Hi Readers: And welcome to the day we've all been waiting for: homecoming day. However, I decided to change something with the story. Originally, I was going to do it where they moved in with the Dardens. Though, that was when I remembered that Gabby's mom just moved to Miami during the pandemic. And boy, does that open doors. What do I mean by that? Well, read to find out.

Childhood Home

August 24, 2020 – She tried to be okay with living with Andy and Heather, as well as their sons Ben and Griffin; she tried to stay positive and believe that everything would go okay in the era of COVID-19. That was, until the day before. The day they were scheduled to leave the hospital to go live with the Dardens, which just made her worry more than anything as it wasn't where she wanted to be. As much as she loved what Andy and Heather were offering the both of them, she knew that she wasn't going to be okay there. And that was why she decided to talk to Matt about how she felt. She decided to tell him last night that she wasn't okay with going to his best friend's home, as she didn't want to take the risk with the boys. Yes, she trusts Ben and Griffin. But, she just doesn't trust the kids around Ben and Griffin. Though, that didn't mean that she didn't feel guilty that Matt had to change plans. And when she says change plans, she meant everything. Rather than go live with the Dardens, she asked whether they could go live at her childhood home, which she just recently learned her mother wasn't living in, due to the fact that she now lives in Miami.

So, that meant that the home was just sitting empty and waiting for them to use it, which is precisely what she told Matt she wanted to do, as she thought it may be better for them. She just hopes that he's not mad at her. And since she wanted to make sure that he wasn't mad at her, she decided to ask him whether he was. "Matt?" Gabby said, as she tried to get her husband's attention while he was packing up their bags this morning; after which, Matt turned his head to look at Gabby. "Yes?" Gabby sighed as she looked down at Gabriel as she breastfed him this morning, only to ask her question while not looking at Matt. After all, the last thing she wanted was to see whether he was mad at her. "I'm sorry for changing the plans on you." Looking at his wife as she said that, Matt was horrified over the fact that she thought that he was mad that the plans have changed. If anything, he's sorry that he didn't think about Ben and Griffin and the risks that they would be taking. "Hey, why are you apologizing?" Matt asked, truly curious as to that question.

Why in the world did his wife need to apologize to him? Well, that was something he needed to know as he decided to sit down next to her on the edge of the bed; facing her in the process, he made sure to smile at her to let her know that she could talk to him and tell him what was on her mind at the moment. "Babe, it's me. You can talk to me." Taking a breath as she looked up at Matt, Gabby decided to make sure that he was telling her the truth. "Do you really mean it when you say that? I can talk to you?" Matt agreed, as she can always talk to him if that was what she needed to do. "Of course. What is it, babe?" Gabby sighed as she looked at Matt. "It's just…I did it again, and I'm worry that you're mad at me." Confused, Matt moved closer to his gorgeous wife and placed his hand on her arm. "What are you talking about?" Looking into Matt's eyes, Gabby decided to be completely honest with him. "I know how excited you were to live with Andy, Heather and the boys." Matt sighed, as he figured that was what this was about.

She was feeling guilty over the fact that she changed her mind over whether she was truly okay with them living there, as it turned out that she wasn't. So, they found a new place to live: her childhood home, which he fixed up and cleaned up. And boy, was it nice; especially due to the fact that Camila was using it as an Airbnb before they asked to use it, so it was always clean, and everything looked brand new. Hell, it looked like it just got renovated when Matt went there yesterday to set up the crib and changing table with Antonio. "What's wrong, babe? I can see that you have something on your mind." Gabby sighed. "Matt, are you sure that you're okay with living at my mom's place? I know I made that decision on my own, which is something you hate. I did it without really consulting you and…" Shaking his head, Matt placed his hand on her arm and smiled. "Hey, that's not true. You did consult me, babe. And if you don't think that, then I can assure you that you did consult me." Gabby agreed with her husband, glad that he felt that way.

So, she decided to take a breath and relax. "Are you sure that you're okay with this? I don't want to force you to do this." Matt shook his head, as he didn't feel like he was being forced to do this whatsoever. "Hey, that's not how I feel at all. If anything, I think that it's a great idea for us to go live there." Gabby was surprised. "Really?" Matt nodded, as he meant that. "Gabby, I know the real reason why you were scared to go live with Andy." Gabby sighed. "You didn't want to take the risk with the boys, or with Andy. I understand that, Gabby." Gabby agreed with her husband. "I just…" Gabby then looked at Gabriel. "Matt, I hate to play this card." Matt shook his head, as he didn't mind it. "But, I almost lost my life to have Gabriel. And as much as I would love to let you live with Andy, I don't think it's a good idea because of Ben and Griffin. I don't want to risk having Gabe get sick, because he could die because of this. It's just not something I'm comfortable with, because of what I risked to make us a family." Matt agreed, as that was why he understood.

