Hi Readers, what do you think about the twist that I've sent you through yesterday? Are you surprised that Matt and Gabby are back in Chicago? Are you guys happy that they're back in Chicago? Let me know what you guys think in the comments or send me a message. I'd love to get some reader feedback as it will let me know whether I'm taking this story in a direction that you guys enjoy. I know, people are going to tell me that; at the end of the day, my opinion is the only one that matters…but I would still like to hear feedback from the people who probably enjoy this story just as much as I do, my readers. Now, I am not going to keep you waiting longer than you need to. Here we go with some time with friends.

Chapter Forty-Two

Gabby was all smiled as she found herself getting a bunch of hugs from all of her firehouse friends, this being the first time that she's seen them in 2 months; however, it's going to be the first real time that she was going to spend an extended period of time with their friends. And that was going to include when Matt goes to shift, which was going to be nice. But the truth was, this was all nice for the both of them; especially for Matt, seeing that he was smiling at her the entire time that he was looking at her from the booth where he was waiting for their food to arrive. And that was all he was doing, until he was joined in the booth by his best friend Kelly Severide. Coming to join Matt in the booth he has set up for him and Gabby, Kelly smirked as he set his beer down in front of him. "So, you sure that you don't want a beer?" But before Matt could answer, Chief Boden made his way over to the table to join two of his three second shift officers this afternoon.

"I already asked him Lt. Severide, and he already said no because he was not consuming beer for the sake of his wife." Matt agreed with his chief when he said that. "Do you mind if I join you both? Or would you rather it just be the both of you right now?" Matt smiled. "No, please. Join me so that I can make sure that this guy has been kept in line while I was away." Boden laughed when he heard his Captain say that. "Yes, he was very good when it came to listening to my orders." Matt agreed with his boss when he said that, smiling as he watched him sit down with his best friend. That's when Kelly decided to turn his head and look at Chief Boden. "Just to let you know, I'm pretty sure that you're going to be asked to move once the food arrives. Both Matt and Gabby are going to want Stella to be sitting there." Matt snickered a bit when he heard Kelly say that. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Chief Boden already knew that." That's when Matt heard Herrmann walk over.

"Yeah, we all know that she's going to want to sit next to you." Matt agreed with Herrmann when he said that. "Here, Gabby said to send this to you." Looking at the drink that his fellow firefighter set down in front of him, Matt saw that it was a beer. He then turned his head and proceeded to look at Gabby, who was smiling at him. "Baby, are you sure?" Gabby then smiled, nodding. "You need it, because you're going to be stressed tomorrow when you're on shift. You're going to be worried for me at the house." Matt laughed when he heard Gabby say that, well aware that was going to be the case. "Don't you know it." Matt then turned his head, smiling as he looked at his chief and best friend once again. "Well, looks like I'm having a drink tonight." Matt then looked at Herrmann. "But just one drink. I'm still driving tonight." Gabby agreed with Matt. "Get me something. God, it's been a while…" Matt smirked as he looked at Herrmann. "That burger she likes."

Herrmann snapped his fingers when his captain said that, well aware of just what he was talking about. "And a salad too, she needs to have all of that because she's eating for three." Herrmann agreed. "Trust me Matt, I am well aware of how a woman needs to eat when she's pregnant." Matt agreed with his fellow officer, nodding. "By the way, we need to talk about something." Herrmann laughed, nodding. "Don't worry, you can have your office back." Matt laughed. "Oh trust me, that was never going to be a question. Last time I checked, I both out rank you…and I actually NEED the office now." All three of the fellow commanding officers at Firehouse 51 were all confused when they heard the captain say that. "And why exactly do you NEED an office?" Matt smiled. "If I don't have an office, where's my PREGNANT wife going to take a nap? Do you honestly expect her to take a nap in the bunkroom?" All three of the other gentlemen automatically agreed with Matt.

"Oh yeah, you need an office." Matt laughed, smiling at both his best friend, his boss, and his fellow officer as he took another sip of his beer. And let's just say that Matt's really happy to be home. Matt then took a moment to look at the bartender, wanting him to do something. "Herrmann, can you do me a favor and put my order in front of everybody else's order? I need to get Gabby to eat." Herrmann agreed with Matt when he said that. "God it Captain. Oh, and by the way…I got you this before I forget." Herrmann then proceeded to give his Captain an envelope of missed cheques that he forgot to send the couple while they were on the road (and in Puerto Rico), which was something they needed for rent this month. Going to grab the envelope, Matt then thought about something. "Can you go give this to my wife? She'll want to have it."

