As Ready As I'll Ever Be

Chapter 35

~Brielle's POV~
I'm 18 weeks and have been working on ambo for about 2 weeks now. It was now the end of shift and I had to go to OFI, today was gonna be my first day back there since that night.

"Alright babe I'll see you later." I gave Alyssa a kiss before I left the firehouse.
"Be safe please." She told me.
"I will. Love you." I smiled at her.

She put her hand on my stomach and smiled.
"Please." She told me.
"I promise baby. I'll see you later." I told her. She gave me a kiss and I left the firehouse.

I drove to OFI.
Once I got there I saw Vanmeeter, Seager, and my father.
"Dad what are you doing here?" I laughed.
"Just wanted to see you in action for a bit, plus Vanmeeter asked for my help too." He laughed.

"Welcome back Brielle." Vanmeeter shook my hand.
"Good to be back." I smiled.
"Is there anything we should know that could comprise you working with us?" He asked me.

"Well.. like I said before, I'm only doing this as a side job, I can help sometimes, but I don't want it to interfere with my job at 51." I said.
"We still can't get a Severide to be with a full time, can we?" He laughed.

My dad cleared his throat and looked at me and my stomach. I was wearing leggings and a sweater, they could obviously see my stomach, but I think Vanmeeter was being polite in not acknowledging it.
"Oh.. and I'm pregnant." I said.
"Well congrats, that's amazing." He said.

"Thank you. So... is there a case we're gonna start on?" I asked.
"Yes, it's a house fire." He said, giving me the file.
I read the address and it sounded familiar.

"Didn't we respond to this fire a week ago? It was the last fire I fought..." I told my dad.
"Yea we did.." my dad said.
"Has anyone checked out the house?" I asked.
"Yes, we got these photos." Seager told me, giving me some photos.

I looked at the photos.
"Where were you in the fire?" Vanmeeter asked.
"I was..." I said, drawing a blank. That was another symptom I've discovered, pregnancy brain.

"Um... I was on the bottom floor, checking for victims.. then... I went to the 2nd floor and found a little girl in the corner of her room. I brought her out, then I got another girl out, she was older, but then after that I didn't go back in the fire.. But I do remember seeing something weird in one of the closets I searched..." I said.

"Was it something like this?" Seager asked.
She showed me a photo of this burnt canister in a closet.

"Yea that was it. Was this the origin point?" I asked.
"Yes it was. Now the mother thinks that the father was the one who set the house on fire." Seager explained.
"But.. why? Are they having a divorce?" I asked.

"No, they've been divorced for about 3 years now. But the mom says that her oldest daughter claims she doesn't feel comfortable with her and her siblings going to their dad's house anymore. So the mother is trying to get a restraining order against this guy. And the rest speaks for itself." Vanmeeter explained.

"Do we have a name on this guy?" I asked.
"Yea his name is Andrew Helms." Seager told me.
"Alright.. so do we know anything else about this case?" I asked.
"We need to go back to the site to recap on everything, see if we can find anything else that would be useful." My dad said.

"Ok, let's go." I said. My father and I drove to the site.
"So.. how's the pregnancy been?" My dad asked.
"Exhausting..." I laughed.
"You've been liking working on ambo?" My dad asked.
"Yea, Alyssa loves that I'm working with her because now she can always keep an eye on me." I laughed.

We got to the site and looked around.
I went to the closet where the canister was.
I looked at the canister with my flashlight.
"This is kerosene." I said.
Then I remembered something.

I went upstairs to the bedrooms. Where I found the oldest daughter, I noticed burn patterns on the floor and walls. And where the closet was, is right below the bedroom.
"This guy was trying to kill his eldest daughter because she was the one who didn't want her and her siblings to go see him anymore..." I said.

"Just when we've thought we've seen it all..." My dad sighed.
We looked around the house for a bit more, trying to find other clues.
Then I noticed all the same burn patterns throughout all the bedrooms.

We took photos and headed back to OFI.
It was already noon.
"Ok so... we've reviewed a lot. Do you guys just mind staying here for just a bit longer? Severide, can you and Seager go and see if you can find anything on this guy that would help us more, any type of recording, where this guy could be." Vanmeeter told my dad and Seager. They left to go do so.

"Ok Brielle, can you just review these files again? Make sure we didn't miss anything. You have good eye for arson." He said.
"Sure thing Captain." I said. He showed me a desk I could sit at and I looked at everything.

Then I got a call from Alyssa.
Brielle: hey babe, what's up? I'm kinda busy.
Alyssa: hey, I just wanted to check on you.
Brielle: I'm fine. I'll probably be back home at around 3 maybe.

Alyssa: ok, don't overwork yourself.
Brielle: babe I'm just sitting at a desk, reviewing files.
Alyssa: ok love you.
Brielle; love you too, I'll see you soon.

Once I hung up Seager came in.
"Over protective boyfriend?" She laughed.
"No wife actually." I laughed.
"Oh that's great, congrats. Was she skeptical about you coming here as a little side job?" She asked.
"Oh definitely, considering that I'm pregnant and what happened the last time." I laughed.

"When do you find out the gender?" She smiled.
"2-4 weeks from now. I'm hoping for a girl, but Alyssa's hoping for a boy." I laughed.
"How has your pregnancy been?" She asked.
"Exhausting... but I'm just really happy to be pregnant." I said.
"Keep me posted about it." She smiled, and went back to where her and my dad were.

After about 1 hour later, My dad, and Seager came back in.
"Ok great work today. Thank you two for coming after a shift, we really appreciate it." Vanmeeter told my dad and I.

"Do you mind if I take these files to review them and see if I can get more info?" I asked.
"By all means, go ahead." Vanmeeter told me.
I gathered all the files in a box.

We left and my dad and I walked out.
"Drive safe honey." My dad hugged me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. He walked me to my car and helped me carry the box since it was pretty heavy.
"Thanks dad. When do I have to bring these back?" I asked.

"Tomorrow or Thursday. But you don't have to work on this case outside of the office. This is just a side job." He laughed.
"Ok, bye dad love you." I smiled. I got in my car and drove home.

I got home, parked in the garage, and brought the box in.
"Hey my love." Alyssa smiled when I walked in.
I gave her a hug and a kiss.
"How was OFI?" She asked.
"Good. We're working on this house fire.. and it's insane.." I said.

"So what happened?" She asked.
"Long story short, house. Father did it bc he is mad at the family for getting a restraining order... My brain in like mush right now.." I laughed.

"I know you were exhausted during yesterday's shift." Alyssa said, putting her hand on my stomach. The baby just lightly kicked her hand.
She smiled.
"Just a couple weeks we find out the gender." I smiled.

"I can't wait... I still think it's a little boy.." she laughed.
"I still think it's a little girl." I laughed.

We hung out for a bit. Then we made dinner, and then we went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey everyone! So I've gotten a couple dms asking about Stella, Kelly, Gabby, Matt and everyone else at the firehouse ages. For the sake of this book, they are all still the same age and look the same as they do/ did in the show. I know it can be confusing, but it just works better like they with the book.
Also, all the kids ages:
Alyssa and Brielle: 21
Addilynn and Layla: 19; college
Jaxson, Greyson, Oliver: 17 11th grade
Oakley, Madison, Mason: 14 9th grade
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