Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and Abbey and her family.
a/n: Thank you so much for the reviews on last chapter. I never wrote that big of a chapter and I'm happy it got such a good response.
One week later - Matt's POV
After the evening spent on her couch after she was released from the hospital, I was on the next shift at the firehouse. Her first days were spent working on the exercises her therapist had given her to help with her mobility. I spent every day and every evening off with her, helping her move around the house and get some day to day things done. I woke up on my second shift and she was still sound asleep, her legs in an odd angle so her casted leg wouldn't be too cramped under the other one and her hair was a tangled mess. I moved it out of her face and placed a kiss on her cheek before heading in the shower. She was exhausted just by having to go around with the crutches and the exercises usually drained the rest of her energy. I showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before picking my dufflebag from next to her desk. I turned around as I heard her stir in bed. I put my bag back down and laid down next to her.
"Good morning." I moved a stubborn strand of hair from her eyes.
"Morning, not good. I slept like crap." She complained, making me chuckle. "Also not funny."
"Sorry. How are the muscles feeling today?"
"Not as sore as the first day."
"Great, I think you'll be cleared in no time. Need help with something before I leave for shift?"
"No, I think I'm good. Thanks baby."
"You're welcome. Have a good day, I'll check up on you later." I leaned down and kissed her before getting up.
"Stay safe out there." She put her head back down on her pillow.
"Always am. Talk to you later, love you."
"Mmmm, love you too." She mumbled before falling back asleep. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door and to the firehouse. Once there, I changed into my work clothes and poured myself a coffee before heading over to the conferance room for chief's pre-shift speech, Severide taking a seat next to me.
"Alright everyone. I only have two things on the agenda for this shift. First of all, Brett will resume her post of PIC on 44. She got the all clear from the doctor yesterday and second, Mitchell's relief until she comes back will be none other than McCauley." Brett clapped while the rest of us restrained ourselves. We knew what kind of medic he was, she was about to find out.
"You've got to be kidding me." Kelly grumbled beside me. "When is Abbey coming back?"
"Not soon enough." I took a sip of my coffee before chief was done with the order of the day and I raised from my chair to join everyone in the common room. I grabbed the paper and sat at the head of the table. I could hear Brett trying to have a discussion with McCauley but all that really had my attention was his negative, doom and gloom mentality. It didn't take very long for Brett to take a seat next to mine, pulling her clair closer. I looked up from my paper and put my cup of coffee down.
"When is Abbey coming back? I don't think I can work with this guy for long."
"She has her first physical therapy session today. It could be a while before she's back." I patted her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile before she left, rolling her eyes. I took one last sip of coffee before the overhead paging system called for all hands on deck. It was a structure fire and in about an hour time, we were packing the trucks. I looked at my watch and realized that it was time for Abbey's PT session. "We're going for a ride." 44 was already on their way to Lakeshore to drop their victim off. I left my jacket in the truck and made my way inside, heading towards the PT section.
Abbey's POV
After Matt had left for shift, I dragged myself out of bed and into a shower. I cleaned up quickly because I tried keeping my cast out of the water as much as possible. I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt. It was still hot enough outside to be able to be dressed so lightly and it was easier with the cast than putting pants. I hopped down my stairs with a lot of difficulty, grabbing the crutches at the very bottom and going in the kitchen for breakfast. I absentmindedly scratched the skin at the top of my cast while I waited for my toast to be ready. My mom was coming in about an hour to pick me up for my first PT session at Lakeshore. I ate and tydied up as much as I could with the crutches being in the way. Since it was a rather severe fracture, I still had another three weeks in the cast before having a follow-up x-ray to see if it was healed enough to get it off. Mom arrived on time and we drove to Lakeshore. My mom said that she'd come pick me up when my session was over so I made my way inside and in the physical therapy section of the hospital where I met my official therapist. His name was Mark and he was rather tall, I'd say 6'2"-6'3", early thirties, brown hair and green eyes. I shook his hand as he explained what we would do. I already had some of my strength back in the few days since I had returned home but I still had a long way to go.
"Alright so are you ready to work?"
"The faster I get this started the faster I get back on 44."
"Good. I like patients who are determined."
"Than we should work well together."
"That we should. Now let's get you to the parallel bars."
"And what is that supposed to help with? I think I'm walking pretty ok."
"Well the key is getting your body its strength back so we also need to work on your upper body so these will help give back some of the muscles in your arms that you lost in the coma. Are you ready?"
