Hi guys just a couple of quick notes before we get started.

Firstly I'd like to apologize in the delay in getting this chapter out there, there are a few main reasons for this. First. I've been focusing a lot of attention to my other story Saving Stella, if you haven't read it yet then please go take a look, let me know what you think. It's different to this one and is based around Stella and Severide and how their relationship evolves while helping Stella move away from an abusive relationship that almost kills her. It's M rated and has all my favorites from the show in including Dawsey who are as sweet as always. I'd really love for you to check it out :) and second we unfortunately had two bereavement's in our family this past week that kinda came outta no where and shocked us all, so between dealing with my own emotions and our children I haven't been in the right frame of mind to concentrate on this story, especially the topic I left us on last. So please bare with me for a little while as I may not be updating as regularly as I once was as our family try and heal a little.

But that also bring me to my second note and a question actually.

Is anyone still interested in reading this? I only ask because I've noticed the number of readers has decreased over the past few chapters. And although I'm happy to keep writing as long as there is someone out there wanting to read I'm not sure if people are interested anymore? I know the pregnancy and everything has changed the dynamic of the story and I get that maybe a few are not as interested in the lovey dovey stuff, or the whole moving into the new house, starting a family thing. But yeah, I'm rambling so just let me know, if you are still enjoying this story please and any other thoughts you guys are having. Thanks

Gabby rounded the corner to the waiting room, her eyes immediately landing on the sea of firefighters filling the small room. Her eyes meeting her best friends through the crowd of people, her feet taking her in the direction towards the vending machines where Shay, Stella, Kelly and Brett stood.

"How is he?" she asked, the frantic tone of her voice worrying her friends.

"We don't know" Shay said sadly "He was in and out of consciousness all the way here, he'd lost a lot of blood and they were talking about surgery on his leg."

"What happened?" she asked, the question she had yet to get a full answer to, ever since the chief had picked her up she hadn't been told much past there being an accident and Matt being in a bad way. "Did he get burnt?"

"He fell" Kelly said, the mans eyes darting around the small group. "He was on the second floor and the floor gave way, he went straight through to the basement, part of the ceiling fell on top of him, injuring his leg, and we think he hit his head. But no one knows everything that happened, he was alone at the time."

"What why? Where was his second man? Who was supposed to be with him?" she asked angrily, they always worked in twos, it was protocol, two in and two out. It was a safety measure, a safety measure that had been put in place to help prevent exactly this type of accident happening, there was no excuse for him to be alone, for his second man to leave him, nothing! And the thought of one of their family leaving him behind made her sick to the stomach.

"Dawson, I was..." Stella started, her words being cut off when the wife glared at her, the anger burning behind her eyes.

"What!?" Gabby shouted at her friend, "Why did you leave him?"

"He told me too, we didn't have much time and we'd only found one of our victims, he told me to take the child out while he continued the search for the mother. If I had known, if I thought... Gabby I'm so sorry."

Gabby turned her back on her friend, the brunette turning back to look at Shay. Stella taking a step away from the group when it was evident her friend didn't want to talk or even look at her at the moment. The hormonal woman in front of her quite rightly angry at the woman's admission. She knew she'd be mad, she had every right to be but that didn't make it hurt any less. Gabby was more like a sister than friend, Stella and her having a very close bond, nothing compared to the bond the two paramedics in front of her had, but as close to it as anyone else was going to get.

"What about his leg? How bad is it? Did he say anything when he was fleeting? Tell me everything Shay. Brett?" Her eyes were darting between the two paramedics, she needed answers, she needed to know what she was looking at, what they were looking at.

But before anyone could answer her she heard Maggie's voice, "Gabby."

Dawson spun round the action causing her head to spin slightly, her hand reaching out to grip onto Kelly in an attempt to steady herself. "Maggie, what's happening? Is he ok? Can I see him? Is he awake?" She asked frantically, the words tumbling out of her mouth faster than her brain could catch up.

"He's ok, a bit battered and bruised but otherwise ok. We do need to keep an eye on his leg, but for now it doesn't look like it went through any muscles or tendons and that's what we were most concerned about."

"Can I see him?" Gabby asked more calmly this time, her voice shaky as she tried her hardest to keep it together in front of her firehouse family.

