Luckiest Souls

Thanks so much for your continued support and love for this story. It is much appreciated by this sometimes harried and stressed out writer! Sorry there was a long delay in getting this chapter out to you guys but between the holidays, work stress, and me getting sick, things have been a little hectic here. I also got a VERY rare shipping win over the holidays (the show was Timeless in case anyone else watches it) and I'm not gonna lie...I kind of lost my mind with happiness over that and got even more distracted from this story. I'll take those rare ship wins any time I can get them though which isn't often! Anyway, I think this is a chapter that many of you have been waiting anxiously for so I really hope you enjoy it and please take a few moments to let me know what you think about it in the reviews! =)

March 2023

Gabby finished hammering a nail into the wall and then picked up a picture frame and placed it gently on the nail to hang it up there. She adjusted it slightly until she was satisfied that it was straight and then stepped back to admire her handywork. This was the ninth picture that she'd put up in the nursery that afternoon but thankfully they all looked straight even though she was exhausted beyond belief.

Life after the holidays had gotten extremely hectic for the Caseys as they were both preparing for their little guy, who was due any day now, and getting their new house fixed up enough for them to move in. The house part had been the more stressful thing for them since they were on a strict timeline of trying to get it ready before their due date but they were also anxious to meet their little boy so they were a bundle of nerves all the way around most days.

They'd been approved to buy their new house right before Christmas and after enjoying their last holiday season in their old apartment, Gabby and Matt had gotten right into planning for what all they needed to get done at the house before the baby's arrival. They'd completed all the paperwork to buy their house in record time thanks to really great house owners who were eager to sell and they were able to get into the house around January 14th which meant they only had about two months to get a lot of things done. They got right to work pulling up all the carpet in the house, tearing down cabinets in the kitchen, breaking through a wall that was closing off part of the kitchen, cleaning out the attic and basement areas, and painting almost the entire inside of the house. They were able to order and get new carpet installed in all the bedrooms (Gabby was adamant about not having cold feet in winter but they agreed to do hardwood in the rest of the house) and they had someone come and redo all the floors in the family room on the lower level and in the kitchen. They were also thankful to have a group of awesome friends who had spent several of their off days between shifts helping them with a lot of the work. They could have done without all the antics from Matt's former truck guys who spent much of their time goofing off with the cleaning supplies but they were still able to get the most important work done in the end which meant that Matt and Gabby could move into their new home on time.

They had only been in their house for a couple of weeks now and while they still had some improvements that they wanted to make, they were very happy with how things were going thus far. The house was warm and cozy and Gabby and Matt couldn't believe how much space they had on all the floors. They had paused on the main renovations now that the baby's due date was so close but they had actually completed the carpet replacement and painting in all the bedrooms, finished the bulk of the kitchen (although they weren't totally unpacked in there yet), and completed the renovations on the upstairs bathroom so they were more than comfortable living in their home while they planned the future renovations that they would eventually do when they weren't on such a time constraint. The only thing that was a bummer for them with the new house was not getting to have Carson there with them yet. There were too many unfinished places left for her to get lost or hurt at the house so she was staying with Antonio until they felt more comfortable with the renovating process to bring her home. They visited her as much as possible but they really missed their sweet cat and were anxious to bring her home in a few weeks.

Gabby smiled at the walls as she looked around her son's nursery. They had gone with a train theme for the room and the pictures she'd just put up on this wall were cartoon versions of an engine, three train cars, and the caboose of the train that were placed above where the changing table was to be placed when it was put together. There were four other pictures that they'd gotten for the other walls and Gabby couldn't help smiling at how adorable they looked now that they were all in the room. They had wanted their son's nursery to be warm, cheerful, and adorable and she thought they had more than succeeded with their train themed furnishings and decor. They were still missing some of the furniture in there but Matt had insisted on making all of it which had taken a backseat during all the house preparation. Now that they were actually in their home, he was frantically finishing the big items downstairs and since Gabby was now done hanging the pictures, she picked up the tool box and headed downstairs to see how he was doing.

Matt was on the main floor deep in thought as he stared at his son's crib. Something seemed off as he looked at the completed crib in front of him and it was few moments before he finally realized that one of the wheels was crooked which is why the crib didn't look right. He leaned the crib against the wall so he could fix the wheel and once that was done, he sat the crib upright again and smiled at the fact that it now looked correct. Matt had been very insistent on making their son's nursery furniture himself but the process had been way more stressful on him than he thought it would be. The crib alone took more planning than he'd thought it would take but eventually, things started coming together and once they got settled into their new house, everything came together much quicker. He looked around at the changing table, bookcase, wall shelves, and dresser that sat around the crib and sighed with relief that all of it was finally complete.

Gabby watched from the stairway as her husband smiled at the furniture all around him and smiled quietly to herself. He was a very critical man when it came to construction work so to see him happy with his work made her heart warm and fuzzy. She came into the room and walked over to Matt with the toolbox. She smiled as she gave it back to him, "Pictures are up and just waiting for the furniture now."

