Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
A/n: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter and i'd like to welome the new readers who follow this story. I'm want to apologize for taking so long to update this story but I took a nasty spill in the outside stairs of my house and it's been very painful to be able to sit down for a long period of time but I hope you will enjoy this one.
The next days after their evening at Gabby's, both she and Matt had been busy with work, Matt also having some construction jobs on the side when he wasn't on shift, leaving only a few minutes for stolen firehouse visits and phonecalls to each other. Gabby felt like she was walking on a cloud every time Matt would text her or she would hear his voice on their brief calls to each other, barely seeing Mill's flaunting of his girl anymore, which, without her even knowing it, angered him beyond measure. Sure she was a beautiful woman but now that she had found Matt and that she was so into him, she didn't even bother with her ex anymore.
It was her turn to cook at the firehouse today and she had settled on her grandmother's mac and cheese recipe, feeling happy when Mills approached her.
"So you got a date with Matt Casey tonight huh?" Gabby gave him a sidelong glance that meant to leave her alone but the fact that he wasn't moving an inch away from her made it clear he wasn't listening to her silent request.
"That is none of your business Mills. We're not together anymore remember?"
"We're friends, it is my business." That really made her mad.
"We stopped being friends the day you started flaunting that hooker you call a girlfriend in my face barely weeks after we broke up." She growled. "Now get away from me before I have a perfectly good reason to knock you on your ass." She whispered dangerously
"Whatever. Don't come crying to me the day he does something that hurts you." He smirked as he left, infuriating Gabby even more. She slammed her knife against the wodden board before storming outside, Sylvie following her outside."
"Hey, you ok Gabs?"
"He makes me want to strangle him." She growled as she turned to face her.
"Killing someone is a criminal offence. I wouldn't want to lose my partner over that." She said dramatically, making Gabby laugh
"Thanks Brett."
"Anytime. So you have a hot date with Matt tonight?" That made Gabby smile like a child.
"Yeah, dinner and then Molly's."
"Dinner huh? Where is he taking you?"
"Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Compagny. He says that they make some of the best pizza in Chicago and that I was missing out."
"How exciting. What will you wear?" They both looked up and groaned as the overhead paging system called them to a fire.
"Always the buzzkill." They quickly made their way to the ambo and towards the scene of the accident. The save was pretty basic and they left to bring the victim at Lakeshore hospital. The man driving the car had a gash to his forehead and an S shaped wrist so they took him into trauma 2 under the ER's staff so he could get checked at and stepped aside to go fill up the paperwork.
"That must hurt like hell." Sylvie looked towards the trauma room as Gabby laughed, writing down everything.
"I wouldn't want to be him that's for sure." She kept her eyes down on the paperwork and Sylvie was so caught up with looking at the ER nurses taking care of the man that neither one of them saw the dark haired woman come their way with an angry frown.
"You have some nerve coming in here after what you've done."
"I'm sorry?" Gabby looked up at the woman that was in front of her. She had never seen her here before but she was dressed in a white coat and scrubs so she figured she was a new doctor here.
"How dare you show your face here"
"I come here all the time and I don't know you so tone the attitude down lady." Gabby looked back down to her paperwork, choosing to ignore the woman all together.
"So you figure that this can be sent to me and nothing would happen?" A phone was thrown over Gabby's paperwork and when she looked at it, a picture of her and Matt kissing that night at Molly's was staring right back at her.
"Oh. You're Matt's ex." She finally looked back at the woman who gave her a glare. "Listen. I'm sorry about that. We were drunk and a little bit angry maybe and it just happened. We weren't thinking."
"Damn straight you weren't thinking."
"Listen, I'm not looking to cause any more trouble than what this picture already has. Again, I'm sorry." Gabby handed the nurse her paperwork and left Matt's ex fuming by it.
"OH MY GOD!" Brett exclaimed as soon as Gabby closed the door to the ambo. "What was that all about?"
