Hello Readers: Before we begin, I want to apologize for how I have been changing what I have been doing for a while. I just haven't been able to figure it out, and I have been confused as to just what I am doing. But I think I got it now. Enjoy.

Quick Note: These chapters were previously posted in a seperate book. But I have instead decided to merge them into the previous story so that I can streamline the story.

The Caseys: Parenthood Begins - Short Story
Chapter One
Jacob and Matteo

April 22, 2019 – Casey Home, Honolulu
He was finally a father. Gabby was finally a mother. And those were titles that they would not have for the rest of their lives, and it was all because of them. The beautiful children that he now gets to call his own. His sons, Jacob, and Matteo. Those were the names that they have been waiting over nine months to finally get to say, and now they could; they could say those names every single day for the rest of their lives, as Jacob and Matteo are theirs. They are their sons, and the couple love them more than anything in the entire world; and they will always love them more than anything in the entire world, that's just a fact. It was a fact that was made clear to their boys the moment they held them in their arms for the first time, and it was based on the smile that was on both of the parents faces when they (finally) got to meet their sons. And why they did end up changing their sons' names, they still loved the names that they ended up choosing; because they're great.

And even better, he gets to have both of his sons share his name. After all, Jacob has his middle name; his full, legal name is Jacob Matthew Casey. Meanwhile, Matteo is another way that they have chosen to honor him in their beautiful sons names. The sons who are just two days old and they're already home; and that truly is perfect, as there is nowhere else that the parents would rather be with their sons. They want to be home, and they just want to relax; and that was exactly what Gabby was doing as she laid down in bed, while her husband walked out of the bathroom this morning shortly after taking his first shower since they got home with their boys the night before. They ended up spending a few hours at the hospital with them (they were born just 24 hours earlier), but they're now home; and that's all that matters at the end of the day. Well, that, and that they have each other. Matt and Gabby are just so happy right now, that they can't stop.

They can't stop smiling, nor can they get the smiles that have been plastered all over their faces off of them for a single moment; and that was simply due to the fact that their sons have brought so much joy in their life, joy that was very much needed at the moment. Right now, Otis was currently in critical care back in Chicago; and that was something that worried them, especially since neither of them would be able to go to the funeral. Matt already told Gabby that he's not leaving the state for a while, as he doesn't want to be away from neither Jacob nor Matteo right now as they are just too young for him to do so; along with the fact that she's still recovering from having a C-Section. And while the doctors did say that she was okay to go home, that didn't mean that she was okay to resume all activities. Rather, she still had to stay on bedrest for a while; and Gabby was more than happy to just stay here and admire their boys, while her husband admired her from afar.

And that was when he decided that he needed to get closer to his wife to do this, especially now he knew what he needed to tell her. He needed to tell her that it was very likely that Otis may not survive, and may therefore succumb to his injuries; which was definitely something that was very hard for the husband to think about, as he's also a new father. With their twins currently only being two days old, it was really hard to imagine being ripped away from them at such an early point in their life; but, had he still been a firefighter, that very much could be a possibility. But now, they have this nice life that they have; a life that gives them all of these comforts, but that doesn't mean that he's going to forget where he comes from. He comes from a background that involves being a public servant, a firefighter who puts his life on the line each and every time that he goes to work; and that was exactly what Otis did before he died just recently.

Turning her head to look at her husband as he was (quietly) making his way over to their bed in his boxers, Gabby sighed due to the fact that she had this feeling that he just got the same news from Chief Boden that she just got; a message that she got from Stella, who called her the moment Kelly got the news. It was hard, and it was something that she was still in disbelief about. Another one of their friends has died in the line of duty, so soon after the birth of their beautiful sons, their Jacob and Matteo. Making his way over to bed so that he can talk to Gabby about this, while being clad in nothing but his boxers this morning after eating breakfast; Matt took a breath as he went ahead and opened the covers. "So, uhm..." Looking at Matt, Gabby took a breath. "Otis." Matt just looked at his wife when she said that, now well aware of the truth of the situation; Gabby already knew that their friend was dead. "Go to the funeral Matt, go represent us."

The father was shocked when he heard his wife tell him to go to the funeral, especially when she just gave birth to their children. And unfortunately, this was a time where Matt was going to have to disobey his wife's orders; as he was definitely not leaving her just two days after she gave birth to their children. Taking a breath as he shook his head, Matt proceeded to climb into the bed that they haven't share in a while; the bed that they were going to be sleeping in for the first time today, the first time since they became parents. And that was definitely something that they were excited about, due to the fact that they already love being parents; but they don't love that as much as they love each other. They always thought that them having children would lead to them calming down when it came to how sexy things got with each other. But instead, the complete opposite happened; they have just been wanting to touch each other more and more, and they love it. They love holding each other close, as they show each other the love and affection that they have for each other.

But right now, that was not the reason that they were holding each other close; rather, they were holding each other close as they found themselves in a similar position that they found themselves just six years earlier. But that time, they were both much closer to the person; that death being Shay's. But for this death to be another man that was on his truck, it was hard. Now, he'd lost half of his truck since that day; that day where he lost his best friend, and that was something that was hard to swallow. It doesn't matter to him that he wasn't the officer on duty at the time: once an officer, always an officer. That was how he felt about the situation, and that wasn't going to change just because of the fact that he now had millions of dollars to his name. In fact, that was something that he's going to do. "I'm not going to the funeral Gabby." Gabby turned her head, and looked up at the man she loves; unaware of the reason why he isn't going to go. "Why not baby?"

