Hello there everyone! I've got the next chapter here for you guys, and I hope you like it as we continue on with the Casey family.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time!

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Four

"Here you go, girls." Casey spoke while he squatted down onto the ground beside his daughters, the father placing two small bowls filled with their favorite crackers next to them as both of them looked up from their toys once they registered his presence. "I've got the cheese crackers for you, Caity." He continued on, seeing the six year olds face light up before she reached for a cracker. "And your apple puffs, Sof." He added, letting out a soft laugh when his youngest daughter immediately stuck her hand into the bowl and pulled out a few puffs before shoving them into her mouth, Sofia still just as obsessed with the snack as she had been when she was a baby.

"Thank you, Daddy." Caitlyn replied first, reaching up to pat his arm thankfully while her other arm kept her doll clutched to her chest.

"Ta you, Dada." Sofia added on, her words a bit more broken than her older sister's as she kept chomping away on her food, Casey chuckling once more while resting his hand over her back.

"You're very welcome." He told them both, Matt making sure to place a kiss to the top of each of their heads before he got back up to his feet. "If you all want any juice, I have your cups over on the table… They just need to stay over there, okay?" He told them, though his focus was mostly on Caitlyn as he knew she'd be able to pick up more of what he was saying.

"Okay Daddy." She replied, offering her that usual bright grin before she went back to playing with her toys. And Sofia followed her lead, the two year old returning to the cars she was playing with while Matt made his way over to the couch before collapsing down into the cushions.

"And Sof?" He called, his hands resting over his legs while the toddler looked back at him, just as a puff fell from her mouth. "Make sure you tell Daddy if you need to go potty, alright?" He spoke in words she could understand, Sof's smile widening while she shifted her position on the ground.

"Potty." She repeated rather easily, as that word had become frequently used in her vocabulary as of late.

"Yeah, you gotta let me know." He reiterated, Sofia offering him a mere squeal in response before she went back to playing and enjoying her food, Matt biting back his own smile while his attention moved to the television across the room and the afternoon hockey game that was being played on the screen.

Though his mind wasn't focusing so much on that, especially once he looked back down towards his girls, as he couldn't help but think over everything that had gone on over the past week or so with Sofia and her potty training.

They were into day seven of this, since they'd officially started trying to potty train their youngest daughter, and it had certainly been an up and down process. One that came with its fair share of challenges for their daughter, as this was one of the biggest steps Sofia had ever taken in her short life. So there was a definite learning curve here, all three of them having to be patient and trust the process while they got through the beginning of helping Sofia master this crucial skill. Though that concept was hard to explain to a two year old.

At first she hadn't really understood what they were trying to get her to do, but after some time she finally got the hang of it. She'd come to learn what the bathroom was, and what it was used for. And that's where she needed to go whenever it was time to go potty. It took her a few days, but eventually all of that started to click with her.

But just because she understood it, that didn't mean this process was over, as there were a lot of steps and connections that had to be made in her little mind in order to successfully be potty trained. She had gotten the basics down, and was beginning to understand that instead of using her diaper she needed to use the bathroom, but there was a lot of work to be done in actually executing that.

And because of that there had been a lot of accidents over the past couple days, times where Sofia would forget to tell them she needed to go to the bathroom, or she'd go before she could get there. Moments where she would just have an accident. And, admittedly, those times were ones that kind of made her upset.

Though her parents were there every step of the way, encouraging her and praising her. Helping to assure her, and not let her get too frustrated or discouraged by any of this, while also making an effort to not push her. Because they knew all of this was a lot for her. That she was basically having to unlearn what she'd known since birth, and that wasn't the easiest thing for her to do.

But Casey and Dawson both knew she would get there.

They had all the faith in the world in their daughter, and her figuring all this out in her own time when she's ready. They knew she could do it. It was just that right now, she wasn't quite there yet; and they hadn't expected her to be. Especially not when they'd only started this a week ago.

She would need time and support before she'd get to where she needed to be, and the parents were mindful of that, as they'd been doing all they could to support her along the way no matter how long it took.

Since they didn't have much experience with something like this, Matt and Gabby were sort of learning as they went too, doing their own research and finding what worked best for their daughter. And in the past week, they'd come to find a few things that Sofia responded best to.

For starters, they'd learned to keep her at home as much as they could. With a big part of this process being to make sure the child felt comfortable, it only made sense to stay home. Where Sofia knew all her surroundings and she not only knew where to go, but she knew this was a safe place for her when things didn't go as planned. So they'd made an effort to be at home with her when they could, even if it wasn't always possible.

