Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names.
A/N:Ok soI know I KNOW that it has been totally FOREVER since I've even written for this story and for that I apologize. No matter how much I claim that this season hasn't affected my Dawsey writing it has. I was struggling to decide what to do with the rest of the story (even though it doesn't even follow the show). I've managed to get a few ideas these past fews days for the next couple of chapters. This isn't the most exciting chapter but hopefully you enjoy it anyways.
It had been a couple of weeks since Matt returned to firehouse 51 after his injury and he had gotten back in the swing of things. The only problem was that they hadn't talked to the kids about the rooming situation.
"Come on Matt, we'll have to talk to them about it soon if we want to get a move on it before the baby is born." She whispered harshly to him one particular morning as they got the kids ready.
"First thing after I nap post shift Gabs, promise."
"Yeah, I've heard those promises before." She grumbled. Gabby had woken up in a particularly bad mood and although Matt had indeed been dragging his feet where the talk was concerned and the subsequent renovations that would require, he wasn't sure what he had done to be on the tail end of the frustration she was throwing around this morning.
"Hey." He stopped next to her and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry I've been stalling." He kissed the top of her head. "How are you two feeling this morning?" His hand found the swell of her belly and ran his thumb against it.
"He won't stop kicking." It had started the moment she had woken up.
"He?" He cocked his eyebrow.
"Well we can't exactly keep calling this baby it can we?"
"I guess not." He chuckled. 'How's your day looking?"
"I am going shopping with your sister for the baby."
"Oh boy, we're in trouble now." He knew how much his sister loved shopping and this baby was the first since the twins and he could see her itching to spoil it.
"Be nice, she's excited." She kissed him. "Be careful out there Captain." She pushed herself on her toes and kissed him,
"Always am. You sure you don't need help with the monsters?" He chuckled.
"We are fine now go." He gave her one last kiss and kneeled in front of her stomach.
"Be good for your mom." He kissed it as their eyes met, a smile on both their faces. "I love you."
"I love you too." He ruffled the boys hair and grabbed his bag next to the door before making his way towards the firehouse. He made it just in time for the bells to ring, calling them to a structure fire downtown.
Gabby managed to get the kids to school on time, Luis and Emma giving her some trouble. She returned home as Christie parked her own car in front of the house.
"Hey, how was the drop off?" They hugged.
"Luis and Emma were not cooperating." She sighed, running her hand against her stomach.
"And what about this one?" Christie placed her hand on the other side, receiving a swift kick.
"More active than the twins. He's really kicking my butt."
"Well maybe you need some time just to relax. Maybe Kelly and I can take the kids off your hands for the week end so you can spend some quiet time with Matt?"
"That would be amazing Christie but are you sure Kelly won't mind?"
"Yeah." She smiled at her, even though she hadn't even run it by him first.
"Alright. Just tell me when you're up for it." They decided to take Christie's car. The drive to the shopping mall wasn't all that long but Christie's relationship with Kelly was at the centre of the discussion. Gabby was sure it was just a matter of time before Kelly proposed and Matt insisted that he wasn't there yet. "By the way, Matt is scared about this shopping trip." Gabby giggled.
"Too bad for him." She smirked. "It's not every day that I get another niece or nephew so I will spend as much money on them as I want. Have you guys talked to the kids about the rooms in the basement?"
"Unfortunately, no." Gabby sighed as they made it to the shopping centre. "Matt promises that we'll talk with them when he gets off shift but he's told me that a few times and still nothing is happening."
"Do you think this Captain promotion has something to do with it?" Christie had noticed Matt to be more tired than usual lately.
"He hasn't told me anything about that but he has looked more tired lately." Gabby reasoned, having noticed it as well but not sure how to bring it up, not wanting to get in a fight with him over it.
"Maybe you guys need to talk about that too when he comes home?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea, thanks Chris."
"Anytime. Now come on, let's go spend some money." Gabby and Christie spent most of the day shopping for the baby and having a good time.
