Ok this is something Zoe and I have been wanting to do for awhile. Ever since we found out Gabby's dad was coming back we had all these ideas about how it would play out and this one was our favorite. So a bunch of kinda au headcannons ended up becoming a mini fic. This story will probably end up having nine to ten chapters and we'd like to have it finished by the season finale. Anyways we hope you all enjoy. :) -Heather

Chapter One: 'Til The Sun Comes Up

Gabby walked into the common room, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding as she made her way to the coffee pot. This was just another call, she reminded herself. But ever since Louie had come into her life, things had changed. Calls with kids were so much harder to handle now. She ignored the looks of concern on the guys faces as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and started to head for the door.

Matt watched her leave, knowing she would need a few minutes alone before she would be open to talking to anyone. He hesitated, unsure whether to follow her or not. They knew from past experience that they needed to avoid crossing lines while on shift. Screw being professional, he thought as he headed down the corridor, knowing exactly where he would find her.

She was laying down on the bed in his office, the blinds drawn, her back to the door. Carefully, he made his way over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, his hand coming to rest on her thigh, his thumb rubbing soothing circles as he waited for her to speak.

It was a few minutes before she spoke, her voice raspy, "he was Louie's age. I tried to save him. But there was so much blood." He waited for her to say something else, knowing that she needed to let it out. "Did I not do enough?"

"Hey, Gabby, you did everything you could. We can't save them all," he soothed.

Eventually she turned to face him, intertwining her fingers with his, her free hand wiping away the tears that had escaped.

"His mom was with us in the ambulance with us. She wouldn't let go of his hand. The look on her face when his heart stopped," her voice cracked, a sob escaping her lips, "I can't get it out of my mind, Matt."

Matt pulled her up into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around her, his hand rubbing circles. She placed her head in the crook of his neck.

"I get it, Gabs, ever since Louie… calls involving kids all of a sudden became the worst part of this job. Being a parent… it changes you."

"But, Matt, we're not Louie's parents," Gabby sighed, "not anymore."

"Hey," he whispered, "Gabby you are his mother." He paused, collecting his thoughts, before continuing in a much more confident voice, "We may not be raising him anymore. He may not be with us now but no one can ever take away the fact that we were the first real family he knew. We were there when he needed us. He will always be ours."

They sat in silence a few more minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Gabby pulled back and looked up at him, "You know after a bad call like this, the first thing I would do was call my dad. Just hearing his voice would make me feel better. But now it's like I don't know him anymore. Ever since the anniversary party…"

There was a brief pause, but before Matt could say anything, Gabby spoke again her walls coming back up with each word, "Did the guys notice anything? I don't want them to see me like this… being vulnerable."

"Hey, everyone's been there. In this job, you can't just stop caring. The day you do is the day you should quit."

"Why do you always know exactly what to say?" She asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Hey, it's kinda my job now, as your husband," he teased. She shoved his shoulder playfully, before leaning up and placing a sweet kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"I'm only doing what you have done for me a thousand times."

They remained that way for a few more moments, his arms tucked firmly around her, her head resting on his chest just above his heart.

"I should get back," she sighed, extracting herself from her husband's embrace and standing to leave.

"Yeah, don't want any of the guys getting suspicious" he winked, moving to the door behind her.

As she turned, her eyes fell on the wall behind, where Matt's desk was located. A smile spread across her face, her eyes lighting up as she turned to look at Matt.

"What?" he asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"The picture, you still have it?" she questioned in awe, moving cautiously over to the wall.

"Yeah. I know we cleared his room, got rid of all his stuff… but I couldn't bring myself to take that down." he replied, coming up behind her and placing a comforting hand in the small of her back.

"I miss him," Gabby sighed, running a finger down the jagged lines of the drawing.

"Me too."

Before either could say any more, Cruz appeared at the office door saying, "Guys, Chief wants us all in the briefing room."

Gabby nor Sylvie were their normal selves for the rest of the shift. They weren't outwardly upset, but the guys could tell that the call had left them both shaken.

