Hello there everyone! I've got the next chapter here for you all, and it's another Casey family centered one where we're gonna see a little bit more of them before Christmas. This update was really enjoyable for me to write, so I hope you enjoy reading it as well and I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading! And I'll see you all next time.

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Four

Dawson huffed out a long breath as she came down the last step to their main floor, the darkness filling the living room telling her that Matt had likely already gone through his usual routine of making sure their home was secure for the night, as the only light to be seen was that of the small light in the kitchen, and a lamp from their bedroom flooding out into their home. Which was enough to tell her exactly where her husband was, Gabby rolling out the kink in her neck before she continued on towards their master bedroom.

When she came around the corner she found Matt exactly where she expected him to be, lying in the middle of their bed in his pajamas- that were nothing more than a pair of thin flannel pants, while scrolling through something on his phone. He hadn't noticed her yet, his furrowed eyebrows focused intently on screen in front of him while his other hand was propped up behind his head, Gabby having to take a few more steps into their room before he sensed her presence.

"Hey." She murmured, Matt glancing her way and offering her a soft smile before he placed his phone down onto his chest.

"Hey baby." He responded, his gentle words earning a smile from her as she walked towards their dresser. "I was wondering how much longer you were gonna be up there."

"Yeah, Caity suckered me into a third bedtime story." She breathed out, hearing him laugh while she grabbed a tank top and a pair of his boxers. "And she picked a long one."

"Sounds like our girl." He answered, prompting Gabby to smile softly before she began to change into her pajamas for the night.

Even though her back was to him she could feel his eyes on her, Gabby not minding his gaze while she slid out of her pants and underwear to put on his boxers, before removing her shirt then bra, letting the clothing fall from her hands onto the floor.

"Is Sof asleep?" She questioned as she turned to face him, catching his eyes lingering over her bare chest while she reached for her tank top.

"Mhmm." He hummed after a moment, clearly appreciating the view she was giving him before he met her gaze, with an unashamed look in his eyes. "And I take it Caity finally fell asleep?"

"She did.. Eventually." Gabby answered after sliding her shirt over her head, her hands adjusting the fabric before she walked over to their bed and collapsed down onto the mattress beside him.

The abrupt movement caused him to smile, Matt focused on her while she rolled over onto her back in an attempt to get comfortable, before she nestled up against his side. Before saying a word he lifted his hand up out of the way, effectively getting her to move closer until her head was resting down on his shoulder, Matt's arm then wrapping around her while her palm was against his chest just beneath his phone.

"Well, I'm glad they're both down." He finally replied, feeling her nod against him while he rubbed his hand over her side. "With as exciting of a day as they've had, hopefully they'll sleep in a little bit tomorrow."

"That would be nice." She mused, a soft yawn escaping her lips as she lifted her leg up to hook over him, in an effort to be as close to him as possible. "But even if they don't, I'm glad they had a good day."

Her voice brought a grin to his face, Matt nodding in agreement before he slid his hand up from her waist to her head, where he started to lightly scratch her scalp. Which was something he knew always helped her sleep.

"Yeah, they did have fun, didn't they?" He agreed while she let out another yawn. "Caity especially, I think she's even more excited for Christmas now. Which I didn't think was possible." He added with a laugh, feeling her mimic the action as she started making soft patterns over his stomach with her finger. "But it was nice, and I always love seeing our girls happy."

"Me too." She whispered, Matt practically able to hear the smile on her face when she spoke before a soft quiet filled the air around them. It was comfortable, and easy, Gabby's breathing evening out to the point where there were a few times Casey thought she'd fallen asleep. But then she'd move or stretch out which told him she was awake, despite the exhaustion they both felt from the past few days.

"What about you?" He questioned after a few silent minutes, Gabby simply humming back at him while waiting for him to elaborate. "How'd you do today?"

It was a loaded question and they both knew it, Dawson letting out a soft sigh before she lifted herself up just enough to let her chin rest against his shoulder where she could see him. But even after their eyes met one another, she still didn't say anything.

"I didn't really get a chance to check in as much as I wanted, with the girls and everything," He continued on, brushing his fingers through her hair while he spoke. "But you seem to be feeling a little better."

"I am." She replied, earning a knowing smile from him that encouraged her to continue. "It's still hard, but after spending the day with our babies I do feel better about everything… What about you?"

