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Chapter Twenty Three
Matt furrowed his eyebrows as he was slowly forced into consciousness, confusion settling over him in his half alert state. The first few seconds after waking up, he couldn't figure out what had pulled him from his slumber, but it only took a few moments until his unusual surroundings began to register, alerting him to the fact that something was wrong. He felt the unexpected movement around him, feeling something smacking into his leg repeatedly. He heard the quiet moans of distress coming from the woman beside him, Matt fully awake now as his brain finally realized what was happening.
Pushing himself up, he quickly flipped on the lamp before turning to Gabby, seeing her body trembling against the bed, her legs kicking frantically as she fought against whatever was terrorizing her mind. Placing a light hand on her arm, Matt shook her gently, not wanting to startle her into consciousness. But his first efforts proved to be useless, Gabby still deep within whatever nightmare was traumatizing her, a sharp whimper escaping her lips as she started babbling barely coherent words. Matt frowned as he heard the words 'no' and 'stop', along with many similar ones, his worry intensifying as he worked harder to wake her up.
"Gabby." He spoke firmly, squeezing her arm while placing his other hand against her waist. He felt her shaking body under him as he tried to rouse her again, the combination of gripping her arm and shaking her side finally getting the job done. Matt watched in worry as he saw her eyes snap open, Gabby's body shooting up in bed as she sucked in deep breaths.
"Matt." His name was the first word out of her mouth, the sound coming out in a whimper as he heard the confusion and horror in her voice.
"You're okay," He soothed, adjusting his grip on her as they sat there, Gabby placing a hand on her heaving chest. "It was just a bad dream, you're okay. Everything's fine." He did his best to console her, his heart shattering as he saw her teary eyes. Her breaths were swallow, Matt murmuring comforting words as he helped get her breathing under control. He began taking slow, deep breaths, Gabby mimicking his actions, their tired eyes locked on one another.
They remained in the calm quiet for a few minutes, Gabby's breaths beginning to steady as she moved her attention to her lap, Matt continuously rubbing his hand up and down over her back in a steady motion. He noticed she wasn't shaking anymore, and some of the tension had left her body. Thankfully she was calming down, and he hoped it was enough for her to get back to sleep.
"I'm sorry," she finally spoke, Matt furrowing his eyebrows. "That hasn't really happened before, I don't-" She cut off her own sentence, the correct words escaping her in her tired state as she moved her hand up to rub over her head.
"You have nothing to apologize for." He cut in, Gabby turning to look at him. "None of this is your fault." Gabby's eyes flashed over his face before nodding. Blowing out a soft breath, he brought his hand up to cradle the side of her face. "Are you okay? You think you can go back to sleep?" He questioned, brushing the hair from her eyes. She nodded slowly in response, Matt adjusting their positions before laying back down, bringing Gabby with him. She fell securely into his chest, her body nestled against him as he kept a reassuring arm around her.
Matt spared one last glance at her before turning the lamp off, the room coated in darkness. He felt Gabby tighten her grip around his waist, her head buried in his neck as she focused on her breathing. They had both fallen into a peaceful quiet, Matt stroking her hair softly, not daring to fall asleep until he knew she had. But based on her movements and breathing, she was still very much awake.
"It was the attack." She eventually murmured, her breath hitting his skin. Matt hadn't figured they'd be discussing this tonight, but he was more than willing to listen as she spoke up again. "It was like it was happening again, but this time I couldn't get away."
"You're okay, Gabby." He told her after she had gone quiet. "You got away from them, you're safe. I promise you." Matt felt her relax into him as he spoke, her weight resting against him as her breaths became more steady. He could feel the exhaustion radiating from her body, and as much as he wanted to let her talk, he knew there'd be plenty of time for that later. "Get some sleep, babe. I'm right here. We can talk more about it in the morning before work." His reassurance was all she needed to let her tiredness take over, Gabby falling back asleep in mere minutes.
