Gabriela Dawson is a former Paramedic on Ambulance 61 and the former Candidate of Truck 81. Gabriela was the wife of Matthew Casey. She was one of the main characters of Chicago Fire. She is now assigned to Puerto Rico to help give medical attention to the needed.
Quick Answers
Who are Gabriela Dawson's family members in the show?
What is Gabriela Dawson's profession after leaving Chicago Fire?
Does Gabriela Dawson ever become a firefighter in the series?
Biography[]
Gabriela Dawson is the daughter of Ramon and Camila Dawson and the younger sister of Chicago PD Intelligence Unit detective Antonio Dawson. She tends to quickly lose her temper, a behavior regularly getting her in trouble with her hierarchy.
Season 1[]
Dawson was the Paramedic in Charge (PIC) of Ambulance 61. She becomes close friends with her fellow paramedic Leslie Shay.
She co-owns a bar called "Molly's" with Christopher Herrmann, Otis, and Leslie Shay. After saving the precedent owner from a fire in the bar, Herrmann came up with the idea of buying the business and looked for co-owners. Otis and Dawson accepted to join on this project. They soon discovered that the place came with a passive associate, Arthur. He wanted at first 25% of the benefits but Herrmann managed to lower the new associate's part to 1%. Arthur is revealed later to be a mobster under the watch of the undercover detective Jay Halstead. Knowing at first neither his undercover assignment nor his relations with Arthur, Dawson started a romantic relationship with him until he decided to join the Intelligence Unit.
Season 2[]
Dawson was accepted to the Chicago Fire Academy, where she initially failed her physical agility test by several seconds after spraining her ankle.
Dawson begins a relationship with Casey. She updates Mills on this and he nervously gives her support. She and Mills are surprised to meet Katie Nolan, the half-sister of Severide. Afterwards, Dawson attends the surprise party for Katie. (You Will Hurt Him)
While at the academy, she met Rebecca Jones. Dawson caught Jones cheating during a written examination and took a disliking to her. Jones eventually graduated from the academy and was assigned to Truck 81 as a firefighter candidate. The two started to get along after Dawson discovered that Jones' father, a chief officer, was against her career choice and wanted her transferred to an administrative position.
When Jones died by suicide, she left a letter to Dawson, who was deeply affected by it.
After making a call, Casey is successful in getting Dawson readmitted to the academy to retake her physical agility test. Much later, she graduated from the academy and was assigned to Truck 81 as a firefighter candidate. She completed her candidacy on 81, and then became a firefighter.
Season 3[]
She is devastated by the death of Shay and finds it hard to bond with her replacement, Sylvie Brett, but they soon become friends.
She is later annoyed when Casey did not tell Severide to leave after he got married on a whim. However, she perks up when Casey tells her of Cruz's secret. Despite being sworn to secrecy, Dawson tells Hermann and the secret is known to everyone in the house. After shift, she and the others sign up for Cruz's class to see it for themselves and are amused to see Cruz surprised at seeing them. When Cruz nearly cancels, she and the others encourages him before the class starts and the squad enjoy themselves. (Chopper)
Season 4[]
Dawson saves a young foster kid, Louie, in a house fire caused by his negligent foster mom. Louie bonds with her and she wants to foster him, which causes tension between her and Casey.
Determined to foster Louie, Dawson tells Casey she's willing to do it on her own. She moves out and moves forward with the decision. Casey helps her get approved to foster and later moves back in with her.
Season 5[]
Dawson and Casey are happily enjoying family life together. In the episode "One Hundred", Casey and Dawson get married at the courthouse. When the judge asks if they have any witnesses, they say no because it was a spur of the moment decision. However, Brett pops her head in and says, "Hey, did you think you could do this without your Firehouse family?" and the whole crew comes in.
Worried about Louie, Dawson decides to transfer back to the ambulance. This way, she and Casey are rarely in danger at the same place and time, so it would be less likely for them both to die on a call.
