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

A/N: First of all I want to thank everyone who read and review this story, I love you guys so much and welcome to all the new readers as well.

I just want to share a few words quick quick. I'm sorry that it's taken so long to post this chapter but I just want to remind people of something. I am a mom of two and I work a 40 hour job (that's when I don't do overtime). I LOVE this story and I know that you guys love it as much as I do and I try to update as much as I can so sometimes it gets hard. It's not the only active story I write and although I'd like to be able to write more, I can't. When I have the time, I write as much as I can but I also try to be fair in the way I post and try to post equally between all the stories AND be able to give time to my family.

I wrote an extra long chapter so enjoy.


The next couple of weeks following the end of school, Matt and Gabby had finally managed to find a routine about taking care of the kids while they were both on shift, each taking care of all of them when the other wasn't and her parents and Christie picking up the slack for the rest of the time. Gabby had finally given back the keys to her place to her landlord who was surprisingly understanding, both her and Matt seeing no sense in paying for two places if one wasn't used anymore. She put what wasn't useful in a small storage unit until they had found a new place for themselves.

The kids were easily entertained with the park and what not and when it was time for Valentina to nap, Gabby would try to look at properties on her laptop from her spot in the yard, going a bit nuts about the fact that they hadn't found anything by now.

"Are we going to find a new house mama?" Gabby looked up from the page she was looking at to look at Filippe.

"If we can find out that works for all of us yes."

"Can we do our birthday party in the new house?"

"If we can find one, sure baby." He smiled and returned in the yard where the kids were running around, playing tag. "If we find one." She said under her breath. Matt was on shift and she hadn't gotten a call from him in a while, the day starting to advance in time. He would usually give her a call or send her a text to tell her everything was ok but she figured that he was just having a really busy day but she still wished that he would give her a sign of life. She let the kids play while she returned inside, dinner neading to be prepared.

Matt sat in his office after yet another call. He was aware that he hadn't given Gabby any sign of life since starting shift and it was almost four o'clock. He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Gabby's familiar number. She didn't even give him time to talk before she did. Matt, Oh my god you're ok. It's as if he could picture her from where he was, her phone lodged between her ear and shoulder, no doubt preparing dinner for the kids, he smiled at the thought. "I'm sorry Gabs, it's been one of those crazy days." He sighed, the calls were difficult but her voice making it all better. You know I'm here if you need to talk Matt, don't keep it in. "We got a tough call this morning but I'll tell you more about it in the morning. How are the kids? Playing in the yard, I'm preparing dinner. "Tell them if they behave, I'll bring them to breakfast after shift," Are you sure you're ok? "Yeah I'm fine. I just can't wait to see you and the kids." He looked at his phone as it beeped, seeing it was Nate calling. "I got to go Gabby, Nate is calling on the other line." Alright I love you, stay safe. "I will. I love you too." He hung up and picked Nate's call "Please tell me you have good news Nate." Well I'll let you be the judge of that. Now this house is exactly what you're looking for but it needs a bit of TLC and it just went on the market. I'll send you some pictures and get back to me as soon as you can. "Thanks a lot Nate, I'll be waiting for those pictures." He hung up, needing to get back to the report on his desk in case another call came in. He looked up when his phone signaled that he had recieved an email and left it there until he had given his report in to Boden.

Once he sat back down in his office, he opened his e-mail and looked at the pictures and he knew that Nate was right about this one but just as he was about to send Gabby a text, the bells rang, calling them to a fire in the industrial part of town and he just knew that it would be a big one, they always were. Matt was grateful when they returned later that night to a quiet firehouse, long blissful hours of sleep waiting for them.

He woke up with his alarm and a text from Gabby saying that she missed him and that she couldn't wait for him to return and he smiled, wondering how lucky he had gotten to have her in his life.

"That smile can only mean one thing." He looked up to see Kelly in the doorway of his office, surprised that Kelly was up before him. "You got a dirty text from your girl."

"Nope, not dirty." He threw his phone at Kelly for him to read. "I just don't know how I got so damn lucky."

"Maybe because it was meant to be."

