Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names.

a/n: Thank you to the fifteen of you who reviewed last chapter and those who reviewed it via twitter. 301 REVIEWS!First ever and I'm super excited about coconut (who doesn't have an account on here) I'm working on Coming Home but it takes a bit more time to write since they're longer chapters. If you have twitter, come find me on there my handle is sarrabr_4, I'd love to chat.

So I promised some extra angst to Karen1971 because I forgot to tag her on last chapter ;) hihi so I hope you guys enjoy this one.


Matt walked into 51 the next morning after dropping the girls off at daycare. Everyone was sitting at their usual spots, a cup of coffee in their hands. He grabbed himself one and took the paper to see what was new this morning.

"So how did it go last night?" Severide sat down next to him, a smirk on his face. When Matt had returned home, he had left without asking for much details.

"Apart from the fact that I walked in and just kissed her under the very watchful eyes of her parents, good."

"Isn't she Antonio Dawson's sister?"

"Yes. I didn't make the connection at first."

"And wasn't her father a detective for CPD?"

"Oh yeah."

"You're in the doghouse." He laughed patting his back and getting up when Mills put the breakfast out.

"Hey, I'm very charming." Matt called out right before the alarm called them off to a structure fire.


Edouardo Dawson made his way into 21st the next morning, he needed to talk with Antonio.

"Good morning Sargent." He greeted Platt who smiled at him.

"Detective Dawson, it's good to see you. Come to see your son?" She inquired leaning against the front desk.

"Yes, is he in?"

"They're all there, they have no case yet."

"Thanks Trudy." He smiled back at him.

"Anytime Edouardo." She buzzed him up and he went up the IU stairs to find the whole team at their desks. Both Dawson's locked eyes as he walked farther in.

"Pops, what are you doing here?" Antonio went to greet his father with a hug.

"Can't I come to see my son work?"

"No." He chuckled.

"Edouardo." Voighted called when he stepped out of his office. "What brings you by?" He came and shook his hand.

"Came to have a word with my son, mind if I steal him for a few seconds?"

"My office is all your's."

"Thanks Hank." He motionned for his son to follow him and they went into Voight's office.

"Is something wrong dad?" Antonio wasn't used to have his dad drop by since he retired from CPD.

"Nothing life threatening."

"Than what are you doing here? It's not like you to just drop by."

"What do you know about Matt Casey?" There was no way he was going to dance around the subject.

"Gabby's boyfriend Matt Casey? Did he do something to her?" He didn't know Matt all that much, only having delt with him previously on a few arson cases his firehouse had responded to.

"He hasn't done anything no but he stopped by your sister's place yesterday and he seemed nervous around us. I wanted to know what you knew about him."

"Oh course he'd be nervous dad. I'm pretty sure you interrogated him right under everyone's nose." Antonio laughed out loud as he leaned against Voight's desk.

"Maybe."

"I've worked on a few arson cases with him 51 responded to. Single dad of twin girls, works construction on the side. Most is from what Gabby told me."

"And what about his family, what do you know?"

"What is this dad, twenty questions? I don't know the guy personally but he seems like a good guy."

"Can you just look into it quietly for me? I'm just trying to protect my daughter and my grandkids."

Antonio shook his head and smiled. "Sure thing but don't be surprised if nothing comes up."

"Thanks Tonio. Call me when you find something."

"Will do dad." They both left the office and Edouardo thanked Voight again for letting him use his office and he said bye to everyone before going back home to his wife, hoping she wouldn't get suspicious.

Antonio returned to his office and took the phone on his desk, dialling a familiar number. "It's Antonio Dawson in Intelligence, I need you to pull everything you have on a Matthew Casey. Thanks." He hung up just in time when Voight came back out of his office to tell them they had a case.


"Fire Department, CALL OUT!" Casey yelled, going through room after room of the old house. The floors were creaking under his feet, making it difficult to make the difference between old flooring and an structurely unsound building. Mouch and Herrmann were right behind him, helping with the search. They finally found most of the family in the next room, three kids with their mom hiding under a bed. Mouch took the mom with the oldest boy who seemed about twelve and Herrmann took the little girl who seemed to be around four, leaving me with the extremely frightened two year old little boy.

