good/right/real

Chapter 12: It's My Turn

They all took their turns trying to give her their beds. Matt offered first, then Severide, and then Shay. It was ridiculous. She's slept on a couch before and she knows it won't kill her.

"You've had a rough night, though," Shay protested. "Just take my room."

"I'm good," she promised with a fond chuckle. "I just need a pillow and a couple of blankets."

Shay rolled her eyes but gave in and now Sylvie was awake before the rest of them listening to a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. Their coffee maker must have a timer. Fancy. The smell of it is intoxicating and it pulls her out from under her covers. Before those detectives call, she could use a cup or three. Although, she doesn't feel as frazzled as she expected. She's oddly...okay.

Last night was one of those hypothetical scenarios that had, in the past, kept her from relocating to a big city. She always thought she wouldn't be able to handle it -- that she was too soft or weak. She's not sure where she got that idea, but since moving to Chicago that feeling has been fleeting at best. She's felt tough and strong. Learning to be the kind of paramedic that can thrive in Chicago would do that to anyone she suspects.

She by no means thinks she's invincible, but she can take on more than she previously thought. She can face down her worst fears and survive.

She can do this -- this making Chicago her bitch thing. She knows she can.

The easiest things to locate in their kitchen are the mugs, glasses, and bowls. Not that she's surprised by that. Shay and Severide seem to live off of coffee, alcohol, and cereal so it makes sense. She's sitting down at the counter with her first cup of the morning when she hears muffled footfalls behind her. She turns to find Matt crossing the living room.

"Good morning," he says with a tired half smile. "You sleep okay?"

His eyes look overly concerned and she can't resist an amused snort at his expense.

"I slept perfectly. It's a couch not a tent on the ground, Casey," she quips with a smirk. "I was fine."

"You weren't nervous about being out in the open at all?" He asks, suspiciously, while walking over to the coffee maker. "It would be understandable after a break in."

It didn't even occur to her that being near the door in a large wide space should make her nervous. She felt perfectly safe with Matt, Leslie, and Kelly around.

"No," she told him with a shrug. "I was fine, but now I understand why you guys were all being so weird last night. It wasn't about me having a mattress to sleep on, was it?"

He chuckles and shakes his head as he pulls down a mug for himself. "No, it wasn't."

Her phone rings, interrupting their conversation. There's only one possibility of who's on the other end of the line this early in the morning. It has to be the detective Burgess promised would call. She steps away to answer it. It's a relatively short conversation where she answers the same questions she answered last night and they basically reply with 'thanks for the information but don't hold your breath'. She expects it. Roman warned her they might brush her off last night. But it's fine.

She got her stuff back and she was unharmed. It was all going to be okay.

When she steps back over to the kitchen, she finds Shay and Severide have joined Casey and breakfast is being prepared. It looks like pancakes and bacon which is perfectly acceptable to her.

Casey is also hanging up the phone. He nods at her to indicate he needs to talk to her. They step off to the side to get out of Shay and Severide's way.