#brett tucking his hair behind his ear

[vsirsa]

brett and bernard sharing a look backstage

[bellarkeselection]

Hi

My requets is date night at a Blackhawks game with Jay Halstead where he proposes and they have the wedding at molly's where kelly severide is jay best man en Sylvie brett is yn maid of honor and they have a lovely wedding with a cake that is half coverd in a Police badge and a fire figther badge

With alot of fluff thank you

Molly's Wedding Celebration

FireFighters and Police Officers don’t have it easy. With the difficult situations, long hours and difficulty making relationships last. It all just comes with the job we've signed up for. The one thing that currently came with the job is that we all got a second family.

“So how's the future soon to be Mrs. Halstead?” Brett came over to me while we were getting ready at Will's apartment near Molly's.

Tucking hair behind my ear I chuckled with a bright smile. “I still can't believe he proposed to me at a Blackhawks game of all places.”

“You know you loved it. You've watched the video like ten times in the past two weeks.”

Whipping our heads around we both saw my soon to be husband Jay Halstead leaning in the doorway of the apartment with his arms crossed over his chest. “Jay!” I shrieked overjoyed to see him about to run up to him until Brett jumped in between us.

“What are you doing here? You can't be here. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!”

Jay shakes his head dangling a key in his fingers. “I have my brother’s spare key. Severide only took my car keys. So he doesn't know about this.”

“Well you don't get to keep them. Now get out of here.” Brett stomped forward, snatching the key from his fingers.

I gently grabbed her arm trying to stop her. “Brett, don't. He's okay.”

“But he's not supposed to see you-”

Jay raised his hands up slightly in surrender, shifting his gaze briefly over in my direction. “Technically we aren't doing an official formal wedding. So it shouldn’t be a big deal, Sylvie.”

“He’s right, Syl.” I touched her arm glancing towards the clock on the wall seeing it was almost time when we would be heading over to the bar everyone loved. I was wearing a knee length white dress, my light brown cowgirl boots and my hair was curled on the ends. “We're not doing an official ceremony. Speaking of, I think it’s time we make this happen, don't you say Jay?”

My fiancé smirked, holding his hand out for me to take. “Let's do this, Y/n.”

Jay and I headed over with Brett who held open the door letting us inside the local bar first before she ran over to her spit at the end of the bar that we had our own little ulter built at. Jay dropped his hand from mine going to stand up beside Kelly Severide who had been named his best man since we had allowed his brother Will to officiate the ceremony.

My father moved through the crowd of people offering me his arm once he had reached my side. “Your mother and I wouldn’t have minded to pay for a wedding venue but I must say this feels much closer than that probably would have felt.”

“Molly’s is home for me and Jay. It’s the first place we actually met. So it wouldn’t feel truly us if it was done anywhere else in Chicago.”

My father kissed the crown of my head before we paused at the edge of the stage. “Treat her well, Halstead or I’ll come after you.”

“I’ll treat her right, sir.” Jay held out his hand with my father placing my hand in his.

Stepping up onto the wooden stage with our hands intertwined together we kept our eyes focused on one another. Will came up to us smirking his dorky grin while shifting his gaze from me to his brother before he started performing the ceremony. “Growing up I always thought that I would be the one to get married first, but now I couldn’t be happier to see my little brother to be tying the knot. Y.n, you clearly love my brother enough to become his wife. You have the passion as we all do in this room and you both bring out the best in one another. So can I get the rings to marry these two?’

“We’ve got them.” Brett and Severide each held up one wedding ring, one for me and one for Jay handing them to the older Halstaed brother.

Will each handed us a ring shifting his focus onto me first. “Y/n, do you take this man to be your husband?”

“I do.”

He eyed his brother. “Jay, do you take this woman to be your wife?”

“I do.”

Will put a hand on each of our shoulders letting us slip the rings on the other hand. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Jay takes a step towards me cupping my face in his hands, deeply kissing me.

Wrapping my arms around his neck I deepened the already passionate kiss that he had started. Shortly afterwards we heard loud cheers and clapping from everyone in the crowd telling us that we needed to break the long kiss. Shifting my gaze over to the bar we saw Hermin and Gabby coming out of the back room carrying the wedding cake we had ordered. The cake had been designed to be half police badges and the other half was fireman badges.

“Wow. It turned out awesome.” I gasped in shock walking up to once they had sat it down on the main bar table letting everyone gather around.

Casey came through the crowd holding up my fireman jacket for me to see. “I figured you’d want your new last name on your uniform now.” The jacket was somewhat cleaned and Jay’s last name was now stitched on the back in big yellow letters in the spot where my last name had previously been.

“Thank you, Matt.” I slipped it on over my dress, sending Gabby a smirk since she was holding my bouquet of flowers. “Gabby, let’s do the toss now.”

She handed me my bouquet and dragged Brett over into the crowd with her and all the other single ladies. For a while most of us in both departments have been seeing the connection forming between Brett and Casey so now was the perfect time for them to finally tie the knot after so many years of working together. Turning around I gently tossed it up in the air and the bouquet appeared to be going into Gabby’s hands until she ducked down. “You’re the next Firehouse girl to get married, Sylivie Brett!” I squealed before the flowers got dropped into my maid of honor's hands.

“How long have you been planning for me and Casey to get married, Y.n?” She chuckled with Casey wrapping his arm around her waist.

Jay comes to stand beside me, sending the couple a smirk. “Basically since I asked this one to marry me.”

“Alright everyone, the first round of drinks are on me!” Severide announced to everyone and we all cheered overjoyed to know that everything we had planned had turned out as we wanted it to. Molly’s represented the same thing as our wedding cake did. That all first responders and medical professionals of Chicago have all become a large and loving family.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[sevcasejay1chicago]

Steady- Kelly Severide

Characters mentioned: Matt Casey, Sylvie Brett, Blake Gallo, Ritter.

Summary: After feeling sick all day, the feeling finally wins over during the night. On shift.

Warnings: mentions of vomiting, gagging, sickness, needles.

Authors note: hey guys! Sorry it’s been a while. I also know this isn’t a request, but it’s something I had written already. I hope you enjoy! Thank you for sticking around!

——————————————

You had been feeling sick on and off all day. When you and Kelly woke up that morning, you had a brief wave of nausea while you guys were taking a shower. When you stopped talking mid-sentence to breathe through the nausea, Kelly quickly caught on and had gathered your hair in his hands to get it off your face and neck until you felt okay again. You both figured the shower was too hot and you might be dehydrated as the feeling came and went fairly quickly, so you went into the station with him.

During lunch, the feeling returned and stayed with you. You figured it was just whatever meal Gallo made was not sitting well, or the gruesome call you guys had directly after, and kept it from Kelly. Brett caught you kneeling by the ambo during a structure fire as you both waited for the all clear to leave. You brushed her off and said you just needed a breather, but she had her suspicions.

Somehow, you had managed to convince Kelly to let you sleep through dinner, too nauseous to put anything else in your body. Though right before lights out much later in the night, he had cornered you and had you eat some rice that Blake set aside for you. The rice calmed your stomach enough, much to your relief, and you laid down in Kelly’s quarters to catch some shut eye with the rest of the house while Kelly stayed awake doing some paperwork. Kelly took his time, knowing something was up and wanting to keep an eye on you.

Luckily there weren’t any calls for a few hours. So when you suddenly woke up, you were confused when you noticed Kelly’s back to you and the dark bunk room outside his office windows. The confusion quickly vanished when a strong wave of nausea rolled through your body. Without giving it much thought, you launched yourself out of Kelly’s bunk and threw open the door, barely hearing Kelly call out for you or the stir you caused in the bunk room as you sprinted for the bathroom.

Once you rounded the corner, you flipped on both light switches as you raced to one of the cubicles, sliding into the stall and barely getting your head over the bowl before you were vomiting. You sobbed as you first brought up a huge wave of vomit that left you shaking and panting for breath. Your ears rung as you choked up a mouth full of bile and gripped the walls to keep yourself from falling.

Meanwhile, Kelly had managed to get Matt to help calm the bunk room down, instructing him to get Boden to let him know something was wrong as he jogged toward the bathroom after you. Kelly stepped in and immediately heard your sobs that turned to wet gags. After turning off the big light to leave only the lights above the sinks just incase this was one of your migraines, Kelly silently steps into the stall behind you. He gently lays a hand on your back and rubs it up and down as he reaches forward with the other hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“Alright. It’s okay. I’m here. Get it up.” Kelly whispers, grabbing your shoulder as you begin to sway unsteadily.

You sob, reaching back with one hand in search of your husband. This was rough. You haven’t felt this bad in ages.

Kelly sighs and takes your hand, gently slipping his fingers through yours and clutching your hand in his. He adjusts so that your arms are around your torso as he kneels to help balance you. “It’s going to be alright. It’ll be over soon. I’ve got you. Sh Sh Sh. It’s okay baby girl. Just let it happen.” Kelly keeps on soothing you with sweet nothings as you continue to retch, barely able to catch your breath.

Matt and Sylvie stepped into the room not too long after. Matt has a bottle of water and Sylvie has a cloth that she takes to the sinks to dampen. “Can you go grab Kelly’s mouth wash out of his locker?” Brett asks Matt, leaning up to kiss his cheek as she takes the water bottle from him. Matt simply nods and kisses her back before turning around.

Kelly is startled when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He is a mixture of surprised and relieved to find Sylvie looking back at him. “Here. Washcloth for her neck and water for when she’s ready. Matt is going to get your mouth wash from your locker. I’ll let Boden know you both need alternates.” Sylvie says, smiling sympathetically at Kelly as he tightens his hold on you when you almost fall over from gagging so forcefully.

Kelly nods his thanks and takes the washcloth, placing it gently on the back of your neck. He shushes you when you whine at the contact. “Can you get me some Benadryl or Zofran and some sick bags from the ambo? If I can get her slowed down enough, I can get us out of here and home. I think everyone would be more comfortable.” Kelly asks, barely turning back to Brett as he speaks, afraid to take his eye off you.

Brett nods, standing up and almost colliding with Matt, who had just walked up behind her to check on his friends. Matt is quick to place his hands on her hips to steady his girlfriend as she jerks in surprise. “Sure thing. Be right back.”

As Brett leaves, Matt squats down behind Kelly. “Need anything?” He asks, reaching forward and squeezing Kelly’s shoulder.

Kelly nods, shifting slightly once again to look at Matt. “I have a couple reports to finish and some ready to turn in. Can you get that sorted for me and get our bags and my keys ready for when she’s able to move?” Kelly asks his best friend, so grateful that Matt and Sylvie are his friends and he knows he can rely on them.

Matt nods and stands. “Of course.” Matt replies. “Sylvie and I will be home in a few hours. We will get some supplies on our way back.” Matt assures, before calling out a “feel better sweetheart” to you as he walks out of the room.

At this point, you have most of your weight on Kelly as you continue to heave, bringing up bits of bile. Kelly sighs and shushed you again, hating the fact that you are shaking like a leaf as you are practically in his lap since you can barely hold yourself up any longer. You have calmed some, but not by much as more heaves roll through your body. “That’s it. Take it easy. Just breathe.” Kelly encourages, rubbing your right shoulder before bringing his hand to the back of your neck and rubbing his thumb over the cloth. “Shhhhh. It’s okay baby. Try to breathe through it.”

Brett comes back in as Kelly has you almost calm again. She taps his shoulder and lightly waves the syringe filled with Benadryl in the air. Kelly leans to the side as Brett shuffles in closer. “Hey sweetie. I’m gonna give you a shot of Benadryl to help with the nausea. Just a quick pinch.” Brett tells you, not giving you time to process or freak out before jabbing the needle in and pushing the plunger. Brett places the sick bags in Kelly’s pocket before standing and leaving the room.

Kelly kisses the shoulder that Brett just gave you the shot in before rubbing the area lightly. “That should help babe. Just give it some time to work.” Kelly whispers, hating that you are now breathing a bit faster and still letting out gags every now and then. He knows you hate needles, but he gave the consent in order for you to feel a bit better soon. “Let’s just sit and breathe for a few minutes. No need to rush to get up. You let me know when your ready. Do you wanna rinse? Matt and Brett brought you a water.” Kelly soothed, sinking into a sitting position and thanking God for Gallo and Ritter having cleaned the bathrooms a few hours ago.

You nod, slightly leaning away from the toilet and taking the water bottle from Kelly. While you put some in your mouth and swish really well, Kelly reaches up and flushes the toilet. You spit once the water settles some and then try to hand the water back to Kelly, but he begs you to take a few sips, and so you do. Though the water comes back up not long after, you finally start to feel a little steadier after a few minutes.

When Kelly starts to notice your breathing coming back to a normal rhythm, he reaches up to flush once again and kisses the side of your head. “Ready to go rinse with some mouth wash and go home? Brett gave us some sick bags if you need them in the car and Matt has all of our stuff ready to go.” Kelly asked, pulling you a bit closer into his embrace. When he feels you nod, he gives a satisfied hum before pulling you up with him and to the sinks. You’re gonna be okay. He’s going to make sure of it.

[fandom-friday]

I'm here with one of my favorite fics to re-read by friend @the-bad-batch-baroness and her clone oc Brett called Puddles and Paddles it's nsfw and it's so good

Reading the warnings like *tucks hair behind ear* hey. Also, giggling about "Brett is his own warning".

Thanks so much for the rec!

Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)

[the-bad-batch-baroness]

Hey I'm late today, but I couldn't go to bed without saying that I missed my little brat today and I leave him a hug if he want's it or not.

Because you stuck with me sky guy idiot. *affectionate*

*You try to hug Brett*

*Brett pushes you away*

Brett: What is with you and touching people without their permission???

*You pout*

*Brett crosses his arms*

Brett: If I needed a hug, I'd ask for it. Don't just assume I want it.

*You cross your arms like him*

Brett: You're so kriffin annoying!

*You repeat his words in a mocking tone*

*Brett takes a deep breath and releases it*

Brett: Out, now.

*You protest*

Brett: Don't make me say it again.

*You roll your eyes, grumble, and leave*

--- several hours later ---

*You're sitting on the couch reading a book*

*Brett comes up to you and takes the book out of your hands and sets it down on the table*

*You whine because the story was just getting good, and he didn't even bookmark the page*

*Brett sits down next to you and pulls you onto his lap, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear*

Brett: Now I want it.

