Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination (which means Abbey is all mine)
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter and review it. It was shorter than my normal chapters but I had a plan behind that so here is the second part of the week-end at Lake Carroll with the guys while Abbey struggles with the situation.
Lake Carroll, Matt's POV
Kelly was right, this place was amazing. Even though it was just a day and a half, I was going to enjoy these few moments before the boys were moved to Milwaukee and away from our lives. Kelly and I were standing in front of the lake, waiting for the boys to unpack.
"I can't believe that they'll be leaving Chicago soon. Do you think that's what Andy would have wanted?"
"I think he would want them to be happy and if moving to Milwaukee is what makes that family stronger, than that's what Andy would have wanted."
"We're ready uncle Matt." Griffin bounced our way, oblivious to the weight of the adult conversation going on.
"Where's Ben?"
"Right here. I'm ready for lunch, I'm STARVING."
"Alright. Hop in the bed of the truck, I saw a diner and a store up the road. We can have lunch, shop for food for the rest of the week-end and then we can decide what we're doing until tomorrow."
"YAY!" They bellowed together and hopped in the bed of my truck. Normally, I wouldn't let them ride in there but this was only a few minutes away and it was a gravel road. We ordered greasy burgers and fries and had fun with the boys.
Meanwhile in Chicago, Abbey's POV
I rolled my car out of the garage and into the beautiful Chicago sun. I had all my tools on the ground and started by looking under the hood for what I needed. I wouldn't be able to tell you how long I had been under there when I heard a car stop in front of the house and the person cut the motor before stepping out. I looked over my shoulder and saw that it was my mom. "Great." I mumbled under my breath as she approached.
"Hey baby. How is it going?" I turned around at her greeting and leaned on my car.
"Peachy mom." I knew that Ingrid would have opened her mouth and blabbed to my mother.
"Watch your tone." She warned.
"I'm fine mom." I sighed.
"You don't look fine. Tell me what's wrong?" I threw the rag I was holding on the ground and walked into the garage, my mom hot on my heels.
"Nothing is wrong mom." I tried sounding convincing.
"You do know I can see right through you, yes?"
"What do you want mom? You want me to tell you that Matt and I had a fight? Than there it is mom, Matt and I had a fight." I picked up the tool I was looking for and walked back out and stuck my head back under the hood.
"Is that why you didn't sleep last night?"
"Yes mom. I tried calling him, I left him some messages and nothing."
"What did you guys fight about?"
"Heather is moving the boys to Milwaukee in two weeks and I told him to fight for them. And then we were called to a fire and he got hurt and now he won't talk to me. All I get is radio silence." I said never looking up from what I was doing.
"I'm sorry sweetie."
"Well so am I." I was exasperated at this point.
"How about you relax tonight. Have a glass of wine, eat junk food and try to get some sleep."
"That's the plan mom."
"Don't worry too much about this. Try talking to him when he comes back, he'll have had time to think."
"Thanks mom." I finally looked up at her. She gave my shoulder a squeeze and left me alone again. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the car before rolling it back in so I could shower and change into something more comfortable. I placed my hair in a ponytail and put on shorts and Matt's sweatshirt again.
Lake Carroll, Matt's POV
After we had lunch, we went by the store to get some supplies and went back to the cabin.
"So what do you guys want to do now?" I asked as we were done putting the food away.
"I want to go fishing." Griffin exclaimed.
"I want to go swim." Ben said after.
"Ok so I can't get my foot wet so how about I go fishing with Griffin in the boat and you can go swim with uncle Kelly?"
"YES!"
"Go get ready, I'll be waiting for you." It took them about ten minutes before all three returned with their things. Kelly had two towels for Ben and himself and Griffin came out holding two fishing rods.
"We're ready uncle Matt." It didn't take long for Ben to run into the water even though I suspected it to be a little bit cold. Kelly went in when Ben called him, saying the water was great. I managed to put the boat in the water without getting my leg wet.
I sat in the boat with Griffin and we did small talk while we fished. Suddenly, he became quiet.
