Hi guys! I am so sorry it took me so long to post the second chapter. I did finish it a long time ago, but I am like right in the middle of exams. Just to warn you: the third chapter will probably take another few weeks, hopefully not as long as this one took me.
If you have any ideas or suggesstions on gender or name for the baby, prompts or whatever, please let me know!
And last but not least: Feedback is dearly appreciated!
"PS: I only own Carolina and her unborn baby. Everything else is unfortunately not mine. I am also not working in the medical sector, so I have literally no idea if it's possible to be pregnant and deliver a healthy baby when having cancer. Let's just all say that, in this case, in my AU, it IS possible. Furthermore, I am not a native speaker, so any mistakes you can find in here are mine ;)
SarcasmKaro
"I'm pregnant and I'm dying. And I would like you to take care of my baby once I cannot do that anymore."
"What?!" Gabby exclaimed, staring at her sister dumfounded. "What are you talking about?"
"Is there… some place we could talk? Privately?" Carolina asked, glancing at Matt.
He nodded. "There is-"
"No. Anything you tell me, you can tell him." Gabby interrupted her husband. She did not want to deal with her sister alone, she needed Matt's strength.
"Are you sure?" Matt asked her, to which she just nodded. "How about you come by our place in the morning? We'll be off shift in a couple of hours. Let's have breakfast together and talk." He suggested, shrugging his shoulders.
"That sounds great." Carolina said and hesitantly smiled. "I'll get something from a diner or something. This is my phone number. Send me your address and I'll be there." She handed a small sheet of paper to Gabby and then turned around saying, "Maybe we could invite Antonio…"
Without waiting for an answer, she left the station and got into a car that seemed way too expensive for her to have. "What? What just happened, Matt?" Gabby asked, still shocked. "What did she mean?" To say Gabby was confused was a big understatement.
"I don't know, babe. Let's try to work through the rest of the shift and then we'll find out. It's going to be okay. I'll be with you every step of the way, you know that, right?" Matt opened his arms, into which Gabby more than willingly went. Once again, she was confronted with thoughts about their marriage. They have had some big differences in the past, ups and downs that would have surely ended other marriages. Not theirs, though. Gabby and Matt always seemed to leave every situation even stronger. Slowly, Gabby loosened her grip on her husband's back, took a deep breath and they went back into the firehouse. Laying down and catching a few more hours of sleep seemed impossible now, after her sister dropped such a bombshell onto her…
A few hours later Gabby and Matt arrived at their house. She was dead tired, but also wide awake, waiting for the next bombshell her sister would drop. She had called Antonio in the morning, told him about Carolina's visit and asked if he would be willing to come to Gabby and Matt's house too. After showering and cleaning the kitchen, as well as setting out some plates, Matt and Gabby sat down at the table, waiting for Carolina and, hopefully, Antonio to arrive.
"I… Matt, we just lost Louie. Are we even ready to take care of a child again?" Gabby whispered then, voicing a concern that had been bugging her for the past hours, her sad wide eyes looking into his blue ones.
"We are, babe. We have been waiting for so long. We lost our baby and we lost Louie. This seems like a new chance for us, don't you think? Kind of like… Third time's the charm. Right?" He smiled slightly, raised his hand and wiped a tear from across her cheek. "I love you, alright? No matter what happens."
"I love you too," she whispered back. "Let's wait for what she has to say. Maybe… it's not going to be that bad."
Right in that moment there was a knock at the door. With a last sharp intake of breath Gabby raised from her chair and went to the door. As soon as she opened it, her brother pushed past her.
"What is she talking about? Why's she coming to us now? Was Jim with her? I swear, if I come across him, I'll-" he started but was interrupted by Carolina, who had turned up behind him.
"Jim is in prison, Antonio. I'm here all alone. And I am coming to you now because I just found out that I am pregnant. I had not noticed that I was, before." She took a tentative step inside the house.
Matt, who was standing beside Gabby again, motioned to the table, being his usual rational self. "Let's sit down everyone, alright?"
They all nodded and stiffly sat down. All three Dawsons were silent, Antonio and Carolina eyeing each other wary. Then it occurred to Matt why he had felt as if he recognized her from somewhere. The resemblance between Antonio and her was striking.
