Chapter Text
Looking like he walked off the cover of GQ Magazine dressed in a black tuxedo, Chief Wallace Boden addresses the large crowd in front of him, “Do I hear $250?! $260?! We have to get those bids up ladies and gentlemen!”
Boden waves the post cards he has in his hands, “Remember this is for charity folks! These firefighters are yours for the next five hours until midnight tonight. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Tonight, is the annual Chicago Fire Department’s ‘Fire and Ice’ firefighter auction where Chicago’s finest are auctioned off for an evening of fun at the winning bidders choosing. Since the proceeds of the auction are going toward the Firefighter Memorial Fund, Chief Boden has graciously offered up a few of his staff members for the evening which include his Captain, Squad Lieutenant, members of truck, engine and squad.
“$300!” a female attendee on the side of the stage screams holding up green bills.
“Sold for $300 to the lovely lady in purple!” Boden points from the podium he is standing at. “Pay your money at the registration table at the back of the room. Remember as much as we want to take your American Express, Visa or Master Card this is a cash only event tonight!”
******
Sylvie Brett enters the ballroom and looks around at all the excitement happening in front of her. She was running a little late due to some home improvement errands she had to run that afternoon and as a result she has missed the start of the auction.
At the beginning of the month her boyfriend, Matt Casey, had asked her to move in with him and she happily agreed, much to both of their delight. Together they had purchased a fixer-upper close to Logan Square that they both fell in love with – it was a two-story house that had four rooms, a basement, one car garage and big back yard. The house would require some much-needed renovation but both Matt and Sylvie knew that the work they put into restoring the house would be worth it because they knew that this house would be where they would be setting down their roots - where they envisioned starting their family. Sylvie had just come from picking up some paint samples from the hardware store. They will be reviewing the various paint color samples this weekend and select colors for their kitchen and master bedroom as they continue their home renovation process.
Sylvie waves to Mouch and his wife Trudy who are sitting at the back of the room at the event’s registration table – they both volunteered to be in charge of the sales of the evening and it looks like the auction is turning out to be a success as indicated by the line forming at the table of people completing their transactions. Sylvie walks further into the room in search of her friends and soon spots them immediately standing by the center of the stage.
“Hey girl!” Emily Foster greets her friend with a big hug, Sylvie returns the embrace with much enthusiasm. Since Emily has moved to Evanston for medical school, Sylvie has not seen much of her former paramedic partner and she is glad that Emily has taken time off from her studies to join in on the festivities of the night.
“See anything you like?” Sylvie asks Emily while her best friend, Stella Kidd, comes up beside her to wrap her friend in a quick hug. Standing next to Stella is her current ambo partner, Violet Mikami, who gives Sylvie a brief hug as well.
“Oh, we see tons that we like!” Stella informs the newcomer, “Foster here just bid $400 for an evening of miniature golf with a hottie at Firehouse 40.”
“He is F-I-N-E! I am looking forward to my evening,” Emily uses her right hand to fan herself. “I was going to bid on Ritter but someone beat me to the punch.”
“I can’t believe the guys agreed to this?!” Violet exclaims and then she looks at Sylvie. “I mean, how did you get the Captain to say ‘yes’ to being auctioned off?”
“It took a little persuading on my part but the Firefighter Memorial Fund means a lot to Matt. He knows the importance of the program and if he can help families who have been impacted by a loss due to the dangers of the work then he is okay with strutting his stuff up on the stage for the night.” Sylvie recalls the conversation she had with Matt earlier that week. He explained how the memorial fund had helped the Darden family in their time of need when they lost his best friend, Andy, in a fire.
“Persuade how?” Emily asks giving her friend a questioning look.
“I may have said that there would be a reward waiting for him later tonight…” Sylvie softly answers blushing profusely. Her friends laugh at her admission.
“It didn’t take much for Kelly to participate,” Stella tells the group of ladies. “The Firefighter Memorial Fund also means a great deal to him. But I also may have promised him a reward of my own,” Stella says with a wink to the girls.
“Are you two going to bid on anyone tonight?” Sylvie questions Stella and Violet. They both have yet to declare if they have anything planned for the evening.
“I promised Papa Cruz that I would look out for him tonight since Chloe is out of town for the weekend.” Stella responds.
“Wow! You are okay with all these women bidding on Severide?!” Sylvie questions as the piercing screams of the women surrounding them continues to grow.
