Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
A/N: Alright so I started writing this story a while back but I felt it fitting to be able to post it on the day that One Chicago returns. I thought it was high time to bring back the battle of the badges from season one and four along with some Dawsey and some Brettonio in the same story. Have a good premiere night guys.
House 51 was huddled up in the common room between two call. Mouch was at his usual spot on the couch, some random tv show playing on the screen while Herrmann and Otis were talking Molly's North at the round table, Gabby and Sylvie were stocking the ambo after a particularly bloody call.
"Hey Captain, do you know who's fighting this year in the battle of the badges?" Cruz pointed to the sign on the bulletin board.
"As a matter of fact, I do." He said, his nose still in the paper he was reading since they had returned.
"Is it Hartley over at 26th?" He took a seat next to him.
"You're way out of left field Joe." Gabby laughed as she and Sylvie entered the common room.
"Aww come on Dawson, tell me who it is." He begged, making Sylvie laugh as well.
"Casey is fighting this year." He looked up from the paper and smirked at his wife.
"We got to get you ready then Captain." Cruz stood up as the girls sat in turn.
"Especially since he's fighting against Antonio." Sylvie added, Matt returning to reading, knowing who his opponent was when he had first given his name. He and Antonio had already talked about it and although he knew his brother-in-law was competitive, they both agreed that it would all be in good fun and for a great cause. The last time Antonio had gone in the rink had been with Borelli and the kid had underestimated the detective and had been handed a new one by him with only one right hook and Matt refused to go down that way.
"Don't worry about me Cruz, I should be perfectly fine." He chuckled as the bells went off, everyone looking up for a few seconds before they all rose, everyone being called to the scene.
They were lucky enough not to get calls later in the evening and Matt was thankful for that, locking himself in his office to get some peace and quiet to write up his reports.
"Hey, what are you up to?" Gabby poked her head in
"Trying to get rid of these so I can catch a few hours of sleep. You heading to your bunk?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped out." She smiled lazily at him.
"Why don't you lay down in here? You'll have a bit more quiet." He motioned to his bunk with his head.
"I thought you wouldn't ask." She giggled as she walked inside, her things in her arms, making Matt laugh too.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, I'm almost done."
"I'll wait for you." She propped herself on her hand. "Are you sure you really want to fight against Antonio?"
"Where is this coming from?" He spun in his chair and looked at her. "You don't think I can beat him?"
"No, nothing like that. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt."
"I'll be fine, we both will. Plus, I can handle myself." He smirked, Gabby giving him a cocked eyebrow in response. "You underestimate me babe." He simply turned back to his report, Gabby taking this cue to get herself ready for bed.
"Are you done?" She wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"Just about." He pushed the papers away and turned in his chair. "Let's get some sleep." He didn't get to ask twice, the two snuggling up in Matt's bunk. They both knew that the tiny space wouldn't mean the best of sleep but being together was all that mattered. Morning came with only a call for truck and ambo, so they were rested enough that when they went home, they took a shower and went about their day.
Sylvie made it back to the apartment she shared with Cruz and Otis only to find them not home yet, still a whiff of hot food came to her nose. She smiled knowing who was there and she dropped her bag by the door before making her way towards the kitchen.
"Something smells good in here." She smiled as she made it to Antonio's side.
"I figured you'd have a long shift, so I decided to make breakfast." He kissed her while keeping an eye on the food.
"It wasn't that bad, but I am starving." She reluctantly pulled away from him so she could help him get the table ready.
"Where are Cruz and Otis?" Antonio questioned her.
"Actually, I have no idea." She had figured that they would have gotten home before her due to the fact that she had showered first, but they were nowhere in sight. "They were already gone when I came out of the shower." She shrugged as she placed the plates on the table.
"Maybe they decided to go out for breakfast." Antonio smirked at her, figuring he'd have her all to himself until they came back.
"Don't give me that smirk Antonio, I'm too hungry." She groaned.
"Fine!" He rose his hands in the air. "We can eat but then I can't promise that we won't spend the whole morning in your room." He took plates full of food to the table and set them down before kissing her.
"Sooo." She started as she put a bite of bacon in her mouth. "The firehouse knows you're going up against Matt." They had tried to keep the secret as long as possible to avoid extra excitement from both sides, but they had also known that it was a possibility that the word would come out quickly.
"Did Gabby say something?" He wondered, knowing that she wasn't all that hot to the idea of her brother and husband fighting against each other in the ring, for charity or not.
"No, but Cruz told Matt they needed to get him ready." She chuckled. She knew that there was no way that Matt could beat Antonio, but she also knew how competitive Matt was and knew that he wouldn't go down easily.
"Trust me, I won't underestimate Matt Casey. I've seen him in action enough that he won't be an easy opponent."
"Just as long as the two of you come out of that in one piece, I think Gabby and I will be just fine."
"Speaking of fine." Antonio stood and cleared their empty plates. "How about I show you how fine you are?" He pulled her against him.
"Antonio." She blushed under his gaze.
"What?! My girl is hot, can't I express it?"
"Yes, you may but maybe we should take it somewhere more private?" She pulled on his shirt gently so he would follow her.