Matt sat in his office, trying to get away from all of the noise in the common room. Boden had given him a pile of files that he needed to take care of and it sat untouched on the corner of his desk. That part of the new job was kicking his ass and adjusting to all the changes had been a challenge. He hadn't talked to Gabby about it because he didn't want to add to the stress of the pregnancy and the five kids and work.
"You know that talking about it helps right?" Matt looked at Kelly who was standing in his doorframe and chuckled.
"I'm good Severide." He looked back at the file in front of him, hoping he would get the hint.
"No you're not. You think that no one has noticed? Really?" He deadpanned.
"Don't feel like talking about it Sev."
"Too bad cuz we are. Your sister noticed and she's starting to be worried."
"Tell her not to ok?" He turned his chair towards him. "It's just temporary until I get this Captain thing down pat, I'm fine."
"Ok, I can work with that but maybe you should talk to your wife about it? She's noticed it too and she doesn't know how to bring it up."
"I didn't want to add to her plate." He sighed, realizing that he wasn't as good as hiding things from her as he thought.
"She's worried and that will add to her plate." Kelly insisted, leaving his friend with that small piece of advice.
Matt looked at the pictures on his desk and sighed. He knew Kelly was right about the whole thing and his first order of business when he got home was to talk with Gabby and then they'd talk to the girls about the rooming situation. His thoughts were interrupted by the paging system calling truck and ambo to a domestic disturbance. The rest of shift was pretty miserable in terms of calls, the paging system ringing as soon as their gear was off each time. When his body finally hit his cot, it was around two in the morning and he fell asleep instantly, his body asking for a bit of clemency. The sun coming through his opened blinds startled him awake and he groaned. He hadn't gotten much sleep really and he knew that it would be hard to get by today but he didn't have a choice so he got up and showered to push his need of sleep aside and as soon as Boden was done with his briefing, he was out the door. He made the drive without the radio on and as soon as he stepped foot inside the house, he was attacked by all five kids. They wanted to know how shift had gone and what they would be doing today but Matt had to put a stop to it.
"I've had a very long and hard shift and I have to talk with your mom but as soon as I take a nap, we can look at something fun to do. How does that sound?" They all cheered and scatted as Matt locked eyes with Gabby.
"Talk to mom about what?" She was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest.
"About this Captain gig kicking my ass." He knew it was well overdue.
"I was wondering when you would bring it up." She pushed herself up from her spot and kissed him. "I missed you yesterday."
"I've missed you too and I'm sorry it took an ass beating from Kelly to come to my senses about confiding in you."
"Doesn't matter how you got there. Come on, come relax and we can talk all about it." They made their way to the couch and Gabby sat, pulling Matt's head against her lap, running her fingers through his hair. "So, what's on your mind?" She prodded gently.
"I don't know what I'm doing with this whole Captain thing." He sighed, enjoying what she was doing to him.
"What part? I feel like you've been wearing yourself thin."
"Trying to juggle all of it. Be a good leader and learning new things and that extra paperwork is killing me." He ran his hands on his face and sighed.
"You are already a great leader and I know that leaning new things can make your brain hurt but it takes time, don't sell yourself short baby."
"I've been so tired trying to figure this thing out, I'm not even sure it's worth it."
"Don't say that Matt." He finally looked up at her when he heard her tone. "You are the perfect person for this job but you know that you can talk to me about these things, I won't break." She promised him.
"I know but you have enough on your plate with the baby and the five kids, I didn't want to add to all of that." It was almost a whisper but the living room was quiet enough that she did catch it.
"Matt." She sighed heavily. She hated having to remind of the oath they took but she would tell him again if she knew it would help him. "When I married you Matt, we said we'd listen to each other and love each other and be there for each other, this time is no different."
"I know that Gabby and we're supposed to be a team and we are but I just don't want this to be some added stress for you and the baby." He repeated.
"I'll tell you if it ever gets too much but please talk to me."
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Trying to balance everything and I feel like I'm failing. I'm really struggling with it and I don't know how to make it better."
"Did you try talking to Wallace about it? I'm sure he's been through something similar."
