Hello there everyone! I'm here with the next chapter for you guys, and while I don't have much to say ahead of this one, I do think you all are going to enjoy it!

Aside from that, I do want to say a quick thank you for all the kind words and positive messages you all have left me recently. It means so much to me, and has helped so much so thank you for that. I appreciate it more than you know.

That's pretty much all I've got this time, but thank you so much for reading! Enjoy!

***UPDATE 2/28/23: Hey guys, just letting you know there won't be an update coming this Thursday (3/2). I work every day this week, 8 days in a row unfortunately, and won't have any time to write anything for you all. And especially with this upcoming chapter, I don't want to rush through it. This storyline is too important to try and just throw something together. So there won't be any update this week, but I should be back next time. Thank you so much for your understanding, and patience. I hope you all have a great week!

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT

Dawson stood behind the counter in the familiar bar, the rag in her hand drying off a few clean glasses while people bustled around her. For a random and snowy Wednesday in November, Molly's was rather crowded, the weather certainly not deterring any bargoers as the room was pretty much packed. But as one of the owners, Gabby certainly didn't mind it, the mass of people doing well to keep her busy, as well as entertained, while her shift wore on into the evening.

Though there was one person in particular that her focus kept going back to, Gabby unable to stop herself from occasionally glancing across the room to her husband every few minutes or so, just to find him exactly where he'd been the last time she looked; sitting posted up at one of the tall tables against the wall, across from Severide and Kidd.

She was too far away to know what was being said, but from the smile on his face she could tell he was having a good time with their friends, his grin causing one to appear over her features as well while she continued to look at him.

The three of them had been over there for most of the night, really ever since Kelly and Stella arrived shortly after she and Matt had, and even though she wasn't able to spend as much time with them as she would've liked, she was grateful that Matt was getting the chance to have some quality time with their friends. Especially because that wasn't something they'd had much of an opportunity to do here as of late.

Over the past couple months or so, it seemed as if their lives had been rather hectic. Really ever since they returned from their anniversary trip the month before last, everyone had been pretty busy. Whether it was with work at the firehouse, or work here, or Matt doing what he could to pick up some last few construction jobs before the full force of winter moved into Chicago, there was a lot keeping them occupied. And that didn't even include the more private moments occupying their time as well, as there was still one very important thing that was keeping Matt and Gabby busy.

And that was trying to have a baby.

That one life changing event had certainly taken up a lot of their time, even though in the months that had passed since they'd made the decision to expand their family, they'd been unsuccessful thus far. Though it hadn't been for a lack of trying, as it wasn't often that she and Matt didn't utilize the time together when they had it. But regardless, despite all the trying and all the taken pregnancy tests, they had yet to come back with a positive result.

And when it came down to it, despite how much she was enjoying all this time with her husband it was becoming more and more difficult for her to not get a little discouraged.

This entire process had come with a whirlwind of emotions. And some seemed to pop up more than others, but it almost felt like with every passing day, there was a little more doubt that began to creep into her mind. That maybe this wasn't meant to happen for them, or there was something wrong the doctors had missed. Something that might explain while this had yet to work out for them. No matter how illogical it was, it was hard for her mind to not go there sometimes.

Because at the end of the day, all she wanted was for her and Matt to have their family. And the longer it took for that to happen, the harder it was for her to not worry about it.

But she was doing her best, trying to not let this consume her like she and Matt had discussed from the very beginning. To just let this happen in the time it was meant to, even if that meant months, and let everything fall into place. That's what they were both doing, especially since the weeks after they'd gotten home where Gabby'd had a rather hard day with all of this. Where she'd taken yet another pregnancy test, only for it to come back negative, that day seemingly burned in her brain as it was when something in this process had sort of shifted for them.

"Babe, you gotta stop pacing." Matt spoke from his spot leaned against their bathroom counter, Gabby glancing his way while she continued her movements across the tile floor. "It won't make the minutes go by any faster." He added on, the somewhat teasing tone in his voice making her smile before she slowed her steps.