*Brett wraps his arms around you and presses you gently against his chest, breathing deeply*

[a-writer-on-elm-street]

Can I request a Brett talbot imagine where him and the reader have been dating long term (4 years ongoing) and they are at a high school party where Lori is being left out so the reader and her sisters drag Lori to the dance floor to cheer her up, maybe ends in smut where brett shows her how amazing she is? If your comfortable with writing smut for them if not then I 100% understand 💗

You're Amazing

Pairing: Brett Talbot x Fem!Reader

Summary: Brett shows you just how amazing he thinks you are.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption (implied), smut, oral sex (f receiving).

A/N: Thank you so much for this request. I was totally okay writing smut but if you're ever unsure I have a post that tells you all the things I will and won't write. Hope you enjoy this fic! <3

Also, after I finished writing this, I realised you asked for the reader to have sisters and I forgot to include that in the story. So if you'd like, I'd be happy to rewrite this, just DM me and let me know, or send another ask.

You were unable to pull your gaze from the familiar face standing alone across the room, the bustling crowd of teens seeming to ignore her as she stood there awkwardly.

You'd come to this party with Brett, and you were currently standing in a corner, him lazily hanging off your shoulders as you held your beer.

"What're you staring at?" He asked, his head turning to face you so that you could feel his hot breath on your cheek.

You shrugged, letting out a heavy sigh as you continued to stare at the girl across the room. "Your sister, she's all on her own."

"I'll go talk to her." He immediately said as he started to move from where he was draped across your shoulders.

But before he could walk away, you reached up to grip his arm, stopping him. "No, no. I've got it."

He just flashed you a small smile as he leaned back against the wall, taking your beer from you before you ventured off into the crowd in pursuit of his sister.

When you'd managed to push through the crowd, you tapped her on the shoulder. "Lori?"

She gave you a nervous smile, her hand coming up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Oh, hey (y/n). What's up?"

"You wanna dance?"

"Oh, I dunno."

"Come on." You urged, flashing her a grin as you reached out to grip her hand in yours, slowly guiding her towards the dance floor.

She quickly obliged, following close behind you as you made your way over to the the space where mostly couples were glued together, lazily swinging their bodies back and forth.

You could tell that Lori was still a little doubtful so you turned to her, securing your other hand around hers as you urged her to start moving with you.

At first, your movements were awkward, uncoordinated as you both struggled to find your footing.

But soon Lori was smiling, bouncing along with you on the dance floor as the music blared in your ears.

"Having fun?" You asked, your hands still entwined with hers as you danced around.

"What?!" She yelled, leaning closer to you to hear you better.

"Are you having fun?!" You repeated, your voice straining a little as you shouted.

She nodded then, a wide grin expanding across her features. "Thanks for this! My brother really picked a good one huh!"

"Yup!" You smiled, slowing your movements down as the song started to come to an end.

All the couples that were pressed together were still clumsily swaying around when you let go of Lori's hands, inviting her back to come and stand with you and Brett.

Again, she followed you through the crowd and when you finally got back to your original corner, Brett was waiting for you.

"Hey." He smiled, handing you back your beer and then directing his attention towards his sister. "You okay?"

She nodded, giving him a small smile as she stood beside you. "Yeah I'm good. Your girlfriend's a keeper by the way."

"She's amazing isn't she?" He grinned, slinging an arm over your shoulders as he leaned down to press a light kiss to your temple.

"Shut up." You smiled, shrugging him off.

"What? I mean it." He said, pretending to be offended by your response.

You all probably only stood there together for a few more minutes before Lori spoke up. "You know, you two don't have to stay here with me."

"You sure?" Brett asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired anyway. I might just go home."

"You want me to walk you out?" He asked her, standing up straighter now.

Lori just shook her head, offering him a small smile. "Thanks, but you know I can take care of myself."

"Alright, then I guess I'll see you later." He answered, giving her a small wave as she wandered off into the crowd, leaving you both alone now.

Brett leaned closer to you then, his lips brushing against your ear as he spoke. "You wanna go upstairs?"

"Sure." You smiled, threading your fingers with his as you followed him towards the stairs.

You both managed to find an unoccupied bedroom, and Brett quickly led you inside, locking the door behind him.

"You know I meant what I said back there." He started, a small smile on his face as he leaned against the door, watching you. "You're amazing."

"I only did what any other person would do." You excused, attempting to shrug the compliment off.

"Well thank you." He smiled, stepping closer to you. "For looking out for my sister."

"It's no problem." You answered, your breath catching in your throat when his hands found their way to your hips.

He leaned down to you then, his lips gently brushing against yours, and if he wasn't holding onto your hips right now you swore you probably would've collapsed right there.

"I love you." He said softly, pure adoration in his eyes as he stared down at you.

"I love you too." You smiled, reaching up to cup the back of his neck, pulling him toward you to reconnect your lips with his.

You felt him smiling against your lips as his arm curled around your waist, pulling you closer.

And as he guided you both towards the bed in the centre of the room, you both never broke away from each other, his arms still secured tightly around your waist.

You gasped when your legs hit the edge of the bed, earning a small grin from Brett before he lowered you down onto the mattress.

He carefully lifted your t-shirt over your head, a wide smile expanding across his features as he stared down at you.

"You're so beautiful." He marvelled, seemingly breathless as he took you in.

You immediately brought your hands up to cover your face, unable to stop the stupid grin forming on your lips.

But Brett was quick to pull your hands away, forcing you to look up at him. "Don't hide your face from me."

You smiled then as he ducked down to press a kiss just below your jawline, your breath hitching in your throat as he continued to drag his lips down your neck, towards your chest.

"You're amazing." He mumbled against your skin, his mouth trailing closer to your stomach. "I got so lucky with you."

"Shut up." You giggled, meeting his eyes when he slipped his fingers underneath the waistband of your jeans, silently asking for permission.

You offered him a small nod in response, smiling down at him as he swiftly removed your jeans, leaving you in just your underwear now.

"I mean it ya know?" He spoke softly, his fingers carefully wrapping around your ankle. "I really do."

He gently lifted your leg off the mattress sightly, beginning to leave a trail of kisses from your ankle to the inside of your thigh, each gentle press of his soft lips sending chills up your spine.

And you watched as he dragged his lips all the way up to your clothed cunt, pausing to look up at you for a moment.

You offered him a small smile before he returned his attention to between your legs, slipping the thin material of your underwear down your thighs.

You shivered when he positioned his head between your thighs, his hot breath fanning over your bare pussy.

And when you felt the first swipe of his tongue, you were unable to hold back the loud moan that fell from your lips.

Brett hummed against your flesh, his hands coming up to grip your thighs, keeping you in place as he swirled his tongue over your throbbing clit.

"Oh." You moaned, your eyes fluttering closed at the sensation of his mouth on you. "Jesus."

"God you're so beautiful." He mumbled against you, the vibrations of his voice sending a jolt of pleasure through you.

"I love you Brett...so much." You panted, reaching up to desperately grip the sheets in your hands.

You were helpless beneath him, and you almost jumped off the bed when he thrust his tongue inside you, his grip tightening around your thighs to keep you still.

He was no longer muttering compliments againt you now, instead he was moaning along with you, his face still snug against your pussy as he continued to eat you out.

And it wasn't long until you were reaching your release, heat beginning to pool in your belly as he pushed his tongue into you harder.

"Oh my god!" You cried out when you finally came, pleasure wracking through your body as Brett continued to lap at your clit, groaning against you.

He pulled away then, smirking at you as he wiped his mouth, before crawling back up your body to meet you in a desperate kiss, his hands tangling in your hair.

And when he pulled back to look down at you, he had the biggest smile on his face. "You're amazing."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N: Just gonna say, if any part of this is innacurate to his character it's because this is my first time writing for him (same with Lori too). But I really tried to make it as accurate as I could so I hope this is okay! Also, sorry this took so long aha😅

[Main Masterlist] [Brett Masterlist]

[brettsey-two-tts]

Name "can't help falling in love"

For Brettsey, please

:) I think I'm going to go with a Teacher AU.

Sylvie Brett is the new English teacher; she was recommended to Boden by Stella, the PE teacher and coach of the women's volleyball and basketball team. The two had met at a gym they both frequented and when Sylvie mentioned that she was looking for a new teaching job, Stella practically asked for her resume on the spot so she could give it to their principal. She got the job on the spot, and effortlessly, too. She answered any and all questions Boden threw her way and he was left absolutely impressed.

On her first day, she was formally introduced to the rest of the faculty during a morning meeting and when her eyes scanned the room to get a sense of her co-workers personalities, her eyes found a pair of gentle blue ones. His hair was very light brown and longer than all the other men in the room. His short bangs were swept to the side and for some damn reason, the look made him look really, really handsome and charming. Under everyone’s gaze, especially his, Sylvie nervously tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears.

During a break, Stella introduces Sylvie to her fiancé, Kelly Severide, and his best friend, Matt Casey. When Sylvie shakes Matt’s hand, she finds it hard to tear her gaze away from his. The two don’t realize they’re staring at each other until Gallo, a younger and first-time teacher, interrupts them to introduce himself as well.

Stella doesn’t tease her until they bump into each other at the gym a few days later. She tells Sylvie that she can give her Matt’s number but Sylvie politely declines. While she does find Matt incredibly attractive, she’s still getting over a break up and doesn’t want to risk hurting a potentially really good friendship.

Her classes are easy going, minus a few bad apples, but its nothing that she can’t handle. She goes over the syllabus and warns her students of the various writing assignments they’ll need to complete over the course of the year, and as expected, she hears a few moans and groans.

While everyone is taking a quiz on some reading material, Sylvie hears a knock on her door. She turns and sees Matt give her a small wave. She gestures for him to come in and when he does, he immediately notices everyone is taking a test.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” she replied with a small smile. “What’s up?”

Matt handed her a small stack of papers. “I believe these are yours.”

It’s the quiz for the next class, the one she hastily printed out in the morning. She internally chastises herself when she realizes that she must’ve forgotten a few before she left the teacher’s lounge. “I’m so sorry, Matt.”

“It’s okay,” he replied with a very charming and gentle smile. The blue in his eyes are somehow a softer shade. “We all do it now and then.”

She takes the papers from him and feels their fingers brush against each other. She feels a jolt in her spine but somehow avoids physically showing it. “Thanks. I really owe you one.”

He shakes his head a bit. “Don’t mention it.”

After he quietly leaves, she doesn’t realize she’s watching until its too late. She’s trying to regain her composure when she’s walking back to her desk to put the papers with the rest of the stack. When she looks back up to make sure no one is cheating, she’s surprised to see everyone staring at her. Most of the girls are wearing knowing grins and some of the guys are bashfully looking away. It almost feels like they caught her in the act but she doesn’t know what that ‘act’ is. She clears her throat and reminds everyone to turn in their quiz when they’re done.

Two weeks later, Matt knocks on her door frame. She has a free period to catch up on tasks so her room is very much empty. When she looks up at the sound, she greets him with a bright smile.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” he replies. His brows furrow and he looks reluctant to ask her something.

She quickly picks up on it and asks with a small frown, “Everything okay?”

He scratches the back of his head a bit. “Do you mind watching my class for ten minutes? Severide forgot something in my room when he was talking to me during lunch.” He sees the stacks of papers in front of her and quickly adds, “If you’re not busy, I mean.”

She reassures him that she isn’t busy and follows him to his room. When they enter, he tells them they’re reading about the first World War. She’s no history buff but she nods nonetheless. They talk for a minute or two and he thanks her profusely before he leaves. When she sits down at Matt’s desk and lifts her head to take a quick peek at the students to make sure they were reading like they were supposed to, she finds a lot of knowing smiles pointing at her. She’s confused at first but decides to quietly keep her mind busy by taking in the unknown that was Matt’s classroom.

A few months later, Stella and Severide host a little get together with everyone at their place to celebrate their engagement. Neither of them wanted to have separate parties since they loved spending time with everyone together. They crack open some alcohol and then play a few games to see who knows the couple the most. Later, while everyone is watching a hockey game on the tv, Sylvie quietly slips away to the balcony.

The fresh air feels nice on her skin and she lets out a quiet sigh. Since her new job, she hadn’t really gone on any dates. She mostly spends her time catching up with work, catching up on her HGTV shows, or going to the gym. Of the dates that she has gone on, she can safely say that none of them went past the first date.

“Everything okay?”

She turns her head a little and sees Matt close the sliding door behind him. It’s when she really, really notices his dark blue button up and his black jeans. It’s a casual look and he wears it so very well. She knows he’s handsome in his more professional wear but damn is he hot in his casual wear, too.

“Yeah,” she replies. “I just needed some fresh air.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.”

Silence falls between them and it’s neither awkward or weird. It’s so very... normal. She finds it comforting and relaxing, which is odd considering the silence between her and her previous dates were always so very awkward. Maybe it was Matt’s demeanor or the gentleness and kindness he always exuberated behind those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

Her eyebrows raise when she remembers something. “Thanks again for helping me break that fight up in the hallway last week.”

He smiles at the remembrance and replies, “I didn’t do anything. You’re the one that separated them before anything could become of it.”

She remembered in the middle of it, she took a step back and felt her back collide with something solid. When she looked behind her, she realized it was Matt’s chest she had just bumped into. He was wearing a stern look to make sure the kids actually walked away from each other, but as soon as he asked Sylvie if she was okay, his look immediately softened. She nearly turned into a puddle of goo at that moment.

“But still, thank you.”

He flashes a grin and gives a small nod. “Always happy to help.” He reaches into his back pocket and takes out a piece of paper. “Remember those two kids in your third period class and my fifth period class?”

“Yeah.”

“Guess what I caught them doing.” He hands her the piece of paper and when she opens it, it reveals a whole conversation between them. The paper must’ve been passed back and forth because each response alternated between two different colored pens. The conversation on the piece of paper was about what movie they were going to see on their second date.

“They’re dating!” Sylvie squeals in delight. The two kids in their class were always flirting with each other and when she noticed they were also in Matt’s class, she confessed to him how cute they were with each other. It almost became one of their topics whenever they talked to each other.

Her bright smile and sheer happiness caused him to beam at her. “I knew it would cheer you up.”

Her smile softened. “Who said I needed cheering up?”

“Kidd mentioned you’ve been feeling down lately.”

