Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names.
a/n: Ok so I'll keep this SHORT. Thank you to everyone who is supporting this story, it means the world to me. Since last chapter was a little bit short, I'll try making this one a little bit longer, hope you enjoy it.
Matt stopped by his house to change before heading out to his sister's place. She would know right away that he was still in last night's clothes and that something had happened with Gabby and he wasn't ready to share it with anybody just yet. As soon as he parked, he walked up the stairs to her house and knocked before letting himself in like he always did. As soon as the door clicked in its place, he was attacked by two little monsters and a pre-teen.
"Uncle Matt." Violet hugged him.
"Hey Violet." He chuckled, he was rooted in his spot because Violet had her arms wrapped around his waist and the twins around one leg each.
"Daddy, can we go to the parc with Violet and aunt Christie after lunch?" Emma begged.
"Hi daddy, how are you?" He asked her first before answering. Matt had missed his girls last night even though he had a great evening with Gabby. The girls giggled at his question and Grace spoke first.
"Hi daddy, how are you? Can we go to the park with Violet and aunt Christie after lunch?" She grinned up at him, making him chuckle.
"Sure, why not." All three girls let go of him so he could walk farther inside the house.
"Took you long enough to come in." Christie teased him.
"I was under attack when I walked in. Thanks again for last night Chris." He kissed her cheek and she smiled at him. She was standing at her kitchen counter, preparing lunch.
"Not a problem, I like having them here." The truth was, every since her divorce with Jim had gone through and all the drama that had surrounded that, she was happy to have her nieces around more. "We good for the park after lunch?"
"Absolutely, I have nothing planned for the day and I miss you guys." He rested him arms against the counter and stole some cold cut meat from the package Christie was using, earning him a slap on the hand.
"Hands off if you want to eat Matt." They both laughed, it was so like Christie to do that.
"Need some help with anything?"
"We're good." Matt turned around and the table was already set. "So how was dinner last night?"
"It was fun."
"And you're not going to give me any kind of spoilers?"
"We went to that Italian restaurant at the pier and we had some ice cream, nothing fancy or anything."
"Nice. Come on, let's eat so we can bring these little monsters to the park." She took the sandwiches to the table and the kids came running and sat down to eat quietly, not wanting to waste any time before going to the park. Once everything was picked up and put away, the girls put their shoes on with Violet's help and they walked the short distance to the park that was close to Christie's house.
They both sat next to each other, a comfortable silence settling between them as they watched the kids play. Matt's mind kept going back to last night and this morning. Gabby's hands on his chest this morning had brought a new onset of feelings for her, something he wasn't sure was ok since she had just confessed what happen to her in the last months. They had stayed tangled together while they talked, a sign she had been comfortable with him too but he didn't know what to make of that. Was she clinging to someone to prevent from despair? No. She looked more at peace this morning now that everything was out of the open. And she had kissed him back. Her lips were soft and round and kissing them had been perfect.
"Matt? Matt?" Christie called him twice, he hadn't heard her the first time.
"Huh, yeah?" He looked at her.
"Where were you just now?"
"With Gabby." He looked down at the ground sheepishly.
"What happened last night Matt?"
"I stayed the night at her place." He put his head in his hands.
"You did WHAT? Are you out of your mind Matt? What about her husband?"
"Look Chris, I'm not ready to share anything with you but we talked last night and it's ok. We're not transgressing anything and there's no cheating. I asked her out on a date this morning while we had breakfast." He looked into his sister's eyes and smiled at her.
"Ok, I believe you. I just don't want you to have a broken heart, you deserve to be happy." She pulled him in for a hug.
"I am happy." He wrapped her arms around her waist and they stayed like that until Emma came running.
"Daddy, daddy, come quickly." Matt heard the panic in his little girl's voice.
"What's wrong Emma?"
"Grace fell off the monkey bars." She pointed in her sister's direction and both Matt and Christie got off the bench quickly to go tend to her.
"Grace, sweetie, where does it hurt." Matt asked her.
"I think I'm ok daddy." She sat up slowly but didn't seem in any kind of pain.
"Are you sure you're not hurting anywhere?" He looked her over, wanting to make sure.
"Yes daddy." She got up with his help and moved her hands and feet at her father's request.
"You'd tell me if it hurt anywhere right Gracie?" Emma was wrapped in Christie's arms, a worried look on her face.
"I promise daddy I'm ok."
"Ok I believe you but you tell me right away if something starts to hurt?"
She nodded affirmatively, Emma getting out of Christie's arms and hugging her twin. "I'm glad you're ok."