"Are you twins?" the words tumbled out of his mouth, he couldn't help but voice his suspicion. Both of them nodded. "So… Carolina. How about you start at the beginning. You said something about your husband being in jail?"
She nodded. "This has nothing to do with the favor I am asking for, but I'll tell you anyways. I don't know what Gabby told you already, but my husband has been beating me for a few years now. When we first met, I was his one and only, the made the entire world resolve around me. He made me feel special. Gabby and Antonio," she spared them both a glance, Antonio grinding his teeth angrily and Gabby still nervously tapping her foot against the floor, "they warned me. They said Jim was no good for me. I did not want to believe them, I was head over heels in love with him. We moved to Florida and then the beatings started. Recently I have been getting to know a young man, we… clicked. Though it wasn't anything romantically. But Jim was jealous, very much so. One night, he came home bloody and he was so angry. I found out later that he killed my new friend. I just… I called the police, rotted him out and they found evidence of what he did."
They all nodded, and Gabby said, "I'm very sorry for everything you went through. You… We could have helped you! We're family!" Gabby's voiced cracked at the end of her sentence and Matt knew exactly how she felt, seeing as his relationship with his sister wasn't one to be jealous of either.
"I know, Gabby. It's just hard, admitting everything. I never wanted to become a victim, you know? Or let other people treat me like one. Anyways. So, the friend who died… Well, we met in the hospital that I worked in. He was a cancer patient, he didn't have much time left. We bonded over his cancer and… one day, I found out I was pregnant. Jim immediately resented me, he had never wanted children. But then, when I found out about the baby and that it was too late to terminate it, I also found out that I have cancer." She wiped away a small tear that had escaped her eye.
"How long do you have until…" Gabby couldn't speak the word. She just got back her sister and then this. She did not want her to die, not like this, not without apologizing and rekindling.
Carolina shrugged. "They don't think I'll be lasting long. The cancer is very aggressive, and it has already spread. It might be necessary to give me some medication, so I can give birth at an early stage. They want to keep the baby in my womb for as long as possible though. They also don't know whether the baby will survive. But… when it comes down to either one of us" she said, placing a tender hand onto her growing belly. "there is no question. I want the baby to live."
"This…," Antonio started. "This baby. Who is he or she going to live with? Do you have anyone back in Florida?"
"No. I only have you guys." Carolina said.
Gabby and Matt looked at each other. "Look, Carolina. I know this must be hard for you, I mean… How can you cope with that? I don't know what I can say to make it comfortable for you. You asked us to take care of your baby a few hours ago, once you cannot take care of it. But… How do you think this is going to work?"
Carolina sighed. "I just want to know that it will have some loving parents. A family. An uncle and nieces and nephews. Brothers or sisters too, if I can choose. I do not want to give it away to a family that I know even less than I know you. After all, you are my family and this baby is too. I don't want it to live and die alone like I will." She barely had spoken the last words before breaking out in tears.
"Oh no, Carolina…" Gabby whispered and scooted closer to her sister, wrapping her arms around her. "This baby is not going to die. And you will not die alone either. You came back, and you cannot imagine how happy that makes me. If it's your wish for us to take care of the baby, then we will. Look, we tried having kids ourselves, but I had a miscarriage roughly two years ago. Then we took care of a little boy, who we thought did not have any living relatives. Turned out his father had not known about him, but was willing to take care of him. We had to let him go, but we loved him as if he was our own. We'll be doing the same to your baby, you hear me?" Matt nodded, gripping Gabby's hand tightly. Whatever Gabby may have thought during the whole thing with their unborn baby and Louie- everything affected him just as much as it affected Gabby. He felt their losses too; he had always wanted a big family.
"I'll be the best uncle the little boy will have" Antonio pitched in. "I am sorry about what I said to you all these years ago. After you left, I was a mess. I have never in my life felt this uncomplete, not even when Laura left me and took away the kids. I… I missed my twin, Carolina."
She smiled through a few new fresh tears. "I can imagine, I felt the same. It's hard to let your sibling go but it's even harder to lose a twin. No offense, Gabby."