“Oh.” She tucks the piece of paper into her pocket. “That’s just... it’s...” She doesn’t know what to say.

“Talk to me,” he murmurs and in that moment, she finds enough trust and comfort in him to say it on the spot.

She confesses, “I’ve been having trouble in the dating department and I’ve been complaining a lot to Stella lately, so...”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“What?”

“That you’re having trouble dating.”

She gives him a funny look. “Why?”

“Because you’re--” he stops himself, but as they stare at each other, he realizes there’s no going back. “You’re really attractive, you have a great personality, you’re not obnoxious or selfish, and you give all the kids second chances, even the worst of them that might not deserve it.”

She knows her cheeks are bright red but she can’t stop it. “Thank you, Matt Casey.”

He continues, “You deserve someone that makes you happy, regardless of how long it takes.”

She’s staring at him and realizing how much he’s made her happy lately. He’s saved her a slice of pie from the teacher’s lounge when she was running late to their morning meeting, he’s fetched coffee for her in the afternoon when he knew she was running on empty, he’s made her smile every single time they met in the hallway, and he’s saved her from multiple collisions with students in the hallway by gently grabbing her elbow.

“You make me happy.”

He grins at that and meets her gaze. They’re both smiling warmly and holding their breath. Their chests feel so much hotter at the realization and confession of their mutual attraction. They both thank the wonderful Chicago breeze for keeping them upright.

The kiss happens slowly and surely; his hands steady her against him by framing her waist, and she’s deepening their kiss with her hands on the back of his neck. They smile into each other and bask in the wonderful feeling of ‘finally’. They’ve flirted endlessly for the past few months and it was only fitting that their build up gently and beautifully exploded into a kiss on their friends’ balcony. Somewhere in the back of Sylvie’s mind, she reminds herself to thank Stella for bumping into her at the gym several times, for the job recommendation, and for introducing her to Matt Casey.

A couple of weeks after their kiss, word spreads quite fast that Sylvie and Matt are dating. It’s during her first period when several girls that she has gotten to know come up to her.

“Ms. Brett, you have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you at Mr. Casey to get together!” one of them shouts.

“YES!” the other girl exclaims. “It was like witnessing the slowest burn of my entire life!”

When Sylvie tells Matt later during one of their dates at her place, he’s laughing. She starts to ask him if they were really that obvious and starts to verbally think back to all the times they’ve interacted. She starts to list off the possible clues to how everyone knew before they did and even contemplates writing everything down on a piece of paper, and then she hears him continue to laugh.

He thinks it’s cute how much effort she’s putting into the whole interaction with her students.

“What?” she asks curiously.

He’s giving her a very charming and loving smile, similar to the one that she saw on her first day. “I can’t help but fall in love with you.” 

[justoneofthoseghosts]

Brettsey + “want to tell me why you have a divorce attorney’s card on you?”

“Want to tell me why you have a divorce attorney’s card on you?”

Sylvie stills by the sink. Turning the faucet off and wiping her hand on a dish towel before patting her back pocket of her jeans. She had tucked a calling card there earlier in the afternoon when she met with her friend from DCFS. She didn't have time to change when she got home because it was almost dinner time. The card was no longer there. Shoot. It must have fallen out earlier when she dropped a spoon.

She turns around to face Matt, who has an eyebrow quirked, holding a missing calling card between his fingers. There's a look of slight confusion on his face but Sylvie can see a hint of teasing behind his blue eyes.

"We're not even married yet, Sylvie, and you're already planning a divorce?" Matt asks, a joking tone in his voice.

Sylvie looks down at the diamond ring on her finger, remembering suddenly the night Matt proposed in this very same kitchen two weeks ago while they were washing dishes. He told her that he carried the ring in his pocket for over a week, finding the right time to do it, trying to think if he should plan something grand but when he saw her scrubbing a pan with this look of extreme concentration on her face and talking about a weird call ambo had, he knew it was the right time - alone in the warm glow of their kitchen, in the home they had moved into together six months ago.

It was a perfect night in Sylvie's opinion; she didn't need anything flashy or complicated.

She gazes at Matt, shrugging before grinning playfully at him, "girl's got to have a backup plan."

Matt stalks over to her, pulling her close to him by her sweatshirt, wrapping his arms around her waist, "is that so?"

"Um hm," Sylvie hums.

Then I should probably start giving you reasons why you wouldn't need it then, huh?" Matt inquires.

Sylvie wraps her arms around Matt's waist, smiling, all traces of teasing on her face gone, "you don't need to give me any reasons, Matt. I love you and I can't wait spend the rest of our lives together."

"Yeah?"

"Of course," Sylvie nods before explaining, "and that card is for one of the victims we rescued during that apartment fire last shift."

"The mother Gallo pulled out from kitchen?" Matt asks, a bit concerned.

"Yes, she told me some things on the ride to the hospital and I wanted to try and help her and her kids out," Sylvie informs him. The mother had confessed to her that her husband had started the fire in the apartment out of anger and it wasn't the first time. He had tried to do it several times in the past and maybe, she thought, it was time to finally pack her bags and leave him. Sylvie had spoken to her friend as DCFS and got a good divorce lawyer's name from her, one who specialized in family law and who would likely take the case on pro bono.

Matt stares at her intently and it makes Sylvie a bit self conscious. She tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "what?'

"You are amazing," he tells her earnestly, "you are incredibly amazing, Sylvie Brett and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you too."

Sylvie smiles softly, inching closer to Matt and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"I plan to go visit her tomorrow if you want to come with me," Sylvie says.

"I'd love you," Matt replies, "thank you for including me."

"Of course, Matt, we're a team."

Matt's face breaks into a extremely warm smile at Sylvie's words. She knew they both had been through a lot of heartbreak when it came to romance but at the end of it, they found each other, even if it was unexpectedly, and she also knew that whatever life threw at them, they would always face it together, no matter what.

[slytherbun]

Hi bby im back

I don’t have a kink in mind but 🔥🔥🔥 with Sylvie x reader based off s5 ep 06… iykyk 👀

needy

pairing: sylvie brett x reader

word count: 0.9k.

warning sexual content.

note: so i went a little overboard on this one but sub!sylvie is a cutie. 💘

you unlocked the apartment door, one you shared with sylvie and opened it. you walked in without looking around yet and then closed it before turning back around. 

what you saw next had you in shock.

"hi baby." sylvie said with a cheerful tone and walked up to you with a grin while taking off her long jacket. on display was her perfectly shaped body. 

her chest was covered in a black bra and all you wanted to do was unclip her bra and take one of her nipples into your mouth.

your sly little blonde girlfriend knew exactly what she was doing and once you took the badge and gun off your waist, you leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"hi sweet girl." you whispered against her lips, placing your hands on her hips. the same exact ones you always grabbed while having sex. 

especially when you had to hold her hip down while fingering her pussy and she thrashed around on the bed. 

which you wanted to do right now as punishment for the teasing.

"you look so beautiful right now. but i think you should lose this scrap of lingerie though, hmm? i wanna take care of my needy girl." finishing your statement with a kiss to her cheek, she nodded.

"please baby. you look so pretty, need you now." she pouted and you shook your head at her with a smile on your lips. 

after grabbing her hand and lacing your fingers around hers, you tugged her into the bedroom.

once you were inside, you sat her on the bed and took off your own clothes while sylvie watched. she was hoping there wasn't any drool and wiped her mouth just in case.

once you were done tugging everything off, you leaned forward and tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. then you unclipped her bra, tossing it into the pile with yours. 

she gasped, feeling the air kicking on and the cold air brushed against her already hard nipples.

you kissed each tit as if it were a cure for the coldness and palmed one while reaching down to slide her panties down and off of her legs. 

"this is cute. where did you get it?" you asked and she smiled. "i went to victoria secret with stella yesterday. i'm pretty sure they were from a new collection." 

she shrugged and you hummed before placing those down as well.

guess you'll have to take a trip there to shop with erin soon.

when you turned back around, her legs were wide open and waiting for you. a wet glisten was already starting to form and with the index finger, you circled her clit. 

she jerked at the nerves and you made a 'tsk, tsk' noise before moving your finger down further, teasing her slit that was already so wet already for you.

"you've been waiting for me to get home and finger this little pussy, haven't you?" you smirked and looked up to see her head falling back with a moan. 

"y-yes." she stuttered and you rubbed her clit. "what was that?" you questioned with a taunt. you haven't even put a finger in yet and she was already putty underneath you.

"yes i've been waiting for you to come home and-" you pushed a finger inside her tightness, to the knuckle and she gasped. "-and what?" with the finger sitting still inside of her.

"and put your fingers inside me. need more." you added a second finger and smirked. "good girl." with that, you started pushing your fingers in and pulling them out. 

before she could move around, you placed a hand on her hip and leaned down to tongue her clit while you scissored your fingers deep in her little pussy.

you looked up with your tongue on her clit, playing with it as if it wasn't the key to having sylvie explode her wetness all over your face. 

her fingers gripped the sheets behind her and she lifted her head up. sylvie's blue eyes looked down at you.

a moan fell past her lips at the sight and you moved your face away from her pussy for a moment.

"i want you to rub your clit for me." you spoke with a rasp due to the lack of regular oxygen you're used to having and she nodded. 

releasing her hands from the sheets, once her fingers started circling, you tilted your head forward so you were face full again of her wetness.

you put two fingers back in and pushed them around her walls for a moment before pulling them back out and using both hands to spread her apart. 

she placed her other hand on your head, fingers splayed in your hair and then pushed down so your tongue went inside her.

without the restrainment, sylvie had full rein to fuck your face and that's what she did. you pulled your hands away to place one up on her tit and then her hips kept rocking against your face. 

her wetness was practically all of your mouth and cheeks. 

"have i been a good girl? can i come please?" the blonde whined and you squeezed her tit in response. you knew when she finished because more wetness coated your tongue and face.

you pulled away and caught your breath and she fell back on the bed in exhaustion. crawling up on the bed and after pulling her into your arms, you could feel her heartbeat still racing.

sylvie rolled to the side and looked up at you with a pout. "what about you? i want you to finish too" she said breathlessly and you pushed her hair away from her face.

"can i ride your face beauty?" she nodded and that was all you needed to position your pussy in her face this time.

[sylvies-chen]

“The taller person absentmindedly playing with the shorter persons hair while they’re standing in line”

Please use this prompt for Sylvie and Matt.

Their height (& size 👀) difference is so good but never talked about 🗣

You're honestly so right anon, their height and size difference isn't talked about enough!! I think it's mainly because I've never seen Matt/Jesse as a super tall guy, but I could seriously talk about his arms for DAYS. (Also, @everythingaddictxx requested this prompt too-- hope you like it!)

++++

The first time it happens, they're at Molly's.

Matt's arm is drooped lazily around Sylvie's shoulders, both of them a little tipsy as they sit at the bar and happily chat with Herrmann. His hand is hanging loose at first but then gently grips onto a strand of her hair. Her hair is ruffled at her shoulders and needed brushing away from her face anyway, so she lets him rub the single lock of hair between his thumb and his index finger. It's only for a moment, and he pushes it behind her shoulder after, but it happens. Sylvie's heart flutters. He's electrifyingly close to her and it's one of the rare occasions where she feels extremely small next to him. He's practically towering over her, and she feels the distinct urge to shrink-- not self-consciously or into herself, but into his massive arms. It's an embrace that’s tempting beyond measure, like a memory foam pillow that lures you in with the promise of utter bliss.

And god, his hand is still playing with her hair while he looks down at her, eyeing Sylvie with something sweet and wild in his eye. It makes her completely tune out Herrmann until... Crap, she thinks Herrmann just asked her something. What the hell did he just say?

The second time it happens is sort of the same. They're in his quarters because they've both developed the habit of doing paperwork in his office so that they can still spend time together. They had a pretty rough call in the morning though and Sylvie notices the serious furrowed brow that comes with the Captain Casey look that spreads across his face while he's filling it out. When she looks up from her own report, she sees nothing written on his. All he's doing is tapping his pen against the paper, the repetitive clicking quiet but noticeable. She stops it by covering his hand with hers, her fingers soothingly stroking the edge of his pinky. Matt looks up immediately and smiles. The smile he gives her is weak but his Captain Casey look-- the one where it looks like he has the world on his shoulders-- is gone. It's more meaningful than anyone will ever know. She returns the smile, exhaling and soaking in the moment. It's one of those wordless communications that highlight just how lucky she is to have a connection like this with someone like him. With her Matt.

He retracts his hand from out of her hand, caressing Sylvie's cheek for a moment before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. his fingers stray further down the strand of hair though, doing the same thing he had at Molly's just the other week. His thumb and his index finger pinches at her locks, even daring to twirl it around his finger for a moment this time. It makes his smile even wider, and she finally sees the stress of the morning calls leave his body. She takes a silent pride in that.

The third time it happens though, they're in line waiting to get Matt's prescription migraine medication. The doctor had suggested that he ups his dosage just to be safe and she can't help but be a little worried. There's not a risk of anything being wrong with him, they cleared that up months ago before they even started dating, but the whole experience of going with him to the doctor is one she'd rather forget and the pills make that hard. Even though this medication helps him, it's a rough callback to what he almost lost.

She decides to go with him though, because if she was there for everything last time-- the appointments, the MRI, the results-- then she's going to be there for him now. Even if it's just picking up meds at a pharmacy.

It's busy at the pharmacy today, she notices. They're standing in line waiting for the line to move up, and Matt's fidgeting with his hands against his legs. He's just as nervous as she is, if not more. It worries her. Matt acts as a rock for everyone around him all the time, he so rarely gets to rely on someone the way others rely on him. Soon, after latching onto that thought for a moment, something fiercely protective of him roars in her chest. It's an urge to just... support him. It's as simple as that.

"It's just a prescription," she nods like it's a mantra, convincing herself of the same thing. "You're totally fine."

"I know. I just don't really like thinking about it," he sighs, shaking his head. "It's like this reminder that no matter what happens, running into burning buildings and into car wrecks, I can still be so... human."

He lets out a nervous laugh, blinking his thoughts away. "Sorry, I know that's silly," he adds dismissively.

"No, not at all," she assures him without missing a beat. She gives him a fierce and determined look of comfort, and then grabs his hand to lace their fingers together. When she does, her hand moves his over her head until his arm is behind her and his hand droops over her far shoulder. "I don't like thinking about it either, but you're strong no matter how mortal you are. Don't think of it like the thing that almost destroyed you, think of it for what it is: the thing that you survived."

