Hi everyone! I'm back with an update. This chapter is finally where I finally move forward with the sorry a bit. I really hope you guys like it and I can't wait to hear your thoughts!! Until next time.
xxxxx
The light sound of Christmas music fills the air as Matt walks in his house with a storage container. It was Christmas, quite possibly Matt's favorite time of the year, and this time of year has only gotten better since the arrival of their son. But this year was different. This year is the first actual year Caleb knows who Santa is, and for Matt, that meant going all out for his boy. As he rounds the corner into his living room, he hears his wife humming along to the music as she takes some lights out of a box Matt brought out previously.
"You know, I don't remember putting away this much last year." Matt says, coming up behind his wife and setting the container on the table. Gabby turns to smile at her husband and places the half unrolled lights back on top of the already opened box. She steps forward, and Matt instantly placed his hands on her hips and tilts his head. In the months since Caleb started school, Matt and Gabby have gotten a lot of the romance back in their lives. Time alone together was still rare, but they had managed to work their schedules so at least one of their day's off they had free to spend together. They didn't do anything except spend time together, wether they stayed in or went out, they used that one day to just be husband and wife; Matt and Gabby.
"I may have went a little crazy last year during the sales." Dawson admits with a shy smile. Matt smiles at his wife and ducks his head down to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
"I love it." He whispers against her lips before kissing her once again quickly. Gabby smiles, running her hand against his chest before turning back to look at all the boxes.
"What time will your mom be here?" Casey asks leaning against the table and crossing his feet out in front of him. Today, Dawson's parents, Antonio and his family, Shay, and Severide were all coming over to help decorate the Casey's Christmas tree. It was an accidental tradition that started after Caleb was born.
With Caleb being born in late September, Casey and Dawson were practically zombies when Christmas rolled around. They were living in their living room, take out boxes and diapers were scattered around and absolutely no Christmas decorations. So as a surprise her parents, Shay, and Severide showed up at their house with Christmas decorations in hand. And together they all helped decorate their house to get them into the Christmas spirit, and ever since then they have kept that tradition alive.
"She said around 2, but knowing my mom she let Caleb nap until he woke up." Gabby says distractedly as she digs around a box of ornaments. Matt smiles as he watches his wife make a particular cute concentrated face, the same face he has seen Caleb wear a few times. To Matt there was nothing greater than looking at his son and seeing his wife. Faces she makes, the way she smiles, and even her determination; Caleb has them all. Everyone likes to say Caleb looks like Casey, because of his blonde curls and piercing blue eyes, but to Casey, all he sees is Gabby.
"Yo!" The deep voice combined with their front door being open breaks Casey from his thoughts. Keeping his body leaning against the table, Casey turns his head slightly to see Severide and Shay walking in their house. Casey raises an arm above his hand, waving to his friends before leaning over and kissing his wife on the cheek. He pushes himself off the table and turns to watch his friends close door, securing them from the December cold.
"Jeeze it's freezing out there." Kelly says, cupping his hands together and blowing into them as he walks further into the Casey home.
"Hey man." Kelly claps Casey on the shoulder lightly before shrugging off his jacket and hanging up on the back of a chair. He pulls his beanie off just as Shay walks over greeting Gabby and having a small conversation of their own. "This is more than I remember." Kelly says with a laugh, surveying the table carefully. Casey points at Severide as he snaps his head towards his wife.
"I have already admitted to it, babe." Dawson laughs watching her husband carefully. Matt turns his body to look at her and they instantly lock eyes. Their silent conversation leaving both of them with goofy smiles on their faces.
"God, how are you two so in love all the time. It's gross." Shay comments walking over to their kitchen. Their open kitchen concept was the one thing Gabby asked for when Matt was remodeling their home. Being able to see most of the first floor of their house from the kitchen not only made it feel bigger, but it made it easier to entertain company as well.
"What's wrong Shay? Single got you down?" Kelly teases as Casey pulls Gabby into his arms. Gabby places her hand on his chest and leans up to kiss her husband before pulling away and walking over to Shay, who was already pouring shots of alcohol.
"Shots, really?" Dawson asks with a laugh as she approaches her friend.