“Why bid on him when I can get him for free?” Stella teasingly responds. She pulls Sylvie close to her and whispers in her ear, “It is still a little rough for Cruz since the boat accident. I want to use tonight to check in and see if he is alright.”
Sylvie gives a small nod and sends her friend a silent thank you. It has been several months since Firehouse 51’s rescue squad were trapped underwater from a boating accident and she knows that the guys are still carrying grief and scars from that day. She is glad that Stella will be providing support to her friend and former roommate as he continues to heal from the trauma of that event.
“What about you, Violet? You have your eye on anyone tonight?” Sylvie asks her ambo partner.
“I think I am going to bid on Gallo. He has been very quiet lately and he seems a little sad. I think a night of cotton candy, greasy food and carnival rides are in order.” Violet replies with a smile.
“How about you?” Stella gestures to Sylvie. “Are you going to fight off these ladies for your Captain?” She makes a funny face as she looks at all the ladies around them.
“Actually, I am,” laughing at her friend’s facial expression, “Any free time Matt has had these past few weeks have been spent on small construction projects. He also has been helping Severide with a case from the last fire. I think tonight is the perfect time to catch up on some alone time – while helping a good cause, of course.”
“Alright folks, we have our next firefighter ready to say ‘Hi’!” Boden interrupts their conversation by introducing someone from his house.
“Who is up next?” Emily looks down at the program she is holding in her hand. “Oh no!”
“Capp!” They all say together.
The squad member comes out from behind the curtain dancing and shaking his butt to the audience. Stella jokingly covers Sylvie and Violets eyes while Emily hollers with the audience.
******
Standing further to the right side of them is another group of ladies from Firehouse 51, Donna Boden and Cindy Herrmann, the wives of two of the men at the house. They are also laughing along with the crowd.
“Do I hear $100?” Boden asks the crowd while trying to get Capp to tone down his dancing.
“He is going to pull something if he keeps shaking like that,” Donna states looking over at Cindy.
“Oh, dear lord. I cannot unsee this,” Cindy says looking at the stage shell-shocked as Capp changes his dance moves from butt shaking to awkward hip thrusting.
The bidding for Capp continues until his auction is won for $315.
“We are going to take a quick break, ladies and gentlemen,” Boden addresses the audience and reminds them, “I still have four more eligible firefighters waiting to come on stage.”
******
“Okay ladies, it was so great to see you all but I need to finalize my winning bid. See you guys later at Molly’s!” Emily says farewell to her friends before heading over to the registration table where Mouch, Trudy and her date for the evening are waiting.
After a small intermission the auction begins again. Boden clears his throat before announcing the next firefighter, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are almost done for the evening and I have saved the best for last, so get out your money and get ready to bid!”
“Up next we have Mr. Joe Cruz!” Cruz comes out on stage wearing a dressy button-down shirt with slacks. He begins to cha-cha to the center to the stage which gets some soft shouting. “Let’s start the bidding off at $100!”
“$150!”
“$175!”
“$200!”
“$500!” Stella screams. Cruz looks out to the crowd to see who has made that high bid. He sees that it is Stella and he is thankful she has kept her promise to look out for him tonight. He finishes his time on stage by continuing to dance around gaining more cheers from the crowd.
“Sold to Miss. Stella Kid!” Boden screams waving the postcard he has in his hand. Boden knows that the price of the auction could have gone higher but he also knows that Stella will be using this time check-in on the health and wellness of one of his team members, so he ends the sale quickly. Cruz gives one more wave before heading off the stage.
Stella gives Sylvie and Violet a round of high fives for her winning auction.
******
The sound of an upbeat dance song comes on, “The next person needs no introduction. I give you Blake Gallo!”
Gallo teases the crowd by showing just one of his arms as it extends out of the curtain playing with the melody of the music. He gets a round of screams from the spectators in the crowd. He slowly comes out from behind the curtain and what he is wearing brings on another loud round of screaming. Gallo has chosen to wear a white tank top with his red suspenders, turnout pants and sitting on his head is his black helmet. Gallo plays with the energy of the room; he snaps his red suspenders on his chest as he walks up and down the runway. He gives a small salute to Boden as he passes by him and then turns to the crowd and tips his helmet and offers a toothy smile to the screaming audience.