He understood for that very reason, why she wasn't okay living with Andy. "Gabby, I know that. I know that's why you aren't okay living with Andy, because you didn't feel like you could take that risk. I promise, I'm not mad whatsoever with you not wanting to live with them. I understand completely, and I want you to know that I'm not mad at all. If anything, I feel like you made the right choice." Gabby was surprised to hear Matt say that. "Really?" Matt nodded, as he meant it when he said that. "Gabby, we both know that the boys are not going to be as careful as we'd hope they'd be. So, I think that we made the right call. This is the right decision for our family, as it means that we'll be taking the necessary precautions to ensure that our family is safe." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she felt the same way. If they lived at her childhood home, then they would have much less of a risk. "My mom knows to call us if she comes. I already told her that we'll get her a guest room ready, if that's ok. I mean, I don't want to make her feel like she can't come home."

Matt nodded, as he completely agreed with her. "Of course, she can come home whenever she wants…as long as she isolates and presents with a negative COVID test first. I'm sorry. But, it may be her home, but our health and safety comes first. We are not going to let anybody near you or Gabriel without a negative COVID test. How does that sound?" Gabby smiled, as that sounded perfect. And it also really turned her on, because Matt was getting all protective of her. "It sounds perfect, especially since you're getting all protective of me." Matt agreed with his wife and smiled, as that was what he always wants to be: protective of his family, who he loves more than anything in the entire world. "I promise, I will always protect you. Last time I checked, I could've been charged with a crime when I protected you once." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled, well aware that was the case. "I need to take a shower when I'm home." Matt agreed. "Maybe I can join you and wash you?" Gabby smiled, as she loved that idea: him washing her in the shower.

Though, he had to know that they can't have sex. "Just as long as you remember that we can't have sex." Matt agreed, as he knew that. He knew that they couldn't have sex, as the doctor reminded them of that. "I know. The doctor already reminded me of that a couple times." Gabby agreed and smiled as she moved her hand to his face, only to lean in and kiss her loving husband softly. "I promise, just as soon as I'm cleared, you can have me in bed." Matt agreed with his wife, as that was precisely what he planned on doing: having her just as soon as she was cleared by her doctor to resume sexual activities. But right now, she wasn't cleared; which meant that they just had to take it easy and relax, which they'll do. "I already have our clothes there, and I unpacked a bit. I put your PJ on the bed for when you want to get changed, and I'll take a shower at home. What I wear there is up to you. I also already stocked the kitchen with everything you said you wanted, and we'll have enough food for a while. I promise."

Gabby agreed with Matt, incredibly proud that she gets to call him her husband. "Do you have any idea how proud I am to call you my husband? You truly are an incredible man, and I can't want to cuddle up to you in bed. It's going to be a nice time we have with each other. Some time to relax, take it easy and concentrate on each other as we hold each other close in bed." Hearing Gabby say that, Antonio snickered as he walked in the door. "Did you by any chance mention to your husband that you can't have sex for a couple weeks?" Turning his head when Antonio said that, Matt decided to snap back. "Did Gabby mention that we're in talks to buy your childhood home from your mother and move in there ourselves?" Gabby was surprised to hear Matt say that. "Wait, would you really do that? Would you really want to buy my childhood home from my mom, just so that we can move in there?" Matt nodded, as he liked that idea. "Or, we can just rent it from her. The rent is sky-high crazy here now in Chicago. I don't think we can afford it."

Gabby agreed with Matt, as that makes sense. "We'll have to talk to my mom, but I think she'd be open to the idea of us renting her place from her. What do you think, Antonio?" Antonio smiled, as he knew that their mom would love the idea. "I think that mom would love that idea, as she was worried she'd have to sell that place." Matt agreed. "Why isn't she back here, by the way?" Antonio smiled. "She found a boyfriend in Miami." Matt agreed, as that makes sense. She found love in Miami, so she wants to stay there. "Well, that makes sense. She wants to stay there because she found a boyfriend." Gabby agreed, well aware that was the case. "Hey, that means that we get a really nice house. You remember where it is, right?" Matt agreed. "Yes, a very expensive part of town. Houses there are unaffordable for us. I have a feeling that's why she kept the place all this time, because she doesn't want to give up that prime real estate." Antonio agreed. "That, and she knew that we would want to come back eventually." Gabby snickered.