"What's on your mind buddy?"
"Are we still going to be able to see you after we move?"
"Of course you will Griffin, I'm not going anywhere. Why do you think you wouldn't be able to see me anymore?" I could only imagine what was going on in his head.
"When mom told us we were moving to Milwaukee, I thought she was mad at you or something."
"Your mom is doing what's best for her and for you."
"How can this be what's best for us?" He raised his voice a little. "I like my school and I like my friends. Why do I have to leave that?"
"I know it's hard for you to understand but your mom's heart hurts by being here."
"Because of dad and her friend?"
"Yes. What did she tell you?"
"Nothing. I hear her cry sometimes when we're in bed at night. She keeps saying she's sorry."
"She needs to find a new start so her heart can be better but I'm always here. All you have to do is call me if you need anything."
"And Abbey? Will I get to see her too?"
"I'm sure she'd love that." I whispered. This week-end was intended to be a guys thing and I was trying not to think of my argument with Abbey but there was always something or someone to remind me of her.
"Did you and Abbey get in a fight?" You couldn't get anything past him.
"Yeah bud we did but you don't need to worry about that."
"Why did you guys fight?" I didn't want to have to explain this to him but there it was.
"It's nothing really." I tried to downplay.
"If you don't want to talk about it it's because it's something important." Griffin was getting like Andy every day. He could see right through you when you lied or try to hide something from him.
"We had a fight about the two of you." I admitted.
"Why?" I could see it in his eyes that he didn't understand the meaning of my confession.
"She told me to fight to keep you in Chicago because she knows how much I love the both of you."
"So why didn't you?" He had tears in his eyes.
"I did. I tried talking to your mom about the three of you staying in Chicago, close to friends and family."
"But why would you be mad at Abbey for telling you that? I don't understand."
"I screamed at her and asked her if she thought she knew what was best for you over your mom." I didn't know if he would understand this.
"It's stupid." He simply stated.
"What's stupid?"
"Your fight with Abbey. You need to fix it." He seemed to understand more than I gave him credit for.
"It's not that easy Griffin."
"Why? Because you got hurt? Is she the one that hurt your leg?"
"No. No she didn't hurt me but I went into the fire with my head elsewhere. We had our fight before we were called."
"So then it's stupid. I like Abbey a lot uncle Matt. She's nice to you and she's nice to us, you need to talk to her." I couldn't believe that a twelve year old boy was giving me crap about my love life but his teenage mind didn't understand the complications of an adult relationship. "Please don't stay mad at her." He pleaded before throwing his line back in the water. Then again, maybe his teenage mind simplified things that we made more complicated as adults. I looked at him one last time before throwing my line back in too. We managed to catch two fishes that we kept for diner and went back to shore where Kelly and Ben were drying themselves off.
"How was the water?" I asked pulling the boat to shore.
"It was great uncle Matt." Ben grinned.
"Too bad you can't go in." Kelly added and I shrugged.
"Maybe next time."
"What do you have there?" Kelly ruffled Griffin's hair.
"Diner." He showed off the fish proudly.
"Come on, let's go clean that up." Kelly put his towel over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around Griffin's shoulders before taking him inside, leaving Ben with me.
"Having fun bud?" I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, tons. Why isn't Abbey here?" he inquired.
"Because this is a boys week-end." I smiled at him.
"Cool. I missed you uncle Matt." He bounced in the direction of the cabin.
"I missed you too Ben." I followed him inside so we could get diner ready. Ben went to change and I went to see what Severide and Griffin were up to.
Back in Chicago, Abbey's POV
I wandered aimlessly through the kitchen, looking for something to eat. I poured myself a glass of red wine and left the bottle on the counter. I opened my fridge and moved this around, looking for the unhealthiest thing in there. I closed it and huffed when the doorbell rang. Clearly me wanting to be alone today wasn't what other people had in mind. I opened the door to find Dawson Shay and Brett on the other side.
"What are you girls doing here? All three of the them took in my appearance and frowned.
