Gabby's eyes flickered open as the sun shone into the bedroom. She became aware of Shay sleeping next to her. She smiled and rolled over to face her. Shay was so beautiful. Those sharp cheekbones and long eyelashes. The gentle sounds of her breathing made Gabby fall in love a little bit more each day. She placed her hand on Shay's face.

"Your hands are cold" Shay mumbled before opening her eyes. She smiled and moved closer to Gabby. As she moved she became aware of her headache "how much did I drink last night" she cringed. Gabby chuckled "you took it upon yourself to try and drink more than Severide"

"Why?" Shay laughed

"You'd only had two or three and he'd had four or five and told you he seemed to be celebrating my return better than you" Gabby laughed as she recalled it "so you said you were 'defending my honour' and... well... he seemed to handle it better than you"

"I'm going to kill him!" Shay said, she jumped up "KELLY!" She said, before regretting it as her head span. Gabby sat her on the bed "shhh!" She laughed "you just sleep it off ok I'll bring you a coffee"

"Please shut the curtains" Shay grumbled as she buried herself the the duvet. Gabby walked down the staircase and saw Severide asleep with his arm around Erin Lindsay. She smiled and made the coffee. When she turned around Kelly had stood up "morning" he said "how's Shay" he smiled, he clearly remembered. Gabby smirked "well she was all set to come and rip your head off but the headache and general hangover stopped her"

"How did you even get her back here she could barely stand up before I went to meet Erin"

Gabby rolled her eyes "it took me, Herrmann, Cindy and Casey to get her out of there and into a cab" Gabby laughed "and she fell off the sidewalk into the road twice, after she had managed to trip over everything in Molly's"

"Well she did take on the great Kelly Severide"

"You knew she would didn't you" Gabby laughed

"What was it 'defending your honour' Hm?" Kelly smiled. Gabby shook her head "don't even start". She walked back upstairs. Shay poked her head out of the burrow she had created. Gabby slid under the duvet next to her. They lay talking. They heard giggling from Kelly's room. Shay's jaw dropped "who is that?" She laughed

"Erin Lindsay" Gabby said

"No way!" Shay smirked "again?!"

"Well he went to meet her after his little competition with you"

"I'm never going to forgive him"

"Never?" Gabby teased

"Shush" Shay said indignantly

Gabby kissed her softly "sorry"

"I suppose it's alright" Shay smiled

"Hmm good" Gabby said as Shay rested her head on Gabby's chest. Shay looked up as Gabby's phone rang. Gabby looked at it "it's Antonio". Shay nodded.

"Hey Antonio"

"Gabby hey, so are you still up for dinner tonight?"

Gabby and Shay looked at each other blankly. They had entirely forgotten. Gabby tried not to laugh.

"Of course" she said "me and you?" She said nervously

"And Shay and Laura. And mom and dad"

Shay looked at Gabby with a mixture of confusion and laughter. Gabby bit her lip, not wanting to laugh in Antonio's face "yep sure see you at eight"

"Seven" he corrected "at Angelo's"

"Yes" she said, dying to laugh. He ended the call. As soon as the call was ended Gabby and Shay broke into laughter "oh my god" Shay breathed "you! How could you forget oh no!"

"Shay! What're we gonna do"

"What? It's like ten AM now we've got forever to get ready"

"No you don't understand my dad he... he doesn't know I'm with a woman"

"Well who the hell does he think 'Shay' is?"

"Well he asked if it was someone from the firehouse and I said yeah and he just presumed and I didn't know how to tell him" Gabby said, clearly stressed "it's not that I'm embarrassed or anything I just didn't know how to tell him" she said, running her hands over her hair

"Hey it's fine" Shay said softly "it won't be as bad as you think ok" she pulled Gabby into her. Gabby sighed "ok but if he says anything that makes you uncomfortable or anything we can go"

"Hey I'm sure it's gonna be fine, it might even be fun" Shay smiled and kissed Gabby's head. She gently kissed the scar on her head "I love you and so does he, we should get on fine"

"I guess" Gabby smiled and relaxed into Shay. Shay smiled "are you gonna wear your black dress"

"Huh?"

"The black one, you know with the straps"

"Oh erm I haven't even thought about it"

"Wear that one" Shay said "you look hot in that"

"Ok" Gabby laughed "what're you gonna wear"

"Oh you know, a bin bag"

"You'd still look gorgeous" Gabby smiled. Shay giggled "you know how to flatter me"

They both lay there for a while longer. Gabby finally hauled herself up "Ok I'm gonna go shower and stuff" she smiled

"Hey wait" Shay said. Walking around the bed. Gabby turned around and smiled as Shay kissed her "thats all" Shay smiled before going down the stairs. Gabby stood in the warm water. Should she tell her dad Shay was a woman? Would be say something insensitive? Would Shay blame her? She hadn't realised how long she had been until Shay knocked on the door "Gabby?" She called "are you alright?"