"Of course I'll take you through." Maggie replied, the doctor turning and leading the way through the double doors off to the side.

The walk to his room was short, neither women talking very much. Gabby thanking the older woman as they came to a stop in front of his room, the glass door closed and curtain around his bed drawn.

"He was asking for you."

"He's awake?"

"He was, but we have him on a high dose of strong painkillers and some antibiotics for the leg so he might be a bit drowsy."

"Thanks Maggie."

Pulling the door closed behind her, Dawson stood for a few seconds the woman needing a minute to prepare herself to see him. She knew what falling through a building could do to you, she'd seen it, they'd all seen it over their time on the job but nothing, nothing ever would have prepared her to see Matt like that. Even if she'd seen a hundred people with his injuries she knew nothing would prepare her for this moment. And she was right, a shocked gasp leaving her lips as she walked round the curtain.

"Matt" she gasped. "Oh baby."

There in front of her lay her husband, his beautiful face covered in cuts and a large patch of darkened skin. Her eyes tracing over him inch by inch as she took in all his injuries. There was a bandage on his neck, stitches across his eyebrow and forehead and from what little she could see of the rest of his body it was in much the same condition. Her hand came up to her mouth as she saw his leg poking out underneath the sheet, almost the entire length of it covered in one huge bandage, the bruising already forming at the top and bottom of it telling her the injury it was hiding was much worse than she could have ever imagined. Tears brimmed at her eyes, the paramedic unable to tear them away from him, from his leg.

"Gabby" he whispered, his hoarse voice distorted by the oxygen mask resting across his face. The oxygen mask that told her he'd inhaled at least a fair bit of smoke, meaning his own mask must have been damaged in the fall, she was sure that was where he'd got the cut on his forehead. Her head snapped up at his voice, her mind quickly putting all the pieces together of what they were dealing with.

"Matt" she said moving quickly to his side, her hand smacking his away as he tried to remove his mask. "Don't! You need it."

"But you can't hear me properly with it on" he said, pulling it out of the way anyway. "I'm ok"

He wasn't sure if she'd heard him, the firefighter seeing her battling with her emotions in front of him, her eyes focused back on his broken body.

"Gabby" he said again, this time a little more firmly. "Look at me" he waited for her eyes to meet his again, her watery brown eyes shining down at him holding nothing but fear and sadness. "I'm ok. I'm a little sore but I'm ok."

"You fell through a building Matt" she exclaimed, her voice matching the firmness his had held. "A fucking building."

"Hey, I know you're upset, and scared but I'm ok."

"I know but why were you alone? Stella she said you sent her out with the victim. Why did you stay behind?" He could hear the anger in her voice, he could hear the frustration and he sensed that he wasn't the first person she'd lashed out like this.

"Because we hadn't finished the sweep and we were on limited time. And to be honest I'm glad I did, because if I hadn't it wouldn't just be me lying in a hospital bed and god knows how bad her injuries might have been. This was Stella's fault Gabby, so don't go being all mad on her."

"I... but... I"

Matt gave her a knowing look, the man reading her reaction that told him all he needed to know about any interaction she'd already had with her friend. "Gabby what did you do?"

"Nothing" she said quickly, "I didn't do anything per-say..." her words trailed off as she thought about the way she'd snapped at Stella out in the waiting room, the way she'd turned her back on her. The way she'd done the one thing she promised she'd never do to the firefighter that had confided in her some of the darkest and most deeply rooted secrets of her life. Some of those things, that she Gabby, had in trusted in her husband when she was unsure of how to process them or how to help her. She knew she needed to apologize, she knew Matt would make her if she didn't do it off her own back. But first she had to admit to it.

"Gabriela" he growled, the harsh tone of his voice sparking a coughing fit from the man. Gabby quickly replacing his oxygen mask as she helped him through it.

"What did you do?" he asked again once the coughing had died down.

"I snapped at her, I turned my back on her. She tried to explain and I wouldn't listen" She admitted quietly, the look she was receiving from him telling all she needed to know about what he was thinking. "I'm going to apologize, I was upset, I was worried, I was angry but I should never have treated her like that I know I shouldn't. I'll make it right I promise."

