♣️Season 1, Episode 19♣️
Nicole sighs, shutting her car door after coming home from the bakery with muffins for her and Matt. She looks down at her purse, putting her keys away when she feels her arm getting yanked by Kelly, "You are coming with me."
"What-Kelly-why?" She looks at the doorway to see Matt and Heather standing there, Heather right behind Matt, "What is happening?"
"Nicole! Wait!" Matt calls after her while Kelly pushes her into the car.
"I'll kill him for you," Kelly offers.
She shakes her head, leg bouncing rapidly, "Not now, Kelly."
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Nicole parks the rig next to 81 as Chief pulls up behind them. They got a call less than a block away from the firehouse, "61, we need you on the second floor," Matt's voice comes over her radio, "It's a child."
The three paramedics race up the stairs, Otis meeting them, "What's going on?"
"Kid hid in the laundry shoot."
They stand to the side as Truck pulls the metal shoot away and back out the victim, "He's conscious but barely."
"Board him. Quickly," Shay directs.
They quickly get him on oxygen and start to descend the stairs when Nicole sees Boden comforting a woman, "Are you the mother?"
She nods, "Yes."
"You can ride in the back with me. Let's go."
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At the hospital, the three work on paperwork when Nicole spots the mother pacing, "I'll be right back."
Making her way over, Nicole asks, "What have you heard?"
"Um," The mother wipes her tears with her son's shirt, "The doctors said it looks bad. Damage to his windpipe, so his brain was without oxygen."
Nicole nods, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "They've got great surgeons here. They are gonna do everything they can."
"You know, Tay has been to your firehouse," She tells Nicole.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. His whole class went on a field trip, last fall when the school year started. It was all he could talk about for days. He said he wants to be a fireman. Help people," She shares.
Nicole smiles, "That's sweet."
The mother sniffs, looking down, "Gangs are always calling, but he won't bite. He's gonna be straight and narrow and I believe that."
She nods, giving the mother a hug, "Keep on loving him the way you do and he will."
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The three girls sit out on the apparatus floor as Kelly cleans a saw at the Squad table. Matt walks up to him, "Heather Darden and me. We're just friends. She barged into my house this morning and I was just getting her to leave when you came over and dragged my fiancee away."
"Right. Got it," Kelly says, walking away.
Gabby and Shay turn to look at Nicole who steadily ignores them by looking at the paperwork in front of her. The duo share a look before staring at Nicole when Kelly's voice is heard. "I can imagine a lot of things. Just not the idea of you rolling around with Andy's widow and screwing around on my sister."
There's a sound of silence before the two men are in view again, "Explain to me why Heather barely talks to me but she'll sleep with you, even though you're engaged and the guy who put her husband through that window."
Matt turns to responds when gunshots come through the garage door window's and everyone hits the floor. Once the shooting stops and the sound of a car speeding away sounds, everyone checks on each other.
Kelly and Matt make their way over to the paramedics to check on them, "Are you guys okay? Anyone hurt?"
"No," Nicole shakes her head, "We're fin-"
"Nicole!" Shay yells, pointing at her bicep, "You were hit."
"What?!" Matt and Kelly shout, pushing over to Nicole and maneuvering her arm to see the bleeding bullet hole.
Nicole pushes them off her, "I'm fine. It's barely a scratch."
Chief comes over to check on them and sees Nicole's arm, "Nope. Go get it checked out."
"What? But-"
"Go. Dawson, Shay, take her in 61. Use lights and sirens to go fast enough that she can't jump out of the rig," Boden directs, giving Nicole a stare as if to challenge an argument.
Rolling her eyes, Nicole allows herself to be escorted to the rig, "That was one time."
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Nicole huffs as she sits on a bed at Lakeshore as Shay and Gabby flip through magazines in chairs on either side of her, "You know, I could've wrapped this up by now."
As she goes to stand up, Gabby and Shay each grab one of her arms and pull her to sitting down. Once she stays, Gabby pats her head and flips to the next page in her magazine.
"Well, Ms. Severide, second visit in less than six months. Dangerous job?" A doctor asks as he comes into the area.