Matt on the other hand wasn't so lucky. He kept himself focused on her steady breaths against his neck as he held onto her, his body staying alert as he waited to feel or hear any signs of distress coming from Gabby.
He knew this would be a rollercoaster. That Gabby getting help and facing her anxiety head on wouldn't be all ups and no downs, but that didn't make it any easier whenever she had her down moments. He hated seeing her so distraught, it broke his heart. Matt knew all he could do was support her and help her through the low points as best he could, but it hurt him to see her suffer.
Casey blew out a tired sigh as he stood at his locker, his body weight leaning into the door as he forced his eyes to stay open. Rubbing his hand over his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose before standing up straight, stretching out his limbs to try and shake the fatigue from his body.
"Looks like someone didn't get much sleep last night." Severide's teasing voice filled his ears as Matt turned to find his friend entering the locker room, being met with a knowing smirk. Huffing out a breath, Matt leaned his side into the lockers, crossing his arms over his chest. "I figured you'd have a pretty good Christmas, but you should've at least tried to get some rest before shift."
Casey rolled his eyes, eliciting a chuckle from the other firefighter before Kelly took a few steps closer. It was the day after Christmas, and although it had only been two days since they'd last been at the firehouse, it felt like an eternity. It was like everything was moving in slow motion since Christmas Eve. Matt hadn't been able to get this feeling of dread to leave his body, knowing what conversations were laying ahead for him and Gabby, and it had made the hours tick by slowly. And his lack of sleep hadn't been helping things, either.
After their nice dinner on Christmas Eve accompanied by some quality time together, Matt hadn't been able to get much sleep. If he had to guess, he would say he maybe got a couple of hours, while Gabby had slept soundly through the night, tucked into his side. He couldn't stop thinking about their fight before she left, about all the things that still needed to be dealt with. Finding those adoption center papers had been a wake up call, and now it was almost impossible to not think about.
Their Christmas Day spent with her family proved to be emotionally draining, piling on to the exhaustion he already felt. It was just him, Gabby, Antonio, and Ramon, and it was more tense than Matt felt up to dealing with. Ramon wasn't too happy with him after how things between him and Gabby ended, and the eldest Dawson made no effort to hide it. It was comment after comment about him and Gabby being back together, Ramon going so far as to say that Matt only wants to be with her when it's convenient for him. Matt knew he wasn't supposed to hear that part, but Ramon's hushed voice from his spot in Antonio's kitchen wasn't nearly as quiet as the older man must have thought, Matt able to hear his words clearly from his spot in the living room. Despite both Gabby's and Antonio's best efforts to keep things civil, the thick tension in the air made for an uncomfortable Christmas. But Matt stuck it out, knowing how important spending time with her family was to Gabby. He kept quiet most of the time, seeing as how anytime he said anything Ramon jumped on it, which in turn caused Gabby to become upset at her father. No matter how many times Gabby told him he didn't know the whole story, Ramon didn't seem too eager to hear Matt's side of things. He was content holding onto that anger towards his former son in-law. So to make the day as painless as possible for Gabby, Matt stayed a silent participant for the majority of the afternoon.
Thankfully once they all parted ways, the rest of their holiday was quite relaxing, the couple happy to just spend time together before going to bed, knowing they both were on shift the next day. But it was another restless night for Matt, especially after Gabby's nightmare that had startled her. He hadn't been able to get a minute of rest after that, his mind too focused on making sure she was okay than actually being able to get any sleep. And now it was like he was on autopilot, his body going through the motions because he had no other choice.
"So, tell me." Severide broke through his trance, Matt's eyes snapping back into focus as he saw Kelly leaning against the lockers across from him. "How'd the-" Kelly stopped himself short, his eyes glancing around the room to make sure they were alone before continuing, "proposal go?" Casey let out a harsh sigh, Kelly immediately frowning as confusion covered his face. "That bad, huh?" He asked lightly, hoping to ease some of the uneasiness in the room. But it didn't work. "She didn't say no, did she?" Severide asked in disbelief, his mouth parting slightly.