Herrmann smirked. "Let me guess, this is going to be your baby budget?" Matt thought about it. "Oh definitely. But that makes me think about something…" All three of his fellow officers (from now on, Boden will be considered an officer) then looked at Matt, a bit confused. "What exactly got you thinking?" Matt smiled as he went to take another sip of his beer. Turning his head, Matt smiled at his Chief. "I heard that you have a newly opened position that you've yet to fill near your office." Boden just laughed when he heard Matt say that, well aware of what Matt was walking about. "And I assume we're talking about a position to keep Gabby in the house?" Matt agreed with his Chief, smiling as he said that. "Well, that…and it wouldn't help if Gabby was also being paid to be there." Walking over to her husband, Gabby was confused. "What are you talking about baby? Me being paid to be at the somewhere?" Matt smiled when he heard Gabby walk up to him.

Herrmann then smiled as he went to wrap his arm around his surrogate daughter. "Congratulations again Gabby, you're going to be a great mom to these twins." Gabby agreed with Herrmann when he said that, smiling when she heard Herrmann say that. "Thanks Herrmann. By the way, we'll have to talk sometime. I know that it may have been a while, but you're a hoarder…" That's when Gabby heard another Herrmann join them this evening. "Oh, trust me Gabby; I'm already working on going to find some clothes and stuff for you guys, since I already know that someone is a hoarder." Herrmann turned to look at his wife when she said that. "Hey hon. What are you doing here?" Herrmann then walked over to his wife, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her. Afterwards, she wrapped her arm around his back and then leaned up to kiss her husband softly. Taking things slow with him, Cindy smiled. "Listen, you go get back to work so that you can make money."

Gabby agreed with Cindy when she said that, smiling as she got up. "Yes please. Please go make some more so that we can have some for our kids." Herrmann agreed with both his wife, and his business partner as he doesn't want to make her mad; nor does he want to make his captain mad. "I swear, I am so glad that you decided to come." Cindy smiled as she went to hug Gabby. "Oh trust me, I came here the minute I heard you were here." Cindy then turned to look at her husband. "Oh, Christopher." Herrmann then looked up at his wife. "Yes hon?" Cindy smiled. "I got Lee Henry to drive me, so I'm good to stay here until you leave since he can take care of the other kids. So, I'll take my margarita that you have here for me." Herrmann agreed with his wife when she said that. "Sounds good. I will make sure to get that for you as soon as I can. Right now, I need to do something for Gabby…and then I need to go make sure that it's done perfectly so that I'm not in trouble."

Matt was confused when he heard Herrmann say that. "Why would you be in trouble?" Herrmann just looked at his Captain when he said that. "Last time I checked, you're coming back to work tomorrow. I would rather you not be all grumpy when you come back to work, and that might be due to the fact that your wife might wake up a couple times." Matt smiled. "Actually, I have a feeling that she might sleep better here." Herrmann was confused when he heard Matt say that. "And how would the be the case?" Gabby then turned to look at her husband, wondering the same thing. "And how might I sleep better here?" Matt smiled. "Because you won't be as hot." Gabby thought about it. "I mean, at least heat wise." Gabby just blushed when she heard Matt say that. "May I remind you that you have work tomorrow…and that you already got me today?" Kelly turned to look at his friend when he said that. "Oh, the captain already got frisky with the wifey today?"

Cruz just laughed when he heard his lieutenant said that, trying not to pay attention as he wants to concentrate on the conversation that he's currently having between himself, Gabby and Otis. "You know, I really missed when my fellow Latinx didn't say goodbye to me." Gabby agreed with her follow Latinx first responder, agreeing with Cruz when he said that; she then grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'm sorry Cruz. Things just got really bad here, and I had to leave." Otis then proceeded to look at Gabby. "I don't mean to ask if this isn't a good idea. But what the heck happened between you and Sylvie? She's been reaching out to me, and trying to give me her side. I'm not sure what she means." Gabby sighed when she heard Otis ask him that. At the same time, she put her hands on her stomach as she didn't really want to think about this. She didn't want to think about Sylvie. "Can we not talk about her? It's not something I want to talk about." Matt then looked at Gabby.

He could clearly hear her say that to Otis, and he could just tell that she was a bit distressed; and that was definitely something that got him a bit concerned. Turning his head to look at his friends that he was sitting with, Matt took a breath. "Excuse me guys." Kelly then looked up at his friend. "What's wrong…" But Matt didn't wait to be asked what was going on. Rather, he just got up and proceeded to make his way over to his wife as he was concerned for her.