They were grateful for the guys, that they made an extra effort to cheer them up. They provided the distraction the girls needed; stupid jokes and pulling equally stupid pranks on one another.

Ever since his conversation with Gabby, Matt had been acting strange. He had been unusually quiet and had spent most of the afternoon in his office.

Gabby was heading to check on him as it was getting late and he had yet to come out and eat. She had cooked her famous Mac and Cheese, a dish which Matt could not refuse.

Making her way closer to the office she could hear he was on the phone. She paused, curious, and was able to make out, "Thanks so much for doing this, see you then." Not wanting to eavesdrop on what was clearly a personal rather than professional call, she waited until it had ended before she resumed her course to his office, clearing her throat as she arrived in the doorway. He looked startled at the intrusion, but quickly smiled when he realised it was his wife at his office door, her hands full of food.

"Is that smile for me or the mac and cheese?" She asked, her grin matching his.

"Is 'both' an acceptable answer?" he teased, moving to take the plate from her hands.

She pulled the dish out of his reach, a smirk forming on her face, "I guess I'll just keep this for myself then."

"Babe," he pouted, "please? Because you love me?"

"Fine. But only because I spent an hour cooking this for you and I don't want to see it got to waste." she replied, handing the plate over.

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before moving to his desk, mumbling a quick "thank you" before digging into the dish.

Gabby chuckled at the speed with which she was forgotten in favor of food as she sat down on his bunk. "Who was on the phone?" She asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

Matt hesitated a moment, his fork halfway to his mouth, "Just Alderman stuff," he turned to face her, offering a small smile, "nothing important."

Not being totally sure she believed him, Gabby nodded, deciding that this is not the time nor the place to question him about it. They sat in silence while Matt ate, it wasn't necessarily awkward, but they both knew this conversation was not over. Matt just really hoped he could pull off what he had been planning before Gabby figured it out.


Gabby left the office a few hours later, after having camped out on his bed doing paperwork. She made her way to the bathroom passing most of the men of 51 sound asleep. Leaving a cubicle, she let out an involuntary yawn and checked the time on her phone, surprised to see how late it had gotten. She stopped in front of the mirror, pulling her hair down and running a hand through the locks, tugging out a few knots. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she stared at the lock screen a few moments. It was her favorite picture of Matt and Louie, taken one night when she had come home from a shift at Molly's and found the pair crashed out on the sofa. She smiled at the memory before entering the passcode. Taking a deep breath, she started to dial the familiar number it rang once, twice, and then she lost her nerve. She hit the end call button, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

It wasn't until she heard a cough that she realized someone else had entered the bathroom. She came face to face with Kelly Severide, who offered her a knowing smile.

"You ok?" Severide asked, coming to stand next to Gabby and opening his bathroom bag, "I know this shift has been pretty rough for you."

"Yeah." Gabby sighed, releasing a shaky breath, "Just been one of those days."

"Who were you calling?" Severide asked.

"No one." She tried, but he was having none of it. He stared at her, seeing right through her façade. She sighed, knowing he wouldn't relent until she told him."It's just, uh, my dad. We've not really spoken much since the party. I don't really know what to say to him, but I miss him."

"I know you are angry and I get it, but at the end of the day he's still your dad. Your firehouse family, they're the family you choose, but your blood family? You're connected by biology and that's a bond you can never break." He paused a moment, reflecting on his relationship with his own father. "You know I've had a… difficult relationship with Benny. He wasn't always there for me as a kid. And he's certainly not been there for me much as an adult. But we've been working on it, you know? Dinners, fishing trips… it's helps. We're building bridges. Whatever your dad has done… I know it's not easy, but you'll regret it later if you don't try to mend things."

Gabby smiled, picking up the phone and tracing a finger over the lock screen photo once more, "yeah, you're right." She was silent for a few moments, her mind racing. "I'm going to call him."

