When Love And Work Collide:I Will Never Leave You (book three)

Getting Back In The Groove

It has been nearly a week and a half since the fire and nothing has changed. Matt and Shay are still in their comas and nothing seemed to be changing anytime soon. Gabby finally went home last night for the first time since the fire. She has practically been living at the hospital since going out here and there for a bite to eat as not to starve. There was the occasional visit from someone from 51. The other day all of 51 stopped by to check in on the trio and see how everything was doing before heading back to the house. It was a nice treat for Dawson to see everyone.

Seeing everyone got her thinking that it was about time to head back to work. She woke up to the alarm blaring through the room. Rolling over she slammed on the device shutting off the alarm. Getting out of bed she walked over to the bathroom and turned on the shower checking the temperature as she adjusted the knob. Once the temperature was just right Gabby took off her pajamas stepping into the shower letting the warm water trickle down her skin. That helped sooth her. It was nice to relax after being so stressed over the last week and a half and be free of all of the stress. Once she was clean she got out of the shower wrapping a towel around her and walked over to the dresser pulling out her uniform and putting it on.

Once she was ready she grabbed her keys and phone before running out the door. She got in her car putting the keys in the ignition turning it causing the car to roar to life. She took a second to take a deep breath before putting the car in gear and pulling away from the house. The ride to work felt like an eternity before finally pulled up to Firehouse 51. Nothing seemed to have changed over the last week or so with everything going on as normal. Taking a deep breath she turned off the car and got out and made way to the house. Cruz was the first to notice her and shot up from his seat to give her a welcome back hug. There was a loud group "hey!" as they came down a line hugging her.

The welcome back caused the firefighter to smile as her friends came giving her hugs. Chief Boden came out to see what the commotion was about. A smile grew on his face when he saw Dawson out in the garage. He approached her giving a strong hug.

"Welcome back Dawson." He said. "You sure you are ready to come back?"

"I am Chief. I can't spend another day in a hospital."

"Well it is good to have you back." He said before heading back to do some paperwork.

Dawson went to the locker room and put away some of her things. Once that was all settled in she made way to the turnout room pulling out her gear and putting it back on the engine. She then took a moment to breath and savor being back at 51. For the first time in over a week she was out of the hospital and back around people. Being back at work will take the stress of having her girlfriend in a coma off of her. It was be a good distraction from everything.

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It was a slow shift with only a car accident and a woman collapsing being the only calls. Slow days like that were a gift for any firehouse in a large city like Chicago. Kelly used his free time to do some research on possibilities for causes of the Sears Tower fire. It was the only thing Severide could think about since the incident. Something just wasn't right about it. He has made it his mission to figure out exactly what happened. He walked outside with the bright sun beating down on his eyes heading towards his Mustang getting in putting the keys in the ignition causing the car to roar to life. He took a moment looking out the windshield listening to the hum of the motor.

After taking a deep breath he put the car in gear and placed his foot on the gas pedal taking off the car roaring through the streets. He drove letting his feelings out through the tailpipes of his car. Eventually the car came to a stop in front of the tallest building in the city. He looked up at the building that was practically burnt to a crisp. Turning off the engine he got out of the car and grabbed a flashlight and crowbar from the trunk. The door was covered by a piece of plywood with a notice that it is a fire investigation scene. Kelly stuck the crowbar behind the wood breaking it open unveiling the inside of the building.