"You don't know that for sure." She countered, Matt letting out a chuckle before he held his hand out towards her, silently signaling her to come closer. Which she did, Gabby not even hesitating before moving his way towards the sink, while Matt pushed himself to stand up straight.

"I don't know, I'm pretty confident about it." He played along, seeing her smile widen just as she got to him, Matt wasting no time in placing his hands on her hips before shifting their bodies until she was in the spot he just occupied. "It should be done soon, you just gotta have a little patience." He continued teasing, not missing the way his wife then rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and when have you known me to ever be patient?"

He feigned thought, his eyebrows furrowing before tilting his head to the side. "...You know, you make a good point." He replied, Gabby releasing a soft laugh before lightly hitting his chest. "But really, it'll just be another minute or so. Not too much longer… And if you're not careful, all that pacing might jostle around our kid. Who may or may not be in here." Matt added on, gesturing down towards her stomach before Gabby chuckled once more.

"Yeah, maybe or maybe not… But I have a good feeling about it." She replied with a hopeful twinkle in her eye, Matt giving her a supportive, yet cautious smile, as he was trying to wait for that test to come back before letting himself get too excited.

But with as sure as his wife seemed, it was hard for him not to.

"That we might finally have our baby." She continued on with a bright look on her face, Matt taking in a deep breath before he carefully guided her up onto their bathroom counter, Gabby positioning herself with her legs hanging off the side as he came to stand closer to her. "I think it might actually be the time, and I know I said that before. When we got home and everything, part of me thought it then too. But, I don't know- Something about this feels different." She rambled out, something he knew she did when she got nervous. Though the gleam in her eyes never faltered, Matt merely smiling at her while running his palm up and down her side.

"I hope it is, baby." He responded after a moment, knowing he needed to be careful in his wording. "But if it's not, that's okay too." Matt reminded her, wanting that thought to be present in her mind before they looked at the test. "We'll find out here soon, though."

"Yeah, we will." Gabby told him, not really lingering on some of the words he'd said as she didn't want to lose any of the excitement bubbling in her chest. Even if she knew her husband was just being realistic. "God, can this minute go any slower?" She breathed out after checking the timer she'd set on his phone, Matt laughing quietly in response before moving that last step towards her, his body resting up against the counter while standing between her legs.

"I'm sure it could." He answered her, earning a quick glare in response.

"You're not helping." She replied, Matt pursing his lips together while he looked over her, watching Gabby now avert her gaze from him as the seconds continued to tick by slowly.

"I'm sorry babe, I just don't like seeing you so stressed." He spoke after a moment, prompting her to regain his gaze. "It's not good for you… Though I have a feeling the reason you're so anxious isn't really because of the time."

He saw it in her eyes, that flash of anxiety he'd seen from her too many times that told him his assumptions were correct. Even though he wished they weren't, Gabby letting the silence linger between them before taking a breath.

"...I just want us to be pregnant so badly." She whispered into the air, his face softening as the tone of her words went straight to his heart, Matt tightening his hold on her before nodding.

"I know, and we will. One day we will, or we might be already. But whatever that test says, it'll be alright." He reminded her, knowing that this was a conversation they'd had over and over again, more times than he could count. And he was sure they'd be having it again if they didn't get the news they were wanting.

But he didn't care. He'd have this conversation a hundred more times, as many times as Gabby needed until she believed him.

"You know that, yeah? Everything's gonna be okay." He reassured her, stroking his thumb along her side as she gave him a weak, but loving smile.

"Yeah… Everything's gonna be okay."

Before either of them could say another word, the timer went off beside them, Gabby's head snapping over towards the pregnancy test that was just within her reach before she grabbed it, Matt keeping his eyes on her the whole time. There was a rush of excitement filling the air, a hopefulness that was hard to ignore even when they were trying to stay realistic. They couldn't help it.