After all, that was the truth. "Though, I hope you know that we don't have to stay there, Matt. If you ever feel like the place is too much, then we can leave. I promise, I won't hold it against you if you want to leave." Matt shook his head. "No, It's fine for now. We can take it month-to-month. Just no complaining from either of you if I decide to find a box and put away some of her nick-nacks and old decorations." Gabby snickered, as she figured Matt would say that. "Oh, Antonio, did you change the sheets on mom's bed?" Matt laughed. "Oh, I made sure to do that first thing. That was the first thing I did. I changed the sheets and packed up her clothes, then I put our clothes away. Meanwhile, we have a bunch of clothes for this kid waiting on the guest bedroom bed." Gabby agreed. "We can always turn that into an office, if you want." Matt sighed, as that was something they spoke about. "I still need to talk about that with Chief." Confused, Antonio looked at Matt as he didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

Turning his head, Matt decided to fill Antonio in. "I may not be going back to the firehouse for a while, due to the pandemic. I'm not sure yet, but I'm trying to see whether I can find a job within the CFD that'll allow me to work from home for Gabriel's sake. The last thing I plan on doing Is putting our health at risk, when Gabby put her life at risk." Gabby agreed, as she knew that Matt means that from the bottom of his head. "I appreciate that, babe." Matt agreed and smiled at Gabby, as he knew that. "And I mean it when I say that me keeping you and Gabriel safe matters more to me than my job, always will." Gabby agreed with Matt as she placed her hand on his face and smiled as she leaned in and kissed the man she loves. "I love you." Matt agreed with his wife and smiled, more than ready to take his wife home. That way, they can relax and hold each other close in bed as they take it easy.

Laying Gabriel down in his car seat for the first time, Matt smiled as it felt so nice putting his son in this car seat. "Yeah, you're ready to take a ride in your daddy's big, new truck for the first time; aren't you, Gabriel?" Gabby snickered as she heard Matt say that. "Remind me why you needed that shiny, new truck?" Matt sighed as he turned his head. "My old one burned down with the house. The one time I decided to park in the driveway, the house catches on fire." Gabby shook her head when she heard Matt say that, as she knew that he wasn't happy about that. "I think what matters at the end of the day is that you're safe. You're here, with us and we're going home with our son." Matt agreed, as he felt the same way. At the end of the day, what mattered is that they have each other. "I think you're going to like the truck, though. It's nice." Gabby agreed with her husband. "I'm sure it is, just make sure you put good insurance on it then." Matt agreed. "Oh, I did. I have a Ford F-150. That thing has a lot of insurance on it." Antonio was surprised.

After all, that's a big truck. "That's a big truck." Turning his head, Matt agreed. "And I've been doing more contracting jobs since Gabby left, so that means that I needed a big truck for all my tools." Antonio thought about it and agreed. "You know, if you ever have a job…" Matt snickered. "Diego?" Antonio nodded. "If he's stuck at home for school, then I want something to get him out of the house." Matt agreed with Antonio. "Does he have his learner's yet?" Antonio was surprised that Matt forgot his son's age. "Learner's? Dude, he's almost 18. He has his full license." Matt was surprised. "What? I thought he was younger than Ben." Gabby shook her head. "No, he's Griffin's age. So, he has his license now." Matt agreed. "Well, Molly's is doing a lot more delivery now that there's a limit on the number of people who can be at the restaurant at once. So, maybe Gabby can talk to Herrmann?" Turning her head, Gabby agreed as that was something she could do. "I can do that. Or, I can just hire him myself as a co-Owner of the bar." Matt agreed.

After all, that was true. She had the power to hire her nephew. "I still think that you should talk to Herrmann, as he needs to make sure that they can handle another staff. Remember, they have limits. We need to make sure that there's a shift for him to work." Gabby then realized that. "And that's why I have such a smart husband, who I love more than anything." Nodding as he finished tying Gabriel up in his car seat, Matt smirked as he made his way over to Gabby and then leaned in to kiss her softly. "Antonio, how about you grab some of the bags for us? Then, we can get out of here. I want to get out of here and head home with my family." Gabby smiled, as she loves that idea. "Are you really going to call my family home, our home?" Matt agreed, as he most certainly will. "Yes, yes I will. I want that to be our home. We're going to make it home, as I love you." Nodding, Gabby agreed with Matt as she kissed him once more. "I love you too. Now, let's get out of here. I want to go home and cuddle up to you in bed." Matt agreed, as he wants that too.

It felt nice walking out of the hospital hand-in-hand with Gabriel's car seat in his hand; after all, Matt never thought that this day would ever come, especially the part where Gabby would still be with them. And that was due to the fact that they thought that she could die if she gave birth. But now that it's happened, he's incredibly happy and grateful for the experience he just had at the hospital; something he decided to share with his gorgeous wife. "I hope you know that I'm truly grateful for what you did for us. What you did, giving us a family and risking your life to do so was something I can't thank you enough for doing, Gabby." Gabby agreed with her husband as her said that, well aware that he was grateful for what she did. "I know that. And I'm just happy that everything worked out the way it did. Things are better now, and I'm just glad that we're going home together. That's all I wanted to have happen." Matt agreed, as he wanted to take his wife home as well. And now, that's precisely what he's going to do as they walked up to his truck.

