouse, her hair pinned out of her face. "Figured our dumpster diving get-up wasn't appropriate for Molly's."

"Dumpster diving?" Gallo parroted with a frown.

"You'll see tomorrow," Kelly waved it off, then nodded when he saw his favorite beer and Sylvie's favorite wine sitting at the two empty table places. "Thanks, Case."

"Cheers, man," Matt raised his beer in acknowledgement.

"Wine? That's it?" Gallo asked in surprise. "Girl, you need something stronger than that after the day you had."

"We all need something strong after that call," Capp snorted.

"Yeah," Kelly shuddered. "Only one time I've been more worried than that."

Matt, too, cringed at the memory that stirred.

***

Matt trudged through the remains of the Arnow factory basement, working his way to where Boden said he was located. He finally found Boden . . . along with Emily, and he almost dropped his axe when he saw the limp blonde on the floor between them, clutching her arm to her chest. "The roof collapsed?" he asked, looking above them.

"Casey," Boden began.

"It was two feet of concrete!" Matt panicked, rethinking everything as he tried to find out where he miscalculated.

"Casey!"

"I would've never called you into position if I'd known!"

"Casey!"

"What?" Matt snapped before pausing, realizing it was his chief he had just yelled at.

Boden just leveled a calm look at him. "Concentrate on getting Brett and everybody else out of this basement. We can Monday morning quarterback it later."

Matt took a deep breath, looking down at Sylvie, who was leaning into Emily's side, her tears leaving tracks through the dirt and ash on her face. "Casey!" a familiar voice behind him called, and Matt turned to see Kelly make his way through the remains. "What do you need?"

Matt looked Sylvie up and down, sinking his teeth into his lip. "Brett's got an arm fracture," he answered, turning to Kelly in time to see his eyes widen in alarm. "Backboard to get her out of here."

Kelly looked past him to see Sylvie for himself, then took a deep breath and turned his radio on. "Capp! Tony! Can you lower us down a Stokes basket from the floor above?"

"Copy that!" Capp responded instantly.

Boden stepped back as Matt and Kelly moved in, and Emily finished setting Sylvie's splint. "We're stable," she reported.

Kelly nodded, crouching down next to Sylvie and putting his hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna be OK," he told her.

She gave him a quick nod, then looked up at Matt, who gave her a miserable smile. "I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible.

Sylvie gave him a tearful smile, then gasped as Emily jostled her arm while helping her sit up. Emily quickly backed off at Kelly's glare. "On three," he told Matt. "One, two, three!"

The two of them lifted Sylvie off the ground, and Matt carefully tucked Sylvie's injured side against him, Kelly lifting her uninjured arm around his shoulders. Emily and Boden went ahead to the Stokes basket, leaving Matt and Kelly to help Sylvie on.

***

Sylvie cleared her throat. "Moving on?"

"Yes, please," Matt agreed, taking a long pull from his beer.

"Man, that call was really something," Gallo grinned. "So we're heading up Stuart, right? All of a sudden, Kidd starts zigzagging around the road. That's when Casey spots the ambo down an embankment, and just goes to 11. I mean, 'Turn it around! Turn around, that's Brett's rig! Turn it around!'"

"Yeah, I saw it was 61, so . . . " Matt cleared his throat nervously. "You guys know the rest."

"We know our side of what happened," Tony pointed out.

"Yeah, Capp gets the credit for spotting them first for us," Kelly nodded to the firefighter.

"None of us were very happy with what we saw," Capp snorted.

"Oh, neither was Casey," Gallo said. "So Kidd's hauling ass, but we blow way past the scene. Casey says, 'Screw this! I gotta get down to Brett!' And he leaps from the rig while it's still moving!" Sylvie froze mid-sip, eyes darting to Matt, who ducked his head bashfully. "Sear to God, he left all his gear behind. No helmet, no jacket. Last I see is him sprinting back to the ambo like a man possessed. I've never seen him run like that."

"At least I convinced Severide to wait for me to slow down before he pulled the same stunt," Tony snorted, making Sylvie look at him with wide eyes. "Otherwise, I guarantee he would've done exactly the same thing."

"So you were stuck trying to park just like us?" Gallo asked.

