Hello Readers: And welcome to another day of chapters. I hope you guys enjoyed yesterday's chapters that I posted (3-6), and I hope that you guys also like where this story is going. Now, if you guys have any comments on how you like it (or not); please let me know, and maybe we can figure something out to make sure that you guys enjoy it even more. I want to give you, the readers, what you guys are missing on the show; while also trying to incorporate what I want to write as well. In fact, I encourage you guys to send me ideas as I want the challenge. I want the challenge to try and add ideas. Thanks again for reading, and I hope to hear back from you guys. Now, let's get to it. Here's Chapter Seven, a family time chapter.

Well, mostly; you'll see what I mean by that as you read the chapter. Thanks again for reading, and please enjoy.

Chapter Seven

When times are tough, you're told that you should lean on the ones you love. And when you're part of a family, those are the people that you need to lean on; whether they be blood relatives, or your friends…you should always lean on the people that you love, and who love you, when you need them the most. And it seemed that this was really one of those times. Not just for the husband and wife, but also for the young lady who was currently sitting on the back porch of his home this afternoon. While it did occur to the CEO to check on his wife regularly, to see how he's doing; Matt did feel a bit bad about how he's yet to check in on Eva. Yes, she's Antonio's daughter (and therefore not his responsibility); but she's also an employee. And when he first started the company, he promised himself that he'd check on his employees when he felt that they needed to be checked up on; that way, he'd know whether they were in the right head space to be working.

And right now, that was something that he felt like he had to do. He had to go check on his employee, but not as his company's CEO; rather, he had to do it as her uncle. And luckily for him, he bet that Camila didn't expect them to be downstairs so soon, and that meant that she still needed to finish making them some lunch. So, while Camila finished lunch (and Gabby took care of Matteo and Noah); Matt asked Gabby if he could step away for a moment, and go talk to Eva as she sat on the back porch. "Hey Gabby?" Turning to look at her husband as they finished setting up the boys in their chairs, Gabby smiled. "Yeah baby?" Matt then turned to look at Eva while getting close to his wife and wrapping his arms around her. "Do you think that you got the boys for a minute?" Looking at her niece as she sat outside, Gabby took a breath as she wrapped her arms around Matt; she then looked up at him. "You want to go talk to her for a bit?" Matt nodded, smiling.

"I just have this feeling, that I can get to her in a way that you can't. I mean, you're her aunt; but I can relate to her, having just gone through this with my mother. The fear that came with it, I bet that Eva is feeling all of the same things." Gabby agreed with her husband when he told her that, as she thought that could definitely be the case. "I think that would be a great idea." Matt then took a breath and looked at Gabby. "Listen, I just hope you know that I don't think that you couldn't do it but…" Gabby then proceeded to lean up and kiss her husband softly. "Hey, take a breath and just relax honey. You just explained it to me. You just went through this with your mom, and I think that you made great points; you need to go talk to her, and you need to help her. Plus, I'm just going to get too emotional with my hormones if I try and talk to her." Matt smiled when he heard Gabby say that. "Hey, do you need to talk?" Gabby smiled. "Not right now, I'm okay; I promise."

Matt agreed with Gabby as she told him that, smiling as he bent down and then proceeded to kiss the woman he loves more than anything. That was when Camila came out to see that Matt and Gabby were already downstairs, which surprised her (as they expected). "Matt and Gabby?" Gabby laughed as she let go of Matt and looked at her mom. "Hi mom." Camila agreed. "I didn't expect you to come down so fast. I thought, maybe another thirty minutes." Gabby agreed with her mom when she said that, smiling at her. "We're good mom. In fact, Matt just said that he's going to go talk to Eva for a bite; after all, he did just go through this with his mom." Camila agreed with Gabby when she said that, well aware that was the case. "Then I hope that you can make her feel better Matt." Matt agreed with his mother-in-law, smiling at her. "Listen, you have fun. But remember to take it easy. Uhm, I won't be able to…" Gabby just looked at Matt. "Just go outside." Matt agreed with his wife when she told him to go outside, which he promptly did shortly after she told him to.

The uncle couldn't help but feel horrible as he looked at his niece while she sat outside this morning, clearly just trying to distract herself while looking out at the ocean; something that he knows all too much about, especially since he did it many times while they sons were in the NICU. But not just then; he also does it when he has PTSD, as the sound of the waves help him a lot. And that was where he was going to start the conversation with his niece; he's going to talk to her about the waves, and how they are very calming when you have many things on your mind. "You know, this is my spot sometimes. My spot to just come out and think, to escape the world and just…just try and make things stop long enough, just so that you can get your feet on the ground and relax." Turning around to look at her uncle after hearing him come outside, Eva sighed as she thought this was her aunt's doing. "Let me guess, Tia Gabby asked you to come out and talk to me?"

