☆ chapter two ☆
༄ INTELLIGENCE UNIT

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The atmosphere at Firehouse 51 had become somewhat tense and sad after Peter Mills' departure. The young man, now recovered from his vertigo injury, had decided to leave the firehouse and Chicago to move with his family. For Malia, it was a complicated position. She was the new one, the one replacing Mills, and the only one who didn't feel the same sadness and longing as her colleagues.

Her shift was about to start, but she still had an hour of free time before heading to the station, so she decided to stop by the 21st precinct to pay a quick visit to one of her brothers. With a box of donuts in her hands, Malia entered the precinct, placing the box on the main counter. A small, nervous smile played on her lips.

"Hi." She said nervously. "Sergeant Platt, right?" The woman on the other side of the desk didn't even bother to look at her or confirm her guess. Her attention was focused on the papers in front of her. "Uh... I'm looking for my brother. I was hoping to visit him. He works here... in the intelligence unit, if I'm not mistaken."

Those words seemed to catch the sergeant's attention, who quickly lifted her gaze toward Malia, removing her glasses and meeting the young woman's friendly smile and blue-eyed gaze.

The silence between them made Malia even more nervous.

"I'm... I'm Malia." She introduced herself, wiping the smile off her face and swallowing hard.

"Who's your brother, Malia?"

"Jay Halstead. Detective Jay Halstead." She quick responded, starting to fidget with her fingers in an impatient manner. The sergeant's gaze was cold, but when she heard the name of Malia's brother, her expression shifted to one of confusion. Soon, Malia began to notice how the woman studied her in detail, probably looking for any resemblance to her older brother.

It wasn't hard to spot the resemblance. Malia and Jay shared the bone structure of their faces, hers being much more delicate. Their noses were also quite similar, not to mention the blue of their eyes. Her hair, brown with reddish highlights, resembled more of her oldest brother, as well as the shape of her eyes.

"I'll be quick, I promise."

"Okay." The sergeant agreed after a few more seconds of silence. "I'll take you. They're upstairs." She gestured, stepping out from behind the counter. Malia smiled again, clutching the box of donuts.

The intelligence area seemed to be the most restricted and secure part of the entire precinct. Separated from the rest of the building by a small gate with a code, which Platt quickly typed in, allowing Malia to pass.

After a flight of stairs, Malia started hearing voices coming from the upper floor.

The team seemed to be in the middle of a case, as everyone was busy, either on phone calls or searching for information on their computers.

Malia spotted her brother at the end of the room. He appeared focused, reviewing some papers on his desk. It was very different from the patrol work he did when she left the city.

"Halstead." Platt's voice calling his last name not only snapped Malia out of her thoughts but also drew the detective's attention, whose gaze immediately met the sergeant's. "You have a visitor."

Those words caused everyone's heads to turn, leaving everything they were doing and watching the young woman with curiosity.

Malia quickly began to feel intimidated by their stares. Being the center of attention wasn't her thing.

"Mia." A smile formed on Jay's lips when he spotted his sister. His colleagues' gazes quickly shifted to him, clearly confused.

"I thought it was Malia." Platt commented, causing Malia to turn her attention back to her, away from her brother.

"It is." Jay quickly answered for her. "I call her Mia."

"How sweet." The sarcasm in her tone was clear.

Malia's nervous gaze returned to her brother, who quickly flashed her a reassuring smile as he walked toward her. His arms soon wrapped around her in a small hug, making sure not to crush the box of donuts between them.

"I brought donuts. Hope it's not too cliché." Malia commented as she pulled away from the hug, opening the box to reveal the treats. "I honestly didn't know what to bring."

"It's perfect. Thanks." Jay smiled, picking one up, careful not to make a mess.

"I personally love donuts." A male voice spoke near her right ear. Malia looked up to see one of her brother's colleagues leaning over her and grabbing one of the donuts from the box. "I'm Adam, by the way." He introduced himself with a smile.

"Malia." She responded.

A small cough interrupted their exchange of glances. Jay was watching them seriously, eyebrows raised. Adam stepped back, confused by his friend's attitude.