"Yeah? Well it better be a damn good apology, she's had enough people turn their backs on her Gabby, you of all people know that." He said, his voice firm, the disappointment in his words ringing true in her head.

"I know" she said ashamedly, her eyes darting away from his, the shame of how she'd treated her friend making it virtually impossible to keep eye contact with the man in front of her especially when she could hear how her actions had made him feel. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

"It's ok" he said reaching out for her hand, Dawson taking it immediately, the woman craving his touch and comfort. "Come here."

Matt pulled her down onto the bed, the position difficult what with him being in a tiny hospital bed and her being twenty four weeks pregnant but they made it work. Casey shuffling as far over as he could while she perched herself half on and half off the bed, her foot resting against the frame below her as support, Matt's arms wrapping around her from the position he'd moved himself up to.

"I know that your reaction wasn't intentional, I know you didn't mean to snap at her or me. This is scary, I was scared. God baby I was so scared. For a minute back there I didn't think they'd get me out and all I could think about was you, you and these two" he said his hand moving down onto her stomach, his touch being met with an immediate kick from one of the babies. "Yeah hello little ones, Daddy's here. I'm sorry I scared you all, but I'm ok."

Gabby watched him with a small smile on her face, she loved the way he spoke to her belly. Loved the way he would lose all of his tough outer layer when he focused completely on their babies, especially now he could feel them, he'd take every opportunity available to him to speak with his children, their children and his soft caring side always came out. She could already see the type of dad he was going to be, the fierce protector in him always showing whenever they spoke of everything they were yet to face, while his soft naturing side came as he'd whisper to her belly. Even in those small hours where he'd take the opportunity to sneak a conversation with them, when he thought she was sleeping, it didn't matter to him who saw or heard him talking to them, he would continue on as if they were the only people in the room, that they were the only people that mattered to him. And watching him interact with them was something she was never, ever going to take for granted.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, his voice snapping her from her thoughts. Her eyes meeting his as she saw the same soft contented smile mirrored on her face.

"I just love you"

"Is that so?" he asked his smile morphing into a smirk, his lips crushing against hers the action taking her by complete surprise as her brain took a second to catch up with him. Her lips instantly working his as they deepen the kiss both of them finally pulling back breathless. Matt coughing slightly as he tried to suck in air to his lungs.

"You should really stop removing this" Gabby spoke, moving the mask back over his face for the second time since coming into his room.

"But I can't kiss you with it on" He argued, although he didn't attempt to move it again, his wife's narrowed glare telling him not to even attempt it.

It was around an hour later that his doctors came in thankfully with the good news that apart from a slight concussion and the injury to his leg he hadn't caused any permanent damage and as long as she promised not to leave him alone they were happy to discharge him. Gabby could see just how happy Matt was at the thought of going home and not having to stay in the hospital after all they both hated hospitals and recently they'd seemed to be spending a fair amount of time in one. A habit they were both more the eager to break. The couple listening intently when Maggie started to explain his injuries would take a while to heal, the leg alone could take a few months at least before they saw any sense of normalcy there.

"..You will need to change his dressing twice a day, and apply the ointment." Maggie continued Gabby's eyes snapping back to her, the paramedic getting lost in her own head for a split second. "He can't shower, but as long as the leg is covered you can take a bath, just make sure not to get the wound wet for at least fourteen days, the last thing we need is you getting it wet and an infection getting into your blood."

"What about work?" Matt asked, his face contorted into a worried frown.

"I'm afraid I can't say for sure, but there is no way I will even think of clearing you until the bandages come of your leg." Maggie said sadly, the doctor was more than aware who she was dealing with and she knew that the firefighters of fifty one were some of the most stubborn people she knew, none of them taking kindly to being told they couldn't work at the best of times let alone those times she couldn't put a timeline on it. She'd seen it before with Severide and Hermann, as well as Matt, the firefighter repeatedly trying to falsify how he was feeling after a practically bad call that had left him with a rather nasty head injury that had required brain surgery. The man having withheld the lapse of memories and inability to recall the simplest of things like his locker code at work and simple words. She knew who she was dealing with and she knew that he would try to fight her on it every step of the way, but there was absolutely no way she was going to put a number on this, not when there were too many unknowns in it. Although his leg hadn't sustained any permanent damage to the muscles, the cut was deep and at risk of getting infected if she didn't keep him out of fires and even more dangerous situations. And although she was aware he probably couldn't feel much residual pain at the moment, hugely down to the fact they had him on some pretty strong painkillers she knew that by this time tomorrow he would be feeling the effects of the stitches holding his skin together.

