WARNING: The rape will be mentioned in this chapter; nothing too graphic will be included. If this is hard or upsetting for anyone please don't read.

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! I am so, so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Thank you so much for the continued support on this story! I just started college (this October), so FYI chapters will probably be delayed, but I promise I won't forget about you all. This story will be completed no matter how long it takes me.

Thanks for the continued support! You're all amazing!

Song (On Wattpad): Say Something by A Great Big World

Chapter Twenty: They Got Him


Matt stood there in Sylvie's old apartment, alone, and all he wanted to do was choke Gabby Dawson. Anger was radiating off of him in uncontrollable waves.

He knew he would never hurt her, but how could she just sweep in and destroy everything? It's like she was an unannounced hurricane that came in and left nothing standing. Absolutely nothing.

He was so angry he could spit fire. He felt like his relationship with Sylvie had just been burned to the ground. She had to know that he wanted nothing to do with Gabby. That was over and done with. All he wanted was Sylvie.

Matt stayed in the apartment for a couple of minutes just thinking and seething with anger for as long as he could before he marched out and slammed the door behind him.

There was no telling what he was going to do. Matthew Casey wasn't sure if he had ever been this angry in his life.

Sylvie knew when she left Matt that he was upset, but what could she tell him? She didn't know what to do or say? She was so confused and hurt, and she just needed time. There was no way she could stand for Gabby Dawson being in the middle of their relationship.

A couple of hours passed before Sylvie was all moved in and she had her new place all to herself.

She smiled as she stepped back and admired the picture of herself and Otis she had just hung on one of her walls. They were both at Molly's and dressed head to toe in their Halloween costumes laughing at drunk Cruz who had just fallen on the floor after a failed attempt at dancing. She'd give anything for a smile or hug from him right now. It was days like this that she missed him the most. He always had a way of turning the gloomiest days into bright ones.

Sylvie smiled and gave the picture one last look before she walked off and started her next project.

The second she stepped through the door she knew this was going to be her new home. She felt so much happier just from the change of scenery. She needed it. She knows she did. There was no way that she could continue to grow and recover if she continued to stay and be haunted by where it happened.

Plus, she loved her new place. It had been a while since she lived alone so she knew it would take some getting used to, but she was excited to start over and have her space to do that.

Herrmann made a lot of updates to the place after Stella moved out. The walls were all given new paint while a couple of small appliances were added to the new kitchen area, and a peephole and several new locks were added to the door. Sylvie loved it. It had everything she needed and screamed her. It was beyond cozy.

Herrmann tried to give it to her rent-free after everything she's been through when she called, but Sylvie wouldn't have that. She was a renter and she demanded he treat her that way, so they both decided on a rent amount and that was that.

She was happy, surprisingly, and she felt safe.

Safe? That was a word Sylvie wasn't sure she would ever get the chance to use or feel again, but here she was.

The rest of the weekend was spent unpacking, placing, and organizing for Sylvie. She locked herself in and didn't come out until it was all finished.

She thanked God for Amazon Prime a million times during her decorating process.

She decided as she sat down Sunday night and cradled her glass of wine that there was no better feeling than being back home in Chicago.

She was trying her best not to feel nervous about going back to work and seeing everyone, but it was hard. She worried about how they would all look at her. What if they thought she was weak? Or shouldn't be there?

Sylvie shook her head and tried to physically remove those thoughts. There was no way they would think that. Right?

Sylvie sighed then got up from her cozy chair and washed her wine glass before she laid down and tried to got to sleep.

It didn't work though. She tossed and turned all through the night. She was actually grateful when her alarm went off so she could get up and stop staring at the ceiling.

"Okay, partner. Are you really for this?"

Sylvie looked over at Emily as they walked up the firehouse driveway and eagerly nodded her head. She was so nervous and excited. It felt like her first day of school.

"Brett!" Yelled Capp as soon as he saw Sylvie and Emily walk in.

Sylvie smiled as she was immediately engulfed in huge hugs by the squad members.

"Oh, Sylvie we missed you. How was your time off?"

Sylvie smirked and returned Joe's warm hug, "It was good, Joe. How's Chloe? I haven't had a chance to really talk to her since I left."

Joe lit up at the mention of his new wife, "She's amazing. She actually wanted me to tell you that she'll be over to your new place soon with some cake pops."

"Ohh, I can't wait." Smiled Sylvie before she was pulled into a surprising and gentle hug by the one and only Kelly Severide.

"We missed you, Brett. The firehouse wasn't the same without you."

Sylvie felt her heart swell up as she listed to everyone around her, "I missed you guys too."

"Yeah, well you're not allowed to leave us again." Yelled Stella as she walked over and grabbed Sylvie.

Everyone laughed and delighted in the fact that they were all together again.

Sylvie felt so warm and full inside. If she hadn't lived the past couple of months she would never have known that they happened from the way she was feeling right now.

The second she stepped into the firehouse Sylvie felt at home. There was no denying it; she knew it was where she was meant to be.

