good/right/real

Chapter 35: In The Middle

Summary:The shift after Welch let Brett and Casey's secret out of the bag

"So, you like paramedics, huh?"

That's the last question Matt expects to hear while walking in for shift, especially from his new chief.

"What?" He asks, hoping he heard wrong.

"Hey, I can't say I blame you. Particularly in this case. Brett's a head turner but, take it from me, watch out for those younger women. They're more trouble than they're worth sometimes," Pridgen says, a genuine smile on his face.

The words and the smile make Matt sick to his stomach. Does this asshole think he's found something for them to bond over?

"Chief, I can explain—"

"Trust me," he says, cutting Matt off with a chuckle. "You don't need to explain. I thought I didn't get you, Lieutenant Casey, but you and I are more alike than I realized."

Casey can't find any words to rebut that statement. He knows they exist but they're currently out of his reach. Besides, he's been on shaky ground with Pridgen. Surely, accusing him of being a sexist asshole won't help. Matt decides to at least refute the assumption he and Sylvie are sleeping together, but as he opens his mouth to speak Pridgen hurries ahead of him. Call him crazy, but he doesn't think Sylvie would appreciate his denial shouted across the hallway.

Instead, he heads for the locker room. Determined to find the jackass that got them into this mess.

He finds Welch as he's finishing changing out. His locker door is still standing open.

"Hey!" Matt reaches out a hand and slams it shut before jabbing Welch's chest with an accusatory finger. "You need to mind your own damn business."

"Hey," Welch says, parroting him. "I'm not the one sleeping with all the paramedics."

"I let it go when you ran off your mouth to your old house, but Pridgen?" Casey asks, feeling rage coursing through every inch of him. He'd ruined Sylvie's reputation in one house already but with their boss? Tommy Welch had crossed the line so long ago that it probably looked like a dot on the horizon to him. "You looking to get knocked on your ass, Welch?"

"The way I heard Pridgen is buddies with my replacement at 105 and it came out over whiskeys and poker. I didn't tell him shit. I meant it when I told Brett I didn't intend for it to blow back on her so I squashed it with my guys," he replies with glare and a shake of his head. "That's actually lucky for you. Because as much as I'd love to watch your career go down the toilet, I'd hate to see that happen to her. Besides, I'm not the one who got her into this situation to begin with, am I? You slept with her and now it's your mess to clean up. Good luck with that."

Matt watches him walk away with wide shocked eyes. He feels far too many things. Anger. Guilt. Concern. The one thing he doesn't feel, that he thinks maybe he should feel, is regret. He doesn't regret that night with Sylvie. He doesn't regret how close it's brought them since then. Maybe he should because--Welch is right--that's the entire reason they're caught up in this shit show.

He changes and immediately seeks out Brett. He finds her in the common room, chatting with Shay. She looks subdued. There are dark circles under her eyes and her skin looks paler than usual. He knows then that Shay's guess was correct. Mills and Brett broke up.

He's about to ask to talk in private when Pridgen waltzes into the room.

"Brett," he says with a stern look and nod toward the bullpen. "My office, please."

She looks up in surprise, her mouth forming a perfectly round circle. "Me?"

"Yes," he tells her. "I'd like to get this out of the way before the briefing. Let's go."