Hop, hop, hop.
Three-year-old Luca hopped up the stairs with Cubby, the family's beloved black Labrador retriever mix, following closely behind him.
"Time for the toothbrush dance!" Luca exclaimed, as he skipped into the bathroom.
His older siblings, seven-year-old Mia and five-year-old Jake, were already in the bathroom brushing their teeth while humming "Happy Birthday!" Their parents told them that if they hummed the song twice, they had brushed their teeth long enough. As the kids finished up and Luca finished his toothbrush dance, their mom, Gabby, walked into the bathroom holding her iPhone.
"Daddy FaceTimed to say goodnight!" Gabby told the kids with a big smile on her face.
She waved the phone in front of them, as they all spit into the sink in unison. Mia grabbed the phone from her mom, and her brothers followed her to the big, blue couch in the playroom.
"Hi, Daddy!" three voices said, while they all tried to fit their faces onto the iPhone screen.
Their dad, Matt, was on shift at Firehouse 51 where he was the lieutenant on Truck 81. He had started taking on fewer shifts since Luca was born, but on this Friday night, he was on shift while Gabby was home on bedtime duty. Gabby slid onto the couch, placed Luca on her lap, took her phone from Mia, and held it so that all four faces fit onto the phone's screen.
"Now, there are all of my favorite people!" Matt said, waving to his wife and kids.
"How was work today, daddy?" Mia asked.
"Any exciting calls?" Jake asked.
"Tell Uncle Kelly hi!" Luca shouted.
"We miss you!" Gabby said.
"Pretty slow day. I spent most of it missing all of you! Uncle Kelly's in his office, Luc. I'll be sure to tell him you said hi. Now isn't it just about bedtime for you crazy monkeys?"
"Yes, but can't we talk just a little bit longer?" Mia asked. "It's my turn to read our bedtime story. I'm going to read a Clifford book. You can listen!"
"What do you think, mom?" Matt asked.
"One story and then its bedtime for all of you monkeys," Gabby said, kissing each child's head.
Mia picked up the book, and Gabby moved her phone so that Matt could see her and all three of their kids. After reading only a few pages, the bell went off at the firehouse. Matt and everyone on Truck 81, Squad 3, and Ambulance 61 had to leave for a call somewhere in the city.
"Ah, I'm sorry M, I've got to go. I love you all! I'll see you in the morning. Night, Gabs!" Matt said quickly before hanging up the FaceTime call.
"Aww, man. I wish daddy could listen to the whole story," Jake said, sadly.
"Me too but we'll see him in the morning. Want to finish up, Mia?" Gabby asked her daughter.
Mia finished the story, and Gabby set her phone on the couch before tucking the kids into their beds. She tucked the boys into their bunk beds with Jake on the top bunk and Luca on the bottom. She led them in their nightly prayers, including their favorite line, "Watch over daddy and bring him home safely." She tucked the covers tightly around their little bodies, kissed them each goodnight, and made sure their nightlight was on before heading over to her daughter's room. In Mia's room, she listened as she said her prayers and recited the same line about Matt. Mia claimed that she didn't need a nightlight anymore, but Gabby left the light on in the playroom and left her daughter's bedroom door open a crack just in case.
Gabby whispered to herself as she walked through the playroom, "Watch over daddy and bring him home safely."
After all three kids were tucked into their beds safe and sound Gabby headed back downstairs. She poured herself a glass of wine and opened up her laptop. She planned to respond to a few emails for the 100 Club, the charity she worked for which fundraised for families of first responders who had lost their lives. Gabby's eyes fell on a picture of her then-boyfriend, Matt, and their two best friends Kelly Severide and Leslie Shay that hung on the refrigerator. Shay had been her best friend and partner on Ambo 61. She had lost her life on the job and was the reason that Gabby started working for the 100 Club after the kids were born.
She sent a few emails, and then turned the Blackhawks game on the television. While watching, she remembered that she wanted to upload a few pictures to Facebook of the kids that she'd taken earlier that day when they went out to dinner with her brother, Antonio. The pictures were on her phone, and she couldn't remember where she left it. This happened often these days, as the kids were always taking it so that they could take pictures and try to FaceTime Matt while he worked.
After searching through the family room and kitchen, Gabby finally remembered that she'd had the phone upstairs in the playroom so that they could FaceTime Matt. She spent a few moments searching for it on the couch before finding it buried between two couch cushions.
"Geez!" she thought. "How long did it take me to find that thing?"
She turned her phone over, and her eyes widened when she realized how many notifications she had. All of the notifications were of texts, calls, and voicemails from her friends and coworkers at 51. She remembered that Matt had ended his FaceTime call with Gabby and the kids because of a call at the firehouse. Gabby dropped her phone, immediately fearing the worst. Why else would everyone be calling her so urgently? Had it really been long enough since the FaceTime call for Matt to go to a call and get hurt? How long had it taken her to tuck the kids in and how long was she downstairs?
All of the sudden, her phone started ringing, vibrating and moving across the couch cushions. It was Severide again. A picture of him and the kids posing next to Lake Michigan lit up the screen. Gabby was almost scared to answer the phone, afraid of the news she was about to get from Kelly.
"H-hello?" Gabby said as a question, barely getting the words out.
"Gabby! Everyone's been trying to get a hold of you! It's Matt!" Kelly said trying to cover up the tears forming in his eyes and the lump in his throat.