"Alright, that's enough parc for today. Let's go home." No one argued over it, the twins would be good for a little rest after this. Matt took Grace in his arms just in case and they walked back to Christie's to grab their things before heading home. Once there, Matt put them to bed and watched them ever so often as they slept, just to be safe on the concussion front.
After Matt left her place, Gabby picked the dirty dishes up and put everything away because she didn't want Antonio badgering her with questions if he found out Matt had spent the night. She was washing the dishes, her mind going back to the feeling Matt's lips on hers had this morning. The kiss hadn't lastest long but it had been perfect. His lips were soft and it wasn't a heated kiss, just someone telling the other that they cared about them. The only problem was the feeling it had left inside of her. Heat was radiating through her body as his lips pressed to hers and with his hand gently sitting on her waist, it made her feel like a teenager with a crush but this wasn't a crush. Matt hadn't pressured her into anything and when he asked her on a real date at breakfast, it felt right. She was quickly brought back to reality with the front door opening and closing and what felt like a stampede running through the place.
"I come bearing food." Antonio called out.
"Perfect timing, I'm hungry." She smiled at them as she picked up her daughter in her arms and the boys hugged her waist. The kids helped to set the table and the Dawson's sat down for some lunch together.
"So how was your date last night?" He asked once the kids had gone in the living room to play.
"It went great, thanks." She smiled at him. She wasn't about to spill what happened.
"That's all you're going to give me?"
"Uh yeah. I don't need you looking through his past for anything that would make you go all Antonio Dawson on him." He simply ran a hand on his neck and looked at her with a guilty look. "Oh come on Tonio, are you kidding me?"
"I'm just looking out for my little sister. I don't want you getting hurt again."
"And are you satisfied with what you found?" She knew he would do that but she was less than impressed with her brother.
"Mostly yes." Antonio had found out something that had happened with Matt fifteen years ago but he didn't want to be the one to tell her.
"Mostly yes? What does that even mean?"
"It means that Matt is a stand up guy but something happened a long time ago and I'm not the one who should be telling you this." Gabby felt a little bit exasperated with her brother at this point.
"I told him the truth last night Antonio."
"Are you ok?" His first concern was for his sister.
"It felt good actually. It felt like a weight has been taken off in my heart."
"I'm happy for you Gabby, you know that. I just want you to be happy again." He took her hand in his and kissed it.
"For the first time in the last few months, I feel better, I feel more like myself again."
"I'm glad to hear that sis, you have no idea." Both sibblings spent the rest of the afternoon together having fun with her kids, another sign that things were starting to get back to normal for Gabby
The girls woke up from their naps and played in the living room while Matt fixed dinner. Grace was a little more sluggish but he just put it on the fact that she had just woken up and that she had taken that spill at the parc but when dinner time came, he became increasingly worried. Both girls had good appetites but Grace was playing around with her food more than she was eating it.
"Are you ok Grace?"
"I feel tired daddy." Matt instinctively put his hand on her forehead, feeling it warmer than he would like. He got up and went to retrieve the medication box and took her temperature, she wasn't doing any but it was borderline. He gave her a dose of medicine and they finished dinner before Matt put them in the tub to wash them, hoping it would help Grace too. He washed their hair and then they washed their bodies before getting out and putting on some pyjama's and louging on the couch with some ice cream and a movie. Grace didn't feel better so he took her temperature again and gave her en extra dose of medicine before he tucked them in bed. Once he knew they were sleeping, he leaned against the doorframe to their room and just watched them sleep for a little while.
He hated seeing his daughters sick in any way because it broke his heart. Grace's fever had been a bit higher than the first time he had taken it and he hoped that the children's ibuprofen would do it's job during the night. Once he was satisfied with the girls sleeping for, he went back to the living room with his coffee and turned on the tv to sports news. The house was mostly quiet for the next couple of hours except for the sound of the television, Matt listening for any strange sounds coming from the girl's room on the higher level but it remained quiet. Matt was falling asleep on the couch when he heard it.
"Daddy, Daddy." It was Emma. Matt put raised to his feet in a matter of seconds and ran up the stairs.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?"
"It's Grace." She didn't need to say more. He looked towards Grace's bed and she was leaning against the side of her bed, emptying the contents of her stomach on the floor. He went quickly to the bathroom to get a wet wash cloth before he returned to his girls, helping her wipe her mouth and touching her forehead, it was extra moist. The girls were rarely sick but they never were that much. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number he had to use only once in his life and it was a long time ago.
"I need an ambulance at 1216 Anderson street."
Runs and hides. Yikes! Let's hope Grace is ok.
Matt and Gabby can't seem to stop thinking about each other and although they feel good about it and share a little bit with their siblings, they don't want to jump into it too quickly.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review before leaving :) - Sarra