Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names.
a/n: Thank you so much for all reviews the last chapter got, It makes my heart swell. I'm sorry that I took so much time to update this story. I had done the first half quite easily and then the words stopped coming but I finally managed to finish it today, enjoy it.
It had been a few days since Matt had been over to his sister's house for a sleepover with Violet and Matt was scheduled for another shift at 51. As soon as he walked through the doors, he was flanked by both Shay and Brett.
"Morning Casey." He looked at Brett who was smiling sweetly at him.
"Have a good date with Violet?" He then looked at Shay who was smirking.
"Yes and I saw you ladies had fun at home with the wine too." They kept walking in sync with him until he made it to his office. "Do you need anything? He turned when he made it to his door so he was facing them.
"Actually, we wanted to tell you something about girls night." He let them both into his office and Brett closed the door behind them.
"I'm not sure I want to find out about what happened during girls night." He sat down at his desk facing the two who were sitting on his bunk.
"Oh you definitely want to hear this one." Both girls looked each other smiling, scaring Matt a little bit.
"Ok so we know that you've already talked to her father about the future and what you want and what he expects right?"
"Right and your point being?"
"Well, we were talking about you."
"Me?" Matt interrupted Brett.
"Yes, you." They giggled at what Matt assumed was an inside joke of some kind.
"And Brett asked Gabby how she'd feel if you asked her to marry you." Now that definitely got Matt's attention.
"And what did she say?" It was stronger than him, he had to know what she had answered.
"She said that's she'd be ready if you did." Suddenly, Matt felt his hands clam up, nervousness creeping on him.
"She said that?"
"Yes." Shay confirmed.
"Oh my god. I haven't found a ring yet and what if she says she's ready and she isn't, what then?" Matt was always a strong guy and rarely did things affect him so but since finding Gabby and sharing his life with her and getting a new home together, things that concerned her had a new found effect on him.
"Mat, slow down. Look at me." Matt raised his eyes to meet Shay's and Brett's. "Don't you think you should ask someone else's permission first?"
"The kids."
"Uh huh." Shay agreed.
"They have been through so much but I know that you love them as much as you love the girls but if they're not on board, all three of them, you'll have to be patient."
"I know." He rubbed his hands together and took a few deep breaths. "Ok. Thanks for the intel." The girls smiled at him and stood, leaving him to his thoughts.
"What was that all about?" Kelly watched the girls leave as he made it to Matt's office door.
"She's ready." Was all Matt could offer in ways of an explanation.
"Ready for what?" Kelly walked in and closed the door behind him and even took a few seconds to close the blinds as well before he took a seat on Matt's bunk.
"They said that she said she'd be ready if I asked her to marry me."
"Man, that's great." Kelly couldn't help the smile that came to his lips for his best friend. "Isn't it great?" He asked, Matt shaking his head to rearrange his thoughts.
"It's great but I have to ask the kids for their permission."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Camping in the tree house." The idea suddenly came to him in that specific moment. "A boys night."
"That's a great idea. And what about the girls? You have to ask the girls what they think about all of this too." Matt clearly wasn't thinking straight so Kelly made sure he didn't forget anything in his attempt to find happiness because it wasn't just the two of them that he had to think about but five kids who all needed to have a say in all of this even though the final decision belonged to Matt alone.
"I haven't thought that far ahead but I doubt that they'd have a problem with that, they love Gabby and the kids."
"Still, you have to think about everyone in this, even Valentina."
"I know, I know. I just need some time to think about all of this. We don't have to rush it."
"You're right about that one though. Come on, let's get you caffeinated before we get a call." Kelly chuckled as he stood up from the bed and pulled Matt back with him in the common room. They were half way through a cup of coffee when the bells rang, calling all companies to an apartment complexe fire. The building was already fully involved in flames but the boarding to the windows indicated something else. Truck vented the roof and did the primary search with Squad while Engine ran a line inside at Boden's orders. They pulled out a few squatters out of the abandoned building with minor burns but as they pulled the last ones out, a few PD police cruisers were arriving on scene along with Intelligence.