"Yeah sorry" Gabby said, quickly rinsing her hair

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah" Gabby said cheerfully before turning the water off and wrapping a towel around her. She opened the door and smiled brightly at Shay, who saw right through it, of course. Gabby looked down. Shay hugged her "trust me the worst he can say is that he doesn't like me and I've heard that enough times"

"You shouldn't have to deal with that"

"Listen to me ok he's your dad! He might have questions but we can cross that bridge when we come to it"

"You're the best" Gabby sighed

"I know" Shay joked "I'm gonna shower now Ok. Don't have a breakdown I'll be 15 minutes"

Gabby tried to laugh. Shay saw how apprehensive she was and gently tilted Gabby's head up and left her hand cradling Gabby's cheek "my mom found out I was gay when she walked in on me and my first girlfriend ok so it can't go that bad"

"Really!" Gabby laughed

"Yes! It was as bad as you can imagine" Shay smiled, glad Gabby was laughing "so this is gonna be a piece of cake"

"Ok" Gabby smiled

Shay nodded and went into the bathroom. Gabby pulled on an old shirt and dried her hair. She smiled at the photos Shay had put up. She looked over them. Shay appeared beside her "hey" she smiled. Gabby turned and took her hand "what did I do to deserve you" she smiled

"Well you know you did almost die" Shay said

Gabby shrugged. Shay dried her hair and wrapped herself in a robe. They headed downstairs and saw Kelly and Erin. "Hey" they all said in unison. Shay and Gabby sat down next to them. They watched some trashy tv and a boring film. Shay glared at Kelly as he brought up the state she had been in. Shay saw Gabby shifting around. Kelly looked over too. Shay shook her head as he opened his mouth. He nodded slowly and promptly started winding Erin up. Gabby stood up and disappeared up the stairs. Shay tried to grab her but she had gone.

"What's up?" Kelly asked Shay

"I'm meeting her parents tonight and she's just nervous"

"Things getting serious?" He smiled

"Well there's this dinner with her parents that she forgot about and she hadn't said she's dating a woman yet" Shay said quietly. Kelly sighed and nodded. Shay walked up the stairs and found Gabby sat on the bed silently. She looked at Shay "I'm sorry" she whispered. Shay shook her head "don't be sorry" she smiled "just let me help you"

Gabby nodded. Shay sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around Gabby. She smiled as Gabby leaned into her "you're too good" Gabby mumbled. Shay shook her head "I love you, that's all" she whispered. Gabby smiled.

A few hours later they started getting ready. Gabby curled her hair into loose waves and Shay straightened hers. Gabby watched as Shay deliberated over what to wear. She waited a second before pulling a red dress out for her "this" she smiled. Shay looked at her "do you think?"

"Yeah" Gabby smiled "you look lovely in that"

Shay looked at it and nodded. It was a deep red dress that had short sleeves and fell mid thigh. She slid into it. Gabby nodded and mock wolf whistled. Shay laughed "shush" she smiled. Gabby rolled her eyes and pulled out the black dress Shay had mentioned. She looked over at Shay who nodded approvingly. Gabby pulled it on and looked down at herself. Shay appeared behind her and kissed her neck "you're perfect" she smiled. Gabby laughed softly and hugged Shay. Shay watched as she put a thin layer of makeup on and added a hint of lipstick. Gabby smiled "yeah?"

"Yeah" Shay nodded. They slipped their shoes on and headed downstairs. Gabby had black heels on, as did Shay, who's were shorter, so they were the same height. Gabby smiled as Shay wobbled slightly. "Looking hot ladies" Erin called. They both smiled nervously. Shay was apprehensive about Ramone's reaction. Gabby's mom was calm. She probably wouldn't even bat an eyelid but Ramone was known for his emotive reactions to, well, everything. Kelly walked by them. He raised his eyebrows. Shay gently hit his arm "she's mine thank you"

"I wouldn't dare" he smiled, raising his hands I'm surrender. Gabby half smiled. They walked to the car. Gabby drove. When they pulled up she took a deep breath. Shay took her hand "I love you" she said. Gabby grasped her hand "I love you more" she smiled. Shay nodded and they stepped out into the cold air. They walked hand in hand to the front of the restaurant. Antonio arrived at the same time, with his wife Laura. Antonio kissed Gabby's cheek "they're inside" he said. Gabby nodded. Antonio opened the door and Gabby and Shay walked in. Antonio asked the waiter where the Dawson's were. He led them over to the table.

"Ah Antonio" Ramone said, standing up and hugging him "and Laura, always a pleasure" he said, hugging her too. Gabby took a deep breath.

"Papa" she said "this is Shay"

"It's lovely to see you Ramone" Shay smiled. Ramone looked at her, then at Gabby. Gabby closed her eyes and sighed. Before she could say anything her mom jumped in "Shay? How lovely. I presume you're the same Leslie Shay Gabriela has told us about before?"

"Yes that would be me" Shay smiled, widening her eyes as Gabby's mom hugged her tightly. Ramone seemed to have regained his ability to speak and grinned "well, welcome to the Dawson family" he smiled, slightly awkwardly. Shay squeezed Gabby's hand and they all sat down. Gabby watched as Shay seemed at home with her parents. She couldn't take her eyes off Shay as she laughed and joked with Ramone. Antonio and Laura smiled as Gabby was overwhelmed by her admiration for Shay. The evening was a success. Shay had been brilliant. She always was. That's why Gabby loved her, and always would.

Thanks for reading!