"I don't know about meant to be but I always felt like our paths were meant to cross, specially after the last few years." He shook his head. "Enough with the cheesy stuff. I'm going to grab my things and I'm going to bring Gabby and the kids out for breakfast."

"Sounds like a solid plan. How about house hunting? How's that going?"

"Nate sent me some pics and some specs yesterday but I need to talk about it to Gabby but I have a good feeling about this, just don't want to jinx it you know."

"I totally get that but remember, I'm here if you need anything."

"Thanks Sev." He patted his shoulder with a smile, walking away from him and out the doors of 51. He drove back home with a smile plastered on his face and as soon as he parked his truck and got out, he could already hear the kids getting all excited on the other side of the door. "Be quiet, you're going to wake up the neighbours." He called loudly from the door, all three girls rushing to him.

"Daddy." Grace smiled, Matt scooping her up in his arms. "We were waiting for you dad."

"Is that so?" He navigated around the kids to give Gabby a pec on the lips.

"Yeah. Gabby said that if we were nice that you'd take us all out to breakfast. Is that true?"

"Sure is." He grinned. "How about you guys get your shoes on while I talk with Gabby for a few minutes and then we can leave. How does that sound?"

"Yay." He set her down and the kids scrambled to get their shoes on.

"Hey, what's up?"

"It's actually about a house."

"He found one?" She walked with him into the kitchen.

"Actually he did and this is what it looks like." He handed her the phone so she could browse through the pictures. Gabby silently scrolled through the pictures, Matt looking as her face changed.

"But Matt." She finally looked at him.

"I know what you're going to say Gabby. It needs work but I can cut back completely on construction jobs for a while and I can concentrate on fixing it up for us. Plus, Nate said that it just went on so we could get it for less since there's so many things that need to be done on the house. It would be perfect and we could grow old in it." She looked at him with a smirk.

"Who says I want to grow old with you?" She teased him.

"You evil woman." He attacked her sides, almost making her drop the phone as it started ringing.

"It's Nate." She handed him the phone.

"Hey Nate, what's up?" Did you talk to Gabby about the house? "I just did but we haven't really talked about it yet." Ok well I just spoke with the person in charge of the property and they'd be willing to show you guys the house this morning. "This morning? Wow, that soon? Let me just run this by Gabby." He covered the phone with his hand and whispered. "Nate says that we could visit the house this morning."

"Matt. This is a big decision."

"I know Gabby but we could bring the kids and just go take a look. What do you think?" Gabby closed her eyes to concentrate, this was going very quickly.

"Fine but we're not telling the kids until after breakfast."

"I love you." He smiled at her.

"You better." She smirked.

"Ok Nate. We're bringing the kids for breakfast and we could be there in two hours. That good?" He heard Nate talk with someone on the other end. That's perfect Matt, we'll be waiting for you. "Thanks Nate." He hung up the phone and he and Gabby went to the living room where all the kids were waiting for their parents to be ready. After getting everyone ready and in the truck, Matt drove to their favourite diner where they managed to find a booth big enough to fit everyone. The waitress came with menus and all four kids were bickering about who would take what, all of the leaning across the table looking over their menus. "Alright kids, that's enough." Matt called them to order knowing they didn't have any time to waste in this place like they usually did.

"But Matt, I don't know what to chose." Luis whined.

"Well you guys need to hurry up and decide because we are going to visit a house after we finish eating." All five kids cheered.

"Does that mean that we'll get to do our birthday parties in the new house?" Filippe asked excitedly.

"We need to check it out first buddy but fingers crossed." He smiled at him. They finally managed to order quickly and they enjoyed a nice family breakfast, one Matt was grateful for after the last shift.

"Hey, you ok?" Gabby asked when all five kids were strapped in the car.

"We can talk about it later. I'm just happy to be with you guys." He leaned down and kissed her before walking to the driver's side, Gabby eyes following him until he was in the truck himself She'd have to get him to talk later, now she was hoping this house was going to pan out. She hopped in and they were on their way to the address Nate had texted Matt. Matt looked at the house as he drove up the path and he couldn't help but smile. "Wow, Nate was right, this house is perfect." It was a nice two story house made of brown bricks with a very nice porch on the front and a gate surrounding the property.