"Do we... need to ask?" He asked, gesturing slightly toward Malia.

"She's my sister." Jay answered quickly, making Malia roll her eyes.

"Oh." The blonde murmured, surprised by the revelation. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"At least she hasn't gotten into a fight in the middle of a café." Platt commented, drawing everyone's attention. "Right?"

"No." Malia answered, dragging the word out with confusion. "Why?" After asking the question, the answer came to her quickly, making her turn her gaze to her brother. "Will."

Jay nodded, making a face.

"He sure knows how to make an entrance."

"Says the girl who reunited with her brother in the middle of a terrorist attack at the hospital." Jay noted.

"That sounds like an interesting story." A lightbrown-haired woman joined him, drawing Malia's attention. "I'm Erin. Nice to meet you."

Malia shook her hand, offering a small, friendly smile.

"Likewise."

"Alright, this is Antonio Dawson." Jay pointed to the man standing to his right. "I think you know his sister; she works at 51."

"Gabby. Yes, I know her."

"This here is Kevin Atwater."

"Pleasure." He greeted her. Malia simply smiled back.

"That guy over there, hidden between the desks, is Olinsky. And behind you, the idiot, Ruzek."

"Was the insult necessary?" Complained Ruzek, who had been too busy with his donut to pay attention until now. Malia turned to him with an amused smile, which Adam didn't hesitate to return.

"What do we have?" A gravelly voice cut through the room, making the detectives turn. Malia quickly realized it was their boss, Sergeant Voight.

"We're on it, boss." Atwater quickly responded. "We got a little sidetracked. Unexpected visit from..."

"Malia Halstead." Voight quickly finished, surprising everyone. Malia tensed at his cold gaze. "The girl who stole a car at 15."

"Ah..."

"You stole a car?" Antonio and Adam stared at her in surprise.

"It was part of a bet." She quickly justified. "And I wasn't going through a good time."

Her gaze returned to Voight, offering him a small, uncomfortable smile that was filled with innocence. Of course, he was aware of the incident. He had probably researched Jay before bringing him onto his unit, and that meant researching the family too. So it wouldn't surprise her if he knew about the time she'd freed two dogs out of a cage when she was 10 because their owners had neglected them.

"I have a shift in 15 minutes, so I should get going." Malia decided to break the silence that had fallen in the room. She glanced at her brother, who quickly smiled at her and grabbed the box of donuts from her hands. "See you tomorrow."

"Sure."

"Thanks for the donuts, by the way," Adam commented, earning a smile from the young woman.

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Her shift began with a fire in a building. She and Brett couldn't do much while the truck and squad firefighters entered the building searching for survivors trapped inside. So far, only Dawson and Otis had come out with an injured person, who they simply had to put an oxygen mask on due to smoke inhalation. The worst came later when Matt announced that he, Herrmann, and Severide had found a woman with severe burns.

"61 to central, send another ambulance." Brett called using the radio on her left shoulder.

"Go. I'll stay with him." Gabby replied. Brett nodded.

"His name's Billy Carson." Brett informed her while Malia grabbed the stretcher to move it as close as possible to the building's door.

Once there, Matt and Severide quickly emerged carrying the woman in their arms. After placing her on the stretcher, all four of them walked directly to the ambulance.

"Swollen airways." Malia observed when the woman woke up, frightened. "She needs to be intubated."

"She's already got an IV in her shoulder." Brett reminded her, since she had placed it just moments earlier.

"She needs more fluids." Malia pointed out, looking for another place to insert the line. Her quickest and most effective option was her neck. "No burns here."

She carefully inserted the needle while Brett prepared the intubation kit. After placing the IV, Malia grabbed what Brett handed her and quickly intubated the woman.

"She's stable." Malia confirmed as she checked the woman's breathing with the stethoscope.

"Good." Brett nodded.

Once inside the ambulance, Brett began driving straight to Chicago Med while Malia focused on keeping the woman stable.

"Third-degree burns and smoke inhalation." Brett announced as they entered the provisional emergency room set up by the hospital after the terrorist attack.

"Burn unit." A doctor called out, guiding them to one of the beds. "On three. One, two, three."

