Hi Readers: Not much to say this chapter, other than to thank you guys for being such loyal readers. I know that this story has gone through a lot of twists and turns, but for you guys to all still be here is incredible. Thanks again for reading, and I hope that you guys stay here for many chapters to come. Now, let's get on to Chapter Fifty-Two.
Chapter Fifty-Two
A Dawson Thanksgiving – Part Three
Making his way downstairs so that he couple speak to his in-laws this afternoon, Matt Casey smiled as he and Gabby just had a nice moment alone upstairs; a moment that he didn't expect to have here when they are supposed to be (and are) celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. However, that doesn't mean that he's all that ready to share the news that he has to share with both her brother, and her mother. He knows full well that they're going to want them to stay as long as they can, but him and Gabby have already made this decision together; and they really would rather spend their night in bed rather than have to risk sleeping here (not that it would be all that bad). But the truth was, they both really enjoy sleeping in their own bed, as it's very comfortable; and they also know that it means they won't be disturbed. They already have a rule that they aren't to be disturbed in the morning, as Gabby is always grumpy in the morning (unless she's happy and just had sex). But nobody other than the couple needs to know that fact, as it's not really that appropriate to share with her family.
Now, just to share the news that they have for her family. Taking a breath as he walked into the kitchen, Matt heard his in-laws speaking. "I really hope that I didn't make her mad, or did something wrong; I was just trying to tell her that I want to help our as much as I can. These are my grandkids after all." Matt took a breath when he heard Camila say that, well aware of the fact that she means well; but there's just something that she needs to remember, that these are their first kids. And while Christmas is coming up, they do want to do the shopping by themselves. "Oh Matthew, we didn't see you." Putting his hand up, Matt shook his head as he didn't want to make Camila feel bad. "It's ok Camila." Camila agreed. "How's Gabby? She ran off quite soon." Matt sighed. "She just…she felt a bit pressured to let you do the shopping." Camila decided to give her son-in-law a chance to share what he has to share with her. "But me and Gabby would like to have an opportunity to shop first, since we never got that chance last time we thought we were pregnant; so, it's a bit more specifical this time."
Antonio turned on the bar stool they have in the kitchen, smiling at his brother-in-law. "Because this time, you guys know that you're actually going to have the kids?" Matt agreed with him when he said that, smiling. "Yeah, that's the case. I hope you guys understand." Camila just smiled, nodding when Matt asked them if they understand. "Of course, I understand Matt. I didn't even think about that." Matt took a breath, laughing a bit as he proceeded to walk over to her this afternoon. He then went ahead and hugged his mother-in-law, glad that they were already past this. Hugging her son-in-law, Camila smiled as she was quite happy to have him be here with her. "Oh, is Gabby coming down?" Matt nodded. "She will be. She just needs to take a moment to breathe and relax. Now, Gabby changed into something a bit more comfortable. So, I don't want to hear a word about it. Wearing what she was wearing, it made her uncomfortable and just…made her a bit overwhelmed." Camila got nervous when she heard Matt say that. "Oh. I am so sorry if I made her feel that way Matt."
Matt nodded, grabbing his hand before smiling at his mother-in-law. "Thank you Camila. But listen, there's something else that I need to ask you guys." Antonio and Camila both agreed. "Of course, what is it?" Matt sighed. "Listen, I'm not sure if there's a set time for eating but…me and Gabby were wondering if we could eat at 4?" Antonio looked at his brother-in-law when he asked them that. "In a rush?" Matt sighed. "It's just…Gabby normally gets tired around 6, and with the storm coming in tonight; I was hoping that we might be home by then. We could be all relaxed and just taking it easy with each other tonight. And yes, we could watch the football game here; but I think it'd be better for her, and for her back, if we go home and we sleep in our bed. She's really comfortable there, and I just…I wouldn't mind being home for the storm." Camila smiled when Matt asked her that. "Hey, that makes complete sense Matt; I remember when I was pregnant with Antonio, I always wanted to be home as early as possible from my in-laws too. God, I was always so tired after them."
