After the drama of the last couple of chapters, here's something lighter. I hope it will make you smile. I love writing these two, I hope you enjoy reading it. Can anyone recommend me any other Brettonio stories to read? I can't find that many and I would love to read other peoples take on their relationship. I also have a question, do we know how old Sylvie and Antonio are? I mean, I know how old Kara and Jon are but I wondered if they had mentioned the characters ages on the show. That's not the kind of detail my brain retains! Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews so far, and please let me know what you think of this fluffy addition to the story.

Chapter 6

For weeks after the twins were born, Sylvie and Antonio rarely got a moment to themselves. At first it was welcome, they were both still recovering, Antonio from his accident and Sylvie from the birth, but eventually Sylvie felt like she couldn't breathe. Yesterday morning, with endless love and gratitude, Antonio had, in no uncertain terms, told his mother and Sylvie's mother to go home and let them be a family.

But now Sylvie was standing in the livingroom with a screaming month old baby in her arms and she longed for the days when a grandmother would swoop in and soothe the baby in an instant. It made her feel useless, that she couldn't comfort her own child.

"What do you want sweetie? Come on." Sylvie rocked from side to side but Gabriel only screamed louder. She held him in front of her, his head in both her hands and searched his scrunched up little face for some kind of clue. "You're the oldest, you're supposed to be setting the example." She stared at his angry expression at a complete loss.

Matteo was lying on a blanket on the floor at Sylvie's feet, awake but seemingly unfazed by his brother's howls. Sylvie sat down on the couch dejected, Gabe in her lap. "The neighbours probably hate us" she said to her son. "Do you want that?" The baby just cried on.

Antonio came through the door a few minutes later, laden with bags from the grocery store. He dropped them on the floor by the door when he saw the look of despair on Sylvie's face.

"Hi buddy, what's all that noise for?" He lifted Gabriel from Sylvie's arms and cradled him gently. Already Gabriel started to calm.

"He's fed, he's dry, he's winded. Matty's perfectly happy so why…"

"Hey." Antonio saw Sylvie begin to cry. She shook her head furiously, annoyed at herself for getting emotional. Her hormones were all over the place and she was exhausted, but that wasn't the only reason she was upset. "Baby, it's ok."

"No, it's not. Why won't he settle for me?"

"He will, it takes time to find a routine. You're doing great, I promise."

By now Gabriel had stopped his cries and Antonio bent down and placed him on the mat next to his brother. He tickled Matteo's chest to greet him and the baby stared up at him with his big brown eyes.

Antonio sat down next to Sylvie on the couch and put his arm around her, pulling her close. She lay her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what I'm doing. You're so good with them, you know what they need, I'm flying blind and I can't seem to get anything right."

"You're being too hard on yourself" Antonio said, kissing the top of her head. "I've done this before, remember. Do you think I knew what the hell I was doing when Eva was born?"

Sylvie wiped a tear away. "I know I'm being stupid."

"Don't say that." Antonio stroked her hair. "You're stressed, it's understandable, but you don't need to be. You'll get the hang of it, I know you will."

"But there's two of them" Sylvie said, then laughed despite her tears.

Antonio laughed as well and hugged her tighter. "No shit" he said. Sylvie pulled away and he took hold of her face, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "There's two of us as well, don't forget. We got this."

Sylvie nodded. With Antonio by her side, she really felt she could do anything. Sylvie had come to rely on his strong presence and soothing voice, so much so that it scared her. "Please don't ever go back to work."

Antonio hugged Sylvie. "I would love nothing more than to stay home with you and the boys all day every day but unfortunately your maternity cheque isn't going to pay the rent."

"But does it have to be tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

The new parents sat side by side staring at their babies lying on the floor. Gabriel had seemingly forgotten his earlier drama and was drifting off to sleep. Matteo was already there.

"I'm scared to move in case they wake up" Sylvie whispered.

Antonio turned her hear towards him and smiled, a glint in his eye. "That's fine with me."

"Don't we need to put the groceries away?"

"Nah, I think we should keep them by the door from now on."

Sylvie only laughed, and didn't object when Antonio leaned down and kissed her.

Early next morning, after Antonio had left for work, Sylvie bundled the twins into her car and drove to the firehouse. She parked across the street and sat in the driver's seat for a minute, enjoying the rest. Neither her, Antonio nor the twins had had the best night. They were finally asleep and she didn't want to move them until they woke up.

The Squad guys were running drills in the lot in front of the house, and she saw Cruz glance up and spot her. He smiled, and pointed, and pretty soon they'd all stopped what they were doing. Cruz jogged over. Sylvie rolled down the window and put her finger to her lips.

"Hey" Cruz whispered, leaning through the window to give her a peck on the cheek. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Antonio went back to work today. I can't sit in that apartment alone. I need some adult conversation."

"Are you sure you came to the right place?" Cruz winked.

"I'll be up in a minute, when they babies are awake."