"I had a bit of a head start, but yeah," Tony nodded.

"Kidd had to do a K-turn in a 48-foot aerial apparatus," Gallo said. "By the time we jump off, Caesy's already down there with Brett. How the hell he got down there so fast, we'll never know. It was awesome."

"No kidding," Capp agreed, then pointed his beer bottle at Sylvie. "You're forbidden from scaring our crew like that again."

"Yeah, we've had enough heart attacks from your 10-1s for a while," Tony agreed.

Kelly frowned, seeing Sylvie stuck staring at Gallo. "Sylvie?" he asked in concern.

Sylvie forced her gaze from Gallo to Kelly, who was looking at her worriedly. Then she shifted to Matt, who looked just as concerned. She had taken their explanation earlier when they had described how they got down in the ditch, about how they all arrived at once and she just hadn't seen them . . . but that hadn't been what happened at all. Not only had they been debating who would hurt Halleck . . . but they had put their own lives on the line to get to her.

They're the ones.

The realization hit her like a bullet train, and she almost tripped trying to stand up. "Sorry," she stammered, downing the remainder of her wine like it was a shot. "I just remembered that I have to go to, a . . . my friend Olivia's for a . . . for a thing. I'm so sorry."

"Wait," Kelly stood up to go after her. "You came with me!"

Sylvie just moved faster off the patio, and Tony worriedly looked up at his lieutenant. "Did we overdo it?" he asked.

"That was my bad," Gallo gulped. "I didn't mean to make light of anything."

"No," Matt shook his head, exchanging looks with Kelly. "It's not you."

***

Sylvie managed to stammer an address to the taxi she flagged, and she dropped into the back seat, trying to keep her emotions under control. The ambulance crash in general had thrown her through a loop, but what Gallo, Tony, and Capp had revealed at Molly's? That gave her unbelievable whiplash.

The taxi finally stopped, and Sylvie absently threw down the money that was required. She jogged up the steps of the apartment building, rushed inside, and found the apartment she was looking for. She rapped on it as hard as she could, but the person who opened the door wasn't who she was expecting. "Brett?" Jay blinked, beer bottle in hand. "Everything alright?" Sylvie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "Sylvie?" he prodded.

"Sylvie?" Will appeared behind Jay, concern on his face. "Did something happen?"

Sylvie swallowed hard, losing her battle at keeping her tears away. "They jumped out of their rigs for me," she choked out, covering her mouth. "Oh, my God – "

"Whoa, OK," Jay ushered her inside and quickly closed the door behind her. "I'm missing something."

"When Squad and Truck arrived at the embankment, Matt and Kelly got down there first," Sylvie hurried to explain, wiping at her eyes angrily as Will led her into the living area. "I thought they just moved faster than the others because they said their crews were right behind them."

"And that's not what happened?" Will asked.

Sylvie looked at him with wide eyes. "They jumped from their rigs while they were still moving to get down there."

"Holy crap," Jay's eyes widened. "You have the best friends ever."

Sylvie let out a hysterical laugh. "Yeah, best friends. That's all."

Will gently sat her on the couch, sitting next to her. "That's all?" he asked.

Sylvie buried her face in her hands, too far emotional to even think that Jay was in the room, someone who didn't know how she identified. "I love them," she broke down. "The moment Gallo and Tony said that's what they did, I knew . . . there's no way I'm falling for anyone else. It's them, Will. There's never gonna be anyone else, and they don't know!"

Will set his beer on the coffee table and tugged Sylvie into a hug, the paramedic burrowing into him with a harsh sob. Jay carefully set his own beer down and sat behind Sylvie, placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder. Sylvie shuddered at his touch, reaching back with one hand. Jay took it with his other hand, letting her squeeze as hard as she needed. Will sighed, resting his chin on top of Sylvie's head. "They've got to know, Sylvie," he whispered. "Somehow, they've got to know."

Sylvie whimpered, and the two brothers exchanged worried looks over their head. Something told them they'd need more beers before the night was over.

***

See? Angst. This episode was full of it, so I'm just amplifying it.

On another note, can you tell I really love Sylvie and the Halsteads?

graphic by marvelity