What happens in Vegans Definitely didn't stay there

Chapter 10: Watching, Waiting, Commiserating

Sylvie watches her friend go through hell, makes her peace with Antonio, has a friendship cool down, takes an exam, and ends up back in the hospital waiting room.

The waiting room in the hospital was quiet as they arrived, seeing a devastated Matt sitting across the room from them. The seats either side of him were open, so they surrounded him, holding his hand and letting him know they were there.

It felt like they'd been sitting there for an age, but it had really only been just over an hour. Sylvie looked up and spotted Will Halstead coming towards them, nudging Matt to lift his head. Matt raised his red eyes to meet the doctor's gaze.

"Gabby's alive, Matt. She's got a recovery to go, but she's alive. She had what we call an abdominal pregnancy, where the foetus starts growing outside the uterus. It hooked onto one of her arteries to grow. In these cases, there never really was a baby because the pregnancy wasn't viable. She's no longer pregnant, I'm sorry. Gabby's in ICU, you can go up and see her in a few minutes." He squeezed Matt's shoulder in sympathy, but the Lieutenant didn't notice, tears streaming down his cheeks. They sat there shellshocked for a few moments as Sylvie thought what would need to happen.

"I'm gonna call Antonio," she whispered as she stood up from the hard plastic chair. "I'll be back in a few minutes, ok Matt?" She leaned down and dropped a kiss to the top of his head, ruffling Kelly's short hair as she walked out of the waiting room and stood outside. Sylvie leaned against a wooden bench and pulled out her phone. Antonio's name was at the top of her contact list, and she hit the dial button while taking a deep breath.

"Sylvie, I was gonna come by your apartment after work. Can we talk? Please?" He started, but Sylvie cut him off.

"I'm not calling about us, Antonio." Her voice was serious, and he quieted immediately. "Gabby had a miscarriage. She's in the ICU, it's been bad. We're here with Matt, but he wanted to make sure you knew about it as well. Don't come here if you're going to start fights with your brother in law, ok?"

"I'll be there." They hung up, and Sylvie pushed her hair behind her ears, letting the summer sun warm her face. She let herself count to ten slowly before walking back into the waiting room. Kelly was there alone, and he popped his head up as she came over.

"Halstead brought Matt up to see her. If they hadn't gotten her here in time, I don't think Gabby would have made it." Kelly's voice was rough, and she could see how close he was to tears. They held each other's hands, waiting for news from Matt about what was happening.

It didn't take long for Antonio to arrive, running into the waiting room to find them. Kelly saw him first, and let go of Sylvie's hand before he spotted the gesture between the two of them. Antonio immediately came over and hugged Sylvie, who accepted it but separated quickly from him.

"She's up in ICU. Matt's with her right now. I don't know how long he'll be up there, they're pretty strict on letting people in." Antonio just nodded at Kelly's words, sitting opposite them.

"Did they say what happened? Was there an accident or something?" He asked, looking at the two of them.

"The pregnancy didn't grow where it was supposed to. It put too much pressure on one of her blood vessels, and caused the miscarriage. She needed surgery to repair the damage and stop the bleeding." Antonio's face went blank hearing his ex girlfriend describe what had happened to his little sister.  By the time the power of speech had come back to him, Matt was down from ICU. Antonio had a little bit more composure, but the anguish was clear on his face.

"Antonio," Matt breathed, holding out a hand to his brother in law. Instead Antonio wrapped him in a hug, pulling him down to hold him. It was the final thing that made Matt break, his tears finally free flowing. Sylvie felt awkward among the three men and decided to go to the small coffee cart to get them all caffeine. Voight was standing at the cart, and she gave him a nod.