Matt agreed. "Yeah, add in the fact that we're having twins; and that's just something that makes her even more tired. So, we're going to get out of here pretty soon after supper I think. We just want to go home and relax. Plus, Gabby recorded the parade today; so I think…she secretly wants to get back home so we have enough time to watch it in it's entirety. Or at least as much as possible as we cuddle up to each other in bed. That's really her favorite thing to do, especially when she's had a drama filled today; today being one of those days. I'm not sure if Gabby told you Camila…" Camila just nodded when Matt was about to tell her what happened to his best friend. "Yes, I am well aware of what happened." Antonio then turned to look at his brother-in-law. "Is this related to that conversation that we were going to have before you rushed upstairs?" Matt nodded. "Speaking of which, Gabby is going to join us. I'm sorry Camila but, I would rather Gabby just sit down now. I know you like spending time with her, but could you come do it in the living room?" Camila agreed with Matt, smiling.
"Matt, of course I can come spend time with you all in the living room. I understand completely why you want to do it in the living room instead of in the kitchen, Gabby needs her rest for the sake of those grandchildren of mine; do you, by any chance, have any news on the gender?" Matt laughed. "Trust me, I want to know just as bad. But we haven't found out yet. I hope to find out soon since I want to do the nursery." Antonio turned to look at the pending father when he said that, smiling. "I have to stay, that was probably my favorite part of the pregnancy; the hormones, not so much." Matt smirked as he walked up to another one of the bar stools, proceeding to sit down on it before feeling his phone vibrate. Going to grab it, he saw that it was a text from Gabby. 'I might just take a quick catnap. Can you come get me in a bit? I just…it's been a day full of drama, and I think we rushed coming here.' Matt agreed with his wife when she said that, completely understanding. 'Of course, just take it easy; and remember, we can leave whenever. I'll come get you for food. XO'
Taking a breath, Matt went to put his phone in his pants. "So, quick update on Gabby." The two Dawsons turned to look at Matt when he said that, with the mother being a bit worried. "Is she okay?" Matt nodded. "Oh, she's fine. You really think that I would be here if she wasn't? Oh, I'd be rushing upstairs again." Antonio snickered when he heard Matt say that, as he was well aware of that fact. "Oh, I can already see that happening." Matt nodded. "I just got a text from Gabby; she's just going to take a bit of a catnap. It's been a day full of drama." Antonio turned to look at his brother-in-law when he said that. "Drama related to her not being in favor of you quitting the CFD?" Camila turned to look at her son when he said that. "I heard that Gabby was in favor of that, at least that was how I was reading it when we were just speaking. Are you guys having problems when it comes to that Matthew?" Matt shook his head. "Okay, slow down and just take a breather you both. We are not having problems when it comes to me quitting the CFD." Antonio and Camila were both relieved.
"And I made that decision entirely on my own, without Gabby having to ask me to leave the CFD for the record; this was my decision, and I was actually going to explain it to you when we were talking Antonio. But we were interrupted by Gabby, and I needed to be there. By the way, Gabby is no longer wearing her dress; she's a bit…stressed when she's wearing it, so we decided she's going to be wearing something a bit more comfortable. I hope that you guys are okay with that.." Camila looked at Matt when he said that, starting to get a bit concerned for both her daughter (along with her future grandchildren). "Are she and the twins okay?" Matt nodded. "We have no reason to believe that they aren't. She just wants to take it easy and relax, so she's not going to be helping out with cooking anymore. We're just going to sit down together. And the truth is, I think that this morning's drama really did cause her some problems." Camila was confused when she heard that. "What happened." Matt took a breath. "My best friend's father had a heart attack this morning."