"Yeah, that's how I am right now, too." He told her, before pushing himself up enough to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "But I'm glad you're feeling better, baby." Matt whispered against her skin before kissing her once more, the two lingering there for a moment until they separated.

But when they did he saw an almost unsure look across her face, his eyebrows furrowing deeply while he kept scratching lightly over the back of her head.

"What is it?"

Pursing her lips together, Gabby drew in a deep breath before speaking up. "Caity mentioned something to me tonight before bed, and I feel like you should know." She prefaced, the expression on his face staying the same as he gave her a sturdy nod. "...She asked me about the girls."

"The girls?" He pushed, unclear of exactly what she was saying.

"Morgan and Macy." She clarified, his face falling for a split second before he slowly nodded. "She knew about them, she heard you talking to my parents this morning."

Matt let out a quick sigh before relaxing back down against the pillow. "Dammit." He muttered under his breath, though Gabby quickly shook her head. "I should've known she was listening and waited to talk to them, they just could tell something was wrong. They were worried about us and I didn't want to not tell them, but I didn't mean for Caity to hear."

"It's okay, babe." She responded, letting her hand slide up to his neck while giving him a small smile. "Really, it is."

"Is she alright?" He was quick to ask, unsure of exactly how much his daughter had heard of what happened to Morgan and Macy. But he knew if she'd heard enough, it was bound to scare her. And that was the last thing he wanted.

"She is." Gabby promised, seeing her husband visibly relax before he gave her a nod to continue. "I was giving Sof her bath so I'm not sure what all was said earlier, but I don't think she really understands the extent of what happened to them. Or what they went through, she just knew they'd been hurt and were in the hospital. That you and I found them and helped them, but she didn't know what happened to them. She was more focused on us being sad about it than anything else."

"Good… That's for the best." Matt replied, earning an agreeing nod from Gabby.

"It is. That's why I didn't tell her too much when she kept asking me questions." She said, letting her head fall to the side while the heaviness of this entire situation settled over them. "She doesn't need to know what those girls went through, or that there are people out there who would do something like that."

"Yeah, I'm glad you didn't tell her. Thank you for that.." He said after taking a breath, Gabby giving him one last nod before she let herself rest back down against him, her cheek placed delicately over his chest while he held onto her with a secure grip. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there to help."

"It's fine, baby. You had to take care of Sof." She reminded him, Matt feeling her breath against him while she spoke. "Caity might have more questions in the morning, though. I'm not sure… I think she wanted to ask me more tonight, but she let it go."

Matt pressed his lips together, thinking over his wife's words for a moment before he nodded. "Well, if she does, we'll handle it together." He reassured her, letting his hand move down towards her waist before sliding up underneath her tank top, the couple relishing in the feeling of his skin against hers. "We'll cross that bridge if we get there, but for right now I think you and I should just try to get some sleep."

"That sounds perfect." She mumbled, missing his smile before he placed another kiss on her head. "Do you need to get back to this?" Gabby questioned vaguely, his eyes moving down when she tapped the side of her finger against his phone, the device still resting on top of his chest as he'd never moved it since she came into the room. "Seemed like whatever you were looking at was pretty important."

"It's stuff for work." He explained, feeling her nod against him before he grabbed his phone and reached over to place it on their nightstand, Gabby's body moving with his as he refused to let go of her. "I missed a few things when I was at the hospital last shift, and the Chief down at Firehouse 12 sent all the updates in one email for me, so I was looking over that."

"Ahh." She spoke knowingly while they settled back into the middle of their bed. "You can finish going over it if you need to."

"I can do it tomorrow." Matt told her while his hand began to tease the skin between her tank top and boxers, the man unable to see the smile on her face before she pressed a gentle kiss against his chest.

"Tomorrow sounds good." She repeated, Casey letting out a soft chuckle before he tightened his grip on Gabby's waist and hoisted her up on top of him.

The swift movement caught her off guard, but once she was resting over him she wasn't complaining, Gabby letting her legs settle on either side of his hips while his arms tightened around her back, ensuring she couldn't go anywhere. And she wouldn't have wanted to even if she could, Gabby's body weight relaxing into him while he reached down to grab the covers and throw them over the two of them, the feeling of her warmth on top of him comforting them both as she listened to his steady heartbeat beneath her ear.