Quickly the bids begin shooting up – “$200!” – “$250!” – “$300!” Boden barely has time to acknowledge the bids before the next one is shouted out.
“Girl, you better put your bid in,” Stella warns Violet. “There are some very interested ladies ready to snatch Gallo!”
“$600!” Violet shouts waving her money in the air.
“$600 going once. Going twice. Sold to Miss. Violet Mikami!” Boden points to Violet in the audience. Gallo is surprised but he also is happy with who ended up winning his auction. He waves to Violet motioning to his clothes indicating to her that he needs to change before meeting her.
“He better be worth it,” Violet grumbles as Sylvie and Stella giggle at her response. “If we leave now, Gallo and I can also get some games in.” She gives the two ladies hugs before heading to the back of the room to the registration table to wait for Gallo.
******
“Alright what we have up next is one of Chicago’s finest,” Boden smiles widely reading the name of the next firefighter, “I give you Captain Casey!”
Matt walks slowly and awkwardly toward the center of the stage looking reluctant as ever. Sylvie helped picked out the longed-sleeved green sweater and dark blue jeans he is wearing for tonight’s event. It is one of her favorite looks on him because the sweater shows his masculine frame especially his arms; while the green color brings out the blue of his eyes.
“Ohhhh, he looks like he hates this,” Stella whispers softly trying not to laugh. She slightly bumps Sylvie’s hips with hers, “That reward you have planned for later better have him forgetting his name tomorrow!”
“Stella!” Sylvie slightly slaps her friend’s arm but she knows that she is going to compensate her boyfriend generously tonight.
“How much money did you bring?” Stella asks her friend. She knows that by the price the others have had tonight that the Captain is going to be popular ticket.
“$1,500…“ Sylvie responds while looking into her purse searching for something, “Ah-ha! $1,573.51! I knew I had some emergency cash hiding in my purse.”
“Alright. Let’s start off the bidding at $200!” Boden calls out. “Remember what we have here is one of the best Captain’s in the CFD!”
“$400!”
“$500!” Sylvie shouts out. She hears others begin to up their bid so she continues to add to their amount showing the ladies in the room that the man on stage is hers.
“$800!” Someone yells from the back. Sylvie and Stella look around the room to see where the voice is coming from.
“$1,000!” Sylvie responds. Someone in the crowd also has their eyes set on her boyfriend and Sylvie is not going down without a fight so she continues to shout out her bids.
“$1,250!” the voice in the back again counter offers Sylvie’s bid.
“$1,250, going once!” surprised by the quick amount his Captain is receiving, Boden begins to close the auction.
“Wow!” Stella sends an eager look to her friend and encourages her to keep bidding. “Bet it all!”
“$1,573.51!” Sylvie screams waving her purse around.
“$5,000!” the voice in the back of the room returns.
Shocked and stunned murmurs and whispers from the audience begin to circulate around the ballroom. They are also curious to know who the mystery bidder is.
Knowing that she has been beaten by that high bid Sylvie gives a small shrug to Boden who returns a small nod to her and closes the auction. “The highest man of the night. Good job, Captain!”
Matt gets the attention of his girlfriend from where is standing on the stage and sends her a loving smile. He knows that Sylvie might be sad on how the auction turned out and he wants to reassure her that if it had been up to him she would have won his auction of the night.
“Who is bidding on Casey?” Stella wonders. She looks over and sees Sylvie’s defeated expression and she wraps her arms around her friend bringing her in for a side hug. “Hey, your man was the hottest commodity of the night! I know you were looking forward to tonight and I’m sorry it was not what you had hoped for.”
“At least the money is going toward something good, right?” Sylvie concludes, positively thinking about the money Matt has helped make for the Firefighter Memorial Fund.
******
Matt pulls back the curtain and walks off the stage. He is greeted by his best friend, Kelly Severide, who is waiting in the wings ready for his turn.
“Well, if it isn’t 'Mr. High Auction of the Night'! That’s what you get for showboating!” Severide teases his friend playfully throwing punches to him. “Do you know who bought you?”
“I don’t know,” Matt replies. “Honestly, I was looking forward to spending some alone time with Sylvie. We haven’t had much time for ourselves these past few weeks from the extra constructions jobs I have picked up and helping you with that OFI case there doesn’t seem to be time just for us. Sylvie had teased some fun activity for tonight and I was curious to see where she was taking me.”