"It's going to be ok." I tried to soothe the little boy. "We're going to get you out of here." I tucked him in my jacket to protect him as best I could. Both Mouch and Herrmann were ahead of me going down the stairs, both careful not to fall down. I could see them exit the house in front of me but just as I hit the last stair, my foot went right through. My first instinct was to protect the boy, making me fall at an odd angle and hit my head on the banister, a groan escaping my lips.

I could feel some blood trickle on the side of my face, blinking to stop the black spots that were dancing in front of my eyes. "Help." I called into the radio before darkness came. When I opened my eyes next, I was in the ambo with Chilli, she was taking my vitals.

"Welcome back lieutenant. How are you feeling?"

"Like I took a beating. How's the kid?"

"On his way to Lakeshore. Can you tell me your name, age and the name of your girls?"

"Matthew alan Casey, thirty two, Grace Evelyn Casey and Emma Sophie Casey. Good enough?" He smiled.

"No concussion so that's good. You'll need stitches for that gash on your forehead and your hand."

"Just as long as that family are ok, this is nothing."

We arrived at Lakeshore right behind the family who were treated for minor injuries. Chilli and Shay wheeled my gurney into trauma 1.

"You have to stop doing this Casey, you'll give me a heart attack." Shay quipped and she helped me in a sitting position.

"You still love me."

"You're lucky I do." Shay stayed with him as a nurse came in and cleaned his wounds and stitched him up before giving him recommendations and sending him on his way.

"Don't tell Gabby about this when you go see her please." Matt knew Shay went up to peds every time they came in with victims just to say hi and he didn't want her to worry about these kinds of things.

"Sure. I'll be back Chilli." Shay left Matt to return to 81 and she made her way upstairs to see Gabby.

Once the guys returned to 51, Matt went to his office to write his incident report so he'd have it done before the end of shift, he hated being behind on his paperwork. Once it was done and given to Boden, he returned to his office and lied down on his bunk, his good hand under his head and the other one resting on his chest. Someone caught his eye as he looked through his window out of the bunk area, Gabby's father making his way to Boden's office. He didn't think much of it, remembering that he said they knew each other for a long time. His mind did take him back to last night when he was sitting at Gabby's dinner table, her father questioning him about his family.

He knew he'd have to come clean to Gabby about his past, not wanting to hide anything from her. She had been so open and honest about her late husband that he wanted to be open with her about his abusive past. He took his phone out and texted her. I was wondering if you wanted to come over tomorrow for dinner with the kids, could be fun. He smiled at her reply and set his phone back in his pocket, closing his eyes for a moment. the rest of shift was fairly quiet with only a few calls, letting him rest his hand that was sore and his head throbbing. He received a picture from Christie late in the afternoon of the girls with face make-up at the park, there was a little party there today.

They had a big call in the middle of the night but Matt felt rested enough and it was quickly dealt with before they returned to the house. Matt left quickly after shift ended to pick up the girls and he wanted to tell them about the accident so they didn't worry too much. He got them home and down for a nap early in the afternoon so they'd be ready for when Gabby showed up with the kids. He was tidying the house around three when there was a knock on the door but he wasn't expecting anyone so he went to open the door.

After Shay left the peds department, Gabby received a kid from a house fire and she knew right away that 51 had responded to it, it was in the file but the more she read, the more she breathed heavily. She called down to the ER to get some more information about the injured firefighter that had protected little Ely from more harmful injuries and her heart just about stopped when she found out it was Matt. She was told he had stitches to his forehead and his hand from his fall through the stair and she tried not to let it distract her too much from the rest of her day. She picked the boys from her parents house and Valentina from daycare before she went home to fix dinner and get them ready for bed. Matt had texted her earlier in the day to invite her and the kids over for dinner the following evening and she didn't hesitate to tell him yes but now she was trying not to go over the firehouse to see with her own eyes that he was ok but she knew she couldn't and she figured she'd wait in the morning to go see him at his house.

