♣️Season 1, Episode 12♣️
Nicole stumbles into the kitchen where Matt is cooking breakfast, "Hey, morning."
Matt looks back from the stove, quickly turning off the burner to help her into a chair, "Why didn't you wait for me? I would have helped you to the table."
"Because I'm going back to work today, meaning that I can get from our bed to the table with no problems," She pulls him down for a kiss, "You can relax a little, babe. If this is how your acting at home, you will be a mess on calls and that isn't good for anybody."
"You're right, you're right. I'll dial it back a little. I just worry about you," Matt tells her, going back to cook.
"Shay's back today, too. Meaning that the ambo will be back to full capacity. How'd Mills do while we were gone?"
"He did good. Him and Dawson seem to be close," Matt shrugs, not thinking much about it.
Nicole gets a smirk on her face, "Oh, really? Good to hear."
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Matt goes to work before Nicole does, as she drove by the hospital for a final check-up and her note for Boden saying she was cleared for duty.
She sees Shay standing in front of everyone wearing a football helmet, talking with them, "Thanks, Chief. Thanks, guys. But where's Nicole? She said she'd be back today."
"Right here, bitch," Nicole calls out, holding her arms open for a hug from Shay while everyone cheers to her being back.
Shay hugs her, Gabby soon joining in as the paramedic trio is reunited again, "I see you got a present from the boys."
"Yes, she did," Otis says, carrying another box, "and we got you one too."
Nicole smiles at him before opening the box to lift out a matching helmet to Shay's, "Twins!"
Boden says to her, "Welcome back."
"Thanks, Chief. Don't worry, I am 100% ready to be back," Nicole assures the man.
"Yeah, you think Casey would've let her out of the house any other way," Mouch jokes.
"It's true," Matt shrugs.
As Chief leaves the room, Kelly walks up to Nicole and hugs her, "I'm getting clean and I'm meeting with a surgeon about my arm in a couple days. I've quit cold turkey and I have your back always."
Nicole pulls back to look at his eyes, she sees they are normal, "Okay. Shay told me she moved back in. Just do what's right. Kelly, I know you and what scared me was that you weren't you."
"I hear you," He tells her, kissing the top of her helmet where her forehead should be.
"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61..."
"First call back with the full ambo team!" Otis yells.
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They are greeted by a police officer waiting for them outside an abandoned truck, "Abandoned truck. And there's something funky inside. It's padlocked shut."
Kelly calls out, "Capp, grab the K12."
"Got it!"
"Texas?" Matt reads the plates.
"Yeah, it came back stolen in San Angelo. Where ever the heck that is," The officer explains.
Matt hears something, "Everyone quiet!" He moves to the side of the truck and knocks, "Someone in there? Call out."
They hear knocking. Kelly grabs the K12 and quickly rips the lock off the truck, opening the doors to reveal a horrid smell to everyone.
Once Kelly is masked up, he enters the truck, "We have multiple victims. Women, men. Maybe 15 or more. They all look DOA but we need to check vitals. Damn it, there are children."
Nicole grabs a mask and climbs into the truck, looking around, "Damn. Dawson, Shay, just a warning. This isn't a pretty sight."
"Hey, Nic!" Kelly calls out from towards the back.
Making her way back, she sees a younger woman awake and moving. Nicole takes off her mask, "I know this is scary, but if you come with us we can help you."
She hands her a mask but when she gets a blank look, she looks back to Gabby, "Hey, Dawson, I don't think she speaks English."
Gabby kneels down in place of Nicole while she goes to check others vitals. She watches Gabby escort the young woman off the truck.
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Arriving at the ER, Shay gives information to the doctors, "Dehydrated, borderline hypothermic, warmed her blankets, hot packs, and 200 CC of warm bolus. No English."
"Undocumented?"
"Yeah, found her in the back of an abandoned smugglers truck," Nicole nods.
The doctor asks, "How old?"
Gabby tells her, "16."
"Let's make sure three is clear," Is all Shay and Nicole hear before they head to the counter to fill out paperwork.
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Nicole lays down in Matt's bunk, groaning as she jostles her back, "Damn."
