Hello Readers: And welcome to another day of chapters. And boy, am I glad that I get to say that to you as I feel like I'm finally in a great place due to the fact that I'm finally writing again. And not only am I re-writing some of the material which I wrote in the past (while also adding on as the chapters are much longer this time around), I'm also coming up with new material as I go. In fact, I'm proud to say that this chapter is entirely new material which was never included in the first version of this story. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 4

Walking into her patient's hospital room this morning, Dr. Letts couldn't help but smile at the sight of Gabby sitting in bed with her newborn son Gabriel. God, just the fact that she was sitting her at all made her (as well as her husband) smile due to the fact that she could've never predicted that any of this would happen. If anything, she thought that things would turn out much worse than they did. Yes, Gabby's aneurysm burst; but, that didn't mean that she was out of the woods. She still needed to be monitored, due to the fact that brains are unpredictable. Though, as it was quite early in the morning, Dr. Letts decided upon entering the room that she wouldn't talk about that yet as she didn't want to scare her patient. Rather, she wanted to let her stay calm and just take it easy as she starts this new life with her husband and their son. "Gabriel is a beautiful name." Turning her head when she heard Dr. Letts, Gabby smiled.

After all, she was so grateful to her for everything she did for her and her family. "Dr. Letts, I'm so glad to see you. It finally gives me a chance to thank you for everything you did for us." Smiling as Gabby said that, Matt proceeded to make his way over to her side, which is precisely where he plans on being for the rest of his life. "The same goes for me, Dr. Letts. You have no idea how appreciative I am for everything you did for me and Gabby. Not only did you save her life, but you also made us a family. It's always been our dream to have kids. But, after you gave us that horrible news in 2018, we never in a million years imagined this day would ever be upon us." Turning her head as her husband said that, Gabby gave Matt a bit of side-eye due to the fact that statement wasn't entirely true. "Ok. I never imagined this day would be upon us. I was so opposed to this at first, because of how scared I was." Gabby agreed.

And unfortunately, his worst fears happened. "I'm sorry that your worst fears came true Matt. I hope you know that I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Matt agreed with his wife, as he knew that. He knew that she was sorry, so there was no need for her to say it again. All she needed to do was concentrate on her recovery as she takes it easy with their son in bed. "Hey, I know that Gabby…" Matt started saying, as he grabbed a rolling stool to bring it next to her bed. After which, he sat down and smiled as he reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Please, never think that I don't know that you never intended to die on me. That was the last thing you wanted, as I know how much you want to be a mom. How much you want to be here with me and Gabriel. It's why I changed his name from Matteo to Gabriel, to honor the sacrifices and risk you took to give me a son. That's why his name is Gabriel."

Smiling, Gabby agreed with her loving husband as she knew that was the truth. She could tell it was the truth, due to the fact that he was speaking to her from the bottom of his heart. And there was nothing that anybody could remotely say to her that could change her mind that he meant what he said. That he named their son in honor of her, due to the fact that he wanted to honor the sacrifices that she made; up to including taking the risk and chance that she would be required to make the ultimate sacrifice: dying, just so that she could make her loving husband a father to their beautiful baby boy, Gabriel. "So, before we begin with me checking you…I want to talk to you both." Dr. Letts began, as she grabbed her own rolling stool and moved closer to her patients. Meanwhile, Gabby turned her head as she was confused. "What do you mean, Dr. Letts?" Dr. Letts sighed, as she knew Gabby was going to be confused.

So, she decided to start. "As you know, I have been monitoring your condition since you gave birth. So, that means that I've been coming in and out of your room for a while now. No, I wasn't here when you woke up; but, that didn't mean that I wasn't kept apprise of what was going on in here. I know how scared Matt was." Turning her head, Dr. Letts then spoke directly to Matt. "About that. Mr. Casey, I'm sorry that it took the hospital so long to tell me that Gabby was here. Had I known that she was here and this far along in her pregnancy…I'm sorry to let you know, but I wouldn't have allowed her to wait until you were here to give birth. I would've taken her directly into surgery and gotten everything in control so that she was safe." Turning her head, Gabby sighed. "I'm sorry. The truth is, I wasn't even going to tell Matt." Dr. Letts sighed, as she didn't like the sound of that. "Gabby, that wasn't smart."