Then another thing they'd made great use of was a sticker chart for their youngest, where she'd earn new stickers and get to put them on herself every time she successfully went to the bathroom. Which, somewhat surprisingly, had been an incredibly strong motivator for Sofia and had helped her considerably.

And on top of that, one thing they'd decided to do during this was keep Sofia out of her diaper most of the time when they were at home. They weren't sure about it at first, but after some research and reading they found out that this was something that helped a lot of kids in recognizing their body's signals and consciously understanding when they needed to go to the bathroom, instead of just relying on their diaper. So they'd made the decision that while they were at home, they'd just let Sofia run around freely in one of her sister's t-shirts. And from what they could tell, it seemed to be working for her.

All of these methods appeared to help her in figuring all of this out, even with the accidents and little challenges along the way. But maybe more than anything her parents could do, what had helped Sofia the most was how encouraging Caitlyn had been.

From the moment they started this, Caity had been Sof's biggest supporter right beside their parents. She was constantly cheering her on and showing her how proud she was. Always encouraging her baby sister, and helping her feel better when she was upset. Caitlyn had been by her side- as much as possible, through this entire thing.

And not only had that helped put Sofia at ease, it made her parents so incredibly proud as well. Because it would've been so easy for Caitlyn to get a little upset this past week, with most of the attention being put on Sofia and helping her navigate all this. Even though it was for a good reason, kids didn't always understand that. But instead of being jealous, or feeling left out, Caitlyn chose to help her sister as much as she could. Which then helped Gabby and Matt out as well.

"Daddy?" Caitlyn called, effectively pulling Casey from his thoughts as his eyes came into focus before he looked towards the table where Caity was standing.

"Yeah baby?" He asked after clearing his throat, his eyes wandering over towards Sofia as she was still happily playing with her toys on the floor.

"Can I have more juice?" She asked, Matt offering her a soft smile before he started to push himself up from the couch.

"I think we can do that." He replied lightly, earning a wide grin from his daughter while he started heading her way, Matt stopping to check on Sofia for a moment before continuing towards the kitchen. "Can you get your cup? And I'll get the juice?"

"Okay Daddy." Caity responded, the six year old holding onto her plastic cup with both hands while she followed her dad into the kitchen.

It only took a few seconds for them to complete their task, Matt getting out the juice and pouring it into her cup, diluting it a bit with water before he gave it back to her.

"Thank you!" She cheered before pushing herself up on her toes to grab it once more, Casey smiling gently down towards his daughter while he ran his hand over her back.

"You're welcome, honey… Just be careful." He warned as she started walking her cup back towards the table.

"I will." She promised, before her tongue began to peek out through her teeth in concentration, Matt letting out a weak laugh while he watched her, until movement from over by their bedroom caught his attention.

As Caitlyn got her cup placed safely on the table, Casey turned to see Gabby walking out from their bedroom where she'd been for the last half hour or so, his wife wearing a small smile on her face while she shoved her phone into her back pocket.

"Hey babe." He greeted as she came over towards him, Matt resting his weight back against the countertop while she came to a stop beside him.

"Hey… Sorry I was on the phone for so long, I didn't mean to leave you stranded out here." She spoke lightly, Casey letting out an easy laugh while he reached out to grab onto her waist, encouraging her to step closer to him. Which she did almost immediately, Gabby matching his smile as her body came to rest next to his.

"It's fine, baby… The girls have just been playing, and eating." He told her, Dawson chuckling back at him before she nodded. "But you didn't miss much out here. What about you though, how's your mom doing?" Casey asked, knowing that Camila was who Gabby had been on the phone with all this time.

"She's doing well." She answered softly, letting her head lean down against his shoulder while they both looked out into the living room. "It sounds like she's having a great time out there, but she does miss the girls though."

"Well, who could blame her." He added lightly, Gabby laughing once more while crossing her arms easily over her chest.

"Fair point." She gave in. "But she does miss everyone here… Said she's been talking to my dad and planning her next visit."

"Really?"

"Yeah.. She told me she wants to be here for Christmas, but be able to stay longer than the last few years. So she's gonna try and stay for a while throughout December." She relayed her previous conversation to her husband. "She'll be here in about a month."

"Wow." He mused, clearly caught off guard by the news. But it was a good feeling, as Matt knew more than anyone how much Gabby missed having her mom around. "That'll be nice, her being here."

