Hey all! So this is the HAPPY NEW YEAR chapter as today is New Years Eve for us in Australia … so HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

Thanks for all the love with the last chapter, I am so happy you are enjoying this story; it will be getting even more exciting soon, I promise!

Also I just started watching HOUSE and I love Chase, must be the Aussie in me but I love the looks on his face, he is so clueless! Anyway on with the Chicago Fire story…

Chapter 12 – Sucker Punch

Gabby had been sitting quietly in the common room on her laptop as she happily sat alone in the common room; Otis and Cruz had taken over from Matt and Kelly and had begun to talk to the kids about fire safety, leaving Matt to wander into the common room, his mind only on one thing. Finding Gabby sitting alone, he walked up to her, took the seat next to her and spoke quietly, "Hey are you ok? I saw you with Griffin before and I just wanted to make sure you were ok…" He could tell there was something going on with her, something that he wanted to know more about but she was turning away from him and he wasn't sure why. Gabby watched Matt for a few moments before answering, she had been thinking about what Griffin had said and although she knew Matt better than Griffin ever could and she trusted him with her life, she still felt uneasy about Griffin and was concerned that something was going to happen.

So opting to cover the truth, she smiled, "I'm fine Matt, really. Just a bit tired…" She looked back at her laptop, honestly knowing that Matt wasn't going to drop it but she had hoped that he would. She felt him touch her hand, Gabby let out a shaky breath as he did so, "Hey, I know something is wrong…what's up?" He leaned in a little further, his free hand closing her laptop slowly, silently telling her that it was ok to talk to him. Dropping her shoulders and sighing, Gabby turned towards Matt, her hands moving from the table to rest on his legs, out of the view of the rest of the house but still needing the warmth in his contact. She swallowed, this was either going to be laughed off or it was going to send Matt crazy considering he already had an issue with Griffin being in the house. Sighing she spoke, "Honestly it's nothing…just he, Griffin, made me feel really uneasy, he told me to be careful of you…but he also talked about James and I dunno, he just made me feel weird."

Matt's brow scrunched up in anger, he couldn't believe that Griffin had gone to speak to Gabby about him but to mention James and bring him into the conversation like she wasn't a good mother made him furious. Something must have changed in Matt's eyes as he sat with Gabby because her hands left his knees to come to rest on his cheeks, glad that no one else was around in the common room to see them, "Hey, it's ok. Really, he is just a creepy guy…" With a quick glance around the room to make sure no one had walked in in the few seconds since she had looked before, Gabby leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Matt's lips, feeling him return it gently, he relaxed under her touch. "OK, but I want to know if he says anything else to you or tries anything. That guy is bad news…" Matt reached out and brushed the hair away from her face, smiling softly at her, confused as she laughed at him though. "What's so funny?"

Gabby's smile grew as Matt's confusion did, "He just said the same thing about you, that's all…" The look in Matt's eyes changed with her words, a more cheeky smile coming to his face, "Well, I can be bad…" and with that he leaned forward again, placing a kiss just on Gabby's jawline, smirking as she pulled away, "Stop it Casey!" Their laughter was greeted with the sound of the group coming back into the room, "And this is where we finish the tour, the common room!" Cruz pointed out the group as they looked around, each in awe at the size of the house. Gabby glanced over to see James standing by the side of the group, smiling as he looked around as well. "How come you didn't tell me he would be here with his class?" Matt spoke quietly to Gabby, not wanting to bring too much attention to them.

Gabby blinked, turning her attention to Matt as she spoke, "Well, that's not actually James' class, he missed out when his class was brought here so they told him he could come with this group and I didn't tell you because I knew how happy you would be to see him, he also wanted to surprise you…" Matt shook his head at her, his smile growing, "Yea that's true, I was surprised to see him, although he looks so happy to be here…Is he staying tonight?" Gabby had thought about having him at the house over night again but now wasn't sure about it with Griffin there. "I dunno, I wanted him to be here but what would Griffin do?" She honestly didn't know what the rules were about having kids in the house over night, she assumed it wasn't a big deal or else Chief wouldn't have let him but she wasn't completely sure. Matt shrugged, "Nah it's ok, as only as they don't come on calls, they are right to stay. Come on, he will be so happy to stay here tonight…"

Gabby knew she was fighting a losing battle, not only would James fight her to stay but she also knew that Matt and Shay and Kelly would fight her, each of them really wanting the kid to hang around. "I'm not going to win this if I say no am I?" A smug childish smile came to Matt's face as he shook his head, telling her that there was no way that she was going to win. Dropping her head Gabby laughed, "Alright fine!" Standing she moved towards James, talking to him for a few minutes before Matt saw James' smile widely, nodding quickly before turning back to the group and following them outside, each of the waving a goodbye to the firemen as they left, the fire fighters waving as well. "See told you he would be happy…" Again the smug smile came to Matt's face and all Gabby could do was slap him gently upside the head as she passed, heading back towards the ambo where she knew Shay was.