The paramedic grinned. "None taken. Now, how about we get some food into you and the baby?"
"By the way, do you know what sex it will be?" Matt asked, while handing out something to eat to everybody.
"I wanted it to be a surprise. If you want to know though, I am sure there will be a way to find it out."
Matt and Gabby shared a look. They had not thought this far, let alone had a chance to talk. When they found out that Gabby was pregnant two years ago, they hadn't had a chance to think about the gender question, as she miscarried so early on.
"Let's let it be a surprise." Gabby whispered then and smiled. "The baby is healthy though? Ten fingers and ten toes? And how far along are you?"
"It's healthy, everything is where it should be and in which amount. Don't worry. I am actually already in week 21…" She shrugged and then stood up. She lifted her sweater up and revealed a relatively big baby bump.
"Oh wow. That's actually a big bump! Are you sure you're not having twins?" Antonio joked. "Laura wasn't even that big when she was in her sixth month with Diego!"
"I am sure, yes, Antonio." Carolina grinned. "The baby starts to react to noises and light now. It's going to be a few days until you can feel it move from the outside. I can definitely feel it moving sometimes."
"Have you had an appointment in Chicago yet? You will stay here, right?" Antonio asked.
"I have not. I wanted to ask you, Gabby, if you wanted to go with me. I have found a doctor at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Maybe you know someone there as you are a paramedic?"
"I do know some people, though in the Emergency Department. And I'd be honored to come with you."
Carolina smiled. "Great! How about we do that in a few days? I have been meaning to go back to Florida to get a few things. I have been here for roughly a week, already found a small apartment and got most of my stuff. Oh and I wanted to talk to Mom and Dad… Do you think they're up to it?"
Antonio nodded. "I am sure if we prepare them a bit, they are willing to meet you. After all, you're not coming alone. You are bringing a third grandchild into the family!" He grinned. "Alright guys, I have to go. My shift starts in an hour. Would you like me to drive you somewhere, Carolina?"
"That would be great, yeah. I came in a cab, I don't exactly know my way around here yet."
They got their stuff and walked to the door. "I enjoyed this breakfast, even though we didn't eat much. Thanks guys. You are way more understanding than I could have imagined. I know it's hard, believe me. I needed time to understand this all too. Gabby, Matt… You should take your time and talk about all this. See if you're ready. I would not hold a grudge against you if you weren't. If, once my time is over, you are not ready, there's always Antonio. I am sure your kids would not mind a little brother or sister."
Antonio shrugged. They wouldn't, but was Brett ready to share him with a newborn? Probably not. He remembered the time his kids were litte baby's. The needed constant attention, which he, being a police detective, definitely could not give them all alone. And after all, he had his kids, he had worked out a schedule with Laura and his relationship with Brett was going great, they even thought about moving in together. Now, it was the Casey's time. Gabby and Matt deserved this, they deserved their own child now too.
"We'll make sure to talk everything through." Gabby assured her sister.
Matt nodded and put an arm around his wife. "We'll need sleep now though. We're working 24 hour shifts and this one has been especially tiring."
"We'll let you 'sleep'." Antonio grinned. Matt shoved him out of the door and shook Carolinas hand. "See you soon."
"Bye Matt. Bye Gabby, I'll call soon to talk about the details of the appointment and stuff." The two hugged, longer than two persons would usually do, to make up for lost time and for good measure.
"Bye." Gabby closed the door and put her head against the wood for a second.
"Am I dreaming this? This feels so unreal. I am going to be a mother to a child my cancer-sick sister is going to give birth to. It's so surreal…" She whispered and turned back into Matt's arms.
"I know. I feel the same way, it's like a dream…." He gently pulled her from him. "Let's get some sleep, alright? We'll talk more later." She nodded.
They both got ready for bed, both silently thinking about what happened today. Matt was asking himself if he was ready to go through the process of adoption yet another time. Gabby was contemplating if she was going to be a good mom to her, technically, niece or nephew. She tried to push her worries away, shifted closer to her husband, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. Whatever they would decide, whatever would happen, she was sure she would always have him in her life.
feedback? Please? *places a tray of cookies on the table*