"That's my girl" he smiled, shoving her shoulder playfully as he made his way to leave.

"I'm going to tell Matt you said that," she called after him.

Exiting the bathroom she pulled her phone back out of her pocket, her fingers instinctively dialing her father's number. She took a few deep breaths as the dialing tone played. The phone was now resting between her ear and shoulder as she moved around the kitchen intent on preparing for the morning's breakfast, which she had volunteered to cook. She sighed as she heard her father's answer machine message. Typical, as soon as I get the courage to call he, doesn't pick up, she thought sadly.

Hearing the beep signaling the start of the recording, she fumbled for the right thing to say. Letting out a shaky breath she began; "hi dad. It's me, Gabby. I know it's been awhile since we last talked, and I'm sorry. I, uh, I just wanted to say that I love you." she paused, inhaling and exhaling slowly in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to fall, before whispering, "And I miss you." She was silent a moment, willing herself to keep it together, annoyed at how much she was letting her guard down. She cleared her throat, her mask slipping back into place as she tried to wrap up the message, "So, if you could give me a call when you get this, I'd really appreciate it. Bye."

She felt relief after leaving the voicemail. Proud of herself for making a step towards fixing things with her father. Angry at herself for letting things get like this. As she finished cutting food for the morning, Severide's words resounded in her head "You're connected by biology and that's a bond you can never break". She had acted rashly in ignoring his calls, and she knew it. But she was trying to fix things. And she was hopeful that she would. Her dad was still her dad after all, and she knew he loved her unconditionally. The food placed securely in the fridge, she made her way to the bunk room intent on getting some sleep.


The rest of the night passed relatively smoothly. There were a few calls, but most of 51's second shift had been able to get sufficient sleep. Gabby and Sylvie were the first up, their latest call having come in at 5:30am, and neither had bothered to head back to sleep when they returned to the firehouse. Soon enough 51 was filled with the aroma of bacon and sausages, it's scent drawing the sleepy men in one by one, their eyes lighting up as they are greeted with the feast Gabby had prepared.

With everyone digging into their food, Gabby stood back and observed the group, noting that there was someone missing.

"Has anyone seen Casey this morning?"

"I think he's still in his office," Cruz supplied between mouthfuls of scrambled egg.

"Oh," she replied, her mind wandering back to the previous evening. Before she could say another word, Matt appeared in the doorway, his smile bright. There was a chorus of "morning"s as he made his way over to the counter to fill a plate, a spring in his step.

Gabby leaned against the side nursing a mug of coffee, her head tilted to one side as she regarded him.

"Good morning," he greeted, his grin wide and his eyes twinkling. "Sleep well?"

"Hi," she replied, "Yeah. Pretty well. You?" His smile was infectious, and she found the corners of her mouth turning up.

"Yep." He smirked, moving over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup, his eyes never leaving hers.

They were trapped in a standoff; her not wanting to ask what had gotten him all excited, him not wanting to give it away so easily. She pushed off the counter moving to take a seat at the empty round table. He followed her, mere inches behind and took the seat opposite her, his eyes glistening. They sat and stared at one another for a few seconds before a cough from the other side of the room brought them crashing back to reality.

"Uh, do you guys need a room?" Cruz asked, gaining laughs from the others and causing them both to roll their eyes.

"Ok. I give in," she said, shaking her head and holding her hands up in defeat, "what's got you all giddy?"

"What?" he asked, his grin returning in full force, asking between mouthfuls of cereal, "I can't be happy?"

Her eyes narrowed as she regarded him, "You're not usually a morning person."

"What, and you are?" he shot back, eyebrows raised.

She scoffed at him before continuing, "stop trying to change the subject."

"Alright, alright," he relented, throwing his hands in the air, "I have a surprise for you...But I'm not telling you what it is until we get there."

"Matt," Gabby whined, pouting, "You know I don't like surprises."

He polished off the last of his cereal before he regarded her again. "You're going to like this one, I promise."