The nurses and them transferred the patient from one stretcher to another, leaving the doctor in charge of her care. Brett and Malia stepped away to let them work. They peeled off their gloves and walked to the counter to sign the paperwork for the call and ambulance restocking.

"Quite the first call, huh?" Brett commented, her gaze fixed on the papers in front of her.

"Yeah."

"Hey, good call on the second line in the jugular." Brett praised her, passing the papers so she could sign them too.

"Yeah, I learned it in California. Fires are pretty common there." Malia explained. "That, and I had a great teacher."

"Guess we should thank him then." The blonde said, forming a smile on her lips.

"Yeah." Malia sighed nostalgically, lowering her gaze to the papers.

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Back at the firehouse, Malia and Brett found a large cardboard box sitting in the middle of the common room. Around it stood Mouch, Otis, Cruz, and Herrmann, who seemed to be arguing about what might be inside the closed box.

"What's that?" Brett asked, intrigued. The four firefighters turned to look at them as they walked into the room.

"Mystery," Mouch replied.

"Where's it from?" Malia asked next.

"Doesn't say."

"Okay. And who's it for?"

"It says 51."

"Very specific." Malia commented, crossing her arms playfully. "Are you going to open it?"

"We were betting on what we think it contains." Otis explained. "Any guesses?"

"Uh... I don't know, but I hope it's something edible. I'm starving." Brett admitted, gaining a smile from everyone.

"As a union rep, I should do the honors, right?" Mouch said, pulling out a knife from his jacket pocket.

"Go ahead." Cruz agreed, crossing his arms. His curiosity growing by the second.

The box, marked "fragile," was easily opened by Mouch's knife. The first thing they found inside was another box, this one made of padded material. It wasn't hard to open it, and when they did, all their eyes widened in surprise.

"Did I seriously guess right?" Brett turned to her, her eyes filled with amazement.

Inside the second box was food. A lot of food. Boxes full of sweets whose scent quickly filled the room.

Otis couldn't help but whistle in awe.

"Oh my god." Mouch murmured before grabbing one of the packages to smell it. "Blueberry crumble." He handed the box to Brett, who looked at it excitedly, ready to open it. Mouch grabbed another box. "Sweet potato pie." He handed it to Cruz.

"Oh my god." Sylvie murmured as she saw the pie in front of her.

"Apple crisp." Mouch announced, handing another box to Otis. "Muffins."

"Oh, I love muffins." Malia said, quickly grabbing the box. Everyone watched her with amusement as she leaned on one of the tables to open the box and grab one.

"What's going on?" Matt and Severide entered the room, looking confused.

"Someone sent us sweets." Herrmann explained.

"Someone? No, Mills." Otis revealed, showing a photo of the man with his family.

"'For my 51 family. Don't fight over dessert. And tell Mouch not to hog the blueberry crumble.'" Cruz read the card aloud, making Brett laugh. "'Love, Mills.'"

"I can't believe he's gone." Otis admitted sadly.

Malia didn't know what to say, but before she could think of anything, she was interrupted by a voice that was all too familiar.

"Lia?" A soft voice said her name gently. It sounded like she was trying not to draw too much attention, but it was impossible not to. Everyone's eyes immediately went to her, making her feel completely out of place. A nervous smile appeared on her lips. Her hands trembled slightly, causing the box she was holding to wobble.

"Quinn? What are you doing here?" Malia asked, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"Uh... can we talk privately?" Quinn asked, motioning toward the hallway. Malia looked at her teammates nervously before nodding quickly.

At the firehouse, everyone knew each other. They were family. The interest her colleagues showed wasn't strange—she understood it, especially since she was the new one. But understanding it didn't make the discomfort of walking out of the room with Quinn disappear.

"Drew called me and told me you left California without saying goodbye," Quinn explained. "I'm here making a movie, and... he asked me to bring you this." She handed her the box. "These are the things you left at his house, and some things he wants you to have."

"Drew... he... has he already left?" Malia could barely ask the question. Quinn nodded.

"Yeah, he left a couple of days ago, before I came here."

