The shoulder you cry on, the dose that you die on

Chapter Six - Interrogation

Chapter Six"Hey, what happened last night?" Gabby went up to Alicia as soon as she walked out of the changing room."Hey! Uh, I just didn't feel well, I suddenly felt very anxious. It was just a long day, ya know", Alicia said, following her gut feeling that hold her she could trust Gabby with that information."Oh, okay. Do you have that more often?"Alicia shook her head. "Not anymore. I guess it was just the stress after moving? I don't know. It's hard to say exactly and I try to slow down until I'm fully settled."Gabby pulled her in for a hug. "Sounds good. You know, if you need to talk or any form of help, you can ask me, at any time. Goes for all of us, okay?"Alicia squeezed her arm. "I appreciate it. Much! But honestly, I guess it won't happen that often. It's not that big of a deal, you know."Gabby paused for a few seconds. "I know, it's just... the girl who worked as a paramedic before you came... She dealt with some things, family issues, and started drinking at work at some point. She would push us away a couple of times before asking for help, and I just don't want that to happen again."Alicia of course had wondered why that spot has been open for her, but there are many reasons people give up a job, especially a demanding one like a paramedic."That's rough. How is she doing now, you know that?""She's in a clinic, and last time I talked to her, she sounded pretty optimistic, so." Gabby smiled before her face got serious again. "Just promise me, you reach out in time, okay?""I will, I promise." And she meant it. They both entered the main room, grabbing a cup of coffee each before sitting down at the table Sylvie was already sitting at."How was your evening, ladies? Did you stay long after I left?""No, mom", Alicia joked, "I left at nine like you told me to.""Actually", Gabby leaned towards her, lowering her voice, "she's lying, she's been talking to Jay Halstead for ages and left with him."Sylvie gasped. "Really?" Her eyes lit up and her lips curled to a smile. Both women looked at her expectantly."Dawson, seriously? That's what you tell her? Well, yeah, it's not wrong. We talked for a while, okay? He's a nice guy-""A good looking one!""Yeah. Anyway, he just walked me home, kay? I didn't feel well, so we both left, and he insisted to guide me home."Sylvie "aaaww"ed and grinned. She then asked almost the same questions as Gabby, and she once more reassured her, that she wasn't hoping that these anxiety attacks would come more often."He's a good guy though, you know. In case you wanna see him again. I bet he won't mind giving you his number, if you want me to." Gabby took a sip of her coffee."Sounds like you know him better", Alicia observed, and the look on Gabby's face while she took another sip was answer enough. She contemplated talking to them about her previous relationships more, explaining why she wasn't sure if she should and wanted to pursue another relationship - or just an affair even -, when the alarm announced an accident at an intersection, that required the ambulance, Truck 81 and Squad 3."This conversation is not over ladies", she said, getting a "Agreed!" from both Gabby and Sylvie.Around the same time, Jay was standing in the kitchen of the bullpen with Erin, who held up the coffee pot. "You want some, too?", she asked his partner. He nodded.He couldn't quite put his finger on it, what exactly fascinated him about Alicia Barnes, but he had to admit, that she's been in his thoughts a lot since last night. He was thinking a lot about her anxiety attack, how he had noticed a few signs minutes before she left the bar, but didn't say anything, as he wanted to give her room. Sounded stupid, but he knew that some people dealt with this internally and managed to keep the attack unnoticed. He just wanted to give her a bit time before addressing it - until she couldn't hide it any longer.But if he was honest with himself, she's been on his mind even before that incident. And he had trouble determine those feelings. Which was unusual for him. He wasn't someone who had trouble going into a relationship. But he felt different about her. Because she was different. She had something mysterious about her. But not in a seductive, mystery-monger kinda way, like some try to have on purpose. Alicia seemed like a girl who was trying to live the life she wanted to, despite some obstacles from her past. If he was honest, she was like him in that. And like Erin. But Alicia wasn't like Erin, was she. He wasn't just looking for a replacement. She didn't look like her at all. Alicia's beauty was rougher than Erin's. Especially due to those tattoos. Damn, he's never dated a woman with that many tattoos, he's never liked it before.He just knew he wanted to get to know her better, no matter how dark the things were that might come up - from her end, or his.Also, this fitted his new rule of no more inhouse dating.He snapped out of his thoughts when Erin snapped her fingers in front of his face."Damn, you need that coffee real bad. Did you just zone out like that because you haven't slept all night, or are you thinking of someone? Or both?"Erin grinned at him. No way she was getting something out of him!"Thanks for the coffee", he said, "walking out of the kitchen, "and you know what keeps me up at night - taxes, the injustice of the world..."Before Erin could encounter a single thing, Dawson came rushing in."Alright, a CI of mine gave up the location of one of Chicago's most wanted."Voight pinned a photo to the white board. "Narcotics estimates that half the heroin comes from him. This can't be our typical grab. If he sees us pursuing him, he'll just dive deeper underground."Hours later, Jay Halstead walked into an undercover scenario that went south and got him abducted.[[The end of this chapter and the next contains the events of CPD 3x01]]