Stand By Me

Nine

Agreeing to meet Severide at her favorite diner the following evening, Taylor arrived early and took a deep breath as she entered. She had spent plenty of time with him in the past, but this was their first official date and that made her anxious. Spotting Severide already waiting, she made her way over and took a seat beside him with a smile.

"Hey," he said, looking up from the menu he had been browsing and returning Taylor's smile.

"Hey yourself," Taylor replied.

Falling into a comfortable conversation, Taylor felt her anxiety slowly dissipate and realized that the date was no different to when they were just hanging out as friends.

"Okay, I have a question for you," Severide stated, once they had left the diner and decided to take a walk through a nearby park, "What are you most proud of in your life?"

"That's easy, making it through the academy," Taylor answered without hesitation, "What is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?"

"Finding out how bad my neck injury was and going through the surgery with the knowledge that I may never be able to return to squad," Severide admitted, putting his arm around Taylor as she involuntarily shivered and guiding her back towards the truck, "There's nothing scarier than the possibility of losing something that means everything to you... wanna head home and see what Shay's up too?"

"Sure," Taylor replied, welcoming the warmth of the truck and smiling as Severide turned on the heater.

Walking into the apartment, Taylor hung up her jacket and went into the living room. Seeing Shay curled up on the sofa with Corrine watching television, she made them all some hot chocolate and smiled as she placed them on the table.

Joining them on the sofa, Taylor smiled at Shay and settled back as Severide again wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Heading to bed a while later, she drifted straight off to sleep and woke up early the next morning for work.

"Late night?" Mouch asked as she dropped onto the sofa in the rec room.

"I actually went to bed at a reasonable time," Taylor argued, "I just didn't sleep very well."

"That brain of yours never shuts off," Mouch commented.

"She was thinking about me," Shay added with a grin as she poured herself a coffee.

"Always," Taylor teased, winking at the blonde and chuckling.

Jumping up as the alarms rang out, Taylor slipped on her turnout gear and got on the truck as Cruz pulled out of the firehouse. Getting to the scene, they all got out and looked up at the scene.

"Is that scaffolding secure?" Boden asked the foreman as he approached them.

"To a point," the foreman told him, "Elliot was up there securing it on the roof level, but he slipped and fell before it was fully secure. It's unsteady, so too much weight or movement will cause it to tip completely."

"Understood," Boden confirmed, looking up at the scaffolding and turning to Taylor who was the lightest member of the entire crew, "Looks like you're swapping to squad for this one, who do you want up there with you?"

"Severide and Casey," Taylor replied, earning nods from both men and removing her jacket.Taking the stairs to the third floor, Taylor let Severide set up her harness and nodded as he attached her line.

"Take your time out there," Severide instructed as they moved over to the large opening that would allow her access to the scaffolding, "Keep your weight as evenly distributed as you can... be careful."

Stepping out onto the scaffolding, Taylor shuffled forward slowly and paused as the scaffolding shifted slightly under her feet. Reaching the workman, she checked his pulse and then looked him over for obvious injuries.

'This guy is going into shock' Taylor stated over the radio, 'The wounds on his face look superficial, but he's got his left leg caught up in barbed wire and he's lost a lot of blood.'

'Are you able to free his leg from the wire?' Casey inquired.

'It's embedded deep in his skin.'

'You're going to need to cut him free' Severide added.

Retrieving her wire cutters from her bag, Taylor examined the wire that was holding the man's leg in place and made four cuts in order to free it without causing more damage.

'He's free' Taylor announced, 'How are we getting him down?'

'We're going to use the ladder' Boden informed her.Getting Elliot onto the stokes basket was difficult with his leg still wrapped up in wire, but finally, they managed and got him safely onto the ladder. Turning to head back to where Severide was waiting with Casey, Taylor carefully moved forward and stepped back into the main structure of the building. Standing still, Taylor waited for Severide to remove the harness and returned to the truck to head back to Firehouse 51.