Matt heard his phone ring and saw that it came up as Antonio on his caller ID. He was pretty sure whatever Antonio had to say was not going to be good. Matt decided to ignore the call since he didn't really feel like a lecture from Gabby's big brother. He also didn't really want to be reminded of the Katya investigation either. So he let the call roll over to voice mail so that he could retrieve the message after he and Gabby talked later that night at Mollys. An hour later he headed out the door to Molly's to meet Gabby for their long awaited talk. He was not sure what she was going to say but decided that he would try to make it as easy as possible for her. He just hoped that she wouldn't talk about terminating the pregnancy. His stomach lurched at the thought of almost being a father but then having that hope being taken away from him. Then he heard his phone buzz again and saw that it was Severide.
"Hey Kelly, what's up I am heading out to Molly's?" Matt said as he got into his truck to head to the bar.
"Matt, I just got a call from Antonio who has been trying to get in touch with you." then there was a small hesitation on the other end of the line.
"Why would Antonio call you?" Matt said in a confused voice not sure what to make of the call.
"Matt, it's Gabby. They took her to the hospital because someone rear ended her and she started spotting and cramping at the scene." Kelly said trying to break the news to his friend.
"Damn it, what hospital did they take her to?" Matt said in a frantic voice as he tried to concentrate on not slamming into the car that stopped for a red light in front of him.
"She is at Chicago Med and I guess they admitted her." Kelly answered and then continued, "I am headed there now since they couldn't get in touch with you. I will meet you there. "
"Did she, I mean do you know her condition?" Matt was pissed at himself for ignoring the call from Antonio earlier. He did not want to put into words all of the thoughts that were running through his mind at this point.
"No man, I don't Antonio just said what I told you and was headed back to be with her when the examined her." Kelly's voice trailed off on the other end since he knew what this baby meant to Matt. They hadn't talked much but Kelly had seen Matt's stoic reaction change slightly every time he talked about becoming a father the last few days.
Matt walked into the ER waiting room and saw Kelly sitting in a seat and greeted him. Matt nodded to Kelly as he want to the desk to see if he could go back and see Gabby. At first the nurse told Matt that he would have to wait out there. But then he impatiently explained that he was the father and that Gabby was expecting him. So the nurse took him back to a curtained area and there he saw Antonio sitting holding Gabby's hand. Gabby looked up at Matt with her brown eyes full of fear as they waited for the doctor.
Antonio rose and said as he glanced at his sister and squeezed her hand for to reassure her, "I am going to go get a cup of coffee. Ill be here if you guys need me."
"Hey." was all that Gabby could muster as her bottom lip began to quiver.
"Hey, so what did the doctor say?" Matt said not wanting to hear any bad news but now knowing what else to say.
"They are sending in a doctor to give me an ultra sound to see how the baby is." Gabby said quietly not wanting to acknowledge what the worst could be.
Just then the conversation was interrupted by a doctor coming in with a nurse behind him. They brought an ultrasound machine with them.
"Ms Dawson, I am Dr. Tiedge and I am going to take a look at your baby to see how it is doing. OK? How far along are you again?" The doctor said as he began to examine Gabby.
Gabby glanced at Matt who nodded to her and was holding her hand by this time, "I just found out a few days ago so I am not really sure. I'm supposed to go and see my doctor in a few days. But I think I am about 6 or 7 weeks along.
"Ok well we are going to give you an ultra sound. I am going to squeeze some gel onto your stomach and it's going to be pretty cold." the doctor said with a gentle smile.
Soon the doctor was positioning the wand over Gabby's stomach as both she and Matt looked at the screen. Within an second a very fast steady beat resonated through the room as the heart beat echoed out. It was the most beautiful sound that Matt had ever heard. It was more beautiful than the best music he had heard. It meant that their baby was alive.
"There is your baby right there." The doctor smiled at them as he looked from Gabby and Matt back to the monitor. Then there was a slight hesitation from the doctor as he moved the wand further down on Gabby's stomach. "And there is number two"
Gabby and Matt both looked at each other in shocked silence as the doctor continued the examination. They both saw a frown appear on the doctor's face as he moved the wand over her stomach again. There was a second heart beat but the doctors face looked serious unlike with the detection of the first heartbeat.
Gabby finally broke the silence,"Is there something wrong?"
The doctor shook his head and said,"It looks like the placenta is positioned very low in the uterus. And it looks like it may not be attached very well. "
Matt trying to make sense of what the doctor was saying piped up as he felt Gabby's grip tighten on his own hand.
"It means that the spotting is probably from the placenta tearing from the wall because of it's position in the uterus. The fetus that is higher up is fine but this one may resolve." The doctor answered Matt in a serious tone.
"What does resolve mean? Does that mean it is going to be ok?" Gabby asked not sure of what the doctor was saying.
"Sorry but that means that the baby positioned lower in the uterus may self terminate because it is not attached to the uterus wall. Your other baby looks like it is doing fine though. Ms Dawson you can go ahead and get dressed now." The doctor said as he turned to leave the examination room
Matt started to get angry at the way the doctor just non-chalantly treated Gabby. "Wait so how long will it be before we know if the baby is going to make it?"
Dr Tiedge turned back to Matt, "The pregnancy normally resolves within a week or two if the placenta is not securely fastened to the uterine wall. My suggestion is that your wife gets into see her doctor as soon as possible. But until then she should be on complete bed rest. From what I see on her chart she has been cleared to go home. I'm sorry but I have to continue to make my rounds. It's a been busy night. " And with that the doctor walked out of the cubicle and left Gabby and Matt alone.
Gabby let out a sob as she said as she leaned over to start to get off of the examination table, "Can you go get Antonio while I get dressed?"
Instead Matt held Gabby in his arms as she leaned against him and sobbed for a few minutes. "Shhh, i'ts going to be ok."
"But what if one of them don't make it?" Gabby whispered the thought out loud for this first time.
"Look we are going to get through this one minute at a time. Right now I want' you to calm down and get dressed. I am going to take you home to my place to stay the night." Matt said protectively as he still held Gabby who slowly pushed away from him.
"Matt, I really would rather go and stay with Antonio right now. I have been talking with him and he has an extra bedroom that he offered to me until I find a place for me and the baby. I think it would be the most peaceful place for me. It will give us the space to figure things out." Gabby said as she looked down at the hospital floor not knowing what else to say.
"I'm ok with what ever you need right now." Matt answered trying to cover up his hurt.
"Thanks, I just need time to process all of this. I mean the last few days have been a roller coaster. All I've wanted for the last year is to be a fire fighter. Now I am pregnant and a part of me still wants to be a firefighter since I worked so hard the last year and gave up so much. But after today, even being a firefighter doesn't seem to be as important as them." Gabby's hand went to her abdomen protectively.
Matt let out a long breath as he looked at Gabby's expression he had seen so many times before. When she got this look on her face it meant she could not be talked out of whatever decision it was. Right now the last thing he wanted was for Gabby to be out of his sight and yet he knew she was right. The place that would keep her the calmest was the best place for her right now. He know that Antonio would be watching her like a hawk. In the meantime the next few weeks would be a waiting game to see if the second baby survived. Right now Matt and Gabby were both torn between sorrow and happiness at the thought of welcoming two lives into the world. However, knowing that one of the babies may not make it kept them from being overjoyed since there was a good possibiltity one could not make it. Nothing was ever easy for them, nothing, especially the waiting game of the next few weeks.