Narrowing his eyes into a glare, Matt moved to shut his locker, slamming it louder than he intended before locking it up and reluctantly turning his attention back to Kelly, who was waiting for him with his hands raised defensively.
"She didn't say no." Casey bit out, his frustration towards the situation evident. "I didn't ask her."
"What happened?"
"It just… it wasn't the right moment." Matt spoke lamely, Severide looking at him unimpressed. Realizing he wasn't gonna get out of the conversation, he blew out a breath, moving to sit down on the bench in between them. "Remember how I said there was some news Gabby and I got before she left that really messed with us?" Casey waited for a nod of understanding from Kelly before continuing. "Well, we still haven't really talked about it. We've kind of avoided it, and I realized the other night that I have no business proposing to her again until we've dealt with it." Matt explained vaguely.
"Why haven't you all talked about it yet?" Kelly asked, knowing better than to ask for details.
Sucking in a deep breath, Matt ran his hands over his legs, trying to dissipate the nerves floating in his system. "Because it destroyed us last time." He admitted quietly, his eyes plastered on the ground. "The news itself was bad enough but… It caused Gabby and I have to the worst fight we've ever had. And I know we never really got the chance to work it out, but part of me isn't sure that we can."
Seeing his friend's sunken, distraught form, Kelly moved to sit beside him. "But you guys are in a better place now, aren't you? I mean, things between you and Gabby hadn't been the easiest, even before she left."
"Yeah, yeah we are in a better place than we were then." He agreed after clearing his throat, "but I don't know if that's enough. I mean, we've managed to work through our other problems. And those conversations went much better than I ever could've thought, but this... with this I don't know. After she first got back, I guess- I guess I was hoping it would just come up, but we're both avoiding it. Neither of us want to be the one to bring it up."
"You need to talk to her, Casey." Severide told him firmly. "I don't know what happened, but you have to talk to her about it. You can't keep avoiding this, especially when it's something that affected you two so much, and it's affecting you now. Nothing good will come from you two continuing to avoid it. And who knows, you said the other conversations went better than you thought they would, it could be the same thing here." Kelly tried to reason, Matt finally glancing up at him. Seeing Casey wasn't totally convinced, Kelly knew he had to try harder to get through to him.
"Look man, whatever this is about, I know it had to have really hurt you guys to cause as much damage as it did. But it's better to know now if it's something you all can get past or not... Don't put it off because you're worried about it driving you two apart again. That'll only make things harder for the both of you." Severide paused to take a breath, wanting to make sure Matt was really hearing what he was saying. "And have a little faith in Gabby, and the relationship you two have." That sentence caused Matt to perk up, his eyebrows raising slightly. "I know there's no way to know if you all would've gotten past this had she come back, but knowing you guys, I have no doubt you two would've been fine." Kelly spoke honestly, Matt's head tilting to the side slightly. "Hell, not even divorce managed to keep you two apart. Have faith in each other, talk to each other, and you'll be fine."
Kelly's blunt words hung in the air for a moment, Matt needing a few minutes to digest what he'd said. He knew his friend was right, that there was no reason to think him and Gabby wouldn't be fine, but he still knew nothing could stop the pain and heartache that would come from having this conversation.
Before either man could speak, the bells rang through the house, both shifting their focus as they waited to see if their services were needed. After hearing only ambo was being called, both of them visibly relaxed, turning their attention back to the other.
"Yeah, you're right," Matt agreed, squeezing his hands together. "Surprisingly." He added, lifting some of the heaviness from the room. "When did you get so good at giving relationship advice?"
Blowing out a breath, Kelly stretched his arms out in front of himself with a sly grin covering his face, "Well, after seeing you fuck yours up for so many years, I've learned what not to do."
"Funny." Matt responded dryly before pushing himself up off the bench, Kelly mimicking his actions.
"But really, you two will be okay. You all went through some awful shit when you were together, and then even more terrible stuff that broke you apart, and yet here we are, Dawson and Casey still together." Severide spoke with a grin. "You guys will be fine."
