This story details the 6 week timejump between episode 2x10 and 2x11 and Dawsey's early, blossoming relationship during these weeks.
Day 1 | 00:05
The clock had only just passed midnight as she had finally managed to get off the floor in the quiet corner she had found. The quiet corner where she had broken down, sunk down onto the floor and bawled her eyes out for what seemed like eternity.
The lights in the hallway had turned off, nobody seeing or noticing her and nobody coming to interrupt her as she wasn't sure what to do and how to move on from here.
There was nothing she could do for Matt.
As she had looked inside the operating room about an hour ago, she knew that there was a chance that it was the last time she'd see him alive. It was something she didn't want to think about, but she couldn't help but think about it. Only 24 hours ago, they had spent the night together, only interrupting the time in each other's arm to go to work.
She couldn't return to the waiting room, face the people she cared about. That he cared so much about and that equally cared as much about him. She knew the worries she felt for where the same as she felt, but instead she knew that she would broke down once again once she would see them.
She couldn't tell them about the last two weeks where they had spent most of their time away from the firehouse in each other's arms. How every morning, he'd gently put her hair behind her ear, softly whispering as he greeted her into another day. How in those moments, neither of them wanted to move, instead only look into each other's eyes as the clock slowly passed the hours. It didn't matter to them in those moments as it felt they were the only two people in the universe in those moments.
She couldn't go to anyone who would tell her that Matt was going to be okay, as nobody knew if he was going to be okay.
She couldn't tell them that the hopes they had talked about for the future, as much as their time together has been so short, were already falling apart.
She couldn't tell them how much she loved him.
Taking a deep breath, she finally got up from the floor. She knew she couldn't remain here as it wasn't going to help Matt either.
Shaking her head, closing her eyes for a second, she didn't want to think back about those minutes in the back of the ambulance. She didn't want to think about him seizing up in her arms. For a second, it felt like she was holding his wrist again and she tried to shake the thought, still worried she or Kelly may have hurt him while he was seizing.
Instead, she tried to think of this morning they had spent together before going to the firehouse. His blue eyes looking at her as he was looking right at her. How his large hand caressed the side of her face, carefully moving her hair behind her ear as he did every morning. His kiss on her forehead, wanting to kiss her on the lips and how she had teasingly pushing him off her, joking about his morning breath.
That hadn't lasted long, as barely a few seconds later they had been making out, only having to worry about being in time for work if they carried on much longer.
Walking into the bathroom out of the dark cold hallway, she tried to dry her tears. Her eyes were red and puffy and she knew that if she made her way to her firehouse family, she'd have to explain. They were all worried about Matt, scared what was going to happen but she couldn't hide the sadness and worries she felt now that the person she had fallen so in love with was so severely hurt.
His blood was still on the cuffs of her jacket, her hands.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to scrub it off, every fear in her mind that he wasn't going to pull through rising to the surface again. Frustrated, she grabbed another paper towel, putting water and soap on it and she tried wiping his blood of her jacket once again.
Leaning against the sink, she tried to compose herself again. Her hand hurt and she wasn't sure if it was from trying to wash the blood off or from holding his wrist during the seizure in the ambulance.
Taking a deep breath, she dried her tears once again. Finally she felt ready to face the firehouse again.
For a second she thought of telling them about their secret, short relationship. For a second she thought of telling them, hoping for some comfort.
But she knew it was his wish not to tell anybody yet, and she wanted to respect that, not matter what would happen.
Christopher was pacing in the hallway near the waiting room, seemingly still trying to reach Matt's family.
''Have you managed to reach Christie yet?'' she asked Herrmann as she walked closer, her hands in her pockets as she tried not to let on how worried she was about Matt.
Herrmann shook his head, looking at the ground.
''Keeps going to voicemail,'' Christopher told her as she walked with him back to the waiting room.
Numb, she sat down next to Shay as they waited for any more news. It seemed like another eternity before they were finally given an update again as he had finally come out of surgery.
She had listened as they explained about the bleeding in his head, how they had managed to repaid his skull but all she had heard for a while was how scary the next 24 hours were going to be. She knew all of it from her medical training, but it didn't make hearing it any easier.
She was only awoken from the deep trance she seemed to be in as Shay let go of her hand as they stood up.
