Well, what a finale to Season Five we had. I think I've think I've only just recovered from that last scene. I'm so very sure that Casey will be okay ~ and that's what I'm staying with for the next few months.
Thank you for all the reviews and to those who let me know what their favourite lines were. Mine was 'at the end of a shift my uniform comes off, my wedding ring doesn't'. Like I've said before it's one of my favourite lines that I've written.
Hope you enjoy this chapter… As always thanks to Rebecca for editing and bouncing ideas. Looking forward more interesting conversations over the hiatus R x
Oh and Megan - you owe me something :D In between marking, writing reports, parent-teacher interviews and upper school exams - here is a chapter! I will accept chocolate, hugs... or even Jesse :P
Week Thirty
~ Candidate is the size of a large cabbage ~
Matt wasn't sure how he managed to make it through to the next week, but somehow he did. They had. It was still hard after last week, but it was day by day; moment by moment. That one conversation on the couch in their bedroom hadn't been a magic bullet that had fixed everything. Matt had promised to support Gabby every step of the way. And Gabby had opened up instead of running away, but even the simple explanation of feeling sidelined hadn't solved their problems.
So without meaning to, their lives had become slightly tense. And they had both kept reminding themselves that one conversation was not going to solve and fix everything. Gabby had found herself staying an extra few minutes at the Academy and Matt found himself taking his time coming back from the house, or staying longer moments at Alderman meetings. Both were scared of what could happen, what might really be happening right now?
For Gabby, it was scary to think that it wasn't going to be long before they meet their child. And for all the dreaming and praying for their child, for this family, for the child that she and Matt had created, it was going to become a reality soon. It didn't seem to matter what had come before, their first angel or even Louie. And that worried her. It was those thoughts that had jolted her awake that particular morning. She felt guilty, how was it that everything was going to be fine? She didn't feel like she should have been able to be happy. All of a sudden was it okay to be wanting this baby; was she betraying them by wanting this? Was she allowed to be happy? Her hormones were doing a number on her.
All in though, those fears that she had been feeling since she saw the little plus sign on that plastic stick. Those fears had been slowly fading, they had been fading at a snail's pace. But even into her third trimester she still had a feeling that something was going to go wrong, something seriously wrong.
A groan from her left caused her to shake off whatever it was that she was feeling. Gabby slowly removed the many pillows that surrounded her and propped herself up over to her left side, trying to ease a pillow between her legs, it had seemed to fall out during some point of the night. A feat that was easier said than done. Her belly was starting to become a fair bit larger. Stella had joked a number of weeks ago that she looked like she had swallowed a basketball, having a neat little round ball of a belly. But over the last few days she had started to fill out, making her look the thirty weeks pregnant that she was. Matt had laughed at her last night when she complained about it. You wouldn't have even been able to tell that she was pregnant from behind, even if she had started to waddle when she was tired at the end of the day. But Matt wasn't going to be telling her that – the couch wouldn't be comfortable enough to sleep on and he knew that that was going to be the punishment if he ever mentioned it.
"Hey," Matt whispered, the sleep still very evident in his voice. Rubbing his face trying to invigorate life into himself, he stretched out his arms. "Hey…" Matt reached out to brush a hair out of her face, "What's going on in that head of yours?" he questioned. Gabby gave him a weak smile. "Hey, don't be like that, I can see those wheels turning."
Matt propped himself up onto an elbow, resting his head in a hand and staring as Gabby tried to find a comfortable position in the bed. With only 10 weeks left, Gabby had been mentioning that she was starting to feel much more uncomfortable, mentioning regularly… well it was more like complaining but she would never admit that to anyone. After watching her shuffle for a few moments more, Matt decided that a few more pillows would help, but he couldn't seem to find them. Rolling out of bed, he found them scattered on the floor.
Gabby was still wriggling around on the spot trying to find some place that was comfortable. With a concerned look on his face, he helped her into a more upright position his hand ghosting over her belly feeling the now familiar thump. Easing her forward slightly Matt was able to wedge a folded up pillow behind her back, hopefully giving her the support she needed. Under her knees went the pregnancy pillow that Herrmann had given them. As he made his way back towards his side of the bed, he noticed Gabby's hands racing to her belly, a wince ghosting over her features.
Upon the questioning look that Matt shot her, Gabby sighed, letting her head fall back onto the pillow. "Smudge is just being active, taking after their father…" she joked.