"Dawson, I love you, you know this…" Shay downs a shot before setting the glass down and pouring another. "But I am painfully single during the holidays, so the least you can do is get drunk with me and pretend we are young and single again." Shay says pushing the glass towards her friend. "Plus you've got 9 months of missed drinking to make up for." Shay says, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. Gabby couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as she listened to her friend.
"Caleb is 4 years old Shay." Gabby responds laughing again. "And I'm still young, I'm just happily taken." Gabby says as her husband and Severide approach them.
"Gross." Shay mumbles before turning her attention to the boys "Casey, take a shot."
"We are decorating a Christmas tree, not pregaming a tailgate." Kelly laughs taking the shot glass from his best friends hand. He downs it before handing it back to her. Shay scoffs at him causing Casey and Gabby to laugh at their friends.
"I'll take a shot." Casey says finally earning a cheer from Shay who hands him an empty shot glass. Casey looks over to his wife and by his look alone, immediately Dawson caved.
"Fine. I'll take a shot."
"Now it's a party!" Shay says, pouring out the shots for her friends.
———
Soon their house was filled with warmth and laughter as everyone gathered in their home to decorate the Christmas Tree. Stories were exchanged, drinks flowed freely among the adults, and memories were made. As the night started winding down, and their guests started to leave, Casey walked out and thanked each one of their family and friends for coming over and making yet another memorable Christmas tradition.
"Thank you so much Matt, it was beautiful as always." Camilla says leaning up to press a kiss to her son-in-laws cheek.
"Thank you for coming and thank you for taking Caleb last night." Matt says reciprocating the action before reaching out and taking his father in laws hand. "..Gabby and I appreciate you guys so much." Matt says shaking the hand in his before being pulled into a hug by Ramon.
"You never have to thank us for that." Ramon says with conviction in his voice. "That boy means the world to us." Ramon finishes as he pulls away from Matt. Matt couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.
"Thanks Pops." Matt responds with a nod. Matt says his final goodbyes to his in laws before watching them walk to their car. He watches them reach their car safely before shutting his home off to the cold December air. Matt sighs before turning on his heel and making his way over to the living room. He didn't get very far before he was met by the perfect sight of Gabby on the couch holding Caleb. Illuminated by nothing but the Christmas tree, Matt could see Caleb's head was resting on her shoulder and his body resting against her upper body, as he slept soundly. Gabby was propped up against the couch with her legs tucked beneath her, and her head resting on the top of Caleb's; her eyes closed and her face wearing a content smile. As Matt approaches them he couldn't help but to smile at his beautiful family.
"Hi." He says, his voice low and causing Gabby's smile to grow as she opens her eyes slowly. Matt squats down next to the couch and rubs his hand along her arm.
"Hmmm." Gabby hums. Warm brown meets piercing blue, as the couple makes eye contact. Matt couldn't help the smile that pushes its way further on his face. He reached his hand up and brushes his fingers against her face.
"God I love you." He whispers out. Gabby turns her head and kisses his fingers before resting her head on top of their sons once more. There was nothing more perfect to him than this moment. This moment that would be forever burned into his memory. His perfect wife and their beautiful son marking yet another Christmas as a family.
xxxxxx
"Good morning Casey's." Severide greets from his spot at the squad table. He watches his friends stop and kiss each other once more before walking further into the firehouse. The December weather was brutal in Chicago. The snow and the icy roads alone gave Matt an idea of what their next 24 hours might look like.
"Morning, how was your night?" Matt asks with a knowing smile. Just last night, Matt and Kelly spent an evening at Molly's. Both Gabby and Shay were off and decided to spend the evening at home with Caleb, so Matt joined Kelly only to be back home within a couple of hours.
"She was great." Kelly responds with a laugh. Matt shakes his head and Dawson lets out a chuckle before reaching up and pressing one last kiss to her husbands cheek.
"I'll see you inside." She taps his shoulder before looking over at Kelly again, she laughs as she shakes her head and walks inside the firehouse. Matt watches his wife disappear inside before walking towards his friend. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the firehouse was buzzing with excitement, specifically second shift. Second shift was the shift that got Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, and they were bursting with excitement.
"So, tomorrow afternoon, our place?" Matt asks with a large grin on his face. Severide tosses the cards down that were in his hands and leans back in his seat with a smile.
"You look like a kid on Christmas morning." Kelly says with a chuckle, the irony of his metaphor not lost on him.
