Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination

Thanks everyone for the reviews, it means a lot. I had so much trouble updating last chapter and I'm hoping it will be better starting from now on. So I decided I wanted to have more Casey/Severide moments since we don't see enough of those and I like seeing them together so much.

Matt's POV

"We need to talk." Severide spoke as he closed the door.

"What's up?" I asked casually. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Well you can help me by telling me when you started dating Abbey Mitchell." He smirked and I laughed. I should have known Kelly was here for something like that.

"Little under two weeks. We're trying to keep it on the low."

"You sneeky barstard. Why didn't you tell me?"

"We're going slow, sort of." I chuckled, Kelly got the drift and laughed.

"Sort of? Sleeping with a girl after not even two weeks is not going slow."

"Oh shut up! We need to find you a girl so you can stay out of my business."

"What can I say, I like to keep things simple." He smiled. "Does Boden know?" He was more serious now.

"Yeah, he knows since Peter was in the hospital. We got the speech today."

"So that's why Boden wanted to see her when she came back from that call with Brett."

"Yeah, it went well but it put her nerves into high gear."

"I can only imagine. Boden can be scary when he wants to."

"There's that but she was already stressed when we hooked up for the first time. With her being new and me being lieutenant and everyone finding out."

"I won't tease then." he chuckled. "How are Ben and Griffin taking it? Or they don't know about the two of you yet?"

"Oh no, they know. They're happy, they like her."

"Any news on Heather's situation?"

"Not really. I'm just happy she was moved to a minimum security prison. It's easier for me to bring the boys to see her."

"You're doing good with them Matt."

"I'm trying. Abbey makes it a little easier. She helps a lot with the after school stuff and keeps them well fed."

"Oh yeah, we don't want them to have food poisoning." He laughed out loud.

"HEY! I never heard YOU complain about my cooking." I opened my office drawr as Kelly chuckled. I pulled out a flyer. "I was thinking about bringing them to a cabin close to lake Carroll. Thought it could be a great guys week-end."

"They're going to love that." He took the flyer from my hands and looked through it. "You could take them fishing on the lake, do some hiking." He handed it back to me when he was done looking at it.

"That would be pretty cool. Why don't you join us? It's going to be fun. We can have some beer and play poker in the evenings and make fires. What do you say?"

"I'm in." He exclaimed.

"Perfect, I'll tell the boys at diner time. They'll be estatic." Just then the bells went off. We both made our way to our respective trucks and made it to the scene. The fire had started in a dumpster and made its way onto the structure. Gabby had been instructed to head up the triage while Squad and Truck made a primary search. It was a five story apartment complex and we took the top floors while Severide and the guys from Squad took the lower ones. My guys took about a dozen victims down to get checked out. I found a mother with her adult son in the last apartment I searched. As we went down, the flames were getting hotter but i managed to make my way back down without too much trouble. I handed them both to Brett and Shay and grabbed the bottle of water that was handed to me by Cruz, taking a large gulp.

"Nice work Casey." Chief patted my back.

"Thanks chief." I dumped the rest of the bottle of water on my head and took a few breaths of fresh air.

"You should get yourself checked out lieutenant." Otis said as he aproached me.

"I'm ok. Thanks Otis." He nodded and went to pack his things up.

"That was too close for my taste." I hadn't realized I was close to the ambo and that Abbey was standing there.

"I'm all good, I promise."

"Let me check you out please." The underlining tone in her voice didn't give place for an argument. I got up and sat on the ambo bumper and removed my turn-out coat. She took my bp and listened to my lungs before she let a satisfied breath out. "You're good to go lieutenant." I smiled at her and put my coat back on before going to truck and clear the rest of my stuff up. The ride back to the house was quiet on my side but the guys were joking about last shift at Molly's where Otis had made a speech standing on the bar and somehow landed on his ass. Everyone was laughing but him. Cruz backed the truck up and I changed out of my gear and headed to my office. I figured I'd grab a quick shower before lunch. I walked through the common room where Abbey was testing out the new stove, it smelled amazing already. I quickly picked my toiletry bag from my office and headed to the bathrooms where Shay was washing her hands.

"You're girl is looking out for you. How cute." She teased.

"Wasn't going to argue with her if you know what I mean."

"She seemed pretty determined to examine you to calm her worries."