"Goodnight, baby." He whispered into the air after turning off the lamp, covering their room in darkness while she placed one last kiss to his skin.

"Goodnight."

Casey's eyebrows furrowed as he slowly came into consciousness, the sound of little, yet loud, voices hitting his ears before anything else while he gradually opened his eyes. He could tell it was early, one glance to his right telling him that Gabby was fast asleep next to him as her head rested on his pillow. At some point during the night she had rolled off of him, but their legs were still intertwined beneath the sheets while she slept, Matt smiling softly at her before returning his attention back out towards the living room.

The voices he'd heard seconds prior were still there, though a little muffled, Casey shaking his head in amusement while he listened to what sounded like Caitlyn guiding Sofia over towards the couch. Glancing over towards the clock he saw it was just barely after seven, Matt not entirely sure of why both his girls were up already. But now that they were, he didn't want to leave them unattended for too long, Casey sparing one last look at his sleeping wife before he carefully began to get himself out of bed.

The process took a few moments, but eventually Matt had managed to get up without disturbing Gabby, the husband reaching back to pull the covers back up over her before he went to put on a shirt and head out into the living room.

When he stepped out of their room, he immediately saw their girls right where he thought they'd be; Caity sitting up on the couch while she tried to help Sofia hoist herself up as well.

"I got you, Sof." Caitlyn's sweet voice filled the room, the six year old trying to whisper as she knew it was early, but the sound was still just as loud while she gently pulled Sof up onto the couch. "Come here, sissy." She encouraged, Caity not letting go of Sofia until she knew she was safely on the couch, the two year old crawling across the cushion before leaning up against her older sister. "Now we can watch our movie." Caity added on with a giggle, tossing the blanket Matt recognized from Sof's room over top of them and then pulling our their iPad.

Casey continued taking a few more steps forward but stayed back a bit, wanting a second to soak in this adorable moment between his girls while Sofia continued to make herself comfortable against her sister.

"What movie do you wanna watch, Sofi? You can pick." Caitlyn continued to talk to her while focused on the tablet, Sofia looking down in that direction as well as her wide eyes looked over their selection. "We can watch a movie until Mommy and Daddy wake up, and then we can have breakfast." She said to her, Matt biting back a chuckle as he came up to their kitchen table. "And then maybe after breakfast we can go outside and play in the snow.. You wanna build a snowman with me, sissy?"

Caitlyn's words made Sofia very excited as the two year old understood enough of what was being said to her, the younger Casey dancing around happily in her seat while Caity started to laugh.

"You're so silly, Sof." Caitlyn told her before placing a kiss to her forehead, the toddler squealing happily as she nuzzled deeper against her sister.

"Yeah, she is silly, isn't she?" Matt finally spoke up, making his presence known as both Caitlyn and Sofia looked over to him.

"Daddy!" Caity cheered.

"Dada!" Sofia repeated just as happily, Casey letting out another laugh while he made his way towards the couch.

"Good morning, my babies." He greeted them, Sofia reaching up towards him once he got close enough. "What are you two doing up?" Matt asked before sitting down next to Sofia, the two year old cuddling into him instantly while he lifted his hand up to rest over the top of Caitlyn's head.

"Sissy woke up and came to get me." Caitlyn explained with a grin, Matt matching her look before he glanced down towards Sofia with a knowing gleam in his eye.

That was something Sofia had been doing somewhat frequently as of late, going and waking up Caitlyn before it was time to get out of bed. And they weren't entirely sure how to stop it. But if it continued for much longer, he and Gabby would certainly have to address it with their youngest. As no matter how much Sofia loved her sister, she couldn't keep going into her room when they needed to be sleeping.

"She did, huh?" Casey played along, Caitlyn nodding quickly while Sofia dug her head into his stomach.

"Mhmm. But it was funny." Caitlyn replied easily, Matt chuckling in response before he nodded. "We laid in bed and then came here to watch a movie."

"Well, thank you for taking care of her and getting her down here safely." He praised, seeing the proud look that formed over Caity's face while she settled back into the couch.

"You're welcome, Daddy." She responded brightly, before refocusing her attention down to the iPad in her hands. "Do you wanna watch a movie with us?"

"I would love that." He told her while shifting Sofia's weight into his lap, before sliding closer to Caitlyn, not wanting either of them to feel left out as he propped his feet up on the coffee table. "I say we watch a movie and wait for Mommy to wake up, then once she's awake we can have some breakfast, how does that sound?"