"Yeah." He instructed me to give him one crutch and take the first bar and then he made me hand the second one so I could hold the bars with both hands. I instently felt my arms hurt under the entire weight of my body but breathed through the pain. He was standing right behind me, his hands flanking my waist in case I fell. I managed to do about four steps when the pressure on my arms was too much and I let go of the bars, putting all my body weight on my right leg but even that wasn't so easy without the help of the crutches.
"How about we take a few minutes, drink some water and we can start again." He handed me my crutches and I made my way to where I had left my water bottle.
"There you are." Matt's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" I smiled at him, this was a pleasant surprise. He still had his turn-out pants on, a little soot on the side of his face and his hair was going in every direction, making me know that he had just returned from a fire. He had his grey short sleeved lieutenant's polo shirt and his red suspenders were still up, he looked hot.
"We just came from a fire and I thought I'd swing by, see how you're doing." He leaned down and kissed me.
"It's a very slow process but I'm hoping it'll go by fast." I shrugged. "Oh I want y ou to meet my therapist. This is Mark." Mark was coming in our direction and extended his hand for Matt to shake.
"Matt Casey, I'm Abbey's boyfriend." They both shook hands but something in Matt's tone of voice made me think he was hiding a bit of jealousy.
"She's a very determined girl."
"That she is." Matt smiled at me.
"Speaking of a very determined girl, how much determination do I need to put in this? Who's my replacement?" Matt scratched the back of his head. "Spit it out Casey."
"It's McCauley."
"OH MY GOD! He is going to drive Brett crazy. I'll ask my mom to bring me to the house after PT so I can boost her morale up." McCauley's reputation preceeded him and although I had never worked with him personnally, I had heard horror stories from Dawson and Herrmann about him.
"No, you'll need to go home and rest."
"51 is home. Your bunk will do just fine to rest." I smirked at him.
"Fine but if you get too tired, I'll get Brett to bring you back home."
"Deal. Now get out of here so I can work and get back to 44 faster."
"Yes ma'am." he smiled and kissed me. "See you at the house baby. Love you."
"Love you too." I winked at him and he turned to leave. "Ok I'm ready." I gulped down some water and Mark and I went back to work. We worked on and off for the next fourty minutes and then I showered quickly and left with my mom. She had reluctantly agreed to drop me off at 51 but I had to promise that I wouldn't go anywhere near an ambo and that would relax as much as I could. The trucks and the ambo were out so I was careful not to slip with my crutches on the appartus floor and I made my way to the empty common room. It was almost lunch time and nothing was prepared yet. I looked through the kitchen and thanked the lord for Cruz and Otis's crappy cooking because there was some leftover pasta sauce from the last time I had made a big batch so I put some water to boil and dumped the sauce in a pan and let it simmer on a low fire. Once it was done, they still hadn't come back so I clumsily put it in a dish and hoped they would return before it was cold. It took about ten minutes of waiting before they were back.
"Oh my god, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Brett practically leaped to me, making me laugh.
"Casey told me the news." I whispered in her ear.
"When are you coming back?" She pouted. "Please tell me that a miracle happened and that you're coming back next shift."
"Sorry mermaid." I giggled. "I'm out for at least another three weeks."
"You are killing me."
"Trust me, I'd rather be here than at home still in this." I banged my cast with my crutch.
"All in due time." Matt winked at me and sat at his usual spot at the table. The rest of the house filed in and second to last was McCauley.
"Hi, I'm Abbey Mitchell, I'm the one you're replacing on 44." I extended my hand for him to shake but he just looked me from top to bottom.
"Bad luck there. I've never seen a paramedic come back from this kind of injury."
"Well that's because you never came across me. I'll be back in here in no time." I looked at him walk past me and sit at the table with the girls.
"What are you doing here Mitchell?" Boden's voice brought me back to the present.
"Heard the great news chief, I thought I'd come see it with my own eyes." I rolled my own. Chief knew what I meant and he only smiled at me.
"Glad to have you around but don't you dare touch anything." He smiled as he passed in front of me and back towards his office.
"And where's our gastronomical lunch?" Peter came to hug me.
"Ha ha, it's on the stove, waiting for you to serve it." I patted him on the back, making everyone laugh. Mills served lunch and I grabbed a huge plate, my PT session making me hungry. Everyone ate while making jokes and I was more than happy to be back in the house, even if it was just as a visitor capacity. Matt slid his hand under the table and took mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. After everyone had eaten lunch and the girls cleared all the dishes, I took my leave to take a nap on my bunk, I was tired.
