Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names.
a/n: Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed last chapter. I know that I haven't posted in a really long while but I have been really sick for the past week end a half, not being able to do much of anything but that's only one of the reasons I haven't been able to write. I've also gotten a bad case of writer's block but I've gotten a lot of help from my extended ChiFi family on twitter (you ladies know who you are) so thanks to all of you for letting me bounce my ideas off of you. For everyone who writes down ideas in reviews, know that I keep all of those in mind but until then, enjoy this one.
It had been a few days since Matt and Gabby had gotten surprised by their whole family and friends with their new house. The old one was for sale and they were waiting for some good news but in the meantime, Matt had agreed to spend the night at Christie's at Violet's request and the girls had agreed to spend the evening with Gabby at the house, wine and all.
"So how's Matt doing?" Shay asked as she grabbed the wine bottle with four glasses and headed for the living room.
"He's doing better. The pain in his side is pretty much gone and the docs say he'll do a full recovery." Gabby took the glass of wine that she was being handed.
"So he'll be back on his feet soon, that's good to hear." Brett added.
"So Gabby, you pretty much got the jackpot with Matt." Laura deviated the subject as they made it to the living room.
"He's been so good to me and the kids." She gushed. "It hasn't always been easy but just watching him with the boys and Valentina, it just makes my heart melt."
"Well if I judge by that beautiful room of yours, I'd say he's more than good to you, if you know what I mean." Shay wiggled her eyebrows, everyone else laughing, Gabby turning pink.
"I never thought I'd find this kind of hapiness after Alberto." She took a sip of wine before continuing. "But bumping into Matt at the pier that day has given me everything I could hope for."
"Do you think he'll ask you to marry him?" The living room finally fell silent as both the girls and Gabby registered what Brett was just asking.
"I think I'm ready." Gabby whispered, a tiny smile forming on her lips, a light blush creeping on her cheeks too. "But my family is very traditional and Matt would have to ask my dad first."
"Trust me. That boy loves you so much that he'd walk through fire for you. I'm pretty sure he can survive a little talk with Edouardo Dawson." Shay snickered, eyeing Brett and keeping this conversation as a mental note for later use. Shay poured Gabby another glass as the girls changed the subject and gossipped for a good part of the evening.
When Matt made it to his sister's house, Violet barely let him inside the house that she was hanging from his neck. "Thanks for coming uncle Matt." She beamed.
"Are you kidding me? I haven't seen you since my accident and Gabby's having a girl's night at home so it's just you and me kiddo." He set her down on the floor and they made their way into the kitchen where the sight in front of them made Violet screach and Matt to shield her eyes. "Come on guys, there are kids in the room." Christie and Kelly nearly jumped out of their skin, now standing next to each other, Christie blushing furiously while Kelly started chuckling.
"What are you doing here Matt?" Matt finally removed his hand from Violet's eyes and laughed.
"I have a date with my niece. Remember? You planned it." Christie suddenly became quiet, her eyes lowering to the floor, Kelly clearly not able to keep his laughter in.
"Kelly." She suddenly growled under her breath, a quick slap against his abs, stopping him mid laugh.
"Sorry." He straightened up. "So what's the plan tonight?"
"Movies and pop corn, isn't that right Vi?" Matt pulled her closer against him.
"Picked the movies out already." She grinned at Kelly this time. "Want to watch with us Kelly?"
"You're mom and I are going to let you and uncle Matt spend some time together. We can watch movies whenever you want." Violet nodded with a smile and Matt finally took her away to the living room where she put the first dvd in. They settled on the couch with a bowl of pop corn in her lap and she snuggled close to Matt who had his legs propped up on the table.
"Am I hurting you uncle Matt?" She pulled herself away a little bit to look at him.
"No. My side is all good." He pulled back into him and the previews started. "Looks like things are going great with Kelly." He didn't want to ask Christie because he knew that she wouldn't tell him and for one of the rare times in his life, Kelly was keeping his relationship private.
"They are. I don't think I remember seeing mom so happy."
"What about you? Still want to do what we talked about before?" Knowing Violet was happy was just as important for him as his sister so he needed to know that both were in a good place.
"Yes." She looked up at him. "I talked about it some more with mom and Kelly's been a lot of help too so I want to do it. Mom just wants me to wait until I'm thirteen."
"Your mom just wants you to be happy."
"I know and deep down, I think I've always known that I've been a real Casey so I don't mind waiting."
"That's my girl." He smiled at her before the opening credits brought them back to their date night. They watched two movies before Violet fell asleep against his shoulder half way through the third. He pressed pause and gently shifted so he could scoop her up and bring her to her room upstairs. He put her in bed and tucked her in and made his way back downstairs. He found Christie and Kelly on the balcony, her feet propped up on his legs and Kelly with a beer in his hands.
"I just tucked Vi in her bed." He leaned against the house.
"You don't have to stay the night Matt, I'm sure she'd understand."
"I promised her french toast in the morning." He shrugged.
"I'll go get the guest room ready then." Kelly patted her leg before she took them down from his lap and went inside, giving Matt's arm a squeeze and smiled before disappearing inside.
