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

a/n: Thanks again for all the support you guys are giving this story. Fourteen plus more reviews, that's amazing. So here's a little back to work chapter, I hope you like it.


"Come on guys, are you ready?" Gabby finished getting Valentina ready for the day. They were running late as it was and Gabby hated being late.

"I can't find my other sock mom." Luis screamed from his bedroom.

"Just find another pair Luis, we're late." From the moment she woke up, things weren't going her way. She left Valentina with some toys in the living room and went to see what was holding up the boys other than a pair of sock. Luis was looking everywhere for that sock and Philippe was still in his pj's.

"Come on Filippe, get dressed if you want to go to the pier." She bent down and found Luis's missing sock and handed it to him before grabbing shorts and a t-shirt and dressing him with much trouble. She managed to get the kids in the car ten minutes later and her phone rang, Matt's name coming across the screen.

"Matt I'm so sorry I'm late." She pressed on the speakerphone. "It's fine, is everything ok?" "Yes, no. I'll tell you when we get here." "Ok. Drive safely." "I will, see you in twenty minutes." And she hung up her phone to finish buckling Valentina up in her seat, pulling down the street and towards the pier. Matt met them at the entrance with the girls.

"Hey Gabby." He kissed her cheek and helped with Valentina. "Is everything ok?"

"I woke up late and the boys were not cooperating." She looked up to find Filippe and Grace arguying. "Filippe." She said sternly. "What is wrong with you today?" She pulled him away while Matt took Grace aside.

"If you don't behave, we are going home. Do I make myself clear Filippe?"

"Yes mom."

"We talked about this Grace. You have to be nice to your friends."

"Yes dad." Grace looked directly into Matt's eyes as she said it, knowing she had done something wrong.

"We came here to have some fun so I don't want to have everyone arguing." Matt adressed all four older kids.

"Yes sir." Both sets of twins answered.

"Good. So what's up first?" All four kids took turn telling what they wanted to do before they started walking towards the first attraction, the carousel. Gabby sat with Valentina on a carriage chair and so did Grace and Emma, Matt between the two while both Filippe and Luis rode on horses, goofing off together. When they got off,they walked a bit around the pier, looking for the next thing they'd do, the five kids skipping up front, Valentina between the two older girls.

"They are so good with her." Gabby leaned closer into Matt as he wrapper his arm around her shoulder, hers coming to rest around his waist.

"I heard them mention something about wanting a younger sibling when they thought I wasn't looking."

"Mamma, mamma. Can we go there?"Luis pointed to a shooting booth full of plushies.

"I don't know Luis." Gabby was really bad at that game but the boys had hope written all over their faces.

"I'll go with you if your mom's ok with that." He looked at Gabby with a smile while the boys were all but begging her to say yes.

"Fine by me." He smiled back at her boys who couldn't wait any longer so they ran ahead and sat down next to each other, waiting for Matt to join them. The young woman gave her instructions and they start their water guns. When Matt realized that the boys were having trouble, he put his gun down and went to sit behind Filippe and helped him shoot straight, the water hitting right on the spot, making his side move up faster, making him win.

"That's not fair." Luis pouted, he wanted a toy too.

"How about we go for another round?" Matt got up and paid the girl before he took a seat behind Luis and helped him win this time. Both boys were happy to be able to choose a plusie each, one taking a dragon and the other a dog as their prize.

"Where to next?" Gabby looked at the girls since they hadn't chosen anything yet.

"I want to go on the disco ride." Emma clamored beyond excited.

"That's where we're going then, let's go kids." Gabby pushed Valentina's stroller in the disco ride's general direction, the kids once again walking ahead of the both adults.

"Thanks for helping the boys."

"It's nothing really. I remember my dad helping me out like that once." He shrugged. His father hadn't always been abusive and going to the pier with his parents and his sister was a good memory for him. Gabby took his land and squeezed it as a sign that she understood, not wanting to add more to that statement. They waited in line for their turn on the ride and finally when it was time to take seats, each set of twins wanted to share a cart together, leaving Matt, Gabby and Valentina in a cart together. Valentina stayed glued to her mother as the ride started turning while the kids could be heard laughing over the ride's music.