''Let me stay here, I will try and reach Christie again. I will stay here incase his family arrives,'' Gabby said, putting on a brave smile. The rest of the group left soon, making her promise to update them if anything changed.
Looking as they left, Gabby sat down, not sure what was going to happen now. Walking to the desk she smiled friendly at the woman she knew from bringing in patients with the ambulance and doing the paperwork at her desk.
''I am staying here for Matthew Casey, we haven't reached his family yet. Can you let me know if anything changes?''
''Of course,'' the nurse, she knew from bringing patients in, smiled.
It was almost noon when she was finally called again. She woke up, curled up in one of the seats in the waiting room.
''Hey, you are still here,''
''How is he?''
''…it's gonna be touch and go for a while, Gabby,'' the nurse sighed, clearly not wanting to give false hope. Gabby just nodded, trying to stay positive as it was good news Matt had made it through the surgery.
''He – can I see him?''
''We just moved him to the ICU, the next 24 hours are going to be scary, but we have good fate he will recover – you been able to reach his family to be with him?''
Gabby shook her head,
''I uhm – we have been dating for a while, I just – work you know,'' she stammered as she spoke about their relationship for the first time.
''Oh – Gabriela,''
''Can I see him, please?'' she said as she tried to remain strong, wanting to see him above anything else.
''Yeah, you can see him,'' the nurse said. As she knew Gabriela and Matt well from their work, she didn't question it, not even wanting to imagine what Gabriela was going through as she couldn't even tell what was going on between them to the rest of the firehouse.
''He pulled through surgery well, we managed to stop the bleeding in his brain. There is a large crack in his skull, but there are no lose pieces so we didn't need to reconstruct but, but we will have to see how he wakes up,'' the nurse explained as she walked with Gabby.
''When will you know?'' she asked concerned. Not only was she worried about what it would mean for them, she worried since she knew how it would impact him too.
''Tomorrow we will stop the sedatives and let him wake up, then we will know more about any potential damage that the bleeding has done,''
Gabby nodded, understanding. As much as she wanted to know more, she also knew that there wasn't much they could tell.
''Was there any damage - damage on the scans?'' she asked concerned.
''No, but it is too early to tell, there is a lot of swelling,'' the nurse explained and she nodded.
As she walked after her, it did feel like a relief that she was finally able to tell someone how much she loved him. That she didn't have to hide the fact they had spent barely a day away from each other's side the past few days.
No more than ever she wished to lay beside him, intertwined in his arms.
She was guided to the last bed, the nurse holding the curtain aside as she moved into the cubicle. Her lips started to shake as she walked around the bed, finally getting a good look at him. His head tilted on the pillow, she tried not to look at the tubes coming from under the large patch on his head. She saw the drain, still removing fluid and blood from his head.
Gently her fingertips touched his hand on the bed for just a second. She was worried to disturb him, as much as she knew he wouldn't wake.
Her fingers traced around the large IV port in his hand, her eyes following the breathing tube and NG tube that covered a large part of his face.
The skin around his eyes was bruised, the bleed clearly moving around his skull now that the surgery was over.
None of it mattered to her though. All that she needed was her fingertips on his hand and the constant beep from the heart monitor, indicating he was still with her.
''Just a few days and he will look a lot better,'' the nurse told her as she took the file from the back of the bed, reading the charts as Gabby tried to work through the tears. She didn't want to cry again. He had to be strong to get through this and she wanted to be strong for him as well.
''I know, he is a tough one,'' she said, more to herself than to the nurse. She needed him to be tough and be okay.
Only two weeks ago, they had finally professed their love for each other. His face when she had opened the door made her heart flutter. Simply thinking about it made her happy, a smile on his face for just a second before reality hit.
She was well aware of the large crack in his skull, the bleeding in his brain and the uncertainty still ahead. Even if he would pull through these first 24 hours, things might never be the same again. She knew that there was no way to tell if there was going to be any lasting damage.
Carefully she sat down by his bedside, not minding the nurses that walked in every now and then to check on him. Most of them didn't mind her either and she was grateful to stay here with him.
Over her shivering breathe all she heard was the ventilator and the various monitors at his bedside. Once again, she couldn't help as the tears once again welled up in her eyes.
One hand on his, she started to compose an update for the rest of the firehouse. Although she knew he wouldn't know that she was near him, it did bring her a lot of comfort. In just a few hours, she had seen all the dreams they had had fall apart.