Finding Shay sitting on the back of the ambo, Gabby took a seat next to her, smiling as she put her arm around Gabby's shoulder, "How are you doing? Enjoying the drama that comes with 51?" She laughed, watching as I shake my head, "I can't believe how much drama does go on here! It's crazy!" Gabby looked around, glad that they were alone, she continued, "I like it though, I'm glad that I came here." Shay smiled wider, bringing Gabby into a hug, "I'm glad you're here too! Not only because this doesn't make me the only girl in the house but I like having you around, I feel like I have known you forever!" Gabby hugged Shay back, happy that she had found her friendship, glad that she felt the same. "I know how you feel Shay, I really do…"

"So tell me what it was like for Leslie Shay growing up..." It's had come to Gabby's attention that she actually didn't know much about Shay as a kid, she knew a lot about her now, probably more than enough about her but what she was like as a child was a bit of a mystery. Shay laughed and looked over at gabby, smiling as her friend turned towards her with a smile on her face. The girls had gone out for a drive, needing to get out of the house while the boys found more ways to prank their friends, something the girls wanted no part of so they'd left. Shay shrugged as she turned down a street, finding themselves driving over her favourite bridge. "Not much to tell really, grew up with my parents, did ok in school, family was really supportive of me when I told them I was gay, decided to become a paramedic after one saved my life, got placed at a few different houses before coming to 51 about 5 years ago and I've loved it ever since."

Shay glanced over at Gabby, watching as she nodded her head, "Sounds like you had a good time growing up. Where are you parents now?" Gabby was sure that Shay had told her where her parents are but she couldn't remember. "Oh you know what! They would love you! Next time they are down you should meet them." Shay smiled over at gabby and at the thought that of her parents meeting her best friend, "And they are from Washington. Not much happens out there." Gabby nodded again; realizing that she had said a paramedic saved her. "What happened to you?" A confused look came over shays face as she pulled up to the curb, jumping out as she headed towards the juice shop. "You said a paramedic saved you..." Realization came to shays face, she nodded, "Well I had a few friends who liked to do stupid things, we got into a bit of trouble at an abandoned house, I fell through the old stairs and was impaled on a paid r of wood, the saved my life. Got me breathing again, got me to the hospital in time. I owed them everything but it helped me make up my mind what I wanted to do with my life."

Gabby waited patiently for Shay to get her drink, looking out at the slowly changing whether, knowing it wouldn't be long until the nice warm days turned cold and the snow would settle in. As they walked back to the ambo, Gabby sighed, "James told me he wants to be a fire fighter..." Shay's smile fell as the turned to face Gabby, not sure why she found that as a bad thing. "And that's bad because..." She watched gabby shrugged, "I dunno, I mean, his dad was a cop who died on the job and we and I have seen our fair share of injured fire fighters, I just don't know if I can deal with that worry everyday, you know?" Something in the way that Gabby spoke made shay think that there was more to the story than what she was saying. "Does this have anything to do with Casey?"

Gabby groaned, dropping her head, "Yea…I'm just, I don't know why I'm so worried about him, I think that might be the only reason why I haven't told James about us yet, because I'm so scared that if I do, something might happen to Matt and I don't want him to have to go through all that again. I was just so lucky that he was so young when his father died, that he doesn't really remember it." Shay nodded, she understood what it was like to worry about the person that you loved. She worried about Severide all the time, but she knew it was his job but she got why Gabby was worried, she understood that it was his job as well, but she also knew that James would no doubt struggle if he lost the person that had essentially become a father to him.

"Maybe you should talk to Casey about it? I mean, just let him know that you are worried that something might happen and you're worried about how James will cope, how you both will cope." Gabby shot a look to Shay who only laughed gently, "It's not a bad thing to think about yourself Gabs, I mean you and Matt have been beating around the bush with each other for almost the last 6 months and so that mean real feelings have grown for the both of you. It's ok to think about yourself sometimes as well ya know…" Gabby knew Shay was right, she always put off thinking about herself and how she would react or cope in a situation because she always felt that James was most important but having Matt in her life was making her realise that she did need to think about herself and her own feelings as well. Sighing, Gabby dropped her head, "Yeah, you're right, I should talk to him, I just…I don't want to become to needy girlfriend already…."