Antonio looked at Matt when he said that, shocked. "Wow, uhm…" Matt nodded. "And he's a former firefighter. And then, with your father having had a heart attack last year too…" Antonio then understood. "She saw you in that hospital bed." Matt sighed. "You got it. So, she's been off since that happened. And while I was at the hospital, I could just see something in her changed. She was distant, trying to pull away from me…and she was just trying to protect herself, and trying to get used to the idea that I may not be around." Antonio just put his hand on Matt's back, knowing that this had to be hard to talk about right now. "And it's hard on her. Her having to think about this, it's not something that she wants to think about due to the fact that it's a scary topic; and she doesn't want that for our kids. She wants them to know me, so I had to do what was right for our family. And that was me not working at the CFD. At least, not in the firehouse. It was causing her too much stress, and we both just got worried for the health and safety of both her; and the health and safety of the twins."
Camila agreed with Matt when he said that. "I'm sure a bit of stress won't hurt too much, that's normal." Matt sighed. "Yeah, but our scenario is a bit more specific if you forget." Antonio was a bit confused when he heard Matt say that. "Care to maybe explain why that's the case?" Matt took a breath. "Well, where to start. First, we've lost children before. We've been pregnant before, and we both know what it feels to loose a child; a child that we both wanted more than anything in the entire world." Antonio then proceeded to grab his brother-in-law's hand, well aware of that fact that this is a hard topic. Matt then took a breath. "And Gabby was worried, if I stayed in the CFD…that it may happen again. So, we both agreed that it wasn't the best idea for me to stay there; especially since we're both already madly in love with these kids. We want them more than anything, and we don't want to do anything to put it at risk." Matt then took a breath as he looked down.
Matt's POV:
Taking a breath while I was speaking to my in-laws, I wondered whether I should share my thoughts right now; the thoughts that I have really been trying to hide from Gabby. Heck, I haven't even told these fears to Kelly; and I am thinking of telling them to my in-laws. "And the truth is, it's just really scary for me too; because it was someone that I see as a father. It was Benny Severide." Antonio agreed with me when I said that, well aware of who it is. "Right, I know who he is. He's Kelly's dad." I agreed with him, smiling when he said that. "Yeah, and my surrogate father for a while. You know, since I never had a dad in my life." Antonio agreed with me when I said that. "And then, there's another thing that I'm thing about; something that I haven't told Gabby yet. And it's something I know I need to talk about." Camila got worried. "Is everything okay Matt?" I just took a breath when she asked me that. "It's not something I'm proud that I think of." Antonio looked at me when I said that. "Oh my god, are you thinking of other women?" I stared at him when he said that.
"You didn't just say that! Antonio, my wife is pregnant! You really think I want to be with any other woman? God, you really are stupid sometimes. How about you let me speak before you assume some idiotic things!" Camila then went to slap the island with her wooden spoon. "Hey, no fighting when Gabby's resting upstairs." I put my hands up and agreed with her. "Right, sorry. But seriously Antonio, I love my wife; and we're having twins. Don't even think that way." Antonio agreed with me when I said that. "Sorry." I agreed with him when he told me that. "Good, because you shook be. God, if Gabby was here; she would be yelling at you, and we would be leaving. You never say that in her presence okay? I do not want her to have to yell at you." Antonio nodded when I said that. "What I was trying to say is that…I'm thinking about how stress can cause a miscarriage." Antonio started to get what I was trying to say. "And I just don't know what it would do to our marriage; if we have a miscarriage, whether we could survive loosing a third or fourth child. It's something I worry about."
Antonio agreed with me when I said that, rubbing my back. "So, that's always on the back of my mind. I keep thinking that our marriage is so strong that nothing can break it; but then I wonder whether that's really the truth. We've always thought that our marriage was really strong in the past, then we almost lost it. I lost her after we lost a baby, so I am always cautious about that. I know, we're married and things are different; but it's always in the back of my mind after the rough year that we had last year. Some of it from things that I am not proud of saying, which you know about Antonio." Antonio agreed. "Mom, I will tell you another time. They are not things that Matt likes to share with anybody, they are not really nice words that you want to hear." Camila agreed with Antonio when he said that, understanding that was the case. "Of course, I understand. I'm just glad that you're doing whatever you can to make sure that your marriage stays strong Matt." I agreed with Camila when she said that, smiling at her when I felt my phone vibrate. I then smiled when I saw it was Kelly.
