Hi Readers: And welcome to a new story I plan on writing for you. Hope you like it and the premise.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Chapter One
Grace Elizabeth Casey
San Juan, Puerto Rico – September 3, 2020
The Captain knew he had to make this call sooner rather than later, especially since he was scheduled to have shift tomorrow in Chicago; a shift he wasn't going to make due to the fact that he needed to be here, in San Juan…the place where he's been for the past week on a "furlough". The reason he took furlough? Well, it was due to the fact that his wife told him that she took some time off that week and wanted him to come join her in Puerto Rico so that she could show him what she's been doing over the past two years here in Puerto Rico; though, that wasn't the truth. The real reason she needed him to come to her was due to the fact that she was giving birth, something he had no idea about until he got here a week ago. Hell, he hasn't even told anybody in Chicago that he's a dad yet; but, he has to now due to the fact that he's come to realize something: there's no way that he can leave, not when Gabby called him to be here for her and their newborn baby girl Grace. Their 48-hour old (she was born September 1st) princess, their daughter.
And now that they had her, Matt just knew that there was no possible way that he could leave her; not when he needs to be here to take care of his wife and daughter, while they also talk to each other. He just hopes that his chief understands, especially since he just saw the picture of Grace Elizabeth Casey that he sent her. So, there was no doubt in his mind that was the reason why he was calling him this morning, which just so happened to be the day he was originally scheduled to return to Chicago for shift tomorrow. "Hey chief." Boden agreed with Matt, greeting his Captain in a similar manner. "Hello Captain. Now, who do we have in the picture there?" Matt smiled as Chief Boden asked him that question. "That would be me and Gabby's little girl Grace." Boden was surprised to hear Matt say that. "Wait, you mean that…" Matt sighed. "It's why I had to leave so fast last shift. I got a call from Antonio telling me that Gabby was giving birth yesterday." Boden was surprised. "And you didn't share that Gabby was pregnant with us?" Matt sighed.
After all, he didn't even know. "Chief, I didn't even know that she was pregnant until last week. There's a complicated story behind it, but it's why I haven't been easy to reach recently. I've been busy with things." Boden agreed with Matt as he said that. "Oh, well that makes sense. How's Gabby doing?" Matt smiled. "Good, we're at home and all set up. However, that's actually why I needed to call you." Boden agreed with Matt. "Chief, listen. I know this is last minute and I was supposed to be back tomorrow for shift; but…" Boden already knew where this was going, so he just finished Matt's sentence. "You aren't coming home anytime soon?" Matt sighed when Boden said that. "Chief, Gabby is on bedrest, we have a newborn, and I'm still quarantining from the flight down to Puerto Rico. I was just lucky that the hospital let me in to watch Gabby give birth to our daughter, I didn't even know if I was going to be able to considering COVID. I thought I was going to have to quarantine." Ah yes, quarantining in the age of COVID; so much fun.
The process of having to stay in a hotel (or other place) for a certain amount of time, before you're allowed to enter society. "Lucky for me, Gabby told the hospital that I was coming and that I needed to be with her for the sake of our daughter in case something happened." Boden agreed with Matt as he said that. "Well, I'm glad…and we just got the results. Nobody tested positive in the past week. So, you're clear." Matt agreed with Boden, glad that was the case. "I'm glad. The last thing I want to do is transmit this to Gabby or Grace." Boden agreed with his Captain as he said that. "So, how long is this stay in Puerto Rico going to be?" Matt sighed. "Honestly, it all depends on the pandemic. I know, that's a lot to ask…but I at least know I have 6 weeks paternity leave." Boden agreed with Matt. "Right, I will put that request in so that you can get paid while you're there." Matt agreed with Boden, as he appreciated that. "Thanks Chief. I really appreciate that. But, I just needed to tell you that I don't know when or even if I'm coming back now."
Boden agreed with Matt as he said that. "Yeah, having a baby with your wife who lives in Puerto Rico does change things for you, as well as your living situation." Matt agreed with Boden, as that was the truth. "Can you do me a favor and not share it with the rest of the house yet? Maybe just tell them that I'm going to stay with Gabby for a bit since I missed my wife, we want to tell them about Grace on our own time. I just need to let you know so that you can update the forms. You know…the morbid stuff." Boden got what Matt was saying. "Oh, those forms. I can do that for you Matt, I promise. I know, you think of those things right away when you have a baby." Matt agreed. "Especially in the middle of a pandemic. Now, there's a list of good long-term floaters that you can use. I ranked them based on how well they work with the team. It's in my desk. Kidd is probably good to be Lieutenant for a shift, she's got what it takes. Maybe get her to write the test so that she can take over. I know, it's fast; but I think she's got it in her to do it."