"Thanks Kel." Casey spoke, leaning forward to give him a quick, appreciative hug.
"Of course. I'm always here for you and Dawson." Matt nodded gratefully as the two separated, Kelly clapping him on the shoulder before walking away, leaving Casey alone in the locker room.
"So… do you want to talk about it?" Gabby looked up from her paperwork as her and Norris stood by the nurses desk at Med, a confused look covering her face before she turned her attention back towards the form in front of her. They had only been here for a few minutes, having just dropped off their first patient of the shift, an elderly woman who had fallen and given herself a few cuts, and Gabby had been tasked with filling out the paperwork before they left.
"Talk about what?"
"Whatever's got you so distracted and in your own head." Jemma replied, leaning forward onto the counter, resting on her forearms. "You've barely said anything since shift started, it's very un-Gabby like. You're worrying me a little bit."
Blowing out a breath, Gabby shrugged, her eyes not moving from the paper in front of her. "I'm fine, just had a long day yesterday."
"Everything okay?"
Nodding slowly, Gabby finished the last line of paperwork before putting down her pen and focusing her attention on her friend. "Yeah, it is. Just my and Matt's Christmas didn't go exactly go according to plan." She confided in her friend, knowing how easy it was to talk to her. In the short time they'd known each other, Gabby had found a trustworthy friend in Jemma. She was always there to listen to anything Gabby might want or need to talk about, but she also knew when to back off and give her space. It was a relationship Gabby felt thankful that she had, one she didn't want to take for granted.
"Everything alright between you two?" She asked worriedly, Gabby quickly waving off her concerns.
"Oh, we're fine. It wasn't anything with us, it was my dad." Jemma nodded as she took in the new information, willing to listen to anything Gabby felt comfortable to share. "He and Matt have a… complicated history, and my dad was in fine form yesterday." Gabby breathed out, Jemma frowning slightly.
"What happened?"
"My dad means well, I think. But he just… goes too far sometimes. He's always loved Matt, but when my parents separated a few years back, my dad stayed with us for awhile and it caused some tension between them. And then-" Gabby cut herself off as she tried to figure out how to say her next thought, Jemma placing a supportive hand on her arm as a source of comfort, flashing her a reassuring smile. "...Matt and I, we had some problems before I went to Puerto Rico, things between us weren't good while I was there either, and my dad's weary of that. I know he thinks he's looking out for me, but it just makes things harder." She vented, Jemma nodding understandingly.
"How does Matt feel about all this?"
"He's trying to make it easy on me. He pretty much just stopped saying anything yesterday after it was obvious my dad wasn't gonna stop. But it feels like he's a little distant, I don't know how to explain it." Gabby blew out a frustrated sigh, running her hand over her head. "He's just been checked out since yesterday, I guess. I don't wanna push him, he does this sometimes, gets caught up in his own head-"
"You two are more similar than I thought." Jemma cut in with a smile, Gabby chuckling before continuing.
"Fair enough… But I know he'll open up when he's ready, I just wish my dad hadn't pushed so hard."
"Well, I can't speak on your father, but from what I've seen of you and Matt, I don't think your dad has anything to worry about." Jemma responded, Gabby catching her gaze. "That guy is so in love with you, it's almost sickening. I don't know what all happened between the two of you, but your dad has to know how much you two love each other. Couples fight, things happen. But you and Matt are still together, you got through it." Gabby's eyes moved back to the desk, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "I'm sure your dad will come around, and Matt will be fine. Everything will be okay." Jemma finished, rubbing softly over Gabby's arm.
"Thanks Jemma." Gabby replied softly, the woman nodding before pulling her into a quick side hug.
"Anytime. Now let's get out of here, it's Murray's day for lunch so it should be good." Jemma said with a smile.
"Yeah, we need to get back before Blevins and Turner eat it all." Gabby joked, Jemma nodding her head up and down with a laugh. Gabby checked over the paperwork one last time before handing it off to a nurse, the women getting ready to head towards the exit. Before stepping away, Gabby's eyes flickered across the emergency room, a flash of movement over by the entrance catching her attention.
