Dream Come True - Sequel to Shattered Dreams
It had been two years since their dream had changed, since Matt's dream had shattered, when the fateful day came and Matt learned that he was infertile. The days after passed by in a blur of anger and sadness whilst Kelly consoled him, held him when he cried and when he was so angry he looked like he could destroy anything with his bare hands despite how hard he fought against his hold until he had no energy left. There were days when he resented Kelly and was bitter towards him in the immediate aftermath of that fateful day, and he tried but failed to push him away for a few months after that day the doctor told him that he would never father a child, never be a child's biological father.
Somehow though they had found their way through it all, and today was the day that they would welcome their first child into the world because as Kelly had assured him throughout the entire process from selecting their surrogate, Amelia, to the implantation and every day since that Matt was just as much the child's father as he was, biological or not. Matt shared with Kelly every moment, every single magical moment, of the pregnancy as they heard their baby's heartbeat for the first time and saw the small child that was theirs, to learning that they were having a beautiful baby boy, a son, and feeling the beautiful movements of their son as he moved around inside of his surrogate who did her upmost to include them in every way. Matt and Kelly had spent hours handcrafting the nursery into the perfect room for their son complete with plenty of fire trucks, ambulances, and boats as the unofficial theme in the months since learning his gender; and Matt had bought his drawings, his creations, to life with every single piece of furniture from the crib to the rocking chair lovingly built by him in between shifts and construction jobs.
Kelly looked at Matt as they both prepared to go into the operating theatre as Amelia was being prepared for a caesarean section knowing that in a very short time their son would be born, and silently he was grateful that the maternity team at Chicago Med was allowing both of them into the operating theatre for the birth of their son. They knew they wouldn't be able to hold him until they were out of the operating theatre and in a private room by the nursery as it was a small request by Amelia that she did not want to see the baby, it wasn't her first time being a surrogate, and it was the only condition she had which they honoured since she was giving them the greatest gift that anyone could ever have. "Ready?" Kelly asked excitedly, he wasn't the least bit nervous as he looked over at Matt who did look nervous. "Our son is going to be born today. I'm more than ready to meet him." Matt smiled widely as he slipped his hand into Kelly's taking the opportunity to kiss him one last time before they became a family of three just as the nurse arrived to take them in.
Kelly and Matt stood by Amelia's side, both holding her hand in theirs as they watched their beautiful baby boy be born into the world at exactly 1PM on May 13th and heard him cry loudly for the first time to their relief before he was whisked away by a medical team that were standing by for him. Matt leaned down to Amelia, as much as he wanted to meet their son there was something he had to do first. "Amelia, thank you so much for bringing our beautiful baby boy into the world, for completing our family." Matt told her so grateful and barely holding himself together as the emotions rose inside of him before he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead then stepped back seeing Kelly had tears in his eyes just like he did. Kelly couldn't even begin to form the words that he wanted to say to Amelia but he knew there was something he had to say to her now. "I know this is hard for you Amelia but I want to thank you for growing our son inside of you, for making sure he was as healthy as he could be, and I want you to know that Matt and I will always cherish and protect him with everything we have. Our son will always know how he was bought into this world." Kelly followed Matt's lead and pressed a kiss to her forehead as well before he looked at Matt smiling. "Matt, Kelly, you are going to be amazing fathers. Now go meet your son." Amelia was choked up as she sent them away completely overwhelmed by the heartfelt words. With one last look at her they let the nurse guide them out of the operating theatre.
In the private room, they waited for their son to be bought in and as they waited they held each other tightly overjoyed. "It's time to meet your precious baby boy, he's 7 pounds 4 ounces and he's 18.5 inches long." Emma, one of the maternity floor nurses told them as she walked in holding the tiny human in her arms who was cleaned up and swaddled in a hospital blanket. "Skin to skin contact is best for bonding so who is first." Emma asked seeing both men were overwhelmed as they stared at the little boy who was wide awake in her arms.
"Matt, you hold him first." Kelly pushed Matt towards the rocking chair wanting him to be the first to hold their son. Kelly wanted Matt to be the first to hold their son because it was important that Matt felt as connected to their son as he did. Kelly in the days and months after learning that Matt was infertile had felt as his own heart shattered repeatedly for the man he loved, and when they decided to go through with their plans, their amended plans, he knew none of it had been easy on Matt who was gracious even though he knew there were still times when those shattered pieces that were unrepairable still had threatened to crack even more and that was why it was so important for Matt to be the first to hold and bond with their child.
"Okay, yeah, okay." Matt stripped his shirt off unable to keep his eyes off of their son who was perfect in his bias opinion to stunned to say anything else as he sat down in the rocking chair. Emma smiled and stepped forward carefully laying their son in his arms as Kelly sat down on the stool beside the rocking chair watching the joy that was the beautiful sight of the man he loved and their son for the first time. Kelly reached his hand out and let their son wrap his tiny hand around his large finger just as Wesley had done years ago. "He's absolutely perfect." Matt murmured as he looked over at Kelly with glassy eyes.
"Do you have a name for him yet?" Emma asked after having taken the camera that they had bought with them and had kindly snapped a few photos for them not that they had noticed as they were too enthralled with their new baby.
"Andrew Shay Casey-Severide." Matt answered thinking the name suited him as he noticed that he already had some of Kelly's distinctive features like his cheekbones. It felt only right to name their first son after two people that they loved more than anything else and it meant that Andy and Shay's memory lived on in their son.
"It's beautiful. I'll be right outside if you need anything." Emma excused herself wanting to give them time alone to bond with their new baby.
Kelly was sure he had not seen a more beautiful and wholesome sight than the sight of Matt holding Andrew with the most loving expression on his face. Kelly raised his other hand to the nape of Matt's neck letting his fingers glide softly over the soft skin. "I love you Matthew Casey, and I love our son." Kelly spoke softly making Matt turn his face towards him. "I love you too Kelly Severide, and I love Andrew… Thank you for giving me this gift Kelly, thank you for creating our son." Matt replied and his words had Kelly's throat restricting as he was overcome with emotion at the sincerity and emotion in his voice. "You need to hold him for the first time." Matt was not ready to let go of their son but he doubt he ever would be but he wanted Kelly to experience what he was and that was holding their son for the first time. Matt manoeuvred Andrew out of his arms and into Kelly's once he had his shirt off watching as Kelly naturally held their son against their chest and kissed his soft head. Kelly was already overwhelmed at the love he felt from the first moment they had seen the grainy ultrasound image of their son but to have their son in his arms and against his chest for the first time was a hundred times more powerful as the love he felt exploded within him but it wasn't just for their son but it was for Matt as well. They were the proud fathers to a gorgeous son who meant more than they would ever be able to explain especially when it felt like it would never happen.
"He's a dream come true Kel." Matt whispered adoringly as he curled into Kelly's side as Kelly wrapped his arm around him all while holding their son securely. Kelly didn't need to answer as he turned and captured Matt's lips with his before they settled back down to watch their son knowing that they would spend the rest of their lives living for him and doing everything they could to make sure that he felt safe and loved because that was what every child deserved, and to Matt their son was a rainbow baby who put the pieces that had been broken back together in the most beautiful way.