"Oh, it's Kelly. Do you mind if I take this?" Antonio agreed with me when I asked him that. "Hey, of course man." I then went to go answer my phone, taking a breath as I got ready to speak to my best friend. "Hey, how's your dad." Kelly sighed. "Well, he's stable." I was shocked when I heard that. I then looked at Antonio, putting my hand on his shoulder. He then got the message and knew that it meant that I needed to step away for a moment. Nodding, he agreed with me. "Go." I agreed with him, getting up before walking away to go talk to my best friend about how his dad is.
Antonio's POV – Part One:
As I watched Matt walk out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him; I took a breath as I knew that my mom was confused. "What's going on?" I then went to look at my mother, ready to tell her what's happening. "Kelly is the name of Matt's best friend. His dad is the one who had a heart attack." My mom agreed with me when I said that. "Oh, okay. So, he wants to get an update." I nodded, agreeing with my mom when he asked me that. "Remember what Matt said? How he's a father figure to him." My mom agreed with me when I said that, remembering that. "Right, I remember now." I agreed with him when he said that, smiling at her. "Well, he's just worried for his best friend. And I really hope that he's okay, because I know that this might be hard on everybody; and I know that this will be really hard on Gabby too." My mom shook her head when I said that, putting her hands on the counter. "I should've seen the signs." I looked at my mom when she said that. "Hey, mom…don't even say something like that. You had no idea that they were in trouble. Honestly, I didn't even know that they were in trouble. And I think they did that for a reason." My mom agreed with me when I said that, smiling at me.
"How did I get lucky to have such a smart son?" I smiled when I heard my mom say that, going to grab her hand. Afterwards, I just looked at her. "So, how have things been here. I heard from Gabby that you might've found someone new?" My mom blushed when I said that. "Oh, I am not even going there with you." I laughed when she told me that. "C'mon mom, I care for you. You should find somebody." My mom just looked at me. "I could say the same thing about you. Why aren't you putting yourself out there?" I sighed. "Because right now, I need to concentrate on rebuilding my relationship with my kids; and I need to work on my sobriety more than my need to be in a relationship. Plus, I need to figure out where I want to work." My mom looked at me when I said that. "I thought you were going back to the Chicago PD." I sighed when she asked me that. "I'm worried about the stress, and what it'll do to my sobriety. I don't think I'm ready to do it yet." My mom agreed with me when I said that, completely understanding why that would be the case.
"Of course, that makes complete sense Antonio. And I'm glad that you are working on your sobriety before you decide to go back to work." I agreed with my mom when she said that, smiling as I'm glad that we're on the same page when it came to what I should do for the sake of my sobriety. Now, I am currently in the midst of just taking it easy. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder how things are going with Matt. I then listened to a bit of it. "Yeah, I'm here for you man. What's happening with your dad?" Matt then went quiet for a bit. "Oh god. I'm sorry man. Uhm, just keep me updated. Do you…no, I get it. Just know that you're in my thoughts. But just think positive okay man? We don't want to go there. Your dad's going to be okay. Just remember that man. He's a fighter, and he's going to make it through this. This is just something temporary…. okay, yeah. I'll call you again later okay? Bye man." Matt then hung up and just took a breath. "FUCK!" I got concerned when I heard Matt say that, proceeding to get up so that I could go see him. "Are you okay?"