Jemma had started off towards the back exit, but stopped when she realized her partner wasn't following. Turning back around, Jemma saw Gabby still planted in her spot, her gaze trained across towards the front of the building, a look of confusion settled into her features. "Gabby?" She called curiously, snapping the woman from her thoughts, Dawson turning to look at her. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, just- I thought I saw someone from 51 heading towards the waiting room." She replied with a frown, Jemma's eyebrows furrowing. They both knew there was usually only one reason for a firefighter to be waiting around at a hospital.
"Wanna go see?" Jemma asked, knowing it would give Gabby some piece of mind.
"Yeah… just to check." She spoke, the frown seemingly permanently etched into her skin.
The two set out across the ER, nerves radiating off Gabby's body. "I'm sure if it was anything with Casey, someone would've called you." Jemma tried to comfort her, Gabby nodding as she ran her hands over her pockets, seemingly searching for her phone. The women walked around the corner, seeing all of the firehouse huddled together in the back corner of the waiting room, some sitting and some mulling around. Jemma turned to look at Gabby, seeing the woman's eyes bouncing around the room, clearly searching for one face in particular. Jemma's stomach dropped when she looked around at the firefighters and she couldn't find the one she knew Gabby was looking for. She heard Gabby's breath hitch beside her, Jemma placing a soft hand on her back.
"Kelly." Gabby called out, her voice unsteady. A few heads turned to look at them, some giving the women soft, greeting smiles as Severide moved towards them.
"Gabby? What are you doing here?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice. "Hey Norris, good to see you again." Kelly greeted as he got closer, Jemma nodding back at him.
"We were dropping off a patient and I saw you guys, what's going on?" Gabby asked, her words shaky. Kelly immediately shook his head, hoping to reassure her it wasn't what she thought.
"Casey's fine."
"Where is he?" Gabby asked quickly, her eyes bouncing around the room again. Logic told her he wasn't in the room, knowing he would've come to her side by now had he seen her, but she couldn't stop from trying to find him.
"He's talking with Boden, he's not why we're here. I promise." Severide assured her, rubbing over her shoulder lightly as Herrmann came to stand with them.
"Why are you guys here? Is someone hurt?" She felt better knowing that Matt wasn't the reason for all of 51 to be waiting around, but that meant that someone was hurt. Her concern shifted, the ache in her chest dulling when her body finally registered that Matt was okay, but she was still on edge, knowing someone that used to be family might be hurt.
"Brett and Foster got into an accident. They're gonna be okay, just some jerk who wasn't paying attention when they were going through a light. The rig is a little beat up, but there's no serious damage. The girls will be fine." Kelly explained, Gabby blowing out a sigh of relief.
"Good, good. I'm glad."
"Brett's shoulder is a little busted, and aside from a few scrapes Foster's good to go." Herrmann explained, Gabby nodding.
"I'm glad they're okay." Norris added when Gabby hadn't said anything else.
Gabby glanced back towards the ER, her eyes moving around to see if she could find any clue as to where Brett was.
"She's in room six, if you wanna go see her." Kelly spoke, as if he could read her mind. Crossing her arms over her chest, Gabby nodded before taking a few steps away from the small group.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna go check on her. You mind waiting a few more minutes?" Gabby directed the question to Jemma, her partner shaking her head.
"No, of course not. Take your time." She replied, Gabby flashing her a small smile before heading towards her destination. She felt a few nerves traveling through her body, but she pushed through regardless. This was just Brett. Despite everything, she was still someone who had been an important part of Gabby's life for years. She didn't want to keep tiptoeing around her, and acting like it didn't hurt whenever she thought of how far they'd fallen from each other.