"Okay, well... thanks." Malia said, regaining her composure. "And... good luck with the movie."

"Yeah, thanks." Quinn replied, smiling faintly.

Malia gave her an awkward, uncomfortable smile before turning back toward the common room.

"Lia." Quinn called after her, making her turn back. "Um... I was thinking maybe we could hang out sometime. If you want, of course."

"I'm sorry, Quinn. I don't... I don't think it's a good idea. I'm really sorry." Malia said, her voice tinged with sadness as she walked back into the common room.

Quinn stood there for a few seconds, letting out a small sigh of frustration. She understood Malia's need for distance, but she wished they could still keep their friendship intact. Malia was the only one who could understand what it was like to have a brother so far away, in the army, in the middle of a war with no guarantee of returning.

Like her, Quinn was also upset that Drew had decided to join the Rangers so suddenly.

"Everything okay?" Severide asked when he saw Malia's dejected expression.

"Mmm." She nodded.

The lieutenant looked at her curiously, but he didn't push. He didn't have the kind of rapport with her yet to insist further. He cared about her, like everyone at the station did, but he wasn't going to force it.

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When night fell and the shift ended, Malia rushed out of the station as quickly as possible, after telling Matt and Severide that she wouldn't be spending the night at their place. After Quinn's visit, the only thing Malia wanted at that moment was to see Jay.

She was surprised to see that it wasn't Jay answering the door to his house, but rather their oldest brother.

"Will?" She frowned, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Happy to see you too, Mia." He replied, smiling and stepping aside to let her in. "I'm living here for now. Still haven't found an apartment."

"Oh." She murmured, shrugging off the jacket from her shoulders. "And Jay?"

"In the kitchen." He pointed to the door on her left.

Malia nodded, placing her jacket on one of the chairs at the dining table, then collapsed onto the sofa.

"Long day?" Will asked as he sat down next to her, grabbing a beer from the coffee table. Malia sighed in response, dropping her head onto his shoulder.

"Welcome to the club. Jay and I have had a busy day too."

The young woman furrowed, confused. She lifted her head and looked at her brother, waiting for an explanation.

"I had to help him with a case. Nothing important or that you need to know about." He explained, downplaying it.

At that moment, Jay entered the living room, a beer in his right hand and a soda in his left, which he quickly handed to Malia before sitting down next to her. Malia smiled happily as she took the soda in her hands.

"We ordered pizza. And this morning I got your favorite ice cream." Jay told her.

"And that's why you're my favorite brother." She smiled at him. Jay let out a small laugh when he saw Will's confused expression.

"Well, I love you too, Mia." The oldest brother said sarcastically, which made her smile with amusement.

"Can we watch a movie?" She asked, turning her gaze back to Jay.

"Sure. What do you feel like watching?" He asked, turning on the TV. Malia shrugged, not sure how to answer.

"Anything but a musical." Will requested.

"You like musicals."

"I like musicals, but you always pick the same one. I don't feel like watching High School Musical for the hundredth time."

Malia rolled her eyes, trying to think of another movie.

"How about Mamma Mia?" She suggested. Will made a face.

"Come on, Mom loved it."

Her response made Will and Jay exchange a look. They rarely heard Malia mention their mother. Her death was like a taboo subject. The way she had died, how each of them had experienced it, the consequences it left in their lives. But whenever Malia did bring her up, it was usually because she was having a tough time, and nostalgia overwhelmed her.

"Mamma Mia it is then." Jay declared, changing the subject.

He stood up and walked over to the cabinet next to the TV, where he kept the DVD collection. Most of them being from when they were kids.

The pizza arrived shortly, and it didn't take long for them to finish it. The cookie dough ice cream didn't last long either, even though Jay had bought it for Malia, the three of them ended up sharing the tub while watching the movie.

None of them knew exactly how long it had been since they last had a movie night like this. Two years? Maybe more. It might even have been since their mom died. Those movie nights used to be a tradition when they were kids, and Malia would often argue with them over who would get the remote to choose the movie.

With her head on Jay's shoulder, Malia murmured the songs from the movie, which she knew by heart, until her eyes slowly started to close and she drifted off to sleep.