"It's finally ready to go," Matt said as he took the toolbox from her and draped his arm around her shoulders. He cocked his head and gave her a quizzical look, "Does everything look all right?"

"Babe, it looks amazing," Gabby said as she wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him her patented exasperated look. He smiled back at her with relief and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead. Gabby rested her head on his shoulder and then looked up at him, "You did an amazing job Matt and if I wasn't so exhausted right now, I'd probably be crying with how wonderful this all looks. Our son is getting spoiled already and he's not even here yet!"

Matt laughed but nodded at his wife. He pulled her close before replying, "That's not entirely our fault though. All our friends, our firehouse family, the crew at headquarters, and your friends at the academy have all contributed to that too. We probably have more stuff than we could ever use for this little guy but it definitely made life easier for us while we were busy moving and renovating the house."

"That's so true," Gabby said as she stood up straight again and gave her rumbled shirt a tug back into place. "We should probably get all this stuff upstairs so it can be ready to go before it gets dark outside. Then we can relax for a bit tonight and take inventory of what all we have left to do. I think my list of reno items is in the family room somewhere."

"Sounds like a great plan to me," Matt replied as he looked outside briefly. "Why don't I order some pizza for us so it can be here when we get done moving everything?"

"Perfect," Gabby replied with a smile. "And now that we have our big working fridge, you can order a little extra because it finally has somewhere to go."

Matt laughed and nodded at his wife. Their big fridge hadn't be delivered until the previous week so they'd lived in their house for over two weeks with just a small fridge that barely held anything, their toaster oven, and a microwave that they had borrowed from Severide. It was much better having a completely functioning kitchen even if it wasn't unpacked or finished yet. The plumbing worked and they finally had their new appliances which was all they needed in there for now.

While Gabby grabbed the shelves to put on the walls of the nursery, Matt went into the kitchen to order their dinner. She had measured and put the mounts in for the shelves before she put up the pictures and she was curious if she'd measured everything right. As she placed the three shelves up on the walls, she smiled and gave herself an imaginary pat on the back because all three of them went on to the walls perfectly in the end. She returned to the main level a little while later to help Matt carry the crib, changing table, dresser, and bookcase up to the nursery and was pleased to see how well it all fit in the room. They still had a rocking chair and ottoman to put in the room but those were on order and wouldn't be arriving until the following week.

Gabby stood back to look at their son's nursery for a moment and found herself getting emotional. It was becoming more and more real every day that they were soon going to be parents and every so often, she found herself teary with anticipation and anxiety about this upcoming event they'd been looking forward to for a long time. Matt came up behind her and put his arms around her waist while snuggling into her shoulder. He gave her a smile and a comment that made her heart melt, "Your day is almost here babe, just like Herrmann said it would be years ago, and I can't wait for us to meet our little miracle."

A week later, Gabby was sitting sideways on the couch with her legs over Matt's lap while deep into a recent thriller novel she'd picked up at the library while Matt was enjoying finally getting to watch a Blackhawks game. They'd finally gotten their internet, cable, and phone set up at the new house and Matt was ecstatic to finally be able to catch up with his hometown hockey team. Gabby looked up briefly to watch him for a moment and couldn't help smiling. He was SO into the hockey game that he was unintentionally giving her feet a really nice massage just from the stress of the game being tied at that moment. She made a mental note to move her legs if the Hawks got close to scoring a goal so she could save her feet from any pain.

Matt's phone started ringing just as the Hawks missed taking the lead in the game and he groaned as he picked it up to see who was calling him. He suddenly turned the TV down and startled Gabby as he threw her legs off his lap. He turned to her with wide eyes and said, "Its Landon…" and Gabby immediately sat up straighter, marked her spot, and shut her book.

Matt answered his phone, "Hey Landon. What's up? Wait, now? Is everything okay? Okay, right. We're on our way now." As Matt hung up the phone, his next words sent excited chills down Gabby's back, "It's time!"

Gabby and Matt went to the nursery to grab the baby bag that they'd prepared for their newborn along with two overnight bags from their bedroom and headed quickly out of their house. As they got on the road and Gabby started panicking that they would miss their son being born, Matt calmed her down by letting her know that Lila and Landon weren't even at the hospital themselves yet because Lila's water had just broken that night. Gabby remained nervous and antsy as they continued making their way towards Chicago Med. They'd waited for so long to have their own child and they were finally going to realize that dream. Gabby found herself scared, excited, breathless, but also extremely anxious about what was going to happen for them soon. Matt noticed her anxiety and reached out to take her hand and give it a squeeze. She looked over at him and immediately felt herself become calmer. He always had a way of making her feel better without even saying a word and that night was no exception. He continued to hold her hand as they approached the city and eventually parked quickly at Med.

Gabby and Matt were directed to Lila's room by the charge nurse and rushed down the hallway of the maternity ward. Once they arrived at her room, they were greeted by Landon with warm hugs and by Lila with hugs in between contractions. Gabby gave Lila a much longer hug and felt herself getting emotional as she once again thanked Lila for giving them such an amazing miracle with their baby boy. Lila felt herself getting emotional as she saw how much this whole thing meant to Gabby and the two women shared a long look of understanding and respect. There was definitely a strong bond of friendship between them now that they knew they would never have with anyone else. Lila gave Gabby a pat on the back and then was distracted by another contraction. Matt and Gabby went to the far side of the bed while Landon helped his wife through her contraction.