As she came to stand in front of Brett's room, the glass door was closed but the curtain was open, giving Gabby the perfect view of her former partner. Herrmann was right, aside from the sling supporting her shoulder, Brett looked visibly unharmed. There was sure to be some bruises that would pop up in the next few days, Gabby knowing first hand how brutal an ambulance crash can be, but overall she looked okay. Before she stepped inside, her eyes traveled to Foster, who was sitting by Brett's bed, looking equally alright. Foster had more visible injuries, a few closed up cuts across her face, but for the most part they both looked fine.
Knowing she'd put this off as long as she could, Gabby sucked in a deep breath before moving towards the door, slowing sliding it open. Brett's eyes found hers first, the blonde clearly surprised to see her old friend standing there. Foster looked equally as surprised, but the emotion wasn't as visible.
"Dawson, hey, what are you doing here?" Sylvie asked softly, Gabby taking that as an invitation to come further into the room.
"I was here dropping off a patient and I heard what happened, you guys okay?" The sincerity in her voice was clear as day, Gabby stopping as she got to the foot of Brett's bed.
"We're okay, no one got seriously hurt or anything." Foster replied with a slight smile, Gabby nodding with a small smile.
"Good, good, I'm glad." She murmured, her eyes flashing back to Brett, seeing her already watching her. "Can I, uh, talk to you for a minute, Sylvie?" Gabby asked, clearing her throat.
"Yeah, sure." She replied, turning to Foster who was waiting for Brett's signal of what she wanted her to do. Gabby bit her bottom lip, suppressing an eye roll as Foster glanced back to her with a blank stare. She knew a lot had happened between her and Brett, but Foster hadn't been there for any of it, and Gabby didn't necessarily appreciate Foster acting like she needed permission to be alone with her.
After getting a nod from Brett, Foster stood up and wordlessly headed out of the room, not sparing a glance in Gabby's direction. The slightly cold interaction could only make Gabby wonder what stories had been told about her since her departure, and what had changed to make Emily give her the cold shoulder. Before, their minimal interactions had been uncomfortable and a touch awkward, but there was never any hostility between the two. But apparently that wasn't the case anymore, at least not today.
Gabby decided not to give any sort of reaction to it, knowing Foster had a pretty crazy day so far, and that can really shake a person. And on top of that, Gabby had no interest in forging a relationship with 51's newest paramedic. She would be friendly, but there was no reason for her to become best friends with this woman, when they would only ever see each other in passing.
Once they were alone, Gabby came to take the seat previously held by Foster, her body turned towards the paramedic sitting on the bed. There was an uncomfortable feeling that had settled in the air, neither woman knowing how to act around the other. It was something both of them hated, knowing nothing between them had ever been this hard before.
"I owe you an apology." Gabby breathed out after a few silent moments, Brett not showing much in terms of a reaction. "And I should've done this awhile ago, but the way I handled everything on the call that day… that wasn't fair for me to treat you like that. I should've never snapped at you. I took my problems out on you, and that's not okay. We're partners- we were partners." Gabby corrected herself, swallowing thickly, "I should've never let the things I was dealing with bleed over into the call, I'm sorry for that."
Brett stared at her for a moment, the blonde releasing a soft sigh as she clasped her hands together in her lap. "I messed up too, Gabby. I did the same thing, I hadn't dealt with us losing that woman and I let it affect my work, and I took it out on you. I never should have done that." Gabby gave her a slight nod, moving her hands over her legs. "And I didn't mean what I said, about not caring what you were dealing with. Of course I care, and I'm sorry I acted like I didn't. I knew something was going on with you, you've never acted like that before. But I just wasn't coping and I took it out on you." Brett explained, regret laced in her voice. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. We were best friends, and I wasn't there when you needed me. I'm sorry you felt like no one cared about what you were going to do, and I'm sorry none of us noticed there was more going on than you just wanting to go help." Sylvie spoke softly, Gabby tensing slightly from her words. "We all should've seen it, and we didn't. I really am so sorry, Gabby. We never meant to make you feel like you couldn't come back."
"It's not your all's fault. I make my own decisions, you all didn't do anything wrong."