"She was. If I were you, I'd hurry to go grab some lunch before the vultures eat everything. It smells good out there." I smiled at her before she nodded and left. I turned on the hot water and took a shower. I hadn't realized my muscles were so tense until the hot water hit my back. I washed quickly and went to join the others for lunch. When I got there, Abbey was already washing the dishes but there was a bowl with a plate covering it and some bread at the head of the table. I just smiled at myself and started eating. She had made some chili and it was really good. She finished doing the dishes and walked back to the girls that were all sitting at the same table, gossiping. The rest of shift was surprisingly quiet. We even managed to get a few hours of sleep befofe we got our last call of the shift. It was a single car accident and it was done rather quickly. I finished writing my reports and handed them to chief Boden before heading out when first watch had arrived. I went to my truck and noticed that Abbey was already gone so I made my way to her place, as promised. I knocked on her door and waited for her to answer.

Abbey's POV

I quickly made my way out of the fire station before everyone and made my way to my place. Matt was supposed to come over so we could have breakfast and finish what we had started when we were in his office. I started busying myself in the kitchen and was almost done when there was a knock on my door. I quickly wiped my hands on the table cloth and went to open the door. Matt was standing there with his dufflebag on one shoulder and grinned as he saw me.

"A pretty girl made an indecent proposition to me last night. I thought I'd come collect it." He moved in without having to be told to and dropped his bag before he closed the space between us and placed his lips on mine, closing the door with his foot.

"I've been waiting for you." I whispered as I opened my eyes again. "Food is almost ready, come sit down." He followed behind me and sat at the table while I finished making the food. We talked while we ate and he showed me what he wanted to do with the boys on our next week end off. "They are going to love that."

"Kelly will be there too."

"That's great. They'll be happy to have a boys week-end."

He took my now empty plate and his to the sink and came back to pull me up from my chair. "I believe we have to finish what we started yesterday in my office." He kissed me again.

I just nodded my head. Just having his lips on mine were making my heart beat a mile a minute. He pressed me against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and kissed me again. His hands were on my hips and I wrapped mine around his neck. "My room." I mumbled incoherently when air became an issue. He smiled and kissed me again. He led us to my room, his lips still attached to mine. As we crossed my rooms threshold, he pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor. I quickly did the same with his and he pushed me to my bed, laying us down and going for my neck this time. He pressed his body to mine as he took my ear between his teeth.

"Matt." I moaned. "No teasing." I pleaded. My body wasn't in the mood to be teased. It just wanted the stress of the last shift to dissapear from it. He didn't have to be told twice because he quickly discared the rest of both our clothes before we slipped into the covers. He kissed my neck and shoulders before positioning himself above me and sliding into me. I moaned gently and pushed my head against the pillows. i couldn't keep my fingers from running along every taunt muscle on his back as he moved in and out of me at a slow pace. We made love until we were both spent and quickly fell asleep. We woke up a few hours later to the alarm of his phone.

"Do we really have to get up?" I groaned, content with just being under the covers with him.

"You don't have to but I have a small construction job this afternoon." He snuggled closer to me.

"If you have to." I turned around in his arms and closed my eyes.

"How about I pick up the boys from school after my job and we could grab some pizza."

"That sounds perfect. Now get out of here before I make you stay." I pushed him away, making a dramatic face.

"Sleep some more. I'll call you later." He kissed me one last time and got out of bed. I watched him as he dressed himself again.

"Ok. I'll see you later."

"Later baby." He kissed me one last time and left. I closed my eyes and sleep didn't wait. I woke up later, hearing my phone ring. I didn't even bother to look who was calling before I answered.

"Hello." Hey, did I wake you up? "Maybe. What's up?" My construction job is running longer than it was originally planned. Do you mind picking the boys up from school for me? "No problem baby. I'll pick them up and head to your place." Again I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to take this long. "Don't sweat it. Just be careful and drive safe. Text me when you leave." Perfect. I'll call the school to tell them you'll be picking them and I will see you later. "See you when you get back." I hung up the phone and got up. I shivered as the cold air hit my still naked body and looked at the clock to see I still had thirty minutes to pick the boys up from school so I took a quick shower and headed towards the school. I parked up in front of the building and leaned on my truck, waiting for Ben and Griffin to come through the doors. A teacher was accompanying them outside and when I waved my hand, the boys came running my way.

"Where's uncle Matt?" Ben asked as he hugged me.

