Luckiest Souls

Thanks so much for your support and your amazing reviews! I get such a kick out of reading what you guys think about the story and I'm so grateful that you love reading it as much as I love writing it. This chapter actually has TWO time jumps in it but hopefully it makes perfect sense. Enjoy this update and please let me know what you think!


December 2020

It was a wintery day, chilly with some snow flurries in the sky, but Gabby felt warm and happy as she drove home from her last class of the day. It was her and Matt's fourth wedding anniversary and they had plans to go out for dinner at one of her favorite restaurants that night. They'd both been quite busy that week so she was looking forward to a quiet evening out with her husband. She also knew he had something special for her. He had tried to be sneaky about it but she saw him hiding something that morning at breakfast and decided to keep it to herself so she didn't ruin the surprise. She smiled to herself wondering what he was hiding but she actually had a surprise of her own for him that she knew would make him incredibly happy.

Several months had passed since Matt had taken on his new role as communication specialist at CFD headquarters and he was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed working there. He got along well with the other communication guy, Captain Tom Vergaini, and they had become great friends as they worked to help their assigned firehouses. At first it was difficult for Matt to get used to working the same hours day after day but eventually he fell into a nice routine. He found that he actually liked being at work for a specific number of hours every day but getting used to having all of his evenings free was more of an adjustment. Over time though, he realized that he enjoyed being home at night to spend more time with Gabby and they loved being able to go to movies, concerts, watch hockey, or spend time out with their friends on a more regular schedule. This was a lifestyle that neither Gabby or Matt had ever experienced before and it surprised them how much they enjoyed having a more normal schedule now.

While Matt was learning new things every day at headquarters and building relationships with the various houses in his area, Gabby was now teaching three paramedic courses at the academy (one of the other educators wasn't able to teach their course that fall so she was asked to pick up an extra class) and working at Molly's when she wasn't teaching. She really enjoyed teaching the young paramedic candidates although they sometimes tried her patience with their weird questions and immature behavior. She quickly developed a 'teacher voice' that she had to use to keep them on track during lessons. It was tiring at times for her but their actions sometimes made her wonder if she'd done the same thing to her instructors back when she was at the academy.

Gabby pulled into her parking spot at their apartment and gathered her things before heading inside. She walked in the back door and dropped her stuff on the table before heading to their bedroom. Matt was buttoning up his shirt and he stopped briefly to greet her with a "Hey" and a warm kiss. Gabby gave him a big smile after she kissed him back and greeted him with a cheery, "Happy Anniversary!"

"Happy Anniversary to you too babe," Matt said with his own big smile. He gently drew her back into his embrace and the couple shared a deep kiss for a moment before Matt reluctantly pulled away to finish buttoning his shirt. They smiled at each other again before parting so Gabby could get ready for dinner. They made some small talk as they finished getting dressed with Gabby being the first to start the conversation, "How was your day babe?"

"Interesting," Matt said with a look and a wry smile. "Morningside kept me on the phone for almost an hour today so they could complain about their O2 cannisters not being replaced at the same pace as everyone else's."

"Do they even use their cannisters?" Gabby asked with a laugh as she stepped out of the closet with a sparkly purple dress that she'd bought specifically for that evening. Matt laughed with her and shook his head, "No, they haven't even used half of their cannisters yet and the last time they were switched out was a month ago. I don't know how I kept a straight face through the entire conversation and I'm pretty sure Tom broke a blood vessel in his head trying not to laugh out loud as he listened to everything."

"That might be one of my favorite calls ever…well, at least this week," Gabby said with a smirk as she finished getting dressed. Now that he was more established in his role at headquarters, the calls that he got from the various firehouses seemed to get more and more random and Gabby loved hearing about them. She walked over to a still amused Matt so he could zip up her dress and he gave her neck a quick kiss before sitting down to put on his shoes. Gabby finished touching up her makeup as they continued to chat about their days and soon they were heading out to enjoy their quiet dinner together and celebrate their anniversary.