"That's not really true, Gabby." Brett replied, Gabby breathing slowly as she looked up at her. "Casey, he didn't say much, but he told us that what you all were dealing with before you left, that it broke you." Gabby's breath hitched as Sylvie spoke, Brett's eyes softening at her reaction. "And looking back on your last week at 51, I know what he was talking about. None of us saw how bad it was at the time, or we did and ignored it, but you weren't okay. We should've been there for you, we should've helped you. Helped the both of you, but we didn't. And that's on us. That's on me." Brett told her firmly, Gabby's eyes falling closed.
"We all made mistakes here, Gabby. This isn't just on you. I'm sorry everything got so messed up between us, I really wish everything played out differently... It's not the same without you, Dawson."
Gabby opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't know what to say. She was coming up empty on finding the right words to express exactly what she was feeling, and before she could she heard Jemma's voice come through over her radio.
"Dawson, sorry but we got a call for a transport."
"I'm coming." She radioed back immediately, standing up from her seat.
"I'm…" She started, still not sure of what to say. "I'm really glad you're okay. That you're both okay." Gabby spoke, looking quickly out through the door. Brett nodded softly in response, wearing a small smile on her face.
"Thanks for checking up on us."
"Of course, yeah." She replied, taking a few steps closer to the door. "I'm sorry I have to run out like this, but, I uh…" She trailed off, unable to find the right words to say to her friend. After a few quick seconds of thought, Gabby walked back towards the bed, slowly wrapping her arm around Brett in a gentle hug. "Thank you, for everything you said." She whispered, a soft smile falling onto Brett's face as she wrapped her uninjured arm around her.
The two separated quickly, knowing Gabby needed to get to work. But both of them felt better, like this had been a turning point in mending their broken relationship. Gabby waved a quick goodbye before hurrying out of the room, Brett watching her until she was out of sight. She wasn't sure if her and Dawson's friendship could ever completely be fixed, but this was a definite step in the right direction of repairing it.
Out in the hallway, Gabby was about to head back for the lobby when she saw Jemma, Kelly, Matt, and Foster standing near the nurses station. She made her way over to them, knowing they were on limited time.
"Hey, you ready to go Jemma?" She asked, turning her attention to Matt quickly as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. Her partner nodded, the girl beginning to break away from the group. "I'm sorry I can't stay, but I'll see you at home tomorrow morning?" She asked, Matt nodding as he gave her another quick kiss.
"I'll see you then, stay safe." He told her, Gabby patting his cheek gently before stepping away from him. She gave a quick goodbye to Kelly, not having the time or the energy to give Foster anything more than a nod before she hurried off to the call.
Gabby sat at the kitchen table in the quiet apartment, nursing her first cup of coffee as she flipped through some paperwork, her elbow resting on her bent knee as she sat with one leg tucked under her. She'd gotten an early start to the day, earlier than usual on her days off, having woken up before the sun. Gabby had taken a shower, cleaned up a bit around the apartment, and now she was sitting here waiting for Matt to get home.
Seconds after she glanced at the clock again, she heard the telltale sign of Matt returning home, looking up to see him working on unlocking the back door. He slid inside, Gabby seeing the minute he registered she was awake, noticing him take a deep breath as the smell of coffee attacked his senses.
"Good morning." He spoke lightly, locking the door in place and shedding off his winter jacket before coming over to her. "I wasn't expecting you to be up." He stopped to place a soft kiss to the top of her head, before moving his way towards the coffee maker.
"Couldn't sleep." She replied, seeing him look up from his mug, halting the pouring of his drink as he looked to her.
"Are you okay? Was it another nightmare?" Concern was laced in his voice as he went back to fixing his drink, Gabby shaking her head.
"Nothing like that, just wired I guess." She said with a shrug, Matt coming over to the table and sitting in the chair next to her. "But I am gonna go see Chaplain again later in the week."
"Good." Matt responded, taking a slow sip of his beverage, the warmth thawing his cold body. "How was the rest of your shift?"