Dawson and Casey work together to give Louie a great life. Casey sees a man standing outside their house, then again later outside the firehouse. Finally, when the man shows up again outside their home, he reveals that he is Louie's father.
Louie's father, Andre, initially wants Louie claiming his parental rights and that he didn't know Louie existed before. However, before he is supposed to meet Louie for the first time, Andre finds out that he's to be deployed again. Andre says he will give up his parental rights so that Louie can live happily with Dawson and Casey. Dawson wants Louie to be able to meet his father especially since he may never meet him if he's deployed. After meeting Louie, Andre get permission to be stationed nearby in order to raise Louie. Dawson and Casey meet their lawyer and she's ready to fight "nail and tooth" for Louie. However, at the hearing, Andre comes prepared with many members of his family, which persuades Dawson and Casey to drop their case. Andre takes Louie.
Dawson is heartbroken about losing Louie and does her best to move forward.
Dawson notices that her father, Ramon, appears to owe a lot of money to shady people. Ramon gets evicted, so Dawson takes him in to live with her indefinitely, much to Casey's frustration.
In My Miracle, Dawson and the others respond to a huge factory fire. She waits outside, ready to help victims who are brought out, while the firefighters search the building. But the blaze grows and many firefighters, including Casey, become trapped inside. Over the radio, Dawson begs Casey to find some way to escape. Believing he only has a about a minute left to live, Casey takes off his mask to tell her goodbye, saying she was his miracle and asking her to remember the times they were happy.
Season 6[]
Dawson deals with trauma after hearing her husband's goodbye. Ramon tries to get her to talk to someone about it. She asks Casey to tell her he'll always come back to her, which he does.
Dawson notices unsafe construction and tries to warn everyone. She is trapped in a parking garage when it collapses and she takes charge of the situation. Her strategic knowledge helps them spot and handle a carbon monoxide leak, stabilize a pillar, and keep everyone alive long enough for rescue. She proudly bestows upon her husband the title of captain after he was requested for a promotion. (A Breaking Point)
Dawson responds to a stabbing at a train station only to discover that her father is the victim. He had been trying to protect other passengers from a raving man with a knife. Dawson drives the ambulance to the hospital while Sylvie keeps her dad alive in the back. Following surgery, her dad is expected to make a full recover.
Dawson meets Bria Jameson, a teen whose father is an addict, and tries to help her. When Bria's dad is hospitalized and sent to rehab, she runs away to avoid foster care. Dawson, determined to track her down, checks a homeless encampment and the house of Bria's mentally ill aunt. Once Bria is found, Dawson arranges to foster her, so Bria will have a safe place to live with someone she trusts.
In The F is For, photographer Nate Isaacs goes to the firehouse for a "day in the life" series. He sneaks into the bathroom to photograph Dawson in the shower. Luckily, Casey catches him, yells at him, and throws him out. Dawson is shaken by the invasion of her privacy.
In Hiding Not Seeking, Dawson and Brett distract a man under the pretense of a wellness check so cops can clone his computer. When the man's brother arrives and almost discovers the cop, Dawson buys a few seconds by telling the brother that heart disease is hereditary and he should get checked. This gives the cop enough time to sneak out, having successfully cloned the files. Voight and Chief Boden are impressed with how well the two handled themselves.
In Looking for a Lifeline, Dawson supports Brett through a pregnancy scare. In The Chance to Forgive, she hugs Brett when the test comes back negative.
In Put White On Me, Dawson agrees not to tell about her past short relationship with Jake Cordova right away so he can settle in at 51 first. The two had gone on a few dates before. Brett comments that Cordova still has a thing for her, but Dawson disagrees. When Casey finds out, he gets mad at Dawson for not telling the truth sooner. "We dated a nanosecond, like, a decade ago," she explains. He's mad she didn't tell him and he storms off.
In Where I Want To Be, Dawson takes Marlena, a woman forced to work for a drug cartel, to the hospital. Later, she asks if the woman knows anything. The terrified woman says that during the fire, a tall man in a big coat tried to kill her by locking her in a giant safe. This intel helps them find the thief who stole money from the house.
