A\N 2: This one-shot involves lots of characters from the OneChicago universe. I hope you like it and find them in-character. Virtual brownie or cupcakes for anyone who can pick up on the Law & Order references.

Labour Day Weekend

"Surprise!" Multiple people shouted out as Gabby and Matt entered the house. After being in the hospital for three weeks Matt was finally coming home. He

"Daddy!" Ella ran up to him, "We maded you a sign and a party!" She pointed around to the room and to the sign. "I misseded you!"

Matt lifted Ella up into his arms and kissed the side of her head. He missed bring home and being with his family. Seeing them only when they came to visit wasn't enough. Placing her back down on the ground he looked around and smiled. His children (except for Ellie) along with Diego and is girlfriend her son where all their. He'd figured Gabby woukd have set something up.

"I missed you too Daddy!" Jacob ran up to him, "Can you play with me later? Do you have to go back to work next week?" He didn't want his father to go back to work. It was way to dangerous. Maybe if he had a different job he wouldn't have nightmares every night.

"Yeah sorry bud," Matt ruffled his son's hair and knelt down, "Come here Lucas," He held out his arms to his would be grandnephew.

"Un Ad!" Lucas ran into his arms and grinned as Matt lifted him up.

"I think he was trying to say Uncle Matt," Megan unscrambled the toddlers words, "I'm not sure he-"

"No, its alright," Matt assured her, "He can call me Uncle Matt. That's what Diego calls me. You want to be just like Diego?" Taking the toddler into his arms Matt carried him further into the room and handed him off to Diego who took the boy into his arms happily.

"I want to tell you and Aunt Gabby something," Diego lowered his voice, "Can we go into the kitchen? I'll get Lucas's Sippy cup from the fridge."

"Sure," Matt nodded, "I'm pretty sure we have something he can eat. Although I'm not sure what Gabby has planned," He admitted as he walked with his nephew into the kitchen.

"Go and rest!" Gabby ordered as she saw Matt, "This is your party and you shouldn't be in here!"

"I just wanted to see if you needed any help!" Matt raised his arms in defense, "And I'm fine! Doctor's cleared me. Just another weeks of rest and then I'm back at work." He looked around and saw the piles of food everywhere. He figured that it wasn't all for the party, as they had a picnic the following day. Gabby, being Dominican liked to cook for special occasions, and she was excellent at it. Although Matt knew sometimes it became more of a chore then something she actually liked to do.

"No I don't! Now sit!" Gabby frowned at him. "You can stay in here if you want but stay sitting."

Knowing Gabby wasn't about to back down Matt did as he was told and sat at the kitchen able.

"Mama," Lucas clapped his hands as he saw Megan fill up is water bottle.

"Come here sweetheart," Megan took her son from Diego, "Mommy got you some melon and water. Lets go and see what the other kids are up to." She began to carry him out of the room, "You say thank you to Aunt Gabby and Uncle Matt for the melon."

"Ank ou," Lucas repeated removing the water bottle from his mouth.

"You're welcome Lucas," Gabby smiled at the young toddler. A part of her mussed when her own children were that little.

Waiting until he was sure Megan was out of earshot Diego tuned to his aunt and uncle. A few years ago Gabby told him he could just call them 'Gabby' and 'Matt' as he was an adult. However he didn't want to do that, somehow it didn't feel right.

"Megan and I are going on a two week vacation to Spain in February and I'm going to propose to her." He whispered, "Only Mom and Dad and Eva know so don't say anything. I also want to see about adopting Lucas."

"That's great Diego!" Gabby hugged her nephew. She couldn't be happier for him. "Anna and Peter Stone are going to be at the picnic tomorrow. If you can catch either for them for a minute alone I'm sure they'd be able to at least start you off on the right path."

"Thanks," Diego nodded in appreciation, "But I think Lucas is going to keep me pretty busy tomorrow. Megan is working at Med. I know some of her colleagues will be there but I don't want to ask them to help watch him."

"They will. You know ever year all the adults help watch out for all of the kids."