"It will be." She agreed with a soft smile. "I figured she'd come for the holidays, I just didn't expect her to stay that long. But I'm glad she is. And it'll be good for her to get time with the kids." She continued on, Matt nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it will.. I mean, the Facetime calls and photos are great. But in-person is much better, for all of them." He responded, practically able to feel her smile while she rested against him.

"It is. And I can tell all of that kind of bothers her, that she doesn't get to see her granddaughter much."

"Or her daughter." Casey added on, Gabby smiling once more before she turned to press a kiss to his shoulder.

"Yeah, that too… It's hard having her live so far away, but we'll just have to make the most out of the time we do have." She responded, her eyes continuing to focus on their daughters while her and Matt stayed back in the kitchen. "I'm excited she'll be here."

"I know you are." He murmured, reaching over to rub her arm before he continued. "So the rest of your talk with her went okay?"

"Yeah, it was good. I caught her up on everything happening here, with the girls and work. And how amazing you've been doing as Chief." She replied lightly, Matt smirking in response while giving her arm a squeeze. "It was pretty much what we always talk about… Though I guess there was something she asked me about that kind of caught me off guard." She admitted.

"What was that?" He pushed, Gabby pausing for a second to take a breath before she answered him.

"She wanted to know how your mom was doing."

Matt's eyebrows rose in response, confusion filling his features as he too was confused by Camila's question.

"Really?" Casey pressed.

"Mhmm…"

"Why?" He asked before he could stop himself, Gabby shrugging slightly back at him.

"She was just checking in on her." She started, her voice soft while Matt glanced down towards her. "Probably because you're like her son, and she wants to know how your family is doing." She added on, a soft smile breaking through his uncertainty before he moved to place a kiss against her head. "But I wasn't expecting her to bring Nancy up… I told my mom she was doing fine, but I wasn't sure. I didn't know if you'd talked to her since the last time she called." Dawson finished, missing the look that pulled on Matt's face before he shook his head.

"I haven't, no." He replied, feeling his wife nod after he spoke. "Not since she called a few months ago." Matt said, his words not coming as a surprise to either of them as they knew that was pretty normal for him and his mother these days.

There were no issues between him and his mom, Nancy just wasn't very involved in their lives lately. There would mostly just be some calls every few months, where she'd check in to make sure they were doing well and he'd hear about her life. But those conversations weren't frequent at all, not anything like Gabby and her mom. And while he'd love for their circumstances to be different, Casey didn't really see things changing anytime soon.

"It might be good to call her." Gabby voiced, Matt breathing in deeply before he mimicked her shrug. "Just to see how she's doing, it couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, maybe." He replied, his voice causing her to slowly lift her head up off his shoulder and turn to look at him. "I'm sure she'd like to hear about the girls and everything."

"I know she would." She assured him, angling her body towards him a bit while she spoke. "She hasn't been able to spend much time with them, but I know she loves the girls. And I'm sure she'd appreciate hearing from you." She encouraged him with a gentle smile. "It would give you two a chance to catch up on everything that's been going on lately." She finished, Matt mulling over her words while his head leaned back and forth.

"...I guess you're right."

"I usually am." She said without missing a beat, Casey letting out a soft scoff while the smile returned to his face.

"Yeah, I won't argue with you there." He conceded, as the husband knew better. "Although you realize that if I call her, it's been so long that she might end up wanting to come and visit." He reminded her, Gabby crinkling her nose up a little before she chuckled.

"That would be fine if she does, babe." She told him, as the two locked gazes. "It's been almost a year since we've seen her, in person at least.. It would be nice for her to come and see everyone." Gabby spoke, as Matt was clearly thinking over what she was saying. "And who knows, Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks, maybe she'll want to come for that again this year."

"Maybe, yeah." He said with a small smile. "I hadn't thought about that, but maybe she would."

"Couldn't hurt to ask." She continued on softly, while nudging her hip against his. "And at the very least, you'll get a chance to talk and catch up. See how things are going for her, with work. And if she's still with…" She trailed off, her eyebrows furrowing a bit while she tried to remember the name of the man his mother was dating.

"Henry." He finished for her, Gabby taking a steady breath before she nodded. "The prick's name is Henry. And as far as I know, they're still together." He said, while Dawson winced a bit.

The Casey family weren't the fondest of Henry, for obvious reasons given some of his comments towards Gabby and the girls in the past. And ever since then, Matt didn't necessarily want the man around his family.

But Gabby also knew how much he missed seeing his mom, and that he would like the chance for her to come visit, with or without Henry.

"Last we talked, things were good with them so I'm sure he's still in the picture."