Matt opened the door for Gabby as they returned home from their amazing dinner. They were both stuffed but had enjoyed every single bit of their meal and the restaurant had even given them a complimentary bottle of wine after hearing that it was their anniversary. They shared a sweet smile as they took off their coats so that Matt could hang them up in the hallway and then they headed into the living room. Matt took the wine bottle to the kitchen (they'd only finished half of it during dinner) while Gabby greeted Carson with a pat on the head. Matt put the bottle of wine in the fridge and picked up his present for Gabby from the bookshelf as he went back to her. She picked up on the fact that he had something for her and gave him a curious look. He gave her a shy smile and joined her on the couch.

"All right," Matt said as he sat down, "I feel like all I've done for the last year and a half is thank you for being such an amazing wife but with tonight being our anniversary, I'm gonna take this opportunity to say even more."

Matt took one of Gabby's hands in his before he began talking, "Gabriela Dawson…the day that we officially became husband and wife continues to be the happiest day of my life. We'd already been through so many things together by that point. From taking care of the Darden boys, to navigating your time with the fire academy, to losing Shay, going through our brief breakup, me getting kidnapped, and then losing our baby…it's so overwhelming to think about all the stuff that we went through even before we got married. We got through it all and more though and we continue to overcome every hardship that comes our way by trusting in our love, devotion, and commitment to each other. I remember saying to you years ago that as long as we go through all the hard stuff together, we're the luckiest souls around and I still believe that. I'm an incredibly lucky man to have the most amazing wife in the world and I love you so much. Nothing I could buy you would be as special as you are to me but I did find something that I hope you enjoy."

Matt saw Gabby getting teary as he finished his speech so he held out his other hand to give her the shiny, wrapped box. Her eyes brightened as she took the present and when she saw the beautiful diamond earrings inside the box, she gave him one of her special smiles and reached out to give him a big hug. The earrings were perfect, not too big but not really small either, and she absolutely adored them. She thanked him for his thoughtfulness right before they shared a sweet kiss and then Gabby pulled away because she wanted to give him his present now.

"My turn," Gabby said with a smile as Matt cocked his head wondering what she had planned for him. Gabby went over to her purse and pulled out a manila envelope. She returned to the couch as Matt's curiosity perked up. She turned to him with a shy grin, "Our wedding day will always be one of the best days of my life too and when I think about our wedding with all our friends around us and the reception that Sev threw for us at Molly's, I still get all tingly inside because I can't believe that I get to spend my life with the most wonderful man in the world. I love you so much babe and I cannot wait to see what life has planned next for us, but there's one thing that's been on my mind a lot since your accident and I decided this year that it needed to happen."

Gabby handed the envelope to Matt and he opened it with curious eyes. His mouth dropped open when he saw what was inside and he felt tears come to his eyes because he knew what a big decision that this had to have been for her. He pursed his lips to keep from crying and gave her one of his warmest smiles although it was also accompanied by teary eyes. The envelope contained paperwork stating that Gabby had officially changed her last name to Casey. Gabby noticed the tears in his eyes and gave him a shy smile, "I know we never really talked about this again after that initial conversation years ago, but after everything we've been through with your accident and me nearly losing you, and with the next steps we've been taking to add a baby to our family, I realized that I didn't want to be the only one in our family who wasn't a Casey. That just, well, it became so much more important for me after everything and I knew that it was something that would make you incredibly happy. I know both of us have our family issues which is why we didn't worry about any name changing stuff years ago, but I really want our whole family to have the same last name. Matt, I'm so proud to be your wife. I had the biggest smile on my face when they told me I was now officially Mrs. Gabriela Casey and I like that our family will be complete in more ways than one after we finally have that baby."

Matt couldn't even speak. This was such a big deal for her. Gabby was so proud to be a Dawson and he never wanted to push her into changing her last name after they got married four years ago. There was a part of him that liked the idea of them being Mr. and Mrs. Casey though and he secretly hoped that someday she would feel comfortable enough to change it. He had no idea that she'd been thinking about changing her last name at all so this was the best anniversary present that she could have ever given him.

