Being Captain meant carrying a lot of responsibilities, and between fighting fires and eating smoke, and writing up reports and flipping through paperwork, in addition to his side construction job, it was more often than not that Matt had to deal with headaches.
One day, after dealing with a raging warehouse fire that lingered with chemical fumes, a prominent headache started to form. He drank some water, hoping it would eventually leave, but it didn’t. And, on top of that, his eyes were straining from the growing pile of reports he had to write and furlough requests he needed to sign off on. He didn’t even want to think about the task of scheduling his construction clients that he unintentionally kept putting off.
He rubbed his eyes and then pressed his fingers against his temples. He forced his eyes shut and pressed harder, hoping it would mitigate some of the pain, but it never did. Instead, it almost felt like his headache became worse.
He let out a long sigh and dropped his pen onto his desk in frustration and leaned back in his chair in exasperation and exhaustion. He contemplated laying down for a few minutes to see if it would help, but he was worried the moment he did, Capp would come in and tell him Boden needed him for something.
He grumbled his annoyances with the growing stress, his incessant headache, and his dry eyes.
“Hey.”
Matt’s ears perked up at the sound and turned his head, still not moving from his slouched position that said more about how lousy he was feeling than words could describe.
Almost like a radiant beacon that dissolved all of his worries, Sylvie Brett stood at the threshold of his quarters. Her soft golden hair, easy-going smile, and beautiful cornflower blue eyes helped him feel a whole lot better than Aspirin ever could.
He replied with a small smile, “Hi.” He sat up straight and turned in his chair to face her. He looked up at her curiously and asked, “What’s up? Everything okay?”
Her brows briefly knit with worry. “I should be asking you that. Severide came looking for me and said you’ve been sighing and grumbling in your office.”
Matt blinked at her reply and let out a short laugh. Of course, Severide would do that. There were a lot of things Sylvie cured with just her presence whenever he wasn’t feeling like himself, but he didn’t think it was so obvious that Severide had picked up on it.
He turned his head to look back at the glass partition between his and Severide’s quarters. The man wasn’t in there, but he could imagine Severide staring at his slouched form with a worried furrowed look.
He wanted to wave off his ailments, but it was hard to do that in front of Sylvie. It was so easy to be vulnerable and honest with her, even more so since they’d started dating. Even when it was something he thought was silly or dumb, she’d give her encouragement and support either way.
“I just... I have this headache that won’t go away,” he confessed with a sigh. He gestured to his desk and continued, “And this paperwork isn’t helping. Boden is expecting the report from that warehouse fire soon and this headache is making everything worse. It just feels like an endless loop.”
Sylvie’s lips pursed as she listened, trying to think of a way to help him. She could tell him to take medicine, but the phrase itself as a one-off felt uncaring. She hummed in thought and moved to sit on the edge of his bed.
“Okay,” she replied. “What else?”
He stared at her in surprise. How did she know there was more? Well, it was Sylvie. The closer they grew, the easier it was to read each other.
The thought made him smile as he continued, “My eyes are starting to hurt and I have to schedule a few clients for some construction projects. They’re expecting a call from me soon, but soon was a few days ago.” He let out a groan at the daunting thought.
Soft fingers diligently grasped his that had been stressfully rubbing against his thighs. It became a thing he did whenever he was thinking too hard. His stiff shoulders relaxed as his gaze met Sylvie’s incredibly softened one.
“Hey, hey. It’ll be okay. We can focus on one thing at a time, okay?” she asked, trying to placate his worries.
He nodded.
“First thing’s first,” she began. “Did you take some Aspirin for your headache?” He shook his head. “I’ll go to the common room and get you some afterward.” Her fingers pressed into his palms, making him focus on the relaxing pressure. “Have you given your eyes a break yet?” He shook his head again and opened his mouth, intending to explain, but she interjected. “Boden can wait a few minutes for that report. It’s important to take breaks every now and then.” He briefly beamed at her and her generous support. “As for your construction clients, I have some free time. I can call them for you to work out a schedule.” He looked at her for a second, flabbergasted, and then opened his mouth, but she beat him to it, again. She squeezed his hands and endearingly ran her thumbs across his knuckles. The intimate gesture was more than enough to calm him. “And don’t you dare tell me ‘it’s not my job’, Matt Casey. I want to help.”
His eyes sparkled and shined at her as he beamed brightly at her. It was hard refusing his girlfriend’s help. She was as selfless as he was and was always looking to help in any way she could, so much so that she offered her help at his construction jobs.
God, he loved her. He loved her so much.
“Okay,” he replied, giving in. “I will take a break, take the Aspirin, and give you a list of phone numbers for those clients.”
She gave him a prominent nod, mostly in thanks for not fighting her suggestions. She knew he had a habit of being too stubborn to accept help. It took some time for him to realize that she was just as stubborn as he was when someone refused her help.
“Sounds like a plan.” Her lips curled into a bright smile, loving how good it felt to alleviate some of his stress.
Instead of moving off his bed, they simply stared and smiled at each other, basking in each other’s calming and serene presence. The silent and peaceful moment between them lasted for almost a minute before he brought his hand to his lips and tenderly kissed it.
“Thank you,” he murmured sweetly.
Her grin widened as he kissed her hand again and then laid his cheek against it. They held each other’s gaze, loving how sweet and special the moment was before they eventually leaned in to meet for a brief kiss. He wished the moment lasted longer and replaced the responsibilities on his desk. It made him relish their lazy afternoons curled up in her bed or on the couch; his arm would be draped across her middle, holding her close, and his lips would lazily drag across the back of her neck, and her giggles would vibrate in her ribcage and effectively sending the butterflies in his heart into a frenzy.
Matt was absolutely head over heels in love with Sylvie Brett.
“I love you,” he whispered as their lips lingered close.
“I love you, too, Matt,” she replied softly. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself.”
He chuckled. “I will try and if I don’t, I have you to remind me.”
She laughed and kissed him once more. She endearingly squeezed his hands before she made her way out of his quarters to go fetch him some Aspirin.
As Matt watched her leave, he almost wanted to call after her to tell her he didn’t need the medicine anymore. Her presence and her love and care had already cured his headache. But, there was no harm in wanting to bask in her beauty and tender loving care one more time when she eventually came back.
My problem with some brettsey fans is this: why is it unfair to Brett if Stella would get pregnant before her? Does Brett have a monopoly on having kids? I haven’t read any logical reason for it and yet so many people think that
to be fair i’ve only seen one comment saying that they don’t want stella to be pregnant before brett. so i won’t generalize all brettsey fans into one group. but i have seen quite a few brettsey fans say they want brett pregnant when she comes back to chicago and the obsession of her getting pregnant is weird to me.
My dear friend Rhys from New Zealand sounds absolutely amazing on this newly released E.P. My talented friend Matt from England is also featured on one of the songs. The music is well worth your $5 and their lives as worshipers and missionaries are also worth your support. Give it a listen! Listen/purchase: Bastogne E.P by Rhys and The Forest
