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

45 || PLAN

After what felt like the longest shift of everybody's lives, it finally came time to hit up Molly's where they could spend all night simply drinking their sorrows away. And for just a brief moment, when everyone from firehouse fifty-one was together again, in the same building, it felt like everything was back to normal.

The atmosphere inside the bar was cheerful despite how most of the occupants had spent their last twenty four hours. The fairy lights on the ceiling twinkled brightly as the soft sound of overlapping conversations filled the beer smelling air around them.

"I swear to God, I've never seen someone look as scared as he did." Casey chuckled out as he took a sip of his beer, just having told everyone around him all about how Riley had played, what he was calling, "bunk police" last shift.

"Listen..." Riley began, shifting in her seat to get a better view of those sitting next to her. "It's bad enough that there's strangers sitting in Mouch's spot-"

"Don't remind me."

"-Okay, I don't need some floater sleeping next to me too." Riley laughed out as she defended her actions. Actions she didn't at all regret and was glad to have done.

"So where did he sleep?" Cruz asked curiously and not at all surprised at the lengths Riley went to to stop people trying to take Otis's bunk.

"I don't know." Riley mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders, making the others share a laugh. And a few head shakes as well, mostly at her uncaring attitude towards what happened after she told Milligan to find another bunk even though all the other ones where taken.

"At least you got some sleep." Otis scoffed out, feeling the slight tingle in his chest that he usually felt when Riley got all protective over him or anything to do with him. "Fortenberry snores worse than Mouch, which I didn't even think was possible, so I didn't sleep a wink."

"I would find insult in that if I wasn't so tired myself." Mouch yawned as he covered his mouth, but not before he made Otis and Cruz yawn too. And a few other occupants who'd caught glimpse of him doing so. It was like yawn dominoes all of a sudden.

"You weren't kidding about sleeping with two eyes open." Riley chuckled into her drink before she took a sip, feeling the refreshing coldness as it travelled down her throat.

"Has Boden said anything about whether he can fix things?" Cruz asked, eager to get back to fighting fires instead of dispatching others to do so instead.

"Not to me." Casey replied as he shook his head, wishing he could have given everyone some better news.

"Alright, I'm gonna cheer everybody up." Herrmann mumbled to himself as he grabbed a small step stool from behind the bar and stood on it, making himself a touch taller and in better view of everyone. "Hey, listen up, everybody." He called out, gaining the attention of those in the bar.

"I know it's looking bad for 51..." Herrmann continued as the bar quieted down. "...but just remember that story of that rabbit and that turtle. Slow and steady wins that race. So let's keep our chins up, our heads down, and let's ride this puppy out, okay?"

Crickets... That's all that could be used to describe the response to that speech.

"And most importantly, everybody, drink up." He added, holding his glass in the air as everyone just shared unamused looks with each other.

The response Herrmann got to that so called speech, hadn't exactly been what he was hoping for in terms of cheering everybody up. In fact, it had been the complete opposite of what he'd hoped for as the only response he actually got, other than a few raised eyebrows, was Cruz blowing a raspberry with his tongue as he gave Herrmann a disappointed thumbs down.