"Don't get too excited Matt." Gabby knew he was right but she didn't want to get her hoped up and be disappointed in what they'd be shown.

"Do you think we could have a tree house in the yard?" Emma asked from where she had her nose stuck to the car window.

"Gabby's right, let's not get too excited." He looked at her with a smile but deep down he was hoping for this house to be the perfect one for them.

"Gabby, Matt, I'm glad you guys could make it." He shook both their hands as they got everyone out of the truck. "Hey kids, how about we go have a look inside?" All five of them cheered and Nate unlocked the door for everyone to come and have a look. The entryway was big enough to fit everyone, something that Gabby liked because it would always get crazy there in the morning when it was time to get everyone ready for school. On the left, there was the stairs that led to the top floor of the house. They started by taking a tour of the main floor where they found a spacious living room and kitchen combination, a little bit like what they could already find at Matt's house but there was also a medium size room on the right, one Nate said could be either a guest room or an entertainment room for the kids while food was being prepared and of course, there was a small powder room.

"Nate." Gabby looked around and right now, all she could see were things that needed to be done.

"I know what you're going to say Gabby but I know Matt and he'll be able to do something really great in here."

"I'm trying to keep an open mind." The kids had gone wandering off with a promise from Nate that nothing dangerous was waiting for them around any corner.

"It's easy work Gabs. And think of all the great food you could do in here." He placed his hands on her hips from behind and he knew that he was winning her over.

"Let's see more house then." He took them to the back to see the yard. Now it wasn't huge but there was a nice mature tree in the back, no doubt the one Emma had spotted from the back of the truck when she spoke of a tree house.

"I can definitely build a tree house in that." He pointed to the tree, Gabby smiling at his eagerness.

"How many rooms is there?" That was what was most important to Gabby. They needed to have enough rooms to fit everyone in.

"More than enough I promise you. Let's go take a look." He led the couple to the second floor first door on the right was the first room. It was big enough to be either the boys or the girls room. Then the next one was a bit smaller, for Valentina obviously. Then the first on the left was somewhere between the two first rooms in size, most probably for the boys, giving Matt a room project that he could maybe do with them, on condition that this was the house for them. Next up on the left was the bathroom. It was a bath and shower combination with a two sink vanity. It wasn't huge but it did have some work to do. Then at the very end was the master bedroom. It was rather large with big windows giving them an amazing view of the yard. "And I'm pretty sure that you'll like this Gabby." He opened the door to reveal a master en-suite. It wasn't a palace but there was enough space in there for a very old, very rusty soaker tub and a shower plus a single sink vanity but there was enough storage to compensate for that.

"Ok so totally open mind here." Gabby looked at Matt. "But there's no way we can move into this place right away and we can't pay for two houses Matt."

"The house is almost paid for Gabby." This was the kind of thing that they hadn't really discussed and one that they'd eventually have to address but Matt had gotten the house cheap because there had been so many things to do in it and the money that he was making doing construction had always gone towards making extra payments, his firefighter salary enough to pay for everything else for them. "So we don't have to sell it right away."

"You never told me that before."

"It never came up." He smiled back at her.

"Plus, we can get them owners to lower their asking price because there is so much work that needs to be put in this house for you guys to be able to live in it."

"And what about the basement?"

"Basement is unfinished. It's mostly storage. It's an old married couple who never had kids so they never found any real use to finish the basement. They just can't keep up with the upkeep anymore."

"What do you think Gabby? This could be an amazing new adventure."

"Can we get this house mom?" Luis and the rest of the kids made it to the adults on the upper floor, all of them really excited. They were all hopeful and smiling.

"How about you guys go play a game of hide and seek in the yard and mommy and Matt can talk to Nate a little bit more." The kids all ran down the stairs, Valentina taking up the rear while Matt, Gabby and Nate went back into the kitchen to talk numbers and timeline.

"If you guys tell me that you're interested, I can give my contact Marcus a call. What do you guys say?" Nate picked up his phone that was ringing and went into the next room.

"What do you think?" Matt knew Gabby was a little bit skeptical about this place.

"The house has everything we're looking for Matt but you're the one who's going to have to put in the work for this house to look good."