"Casey." Antonio walked to him and both men shook hands.
"Antonio, what are you guys doing over here?"
"We're investigating a crack den. Did you guys move anything in there?"
"Well we saved everyone who was in there and if we moved things it was only to get them out faster."
"Alright thanks, we have it from here." Antonio patted Matt on the back who nodded back before he watched his future brother-in-law walk up to Boden to help move the investigation forward. Everyone else packed up the trucks and they were all on their way back to the house. Matt walked back into the house and his nose could already tell him they had a visitor.
"Baby, what are you doing here?" He kissed Gabby on the cheek as she cooked by the stove.
"I brought Valentina to daycare and I figured I had a few hours ahead of me so I thought I'd come visit you and make an edible meal for once." A few of the guys laughed as they walked in catching the tail of end of that discussion. Everyone kissed Gabby on the cheek and complimented her on the smell of the surprise she was cooking for them.
"So I was thinking about something on my way here."
"Uh oh! It's not always good when you think." She barely dodged the poke in the ribs he gave her.
"I was thinking that me and the boys could sort of go on a camping trip."
"We have nothing for a camping trip Matt." She didn't let him finish his thought.
"I was thinking about something a little bit closer to home, like in the tree house. What do you think?"
"I think they'd love that Matt."
"I hope they do." Matt knew how difficult it was for them to let a male into their lives after Alberto had passed away and that it scared them when Matt did get hurt but there was always this feeling in the back of Matt's head that told him that the boys weren't totally on board with his relationship with their mother but he was hoping that this camping trip would help them bond better.
"And me and the girls can stay in and paint our nails, it'll be fun."
"You're so good with them, thanks babe."He placed his hand on her lower back and kissed her temple.
"They're my girls too Matt." She assured him with a smile. "Is everything ok?" She pushed the pot off the hot stove and turned it off before facing him.
"Everything is fine, just a long call." He'd be lying if his conversation with Brett, Shay and Kelly hadn't played a number on him but having her here and saying that his girls were her girls too, there was no doubt in his mind that he found the one for them. She nodded and smiled back at him.
"Do you want me to set things up in the tree house later?"
"No. I figured I'd do that with the boys after I pick them up from your parents house. We could use this as our last hoora before school starts."
"Are you sure you won't be too tired?"
"I'll be fine. It will be a great way to spend more time with them."
"You worry too much about that Matt, they love you."
"I don't know why but I feel I'm still missing brownie points with them." He confessed.
"I'm pretty sure that after tonight, everything will be fine." She raised on her tippy toes and kissed him. "The food's ready guys." She finally called everyone to chow and pulled Matt towards his office
"What are you doing Gabby?"
"You look a little bit stressed Matt." She smirked and pulled the blinds down so they could have a little bit of privacy.
"Gabby I'm fine." She walked to him seductively before she straddled his hips and pressed her lips to his, wasting no time in deepening the kiss. Matt pulled her to him as he lied down, their lips still attached to each other. They made out on his bunk until they were out of breath.
"Is this better?"
"Much better." He whispered, his eyes still closed.
"I should go though."
"Stay just a little bit longer?" His lips silenced her answer and their lips counld't get enough of each other. Gabby stayed for another half hour before she had to leave, the house needing some cleaning. The rest of shift was pretty slow after that, giving Matt more than enough time to rest so he'd be able to bring the boys to the store to pick out their sleeping bags and snacks so they could have fun in the tree house. When 8 turned, Matt was all ready to get out the door so He headed home for a quick change of car, running Inside quickly for Gabby's kiss before he took the van and headed towards her parents house. Everyone was happy to head towards the store and even though the sleepover in the tree was mainly for the boys, Matt bought everyone a sleeping bag for future use and they were all excited for tonight's plans. When they returned, it was almost lunchtime and Gabby was taking care of the finishing touches to the sandwiches.
"How was the trip to the store?"
