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

a/n: Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter, you guys are AMAZING. Now I know that I should be writing for my other stories (sorry Milady I know I promised I'd write for ghosts next) but the ideas keep flowing for this one so I hope you guys will like it as much as the previous ones.


Matt's voice was hoarse and a cough followed quickly after. Matt's fingers released their grip from Gabby's and she reached on the table to pour him a glass of water.

"Don't try talking baby, just drink." She pressed the small glass to his lips and he drank small gulps of the cold liquid before Gabby put the glass down. "I'll go get the nurse. As she stood up to leave,Matt's hand took hold of her hand again.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"I know baby. It's ok, we can talk about this later." She reluctantly pulled away from him to go straight to the nurse's station. "He's awake." She pressed her palms against the cool countertop, the nurse looking up from what she was writing down.

"I'll page Dr Hasting and he'll come down to examine him. I'm on my way to take his vitals." The nurse stood up and followed Gabby closely behind. "Mr Casey. Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?" She checked his IV drop to make sure the pouch wasn't empty and looked at the monitor hooked on the wall.

"Hurts." His hand reached for his bandaged side.

"Don't try to touch it, Dr Hastings will be down soon." She smiled at Gabby and left them alone until the doctor came.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" She hoped this was just temporary.

"I remember touching the electrical panel and flying backwards and asking the guys to help Severide but after that, it's blank."

"Maybe Kelly will be able to fill in the gaps for you." She sat back down next to him.

"How come it hurts so much?" He remembered the blood trickling down his arm but didn't know what had been affected.

"The rebar hit your kidney so they had to fix it and repair the muscles around it. It'll hurt for a while."

"Does that mean I get to see you in the hot little nurse's outfit and that purple lacy number underneath again?" He smirked, a cough following.

"Slow down cowboy. Let's get you back home first before we talk about that." She smirked, giving him another glass of water to drink.

"Mr Casey." The doctor looked up from Matt's file as he walked into the room.

"When do I get to go home?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself there lieutenant." Dr Hastings chuckled as he inspected the now undressed wound under Matt's hissing. "You'll need to stick around here a few days to make sure the surgical scar heals properly and then you'll be on total bed rest for another few days after you get home and then we'll see you every week until we clear you for full duty."

"How long would that take?" His voice was starting to sound more and more normal every time he used it.

"All of this depends on your body's ability to bounce back."

"It'll bounce back just fine." He insisted, determination clear in his blue eyes.

"For tonight, I suggest that you rest up and I'll come take a look at you in the morning." He patted Matt's leg and then Gabby's shoulder and he left them to the rest of their evening.

"I'm going to call Kelly to tell him you're awake." She pulled out her phone from her pocket but Matt stopped her before she could dial the number.

"We need to talk."

"You just woke up Matt, it can wait." She tried dialling Kelly but Matt stopped her again.

"Actually, Kelly and the kids can wait. We need to talk about what happened the other day."

"You're lucky to be lying down in that bed." She sat back down and put her phone away.

"I'm sorry about being a complete ass to you." He started.

"Matt, we should really focus on getting you better." She tried to deflect again.

"Not until I get this off my chest." Gabby finally caved and listened. "I was a total ass to you and I was way out of line to scream at you at home and at the firehouse."

"Than why did you?" Gabby didn't mean to sound angry and harsh but Matt could read between the lines. Matt stayed silent, trying to organize his thoughts. "Matt." She gained his attention back.

"I didn't want to disappoint you." Gabby felt the wind knocked out of her.

"Why on earth would I be disappointed?" He wasn't making sense and she wanted to know what was going through his head.

"When I met you, you had just gone through something life changing."

"Matt." She protested.

"Please. I need to get this off my chest." Gabby sighed but let him continue. "But you made me feel things I hadn't in a long time and I fell in love with you and your kids and all I wanted was to give you the perfect house because that's what you deserve."