He stood and moved to stand behind her, placing a quick kiss on the top of her head before moving back into the kitchen to discard his empty bowl.

Matt couldn't get out of the firehouse quick enough when shift was over. He'd made sure all of his paperwork was filed to make transition to third shift as smooth as possible. Making his way to the locker room to locate his wife, he thought about the morning he had lined up for her. He knew how hard the last few months had been for her, not only had they lost Louie and heard that her parents were getting a divorce, but she couldn't seem to catch a break at work. It seemed to be one bad call after another lately. That's why he'd been so desperate to pull this off for her.

She was waiting for him in the locker room, already changed out of her work clothes and was standing in the corner talking to Severide. Matt couldn't make out what they were saying, but from the smile on Severide and the friendly hug he gave her before they parted, he figured they must have been talking about something happy.

"Hey, Gabby," he called, gaining her attention as he moved to grab his bag from his locker.

"Yeah, just let me get my stuff," she smiled, joining him. She was quiet a moment before asking, "When are you going to tell me where we are going?"

He closed his locker, swinging his bag over his shoulder and moving closer to her before kissing her on her forehead, "You'll find out when we get there." He checked his watch before smiling up at her pout. "We better get going if we're going to get there on time. We have a bit of a drive ahead of us."

"Ok, fine," she muttered, playfully shoving his shoulders. "But we're stopping for coffee on the way and I'm choosing the music."

He put his arm around her shoulders as they began to make their way out of the firehouse, "it's a deal." Reaching the car and pulling out the keys from his bag he teased, "I can't wait to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack for the 10,000th time." He's pretty sure that if she wasn't around the other side of the car, he would have earned a punch to the arm.

Gabby was getting more impatient the closer they got to their destination. Matt wasn't sure if it was more because she still had no idea of where they were going or because she had consumed her entire body weight in coffee before 10am. They took the exit off the interstate, Gabby gasping as she read 'Rock Island'.

She turned in her seat to look at Matt, "Are we?"

He stole a glance at her, his grin wide, and reached out to hold her hand, before saying softly, "yeah, we are."

"Matt!" she exclaimed, as he navigated a small friendly-looking neighborhood, "why didn't you tell me?!"

He chuckled softly, stealing another glance at her awestruck face, "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"So this is who you were on the phone to last night?" she asked, seeking clarification for his odd behavior in the last 24 hours.

"Yeah I called Andre to set it all up. It was so hard not to tell you." They pulled up outside an apartment complex, Matt killing the engine before turning to look at his wife. "I know how hard it's been just getting a couple of phone calls every now and then, and after your call last shift…"

She cut him off by leaning in and kissing him gently, before pulling back slightly. Her left hand cupped the side of his face, as she tried to think of what to say. After a moment she simply whispered, "thank you."

He simply nodded before leaning in to place a lingering kiss on her lips. When they broke apart, he pulled out his phone, unlocking it and checking the address they had was correct. Address confirmed, he looked back up at her before asking, "Shall we go in?"

She practically jumped from the car, and was stood at the driver's side before he had even taken his belt off. He chuckled at her enthusiasm as he locked the car before joining her on the sidewalk. She looped her arm through his, a dopey smile on her face as they made their way up the path to the complex.

"It's nicer than I imagined," Gabby mused as they went up the stairs to the floor Andre and Louie lived on. Matt nodded his agreement as they continued climbing, Gabby practically running a few steps ahead of him.

"For such a tiny woman you sure do move quickly," he teased, catching up with her at the stairwell exit.

"I may be short, Mr. Casey, but I'm not too short to punch you."

Matt shook his head at her antics before opening the door for her. "After you, Mrs Casey."

She slapped his arm as she passed him, making her way to Andre's apartment. She stopped suddenly a few feet from the door. Matt crashed into her, not suspecting her unexpected halt, and grabbed her waist with one hand and the wall with the other to stop the two tumbling to the ground.

"Gabby?" he asked gently, "Everything OK?"