Matt shook his head when he heard Eva ask him whether his wife put him up to this, which she most certainly did not. "No, I was the one that came up with the idea to do this; especially since I have been through all of this recently." Eva looked at her uncle when he said that, not believing him. "Oh really? You've wondered if your grandfather was okay? Last time I checked, you didn't have a grandfather anymore." Matt took a breath when he heard Eva say that, which was very much true. "Eva, I don't want to argue with you. However, I would like to come sit down and talk to you; because I truly mean it when I can say that I can relate to you." Eva sighed as she looked at her uncle, knowing that she was not going to be able to argue with him. "Either let me come talk to you, or I call your boss back and tell her to give you work." Eva looked at her uncle when he said that. "You got me off work?" Matt agreed. "Ms. Errs understands the situation, and you have some time off."

Eva smiled when she heard her uncle say that. "Thanks uncle Matt." Matt smiled when he heard Eva say that. "Do you mind if I come sit down? And I can explain what I mean?" Eva agreed with her uncle when he asked her whether he can come sit with her. "Not like I can stop you, this is your home." Matt smiled when he heard Eva say that, before making his way over to his niece so that he can talk to her and just give her the comfort that she needs right now.

Matt's POV:
Moving to sit down with Eva this afternoon, I smiled due to the fact that I was glad that she was going to open up to me. "So listen, I know that this might be awkward; me not being your biological family. However, I talked to your aunt and grandma; and we all agreed that it might actually be better if you talk to me." Eva was a bit confused when I said that. "How exactly?" I took a breath while looking at my niece. "If you talk to me, then you don't have to worry about making your aunt more worried. We both know that your aunt is worried, because she truly is; I can attest that first hand Eva. I hope you know that it's okay to show that you're worried." Eva sighed. "Gabby just looked so put together, and I was worried that…" I shook my head. "Eva, that's just her putting on a brave face. Right now, we have two sons that need us day and night; and Gabby is trying to just concentrate the best she can on the boys. But that doesn't mean that she's not worried for her dad."

Eva took a breath when she heard me say that. "Sorry that I even thought that way." I shook my head. "Hey, you have no reason to apologize Eva; you don't know everything that's going on behind the scenes. But I can promise you, that I have your aunt on my mind all the time; and we're here for you too Eva, I mean that." Eva sighed, starting to shut down again. "You just don't understand." I sighed when she said that. "Actually Eva, I understand better than you think. Until recently, I didn't know where my mom was for six years." Turning her head, Eva was shocked. "Really?" I nodded, agreeing with my niece as she asked me whether I didn't know where my mother was for six years. "Yes, that was the truth. And trust me, that really hurt. Eva, she missed my wedding, and she almost missed the birth of my sons." Eva agreed with me when I said that, clearly able to see that I truly did understand. "Eva, there's other things that you don't know." Eva was confused.

"I feel jealous of you because you know your grandparents. The truth is, I never knew my grandparents. All this money I got from them? I didn't even know I was wealthy until last year. I was blindsided, so I know all about this. Right now, you feel like you're in this place where you don't even know what's reality anymore; and I know that because my life has changed so much this year." Eva took a breath and just looked at me. "Yeah, you and my aunt got back together, and you had the boys." I agreed with Eva, smiling when she said that before turning my head to look at my family inside. "I have to say, that's definitely the best part of all of this. However, that's not what I'm really talking about. Uhm, has your dad talked to you about what I have?" Eva looked at me as I asked her that. "I think my dad said something, I forget. He just said that you just have some mental health issues now. He didn't go into details because he said that was for you to do; he didn't…"

I agreed with Eva when she said that, appreciating what Antonio did for me. "Yeah, that's definitely right. But the truth is, I have PTSD Eva." Eva was shocked when she heard me say that. "You mean like Jay?" I agreed with her when she said that. "Eva, I know all about worrying; I know how you can get scared really easy. I have bad dreams all the times, and it's been a lot to take in. It's actually why me and Gabby had to move to Hawaii, for my health." Eva seemed a bit shocked as I told her that. "Really?" I agreed with Eva when she asked me if I was telling her the truth. "Yes, I'm telling you the truth Eva. The entire truth, and I will always tell you the truth when it comes to that." Eva took a breath when I said that. "Are you okay?" I nodded and smiled as she asked me whether I was okay. "I take medication, and I'm much better because I'm dealing with it. But Eva, I want you to know; that you don't need to feel like you can't talk to us, because we understand."