"Uneventful, yours? How's Brett?"
"She's okay, Boden sent both her and Foster home. We had no ambo the rest of shift, but they got a replacement one in before third shift got there." He explained, Gabby nodding as she shifted in her seat to get a better view of him. "Speaking of, there is something I wanna ask you." He prompted, her eyebrows furrowing in curiosity as he looked to her carefully. "Boden was talking to me before you got there, and he was wondering what you thought about covering for Brett next shift?"
Gabby's mouth fell open in slight surprise, but she snapped it shut almost immediately, her head tilting to the side in confusion. "But I thought Brett was okay?"
"She is, but Boden's sidelining her next shift. She's gonna come in, but he doesn't want her doing much. He wanted me to see if you'd like to cover for her for a shift before he put in a formal request for fill-in." Matt spoke lightly, trying to gauge her reaction.
"But I don't even work in the CFD anymore…"
"Chief said he'd take care of the paperwork, that if you wanted to come back to 51 for one more shift, he'd love to have you. As long as it doesn't interfere with your schedule." Matt told her, Gabby biting her bottom lip as she focused her gaze onto her drink. "You don't have to do this, Gabby." Matt told her, sensing her hesitation. "It's just an option, Boden wanted you to know. I told him it was completely up to you, but he needs to know today."
Blowing out a sigh, Gabby ran through the possible outcomes of her working one more shift, trying to decide if this was something she should do. Ultimately, her desire to work there one last time won out, Gabby silently praying it wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
"Hell, let's do it." She spoke, watching Matt's face light up.
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not. It's just one shift, and selfishly I want to be able to work with you one last time." She said with a grin, Matt smiling.
"I'd love that." He told her, leaning forward and kissing her softly. "I'm gonna go call Boden, let him know you're in." The excitement in his voice made Gabby smile, Matt standing up, planting one more kiss on her before heading towards the bedroom.
Blowing out a breath, Gabby closed her eyes as what she had just agreed to sunk in. She felt like she was in a good enough place with everyone there to go and do this, especially after her conversation with Sylvie yesterday. Her last shift at 51, she didn't know it was her last at the time. She had thought, eventually, that she'd be back. But it didn't work out that way. She could only hope doing this would give her a bit of closure, and give her the chance to say a proper goodbye to one of the biggest parts of her life.
I hope you guys liked this one. I know there's been a few of you who have wanted to see a reconciliation between Brett and Gabby, so I hope you enjoyed that part. Things between them aren't completely resolved, but it's a start.
I want to say a quick thank you to all the support on the last chapter. I promise, I have no intention of quitting this story. I really want to do what the show couldn't and continue Dawsey's story, and your words of encouragement have made me even more determined. Just sometimes I need a break from it. But I appreciate everyone who left such kinds words on the last chapter, you all are the best.
Also, I know Gabby's anxiety and everything with that has been a big part of the story these last few chapters, and I hope no one minds. One of the things that always kind of bugged me about the show was that they would bring up these storylines for the characters, and then they'd get dropped after like an episode and never mention it again (like Gabby's obvious trauma from what happened to Matt in the season 5 finale don't even get me started, what wasted potential. And also the fact that Matt was completely fine after almost dying? Sounds fake but anyway I didn't mean for this to be a rant sorry). But I don't want to do that here. This isn't something that just goes away, and I don't want to make light of something like this. I promise it won't always be such a driving force to the chapters as it is right now, but it's something that has to be dealt with. I hope you guys understand.
Lastly, I have a quick question for you all. I've been working on the outline for the new Dawsey story I mentioned a couple chapters back, and the type of story it is, I'm trying to decide whether to keep it more PG-13 or if I should go ahead and go full M-rated with it, because it could easily be that. I just don't know what people are more interested in reading? If you all could let me know, that would be great because I'm still trying to decide which way to go with it. Thanks so much.
I know I talked a lot, I'm sorry about that. But I can't wait to hear what you all thought about this one, thanks for reading!