Matt gave her a wry smile as he climbed back into bed, sliding down further than he normally would. Carefully and quickly he pushed up her pyjama top to just below her bust. She shivered slightly as the cold air hit her bare belly. A grin spread across his face as he lay his head against her belly and a warm hand on the other side.
"Hey little man," he whispered against her belly. Smudge, hearing Matt's voice, wriggled in the direction of his voice and kicked him in the cheek. "Hey, hey, hey none of that," he chided softly, rubbing his thumb across her taut skin.
Gabby laughed softly as his warm breath tickled her skin, allowing her hand to tangle into his hair scratching his scalp lightly. These moments were starting to appear more and more regularly and she loved them. Gabby allowed her eyes to flutter shut as her listened to Matt continue chatting.
"Now my boy, you need to settle down in there," he continued to whisper. "Your Mama's just a bit tired. And you're not making it easy for her. I'm sure you'll do plenty of that for both of us when you arrive, keeping both of us up," he joked. "You've just got to settle down a little bit… That's right, shhh… you've just got to get some sleep. Mama and Daddy just want some sleep, so how about you play along kiddo and help us out there? You know what? We can't wait to meet you, your Mama, I and all your family... everyone's excited to meet you… But not just yet, you've still got some baking to do..." Slowly the kicking and the rolling slowed down and Gabby's eyes popped open and her head lulled forward in his direction.
"So if you could do that every night, that would be fantastic," she moaned slightly. "I swear the minute I lay down for bed, Smudge starts up… I spent hours walking at work yesterday and nothing…"
"Hours?" Matt interrupted, stunned by what he was hearing. Only last week she was complaining about not being able to really cope at work, the hours on her feet tiring her out… truthfully anything more than an hour tiring her out.
"Yeah, we were doing practical simulations and…"
"Practical simulations?" he asked incredulously, not quite believing it. "Gabby, you're 30 weeks pregnant. You shouldn't be doing practical stuff, they have other paramedics for that, Babe."
"Hey," she whispered, a sole finger running down his cheek forcing his chin up to look at her. Grasping his firm jaw, she tugged slightly compelling him to move his way up her body to brush a kiss on her lips, a warm hand never leaving her belly. "Hey, I was fine. No, I was amazing. My feet didn't hurt, I was in the zone. I was back in action Baby." She pulled his chin in for a searing kiss. "And not once did Smudge kick up a storm. I think Smudge liked it, all the action," she grinned.
Matt smiled as he brushed the hair out of her face. Maybe this was good for her, she did have a beaming smile across her face that he honestly hadn't seen in a while. The 'firefighter action' smile. He remembered the first time he saw it after he saw her coming out a burning building for the very first time.
"Did you know?" he started after a while, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "Did you know that we're down to single digit weeks?"
"That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Sorta scary too," she confessed. "I still remember that night coming home from Molly's when you reminded me about double digit days…"
The silence settled back over them. "Matt?" came Gabby's unsure voice. His hands came to rest over her belly, a thumb rubbing back and forth a silent encouragement to continue with her words. "Do you ever think we're going to be able to do it all? In three – four months after Smudge arrives, will I be able to go back to work?"
"Work?" Matt enquired, not sure what he was going to actually say to her.
"Yeah, the CFD… remember them?" she teased slightly. "What do we do when I have to go back and work those 24 hour shifts? How do I leave my baby for 24 hours?"
"Ambo?" Gabby nodded slowly, almost shyly. She was loving her stint at the academy but there was no way she would ever be able to handle a desk job.
"I love the rush too much," she admitted. "And that doesn't make me a bad mother does it?" Matt grabbed her hands quickly and shook his head.
"No, it doesn't. Gabby I know it's going to be a struggle. And we'll have to find some way to balance our careers with kids. But I know we'll find a way."
Casey sat back in his desk chair after a long shift. It didn't ever matter how he shifted and turned, there was never a comfortable position in this chair. Severide stopped in his doorway, watching his friend click away on his laptop scribing a few notes here and there. Casey had obviously thought everyone from their shift had left and 3rd watch was out already. Normally Severide would have been out of there too, but Kidd had been taking her time in the locker room that he had decided to collect his laundry.
"Hey!" Severide called out, stifling a snort as Casey jumped slightly and pushed his laptop away. "What the hell are you looking at? You know that you're still at work. Your wife might not be here… but still…"
"Nothing…" Casey replied turning around to face this friend. "Nothing!" he insisted as Severide's eyes bore into him. The two lieutenants started what only could be described as a staring competition, neither of them willing to back down.