He smiles at her, squeezes her hand before soundly sealing his lips against hers. "Thank you," he mumbles to her when he pulls back. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Sylvie Brett."

She shrugs humbly and giggles. Before she can reply, the people in front of them at the pharmacy move up the line and leaves open space for them to move forward.

As they start to stroll forward slowly, inching closer to the pharmacist's desk, Sylvie feels Matt's hand leave her hand's embrace and over to her hair. As per his usual habit, he pinches at the short, wavy ends of her hair and plays with it in between his thumb and his index finger. Normally, at about this point, Sylvie would ask what this habit of his is. Only she doesn't need to, because she's got the distinct feeling that Matt Casey just likes playing with her hair when he's a little nervous. The first time at Molly's was just to be affectionate but when Sylvie thinks about it, he only does it whenever he's fidgety and anxious.

She decides she'll take this over him tapping his pen any day, so she snuggles further into his side to facilitate access to her hair-- and, admittedly, because she wants to be closer with him. She looks up to him, her cheek resting against his thick and sturdy bicep, and sees his whole demeanor relax again.

Sylvie marvels at Matt's fingers twirling her hair, with a curious twinkle in her eye for the next ten minutes until they get to the pharmacist's desk, pick up his medication without flaw, and everything feels right in the world again.

[thebookreader12345]

Sink or Swim

Pairing: Kelly Severide x reader

Summary: Y/N is the newest member of Squad 3, and when out on a dive rescue, things take a turn for the worse

Requested: No

Warnings: slight swearing and a near death experience

Word Count: 2,064 Words

“Everyone, can I have your attention please” Chief Boden announced to his firefighters, who all turned to look at him, meaning they saw me standing next to him. I had my hands tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and I was rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet. “I want you all to meet Y/N L/N. She’s going to be filling the open spot on Squad 3.”

“Uh, hey,” I say and wave shyly at the group of people sitting in front of me. For a second, the room was quiet, but it wasn’t long before a blonde haired woman stood up and rushed over to me, wrapping me in a big hug.

“I can’t believe we’ve finally got another girl! You’re going to love it here. I promise. I’m Sylvie Brett” the woman stated.

“Nice to meet you. I was the only girl in my old Firehouse, so when I walked up, I was really hoping there’d be a girl here. By the way, whoever owns the mustang parked out front, nice whip” I comment.

“The Mustangs mine” a man with salt and pepper hair spoke and raised his hand. My eyes immediately gravitated over to him, and when I saw who had spoken, my cheeks flushed. The stereotype for a firefighter was a young, handsome, muscular man, and the guy in front of me fit the description perfectly.

“Oh, Y/N, this is Kelly Severide, your lieutenant,” Sylvie told me.

“Nice to meet you, Cap’n” I speak and give him a small smile.

“Where you from, L/N?” Kelly asked me after he heard me use foreign slang for the second time this morning, the first being when I said “whip.”

“The Big Apple. I just moved here a few weeks ago,” I answer.

“NYC, huh? Why’d you move?” a man, who’s jacket read Cruz, questioned.

“Family reasons” I stammer out. “But I’d prefer that we don’t talk about. Lets just say I wanted a change of scenery. Chicago is very different from New York, but good different, you know? I like it here.”

Just then, an alarm blared from everywhere in the building, and everyone shot up out of their seats, heading towards the apparatus floor. Now I knew one similarity between New York City and Chicago; there’s never a boring day at work. 

“Follow me,” Kelly ordered and took my arm, leading me out of the break room. “I’ve got a few rules. One, obey my orders. I don’t like firefighters who exhibit insubordinate behavior, and I absolutely hate doing paperwork for that. Two, if you’ve got a suggestion for how to approach a situation, speak up. I don’t come up with all of the good ideas. And three, never stand around doing nothing. There’s always people who need help, so help them.”

“All right. I think I’ve got it,” I say as we got to the apparatus floor where my gear was already laid out for me.

“Oh, and L/N, welcome to Firehouse 51,” Kelly said.

..................................................

It had been a few weeks since I started on Squad 3, and I was loving every minute of it. Capp and Tony, the other two guys on Squad besides Kelly and I, were very funny and easy to get along with, so I had no problem fitting in. The rest of Firehouse 51 was also inviting, and I really felt at home here. However, there was definitely one thing I enjoyed the most, and that was hanging out with Kelly. Every shift, when things were slow, Kelly and I would sit on the roof together. He would smoke cigars while I chewed on my polar ice gum, and we would have conversations, whether it be about something stupid Otis had done that day, or something in our personal lives outside of work.

“Oh. Did I tell you about the prank I played on Mouch the other day?” I ask Kelly and blow a bubble, popping it with my lips.

“I don’t think so,” Kelly said and took another hit of his cigar. “What’d you do?”

“I stole his secret stash of chocolate” I admit. “And then I blamed it all on Otis.”

Kelly laughed and glanced over at me, meeting my gaze. I could feel myself getting red, so I turned away and looked at the sky. I had a huge confession to make, and it was that I had gained a crush on my lieutenant.

“Um, Kelly, there’s something I have to tell you” I confess.

Kelly put his cigar down on his tray and leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, clasping his hands together in front of him. “What is it?” he asked.

Just before I could tell him that I had feelings for him, the alarm went off inside of the firehouse calling for Squad 3, dive rescue. I got out of my chair and made my way over to the ladder, sliding down it expertly like I had done many times before. Getting my gear on took seconds, and as soon as all of us were in the truck, Tony started the engine and drove out of the garage. It didn’t take long before we got to the river, where a young, red haired woman, who was drenched in water, was waiting for us.

“You have to help them. Please,” she begged.

“Ma’am, calm down. Who do we need to help?” I ask.

“Them,” the woman shouted and pointed out into the middle of the river where a boat was submerged halfway underwater. I could make out a few people on the deck, and at the moment, it looked like they were all safe.

“Can none of them swim?” Kelly questioned as we started putting on our gear, which was basically a second skin to us.

“No. I’m the only one who can” the woman responded. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We just wanted to get one last ride in before summer ended.”

“Hey. Everything is going to be okay........” At the moment, I realized I didn’t know the woman’s name.

“Marissa. My name’s Marissa” the woman said.

“That’s a beautiful name. I’m Y/N. I promise that we’re going to get everyone to safety” I say and grab my oxygen tank from the truck, slinging it on my back.

The rescue itself did not take long. The four of us each took about two trips to the boat, easily getting the people back to land. However, as soon as I began taking off my wet suit, the panic started.

“Where’s Davie? Where’s my son?” a man called out and looked around. I glimpsed over to the boat, and that’s when my eyes caught sight of a boy struggling to stay above water.

“Kelly,” I alert him and point to the water. 

Kelly followed my finger, and when he saw where I was pointing, he cursed. “Our tanks are out of oxygen. We never refilled them after the last dive.”

“That’s cool. I’ll just go in without one” I say and step out of my suit.

“Hell no. Y/N, that water is freezing cold. You’re not going out there. I’ll call in for backup,” Kelly announced.

“What? No. By the time you do that, that kid’ll be dead. On my first day on squad, you told me to never stand around because there are always people that need help. That kid needs help, so I’m going to help with” I share before jumping into the water.

As soon as my skin touched the water, I began to shiver at how cold it was, but I pushed past that and continued swimming. Kelly was calling my name from the shore, but I ignored him and kept going. When I was a few feet from the boy, he sank beneath the waves.

“Shit” I mumble and take a deep breath. Then, I dove deeper into the water, my eyes scanning everywhere for the boy. That’s when I saw Davie struggling to swim to the surface not far from me. He was holding his breath, which was a good sign, and he was still conscious. I swam over to him and got behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I kicked my feet in an attempt to propel us up and out of the water, but the current was too strong. I was starting to loose my breath, and I could tell Davie was too, so I did what any firefighter would do; save the victim first. I pushed Davie as hard as I could to the surface, hoping that someone else could get to him, and that’s when I felt the sudden urge to breathe. I couldn’t hold my breath anymore, and when I breathed, all I took in was water. Suddenly, I got lightheaded, my eyes drifted shut, and I lost consciousness deep in the Chicago River.

Kelly’s POV

I waited a few minutes, and Y/N still hadn’t resurfaced with Davie. Where the hell was she? At that moment, Davie appeared back on the surface, but Y/N was nowhere to be found.

“Capp, go out and get the kid. Now!” I demand. “I’m going to look for Y/N.” Capp nodded and jumped into the water with me following close behind. I swam out to where Davie was, and as Capp took the boy, I dove under the water. I looked around, hoping to find Y/N, and thankfully, I did, but she was unconscious. I made my way over to her, grabbed her body, and kicked towards the surface. When I got above the water, I tugged Y/N’s body with me to shore. Tony and Capp helped me lift her out of the water, and when I got back onto land, I pressed my ear against her chest. She wasn’t breathing.

“I’m going to call an ambulance,” Tony informed me and rushed towards the truck.

I took a deep breath, pinched Y/N’s nose, tilted her head back, and then I placed my mouth to hers. I breathed into her mouth a few times, and when I pulled away, I watched to see if she began breathing again, but she wasn’t. “Come on” I cry out and breathe into her mouth some more.

“Ambulance is 5 minutes out,” Tony said to me.

“She doesn’t have 5 minutes. Come on Y/N. Breathe,” I mumble and press my mouth to hers again. No matter how many times I tried, Y/N did not seem to come back. Just as I was about to give up, Y/N turned her head to the side and coughed up water. “Y/N! Thank god you’re okay.”

Y/N’s POV

The feeling of water leaving my lungs did not feel good. As I continued retching, Kelly helped me turn my body so that I wasn’t choking on my own spit and whatever else was coming up my throat. I coughed one more time and sucked in a huge breath before laying back down on the pavement.

“Y/N,” Kelly spoke and cupped my face with his hands.

“Hey, Cap’n,” I mutter and give him a tired smile.

“What did I say about following orders? You know I hate filing insubordination charges,” Kelly said.

“Maybe you can forget about that just this one time,” I whisper as I heard ambulance sirens getting closer.

“Only if you promise to never do that again. I mean it,” Kelly told me.

“Okay. Deal. Look, there’s something I never got to tell you,” I manage to breath out.

Kelly only smiled and pressed his lips to mine, giving me a quick kiss. “I like you too,” he assured me as an ambulance parked a few feet away from us. “Just focus on getting better now, okay? I promise we can talk about all of this as soon as you’re back in business.”

“Sounds good to me. Hey, could you ride with me in the ambo?” I ask. “I may or may not be afraid of hospitals.”

Kelly laughed and kissed my forehead. “Of course. Now, lets get you treated. I want my girl back on Squad as soon as possible.”

“Your girl? I thought we were talking about that later,” I say with a grin.

“Just shut up and accept it,” Kelly said.

“All right. I can’t believe Kelly Severide, the Lieutenant of Squad 3 and the hottest firefighter in Chicago likes me. I can get used to this,” I murmur.

___________________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13​ @campingmonkey @winterberryfox @anotherfan07 @giagma​

[alittlextrathatway]

So excited for those prompts!!

Fluff #21 Brettsey

“I haven’t seen (her/him/them) smile like that in ages.”

******

Things are weird with Casey.

He’s been, what her grandmother would call, courting her. She’s never been courted before and it’s very strange. Apparently, it’s all about small gestures and actually learning how to use his words.

It’s been weird but...nice.

Yes, she still wants to kiss him senseless and has to work very hard not to jump him again.

But growing closer emotionally and not getting swept away in the physical attraction, which they could do because good god the man can kiss, has been refreshing. Slowly but surely, she’s learning to trust him when he tells her she’s the only person he’s been thinking about or assures her he’s moved on from Gabby.

She knows they’re just one small step from moving beyond friends, but she has no idea what that last step will look like or when it will occur. Or even what she needs to feel secure in taking that step.

She walks into every day now with her guard down and her heart open. It feels one hundred times better than where she was just a few weeks ago.

Matt tracks her down in the middle of shift today, finding her in the back of the ambo finishing an incident report.

“Hey,” he says, smiling brightly as she looks up at him.

“Hey!” She replies. She sets aside her report and focuses on him instead. “Did you need something?”

He shakes his head and leans against one of the open ambo doors. “Just had a break in paperwork and felt like seeing you.”

“Oh,” she replies, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while grinning bashfully. She looks away from him for a moment to try and calm the loud thumping of her pulse in her ears. He’s been saying things like that a lot lately. She likes it, maybe too much. “Well, here I am.”

“I was thinking, maybe we could get breakfast after shift?” He asks as he folds his arms across his chest and then lets them fall down at his sides. He clears his throat and then shoves his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight anxiously. “You know, like a date.”

“I’d like that,” she agrees, blushing as she beams at him.

“Good,” he says, blowing out a relieved breath and grinning broadly at her. “Me too.”

“Uncle Matt!”

Matt’s head swivels toward the voice approaching the back of the ambo and Sylvie’s follows his surprised gaze. Two women are approaching, one in her late teens and the other perhaps a few years older than Matt. He smiles easily and catches the girl when she runs at him in a hug.

“Violet!” He says as he releases her and then hugs the older woman too. “Christie. What brings you guys by?”

“Mom said I could only participate in Senior Skip Day if I did something nice for someone else so we have lunch for the firehouse in the car,” Violet says with a cheeky grin. “Pretty fair trade for not having to go to class, I think.”

“I’m here to supervise,” Christie explains.

“Got it,” Matt replies before turning to Violet. “Well as long as whatever you brought isn’t your mom’s vegan cooking then I’m sure the house will love it.”

Christie slaps his shoulder and glares at him. “I don’t care how grown up we are, I will beat you up.”

“You’re pretty violent for a vegan—“

She smacks him again and he winces through a laugh.

“Okay, okay, I give!”

Sylvie chuckles at the scene in front of her, reminding the group that she’s there. Matt blushes furiously and stumbles to find his words, realizing she’s seen a new side of him.

“Uh, Christie, Violet, this is Sylvie Brett, our Paramedic-In-Charge,” Matt says, motioning to her and then nervously scratching the back of his neck.

Violet’s eyes light up and her mouth opens to speak but Matt glares at her causing her to clamp her mouth shut and look away from him.

“Sylvie, this is my niece, Violet, and my sister, Christie.”