"I don't even know what to say Gabby," Matt said still a bit chocked up. "This is the best present I've ever received. Babe, I know how proud you are to be a Dawson so this is just, wow, this is just amazing. I'm so overwhelmed right now that I'm all out of sorts."

Gabby laughed but scooted over so she could wrap her arms around his neck. She began stroking the bottom part of his hair line around his neck, something that always drove Matt nuts, and looked deep into his eyes as she replied, "You're welcome babe. I knew that this was something you originally hoped that I would do but I also knew you would never push me into doing it. You wanted it to feel right to me and now just felt like the perfect time. I love you Mr. Casey."

"I love you too Mrs. Casey," Matt said with a big smile. The two shared a passionate kiss for a few moments before Gabby broke it so she could speak again, "I do have one more present for you if you're interested…"

"Oh really?" Matt said with a smile as he suddenly had an idea of where this was going.

"Yes, really," Gabby said grinning back. She stroked his neck again as she continued, "I have to go get that present ready for you though so I will need you to give me about five minutes and then you can join me in the bedroom."

"Deal," Matt said as he leaned in for another quick kiss and then let Gabby head off to get her second present ready. He watched her walk away and then smiled to himself thinking about what was coming in the next part of their anniversary celebration.


April 2021

Gabby paced around the office as her and Matt waited for Dr. K to arrive for their appointment. She was anxious for a very good reason…the last time that they'd been in a doctor's office together was when they were told of her abdominal aneurysm and how it affected her ability to carry a child. They were hoping to receive better news at this appointment, especially after they had to postpone it for so long. They originally thought they would reschedule this appointment for the beginning of the year once Matt was more comfortable with his new job, but after seeing how much the process would cost, they decided to wait a little longer so they could start a savings account and put money away so the process didn't completely mess up their finances.

Gabby continued pacing until she noticed Matt giving her a sympathetic look and offering up his hand to hold if she would come sit down again. She pursed her lips out of stress but came over to him and sat down again. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze as he gave her a small smile. She squeezed his hand back and finally let out a deep breath. Now that this moment was finally here, Gabby couldn't contain how nervous she was that something else was going to go wrong for them.

Dr. K finally arrived at the office and greeted Gabby and Matt warmly while carrying a folder of information for them. She could tell the couple was anxious, most of the couples that she met struggled with their emotions because of their past health troubles, but she also knew that this was a couple that had been through more than enough pain in their life together, so she felt extra determined to help them through this procedure with as little stress as possible. She sat down behind her desk and gave them another warm smile.

"I am about to hit you with more information than you ever thought was possible about this procedure," she began with crooked grin, "but I promise that I'm going to be here to help you through this every single step of the way. So, don't get overwhelmed. We've got this, okay?"

Gabby and Matt each let out a breath and continued to hold hands as they nodded and smiled at their doctor. They knew they were in good hands…they just didn't know what to expect from this process so they were fully relying on her expertise.

"First things first," Dr. K continued, "this process will take some time and that's by design to protect both you guys and the woman who will be carrying your child. We don't want any legal snafus coming up that cause delays in the medical procedures so we're going to go through some of that today so that we're prepared when the time comes."

She opened up the folder and took out some official documents. She showed them to the couple as she explained what they were, "Surrogacy is obviously a much different process than just going to the hospital and having a baby. We have legal documents in place that protect you from anyone else trying to say that your baby isn't yours as well as documents that protect the surrogate's medical rights and care. These won't be used until we find that match for you but I wanted you to be aware of them now so they didn't come as a surprise later. I actually work with a wonderful surrogacy agency here in Chicago. I'm prepared to give you all their information and they have several lawyers available that can help with all the legal stuff once we get to that point."

Gabby and Matt nodded at the doctor and she handed the legal documents and agency information to Matt. He noticed that there were several lawyers on the list she provided and Dr. K chimed in when they got a little wide eyed at all the names, "I can tell you which ones are the best once we get to that point but honestly, there's not a bad lawyer at that agency right now. They've all done a great job with my past couples so try not to worry about that too much right now."