But when Gabby looked down at the pregnancy test in her hands and he saw the blank look that crossed her face, he knew the answer before she could even tell him, Matt's eyes falling closed as he let out a soft sigh.

They remained quiet, Matt continuing to lovingly rub over her sides while Gabby's focus stayed on the negative test. The one that had just crushed any hope she'd given herself, her entire body tightening before she placed the test back onto the countertop.

"...I guess that feeling was wrong." She spoke maybe a full minute later, Matt grimacing in response before he looked her way, seeing a few different emotions radiating off of her. But there was one pushing through the others, one he could make out more easily, and that was hurt.

She was upset about them not being pregnant, about her being so sure they were having a child and for that not to be true. And even though he didn't really understand why she felt like this time was it, he'd never fault her for that.

"I'm sorry." She said before he could think of what to say, the gears in Matt's mind turning almost instantly as soon as he heard her apologies. Ones he wished she wasn't saying at all.

"Hey, hey.. None of that." He was quick to soothe her, bringing a hand up to cradle her chin while his other stayed on her hip, Gabby then using her legs to hold him closer to her. Like she was afraid of him going too far. "Why are you apologizing?"

She only shrugged at first, Matt giving her the time to work through what all was going on in her mind before she eventually responded. "I don't know, I guess just… For being so sure. I know it made us both excited, but I'm not even-" She stopped herself, shaking her head back and forth like she was trying to figure out how to voice what was going on in her head. But she couldn't.

"You were just excited baby, you don't need to apologize for that." He promised her, using the gentle hold on her face to make sure she was looking at him. "I'm glad you told me, and that you came to me. I always want you to come to me. Even when it doesn't work out the way we want." Matt spoke, his voice soft yet strong, proving to her that he meant every word he was saying. "...Okay?"

She nodded slowly, his words combined with the feeling of his hand stroking her chin bringing a few tears to her eyes. "Okay." She repeated, Matt giving her a sad smile before he leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead, his lips lingering there until he pulled her into his embrace. Her arms wrapped around his waist, Matt using a secure grip to hold onto her while her face dug into his neck, his eyes instinctively moving down towards the negative pregnancy test sitting on the counter.

The same one that was sure to go with the rest of their failed attempts.

"Everything's okay, we're okay… And when it's meant to happen for us, it will. I promise you that."

Needless to say, after that day there had been a few more conversations between the couple, where they had then decided to hold off on taking any more pregnancy tests for a while. They hadn't stopped trying, or wanting their family, but- from what was ultimately Gabby's choice, they decided to hold off on taking any tests. Not until she truly felt like she should, as they both thought it would help ease some of the mental load weighing on Gabby's mind.

And it had. There was no doubt about it.

But what it couldn't help was that nagging thought about how this might never happen for them. How they might never have a baby. Right now, there was nothing Gabby could do to make that go away. And there probably wouldn't ever be unless she got pregnant.

"Earth to Dawson."

Gabby snapped out of her haze when she heard that familiar voice accompanied by the snapping of a few fingers, Dawson blinking quickly a few times before she turned to see Shay now standing by her side, the older woman watching her with her hand on her hip.

"I think that glass is clean enough." Shay continued on once she had Gabby's attention, Dawson's brows furrowing before she glanced down at the beer glass in her hands.

"Oh, right- Sorry." She replied quietly, placing both the glass and rag down on the bar top behind her, not missing the way Shay continued to stare at her while she moved.

"Everything alright over there?" She pushed on, regaining Dawson's eye contact for a moment.

"Mhmm." She hummed easily in response.

"And you're feeling okay?" Shay asked, not necessarily buying her words.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Gabby explained, prompting the blonde's eyes to narrow slightly.

"You've seemed kinda tired for a few days now." She commented before Gabby merely shrugged.

"Been a long week." She replied vaguely, leaving Shay a bit curious. But she just left it. "And I was just thinking about some stuff when you came up." She continued on, Shay noticing the way Gabby's gaze almost intuitively moved across the bar. And after following her line of sight she understood why, Shay chuckling softly when she saw Casey sitting at the table laughing at something Severide had said.