Sylvie hops down out of the ambo and nods at them. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I bet not as much as we’ve heard about you,” Violet says with a secretive smirk.

Christie chuckles softly while Matt groans in embarrassment. “My stern uncle glare is losing its touch, I see. Thank you for that, Violet.”

“You’re welcome,” Violet replies victoriously. “I’m gonna go get the food from the car. It was nice to finally meet you, Sylvie!”

“You too,” Sylvie calls after her as Violet all but skips away.

“I should go help her,” Matt says, reluctantly leaving Sylvie alone with his sister. “Please don’t embarrass me,” he asks Christie just before waking away.

“Please,” she mutters with a roll of her eyes. “What else are older sisters for?”

Sylvie laughs and nods her agreement. “As an older sister to a younger brother, I wholeheartedly agree.”

Christie gives her a conspiratorial grin and nods. “I knew I’d like you. I’m glad to be right. From the minute he first brought you up, I just knew.”

“You did?” Sylvie asks curiously. “How?”

“He lights up when he talks about you. I mean with a smile that takes over his entire face. I haven’t seen him smile like that in ages. Not since we were kids, honestly,” Christie turns her head to meet Sylvie’s gaze head on. “You make him happier than I’ve ever seen him and how could I dislike anyone who makes him that happy?”

“I—I do?”

Christie nods and reaches over to squeeze Sylvie’s shoulder. “You do. Trust me. He’s become more and more reserved over the years but...since your name started coming up in conversation he’s opened up. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Oh, I haven’t really done anything,” Sylvie says with a dismissive wave. “He makes it easy to care about him. Maybe a little too easy. I can’t seem to help myself most of the time.”

“It took me most of our lives to even begin to understand him,” Christie admits. “But once I did, he sucked me in too. He’s been there for us so much over the years. He stepped up when my husband stepped out. I wouldn’t have made it through that mess without him. Violet wouldn’t have made it through school without him. Jim never showed up to anything but Matt always did. He deserves someone to support him the way he’s supported us and, as much as I liked Gabby, that was never her way. But you — I have a very good feeling about you, Sylvie Brett.”

Sylvie’s stunned into silence. She never expected to meet Matt’s sister today and she definitely didn’t expect her to be so forthcoming. Lord knows her brother usually isn’t.

Christie smiles sympathetically at her flabbergasted expression and pats her arm.

Violet and Matt choose that moment to walk through the bay doors with two trays full of individually wrapped subs.

“I’ll take that,” Christie says as she marches up to Matt with open arms, mercifully saving Sylvie from having to respond.

She doesn’t give Matt a chance to argue, snatching the covered to-go tray from his grasp.

“Violet and I will go set it all up since you’re supposed to be on the receiving end of this gesture.”

Matt takes in Sylvie’s blush and slackjaw with a concerned pinch between his brows. He waits until Christie vanishes through the double doors and then steps closer to her.

“Are you okay? Did Christie say something to upset you?”

She shakes her head and smiles slowly at the earnest look in his eyes. “No, actually, she—well, I don’t know what to call it. She was...encouraging, I suppose.”

His worry instantly becomes confusion. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. What did she say?”

He really is incredibly sweet and it only makes him sweeter to imagine him attending all of Violet’s school events and games throughout her young life. Of course he’d be the best brother and uncle he could possibly be. He wouldn’t stand for anything less.

Just like he’s been refusing to give her any less than his best. It took him a minute to round up the courage but once he did...well, she never stood a chance.

She’s suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to kiss him. It reminds her of that night at Molly’s. She feels like she did while listening to Gallo talk about him jumping from the truck. Only this time, there’s no real reason to stifle the instinct.

She cranes her neck around the apparatus floor, satisfied when she finds no one around. Her hands fist around the crisp white collar of his Captain’s shirt and drag him around the side of the ambo, just out of sight of the double doors. She presses herself against him until his back collides against 61.

Matt looks startled but pleased and grins teasingly at her. “What Christie said was that good, huh?”

She laughs and slips her hands around the back of his neck, fingers sliding into his hair. “Shut up and kiss me, Matt Casey.”

“Copy that,” he agrees with a wicked smirk.

The smugness in his voice makes her want to smack him but before she can his lips connect with hers and his arms wrap around her waist.

After that, it’s impossible to think at all. The world and the firehouse fall away and nothing matters other than the two of them.

[shelby-love]

JAY HALSTEAD

"I won't let him touch you."

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warnings: none

Authors note: LONG MINI STORY BEWARE!

Hank Voight stood outside Boden's office with his Intelligence team behind him. He knocked once and was immediately let in.

Hank walked towards the bataillon chief and shook his hand. "We need your help Wallace."

Boden didn't know what to say to that, he sat in his chair and waited for an elaboration. "I don't know how I can help you."

"Not you. Your paramedics. Call them in," This was the first time Hank mentioned something the rest of Intelligence didn't know or have inside on. Jay's eyebrows raised but before he could say something Ruzek put his hand on his shoulder, halting his movements.

The unit has been working on a tough case - a case that at some point included them undercover.

It didn't set well with Jay that his girlfriend was brought into this mess. It didn't sit well with him at all.

Boden grabbed the phone and called Connie, "Connie fetch Y/LN and Brett for me would you?"

He noticed the weird look Connie gave him, she too wondered what two paramedics had to do with the best unit in CPD. She stood up and did as she was told nevertheless.

"Y/LN, Brett - Chief Boden wants to talk to you," Connie informed you two. Your eyes fell on Sylvie and everyone else in the common room. You rummaged through your brain and tried to find a pissible explanation as to why he would want to talk to you.

As you and Sylvie walked towards his office you couldn't help but ask out loud, "We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

"That's what I was thinking!" She exclaimed, "What if this is about the gauze? I told you we shouldn't have used it!"

A few days ago, you somehow fell while going home from work. Sylvie and you decided to take the gauze from the ambo and patch you up with that, and a few more things.

"We didn't use a lot though!" Your debate was cut off as you found yourself outside his office. You raised your hand to knock but someone had already opened the door before you even connected your knuckle to the door.

It was Jay who opened it.

You failed at hiding your shock as you slowly walked into the office. You felt the tension from your boyfriend in waves and you didn't know why.

"You wanted to see us chief?" Sylvie asked, unsure of the whole situation. She looked around the room just like you did before looking back at you. Silently you told each other you'll be fine.

"Yes," Boden said and told you to sit down. "Sargent Voight and the rest of Intelligence are here to speak to you."

Us? You wanted to ask but Voight started talking immediately after Boden said that, leaving no room for questions. "5 days ago. March 11th, the two of you went on a call. Person's name is Henry Smith."

You immediately know who he's talking about. Henry Smith himself called for an ambulance, once you got to the scene you helped him in the ambo and drove him to the hospital where he was operated and the bullet was successfully taken out. You didn't think he would pull through but you gave a lot of effort to keep him alive in the ambo, you even talked while he was conscious.

"What about him?" Sylvie took the words right out of your mouth.

"He's a serial killer." Voight replied monotone. Your eyes immediately seeked for Jay's and your heartbeat spiked up drastically. Many thoughts rushed through your brain. Was he trying to get a hold of you two? Was he planning on killing you? Are they here to put you two in witness protection?

"I... I don't understand," Your voice was shaky as you said those words. Jay himself didn't even know where this was all going. He just wanted you out of this mess. He didn't wanted you pulled into it.

"You two might be the only people Henry Smith trusts," He said that so causally it scared you. "I want you two undercover."

Sylvie almost passed out, you almost started crying and Jay... He lost it. "What? Sarge are you out of your mind??! No! Hell no!"

"Halstead you don't have a say in this I want you clear headed. Don't make this harder than it already is." Hank knew how much this was affecting Jay. He wasn't blind, he saw what you two had. You two loved each other and this was one of the most difficult things someone could put you through.

"Leave her out of this." He wasn't backing down.

"Henry is a casino guy. He has inside on all of us... But not on you," Voight started to explain. "That's why I want you undercover. Find out his cards. Tell us how he plays. He'll tell you because he trusts you."

You shared a look with your Chief, "Who did he kill?"

At your question Voight turns towards Jay, it's clear that he wants your boyfriend to tell you. Jay was tense and uneasy and it took him a while before he spoke up, eyes locked with yours. "His parents. Brother and two sisters...." When he stopped talking Voight incouraged him to continue "Go on."

Jay shook his head and clenched his jaw, he knew you'd want to help after you hear him say it. "He killed his two year old niece and now he's after almost every businessman in Chicago." Your one hand flew to your mouth and you gripped the arm rest tightly with the other. Jay wanted nothing more than say you didn't have to do any of this, that he'll do it all for you.

"He has a list," Voight continues to speak over the silence. "A list you need to get or more people and kids will die."

"Sarge come on-" Jay was ready to fight him.

"No we'll do it."

The whole room looked at you. Everyone was silent. Even Jay couldn't believe it.

You trusted Voight, no matter how much you sometimes didn't like Jay working with him, in this time and at this moment you actually trusted him. You also trusted that Henry wouldn't hurt you.

"Hey hey sir you need to trust me okay? We'll help you get through this!" You told the man before you. You pressed the gauze on his side to take sure to halt the blood flow. "What's your name?"

"h-henry."

"Okay Henry I'm Y/N. Sylvie and I will help you through this. You just gotta hang tight okay? Just trust us."

"I trust you." He said quietly and at that moment his heart beat fell and you were fighting time to keep him alive until Sylvie got you to the hospital.

Sylvie nodded bravely at you, "Where do you want us?"

***

"This necklace is wired," Ruzek explained the gangets to you. "It'll match your dress and no one will even suspect." You triwled the necklace in your hand, it was gold and it had a red ruby in the middle - of course the ruby was wired and fake.

You couldn't help but sneakily steal a glance at Jay. He leaned against the door and kept his gaze locked on you.

Your outfit was casino appropriate. But in other words flaming hot and revealing. If the outfit was under different circumstances - maybe when you and Jay decided to treat yourself by going out - then you would've felt amazing and confident. Now you just wanted to wrap yourself in a blanket and dissappear.

You turn your attention back to the gadgets. "Is there anything else you want me to attach to myself?"

"Nope. That'll be it."

A part of you wanted Adam to continue talking about the wireless gadgets so that way you could keep your focus on him and not worry about the fact that you're going straight into a killers arms.

***

"If you need me you call okay?" Jay's two big hands cup the sides of your face delicately. You can see the worry in his eyes.

"What if-"

"No. Listen there's no what if. If you need me just call. No one will lay his hand on you." As if he can't help himself he pulls back and wraps his arms securely around you. "I won't let him touch you."

No one from intelligence could follow you inside except for Ruzek and Atwater, that's why they also had cops who dressed civil and were going in with you and them.

"Alright we need to get going." Antonio's voice pops your bubble of safety and gets you moving.

You make your way to a flashy red car with Sylvie and Jay walks opposite of you. He walks towards a big loaded SUV and grabs a sniper Hank Voight had already prepared for him.

"Halstead you're on the roof. Kill that son of a bitch."

He didn't have to be told twice. "I won't let him touch her."

Voight placed his hand on Jay's tense shoulder. "I know."

***

"Do you copy?" Adam's voice rings in your ear. Sylvie and you are two steps away from the main entrance. You try to be as subtle as possible while you tuck a strand of your misplaced hair behind your ear. "We hear you Adam."

"Great. You girls have money. Make your way to the table and play. Henry is there already. Kevin is right behind you." 

It feels like the line went dead but it didn't. Everyone is listening to what's happening around you. Goosebumps are forming on your skin while you walk towards the table where all the fanciest suits are cheering. The roulette table. You spot Kevin at the poker table and he doesn't even react when your eyes meet but you know that he sees you. 

"Do you know how to play roulette?" Sylvie asks, sounding as scared as you are feeling.

"No... But Jay does." You reply.

"Well Jay isn't there right now."

You sigh sadly.

***

Henry Smith looked as dashing as one could possible be considering he was shot over a month ago. He's leaning against the table in his Ermenegildo Zegna black suit. His ash brown hair is neatly set. He looks clean and professional. His eyes shined brightly because everything at the table was going in his favour. Your mind pictures his expensive suit covered in blood and you feel lightheaded.

Why did I agree to do this?

"Ladies," A male attendant came up to Sylvie and you the moment you placed your clutch on the table. "Are you here to play or just drink and have a great time?"

To answer his question you grab two fancy looking glasses from the tray and hand one to Sylvie while sipping the other one as coyly as you can muster. He winks and dissappears in the crowds of expensive clothed bodies.

You glance over to where Henry sat only to find him gone.

Questions pop into your head as you try to decipher his move.

"I didn't know paramedics fancy this scene." His rough hands are on yours and Sylvie's shoulder and his raspy deep voice rings against your ear. He stands behind you so casually you almost throw up.

"Well we didn't exactly have time to chat about our scenes the last time we saw each other." You reply steadily.

"True." He gives in and you turn around.

"Wow look at you," Sylvie says, "You cleaned up nice."

"Very nice." You add after her for effect and see his eyes flash with something unknown to you.

On the roof Jay snorts and tightens the grip on his gun.

***

"So... How much did you win tonight?" Sylvie continues to converse with him while you scan where he's taking you.

"Ah I don't know... Probably a few hundreds."

"A few hundred dollars?" She asks him innocently which makes him laugh really really hard.

"No sweetheart. A few hundred thousand dollars." Both of you gape.

"Please sit." The plush sofa in the corner of the big fancy casino looks like the most private area in the whole building. There are four guards walking around you are making sure no one snoops where they shouldn't. Thats the reason why Ruzek and Atwater are stuck and aren't able to come anywhere near you.

"Jay I really hope you have him." Ruzek is sitting at the bar and keeping an eye on you. No one likes how the situation is looking. "They're completely cut off. I can't get near them."

Outside, Voight cursed at the bastard but still kept positive. "At least he hasn't taken them to the private rooms. Halstead make sure his minions don't see you at the roof. Keep us posted."

"What are you going to do with the money?" You ask him casually. "Buy a car? I sure would. I've been driving that damn ambo more than anything else."

Henry laughs at your words and continues to sip his strong drink that's too fancy for you to even know what it is. "I don't know how you guys do it."

"We don't know how you manage to sit inside your office all day long." Sylvie says.

"It's easy to sit there all day because you're the boss and everyone does what you say." You glance at the black suited gentlemen.