"Well, even if he is, I still think you should talk to her." She pushed on, watching her husband take a deep breath before he nodded. "Just something to think about."

Casey knew she had a point, but he didn't get a chance to comment on it as just seconds later Sofia's little, yet loud voice hit their ears, while the toddler came waddling through the room.

"Dada!" She shrieked, before hurrying towards the hallway. "Potty!"

Gabby and Matt both chuckled as Sofia continued to run in the direction of the bathroom, the latter then immediately pushing himself off from the counter while Gabby stayed put.

"She's getting a little too good at that." Dawson said with a smirk, Matt matching her grin as he walked backwards through the hallway.

"Oh, she definitely is." He agreed, winking in the direction of his wife before he turned and took the last few steps into the downstairs bathroom, their priorities shifting as their previous conversation was now put on hold while Casey went to help their daughter.

"I should really let you drive more often." Jemma commented from her spot in the passenger seat of 61, the woman sipping easily on her second coffee of their shift while they made their way back to the firehouse. "It's nice being chauffeured around."

Dawson let out a dry laugh, the PIC shaking her head a bit as they came to a stop at the light. "Yeah, I'm good.. But I'll do it this one time." She responded, Norris matching her laugh before taking another sip of her drink.

"I'll take it." Jemma replied, an easy quiet surrounding them while they waited for the red light to change before they continued down the street. "So, with those back to back calls this morning I didn't really get a chance to ask, but how are things in the Casey household?" She questioned, earning a quick glance from Dawson before her eyes refocused on the road. "I know you all have sort of been on lockdown with Sof."

The medics laughed once more, Gabby shaking her head a bit while tapping her finger against the steering wheel.

"Yeah, we pretty much have." She mused.

"How has the little munchkin been doing with all that?" Jemma pressed on. "The whole potty training thing? I know at first it was kind of overwhelming."

"It was, and still is some days. But she's getting the hang of it." Gabby responded with an easy smile. "Sof's doing really well, and hopefully here in a few weeks or so she'll have it down."

"I'm sure she will." Jemma echoed. "If anything, because that kid is just so damn determined." She added on, Gabby letting out another laugh while tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, you're right about that." She responded, before their radios came to life.

"61?" Main came through.

"Go for 61." Jemma replied first.

"We just got a call, person in distress at 658 South Austin." They spoke, Dawson and Norris immediately sharing a knowing look before Gabby nodded. "You all are our closest ambulance."

"Sounds like Roger." Gabby spoke softly, while Jemma gave her a nod back.

Roger had become a frequent flier for the paramedics as of late, the homeless man often needing their help as he'd been stuck in a bad spot here for a few months. And they were always willing to give it to him, Roger being one of their nicest patients despite what all had happened to him.

"Yeah, we can get it. We're heading that way." Norris spoke, earning a response from main while Gabby turned on their sirens and checked the traffic around them, before she did a u-turn in the middle of the street and headed off to the familiar destination.

Casey walked with purpose through the halls of 51 while his hand rested over his stomach, the man intent on heading towards the kitchen to get himself something to eat while he had a break between a few calls with headquarters. But just as he came around the corner, his steps slowed, Matt's eyebrows furrowing a bit when he noticed a large group huddled around the desk overlooking the apparatus floor, confusion flooding through him as he abruptly changed his path and headed that way.

And when he got closer, he noticed how they were all focused on the radios, Matt's uncertainty only growing as he came to a stop behind them.

"What's going on?" He asked, a few men turning around before Herrmann glanced his way, the older man being the one holding onto the radio.

"Something happened on 61's last call." He answered, Matt feeling his throat immediately go dry in worry before he took a step forward, the first responders stepping back out of his way.

"Repeat that 61." Main came through the radio, Casey's eyes moving back towards Herrmann's hand just before Gabby's voice filtered into the air.

"We have a paramedic who got stuck by a needle out on our last call."

A deep grimace covered the Chief's face once he registered Dawson's words, the severity of the situation feeling like a heavy weight over his shoulders as he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat.

"We're heading to med right now." Gabby continued on, before the other person responded.

"Was it you or Norris?"

"...Norris."

Casey's eyes fell closed as a sense of relief started to wash over him, the conflicting feelings within him making it hard to focus.

He was grateful it hadn't been Gabby. As her husband, he couldn't help but be relieved by that, as he knew how dangerous of a situation this could be. One that could have lasting effects for their rest of their lives. But that didn't stop the immense worry he felt for Jemma, given how she was like family to him. And he'd never want this to happen to her, the thought nearly making him sick.