"We are having a girls night and a slumber party." Shay announced too perky for my current state.
"I don't feel like doing anything."
"Too bad because I made my famous mac and cheese AND we brought some wine." All three raised a bottle.
"Lots of it." Brett giggled. "You are not wallowing tonight." They pushed past me and made their way into the kitchen.
"I see you've already started on the wine." Shay smiled at me.
"Let me go get changed." I left them before they gave me an answer and went to change in an old pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt before going back down
"Have you even slept last night?" Shay went straight to the point.
"Not so much. Tossed and turned most of the night."
"Alright so we are getting you drunk tonight, no arguing." The girls set the table and we ate. They made most of the conversation since I wasn't really up to talking. I ate two serving of food since I really hadn't had much to eat except the coffee I drank that morning. We migrated to the living room and opened a second bottle of wine. They kept talking and avoiding the subject of Matt all together, which I was grateful for. I'd have to deal with it soon enough since Monday we were back on shift.
Lake Carroll, Matt's POV
We ate diner inside and decided to do a fire later outside and make smores; Ben was so excited about that. We prepared everything for the fire while the sun was going down and all four of us sat around the fire. Kelly and I had a beer in hand while the boys ate smores and got chocolate everywhere on their face. It wasn't often that they were aloud to be up so late but since it was the week-end and one of the last times I'd be able to see them as often than before, we made an exception. I finally looked at my watch and it was eleven.
"Alright guys, it's time for teeth brushing and bed." They didn't argue and went inside to get ready. Once they were done, they came back out for hugs. "Good night guys, we're starting early tomorrow." They both nodded and went to bed. Kelly and I sat in silence with a cooler full of beer between us before he said a word.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Something Griffin said in the boat today."
"Come on, talk to me." I looked at him and wasn't sure if I should. He had been mad before we left Chicago because I had listened to her voicemails.
"He said my fight with Abbey was stupid." I chuckled.
"Is that so?"
"I couldn't lie to him Kelly, just like I couldn't lie to Andy." he saw right through me.
He gave a throaty chuckle. "He's more like his father than he knows. Is that all he said?"
"He said I should fix it, that I shouldn't stay mad at her."
"And what do you want?"
I gave him a confused look. "I thought you were mad at her."
"I was, at first. I was so mad at her because your mind was on that fight when you went into that building but I realize that she was right about the boys."
"I wish I could make them stay but he told me something else that hit me real hard."
"Did Heather say something to him?"
"No but he says he hears her cry at night. Andy wouldn't want her to be that way so if moving the three of them to Milwaukee is what fixes that family, that's what she has to do."
"And what about Abbey? What do you want to do now?"
"I think I need to talk to her. Maybe I should send her a text message." I took a long pull of my beer and peered into the fire.
"You should go see her when we get back, spend the evening with her, talk."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that." I downed the rest of my beer before getting up. "Time for bed. I saw a motorbike trail today, we could go have fun in it with my truck, the guys would like that."
"Sounds like fun, I'll be in in a bit."
"Night." I walked back in and got ready for bed. I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found Abbey's number. I pressed on it and it rang only once before it went to voicemail. This is Abbey, leave a message after the beep. I could hear a slight giggle in her voice as she said her message and it made me smile. "Hi it's Matt. I know I've given you radio silence since I got discharged and I was wondering if we could talk? Maybe I could come over when I come back in town tomorrow? Give me a call please." I hung up and turned my phone off before slipping in bed and sleep came rather easily that I didn't even hear Kelly come to bed.
Kelly's POV
I watched as Matt went inside to go to sleep. I stayed outside a little longer, finishing my beer and taking another one. I replayed Matt's talk with Griffin while they were fishing over and over again. Then I thought about Abbey and everything that happened after their fight. I know I was mad at her after Matt got hurt in that fire and it seemed justified at the time but hearing all of it put together, I was wrong to be so hard on her. It seemed in the beginning to be a selfish move on her part to push him to fight for them but now, I could see that she only wanted Matt and ultimately the rest of the firehouse to be able to keep the boys close to us. I finished my beer and put the fire out before heading to bed too.