"Yeah I know, but Lucas isn't my son. I don't want anyone to think I don't want to look after him." Diego was afraid if he didn't look after Lucas well enough at the picnic, it wouldn't look good. He wasn't all that familiar with some of the doctor's and nurses who'd be attending. '

"He basically is," Matt told him honestly, "And next year he actually could be. Everyone will see how wonderful you are with him."

Looking up briefly from where she was helping put out the food, Gabby checked to see where her children were. She knew Andy, dispite her and Matt's advice was playing basketball. He'd only gotten his cast off a few days ago and needed to limit his physical activity. Nothing could stop him from playing sports though once his cast was off. He alas needed to be doing something so he and some of the older boy went to play basketball.

In the field directly across from her she could spot Jacob and Ella with the many people playing baseball. Over the years baseball had become the game of choice over football. Although she could never pinpoint actually how the switch started; it had to do something with the fact that Peter Stone was an ex professional baseball player, and avid fan.

Looking for Ellie she found her talking to her sometimes friend Isabelle. She and Isabelle were both strong-minded. When they were younger they sued to be quite close but over the past few years the two had drifted further apart. Now, Gabby guessed that Isabelle was jealous of Ellie because of her role in the play. Ellie on the other hand was jealous that Isabelle just got back from a month in Manhattan visiting her Grandfather.

Finishing up setting out the paper plates and cutlery she sat down at the picnic table and thought back to seventeen years ago when the picnic was just starting out. Back then it was only Firehouse fifty-one. Then Gabby invited Antonio, who worked at District twenty-one and it spiralled out from there. Now the annual picnic included firefighter and paramedics from fifty-one, police officers from the twenty-first, doctors and nurses from Chicago Med and Lawyers from the States Attorney's Office.

"You bitch!" Gabby was up in a flash as she heard her daughter frown at Isabelle who had a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well its true. You can't go to Avery's party." Isabelle pointed out, "So I was just telling the truth."

"What's going on here?" Gabby asked the pre-teens. She looked around for Isabelle's mother but figured she was playing in the baseball game.

"Nothing," Ellie lied. She could handle this. She was already planning on putting something nasty up on her profile. Before she could finish her tablet was slipped out of her hands by her mother.

Quickly reading over what was on the social media site Gabby could see why Ellie was upset. In response to their mutual friend's party invitation Isabelle had commented that Elle wouldn't be able to go because she was to busy being an actress. Gabby knew how much Ellie struggled with not getting to see her friends at all and wanted to do something about this post.'

"You can't read that you know. It's an invasion of Ellie and mine's expectation of privacy. Plus I have freedom of speech so I can say whatever I want."

Gabby was shocked but not surprised at what she was hearing. The girls' parents of course were both brilliant State's Attorney's who'd obviously taught their kids the law. That was great and Gabby's kids knew it too but she didn't appreciate the level of disrespect intended by the ten year olds words. She knew Ellie could be a handful and probably worse but she was trying to get her attitude under control. She could only hope Isabelle's parents were as well.

"Mom its fine," Ellie said again, even though they both knew it wasn't. Kids had to grow up fast now what with all of the social media and movies and TV online at their disposal. Gabby wanted to trust her daughter but knew she was till to young to handle something like this.

"I want that post deleted Isabelle, or I explain to your parents what you said to me."

Isabelle opened her mouth to respond when her father came walking up carrying her four-year-old younger sister Elena.

"Everything alright here?" He inquired looking at Gabby for an answer.

"I was just talking to the girls no big-

"She said I have to take down a post!" Isabelle interrupted, "Dad, tell her that's agansit my constitutional rights."

Peter took a deep breath and sighed. Before their marriage Anna had planned a surprise trip to New York where she had planned for him to see his father. He hadn't seen him in years. His parents getting divorced when he was two. After an incident at the Manhattan District Attorney's office where he worked, his father, Ben Stone quit and left for Europe. After that Peter only saw him on very few occasions. However Peter had to admit one his father did move back to New York he was much more supportive of his baseball aspirations then his mother was. It was his father who; taken him to his first Yankee's game and his father who'd place baseball with him whenever they spent time together. Now, although things still weren't perfect they were much closer. So when his father invited the family to New York for a few weeks Peter agreed.