Matt sighed, as that was the last thing that he wanted to hear. "Dr. Letts, please do not speak to my wife in that manner." Dr. Letts was confused. "Pardon me?" Matt sighed. "Dr. Letts, my wife is already going to get that from everybody who loves her. From her parents, to me, to her brother…" Matt sighed as he turned his head and looked at his wife. "Gabby, you have to know that we need to talk about this. Yes, I can put aside for now; but, we do need to talk about it in the aftermath of what happened." Gabby agreed with her husband, as she knew that was something they were going to need to do: talk about the entire situation, as they need to figure out a way to try and move past it. "We need to figure out a way to reconcile with what I did, so that we can move forward and have a happy life with Gabe." Matt agreed, as that was precisely what the two of them needed to do: reconcile what she did with this new life.

They have a second chance to make everything right again, and he wasn't going to let a doctor speak that way to his wife. "Dr. Letts, my wife has been through hell in the past couple hours. She almost died without saying goodbye to me or meeting our son." Dr. Letts nodded in agreement. "So, me and my wife will talk about that part of this entire situation in due time; when she's ready, and when she's not still in a state of shock and trauma. Right now, my wife is still in disbelief that she's still here, as I know for a fact that she didn't expect to be here after giving birth due to the fact that she wrote an equivalent of a suicide note for this situation." Turning her head, Dr. Letts felt horrible for her patient; just the fact that she had to do that was unimaginable. "With that in mind, I would like to please ask you to refrain from the personal and emotional parts of this. I will take care of those parts with my wife, in private."

Dr. Letts agreed. "We will do it when we're in private, when the time is right. And right now, my wife isn't yet emotionally stable enough to have those conversations. Conversations which will be hard to talk about, but which we need to talk about." And as Matt said the last part of that statement, he turned his head as that part was intended much more for Gabby than the doctor. Though, after a brief moment of looking at his wife, he turned his attention back to the doctor to continue speaking to her. "Therefore, I please ask that you remain in your lane and concentrate solely on the medical part of this situation. I will take care of the rest in due time, and not at this time." Dr. Letts agreed once more. "Of course, and I'm sorry for that Mr. and Ms. Casey. I truly mean that." Gabby nodded, prior to turning her head and looking at Matt; after which, she mouthed: "Thank you." Nodding, Matt agreed with his wife.

After all, it was his pleasure to stand up for her; just like it was his pleasure to stand up and lean over her, only to press his lips to her forehead this morning to give her comfort. "So, how are you feeling otherwise? Are you okay, Gabby?" Gabby took a breath as Dr. Letts asked her that question. "I'm still dealing with it. I haven't yet processed it." Matt agreed with Gabby. "Maybe she can just check on your head right now, Gabby? We can get a check up with her later? When you've processed everything." Gabby agreed with her husband, as she liked that idea. "I like that idea." Matt agreed, prior to turning his head and smiling at Dr. Letts to let her check on Gabby. "If you could please check on my wife, then we can talk about what you saw in the hall afterwards." Dr. Letts agreed, more than ready to do just that; after all, she could also tell that Matt wanted to speak to her about something else: staying in her lane.

Walking back out into the hallway after she did her check up on Gabby, Dr. Letts smiled as she proceeded to let Matt know how Gabby was doing. "Well, I can tell you that she's looking good. Everything is healing and I honestly believe that she'll make a full recovery." Matt agreed with Dr. Letts, glad that was the case. "I'm glad. And do you think that we have anything to worry about, such as the aneurysm coming back? Is that even a possibly in this case? Do we need to worry about that?" Dr. Letts shook her head, as she didn't believe that was something the couple needed to worry about anymore. Though, that doesn't mean that she wouldn't like to keep her on as a patient. "I would still like to monitor her, as I want to make sure that she's okay going forward." Matt sighed, as that was something he would need to talk to Gabby about first. "I need to talk to Gabby about that first, if that's okay." Dr. Letts agreed.

After all, that was fair. "Well, I hope that you guys have a good night." Matt sighed, as he knew what Dr. Letts was trying to do: she was trying to avoid him talking to her. "Dr. Letts, I understand that it's late and you probably want to go home. However, we both know that you aren't done yet. We both know that I asked to speak to you before you left." Dr. Letts agreed, as that most certainly is precisely what Matt asked to do: talk to her before she left. And now, that was precisely what the two of them were going to do here in the hospital. "Dr. Letts, I'm sorry. Let me first say that I am extremely grateful for what you did for us. You did the unthinkable. You saved both my wife and son's lives. You made sure that they survived the aneurysm bursting, so that she was here with me to raise our child." Dr. Letts agreed, as that was precisely what she did for the two of them. She made sure that they were together.