Matt sits at his desk, "I told you you should have taken a couple more shifts off."
"I am fine. I just laid down funny and it tweaked my back. Trust me, I'm fine," Nicole tells him, sitting up on her elbows.
"If you say you're fine one more time, I might scream," Matt jokes, winking at her.
"Can you come lay with me instead of judging me? I missed being pressed up against you in the firehouse," Nicole gives him a smirk.
Matt chuckles, standing up and leaning over her, kissing her slightly, "You have a dirty mind."
Nicole wraps her arms around his neck, "I was talking snuggling while talking in bed, you're the one that went to the dirty place."
"Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25, aircraft down."
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Gabby, Shay and Nicole stand to the side, giving instruction as Squad starts cutting through a car, "Hey, you have to pull her out head first. Any clearance on her feet?"
Capp shakes his head, "Nah, I'm just out of reach. Got to hit it from another angle."
Nicole gets a call for a medic, quickly following Mills and Matt into a home where she sees a man half in the window, half out of it.
"Weak pulse."
"There's blood outside."
She looks to the two men, "We've got to move him. Ready? Nice and smooth."
They all grunt as they move him to the floor, turning him onto his back. Opening his jacket and lifting his shirt, they see his guts, "Mills, my bag. Abdominal trauma pads."
"How many?"
"All of them," She says, "The blade went through his abdominal wall. We need to pack him, fast," Others in Truck and ambo bring the C-collar and backboard while Nicole gives instructions to Mills and Shay, when she arrives, "Keep packing. Push gently, we don't know if anything still in there. Casey, hand here, pressure. All right, let's get him on the board," They move him onto the board where Nicole covers Matt's hand, "Casey, leave your hand here, providing pressure as we move or this is gonna be a recovery. Got it?"
He nods, "Got it."
"Let's move him," Nicole says, "On my count. 1, 2, 3."
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Nicole sits with Matt as Boden fills them in on Kelly's condition, "As you can imagine, Kelly is still processing all of it. I'd give him a little time before you call him. There is no reason before or after the surgery, Kelly shouldn't be in this house, in this home and around this family. So will you all encourage him to do that? Look, there is no denying we are a good man down. We do not have the luxury to act like it. So the upside of this, it is a stark reminder injuries do not get swept under the rug in this job, nor do they get self diagnosed or self medicated because what is that? Pride? Friendship? Family?" He looks between Shay and Nicole, "Stubbornness, fear? Whatever the reason, it isn't good enough to hide an injury. Kelly dodged a bullet on this one. So did the people he helped rescue this month. Cause it could have gone real bad for him and for them, real quick."
Boden dismisses them, Nicole heading to Matt's office with him. They sit on his bed together, "How did I miss a month of this? He usually is not as good at hiding things from me."
"Those missing vials from last month," Matt starts, "Did Shay give them to him?"
"I don't have proof, which means I can't do anything about it," Nicole covers, knowing that as an officer, Matt would have to report it.
"Got it," He nods, "Are you gonna stop by his apartment after shift?"
She shakes her head, "No. If I know Kelly, he won't want to see anyone for a while. It's better if I don't force him right now. If Shay comes on next shift and tells me Kelly's being self-destructive, then I'll step in."
The alarm sounds, pulling them back to the job.
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"It usually doesn't take this long to go back to normal," The coach tells them as they hook him up to a monitor.
"Usually when you're in this kind of pain, you can't just ignore it and hope it goes away," Nicole lectures.
He nods, "I know, but I hate going to see the doctor. My healthcare plans a joke."
Shay jokes, "Yeah, we work for the city too, Coach. You're preaching to the choir."
The coach all of a sudden deeply inhales and seizes up, "Travis?"
"Heart rates at 185, he's in v-tach," Gabby tells Nicole.
"BP's 70/50."
Nicole nods, "We don't have time for the drive. We gotta do this here. Travis, we have a change of plans. I need you to lie down. Alright, I'm gonna start an IV so I need you to stay as still as possible."
"Why? What's happening?"
"We need to get you back in rhythm," Nicole says as Gabby cuts his shirt open, "We're just gonna apply some electricity to your heart."