"About your husband, I take it?" She questioned while glancing back to Gabby, seeing her friend's smile widen before she nodded.

"All the time." She answered shamelessly.

"Gross… Sweet, but gross." Shay told her, getting an eye roll from Dawson as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Did you need something, Shay?" She redirected her, assuming her friend had come over here for a reason. But the older woman simply shook her head, to which Gabby then scoffed.

"Was trying to get away from Herrmann before he gave me something else to do." She responded, Dawson's head cocking to the side.

"Ah yes, how terrible is it to be expected to work at your job?" She replied sarcastically.

"I know, right?" She deadpanned with a scrunch of her nose. "But don't worry sweetheart, I also came over here because I wanted to see you."

"How thoughtful." Gabby mused, Shay giving her a smirk while leaning her weight back against the bar.

"I know… So how have you been, Dawson?" She asked after regaining her gaze. "I feel like we haven't seen each other all that much lately. Well, aside from at work."

Gabby gave her a knowing nod before letting herself relax as well, seeing that there were no customers needing to be attended to right now. "I'm doing okay, Matt and I are good. How are you?" She responded, not giving much away with her words. But Shay wouldn't push it.

"Pretty good, pretty good. Just been working, and trying not to kill Kelly everyday." She said, causing Gabby to laugh softly. "Figured that wouldn't be too festive given the time of year, with Thanksgiving coming up and everything." Shay added on as Dawson shook her head in amusement. "Which, speaking of, you and Mr. Dawson have any plans for that?"

"Eh, just the usual." Gabby replied easily. "Our families are gonna get together at my parents' house."

"The whole family?" She pressed, waiting for Gabby's confirming nod. "Christie too?"

"Mhmm, and Nancy. And my brother, and the kids."

"Aww, a big Dawson-Casey family get together." She spoke lightly before Dawson smiled.

"Yeah, it'll be nice. And even better because Matt and I won't have to cook." Gabby said, as Shay laughed loudly just before Dawson noticed the man coming up behind her friend.

"Uh oh, if Shay's laughing like that it's usually not good." Casey spoke up as he got to the bar, his words causing Gabby to smile as Shay turned around to face him. "And usually about me."

"You're a perceptive one, lover boy." Shay responded after laughing once more, Matt shaking his head while glancing towards Gabby. "We may or may not have been talking about you, but really at this point I'm just surprised it took you this long to come and see your wife." She teased him, but he merely grinned.

"Honestly, you're right. It's been too long since I've seen her… Hi baby." He greeted Gabby with a wink, the ease of his voice causing her own smile to widen while Shay rolled her eyes playfully.

"Hi." Gabby replied.

"Gross." Shay muttered under her breath, Casey chuckling deeply. "If you two are gonna keep doing that, I'm leaving."

"Well, you might have to. Cause I think I wanna sit with my wife for a bit." He continued on as Gabby took a step closer to the counter, smirking proudly as Shay let out a scoff. "But you can stay, and tell me what you were talking about."

"Why? You think it was bad?" Shay challenged before Matt laughed once more.

"Knowing you? There's no telling." He said without hesitation, Gabby watching on in amusement as her husband and best friend went back and forth.

"Fair point… But don't worry Mr. Gabby, we were just talking about how much Gabby loves the size of your d-"

"We were talking about Thanksgiving." Gabby cut off her friend's obvious lie, Casey suppressing another chuckle while resting his hands against the bar.

"Yeah, I hope that's what it was." He responded lightheartedly, while Gabby gave Shay's arm a light tap.

"It was, she was asking if we had any plans."

"You two are no fun." Shay cut in while looking back and forth between them. "But your wife is right, we were just talking about Thanksgiving and what you two were doing… Sounds like you have a nice day planned."

"Yeah, it'll be good." He said with a smile. "Getting everyone together is always fun."