Finally, Severide made a lunge for the laptop, as Casey managed to shut the lid just in time. "Honestly Severide!"
"Just wondering what might be keeping you here – staring at your laptop," prodded Severide.
Casey sighed, knowing that Severide was never going to leave him alone until he found out what was going on, "I'm looking for a holiday spot so I can take Gabby away."
"Babymoon?" Kidd's voice joined in the conversation, popping up from behind Severide. "Awesome idea Casey…"
"Babymoon?" Severide questioned, the unfamiliar word uncomfortably rolling off of his tongue. Kidd gave him a slight shove and took a seat on Casey's bunk. Severide and Casey exchanged a glance, surprised that Kidd was making herself comfortable in her own lieutenant's office, Casey wasn't sure if she had ever completely entered his office before. But here she was, sitting on his bunk, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Casey shrugged slightly before continuing "I know that our lives are going to be changing… And there's nothing that I can do to stop that, not that I want to. But I want to do something for Gabby, before it all changes for us. We all know that it's going to be the biggest change for her," confessed Casey.
"Leave some of that planning with me," Kidd pleaded. "Brett and I can go shopping and pack her bag for Gabby. Leave it to me. Are you going somewhere warm?" Kidd didn't even allow Casey to confirm if that was even his plan. "You should really take her somewhere warm, it's a hellhole here in Chicago – freezing cold. Give her a chance to get some vitamin D and soak up all that sun. I'll pack everything for her – you'd forget something. I've got it all under control Lieutenant."
"Guess we're going somewhere warm," muttered Casey to Severide with a low chuckle.
Severide nodded in agreement, "No stopping her when she's got an idea," he confirmed.
Matt walked into the reception area of Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre, eyes forward intently looking for someone. Maggie glanced over to catch his eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"Matt what can I do for you?" she questioned. "No Gabby this time?" she joked carefully. Every time she had seen the firefighter recently, Gabby had been attached to him, so it was nice to see that hopefully, he wasn't here for some sort of problem.
"No," he answered sheepishly. "But if you could maybe not mention that you've seen me the next time she's in, that would be great."
Maggie screwed up her face and gave him a hard stare trying to work out what was going on here. "What's happening Matt?"
"I'm looking for Natalie Manning; I just have a few questions. And I can't get to see our OB, especially without Gabby finding out… No, no, nothing is wrong," he cut the charge nurse off seeing her open her mouth ready to say something. "I just want to organise something for Gabby and I need to know what is and isn't possible."
Maggie gave him a sideways look and motioned towards the doctor's room where she knew that Natalie was having a break in. "Come on then Dad, let's get some of those questions answered." Maggie went to open the door, her hand resting on the door handle. "Actually," she started thinking about the fact she was sure she had seen Will Halstead sneak into the room earlier, two coffees in hand. Wisely she knocked on the door first. Will stuck his head out not a moment or two later, his hair suspiciously more mussed than normal. Matt gave him a knowing half smile as the red-head slipped past the pair.
Maggie managed to keep a straight face and not make any comment to either doctor as she inserted herself into the small room. "Nat?" she called out, "have you got a few moments to answer a few questions from nervous Daddy firefighter here?"
Matt chuckled at the title as Natalie smiled and waved him in. "What can I help with Matt?"
"This is all top secret Natalie and I need to you to promise that you won't tell Gabby." Upon Natalie's nod of confirmation, he continued. "I know you and Gabby are friends and have been talking throughout the pregnancy. I'm sure she's shared some things with you including the fears… We've had a bit of a rough patch with the whole becoming parents thing and I've been doing some research. I was planning on surprising her with a holiday, just getting away from the cold Chicago and spending some time just the two of us before the baby arrives. So logically I want to know if it's possible, but I haven't been able to get a hold of Dr. Peterson," Matt confessed.
Natalie's eyes lit up as Matt was explaining his idea. She was sure that Gabby would be excited once she found out and she would never have believed that the firefighter who she had watched come into the ER over the years could be such a romantic.
"Let me see if I can contact Dr. Peterson. I think she's at the hospital today, she might be able to spare a few moments to answer your questions," she assured him. "Just sit tight and I'll be back."