Matt's POV: As I made my way over to Gabby this evening, I took a breath as I was a bit concerned as to just what was happening right now. I could tell that something was wrong, and I just wanted to make sure that my girl was okay. But for some reason, I had a feeling that she wasn't okay; and that was why I decided to make my way over to her. I wanted to make sure that the woman I love was okay, as that will always be my main concern. "Are you okay Gabby? You seem a bit distressed." Hearing that word…distressed…just got me worried. My wife was in distress? Was it something related to the babies? God, I am worried now. Please tell me that the babies are okay. I don't want anything to happen to them, especially when we both want to have these babies more than anything in the entire world. If something were to happen, then I would not be very happy. Rather, I would be furious that something let that happen. And right now, I just need to check.

Making my way over to Gabby, Cruz and Otis, I took a breath as I wanted to make sure that the gentlemen stalking to my wife knew that I was there. Seeing me walk over, both Cruz and Otis looked up at me. "Evening Captain." Hearing them say that, Gabby turned around because she knew that I was here. I then smiled as I walked up behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist at the same time. "Hey, everything okay here?" Gabby then proceeded to wrap her arm around me. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just uh, we were talking about the Sylvie situation." I agreed with Gabby when she said that, kissing her forehead softly. "Listen, how about uhm…you go talk to one of our new paramedics. They're a couple. Hawkins, Mikami!" The paramedics then both turned to look at me, walking over in the process. "How are you Captain Casey? Pleasure to meet you." I smiled when he said that. "Hawkins, I want to introduce you to my wife Gabby Casey." Hawkins laughed, smiling.

"Oh trust me, I am well aware of just who our former PIC is. It's been an honor to work on your rig Ms. Casey." Gabby agreed with Hawkins when he said that. "Listen, do you guys mind going ahead and changing her mind?" I then looked at Gabby. "Maybe she can talk to you guys about the woman whose name is permanently etched onto you ambulance?" Hawkins smiled. "I have always wondered about her, but I have yet to ask." I smiled when Hawkins said that, rubbing my girl's back. "Gabby, how about you go do what you do best…and go tell my new co-workers just how great of a paramedic and best friend Shay was to you?" Gabby smiled when I said that, grabbing my hand. She then leaned up and kissed me softly. "Can you maybe bring our food over to me when you got it?" I nodded, smiling at her. "Of course, baby." I then went to look at Herrmann. "Herrmann?" Herrmann then looked up at me, smiling as he looked at Gabby.

"A fresh glass of water and change the location of where our order is going to go? Me and Gabby are going to get to know Hawkins and Mikami better." Herrmann agreed with me when I said that, smiling at me. "Of course, Captain. Do you want the salad ASAP?" I nodded. "Yes please. Please bring it to Gabby, and I will be there soon." Herrmann agreed, proceeding to go get our food for us. Meanwhile, I looked at Gabby; kissing the side of her head, I smiled at her. "Listen, how about you go sit down with the people you might work with in the future?" Gabby smiled, agreeing with me. "Also, I want to talk to you about something when I'm there. See you soon." Gabby nodded, walking away so that she can go sit with the paramedics that replace herself and Sylvie at the firehouse. Meanwhile, I took a breath and turned to look at Otis and Cruz. Just glaring at them, I was not happy. "Okay, did either of you guys not read the e-mail that I sent the entire firehouse recently?"

Both one of my men, and one of my former men gulped when I said that; after all, they were well aware of the e-mail that I send them recently. "Guys, this is not something that I want to have to worry about. Gabby is my wife, and I'm already going back to the firehouse. I don't want her to have to think about Sylvie." Cruz agreed with me. "Sorry Captain." I then turned to look at Cruz. "Cruz, she almost wrecked our marriage. I know that you guys have a close relationship because of your shared culture, so can you please make sure that you do me a solid and make sure that she's okay?" Cruz agreed with me when I said that, smiling at me. "Of course, Captain. By the way, belated congratulations on having twins. How are you feeling about having kids with Gabby?" I smiled when Cruz asked me that. "I'm thrilled to be having kids with her, as this is a dream come true." I then turned to look at Otis. "Cruz, can I have a moment alone with Otis on this matter?"

Cruz was a bit confused when I said that, unsure of the reason why I needed him to give us a minute; and that led to Otis speaking up. "Is everything okay Captain?" I nodded when Otis asked me if everything was okay, which it was. "Yes, of course. It's just something that I plan on doing with the rest of my company." Cruz understood. "Of course. See you in a second Otis." Otis agreed, watching Cruz walk away; afterwards, he turned his attention to me. "Is everything okay Captain?" I nodded when Otis asked me that, taking a breath. "Listen, I just want to talk to you as…" I then took a breath. "You remember how I was this past summer right? How it was while Gabby was away?" Otis agreed with me when I asked him that. "Oh, I remember." I then took a breath. "Like I said, this is not going to be on you as I'm asking this to everybody; and I've already asked Severide to do the same for me since he's my best friend…but you're one of my guys on Truck, and you can definitely help me out much more than he can when we're on non-squad calls." Otis agreed. "How's that?"