"Well, when you're one big happy family of course it is." Shay continued to joke, Matt rolling his eyes back at her while Gabby shook her head, the latter then beginning to stretch her arm across her chest. "...You okay?" She asked her, Casey glancing towards her seconds later.

"Yeah, I'm good. My side is just a little sore. Probably from standing so long." She replied nonchalantly, earning nothing more than a stare from Shay.

"Hey Dawson!" Herrmann called from down the bar before either of them could say anything, Gabby glancing his way to see him waving her over. "A little help, kid." He added, nodding towards the crowd forming in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go help him out with that… I'll be back in a minute." She spoke to Matt and Shay, the pair both nodding before she headed off down the bar, Casey letting his eyes linger on her until she got over to Herrmann.

But he was only watching her for a few moments before he felt another pair of eyes on him, Casey returning his gaze forward to find Shay's somewhat pointed stare directed at him.

"...What?" He spoke seconds later when she had yet to say a word. But even after his question, she still didn't speak. "What, Shay?" He pressed on, seeing her purse her lips together before sparing a quick look back at her friend.

"...When was the last time Gabby took a test?" She questioned, his eyebrows furrowing almost instantly as even though he knew what she was asking, he didn't know why she was asking it.

"Why?"

"Just answer the question." She told him, Matt letting out a sight while bringing his hand up to cover his face.

"I don't know, a few weeks ago. A month, maybe less. I'm not sure… Why?" He pressed again, Shay unable to hide the slight smirk growing across her lips before nodding down towards Gabby's direction.

"I know you guys are trying not to… stress about this baby thing, but you might not need to do that anymore." She started, seeing him no less confused than he was moments ago. "I think you might've finally knocked her up."

Casey's eyes widened ever slightly, his gaze instinctively going back towards Gabby before he huffed out a breath. "Shay…"

"Oh come on, you know it might at least be true. She's been tired all the time, she's sore. And there's no way you haven't noticed the way her tits have gotten a little…" She trailed off, holding her hands up in front of her own chest to emphasize her point. Though Matt only scoffed before pushing her hands away. "Just think about it, Casey." She told him before pushing herself back from the bar and beginning to head down towards Gabby and Herrmann, leaving Matt there on his own to think over what she had just said.

And while he didn't necessarily put much stock into what she was saying, especially when Gabby herself hadn't said anything to him, there was a small part of him that couldn't help but wonder if Shay may have been right.

"You want some water or anything, babe?" Matt asked as they stepped into their bedroom, turning on the light to help them see before they moved further inside their room, Gabby answering him with only a shake of her head.

It was pretty late into the evening, nearing eleven or so as Matt and Gabby had just returned home from their Thanksgiving dinner at Ramon and Camila's. And, though it ended a little earlier than they planned, it had been a wonderful night with their entire family, enjoying great food while they all got the chance to catch up and spend some time together. Something they surely would've done more of had it not been for Gabby suddenly not feeling very well.

She wasn't nauseous, as far as he knew, but when she'd pulled him aside during dessert and told him she was kind of tired and not feeling the best, after some quick goodbyes and thanks he'd decided to go ahead and get her home. And, just by seeing how tired she got during the drive, he knew that was for the best, Matt now unable to keep his eyes off of her as she moved through their bedroom.

Gabby was in the process of getting out of her dress and into something more comfortable, letting the material fall to the floor before she headed towards the dresser, either completely unaware of his gaze or not caring as she continued to move easily through their room. But while she did, Matt couldn't help the way his thoughts wandered off; thoughts of his wife, and more specifically the things Shay had said to him a few days before.

He'd tried to not think about it, or hold onto too much of what she was saying, but after watching Gabby these past couple days it was hard not to.

Matt always paid attention to his wife, and knew what was going on with her, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't watching her a little more closely than he normally did. And with that came the realization that at least part of what Shay was talking about had been right. The tiredness, the not feeling well. Her being sore, it all fit. And on some level, Matt knew he'd noticed it before Shay had even said anything. That he'd picked up on some of these little changes over the past couple weeks, he just hadn't really put it together. Or was trying not to, given how emotional of a thing this was for them. So he never said anything.