Chicago, Abbey's POV
We easily drank the second and third bottle and after the third one, I suddenly became more chatty. We talked about everything from home life to calls, good ones, bad ones and funny ones to bad guy experiences, well bad girl experiences from Shay and we had fun.
"I remember the first time I found out that you were seeing Casey." Brett started. "I was walking in the bunk area when suddenly, he pulled you into his office. The blinds were drawn so it didn't take a genius to put two and two together." She was laughing now. We had managed to avoid the subject until now and even in my drunken state, it hit me like a ton of brick and gave me the feeling of suddenly being sobered up.
"I think I'll head to bed." I said getting up.
"Abbey, I'm so sorry, please don't go." I could see it in her face that she felt really bad but the pain in the pit of my stomach felt bad too. I completely ignored her and started to make my way to my room. I could feel all three sets of eyes on me as I went up but I didn't even bother saying good night to them. I fell down on my bed and pulled the covers over my frame, not even bothering to change and sleep surprisingly came fast although it wouldn't be a restful night.
Shay's POV
"These two need to fix things."
"Well it would help if they'd talk." Gabby said.
"Actually, she called him. She left a couple messages but he hasn't answered them. She even called at my place the evening before they left."
"And they didn't talk?" Brett sighed. We weren't as drunk as Abbey because we pulled back, letting her drink more so she could forget her worries a little bit.
"No, Matt wasn't back yet from packing. Kelly took the call, he was so mad at her."
"We need to get them to talk next shift, work things out." Sylvie argued.
"Let's just see how it plays out before we interfere."
"Great idea but if we see they keep avoiding each other next shift, we'll step in." Gabby suggested.
"Great idea." We giggled together and finally got ready for bed. We found tons of blankets and pillows in the linen closet upstairs and made a makeshift bed in the living room. I found Ibuprofen in the bathroom cabinet upstairs and set two on Abbey's bedside table for when she woke up. She'd probably have a killer hangover.
Lake Carroll, Matt's POV
We slept in as long as our bodies left us and got ready to make breakfast while the boys were still sleeping. Once everything was ready, we went to wake them up.
"It's too early." Griffin complained.
"It's ten Griffin, come on, let's go, breakfast is ready." Kelly shook him. He reluctantly got up and down the top bunk while Ben was already up, the promise of breakfast too alluring.
"What are we doing today uncle Matt?" Ben asked in between bites.
"We are going in a motorbike trail with my truck and I saw a small waterfront on the map so the three of you could swim there after we eat lunch, how does that sound?"
"Do we get to ride in the bed of your truck again?" Griffin was hopeful because they had so much fun the first time.
"That's the plan. Now eat up so we can get going." They scrambled to finish eating and went to change in clothes they could get dirty while we got their bathing suits ready. They quickly got out and hopped in the bed of my truck while Kelly and I took place in front. Kelly had the map and we were on our way. The back window was open and I could hear them both laugh out loud because they trail was making them bump up and down.
"These two are having fun." Kelly laughed as he looked at them move around back there.
"I'm glad we came." I kept my eyes on the road.
"I think they needed this as much as we did."
"Definitively." I smiled at him.
"You called her didn't you?" How he managed to find that out was beyond me.
"I left her a message, her phone went straight to voicemail."
"Ah man I'm sorry."
"Nah, I had it coming by not calling her back when she left me messages."
"In a few hours we'll be back home and you'll be able to talk to her. Sorry I was so mad before we left."
"It's ok, I'm glad you have my back."
"Always." We drove about twenty more minutes before we got to the water front and we got out of the truck. There was a small cabin so people would be able to change to go swimming. All three of them went and came back a few minutes later, ready for a swim. They went in a little bit before I called them for lunch.
"A few more minutes uncle Matt." Ben screamed.