"Ahh correction my young friend, I look like someone who has a kid and it's about to be Christmas morning." Matt corrects, tapping playfully on one of the chairs he was standing behind. Kelly lets out a laugh and raises his arms up in playful defense.
"My apologies." Kelly laughs. "But yes Shay and I will be there with our sleeping bags and our tools to commence operation Santa." Kelly leans forward and taps on the squad table before standing up. Matt furrows his eyebrows together, tilting his head slightly; silently questioning his friend.
"Your son, wants to try to stay awake to see Santa." Kelly says, filling in his friend as he walks around the table and wraps an arms around his friends shoulders.
"You told him that's a bad idea right?" Matt asks as they start walking inside together. Kelly erupts in laughter at his friend as he opens the double doors allowing Matt to walk inside. "What?" Matt asks again, a small laugh in his voice.
"You've met your son right? He's basically Dawson with your smile." Kelly says as they walk inside and towards the locker room.
xxxxxx
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the wayyyyyyyy!" The small voice, in addition to the rhythmic jumping brought a smile to Gabby's face, as she walked the familiar path to Caleb's room. The door was partially closed but she was still able to see inside his room. In his red and black plaid Christmas pajamas was Caleb, jumping on his bed while singing very off key his repetitive rendition of jingle bells. Gabby pushes the door open gently before leaning against the door frame. She crosses her arms against her chest and couldn't help but to smile and admire her son.
"It was probably the three cups of hot chocolate he had." The deep comforting voice pulls Gabby's attention from Caleb. She turns to see her husband wearing his matching Christmas pajamas and a warm smile. He walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. Gabby sighs and leans her head back against his chest. They stay like that for a moment, both relishing in the moment.
"Wait.." Gabby turns her head slightly. "Three cups?" Gabby raises her eyebrows. Matt chuckles before pressing a kiss to her head.
"Well let's see, you gave him a cup, your mom gave him and cup, and Shay snuck him a cup." Matt lists off. Gabby shakes her head and turns her body to look at Matt.
"You're an incredible dad you know that?" Gabby says after a moment, her fingers tracing along side his jaw. Matt watches his wife, allowing himself to enjoy the feelings of her fingers on his face.
"He makes it easy." Matt says with a chuckle. He looks up to see Caleb still jumping on his bed. Gabby allows herself a few more moments, before pulling herself from Matt and walking into her sons bedroom.
"Hey you little monster." Her voice gains Caleb's attention immediately and the jumping stops as he falls to his bottom. Gabby makes her way to his bed before crawling into his bed and laying partially on the bed next to him.
"Are you ready for bed?" She asks him, pushing his blonde curls from his face. Caleb immediately shakes his head, earning a laugh from his mother.
"Well how is Santa ever going to come if you don't sleep?" Gabby asks before looking over at her husband. He has taken her spot against the doorframe, his eyes shining with admiration ad he watches his wife and son.
"Auntie Shay says if we pretend, Santa will still come and I'll get to see him." Caleb tells her.
"Hmm, she did huh?" Gabby asks rhetorically. Caleb nods his head before standing up on his bed again.
"Right auntie Shay?" Caleb all but shouts at Shay as she appears next to Matt in his door. Shay looks at both Dawson and Casey before looking back at her nephew.
"Listen, you're my guy and you know that, but I'm afraid to agree with you right now bud." Shay says as she walks into his room. Caleb reaches his arms out and Shay immediately complies, bringing Caleb into her arms.
"I think it's best that we go downstairs with your parents, set out milk and cookies for Santa and then go to bed." Shay tells the young boy in her arms. Caleb nods and Shay turns around and quickly makes her way out of his room.
"We are still going to catch Santa, right?" Caleb asks when they are a few feet away from his room.
"Oh absolutely." Shay whispers to him, earning a giggle from the boy in her arms.
"I heard that." Matt calls to the pair as they make their way down the stairs. Shay waves him off, earning another small laugh from Caleb as they make their way to the living room.
"Uncle Sev, are you ready?" Shay asks as they walk further into the living room. Shay couldn't help but to feel excited when she saw their set up. Kelly had created a very comfortable sleeping area for them in front of the fireplace. The Christmas tree was off to the side, and next to it was a small circular table where the intended to place the milk and cookies. Shay knew that Caleb was never going to make it all night, she was sure he was going to be asleep within an hour, but she was creating memories with her nephew and best friend.