"You don't have to kill yourself from exhaustion to do that Matt."

"I know that now but I just wanted, want, to provide you with everything you need and to have to stop doing everything for everyone else before yourself."

"We have kids Matt, thinking of ourselves comes last."

"It shouldn't have to anymore. I wanted to be able to be the man you needed and the man that's there for the kids." Gabby walked around the bed and went to gently lie down next to him, hovering just over him.

"I want that man to stay alive so we can be what we need for each other and for the kids. I don't need to have the perfect house right away, I want us to be able to build a new home together, no matter how long it takes us. You said it yourself, you want to grow old together." She smirked, thinking about that conversation again.

"Who says I want to grow old with you?" He replied with a smirk of his own, remembering that same conversation.

"You are lucky that you are injured because I feel like hitting you right now."

"Good thing for me then." He smirked, pulling her against his uninjured side. "How were the kids? How's Luis?"

"Luis?"

"Yeah. I felt him close to me earlier. He sounded sad." They always said that unconscious people could hear and feel people around them but until now, she hadn't believed it.

"He's scared you're going to go away like Alberto." She hid her face in the crook of his neck. "When they wheeled you in, I got scared too. Kelly had so much blood on his hands."

"Hey, look at me." She pulled away slightly from him, tears in her eyes. Matt crushed a lone tear with the pad of his thumb. "I'm not going anywhere and I know we've talked about this before but I'll do everything in my power to come back to you and the kids and I was dumb to act the way I did."

"You need to talk to me when something is bothering you Matt. We're in this together and I don't want a stupid fight like that to come between us again."

"I promise." He whispered, leaning down to capture her lips in a tender kiss. He groaned as he took a deep breath after lying back down against the bed.

"Where does it hurt? Do you want me to get a nurse?" She pulled away from him, scared she had been the one to cause him pain.

"No, I'm fine. I think my body is just going to be sore for a while."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. By the way, do you still want to call Kelly tonight?"

"Yes. Everyone was so worried about you and I think Christie will be happy to know that you're awake."

"How is she?"

"Hanging in there I think. Kelly hasn't left her side since he told her."

"I'm glad she has him." Gabby smiled at him and got up to grab her phone before coming back to rest next to him. "The girls were scared too, I could tell but they're being brave probably because they know the risks your job has." She dialled Kelly and put it on speaker. He answered on the first ring. "Gabby, is something wrong with Matt?" Gabby could hear the worry in his voice. "No, are the kids asleep and is Christie next to you?" "The kids are asleep, they were exhausted and so was Christie, she's asleep on the couch." "Please wake her up and put her on speaker." She could hear Kelly shake Christie through the phone and whisper to her. "Baby. Gabby's on the phone and she wants to talk to us." "Is Matt ok?" She heard Christie faintly behind. "You're on speaker. What's up Gabs?" "Matt is awake." "Don't play with us Gabby." Christie's voice was shaky on the other end. "We're not playing with you guys." It was Matt this time that talked. "You scared the hell out of us buddy." "I'm sorry about that. I'll try not doing it again." "What did the doctors say?" Christie asked. "How about you guys bring the kids over in the morning and we can talk about it?" "We'll be there around ten. Rest up ok little brother." "Don't worry, I have a hot nurse that's taking good care of me. We'll see you in the morning." Christie and Kelly both said their good night's before Matt hung up the phone.

Matt closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry I put everyone through this." He sighed.

"We're going to be fine. Kelly says you guys saved that man's life so now that you're awake, everything is going to be ok." She promised him. "Are you getting tired?" She noticed his eyes fluttering open and then closing.

"Yeah and the pain is starting to flare in my side."

"Ok I'll be right back with a nurse." She walked back in the room with his nurse and she gave him some medication for the pain and a change of his IV so he would be more comfortable for the night.

"Here you go Mr Casey, this should help you." Gabby thanked her as she left, leaving them alone for the night.

