03 June 2022

Matt was finishing up the last of his paperwork from the day before when a message appeared on his phone: Don't forget my appointment today! I love you, Daddy. Mommy can't wait to see you soon!

The corners of his mouth pulled upward. Around a month ago, Sylvie started sending him a text every so often like their baby had written it. Oftentimes, these messages came through when he'd just had a rough call or was stressed about something. It was like magic - his Sylvie was magic - and it melted his heart every time. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was.

"You're in a good mood," Severide interrupted his thoughts from the door of his office.

Matt held up a finger, quickly typing a response to his wife: Can't wait. See you in a couple hours. 3

Then he turned his attention to Severide. "We have our 28 week appointment today."

Severide nodded empathetically. "We're gonna be dads soon."

"Took long enough," Matt replied. "I've wanted this for almost half my life."

"Shit, man," Kelly responded, mentally calculating the years. They were both closer to 50 than they were to 20.

Matt nodded absently. He'd been dreaming of having a family since he first held his niece when he was 23. Sweet Violet was 20 now, nearly as old as he'd been when she was born. She was in university now, but she'd changed her major so many times, Matt couldn't keep track.

He'd hoped to have kids close in age to his niece, but it took him ten years after she was born to almost become a parent. Then there was Gabby with all the ups and downs, losing the baby, giving up Louie - not like they would have won if his case had gone to court.

Now, finally, he was closer to becoming a dad than ever. 43 might be late, but he just hoped that it wasn't too late. He couldn't wait to run around with his and Sylvie's kids, and she would make such an amazing mom. He saw the way she interacted with her half-sister whenever she visited. He saw the way she took care of kids. He imagined she would be even more remarkable with their own.

Severide cleared his throat, pulling Matt from the daydream he so easily fell into. "Guess who called in sick again today."

Matt's shoulders sagged. "Jacobs?"

Kelly nodded.

"Isn't this the -"

"Third shift in a row? Yeah. I'm starting to think he's faking it after that near miss he had last week."

"Why doesn't he just take leave?"

Kelly shrugged. "Anyway, can you find a ride home? I told Boden I'd cover."

Matt nodded, glancing at the time. He had an hour to figure something out.

Sylvie was waiting outside when Herrmann dropped Matt off at home that afternoon. She greeted her husband with a kiss. "Where's Severide?"

"Working a double. Jacobs called in sick again."

Sylvie shook her head. "If he needs the time to deal with it, why not just take leave instead of calling in last second?"

Matt shrugged. "I asked the same thing. I guess pride makes us do stupid things sometimes."

"I guess," Sylvie sighed, holding Matt's truck keys out to him. "Ready to go see how our baby is doing?"

Matt's tired expression quickly morphed into a smile. He grabbed the keys and Sylvie's hand in one fell swoop before squatting down to place a kiss on her bump. "It's my favorite part of the month," he replied, jumping back to his feet and getting in the truck.

"Well, after this, we get to go twice a month."

His smile widened as he turned the keys in the ignition. 28 weeks down, only 12 more until they got to meet their baby. Half her, half him, his entire, lifelong dream.

An hour later, they were watching their baby on the screen. "Welcome to the final trimester," Dr. Cameron greeted the couple.

Matt and Sylvie shared a smile, simultaneously reaching for each other and folding their hands together.

Dr. Cameron went to Sylvie's other arm to take her vitals.

Sylvie saw the doctor furrow her brows and squeezed Matt's hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze in return. Sylvie swallowed hard and licked her lips. "Is everything okay?" she asked when Dr. Cameron had finished writing down the numbers.

"Your blood pressure is a little on the high side, but that could have just been from the walk from where you parked. Take it again when you get home, after you've been resting for a bit, but I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Sylvie absently nodded, but she hadn't actually heard anything past "high blood pressure."

Matt listened carefully while keeping a close eye on his wife. Though she was soon responding to Dr. Cameron again, he could tell her mind was somewhere else for the remainder of the appointment.

Dr. Cameron printed out a photo of the ultrasound of Baby Casey at the end of the appointment. She handed it to Matt and sent the couple on their way.

As soon as they were back in the car, Sylvie let a tear slip. One tear soon turned to a full cry.

Matt put a hand on her shoulder and she scooted to the center of the bench seat in his truck. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. She'd been so unsure about letting her birth mom into her life two years ago. Part of him wished that she'd decided not to, if only to save herself this hurt now.

"Matt," she whimpered, "what if it's genetic? What if I wind up like Julie?"

"Sylvie, baby," he whispered into her hair, planting a kiss on her head. "You won't."

"You don't know that."

He ignored where that conversation could go, deciding instead to try turning things positive. "I know that you're a fighter, Sylvie, and you're a lot younger than Julie was. Dr. Cameron wasn't worried. We shouldn't be either."

"I know," Sylvie sniffled after a minute. "I just miss her."

"I know you do," he said, rubbing her back as she began to quiet.

"Thirty years wondering about my birth mom just to be robbed of her a month after meeting - it's unfair."

"At least you were able to get your answers," he offered.

She nodded against him, taking comfort in him surrounding her. The two sat like that for a couple minutes until Sylvie's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Looks like our child has your appetite," Matt chuckled, patting his wife's bump.

"You try eating for two," she retorted, lightly punching his leg before buckling up in the center. "Do you want to eat out or should we go home and make something?"