Matt glanced nervously around the space that he was currently occupying. May be this wasn't a good idea – he and Gabby needed to get away but at the same time had he left it too late? It wasn't like he wanted to leave the country or anything. Just leave Chicago, it was always cold in February – but it had seemed below average colder this year. Gabby had spent the afternoon bragging about how carrying Smudge was just like carrying around her own personal space heater, just a few days ago. And reminded him that the next time they fell pregnant he better get his timing right again, because there was no way she was going to feel like this during summer. Unconsciously he felt a grin spread across his face as he thought about their ever growing family, the first baby wasn't even here and Gabby was already thinking and talking about expanding their family more. Three years ago he would have never thought this possible, but yet here he was thinking of not just Smudge, but more children. So he didn't even hear the door open and Natalie slipped back in.
"So," she started shaking Matt out of his little daydream. "I've just spoken to Dr. Peterson, she's on her way down from Maternity to answer any questions and give better advice on your case then I possible could. But there are going to be questions that I need to ask Gabby," Natalie started seriously. As sweet as it was that Matt had decided to do something for his wife, the paediatrician had wished that he had maybe thought of this a few weeks ago.
"Ask away," Matt replied confidently. "I'm sure that everything you need to know, I've got a pretty good idea."
"You've got a pretty good idea about what?" Clara Peterson's voice entered the space. Both Matt and Natalie looked up in surprise. "What? It's not that long a trip down... Now Matt Casey – what is it that you know or need? I missed you at Gabby's appointment last week."
"Sorry," Matt hung his head slightly. He had meant to make her 30 week appointment, even if it had been a week early. But the only appointment that Gabby had been able to make around everything that was going on with their lives was during one of his shifts and he had been out at a high rise building fire.
"Don't do that," Clara comforted, "She explained what the situation was. Look, I've seen many expectant fathers miss scans and appointments for a variety of reasons, but, Matt, you had a pretty damn good reason. Now…" she drawled out as she scouted out the coffee situation here. "What is it that I can do for you?"
Quickly and as succinctly as possible Matt explained what he wanted to do for Gabby. Clara tapped her fingers against the table thoughtfully, pondering what she should do, what would be the best course of action to take with him.
"So you're thinking of putting her on a plane?" Upon Matt's nod of confirmation, Clara pursed her lips thoughtfully. "So how are things at home – exhaustion and all of that?"
"I think she's going okay. We were talking about it, how it's all been going with Smudge. And she seems fine. She has been mentioning that she is finding it hard with the growing bump. I did watch her try and bend over at the academy a few days ago when I went to pick her up. There is finally an admittance that yes she's finding it a little harder to get up from sitting on the couch. But I think she's okay… Yet?" he questioned his brow furrowing at the thought.
"Breathlessness?" Natalie interrupted. She had been listening to Matt talk, thinking back to when she was at that point in her pregnancy. As she looked back up she found two sets of inquiring eyes staring at her, questions in both of them. "Don't get me wrong Matt, this is such a nice thing to do for Gabby. I'm just remembering how I was feeling at thirty weeks. Just when I thought everything was going well, and I was starting to get used to my breathlessness, and everything else, so MUCH changed again. With my ever-growing baby bump, I found it really hard to bend over, or get up from sitting on the couch. And God forbid I ever dropped something that needed to be picked up. I was so afraid I would just topple on over, and roll like a log. Or a ball. April and Maggie became my official 'pick everything and anything up for Dr. Manning people'," Natalie smiled at the memory. "I also remember being extremely exhausted all the time. I felt like my tired-level from the first trimester had been multiplied by a billion. And compared to my second trimester, my third trimester was a constant changing level of tiredness… Just a few bits to think about," she advised.
"I did notice last week that she was breathless storming from the kitchen to the living room. But she was storming fairly fast," Matt confessed.
"So how far are you thinking of going Matt?" Dr. Peterson interrupted.
"Florida – I thought somewhere warm would be perfect, especially in our weather," he reasoned. "It's not too far, around 2 hours if we fly. If we had to drive it would be 18 hours. I did some research and I know that she's still within the limits of being able to fly at 30 weeks. And I think 18 hours would just be too much for her. The sitting for that long would kill her hips and back. Look if it's too much, I can organise something here in Chicago," conceded Matt finally. He hung his head, an agonising pain flooding his heart. He just wanted to do something nice for her, for the two of them before their lives completely changed.
"It's fine Matt. I examined her last week, I'm happy to clear her to fly. If I'm honest, I would have preferred that you had this idea a few weeks ago whilst she was still in her second trimester, but what are you going to do? I'll write the letter up clearing her to fly. You might need it, it will just depend on the airline company… Just a few days, a week at the most?" Upon the confirming nod from Matt. "I'll get it to you."