"Why don't you sleep in mine, you'll have more privacy." Matt called as I walked past his office, not having noticed that he has slipped out of the common room before me.
"Are you sure it's ok, you know with McCauley here and all."
"First of all, I don't care for McCauley and second, we're not doing anything wrong so come on in. I'll do this incident report while you rest up.
"Thanks." He helped me lie down and kissed me before resuming his position at his desk. I drifted off rather quickly into a sleep world, I was exhausted.
Matt's POV
I could hear Abbey moving on my bunk, trying to find a comfortable position for her leg but the noise didn't last long because I could hear her breathing even out, she was asleep. I kept writing the report, my door was opened if someone needed to talk to me. It was a textbook fire so it was a textbook report and it didn't take too much time to write it up. I turned my chair around and placed my feet at the end of my cot, just looking at her sleep. She had done good today and I had no doubt that it would only go better in the coming weeks. She was sleeping on her right side, her casted leg strewn across her right one, both hands tucked under the pillow. I had missed her just sleeping like that. Those two weeks when she was in a coma left me exhausted emotionally but I would never let her or anyone else know about it. For the past week since she was back home, I felt the need to be around her 24/7. All I wanted was for me to wake up next to her every morning and go to sleep with her in my arms every night. I already knew I loved her but now all my mind wanted was for us to take the next step.
"What are you thinking about?" I turned around at Kelly's voice, he was leaning against my doorframe.
"Not here." I stood up and left my office, leaving the door slightly ajar. Severide motioned for me to follow him towards his. He sat on his chair and leaned against his desk.
"Come on, out with it Casey." He laughed as I sat on his cot.
"I was thinking about asking Abbey to move in with me."
"Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself?"
"I almost lost her Kelly. For two weeks, I thought she'd never come back."
"You'd never admit it to anyone but you were a mess, I noticed."
"Just the thought of not having her around, it kills me."
"And I get that but I just don't want you to get burned by asking her so soon."
"I've been thinking about it a lot in the past week, I'm not going to lie. But I also know that she won't want to move out of her place, it has to much sentimental value for her. Aargg, I just don't know what to do." I ran my hands over my face.
"Just take a deep breath. Be with her while she recovers and see how that goes for starters. If it still feels right in a month, she'll still be there."
"And what if she says no?"
" Than it's just not the right time. You two have something great, I never thought I'd see it in you again after Hallie but you and Abbey have it, that happy glow. AND you've been through so much together already, it'll just be one more bump in the road. Just don't get ahead of yourself, think about it some more."
"Thanks Sev." The bells called us to a house fire and I hurried to 81, hoping we'd be back before Abbey woke up.
Abbey's POV
I woke up groggy, my body at an angle that it didn't like. Matt wasn't in his office anymore and it sounded as though no one was in the house. I lifted my left leg with my hands to swing it over my good one before getting up and grabbing for my crutches. I pushed his door open and made my way to the common room to find Pouch sleeping and it was quiet. I found Matt's paper and sat at the table, bringing my bad leg up on a chair and looking through it, hoping Capp hadn't done the crossword puzzle yet. I was so concentrated in it that I didn't hear the trucks back inside the house.
"You're awake." Matt startled me, putting a hand on my shoulder, mine going to my chest, my heart suddenly pounding.
"God you scared me Matt."
"Sorry babe, how'd you sleep?" He took a seat next to me.
"Good I think. Was my leg like that when you got called to the fire?"
"As soon as you fell asleep. I think your body like that better, you've positionned yourself like that since you came back home."
"Wasn't as cool when I woke up though." I chuckled.
"Are you ready to head home? I think Brett could use some one on one right about now. He gestured towards the girls table with his head, Brett had her head in her hands, trying to ignore McCauley's negativity.
"Yeah, I'll go do some PT exercises that Mark gave me to do for next appointment. See you back at my place when shift is over tomorrow?" I stood up with the help of the crutches and kissed him before going to Brett.
"Brett, I was wondering if you could bring me back home? I'm really starting to get tired."
"Sure." She practically leaped out of her chair. "Let's get going." She linked her arm in mine.
"I'll drive." McCauley butted in.
"NO!" Brett almost screamed, making me giggle. "Driving will do me some good. You can ride with the girls if we have a fire and I'll meet you there, see you." She gently pushed me so I would start moving forward.
"You couldn't get out of there fast enough." I laughed as we neared the ambo.
"He is driving me completely INSANE I swear."