"I can see you didn't stick around for the big finish."
"Was that Matt's ex?"
"You mean Matt's NAMELESS ex? Yeah that was her." She started the ambo and drove back towards the firehouse. "Don't mention this to Matt though if you see us at Molly's?"
"Sure but why not? He won't be mad."
"I know, I just don't want to start anything up."
"Sure, no problem."
"Thanks Brett." Gabby parked the ambo back in its spot and they resumed their shift, nothing out of the ordinary happening.
"So Molly's tonight?" Severide peaked into Casey's office as he was finishing up his incident report.
"Maybe later tonight, I have a date with Gabby tonight."
"Where are you taking her?" He leaned against his door frame, a smirk on his face.
"Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Compagny for dinner and we'll probaby end up at Molly's." He turned around in his chair to face Kelly.
"Great choice. The pizza there is amazing. And back to your place for some little action?"
"Do I look like that kind of guy?" He gave him a look.
"You were exactly THAT guy the other night when you guys met." He laughed.
"We decided to take it slow. You know, go out, get to know each other first before falling back in bed together."
"And what about Peter Mills?" Matt had told him all about Gabby's ex, who was working with her at 105.
"I'm hoping nothing else happens there. The other day at the scene of the accident. I don't want that to happen again."
"I hear ya but you know it's pretty risky if you're going to Molly's tonight."
"Sure as hell won't change bars just for that kid."
"I'll catch you later tonight then." He laughed knowing that if Matt came out to Molly's with Gabby in the evening that something would happen.
The shift ended with a factory call with a employee's arm stuck in a machine and both Matt and Kelly had to hop into the ambo with Shay and Rafferty to see the call through but he sure as hell wasn't expecting to come face to face with her.
"What do we have here?" She questionned as they wheeled the guy into trauma 1. It took Matt a whole second before he was able to form words.
"Twenty five year old male with his arm stuck in the grinder. We had to take the machine apart but last piece couldn't come off without medical attention."
"Alright, let's do this." Matt and Kelly removed the two last pieces of machine around the guys arm before the medical staff took him in to be treated, leaving both firefighters to wait on ambo to be able to return to the house.
"Did you know she was back?" Shay leaned against the counter next to Casey.
"No and that was awkward." He watched her from afar as she moved around the ER. "Ah Damn." He looked at Shay, almost mortified. "Do you think it's possible that Gabby and Hallie could have seen each other?"
"Too late to think about that now." She patted his shoulder. "Come on, we're done, time to go back to the house." Severide gave him an encouraging pat on the back before they left for the chaos of 51. Matt paced around the hallway next to his office, his mind imagining different scenarios where Gabby and Hallie came face to face at Lakeshore. He had no idea how long Hallie had been back in town or even since when she had been working at the hospital since her return.
"Stop pacing, you'll make a hole in the floor." Shay sat down on the bench.
"Really Shay? Not funny right now."
"Didn't say it was Casey but pacing these floors won't change anything. If they came face to face, I'm pretty sure Gabby can hold her own."
"Oh I'm not worried about that I just don't want her to be blindsighted."
"Again, there's nothing that you can do about it. Come on, we're watching the game, come sit with us." Matt followed her into the common room where the Hawks were playing against the Wings. They were lucky enough to have a rather quiet night, only one call coming to disturb everyone's sleep. Matt grabbed his bag in the morning as first watch came in and he headed to his truck, ready to grab a shower and some more sleep before having to go pick Gabby up.
Gabby slept as soon as she got home, 105 having one of those busy nights that keeps you awake until the sun comes up. She hated the fact that she had run into Matt's ex and that it had rattled her that much. She and Matt hadn't been seeing each other that long but she thought he would have at least given her a heads up so she could prepare herself when that moment happened but she also didn't want to tell him about it because she didn't want to make a big deal about it either. She woke up after lunch, feeling much better so she made herself something light for lunch before she headed into the shower to slowly get ready for her date with Matt. She decided on a red tank top with black skinny jeans and a black leather jacket. She left her hair in soft curls falling on her shoulders and a red lip to finish. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time before she slipped her black booties on, just in time for the doorbell to ring and for her to open the door, a smile on her lips as she took Matt's appearance. He was wearing black casual pants with a light blue button up shirt and a casual jacket.