When they were done, it was time to stop a little bit to grab some lunch. They stopped at a hot dog stand and ordered what they wanted before they found a spot to sit down and enjoy their meal. Once that was done, they continued doing a tour of the rides, Valentina eventually falling asleep in the stroller.

The day was starting to wind down and they stood in line for the ferris wheel, the kids simply having fun together while they waited, laughing their little hearts out. Matt and Gabby were simply content watching them have some fun together. They were all able to get in a cart together and the wheel started going up before it suddenly stopped at the top. The kids didn't seem fazed by the sudden jolt and Matt and Gabby simply admired the Chicago landscape from the pier, their bodies close to one another. After only a few minutes later, the wheel started turning again, slowly bringing them back down to the ground. Matt took a very tired looking Valentina from Gabby's arms and carried her towards the waiting stroller that stayed on the ground as they went on the wheel and the kids held onto Gabby's hands and anything from Matt they could since his arms were tightly wrapped around the little girl.

He slowly set her down as her eyelids became heavier and buckled her into the stroller, deciding to push her to give Gabby a break. The older kids were sticking close to their respective parent as they walked closely together.

"I think it might be time to call it a day." Matt looked around and saw four very tired kids.

"I think that's a good idea." Gabby said in the same sense, the kids not used to having so much excitement in the same day without napping in the afternoon.

As they walked towards the exit, an older woman walked in their direction, having seen the interaction between the group, finding it very sweet.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to bother you but I saw you all together and thought what a wonderful family you have. It's not often we see large families anymore, specially not some so well behaved. And they are all so adorable."

"Thank you." Emma said shyly, her arms still wrapped around her dad, a smile on her face.

The woman left as quickly as she had approached them, not leaving the adults any time to reply after Emma but Gabby felt little arms squeeze her and sniffles coming from her left side. She looked down to find Luis in tears, his nose burried in her side.

"Hey little man, what's wrong?" She managed to kneel down at his level and make him look at her, her thumbs wiping his tears away.

"Matt's not my dad." It broke Gabby's heart to hear her son break down like that. The boys had been sad to lose their dad but this was a new situation for both of them. Gabby and Matt having dating not very long, they never took the time to explain to the kids about their growing relationship and what it meant for them. The kids were the most important people in their world and they hadn't had that kind of talk with them, not even having a real talk about the situation between each other.

"Oh baby, Matt's never going to replace your dad." She whispered, her hands on his shoulders, pulling him for a hug. She looked up at Matt, Luis still wrapped in her arms, a silent plea to talk soon. Once she released him from her grip, she kissed his cheek and let him go but Gabby's arms were quickly replaced by smaller ones when Grace hugged him.

"It's ok to miss your daddy. I miss my mommy too sometimes." She squeezed him tight before they all walked towards the parking lot. Both Gabby and Matt buckled the kids in their respective cars and took a few seconds to say goodnight.

"We need to talk about this." Gabby said in Matt's chest.

"I know." He kissed her head and they pulled away before saying goodnight and driving to their respective places.

Both Matt and Gabby took the kids and went to grab done dinner before going back home where all five kids fell asleep as their heads hit their pillows, falling from exhaustion after a fun day at the pier. Gabby stood in the doorway to the boys room, her arms crossed over her chest, a sense of emptiness filling up her heart as it broke for her sons who were missing their father as much as she missed him too. She knew this was a delicate situation but one she needed to adress nonetheless. She finally walked away from watching them sleep before she checked on Valentina and got ready for bed herself.

Matt watched over the girls as they slept in their beds, their little bodies shutting down as soon as they were put in bed. He thought back at the last few hours, his heart also breaking for the two little boys sleeping safely in their beds, sad that they missed their father so much. He knew he'd have to have a real conversation with Gabby about this soon because all five kids needed some reassurance about the direction their relationship was taking and what role they would have in each other's lives. He turned off the lights of the hall and headed back downstairs to watch some tv, hopefully clearing his head for a little bit.


a/n: Finally after a few hours of not really being able to type this chapter up, the road block went away and I was able to write it. The original idea for the interaction of the woman with the Casey/Dawson clan goes to Justicerocks11 (original mastermind behind the plot of this story) who's always gracious to share some of her original ideas with me as the story progresses and her ideas tie in with mine so Thanks :)

I hope you guys liked this chapter and that you'll take a few seconds to review it.- Sarra