A Slow Burn // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek // Chicago Fire ✔️

05 || SURVIVOR

Running late for shift was never a good thing, but running late for what was only her fourth shift in a new firehouse house was even worse.

Riley had had a late one last night, the evidence of that showing on her neck in the form of another love bite, courtesy of Will Halstead, who'd once again spent the night at her place. Which is why Riley was now ten minutes late and running frantically up the driveway towards the firehouse, already changed into her work clothes.

Everyone was in the common room, eating breakfast and drinking coffee, even the Chief was there, along with someone Riley hadn't seen since that day. Since the day her world came crashing down around her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late I-" Riley's out of breath apology was cut off at the sight of Chief Walker who stood directly facing her as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Hey, Wolf." Chief Walker said softly, with a smile, and a little cautiously as he didn't know how she'd react to seeing him again.

The obvious colour draining from Riley's face and the way it dropped answered that question and had those in the room a little confused, and concerned. Even more so when Riley quickly spun on her heels and ran down the corridor towards the bathrooms.

"That could have went better." Chief Walker sighed, turning to place his coffee mug on the counter.

"You guys have history?" Casey asked intrigued, closing his newspaper and setting it on the table before him.

"You guys don't know?" Walker questioned, although he wasn't surprised Riley hadn't told her new crew exactly what happened to her old one.

"Know what?" Otis' said curiously, and a little worried about Riley, who he desperately wanted to run after to make sure she was okay but at the same time he wanted to know what Walker had to say.

"Riley was at the Humboldt fire." Walker himself seemed sad when he spoke, the situation clearly not one he could easily get over.

"That big crazy warehouse fire that happened a few months ago?" Cruz asked, sharing confused and intrigued looks with the others, they'd heard details of the fire, how some firefighters had died but that was about it.

"That's the one." Walker sighed. "Seven firefighters walked into that fire and only one walked out. Her." He pointed in the general direction of where Riley went, hoping she was alright wherever she was in the building.

"God, we had no idea." Otis half whispered, unable to imagine how hard that must have been for Riley. It was bad enough losing one fellow firefighter, but to lose six? And be the only survivor? That must have been hard.

"She lost her whole house that day, and her own brother... Myself and Chief Grissom had to physically hold her back... The screams that came from her that day, the cries for her crew, for her brother... That ain't something I'll ever forget."

"Poor girl." Herrmann muttered, feeling more guilt over how he'd treated her that first shift. Even though they'd resolved their differences, he still couldn't help but feel bad about what happened. Especially now.

"That wasn't in her file." Boden stated a little suspiciously, something like that should definitely have been made aware to him.

"She asked for it to be held from her file, I guess she didn't want to be pitied or perhaps she was worried about what new firehouses would think over her being the only survivor." Walker explained, having been the one himself to keep the incident from reaching her file.

"But she was cleared alright? She's still fit for duty?" Boden hadn't seen anything from her to suspect that she wasn't fit for work, but he still had to ask. That situation, what she'd been through, it was tough and he couldn't risk her freezing up during a call and getting herself, or others, killed.