Looking down at his beautiful wife as she cuddled up to him, Matt smiled as he ran his hand up and down her arm. "Because I have duties here that I need to maintain." Gabby looked at her husband when he said that, and she was furious; is he really going to be putting business, ahead of going to their friend's funeral. "No, I am not letting you do that. Get out of bed. You think that you..." Matt then put his hand on his wife's arm again with the hopes of getting her to calm down, unsure as to just what she's referring to right now; what if the world does she think that he's going to do? And why wouldn't she let him do that. "Hey, take a breath and relax. Just talk to me babe, and tell me what you think I'm going to do?" Gabby looked up at her husband when he asked her that, especially not happy that he was treating her as if she's stupid (she isn't stupid, nor is that the way he's treating her; just for your information, before you go guessing that).

"I'm not stupid Matt, I know you don't want to go because you have a meeting you don't..." Matt shook his head. "Hey, look at me and take a breath; take a breath for the sake of your healthy baby. Remember what the doctor said." Gabby took a breath when she heard Matt tell her that, well aware of the fact that she needs to relax right now; after all, she did just give birth to their children. "Sorry, I..." Matt then proceeded to kiss her forehead softly. "Listen, just breathe for me, and let me explain what I'm planning on doing before you get all mad at me baby. I promise, that isn't why I'm not going to the funeral." Gabby looked down. "Sorry I..." Matt just looked at his wife, while moving his hand to her back to get her to relax. "There is only one reason why I am not going to the funeral, and I am looking at her right now." Gabby then looked at Matt. "Me?" Matt smiled as she asked him that, as that was the exact reason why he wasn't going.

"Gabby, you just gave birth to our sons, and I need to be here so that I can take care of you; and so that I can bond with the boys while they're young. Gabby, you really think I want to fly all the way to Chicago for a funeral right now? Yes, I get that he's a close friend of ours; but...I can't do it." Gabby looked into her husband's eyes, and she could tell that there was a reason behind him telling her that he can't fly to Chicago right now; and she was going to find out. "And what would that reason be?" Matt smiled as he turned his head and looked at Jacob and Matteo. "It's those two over there." Gabby agreed with Matt as he told her that, smiling as she thought of their sons. "Gabby, I have wanted to be a father for my entire life; and I am finally a father. I am not going to spend the end of my sons' first month birthday in Chicago, when I want to be here; when I want to be here with the woman I love, and our sons Jacob and Matteo." Gabby agreed with Matt.

"God, I am so not worthy to have you as my husband." Matt smiled when he heard Gabby say that, before turning his head and leaving a soft kiss on her forehead this morning; a kiss that was so sweet, that it just made Gabby melt into her husband's arms. That was, until Matt heard his phone ding; reaching over, he went to grab it until Gabby stopped him. "Hey, remember what you promised me, no business right now." Matt agreed with Gabby when she told him that. "I already shut off my second line, remember what I told you?" Gabby agreed with her husband when he asked her that, well aware of just what he told her; he told her that he has two phone numbers on his cell phone now. One for personal calls, and one for business calls. "So, that one's shut off for now?" Matt agreed with Gabby. "And it will be whenever I'm home. Home time, is family time for me now." Gabby agreed with Matt, smiling at her man as she loved the sound of that.

"Means that I can kiss you if you'd like." Gabby smiled, agreeing with her husband as he asked her if she wanted him to kiss her; and she most definitely did want him to kiss her this morning. "Ignore the call, we're on family time." Matt agreed with his wife when she told him to ignore the call that he was just getting, before rolling back over and moving closer to the woman of his dreams; the woman he plans on sharing a nice kiss with right now, as that was what she wanted from him. "So, what do you want right now." Gabby laughed as she heard Matt ask her that, before tugging her body against his; after all, they both already knew what she wanted to have, and that was his body against hers as he kissed her softly. "I want you to hold me close for the first time, without our sons in between us." Matt smiled when he heard Gabby say that, really happy that was the case. "Let's just be honest though, you loved being pregnant." Gabby shook her head, laughing.

"Thanks again for the nice breakfast in bed. But you know that you didn't need to do that right?" Matt agreed with Gabby when she said that. "But I wanted to, as I just want you to take it easy after all you've given to me. I mean, you finally give me the life that we've always wanted. We finally have our family." But more specifically, they have their family at home with them, as they just relax with each other right where they want to be; with each other in bed. "Speaking of which, where are the dishes?" Gabby bit her lip. "Baby, I told you not to leave our bed; and I also said that I could get them for you. Why did you go?" Gabby took a breath when Matt asked her why she decided to go to the kitchen to put her plates away, rather than wait for him to do it. "Because I needed to do it, I have been trying to tell you that for a while now baby; I need to be let free a bit, because I'm not a China Doll, and I can do things on my own now that I'm not pregnant with the boys."

And while she didn't want to have an argument, she did feel like she should reinforce what he just said. "And you did just say that I've been home for a week." Matt sighed when he heard Gabby tell him that, as he was really regretting the fact that he just made that admission; as that meant that he now had to let her do exactly what she wanted, and that was be free of his control (not that he could ever control her before). "So, do you want to talk to me how you love the fact that we've been home for a week." Gabby laughed. "Which is why I still..." Matt shook his head. "I'm not going to the funeral." Gabby agreed with Matt when he told her that, smiling as he said that. "I have to say, I do like the idea of me having my hunky husband home with me during that time." Matt smiled as he heard Gabby tell him that, as he felt the same way while kissing her slowly. "Me too." Gabby smirked as she heard Matt say that, starting to take things slow with her husband.