He starts shaking his head, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're gonna shock me-wow-is that gonna hurt?"
Shay is honest, "A lot less than the full cardiac arrest you are about to have. You just have to trust us, Travis."
Gabby puts the pads on as Nicole brings the machine to her, "Okay, shocking at 100. Stand back. Clear."
Travis lets out a grunt as the electricity hits him, "Okay, it's done. It's done," He starts trying to sit up as they push him back down.
"No, no, Travis, almost. We have to do it again. You have a stubborn heart," Gabby pushes him down.
"There's got to be something else you can do," He pleads.
"This is it, Travis, we have to," Shay argues.
A player yells at them, "You heard, Coach, he said he doesn't want it."
Nicole ignores him, "Shocking at 200. Stand back. Clear."
"Please, no more."
The paramedics share a look before Shay looks down to Travis, "One more time."
Travis argues, "No, I can hold on, just get me to the hospital."
Nicole gets him to look at her, "Listen, Travis. I'm sorry, you just gotta trust us, okay? Okay. Shocking at 300. Stand back. Clear."
After she shocks him, he flatlines, Shay calls out, "Otis, I need chest compressions!"
The same player moves forward, "Coach! You're killing him!"
Mills moves him away as they work to revive him, Nicole calls out, "Stop compressions! Damn it, still in v-tach."
"Alright, pushing 150 milliliters of antironome," Shay says.
"Stand back, shocking at 360. Clear," They get him back, "We got him!"
Shay and Gabby move to get him on the backboard, "We need a lift, guys."
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Nicole knocks on Kelly and Shay's door. Shay opens it, "Thank God you are here."
She lets out a huff as Shay drags her into the apartment, "I kinda need my arm attached to my body."
"Renee is here and is being a knowing-it-all bitch," Shay explains.
"Renee as in Kelly's ex-fiance-" Nicole starts asking.
Shay quickly shakes her head, "No, no. Renee Royce. His new girl-toy."
A voice interrupts them, "Girlfriend. His words," A woman stands at the bottom of the stairs in Kelly's shirt and a pair of underwear.
Nicole doesn't like the attitude she's giving, so she gives some back, "Well, until Kelly introduces you, on his own, to me as his girlfriend, don't count on holding that title for long. I've meet two serious girlfriends in his past and they last the longest. Others introduced themselves to me and were gone within the week. Know your place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go talk to my brother."
She moves past her, up the stairs to Kelly's room. Knocking on the door, she calls out, "Kel, it's Nicole!"
"Come in."
Stepping into Kelly's room, Nicole sees him sitting, shirtless, on his bed, "Met Renee. Great name."
"Thought the same thing at first. Been calling her Royce," Kelly smiles sadly.
"Boden told us about the surgery and recovery," Nicole brings up, sitting next to Kelly, "But you know what? That doesn't take into account your drive to get back to Squad."
"Most guys who've had this surgery only got back to administrative duty," Kelly tells her.
She nods, "I know. Once Boden told me what you were diagnosed with, I made a couple calls and did some research. Most guys, they hear that, and give up. They don't fight like hell to get back. You're a Severide. We don't give up. You became the youngest ever to make Squad, hold the fastest Academy time. This is not over, until you say it is."
Kelly, who was hanging his neck, nods before lifting his head with a smile, "You know, you're really good at pep talks."
Nicole shrugs, kissing his cheek, "Well, I listened to you give me enough of them growing up. I figured the only one that could get through your thick skull right now was you. Now, Renee..."
"I don't know. She's fun. It could become serious," Kelly shrugs.
"She introduced herself to me as your girlfriend," Nicole snorts.
Kelly shakes his head, "That's how I introduced her to the doctor. It became gospel. There's some thinking I have to do, so talk to you later?"
Nicole hugs him, pulling back enough to study his eyes, "Don't do something stupid. I still need you here."
"Good to know."
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AN: I love writing Nicole and Kelly's sibling relationship.
Every relationship that Kelly has before Stella makes me really look forward to when Stella gets here and Nicole has someone to team up with against Kelly.
QoC: what do you think Nicole's relationship with Benny will be like?
Thanks for all of the votes and reads and comments!!!