"You look, beautiful." He smiled at her.
"You clean up pretty well too."
"Thanks. You ready?"
"Yeah." She stepped out of her place, Matt letting her lock the door before he slipped his hand down her back and guided her to his truck. They drove in comfortable silence until they arrived at the restaurant, Matt helping her out of his truck and holding the door for her. "And who says chivalery is dead?" He chuckled as they walked inside, the hostess leading them to their table.
"So how was shift?" He asked as their wine arrived. Gabby looked at her glass and didn't say a word. "Did something happen with Mills again?"
"Why didn't you tell me she was back in town and working at Lakeshore?" She finally looked up and looked into his eyes.
"I had no idea she was back either. I found out today when we had to go in with ambo for a factory call. What happened Gabby?"
"She threw her phone at me, with the picture on it." She smiled nervously.
"I'm sorry. If I would have known, I would have told you."
"And I'm sorry I doubted that." She blushed lightly from embarassment.
"It's ok."
"I don't want this to be an issue for us."
"And it won't be. We were drunk and we sent that picture and for me, that's the end of it."
"Alright than it's the end of it for me too. So no more ex's talk for the rest of the evening, deal?"
"Deal." He brought his glass up to meet hers and they drank as the waitress brought them the menu and gave them a few moments to look over it before they ordered their appitizers and traded call stories from the day.
Gabby was in the middle of telling Matt about a childhood adventure with Antonio when their main courses arrived. "So how did you find out about this place?" Gabby cut her story short and looked around the restaurant.
"My sister Christie." He looked down at his plate. "There was a few years back that me and my sister weren't talking to each other but when we decided that we'd had enough and we went out for dinner and this is here she took me."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's ok. It's in the past but she made me discover a great place to eat in Chicago."
"Well I'm glad she did. The food is amazing here."
"I'm happy that you like it." They spent the rest of dinner trading more stories, getting to know each other even better before they decided to skip desert and head over to Molly's. Matt took care of the bill after Gabby's protests and they made their way to the bar that was owned by 51's Herrmann, Otis and Shay. He killed the engine and looked at her. "Are you ready?"
"Absolutely. I decided that I wouldn't go to another bar just because my ex comes here too so let's go have a little bit of fun."
"I like how you think." He leaned across the center console and pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "Looks like we had an audience." He whispered, Gabby looking behind her to see Mills's lingering eyes on them as he helped his girlfriend into the already crowded pub.
"It's not as if he never saw this before." She smiked, looking back at Matt.
"You do have a point. Let's go." They both got out of the truck and once again, Matt held the door to Molly's opened so Gabby could go through it first. "Some people from 51 are here, want to go hang with them or do you want it to be just us?"
"Well I'm pretty sure that Brett will be glued to the bar so let's just have some fun."
"Sounds great." They made it to the bar were Otis and Shay were tending, well Shay was tending and Otis was shamelessly flirting with Brett at the very end of it.
"What can I get you guys?" Shay took their order as she looked down the bar to Otis.
"Two beers please. Otis ditch you for a girl?" Matt laughed as he followed the direction she was looking in.
Shay simply smiled at Matt before yelling. "HEY OTIS!" She raised her hands in the air. "MIND GIVING ME A HAND?" She motionned to all the waiting customers leaning against the bar. He offered her a cheezy smile and left Bret to help Shay with people waiting. "You guys need anything, just let me know."
"Thanks." Gabby smiled at the blonde.
"I'm Shay by the way." She extended her arm across the bar to which Gabby shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you." She laughed, Matt giving her a guilty look for not introducing them to one another. "You work at 51 too?"