“Yeah?” Severide looks at his friend seeing his dejected expression so he tries to reassure him, “But whoever it is it will be fun. Besides it’s for a good cause.”
“Yeah…you’re right,” Matt echoes.
“Stella has already told me that she would be bidding on Cruz tonight,” Severide informs his friend, “She wants to make sure he is doing alright after the boat accident.”
Matt nods in understanding, “So that leaves you with a mystery date for the night?”
“I guess so,” Severide chuckles in response.
They hear Boden begin the last auction of the night and the shouting that is accompanied by it.
“Good luck out there!” slapping his friend on the back Matt looks on as Severide takes his turn on the stage.
Before he turns to leave the area Matt spots a CFD duffle bag on the floor and written on the side is the name ‘Gallo’. Matt knows that Gallo has already headed out for the night with Violet so he picks up the bag and makes a plan to return it to him on their next shift. He begins to think of punishment for the young candidate for recklessly leaving his equipment behind.
******
“Alright, we are down to our last firefighter of the night. So loosen up those purse strings and remember that this is for a good cause.” Boden gestures to the curtain. “How much do I have for CFD’s elite Squad Lieutenant?”
Severide comes out on stage and smiles at the screaming frenzy happening around him. He is wearing head to toe black – black button-down shirt, black slacks and black dress boots - much to the delight of the spectators in the audience.
“$300!”
“$350!”
“$400!”
“Woah!” Sylvie blurts out but not at all surprised by the response Severide is receiving. “They all look like they want to jump him!”
Looking around and noticing the assertiveness of the ladies surrounding them Stella is now having second thoughts of not bidding on her boyfriend. She knows she has to do something and do it quick.
“$500!” Stella cries to Boden. Surprised by her own outburst she turns to Sylvie with a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look.
“Umm…are we allowed to bid on additional firefighters tonight?” Sylvie wonders giving a puzzled look to Stella.
“Do I hear $550?”
“$600!” Stella and Sylvie look over to their left and see Wendy Seager throwing out her bid. Wendy in turn looks at the two of them, folds her arms over her chest and gives off a smirk. Stella realizes that Wendy knows the rules of the auction – only one firefighter per winning bidder - and Stella has already won her auction of the night, leaving Severide wide open for the taking.
“Oh no, she doesn’t!” Stella responds giving her best stare down to Wendy.
The bids for Severide continue to mount while Wendy continues to respond with higher amounts.
“You have to bid on Kelly!” Stella frantically says to Sylvie.
Confused as to where the situation of the night is leading to, Sylvie answers back, “What?!”
“Come on, Sylvie! You have to bid, please!?” Stella begs holding onto Sylvie’s hands. “You need to help me keep him away from them,” gesturing to the crowd around them. “Especially Seager. Who knows what she has planned for tonight!”
Seeing the frenzied look on her best friend's face, Sylvie knows she has to help out, so she takes one big inhale of her breath and then she turns to the stage and shouts out, “$1,000!”
“THANK YOU! I promise to pay you back,” Stella gratefully informs her best friend.
“$1,200!” Wendy replies.
“$1,300!” Sylvie retorts. Never in her wildest imagination did Sylvie think that she would be in the middle of a tug-of-war, for a night with Kelly Severide, but here she is.
Standing on top of the stage, Severide, is watching the scene unfold before him and he is perplexed on the action currently happening over him as the two key players, Sylvie Brett and Wendy Seager, continue to shout out their amounts. It is not until he looks at Stella and sees her shooting Seager another deadly glare that he knows why Sylvie is bidding and he can’t help but laugh.
“$1,500!” Seager responds back but she is starting to look a little nervous. Stella observes this and she knows that Seager is nearing her spending limit.
“$1,500 – going once,” Boden chuckles as he begins to close the auction. The last two sales of the night have certainly turned into exciting matches – two auctions of which his PIC has been a part of. He looks at Sylvie who is in an animated discussion with Stella and can’t help laugh at the antics of two of his favorite ladies at Firehouse 51. Just like the audience he is waiting to see what the results of the sale will be.
“She doesn’t have much money left!” Stella begins looking in her wallet. “I checked out $1,000 for the night. I still have $500 dollars.” She finds five, one-hundred-dollar bills in her wallet and shoves them into Sylvie’s hands, “Add it to what you have!”