"Hey! There she is!" Yelled Mouch as he jumped up off of the couch, quicker than anyone had seen, and ran to give Sylvie a big hug. "We missed you, kid"

Sylvie smiled then laughed when Mouch leaned down in her ear and whispered, "Nobody, can make Monday morning breakfast as good as you."

"Come on, Mouch! Share her!" Yelled Stella as she bypassed everyone and made her way over to her much needed steaming cup of hot coffee.

Sylvie felt so loved and cared for as she was wrapped up and passed around from family member to family member. She honestly felt like Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz when she finally gets to return home.

Although, the moment was almost perfect. No, it was perfect. She was home. She was where she belonged...but she didn't see him. Why didn't she see him? Where was he? Did she scare him off? Why wasn't he here? He always, no matter hell or high water, came in early before a shift. Did he hate her? Where was he?

"Hey," Interrupted Joe.

Sylvie shook her head and prayed those thoughts weren't true and that Matt was but possibly just hiding.

"Are you gonna go meet with chief before shift?"

Sylvie looked at her watch and nodded her head, "Yeah, you're right; I better get to moving. I gotta go over a bunch of stuff with him."

Foster smiled and walked up to Sylvie and those who had gathered around her, "Well, good thing we all know where to find you so that we can take our time catching up. Now come on, partner before you make us all late."

Sylvie smiled and followed Foster out of the common room. She could help but spare a glance at Matt's empty, dark office. Where was he?

She couldn't help but think awful thoughts. What if he was hurt? Or couldn't stand the thought of her? Had he gone back to Gabby? Were they living out their happy ending in Puerto Rico?

"Brett!"

Sylvie tore her eyes away from Matt's bare office and greeted Chief Boden, who leaped up from behind his desk the second that he saw her. "Hi, Chief!"

Boden grinned then gently pulled her in for a quick hug, "It's great to have you back. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good. Actually, a lot better compared to how I was feeling when I left."

"That's great, Brett. We all have really missed you around here. I know Foster will be more than happy to have you back on sixty-one with her."

"Yes, I'm sure she will." Laughed Sylvie before she reached into her bag and pulled out a bunch of forms. "Umm, here is all of the paperwork you said I and my therapist needed to fill out before I returned."

Boden nodded and gently grabbed them from her before he picked his reading glass up off of his desk and put them on, "Thank you, Brett. I will make sure these get into the right hands."

Sylvie nodded, "Okay, then. Well, I better go and get ready for my first shift back."

Boden gave her a small smile and gentle nod, "Welcome back to fifty-one, Brett."

Sylvie gave Boden a heartfelt teary-eyed smile before she turned and made her way to the locker room.

She smiled as she walked in and saw Foster and Kidd sitting together waiting for her.

Kidd took a sip of her coffee then asked, "Hey, how did your meeting with Boden go?"

"It was good." Smiled Sylvie as she made her way over to her locker and began getting ready.

Both Foster and Kidd sensed that something was up with Sylvie from the way she was trying to distract herself.

"Okay, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Sylvie looked over at Foster and shook her head, "No, no nothing's wrong. I'm just a little nervous to get back into things you know?"

Foster and Kidd nodded in understanding before they silently agreed to drop the subject and move on to happier things.

The morning briefing was an exciting one. Everyone was happy to have Sylvie back. They all cheered and clapped as she made her way into the room and claimed her spot in the very front like the good kid in class.

"Okay, now that we're all here. Let's get started."

Sylvie looked at Boden and nodded. But, they weren't all there. Where was Matt? Why wasn't he there? He never missed a morning briefing, let alone a shift.

She tried to focus through the meeting and hear what Boden was saying but it was very hard to do. The only thing she could think about was him.

The minutes turned into a blur and before she knew it the only thing that her ears and brain were able to register was Foster gently shaking her and asking if she was okay.

"Alright then, I think that's it for today. Make sure you all sign up for the CFD cookout before the end of shift."

Everyone shared a front before they slowly started to filter out of the room.

Sylvie wanted to gasp out loud when she finally caught sight of him. He's here! He's actually here!

He must have slunk in towards the end of the meeting.

She knows she told him that she didn't need him anymore, but that was a lie. She did need him. She needed him to come over and hug her...and kiss her. But, she couldn't do that. They couldn't do that. She needed to remain strong.

She shivered as she looked at him and their eyes finally made contact. She looked at him and couldn't help but actually notice how...bad he looked. Yes, she said that Matt Casey looked bad. Something that should never be said in the history of the earth, but it was true.

It looked like he had just rolled out of bed and thrown on his clothes, and his eyes were bloodshot and screaming for sleep. Why did he look so bad? The Matt Casey she knew never looked like this.

Sylvie jumps as they're both interrupted from their intense staredown by the bells calling everyone out.

ALL RESPOND - ALL RESPOND - PILE UP ON BYPASS 27 - ALL RESPOND

Sylvie and Matt share one more heated look at each other that says so much without saying anything before they both take off towards the rigs.

"Hey, welcome back!" Yells Foster as she jumps into the ambo next to Sylvie.

Sylvie nods and shakes her head before she feels the adrenaline push its way into her veins.

They all arrive on the scene in record time. Sylvie thinks that the term "pile-up" is generous here because it honestly looks like an earthquake or tornado picked one spot to both take place at the same time.