Boden agreed with Matt, as he felt the same way. "Sounds good. I promise to make sure that I get this all-in order for you." Matt agreed. "Chief, I know this is fast. But, I hope you know I really appreciate this help. I promise, I'll give you more details when I have them. But, I think that I need to stay here in Puerto Rico for the time being with Gabby and Grace." Boden agreed with Matt as he said that, as that made sense. "Of course. Now, you have a nice day and I hope you get some rest. You're on holiday now, just take it easy and breathe." Matt sighed. "Can you really do that when your daughter is a newborn and there's COVID in the world?" Boden sighed as Matt pointed that out, as that was a good point. "Good point." Matt agreed with Boden as he said that. "Thanks for your help Chief, now I'm going to go to bed. I just wanted to call you quickly this morning. Sorry it was early. I just…" Boden then stopped Matt. "Matt, I'm at the house and wide awake. I promise, things are okay due to the fact that I know you're awake because of the baby."
Matt agreed with Boden, as that was the truth. "Tell me about it." That's when Matt started to hear Grace. "Listen, I have to go chief. That's Grace." Boden agreed with Matt as he said that, well aware that he needs to go so that he can take care of his little girl.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
She was about to get out of bed so that she could get Grace, as it was clear that Matt wasn't going to be getting her from her crib for her this morning. "C'mon. I'm supposed to be resting in bed, Matthew." Hearing his wife say that as he walked into their room to see her getting out of bed, Matt agreed. "Which is precisely why I am right here, coming to get Grace for you." Looking at her husband, Gabby smiled as she laid back against her pillow and took a moment to admire her handsome husband. "Now, this is a sight I like to see when I lay down in bed. My husband walking around the house in his boxers." Matt smirked as Gabby said that, well aware that was the case. "And I love the sight of you in our bed still." Gabby agreed with Matt, well aware of what he was talking about as he made his way over to his side table to set his phone down. After which, he made his way over to Grace's crib to pick her up. "Oh, there you go sweetheart. Daddy's right here." Picking Grace up in his arms, Matt smiled as he cuddled up to his baby girl.
After which, he tapped her back to calm her down, while Gabby looked at him. "So, why were you out of bed at…" Turning her head, Gabby looked at the time. "…6 in the morning." Matt sighed. "Because I forgot to cancel my flight and had to cancel it, then I had to call Boden." Gabby looked at Matt as he said that. "Wait, does that mean…" Matt just looked at his wife. "Babe, did you really expect me to go anywhere? Grace is only 2 days old, you're on bedrest, there's COVID, and I want to be a father and a great husband to you. So, the last think I'm doing is leaving you when you need me the most." Walking over to his wife, Matt smiled as he looked at his gorgeous wife; after which, he watched Gabby sit up so that she can feed Grace this morning. "Here, how about I set Grace down in your arms and I can cuddle up to my girls?" Gabby agreed with her husband as he said that, as that's precisely what she wants the man of her dreams to do for her right now: she wants him to get in bed and hold her and Grace close to her in bed.
So, she made sure that she was ready for when Grace needed to be set down. "I'm ready for her." Matt agreed with Gabby as she said that, before going to lay Grace down in her arms; meanwhile, Gabby held her in his arms and just smiled as she brought her daughter close to her breast to feed her. Meanwhile, Matt looked at her and smiled as he bent down to kiss the top of her head. "How about you slip over a bit so that I can join you?" Gabby agreed with Matt, doing just that for her husband; while he got in bed with her and smiled as he cuddled up to his girls: his gorgeous wife Gabby, and their little girl Grace. "God, now this is nice." Gabby agreed with her husband as he said that, smirking as he turned her head and kissed him softly. "Not as nice as being back in your arms. I missed you." Matt agreed with his wife as she said that, smiling as he leaned in and kissed her once more. "Well, you don't need to miss me anymore because I'm yours." Gabby smiled as she heard Matt say that. "How long is your paternity leave?" Matt shook his head.
Smiling at his wife, Matt then proceeded to tell her the truth. "I've been meaning to talk to you about me moving here since you came in November. I wanted to come down here so many times and just be here, but something always delayed it. I don't want to be apart from you anymore Gabby, not when I already missed your entire pregnancy. I love you and I want to start fresh with you, here in San Juan. I know what I told Boden, but the truth is…I think this is our home now." Gabby smiled as she heard Matt say that, before turning her head and looking at Grace. "A home where we can have more kids?" Matt laughed. "Yeah, calm down. We still need to talk about how you hid your pregnancy from me when you could've died." Gabby sighed, well aware that was truth. "But, not yet. Right now, we're just going to be happy. We're going to be happy with each other, as well as our little miracle here; our baby girl, Grace Elizabeth." Gabby agreed with her husband, as she loves the fact that this is their life; their home where they can have a wonderful family.