"Good." Caity agreed without issue, leaning her head against his arm while Sofia sat sprawled out across his lap, Matt taking the opportunity to adjust the blanket over them before his six year old shoved the tablet into his face. "Now help Sof pick a movie… Please." She spoke with a knowing grin, Casey letting out another laugh before he grabbed ahold of the iPad and scrolled through their options of movies to watch while they waited for Gabby.

"Alright, who wants french toast?" Matt asked as he walked towards the kitchen table where his family was seated, the large plate in his hands filled with their breakfast as he came to a stop beside Sofia's highchair.

"Me!" Caity cheered while shoving her hand up into the air. "Me! Me!"

"Me!" Sofia echoed, Gabby letting out a soft laugh as she looked between their girls, while both of them were focused intently on their father and the food in his hands.

"I think it's safe to say they both want some." Dawson told him, causing Matt to smile in her direction before he nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're right." He replied, Casey then setting two pieces of toast down on Caity's plate before putting one on Sofia's. "You two start with those, then if you want more you can have some."

"Okay Daddy." Caitlyn spoke while she picked up her fork, Gabby opting to reach over and quickly cut up Sofia's french toast into sticks so it would be easier for her to grab, before pouring the slightest bit of syrup over her food.

"You need help, baby?" Matt asked while walking over towards his seat, Caitlyn shaking her head as her tongue poked out slightly between her teeth, determination evident on her face.

"I can do it." She told him, Casey nodding after he sat the plate down onto the table, his eyes then looking over the spread in front of them.

This was a rather big breakfast for them, Matt deciding to make his girls a whole feast once Gabby had woken up and joined them out here about half an hour ago, his wife finishing up the movie with them while he cooked. Because when Caity and Sof, nor Gabby, were able to decide on what they wanted to eat, he chose to make a little bit of everything, Matt preparing plenty of french toast and cut up fruit, along with scrambled eggs and bacon, the father also getting together a little bit of oatmeal as he knew how much Sofia loved it.

"Alright, well if you need help just tell me." He replied, while reaching across the table to grab the syrup once Gabby had finished fixing Sofia's plate. "Do you all need anything else?" He offered while standing behind his seat, his amused eyes lingering on Sofia beginning to devour her food, while Caitlyn was still working on cutting up hers.

"Can I have more bacon?" Caitlyn asked, Matt glancing down to see the spot on her plate where the breakfast meat had previously been was now empty, before he gave her a nod.

"Of course you can." He told her, reaching over to grab a few pieces and break them in half before putting them down onto her plate full of french toast and berries, and the smallest bit of eggs.

"Thank you, Daddy… But what about Mommy?" She questioned, Matt glancing up towards Gabby just as a curious look appeared over her face.

"What about me, baby?"

"Daddy didn't give you any french toast." She said with a shrug, Casey's lips parting slightly as his wife smirked in amusement, before Gabby gave him a knowing glance.

"You're right honey, he didn't." She played along, while Matt looked between Gabby and Caitlyn, the latter merely watching him expectantly. Dawson would never expect him to serve any food to her, especially not when they had their girls to take care of, but Caitlyn calling him out was too amusing of an opportunity to pass up as Matt slowly put his hands up in defense.

"You gave me and sissy some, why not Mommy?"

"You're right sweetheart, I should've gotten your mom some, too." Casey replied, picking the plate back up and walking around the table to where Gabby was sitting, Matt ignoring the soft laughs from his wife while he placed a few pieces of french toast down onto her plate. "There you go, babe." He spoke, the sound of his voice prompting her to look up towards him with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

"Thank you." She murmured, his eyes softening before he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "And thank you for making all of this." Gabby added on as he pulled back just a bit, only enough to see her while he gave her a smile and a wink.

"It's no problem." He responded, the two sharing a quick, yet sweet kiss before he moved back around to his spot at the table and sat down beside Caitlyn, ready to enjoy their meal as a family.

And enjoy it they did, the four of them having a great time together while eating their breakfast, the french toast proving to be a bit more messy than they anticipated- at least where Sofia was concerned. But their girls were eating and having fun with their parents, which was all that mattered to both Matt and Gabby while they finished up their meal.

"You want another bite?" Matt asked as he got a few pieces of egg on his fork and held it out to Caitlyn, the six year old mulling over the question before she nodded.