Not three days later Antonio was unlocking the Casey's front door. "Gabs," hollered Antonio from the door. "Come on! We need to go. I've got reservations."
"Keep your hair on 'Tonio," teased Gabby as she picked up her handbag. "Where are we even going?"
"Mama and Papá are coming home early…" lied Antonio easily, ready to help his brother-in-law out with anything he needed. "Mama wanted to come home to make sure that she's nearby, should you need anything."
Gabby scoffed as she locked the door behind her. "She does know that I'm not due for another 10 weeks right?"
"She's just worried Gabby. She's our mother, she wouldn't have it any other way. Now come on, we don't want to keep them waiting," he reminded her, pressing a kiss to her temple before helping her into his truck. In hindsight, it might have been easier on her to take her car. It was much lower to the ground and easier to slide in and out of, but Matt had already parked it at the airport.
Gabby gave him a smirk as he slid easily into his own seat. She had plans to just sit on the couch and do nothing today. She had plans with the television and a warm blanket. There had been much going on in her life this week, meaning she didn't have lessons to plan for or any marking to do. So when Antonio rang and said she had to be ready to pick their parents up, she had protested loudly. But big brother had pulled rank and now here they were in Antonio's truck. Gabby grumbled softly as the truck pulled out of her driveway.
"Antonio," Gabby started as they walked towards the entrance of O'Hara. "This is departures, not arrivals. And did they even fly Southwest?" she questioned looking at the signs around her. "I mean what kind of detective are you if you confuse the two?" she teased.
Antonio laughed along with her, all the while scanning the lounge for Matt. "Wow, you're mean now that you're pregnant… Well meaner," he qualified. Feeling the buzz of his cell, he whipped it out to find a message blinking from Matt. Apparently, they were all checked in and he was waiting for them at Starbucks near the departure lounge. "Come on, I've got a surprise for you."
Gabby stopped short in her tracks as a familiar blonde came into view. "'Tonio?" she gasped slightly. Antonio curled a hand around her arm and allowed his other arm to come around her waist just in case. She did seem unsteady on her feet and u[on feeling the strong arm around her, Gabby lent into her brother's chest slightly. Matt slowly made his way out of his chair, shooting her a rare dazzling grin, lighting up his face and making his eyes crinkle with joy, causing her heart to flutter.
Antonio turned his body and angled it into her, "You have an amazing husband Gabby. Don't fight him and let him look after you. Don't you go all Dawson on him," he laughed.
"Takes one to know one," she retorted as Matt arrived in front of them. "What's all this Babe?" her eyes were starting to shine with the tears that had sprung out of nowhere.
"You and me… A plane… And a holiday away from the cold wintery Chicago," he told her as Antonio transferred her into his waiting arms. "Here," he told her, handing her a bag. "Stella packed your carry on. There's a causal dress in there that she said you might like to wear on the plane."
"But I don't have anything… I need to work this week," she stuttered.
"Don't worry about it," he reassured her with a quick press to the temple. "Now go get ready, we need to be on that plane soon."
"But I'm thirty weeks pregnant," she gestured down at herself. "There's no way that I will be able to fly…" she complained, thinking that Matt wouldn't have taken the entire situation into account. "And my ankles."
"All taken care of," assured Antonio, pulling out a pair of sandals. "Kidd passed these over when I saw her last night at Molly's."
"And I've spoken to Natalie and Doctor Peterson. Even have the clearance letter for you to fly. I know the safest time to travel is 18-24 weeks, but believe me I've spoken to both doctors and according to them, whilst the second trimester may be the best time to travel, that doesn't mean you can't travel during the rest of your pregnancy… Now do you want to get out of this winter or what?"
Gabby looked from her husband to her brother and back again. She carefully flung her arms around her brother's neck in thanks before dashing off as fast as she could towards the bathrooms.
Matt stood in the aisle watching Gabby settle herself down into the extremely hard and uncomfortable chair. Bending down carefully he pushed his carry on luggage under her feet, loosening the loosening the straps on her sandals in the process.
"Here," he offered her a pillow that he had pulled from her bag. Gabby smiled gratefully as she moved forward hoping that Matt would know instinctively to place the pillow behind her back on the left side. And her husband was trained well; Matt fluffed it slightly and wedged it down to the small of her back. Taking his seat, Matt signalled to the air hostess for a blanket and pillow to pass on to her.
Once she managed to get the seatbelt low under her belly, Gabby let out a little sigh of happiness. Matt, smiling, draped the blanket over her legs.