"Like I said, we don't have to sell the house right away so we could do one room at a time."

"What about the kids birthdays?"

"We could just fix up the kitchen and the yard, the rest can wait. You saw how excited they were when they asked you if we could make their birthday parties in the new house if we found one."

"We made a decision then?" She pulled him to her by his shirt and kissed him."

"I think we did." He kissed her back as Nate hung up and returned to them.

"Ok so that was Marcus." Both Matt and Gabby looked at each other.

"Is it bad news?" Now that Gabby had made the decision with Matt, all she could see now is everything going down the drain.

"No. Marcus was calling me to say that he spoke with the owners about us and they aren't interested in dragging this process any longer than it needs to be and they know that the house needs a lot of work and he spoke with them about it and that is their final asking price." He slid his phone to them on the kitchen counter where Matt looked at the number written in the text message in front of him. He had to blink a few times to make sure he was really seeing what was written on the screen.

"Wow Nate."

"What is it Matt?" Gabby asked, not understanding what his reaction to the price meant.

"We'd be crazy not to take that deal baby."

"Really?" She knew nothing about the housing market really but she trusted Matt and if he said that it was a good deal than she believed him.

"Yeah."

"Perfect, I'll go give Marcus a call and I will be back." Nate disappeared again in the other room only to return a few short minutes later. "Congratulations, you guys just became new house owners." He grinned, shaking both their hands.

"Thanks for everything Nate." Matt held his hand a little longer.

"I'm always there for you Matt. It's nice doing business with you as always. So I'll go back to the office and draw up the paperwork and then we will make everything official. The kids came running back no longer after so Matt and Gabby got them all seated in the truck, mutually agreeing to wait to tell them about the news until everything was signed and official. When they returned to the house, they were so caught up in getting everyone ready for lunch and the rest of their day that the dark cloud that was over Matt's head after shift was already starting to clear.

In the next few days, Matt and Gabby returned to their routine of work and summer. They went to Nate's office to sign the paperwork for the house and scheduled an appointment with a notary to get everything done and what needed to be paid, paid before they invited a few people over one night to tell them the great news. Shay, Severide with Christie and Violet along with Antonio and Laura were there without the slightest clue what was going on. They decided that they'd tell the kids at the same time because they knew that if they already knew that it wouldn't be a surprise for the adults.

"Ok so what is so important that you guys had to drag us all the way here for?" Antonio teased them. It was very rare that everyone was at the same place at the same time and now they were all gathered in the yard.

"We have an announcement to make."

"Oh my God YOU'RE PREGNANT!" Shay exclaimed, getting everyone pumped up.

"What? NO!" Gabby yelled.

"It's nothing like that. After Gabby said yes to moving in with me, we decided to started looking for a bigger house because it is getting extra cramped in here. So we just wanted you guys to know that we found a house and we just signed the papers this morning."

"I knew it." Severide was the first to hug Matt tightly to congratulate him. "I knew it was done the moment I saw your goofy grin in the firehouse yesterday."

"That obvious huh?"

"Oh yeah. Oh and by the way Shay, you own me twenty." Shay rolled her eyes and slapped a twenty dollar bill in his hand.

"What's that all about?" Gabby asked from her spot in her brother's arms after a hug.

"We had a bet going on about what we were here for. I said it was a house and she said you were pregnant." Everyone laughed, Shay a light shade of pink. The kids were now bouncing around all the adults, excitement getting over them too. They were already arguing about who would get what room and what colour they would paint it, all the adults smiling at how excited the kids were.

In the following days, Nate gave them the keys to the house so they could get some work started. The house ways already empty, the previous owners had already moved out to go live in a home a few days back. Both Severide and Antonio were excited for the couple but Matt hadn't told them in what state the house was in so one afternoon while the boys were off, both Kelly and Shay along with Antonio met up with Matt and Gabby at the new house so they could work what needed to be done for the kids birthday party.

"The house looks great Gabs." Antonio looked up at the exterior, both Matt and Gabby exchanging a look.

"What's that look for?" Severide eyed Matt suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"Don't nothing me Casey, I know that look."

"We'll let you guys see for yourselves." Matt unlocked the front door and let everyone in."