She woke up and went to the park with the kids and put them down for a small nap after lunch to have them rested when she went to Matt's later. They were so excited though that they barely slept an hour and Gabby got everything ready. She was tired of waiting so she buckled the three kids in her car and headed it Matt's, it was almost three. She took Valentina in her arms and Luis and Fhilippe followed closely on each side of her. They went up the stairs and she started knocking on Matt's door. He answered her with a smile.

"Hey, what are you doing here so early?"

"Did you think I wouldn't find out about it?" Matt's smile faltered and he took Valentina from Gabby's arms since she was requesting him with her pudgy little arms.

"I wasn't trying to hide them but I didn't want to worry you." The boys said hi just in time for the girls to come boucing down the stairs.

"Luis, Filippe, you're here." They squealed together. "Hi Tina." They smiled at Gabby's daughter in his arms.

"How about you girls go show them the new blocks aunt Christie got you?" Matt finally put Valentina down and the five of them went downstairs without argument, leaving both adults alone.

"Where's your first aid kit, I'll change your dressings."

"They don't need to be changed just yet." He tried but Gabby gave him a death stare, daring him to argue. He went into the bathroom and came back with the kit.

"Sit down." Matt recognized Gabby's stern mom voice and quickly sat down, giving her his hand first.

"It's nothing really, it stopped hurting a while ago."

"I'll be the judge of that." Matt let her check him over and change his dressings, finally satisfied with everything.

"Why didn't you come tell me you were hurt? We could have avoided some unnecessary worrying on my part."

"That's why I told Shay not to tell you, I didn't want you to worry too much about this."

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out? It was written in the kids file, black on white."

"I'm sorry." He pulled her to him on the couch and they cuddled while talking about their day while they waited for dinner time. Matt put the lasagna on the table and called everyone to eat, the mini army running back up the stairs. They all sat down and Gabby put Valentina in the booster seat Matt still had from then the girls were younger. All four kids were talking loudly and it sounded like they were twenty in the small kitchen.

"That's enough, the four of you." Gabby said loud enough to be overheard over all the noise, all four kids stopping half way through their words and looking at her. "This is a kitchen not a debate room." The kids didn't need to be told twice and Matt tried to keep a chuckle in which got him a slap on the arm from her. They ate in a more normal setting, the kids chatting away more quietly. Once everyone was done and everything was cleaned up, they went outside so the kids could run around in the yard, everyone getting fresh air.

Matt and Gabby stayed quiet for a little bit watching the kids play but Matt had a lot on his mind. He wanted to tell Gabby about his past but didn't know if this was the right time to bring it up.

"Where's your head at Matt?" She had been looking at Matt for the pas few minutes and she could see the clogs turning in his head. He looked down at her and sighed.

"Your dad got me thinking last night." He started.

"I'm so sorry about that by the way. He has a way of going into detective mode from time to time."

"It's ok, I get that he's protective of you, specially after everything you've been through."

"Still he doesn't have the right to embarrass you by asking you all these personal questions."

"It's just that you've been honest about your past and what happened with your husband and I feel I'm not returning the courtesy."

"You told me about Hallie, what came before that doesn't matter."

"For me it does and I'd like to share that with you."

"You know you can tell me anything, no judgement on my part."

"Alright." He sighed, not really sure where to start. "It's true that my father past away and that I'm estranged from my mom but the real reason why." He closed his eyes, not really sure he wanted to relive all of this but he needed to let it all out. "Is that my mom killed my dad and she's in prison." The gasp that escaped Gabby's lips and the distance she put between them made his heart stop slowly, he knew that he was losing her.

"Oh my god. What happened?" The sound of her voice was calming and he looked out in the yard to made sure the kids were ok before he told her the rest of the story.

"When I was little, my father was abusive, physically and mentally with me and my mom. Christie was off to college when it became worst. My parents had divorced at the time and I was living with my mom but the verbal abuse never stopped. I still went to my dad's from time to time because he was still my dad and he wasn't always bad." Gabby simply sat next to him and let him tell the story. "One day, when I came back home from a bad visit to my dad's, my mom realized quickly what had happened and she waited for me to be out of the room before taking my keys and heading out. That night, my mom pulled a gun out and shot him. That night I lost my dad and my mom went to jail. She's been serving time ever since."

"How long has it been?" She simply asked.