"Ten, then I want all three of you here to eat." It really sucked that I couldn't go in the water with them because they looked like they were having so much fun. As promised, they were out ten minutes later and we were eating lunch, sitting on the back of my truck. For the next thirty minutes after lunch, they guys ran after each other so they could digest because I didn't want them in the water right after lunch. The three of them went back to swim and we stayed there until it was three because we were going to go fishing by the lake so we could have diner tonight. All four of us fished standing by the side of the lake, it was easier than getting in the boat again. With a little bit of help, Ben managed to catch a really big one and Kelly got one too so we had enough to eat tonight. We ate diner goofing off with the boys before it was time to start packing again.
"Do we have to go now uncle Matt?" Griffin complained.
"Well we need to shower first so your mom doesn't have to take care of that when you get home and we do have a two hour and a half drive to get back home. Plus, I thought I'd take your advice from yesterday at the lake." I smiled at him. I didn't know if he had told Ben about it but if he didn't, I didn't want to talk about it again. He ran to me and engulfed me in a bug.
"Good idea." He grinned up at me.
"Thanks bud now shower, you're up first." We got the boys cleaned up while we back and then it was our turn to shower. About an hour later, we were back on the road and towards Chicago. The boys split up again between the two cars and we were on our way. When we got to their place, both of them took their bags from Kelly's car and walked right through the door.
"Mom we're home." I heard them screaming as we walked up the front drive. We walked in and closed the door behind us.
"Hey, how was your week-end?" She asked the boys smiling.
"It was super fun. We went swimming with Kelly." Ben started.
"And I went finishing with Matt yesterday and we fished again today to eat." Griffin added. "And we got to ride in the bed of Matt's truck."
"Is that right?" She smiled and frowned playfully at me.
"It was safe I promise."
"Thanks for the week-end uncle Matt." Ben hugged me and then went for Kelly. "Thanks uncle Kelly."
"You're welcome guys." It was as much a week-end for them as it was for us, it felt good and it was fun.
"Thank you uncle Kelly." Griffin walked up to Kelly and hugged him first before coming to me. "Thank you for the week-end uncle Matt."
"It was my pleasure. Thanks for the advice and for having my back." I extended my hand to him and he shook it firmly for a twelve year old.
"You're welcome." He smiled at me. How he was growing up fast, Andy would be proud of him.
"Alright, I have to go back. I'll see you on shift tomorrow." I shook Kelly's extended hand and he kissed Heather on the cheek and ruffled the boys hair before he left.
"Alright you two, there's a snack in the kitchen for you."
"Bye Matt." They both called before disappearing in the kitchen.
"Thanks for the advice and having your back? What's that about?"
"Let's just say that if things work out like I hope, Abbey will call you soon for diner." I smiled.
"Good to hear." She smiled back at me. "Get going then and good luck." She moved in to hug me.
"Thanks Heather."
The next morning, Abbey's POV
I woke up with a pounding head ache. I looked at the clock and it read 11:30. I rolled around and pulled the covers over my head before I pushed them again and noticed the Ibuprofen next to me with a glass of water.
"Thank god for small favours." I grumbled before taking them. I walked into the bathroom and looked at my face in the mirror. Even though I seemed to have had a decent night of sleep, my eyes were still bloodshot from the last of sleep the night before this one. I washed my face and headed downstairs, still dressed in yesterday's clothes. I heard girl voices coming out of my kitchen and when I got closer, I noticed all the blankets on the floor and saw the three girls in my kitchen, cooking. "Morning." I walked sluggishly in.
"Morning sleeping beauty. How's the head." Shay asked.
"Uurrgghh, pounding. Thanks for the Ibuprofen."
"You're welcome."
"Come on, chow's up." Gabby turned off the stove and put food in all four plates on the counter next to her.
"Here you go sweetie, best cure for a hangover." Sylvie put a plate in my hands and I walked to the table without a word. There was pancakes with bacon, hash browns with eggs and toasts. I could also smell a fresh pot of coffee brewing from my machine. I sat down and a steaming cup was set in front of me.
