good/right/real

Chapter 76: Trying

Summary:Someone has to break the cycle.

Matt spends the entire next day on a jobsite. She knows from the progress photos he's sent her that it's demo day. She's certain he pictured Early's face on every wall of his jobsite just so he could take a sledgehammer to it. If that's what he has to do to keep from storming 105 on her behalf then so be it. She will not have him getting in serious trouble over her.

She's been on shift for a couple of hours now and avoiding Early like the plague. To her surprise, Chili's been helping. She's kept one eye out for him all morning and given her a heads up more than once.

They finally get a call, regarding an anonymous sick person, and when they arrive on scene they find a woman overdosing on something. While trying to treat her, a man grabs Sylvie from behind and pins her to a fence -- pressing a knife against her throat.

He's clearly on something, maybe the same thing their patient is on, and in a rage. For a moment Sylvie thinks she's done for but in a split second the man is howling in pain and curled up in a ball on the ground. The knife falls to the pavement and Sylvie kicks it out of his reach. She glances over at Chili and sees her holding a large black nightstick. She meets Sylvie's gaze with an apologetic wince, but Sylvie honestly doesn't give a shit.

Chili beat that guy up to save her life. Chili risked her career to keep her alive.

She doesn't know what to say or do. She's completely awed and bewildered.

Just as the man starts to get back up two patrolmen come running down the sidewalk.

"Guy pulled a knife on my partner," Chili says, barely managing to hide the nightstick she'd used in the jump bag.

"She's crazy!" The guy yells. "She beat me up! She has a weapon!"

Chili scoffs and rolls her eyes. "I kicked him to get him the drop the knife. The guy's high as a kite. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Yeah, I can see that," grumbles one of the officers. "Alright, let's go, buddy. We're taking you in."

The man continues screaming about a weapon until they're out of earshot. She and Chili finish tending to their patient in silence until she's on the stretcher and they've reached the back of the ambulance. They had to get her stable first and then they could talk.

"It's against regulations to have a weapon," Chili admits. "If you want to report me, I'll understand--"

"Are you kidding?" Sylvie asks, reaching a hand out to squeeze her shoulder. "You saved my life. As far as I'm concerned how you did it doesn't matter."

Chili gives her half of a hopeful smile and nods, sighing in relief. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Come on," Sylvie says. "Let's get her to Med. I'll buy you a coffee on the way back to the house. It's not a big enough thank you, but it's the best I can do for now."

"I'll take a coffee," Chili agrees as she climbs into the back of the rig. "But I really don't need a thank you."

"Well, too bad," Sylvie says while closing one of the doors. "You're getting one anyway."

They get back to the house a half hour later, with to-go coffees, and friendly smiles. Sylvie doesn't fully trust Chili yet but she believes her now. She believes that Chili wants them to be friends and that she wants to try to be an actual partner. Sylvie's not going to turn that down, especially since she doesn't have many friends at 105.

Almost as soon as they step out of the rig, two Squad guys--whose names Sylvie can't remember--approach them.

"Brett," one of them says with a smirk.