Dr. K moved onto another paper from the folder. She placed this one in front of Matt and Gabby and explained what they needed to do with it, "One big thing that we need to do before anything else is set up your profile with us. We want to match our couples with the right surrogate for them, we have our surrogates fill out a profile as well, and this folder should contain your answers to a questionnaire, some photos or family information, and anything else you want your prospective surrogate to know about you. The contents of this folder are entirely up to you and honestly, I find that the more information we have about you, the easier it is to find the right match. I'm going to give this to you now so you can take it home and fill it out for us and figure out if you want to add anything else to it."

"Sounds good," Matt said as he accepted that paperwork from her and added it to the others. The couple was still feeling a bit overwhelmed but Dr. K had a calming presence in how she was presenting all the information to them, so they were feeling less anxious about everything now. Gabby turned to the doctor with a question, "How long does this process normally take? All the things we read had very broad time frames."

"It honestly depends," Dr. K said as she sat back in her chair. "Obviously the nine months of pregnancy is automatically built it but I've had couples get through the entire process quickly and they have a baby within 14 months but I've also had some run into all sorts of problems and suddenly its over two years before they finally have their baby. I'm hopeful that you two will be more in the 14 month time frame, especially after all you've been through with Matt's accident and all the changes to your life. I'm going to do everything I can to make this as smooth as possible for you."

Gabby smiled and Matt let out a sigh. They gave each other a nod and smile before looking back at their doctor with eager eyes. Gabby was the first to speak after a moment, "We really appreciate that. I feel like we've been talking about adding a baby to our family for such a long time now and finally getting this process started is exciting but also a little nerve wracking. This has already been a long journey for us but maybe there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel."

"I hope so," Dr. K said with a smile. "I love helping couples figure out the best way to add children to their families. This is why I became an OB/GYN in the first place and also why I became a surrogacy specialist. I didn't like giving my patients bad news about their ability to have a child the natural way and this process has come such a long way over the years that I wanted to add it to my practice to give couples another option. It really is a special experience for the surrogates to help couples bring their children into the world and I think it's going to be wonderful for you two as well."

Gabby and Matt smiled back as the doctor gave them a reassuring and determined smile. She pulled out a couple more papers from the folder and turned to the couple, "One more thing today before we schedule your next appointment…we got all your medical results from the tests that we ran prior to this session and I am very happy to report that everything looks good. Your eggs are perfectly healthy Gabby and so is your sperm Matt, so we shouldn't have any problems preparing your embryos for the implantation."

"Oh good," Gabby said as she let out a deep breath. Matt mocked wiping sweat off his forehead which made both Dr. K and Gabby laugh. The three of them enjoyed a lighter moment together and then Dr. K continued, "Unfortunately, a lot of the couples I meet have problems in this area so I'm very happy that the medical side of this process should go smoothly for you guys. It also makes it less emotional for me!"

Matt and Gabby finally relaxed more and then Matt asked the doctor a question, "How long have you been helping couples with this surrogacy process?"

"Almost fifteen years," Dr. K said with a smile. "And it's never the same process twice which always makes it interesting for me. I use the same general plan to help my couples along and yet my charts and records for them would show you SO many different scenarios that it would make your head spin. I've had some very emotional and hilarious moments with this process."

The doctor stood up and walked around her desk to stand closer to Matt and Gabby as she continued her story, "The one thing that has always been constant though is the fact that my couples eventually become a bigger family. It may take a while or it may happen much sooner but all of my couples eventually add children to their family. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you. I just need you to trust me."

"You've got our complete trust Dr. K," Gabby said as Matt nodded in agreement. "Your record and all the great reviews we've read from your previous patients are why we came to you for help. I can't promise that we won't be emotional basket cases from time to time but we trust you and we're ready to take on this process."

"Excellent," Dr. K said with a big smile. "First order of business for you guys is to get that profile paperwork done and then we'll be ready to move on to step two."