"I'm a paramedic for the CFD. I was in an ambulance crash and a shooting at my firehouse. Apparently, I'm just unlucky. Now, can you stitch my arm up so I can get back to work?" Nicole asks, impatiently.
"Sure," He nods, "But first, we're gonna take some blood samples just to make sure everything's alright and then maybe a scan to check for the bullet or any pieces and then we can stitch you up."
Nicole groans, throwing her head back, "I have an exit wound, so you can skip the scans, the bullet is completely out. The blood samples are completely unnecessary for a simple bullet hole. So. Stitch. Me. Up."
Shay and Gabby each grab their phones, "I'll call Kelly," Shay threatens.
"I'll call Matt," Gabby adds.
"I'll call your Chief," He doctors throws in.
Nicole glares at all of them for a moment before rolling her eyes and holding out her arm, "Just take the damn blood."
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In the rig on the ride back, Nicole sits in the passenger seat in shock as Shay drives and Gabby keeps looking at Nicole, "So, how we feeling?"
"Uh, um, uh, huh?"
Shay gives an encouraging nod, "See. We got sounds this time, so progress."
Gabby pokes Nicole's shoulder, "Let's try a word, this time. What are you feeling?"
Nicole stares straight ahead, before shaking her head and waking herself up from the shock, "How the hell am I pregnant?! I mean, I know how, but how!?"
"Okay. That's more than a word," Gabby shrugs at Shay, "But how are you feeling about it?"
"Surprised! I mean, I want a baby with Matt but this is really bad timing and I thought we'd actively try for one or have some sort of plan or something!"
Shay stops at a red light, "Tell us why this is bad timing again? Does this have to do with Heat-"
"Do not speak her name. She was at my house this morning, talking with my fiancee while I wasn't there. Kelly evadently heard or saw something bad because he dragged me out of there before I could even say a word and then just said, in front of the entire firehouse, that Matt's sleeping around on me with my best friend's widow. What about that is good timing?"
"You woke up the beast," Gabby whispers to Shay as they pull into the firehouse.
Kelly stands from the Squad table, everyone else waiting in the common room with a couple detectives, "How's your arm?"
Nicole struts past him, "Fine, still attached, blah-blah. Let's get this over with."
Matt stands from his spot next to Boden, "Hey, how's your-"
"Fine. Full motion range, whatever."
Boden nods, watching as Nicole leans against the counter, Shay and Gabby moving to either side of her and making a motion for no one to ask Nicole any other questions, "Okay, what the hell is going on here, detective? This has always been a neighborhood house."
"You tell me," One of the detectives says, "No run-ins recently? No fires lately and one of your guys tried to pop off to the locals?"
"Nah," Boden shakes his head.
Herrmann adds, "We're not cops. People are happy to see a firefighter show up."
The detective looks to Matt, "Could this be Voight related?"
"Voight?"
"When it comes to gang violence, Voight has a long reach. He's got a dismissal hearing soon."
Nicole shakes her head, "He's trying to get out, he won't cause trouble until he's either locked back in his cell and they throw away the key or he get's out and then reigns terror over the city a different way."
Cruz stands up, "Bro, why don't you pick up one of these bangers on something small and trade the bust for what they know about the shooters?"
The detective explains, "Corner boys in this neighborhood are good. We can't catch them with the drugs and make a bust stick. We keep our heads to the ground. In the mean time, I'll make sure we have a conspicuous police presence around the station."
"Meaning what?"
"A special detail on it," The detectives rise, "Squad outside, officer posted inside the house."
Boden stands as well, "That's fine. As long as my men are safe," Herrmann gives him a look as the detectives leave, "What?"
"Cops in the house is a bad precedent. Sends a message to the good residents around here that we're not a safe haven."
"Would you rather have one of us be killed? I mean, Nicole was already shot," Mouch says.
"Of course not," Herrmann tells him.
"We will let the police handle their business and we will handle ours," Boden puts down.
Nicole huffs, nodding, "Good enough for me. I'm going to bed now."
She walks past everyone, heading to her bunk. The guys all turn to Shay and Gabby.
"Shay, didn't we need to do that thing?"
"Oh, yeah, that thing with the thing," Shay nods, the two girls pointing in opposite directions before just running out of the room.