It's easy to order your men to kill your two year old niece so you don't have to feel guilty because you weren't the one that killed her?

"To answer your question dear Y/N. I'm going to use that money to destroy everyone that's bothering me in my life." Bells start ringing in your head and you hope that everyone heard it as well.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I have a really high suspicion of you two being wired and sent here as bait to catch me. Also... You're bothering me and my plans." Two big guys immediately turn around and reach out to grab you. Both of you know there's no way you're going to make it out by sweet talking and when you see Henry reach for his gun something else rings out and before he can shoot you - there's a hole in the center of his forehead and blood is all over you.

A dark skinned bulky man grabs you in his arms and at that exact moment all hell breaks loose. "CHICAGO PD GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Atwater starts yelling, gun pointed at the men and you.

"Let them go and we won't have to kill you." You're visibly shaking and tears start forming in your eyes as you try to spot your boyfriend. You're flushed against the man who has his arm wrapped around your waist and gun at your head.

Up on the roof Jay has his eyes only on you. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." He keeps whispering. You're blocking the man and his clear shot, Jay knows that there's no way in hell he's going to shoot his shot with you in grave danger.

Voight and the rest of Intelligence pile in the casino and empty it out in seconds. Every man and woman run out together in sync like sheep. Voight stalks towards you, gun in front of him. "I won't say it again. Let them go and you might just survive."

They stay still and don't let Sylvie and you out of their hold. You can hear Voight say something along the lines of "fine it's your choice" before he fires several bullets your way.

Out of fear and pure adrenaline you duck down and somehow manage to escape the startled man's hold. The glass table in front of you broke because of the bullets Voight fired at it - and you fell right onto the shards.

With precise and calculated movements Jay shoots the four men and drops his firearm on the floor before running towards the stairs that connect the roof to the rest of the building. Jay ran like never before, he wanted to be the one who's going to hold you in his arms and tell you everything is going to be fine.

"Hey Y/N take it easy." You don't hear anyone. Pain rushes through your body and you don't know what's going on around you. The only thing that left your lips was the name of the man you love. Jay.

"He was on the roof. Y/N he saved you." You start crying even harder. Who knows what would've happened to you if Jay didn't shoot them.

"Y/N?!" It's enough for you to hear his voice to start fighting against the pain of the cuts.

When your eyes spot his frame and worried face you break down in his arms even harder. While his arms were wrapped around your neck and face buried in your styled but now messed up hair Jay thanked the heavens above for your safety. He also cursed himself because he let you go through with your decision.

His lips found the top of your head, your ears and forehead. And when your eyes met his lips found your own. Both of you melted into the kiss after thinking you might never be able to experience the electricity of it ever again.

"Y-you saved me." You looked at him while he shook his head.

"I shouldn't have let this happen to you," When he noticed the cuts on your arms and knees he grabbed your hands gently and twined them with his. When he raised them to his lips he pressed soft apologetic kisses against your knuckles.

He could see that you were still visibly shaking and therefore he took off his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders. He didn't let you go because he wrapped his strong arm around your back and upper arm keeping you close.

You leaned into his touch and let him lead you out of the horror filled casino. Flashing lights of the police cars blinded you for a short second and the many people outside scared you but Jay pushed through them and didn't let them touch you in any way. Interrogating that some of them wanted to do would have to wait and the look on his face made it clear so they didn't even have to ask.

You saw Sylvie who sat at the floor of the ambulance while the two paramedics dotted over her for any injuries.

Jay led you to the other ambulance. "She has cuts all over her body. I think some shards might still be in there."

The paramedic nodded, "We got it from here detective."

You didn't like the dismissal she gave Jay and so you immediately reached for his hand even though it hurt you to do so. "I'm staying." He stole the words right out of your mouth. The paramedic nodded and continued to check you.

"We need to take out the shards and you're gonna need stitches." She informed you after a while and then she looked at Jay. "We need someone to go with her."

"I'll go. I'm her boyfriend." Jay left no room for questions or disagreements as he made himself comfortable next to you in the ambulance. "I got you babe. You're going to be fine."

You were still shaken up and you will probably be like that for days, or maybe even weeks. You wouldn't wish this on anyone. You came out of it alive but you knew you were going to be scarred for life. Physically from the shards of glass and mentally. Your brain won't let you forget this, you just knew it. 

Eventually the events catched up to you and you let yourself close your eyes and slip away into the darkness. It was so easy to do that because you felt safe and at peace because you knew that while Jay Halstead was next to you no one will touch you.

The ride to the hospital passed in a blur and the only thing that you felt were the soft kisses and safety from Jay.

[adie-dee]

Your OC’s Backstory December Special

Yep, my entry is 5 days late, but I’m just happy I got it done. I’m also posting all four prompts in one post, as I wrote 2000 words total.

This is from before Bethany was cursed. For those who have read my previous backstory pieces, Bethany’s brother Harrison is no longer a baby. Instead, he’s now her adult older brother. She still finds him dead a few months before she’s cursed, though

HOME

My pink crayon was missing.

I searched through the drawing room, trying really hard to find it, as without it I couldn’t finish my picture.

“Are you meant to be in here?” Harrison asked just as I stuck my head under the sofa. 

“No,” I replied, sitting back up. “But I needed to do some drawings and this is the drawing room and I’ve lost my pink crayon!”

“It’s a different type of drawing in ‘drawing room’,” he said with a smile.

“Daddy said that too, but I don’t understand!” I whined. If it was really just a living room, why didn’t they call it that? 

Harrison kneeled down at the coffee table. “So what are you drawing?”

“It’s our house,” I said, joining him. “And that’s Mummy, and Daddy, and you, and me!” I pointed to each bit as I spoke. “But I need my pink crayon to finish Mummy’s garden and I can’t find it!”

“And what about this?” He pointed at a scratch on the table.

I covered it with my drawing, which he immediately removed.

“It was an accident,” I mumbled. “But I can fix it.”

I didn’t understand why Harrison laughed when I picked up my brown crayon.

“Allow me,” he said, taking it from me. He placed his hand on the scratch and whispered something magical, and when he lifted his hand the scratch was gone. 

“Wow!” I wished I could do magic, but Mummy said I didn’t have the spark. “Can you use it to find my crayon?”

“I don’t have that kind of magic,” he told me. “But why do you need the pink? The picture looks finished to me.”

I looked at the drawing again. It was obviously not finished, why did he think it was? “The flowers are missing,” I said slowly.

“Oh. Well, could you do orange flowers? Or red? Purple, maybe?”

“That is a good idea!” I picked up the purple crayon and added in the flowers, then handed the picture to Harrison. “This is for you. For when you leave so you don’t forget me.”

“What makes you think I’m leaving?”

“I heard you,” I mumbled. “When you were on the phone--”

“In my room,” he finished for me. “Which is eavesdropping. Hasn’t Dad told you that’s a bad thing to do?”

I thought for a moment. “Yes. Five times,” I said, holding up five fingers.

“Well you don’t need to worry: I’ll be back a lot. And I’m not going to forget you!” He hugged me. “How could I ever forget my baby sis? Especially with this amazing artwork.” He held it up again. 

“It’s upside down,” I giggled, turning it. “See?”

“Ah yes, I see now.” He stared at it a moment longer. “This needs to be our secret though, ok? I won’t be moving until next year, and I haven’t told anyone I’m going yet.”

I did a big nod. “I can keep a secret!”

“We both know that’s not true.”

“I can keep your secrets!” I corrected. “And when I’m grown up I can live with you too! And our home won’t have rules about eating vegetables. Or making my bed every day. And I can have a drawing room of my own!”

“Sounds good, kiddo,” Harrison said, cleaning up my crayons. “Now let's get out of here before Mum finds us and you get in trouble again.”

HOLIDAY

Dear Diary,

Last night was the shortest night of the year! 

We had a party to celebrate, and Mummy and Daddy didn’t even make me go to bed at seven. I got to stay up all night! 

There was lots of yummy foods that I got to eat that I don’t normally get to eat, like jelly babies and cake and ice cream, and Harrison even gave me something called cordial, which is like a lolly but it’s a drink! I wanted to taste what he was drinking too but he said it was grownup cordial and I wouldn’t like it. 

I got to play with other kids too which was really really fun! And I didn’t even get in trouble when I got dirt on my dress from when Brett threw it at me.

After everyone went home, me and Mummy and Daddy and Harrison took the stairs behind the gate up to the roof. Daddy called it a puppet, I think. It was a nice flat bit on the edge of the roof with a wall around it, and we were up there to wait for the sun to rise! I didn’t have to go to bed at all!

I fell asleep anyway, even though I tried real hard. But then Harrison woke me up and I got to see the sunrise, and WOW! The sky was orange and yellow and pink and it was so pretty.

I’m really really tired now. I even fell asleep at the breakfast table and had to clean milk off my face, which made Daddy laugh and Mummy frown. Harrison wasn’t there but he would have laughed too. 

Mummy has put me to bed and wants me to have a nap. And I will, diary, I will, but not before I tell you a secret. I found the bag of jelly babies and hid it in my dollhouse. I don’t get many lollies so they’re my secret and I’m going to eat them all.

Once I have my nap. Night, Diary!

GIFT

Bethany…

I pulled the blanket over my head, hoping that was enough to make the monster go away. 

Bethany…

The monster started scratching on the floorboards too and I pressed my hands to my ears. “Go away!” I yelled, the way Mummy and Daddy had told me to. “Daddy says you have to!”

BETHANY!

My mattress jumped under me, making me scream. I stood up on my bed and did my biggest jump, but I landed closer to the bed than I wanted to.

I’m going to get you!

I screamed again and ran for my bedroom door, pulling it open and running down the hallway until I reached Mummy and Daddy’s room. 

“Daddy daddy daddy!” I yelled, banging on the door. “The monster won’t go away!”

As soon as the door opened I ran into their room and threw myself on their bed. 

“Can I sleep here?” I asked Daddy, “Pleasssseeeee? I told the monster to go away and he didn’t listen and I’m scared!!” 

“The monster cannot hurt you,” Mummy said, joining Daddy at the door. “He will leave if you ignore him. Now please, Beth, go back to bed.”

I burst into tears. “But he’s scary!”

Daddy sighed and sat on the bad next to me. “What did you say to it?” He asked. 

“That… that… that you said he had to go away!”

“Oh Beth,” Daddy said with a small smile. “You have to tell him you don’t want him there. Then he will leave you alone.”

“But what if he doesn’t listen?!”

“He is trying to scare you, nothing more. As your mother says, he will not harm you. I promise. Do you believe me?”

Still crying, I nodded.

Daddy lifted me off the bed and carried me to the door. “Run along to bed, princess,” he said, putting me down. “We will talk more in the morning.”

I dawdled down the hallway, wanting to be anywhere but in my room.

Suddenly, a large monster appeared at the end of the hall and I screamed again.

“Bethany!” The monster yelled, stepping out of the shadows.

I started to giggle. That wasn’t a monster, it was Harrison. The monster never came out from under my bed, anyway.

“What are you doing up?” He asked me.

I told him about the monster.

“Wait here,” he said, then disappeared into his room. When he returned, he was holding a brown teddy bear. “I bought you this,” he said, handing it to me. “I was going to give him to you earlier, but you were already in bed when I came home.”

The teddy bear was soft and fluffy and cuddly, and I hugged him to my face. 

“This is a very special bear,” Harrison continued, crouching down next to me. “I gave him magic. So when the monsters make you scared, just hold him tight and he’ll make them go away.”

“Really?”

“Really really.”

I beamed at him. “Thank you!”

“But he needs a name.”

I looked at the bear again. Mummy had told me names were important, and I wanted to make sure I got it right. “Boris!” I announced. 

“Boris it is.” Harrison ruffled my hair then stood up. “Come on, kiddo, let’s get you back into bed.”

“Why aren’t you in bed?” I asked. He was still in his daytime clothes too, which was strange.

“Because I’m a grownup.”

“Mummy and Daddy are grownups too.”

He picked me up and smiled. “They’re old grownups,” he said, carrying me back to my room. “And grownups can go to bed whenever they want.”

“I can’t wait to be a grownup!”

“It’s a long way away.” He tucked me into bed. “Goodnight, Bethany.”

“Night, Harrison.”

He pulled the door closed behind him.

Bethany…

I hugged Boris tight, just like Harrison told me to. “Go away!”

The monster didn’t reply. 

NEW YEAR

A hand touched my shoulder. 

“Boris!” I cried, hugging him tight. The monster was back, he was going to grab me and eat me and—

“Bethany,” a voice hissed, clearly not that of the monster. 

“Harrison!”

“Shh!” He switched on my bedside light. “I want to show you something,” he whispered, “but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“I can do that,” I said, sitting up. “I haven’t told anyone you’re leaving. I nearly told Daddy but I didn’t.”

He held his pinky out to me. “Pinkie swear?”

“Pinky swear,” I repeated, hooking mine onto his. “Now can I see?”

“Yes. But get your slippers.”

Holding Boris tight I jumped out of bed and ran over to my wardrobe. My slippers were nowhere to be seen so I pulled on my gumboots instead. I liked my gumboots. They weren’t boring colours like all the clothes Mummy bought me; instead they were pink and purple and had flashing lights in the bottoms. Harrison always got me nice things, and wearing them with my nightie made me feel like a princess.

“Can you be quiet in those?” he asked once I came out of my wardrobe. “We don’t want anyone to hear.”

I replied with a big nod.

He led me out of my room and into the drawing room, pausing to pick up one of my crayons off the floor. “Cover your eyes,” he whispered.

I did as he asked, and heard something go click.

When I uncovered them, the back of the fireplace was missing, and there was a rickety staircase instead.

I almost squealed with excitement. A secret passage! 

Harrison ducked into the fireplace and I followed him, climbing the stairs, and suddenly we were on the roof. 

But not the nice flat part where I got to watch the sunrise. This bit was steep and covered in thick red tiles.

“Why are we--”

Harrison shushed me again. “Mum and Dad are on the parapet,” he whispered, pointing to where the nice bit was. “They wanted you to stay in bed but you’re five now, and a big girl, and I wanted you to see.”

“See what?” 

Just as I spoke there was a big explosion overhead, one made of purple and green sparkles. Then red, and blue, and silver. Some were big circles and others shot up like rockets, and even the bridge was covered in sparkles. It was so pretty. Not as pretty as the sunrise, but still really really pretty.