Hours later, she still hadn't left this side. She had her hands over his, his hand one of the few parts of body reachable under all the medical equipment.
She looked up, no idea as to how late it was. Calling Christie one more time, it still went to voicemail. She wondered if anybody from the firehouse was still going to show up.
Even if someone would walk in and see them, she didn't care. Dozing off slightly, as she hadn't slept last night as she had been here, waiting, she still didn't want to leave his side.
She was not sure about if anybody else was going to show up, or eventually Christie would. But the last thing she wanted was to leave his side.
She didn't even care if anybody would find out they were dating, but he did want to keep it a secret still. Not because he didn't want to let them know, but the love between them was so special they wanted to keep it between them, just to them, a while longer.
Gabby woke up as someone touched her shoulder. It was Rebecca, one of the registered nurses she knew very well from being patients here.
''hey Gabriela, are you okay?'' Rebecca asked concerned as she recognized her.
''Yeah, yeah,'' Gabby said as she sat up just a little looking at Matt. As if anything had changed. She knew damn well that nothing would change for a while.
''Didn't realize it was the lieutenant from your firehouse they brought in,'' She said as she hung another bag on the IV pole, connecting the lines.
Looking at Gabby's hand on his then, she looked unsure.
''Are you two-''
''Yeah, not that long but –'' Gabby said as she looked down, worried about her emotions showing once again.
''I didn't know.''
''We haven't told anybody at the firehouse, nobody knows,'' Gabby admitted.
Rebecca didn't know what to say. It was clear that she had no clue what to say to Gabby. She couldn't imagine having to see the person you loved go through this and have nobody to fall back on for support.
''I am so sorry, Gabby-''
''Please tell me he is going to be okay,'' Gabby said as her voice broke and her throat seemed to close. She wanted to be okay but looking at Matt in the bed, she was really not sure.
''I am not a specialist but seeing how physically fit he is, how well the surgery went and little damage there was in the scans, I have good hope for his recovery,'' the RN nurse told her.
''Are you sure?'', Gabby asked worried as she couldn't help but be concerned.
''If it wouldn't be the truth, I wouldn't be telling you this,'' Rebecca assured her. Nodding gratefully, she finally let go of Matt's hand, gently placing it back on the bed.
''Let me go call you a cab, it's really late,'' Rebecca said as she left the room, laying her hand on Gabby's shoulder for just a second.
Even now she had to say goodbye to Matt, she didn't want to. She was worried for how she was going to find him tomorrow. Her hand touched his again for just a second. He looked so frail and it almost seemed like just touching him would hurt him.
Very carefully, she took his hand from the bed once more, kissing it. There were so many words that were on her mind, but there was so little she could say.
Outside, in the darkness of night she replied to some of the texts from the firehouse as she waited for the taxi. She had no clue how to move on from here. She didn't know how she could help him, nor how she would navigate his family, the firehouse.
Instead of going home, she went to his house, her stuff already there as she was planning on coming here after shift.
Using the spare key he had given her, she went through the backdoor.
The house was cold, quiet. Nothing like the love nest that it had become in the last few weeks.
Making her way up the stairs, she grabbed her toiletries as she took a shower, moving to the bed to catch a few hours of sleep, even if was only to make the time pass faster. Putting her phone next to the bed and checking another time if it wasn't on silent, worried about missing a call from the hospital or from Christie.
On her way to the bed she nearly slipped over his shirt he had slept on, a really ugly shirt he had picked up on a fishing trip that she had mocked on multiple occasions. Picking it up, she started to bawl as she held it against her and slipped into the bed. Holding the shirt close to her, she calmed down for just a second as she smelt him, like he was so close to her. No longer being able to contain her tears she had had held at his bedside, she started to bawl, her face inside the shirt that seemed like the slightest bit of comfort she could have.
All she could hope now, was that it was all going to be okay, eventually.
So happy to finally chair this first chapter with you. I have been working on this for a while but wasnt sure when to post it in regards to Missing You. I did however want to share this with you and will and try and alternate updates between the two stories.
I know the outcome of the story will not be as interesting as it follows the canon of the show but I did want to write a story looking their blossoming relationship in the 6 week timejump as the accident would greatly impact their fairly new relationship. I hope you are interested in this story and I can't wait to hear what you think.