I took a breath when he asked me that. "With me and Gabby expecting our first kids, I'm really excited to be a dad…but I want to come back to truck, yet I just want to make sure that…" Otis then started to understand. "You want to be safe, and make sure that you get a chance to meet your children." I sighed when he asked me that. "Yeah, that was the exact thing that I was thinking of. Listen, I know that you don't need to tell you this…but I would really appreciate it if you could make sure that I go home safe to my wife and future kids each and every night." Otis agreed with me when I asked him that, smiling at me. "Hey, of course Captain. I completely understand that you want to do that, and I know that the entire Truck will make sure to do that for you each and every shit; the truth is, we're just ecstatic that you're coming back. And we love it even more that Gabby's back." I laughed when he told me that, putting my hand on his shoulder this evening.

"Thank you so much Otis, and we're happy to be back too. This really is where we need to be for the health sand safety of our children, and I really appreciate just how great you guys have been. I know that there's been a lot of change recently. Between me leaving, getting a new Lieutenant; and then me coming back, and taking over truck again. I know that it's a lot of changes in a very short period of time, but I know that you guys can keep doing a great job; and you will be amazing just like you always do." Otis agreed with me when I said that, smiling at me. "Of course, we will Captain, and I promise that everything will be okay. We will make sure that you meet your kids. Any genders yet?" I laughed when he said that. "Otis, we're not that far along yet; and you are not going to be the first one we tell." Otis agreed with me when I said that, smiling as he looked at me.. And the truth was, he's really happy for us as he knows we have always wanted to be parents.

At the same time, with the current and former members of Ambulance 61:
Sitting at the table with each other, Gabby, Evan Hawkins, and Violet Mikami all smiled as they got ready to know each other better. After all, they are all current and former members of the ambulance that they love more than anything; and Gabby definitely is ready to share some stories about the woman who is currently on the ambulance. But first, she's going to set some ground rules for what she's going to talk about with them right now. More specifically, she's not going to answer any questions that relate to Sylvie; or what happened between the both of them before she left to go. She doesn't know what they've been told, and she just doesn't plan on talking about it. "Okay, so before we get to know each other, I want to set some ground rules as to what you can ask me about." The paramedic couple sitting in front of the expectant mother were both a bit taken aback and confused when they heard her say that, not exactly sure just what she was trying to say to the both of them. But regardless of that fact, they decided that they were going to listen to the former PIC.

After all, she's not just the former PIC on their ambulance; she's also the wife of their Captain, which means that they can easily get in trouble if they do not listen to her. "Of course, Ms. Casey." Gabby laughed when she heard the paramedic-in-Chief (Evan Hawkins) talk to her that way. "Oh please, it's Dawson when we're here." Matt then smiled as he proceeded to come join his wife and her paramedic friends. "I thought your new last name was Casey." Turning her head, Gabby was a bit shocked that Matt was even here. "Hey, I thought you were talking with Cruz and Otis." Matt agreed with Gabby when she said that, smiling at her. "I was, but I'm done now. And I knew that you were going to be talking about Shay, so I decided to come join you so that I can give you the comfort, love and support that you need as you speak to her. And, at the same time, I can make sure that you breathe for the sake of our children." Hawkins smiled when he heard his new Captain say that. "Well, that's exactly what a husband does for his pregnant wife after all." Matt agreed with Hawkins, smiling at him.

"Now, about this. I have already asked this to all of the other members of the firehouse but…" Matt then proceeded to sit down next to Gabby, wrapping his arm around her. "…I already asked the other Lieutenants and firefighters from the house to make sure that I stay safe." Gabby smiled when she heard Matt say that, well aware of the fact that he was doing that. "I just want to ask you to do the same for me, if at all possible; as I really want to meet me and Gabby's kids. I have always wanted to be a dad after all." Hawkins and Mikami both agreed with Matt when he said that, clearly seeing that seeing that he was quite excited to be a dad in the future. "Let me guess, you're very excited to be a father; aren't you Captain?" Before Matt could answer the question, Gabby decided to. "Oh, we both are. This has been our dream come true. A couple years ago, we lost a baby that I was pregnant with; and then we lost a child that we tried to adopt as well." Matt nodded. "Oh, I am so sorry Gabby. That just sounds horrible." Matt nodded, looking at Gabby before smiling. "Gabby, take it easy."