She turned on her heels to face him, her face a mixed array of emotions. The excitement was still there, but there was something in her eyes, an uncertainty.

When she didn't reply, he repeated softly, "Gabs?"

"What if he doesn't remember us?" she whispered, wrapping an arm protectively around her torso and looking down at the floor.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he prompted, lifting her chin with his hand, "Of course he will remember us."

She nodded, offering a small smile. "Yeah, you're right."

He intertwined their fingers and pulled her to his chest, waiting a few moments as she regained her composure. When she looked back up at him, he asked, "You ready to go in?"

"Definitely," she replied, the excitement returning. She turned to the door once more, and raised a hand to ring the bell, her other hand still firmly linked with Matt's.

They waited with baited breaths as the doorbell chimed, hearing movement on the other side of the door. Andre opened it a few moments later, his face unshaven and the bags under his eyes indicating that he hadn't had a good night sleep for what looked like at least a few days.

"Hi, hi, come in" he greeted, ushering them in, "Sorry in advance for the mess, it's been a hectic few days."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm sorry this is so last minute." Matt replied, removing his coat before helping Gabby out of hers.

"It's cool." he responded, waving their apology off with his hand. He gestured down the small hallway, "Uh, Louie's in the living room right now."

"Does he know we're coming?" Gabby asked, her stomach suddenly full of butterflies, as she stepped carefully over shoes and toys on her way down the corridor.

"Uh, no, no. I, thought it might be a nice surprise for him. Besides, he's been particularly hyperactive lately…" he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

Matt was about to reply when they reached the doorway, but the sight before him rendered him speechless. It had only been a matter of months since he had last seen Louie, but he could have sworn the boy had grown. He sat with his back to them, eyes glued to the TV screen, a frown on his face, his favourite toy monkey held firmly to his chest. Pulling his eyes away from Louie, he stole a glance at his wife, seeing the same array of emotions passing through her face; joy and pride and unconditional love. She was holding back tears, though Matt was sure they were happy rather than sad.

"Louie?" Gabby cautiously whispered, moving forward to capture the boy's attention.

Slowly, Louie's head turned from the TV at the familiar voice, his eyes lighting up as they locked with Gabby's.

Louie threw himself off the sofa, his little legs moving to bridge the gap between them. Matt smiled warmly. He was sure he had never seen the kid move so fast before.

"MOMMY!" Louie cried, throwing himself at Gabby, wrapping his little arms around her legs.

"Hi, baby," Gabby greeted, tears running freely down her face. She lifted him up in her arms, breathing in the familiar scent of his toddler shampoo and she rubbed circles on the boy's back. He was crying softly into her shirt, his small hands gripping on tightly. She swayed gently, leaning her head close to his ear and whispering soft words of comfort. Matt moved closer to the pair, wrapping one arm around Gabby's shoulder, his other hand coming up to caress Louie's back.

"Hey, buddy," Matt greeted. Louie hadn't noticed Matt up until this point, Gabby having had his complete undivided attention. Louie hiccupped softly, recognition hitting him as he reached out his arms and whispered, "daddy?"

Matt took Louie from Gabby, placing a kiss on his forehead as the boy snuggled his head into the crook of Matt's neck. "Missed you," he whispered, looking up at his former foster parents, tear tracks staining his face as he continued to hiccup softly.

"We missed you too, sweetie," Gabby soothed, her thumb softly wiping away his stray tears.

The trio soon moved to the couch, Andre appearing at the doorway with a tray of coffees and biscuits handing them out before taking a seat in the armchair opposite Gabby, Matt, and Louie. They made small talk, discussing how Louie had settled in and if he was still as obsessed with his trucks. Louie all the while stayed glued to either Matt or Gabby, the pair taking it in turns to play with him.

All too soon it was time for Matt and Gabby to leave, Matt had a construction job and Gabby had a shift at Molly's that evening, and they still had the drive back.

