5 questions about Gabriela Dawson leaving Chicago Fire

5. Where is Dawson ultimately going?

The Chicago Fire season 6 finale “The Grand Gesture” laid the immediate groundwork for Gabriela Dawson’s departure, as she was offered a position helping out with post-hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, and the season ended with her asking for more information on the job.

But the reality is that’s not the answer; that’s really only half of an answer. It’s apparent that we’ll find out Dawson has taken the gig in Puerto Rico—but then what? Is she going to get down there and decide that she wants to stay, never being seen again? Then what would that mean for all of her life in Chicago—she’s just not going to come back and say goodbye, or even get what’s left of her belongings? That’s the easiest way to write her out, but it doesn’t make a lot of logical sense.

Does she spend some time in Puerto Rico and then come back to Chicago, either on a temporary or permanent basis? That makes more sense from a logistics standpoint, in that it’d allow her to tie up her affairs and get her things (even if it was off-screen). But then it gets awkward. Either it would have her coming back only to pack up and leave again, which is angsty as heck, or it’s even weirder because she’s out there working somewhere in the city…just completely away from all of her friends and her (presumed to be) ex-husband.

On the other hand, doing that would still leave the door open for Monica Raymund to return to the show, should she choose to. We don’t know if she’d be open to the idea, but it might be prudent to allow for that possibility, considering how important she’s been to the show. It wouldn’t be a huge shock if Chicago Fire wanted her to guest star someday.

Then there’s the third option, which is just plain disappointing, and that’s having some kind of bad accident happen in Puerto Rico that kills Gabriela Dawson off. That would certainly have fans up in arms for multiple reasons: one, it’d be totally off-screen; two, that’d be both original paramedics killed off the show; and three, it’s completely final.

It’d be the easiest from a writing standpoint, in that Chicago Fire would have a clear resolution and not have to deal with all of the questions about Dawson essentially starting a whole new life (that we’ll get to later in this slideshow), but it’s the least interesting and most depressing. So while we know where Dawson is headed right now, we still need to know where she’s going to end up.