Otis points after them, "That was weird, right?"
Herrmann shakes his head, "I have given up on understanding the female mind."
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After shift, Nicole throws her bag in Matt's truck, sliding in the passenger seat while Matt stares at a couple of bangers by the fire hydrant. Getting in, he pulls the truck around and drives past them, eyeing some more sitting in a car.
"Want to talk about the Heather thing now or wait until we get home?"
"Home. Where if the conversation gets super bad we can get a bit of space."
Matt nods, "Okay."
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Getting home, Nicole throws her bag on the couch while Matt shuts the door, "One question, only one. Why does Kelly think you and Heather slept together?"
Matt shrugs, shaking his head, "I have absolutely no idea. She came over to talk, barged in when I tried to say I didn't have time nor wanted to talk to her and then Kelly showed up and you got home and then you were both gone. Then I shoved Heather out the door and tried calling you with no answer."
Nicole nods, letting out a breath, "Okay, you see, that sounds right, but why does Kelly think-"
"Why does Kelly think anything? He jumps to conclusions all the time. Wrong conclusions. I love you and I would never, ever, cheat on you! The fact that you or Kelly would ever think that is wrong."
"I just don't know what to do when you tell me Heather kissed you and then my brother is here, dragging me away from our house where you and Heather are standing in the doorway! Or when he's telling me that you're sleeping with our best friend's widow," They stare at each other, breathing heavy from the yelling before Nicole shakes her head, "It's been a long day and all I want to do is take a nap. So, come to lay in bed as well or sit out here and drink beer, I don't care."
She grabs her bag and heads up to their room where she sits on the bed, sighing, before putting her head in her hands, "How the hell am I gonna tell him?"
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Next shift, Nicole lays her head on Gabby's shoulder in the kitchen when Cruz comes in, "Bad news. Remember that kid from last shift? The one in the shoot? He didn't make it."
Nicole lifts her head off Gabby's shoulder, grabbing the paper, sniffing as she starts tearing up, "He came here. This kid. He was here on a class trip. Apparently, wouldn't stop talking about it for a week. Told his mom he wanted to be a fireman."
Mills looks at the paper over Nicole's shoulder as she wipes her tears away, "Right. I recognize him. It was my first day. You guys had me give the tour."
"Yeah," Otis lets out a breath, "I remember that."
"Funerals on Friday," Cruz says.
Nicole sets the paper down, "Excuse me," She pushes her way out of the room.
Matt follows her, stopping her and pulls her into his arms, "Shh, I'm here," He rubs her back, kissing the top of her head, "I'm here."
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At the next call, Shay questions Nicole, "Has Matt said anything to you about the Heather situation?"
"He said that Kelly is making stuff up and that he wouldn't ever cheat on me."
Gabby looks over to her, "Do you believe him?"
Nicole nods, "Yeah. But if Kelly heard something or saw something, Matt isn't saying what it could have been."
Shay stops and faces Nicole, "Sweetie, you know I love your brother, but he's an idiot. He has blinders on when it comes to you and is always looking for the mistake and how to protect you from it. He's willing to go as far as hear partial sentences and make up a scenario on that. My advice: go with your gut."
Shrugging, Nicole squats down next to a homeless man sitting in the cold, "Hey, buddy. What's your name?"
"Phillip."
"Alright, let's get you up, Phillip," Nicole says, moving to help him up, "C'mon on, here we go."
His pants fall down, with him wearing no underwear, Shay helps him pull up his pants, "Whoa! Phillip! That was not the full moon I was expecting."
As they walk towards the rig, Gabby focuses on Shay, "So, Severide's swimmer's, huh?"
"Yeah."
"And who's paying for this," Gabby asks.
"Uh, I don't know."
Gabby smirks, "You know, there's a cheaper alternative. Ask Nicole, she's got it down."
Nicole scoffs, "Please. With how often Kelly sleeps around, I'm surprised I don't have any nieces or nephews running around. At least, I don't have any that I know about."
Shay shrugs, nodding in agreement as Gabby jumps in the back to help Phillip in before she falls back as the rig speeds away. Nicole grabs her radio as Shay looks after, confused, "I need a 10-1 to East Van Burren, now."