She knows it's absolutely wrong to think, and she'll definitely ask for forgiveness on it later, but this is something that she has honestly missed. The adrenaline and good feelings that she gets from helping people were something her small family farm in Fowlerton, Indiana was missing.

Everyone gathered in a small circle around Chief Boden for orders on what to do before they sprang into action.

"Okay, Severide I want you and your men to stabilize all of those vehicles on that side of the road; Casey, you are yours work on freeing as many as you can from that side;" Said Boden as she pointed and tried to speak as fast as he could, "and Brett and Foster, start triage and treating as many as you can before the other ambos show up."

Everyone agreed and began to walk away, but before any one of them could truly take a step and separate from each other, something nearby exploded and knocked everyone one of them down to the ground.

Sylvie closed her eyes and braced for the impact the second she heard the explosion ring out. She waited and waited...but it never came.

When she opened her eyes she was laying on the ground like everyone else at fifty-one, but she was wrapped around and shielded by one Matthew Casey.

How did he get to her so fast? They were even near each other before the explosion.

"Are you okay?" Asked Matt the second his eyes sprang open and his hands found the side of her head which had been protected the whole time by his hard chest.

Sylvie nodded and tried to fight the ringing in her ears, "I'm...I'm fine."

Matt let out a sigh of relief before she jumped up, helped her up, and started checking on all of his people.

Thankfully, all of them were fine and no one had been seriously injured. They all quickly broke apart after that and started attacking separate pieces of the disaster.

Sylvie and Foster were bombarded with people needing medical treatment. Every time either of them got one person taken care of another would pop up. They had to wait a few minutes for another ambo to come, but when it did Sylvie definitely sent up a quick thankful prayer to God.

She and Foster were able to finally load up their critical patient, who was a little girl, and get her ready for transport.

Sylvie also couldn't help but notice that she and Matt shared a lot of quick glances at each other after the explosion.

Were they checking on each other and making sure that both of them were truly okay? Maybe...okay, yes they were. But, how could they not? Sylvie still felt her heart jumping from the explosion.

"Alright, Foster. Let's go! You drive!"

Foster nodded and quickly shut the ambo doors before she jumped into the driver's seat and rushed them all to med.

The little girl's life kept fading in and out before they got to med, she was coding and bleeding out from being stabbed in the chest by a pencil she was using while riding with her parents, but Sylvie kept her alive. They were lucky they got her to med when they did, had it been a second or even a minute later, Sylvie's not sure that she could have handled that for her first shift back.

"That was a good one, right?"

Sylvie looked over to Foster as they're both heading back to the ambulance and nods her head, "That was a great one. We saved that little girl. Will said that since they got her stable he suspects that she'll be able to make a full recovery."

Foster and Sylvie both shared a triumphant smile before they loaded up and made their way to the firehouse, where everyone else was now headed after cleaning up the scene.

"Hey, before we get back, I have to ask you something."

Sylvie looked over at Foster and gave her a questioning glance. "Okay, what is it?"

"What was that back there?"

Sylvie's eyebrows smushed together as she tried to understand what Foster was asking. "What are you talking about?"

"Back at the scene, right after the explosion, what was that between you and Casey?"

Sylvie sighed and leaned her head back into the seat as Foster continued to drive, "I don't know...he was just doing..he was doing his job."

Emily laughed then shook her head, "Oh come on, B! You and I both know that the man practically pulled a superman and saved your butt from falling on the ground like the rest of us losers."

"Yeah, I guess he did," Whispered Sylvie.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Asked Emily before she beeped her horn at some dummy who decided that cutting them off was a good decision to make.

"What do you mean what am I going to do about it? There's nothing to do. I said what I said to him."

"Oh, come on, you and I both know that man is helplessly in love with you. Even a blind man could tell that, Sylvie Brett. Heck, I'm sure that man would jump out of a moving firetruck for you."

"Ughh, what should I do?"

"Just follow your heart, okay? If it tells you that he's the one, then I'm pretty sure you should listen to it, okay?"

Sylvie nods and sends a silent thank you prayer up to God when they pull into the firehouse. Maybe she really should tell him how she feels this time?

"Ohhh, Cruz has to make lunch today. Maybe he'll make those tacos we all like."

Sylvie laughs and starts to follow her partner into the firehouse before her phone starts to ring in her pocket and interrupts her.

She takes one look at the caller ID and knows that she has to answer it. "Hey, you go on in, I'll be right behind you."

Foster nods and gives Sylvie a reassuring smile before she makes her way into the house.

Sylvie stares at her phone for a couple more seconds before she takes a breath and presses the answer.

"Hi, Sasha."

"Sylvie, hi. I'm sorry to call while you're at work, but this really couldn't wait."

Sylvie's heart started to accelerate as she heard that. "Okay, what is it?"

"It's Owen. We got him."


Thanks to all who comment/review! What did you think!?

Again, sorry for any typos, misspellings, or anything like that. I know they're there in this one, I was definitely rushing this chapter out as much as I could. I write late at night without my glasses on, lol.

Thanks again for reading and the support!

Stay safe and healthy!