Has not been proofread yet. Sorry for any mistakes.
*At Firehouse 51*
"Hey, morning, Chief, Captain." Herrmann greeted.
The two CO's were waiting patiently for the crowd of firefighters to join them on the Apparatus Floor.
"Morning." They chorused with a smile while everyone else sent them their greetings in passing.
"Peter Mills, are you ready to work Squad?" The older man inquired, stopping the younger from heading inside along with everyone else.
"Of course. Medical cleared me, so. . ." He trailed off with a nod.
"So gear up, then." Ana smirked.
"Today?" Peter looked at her in disbelief.
"Mhm. With Kelly gone, Rice is stepping up to fill his place and assist me as acting lieutenant." She explained as Scott, himself, walked over upon hearing his name. "Which means we have a spot to fill."
"Oh, wow." The younger man grinned but his face fell slightly a second later. "Uh, wait. Who's coming in to ride with Brett?"
"I have a relief medical, you in or you out?" Chief demanded.
"Oh, I'm in." He laughed, shaking hands with both Ana and Scott. "I am totally in."
"Then get your gear, Mills." The brunette ordered with a smile.
The two COs watched him rush off towards the turnout room before sharing a knowing look.
*At the Squad Table: A Little While Later*
"Hey." Scott greeted as Peter took the chair next to him.
"What's new, Mills?" Capp wondered, glancing over at Ana who was lounging in Kelly's usual seat.
"Well, my mom and Elise are going down to North Carolina to sell my grandfather's restaurant. Ought to pay off a couple credit card bills, you know? What else? Oh, what else?" He smirked, kicking his feet up on the table. "Oh, yeah, I'm back on Squad, baby."
The other three Squad members erupted into cheers and exchanged high fives while Ana just watched on, fondly.
"Welcome back, Mills." She smiled.
Peter went to respond but was stopped by the bell going off overhead.
"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25, person trapped. Washtenaw and 19th."
*After the Call*
The members of Squad 3 had all returned to their table after rescuing a man who they had found impaled on a lamppost. He regained consciousness for a few seconds and left all the first responders with one word, "banana."
"You know, maybe he was trying to tell us that he slipped on a banana peel." Capp grinned
"Could it have been self-inflicted?" Scott inquired.
"At this point, I believe that anything could be possible." Ana shrugged, unbothered as she turned to the next page in her book.
"Hey, Mills." Tony nodded over his shoulder and Peter turned to see his mother and sister walking over.
"Hey!" He smiled, getting up and jogging over. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Peter, are you back on Squad already?" Elise asked in shock.
"Yeah. Total surprise, actually." He admitted. "Boden just sprung it on me. Come say hi to the guys."
"Actually, is there somewhere we can go for a little privacy?" Ingrid wondered, completely serious and Elise's face even fell a little.
"Sure. Yeah." Peter led them inside the Firehouse.
Ana eyed the family over the top of her book for a moment before returning to reading it as the trio disappeared behind the doors.
*Later That Night: At the Fire Academy's Wall of Fallen Heroes*
Peter stood there, staring blankly at all the badges. He focused on his father's in particular just as Chief and Ana walked up to him.
"Chief, Captain." The younger man greeted.
"Hey. Hi, Peter." They greeted, simultaneously.
"Sorry to bug you guys so late." He murmured.
"Don't worry about it." Ana shook her head with a smile.
"What's the matter, Mills?" Chief inquired with a look of concern.
"I don't know if my dad expected me to follow in his footsteps. I do know that he would be proud that I did." The younger man began after a beat of silence.
"Peter-"
"I also know that he would have wanted me to live my own life." He continued as if the other man hadn't even spoken. "Find my own path. I can't keep chasing his ghost." Peter turned to them and took a deep breath. "I want to be with my family. . . my mom, Elise. I'm going to North Carolina."
Chief was shocked into silence while Ana's smile just turned a bit sad.
"Peter-"
"Captain, please don't try and talk me out of this." He sighed. "I made up my mind. I'm moving on."
"I wasn't going to." She admitted, making him look at her in confusion. "I was simply going to say that it is ultimately your decision and I will stand by you no matter what choice you make."
"Thank you." Peter nodded, warmly, before walking off.
Chief just stared after his retreating figure remained silent.
*At Firehouse 51: During the Beginning of Next Shift*
Ana stood next to a fully healed Kelly in the Common Room as the rest of her fellow firefighters took in the unfortunate news.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute. Is this some kind of joke?" Herrmann looked around in confusion. "Where's the punch line?"
"Believe me, it was a difficult decision to make." Peter assured.
"Wha- I d- I don't get it, you just got back on Squad." Joe pointed out.
"And I have expanded Squad so that Mills can finish his last shift there. So let's make it a good one, shall we?" Chief shot the Truck Driver a pointed look. "Peter Mills, it's been an honor and a pleasure to work with you. I hope you know you'll always have a home here at 51."
"Thank you, Chief." The younger man nodded, warmly, as everyone else broke out into applause. "I'm going to miss all of you."
"Hey, I guess if you gotta go, uh, we gotta have a going-away party, right? Molly's tomorrow night, huh, what do ya say?" Herrmann offered.
"Hell yeah." He laughed in agreement before heading into the kitchen area.
Gabby followed him and Ana watched the two converse while Kelly left her side in favor of following after Chief. The Captain gave them a moment before speaking up.
"Peter." She called. "You have a second?"
*In Chief's Office: A Few Minutes Later*
"A, Congratulations. B, Don't carve anything in stone." Matt warned.
"Meaning what?" Peter wondered.
"You just got back on Squad, Mills, where you belong." Kelly pointed out.
"Use this last shift as a sort of cooling off period." The blond suggested. "Don't make any decisions till the end of shift."
