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Dawson

"Are you ready to go home now?" Matt asked after we finished our third mug of coffee each. He hadn't spoken for a while, just sat with me while I gaze out of the window, wiping away tears every time they soaked my cheeks once more. Although throughout the entire time Matt sat with me, he held my hand with his own, and I never pulled my hand away.

I shake my head after noticing we'd been here for an hour, "I don't know..." I trail off, brushing a lock of wavy hair out of my blotchy face.

Matt sighs and then asks quietly, "Why didn't you tell him about Ray in the first place?"

I can't meet his eyes so my eyes focus on Matt's chest, rising and falling with each breath, "I just wanted to escape him and I was ashamed... I'd never once suspected he was someone other than who he said he was. He hid it so well... I felt so disgusting when I found out and I didn't want that feeling to follow me back home, so I thought if I lied, then it'd go away..."

Matt's hand squeezed mine, "But you didn't count on Kelly asking Erin..."

I nod finally meeting his eyes, "And now Erin's definitely told my brother, so there's no hiding this."

Matt purses his lips into a thin line, "You don't have to hide this Gabby, you've nothing to be ashamed of," he says firmly and I melt at the sound of his voice.

What the hell was happening?

With a quiet voice I ask, "Can we go home now?" and Matt nods. He quickly pays the bill even though I argued against it and we leave the diner, heading for home.

"How did you know where I'd be?" I question with a quiet voice, our shoulders brushing against the each other's as we walk.

Matt shrugs, "You mentioned how it was one of your favourites and since you didn't take your car, I made a lucky guess."

Bewildered I say, "I said that weeks ago."

"I have a good memory," he answers without missing a beat, whilst my heart thudded in my chest.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't feel like this. Just sex.


"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for jumping to conclusions... I can't believe I even thought that, I'm so sorry," Shay cried as she pulled me into her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my body. I buried my face into her shoulder, clutching at the back of her shirt.

"It's okay, it's okay," I murmur in response, realising that on top of everything I couldn't argue with Shay and Kelly, because I couldn't lose them. They were my lifeline.

When I escape from Shay's grasp Kelly is watching us from a few feet away, his face regretful and solemn. He lifts his arms slowly and I rush into them, feeling his strong arms wrap around me, making me feel safe and secure.

"Hey kiddo, I'm sorry," he husks simply and I knew it was enough.

Sniffling against his chest I say, "Can I just explain everything to you?"

I feel Kelly nod, "I think we can do that," he answers as we sit on the sofa, Shay and Kelly on either side of me. Matt was nowhere to be seen and somehow, I felt his absence like a dagger to the chest.

I take a shaky breath and wipe my face before I begin, "I was meant to come over for dinner after I finished shift, so I headed over once I'd showered and changed. He'd given be a key a few weeks earlier so I let myself in... I couldn't find him in the living room or the kitchen, and no food seemed to be cooking... I found him in the bedroom with some girl I recognised as working with him... I tried to leave, but he made me stay and the girl left... He tried to explain, but I was having none of it. I went to leave but he grabbed my arm and then I saw that he was wearing a wedding ring... He admitted that he was married..."

I was crying by this point, shameful and embarrassed tears soaking my cheeks. Shay grasped my hand in hers to support me as I kept talking, "He wanted to me to keep quiet but I couldn't... I looked up his wife in the yellow pages and went to his real home and told her everything... She wasn't even angry with me. She understood - apparently he'd cheated before... When I left Denver they were divorcing and I haven't heard from him or his wife since..."

Shay throws an arm over my shoulder and pulls me to her side, "Oh hunny, why didn't you talk to us sooner? We could have helped you..."

I shake my head against the ball of her shoulder, "I just wanted to try to forget about it."

Kelly placed his hand on my knee, "I'm sorry I went to Erin."

Forcing a smile on my face I look up at him, "It's okay Kelly... I'm gonna be okay."


Severide

"She's definitely not okay," Shay states definitively, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she points upstairs, presumably towards Gabby. It had been a few days since we had found out the truth about Gabby and Ray, and she seemed to be shutting us out, hiding herself away from us.

Rubbing my face I answer with a sigh, "I know that Shay, she's not talking."

"We've got to do something," she answers as Matt comes through the front door, swinging his keys on his fingers.

"Like what Shay? She'll hardly talk to me about anything other than the weather or daytime TV," I say bitterly, running my hand over my head.

Matt walks in to the kitchen at this point, "Are you talking about Dawson?" I nod, "Well try not talking to her about this asshole, she clearly wants to move on from him. Let her."