In The Strongest Among Us, Bria Jameson (who is back living with her dad) calls Dawson for help preparing for prom. Dawson teaches her how to apply makeup. Then she and Casey decide to surprise Bria and her date with a fire truck ride to prom. After they watch the delighted kids leave, Dawson tells Casey she wants to try getting pregnant again.
In One for the Ages, Casey and Dawson are trying for a baby. Dawson feels impatient, so Brett recommends a fertility doctor to her. The doctor finds an aneurysm in Dawson's body, caused by the past non-viable pregnancy, that could rupture and kill her if she gets pregnant.
In The Grand Gesture, Dawson decides to keep trying for pregnancy despite the 10% chance of death. She doesn't want to adopt after what happened with Louie. Casey goes on a "fact-finding mission" to learn about adoption anyway. This triggers a huge fight between the two. Later, she snaps at Brett for not moving fast enough. She apologizes, and Brett says she's never been spoken to that way before.
Later, Casey points out that she keeps making decisions without him: "Either we're in it together, or we're not in it at all." She leaves and asks about the position in Puerto Rico.
Season 7[]
| “ | You're meant to do this.... I'm just lucky I got to walk alongside you as long as I did. I'm proud of you. |
| —Matt Casey, A Closer Eye | |
In A Closer Eye, Dawson video chats with Casey while she's in Puerto Rico. She's loving the relief work and feels excited to keep helping. They ask her to work there permanently. She returns home to grab her things and asks Casey if he'd come with her. But he says no. They realize their futures are going in different directions.
She and Casey divorce.
Season 8[]
In Best Friend Magic, Dawson goes to Chicago for 2 days to attend a fundraising ball. She tells Casey that she was ordered to attend, but really, she chose to. She stops by the firehouse and visits Otis' memorial. She chats with the firefighters and invites Casey to attend the ball with her. Casey is hesitant, but Brett encourages him to go.
At the ball, Dawson charms donors, but admits to Casey it can be tiring. She and Casey slow dance. Later, they hook up, knowing it is just for the night. When she leaves the next day, she calls him and invites him to visit sometime.
Relationships[]
Friendships[]
Leslie Shay[]
She had a close friendship with her co-worker Leslie Shay. The two have been seen together often and are one another's support both on and off the job. This relationship takes a turn in the second season after a traumatic call in which they are unable to prevent a confused man's suicide. Discussing what happened, Dawson words things poorly, making Shay feel blamed. Shay falls into a self-destructive phase in which she pursues a party-hard woman that she met at a party. She stops communicating with Dawson and even goes so far as to transfer out of Firehouse 51.
However, Dawson tracks down Shay after she spirals into depression after a tough case and they rekindle their friendship.
In the season 3 premiere, an explosion kills Shay, who dies on the scene due to a head injury. Dawson experiences survivor's guilt, blaming herself since she told Shay to switch places with her just before the explosion so Shay could get some PIC experience. Heartbroken and struggling, Dawson sees the department's psychologist for support.
Christopher Herrmann[]
She had a close friendship with her co-worker Christopher Herrmann. They and Otis co-own Molly's. Hermann is like a father figure to her and helped train her when she was a candidate. They both support each other in their times of need.
Sylvie Brett[]
Brett and Dawson develop a strong friendship. They work well as a team.
Dawson is a confidante for Brett. She helps Brett through a pregnancy scare in which she thought she might be having Antonio's baby. Brett tells her about her mixed feelings and Dawson supports her.
Brett and Dawson hang out when Dawson returns to Chicago for a visit.
Romantic[]
Her past relationships included Jake (probably Cordova), who cheated on Gabby with his high school girlfriend. She also dated Logan, whose parents didn't approve of a Latina, Dr. Mike, who was not very romantic, and Jay Halstead. (in reference to Trading in Scuttlebutt)
Peter Mills[]
She shares a love of cooking with Peter Mills. The pair share a home cooked meal, supposedly as friends, but it turns into something more. In the 'morning after' scene, Mills says that he won't tell any of their colleagues, because what happened was between them only. They appear to continue the secret relationship, as Gabriela comes to like Mills more and more. Then Gabriela decides it is best if the two come out as a couple. They break up later on when she tells him about the affair between Boden and his mother since she didn't tell him for a long time despite knowing. They break up for good when Dawson is unable to tell him that she doesn't have feelings for Casey.