Turning her head again as she continued to feed Grace, Gabby smiled as she leaned in and kissed her incredible husband softly. "Thank you." Matt smiled as Gabby said that. "For what?" Gabby smirked. "All of this. For you getting me pregnant, for being here with me and Grace, leaving Chicago behind for me when you said that you couldn't a couple years ago." Matt agreed with his wife. "Well, things have changed for me. COVID happened and I've been worried sick about you, and I had a daughter with my beautiful wife. The wife who put her life on the line to give me our baby girl." Matt said, as he stroked Grace's cheek with his finger, while also pressing his lips to Gabby's forehead. "Plus, I need to take some time off eventually. I haven't had a vacation in a while." Gabby smiled as she heard Matt say that. "Well, I think a family vacation is in order then." Matt smiled as he pressed his lips to her forehead once more, as he feels the same way. "Then let's have a family vacation for a while, just the three of us." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Both of his girls ended up falling asleep shortly after Grace got her feeding in this morning, which made it quite easy to put Grace down in her crib; but getting back in bed with his wife? Yeah, that might not be so easy. Though, that doesn't mean that Matt's not going to try and get back in bed with Gabby; it's his favorite place to be, after all. In bed with the woman he loves, holding her in his arms as they cuddle up to each other and just take it easy. After all, they've only got 2 hours before they need to feed Grace again. So, they're both going to get all the rest that they can get. He just hopes that Gabby doesn't mind being woken up so that he can get all comfortable in bed with the woman he loves, especially now that she's topless and just wearing her underwear; god, such a turn on. So, here goes nothing. Opening the covers to their bed, Matt smirked as he climbed back into bed and cuddled up to her; wrapping his arms around her as he closed the covers on top of the both of them in the process. And let's just say that Gabby was happy he did that.
In fact, she was hoping he'd do that regardless of whether she was asleep or not. "You actually hesitated in getting in bed like this with me?" Surprised to hear Gabby speak to him, Matt rolled her over and looked down into her eyes. "You're awake?" Placing her hand on Matt's face, Gabby agreed and smirked as she most certainly is awake. "Oh, I most certainly am awake." Matt agreed with his wife as she said that, before rolling her over some more and tugging her body against his chest, which is precisely what Gabby wanted him to do in the first place. She wants to be close to her husband as he hold her in his arms. And she wants to kiss him, which is precisely what she just did. "I love you." Matt agreed with his wife as she said that. "I love you too, my miracle." Gabby smiled as Matt said that, prior to wrapping her arms around his back and cuddling up to him as she slipped her legs in between his. "You ever say goodbye to me again, you're a dead man Mr. Casey." Matt sighed. "Maybe we don't bring that up yet, as you don't want to start that with me."
Gabby sighed, well aware that they were going to have to talk about that. "Yeah, we're going to have to talk about that; aren't we?" Matt agreed with his wife, as they are going to have to talk about it. "In due time, we will. Right now, I just want you to rest and take it easy. You've been through a lot in the past couple months, and you've had to deal with it alone. That couldn't have been easy." Gabby shook her head, as it wasn't easy. "No, it wasn't." Matt agreed with Gabby as she said that, well aware that was the case as they both cuddled up to each other and held each other close. "Well, you got me here now babe. I'm here to help you raise our little miracle over there." Gabby agreed with her husband as he said that, smirking due to the fact that Grace most certainly is their little miracle. "I think she looks a bit like you." Matt smiled as Gabby said that. "I think she looks more like her beautiful mom." Gabby smiled as she agreed with Matt, cuddling up to the man of her dreams as they both held each other close here in the comfort of their bed.
Pressing his lips to Gabby's forehead once she was close to him, Matt smiled as he was very happy right now. "You have no idea just how happy you being here in my arms makes me babe." Gabby agreed with her husband, well aware that her being in his arms makes him happy, because her being in his arms makes her happy. "Well, it makes me happy; so, I can only imagine that it makes you happy as well." Matt smiled as he agreed with his wife, prior to leaning in and kissing the woman he loves more than anything in the entire world nice and slowly. "I love you Gabby." Gabby agreed with her husband, as she loves him too. "I love you too, Matt. See you later in the morning." Matt agreed with his gorgeous wife as she said that, more than ready to fall asleep with her in his arms. "Forever. This is home now babe." Gabby agreed with Matt as he told her that, glad that was the case as they both fell asleep in each other's arms for the next couple hours. That was…until Grace needed them again.