Gabby looked at her dress in the mirror hardly believing that she was marrying Matt Casey. For so long she had a secret crush and outward friendhip. She whispered a prayer of thank you for being able to marry Matt, her lover and best friend. Then she put on the veil to complete the look and heard a gasp from Leslie Shay come from behind her.
"Whoa you look beautiful. You are gonna knock Caseys socks off on Saturday." Shay offered her opinion of Gabby's appearance and then continued, "One last chance to switch teams right now."
Gabby rolled her eyes and said as she looked at her reflection again, "Leslie Shay if I ever do you will be the first to know. But really do I look ok?"
Leslie snorted, "Hell no you are not just OK but you look gorgeous."
"I guess I am just a little worried about my scars showing and my prosthetic leg showing." Gabby turned and said to Shay while biting her lip since she was still insecure.
"Girl trust me you have nothing to be worried about. You are going to take Casey's breath away."
" You always know what to say to me." Gabby teared up thinking about how much she loved Shay.
"Are you going to wear you hair up or down? Have you decided on that yet?"
"I was thinking off my face with a few ringlets around the sides.", Gabby said as she removed her veil carefully and continued, "I really love this antique lace that Abeula gave to me from Spain. I have always loved it and am thrilled to wear it as my veil."
Shay picked up the veil and fingered the lace as she commented nonchalantly, "So have you and Casey decided what to do for your honeymoon?"
" I suppose we are going to just rent a hotel room some place." Gabby said as she shook her head and sighed."We really don't have the extra money to spend right now even with mom and dad's help with the wedding. And Matt still has not decided about the money or what to do about that. So we are going to just hang out in Chicago."
Shay just nodded her head while smiling inwardly since she, Laura and Cindy Hermann had planned a surprise honeymoon destination for Dawson and Casey. All of 51 and Morningside had passed the boot in order to give them a honeymoon trip. Everyone had been generous and Shay had found good online deals. They were going to surprise them at the wedding reception with the gift.
Gabby then spoke up drawing Leslie out of her thoughts, "I still have not been able to find any wedding shoes that I like. "
Shay looked at her and answered again smiling inwardly. She had helped Casey pick out a pair of slippers that were antique looking but that fit Gabby's prosthetic leg, "Don't worry about it I am sure that you will find something."
"I suppose I just want to look perfect for Matt," Gabby looked down at her prosthetic leg still trying to get used to her disability.
"Girl, you could wear a burlap bag and Casey wouldn't even notice. You two are so in love in is positively nauseating" Shay laughed as she unzipped the dress for Gabby.
"Yeah I feel so lucky after everything that we went through to get this chance to be happy." Gabby answered as she thought about the last few weeks and all of the misery as compared to the bright future that she and Matt were facing.
"Like I told you long ago you two were meant to be, I am just glad you two finally figured it out. Before you know it you will be procreating like rabbits. I just better be the god mama so that I can babysit." Shay looked at Gabby with a broad smile on her face.
"Of course you will be Aunty Lele and you have first dibs on babysitting. You will always be there ALWAYS."
Twenty minutes later Shay dropped Gabby off at her apartment. Gabby went upstairs and found a note taped to the door. "Come in and go to the couch, put the blindfold on and sit down."
Gabby unlocked the door and found a silken scarf sitting in the middle of the couch. She called out, "Matt, what is this?"
From the bedroom Gabby heard a call from Matt as he chuckled anxiously, "Put on the scarf and quit making me wait.'
Gabby answered back as soon as she had the scarf tied around her eyes, "Ok ready"
Matt stepped out of the bedroom with two boxes and put them in Gabby's lap. "OK you can open your eyes."
As soon as she spotted the packages, Gabby lit up like a kid, and then opened the packages. The first package was dainty flat slippers that were ivory in color. The slippers looked like something out of a fairy tale. Matt grinned as he saw Gabby's eyes light up and heard her sharp intake of breath.
"They are perfect. But what if they don't fit my prosthetic? " Gabby looked up at Matt not wanting to hurt his feelings.
"I already thought of that and I tried them on before I gave them to you." Matt grinned and then added. "Look at the other package, open it up.
Gabby opened it up and found a small certificate that said that Matt had completed two dance classes. She burst out laughing as she flew into Matt's arms remembering the salsa lessons that she and Matt had taken with Shay and Severide. Breaking a little from the hug Matt whispered as he put his forehead against Gabby's forehead," I wanted our first dance together as husband and wife to be perfect. I couldn't be stopping on your toes so I took a few lessons while you were in your physical therapy classes."
"Aren't the sneaky one, you know you are going to spoil me." Gabby looked at Matt smiling at the surprise.
"Well I had a little help from Shay to pick out the slippers. I intend to do a whole lot more spoiling you for the next 50 years."
"You had better watch talking like that. A girl could get used to being spoiled. Hmmm, what can I do to spoil you"
Matt murmured into her ear, "I can think of list of a few things that you could do to return the favor. All of them include us, a few hours and no money."
Gabby then pulled Matt in for a kiss, "I am so happy and lucky. I can't wait for our wedding day and to become Mrs Gabriella Casey. I can't wait for our first dance."
Matt nodded as he pulled Gabby onto his lap as he said with a low growl."I am looking forward to the wedding day but I am looking even more to the wedding night." Gabby had decided to make Matt wait until the wedding to make love again. It had been a few weeks with no contact and Matt was frustrated but willing to wait for their wedding night.
"Only a few more days Mr Casey. It will be well worth the wait. I promise" Gabby laughed wickedly as she nibbled on Matt's ear sending shivers down his spine.
"Yeah, It is a good thing because I don't want to wait any longer." Matt removed Gabby from his lap and placed her on the floor in front of him as he felt himself getting excited. He laughed out loud as he heard Gabby's peels of laughter resonate throughout the apartment. Gabby and he just looked at each other and laughed with the joy of the moment and the next few days. They were headed into the future one step at a time sure that they could weather any storm. They were grateful for this chance at a life together..