"Come on Maggie" Matt said his eyebrows raising, the man clearly not satisfied with the answer he had already gotten.

"Casey" she said firmly, the use of his second name making him sit a little straighter. "You know as well as I do what environments you find yourself in every single shift. None of those will be a good place for your leg and to be honest once the pain relief wears off I'm going to be surprised if you can walk very well, let alone run into burning buildings. You need to take time to rest and heel and you need to understand that, that may take a little longer than you are expecting and certainly longer than many of your previous injuries did." She looked between the young couple, her fears reflecting in Gabby's eyes and she could tell that the same memory of Matt pushing himself after his head injury was running through the younger woman's mind.

"Look" Maggie continued after a few moments, "I know you, I've known you for a long time and I know what you are like as a person, a husband, a friend and a firefighter, but Matt it is so important that you don't try to rush this. We can't have a repeat of the head injury." She said carefully unsure of the reaction she was going to get from the Captain in front of her. "If you rush this, you risk causing yourself more issues and by more issues I mean long term pain, or infections or worse." She knew she didn't need to say much in the respects of worse case scenarios, the man having voiced his owns concerns about it, shortly after coming too in the hospital earlier. He had woken with a start and his first words had been "My leg! Have I still got my leg?" She knew, he knew how close it had come to him having irreparable damage, she knew he was more than aware of what could happen if he got an infection and that infection took hold of his leg.

"Ok" He said, the look of pure defeat written all over his features.

"Matt" Gabby said softly, his head turning to face her, her big brown eyes captivating him the instant they met his sparkly blue ones. "You have to take the time babe, I not it's rough, trust me I do but this is important and if you can't do it for yourself do it for us." She moved his head to rest over her swelling belly, her hand resting on top of his as they both felt their babies moving underneath their light touch, the feeling grounding them both and easing all their worries and concerns. The couple lost for a moment in the pure bliss of feeling the lives they had made move around and kick. Their strong kicks letting their parents know they were there and that they were ok. A knowledge that Matt took comfort and strength from. They were right, both Maggie and Gabby were right, he needed to take it easy, he needed to take sometime from work and he needed to recover, preferably before the babies were born.

Severide helped Matt out of his truck, the squad lieutenant having left shift for a while to help Gabby get him home, the friend having driven Matt's truck to the hospital and then the the couples house. Gabby was grateful for his help knowing that at twenty four weeks pregnant there was absolutely no way she would have been able to help him into the house alone. Instead she moved up the front porch in front of the two men, getting the door open and standing to the side as Matt limped inside, using Severide's shoulder as a crutch.

"Thanks for this Kelly." Gabby said her wide smile telling him she really meant it.

"It's nothing that's what friends are for."

"I know but I appreciate it, you could have said no."

"I couldn't" he scoffed, "You'd have never got him home safely, plus me doing this meant you have the truck home too."

"About that" Matt spoke up finally, "How'd you get my locker code?" The man was aware that there was no other way of his friend getting the keys unless he'd broken into his locker.

"Ah, well you see the thing is there..." He teased, Matt's unimpressed look cutting through him, "Your wife gave me the code." he chuckled.

"Well as long as you didn't mess my locker up"

"Would I?" Severide said pretending to be offended.

The three friends chuckling together before Kelly made his exit, squad having taken a ride to pick him back up to finish out the end of his shift. Leaving Matt and Gabby alone in their house.

"Do you need anything?" She asks turning to see her husband already making himself comfortable on the couch.

"No, come sit down." he said patting the seat next to him.

"I need to get the machine on, and get you something to eat. The doctor said you need to eat with the pain killers." She said moving towards the kitchen and into the utility room.