"Matt?" Gabby whispered leaning her head against Matt's shoulder as the plane started to taxi down the runway. "Why are we doing this?"
He raised his eyebrows in return, "We need something for us," he explained. After watching her eyes flutter shut, his hand splayed across the growing expanse of her stomach, rubbing a thumb across the coarse material of theairplane blanket. "Rest now and we'll be there before you know it Gabs," he whispered against her template. Once he heard her breathing even out, after one last brush of her hair, Matt found his book that he had stored in Gabby's bag settling in to enjoy the flight and his book.
Gabby yawned when Matt gently rubbed her arm to wake her from the short nap she was taking in the time that it took from the airport to the hotel where they would be spending the next week. Her eyes widen as she took in the white water fountain and palm trees. If it was at all possible her chocolate eyes widen further still, glazing over at the extensive lobby of the Four Springs Resort.
"Matt this would have cost a fortune…" she whispered when Matt returned after checking them in, watching as their luggage was rolled away.
"Don't even thinking about it," came the confident reply. Pressing a finger to her lips to silence her ever ready to reply mouth. "Shh… We never had a chance to go on a honeymoon, so think of this as my way to spoil you just like I wanted to after we got married. Allow yourself to be spoilt like you deserve. We're about to have our lives changed forever, our hands are going to be full. Let's just enjoy our time together," he told her, pressing a kiss to her nose as they rode the lift up to the fourth floor.
Matt swiped the card to unlock the door and discreetly looked right and left down the hallway finding it empty. Quickly, swiftly he swept Gabby into his arms fireman style. She let out a sharp gasp before protesting.
"Matt!" she squeaked. "Put me down, I'm way too heavy for this now! You're going to hurt your back," she protested.
"Never… Light as a feather," he laughed kissing her. Gabby huffed as she threaded her hands around his neck playing with the short hairs on the back of his neck. "I keep… telling you… that I'm… a… firefighter!" he punctuated the words with kisses.
Gabby shook her head slightly and pulled his head closer to hers to deepen a kiss. Moaning slightly, Matt walked towards the bed trying to work out how he was going to get her onto the bed as gently as possible. Normally he would back himself onto the bed and pull her down with him, but that just wasn't possible anymore. Without breaking contact, he somehow maneuverer himself to a kneeling position on the bed and started to slide her onto the soft confines of the king size bed. Gabby's eyes opened to a small seasonal floral arrangement on the side board along with an ice filled bucket containing a chilled sparkling bottle of some non-alcoholic beverage and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Next to her face, she could see a pregnancy pillow.
"Matt?" she questioned pointing at the pillow already reaching for it. He shook his head.
"It comes with the babymoon package."
"Babymoon package? That's a thing?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "All of this along with a prenatal massage, Chef's amenity delivered to our room each day, complimentary in-room movies and … I've made reservations with Graze downstairs. And I've already made you a reservation for a massage…"
"And you? What are you going to do during that?" she questioned.
"Would you believe that I've booked a couples' experience massage?" he meekly told her. Gabby stifled her laughter. Her handsome firefighter husband in a massage room? Wonders would never cease. "They have a couples' suite and I thought it would be nice," he shrugged.
Gabby nodded in agreement. "But right now," she started seductively, "those strawberries look really good," her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Matt gave a throaty laugh as he got up to kick their door shut and brought the platter of strawberries to the bed.
Gabby stepped into the room in the couples' suite fresh from taking a shower after her massage to find Matt sans a shirt enjoying a glass of wine.
"They have tables from God in there," she moaned dreamily finding a comfortable spot on the large armchair. "Even with the enormous belly," she gestured down, "I could still have my head down, and I didn't need to lie on my side Matt… It was dreamy…" She closed her eyes as Matt passed her over a sparkling water.
Matt reached over to rest an elbow on the side of her chair. He started to tangle his hands into her hair, scratching slightly enjoying the look of pleasure that passed over her face. This getaway was exactly what they needed. Over the past three days they had sat by the poolside enjoying the sunshine that they had been so desperately missing in Chicago
"I was thinking," she spoke softly. "Do we have time for the pool again before dinner?" Matt had been very clear about their dinner tonight. They weren't having it delivered to their room, rather Matt wanted them to get and have a romantic dinner, making sure that they were going to have the time for all the couples stuff that they soon would struggle to be able to do.
"You are loving that pool," Matt observed.