And Gabby hadn't either, which may have been at least part of why it took him some time to put the pieces together. Because after spending so many months with Gabby recognizing even the slightest change in her body, with this she'd said nothing, and Matt knew there had to be a reason for that.

She had to have noticed that something was different with her, there's no way she wouldn't have picked up on it. So for her to not come to him, he could only assume that this was either nothing, or, maybe more likely, she had just been worried to mention anything to him without being sure. That, despite his assurances and their talks about all of it, she didn't want to get his hopes up again. So she stayed quiet.

But he wanted to know. Even if it did end up being nothing, he wanted to know what was going on with her and what she was thinking. If she was standing here right now, wondering if she could possibly be pregnant. He wanted to know all of it.

The only problem is he wasn't sure how to bring it up right now.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." Gabby's voice interrupted his thoughts, Matt's vision coming into focus just as she slid one of his t-shirts over her head, finding a smile waiting for him before he nodded back.

"Alright baby." He responded softly, his voice soothing to her as she gave him one last soft look before heading towards their bathroom.

His eyes followed her as she moved, Matt unable to stop the confused look on his face when he saw her close the door behind her. She didn't shut it all the way, leaving it open just an inch or two, but it was still odd to him, as even though they gave each other their privacy when wanted this just wasn't something they'd typically do. But he was trying not to read too much into it.

Shaking his head a bit, Matt took to getting himself ready for bed as well, stripping himself out of his own clothes and changing into a t-shirt and pair of boxers, before heading to the closet to hang up his things, and the dress Gabby had left on the ground. But just as he stepped back into their bedroom, he heard the sound of his name being called. And though it was somewhat muffled through the closed door, the tone in her voice worried him.

"Matt!"

Casey wasted no time in heading towards their bathroom, getting there in only a few steps before he pushed the door open, finding Gabby standing in the middle of the smaller room with her eyes already on him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked without a thought, but she only shook her head, silently telling him everything was okay.

"I took a test." She blurted out, Matt letting out a relieved, somewhat amused breath before taking a step towards her, the smile on his face telling him that just as he'd assumed, Gabby definitely noticed the changes happening with her. "And I know I said I wouldn't, but I just… That feeling is back. And-"

"What does it say?" He cut her off gently as he got to her, Gabby smiling cautiously when she picked up on the knowing look in his eyes. Like he wasn't even surprised by what she had told him, though given how observant her husband had always been she knew she shouldn't be.

"...I don't know yet." She replied, Matt's smile widening before he nodded. "I wanted you here."

"I'm here." He promised, grabbing ahold of her free hand before leading her over towards their bathtub, where they both sat down on the edge.

Her body leaned into his almost on instinct, Gabby's leg shaking up and down as he noticed the turned over pregnancy test clasped in her opposite hand, Matt then reaching down to rest his palm over the top of her thigh.

He could feel the nerves radiating off of her, and truthfully he felt some too. But he was doing his best to just soak in the moment, regardless of whatever answer was waiting for them, Matt giving his wife's leg a squeeze before she looked up at him.

"Remember, whatever it says…" He started, Gabby smiling in response while she nodded.

"I know… We're okay." She finished for him, Casey matching her look before leaning forward to press a few loving kisses to her head.

The next few moments went by slowly, but once that timer finally went off Matt and Gabby couldn't help but look at one another, like they needed this one last moment before knowing if their lives were about to change forever. But after Casey gave her an assuring nod, Gabby took another deep breath before turning the test over, giving them both the perfect view of it.

In their time together, especially these last few months, they had dreamed over and over of a day like today, and prayed for a time like this. For them to finally start their family and have the life they always wanted, it was something they'd been waiting on.

But no matter how many conversations were had, no matter how many dreams they'd shared, nothing could've ever prepared them for this.

For what it felt like to finally see that positive pregnancy test resting in Gabby's hands.