"Damn Matt, what is this house?" Kelly walked in farther, taking in the interior.

"An old couple lived here. They couldn't take care of it anymore. That's why we got it so cheap."

"I'd say. You guys are nuts." Antonio added. "How the hell are you guys going to move in here with the place looking like this?" He pointed at the inside of the house.

"I am going to work in the house while we still live in the old house until we're ready to move in here and sell the other one." Matt didn't elaborate about owning two houses and Antonio didn't ask, trusting Matt enough to know what he was doing. "We promised the kids that we'd have their birthday party here so I figured that doing the kitchen and the yard first is the priority."

"I said I'd help so I'm in." Severide patted Matt on the shoulder.

"I'm in too." Antonio shook Matt's hand.

"And what do you think about getting your hands dirty with me Shay?" Gabby needed a hand with the back yard.

"I'm in."

"And you should call Laura and ask her, she's great at that stuff." Antonio added.

"Perfect, thank you so much guys." They didn't stay there very long because all five kids were with Gabby's parents and they didn't want to leave them there too long.

In the next couple of weeks, everyone used their free time to help Matt and Gabby out at the new house to get the kitchen and the yard ready for the kids big day. They had to convince the kids that they couldn't tag along because they wanted it to be a surprise for them. Matt and Gabby went to the house on the Friday before the party to finish everything up. The front of the house still looked like it was straight from a horror movie but as soon as they moved into the living room area, they could see the brand new kitchen. The kitchen cabinets were a golden brown colour and the counters a white quartz, an easily cleanable, kid friendly choice. They bought a double door fridge with the freezer at the bottom so they could keep up with their growing kids appetites. They stepped into the yard and Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"You did an amazing job out here babe." The high weeds had been replaced by nice, short grass. Matt had built a small sandbox for the kids to enjoy, the treehouse would have to wait.

"I had a lot of help." Laura had given a hand for the flowerbeds, giving Gabby some easy tips to make everything look great. They had set up some tables and chairs for everyone to sit for lunch, burgers and hot-dogs on the menu.

"The kids will love it." There were some paper lanterns as well and some toys that both adults and kids would be able to enjoy together. They stayed a little bit longer to clean up the room next to the living room so they could put a little mattress for Valentina to take a nap in the afternoon. When they got back home, all the kids were asleep and Kelly and Christie were lying down on the couch, Kelly's arms protectively around his sister's frame.

"Look how cute they are." Gabby whispered.

"I never thought I'd say this but I'm happy for them and he's good to her."

"That's all you can ask for." They woke the couple up and thanked them before they left and they were left to head to bed themselves.

"Excited about tomorrow?" He kissed her hair as he pulled her closer to him.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they see everyone in the yard."

"Six. I can't believe they are turning six soon." Matt sighed. Their real birthdays were later after the party but this was the best time to celebrate it with everyone.

"They are growing up so fast." She snuggled closer into him, burying her face in his chest.

"Hey, it's ok." He made her look up at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's just they're growing up so fast and he's missing it all."

"He sees you from up there and he's proud of the four of you." He whispered, kissing her forehead. He pulled her closer to him and they cuddled in silence until they both fell asleep.

The next morning, they got everyone dressed and fed while Shay and Severide were putting the finishing touches at the other house and greeting guests. Adults were starting to arrive and so were kids from school the whole yard bustling with happy people. Kelly texted Matt once everyone had arrived so they could start making their way here.

Once the kids had quieted down after Matt received Kelly's text, they were forced into the car and then blindfolded, Gabby snickering at the sight of all five kids in the back of the truck. They drove the short distance to the house and when they got out, they guided the kids towards the back yard where it was now extremely quiet. Once they were in and the gate closed, they put them one next to the other.

"Ok, you guys can take them off." They took it off pretty much at the same time.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone screamed. The yard was filled with all their friends and loved ones.

TBC


a/n: Oh dear. This was a long one and I think it was getting out of hand so I decided to cut it and make it into a two part. They finally found a house that they like but it had a lot of work to do so it'll give me some nice material to write about.

I hope you guys liked it and please take a few minutes to leave a review, I always love to read what you guys think of it. Love - Sarra