"Stay with me?" He asked as his eyes closed once again.

"I'm not going anywhere." She snuggled closer into him and they both fell asleep, the day's emotions getting the better of them.

Kelly had done one last phone call to chief Boden to give the house the update before he sat in Christie's couch with her snuggled into his side after they had hung up. They hadn't really talked but instead settled into a comfortable silence.

"What are you thinking?"

"Grateful that Matt is awake. Thankful that you're by my side through all of this."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." He ran his fingers through her hair.

"Move in with me." She looked up at him, a look of shock written on his face. They hadn't seriously talked about moving in together but there she was, asking him to move in with her and Violet. "Kelly, say something." She said after Kelly's silence was getting too much for her.

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?" He finally said

"Well our relationship was never normal so." She shrugged with a smile. "Move in with me."

Kelly chuckled before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. His hand came to cup her cheek as he deepened it, causing her to moan into his mouth and her body to ride up to meet his. They spent a few minutes kissing on the couch before Kelly picked her up in his arms and walked them up to their room for more privacy. They woke up the next morning to running around in the house and although Christie was reluctant to leave his side, they got up before the whole house exploded. They came down to find Luis holding his brother pinned down under him.

"Say you're sorry." Luis pushed Filippe down into the living room carpet, Kelly hurrying to separate them.

"Whoa there you two. Can someone just tell me what's going on?"

"Filippe said that Matt might not wake up." He huffed.

"That's not what I said." Filippe stood behind Kelly.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Christie took a frightened Valentina in her arms.

"Filippe said what if Matt doesn't wake up and Luis just jumped on him." Grace said, tears in her eyes. Kelly looked at Christie and silently agreed that waiting to tell them over breakfast would be disastrous.

"Alright everyone take a seat on the couch." He pointed to the tan couch in the living room.

"What's going on?" Violet came down rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good, you're awake." Christie hugged her daughter. "You should hear this too." She kept her neatly tucked under her arm. "Gabby called us last night." She started.

"Is dad ok?" Emma asked she she slightly moved forward on the couch.

"You're dad is ok and he's awake." The living room broke out in cheers, all the kids getting up from the couch and swarming both adults.

"Calm down everyone. We have to eat before we have to go to the hospital so who wants bacon and eggs?" The kids all ran into the kitchen to wait for the food. Another glance was exchanged between Kelly and Christie and she transferred Valentina to Kelly's arms and they kissed before heading into the kitchen, leaving mother and daughter alone for a little talk.

Violet looked back into the kitchen where Kelly disappeared and looked back at her mother. "Is everything ok mom? Is something wrong with uncle Matt?"

"No. Nothing is wrong with uncle Matt that I know of but they said they'd give us more detail when we got there. No, I want to talk to you about something else." She guided Violet to the couch where they both sat down.

"Is it about Kelly moving in here?" Christie was surprised about her daughter knowing about that.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I heard you ask him when I went to the bathroom last night. I'm ok with it mom." She smiled.

"You're not mad at me for not talking to you about it?"

"I figured he was already moved in here since he's always here." She chuckled. If Christie was being really honest, it already felt like Kelly was living with them.

"I guess you're right." She chuckled too. The two got up and hugged before joining the others at the dinner table. Violet grabbed a plate and Kelly filled it up with food and they exchanged a glance before he ruffled her hair under some protest and everyone ate and got ready to get to the hospital in time.

Matt woke up to some extra weight on his side but he smiled when he saw the reason for it. "Wake up sleeping beauty." He whispered in Gabby's ear before pressing his lips to her forehead. She shifted at his side and her eyes fluttered opened, her fists coming to rub the sleep out of them.

"Morning." She smiled before realizing she was almost on top of him. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, I missed having you there. How'd you sleep?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?" She chuckled. "Knowing that you were ok and awake, I slept perfectly, you?"

"How can I not sleep good when I have a beautiful woman sleeping in my arms?"