"Look what Matt got us mom." Luis showed his sleeping bag proudly.
"That's pretty cool. So what are you guys going to do up there?"
"Matt says it's a surprise." Filippe grinned.
"Surpise huh? She glanced up at Matt with a smile.
"It's boys night. What happens in the tree house stays in the tree house right boys?2
"Right." They clamoured togther.
"That's fine. Me and the girls are going to have some fun too then." She teased back. "Alright everyone, it's time for lunch." She ruffled the boys hairs as they tried to dodge her.
They had lunch both sets of twins saying their night would be the most fun but Matt and Gabby told them that both of the things they were doing would be fun equally. They put Valentina down for her afternoon nap while Matt took the boys and their things to the treehouse and Gabby taking the girls to dig up all the nail polishes for their girly evening. They had dinner and both adults went their seperate ways. Matt helped the boys up the tree and into the house and they pulled out all the things that they had taken with them. They asked to play with the blocks first and they started building something big, not really knowing what it was supposed to look like in the end.
"Are you going to ask mom to marry you?" Matt looked up with a surprised look, clearly not knowing where Filippe was taking this from.
"Where did you hear that?"
"I heard mom talking with Abuela and Abuelo."
"Were you supposed to hear that?" Matt wasn't sure that Gabby would be happy about them hearing a discussion that was clearly meant for adults but he just wanted to hear it from them.
"No." Filippe hung his head down. "We were in the hallway. We were supposed to be playing but then we heard them talk so we listened."
"And I don't want to hear about you listening in on adults conversations again. Is that clear?" Matt wasn't mad but he wanted them to know that what they did was wrong.
"Yes."
"If it was to happen, how would you feel about me asking your mom to marry me?
"It would be ok." Luis shrugged.
"Mom's been smiling more since she met you." Filippe added. "It means she's happy. I'd be ok with that."Filippe was always the more sentimental of the two and Matt was surprised when he was on the receiving end of a tight hug.
"So, can you keep a secret?" Matt asked them with a smile.
Inside, Gabby had already put Valentina to bed for the night, leaving her with Grace and Emma to do their nails.
"So, are you ladies ready to have pretty nails?"
"Yes." They both cheered.
"Alright Grace, you first. What colour do you want?"
"Can I have a rainbow?" Grace knew that a lot of colours meant hard work so she half expected Gabby to say no."
"Ooohh, a rainbow, I love that idea." The girls chose between the huge basket full of colours to choose their rainbow and when that was done, Gabby started painting nails. It took her a lot of time to do just Grace because she was a little less able to sit in one place but she loved doing girl things like that.
Matt had left the boys alone in the house to keep building their unknown structure s he could so grab some more things in the house in case the boys were hungry later but once he approached the kitchen silently, he could hear all three girls.
"Your nails are pretty Gabby." Emma told Gabby as she watched her put her own,dark blue nail polish.
"Thanks for doing our nails for us mom." Gabby wasn't expecting the hug that she just received and her eyes misted over, Matt's heart swelling from a distance. Grace looked up at Gabby with a guilty expression. "Is it ok if I call you mom?" She asked shyly.
"Of course you can." Gabby smiled down at her and picked her up to sit her on her lap. "I love you guys so much, as much as if you were my own daughters and I'm happy that you ladies came into my life."
"We are too." Emma came to join the hug. "And I know daddy does too. He's happier since he bumped into you."
"I am too. My heart was sad for a little bit but your dad made it all better."
Matt watched for a few more seconds before he decided to leave the girls alone. After all the worrying that he had been doing in the past days about having the boys ok with his decision to ask their mom to marry him and to hear his daughter's call her mom, he knew that life could only get better with Gabby and her kids by their side.
a/n: So after worrying that the boys wouldn't be ok with him marrying their mother, he soon found out that all the kids would be happy about the news when he did decide to ask her to marry him. Now he'll face the challenge of finding the perfect ring for her.
I hope you guys liked this chapter and please take a few seconds to review before you go, your thoughts are always appreciated. - Sarra
