Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and all five kids names.
a/n: First of all I want to apologize for the lack of updates on this story and apart from the holidays, I don't have a real reason for slacking off. Second, I hope all of you guys had a nice Christmas filled with fun and Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter, it warm,s my heart as always so enjoy this next one.
Gabby spent the next few days with only one thing on her mind: The key to Matt's house. It kept her awake at night and her mind occupied during the day and she didn't know what to do about it. Both Filippe and Luis had noticed how tired she was and would sometimes have to snap her from her thoughts by talking louder to her. And at work wasn't any better. Nathalie needed to find new ways to gain the mom of three's attention during her shift.
Matt on his side, wasn't faring any better. He was sitting at his desk in his small office in 51 but it trying to stay focused on the incident report that was staring at him in the face but it was no use. All he could think about was the fact that he had offered a key to Gabby and he still hadn't heard anything from her. He looked at the pictures that were standing in front of him and smiled. On top of the one he had of his family, a new one was sitting there. Shay had taken a picture of him and Gabby at Molly's, her head on his shoulder and a smile on her face, a matching one on his own face.
"I love that picture." Shay's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Thanks for taking it."
"I can smell cute Dawsey moments." She laughed, making Matt laugh as well.
"Dawsey?" Matt wondered.
"Yeah. Dawson, Casey, Dawsey."
"Nice looking out." He chuckled.
"Where's your head at?"
"I might have tried giving Gabby something and I haven't heard from her yet." He ran his hand against his face and sighed.
"You proposed?" Shay's voice was high pitched and was now accompagnied by Severide's
"You did what?" Kelly had only heard Shay right when he walked past Casey's office.
"I didn't propose. I wanted to give her a kew and I think I scared her."
"Matt." Shay said, clearly not thinking that was a good idea.
"I didn't ask her to move in Shay, just that she could come and go as she pleased."
"That's the same thing Matt."
"Oh come on Shay, the guy's in love and getting laid, give him a break will ya." Shay laughed at Kelly while Matt did the only thing he could to defend himself, throw a paper ball by Kelly's head, making him laugh even more.
"Ha ha. You can laugh all you want mister I don't want to commit." Kelly threw the paper ball back at Matt. "I know it's soon and I really didn't want to scare her but it felt like the right thing to do. Or I don't know, was it?" He looked at his two best friends, wondering if it really had been a good idea.
"She loves you too. It's a great idea I think." Kelly had seen the two together and it was obvious the two were in love with each other.
"Thanks Kelly." He smiled at him. He was glad his best friend was on his side.
"Alright, let's leave the man at least try to work." Shay smirked as she pulled Kelly from the small office, leaving Matt with his thoughts once more.
Gabby was doing her usual rounds to check on her sick little patients when a perky blonde came bouncing in the ward.
"Is Gabby Dawson out for lunch?" Gabby could hear Shay at the front desk from where she was standing and she giggled to herself. She walked back to the front desk where Shay was leaning against it, chatting up another nurse.
"She already has a girl Shay." Shay jumped at the sound of Gabby's voice but instantly jumped in her arms.
"Girl, we need to do something." They pulled away from each other.
"I know. I've been busy."
"I've heard." Shay smirked, knowing what had happened with Matt and Gabby. Gabby turned a bright shade of red, knowing exactly what Shay was referring to.
"Did you give that a bit more thought?" Shay questionned as Gabby took her place back behind the desk, not giving Shay an answer. Shay looked at her with a questionning glance, wondering what was on her friend's mind.
"All I've been doing is thinking about it." Gabby finally looked up at Shay, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"Aww honey. Have you talked to Matt about it?" Shay knew that Matt was equally scared, even if he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone and it broke her heart to see her friends struggle like that. They had both lost someone dear in different ways and now they were struggling to move forward in the relationship.
"I can't."She wiped her tears away with her thumb, the hospital not the right place for them. "I don't know what I'm doing Shay. Do you mind coming over later? I could really use a friend right now." The hospital was also not the place to have a deep conversation either.
"I'm getting off shift at eight, I'll swing by after."
"Thanks Shay."
"Anytime." Shay smiled as her radio crackled to life. "I'll catch you later Dawson."
"Later." Shay left quickly the pedeatric floor as Gabby went back to her paperwork.
Both girls had a sluggish shift, giving Gabby some more time to sort her thoughts out. On Matt's side, his thoughts were just as jumbled, the fear that they were maybe moving too fast eating away at him.
"Have you heard anything from Gabby?" Matt stoped Shay in the hallway knowing that Shay often stopped by the pediatric floor to see Gabby when they brought a victim into Lakeshore.
"I stopped by earlier, why?" Matt suspected that Shay knew more than she was letting on.
"How is she?"
"In the same state you're in. I'm going to her place after shift."