However, that was all Matt was appreciative to Dr. Letts for. When it came to the other stuff she just did, he most certainly was not appreciative of that. "Dr. Letts, when it comes to the other things…you speaking to my wife about how this wasn't smart on her end, I need to push back once more." Dr. Letts agreed. "Dr. Letts, I want to remind you that you are our doctor, and that you aren't Gabby's husband. This is a family matter. Whether what Gabby did for me is wrong or not, that's something we need to deal with in our family, and nobody outside our family gets to judge what Gabby did; especially not our doctors, and not when my wife is vulnerable. Dr. Letts, Gabby just about died yesterday. She thought that our worst nightmare was coming true, and that she was dying. She's currently trying to reconcile that with her new reality where she's alive and well, holding our son in her arms as they take it easy." Dr. Letts agreed.

After all, that most certainly is something hard for her to do. "So, please do not overstep your boundaries once more. Gabby and I will talk about that in the future, but only when the time is right. And when it comes to whether or not she is in the appropriate mental headspace to talk about that right now, she most certainly is not. So, please stay in your lane, or ask another doctor to take over for you. I do not appreciate someone speaking to my wife that way when she almost died. Right now, my wife deserves to be treated with compassion and love, not to be lectured like I'm lecturing you right now. Please, respect our wishes." Dr. Letts agreed with Matt, as that was something she could do for him. "Of course, Mr. Casey." Matt nodded and smiled. "Thank you. Now, I'm going to go see my wife and son so that we can relax and just take it easy with each other." Dr. Letts agreed, as she watched Matt walk away this morning.

They spent the past 30 minutes sitting here in silence; with Gabby feeding Gabriel in her arms, while Matt sent some text messages to their friends at the firehouse about how Gabby was okay and everything. But now, Gabby was done feeding Gabriel and Matt was in the midst of putting him in his crib this morning. "Yeah, you're ready to get another nap to just take it easy and relax, aren't you buddy? Maybe you can let mommy get some nice sleep and just rest for a bit?" Smiling as Matt said that, Gabby was happy to have her husband back in her life. "I missed you." Turning his head as he laid Gabriel down in his crib, Matt nodded as he missed her too. "I missed you too. I truly did. Nothing has been the same since you left." Gabby smiled, as she felt the same way when it came to how things were in Puerto Rico. Nothing has been the same ever since she left him in the first place.

She truly regrets that and is more than ready to stay here for the rest of her life. "I hope you know that I plan on staying here. I meant that when I said it before everything happened." Matt agreed with his wife, well aware that was the case as he finished setting Gabriel up in his crib; turning around shortly thereafter, he smiled as he started to make his way to bed where he was going to hold Gabby in his arms for the first time in a while. But first, Gabby cleared her throat. "Ah, I think you need to do something for me before you join me in bed, mister." Snickering, Matt agreed as he knew precisely what Gabby wanted him to do: take off his shirt so that he was just wearing his sweats. "I'm at least keeping my sweats on. You need to relax and take it easy for now." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she knew that. "Plus, we need to talk." Matt sighed, as they do need to talk. That way, they can fix their marriage.

And while it may not be that easy, he knew that it was the right thing to do. "Gabby, we both know that it's the right thing to do, even though it's going to be hard. Us talking is the only way we're going to get back to a place where we can make sure that we're together for the rest of our lives; that's what we want, after all." Gabby agreed as she watched Matt take off his shirt, which was a real turn on because of how muscular her gorgeous husband now is. "Damn, you better keep working out, because you sire are very sexy." Nodding, Matt agreed as he had every intention to keep working out as a way to please his wife. "No worries, my love. I have every intention in the world to keep working out for you. That way, you can get the pleasure you want of having me be all sexy and muscular for you." Gabby smiled as Matt called her 'my love', as she knew for a fact that she truly was his love. He loves her more than anything.

And she feels the same way about her husband, as she loves him more than anything. "You know that I did this because I love you, right Matt?" Turning his head as he set his shirt down on top of his bags, Matt agreed as he most certainly did know that. He knew that the only reason Gabby went against his wishes was due to the fact that she loves him. "Gabby, I never stated otherwise. I know that you did this because you love me, I promise." Gabby agreed with her husband, well aware that was the case. "I know, I just…I wanted to make sure that you knew that." Matt agreed with his wife, smiling as he made his way over to her so that he could join her in bed. After all, that's precisely where they both want to be at the moment: in bed with each other, holding each other close. "You ready to have me in bed, so that I can hold you in my arms for the first time in a while?" Gabby agreed and smiled, before correcting him.

