A Change of Plans

Just a little one-shot that was bouncing around in my head. Starts off in the locker room scene with Gabby and Herrmann from 3x06. Because I just think it would mix the plot up a little bit if something like this were to happen. Also, I've always liked the friendship between Gabby and Herrmann. Enjoy. x

Herrmann got the sense that Gabby's somber mood went beyond how he'd been treating her the past few days. "Talk to me, kid."

Gabby snapped out of her daze and looked over at Herrmann. She mustered up a small smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I could really just use one of Shay's talks right now."

While her fight to prove herself as a firefighter had been at the forefront of Gabby's mind for the past few weeks, it had been pushed aside by a bigger concern that crossed her mind a few days ago. She'd found herself hesitant to really consider the possibility, though. If her suspicions were true, her plans would be completely scrapped. But only temporarily, is what she continued to tell herself. She'd tried a few times to talk to Matt about it but she always ended up choking at the last second and changing the subject.

He'd been so was so busy with what was going on with his sister and niece that she wasn't sure he had really noticed her slightly off behavior anyways.

"Ah, yes. Leslie Shay always knew how to dish out advice." He chuckled, "even when you didn't want to hear it." He looked back over at Gabby, "The place just isn't the same without her."

"No, it's not. I miss my best friend."

"You seem to be handling it better than Severide."

Gabby shook her head, "Everybody deals with loss differently." She sighed and wiped away the few tears that fell. "And it's selfish of me, I'm always missing her. But I especially miss her when I need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen."

"Pretend I'm Shay."

Gabby laughed, "you're not quite as sassy as she was." Was. It pained her to refer to Shay in the past tense.

"I'm serious, Dawson. You need someone to listen to you, I'm here for you. I can separate the work from the personal and just be a friend. After all, we are business partners, remember?"

"You can't tell Matt." She saw the look of trepidation cross Herrmann's face. "It's not work related."

"Ok..."

She took a breath. "I think I'm pregnant."

A smile broke out across Herrmann's face. "What? That's great news!" His smile faltered when he saw the lack of one on Gabby's face. "Isn't it?"

"I don't know. I just don't want to say anything until I'm sure."

Matt walked into the locker room, "hey, babe. Are you just about ready? We're meeting my sister and Violet for dinner."

Gabby cleared her throat, "Uh…actually…"

"Damn," Herrmann interrupted the conversation between the couple. "Now I feel like shit. I just asked Dawson to switch shifts with me and work Molly's tonight."

"Oh," Casey shrugged, "that's ok. I'll just see you when you get home tonight, ok?"

Gabby nodded, "ok."

Matt kissed her. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Herrmann waited until he was sure Matt had left the locker room before speaking again, "that should buy you a few hours. Go get a test...or two. My wife would always buy at least three. If one's positive and one's negative...then ya got a tie-breaker."

Gabby laughed, "thanks, Herrmann."

"How'd I do?"

"You did alright." Gabby smiled, "I appreciate it."

Matt entered the crowded bar and scanned his eyes across the room looking for Gabby. He figured maybe she was just in the back until his eyes landed on Herrmann.

"What can I get…" Herrmann's voice trailed off once he looked up to see he was talking to Matt. "Casey! Hey, wasn't expecting to see you here tonight."

"Where's Gabby?"

Herrmann shook his head, "I can't get involved."

"You already did."

"You should talk to her."

"But I'm talking to you."

Herrmann sighed, "we were in the locker room talking after shift and I got this feeling that whatever was wrong with her went farther than the firehouse. She said she needed a Shay talk. I'm no Shay but I tried."

Casey sighed, his anger subsiding at the mention of Shay. He knew Gabby was still dealing with the loss of her best friend and the subsequent guilt she had been feeling for Shay's death. He'd been so caught up with his sister's drama for the past few weeks that he hadn't been really taking the time to see how Gabby was doing. "What do you mean she needed a Shay talk?"

"She's got some things on her mind."

"Like how you've been running her into the ground with all this extra training."

"There's no such thing as too much training. What's on her mind has absolutely nothing to do with work."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Probably at home."

Matt walked into the apartment and shut the door louder than necessary. "Gabby!"

He scanned the living room, spotting her purse and jacket tossed on the couch letting him know she was in fact home. He continued to search the apartment, making his way to their bedroom and noticing the bathroom door shut. He hurried over to it and tried to turn the knob, it was locked. He pounded his fist against it. "Gabby?"

"Give me a minute," he heard her muffled response from the other side of the door.

Matt sighed and glanced at his watch, shift had ended nearly three hours ago. He took a step away from the door when he heard the knob turn. He frowned when he realized Gabby had been crying. "Gabby-" he stopped when she held an item up for him to see. It took him a second to understand what he was looking at. "You're pregnant?"

Gabby nodded and tossed the positive pregnancy test in the trash can along with several other positive ones. "Yep." She turned to the sink and washed her hands, trying her best to ignore his confused look through the mirror.

"You're not excited?"

"It's really bad timing, don't you think? Everything's going to change."

"Well, not everything." Matt tried to reason. He leaned against the door frame, not giving her the option to slip by him and ignore the news like she did with everything else.

Gabby scoffed, "oh, that's right, you still get to keep your job." She tried to walk by him, "Excuse me."

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not going to move out of the way just so you can ignore this."

Gabby took a breath and closed her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "I'm not going to ignore it, Matt. I can't. But I would like to at least sit down."

Matt moved out of the way and followed Gabby out of the bedroom and into the living room. She sat down on the couch and looked up at him, silently asking him to join her. "I can't even marry you."

"What?" Matt's heart dropped. "Of course you can."

"Not when we're in the same house! Herrmann was right, I should have waited for an open position at another house. Because of my selfishness, I'm pregnant and I can't marry you! I'm gonna get kicked off the truck and with Mills taking over as PIC, I've got no job!"

"Gabby…"

"And I feel horrible for being so angry about this! All you've ever wanted was kids and I want kids, too, I do…but now…"

"Gabby…"

"But now everything's just not going to plan."

"Gabby!"

She narrowed her gaze at him, not happy with the way he just yelled her name. "What?"

"The firehouse as a policy in place for pregnant firefighters."

"What?"

Matt took her hands in his and was surprised to feel how clammy her touch was. He brushed his thumbs over her knuckles, trying to calm her down. "You can't get kicked off truck for being pregnant. I mean, yeah, your duties will change but legally, you still have a job."

"But what about when the higher ups find out you're the father? They'll probably transfer me out."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." He smiled, "as your fiancé, I'm over the freaking moon." He pressed his lips against hers. "But as your lieutenant, you will no longer be participating in calls until you come back from maternity leave."

"We'll have to tell chief."

"Tomorrow." Matt held Gabby's face in his hands and kissed her. "Right now, though…I think a little celebration is in order." He pulled his lips away from hers and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too." She sniffled a few times, trying to reign in her emotions and laughed nervously. "I don't know why I'm crying."

"Happy tears?"

Gabby nodded, "yeah. Happy tears."