Jay Halstead[]
Jay is introduced in Prove It as a regular customer at Molly's. He instantly catches Dawson's eye and they hit it off right away. She is disgusted when she finds out that he's working for Arthur, a silent partner owning a part of Molly's, who's been ripping Dawson, Herrmann and Otis off. However, her brother, Antonio, confides in her and tells he Jay's a cop working undercover. They rekindle their romance afterwards but keep it casual and break up when Jay gets into Intelligence. (Joyriding)
Matthew Casey[]
- Main article: Dawsey
At the beginning of the series, Dawson had a huge crush on Matthew Casey. Gabriela often shares what has been deemed 'eye-sex' with Matt and there has been speculation about their feelings for one another. This relationship comes to a semi-climax at her family Christmas party, to which Dawson brings Casey as a 'casual' date. He appears to have shown interest in her only to kiss her on the cheek when she goes to kiss him.
Their friendship goes through a rough patch when Dawson asks Hank Voight for help even after what he did to Casey and Hallie. They don't even speak to each other, which effectively puts their attraction on hold.
Later on, in Rhymes with Shout, the two reconnect when Matt realizes his feelings for her. He turns up at her door one night and spends the night. After this, the two enter into a relationship. However, their relationship enters trouble when Dawson trains go become a firefighter. Before completing her training, she realizes she will not be allowed to work under house 51. As Dawson prepares to transfer out of the house, on her last shift as paramedic, Leslie dies and her death causes Dawson to stay on as a paramedic for 6 extra weeks. Their romance progresses and Casey eventually asks Dawson to move in with him. They start looking for apartments but Dawson is dragging her feet.
In Real Never Waits, Casey proposes to Dawson at Boden's wedding. She doesn't have time to answer because a call comes in. He proposes again to her and she accepts. They can't get married and try to hide their relationship since Dawson works under Casey as a candidate and she can't be in a relationship with her superior. This prevents them from moving forward with their relationship and Dawson eventually can't cope with the pressure of her fiancé being also her boss. This causes their breakup in Let Him Die.
Casey and Dawson have a one-night stand after the harrowing events of I Am the Apocalypse, but decide to keep it as a one-time thing. In the Season 3 finale, it is revealed that she is pregnant with his baby. At the beginning of season 4, Dawson experiences pains in her lower abdomen and is rushed into hospital. Matt meets her there and supports a confused Gabriela. The latter is rushed to surgery and Will Halstead informs Matt the pregnancy is not viable and that the baby doesn’t have a chance. When Gabby comes around, Matt proceeds to tell her this information. However, she doesn't seem fazed. It is shown that there is a problem with the surgery and a second one is needed to fix the mistakes. When Gabby comes around a second time this time realizes what had happened she breaks down and Matt supports her. In season 4, at the mid-season finale it is shown that Casey and Dawson are engaged and are more in love than ever. Their relationship is going strong, although Casey obviously would like to marry her sooner rather than later. Gabby immediately declines his offer, saying his hands are full with his alderman job and that she likes it that way. (On the Warpath)
In Season 5, Dawson and Casey get married so they can both adopt their foster son, Louie, together. The two are eager to become parents until Louie's biological dad shows up, determined to get him back. When they see the big family waiting for Louie, they decide it would be wrong to keep him away and reluctantly return him to his biological family. Later, Dawson's father, Ramon, moves in with them, causing tension in the couple. Then Casey gets trapped in a huge factory fire. Believing he is about to die, he takes off his mask and says goodbye to Dawson over the radio.