Harrison picked me up and I reached out, trying to catch the falling lights.

“Happy new year,” he whispered.

Suddenly I gasped. “Does this mean you’re leaving me now?” I don’t want you to go!” Tears formed in my eyes and I rubbed my face onto his shoulder to wipe them away.

“Not yet. I have a few more things to organise, so I’ll be here for the rest of summer. And when it’s time, you’ll be the first to know.”

[daydreaming-away-reality]

Song of the Siren [Part 7]

Liam Dunbar x Reader | ☁️ + 🌠 + ✨ | 1.4k | Siren!Reader

Based on Season 4, episode 11: A Promise to the Dead

[ Song of the Siren Masterlist ]

After Mason had left for the night, Liam finally pulled himself into bed. Something still felt unsettling even after getting the text from Scott that the deadpool was over. 

Reaching out, he hesitated to turn off his lamp. Looking around, the dim room, he knew his supernatural senses would notice if anything were there. Reluctantly, he flicked the light off. 

As he had suspected however, once the lights were out, his overactive imagination had a berserker stepping into his room. His breathing quickened.

“You’re not there,” he chanted. “You’re not there.”

As his heart rate rose, he panicked and flicked on his light. As expected, nothing but the sound of the rain falling outside. 

At least until he heard the tapping on his window.

The boy felt his heart nearly stop. When he slowly moved out of bed, he soon recognized the figure and hurried to open his window.

“(Y/N)?” he whispered.

You brushed some of your wet hair aside and offered him a shy smile. “Can I come in?”

Liam nodded, ushering you in and quickly grabbed a towel to help you dry off. Moving you into the washroom, he averted his blue eyes as you shrugged off your hoodie.

“Did I scare you?” you asked, doing your best to drip everywhere. Slipping off your shoes, you took the towel and tried to dry your hair. Luckily you were still mostly dry - you only been out for a little bit. “I was worried when I heard your heart racing.”

“No, it wasn’t you,” Liam replied. His voice trailed off, like he didn’t want to elaborate. 

You didn’t ask. You sensed his fear the moment you were outside his place. 

“The deadpool is finally over,” you softly said. You looked down at your hand, remember the red that you washed away a while ago. Having been caught up in the battle, you didn’t even realize how much blood was on your hands. “...we’re almost safe.”

Liam peered at you, unable to grasp how you were feeling. Regardless, he knew that you needed someone as much as he did right now. Ever since he had become a werewolf, you had been there for him. He wanted to be there when you needed him too. 

The anchor that everyone told him that he needed... perhaps you could be it. 

His anchor.

“Can you... stay the night with me?” he shyly asked. He could feel his cheeks heating up. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Yeah, Liam, of course.”

Your sweet smile greeted him as you reached over and held his hand. 

“Honestly, I was going to ask you the same thing.”

The beta seemed to have brightened up in your presence. Once you had finished drying off, the two of you headed back into his room. Once Liam had made himself comfortable, you crawled in to his bed to lie down next to him. 

The lights were turned out.

For a moment, everything was quiet. Deciding to make things more comfortable for the both of you, Liam reached out to hold you. Surprised but happy, you snuggled into his arms.

“I’ve dreamed about being with you,” Liam confessed. “I really like you, (Y/N).”

“I like you too,” you replied.

Liam pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

Without trying, you knew the two of you had fallen for each other. Being comfortable in the moment, you pushed aside the dread that was creeping up on you and tried to enjoy what you could.

The sound of your call connecting brought you a sense of relief.

“Hey Scott,” you greeted.

“Hey, (Y/N),” your best friend responded. “What’s up?”

“Happy to hear your voice,” you responded, walking slowly towards your car. “I had an ominous feeling earlier, just doing a follow up.”

There was a pause. Scott knew that your hunches were more than what you let on. Your ability to sense trouble was almost like Lydia’s ability to predict death. 

“The deadpool is over,” Scott murmured. “Do you think it’s Kate? The berserkers?”

“Maybe,” you said. You glanced back to the house you had left from. “Could you check in on Liam when you can? He seems like he’s a bit traumatized by his last encounter with the berserkers.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” There was a chuckle, you could hear the smile on Scott’s face when he commented, “So, you and Liam, huh?”

“He’s a sweet boy,” you replied. “I like him... Probably more than I going to admit to you.”

Scott laughed. “Alright. I got to go, (Y/N). See you around?”

“See you around,” you echoed before hanging up. 

Standing between your car and Liam’s house, you wondered how long it would take for things to finally be a peace.

Time passed you by rather quickly as you had been trying to decipher your unsettling feelings about the impending future. Besides texting Liam to check up on him, you had been a little distant with your friends since the morning with your phone call with Scott.

Malia didn’t seem to mind too much as she grabbed you when she had saw you and sat you down next to her on the bleachers. Tonight was going to be the first game for nationals against Devonford Prep, that wasn’t something either of you were going to be missing.

“Hello (Y/N),” Sheriff Stilinski greeted you.

“Oh, hi!” you replied. “Excited for the game?”

“Stiles should be playing, so, yes,” he responded with a chuckle. “Glad to see his bench warming days are over.”

You offered him a smile. What he said was true... Watching lacrosse while your best friends were on the bench was kind of boring.

Shooting a message, 🍀, to Scott, you frowned when you saw the message didn’t go through. The boys locker room didn’t have that bad signal did it?

Sending the same message to Stiles and Liam, you were at least notified with Stiles left you on read and Liam sent you, have you heard from Scott or Kira?

You responded with a quick, no. 

Where were Scott and Kira?

With both team coming out to the field, you cast your eyes to see if you could see their familiar numbers.

Leaning in towards Malia, you whispered, “Do you smell Scott or Kira?”

Malia breathed in and then shook her head.

“Nothing,” she said. A frown reached her face. “I haven’t seen either of them all day.”

You grimly nodded. 

The sound of a whistle blew. The game was about to start.

With the game looking dire for Beacon Hills, along with no signs of Kira or Scott, you could see that Stiles was getting just as worried as you were. 

That could only mean Liam was growing concerned as well. 

Stiles slipped over, moving towards his dad.

“Hey,” he greeted. “I haven’t heard anything from Scott, I think we should see if we can find him or Kira anywhere.”

“Alright,” Sheriff Stilinski agreed. 

“Should I come too?” Malia asked.

“No, just enjoy the game,” Stiles replied. “(Y/N), you too.”

“Keep in touch,” you reminded him. “Please.”

Stiles nodded before heading off with his dad.

Watching them go, you tried to turn your attention back to the game at hand. Liam was on the field.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” you murmured to Malia.

She awkwardly pat your arm. “Yeah, I know.”

Redirecting your attention to Liam, you could sense the fear radiating off of him as he stood on the field frozen. Your heart went out to him. Whatever he was experiencing now gave off the same vibes as the night you had sneaked into his room. 

“Liam, for the love of god, move!” Coach yelled.

Liam’s figure stayed there as the Devonford Prep players ran by him and scored another goal.

“I have to do something about this,” you sighed, getting up. Moving towards the Devonford Prep players, you spotted the number that you were looking for. Tapping them on their shoulder, you offered them a small smile. “Brett, good to see you’re doing well.”

Brett offered you a confused look. “Something up?”

You tilted your head in the direction of Liam before reaching up to tuck your hair behind your ear. “Do you smell that? Do you think you could do something about it?”

Brett’s nose wrinkled in annoyance at the scent. 

“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.”

Your smile brightened. “Thank you, Brett.”

The boy watched you as walked away from the field. He had seen the connection between you and Liam. Looking back at the field, he shook his head.

Liam was a lucky guy.

Tag list:

@muse-sprayberry,  @thebookisbtr, @thebeautifulbookworm

[serenasoutherlyns]

Full of Surprises ch. 1-3

casey/alex, past alex/olivia. semi-au & fuzzy timeline, set post season 9. cross-posted from ao3 so the first three chapters are coming at ya all at once. TW for series-typical violence, SA, and discussions of mental illness. less graphic than the show. Fluff, romance, angst! First three chapters are totally SFW.

And yet, as she scanned the place, she caught someone she recognized. Sitting at the bar, bent over a notebook, was Casey Novak; her deep red hair tied back in a casual ponytail, an empty highball glass in front of her, chewing on the end of a click pen.

1 .

This wasn’t where Alex would usually find herself. Or at least, it didn’t used to be. Maybe it was now.

Emily had spent her evenings sat at a booth in the back of the local pub, watching and sketching. The books she’d filled, she kept them safely tucked in a box in the back of her closet, initialed “EC.” Alex couldn’t find it in her to draw much anymore.

Anne was alone more than not, spent long evenings reading philosophy, went running early mornings, yoga classes, taught herself guitar, filled hours on hours with ideas and exhaustion. Alex didn’t spend much time poring over The Republic these days, her guitar was long covered in dust.

In law school, her friends had a favorite table in the window of a little cafe, they would go from morning coffee to afternoon study to sharing bottles of red wine, coming and going as they pleased, debating with hopeful glimmers in their bright eyes. Late into the night, arm wrapped around Sylvia’s waist, listening to her classmates carry on, she’d watch the candles burn down. Sylvia had called her Lexi, whispered in her ear on night walks in the cold Cambridge air to their little apartment, gentle hands soothing her most anxious times. Alex hadn’t felt like that in years.

College weekends were spent at punk shows in basements, though she knows now nobody would believe it, young Alex Cabot (the nickname had been coined in those years, sharper edged than the elaborate Alexandra) knew how to have some fun, at least back then. She’d dyed her hair black and worn studs on her collar, had a reputation for being a player, and it seemed like the back of her right hand was constantly stained with marker residue. Sticky floors and lipgloss on her neck, so many firsts all at once.

Her evenings during her years in the DA’s office were usually full of work, except the odd night when she’d meet the detectives for a drink at their haunt or head out with the other ADAs to some upscale cocktail bar. Two different crowds with two different mentalities, the detectives were dedicated to a fault, while the prosecutors were insufferably full of themselves. The detectives would tire her out by 11:30, but she’d find an excuse to leave the ADA excursions before 9. Far more special were the many evenings spent in Olivia’s apartment drinking two beers each and filling the quiet air with soft laughter and conversation.

But a little library themed speakeasy? Not her typical place. Well. No time like the present to change one’s habits. She’d been recommended it by an old law school friend a couple weeks ago, bumped into him on a whim in a coffee shop, was surprised she wasn’t dead, had been there last night, said it was right up her alley. Its illicit vibe wasn’t exactly to ADA Cabot’s tastes, no. But it scratched something in Alex, that hadn’t been satisfied since those basement nights and cozy cafe afternoons. From the place’s shelves she’d pulled a book of Pre-Raphaelite poetry and sat in a comfy chair with a scotch and a San Pelligrino, pleased, at least, to be out of the apartment for the evening.

She didn’t need the money, but she’d been copyediting textbooks freelance, filling up her time with grammar and word choice. She’d been reading a lot of fiction. She adopted two extremely fluffy cats. It was a pleasant, if mundane, life. It turned out, Alex had realized, that there were plenty of eager and capable young attorneys who could do her former job as well as she ever had. She felt, finally, like she deserved a bit of a rest. Needed one, really. Someone would do the prosecuting. The thought of stepping back in the courtroom, looking at the bench, examining witnesses, made her feel sick to her stomach, though she had once loved that life. It wasn’t her anymore— maybe it never really had been. She decided this was her kind of place after all. This iteration of Alexandra Cabot would drink bubbly water in secluded speakeasies while reading poetry.

Alex didn’t expect to see anybody she knew, not somewhere you needed a password to get into, where the music was indie folk and old jazz from a vintage record player, the drinks had names like the “Lady Brett” and the “Daisy Buchanan,” and most of the patrons were dressed in flannel with their noses buried in old books. And yet, as she scanned the place, she caught someone she recognized. Sitting at the bar, bent over a notebook, was Casey Novak; her deep red hair tied back in a casual ponytail, a half-empty highball glass in front of her, chewing on the end of a click pen.

This was surprising. Alex, though she hadn’t ever known Casey well, before her first brief return to life as Alex Cabot, only as one of the white collar ADAs (they ran in a bit of a pack, didn’t shy away from imitating the lifestyles of those they prosecuted). After knowing her as a prosecutor, Alex would expect to see Casey in a sports bar watching a game, or in some chrome-gilded bar with high ceilings drinking designer cocktails and cheering on a verbal showdown between her colleagues. Or in the center of a showdown like that. Not alone, writing in a moleskine, wearing a red flannel over a simple black dress. Casey was striking, Alex realized, before she realized she’d been looking a little longer than was considered normal. She hoped she didn’t seem like a creep watching from afar. She considered getting up, saying hello, but felt that Casey may not even remember her, may not want to be disturbed as she wrote, may not even recognize her anymore. She’d changed her appearance when she’d gone back to being Alex Cabot, cut her hair in a short bob, dyed it dark brown, wore thick rimmed glasses and simple clothing, too painful to be the formal blonde she used to be. Barely the same woman who’s once-murderer Casey had put behind bars those years ago.

Alex didn’t have to consider talking to Casey, however, because almost as soon as she returned to her book, she heard the sound of rubber soled sneakers against the old hardwood floors and a voice beside her.

“Hey stranger,” she said.

“Hi Casey,” Alex said as she slid her bookmark into place and looked up at the familiar face with a smile. “Care to join me?”

2 .

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Casey said as she sat down. “I’m allowed to, uh, talk to you right? Though I guess if I wasn’t you wouldn’t acknowledge me, which would be fine, by the way.” There was the Casey Alex remembered, her words getting ahead of her.

“It’s fine, I’m me again,” Alex said calmly, “It’s really good to see you, though I wouldn’t have imagined you to be the writing type, or the underground-library-bar type” Alex gestured to the leather notebook in Casey’s left hand.

“I’m full of surprises, Alexandra Cabot.” Casey said in a tone that suggested she was sarcastic, yet convinced Alex she was telling the truth. Alex sipped her water.

“What were you working on?” She asked, not wanting to pry, but very eager to catch up, to know why she was alone in a place like this.

“Oh, nothing, nothing interesting. Just some little bits and pieces.” Casey replied.