"I love feeling weightlessness that I get from the pool. It's so nice to be able to float in the pool and enjoy it. I'm constantly feeling heavy and just full all the time. My whole belly just feels bigger, tighter and more crowded and I'm hot all the time at the moment, which I know sounds ridiculous considering everything in Chicago," she ranted. "But being in the water just soothes the aches and pain… It makes this holiday everything we needed. I love our lives in Chicago, but it's been so nice to just get away from it all. Recharge the batteries and just be us," she confessed.
Matt smiled as he watched Gabby's eyes flutter closed, a peaceful look adorning her face. This was the time that they needed away. Days by the poolside were heavenly, he had walked by the golf course yesterday and it was only for a moment that he even thought about wanting to chase a white ball around the green in the sun. No, he preferred spending time with Gabby and Smudge. Plus being waited on hand and foot to get drinks, snacks and other bits and pieces were pretty sweet too. He was sure that one day he and Severide could get down here and squeeze in that fishing soon. But right now there wasn't anywhere else in the world he would rather be.
"Where are we going?" pestered Gabby as Matt led her through the gardens of the hotel. He had been tight lipped about the entire dinner and night, only pulling out a flowing maxi dress that Stella had purchased specifically for this occasion. Not a word more was uttered.
"Just a little while longer," he promised.
Gabby's mouth dropped open slightly as they arrived at their dinner location. No sounds escaped, just a shaky breath or two. In front of her was a perfectly laid out private candlelit cabana overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Silently, Matt led her over to the table pulling out a chair for her. Waiting for him to sit too, Gabby looked wide eyed at the white gauze like material that lined the cabana.
They sat in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed their meals. Spread out before them on the table was a strawberry and mozzarella caprese, Gabby couldn't get enough of strawberries at the moment. Every day whilst they were down poolside soaking up the sun she had been ordering strawberry mocktail as if there was no tomorrow. She had remembered reading all about babymoons in one of the many pregnancy books that were around the house and every one of them had reminded her to enjoy the mocktails whilst she could.
Dinner was a quiet affair with their waiter sliding in and out of their cabana with discretion, so much that Gabby was barely noticing him. Dessert had come and Gabby was making eyes at Matt's tiramisu knowing that she really shouldn't be eating it, it would be much too much coffee for her and Smudge. Resigned, she tapped her spoon on the top of her Crema Bruciata enjoying the crack it made on the burnt caramel top.
Matt turned his head towards the ocean, looking out across it, the white gauze barely obstructing his view. Gabby let out a quiet throaty chuckle noticing his attention had been pulled away. Cheekily, quickly she reached out towards his plate and swiped a spoonful. She moaned slightly, sinking back into her chair enjoying the smooth creamy cake.
"Oi," Matt admonished as he heard her sound of delight. Gabby's eyes popped open in surprise, a look crossed her face, a mix of cheek and guilt written clean across it.
"What?" she mumbled through the metal spoon. Matt raised his eyebrows at her. "One spoon Matt."
"It's a hell of a lot of caffeine in that tiramisu," Matt complained. Honestly, that woman was going to be the death of him one day… And at this rate, likely soon.
"One spoonful of cake is not going to hurt me or Smudge," she retorted. "You," seeing him open his mouth again, she brandished the spoon in his direction, "you keep going and I'll reach for what is left of that dessert."
Matt gave her one last mock glare and pulled his plate protectively towards himself and taking another large bite.
"Urgh," she complained before tucking into the last of her dessert.
Gabby was bringing her wineglass up to her lips, enjoying the slight tang that sparkling lime water was providing her, her eyes were drawn out to the slowly crashing waves. It was so mesmerising that she didn't even notice as Matt pulled his chair around to be next to her. Silently he slipped a hand into his jacket pocket to pull a dark blue velvet box out. Taking advantage of the fact that Gabby was still enjoying the warm breeze that seemed to be coming off of the ocean, Matt turned the box around in his hands a few times, pondering how best to gift this to her. A small smile drew across his face as he watched Gabby's hand fall unconsciously across her belly, her fingers beginning to play with the fabric. It had given Matt an idea.
Leaning gently across he balanced the box carefully on her belly and pressed a kiss towards her temple, a gentle "I love you," whispered as he pulled away.
Gabby looked at him with surprise as her fingers nimbly caught the box before it tumbled off. Without breaking eye contact she carefully opened the box, looking down only after Matt gave her that 'well go on' look. To her surprise, inside was a diamond ring; a petite cathedral pave diamond ring that matched her wedding band perfectly. Without a second to think, her breath hitched and tears pricked at her eyes, she cursed internally – before she was pregnant she wouldn't have become teary over a simple ring.