"What did the post say?" Peter didn't know Gabby that well but figured it most have ben something pretty offensive for here to even suggest that.

"All I said was that Ellie wasn't going to be able to go to Avery's party. She has that stupid musical or whatever."

"Unless you're a mind reader I don't think you know what Ellie is thinking, So you don't have any right to post what you did, Take it down now or your internet privileges will be cut back."

"Yes," Isabelle nodded her head. She deleted her post. Even though he still believed she shouldn't have had to she wasn't about to argue with her father.

"Dad! Dad!" Eight-year-old Nicolas ran up to Peter, "You missed it! I hit a home run and no one could get it! Mom said I'm better they you are."

"It was so cool!" Jacob agreed as he followed his friend, "He hit the ball so hard and Jay was pitching it really hard."

"Alright son," Peter rubbed his son's head, "Now we jut need to work on your pitching, although with that swing maybe you shouldn't be a pitcher." He knew that pitching was a speciality and often pitchers weren't the best hitters.

"I like 3rd Base," Nicholas told his father, 'That's what coach has had be on all summer. I like pitching too but I love third base.

Peter was about to respond when the other six eight-year-old boys all came running up. "Dad and Uncle Will sent us to get you," Liam Halstead offered up an explanation, "And its Mom's turn up at bat and I want to see here beat Dad! Come on!" Nicolas and Jacob ran off with their friends ahead of Peter.

Sixteen year old Owen Halstead watched in amazement as, Andy, ye again got in slam dunk, "Are you sure you don't play on a team?" He asked for the third time as he threw the ball back to the younger boy.

Although he didn't remember when he was two years old Owen's father adopted him and his last name was changed. When he was eight his mother sat him down and told him about his birth father Jeff who died overseas. Although he was devastated at first to learn his father wasn't actually his 'father' he came to terms with it. His mother and grandmother helped him to come to see that Will wasn't and could never take the place of his birth father. His mother Natalie loved both men differently and Will had never treated Owen any differently then his younger siblings.

"No," Andy shook his head, "I only play in gym class, I've always been good but I'm good at every sport," He admitted, "Why? I'm I really good?" He looked up and wondered. He looked up to and respected Owen who was going into grade eleven.

"Yeah man you are," Owen told him, "You should join a team this fall. Do hockey too if you want but you have a real talent for basketball."

"Although you many have a disadvantage. My Dad was on a rep baseball team when he was eleven. I'm sure it's the same for basketball," fourteen year old Ben Stone told his friend," But you do have real talent. You should for sure try-out for varsity basketball when you get to high school. I'm going to try-out for varsity baseball."

"You'll be on that team for sure," Andy, informed his friend, "You're on the best travel baseball team in the State."

"My Dad wants me to rest my pitching arm for the playoffs," Ben sighed, "I want to be playing though. Basketball isn't as much fun. Plus I'm pretty sure my Dad wouldn't want me to be playing this sport either."

"The food is all ready boys!" Anna came to tell her son and his friends.

"Great! The boys all ran off dropping the basketball, Chuckling Anna followed them.

Walking into the living room it took Gabby a while to adjust to the quiet. All five of the kids were now at school and so the large house seemed rather empty. She'd already managed to do some laundry and clean the kitchen after the morning hurricane of breakfast. She went over to the couch and sat down beside Matt who was watching the news, "Hey Babe. You need anything?"

Matt turned to face his wife and kissed her on the lips. "Only you," He replied honestly. One of the things he'd missed about being in the hospital was sleeping with his wife. Although with four kids they weren't able to be as intimate with each other as often as they liked.

Gabby moaned as he licked her lips begging for entrance. She granted it, and soon their tongues were battling for control. "Matt…" She struggled to regain composure, "Are you sure this is okay? Did the doctors; clean you for-"

"Yes," Matt nodded his head, "And we have the entire house to ourselves until four when Andy, Jacob and Ella come home. "We could have a shower or go upstairs or even close the blinds in here," He told her.

"A shower sounds like a good idea, I've been cleaning all morning," She leaned in close to Matt and whispered something in his ear that caused him to jump up, She grinned at the effect she had on him and followed.

THE END