"Alright buddy, where are you going to sleep?" Severide asks, standing before them in grinch pajamas pants and a black t shirt. Caleb surveys the ground from Shay's arms before looking back at Kelly.
"In the middle." Shay and Kelly share a laugh, both guessing minutes before that would be his choice.
"Alright bud, the middle it is." Kelly says as Gabby and Matt join them.
"You all set up?" Gabby asks, and Caleb nods his head.
"Yup!"
"You can't forget these." Matt says as he joins them. In his hands was a plate of cookies and a half glass of milk, ready for Santa.
xxxxx
Casey blows warm air into his clasped hands as he makes his way up the familiar driveway to the firehouse. Christmas had come and gone, but unfortunately the Chicago winter was still just as brutal in April as it had been in December. Luckily today, the sun was out and that gave Casey hope that today will be a calmer day around the firehouse than it had been in the past weeks. Since they came back to work after Christmas, the firehouse had been a revolving door. All companies being out most of the time, sometimes on back to back calls. They were no strangers to the craziness Chicago winter brought, but when there had been a break in the weather, they were all extremely relieved.
"Hey Casey." Matt slows his steps, as he walks by the ambulance and sees Shay hoping down from the back of the rig.
"Hey Shay." Matt says stopping to watch her slam both door shut.
"Where's my girl?" Shay asks, walking over to him.
"At the pediatrician." Casey tells her as they start walking inside.
"Everything ok?" Shay asks, her voice laced with a hint of worry.
"He has a pretty bad cough. Kinda sounds like a seal barking or something." Matt explains. Shay nods as she watches Casey pull the door open.
"So Dawson spent all night worrying about it." Shay says as she steps through the doors with Casey following closely behind her. Matt chuckles as he nods his head.
"Yup. So she went with her mom this morning. Speaking of which, do you think you and Severide can pick him up from Camilla's tomorrow morning." Matt asks and Shay raises her eyebrows out of curiosity.
"Of course, you know he's my guy…" Shay trails off and Matt turns his head as they continue waking to the locker room.
"Just ask." Matt laughs and Shay gives him a sly grin.
"What's going on Casey?" Shay asks with a laugh.
"We have an appointment at the fertility clinic." Matt tells her. Shay stops in her tracks and it's takes Casey a moment to realize she stopped, but when he did he stopped and turned to look at her. He immediately sees the concern on her face and waves his hand.
"She's fine. She's just freaking out. We got pregnant with Caleb without trying, and now that we are trying she's obsessing. So she just wants peace of mind." Matt reassures his friend. Shay nods, taking a moment to process the informations before placing a hand on Matt's arm.
"It will happen." Shay rubs her hand on his arm in comfort before dropping it. "But of course we will pick him up tomorrow."
"Thank you." Matt smiles before walking to the lock room to get ready for shift.
xxxxx
"Hey handsome." The voice causes Matt to smile immediately. He turns from his locker to see his wife walking over to her own locker. Their shift had been fairly uneventful. All companies getting only about three calls, with two of them being together.
"Hey, you ready for today?" Matt asks, watching her closely. Gabby pulls her locker open as she starts shedding her shift clothes.
"I'm ready to hear everything is ok. I don't think I'm prepared to hear anything else." Gabby chuckles and Matt stays silent. Gabby allows the silence to wash over her before turning to face her husband. His comforting blue eyes bring tears to Gabby's eyes. She's not quite sure why, but suddenly she could feel her resolve fading.
"I'm so scared Matt." She whispers. Matt nods before he slowly makes his way over to his wife. He waits a moment before pulling her to his chest. She immediately wraps her arms around his waist as he presses a kiss to the top of her head.
"It's going to be ok. I promise." Matt whispers against her hair. He can feel her warm tears pressing into his shirt. He was the one who brought up having another baby, but she was the one who felt the pressure. She didn't realize how much she wanted another baby until they actually started trying. She was so afraid to end up like she was last time; Alone, in labor, worried about raising a newborn alone. He wasn't sure how long, but Matt just held her. He was pretty sure they were the only ones left from second shift. Kelly and Shay leaving right away to pick up Caleb, and everyone else leaving fairly quickly as well.