"That is all we are asking." Chief finished in a low murmur.
Peter eyed each of the men before turning to Ana who was leaning back against the closed door. She just smiled.
" I already told you last night, Mills. I'm with you no matter what." The brunette shrugged.
The younger man let out a breath.
"Sure. Okay." He conceded just as the bell went off overhead.
"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25. Traffic accident, Cermak and Ashland."
*Sometime After the Call*
Ana, Kelly, Matt, and the rest of the Squad 3 members had all been engaged in a game of Texas Hold 'Em at the end of Long Table closet to the kitchen area when Gabby and Sylvie suddenly burst through the doors.
"It wasn't banana. It was Banan." The former PIC, who was back on 61 until Chief could find a replacement, revealed.
"Banan?" The older man repeated in question as he turned to face them from the counter.
"We just got back from Chicago Med. The guy woke up." The blonde explained
"He told the nurses that he tried to k*ll himself by jumping off a rooftop. But he came to on the roof of a tractor-trailer." Gabby recalled.
"No way." Scott turned to Peter in shock.
"Unreal." Otis scoffed. "Mills called it."
"Like I said, anything could be possible." Ana smirked.
"What does Banan mean?" Matt inquired after rolling his eyes at his best friend.
"It's the name of a woman. He met her on a trip to Syria. They got married, and then the civil war broke out. He couldn't get her out of the country. They spent four years apart. And then, just the other day, she was killed. So that's when he did it." Gabby recalled in a grim tone.
Ana's face fell immediately and her gaze landed in her lap.
"Can you imagine, all that time, separated from a loved one?" Herrmann shook his head.
The brunette swallowed, thickly, and grabbed ahold of the hand Kelly had resting on the table. He just squeezed back tightly in return. The last few shifts they had spent separated due to the Lieutenant's injuries were already hard enough. But four years? That was absolutely unimaginable to anyone who hadn't already lived through it.
*Back in Chief's Office: A Little While Later*
"So you're still going?" The older man asked, quietly.
"I am." Peter nodded.
Matt glanced at the floor before stepping forwards.
"You're doing the right thing, Mills." He assured.
"Like Ana said, we got your back no matter what, brother." Kelly agreed.
Said brunette just smiled.
"They wanted to make sure you were sure about your decision." She explained, softly.
"You were a born firefighter. You've been an asset to this house on every level." Chief murmured, warmly.
"I knew leaving here would be hard, but-"
"You are not leaving." The older man shook his head, vehemently. "You are gonna carry 51 with you wherever you go."
*At Molly's: The Next Night*
Kelly sat at the bar, sipping on a beer, with Ana and Scott on either side of him. He suddenly looked over at the door when it opened but gazed back down in mild disappointment upon seeing that it was just Matt walking in.
"What, you really think she's blowing off her flight?" Rice scoffed after following the other man's eye-line. "Man, that's confidence."
Herrmann walked over before the Lieutenant could reply.
"Hey, a friend of yours just called from O'Hare. Said to give you a scotch and this." He smiled, placing the objects down on the counter before walking away.
Kelly just picked up a napkin and smirked.
"Jesus." Scott shook his head.
Ana peaked over her husband's shoulder to see the word "wow" written in black ink. She simply rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.
"He's here!" Someone suddenly shouted and everyone turned to see Peter Mills walking in.
He was met with a bunch of cheers and a huge round of applause.
*A Few Minutes Later*
"Speech, speech, speech!" Joe and a few others cheered.
"Man, I suck at these kind of things. Um." Peter chuckled, nervously. "I just wanted to say thank you. Working side by side with all of you, it. . . I have learned a Hell of a lot more than just how to do the job. I learned what it means to be a brother and how you do whatever you can to be there for each other. And the crazy thing is, now I'm leaving this family for another. But I wanted you all to know that these three years, they have been the best time of my life. No lie. Don't think for one second I don't know how lucky I've been." He sniffled, tearing up. "I will never forget that."
"We're the lucky ones, Mills, having you with us as long as we did." Joe corrected, his eyes own eyes a little misty.
Another round of applause rang out before Kelly made the decision to step forwards first and give the younger man a hug.
"You probably think I'm crazy, huh? Walking away from 51 right after I get on Squad?" Peter laughed.
"Yeah, you figure out what you want, you gotta go for it." The Lieutenant nodded. "I'm proud of you, Mills. I really am."
"All right, quit hogging him, Severide." Matt scolded, lightly, as he took his Squad counterpart's place. "You ever change your mind, Mills, you'll always have a home here at 51."
The blond patted him on the back before walking off. Peter smiled and gazed around the room before landing on another blonde near the back of the room.
"Hey." Sylvie waved and handed him a present as he walked over. "Um, I got something for ya."
"Thank you." He grinned, face falling slightly as she suddenly glanced at the door and let out a sniffle. "Come on. Come on don't do this."
The blonde sobbed as peter pulled her into hug. Mouch wrapped his arms around the two and Joe followed suit a few seconds later. One by one all the members of 51 joined the group hug while the Captain watched on from her place at the bar. Ana grinned when the two Lieutenants joined the hug and went to stand up herself but suddenly paled as she caught sight of something behind them.
There was a man; white, mid to late 30s with sandy brown hair, leaning back against the wall near the door watching her. Kelly, completely oblivious to this, turned from the crowd of firefighters and held a hand out to her. The creepy man's gaze followed the brunette every step she took towards her husband. She made the mistake of looking at him one last time and he licked his lips the second her eyes met his. Ana swallowed and buried her face into Kelly's arm playing it off as part of the embrace.
By the time the hug had broken and the Captain mustered up the courage to look over again, the man was gone. He had disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing but a dreadful feeling in the pit at the bottom of Ana's stomach.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed! Till next time!
~Princess <3