"Fifteen years. It took a long time for Christie and I to become close after this because she always resented my mom for killing our dad and she hated that I took our mom's side in all of this."

"What got you closer?"

"The girls. When Grace and Emma were born, we started seeing more of each other because I wanted them to know their aunt. She's been a great help ever since."

"I'm sorry to hear that babe." She put her hand on his cheek and made him look at her. She searched his eyes for something and quickly found it. "You know, what your father did was inexcusable but you'll never be like him. Is that what you're afraid of?"

"Sometimes yes. Does that make me a bad guy? A bad dad?"

"You are a great dad, don't ever doubt that. The girls are very lucky to have you." She gently kissed his cheek and cuddles back to him, putting her legs up and placing his arm around her shoulder. "They look like very happy little girls to me. They think the world of you."

"Thanks." He whispered kissing her head.

"For what?"

"For not freaking out I guess." He laughed nervously.

"The past is in the past. It doesn't justify who we are now. Plus, isn't that what couples do? Be there for each other?"

"So we're a couple now?" He teased and she looked at him with a shocked face and a smile.

"Nice way to make your girl appreciated." She poked at his chest.

"My girl. I like how that sounds. Say it again."

"Your girl." She smiled broadly this time.

"I love how that sounds. Come here." He pulled her closer to him and he kissed her gently.

"Mom and Matt, kissing in a tree." They chuckled as they heard Filippe and Luis sing song next to them.

"Alright you two comedians, let's get you guys back inside in front of a kid movie." Matt got up and everyone followed him in the living room. The kids picked a movie without too much fuss and all sat down to watch it, Matt and Gabby snuggling close to each other on the couch content in watching their kids watch the movie.


Antonio returned to the bullpen after an arrest to a guy holding a folder, leaning against his desk.

"I got the file you requested." He handed him the file and Antonio thanked him before he walked back down the stairs of intelligence.

"Your dad has you spying on your sister's boyfriend?" Ruzek jokingly threw Antonio's way.

"Something like that." Antonio wasn't laughing, he was too busy reading what he had in front of him. He grabbed his phone and dialled his dad, asking him to come to the district. Half an hour later, Edouardo was buzzed up by Platt once again and they went into Voight's vacant office once more.

"What did you find out?"

"Look for yourself." Antonio saw nothing in there that warranted being angry at Matt, everything bad happening when he was just a teen but the look on his father's face was different.

Edouardo looked through the file his son had given him. Matt Casey was mentioned only in name but he didn't like what he saw. The words abuse, murder and jail stood out from what he read and he simply put the file on the desk and turned to leave.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to make a surprise visit to Mr Casey."

"Don't do this to Gabby dad, she'll hate you for it."

"That's why I'm going to see him before I tell her anything. I want to hear his side of the story." He swung the door open and left before Antonio could go after him. He realized it was a bit late considering Matt had children but he needed to hear it from the man's own mouth first. It took him about fifteen minutes to get to the address he had seen in the file and he went up the stairs and knocked, waiting to be answered.


Three of the five kids had fallen asleep on the carpet, Grace and Luis fighting it off as long as they could. Matt and Gabby had snuggled closer together and were enjoying somewhat alone time when there was a knock on the door.

"Who would be knocking on your door so late in the evening?"

"No idea, I'll be right back." He got up and looked through the side glass window, Edouardo Dawson on the other side. "What the?" He whispered before opening the door. "Mr. Dawson, what do I own this visit to?" He moved back to let Gabby's father in.

"I know what happened fifteen years ago. You and I need to have a little chat."

Matt had been gone for a few seconds now but she already missed his warmth next to her. When he opened the door and she heard who was there, she got up and moved quickly to go join them.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

TBC


WHEW! I didn't expect to type this long today. So Matt finally tells Gabby about what happened in his past and shares his reservations about being a good dad throughout all of that. BUT her dad also finds out about Matt's past. Will it explode in Matt's house or will Gabby's dad listen to the whole story and give Matt and Gabby their blessing? Stay tuned

a/n: This was super exciting to write and I hope you like it as much as I do so please take a few seconds to leave a review on here to tell me what you guys think ok it. Until next update - Sarra