Matt just looked up when he saw me walk into the kitchen, taking a breath. "They just put Benny in a medically induced Coma to make sure that he's okay." I was shocked when I heard that. "Oh god. I'm sorry man. Is he okay?" Matt shrugged when I asked him that, obviously unsure. "I'm not sure. But all I know is that I am not really sure what I want to do." I walked up to him, proceeding to go hug to him. Hugging me, Matt took a breath as we both held each other. And I could just tell right now that he was worried right now. "Man, are you sure that you're okay to be here?" Matt looked at me, taking a breath. "I think I'll be okay for a while. I promise, I'll be okay." He then thought about it. "I think me and Gabby just need to eat and then get out of here." I agreed with Matt when he said that. "I think that's a good idea for you guys." Matt just sighed as he went to get up and then rubbed his eyes, just trying to relax. "I'm going to talk to Gabby, let her know." I agreed with him. "I think that's a good idea." Matt nodded, walking away to go talk to Gabby.
Getting up, I took a breath and then decided to make my way back to the kitchen to talk to my mom.
Antonio's POV – Part Two:
Making my way back into the kitchen, I took a breath as I went to look at my mom due to the fact that I need to talk to my mom about something. I need to talk to her about whether we should really be doing this right now. Whether Matt and Gabby should really be staying here right now, when they need to be alone; Matt just has so much on his mind, and his life is really not in a place where they are currently okay with spending time as a family. I don't know why I feel this way, but I think that's really what's happening right now. I think that, as much as Matt and Gabby want to be here, they need to just take it easy; and they need to go home, as this much be creating a bunch of stress for her and their child. I just wonder whether my mom is feeling that way. Walking into the kitchen, I took a breath and looked at my mom. Afterwards, my mom turned around and looked at me. "Are you feeling the same way as me?" I was confused when I heard my mom say that. "You're the mom, and a lady; you go first." My mom laughed, agreeing with me when I said that.
"You're wondering whether Matt and Gabby either are, or should stay when they're going through all of this right now." I sighed when my mom said that, putting my hands on my hips. "I don't know, they just seem so…worried right now. And I know that can't be easy on Gabby, especially when she's pregnant. I just want what's best for the both of them." My mom agreed with me when I said that, well aware that we were both feeling the same way. "Yeah, I think that's what we really need to think about; whether this is really the best thing for Gabby and her pregnancy. I mean, her best friend's boyfriend right?" I nodded. "Yeah, I think that's their relationship." My mom agreed with me when I said that. "I just have this feeling that they're going to want to go home and take it easy." My mom agreed with me. "And with Matt having just quit, they have a lot going on right now; they need to just take it easy." I agreed with my mom when she said that. "They need to go on another trip." My mom laughed when I said that, agreeing with me. "I wonder where'd they go?"
I shrugged. "I don't care, but they just need to be cut a break." My mom agreed with me, smiling when I said that. "Maybe we can both pay for part of it?" I smiled when she asked me that. "I love that idea. But let's see what they say first, right now they need to relax and just figure a bunch of things out." My mom agreed with me, smiling. "I swear, I have such amazing kids. You both have such big hearts. And I am so proud to be your mother." I smiled, agreeing with my mom when she said that. I then went ahead and walked over to her, going to give her a hug. "We don't deserve you as a mother either mom." My mom smiled, wrapping her arms around me as we both held each other close. "You stay if they go?"
I laughed, agreeing with my mom when she said that. "Here, let's figure out what they can take to go if they do want to leave." My mom agreed with me when I said hat, loving my idea. "I think they would really appreciate that, having a bit of thanksgiving at home." I agreed with my mom when she said that, smiling at her. "God, I hope that they can just get a break and figure out their lives soon." My mom agreed. "Think they'll go back to Puerto Rico?" I shook my head. "Not when they need a good hospital." My mom agreed with me. "I still can't believe that they're having twins." I smiled, agreeing with my mom when she said that. "Who ever thought that we'd have twins in our family?" My mom smiled when I said that. "I sure never thought this way." I agreed with her, smiling as we both just took it easy and relaxed with each other this Thanksgiving; and I had to say, I like this quality time with my mom right now, it's really nice.