𝐈 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ━━ chicago fire

[ 020 ] let her go

𝐈 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔

chapter twenty ; let her go
[ season one, episode twenty-three ]

"WE WERE scheduled to open our bar after next shift," Hermann spoke softly. He stood in front of everyone in the conference room. "And in light of what happened, we were going to push it. But... me, Dawson, Melisa, and Otis... we talked about it, and instead, we're gonna make it a celebration of Hallie's life. All the proceeds for tonight will be donated in her name to children's memorial. Thanks." He went and sat down.

Boden stood up front. "Not an easy day. Not for any of us. Lieutenant Casey is meeting with detectives from CPD. Arson investigators are at the clinic right now. All we can do for Matt is be there the best we can."

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"THAT'S SO nice of you. Thank you. Bye." Gabby hung up the phone. "The optical shop on the corner is gonna donate a couple pairs of sunglasses to raffle off."

"Great," Otis said. "And as soon as Zoya starts, she can help go collect all this stuff."

Melisa looked at Otis, confused. "Who?" Hermann had the same expression.

"Uh, my cousin. From Russia? Zoya. Hermann and I talked about this."

Hermann looked even more confused. "When?"

"At the soft opening?"

"What? When I got, like, six beers in me?"

"Hey, you signed off, dude."

Hermann looked at Gabby. "Do you know anything about this?"

Gabby shook her head. "First I've heard of it."

"Okay, uh, she's here on a six-month work visa," Otis explained. "But apparently, the nanny job was killing her. She's nice, she's cute, she's got restaurant experience, and you agreed to it."

"What kind of restaurant?" Hermann questioned.

Melisa didn't care as much. "Who cares? It's fine. She's in. We got funds to raise."

"You guys are killing me."

Otis brushed off the comment. "You'll love her."

Otis brought Zoya to the firehouse later that day. He introduced her to them. "Zoya, this is Hermann, Dawson, and Bishop."

"Nice to meet you," Hermann said, approaching her. Melisa and Gabby joined them. The three shook her hand.

"This is Zoya."

"So nice to meet you," Melisa said.

"Hello," Zoya responded.

"So, Brian said that you've got some restaurant experience."

Zoya smiled at Hermann. "Thank you."

Hermann went and stood with Melisa and Gabby. Otis and Zoya were speaking to each other in Russian. She saw the flyer they printed out for Molly's, and he explained it to her.

Otis looked at his friends. "Uh, anyway, so I just wanna make some quick introductions, and we will see you at the bar." The two walked off.

"We've got Yakov Smirnoff tending bar now?" Hermann inquired.

"Who's that?" Hermann and Melisa both looked at her when she asked that. They thought it was weird that she didn't know.

Otis returned with a smile on his face. "So for the opening and the benefit, I'm pretty sure she said she's gonna bring a monkey." He chuckled.

Melisa gave him a look. "A monkey?"

"Yep."

"Otis," Gabby scolded him.

"Look, it's probably some sort of good luck gesture or— or, you know, it has some sort of cultural significance. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Did you see the lady on Oprah who got her face chewed off by a monkey?"

"I did see that," Otis responded calmly. "And if it looks like it could take us, I'll tell her to keep it in the car." Hermann threw out his arms out in annoyance and walked off. "Thank you. Thank you."

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"SO YOU CAN start the college fund when, um, the baby's born," Shay told Melisa and Gabby. They were standing in the laundry room the following day." And it's only, like, five dollars a month. Even if they don't go to college, they still get the money."

"Why not just call it a fund, then?" Melisa questioned. "Since the money goes to them even if they don't go to college."

"You know, I was wondering the same thing." They noticed that something was off with Gabby. She was quiet. "Are you okay?"

Gabby turned the laundry machine on. "Um," she sniffled, "Mills broke up with me."

"Over the Boden thing?" Melisa asked.

"Yeah," Gabby whispered.

"What an idiot," Shay said as she and Melisa hugged Gabby. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

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MELISA, OTIS, and Hermann met up at the bar later that night. Mouch and Cruz were there. And they were waiting for Zoya. They were anxious to see the monkey Otis told them she was bringing.

"Doors open in an hour," Hermann stated. "I think we got it all covered, right?" 

"You're all set, man," Cruz told him. "The place looks great."

Zoya burst in, uttering something in Russian to Otis, who approached her at the door. "Monkey's here," Otis said.

"Are we insured for this?" Hermann asked. "I'm not even joking."

A man walked in, and it wasn't a monkey he was holding. Everyone's faces dropped when they saw it.

"That's the Stanley Cup," Melisa stated.

Otis and Zoya exchanged a few words before he looked at his friends. "So, I guess in Russian, chimpanzee, and hockey championship are this close phonetically." He put his pointy finger and thumb almost close together to show how similar the words were.

"That's the Stanley Cup."

When the bar opened and everyone showed up, Melisa and Mouch were having fun and taking photos together next to the Stanley Cup.

Casey showed up. He greeted people as he walked in. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw the cup in the middle of the room. "This is the real thing?"

Otis nodded. "Yeah."

Hermann handed Casey a glass of beer. "One of our first dates was a... Blackhawks-Devils game. When she told me she knew was icing was, I knew I had a keeper." The crowd chuckled at his comment. "This means a lot, guys..." he sniffled. He was trying not to cry, and they could feel it. "And it means a lot to her 'cause I'm sure she's looking down."

Casey raised his glass. "To Hallie."

"To Hallie," everyone repeated.

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WORDS: 1044
A/N: I decided not to write the last episode and end the first season like this. Hope you liked it.