Gabby looked up confused as Shay laughed, "You said girlfriend…" Rolling her eyes, Gabby leaned over and slapped her arm, "It's not the time for joking! I don't want to freak him out, I think I already did that with the whole Hallie thing…" Gabby could honestly say that she was embarrassed about how she had acted when she had met Hallie, how she had to have Matt comfort her about it, she really didn't want to become that girl. "Hey, trust me, he doesn't see you like that. I have never seem Casey this way, even when he was with Hallie so trust me, its going to take more than a needy girlfriend to push him away." Shay flashed a smile to Gabby, receiving one in return, "Thanks Shay." It was sincere; every look or comment that Gabby gave to Shay was completely sincere. "Hey what are best friends for?" Shay smiled, before heading back towards the house.

"Ah 'Tenant, thought I'd let you know that Griffin is asking the men if they trust you, or if they would follow you no matter what. He is also asking if there has ever been a time that we didn't..." Herman spoke quietly in Matt's ear, watching as the young lieutenant's head shot up quickly, searching the room for Griffin, growling under his breath as he watched him walk in, following behind Otis, "Look I already told you, there is nothing that the lieutenant wouldn't do for his men." Otis seemed flustered, unhappy about being followed, unhappy about being questioned but also unhappy that his answer was not taken the first time. "Look I'm just trying to make sure that you are all safe under Casey's command, that's all." By this stage, each member of the firehouse had made their way into the common room, each of them standing behind their lieutenant, the girls sitting just off to the side, Gabby watching Matt closely.

"Hey Griffin! If you have an issue with the lieutenant, why don't you just tell him to his face?" Herman stood next to Matt with his arms crossed over his chest, both of them standing on the other side of the table watching as Griffin stepped further into the room. They watched as he looked around, deciding which route to take; however he didn't take the best one. "You all think that your lieutenant is so perfect? He isn't the saint you all think he is!" Matt just raised his eyebrow at Griffin, wondering where he was going with his statement. "That's right Casey, I bet now that I'm here and can affect your career, you're regretting assaulting a fellow classmate?" Matt locked his jaw, vaguely aware that Shay and Gabby had stood, moving closer to him. He scoffed though, he was tougher than Griffin gave him credit for, "Regret it? I'm glad I did it. You weren't the first idiot to have a crack about my family but you were the last. I'm glad I laid you out."

Matt took a step closer to Griffin, catching Severide out of the corner his eye, watching as his close friend also too a step forward, Griffin matching his step so they were less than two steps from each other. "You sucker punched me-" Matt dropped his head back in laughter, "You saw it coming" Griffin took another step forward, fronting up to Matt, "The only ones who's saw it coming were your buddies, none of which had the integrity to say what really happened." Matt contemplated speaking back but with a glance to the side he found Gabby standing a little closer to him, the look in her eyes telling him to leave it. "You know what...you and your audits can go and get fucked for all I care Griffin" Matt turned his back towards Griffin, realizing it was probably the first time he had sworn like that around Gabby. Not that he cared, he had heard worse from her but that was the sort of reaction that Griffin brought out of Matt.

"Kiss you're mother with that mouth? Oh that's right, that's only allowed during the conjugal visits…does she even get those?" Matt lunged at Griffin, each of the firemen in the house not realising what was happening, Matt's fist connected with Griffin's cheek, sending him backwards before anyone realised. "Hey! Hey!" Herman and Kelly jumped into hold Matt back, who was still trying to get to Griffin, Griffin being held back by Cruz and Capp, each just making sure they were far enough apart. Gabby jumped from her seat at the side as Matt tried to reach for Griffin again, hoping that she would be able to calm him down, she stood in front of him, her hand on his chest and the other trying to get him to focus on her. "Hey Matt! Hey! Look at me!" She called out to him, noticing that he was staring straight through her until he snapped, his eyes blinking a few times before he realised that it was her standing in front of him, he relaxing in Kelly's grasp.

As quickly as it had started it all began to settle, Griffin had pushed off Capp and Cruz, straightening his jacket, he stepped closer to Matt, "You better watch yourself Casey, wouldn't want something like this come back and bite you on the ass…" Then his eyes flickered down to Gabby, who was still standing by Matt's side, her hand on his chest, Griffin smirked, "…Although if it was your ass it was biting I would be all for that…" The sparks flew again, although this time as Matt reached for Griffin, Griffin had time to protect himself and fight back. Moving forward to meet Matt fist to fist, the movement sent Gabby backwards into the corner of the doorframe, her head and back connecting painfully with it from the force of the grown man pushing her out the way. No one noticed what had happened until Gabby cried out, Griffin landing only one punch to Matt's three as Matt turned around, finding Gabby folding the back of her head and sliding down to the floor, Shay already at her side.