"I hadn't thought about it. I just might pick his brain, thanks baby." He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her fingers through his hair. "How was shopping with Chris?"
"It was fun. We found a lot of things but we did stay clear of the furniture." She reassured him. "I told Christie that you wanted to build them and she wasn't really surprised, saying you had built the ones for Grace and Emma."
"Yeah I did. It's actually the ones they have in their rooms. When Hallie told me she was pregnant, it was the happiest I had ever been and doing their furniture became my present project for them." Matt never spoke of the days before Hallie left him so Gabby just let him talk.
"They are lucky girls."
"I'm pretty lucky too." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, Gabby giggling.
"Alright you smooth talker, let's get you in bed for a nap." She could see he was exhausted. It didn't take much convincing and Gabby left him sleep, closing the door behind him. She found the kids running around in the basement, playing tag.
"Come on kids, let's go run some errands." Gabby wanted Matt to be able to sleep without any sounds to disturb him. Doing groceries with all five was never ideal but she would make due.
Matt woke up and ran a hand against the empty spot on Gabby's side. He blinked the sleep away and looked at the clock, it was a little bit past one and he was surprised that the house was so quiet and that not one of the kids had managed to worm his way up there to wake him up. He swung his legs over the side and made it for another quick shower before be made it downstairs to an equally quiet house. He was about to call Gabby when the front door opened and closed. He greeted her with a kiss and he helped her in with the food and they cleared everything.
"You ready?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, family meeting in the living room." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist.
"Is something wrong with the baby?" Grace asked.
"No, no problem Gracie." Gabby rubbed her belly. "But the baby does have to do with why we want to talk with you." Matt took a seat on the love seat and pulled Gabby on his lap.
"The baby is going to need a room when he or she comes so we need to think of a way to make that happen." Matt explained.
"Now Valentina is going to keep her room because she's still small but there are two rooms already made in the basement and we think that you guys are big enough to go down there and have your own rooms."
"Can I go down?" Emma and Filippe asked off the bat, making both their parents laugh.
"Sure, that's fine." Matt and Gabby looked at each other. That was easier than they thought even though it made it a bit more complicated. They had hoped to keep the boys together a little while longer but they'd have to adjust.
"Can I stay upstairs with you guys?" Luis asked shyly.
"Sure you can buddy. How about you Grace?" Matt was aware that he had have to build a new room in the basement.
"Would I get a room all to myself downstairs or do I still have to share with Emma?"
"You would have a room all to yourself but you would be right next to your sister. How does that sound?"
"Ok." She said after a few minutes of silence. "Will we be able to help you make the rooms?" She asked.
"Absolutely. Then it's settled. We are going to start working on the basement rooms soon." The kids all cheered and Matt helped Gabby off of his lap before they spent the rest of the day in the back yard, Gabby looking at Matt running after the kids, a smile on her face.
Gabby was finally settling in bed when Matt came to join her after tucking all five kids. "Everyone do gown ok?" She asked as she finished rubbing cream into her legs.
"Yeah and you know what? That talk went way better than I expected." He ran his fingers against her belly.
"You're aware that it'll be more work, more time?" She ran her fingers through his hair.
"I know but it'll be all worth it. We have time, I won't rush anything." He looked her in the eyes and gave her a silent promise. "So next week." He started, peppering her tummy with feather light kisses. "We find out what we're having?"
"You still want to?"
"Yeah. And besides, we are going to have to start thinking about names for this little one. Isn't that right baby? We can't keep calling you it or him can we?" Gabby giggled under the vibration of his lips against her skin and the waves her skin made as the baby moved as Matt talked to it.
"Yeah, so many things to think about." She mused.
"Ready for yet another adventure?" He kissed her belly one last time and sat up against the headboard, pulling her to him.
"With you, I'm ready for anything." They kissed as they ended their evening quietly, enjoying more quiet time together.
A/N: So next chapter we will see Dawsey at the doctors appointment to find out what they're having (if you have any clues, leave them in the reviews) and Kelly contemplates an imoprtant decision. Please take a few seconds to review, I would love to know what you think of this chapter. - Sarra