After which, he smiled as he looked at Gabby. "Here, how about you just let me put him in the truck, then I'll help you in? It's high off the ground." Gabby agreed with Matt. "Yeah, not easy to get in when you need to rest." She said, prior to walking past Matt to go to her door. Meanwhile, Matt smiled as he carried Gabriel to his door and unlocked his truck. After which, he opened the door and smiled as he went to go set his car seat down. "There we go, much easier." Gabby smiled. "That was easy for you. Did you practice or something?" Matt nodded. "I most certainly did, as I wanted to make sure that I could do it right" Matt said, as he set the diaper bag down at the foot of Gabriel's seat. After which, he went to make sure that he was in there safely and smiled as he stroked his cheek. "There's my little boy. You ready to go home so that you can lay down in your new bed for the first time?" Gabby smiled, as she loved the sound of that, as he's so adorable when he talks to Gabriel the way he just did. But now, he closed the door and walked over to her.

And while she originally thought that he was just going to help her into the truck, it turned out that Matt had other ideas as he placed his hands on her sides and pushed her back against his truck. "Oh, hi there." Smiling, Matt agreed as he placed his hands on her hips as he stepped close to the woman he loves. After which, he leaned in and kissed the woman he loves; while Gabby wrapped her arms around his muscular back and smiled as they each took things nice and slow with each other at their truck. And damn, did Gabby love the feeling of Matt's lips on hers. "You have no idea how much I've missed your lips on mine. It's the best feeling in the entire world." Matt nodded, as he leaned in and kissed her once more; after all, he felt the same way. "I love it too, it's something I've missed and I'm glad that I get to have again." Taking a breath, Gabby decided to ask Matt a question which was on her mind at the moment. "Matt, we're going to survive my lies and the time apart, right?" Pushing a strand of hair behind Gabby's ear, Matt agreed with her.

After all, he doesn't want to lose her. He wants to be with her for the rest of his life, which is what will happen if he has it his way. "As long as you stay with me, you'll be my wife. I mean that, Gabby. I don't want to be with anybody but you. Gabby, I can honestly say that nobody would ever do what you did for me. You risked your life for me, and no other woman would ever do that for me. That's something I already know; there's no way that any other woman would do what you did, which just makes me love you even more. So, I already know that we're going to be together for a long time. Plus, this is a fresh start for us. We already agreed that this was a fresh start for us. No problems, no fights, just figuring stuff out. We have time to do that, as I'm on paternity leave and no longer working at the firehouse because of the pandemic. We have time babe, and I love you." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she loves him too. And for that reason, she's decided to believe everything he said. She has no doubts anymore that they're going to survive this time apart.

Though, that didn't mean that she didn't like the fact that she needed to wait longer than she already has to get intimate with her husband. "One horrible part of this, is that we can't be intimate with each other when we get home; or, are you ready to do that?" Matt shook his head, as he wasn't ready. Anyways, they're both tired. "Listen, let's take it one step at a time. You just gave birth to Gabriel three days ago, and we need to get home and just rest. How does that sound? Us, going home and resting?" Gabby smiled, as she loves the idea of them going home and getting some rest. "I find that idea marvelous." Matt agreed with his beautiful wife and smiled as he leaned in and kissed the woman of his dreams softly. "I love you. Now, let's get you in the truck so that we can get home." Gabby agreed as she turned around, only to step up and get into Matt's truck. "Oh, comfortable." Matt agreed, as he knew she'd like the seats. "So, you approve of the truck I decided to buy for us?" Gabby agreed, as she most certainly does.

She loves the truck he got, as the seats are incredibly comfortable. "The seats are so comfortable, and I'm glad that this is our truck. However, I hope you know that we still need to figure out what I need to get. I don't have my car anymore." Matt agreed, as he knew that was the truth. "I know, but another time. Right now, we're going to concentrate on just getting you home so that you can rest. So that you and Gabriel can rest, which is what you need to do right now. How does that sound?" Gabby smiled, as that sounded great. "I love that idea and can't wait to cuddle up to you in bed. Now, let's get out of here." Getting close to his wife, Matt agreed as he leaned in and kissed her softly. After which, he pulled away and proceeded to close her door; only to run around his truck so that he could get in this morning and drive his family home, something he was more than ready to do as it meant that this was real now: his family was home with him, and they were going to be together for the rest of their lives…which is precisely what Matt wants.

It's what he's always wanted, and it truly felt incredible knowing that the woman of his dreams was here with him as they got ready to raise their son together; all the while, living in her childhood home (which was really nice).