♣️Season 1, Episode 5♣️
Wheeling up to the team, Nicole notices how agitated Matt is but decides to question him later, "What do we got?"
Kelly moves out of her way, "Trapped arm."
She hops up, "How are you feeling?" She asks the sweating man.
"Not so good, to tell you the truth."
"What's your name, hun?" Nicole makes small talk as Matt and Kelly work together to figure out how to get his arm out.
"Garrett."
Nicole continues asking him questions, "Garrett, how long you've been stuck?"
"I don't know."
She turns to the other workers, "How long has he been stuck?!"
"Okay, we've got to get him out now. We're gonna put some morphine in, you're gonna feel a little prick."
Shay wraps up quickly, "Alright, sweetie, I gave you some morphine and it should be kicking in shortly."
Nicole gets his focus, "Alright, Garrett, we're gonna try and get your arm out now, okay? Here we go. 1, 2, 3."
They start pulling before Garrett yells, "Stop! Wait! I can't!"
Matt stops them, "The gear segments come right off. Get the gears off, we can separate the casing travel with it. We need power drills."
Truck and Squad work together to separate the machine before backing him onto the stretcher the girls rolled up, "Alright, let's get him out of here."
They get him into the ambo, Matt and Kelly jumping in the back with Gabby as Nicole drives with Shay in the passenger's seat.
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Arriving at the ER, they all roll in, "Possible crush syndrome, gave four of morphine, heart rate 130, BP 110 palp, two meters of saline."
"Call my boss. Tell-tell him I'll be there tomorrow. So don't worry about covering my shift," Garrett says.
Everyone grabs a part fo the blanket, "Ready? 1, 2, 3."
Moving him onto the bed, a nurse gives him some more morphine, "And he's out."
"We're ready here."
Matt grabs a screwdriver as does Kelly, "All right, let's get this off. It should slide off."
They move piece by piece off before the ER team moves him to the OR. Seeing that Matt's still agitated, Nicole gives the girls a look and they go do paperwork while Nicole pulls Matt aside, "What's up?"
"I went to the CPD this morning. Talked to Voight."
"So you two talked it all out?" Nicole asks, sarcastically.
"No, I yelled," Matt tells her.
Nicole sighs, resting a hand on his cheek, "Matt, you need to be careful. Voight is in with gangs and bangers and who knows who else. You need to be careful. Don't be stupid."
Matt shakes his head, "He just needs to stay away from us. Especially you. I'm not retracting my statement and he needs to understand that. I just told him that."
She bites her bottom lip before nodding, "Okay. Between you and Kelly, the bangers are gonna have ample opportunity to give me a heart attack."
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Back at the firehouse, as they clean out the rig, Mouch calls Nicole over, "Hey, Nicole, a little thank you from the Paramedics Regulatory Board for saving that Madeline girl last month. That's your copy."
Opening the paper, she scoffs, "Un-freaking-believeable. This serves as an acknowledgment that you understand this written reprimand was issued."
Gabby and Shay shake their heads, "Nicole, we've said it once, we'll say it again, you did the right thing. That girl would have died."
"Hey, it's barely a slap on the wrist. I know Carlo over there. I'll make sure this goes right in his circular file," Mouch tells her.
"Thanks, but I'm more pissed that I have a reprimand before Kelly."
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Nicole sits by Matt's bedside as Hallie comes in while Antonio stands opposite of them, "No cracked ribs. You're next in line for the CT scan. Sit up for me."
Matt grunts as he sits up, his torso covered in bruises while Hallie listens to his lungs. Looking out the window, Nicole sees Boden and Truck 81 members arrive.
"Lungs sound clear. Good, you can lay back," Nicole stands and helps Matt lay down comfortably as Boden enters the room, sharing a nod with Antonio.
"Casey, how are you?"
Antonio starts asking Matt questions, "So no faces for these guys? Markings? Anything distinguishable?"
Matt thinks as he puts an ice pack on his face, "One of them had a tattoo. Forearm."
"Left? Right?"
"Left," Matt says, sounding unsure, "Maybe right."
"Think," Antonio prompts.
Matt slams the ice pack down on the bed, "I am thinking."
Nicole decides to intervene, "Maybe this can wait until Matt's been cleared."
Antonio studies Matt before nodding, "Alright. Alright, rest for a few," Before leaving.
Boden approaches an agitated Matt, "Matt. Matt! Believe me, I know what you're going through and I know what you're thinking. But we are gonna figure out how to do this the right way. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah."
"Okay."
He leaves so it's just Nicole and Matt in the room. She sits on the side of his bed, holding the ice pack on his face, "Chief's right."
"I'm not gonna just sit back and take it," He tells her.
"I'm not saying you should, but you've gotta be smart. One bad decision and you're the bad guy and that's what he wants. You lose all creditability and you lose yourself. Promise me you'll be smart," Nicole reminds him.
"I promise," Matt nods, tilting his chin up for a kiss which she gives easily.