The commotion had brought the Chief into the common room, finding his lieutenant and visitor standing toe to toe, each being held back by other firemen. "What is going on in here!?" He looked around to find Cruz, Herman and Kelly pushing Griffin away from Matt, Matt and Shay crouched by the doorway while Gabby was sitting down, her head in her hands. Griffin spoke loudly, "Casey is crazy! That is what is going on here!" But no one seemed to care, each of them too concerned about Gabby. "I'm ok, I just hit my head…" She rose slowly, one hand being held by Shay and the other being held by Matt who turned to face his Chief, the image of a black eye already forming on his face. Chief glanced between Matt and Griffin, finding Griffin with a bloody lip and a bruised cheek, then back to the fact that Gabby was standing closely to Matt, as far from Griffin as possible. "I want you out of my house…do you understand me? You do not come into my house, start berating my men and then assault my medic. Leave now."

The Chief voice was quiet and strong, the type of voice he got when you knew you listened to what he said or else you would be kicked into next week. Griffin stood still, stupid enough to test him. "Are you going for over look that fact that your lieutenant assaulted me first?" Yeah he was stupid enough to test the Chief, but the Chief knew that this was coming, he spoke again, "You provoked him, as far as I can tell you received nothing less than what you deserved, now if you don't leave I am going to let Casey have another go at you but this time I can guarantee you that you won't be getting up and I won't be stopping it." Chief turned his back to Griffin now, more concerned with Gabby to care about the other man, who just huffed turned on his heals and left the common room, the garage door banging on his way out.

The group turned towards Gabby again, making sure she was ok, finding no blood and just a small lump forming on the back of her head she sighed, "I'm alright, just got a bit of a head ache already…" She glanced up at Matt, hoping to find a comforting look in his eyes but all she got was anger, not towards her but at the situation. After ensuring that Gabby was ok, Matt moved from the group, heading to his office where he had slammed the door.

Sighing deeply Matt took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He was furious, furious at Griffin and how he acted, furious at himself for how he had acted towards Griffin, furious at the fact that Gabby had to see all that and furious at the fact that Gabby was hurt because of him. He never wanted her to be involved in the bullshit that came with his life, honestly he didn't expect it come back to him like it had but after she had gotten hurt, he thought about all the times that she might get hurt and he wouldn't be there to help or it would be because of him that she would be hurt, much like tonight. Dropping onto his chair, Matt looked blankly at the paper that was there, his hands shaking as the sudden feeling of pain rose in his cheek, he realised then that his face was sore, that he no doubt was going to have a bruise.

Another angry outburst came over him and he swept his arm across his desk, sending the papers and pens crashing to the floor, causing a gasp to come from the person standing by his now open door. Looking up he found Gabby standing there, her face taken aback by his actions. "Gabby, I'm sorry, are you alright?" She just smiled slightly, "Yeah I'm alright, wanted to come and see how you were, you left suddenly before…" She moved further into the room, closing the door as she did. Gabby waited a few moments before sitting down on Matt's bed, watching as he dropped his head, sighing, "I know, I'm sorry. He just makes me so angry and when I realised that you were hurt I just…" He looked up suddenly, the anger in his eyes fading slightly when he noticed her sitting on his bed, her back against the pillow and her legs crossed. "Come here…" Gabby patted the bed in front of her, watching as he moved slowly to her, before taking a seat. "I'm alright, I promise…" She leaned over as she spoke, wrapping her arms around his neck; she brought herself to sit against him, feeling him relax against her touch.

"I know, but I never wanted you to get hurt because of me and when I saw you on the floor, I just… it made me so angry." He leaned further into her touch, resting his head against hers, needing to have her close. "I know but it's ok…I'm a tough girl I can look after myself…" She laughed as he smile but his smile faltered as he noticed the small grimace on her face. "Are you sure you're ok?" He reached out and touched the back of her head gently, watching her pull away slightly at his touch, "I'm sorry…" But Gabby reached for his hand, resting hers against his, "No it's alright, just a bit sore, that's all." She leaned in then, placing her lips against his tightly, "See, promise, I'm alright…" She was reassuring him constantly as she knew that he was really upset about what had happened. "Now, come back outside with your men, they want to stand by you." Gabby rose from her seat before leaving the room in search of Shay and some painkillers.

Any love? :D