"One more." She replied lightly, her bright smile infectious throughout the table before Matt held his fork up to her mouth and let her take a bite.

"What about you, Sof? You want some more eggs?" He tried while getting some more food on his fork, the toddler already leaning towards him with her mouth open as she waited for him to feed her. "Yeah, that's good, huh?" He spoke rhetorically, Sofia squealing happily while she chewed on her food before swallowing it. "You did so well eating your breakfast, Sof.. You and Caity both."

"Yeah, you guys did great." Gabby praised, causing Caitlyn to grin happily. "Did you enjoy your food, baby?"

"Mhmm." Caitlyn hummed before taking a slow and careful sip of her juice. "It was really yummy."

"I thought so, too." Dawson agreed with a slight scrunch of her nose. "We'll have to make sure to thank your Daddy again for this."

"Thank you, Daddy." Caity was quick to say, taking Gabby's prompting as Matt let out a low chuckle.

"You're welcome, princess." He replied, while Gabby had gotten up to grab a towel to clean up Sofia as her hands were covered in syrup. Though she didn't seem to mind it while she continued sticking her hands together. "I'm glad you liked it, are you all done?"

"Yeah." She said, Matt eyeing her plate before he nodded. There were a few more bites of food left- just a little bit of french toast and bacon, but she had eaten all her eggs and fruit, along with all her juice.

"Alright, well do you think you could help me clean up? Can you take your plate over to the sink?"

"Okay Daddy." She agreed before sliding down off her seat, her nightgown flowing while she moved as she reached up to grab ahold of her plate, Caitlyn then carefully walking back over to the kitchen.

"Thank you." He called after her while pushing himself up from his seat, Matt glancing over to where Gabby was now wiping off Sofia's hands and her face. "Does she need a bath or is she good?"

"I think she's alright for now." Dawson replied, earning a nod from her husband as he grabbed ahold of Sofia's empty plate, the mess she left behind on her highchair hard to miss. But from experience, he knew it wouldn't take too long to get cleaned up, Casey holding as many dishes as he could before following in Caity's footsteps to the kitchen.

"Can I help wash stuff?" Caitlyn asked when he came around the island, Matt immediately nodding while placing everything down.

"Absolutely. How about you get your stool over here, and I'll get the rest of the dishes from the table." He proposed, his six year old nodding back at him eagerly before she hurried over to the pantry where they kept her stool.

Over the next ten minutes or so they finished cleaning up everything from breakfast, Matt and Caitlyn taking care of the dishes while Gabby wiped down their kitchen table along with Sofia's highchair, everything soon just as spotless as it'd been before their meal. Then after a quick stop in the bathroom with Sofia, the family of four were all back together in their living room, Caitlyn sitting up on the couch next to her mom while Sofia was bouncing up and down in Matt's lap.

"Are you and Daddy gonna be home all day?" Caity asked while bringing her legs up towards her chest, her head resting lightly against Gabby's arm as she looked towards her dad.

"We are." Gabby answered her, neither parent missing the content smile that fell onto her face. "Do you know what you want to do today?"

Caity gave her a shrug, her eyes moving around the room while she thought over the question. "Sof and I wanna play in the snow." She said with a devilish grin, Matt chuckling lightly as he shot Gabby a knowing look.

"Well, we can definitely do that." Casey agreed, Caitlyn clapping her hands together excitedly while Matt kept one palm against Sofia's side, in an effort to make sure she didn't fall while she continued to play in his lap. "We might wanna wait until later this morning, though. Because it's too cold right now." He compromised, earning a nod from their oldest before he continued. "But we can find something else to do until then."

"Like watch another movie?" She asked, while Gabby rubbed her hand over the top of her head.

"A movie would be good." Matt replied, Dawson nodding to match his words.

"We can watch whatever movie you and Sof want, baby." Gabby added on, causing Caitlyn to look up at her with a smile. "And I was also thinking that sometime today the four of us could make some Christmas cookies." She suggested, seeing Caity's eyes get wide from pure excitement. "Would you and your sister wanna help?"

"Yes!" Caity all but shouted before Gabby could even finish, the parents chuckling softly while Caitlyn let her bent legs sway back and forth. "I wanna help make cookies for Santa."