After all, what he meant to say was the first time for the rest of his life. "You mean for the first time of many, as you plan on holding me close for the rest of your life?" Matt nodded as he walked up to her hospital bed, only to open the covers and joining his girl in bed. After which, he smiled as he sat down next to her and leaned back against his pillow. "Of course, I mean that." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled as she crawled over to him. After which, she laid down in his arms and slipped her legs in between his; meanwhile, Matt wrapped his arm around her back and tugged the covers up on top of the both of them as this was what Matt wanted to do at the moment: hold his beautiful wife close to him as they took it easy with each other. Though, it wasn't all Gabby wanted to do. Rather, she also wanted to talk about something else: what she heard Matt say to Dr. Letts.

She just hoped that he wanted to talk about it as well. "Matt?" Looking down at his wife, Matt smiled. "Yes?" Gabby sighed. "Can we talk about what you said to Dr. Letts?" Matt nodded, as he knew this would come up sooner rather than later. "Of course." Gabby nodded as she looked up at the man she loves. "Thank you for defending me and pushing back." Matt shook his head, as there was no need for her to thank him for what he just did. It was his job to make sure that she wasn't lectured. "Hey, you have no reason to thank me for what I did. It's my job to make sure that you aren't lectured by doctors. That isn't their job. Their job is to take care of you and respect your choices. They aren't here to judge your decisions." Gabby agreed with her husband. "Are you going to judge me for what I did?" Matt sighed. "Gabby, we can't just ignore the fact that you stayed away for so long, you know that."

Gabby nodded in agreement. "Especially in light of what happened. I mean, you almost died. Gabby, you remember when I told you that you can't have a baby?" Gabby nodded, as she did. "Oh, I remember." Matt sighed. "That was why I said it. Because I was scared of that. I was scared to kill you. And I know that sounds harsh and stupid, because I wouldn't have killed you. Rather, the aneurysm would've killed you. But, I would've started all of this with getting you pregnant. That's how I saw it, and I'm truly sorry that I didn't articulate that better when I first said it." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she knew that he was sorry for what he said. "I know that, babe. I truly do. And we can talk about what you said in the future. Right now, we both need to take it easy and just relax; that way, we can get some sleep before Gabe wakes up again." Matt agreed, as they most certainly do need some more sleep.

And he wants her to get most of it. "Promise me that you let me take care of you and Gabe for now? Gabby, I wasn't there during the pregnancy. So, can you let me take care of you now? Let me do what I should've done while you were pregnant: treat you like the queen you are." Gabby smiled, as she loves the sound of him doing that for her. "Like Antonio would let you treat me any other way." Matt laughed, as that most certainly is the truth. He knows her brother better than anybody. And if he didn't treat her like the queen she is, then he would hear it from him. "Oh, now if that isn't the truth. Speaking of which, he does know that he's not the automatic godfather, right?" Gabby looked up at her husband when he said that. "Look who's making decisions unilaterally now." Matt sighed. "Can we at least talk about having multiple godparents?" Gabby agreed, as she knew why he was asking her that question: Andy.

He made him Ben and Griffin's godfather, so she knew that was something he wanted to do for him: make him Gabriel's godfather. "We can talk about it in the future. But right now, I need some rest. I want to just cuddle up to you and take it easy if that's okay?" Matt agreed, as it most certainly is okay. He'll hold her each and every day for the rest of her life if that's what she wants. And right now, that most certainly is precisely what she wants: to be held by the love of her life for the rest of her life. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, and I'll be holding you when you wake up for the next feeding." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled, more than ready to do just that. "I love that idea." Gabby said, as she kissed Matt's muscular chest. "So sexy." Matt smiled as Gabby said that, well aware of the fact that she likes the feeling of his muscular body under hers. "It's all yours, baby."

Gabby nodded, as it most certainly was. He and this gorgeous body of his was all hers. "I love you Matt, now and forever." Matt agreed with his wife as he ran his hand up and down her back. "I love you too, Gabby. Now and forever." Bending down, Matt kissed the top of her head and smiled as they each held each other close and drifted off to sleep this fine morning.