"Do you want one?" Kelly raised his bottle.
"No I'm good but I want to say thanks." Matt took the seat that Christie had vacated moments before, Kelly giving him a curious look. "I talked with Violet before the first movie started. She says she hasn't seen my sister so happy and word is you've given Violet a few words of advice too."
"I love your sister Matt and I'm still sorry for the way you found out about it but she's the best thing that's happened to me in a long while and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way. And for Violet, I know that she means the world to you and if I can do anything to keep her a happy teen, that's exactly what I'll do."
"We've all made mistakes Kelly but I see the way you are with them and they've been through rough things in the past few years and just the fact that they've managed to have a new start and be happy now, part of it is because of you so thanks." Matt extended his hand and Kelly gladly shook it. No extra words were added and Kelly took a sip of his beer before Christie came back from the house.
"The room is ready." She smiled at her brother.
"Thanks Chris." He stood up. "I'll catch you guys in the morning." He kissed her cheek and went back inside to catch a few extra hours of sleep, leaving them alone to enjoy the rest of their quiet evening.
"Everything ok?" She asked as she took a seat on Kelly's lap, her arms snaking around his neck.
"Everything is perfect." He smiled at her but looked back into the house where Matt had disappeared. "Just being Matt. Making sure you and Violet were happy." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"And that has everything to do with you." She leaned down and kissed him. He put his beer down and wrapped an arm around her waist and his other hand came to rest against her cheek as he deepened it. The kiss heated up as Kelly's tongue slipped through Christie's lips once again.
"How about we take this upstairs?." He whispered as they breathlessly stopped kissing.
"I like how you think Kelly Severide." She giggled as he scooped her up in his arms. His lips reclaimed hers as he took her up the stairs into their room where they indeed enjoyed the rest of their evening.
Matt woke up to dead quiet coming from inside his sister's house. It didn't happen very often nowadays that he was aloud to wake up when his body had enough rest that he welcomed it this particular morning. He knew that the wouldn't be up right away but Matt made his way down into the kitchen to get everything ready for breakfast. It didn't take very long for Violet to come down the stairs while Matt was cooking the bacon.
"Morning uncle Matt." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat down at the breakfast bar.
"Morning. How did you sleep?" He asked as he started the french toast.
"Really good. Thanks for bringing me up in my bed. When did I fall asleep?" She asked as Matt chuckled, giving her a full plate.
"Half way through the third movie." She mumbled something as she put a forkful in her mouth.
"You're welcome."
"Smells good in here." Christie made an appearance in the kitchen, her robe tightly wrapped around her body. Matt didn't have time to answer before Kelly came in.
"I didn't know you could cook." He teased, earning a hand towel by the head.
"I'll eat this then." He pulled the plate away from Kelly's grasp as he chuckled.
"No no, that's fine." Everyone laughed as Matt gave Kelly the place, finally making some for himself.
"Thanks for breakfast Matt." Christie bumped her shoulder against his while they did the dishes.
"You're welcome." They did the dishes in silence before Matt had to leave. The kids were all at Antonio's so he needed to get going if they wanted to pick them up before they drove him crazy. Violet hugged Matt tightly and thanked him again before he left.
Matt walked up the stairs to the house and when the knob didn't offer any resistance, he knew that Gabby had passed out from too much wine, not being able to lock up after the girls had left. He made his way to their bedroom on the top floor and couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of him. Gabby was curled up on his side of the bed with nothing but an old t-shirt of his and her panties, her knees raised up against her chest. He put the food bag down on her side table and laid down beside her, watching her sleep. He pushed an unruly strand of hair behind her ear and pressed a light kiss to her lips, effectively making her eyes flutter open.
"Looks like you girls had fun." He whispered, not wanting her to wake up to brutally.
"One would say too much. What's that I smell?" She lifted her head up to try to figure out from where it came from.
"I got your favourites from Laura's bakery you like so much." He smiled.
"I'm pretty sure Laura wasn't in." She groaned, images of last night coming back to her.
"She wasn't." He chuckled. "She called off today. Andrea served me."
"Did you have fun with Violet?"
"Yeah. How about you?" Or do I even want to know?" Matt had gotten a glimpse of the amount of wine they had drank last night when he walked in.
"We had fun." A lazy smile appeared on her face.
"I'm glad to hear that." He leaned down and pressed his lips tenderly against hers.
"Did you get the kids?" She kept her voice low to keep the light thumping in her head at bay.
"Not yet." He kissed her again. "We still have a few hours in front of us." He pulled her close to him and kissed her again. He had missed her warm body against his last night and when he woke up this morning.
"That's more than enough time." She rolled herself onto him and kissed him more forcefully this time.
"More than enough." He whispered in between kisses as they enjoyed a rare moment of quiet time together before they had to get the kids.
a/n: FINALLY. As always, you guys are amazing and I wouldn't be 800 reviews in without your support. This story has been so popular I think mostly because it's relatable and it goes at a "normal" pace so this chapter will help our characters move on by confiding in others. I hope you guys like it and you know what to do before leaving ;) I can't wait to find out what your thoughts on it are - Sarra