She looks to the door and sees Truck 81 come into the room, "I'll let you talk with your boys. I'm gonna go check with Hallie and take a peek at your scans."
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Arriving at the firehouse, Nicole shakes her head as Matt walks with her, Herrmann greeting him, "Hey, Lieutenant."
"You should take a few more days, Casey. Well within your rights," Mouch tells him.
"That's what I said," Nicole sighs, not liking Matt being back so soon.
"Eh, I'll just be staring at the ceiling. I'm here to look at mugshots."
Antonio makes his presence known, "Speaking of, where would you like to do this?"
They go to the conference room as Nicole looks to the Truck boys, "Keep an eye on him, please. Make sure he doesn't overdo it?"
"Of course," Herrmann tells her, patting her shoulder, "We'll look after him."
"Ambulance 61, head injury, northwest corner."
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Pulling up to the scene, they see a group of people surrounding the patient, "What's his name?"
"What the hell difference does it make? His name's Vince. Fix him," A boy demands.
Kneeling down, Nicole holds his head still as Shay asks him questions, "Vince, can you hear me? If you can hear me, don't move, blink twice."
"C-collar," Nicole asks, accepting it from Gabby.
"How long are you gonna leave him lying there? Get him in the damn ambulance," The same boy says.
"What happened?"
"We rode down this ramp. We flipped. He hit first," The boy explains, stumbling.
Nicole collars the patient, keeping an eye on the other one, "You're on something, huh? What are you on?"
He stares her down, "You need to shut up. Fix him, not me."
Moving him onto the board, they count before lifting him up. Shay and Nicole move to the front as Gabby steps onto the back, "We'll see you at the hospital. We're taking him to Lakeshore."
"I'm going with him."
"No, you're not," She shakes her head, grabbing the doors.
He rushes forward, "This ain't up to you, lady."
Gabby braces herself on the door before kicking him back, "On behalf of the Paramedics Association of America, I offer my sincerest apologies for the forceable actions I exhibited here today."
Closing the doors, Gabby sits down while Shay drives away, Nicole looking back, "That's gonna be a mountain of paperwork."
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Gabby and Nicole get called into Boden's office where Hatcher and Mouch are waiting for them, "Reckless infliction of emotional distress, are you kidding me?"
"61's had a bit of a track record lately, wouldn't you say?" Hatcher comments.
"Apples and oranges."
"Except, both involved us saving a life," Nicole adds, "Which, we did."
Hatcher corrects, "Both involved violations in a very short time span."
Gabby tries arguing, "That-"
Mouch shakes his head, "This isn't enough to warrant suspension, no way. Especially since it's Dawson's first offence. She can't be penalized for the actions made from others."
He shrugs, "It's a possibility that it won't be Dawson suspended. These actions could be seen as following the example lead by her PIC."
"Are you saying Nicole could be suspended because of my actions?" Gabby asks.
"Make sure that your memory of the event is accurate to the best of your knowledge."
"Like what? Did I kick the belligerent, jackass with one foot or two?" Gabby sasses as Nicole sighs.
Boden questions, "Is there a date set for this hearing?"
Hatcher shakes his head, "Not at the moment."
"There won't be one, Chief," Mouch assures, "This will be a written warning, just like Nicole's. One call."
Boden's phone rings, "Well, whatever you need to do. Take care of this."
Mouch shakes his head at them, mouthing, 'It's fine.'
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Nicole drives her car that night as she goes on a grocery run for the house. Normally the candidate would do that, but Nicole is planning on making her famous meatloaf so she's going to get the needed ingredients.
On the way to the store, she hears a police siren and sees flashing lights behind her. Pulling over, Nicole looks in the rearview mirror and sees an older man come up to her car.
"Evening, ma'am. Caught you rolling through a stop back there."
Nicole decides sass is her best defense, "What stop?"
"I can let it go with a warning, this time. Just do me a favor. Talk some sense into your man."
"Go to hell, Voight."
"I'd really hate to see things get uglier than they already are. Have a good night," He threatens.
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Nicole walks into the firehouse, seeing Matt talking with Boden and Antonio, "Voight just pulled me over."
"What?!" Matt yells, moving forward and cupping her face, "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. He said I rolled through a stop then told me to talk some sense into my man. Then he threatens to make things uglier than they already are."
Matt turns to Antonio and Boden, "We handle this, today. He's gone too far now."
So Nicole wraps her arms around Matt's waist, burying her head in his chest as he kisses the top of her head.
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Sitting at home, alone, Nicole tries calling Matt but gets no response before taking a sip of her beer.
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AN: So, Gabby kicks a guy, Nicole puts a needle into a little girls heart and Shay gives drugs to Kelly. You really never know what to expect from the Ambulance 61 girls.
Just to clarify, Hallie is a friend of Nicole's and has no interest in Matt.
QoC: What is your favorite Chicago Fire season?
Thanks for the votes and reads and comments!!!