“Not argument notes on a Saturday night, I hope?” Alex asked, though she knew that she would’ve done the same thing back when she was in the DA’s office. Casey looked pale, uncomfortable for a moment. “I’m sorry,” Alex said, trying to soothe any pain she may have caused, though she couldn’t fathom why. “I don’t mean to bring up work when you’re trying to relax.” At this, Casey just looked confused.

“Alex, have you not heard?” Casey said, searching for signs of recognition in the woman’s eyes, but finding only further confusion continuing, her voice low, “I was censured a few months ago. I can’t practice law for at least three years.” Alex’s eyes opened wide and she set her glass down on the table between them. “I’m surprised the rumor hasn’t reached your circles yet, though I admit I’m glad I get to be the one to tell someone for a change.” Alex noticed Casey cross her arms together over her chest, closing herself up, making herself seem smaller.

It was quiet for a while, the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald on the speakers, quiet conversations, and pages turning filling it. “I’m sorry, no, I hadn’t heard. That’s too bad. Do you want to talk about it?” Casey grinned at the suggestion, oddly intimate for the two women who, while they hardly knew each other, had shared some of the most intense moments either of them had experienced in a courtroom.

“I think I’ve gone over it enough in my head, but uh, thank you.” Casey said, her voice wobbling on the thanks, “You know, you’re the first person so far to actually ask me that?”

“I’m sorry.” Was Alex’s reply. Surely Casey had people who were interested in her feelings?

“The circumstances were,” Casey trailed off as she looked for the right wording, “I was at fault, for sure. But I was just trying to do the right thing, and I made a mistake.”

“Nothing shocking, I hope?” Asked Alex, still trying to ascertain the nature of the censure, wondering about what the woman sitting across from her could’ve done.

“I violated due process, technically.” Casey replied, attempting to gauge Alex’s reaction, but seeing that it continued to be contemplative rather than condemning, continued, “I shouldn’t’ve, but I think all of us have done worse in our time. But I was not in Donnelly’s good graces, so…” instead of ending her sentence, Casey sipped the last of her drink and looked up at Alex nervously, hoping the woman wouldn’t judge her too harshly.

“Oh man, Casey. That’s really tough. I’m sorry.” Casey searched for any sign of disapprobation in Alex’s tone, but finding only genuine concern, relaxed.

“So I’ve been doing other stuff for a little while. Using my undergrad,” she said, truly sarcastic this time. “What about you Cabot? What’s keeping you from your old haunt? And what’s with the brunette look?”

Alex wanted to answer, but wasn’t going to let Casey get away completely with deflecting. “You didn’t answer my question, Novak. What’s in the notebook?”

Casey laughed. “You really are relentless.” Alex just raised an eyebrow smugly while sipping her drink, as if to say, go on. “It’s a poetry journal. I’ve kept one since college.”

This admission broke the unflappable Alex Cabot’s reserve and she couldn’t keep herself from a few giggles. “I apologize,” she said, “for laughing at you. Just, the idea of Casey Novak the poet would not have occurred to me.”

“Like I said,” Casey started, “I’m full of surprises. And nobody has laughed at me in a long time,” she continued, beginning to laugh herself. “Believe it or not, I have an English degree.”

“Ok, ok, stop. I’m not sure I can take many more shocks tonight,” teased Alex.

“And you, didn’t answer my question. What’s with the brunette? You look beautiful,” Casey said before realizing what she was saying, shutting herself up before she said anything embarrassing.

“I needed a change,” Alex said, “Something to distance myself from my old selves. I never dyed my hair before, or switched up my look at all really. Just, a change.”

“I get that.” Casey said, and Alex felt like she really did get it, somehow more than anybody else had to this point. She’d seen a few old colleagues and friends, and they all had looked at her with this mixture of fear and pity that made her wish she was invisible. But Casey seemed to say something deeper in just three words.

They talked together late into the night, about books and drinks (Casey had been a bartender in college, her knowledge on pairings was unparalleled) and everything but law. It was close to 2:00 am when Casey started to yawn.

“I’m really glad I ran into you, Alex,” she said as they left the bar, her voice scratchy from talking quietly, a subtle accent that Alex couldn’t quite place showing through under the influence of sleepiness and her light buzz. It was adorable, Alex found herself thinking.

“Me too, Casey,” Alex replied, and before she could turn to start walking towards her apartment, only a block or so away, she was met with a hug. It was brief, but Alex took in the scent of Casey’s coconut shampoo, sweet and pleasing.

“I wouldn’t have expected you to be much of a hugger either,” Alex said as she pulled away, brushing her hands on Casey’s elbows.

“I guess you have a lot to figure out,” she said, playfully, as Alex handed her into a cab.

As Alex walked up the stairs to her apartment (she could afford a bigger place, but this one, this one felt right), Alex replayed the evening and regretted not asking for Casey’s phone number before she left. When she pulled her keys out of her pocket to unlock the door, she found a piece of paper, with a number and a note:

text me, so I can learn some of your surprises.

3 .

Alex was awake.

The same old dreams kept her restless. It had been a bad night, she’d slept less than 3 hours before she woke, startled, as the sun just began to rise, 5 am on a Saturday in September.

Foggily, she attempted to reconstruct the details of her pieced together dreams, her therapist, Julia, had convinced her to keep a journal. She said the nightmares of being shot, of nobody recognizing her, those made perfect sense, classic PTSD symptoms. With what happened to her it would’ve been stranger to not suffer it. But these hadn’t been those dreams.

Clare Cartwright, age 15 stood in line at the coffee shop. Her face was pink with tears but nobody saw anything out of the ordinary except for Alex, watching her from a table. Clare’s cheeks were wet and covered in running mascara but the barista didn’t bat an eye as she ordered an iced chai and sat down alone with her laptop. Tears turned to sobs turned to screams, thrashing, but she just kept typing, sipping her tea, nobody did a damn thing. Alex tried to rise from her seat, go to the girl, hold her and scratch her back while she cried, but the heavy weight of her own body kept her seated, powerless to do anything. She tried to yell across the room, tell her that it was going to be ok, she was going to put whoever hurt her behind bars, protect her from them forever. But when she opened her mouth all breath was sucked out of her lungs, she collapsed. Clare’s cries echoed ceaselessly.

Trevor Hamilton, a 20 something pro, had been turning tricks all night but one guy had taken it a little too far. He was sure his neck, hips would be covered in nasty bruises the next day. Oh well. Nobody believed a pro who cried rape. He stuffed his cash in his briefs and made his way towards the van he slept in with three other guys but before he could get there, he fell, body bloody. Nobody heard a sound but Trevor must have been shot. His blood was cold as it poured out of him onto the sidewalk but he stood up. He wasn’t dead. In the morgue, Melinda Warner ruled the cause of death a fatal gunshot wound to his back, probably a stray bullet, but he’d had sex the night he died, maybe an angry John. Alex told everyone that he wasn’t dead. Trevor whispered in her ear, asked her how could she let them say he was dead, how could she let them get away with saying such a thing like that, how could she let them call what had happened to him sex. Alex repeated herself over and over but all she got in return from the detectives were sympathetic looks of confusion as they sent her home for the day. She must’ve been too tired, Alex heard Olivia tell Elliot, maybe her mind was acting up again, sleep deprivation can kickstart psychosis. Someone would check in on her that night, make sure she wasn’t relapsing. Alex knew she wasn’t hallucinating, because Trevor had spoken to her in the clearest voice she’d heard in months. Alex wept for Trevor the whole way home and then some but nobody seemed to notice.

Annabelle Lamm wore a fuzzy pink nightgown when her grandmother brought her into the precinct one snowy night. Olivia called Alex to come to the precinct, they needed a warrant for the apartment, they found fluids in the girl’s hair of all places, grandma handed them an envelope full of pictures of Annie that nobody in the family admitted to taking. It was a no brainer warrant, Alex didn’t even mind waking up a judge for it if it meant getting whoever had been hurting this little girl as soon as possible. When Alex arrived to the building, Olivia wasn’t there and all the lights were off. Alex clicked on a lamp, wondered if Liv had found another ADA and rushed off without telling her anything. But the room was unfamiliar, empty, concrete. In the center of the room standing perfectly still was a 5 year old girl in a pink fuzzy nightgown. Alex ran to her but couldn’t get any closer. The little girl had a hollow expression and didn’t move an inch. Alex kept running and running but her feet stayed in the same spot, powerless.

Yeah. Powerless. As she awoke she felt like she was still running, head still spinning, still heard screams.

She wrote it all down in her journal. Julia had said that it was unusual for people whose jobs involved consistently levels of high stress and disturbance to have the severity of symptoms she had; that there was usually a tolerance that was built up to being horrified. Alex had either never had that tolerance or it had been washed away during the years she’d spent in WITSEC because her very brief return to the practice of law had nearly broken her.

“Sleep deprivation can kickstart psychosis,” Olivia had told her once when they first worked together, ostensibly referring to a case of statutory rape where the perp didn’t recall a single piece of the event; but Alex knew the comment was pointed at her, not the perp. Olivia could tell that Alex’s patience was growing thin, her mind unfocused; she must’ve deduced that Alex wasn’t sleeping much. But Alex already knew the warning signs.

Alexandra Cabot, age 16, sat shaking in a hospital room. It was almost finals week, she’d pulled a few all nighters, it was nothing serious, she’d told her school counselor a week prior when her friends had noticed her speech patterns growing muddled. She stayed up another 24 hours and the last thing she remembered was her roommates grabbing her wrists and pulling her inside off the balcony. After that, the school had installed locks on all the windows. Alexandra was freezing in her hospital gown, brain numbed out from the IV antipsychotics she was attached to. A few days in the hospital to take care of her injuries (she was informed that she had thrown herself against the wall while school officials took her to the ER), then a summer of residential treatment, hopefully she would be able to return to boarding school in the fall. Her father looked at her with a shattered expression, her mother treated her with cold indifference, her friends didn’t talk to her. Major depression with psychotic features.

Alex knew the consequences of not sleeping enough. She considered taking her cup of mint tea and heading back to bed, cuddling up to her cats, reading a book maybe, just trying to screw her head on right. Her body fought her though, nervous energy ran through her veins, so she elected to have a walk instead. Besides, it had been years since she’d had any serious episode. Anxiety, sure, and the occasional month or so of depression, a few close calls, but regular therapy and medication kept her more or less in the clear since college. Her family, her therapists, had suggested she go into a different kind of law, something stimulating but less distressing like, intellectual property, but she had refused, felt called to prosecuting. But her experience was what made her a great prosecutor, and it was why she had been so adamant about the proper handling of cases involving those suffering from mental illness, especially victims, but perps as well. She knew how it felt, more than she admitted to almost anybody, but she also knew there were paths through it.

The same old nightmares, but Alex was a different person. The old Alex would’ve thrown herself even harder into work than usual, won her cases even more viciously, assuaged her feelings of powerlessness by asserting control. This Alex knew that complete control was unattainable.

The September air was cold this early in the morning, but bracing. The contrast between her thermos full of hot tea pleased her, she pretended she was a dragon as she breathed steam. She smiled to herself at the thought and at the bright orange sun rising through the treetops in the park by her apartment. This had been the right choice, sunrises were her favorite magic. Content covered her like a well fitting dress, shaking off the nerves slowly. The most dedicated joggers and newsstand operators were the only other people out this early, the quietest time in the city. Alex’s phone buzzed.

Casey: Nice coat, Cabot.

Alex looked up from her phone, confused. What? Maybe it was delivered late. She’d seen Casey two days ago for coffee— they’d developed a friendship. Texts, coffee, nothing too deep; but then it had only been a couple weeks since they’d run into each other at the library bar. Alex liked Casey. She was funny and a good listener, and she always had something to say. She didn’t walk on eggshells around Alex either, making Casey unique among her friends. She’d tried to meet up with Liv right when she’d gotten back to the city the second time, but the way she looked at her cut way too deep, like she was a hero, like she was a victim. Both of those she may well be, but she needed to be treated as a friend. Casey did that for her, down to playfully teasing her over her eccentric habits. Another text:

Casey: Turn around, Clueless.

Not many people had ever called Alexandra Cabot clueless. Alex turned around, and Casey waved at her excitedly from the jogging path and without waiting for Alex’s reaction began to run up to where she was sitting. Alex was surprised to see her, happily so. She knew Casey was athletic, but didn’t take her to be the 5:30 running type. She wore tight leggings and a running jacket, and the biggest smile Alex had seen from her. She looked beautiful in the soft early light, Alex thought, then immediately blushed at that thought.

She’d never been one to shy away from her sexuality, especially when she realized the destructive role repression had played in her life before she came out. Alex had been out since college, but she tried very hard not to crush on straight women. She knew she couldn’t control who she was attracted to, but it always made her feel a bit dejected, so. Nip that in the bud.

Alex didn’t have much time to consider the ethics of her thoughts, because Casey was right in front of her, grabbing her hands.

“It’s so good to see you! A second surprise encounter, must be fate, Cabot,” Casey said in a quiet voice, a wink in her words.

“Something like that,” Alex replied, “What are you doing out so early?”

“I could ask the same of you; I’m just finishing up my run. You are wearing a fancy coat and looking deep in thought, in fact, you are being far more suspicious than I am, look at how many people are out here jogging, I mean,”

“Oh my god,” Alex cut her off with an eye roll, “Ok, stop cross-examining me.”

Casey gave Alex a genuine laugh, “Old habits die hard.” She paused for a second. “You look pale, did you sleep?”

“Thanks, Casey.” Alex gave her a playful glare. “If three nightmares in three hours counts, then yes, I slept.”

“Oh you poor thing. I’d hug you but,” She gestured to her sweaty figure. “You wanna get breakfast? I’ll pop back to my apartment, shower, and meet you at yours in say, half an hour?”

Alex started slightly at the familiarity, but responded, “Yeah, sure, sounds fun. Uh, here I’ll text you my address.”

Did Casey blush? Alex couldn’t be sure due to her post-run glow and the chill in the air. “Sorry if that’s too familiar, I know we usually plan these things out, and I guess I just assumed you didn’t have plans, it’s totally fine if you don’t want to, you know, runner’s high and all,” but Alex cut her off again with a raise of her eyebrows.

“Are you retracting the offer, Novak?” Alex couldn’t resist the urge to tease the woman in front of her. “Because if I recall correctly, I said yes.”

Casey grew more flustered, replied with a quick, “Nope, still happening, see you in half an hour,” and took off running, leaving Alex behind as she laughed in disbelief.