"Lead the way." He pushed against her as he took her lips in his for a more sensual kiss, Sylvie guiding them backwards towards her room. She giggled while they went up the stairs, trying not to break contact but once they managed to get into her room, Antonio kicked the door closed and pushed her against the bed. "How about a little bit of cardio?" She asked flirtatiously.
"I'm all for a little bit of cardio." She smiled at him while her hands proceeded in ridding his torso of his shirt. They undressed each other quickly and fell into bed, their lips attached to each other. They spent the next few hours tangled in her sheets, her head against his chest.
"I know you're great at this but promise me that you'll be careful and that you won't beat the crap out of Matt."
"Trust me, I don't want to see that side of Gabriella Dawson that I know all too well. I'll behave." He promised her, giving her a peck on the lips.
"That's what I want to hear." She snuggled back against him and they spent the rest of morning like that.
The next morning, Matt woke up before Gabby and he decided that he'd just let her sleep while he went on a run.
"What are you doing up so early?" She rolled to her side and keep the sheets around her body.
"I figured that I'd go on a run to get back into shape before I go head to head with Antonio." He tied his right shoe.
"I wouldn't call last night being out of shape." She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, heat returning to the confines of her chest, making Matt chuckle.
"Oh, trust me, I could go on infinite rounds with your hot body." He leaned on his side to capture her lips in a heated kiss, turning the two of them on once again. "But I'll need more than that to keep up with your brother." He pulled away to be able to keep the little bit of restraint he could. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." He stood after tying his second shoe.
"Not so fast, I think I'll tag along." She stood up quick and walked towards her dresser, putting some training clothes on.
"Gabby, I can't have you distracting me." He half complained.
"Who said anything about distracting you?" She looked over her shoulder at him with a smirk. "I was going for extra motivation." She zipped her jacket up and grabbed her running shoes from the closet. Matt tiptoed around her because he didn't know how much restraint he still had and they both met at the door. "Let's see you try to catch me." She gave him a sexy smirk and started running, leaving Matt stunned for a few seconds. Matt finally ran after her and they started their morning run around their neighborhood.
They returned a couple of hours later, the both of them out of breath. "Not that bad." She said as she took a drink of water.
"I need to do that more often." Matt was a little bit winded from the extra exercise, his lungs begging for a little bit of rest.
"Not quite the same as firefighting huh!" She handed him the bottle and looked at his sweating form.
"Not quite." He echoed. Sure, being a firefighter kept his body in shape, the need to go to the gym non-existent but never did it make his lungs fight to survive unless something was wrong with his mask.
"How about I give you another kind of workout this morning?" She egged him on.
"What are you suggesting?" He pushed a sweaty strand of hair behind her ear.
"Something a little bit more physical." She licked her lips, playing with the hem of his t-shirt.
"Don't let me stop you." Where she hesitated, he didn't. He pulled her tank top over her head, leaving her sweaty body in only a revealing sports bra. "Whoever said a sports bra isn't sexy?" He pulled her closer to him and kissed her.
"Someone who doesn't want to please their husband." She pulled on the waistband of his pants.
"Please away." He lifted her so she wrapped her legs around his waist. His tongue begged her lips from entrance, one she was more than willing to give him. The only thing he wanted now was to have her body against his in the shower as he gave into his need to want her around him tightly. They stumbled into the bathroom, their lips still attached, Matt pushing her gently against the wall, pushing his body into hers.
"The shower." Gabby panted as Matt's lips briefly left hers and he reluctantly hoisted her back to her feet, leaving her breathless from their kiss. He made sure the water was the right temperature before he pulled Gabby by the hand and pulled her to him as soon as the water hit them.
"You make me work like this often and I might just be ready in time for the fight." He claimed her lips again and her hand made its way towards his want for her, making him gasp when her fingers circled him.
"I'll get you ready alright." Matt made love to Gabby in the shower, thoroughly before they spent the rest of their days together.
The following weeks, both Matt and Antonio trained separately to get ready but one Friday brought them together unexpectedly.
"What are you doing here?" Antonio looked up from the paperwork he was handling.
"I thought I'd come train here before the big night." Matt dropped his bag in front of the front desk.
"One more week." Antonio put his pen down. "How about I give you a hand?" He smiled.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Matt chuckled.
"Come on, just some friendly sparring. I promise I won't hurt you." Antonio stood and walked around the counter. He was already geared up, having trained just before Matt showed up.
"Sure." Matt shrugged. Antonio let him go change and waited for him inside the ring.
"Are you ready?"
"I'm ready." And as promise, they did so some friendly sparring, giving the two a bit of insight of each other's fighting style.
"See, I told you I'd play nice." Antonio grabbed a swing of water, removing the wrappings around his hands.
"I'm pretty sure you won't take it that easy on me in a week from now."
"Nice enough, I don't need Gabby on my bad side." He chuckled. "It's all for a good cause though."
"That you are right about." Matt agreed. "I'll see you next week.
"One week." Matt echoed as they shook hands.
It was finally the day and Matt was in a room getting ready, Gabby joining him shortly.
"Are you ready?" Gabby poked her head inside the room.