Matt smiled as he gently pried the box out of her shaking hand to remove the band. "I love you, Mrs. Casey," he whispered, pushing her chair back so he was able to kneel in front of her. Brushing his lips over her belly, he looked up as the tears started to flow. Quickly he slid the ring onto her finger, admiring how it matched her wedded perfectly. Without warning, he stood and pulled her to her feet to capture her lips in a searing kiss.
Moments later Gabby was reluctantly breaking the kiss, feeling the burn in her lungs, an ache of needing some fresh oxygen. Almost shyly she looked down at the new ring that adorned her finger, even in the soft moonlight her rings were catching some light and glistening. Curiously she looked up at Matt with a questioning look on her face. Matt gave her a half smile with a shrug.
"I know it might feel like we've been together for an eternity Matt… But?" she questioned gesturing at the ring.
"I know that traditional eternity rings are given after ten years of marriage or the birth of our first son, but I wanted to do this now. I want you to know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I want this be another representation that we will last... Smudge is going to be here in a few short weeks and I want to celebrate that."
"I would have been happy with a necklace to represent what is happening, you didn't have to spend a fortune on a new ring… especially one that I can't wear at work… Matt you really didn't need to spend any more money on me…" she rambled. Matt tried to stop the laugh that was building inside of him and then leant down to capture her lips in an attempt to stop her conscience stream of thought.
"It doesn't matter," he whispered into her ear. "You mean everything to me, and this is just one more symbol of everything that our love means."
It had been a slow, relaxing walk back to their suite. And once they had finally arrived back Gabby had taken her time getting ready for bed. Every few moments or so she would be distracted by the new ring, the sparkle catching her eyes. Matt hadn't taken all that long to shed his clothing and find his spot on the bed. Leaning his head back against the headboard of the bed his eyes followed her every move.
Following her as she pulled on a nightgown, as she slipped all three rings off and placed them on the bedside table for the moment. He watched through the open door as she brushed her teeth and then hair. As she reached for her face cream Matt strained to think when the last time it was that they had been able to just enjoy the moment. There had been so many stolen glances in the locker room at Firehouse 51 and Matt would never admit to spending time watching her get ready to sleep in her bunk. And now that they weren't working together he missed those small moments.
"Matt?" Gabby's soft voice broke through his reverie. Matt looked up to find her sliding her rings back on and moving her pillows around. With raised questioning eyebrows, she slid into the bed.
"Just enjoying this. Everything this is. Being away from Chicago and work…"
"It's nice," confirmed Gabby snuggling down into the bed. Smiling broadly she placed a hand over her belly, rubbing where Smudge was currently kicking away. "I can't believe that we're going to be a family of three soon," she breathed softly.
Without any words, Matt slid down the bed until his head was level with her belly. "Hey little man," he whispered. Smudge abruptly flipped and kicked Gabby's squarely in the ribs causing her to groan loudly. Feeling the pain radiate around her left side, Gabby made a move to lay on her left side and tried to pull her leg up towards her body in an attempt to move Smudge. She slide her hand to her belly, but before she had the chance, Matt had eased her legs back down and was rubbing her belly. "Hey, hey, hey... None of that little man. Leave your mama be, she needs some rest. I keep telling you, you've got the rest of your life to keep us awake. Tonight… maybe just settle down." He left a quick kiss on her exposed skin. He looked up at Gabby's face as he felt her tug his blonde hair roughly.
"You're going to give Smudge a complex… you keep saying 'him'," she scolded slightly.
"I'm telling you, it's a boy, Gabby…" Looking back down his voice lowered again, "That's right isn't it Smudge? This has been a perfect getaway for us Smudge – you're going to be here changing our lives before we know it. Everything is going to be turned upside down… And we can't wait Smudge… Maybe close your eyes now little man, Daddy wants to have some fun."
~ She has cycles of sleeping and waking. After 30 to 90 minutes of snoozing, she may give you a kick to let you know she's awake ~
Hope you enjoyed it. As I've mentioned before ~ I had been hoping to get a few more chapters done, alas it hasn't happened. But since it's the start of what is likely to be a long hiatus; I needed to get something up for you all to read. Fingers crossed that I'm able to get a few more chapters up soon.
Let me know what you think – drop me a review here, PM me or contact me on Twitter!