He knew what she was doing, she was deflecting, she wasn't dealing with her feelings and that wasn't something she could do. He'd fallen through a building, he'd been seriously injured and she was avoiding the subject, she had been ever since Maggie had explained his recovery. After telling him he needed to take it easy she'd shut down, only speaking or looking at him when she had to, his wife lost within her own head the entire drive home.

"Gabby" he called softly, the man trying to get her to come back to him without having to follow her. When she didn't respond he slowly pushed himself up from the couch, heading in the same direction she had moments ago. "Gabby" he called walking around the door. The sight in front of him breaking his heart.

She was lent up against the washer, her eyes closed as tears cascaded down her cheeks, her chest heaving as soft sobs left her body.

"Gabby" he said again, his voice making her jump.

"Matt" she breathed out turning her back on him, the woman focusing her attention on refolding the laundry "You shouldn't be up on your feet, go sit down I'll be through soon."

"Gabby" he repeated, the man feeling like he'd said her name more times in the past few minutes than he ever had before. "Gabs, look at me?"

"I'm good Matt, please go sit down."

"Gabriela" he growled, her body turning to face him slightly, the look on her face telling him she wasn't going to allow him to continue this conversation, well he wasn't even sure it was a conversation but whatever this was she was having none of it. Not right now. She didn't have the time to stand here and talk, she couldn't allow herself to have the time.

"What?" she snapped, her eyes narrowing in on him, usually he'd be bending her right over for the way she was acting and he knew she was as aware of that fact as much as he was. But he wasn't going to, not right now, not when she had every right to be feeling the way she was, she was upset, she was angry and she needed some space. "What could you possibly say right now Matt? You sent Stella out of that building, you left yourself in a dangerous position, you fell through a fucking building!" she shouted the last bit, throwing the top she'd been folding down against the bench. "You could have died, you could have..." he knew it was coming, he knew that at some point it would hit her, that the emotions of the day would boil over. For as angry and worried as she had been when she first got to the hospital this afternoon, as much as she'd snapped at him in those first few moments of seeing him. She hadn't said her piece, she hadn't worked through her emotions and she certainly wasn't ready to let the subject drop.

He knew her silence all the way home was her over thinking everything, and he knew she just needed some time but it didn't stop him wanting to comfort her, wanting to help her through all of this, together.

"I know" he whispered, "and I'm sorry, if I had known the building was going to collapse I wouldn't have stayed, I'd have gone with Kidd. I'm sorry."

"I can't do this right now" she pushed out, her frustrated breaths only convincing him of one thing. There was no way she was going to talk to him about this anytime soon. "Just go sit please." she whispered, the near defeated sound to her voice almost breaking him.

"Ok." he agreed, moving slowly back out into the main room, grabbing a water from the kitchen before making his way back to the couch.

He knew she had every right to be angry, he would have been angry if the roles had been reversed, if she had stayed behind by herself in an unstable building and ended up hurt, even if she hadn't ended up hurt he would have been absolutely furious with her and she had every right to feel that way towards him. He felt bad, he did. He didn't mean for any of this to happen, truly he didn't, he thought he'd had more time, he would never have stayed inside if he had imagined this was going to happen. It was the last thing either of them needed, after everything they'd already had going on during her pregnancy, the house move, her cyst and now this. It was the very last thing they needed, he wasn't finished getting the house ready, sure it was almost done but he'd still got a few things he needed to get done and he knew he couldn't get them done now not in the condition he was in. He could barely walk let alone do construction around the house. And he knew that, that he'd messed up. He knew she was going to be stressed because of his injuries, because of the reason he was injured and because she was so desperate for everything to be done and dusted before their babies arrived. But more so because he knew Gabby and he knew that she would worry about the practical things too, the paying the bills when only she was working, and even then she wasn't working a full shift. And without his side job or her being able to work Molly's at the moment things were going to be tight for a while.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since they'd gotten home, the silence from his wife almost deafening him, the only interaction the two had, had since getting home was her telling him she needed some space and giving him a sandwich before she'd disappeared upstairs. The last thing him seeing of her was her retreating form moving across the landing, their bedroom door banging shut behind her.