"Should I stop by to see her?"
"Matt, don't push her." Shay pleaded with him. The last thing Gabby needed was more pressure.
"I know Shay." He looked down at his feet. His heart was pumping fast from nervousness.
"I'm going to see her after shift if that helps."
"I'm glad she has you Shay. Tell her I miss her please?"
"Sure." Matt left Shay in the hallway to look at him walk away, her heart breaking a little bit more for him.
Eight came by quickly and Shay sat in the locker room, sitting on a bench and she was tying her boots when Matt walked by her and smiled before heading out. She kept looking at the door when Severide pulled her out of her thoughts.
"He's miserable."
"I know." She sighed. "And so is Gabby."
"You're going over there right?"
"Yeah. I'll see what I can do." She knew what he was thinking about.
"I'll stop by his place tonight."
"Ok. I'll talk to you back at home."
"Yeah." Kelly left Shay to finish getting dressed and headed towards Gabby's place. She made a quick stop for a little pick me up before going up her stairs and ringing the doorbell, hoping she'd be in a slightly better mood than earlier at the hospital.
"Hey. Thanks for coming Shay." Gabby ushered her in, closing the door behind her.
"Where are the kids?" The house was entirely too quiet.
"I asked my mom to keep them for the night. I'm going absolutely crazy Shay." Shay eyed the already opened bottle of wine sitting on Gabby's counter, her glass half full.
"I can see that." Shay chuckled, pointing at the already half empty bottle, Gabby giving her the eye. "I'm sorry sweetie." She laughed again, not being able to help herself as she pulled Gabby into a tight hug.
"I've been thinking about it all day. I don't know what to do Shay?" She pulled a wine glass out of the cupboard and poured one for Shay before they went to sit on the couch.
"What's scaring you Gabby?" She pulled her legs under herself.
"I don't know Shay. Maybe we're going too fast? What about the kids? How do I even explain what a key means to the kids?"
"One thing at a time Gabs. The first question you want to answer is do you want to say yes to Matt about having a key?" Gabby looked intently at her glass of wine, obviously wrestling with that question. She looked up when there was a knock on the door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Gabby's face told her that she wasn't but she looked at her get up without answering, making her way to the door and looking through the peep hole before opening it.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
"You sounded strange on the phone. I just came to make sure you were ok."
"I'm ok mom." She let her inside.
"Leslie, it's nice to see you again." They both smiled at each other as Gabby closed the door behind her mother.
"Mrs Dawson. It's been a while."
"Call me Esmeralda." She insisted, following Gabby back to the couch, refusing the glass of wine Gabby was offering her. "What's bothering you honey?" She asked concerned. She didn't often see her daughter like that but she knew she was struggling with something.
Gabby was looking for the right words to tell her mom about Matt wanting her to have a key to his place. "Matt wants me to have a key to his house. He says so I can come and go as I please. I don't know what to do mom." Tears were once again pooling in her eyes with that uncertainty about what to do.
"Oh Honey! Are you afraid things are going too fast?"
"I'm afraid about a lot of things mom. I can't just think about myself. What about the kids? How do I even explain this to them?"
"Are you thinking of saying yes? you need to answer that question first."
"That's what I was telling her." Shay said from her spot on the couch, taking a sip of her wine.
"And you know, the boys will understand. If you're happy, they will be too."
"You're a great mom Gabby and I know your kids are everything to you but you have to trust yourself."
"We're all there behind you Gabby. You can lean on all of us whenever you need us. We're all proud of the way you're handling everything." Esmeralda pulled her daughter in for a hug, Gabby letting her mother's arms comfort her.
"Thanks mom."
"Have you talked to Matt about it since he asked you?" She whispered to her.
"No." She pulled away from her mother's embrace.
"I think you should follow your heart and go see him." Esmeralda smiled and winked at her daughter.
"What if he changed his mind?"
"Trust me honey, he hasn't changed his mind." Shay smiled as Gabby looked at her. "Just kick us out and go see him."
"We can take care of the kids for you until lunch tomorrow."
"Thanks mom."
"I'll get going then." Shy put her half empty glass of wine on the living room table. "Call me later, or don't" She smirked Gabby's way, making Gabby blush slightly.
"Thanks again Shay. Rain check on our date."
"I'm holding you to it." She grabbed her coat and left, leaving Gabby with her mother.
Kelly grabbed a twelve pack of beer at the store closest to Matt's house and headed his way. He knew he was struggling after offering Gabby a key to his place and from the lack of news from her part so he figured he'd go and try to keep his mind off it with some beer and a hockey game on tv. He knocked on his door after getting out of his car, waiting for him to answer. When he did, he offered him his best smile and raised the pack of beer but Matt already had one in his hand.