In Season 6, Casey is honored in a ceremony. He is shown to have survived the building fire. Towards the end of season 6, Dawson tell Casey she wants to try having children again. They separate when it is discovered that Dawson has an aneurysm from her first (unsuccessful) pregnancy and therefore could die. She insists on trying despite that, which Casey refuses.
In Season 7, they try a long-distance relationship, but soon realize their lives are headed in different directions. They break up on good terms.
In season 8, Dawson makes a brief return for the mid-season finale. She invites Casey to visit her in Puerto Rico on his next furlough.
Abilities[]
- Skilled Fighter: Dawson claims to have been an undefeated boxer in high school as she was able to knock down Hermann with a single punch.
- Highly skilled paramedic
Memorable Quotes[]
- . . . "If saving a child's life is now a criminal offense, then maybe it's your damn protocol that's out of wack and the wrong people are making the rules!"
- "5 min break"
- (Chief Hatcher to Dawson): "I need you to remember what happened to the best of your ability."
- (Dawson to Chief Hatcher): "Like what? That I kicked a belligerent jackass with one foot or two?"
- A Little Taste
- (Herrmann to Dawson): "I'm going to make a firefighter out of you."
- (Dawson to Herrmann): "That's exactly what I want."
- (Dawson to Borelli): "I swear to God if we run out of food, I am eating YOU first." (S04E11)
- (Dawson to Casey): "You know who I am, you knew it when you married me, I haven't changed. It used to be the thing you loved about me." (S06E23)
- (Dawson to Casey) "I've never known anyone as good as you, Matt Casey. I never will" (S07E01)
- (Dawson to Casey): "There'll always be room for you in my tent, Matt Casey. (S08E09)
Notes and Trivia[]
- It was mentioned in A Problem House that Gabby has an Aunt who used to be a mystery shopper, going into bars and restaurants to test their customer services.
- She is fluent in Spanish.
- Dawson and Casey, and briefly Severide, lived at an apartment. Later Severide moved out so that Louie could have a room; their address was 911 W. 14th Place.
- Dawson's badge number is 3445 (Three Bells).
- In Who Lives and Who Dies, Dawson and Brett delivered a teen girl's baby. Later when Dawson and Casey go to give Darla, the teen girl, Louie's toys, Darla tells Dawson she named the baby Gabby after her.
- Dawson was often seen folding clothes in the Firehouse.
- Casey proposed to Dawson twice. First at Boden's wedding reception and the second time during a firefighter training session. Both times Dawson said yes. A third time Casey presented the ring to Dawson at Molly's after they were married.
- She is the first character in One Chicago to have a miscarriage, the others are April Sexton and Kim Burgess.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
| Season 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Closer Eye | Going To War | Thirty Percent Sleight Of Hand | This Isn't Charity | A Volatile Mixture |
| All The Proof | What Will Define You | The Solution to Everything | Always A Catch | Inside These Walls |
| You Choose | Make This Right | The Plunge | It Wasn't About Hockey | What I Saw |
| Fault in Him | Move a Wall | No Such Thing As Bad Luck | Until the Weather Breaks | Try Like Hell |
| The White Whale | I'm Not Leaving You | |||
| Season 8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacred Ground | A Real Shot in the Arm | Badlands | Infection, Part I | Buckle Up |
| What Went Wrong | Welcome to Crazytown | Seeing is Believing | Best Friend Magic | Hold Our Ground |
| Where We End Up | Then Nick Porter Happened | A Chicago Welcome | Shut It Down | Off The Grid |
| The Tendency of a Drowning Victim | Protect a Child | I'll Cover You | Light Things Up | 51's Original Bell |
Crossover Appearances[]
Chicago Med[]
- S1E5 Malignant
- S2E4 Brother's Keeper
Chicago P.D.[]
- S1E1 Stepping Stone
- S1E2 Wrong Side of the Bars
- S2E13 A Little Devil Complex
- S2E16 What Puts You on That Ledge
- S3E13 Hit Me
- S4E7 300,000 Likes
- S4E21 Fagin
- S5E16 Profiles