Lila's contractions lasted well into the night and around 4 AM, she was finally ready to head to the delivery room. Gabby and Matt were prepped with scrubs so they could be ready for when their son was born and they never left Lila's side as she went through the rest of the labor process. Gabby was tightly holding Lila's hand until Dr. K told them that the baby was coming so she and Matt moved to watch their son being born. The entire process was almost a blur to the couple but after several rounds of pushing, their precious baby boy was finally born and Dr. K couldn't stop smiling as she placed the newborn in Gabby's arms as Matt looked on in awe. Their son was finally here and no one in the room could take their eyes off the couple as they took in the sight of their little miracle.

Gabby and Matt had fallen in love with their little boy the minute they saw him. He looked so much like Matt did when he was a little boy but his eyes were shaped like Gabby's and when he finally opened them, they noticed they were a deep brown, just like his mom's eyes. Gabby and Matt couldn't stop the tears from flowing as they enjoyed finally getting to meet their son and as Gabby continued cradling the little boy in her arms, Matt laid a gentle kiss on his son's forehead and then on his wife's cheek as he continued to process the fact that he was finally a father. Eventually, the nurse needed to take the baby away to make sure everything was all right so Gabby reluctantly gave him up. She looked over at Matt and after seeing her own emotions mirrored all over his face, she leaned into his arms so they could share a warm hug. Their journey to parenthood had finally arrived and there was no one in the world she wanted to go on this adventure with more than the man standing with her in that moment.

Gabby and Matt chatted with Lila and Landon in her private room while the hospital checked over their little boy and made sure everything was okay with him. The couple was so appreciative of what Lila had done for them that they couldn't stop thanking and hugging her. Lila was emotional and exhausted but so happy that they were finally seeing their dream of becoming parents happen for real. That moment was worth every single stress and pain that she'd endured throughout the pregnancy. Gabby and Matt were touched when Lila and Landon gave them a book of advice and words of wisdom about parenthood that they'd collected and written out over the months of her pregnancy. The two couples promised to stay in touch and made plans for dinner in a few weeks once Lila was feeling better and Gabby and Matt got more settled into life as new parents.

The hospital eventually moved Gabby and Matt into their own private room on the maternity floor so they could enjoy some quiet time with their newborn son. They weren't able to take him home quite yet but they would be able to spend time with him there so the hospital prepared a room for them so that they could all be comfortable. The couple took some time to clean up, change clothes, and get something to eat and eventually, a nurse brought their little boy in to spend some time with his excited parents.

Gabby and Matt took turns holding their little guy and marveling over how much he looked like both of them. Eventually they ended up sitting together on the bed with Matt holding the baby and Gabby sitting to his left and resting her head on his shoulder while she looked at the newborn cradled in Matt's right arm. They would have been content to stay that way for a while but eventually she looked up at Matt with a question, "Um, I think this little guy needs a name. We've been struggling with names for months but we really need to decide something now. Do you have any ideas now that we're finally seeing him for the first time?"

"Honestly," Matt began as he looked at the sleeping baby in his arms, "I came to the hospital last night still not sure about a name. I mean, we'd come up with all sorts of names over the last few months, pretty much since we knew we were having a son, but nothing felt right to me."

"So, what are we going to do?" Gabby said with concern on her face. "I'm at a loss too. Maybe we should name him after someone…I love the idea of our son sharing the name of someone who was important to us. It would carry so much meaning."

Matt thought about it for a minute and then looked over at Gabby with a smile. He suddenly thought of a name that he thought she might like too. He grinned as he offered up a new suggestion, "How about Andrew? Andy Darden was the first friend I ever made in the CFD and he and his family have meant a lot to both of us over the years."

Gabby gave him a big smile and looked down at their little boy. She reached out to gently stroke her son's cheek before turning back to Matt, "I love that name. This little guy definitely looks like an Andrew and you're right, the Dardens are such a big part of our history both together and apart. I think that's a wonderful choice."

"Andrew Casey," Matt said with a smile. He liked the sound of that name and before he could think of a middle name went with it, his wife offered up one of her own that he knew was even more perfect.

"Andrew…Brett…Casey?" Gabby asked with a slightly teary look in her eyes. Matt gave her a small smile and his look softened as he leaned over to gently share a kiss with her. Somehow it just seemed perfect for their son to carry the names of two wonderful people who had meant so much to each of them but weren't with them to share in their parenthood journey. As they continued to sit and stare in wonder at their new little boy, they wondered what the future held next for them and little Andrew.

***And now you know how Andrew Casey came into the world and how Dawsey handles the whole process of becoming parents for the first time. I really hope this chapter was enjoyable for you guys, I'm SO sorry again that it took me so long to write it, and thanks once again for all the support! =)