Eva agreed with me as I said that. "I can clearly see that now." I smiled. "Sorry I just dropped the PTSD thing on you, I have no idea where it came from; and I just wanted to say it before I forgot." Eva smiled when I told her that. "Well, I'm glad that you finally told me. I'm sure that it wasn't easy to tell people." I sighed when Eva asked me whether it was easy to tell people. And the truth was, it definitely was not. "No, it's not easy; but that's why I'm telling you, it's to show you that it's okay to tell people things that are hard to talk about. It's okay to tell people how you feel, and how you're dealing with things; because while you may not believe that they'll understand, they may surprise you and know exactly how you feel based on their experiences. And I can even draw on my experience as a firefighter. You have no ideas how many times I have run into a mother, or a father; who come to me in panic where they can't find their child." Eva took a breath, sighing.

I could clearly see that she was thinking about something, something that may be because of what I told her. Looking at her, I just tried to see if she was okay. "You okay Eva?" Eva agreed with me. "Yeah, just trying to figure out what to say." I agreed with Eva as she told me that, well aware that was the case. "I can just see now that you understand much more than I believed possible, and I need to apologize for that." I agreed with Eva when she said that, smiling at her. "However, there is something that I want to ask you." I smiled. "What is it sweetheart?" Eva then went ahead and asked me a hard question. "Do you think that we're going to find him alive?" That's when I heard something drop close to the door. Turning my head, I saw that it was Gabby; and that a tray of drinks just feel onto the ground, just like some tears were falling from her eyes. But before I could get up, Gabby went ahead and ran away. "Tia Gabby…" I then took a breath and looked at Eva.

Getting up, I soon realized what I needed to do right now; I needed to go be with my wife. "Uhm, Eva…" Eva looked at me when I tried to ask her whether she can take care of the plate that just fell onto the ground. "Of course, Uncle Matt, can you ask my grandma to come out and…" That's when I heard Camila come outside. "Is everything okay? I just watched Gabby rush upstairs." Eva took a breath. "I asked Matt whether we're going to find my grandpa alive." Camila then understood, just looking at me. "Matt, me, and Eva have the boys okay? Go take care of Gabby and make sure that she's okay." I agreed with Camila when she said that, before going to get close to her. Hugging her, I took a breath and kissed her cheek. "Thanks."

She got scared after hearing what her niece asked her husband, and that was just not something that she was ready to think about; the possibility that they wouldn't find her father alive, the father whom she wants to introduce to her sons so bad. But there was something else that happened between Gabby hearing the question come out of her niece's mouth, and her rushing upstairs to sit in bed; she realized that she was thinking the exact same thing. She was wondering whether her father was even alive, and whether she would ever get a chance to introduce Matteo and Noah to him; after all, that's something that she's dreamed of for the longest time. She's dreamed of her father holding her children in his arms, and just making them feel so loved. She's seen him hold Eva and Diego in his arms, and she's always thought that was just a guarantee; she thought that she was guaranteed to have a chance, a chance to see her father hold her children.

But after hearing what Eva just said, it all hit her; that was no longer a guarantee, it was a dream. A dream that could very well be crushed if this doesn't go well, and her brother doesn't have any luck finding her father. But that was something that she wasn't ready to think about, as she wasn't ready to give up hope that they would find her father; that they would find him alive and well, and then bring him here to Hawaii so that she can hug him once more. The thought of having his arms around her right now was definitely something that she wanted, but she was going to have to settle for her husband's arms right now. Slipping into bed with Gabby shortly after he came upstairs (and closed the door), Matt wrapped his arms around her before tugging her body back against his chest. He then bent down and kissed her shoulder as a way to give her the comfort that she needs from him right now. The comfort that comes with having him in bed with her, and it was perfect.

She just doesn't like how she may have risked her health to come up here. "Sorry I ran so fast." Matt shook his head when he heard Gabby apologize for running in the house. "Hey, don't you even worry about apologizing Gabby. I mean that." Gabby agreed with Matt as he told her that. She then took a breath before rolling over to face him. Realizing that Gabby wants him on his back, Matt rolled over and just opened his arms to get Gabby to come into his arms. Coming to do just that, Gabby took a breath as she cuddled up to Matt. However, what she didn't expect to do was just break down in her husband's arms. She didn't expect it to happen, and neither did her husband; but now that she was crying, she just didn't feel like she could stop. So, her husband decided not to make her stop; and he just let her get a good cry out into his chest. "I'm right here baby, and I'm not going anywhere." Gabby agreed with Matt, Glad that was the case; as this was what she needed.