Cruz opened the back door of Sylvie's car and leaned in. "Looks like they already are."

Sylvie took a deep breath. Here we go again.

"Look who I found outside."

Cruz walked into the common room carrying Gabriel in his car seat and Sylvie walked behind with Matteo. She smiled sheepishly and everyone when they looked up. "Hi guys. I hope it's ok I stopped by."

"Are you kidding me?" Casey beamed, and rushed over to hug her. He took the car seat from her and set it on the couch. "Hi little guy" he said, unbuckling Matteo and gently lifting him. The baby fussed a little but was quickly soothed.

Sylvie was enveloped in hugs by all her colleagues. They were not so infatuated with the twins that they didn't pay attention to her. She felt so lucky to have them. She understood how rare it was to feel loved at home and at work, she thanked God every day for her good fortune. Even if she couldn't remember what a decent night's sleep felt like.

"Do you want coffee?" Otis held up the coffee pot.

"I can't, I'm breastfeeding. You have no idea how much I want to say yes."

Mouch released her from a bear hug. "Trudy's got me on this health kick, I'm sure I've got some peppermint or camomile tea or whatever the hell it is around her somewhere."

"Thanks Mouch. Where's Gabby?"

Stella took her eyes off Gabriel, asleep again in her arms, long enough to answer. "She's out on a call, I think they're on their way back."

"I wanted to stop by on her last shift with you guys."

Casey sat down on the couch, Gabe resting over his left shoulder. "Please don't remind me."

Sylvie say down too. "I can't believe she's leaving. It's gonna be so weird to come back to work without her."

"So you are coming back then?"

The thought that she wouldn't had never entered Sylvie's mind. She loved her job. "You bet. But not for a while yet."

Gabby walked through the door to the common room five minutes later and was delighted to see Sylvie. Sylvie stood up and Gabby pulled her into the biggest hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. How's it going, your last shift at 51?"

"I'm trying not to think about it." She let go of Sylvie. "My nephews are about the best distraction I can think of." Chief Boden was now holding Gabe, bouncing him in his arms and smiling into the little boy's face, but gladly relinquished him to his aunt.

"This one kept me up most of the night" Sylvie said, stroking Gabriel's soft hand.

"What can I say? Us Dawson's are feisty." She turned back to Sylvie. "Antonio went back to work today didn't he? How do you feel about that?"

"Scared. To be left alone with them. I feel like they're ganging up on me, they know I'm outnumbered."

Later Gabby and Sylvie retreated to the bunk room. Gabby could tell something was wrong, that Sylvie needed to talk. Taking full advantage of the free baby-sitting service on offer, she was also thankful for the momentary peace. As much as she loved her sons, Sylvie needed a break, even if it was only for half an hour.

"Are you okay?" Gabby asked with concern when they were alone.

Sylvie nodded, embarrassed. "I am. I think I'm just exhausted. It sounds stupid to say aloud, but I didn't know how hard it would be. I mean, objectively I knew that I was having two babies, but now that I actually have them, I realise that I was not prepared."

Both women sat on a bed, Gabby rubbed Sylvie's back. But she didn't know what to say. She sympathised somewhat, she was a mother herself for a minute there, but she had never had to deal with two kids at once, let alone brand new ones.

"I think it just hit me this morning when Antonio left for work. Suddenly I was solely responsible for these two tiny humans and it freaked me out."

"That's understandable. But I really think you will do great, we're all here to help."

Sylvie paused. It wasn't that she didn't believe Gabby or trust that her friends and family would help out if she needed it. It was something else, and she wasn't sure she wanted to share it even with her best friend. But in the end, she relented, keeping her fears to herself would eat her up inside.

"I feel inadequate, Gabby. It's not Antonio's fault, he's been wonderful, nothing but supportive. But he's so much better at everything than me. He's calmer and more confident and the boys know it. I feel stressed all of the time. I'm sure they can tell. I'm their mother, I should know how to care for them."

Gabby smiled sympathetically. "He's already a father" Gabby said, "of course he's better at it, he's had practice. But that's a good thing. You can learn from him. But you're right about one thing, you are their mother. You carried them inside you for 8 months, you know them better than anyone. Trust that. Trust your instincts, I know they are there. You will make mistakes like every parent does. But I promise, there's no reason to worry. I've watched you, you're a great Mom."

Sylvie listened to Gabby's words and took comfort and strength from her words. Apart from Antonio and the twins, Gabby was the closest thing Sylvie had to family in their city and pretty soon they would actually be family. It meant so much to Sylvie that Gabby believed in her so strongly.

Sylvie was fiddling with her engagement ring, she didn't even realise she was doing it until Gabby pointed it out.

"Have you made any plans yet?"

Sylvie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Not at all. You think I have time for wedding planning with two newborns in the house?" She smiled, she really wasn't in a hurry. She knew Antonio was committed to her, she didn't need a piece of paper to show it. She felt is every morning they woke up in each other's arms, saw it every time he looked at her and in the way he cared for their sons. They would get there eventually, but for now the promise was enough.