"Yup, on ambo. Hope Casey's treating you right?"
"Gentleman since say one." She looked at him and smiled. She noticed that Peter wasn't too far from them, chatting it up with his new girl and only hoped there would be no incident with him tonight. She was here to have some fun, not get into anything with him, or her for that matter.
"Good. If he does anything, you come tell me ok?"
"Really Shay? You're going to throw me under the bus like that?"
"What? I like this girl, I don't want anything bad to happen to her because of you. You're my friend and if you do something stupid, I need to kick your ass, simple as that." Gabby was laughing candidly at their banter and Matt looked at her with a smile.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that." He leaned into Gabby and kissed her. Gabby's hand instinctively came to his neck as she deeped it. When they parted, Gabby's eyes fell on Mills behind Matt, who had his eyes on them again. He turned around to see what she was looking at only to see Mills avert his eyes from them. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" He questionned her as she drank her beer.
"No. He's not going to push me out of here. He wanted out of our relationship and he's with someone else and so am I so I'm not going anywhere."
"Perfect, let's go see what Brett is up to." They left with their beers to join Gabby's friend who was still waiting for Otis to return.
Peter watched as Gabby walked away with Matt, his hand at the base of her back and that mere fact was making him angry inside.
"Hey baby, are you even here with me?" Peter looked at Jennifer, who took him out of his trance.
"Yeah sorry. It was a long shift at the firehouse."
"Ok." She looked at him, not sure if he was telling the truth or not but she chose to ignore it for now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. "Come dance with me?" She asked sweetly as a new slow song came on. He went a bit reluctantly with her but figured that if he gave her what she wanted that she'd be more forgiving of his little indiscressive glances.
They swayed slowly to the music but Peter couldn't keep his eyes off of Gabby, who was laughing with Brett, Matt Casey at her side. She looked like she was having a great time and the anger kept bubbling inside of him because he had realized that breaking up with her had been a mistake and now she was with someone else and she was smiling. He didn't even realize that the song had ended and that both he and Jennifer were standing in the middle of the croud but she looked in the direction he was and spotted his ex girlfriend with some friends, a guy she didn't know who had his arm around her waist.
"Are you kidding me?" He finally looked down at her, realizing they way they must have looked standing there?
"What? I'm sorry I'm not totally here with you. I'm tired from shift." He lied easily.
"And you're going to stand there and lie to my face?" She was getting angry by the second as she realized what he was really up to. "Don't you think I haven't noticed what you've been doing since we got here?"
"What are you talking about?" He asked defenssively.
"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice you looking at your ex all damn evening?" Molly's was full but Jennifer was talking loud enough to gain some people's attention, Gabby and Matt's included. Pete tried taking her aside but she wouldn't have it.
"You're causing a scene." He hissed, suddenly not liking all the attention they were getting.
"You're worried about a scene? You've been literally flaunting me around since we started dating and it was all for her?" She pointed towards Gabby's direction, clearly not caring about how this looked like to other people.
"You're getting worked up over nothing Jen."
"Nothing? You call that nothing? You're pining over her like a puppy dog. You know what? We're done." She simply turned around and left, Peter hot on her heals.
Both Gabby and Matt watched the scene unfold under their eyes and Gabby couldn't believe what was happening.
"I'm sorry about that." She felt she needed to apologize for the way Peter had acted tonight.
"Oh no you don't. He's to blame for all of that so if someone needs to say sorry to someone, it's him to you." He ran his hands against her arms.
"I don't want his apologies. I just want to move on and I think I like the way things are looking." She smiled and pulled him into her for a kiss. They spent the rest of their evening in a booth, making out and enjoying each other's compagny.
a/n: FINALLY. A whole week and a half on this chapter but I'm not sure if it's the best work i've done but please take a few minutes to leave a review because I can't wait to know what you guys thought about it - Sarra