"What's the nature of the call?"
"Someone's stealing our ambulance with a paramedic inside."
They decide to take a seat, leaning against the poles. Shay looks over to Nicole, "Have you told Casey about Baby Casey yet?"
"Not yet. I've been so angry about the Heather thing lately, that I've decided to wait until I was in a better mood so telling him about our first child isn't ruined."
"So, how are you gonna tell him?" Shay asks.
"Yesterday, when I was out grocery shopping by myself, I stopped off at a baby boutique thing and bought a onesie with a firetruck on it that says My Daddy still plays with trucks. And then to break the news to Kelly, I got another one that says I'm stronger than my uncle."
Shay laughs, nodding, "Those are perfect."
Nicole smiles, "I hope so. Them fighting never works out for me. I'm always stuck in the middle but when they get along, it's like I'm the one marrying into the family and not Matt."
"Boys are stupid. You should've switched sides long ago."
They hear a horn, before Gabby pulls up in front of them with a smile on her face, "Somebody call for an ambulance?"
"Yeah, like 15 minutes ago. I'm giving you two stars," Nicole jokes back, helping Phillip into the back of the rig.
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Nicole walks into the common room when she hears Boden ask where she is, "Right here, Chief."
"Okay, this is Tara Little. She's a candidate, she's gonna be riding along with you guys for the next few shifts."
"Cool," Nicole nods, Gabby joining her side.
"It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you, Severide," Tara greets.
The guys all grimace when Tara calls her Severide, "Ignore anything these guys have to say and call me Nicole. Severide is either my father or my brother. You call me that, I'll find a way for you to run drills. Ask Cruz."
Cruz shakes his head as he eats his popcorn, "It was my second shift. I'm sorry."
Nicole smirks, "But you never called me it again. But seriously, don't listen to them. Especially Frick and Frack."
"Which ones Frick?"
Otis and Cruz both signal that they are, "Okay, Dawson's gonna give you a tour and then we'll go over 61's procedures."
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Nicole arrived to dinner late, having been organizing and reorganizing the rig to avoid Kelly and Matt in the same room for as long as possible. Then she remembered she had a little one growing in her now and needed to eat.
She enters, seeing Taye's mom, and stops, "Hello. I'm so sorry to hear about Taye."
"Thank you. And thank you for stopping to talk to me at the hospital. It was of comfort to me," She tells her.
"Of course. Stop by whenever you would like. We can have a cup of tea or something."
"That'd be nice."
Nicole watches as she walks out of the firehouse. She continues on to the common room where Herrmann turns to everyone, "I have an idea."
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The next day, as Taye's funeral procession comes through in front of the firehouse, 51 stands in their dress blues with the ladder half risen behind them and the lights flashing on all their rigs.
As the window of Taye's mother and brother's car rolls down, Boden calls out, "Ten! Hut!" The entire firehouse moves in unison, "Present arms."
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After shift, Nicole presents Matt with a box, "I have a present."
"I see that and I know it isn't a birthday or an anniversary so what's the occasion? Is this your way of bribing me to make up with Severide? Because he accused me of some terrible things."
"Just open the damn box and see."
Matt pouts a little before opening the box. When he sees the red fabric, he pulls it out and stares at the onesie.
Nicole, who's a little impatient, urges him, "Read what it says."
"Is-does this-when-are-are we having a baby?" Matt asks, fighting a smile.
"Yeah," Nicole nods, "I found out when getting my arm stitched up. Apparently, I'm about three months along."
"Whoa, I-this is great!" Matt yells, smiling hugely as he wraps his arms around Nicole and spins her around, "I love you both so much."
"We love you too," Nicole tells him, kissing him, "And I trust you. 100%. I know you'd never hurt me by sleeping with Heather or any one else."
"As long as you know that, I'm okay," Matt says, sincerely before kissing her again.
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AN: This may seem a little fast, but in all truth, they've been dating for like five years before the show starts up.
Tara's been introduced and we all know how that storyline goes, Nicole's gonna be fun to add.
QoC: How should they tell everyone else about the baby?
Thanks for all of the votes and reads and comments!!!