Moving slowly he pushed himself up off the couch, he knew she'd said she needed time but he wasn't going to let her stew too long if history said anything it was that they need to talk, they needed to hash this out before it became something more. His body ached more than he thought it would, the time on the couch obviously causing his muscles to seize, the medication he'd been given at the hospital wearing off. Slowly he made his way to the stair case, holding on to the banister as he half walked, half pulled himself upwards. The short walk taking him a lot longer than he was used to. Pushing open the door to their room his heart broke as his eyes fell upon the sight in front of him. Gabby was curled up on his side of the bed, wearing one of his shirts her bottom half clad only in her underwear, the tear stains on her face, the red blotchiness of her eyes telling him she'd cried herself to sleep. That he had once again been the cause of her crying herself to sleep.

He was just backing back out of the room when she stirred, her groggy voice stopping him as his hand resting on the frame. "Matt."

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's ok, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Are you ok?" she asked pushing herself up.

"I should be asking you that" he replied taking a step back inside the room.

"Matt" she groaned, her annoyed tone paired with the raised eyebrow telling him she wasn't in the mood for the back and forth he was trying to get her into.

"Sorry, we should uh... are you ready to talk?"

He watched her pull her bottom lip in between her teeth, her nervousness seeping through for all to see before she slowly nodded her head, sitting herself up completely, adjusting the pillows behind her while he took the chair in the corner. Matt aware that they were going to need some space between them for this conversation and as much as he'd love to be able to sit next to her, to comfort her, he also knew his wife well and when she was mad she didn't want anyone near her.

"Why'd you stay in that building?" she asked.

"We were doing a sweep, Stella and I, we found the little girl and I knew we didn't have time to get out and back in to finish the sweep, so I told her to take the child and I'd be right behind her. And I was going, I was leaving the room when it happened."

"Matt.. what were you thinking? Why wouldn't you have just got out of there. You knew the place was unstable" she said, referring to the facts she knew talking to the other guys at the hospital.

"Because I couldn't Gabby" he said, his own frustration taking hold, she knew why he couldn't leave before finishing the sweep, she knew what consequences that could have for anyone stuck inside. "It's my job, it's what I signed up for, what we signed up for.. And I get you're pissed I do. But I didn't do anything apart from my job."

"I'm not pissed, I'm scared." She admitted, his wife finally letting him in on the fear that cursed through her each time she watched him run into a burning building, the fear that had only increased since he had been trapped in the warehouse almost a year ago. "...That day, I almost lost you and today when chief turned up in the blue office I thought I'd lost you, I honestly thought he'd come to tell me that you were gone, that you weren't coming back. God Matt you can't keep doing this to me, I know it's the job, I know it's dangerous... but I..."

Matt was on his feet again the man deciding that taking the risk of her rejection was better than not offering her any comfort at all. His arms wrapping around her, her head resting against his chest, the chest that was holding his beating heart, the beating heart that helped calm her shaky breaths. "It's ok, I promise it's ok. We're ok, I'm good, I'm alive, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

She knew it wasn't a promise he could make but the fact he had tried made her feel slightly better, her anger slowly beginning to fade, she was still annoyed with him, she still didn't understand why he hadn't left when Kidd did but she was comforted by the fact he was here, in their home, sat on their bed with her, his strong arms holding her tightly.

"I know you're never going to stop running into burning buildings, I know I'm never going to stop helping people who need it but I need us to come home, I need us to do everything in our power to come home. I can't do this without you Matt!" Gabby's shaky words rang in his head as he tried to think of something, anything to say, but he couldn't. He couldn't promise that he'd make it home after every shift, just like she couldn't. They'd be here before after the factory fire, they'd had this very conversation. But he couldn't tell her what he knew she needed to hear.

"Gabby" he whispered, his voice so quiet she had to strain to hear him. "I can't promise that my badge will never go on that wall, I can't. Just like you can't. But I can promise that I will do everything, everything to come home to you three. You are the most important people in my life and I'm not going anywhere without a fight. I can promise you that. And I know it isn't much, I know it's not what you want or need to hear, but it's the truth and we have this rule... we don't lie to each other and I'm not going to start now."

"I love you" she said, her tears running down her face. She knew what he had said was true, and it had come from the heart. She knew he was trying to make her feel better, to keep her calm and she loved him for it.

"I love you to" he whispered into her hair, his grip around her becoming deathly tight. The two laying in each other arms, content to just be together.