Sorry times infinity for the hiatus I put this story on. This isn't a super long chapter but it's something. Had to take some storylines from the show but twisted it for the benefit of my plot. Thanks for all the lovely reviews and follows and all that jazz. And yes, for those of you that have been waiting, I am working on a companion piece for 'Lost Then Found'...*cue self-promotion* and if you haven't read it, you totes should. :)
Silence in the Dark
Chapter Eight
With their shift more than half over, it was nearly midnight by the time Gabby and Shay trudged back into the quiet firehouse after yet another call. Ever since being pulled from Antonio's car to a call, it had been one call after another leaving the cupcake her brother had brought her as the last thing she had eaten. In fact, right before the alarm sounded for their last call, she'd just sat down in front of a plate full of food only to have to abandon it. Both of the girls carried to-go bags from their favorite all-night diner down the street from the hospital and headed straight for the kitchen.
Shay shoved the half eaten burger bag into the paper bag and placed in the refrigerator. "Girl, my exhaustion is greater than my hunger at this point. I'm pooped. Hopefully I don't see you again until shift ends. 'Night."
"Goodnight," Gabby said before stuffing more fries in her face. She was starving. A few minutes later she heard footsteps behind her and smirked, "I thought you said your exhaustion outweighed your hunger?"
"What are you talking about?"
Immediately recognizing his voice, Gabby looked up over her shoulder and grinned. "Hey." Her smile widened as he walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Did we wake you?"
Matt shook his head and kissed the top of Gabby's. "Nah, was coming back from the bathroom when I nearly ran into Shay." He took a seat next to her and casually draped an arm over her shoulders, happy to once again have her in his arms. "Was it a tough one?" He checked his watch, "you and Shay left almost six hours ago."
Truth be told, whenever there was a separate call for ambo 61—especially night calls, Matt had a hard time focusing on anything until Gabby was back at the station unscathed. So when the hours dragged on, Matt found himself unable to fall asleep and instead tried to focus on the neglected stack of paperwork that had piled up in the corner of his desk. But really, focusing on anything when his mind was on Gabby was basically impossible.
Gabby shook her head, "the injury itself wasn't anything major. It was trying to get the victim out of their house to take to the hospital."
"What do you mean?"
"Agoraphobia," Gabby stated. "Our victim hadn't left his house in over five years."
"Oh," Matt nodded his understanding. "Well I'm glad it was nothing that put you in danger." He reached over and snatched a few of her fries.
She pouted, "hey, did I say you could have my fries?"
He grinned, knowing he'd get that reaction out of her. "I'll buy you more fries tomorrow morning on the way back home."
"I'm holding you to that, Matthew Casey." Finishing of the last off her meal, she stuffed all the trash in the carryout bag and stood up. She moved across the kitchen floor to throw it away and groaned as soon as she lifted the lid off of the trash can. "Seriously, am I the only one in this house that takes the trash out?"
Matt yawned, right now, he could care less about a full trash can. He just wanted to get back to his bunk with his girl cuddled in his arms. "Don't worry about it, babe. Leave it for one of the guys in the morning."
Gabby shook her head, "it's fine. I've already got it. I'm just gonna run this out to the dumpster, I'll be right back."
"I can take it…"
"I'm a big girl, Matt. I'll be back in two seconds."
When her so called two seconds had turned into nearly five minutes, Matt started to get concerned and followed her path through the back door where the dumpsters were. She was hunched down on the ground next to the dumpster. With her back to him and unable to see her, he panicked. "Gabby!" He ran over to her and dropped down next to her. "Oh shit," he murmured as soon as he caught sight of the baby in arms.
The news of Gabby's tiny find had eventually spread through the entire firehouse and for those who had still been awake, they slowly migrated towards the common room where Gabby was sitting on the couch and cradling the little life.
Returning back to the common room after making a call to Children Protective Services, Boden sighed, "since we are a safe haven location, CPS has put us on the back burner. They suggested we take him to the hospital to get checked out and leave him there until they can get someone out there to investigate. The social worker did run a quick check, and there aren't any current missing baby reports in the area."
"Well let's just keep him here with us until morning," Gabby suggested, not once taking her eyes off the infant in her arms. "Shay and I have both checked his vitals, he's fine. If we take him to the hospital…"
"…he can get the proper care he needs," Matt suggested.
Gabby's head snapped up, a look of hurt in her eyes. "What? Are you saying I can't properly care for him?"
"No, no," Matt insisted, immediately regretting his choice of words. "That's not what I'm saying. But we don't know his full medical history, Gabby."
"Well the hospital doesn't know his full medical history, either. If we take him there, he's just going to be passed around until morning. At least here he can get the proper attention he deserves." She looked down when the infant cooed and smiled in response, reaching for his tiny hand. "See? He agrees with me."
Shay and Matt shared a knowing look, and Matt silently pleaded with Shay to jump in. "Honey, what about formula and diapers?"
Gabby glared at Shay, knowing exactly what her friend was trying to do. She pointed to the blue bag with tiny printed elephants that was sitting at her feet. "They left a bag. It's got everything he'll need for one night."
Boden cleared his throat, he knew Gabby wasn't going to back down. "I'm going to keep in touch with CPS and let them know what's going on. You sure, Dawson?"
Gabby nodded, her demeanor not wavering despite the hidden meaning behind Boden's question. "Yes, I can. I used to watch Diego and Eva all the time. I can do this."
"Ok, then. I'm heading back to my office."
Boden left the common room and soon everyone started to follow suit, leaving Gabby, Matt and Shay alone with the infant. Shay stifled a yawn, "well, you seem to have this under control, Dawson, I'm heading back to bed."
"Ok," Gabby mumbled, not taking her eyes off of the little boy.
Matt waited until Shay was out of sight before taking a seat next to Gabby. He watched as she interacted with the infant. Her eyes held a light that he hadn't seen in quite some time. Yet, behind that light was a darkness that she was trying her best to mask. She couldn't save their baby but she had saved this one.
"I wish I knew your name," she whispered, smiling as the baby wrapped his tiny hand around her finger. "I bet you have a strong name. A good, solid name. I don't know why anybody would want to abandon you." Her smile faltered, "anybody would be lucky to have you as their child."
"Gabby…" Matt finally whispered. Her head snapped up, almost like she had forgotten he was there. When her eyes me this he could see the look of hurt from his misconstrued words.
"It's fine, I've got this. You can go back to bed."
Matt shook his head, "no. I'll stay with you guys." Not acknowledging his words, she turned her attention back to the baby and ran her hand over the short, blond wisps of hair that covered his head. "Just so you know, I do think you are capable of properly caring for this baby and any baby for that matter. There isn't a doubt in my mind about that."
She looked back up at him and though Matt could still see the look of hurt in her eyes, he was happy she wasn't completely ignoring him. "Then why did you suggest we take him to the hospital?"
"I don't want you getting attached," he admitted.
"Attached?" Gabby scoffed. "You're being ridiculous."