"I'm ready." He hears Gabby say into his shirt as she pulls away from him slightly. Matt looks down at her beautiful brown eyes shining back at him.
"You're so beautiful." Matt whispers before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Let's do this." Matt says after pulling back. He allows Gabby an extra moment before moving away so they could finish getting ready.
xxxxx
"Jeeze, I forget how big this place is." Kelly says as he and Shay approach the Dawson's front door.
"Yea, Dawson said they don't have plans to downsize either." Shay says, earning a surprised look from Kelly as he lifts his hand up to knock on the door. After a couple solid knocks, Kelly steps back and stands next to Shay. A few moment pass before they hear shuffling and the door swinging open. Standing at the door was Ramon who was wearing a surprised look on his face.
"Leslie, Kelly, what a surprise." Ramon says with a smile.
"Hey Ramon, we are just here to pick up Caleb. I thought Dawson told you." Shay says. Ramon raises his eyebrows before turning to look back in the house before looking back at the pair on the porch.
"Well, Gabriela did tell us you were picking him up, but Camila called not 30 minutes ago and told her she was taking Caleb to the park and leaving him with Antonio and Diego." Ramon reports. Kelly and Shay share a look before looking back at the older man.
"Dawson is in an appointment, I don't think she got the call. But no worries, we will head there." Shay smiles and Ramon nods his head.
"I'm so sorry you two." Ramon apologizes.
"No it's ok. Uh which park?" Shay asks. Ramon quickly give Severide and Shay direction before saying his goodbyes and closing the door. Shay and Severide make their way to the car, following Ramon's directions. When the pull up they immediately see Antonio pacing by the playground on the phone. Kelly parks the car and they get out and walk over to Antonio.
"Hey Antonio." Antonio looks up from the ground, his phone pressed into his face as he listens to the person on the other end. He puts up a finger, signaling to them to give him a minute. Shay nods and looks around the playground. Her eyes move around the playground looking for Caleb. She steps forward, getting closer, but still doesn't see him.
"Hey where is Caleb?" Shay asks, turning back to the cop. Antonio looks up and his eyes scan the playground. He sees Diego swinging on one of the swings.
"Diego!" He calls to him. The boy looks up and sees his father waving him over. He hops off the swing and runs over to his father.
"Where is your cousin?" Diego turns back to the playground, taking a few moments to look.
"I don't know. He was on the slide." He says. Shay immediately makes her way to the other side of the playground a sinking feeling settling in her stomach.
"Caleb!?" Shay could feel her heart pounding.
Something was wrong.
"Caleb?!" Shay calls again, but no response and no sign of Caleb. Shay turns frantically to see Kelly already running around the park houri g the boys name.
"Caleb?!" Shay calls out again, running her hands through her hair.
"Caleb!!!" She hears Antonio yell out. Shay runs over to Antonio.
"Anything?" She asks and Antonio shakes his head frantically. She looks up to see Kelly approaching them.
"Kelly?" Severide shakes his head and Shay breaths out, tears welling in her eyes.
"Oh my god…" Shay chokes out. "Caleb?!" Shay all but screams out.
"Daddy!" Antonio turns around to see Diego running towards him.
"Did you find him?!" Antonio asks him frantically. Just as the words came out, a white cargo van peels out of the parking lot. All three adults turn towards the sound. Instinctively Kelly and Antonio take off after the van. Shay stays behind with Diego holding the clearly upset boy from running after his dad.
"Caleb!!" Kelly screams out running after the van until the van was no longer in reach.
"FUCK!" Kelly yells. Shay watches as Antonio immediately calls it in, the sinking feeling returning. Shay couldn't help the tears that stay pouring down her face, Caleb was gone… taken.
"We have to call Dawson." She hears Kelly say as he jogs over to her.
Oh god.
Gabby.
Matt.
She has to be the one to tell them their baby was gone. Their little boy, their everything.
Kelly notices the tears pouring down Shay's face and he immediately pulls her and Diego into a hug.
"We will find him." Severide says. The reassurance was for Shay, but honestly it was for him too.
xxxxxx
Sooo that's it! What did you guys think? I know it's a major cliff hanger, but I will update as soon as possible, I won't keep you hanging long. Thoughts? Predictions? Review! Let me know