"I'm off my pain meds so anytime you need to evacuate, give me a call, we can binge drink at home."
"I might just hold you to that." She helped me get into the ambo, helped by my crutches since it was a bit higher than my car and we were on our way. "I swear, he's always seeing the negative in EVERYTHING." She exaggerated, making me laugh candidly.
"I'll try my best to get back sooner but I won't be able to cheat out of it because Boden gets weekly reports for my therapist plus Dr Taylor."
"You better keep me posted too so I can know when I'll be saved."
"Promise."
"So how's it going with Casey?"
"He never leaves my side except for shift, not that I'm complaining or anything." I smiled at her and leaned my elbow against the window.
"He stayed with you every day when you were in a coma, that boy has it so bad for you." I really loved having her as a partner on 44, I really missed that.
"If you ask me to tell you the truth, I have it in for him too, you have no idea."
"Oh I think I do. So anything new happened between the two of you?"
"No but I really like having him at my house everyday, I could get used to that. What about you and Brian? How is that going?"
"Well he took me out on a first official date two evenings ago." She blushed looking at me and then back at the road.
"How come it's the first time I hear about it? How was it?" I loved hearing about that kind of stuff.
"Well it wasn't anything super fancy. We ordered in and watched a movie. He didn't want me to have to walk around too much with my leg since I've been back only this week, like Casey. It was sweet."
"I'm glad your happy, hope it sticks." I leaned against the window again, my eyes suddenly starting to be heavy again. "Aarrggg I hope this fatigue thing stops at some point, it's getting annoying."
"How long did the doctor say it would take for it to comepletely dissapear?"
"Somewhere in the next week, says it's common in coma patients."
"Then let's get you to bed so it can stop faster." We drove the rest of the way in mindless chatter, trying to prevent me from falling asleep. "Do you need any help?" She helped me down the ambo and up my front porch.
"Nah, I'm good. I'll just crash on the couch for tonight. Thanks for taking me home mermaid." I pulled her in for a hug.
"Anytime. Get well soon so McCauley doesn't depress me into a hole."
"Thanks again." Brett's radio came to life just as I released her from our embrace. "Duty calls." She smiled at me and left. I positioned myself on the couch and instantly fell asleep. I woke up the next morning to the front door opening and closing. I tried stretching as much as I could but I almost fell to the ground in the process. When I looked up, Matt was leaning against the doorway, a smile on his face.
"You think this is funny don't you."
"Absolutely not." He tried becoming serious but failed miserably, his smile wider than before. "How about some breakfast?"
"Please, I'm starving." He held the crutches for me to take.
"Did you even eat last night?" My silence was all the answer he needed. "Big breakfast it is."
"I fell asleep on the couch when Brett took he home yesterday afternoon, I was exhausted."
"Well working hard with Mark will do that to you." He turned on the stove and broke some eggs over the skillet.
"Do I sense a little bit of jealousy Mr Casey?" I leaned against the counter
"No jealousy here." He smiled at me.
"Liar." I whispered.
"Maybe a little bit." He kissed my cheek.
"You have nothing to be jealous about." I hopped closer to him and pecked him on the lips. "I happen to prefer 5'10" blonde firefighters. There's one at firehouse 51, he's lieutenant of truck and he's so hot." I whispered, inches from his lips before I captured them in a hungry kiss, the eggs on the stove forgotten. His right arm instinctively wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer as he kissed me back with the same hunger. The smell of burnt eggs and the need for air brought us back to reality.
"Shit." He cursed under his breath, removing the skillet from the stove top and turning it off. "You are killing me." He growled as his forehead pressed to mine.
"Tell me about it." I was breathing in and out quickly, my heart thumping in my chest. Matt expertly lifted me up on the counter and attacked my lips again, obviously more in a frisky mood than in a hungry one. His hands were both on my cheeks, making my heart beat even faster, and his tongue pressing to my lips for access, which I granted. I pressed my palms to his chest, feeling his heart thump as quickly as mine as he deepened the kiss, our tongues battling for control. I ultimately relinquished control to him and my body pressed itself to him, my arms wrapping around his torso and grabbing his shirt. He was turning me on fire in a matter of seconds and I loved every second of it.
Matt's POV
I never thought someone could ignite a spark so quickly inside me but the things Abbey was doing to me, it was like a drug. That whispered tone full of lust made the spark grow into a flame, the primal part of me instantly turned on. I easily lifted her up by the waist, her cast barely in the way and sat her on her counter before I pressed my lips to hers. She granted access to her mouth as I pushed my tongue against her lips, a short battle for control ensuing. She quickly abandoned the battle and her body pressed to mine like a magnet to its source, making me want her even more. Breakfast would have to wait a little longer. She pulled my shirt over my head and kissed me again.