"I-I-I know. What happened?" Gabby asked, as she began moving across the room. Maybe she was in shock or maybe just on a mission but she knew that she had to get to the hospital with three sleepy kids in tow. She walked into Mia's room, kindly waking her daughter up and barely hearing what Kelly said on the other end of the phone.
"Dawson, are you listening? …He fell almost two stories…floors were destroyed…landed in the enflamed basement…Chicago Med" were the only words Kelly said that Gabby heard. She was already on a mission to get the kids up and to Med as quickly she could. After telling Kelly that she was on her way, she practically flew through the house with Luca in her arms and Mia and Jake trailing behind, both only half-awake. Gabby threw her purse, as well as some snacks, books, and toys for the kids, into a large Vera Bradley tote bag, asked Mia to grab the car keys, and led the kids to the family's SUV.
She drove as quickly and safely as she could, knowing that she had precious cargo in her backseat. It was 9:00 pm on a Friday in Chicago, and it seemed like everyone in the city was out for a night on the town. She wished that she were in a fire truck or ambulance so that she could turn on the lights and sirens and drive past all of the traffic.
Gabby's phone was ringing again. This time it was Antonio. Someone from 51 must have called and told him what happened to Matt. Sure, she could have called her brother or her parents to ask for help with the kids while she went to the hospital. But the moment she saw the notifications on her phone and heard the news from Kelly, all that she could think about was getting to the hospital to see her husband.
After what seemed like an hour driving to Med, but was probably only about 15 minutes, Gabby parked right in front of the hospital. She helped her oldest two kids get out of the car, slung her tote bag over her shoulder, and picked up her youngest son, still fast asleep.
"Mam! Mam! You can't park there!" a hospital worker shouted at Gabby, reaching out an arm to try to stop her.
"My husband…my husband…my…" was all Gabby could utter, as she ran past the worker and through the sliding glass doors into the hospital.
Hermann and Cindy must have been waiting for Gabby to arrive because they both walked past her towards the SUV.
"Keys, Dawson!" Hermann said.
Gabby had barely registered in her mind that Hermann and Cindy were there and threw the keys to them so absentmindedly that they landed feet away from where the couple was standing. Hermann talked to the hospital worker, then hopped in the car with Cindy to park it in the lot.
Meanwhile, Gabby continued on her mission to find her husband and keep her kids trailing behind her. Finally, she saw Boden, Severide, and everyone else from 51 standing and sitting in a waiting area. Severide walked over to her with tearstained cheeks. He took Luca from Gabby's arms and handed the tote bag to Brett. Cruz and Otis picked up Mia and Jake and settled them onto some waiting room chairs, propping up their turnout jackets as pillows for the sleepy Casey kids.
Gabby continued on her mission to find her husband, now that the kids were taken care of by the coworkers who had become family. The Chief wrapped Gabby in a hug, as Dr. Halstead and Dr. Manning walked over to give Gabby and the others an update on their beloved husband and Lieutenant.
Once again, Gabby could only comprehend a few words that were said to her. "Surgery…lung damage…shoulder…could've been worse."
"When can I see him?" Gabby asked, while wiping tears away.
"He should be out of surgery soon. Of course, we'll let you know how it goes and let you know as soon as you can visit," Dr. Halstead said, giving Gabby's shoulder a squeeze.
Severide hugged Gabby tightly, while still holding onto a sleeping Luca. His best friend had been seriously injured and was in emergency surgery. He could barely comprehend what was going on, but he couldn't imagine how Gabby felt. She was another one of his closest friends, the wife of his best friend, and the mother of the kids who called him "Uncle Kelly."
Gabby knelt down in front of her two eldest children and composed herself to explain, in kid friendly terms, what was going on. Both kids stood up and hugged their mom tightly. The rest of their 51 family looked at the scene with tears either in their eyes or streaming down their cheeks. No one could believe that this was happening to Matt, Gabby, and their kids.
Just then, Antonio, as well as the Dawson parents, walked into the waiting area. They walked over to Gabby and the kids and the emotional group hug got even bigger.
After another stretch of time that felt like hours but was actually less than one, Drs. Halstead and Manning walked out again searching for Gabby. They gave her an update on Matt's condition and his surgery. "Went as well as we could hope for…repaired his lungs…shoulder shouldn't need surgery…resting now…take you to his room."
Gabby's parents, as well as Chief Boden, gave her shoulders another squeeze before she followed the doctors to Matt's room.
He was awake, alert, and his eyes lit up when he spotted his wife in the doorway.
"Baby…" she said, continuing to walk towards her husband.
"I'm okay. I love you," Matt said to his wife.
"I love you too," she said, tears falling down her face rapidly. She kissed Matt, as he pushed her hair back behind one of her ears.
"Baby…I'm okay. I promise. The kids?" he asked, pulling away from Gabby for a moment.
"Asleep in the waiting room with everyone from 51. My parents and Antonio are here, too. I'll go get them," she replied.
"Wait, wait. Just stay here with me for a minute. I'm so happy to see you," he said, a few tears of his own falling down his cheeks.
Gabby lay down beside her husband, and together, they lay quietly for a few minutes. Thankful to be together. Thankful to still have each other. Thankful that the kids' prayers had worked for yet another night.
They were in this together, for better or for worse. A vow that had been made many years ago, and a bond that had been formed years before that. Luca, Jake, Mia, Gabby and Matt, all five Caseys were going to be just fine.
"Watch over daddy and bring him home safely."