Gabby and Matt took turns in holding Louie close once more, placing soft kisses on his cheeks and forehead. He held on tight, not wanting them to leave again, and it broke Gabby's heart to remove his hands from her shirt. Matt grabbed their coats and shoes.

There was a moment where Louie worked out what was happening, at which point all hell broke loose. He then firmly wrapped his arms around Matt's legs crying, "No leave!"

Andre tried desperately to extract Louie's arms, pulling him into the air. The toddler screamed, kicking his arms and legs in protest, tears streaming down his face. Gabby's heart broke at the sight, and she tried to sooth Louie. She approached him, her hand caressing his cheek as she whispered, "it's ok, baby. Mo-," she stopped herself, retracting her words, "Gabby and Matt have to go now. But we'll come see you again soon, ok?"

His arms outstretched towards Gabby, he cried softly, "mommy."

She looked at Andre, hoping he would step up and take control of the situation, but he looked lost and unsure. Gabby took Louie from Andre's arms, bringing the boy to her chest and swaying softly as she tried to calm him. Matt joined the pair, rubbing soothing circles on the toddler's back. A few minutes later, the cries were reduced to the occasional small hiccups and Louie had relaxed in Gabby's embrace. His breathing started to even out as the exhaustion of his tantrum caught up to him.

Matt looked up at Andre, the relief evident on the other man's face. Gabby moved to take Louie towards the bedroom, Matt holding out a hand to stop her, asking Andre, "would you like us to put him down?"

"Please," came the muffled response, as Andre shuffled from foot to foot.

They moved to the bedroom, a small-ish room with drab grey walls and a floor littered with toys. Pausing briefly to pick up his blue blanket, Gabby manoeuvred to the bed and placed the toddler down. She looked up at Matt, ready to ask him to find Louie's monkey, only to see Matt holding the boy's favorite toy in his hand. She smiled warmly, before taking the object and handing it to Louie. "Book or song?" she asked, her hand caressing the boy's cheek.

"Song!" Louie cried, fighting exhaustion long enough to hear his mother's voice.

Matt chuckled, pulling the blanket up further around the toddler and settling in next to him to hear his wife's lullaby. This had been his favorite part of their old routine. He never tired of hearing her voice, soft and gentle as she sang their son to sleep.

Gabby took a deep breath, the words she had long since remembered flowing out of her mouth with ease. This was the lullaby of her childhood, her grandmother's favorite, one she had heard a thousand times. She was less than half way through the song when Louie's breathing evened out and he succumbed to slumber, his monkey held securely in his arms. Matt and Gabby stayed a while, content to sit and watch Louie sleep. They shared a bittersweet look, both knowing they should leave but neither wanting to. Matt was the first to move, circling the bed and offering Gabby a hand, which she gratefully took as they made their way quietly out of the room.

Gabby took one last look at the sleeping form before closing the door, a sigh escaping her lips. They turned towards the hallway, where Andre stood, nervously wringing his hands.

"He's asleep." Matt announced as they joined the other man.

"Thank you," Andre said sincerely, but Gabby could see there was something he was hesitant to say.

"What is it?" she asked bluntly.

"Nothing, it's just, I think you should go. Before he wakes up." he muttered, before quickly adding, "If you're still here when he wakes up…"

"We'll have a repeat of the last half an hour." Matt finished for him, offering a small smile.

"We get it. It's ok. He can be a handful." Gabby offered, reaching for her coat.

"Even after all this time… it still seems effortless for you." He commented, ducking his head slightly.

"We had a lot more practice," Matt replied, shrugging his shoulders, "Plus there are two of us."

"Thank you," Gabby said sincerely, "for letting us come and see him. We had a bad shift and I really needed it."

"You're welcome. Feel free to come visit any time. It's good for him."

"We'd better get going then." Matt said, offering Andre his hand, which the other man shook firmly.

"Hopefully we'll see you again soon?" Andre asked nervously.

"Definitely," Gabby replied confidently, following Matt out of the door.

