What happens in Vegans Definitely didn't stay there

Chapter 9: Jealousy

Sylvie attends a funeral, worries about her boyfriend, gets into an argument and gets some bad news

Sylvie stood beside Antonio, holding his hand tightly in her own. They were in the front pew of the church, watching as the priest said the final blessings over Nadia's coffin. She squeezed his hand tightly as the congregation finished a Hail Mary before he let go, joining Voight, Jay, Ruzek, Atwater and Roman as pallbearers.

She was pulled into the front of the mourning queue by the other CPD officers who knew Nadia, and she and Mouch stood side by side, supporting their partners in their grief. It wasn't fair.

Herrmann had opened Molly's up for the wake, and they were doing it Irish style. There were trays of soup and sandwiches made by Cindy Herrmann and Donna Boden waiting for them there. The mingling mourners spoke about their memories of the young woman who'd just been accepted to the CPD academy when her life was cut so tragically short. Sylvie felt numb staring at a photo of her. If it wasn't for their hair colour they could have been sisters.

Antonio leaned against her in the bar, and she and Kim nodded at each other, knowing how hard their respective partners were taking it. Before long she brought Antonio outside and they got a cab back to her apartment.

They barely made it through the door when Antonio was on top of her. It was different to how he usually was, his pain and anguish clear with every movement. She was willing, wanting him to open up about his pain in any way he knew how, even through sex. When he finished and they cleaned up, Sylvie held him as his tears finally fell.

She hadn't known about so much that had happened, nearly dying in front of Gabby, getting shot again and Laura leaving him, Diego being kidnapped because of his work. Nadia was one more person he blamed himself for losing, and the only thing Sylvie could do was hold him and make sure he knew that she didn't blame him for any of it. He cried himself out, falling asleep in her arms. Sylvie joined him sleeping, making sure their alarms were set for the morning.

The next morning they were both in work, but she'd started leaving a spare uniform at Antonio's for the nights she stayed over. He drove her into work, kissing her goodbye as she went in. It didn't take long for her to be ready to go, and that's when Dawson and Casey arrived into the common room, hand in hand. There were cheers from the assembled team, and even more when Matt's wedding ring was spotted. Sylvie joined in with a wolf whistle from the couch, and they cheered.

The morning briefing should have been normal, but instead it turned the house upside down when Boden began speaking.

"Scott Rice has left 51 with immediate effect due to family reasons. There won't be any more said about it, but he's going to spend time with his son. This leaves a spot open on Squad 3, and I'm very proud to announce that Joe Cruz has passed all of his Squad certifications and will be taking that spot. Joe, we all know how hard you worked for that job, and you'll be a fine addition." There was a stunned silence for a few seconds as the news sank in, but Sylvie gave a whistle before clapping, and that stirred the rest of the house into cheering. Joe nearly blushed, but Severide walked over and shook his hand in greeting.

"The other piece of news is we're losing a firefighter too. Gabriela Dawson is moving to work at OFI, starting from today. We'll all miss her as a regular member of the shift, but she'll do fantastic work sifting through the fires we put out." The silence this time lasted longer, until Herrmann stood and looked at her.

"Dawson, we'll miss you off 81, there's no reason for you to move. Unless..." He trailed off and his eyes narrowed, staring at her. "Are you having a baby, Dawson?" Her blush and Matt's grin were enough for the house to cheer again, everyone congratulating them. It didn't take long before Gabby left to go to OFI, but the handshakes were still being given to Matt.