Gabby agreed with her husband when he said that, smiling at the man of her dreams. She then laid her head down on his chest, smiling due to the fact that he truly is the man of her dreams. And even better, he's the future father of her kids.

Gabby's POV:
As I thought about just how great of a husband (and future father) Matt is, I just smiled because of how perfect he truly is. And I am so glad that we are currently just holding each other close right now. We're having fun holding each other, and I'm ready to just hold my wonderful husband close to me for the rest of my life. And I'm pretty sure that Matt already knows that, because I know that he wants to do the same thing. He wants to hold me (and his family) close to him for the rest of his life. I mean, what husband and father wouldn't want to do that. "So, do you guys have any ideas for the gender?" I smiled when Violet asked me that. "The truth is, I'm thinking that we're going to have daughters. I have always thought that Matt would be the best girl dad in the entire world. It would be incredible." Matt agreed with me when I said that. "And I wouldn't mind having boys though. That would be nice too, as I have always wanted kids regardless." I agreed.

"God, he is so adorable with his niece and nephews; and it doesn't matter if they are his niece, or my niece and nephew. He's just great, and he's going to be a great dad." Hawkins agreed with me when I said that, proceeding to take a sip of his beer. "And are you guys ready to just do it at the same time that you guys work too?" Matt nodded. "I think so, but it's going to be a challenge. We actually took a bit of time away due to the fact that we needed to take it easy and just relax for the sake of our marriage. And we both agreed that we needed to talk more, and that may even require us to take some days off; and I'm glad that we agreed, because that means that we can have nice times with each other. Oh, and I already promised my beautiful wife some romantic nights are ahead of us." I smiled when I heard Matt say that, absolutely loving the sound of Matt telling me that we're going to have some romantic nights ahead of us. "Oh, that sounds perfect."

Matt nodded, smiling at me when I told him that. "I had a feeling that you were going to think that way." I nodded, smiling as I proceeded to rub his back. That's when I turned to look at Violet. "So, how long have you guys been together?" Evan smiled. "What? 2 months maybe now? It's just nice that we're allowed to work together." Violet agreed. "I would say closer to 3 months honestly. We started right after we moved to 51 together." Evan agreed with Violet, smiling at her. "It's nice though, because we love the house much better than the old one we had." Matt smirked. "Which one were you at before?" Violet smiled. "Ambo 99, Firehouse 20." Matt groaned when he heard Violet say that. "God, I know why you hated that place now. God, I hate that Captain." Violet laughed. "Let me guess, you had to work with Captain Delaney before." Matt nodded. "And I hope that I never have to work with him never again." Violet agreed with Matt when he said that.

Meanwhile, I turned to look at Matt. "Let me guess, Territorial? Narcissistic? Annoying?" Matt nodded when I asked him that. "Yes, that's exactly how I would describe him." I laughed, smiling at the man of my dreams. That's when I saw Herrmann bring our salad over to us. "Here we go, a nice Salad for our favorite couple." Matt agreed. "Thanks Herrmann, can you bring another one to Kelly and Stella since we left them?" Herrmann agreed. "Do you guys mind if we share? It looks good?" Matt smiled. "As long as you guys make sure that Gabby eats most of it since we need it, for the sake of our kids after all." Violet agreed with Matt when he said that, smiling. "Of course we can Matt, and I'm glad that we're getting to know each other. This is really nice." Hawkins agreed with his girlfriend when she said that. "Oh, I have to agree; and that's especially the case when I may be having to follow orders from Casey when we're on scene together, but Boden isn't."

Matt agreed with Hawkins when he said that. "Well, it definitely comes in handy when you know what you're talking about; when you have a wife who is a paramedic, you l earn about everything and you just know what you're talking about a lot more." Hawkins agreed with Matt when he said that, smiling at him. "How long have you guys been married anyways?" Gabby smiled. "It'll be 2 years in just over 2 weeks." Matt smiled when he heard Gabby say that. "15 days." Hawkins agreed with Matt when he said that. "Good man knowing your anniversary." Gabby laughed. "He better know our anniversary, or he'd be dead. Last time I checked, he needs to take care of the plans since I'm going to be relaxing." Matt agreed with me when I said that, smiling at me. "You'll let me know when you want to leave okay Gabby? I promise that we can leave. I want you to do whatever you can to rest." Gabby agreed with Matt when he said that, smiling at her loving husband.