"Casey…" Severide spoke up first, Matt shaking his head a bit before he took a step backwards.

"I'm gonna go to the hospital, and check on them." He responded, a few of his firefighters nodding as he took off towards the double doors.

"Tell Jemma we hope she's okay." Cruz called, Casey giving him a firm nod before he disappeared out into the garage.

Matt stepped through the emergency room doors at Chicago med, the firefighter looking around for any familiar faces before his eyes settled on a nurse he knew well standing by the front desk.

"Maggie." He called, jogging over to her just as the woman looked up, the knowing look on her features telling him she already knew why he was here as she started to move around the desk.

"Hey Chief… I take it you're here for your paramedics?" She asked, Matt giving her a nod before they started walking to the back of the emergency room.

"How's Jemma doing?"

"We're still waiting on the test results." Maggie told him, Casey wincing a bit before he nodded.

"Is it okay if I see her?"

"Of course, yeah… She's right in there." She said, pointing to the last room before she started to take a few steps backwards.

"Thanks Maggie." He told her, giving her a thankful nod before he quickly stepped towards the room, Casey easily sliding the door open and stepping around the curtain, finding Jemma sitting up on the bed with Gabby by her side.

She was wearing a hospital gown, her hands wrung together in her lap as with one look at her Casey could tell how nervous and uneasy she was. And he couldn't at all blame her, considering this was a scary thing, the unknowns of what was happening making the situation thousands of times worse as Matt wished there was anything he could do to make this easier for their friend.

"Matt.." Gabby spoke up as she was the first one to see him, Casey not missing how she was clearly not expecting to see him here. But she was glad nonetheless.

"Hey Casey." Jemma spoke quietly, the woman forcing a small smile that didn't reach her eyes while Matt cautiously walked towards the bed.

"Hi Jemma." He replied, giving her a soft smile back while he came to a stop beside his wife, Matt reaching out to place his hand over her back as a silent way to greet her. "How are you feeling?"

"I… I don't know, not great. If I'm being honest." She responded, Matt nodding knowingly before he reached out to gently squeeze her arm.

"Everything's gonna be okay." He assured her. Even though they both know he couldn't make any promises, Jemma and Gabby both could tell how much he meant what he was saying. And that somehow did help Norris feel better, the younger paramedic nodding slowly while glancing over to Gabby.

"Yeah, that's what Dawson said too." She responded, Casey's smile widening just a bit.

"Well, she's right. You're gonna be fine, and I'm sure whenever we get those results back they'll tell you the same thing" He spoke, patting her arm before returning to Gabby's side, Jemma drawing in a steadying breath before she nodded. "Did you call Marcus?"

"Gabby did." Jemma answered, before Matt looked at her.

"He's on his way." Gabby added on. "He was leaving work as quickly as he could, I think he'll be here any minute."

"Alright, that's good." Casey spoke, the man letting out a soft sigh before his attention returned to Norris. "So… We can do this later if you want to, but if you're up for it do you mind walking me through what happened?" He requested, Jemma pursing her lips together before she nodded.

"Yeah, um.. We were headed back to the house, and got called to one of our frequent guys." She started.

"Roger." Gabby elaborated, Matt then nodding as he'd heard his wife mention the name a few times.

"Alright." He prompted, before Norris continued.

"It was all pretty routine, nothing was really out of the ordinary. We were just helping him, he seemed a little out of it.. Maybe more than he typically is, but at first I didn't think anything of it." She continued on. "But while we were administering his medication, he had a needle on him that neither of us saw… Not until it stuck me."

"Did he stick you with it?" Casey asked, trying to get a clearer picture of what had gone on.

"No, he didn't… It was in his shirt pocket and we didn't see it." Dawson responded, while Jemma nodded in agreement. "We were trying to check his vitals and it had poked through a hole in his shirt, it was a complete accident. We didn't even know he was using, he's never had needles on him before."

"I don't think he used to." Jemma echoed, Matt drawing in a deep breath as he took in their words. "But he's been on the street for a while now, so he must've started."

"So you don't know what he would've taken?"

"We don't." Jemma replied quietly. "And he wasn't able to tell us much."

"Okay… Well, I'll take care of the report and everything. You don't need to worry about any of that." Casey told her, earning a nod from his friend just before the curtain was pulled open once more.

"Norris, we've got your- Oh, hi Casey." Dr. Choi spoke, clearly not expecting the firefighter to be standing in the room with the paramedics.