"Fair point" Gabby said.

"Enough about my dramas. How are you feeling about leaving?"

Sylvie touched Gabby's arm and now it was Gabby's turn to get emotional. "Oh, man. I've been here so long. And not seeing Matt all day, knowing he's out on calls but not knowing if he's safe, that will take some getting used to. But I'm excited, I want this, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather learn from than Herman. I hung out at his house last week on my morning off, got to know his crew a bit. There's another female firefighter, that will be cool, and the guys seem lovely."

"I'll miss you."

"Please, I'll see you all the time. Just try to stop me spending every spare minute I have with my nephews."

Sylvie smiled. "I mean at work. I plan on coming back at some point, It won't be the same without you. We've been through a lot. Are you having leaving drinks? I can try to come along..." Even as she said it, Sylvie knew she wouldn't be able to. It made her sad, she missed nights at Molly's with Gabby and everybody, would love to reminisce about working together, but her life had changed now, Sylvie knew it wasn't that easy.

"Nah" Gabby said, letting her off the hook. "I'm gonna see everyone all the time at the bar, it's no big deal."

There was a knock at the door and Otis stuck his head through the door sheepishly. "Brett, I'm sorry. Your kids are cute and everything but I draw the line at changing smelly diapers."

Sylvie shared a brief glance with Gabby and rolled her eyes. "Otis, one day you will probably have to deal with kids if your own, are you sure you don't want to get some practice in?"

"No..." Otis shook his head definitively, making his thoughts on the matter perfectly clear. "Besides, the last time I checked you needed a woman to make a baby and I'm not having so much luck in that area."

Gabby slapped him on the back wordlessly as she walked past. Sylvie followed, stealing herself to get back to the struggle of parenthood, but Gabby grabbed the diaper bag from the table and baby Gabriel without a word and headed to the bathroom to change him. 'Thank you' Sylvie mouthed. Gabby smiled in return.

Sylvie sat down on the sofa next to Matt, who was cradling Matteo in his arms, just where she had left them.

"He's pretty handsome" Casey said, grinning. "They both are. I'm so happy you're all ok. It was scary for a minute there."

Sylvie stroked her baby's soft downy hair. "If you hadn't been there it might have turned out very different. But I don't want to think about it any more, I want to look ahead, not behind."

When Antonio returned home he found the babies asleep in their cribs and Sylvie dozing in the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery. He kissed her and she smiled contently as she opened her eyes. "Hey" she said, stretching her arms. "How was your first day back?"

"Horrible. I missed you guys."

"We missed you too. We went to the firehouse today."

"That's right, it was Gabby's last day on ambo. How was she?"

"Okay I think, but you should call her."

"I will" Antonio said, as he went to the cribs to check on the babies. Seeing their little chests rise and fall reassuringly, he just stood gazing down at them without saying a word.

From her place in the chair, Sylvie watched him and her heart swelled. When she thought about the future, of the responsibility she now had and the multitude of opportunities that lay ahead for her to screw up, Sylvie was scared to death. She had no idea if she would be a good mother or not, or how Matteo and Gabriel would turn out, but what she did know was that with Antonio by her side she had a better shot at getting it right.

Today had been just another day that she muddled along, trying her best to be the person she wanted to be, the mother she wanted to be. All she could do was take it one day at a time.

Sylvie came up behind Antonio and draped her arms round his shoulders. Antonio lay his hand on hers, but didn't turn around, not wanting to take his eyes off his sons. Being away from them today for the first time since they were born was really hard, he wanted to absorb as much information about them while he was around as he could, to store it all up to keep him going when he was away. Sylvie lay her head on his shoulder and they both just watched the babies sleep.

"Look what we made" Antonio said. Sylvie only smiled. "I brought home your favourite from that Thai place you like."

"Thank you."

Antonio turned around, his hands falling to Sylvie's waist. Her arms still rested on his shoulders and she ran her fingers through his hair. "You're welcome. But we should eat it before it gets cold."

"I didn't just mean for dinner" Sylvie said, looking into Antonio's eyes. "I mean for everything. I love you."

Antonio kissed her. "I love you too." He paused. "You seem happier than you were this morning, more relaxed."

"I am" Sylvie said.

"What changed?"

"Nothing really. I just realised a few things, that's all. You're a great father, I can learn from you, but I know that a lot of things I'm just going to have to figure out for myself. But I'm not going to stress about it anymore. I never want to be so concerned about doing things right that I miss out on just enjoying the boys. I'm happy, the three of you are all I need. I won't forget that."

Sylvie's hands moved down Antonio's chest and he breathed in deeply, enjoying her touch. Now it was her tur to initiate a kiss. "The boys are sleeping" she said, in a whisper, once they had pulled apart.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Uh uh."

They left the nursery quietly, closing the door behind them.