"Little bit of nervous energy but I think I'm good to go." Matt was putting his wrappings on, but Gabby could see the slight tremor in his hands.
"Are you sure that you're alright?" She steadied his hands and helped him finished wrapping both of his hands.
"Yeah I'm good, I promise."
"Okay." She leaned in and kissed him. "I'll just go see what's going on outside and I'll be back."
"I'll be waiting." Matt knew that everyone from 51 and the 21st would be in attendance along with other houses and precincts. All eyes would be on both him and Antonio, but the cause was worth any damage Antonio would do on his body.
Antonio was ready already, Sylvie keeping him company. "Promise me that you will go easy on Matt." She stood between his legs and ran her fingers through his hair.
"I promise that I will." He chuckled. "Still don't want to deal with my angry sister."
"And I kind of love your handsome face so it would be a shame if she did anything to harm it."
"We really wouldn't want that." He pulled her down and they kissed, their moment interrupted by a door opening roughly.
"Can we talk?" Gabby jumped slightly when her eyes caught the position her brother and Sylvie were in. "I'm really sorry. I can come back." She was fidgeting in her spot.
"It's okay, what's up Gabby?" Sylvie stepped out of her spot and took a new one next to Antonio.
"I just want to wish you luck and just to remind you that it's for a good cause and just for fun."
"I know." He smirked. He knew exactly why she was there, wanting to make sure he would take it easy on Matt.
"Alright so, good luck." Gabby turned around, the door closing behind her and Sylvie could no longer hold her giggle in as the door closed completely.
"This was, interesting."
"I'll say."
"Come on, let's get you ready for the fight." They managed to get a little bit more quality time in before they had to go out.
"Hey, there you are." Matt stood as Gabby returned. "Where'd you go?"
"Went to wish Antonio luck. How're you feeling?"
"Not bad actually, I'm ready." He pulled her to him and leaned down to kiss her. "Are you ready?"
"Me, I'm fine." She assured him.
"I think I know my wife a little more than that, what's up?"
"Hoping Antonio doesn't hurt that gorgeous face of yours." Matt couldn't help but smile broadly.
"I'll be fine, it's all good, promise."
"Hmm, not sure I believe either one of you."
"Are you ready Captain?" Cruz poked his head in the room.
"I'm ready."
"Good because the crowd's getting restless."
"Let's do this then." Matt and Gabby followed Cruz outside, and they could hear the cheers of the crowd in the main room.
Speeches were made about the tradition behind the battle of the badges and both Matt and Antonio were presented to the crowd under the cheers of their respective departments. They were given the rules, and both tapped their gloves together.
"May the best man win." Matt smiled at Antonio.
"And let's have fun." Antonio agreed with a smile of his own.
They fought for rounds without real damage and neither one of them was winded, but Matt was getting restless. He was excited to be there, and he wanted to be able to see more of Antonio's experience as a fighter.
"Come on Antonio, I'm sure you can do better than that." Antonio smirked.
"Are you sure it's what you want?"
"I'm sure. Show me what you've really got Detective."
"I'd be careful what I wished for Captain." With that and under Gabby and Sylvie's watchful eyes, Antonio stepped up his game and so did Matt. The fight wasn't as equal this way, but the crowd was enjoying the higher tempo. They matched each other punch for punch and Matt did his best to keep up with Antonio but he was slowly having trouble catching his breath, so much so that one blink of an eye and one of Antonio's right hook made contact with the left side of his face and Matt was down on the mat in a second.
Gabby sprung to her feet and got inside the ring, her first instinct to give Antonio a piece of her mind.
"What the hell Tonio?"
"What, he asked for it."
"You didn't have to knock him out, you ass." She shoved him and went to Matt's side. "Matt, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good." He shook his head and took a deep breath, still on the floor.
"Are you good to get up?"
"I think so." Gabby waited next to him. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings before Gabby pulled him up to his feet.
"Still good to go son?" The referee, who was CPD, asked Matt.
"Yes, I'm good." He shook himself off and smiled at Gabby to make sure she knew it was okay before she returned to his side of the ring, stepping off.
"Alright, let's get this match going." Both Antonio and Matt tapped their gloves together and for another few rounds, they went at each other before the fight ultimately went to Antonio under the loud cheers of the CPD but it wasn't a total loss for the CFD because the money they had collected was the highest number they had gotten in many years so it was a good night.
Both couples found their selves at Molly's for a post-match celebration drinks and both were received with cheering from their respective buildings and Antonio and Matt found themselves at the bar, a bear in each of their hands.
"Sorry about the shiner." Antonio took a pull of his beer.
"It's all good."
"No, it's not." Gabby glared at her brother from across the bar as she served the customers next to them.
"Baby, it's fine." Matt chuckled at Gabby's anger towards her brother. She growled in return and poured herself a glass and downed it quickly and poured herself another.
"To another successful battle of the badges." Matt raised his beer to get the celebration started.
"Here, here." The three others agreed, and they spent their evening celebrating with their friends on another successful year.
A/N: I hope you guys liked it and please take a few seconds to review before you go, your thoughts are really important. - Sarra