Once the apartment door closed behind them, Gabby let out a sigh, turning to embrace her husband.

"Are you ok?" He asked softly after a moment or two.

"Yeah," she replied, pulling back to look at him, "it's just hard leaving him."

"I know." Matt agreed, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, "But you heard what Andre said... we can go visit whenever we want to."

"Yeah," Gabby muttered. Matt seemed unconvinced that she really was ok. Sensing this, Gabby smiled softly at him, her hand coming up to the side of his face, "thank you so much for all of this. I just really needed it after everything… and I really am ok, I promise."

Content with her answer, he pulled out of the embrace and the pair turned towards the exit. Matt swung his arm around her shoulders, as they walked, Gabby leaning into his embrace.


The car ride home had been quiet, both Matt and Gabby lost in their own thoughts as they made the two hour drive home. Arriving back at the apartment, neither had much of a chance to speak any more as Matt needed to head straight to his construction job. Gabby headed to the bedroom, her exhaustion from shift catching up with her and as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

Matt wandered into the apartment a couple of hours later, expecting to find Gabby getting ready for her shift at Molly's. He was surprised to find her sound asleep. He sat down gently on the edge of the bed, pushing a few strands of hair from her face as he gently whispered to her, "Gabby, you need to wake up."

"What time is it?" She moaned, shoving her face into the pillow.

"A little after 6:30."

She threw the covers back, jumping out of bed, the quick movement causing her head to spin. Matt grabbed onto her waist, concern evident on his face as he asked, "Babe? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," She insisted, shrugging him off, "I just got up too fast." She moved out of his embrace, grabbing her work clothes from her closet. She dressed in record time, Matt watching from the bed as she did so. She got half way out of their bedroom before stopping, turning back, and placing a quick kiss on Matt's lips and murmuring, "I love you," before heading out of the door.

"Love you too," Matt called as she exited, chuckling at what a rush she was in.

He decided to make the most of the time he had alone, grabbing a beer and some leftover enchiladas before settling down on the sofa to watch the Cubs game they had missed due to being on shift the night before.

Switching off the TV, he made his way into the kitchen to discard of his beer bottle, his thought falling back to Gabby. She always had this tough exterior, a barrier protecting her from harm, but Matt could see right through it. She had insisted that she was fine as they left Andre's apartment but he wasn't entirely convinced. Between what went down with her parents and giving up Louie, this year had been especially hard for her. Gabby is the strongest person he knows, but the amount of heartbreak surrounding her would take its toll on anybody, and he wasn't sure she was dealing with it. She had once told him that he deals with things by not dealing with them. And Matt wasn't sure if she realized that she does the exact same.

His thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening. Gabby shuffled into the room, her hand over her mouth stifling a yawn as she kicked her shoes off.

She dropped her bag down, heading straight for the stairs, and straight past her husband who was watching her with an amused smile. He cleared his throat, and she jumped, startled, and spun around to face him.

"Oh, I thought I was getting the silent treatment," he teased, coming up behind her and pulling her to him. She leaned into the embrace and kissed him softly, before pulling back.

"I'm so gross I need to shower." She tried to remove herself from his arms, but he pulled her in closer, kissing her neck, eliciting a soft moan. Her phone started to ring, and she pulled it from her pocket, intent on answering it.

"Ignore it," Matt whispered huskily, taking it from her and declining the call.

"Matt," she complained, "that could have been important."

He silenced her with a kiss, his hand coming up to her neck. The phone call forgotten, Gabby deepened the kiss, both needing the physical contact. Matt picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, running her tongue across his lips, desperate for entry.

Their moment was interrupted by the phone ringing again. Both Gabby and Matt moaned, Matt placing her down on the ground as she grabbed the phone off of him, not even bothering to look at the caller ID as she brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she greeted, suppressing a moan as Matt's attention turned back to her neck. Matt felt her tense as she recognized the voice on the other end of the line and he pulled back, offering a questioning glance.

"It's my dad," she whispered, "he wants to talk."