Stand By Me

Thirteen

After clearing it with chief Boden, Taylor spent the next few hours worrying and found that she was almost happy when the alarms sounded. She jumped off the rig as Cruz pulled up outside a house, immediately grabbing her gear and waiting for her orders.

"Taylor, Herrmann, I want you to take Ferguson and do a primary sweep," Matt instructed, "Cruz, Mills, take care of the venting."

Taylor let Herrmann take the lead, putting her mask on and following behind Ferguson. The fire had spread throughout a majority of the first floor and although there were clear signs of people using the place... the property seemed vacant.

Casey soon joined them and they swept the entire building, but found nobody inside. It was possible that whoever had been there fled once the fire started, afraid of getting into trouble or killed. Engine quickly dealt with the flames, leaving truck in charge of overhaul and heading off to another call with squad.

"Hey lieutenant," Taylor called from the kitchen, crouching down near some suspicious burn marks on the ground and waiting for Matt to join her, "I don't think this fire was an accident."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked with a frown, looking at the marks and sighing, "I'll call arson."

It wasn't unusual for them to come across acts of arson, but the house was empty, and burning it down achieved nothing. By the time they arrived back at the firehouse, it was already half past six and she grabbed her jacket from her locker, making her way over to the park. With the knowledge that Antonio and Voight were watching from somewhere nearby, she took a seat on an empty bench to wait.

The cold evening air made Taylor involuntarily shiver, causing her to pull her jacket closer around her and pace to keep warm. She'd just checked her watch, when she heard footsteps and looked up to see Greg walking towards her.

"I'm glad that you texted," Greg told her with a smile, "What changed your mind?"

"I've had time to clear my head," Taylor replied, "I wasn't ready to talk when we broke up, I was angry and just needed space to get my thoughts straight."

"Why don't we take a walk?"

"Sure."

They left the park and Taylor followed him down the street, listening to Greg talk. With her gaze on her feet, she failed to realize that he had stopped and yelped in surprise as he pushed her into an alleyway.

"Were you followed?" Greg asked abruptly.

"No," Taylor answered with a frown, watching as Greg glanced around nervously, "Why would anyone follow me?"

"Where did you tell your chief that you were going?"

"I didn't, I just told him that I needed a couple of hours to deal with some personal stuff... what's going on, Greg?"

"You're lying to me," Greg growled, pinning her against the wall by her throat, "Tell me the truth..."

"I am," Taylor insisted, grabbing his hand and using all of her strength to push him off.

Greg attempted to apologize as Taylor fought to catch her breath, stepping out of his reach and watching as Voight put him in handcuffs. Lost in a daze, Taylor jumped as someone placed their hand on her shoulder and allowed Antonio to pull her into a hug.

"They can't hold me forever, Taylor," Greg warned, glaring at her as Voight led him away, "Better watch your back."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Antonio inquired.

"No, could you just take me back to the firehouse, please?"

"Of course."

The ride over was filled with light conversation, but Taylor could feel her hands trembling and had to fight back the urge to cry. She thanked Antonio for the lift as he pulled up, ignoring the calls of her name and retreating to the locker room. Sat on one of the benches, Taylor took a deep breath and buried her head in her hands.

"Tay?" came Kelly's voice as she heard the door open, "Are you okay?"

"I feel sick..." Taylor mumbled into her hands.

"Everything go okay?"

"Voight arrested him, but he knew that I was lying about going there alone and... he pinned me against the wall by my throat," Taylor told him, "He threatened me, said that the police couldn't hold him forever and that I should watch my back."

"Hey," Kelly added, moving to crouch in front of her and taking her hands so that she was looking at him, "He's not going to touch you... I won't let him anywhere near you, I promise."

"This isn't your problem, Kel."

"You're my girlfriend, that makes it my problem and we'll deal with it."Taylor nodded, sighing as Kelly pulled her into his arms and buried her face in his neck. She knew that Greg wasn't one for empty threats and that scared her, but, for now, she just wanted to forget about him.