"What are you going here Kelly?" Clearly he wasn't expecting him to come by tonight. The girls were at Christie's for the night since he had come off shift late so he was all alone with his thoughts and some beer, the hockey game on tv obviously doing nothing to disract him.
"Thought I'd come keep you and your thoughts company." He didn't wait for Matt to let him in before stepping over the threshold. Kelly stopped in the living room to see the damage. There was food boxes here and there and a few beer bottles. "What the hell Matt?" He hadn't seen his best friend in this state since Hallie had left him and all he hoped was that Gabby would just say something, anything to help fix this.
"Started early." He was referring to the drinking.
"Well looks like I need to kick some sense into you instead." He put the beer on the back porch to keep it out of his reach for now.
"I don't need a lecture Severide."
"Well maybe you do. This girl is driving you crazy."
"Don't you think I know that? I haven't heard from her since I told her about the key. What if I scared her off? What if she says no? She's the best thing that happened to me since the girls were born Kelly."
"I know that but try to think from her perspective. She has three kids that are her whole world and she has to think about them in all of this. I'm pretty sure that if it was just her, she'd have said yes the night you wanted to give it to her."
"I don't know Kelly." Matt nervously ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm pretty sure Shay is talking to her about it as we speak. She's been a mess too." Kelly didn't have to have seen Gabby to know that it was probably affecting her in a similar way as it was affecting Matt.
"What is she says no?"
"You have to stop thinking like that Matt. Just give her a little more time." Both of them turned towards the front door when the doorbell rang.
"Are you waiting for anyone?"
"No. I didn't even know that you'd swing by."
"Go open the door then." Matt put his beer on the living room table and walked to the front door.
"Gabby?" She was the last person that Matt was expecting at his doorstep.
"I'm sorry. I should have called before coming."
"No. No, it's fine. I'm glad you came." Matt's smile was instantanious. Gabby saw Kelly in the background.
"I'm sorry, you have company. Call me later?" SHe didn't want to interrupt but Kelly knew this was their chance to talk.
"I was just leaving." Kelly already had his coat on and was walking towards them and the door. "Call me later, or not." He smirked, patting Matt on the back and giving Gabby a kiss on the cheek. "I'll catch you guys later." Kelly left them alone, knowing they had a lot to talk about. Gabby came in and Matt closed the door behind her, taking her coat.
"I'm sorry I haven't called you since that night."
"You don't need to stop apologizing Gabs."
"It's just I've been a mess since then and I know that it's not really an excuse for not calling you and I had to think a lot about what you said." She was clearly rambling and Matt gave her a small smile. He thought she looked cute rambling and he gently took her face in her hands
"I was so afraid that I scared you off by giving you a key that I've been going out of my mind since that night."
"I was terrified but with Shay and my mom."
"Is that a?" He didn't dare finish that thought, afraid that he'd be disapointed if she said no.
"Yes." She smiled. Matt's smile became wider and he leaned down to press his lips to hers in a tender kiss.
"Really? I'm not dreaming this?"
"You're not." She laughed. Her laugh was the most amazing sound he had heard all day and he pulled her to him and kissed her again.
"I missed you." He whispered.
"Tell me about it." She leaned up and kissed him again but he lifted her up and made his way up the stairs and to his bedroom. They made love slowly and tenderly, enjoying what they had missed.
They stayed in bed, cuddled up a while longer, enjoying the quiet between them. Gabby was laying flat on her stomach, her arms under the pillow, sheets pooled at her waist.
"Something on your mind?" Matt whispered, tracing lazy circles on her mocha skin.
"How crazy I've been to not give you an answer sooner."
"Don't think like that. I've been wondering if I hadn't pushed you into something too soon so let's just enjoy some quiet time together. We have no kids around, just the two of us."
"I like how you think." She propped herself on her elbows and kissed him before leaning over him and pulling his night stand drawer open to take the key she knew was still there. "Did you really mean it?" She looked at him with a small smile on her lips.
"Since the day I told you about it." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You know what that means right?"
"What does it mean Gabrielle Dawson?" He chuckled.
"You can't hide anything from me anymore." She giggled.
"I'm all yours." He pulled her to him and kissed her, the key falling to the floor, the room soon filling with both laughter and love, the both finally ready to take an extra step forward in their relationship.
a/n: So after going completely crazy on each side without talking to each other, both Matt and Gabby come to their senses with a little help from their friends and family, Gabby says yes to the key Matt had wanted to give her. I hope you guys liked this chapter and please take a few secvonds to leave a review before you go so I can know what you guys thought of it.
So this is the final moments of 2015 (or the first hours of 2016 for everyone who is around the globe) I hope you party hard and I wish you all an amazing 2016 filled with, love, health, laughter and a bunch of new chapters in the new year. Love- Sarra xxxx