"He had a job that went longer than expected. He asked me to pick you guys up. Not too dissapointed are you?" I made a pouty face.

"No. Are you coming over for diner?"

"Yes. What do you guys think if we go buy some groceries for diner? How does fajitas sound to you?"

"Yay."Ben jumped up and down.

"Alright, hop in you guys." We made our way to the store and bought what we needed to make diner. I set everything on Matt's counter and started unpacking the food.

"Can we help?" Griffin asked from the island.

"Sure. Just wash your hands first." All three of us washed our hands at the kitchen sink before starting to prepare the food. I gave Ben the easier tasks like putting the cheese in the bowl and things that didn't require using a knife. I cut the chicken and the onion while I gave a small knife to Griffin so we could cut the bell pepers.

"Just be careful with that Griffin. I don't want to have to go in paramedic mode and have to explain to Matt what happened ok buddy?"

"I will." When I was done cutting it, my phone dinged. Leaving right now. I'll stop to grab a pizza. I quickly texted him not to bring any food with him, that it was all taken care of before I resumerd preparing diner. A few minutes later, Griffin was done cutting up the veggies. I dropped everything in the frying pan and cooked everything together. "Why don't you boys set the table? Matt should be here any minute." The boys took everything they needed from the cupboard and set the table while I finished putting everything together. They put all the ingredients except the chicken and veggies on the table. As if on cue, the front door opened.

Matt's POV

I finished packing my truck and sent Abbey a text saying I would pick up the food on my way but she told me not to. I wondered what she had up her sleeve. I drove through traffic hour but made it back home fairly quickly, I was exhausted and hungry. I walked through the door, undid my work boots and kicked them off before walking through the living room and dining room, seeing that the table was set before leaning against the kitchen doorframe. I looked at the sight in front of me. Abbey was in front of the stove and both boys were next to her, looking up at what she was doing. They were laughing as she was telling them a story about when she started to cook. I smiled at the scene and walked in, kissing her on the cheek before going and grabbing Ben and pulling him up in my arms.

"Hey guys. How was your day?" I would ask them that question every day and I would get the same answer.

"It was ok." Griffin looked at me before looking back to Abbey who was putting the chicken in a bowl.

"Chow's up." She smiled at us as we made our way to the table. The boys sat down and I went back in the kitchen to grab Abbey and I two beers.

"You guys didn't have to do all this." I sat down and took a pull of my beer.

"Meh. I figured we could do something nice for you since your job was longer. We had fun, didn't we boys?"

"Yes." They both cheered together.

"Abbey let me cut the peppers." Griffen said proudly.

"Did she now?" I winked at her.

"Yes, it was cool. I didn't even cut myself."

"And what about you Ben, what did Abbey make you do?" He was so busy stuffing his tortillas full of different things that he didn't answer me. Abbey and I shared a look and laughed.

"I let him put things in bowls. I didn't want to worry about him getting injured. Griffin was very careful with the knife though, it was fun." She leaned against her chair and drank her beer, seemingly not in a hurry to eat. Abbey and I finally started eating while Ben and Griffin were talking about their day. They always started out by not sharing much to full on chatter during diner time. We talked and laughed some more before we were done and Abbey got up to pick the dishes.

"Why don't you sit down. We can pick this up later." I pushed her chair out so she could sit back down.

"How about I pick this up and do the dishes while you boys go in the living room so you can tell them about what you told me this morning?" She bent down and kissed me. She stood straight and we looked into each other's eyes before I reluctantly agreed.

"Come on boys, I have something I want to talk to you about." I kissed her one last time before heading to the couch with the boys. They eagerly joined me on the couch as I pulled the flyer from my bag. "What would guys think if Kelly and I took you to a cabin by Lake Carroll on our next week end off?"

"YES YES YES YES." They jumped up and down.

"Can we go fishing?" Griffin asked.

"Sure, we can fish, we can hike, do smores by the fire and swim in the lake if it's hot enough."

"Smores." Ben practically moaned.

"Yeah smores." I laughed. "Come on, let's go see if Abbey needs help with the dishes." I got up and they both followed me to the kitchen.

"Can we help you with the dishes?" Ben asked her.

"Well I'm all done but you guys could help me put them away and uncle Matt can go shower."

"Ok." The both said, pulling some dishes from the counter and putting them where they went.

"Thanks. It won't be long."

"Take your time. I'll put them in their jammies when they're done in here."