"Matt, you don't know what she does okay? She shuts down and boxes it all in, and then she ends up on a self-destruct downward spiral," Shay explains to him with some degree of exasperation in her voice.

Matt leans up against the fridge, "No, she's pissed off that you guys went snooping behind her back. She's trying to get away from Ray and she's reminded of him every time you guys look at her."

"What the hell would you know Matt?" I yell loudly, partly angry due to the fact I knew that he was right, "You two hate each other, so how the hell can you comment on what's going on in her head!"

Matt rolls his eyes, "I don't have to like her to know that you guys are treating her differently. She doesn't want that, she wants it to be like it was before. Leave the girl alone and let her move on."

At this Matt heads over to the sofa turning on the TV, after making his point and letting us dwell over his comments. Shay looks at me, coming to some sort of conclusion in her head and I nod quickly at her.

Maybe Matt was right... But how the hell would he know all this about Gabby?


Casey

I was in the middle of re-attaching the kitchen cabinet door that Otis had ever so gratefully knocked off when my phone buzzed. I was pretty sure I knew who was texting me, therefore I couldn't keep my eyes off the phone. Herrmann, who was holding up the door as I screwed in the new hinges, looked down at the phone.

"You need to get that Casey?" Herrmann asks casually and I shake my head, returning my attention to the door.

"Nah, it's okay," I mutter whilst trying to focus my mind on the task at hand and not Gabby on the other end of my phone.

I could see Otis peeping around the oven with a sheepish expression, "Is it fixable?"

I raise my brow in his direction, "It's a cabinet door Otis, not brain surgery."

Herrmann chuckles, "Manual labour is brain surgery for Otis," and I watch as Otis dons an insulted expression. Huffing, he slips out of view just as I finish fixing the door.

As I pack up my tools and move to take them back to my locker, I feel my phone buzz again. Curiosity finally winning, I take my phone from my pocket and open up the text from Gabby.

You're office - 2 mins.

Although our hook ups seemed to be a regular thing, they were becoming much more frequent over the past week or so. And it wasn't like I was complaining, but I was worried about her. Something was up.

I put away my toolbox and tried to discreetly make my way to my office, proving to be unsuccessful as Mills stopped me on my way, thankfully oblivious to the drawn blinds in my office.

"Hey Lieutenant, you game for a poker tonight? Cruz's place at eight?" Mills asked cheerfully, his usual smile spread across his face.

Briefly I glanced at my office door, closed shut, "Er, yeah that sounds good Mills."

Mills beamed and clapped me on the arm, "Great, see you then Casey!"

I nod at him as he makes his way towards the locker-room and then I glance around quickly, before slipping into my office, locking the door behind me. Immediately I feel Gabby's hands grasp my arms as she turns my body and pushes me against the door, soon finding my lips with her own. I feel her hands slip behind my neck as she uses this as leverage to pull our bodies closer together, whilst I curl my hands around her waist relishing in the heat of her body.

Soon enough I felt her warm tongue run across my lips asking for entrance. I obliged and then we're battling for power over the other, whilst Gabby takes to unbuttoning the buttons of my work shirt.

As she pulls my shirt from my body I lift her into my arms and walk towards the bed, laying her down and climbing on the bed above her. I straddle her hips, nudging a knee in between her legs. She's kissing my neck when I feel the need to murmur into her hair.

"We need to talk," I say quietly and Gabby instantly stops her movements, laying her head back against my pillow with a confused and frustrated expression.

"You've got to be kidding me," she sighs running a hand over her hair, her eyes seemingly looking anywhere but me.

I run a thumb across her jaw, "What's going on with you?" I ask gently, not wanting her to clam up on me.

"Matt," she mutters, pressing her lips against mine, "Don't ruin this."

"I'm not," I answer trying to keep my voice calm and smooth as I felt her hand relax against my back, "You're distracting yourself with sex and as great as it is, you can't keep this bottled up forever."

She pushes me off her and sits up, shaking her hands through her hair as a large puff of breath escapes her mouth, "We agreed that this was just sex Matt. No feelings, remember?"

I sit up too, resting a hand on her shoulder, "And I'm not the guy who'll just sleep with you knowing that something is going on in your head."

Gabby scoffs angrily, "You were that guy when I met you Matt. That's why we started this."

I sigh thinking that I'll get nowhere with her, "Just talk to me Gabby..."

Tense moments pass before she starts to talk once more, "I'm afraid..."

I clutch her hand in my own tightly, "Why?"

"Because this is changing...and I'm not sure if I want it to...and I'm not sure if I can stop it."