Gabby was staring at the questionnaire they'd received from Dr. K while Matt looked up some information on his laptop. Carson had set up camp on Gabby's lap which was proving to be distracting, but the couple was determined to figure out what they wanted to put in their profile while it was all fresh in their minds, so they were plowing through as much as they could that night. They'd definitely gotten a lot of information at their appointment but instead of feeling overwhelmed and anxious, they were now excited and eager to start figuring out all the steps and get the process started.

"How much does this surrogate woman need to know about our history?" Matt asked Gabby as he adjusted his glasses. "That could be a full book for her to read if we include everything that we've been through over the years."

"Good question," Gabby said with a frown. How much did they want this stranger to know about them? Obviously they would eventually get to know this person but what they put in their profile right now could turn women away if they included the wrong things.

"I think we should include how we met and what our wedding and reception were like since that's all pretty unique to us," Matt said as he typed out an outline on the computer. "I'm not sure I want this woman knowing my family history this soon though. That could really scare people away from wanting to meet us."

"Yeah," Gabby said with a sympathetic look as she scratched Carson's ears. "I don't know if I want this woman knowing that I ran off to Puerto Rico when we found out about the aneurysm either because that might make her think that I'm some kind of weirdo who runs away from emotional stuff."

"That's not the whole story there though," Matt said as he gave Gabby his own sympathetic smile. She smiled back at him and after giving her hand a squeeze, he turned back to the computer to type up a few things as he talked, "How about this…we talk about our relationship history, just the big events, and then add in a few personal things that have affected that relationship. Maybe just the big things like our experience with Louie, losing the baby, your firefighter training, my Alderman experience, and definitely the accident and aftermath. I think talking about those things will give them a good idea of what we're all about and not make us sound too crazy. Hopefully it will show that while we've been through a lot of emotional stuff, we're also a loving couple who's devoted to each other and just wants to add a child to our family."

"That sounds good," Gabby said as she picked up the questionnaire again. They'd filled out all the personal information and she doubled checked to make sure they hadn't missed any questions. After noting that all the questions were answered, she turned back to her husband as he continued typing. He was making out a timeline for their relationship so they could figure out the correct way to order their big events for the profile essay. She laughed at the broken line that happened right after their engagement. She pointed to that line and turned to Matt, "Maybe we leave out the part where we got engaged and then went through our random and weird breakup because we couldn't figure out how to work together. I mean, we can say that we've gone through our troubles but I still regret that decision and I don't wanna have to answer questions about it."

"This is just a timeline," Matt said with a smile, "and that time apart actually made us much stronger in the end. We finally figured out how to work together, which we obviously needed to do if we both wanted to stay at 51 and be a couple, and hey, what's that saying…absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"Yeah," Gabby said with a smile as she scooted her chair closer to Matt so she could lean onto his shoulder. "We were definitely closer after that breakup and the kidnapping helped bring us closer too."

"Oh yeah," Matt said with an amused look, "but maybe we don't add information from my foray into helping remodel a strip club and then getting kidnapped by Bulgarians when I tried to bring down a trafficking organization to the profile…"

Gabby laughed and moved around in her chair while picking up Carson and letting her rest on her forearm while she readjusted her legs. After getting herself settled again, and putting Carson back on her lap, she turned back to Matt, "I completely agree that those two things do *not* need to be in our profile."

"Done," Matt said with a quick swipe on the keyboard to erase that part of their history. "Now, how about we talk about the things we actually want in the profile that will make this woman not think we're the most damaged people in the world."

Gabby nodded and smiled as she rested her head on Matt's shoulder. They settled into a relaxed conversation with each other at the table as they continued going through their history and creating what they hoped was a good enough profile to help them find the right woman to carry their baby for them.


***I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and didn't mind the two time jumps. I promise that we're getting SO much closer to Dawsey starting their family! I know it's been a long time coming for them here but after all is said and done, I think that this overall journey to parenthood will be worth it for you guys. Thanks again for the support! =)