"You're the best." I kissed her.

"I know." she pulled her tongue out at me and laughed. I pulled her to me and kissed her.

"Maybe we can pop in a movie when they're in bed?"

"Sounds perfect. Now go get cleaned up, you stink." She pushed against my chest and I just turned around smiling and went to shower. I didn't quite get how I could get so lucky. Our relationship was new but it was going so well. She loved the boys and the boys loved her. I was just happy that they were getting better and seemed happier. I quickly showered and went to see if the boys were changed. I walked past the room and it was empty so I took a look in the bathroom and surely enough, they were brushing their teeth.

"Can we watch a movie with you guys?" Ben asked with his toothbrush in his mouth.

I looked at my watch before answering. "Half an hour and then it's in bed."

"Ok." Griffin replied. The three of us went down and met up with Abbey who was waiting on the couch with pop corn in hand.

"How does Ironman sound?" She held up the box for the boys to see.

"He's the best." Griffin jumped on one side of her and Ben on the other side. They snuggled into her and I sat next to Griffin before she pressed play.

Abbey's POV

While Matt was in the shower, I managed to get both boys in their pyjama's and sent them to brush their teeth. The three of them came back down and Ben and Griffin took place on either side of me. About fifteen minutes into the movie, Matt's phone rang and his facial expression changed.

"Who is it?" I tried to find out but he answered before he even acknowledged my question.

"Heather." Can you put me on speeker phone please, I have some news to share with the boys. I could faintly hear what she said but Matt pressed on his speeker phone button and placed his phone so everyone could hear.

"Boys, I'm coming home." You could clearly hear the relief and happieness in her voice. She had barely finished telling her news that the boys were going completely out of their minds with happiness.

"When?" was Griffins first answer.

"Tomorrow. Because of overcrowding, they're letting me out early."

"Mom's coming home, mom's coming home." Ben jumped up and down. Matt was smiling broadly but his eyes were telling something else. This news had crushed his plans of going to Lake Carroll with the boys.

"I have to go now because people are waiting to use the phone but i'll see you boys tomorrow morning."

"We'll come pick you up." Matt finally blinked away the dissapointment and spoke up.

"You can come pick me up at nine. I'll be waiting. I love you boys."

"We love you too mom." They both said before Matt took the phone to his ear again and got up to go say a few words in the kitchen. The boys went back to watch the movie as background sound while they talked about how happy they were to have their mom coming home.

"This is pretty cool." I jumped in.

"I can't wait to go back home."

"I miss my bed." Ben piped on. Matt came back a few minutes later.

"Alright guys, you need to go to bed so you can wake up early to pick up your mom with me. They didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled up and said good night before heading to their room. Once it was just Matt and me left in the living room, we turned off the tv and turned on a table lamp.

"Are you ok?" I snuggled into his side and looked at him.

"Yeah I'm good. I'm happy for them." He was absentmindly playing with the hair on my shoulder.

"But you're dissapointed about the trip to Lake Carroll, I could tell when Heather told she was coming home."

"I have no right to feel that way. These boys are getting their mom back." He rested his cheek in my hair. I quickly pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"You have every right to feel like this. For these past couple of months, they were your boys, you took really good care of them."

"I had a lot of help." He smiled at me.

"I only cooked a few times. Maybe you can still take them." I pondered out loud.

"Maybe." He trailed off.

"Talk to Heather. Tell her that you'll come pick them up for the week-end and that you already told them you'd take them. I'm sure she'll understand." I wrapped my arm around his waist.

"That's a good idea. I'll tell her about it whe she's had time to settle back in her house." He pulled me with him so we could lay down on the couch. We talked some more and then fell asleep, cuddled together. I woke up a few hours later and looked at the clock on the dvd player, it read one am. I quietly untangled myself from Matt's form and drapped the throw that was on his couch over him and kissed his temple. I went in the kitchen and quietly made pancake batter before leaving a note with Matt's name on it. I tiptoed towards the front of the house and left, leaving the boys together for tomorrow's big reunion.

a/n: Here's to a new chapter. I'm really happy with it and I hope you enjoyed it. While I was writing, I decided I didn't want to lose the Darden boys as characters so next chapter, we will see the reunion of the boys with their mother and she pays firehouse 51 a visit to tell everyone the happy news and maybe have a talk with Matt about her future.

Please leave a review so I know if you like the pace I'm setting for this story.