"Hey Ethan.. How's Jemma?" He questioned, not wanting to waste anymore time as the doctor glanced over towards Norris, almost like he was asking for permission to continue.

"You can tell them." She spoke, Ethan nodding before he glanced back down towards the chart in his grasp, while Gabby reached out to grab ahold of Jemma's hands.

"Alright, well I'm glad to tell you that all our initial tests look clear." He told them, Jemma letting out a heavy breath she didn't realize she'd been holding before her head fell down towards her chest, Gabby immediately wrapping an arm around her while they took in the news. "We couldn't find anything abnormal in your bloodwork, and everything was looking fine… There is one last blood rest we're running, which takes longer to complete but it should be done in an hour or so. But given the situation, we did have our lab test the needle itself, and they couldn't find any traces of any substances, except where it stuck you… We'll need to wait for the last test to be sure, but it looks like you may have gotten very lucky and the needle hadn't been used."

"Oh thank God." Gabby breathed out, rubbing over Jemma's back while her partner continued to let all of this sink in.

"So you think she'll be okay?" Casey asked, as Norris looked back up towards Dr. Choi.

"I do." He assured them with a soft smile. "But once we have that last test back, we'll know for sure… For now, we're gonna admit you. Just to keep an eye on you, and because this test does take awhile." He explained, Jemma nodding slowly while Gabby continued to comfort her.

"Alright, that's fine.. Thank you." She said, Dr. Choi nodding before he excused himself from the room, Jemma then turning to Gabby who almost immediately wrapped her up in a tight hug.

And Norris reciprocated, the younger paramedic holding onto her friend while all of this continued to settle throughout Jemma's system, Norris still working on letting go of that fear and uncertainty she'd been holding onto for the better part of an hour.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Jemma." Gabby whispered, rubbing over her back one last time before she pulled away. But she wasn't left on her own for very long as Matt soon stepped in to give her a hug as well.

"Me too." She responded before Casey pulled back. "And thank you, for everything you did for me out there." Jemma added on while speaking to her partner, referring to Dawson's quick action out there in the field the second she noticed something was wrong.

"Of course, I've always got your back." She promised, Jemma nodding with a soft smile just as they heard movement outside the door again. But this time it was much more frantic as within seconds Marcus came rushing in through the curtain, the man clearly panicked while he rushed to Jemma's side.

"J, babe- What happened? Are you okay?" He rushed out, immediately wrapping his arms around her while Gabby took a step back to give them space. "Gabby said you got stuck with a needle, are you alright?" He continued to blurt out while he leaned back, bringing one hand up to cradle the side of her face before she slowly nodded.

"I'm okay." She told him, everyone in the room seeing his body physically relax as he head hung down to the ground. "I'm alright, the doctor was just in here and said my tests came back clear."

"You're okay." He repeated, Jemma nodding once more as their eyes met. "You're okay."

"I'm okay." She assured him one last time before he hugged her again.

But this time he didn't let go, Gabby and Matt both able to see how much the couple needed this moment together before they quietly excused themselves from the room, Matt sliding the door closed behind him as the husband and wife then started walking towards the hallway.

"That was…"

"Terrifying." Gabby breathed out, Matt nodding with a sad smile before he moved to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I was so scared, I had no idea if she was gonna be okay."

"I know, baby. But she's fine, you're both fine." He promised her, seeing her nod as she leaned into his side, letting him comfort her for a few moments while the events of the day continued to wash over her.

"I know we are, but it's still hard when stuff like this happens." She reminded him, while Matt nodded in agreement. "We know there's always the risk of something like this, but you just hope it never actually happens to you… And the second she said she got stuck, I- I didn't know what to think, I'm just glad she's okay."

"Me too." He replied, Matt leaning down to press a kiss against her head while she let herself relax into him.

"Is it okay if I stay here with her?" She asked, pulling back enough to look up at him before he nodded. "I mean, I doubt Marcus is going anywhere but I'd still like to be here with my partner."

"I already took you all out of service." He responded, Gabby smiling thankfully before she turned to hug him, her arms wrapping around his neck while she pushed herself up to hold onto him.

"Thank you." She breathed out, Matt squeezing her back comfortingly while placing a kiss to her neck, before they reluctantly separated. "And thank you for coming."

"Always." He replied, pressing one last kiss to her forehead before taking a slight step back. "I gotta get back to the station, but call me if you need anything, yeah?"

"I will." She promised, the couple sharing a nod as Gabby gradually started making her way towards Jemma's room while Matt began in the opposite direction. "I love you."

"I love you, too."