"It's a beautiful day," Matt said. "Let's eat out, then we can walk around a park for a while."

Sylvie smiled at her husband. She was thinking about doing the same thing. He returned her smile and turned the truck on. With that, they were on their way to find some food and fresh air.

The couple spent nearly three hours in the park, enjoying the early summer afternoon. They made a stop for ice cream before going home. When they got there around two, they had barely gotten parked in the driveway when Sylvie's phone pinged with an incoming message from Stella: can you come over?

Matt noticed Sylvie's brow furrow before she quickly got out of the car, heading toward the other side of the townhouses. Feeling something was off, he decided to follow her.

They didn't bother knocking. As soon as the door was open, Sylvie called, "Stella?"

"Be down in a min-" Stella called back in a strained voice, the last word getting stuck.

A little worried, Sylvie made her way toward the stairs. Stella was just getting to the top as she arrived at the bottom. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Stella gritted her teeth, leaning on the railing for support. "Can you help me down?"

Sylvie was quickly by her friend's side, an arm wrapped around her. One stair at a time, they made their way to the bottom.

"Stella, tell me what's happening."

"Contractions. Consistent. Hospital. Now," Stella panted.

Matt and Sylvie exchanged a look. "Do you have a bag packed?" Matt asked.

Stella shook her head. She thought she had more time.

"Is there anything you want me to get?"

She shook her head again, so Matt got ahead of the women and held the door open for them. When they moved in, all four of them had given each other keys for both houses in case someone got locked out or lost their keys, so Matt used his to lock up the door behind them, then the trio was on their way to the hospital.

Matt called Kelly on the way, but he didn't answer. Matt hung up and dialed the firehouse instead. He got an answer this time. Squad was out on a call, but they would get the message to Severide as soon as possible.

At the hospital, it was quickly confirmed that Stella was in actual labor and she was moved to her own room. Matt took note of the room number and how to get there so he could go out front to meet Kelly, though nobody knew how long it would be before he could get there. Some squad calls took hours to complete.

Sylvie stayed by Stella's side, holding her hand as the contractions slowly intensified. A nurse stepped in every hour to check on her. Dr. Cameron stopped by occasionally to do the same. Matt hung around in case there was something either of them wanted or needed. He texted Kelly, telling him to send a message on his way.

Shortly after four, Stella wanted to walk around and use gravity to her advantage. Sylvie, of course, went with her and they sent Matt to get some food for when they got back.

The two women made their way slowly around the hallways, stopping every few minutes when the contractions became too painful to move through. At these points, Stella leaned against the wall. If they happened to be at an intersection, Sylvie wrapped her arms around her friend, and Stella would rest her head on top of Sylvie's until the contraction passed.

Kelly finally called just as Matt was getting to the cafeteria. Matt had barely gotten the phone to his ear when Kelly blurted, "It it true?"

"Yeah," Matt said. "Get your ass over here, I'll be waiting for you out front."

The phone call ended as quickly as it had begun. Matt stepped into the cafeteria for four to-go meals then went to wait for Kelly.

Stella walked through the halls for half an hour before she got too tired. Sylvie wrapped an arm around her to support the side away from the wall. When they got back into the room, Stella lowered herself onto the bed with Sylvie's help. She smiled weakly. "Thanks for being here, sister."

Sylvie smiled back, taking Stella's hand in one of hers, patting her friend's shoulder with the other. "I'll always be here for you."

"Has Kelly messaged yet?" Stella asked after yet another contraction passed, reaching for her phone. "I'm going to kick his ass if he leaves me alone on this."

Just then, the two men came into the room. "That won't be necessary, babe. I'm right here," Kelly said, still in his sweaty station gear.

Stella released Sylvie's hand and reached for her husband's outstretched hand. Sylvie rubbed her shoulder before standing so Kelly could take her place beside Stella.

Matt distributed the bagged meals and they settled in to eat. While they were doing so, a nurse stopped in to check on Stella's progress. She was about 5cm dilated. Stella groaned, "You mean I'm only half way?"

Her nurse nodded. "You're progressing pretty nicely though. If you keep going at this, we'll probably get to meet baby girl before the sun comes up tomorrow."

Severide beamed and Matt nodded, mentally calculating how many hours that was. Sylvie, who already had it figured out, did her best to keep a positive expression on her face as she looked over to Stella, who had exasperatedly flopped her head back against the pillow.

The nurse smiled at the wide array of reactions across the quartet before writing some numbers down in the stats chart and leaving the room.

When they'd finished eating, Kelly and Stella (but mostly Kelly) thought up a list of things they wanted from home. Matt and Sylvie took it and promised to be back as soon as possible. Kelly, however, told them not to rush, and Stella nodded her approval.

"I won't need any of that until after she comes anyway," Kelly said.

"Me either," Stella seconded.

"Go, sleep," Kelly said. "We'll see you in the morning."

The Caseys said their goodbyes. When they got home, they packed a bag for Kelly and Stella, grabbing a couple other items they saw that they thought the soon-to-be parents might want. After they'd finished, they locked up and went back to their side of the townhouse. They took care of a few more household chores and stayed up enjoying each other's company for a while before curling up in bed together. They set an alarm for five the next morning, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic on their way back to the hospital. Hopefully, when they woke up, their niece would be earthside and healthy.