"The two of you are so sweet." The two looked up to see Nathalie, Gabby's boss standing in the doorway. "I'm glad you're awake Matt." She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry for putting you into trouble for shift." Gabby said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Nonsense. You're right where you should be. I'm just glad everything worked out fine between you two."

"Everything is perfect thanks." Gabby laid back down against Matt.

"I've got to get back but I'm happy to see you vertical. Keep me posted on when you come back." She waved at them before she even had a chance to answer.

"I've seriously got the best boss." She exhaled.

"And she's easy on the eyes." Shay appeared in the doorway, eyeing behind her at Nathalie, making Gabby chuckle.

"Tell that to her husband." Gabby laughed harder before turning serious. "What are you doing here, don't you have shift?" She looked at the time and it was around seven thirty, thirty minutes before shift ended.

"Just dropped off a victim and came to see if Kelly was telling the truth." She walked in the room, gently hugging Matt without hurting him. "You had us worried there." She kissed his cheek.

"Sorry."

"And this means the two of you talked?" Gabby hid in Matt's side only it made Matt chuckle.

"Yeah, we're good." He poked Gabby in the side, making her giggle.

"And do the kids know you're awake?"

"They probably do by now. Christie said that she'd bring them by later with Kelly."

"That's great. I got to run but I'm sure most of the house will be there after shift is over. I'll see you two later."

"Later Shay." Casey said as she left, an orderly coming in with a food tray.

"Here's some food Mr. Casey. The nurse says she'll be by soon." And he left. As promised, a new nurse came in a few minutes later.

"Not quite liking our food Mr Casey?" She chuckled as Matt poked at his toast.

"Not what I like best." He huffed at what was supposed to be cereal but really looked like sticky goo.

"I'll try to find you some toast but you have to eat something if you want to get out of here in a few days." She laughed before leaving on her breakfast mission.

"When Kelly and Christie get here I'll sneak out for a shower and I'll bring you back some real food." She kissed him but they were interrupted by yet someone else, or to be more precise several someone else's.

"Can we join the party?" They looked up to find five kids looking up at them, the two adults smirking.

"The more the merrier." Matt smiled. Both girls were the first to jump on the bed and hug him, Matt fighting through the pain in his side so he could hold his girls. Everyone took turns to hug him until the last one left was Luis who had stayed glued to the door. "Hey buddy." He patted the spot on the bed next to him and Luis didn't have to be asked twice before hopping on the bed, flinging his arms around Matt's neck. "It's ok Luis." That was all if too for the damn to break, the little boy crying in Matt's chest. Matt rubbed his back and let him get everything out before he sat him back up under Gabby's protests to take it easy.

"I thought you were going to go up in heaven like daddy." This broke Matt's heart into tiny pieces.

"I'm not going anywhere." He ruffled his hair.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He offered his fist and Luis connected his little one to it. " And when I get out of there, we'll finish your room and we'll build the tree house."

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves are we Lieutenant Casey." It was the same doc as the night before, probably finishing his rounds.

"Maybe." He chuckled.

"Alright, I'd ask you please to leave the room while I examine Mr. Casey." He didn't mind all of these people in the room but he preferred a little bit of quiet while he checked his patient out. As everyone exited the room, firehouse 51 walked into the waiting room.

"How's Casey doing?" Boden was leading the group.

"He's doing great actually and Luis just gave me an idea but I'll need some help to get it done."

"You name it and it's done." The two spoke away from the ears surrounding the room so it wouldn't come back to Matt's and most of 51 were on board to help with the special project. Everyone returned home after finding out that Matt had fallen asleep, leaving their friend to rest up and get better, giving them time to put their plan in action.


a/n: Ok so I wasn't planning on such a longer chapter but I had a lot of things to fit into here and I hope you liked it. As always, your reviews are always welcome and I can't wait to get your feedback and stay tuned to find out what the special project is. - Sarra