"God I missed you." She whispered.
"You have no idea." I caressed her cheek with my thumb, her eyes instantly closing at the action. "When are you going to be cleared for mild physical activity?" I wanted nothing more than to have her all to myself again but I'd have to pace myself until she was physically ready.
"As soon as I get this cast off I suppose. I know where this is going and I promise as soon as the doc give me the all clear, you can have your way with me." She smiled seductively, tenderly kissing my lips.
"If you don't stop what you're doing, I can't make any promises I'll be able to wait that long." I pecked her on the lips again.
"Fine, get your shirt back on Fabio or all bets are off." She laughed as I picked up my shirt from the counter where she had thrown it and put it on. "And help me down so I can make breakfast before you burn my kitchen down to the ground." I took her by the waist and put her back down safely on her two feet. I threw the eggs away and quickly cleaned the skillet before grabbing everything she had asked me too. She started cooking and I wrapped my arms around her waist, placing my chin in the crook of her shoulder. She cooked in silence, giving me all the time to think. She was making it extremely hard to not ask the question that was on my mind for the past week. I kept replaying Severide's words in my mind, trying to figure out what was the best thing to do, ask her now or wait until she was fully recovered as he had suggested.
"Matt?" Abbey's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"It's ready, where were you just now? I called your name out twice." She had a concerned look on her face.
"Thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing it's fine." I smiled at her and took the two plates she had in her hands, letting her come to the living room behind me. She sat down on the couch and propped up her left leg before taking the plate I was offering her. She had made eggs with bacon and toasts.
"Out with it now Matt." I though she had let it go but clearly she hadn't.
"It's nothing I promise." I tried to downplay, putting a piece of bacon in my mouth. Her eyebrows scrunched together, she wasn't believing me.
"You know you can try lying but I know you enough to know that the line you're trying to feed me is bullshit. You can tell me anything."
"Ok so I've been thinking since you've came back home." I started. I didn't know how much I could tell without her being angry or not at me but decided to be honest. "And I've talked about it with Severide." I saw the hurt look that crossed her face.
"You talked about this with Severide first?"
"Well I wanted his opinion about what's been on my mind and he gave it to me but my mind won't let me forget about it."
"You're scaring me a little bit Matt, is something wrong?"
"I almost lost you, that is what's wrong." I started. I knew we had had the discussion about that but this was something else.
"Yah but I'm ok now. Tell me what's on your mind." She pressed.
"For the past week, being here with you every day, it's made me want to do it everyday, all the time."
"What are you asking Matt?" Clearing my thoughts were coming out all wrong. I put my plate down and took a deep breath.
"What am asking, what I want, is for us to move in together." I chose my words carefully, not wanting her to panic. She looked at me and then she looked all around her. I knew what she was doing and what I thought would happen, happened.
"I can't." She stammered. "I can't move out of this house." Tears were slowly forming in her eyes. "It's all I have left." A single tear rolled down her cheek and I caught it with my thumb.
"I know." I pressed my lips to hers in a soft kiss. I knew that's what would stop her and that's why I was scared of asking her in the first place. "But I would live with you anywhere you want. I just want to be with you every single day, I can't be apart from you again." I forced her to look me in the eyes, hoping that she would see the sincerity in mine. But then a smile formed on her lips through the tears and the twinkle she had in her eyes when she had an idea appeared.
"I would want nothing more than to spend every day and every night with you Matt Casey. What would you think about moving in with me?" She was the one to kiss me this time. A chuckle left my lips before I could even answer her.
"I'd love to." I leaned against her and pressed her back to the couch as I captured her lips in a tender kiss. We kissed for several minutes before air became an issue. "I love you."
"I love you too."
a/n I want to apologize for taking so much time to update this story. I've been working on it for a few days and writing long chapters take time so thank you for being patient with me.
Up Next: Abbey continues her physical therapy and Matt slowly starts to move in some things with the help of Kelly. Abbey has bigger plans for him though as she's had plans of doing renovations but never really had the time to get it done so she enlists Matt's help and fun ensues.
I hope you liked this latest chapter and that you'll take a few minutes to leave a review, it always helps to write faster. As you know, there's only four more chapters left to this story plus the epilogue so stay tune for what's next - Sarra