"Well, I'm not sure if these would be for Santa quite yet.. It's still a little early for that, but we could make some to practice for Santa's cookies." Gabby explained to her, earning another nod from their daughter.

"Okay, we can practice for Santa. And eat cookies." She said with a giggle, Matt laughing once more himself while Gabby shook her head. "And we can make some cookies for Abuelo and Abuela, and Aunt Jemma!"

"Yeah, we can."

"And Uncle Kelly, too." She continued to list those closest to her.

"Mhmm. We can make cookies for whoever you want, honey." Gabby told her, Caitlyn grinning proudly before she settled back into the couch next to her mom.

"Yay! I can't wait to make cookies." She responded, missing the last look Matt and Gabby gave one another before they all continued to get comfortable in their seats, the family of four more than ready to spend the rest of their day together, with no interruptions.

The soft sound of their television filled the living room while Gabby was curled up on the edge of the couch, her gaze occasionally moving between the screen and her girls while they played together on the floor.

It was getting late into the evening, the family having already had dinner and given Caity and Sofia their baths. Which, after spending a large amount of their day outside in the snow, it was desperately needed. But the girls loved it. Between building many snowmen, and having a few snowball fights with their parents, they had an amazing time out in the courtyard. But once they were finally done, and far too cold for Gabby's liking, they'd all come back in and gone into their usual routine for the night, before finally settling down in the living room.

And that's where they'd been ever since, Gabby wrapped up in a thick blanket to help warm herself up, while Matt was over in the kitchen preparing some hot chocolate for all of them.

"Sofi, what happened to your toy?" Caitlyn's voice broke through Dawson's thoughts as she looked back over to her girls, where they had been playing with a few different toys. Though now they were stopped, as Caity held up one of Sofia's older dolls that was falling apart at the seams.

The two year old had had that doll forever, ever since she was a baby. And clearly she'd been rough on it over the years, as now it was a hazard more than anything else, Gabby making a mental note to throw it out whenever Sofia wasn't around to see it.

"Your dolly is broken." Caity continued on, prompting Sofia to gasp before putting her hand up to her cheek; a reaction she had undoubtedly learned from her older sister.

"No!" Sofia spoke unhappily as a pout settled over her lips.

"Mommy, Sof's dolly is broken." Caitlyn called back, shifting on her shins to face Gabby while holding the toy up in the air.

"Oh no, that's not good." Gabby replied with a frown, missing the amused smirk playing over her husband's lips as he got their drinks together. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but it's all messed up." Caitlyn continued on with a grimace.

"Well, we might need to think about getting her a new one." Gabby suggested, her focus solely on Caitlyn as Sofia had already moved onto something else. "Maybe that's something Daddy and I can get her for Christmas."

Caitlyn raised her eyebrows, a small smile forming over her face before she started to nod. "Yeah… You and Daddy get us presents, too." She repeated, almost like she was reminding herself.

"We do, so we'll see if we can replace Sofia's doll." Gabby told her once more, just as Matt made his way over to them with two mugs in one hand, while his other was holding a plate of the Christmas cookies they'd made earlier in the day.

"Alright guys, who wants hot chocolate?" Casey asked, effectively shifting the subject as he sat down right next to Gabby, her feet partially underneath the side of his leg while he put the plate down onto the coffee table.

"I do." Gabby replied softly, Matt winking in her direction while Caitlyn pushed herself up off the ground and walked over to them, Sofia following close behind her sister. "You wanna share with me, Caity?" She asked, knowing Matt had only made two because the girls would never be able to finish one on their own.

"Yeah." Caitlyn responded easily, while Sofia made a beeline for her father.

"That means you can share with me, Sof." He said brightly, letting his two year old grab a cookie before he hoisted her up into his lap, Matt getting her settled while he glanced towards Caity, where she was still standing in front of the couch next to her mom.

"Alright, let's see here." Gabby started, taking a quick sip of the drink to check the temperature before she held the mug out towards Caitlyn. "Here you go, honey."

Caitlyn took a few slow sips while Gabby held onto the warm mug, Matt repeating the process with Sofia for a couple moments as the family shared their drinks and cookies.

"It's yummy." Caity spoke up, Gabby nodding as she reached out with her napkin to wipe off her daughter's mouth. "Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome." He told her easily, Caitlyn smiling a bit in his direction while Gabby took another drink.

A comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes, their attention moving between their snack and the television while they wound down for the evening, neither Matt nor Gabby noticing the way Caity was watching them with a somewhat pensive look on her face. Not until she finally spoke up.

"Mommy?" She questioned, her voice barely audible as Gabby looked towards her.

"Yeah baby?"

"I've been thinking lots." She continued on, Dawson's eyebrows furrowing a bit before she leaned forward to place her mug down on the table, Caitlyn's words gaining the complete attention of both her parents.

"About what, sweetheart?" Gabby spoke lovingly, reaching her hand out to cradle the side of Caitlyn's head.

The six year old paused for a moment, Gabby and Matt waiting patiently for her to feel comfortable saying whatever was going through her mind. "...The girls who got hurt." She finally confided, Gabby's breath catching her throat while Matt looked to her, hurt shining in both their eyes as Caity's gaze moved towards the ground.

It hadn't come up today. Caitlyn hadn't mentioned this again, not once. They hadn't even gotten anywhere near talking about Morgan and Macy, or what happened to them. And Matt and Gabby were glad for that at the time, as they didn't want their daughter worrying about this, the parents just assuming Caitlyn had moved on from all of it.

But clearly, that wasn't the case. And it made their stomachs sink.

"...You have?" Gabby finally replied after clearing her throat, earning a nod from their daughter.

"Mhmm."

"You could've told us earlier, honey." Casey reminded her gently. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I dunno." She shrugged, before looking back up at her parents. "But it makes me sad that they're in the hospital… And that they're gonna miss Santa." Caitlyn replied with a frown, Matt's face falling as he began to shake his head. "They might not get any presents for Christmas, and it'll make them sad too. I don't want them to be sad." She continued to voice what all was going through her mind, her innocence towards the entire situation breaking their hearts, while also making them feel a swell of pride.

"Caitlyn, sweetheart…" Matt started, but he didn't get the chance to continue before Caitlyn spoke up.

"Can Sof and I give them our presents?" She asked suddenly, her words catching them both by surprise as Gabby and Matt glanced at one another.

"...What?"

"I wanna give them my presents." She repeated, the way her eyebrows pushed together telling the parents how serious she was.

"Your Christmas presents?" Matt checked, just to make sure he was understanding her correctly.

"Yeah, my presents from you and Mommy." Caitlyn said as the conviction in her voice nearly brought tears to Gabby's eyes. "I can't give them my presents from Santa yet, cause they're not here. But you and Mommy have presents for me and Sof, and I wanna give it to them. Cause I already have lots of stuff." She continued to explain while leaning her body weight up against the side of the couch, Gabby stunned into silence as they took in how unselfish and caring their daughter truly was. "And- I dunno about Sof, cause she's a baby and can't tell me. But I think she'd give away her presents, too." She finished, Matt laughing softly while Gabby wiped underneath her eyes.

"You really wanna do that, baby? You'd give up your presents?"

"Mhmm. I asked Santa for lots of stuff, and even if he can't get all of it that's okay." She said with a small smile, before a look of excitement crossed her features. "I want them to have it. And we can say it's from Santa just in case, so they don't get sad. We'll be like Santa's helpers." Caitlyn giggled out while Gabby stroked her thumb over her cheek. "And they'll have presents on Christmas."

Matt caught Gabby's gaze, the woman unable to stop her smile while Casey let out a soft breath. "That's so nice of you, sweetheart. Really." Matt told her, his mind still trying to grasp all of this. And how Caitlyn had come up with this completely on her own. "And I think the girls would love it." He added, watching as Caity's face lit up before she started to nod.

"So we can give them presents?"

"We will." Gabby assured her, before patting the couch next to her. "Come here, honey." She prompted, earning another smile from Caitlyn before she climbed up onto the couch next to her mom, where Gabby wrapped her up in a tight hug. "You are the sweetest girl in the whole world, you know that?" She murmured, kissing the sides of her head while Matt shifted closer to them.

"I just want them to be happy, too.. Like I am." Caity further spoke, her words hitting them deep as Gabby tightened her hold on her, while Matt reached out to rest his hand over Caitlyn's back.

Nothing else was said as Caitlyn's decision continued to settle around them, Matt and Gabby still finding themselves somewhat taken aback by the enormous heart their daughter had as she kept showing them how genuinely kind and loving she was.

Just like she'd been ever since they met her.