F | Burning Love (One Chicago)

TEN: "Show's Over."

It's been a couple of weeks. Alicia has returned to work. She's sitting on the bench in the locker room tieing her shoes when Shaylynn, Sylvie, Emily and Stella walk in.

'Hey! You're back.' Sylvie smiles.

'That I am.' Alicia nods, laughing. Sylvie, Emily and Stella put their things in their lockers and walk through to the common room. Shaylynn put her things in her locker but hangs around in the locker room.

'How have things been with Jack?' Shaylynn questions.

'I've fucked up.' Alicia sighs.

'What do you mean?' Shaylynn queries. Alicia just stares at her. 'Oh.' She realises, leaning against the locker. 'What are you going to do?'

'I don't know.' Alicia shakes her head. 'I'm so stupid.' She puts her head in her hands.

'You made a mistake.' Shaylynn states.

'Countless mistakes.' Alicia corrects her.

'Alicia, you were going through something. I'm sure he'd understand.' Shaylynn tries to reassure her.

'I'm not so sure about that.' Alicia sighs. 'It's not the first time I've cheated on him.' She stands up and ties her hair into a ponytail. She sees that Shaylynn has an expression on her face that seems to ask Alicia is elaborate. 'He was one of the fire chiefs. Lucas Ripley.' Alicia tells her. 'It was two years ago, Jack and I were dating. Jack had to pull an extra shift to make up for having to leave early the shift before so I went to this bar, Joe's. Lucas was there and it just happened. Then it happened again. And again. Again. It went on for two months before Jack proposed.'

'Please tell me you stopped seeing this Lucas.' Shaylynn sighs. Alicia just looks at her. 'When did you tell him?'

'When I said that I was moving back here. My affair with Lucas went on for two years.' Alicia responds.

'And that's why you moved here.' Shaylynn catches on.

'Yeah.' Alicia nods. 'Jack hates his guts. He can't punch Lucas on duty because that would get him suspended and Lucas would avoid Jack off-duty.'

'Don't hate me for saying this, but how did you keep a friendship going?'

'He thinks Lucas took advantage of me. Used my past to get at me and so he forgave me.' Alicia explains.

'But you don't forgive yourself?'

'How can I forgive myself? I've just made the same mistake again.' Alicia laughs. They hear a lot of commotion coming from the common room. They both walk through and see that Jack is shouting at the man. Alicia realises that it's Lucas. 'Crap.' She whispers to herself.

'You have a lot of nerve coming here!' Jack tells Lucas.

'I was invited here by Chief Boden.' Lucas tells Jack. 'So back off Gibson.' Lucas goes to find Boden but Jack walks over to him, pulls him back and punches him around the face leading to a fight. Everyone immediately runs over to them and pulls them off each other. Shaylynn, Alicia and Matt pull Lucas into the conference room whilst Mouch, Herrmann, Stella and Sylvie take Jack into the common.

'What on earth just happened?!' Boden shouts. Everyone stays silent. 'Gibson?'

'Why the hell is Ripley here?' Jack asks him.

'He wanted to see how Alicia has been doing.' Boden replies.

'I don't believe that for one second.' Jack mutters.

'What was that?' Boden questions.

'Nothing, chief.' Jack shakes his head.

'Once you're cleaned up, I want to see you in my office.'

'Yes, chief.' Jack nods.

Meanwhile, in the conference room, Alicia and Shaylynn are checking over Lucas. Matt has gone to get a first aid kit as Lucas had gotten a split lip and a nosebleed in the brawl.

'Hold this under your nose and pinch your nose. You know the drill. Don't tilt your head back.' Alicia tells Lucas, handing him some tissues. She takes some gloves out of her pocket and puts them on.

Matt returns just as Boden joins them. Matt hands Alicia the first aid kit and she gets to work cleaning the blood from Lucas' split lip.

'Chief Ripley, you are a visitor to my firehouse. I can't have you throwing punches at my men.' Boden states. 'Gibson won't talk, so I trust you to tell me what happened. Chief to chief.'

'Gibson holds something against me and won't let it go.' Lucas explains. 'That's all I think I should say.' He adds, looking at Alicia.

'Just tell them.' Alicia states. 'Jack will probably tell them anyway.' Lucas looks back at Boden and Matt.

'Alicia and I used to have something back in Seattle.' Lucas informs them. 'Whilst she was with Gibson.'

'Right.' Boden nods. By now, Alicia has finished cleaning Lucas up. She takes the tissue from under Lucas' nose and has a feel of the nose to check for a break.

'It doesn't feel broken but go to Chicago Med later and get an x-ray just in case.' Alicia tells Lucas. She then looks at Boden and Matt. 'We're done here.'

'Let's go have a talk in my office.' Boden tells Lucas. He looks at Casey. 'Join us.' Casey nods and follows Boden to his office with Lucas.

'You okay?' Shaylynn asks Alicia.

'Yeah.' Alicia nods, looking at her. 'I need to tell Jack.' She rips the gloves off her hands and scrunches them into a ball. She walks out of the conference room and into the common room. 'Where's Jack?'

'Talking with the chief.' Stella tells her. 'He could be a while.' Alicia sits down at the table. 'Who was that guy?'

'Lucas Ripley. One of the fire chiefs for Seattle FD.' Alicia answers. 'I cheated on Jack with him back in Seattle.' Everyone just stares at her. 'Yeah, I know. I'm terrible and I've been even more terrible. I cheated on him again.' She doesn't realise that Jack has walked back into the common room.

'What?!' Jack exclaims, causing Alicia to shoot up. 'After everything I told you at the hospital you cheated. Again?'

'Jack, I didn't mean for it to happen.' Alicia shakes her head. 'It just did.'

'You said that last time.' Jack scoffs. 'I'm glad we didn't get married.' He adds. 'And I'm glad that I'm moving back to Seattle.'

'You're moving back to Seattle?' Alicia raises an eyebrow.

'My contract had a one strike rule. If I broke any rules I would be out. So I'm out.' Jack tells her. 'I'm finishing off the shift and then I'll get my stuff from your apartment. I'll stay in a hotel until I leave.'

'You don't have to do that.' Alicia shakes her head.

'Yeah.' Jack nods. 'I do.' He then walks off to the bunk room. Lucas, who was standing behind Jack, walks up to Alicia.

'You should go back to Seattle, Chief.' Alicia says. 'Before Jack decides to deck you again.' 

'Alicia-' Lucas starts. 

'Just go.' Alicia stops him. Lucas turns around and walks away, shaking his head as he does. Alicia turns around and sees everyone staring at her. 'Show's over.' She says before walking through to the bunk room. 

...

Hi, lovelies!

I have an Instagram account for Alicia - aliciaxhalstead so go give that a follow!

Shaylynn Voight belongs to RonnaSweeney

Let me know what you think! 

Much love

Chloe Xo