"Thanks." I put a piece of bacon in my mouth.
"That's what friends are for. We girls got to stick together." Shay said sitting down across from me and all of them smiled. I couldn't help but smile too.
"How much did I have to drink?" I drank my coffee.
"Two bottle." Gabby chuckled.
"To myself?" I exclaimed loudly before grabbing hold of my head to stop the thumping in it.
"Yeah, there was no stopping you." Sylvie said.
"And I'm pretty sure you ladies didn't try to stop me that much." I chuckled.
"Nope." All three said together.
We talked some more while eating before getting the living room tidied up. It was around four when we were done.
"Ok so you, miss, will go take a shower and change into some fresh clothes before we leave, you look like crap." Shay said with all the honesty in her.
"SHAY!" Sylvie and Gabby exclaimed.
"It's ok, I feel like crap. I'll be right back." I walked back up the stairs and went in my room to grab some clothes before heading for the shower. I let the hot water turn to cold again, hoping it would help the way I looked and felt. I combed my hair with my fingers and tied it up in bun on top of my head and pulled my pair of sweatpants up before pulling a v-neck t-shirt over my head. My eyes were still considerably red from the lack of sleep but otherwise, I felt better than when I woke up. I walked back downstairs where the girls were talking over some more coffee. "How do I look?"
"Better." Shay said. "Now you are going to make yourself some tea, grab a chick flick and go to bed early so we can have you top shape for shift tomorrow." Gabby ordered.
"Yes ma'am. Thanks for last night and breakfast this morning girls."
"Our pleasure." The three of them hugged me before they left. I went to the kitchen and found my phone there, turned off. I put some water to boil for my tea and turned it on. Soon after, it dinged, saying I had a voicemail. I looked at the scream and saw that it was Matt but I didn't want to have to think about talking to him until tomorrow on shift so I just ignored it. Once the water was done boiling, I put a bag of tea in the cup and made my way to the living room and plopped down on my couch, looking through Netflix for a good chick flick. About an hour into the movie, someone rang the doorbell. The only one that I thought it would be was Peter but he didn't need to ring the doorbell. I opened the door and just started talking.
"You know you don't have to ring the doorbell, this is your house too." I looked up but it wasn't Peter in front of me. It was Matt. "Matt." I whispered.
"Hey, can I come in?"
"Sure." I moved aside to let him come in. I looked down at the floor but I could tell that he took in my appearance before he spoke.
"I left you a message." He simply said.
"Yeah I know, I just saw it."
"Long night?"
"Something like that." I looked up at him. I knew my eyes were bloodshot but I could also feel tears sting my eyes. "Do you want something to drink?" I moved away from him, willing my tears to stay away.
"I'll just have what you have."
"Ok." I grabbed my cup and made my way to the kitchen to get some more water boiling. "How was your week-end?" I asked shyly, my back leaning on the counter, looking at the floor.
"It was fun." He said, not detailing anything.
"Why are you here?" I blurted out. It wasn't an angry tone or an annoyed one but I didn't know what to expect.
"I've been thinking a lot over the week-end. I needed to talk to you." He moved closer to me but not too close.
"You were right. I had no right to think that what Heather was doing wasn't what was best for Griffin and Ben." I looked up at him and tears were once again stinging my already raw eyes. He moved the rest of the way in and took my face in his hands, prompting me to close my eyes. I had missed his hands on me like that, the feeling rough yet so tender at the same time.
"I'm sorry." He said before gently placing his lips on mine.
"Me too." I whispered when the feeling of his soft lips left mine. He simply took me in his arms and held me there.
a/n Finally Matt decides to go see Abbey. Who knew Griffin would be the one to make him realize what a mistake he was making by freezing Abbey out.
Next up: Abbey and Matt spend the evening together, talking, fixing their relationship
Thanks everyone for the read and I know it's a long chapter so that's why I had to split in half because it would have been entirely too long as a whole. I hope you enjoyed it and as always, I hope you'll take a few minutes to leave a review on it.