Collecting all the bills and coins into her hands, Sylvie looks at Boden and triumphantly hollers, “$2,073.51!”
Stella and Sylvie look over to Wendy who hangs her head in defeat. Wendy has no more money to outbid Sylvie (and Stella) and she gives a nod to Boden before putting her money back in her purse.
“Sold!” Boden calls out after there are no additional bids.
“Ha!” Stella shouts at Wendy.
“Thank you! I owe you big time, Sylvie!” Stella exhales as she looks at her best friend. She is so appreciative of Sylvie for helping her in this unusual request.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that closes all the auctions for the night. I want to thank all of the firefighters who have donated their time for this evening and for those of you who have donated money. We have raised over $20,000 for the Firefighter Memorial Fund.” Boden address the crowd as the crowd begins to slowly disperse.
*****
“Well this has turned into an interesting evening,” Cruz says as he, Matt and Severide join Stella and Sylvie at the registration table. “I mean, Brett, I am a little offended that you bid on Casey and Severide but you show no love for your roomdog?!”
“Brett, $2,000?!” Severide adds to the teasing, “You didn’t have to spend that much one me.”
“Ha-ha!” Sylvie sarcastically mutters to the two men who laugh at her response. She turns her attention to her boyfriend, who is smiling at their interaction, he gathers her to his side and kisses the top of her head. Matt also witnessed the whole event play out earlier and he can’t help but laugh at the situation that Sylvie has gotten herself into. He knows his girlfriend has a kind heart and she would help her friends in any circumstance, but he never would have predicted her kindness would lead to a bidding war for his best friend. He would say that he might be slightly jealous if it weren’t for look of victory on Stella’s face.
“Technically, it was $2,073.51,” Stella informs them. She wraps her left arm around her boyfriend’s waist and points her right index finger to his chest, “You should be thanking, Brett. Who knows where you would have ended up tonight!”
“Well that $2,073.51 and your $500 must paid tonight, ladies,” Trudy sternly states interrupting their conversation. Stella and Sylvie walk over to the registration table to submit their donations for tonight’s auction.
“Brett! I had so much fun watching you participate in two of tonight's main auctions,” Cruz grins to Sylvie as she returns, “I thought punches were going to be thrown!” He looks over to Stella as he says this.
“Well, I had my heart set on one,” She smiles at Matt and turns to Severide and scrunches her face while she jokes, “I was coerced into the other!”
“I heard that!” Severide grumbles, “Do you know who won your bid, Casey?”
“I have no clue. I figure I’d wait here at the registration booth to see if they show their face. But you guys don’t have to wait around, I'll be fine.” Matt expresses to the group.
“Ready to head out?” Cruz asks Stella, “We’re all meeting at Molly’s at midnight, right?” He asks the two couples.
“Yes, where we will regroup and toast to our night,” Stella turns and gives her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. “Have fun tonight! Let’s go, Papa Cruz!” She sends one last wave and intertwines her arm with Cruz’s as they head out.
“I know that this is not what we had planned but let’s enjoy our evening,” Sylvie says as she hugs Matt and kisses his cheek. She whispers in his ear, “I didn’t forget your reward, so be thinking about that as you are out this evening.”
“Uhh...yeah,” Matt murmurs with a raspy voice reacting to his girlfriend’s boldness. He is already counting down the minutes until he is reunited with her later on in the evening.
He turns to his best friend and points to him, “You! Take care of her. I want her returned to me in one piece. This is my precious cargo you are taking with you.”
“On my honor,” Severide holds up his palm as if he is swearing an oath, “Let’s go, Brett! I want to see what you have planned for the night.” He turns to Matt, “See you at later at Molly’s.”
Sylvie gives one last kiss to her boyfriend and joins Severide as they walk out to the parking lot.
******
Sitting next to his wife as she finishes the remaining sales of the night, Mouch calls out to Matt, “So Captain, do you know who you will be hanging out with tonight?”
“I have no clue.” Matt responds to his truck member. He plays with his phone as waits for his mystery date for the evening to show up.
“Hi Matt,” a voice greets from behind him. He recognizes that voice anywhere. Slowly he turns around and comes face to face with his past. Standing in front of him is Gabriela Dawson.
“I guess you’re mine for the next four hours?”
This night has certainly taken a turn for the unexpected.