Well, if that didn't get dramatic. What are you guys thinking of the story so far now that we've hit our fourth chapter? And what do you think is going to happen with Gabby? Is she going to survive? Well, you have to read to find out in Chapter 4 of our story.
Chapter 4: Andrew James Casey
When Matthew Casey pictured his life as a father, this was something he could always see himself doing: sitting in his recliner as he watched TV, while his little boy (or girl) slept on his chest. But in this situation, it was a little boy; his little boy was fast asleep on his chest after a 12-hour long surgery…on which not only made him a father, but also saved his wife's life. After all, the doctors were able to do precisely what they promised him they'd be able to do…and so much more: they were able to give birth to their son, save his wife's life, and remove the aneurysm from her system. How they were able to do that? He had no idea, but it was the reason why the surgery was so long…and why he was still awake at 2:30 in the morning on August 17th. After all, his son was born yesterday on the 16th, but Gabby just finished her surgery an hour and a half ago. And luckily for Matt, he had his entire family with him; he was just waiting for his wife to wake up…not that he wanted her to do it too fast. Rather, he wanted her to take her time.
That way, he could take advantage of this quality time he was getting with his little boy. And damn, did Matt love the feeling of skin-to-skin time he was getting with his son. It was exactly what he wanted to have right now, especially as he left kisses on the top of his head. Still, that didn't mean that he wasn't worried as he waited for Gabby to wake up; he was just trying to stay calm for the sake of his son, as he didn't need to worry too. Rather, he just had to lay down on his chest and take it easy with him. And right now, that's precisely what Andy was doing. Meanwhile, he was reading a text message from Kelly. 'God, he's adorable. Little Andrew James Casey. How are you? How's Gabby?' Matt smiled as Kelly asked him that question, as it meant that he could finally tell him what the good news was. 'You can share with the firehouse that Gabby is all good. She's still here with us.' And the moment Matt sent that text, he just knew that Kelly was relieved; so much so, that he actually thought it was a good idea to call him this morning.
However, that wasn't happening. 'I am not answering a call when my son is fast asleep on my chest, and my wife is asleep in bed. The only reason I'm awake is because I refuse to go to sleep until I know that Gabby is okay. If you want to talk to me, text me.' Kelly agreed with Matt, only to send him a text. 'I should've thought about that, but Stella wanted me to call you. So, she's okay?' Matt sighed as he turned his head to look at his wife, prior to deciding that he should tell Kelly the truth. 'She's ok when it comes to the surgery, but she's in recovery now. I don't know how she's going to be in the long run, though I can only assume that she's going to need some time before she's okay. She just had to go through a 12-hour long surgery to give birth and take out the aneurysm.' And let's just say that really surprised Kelly. 'They took the aneurysm out?' Matt agreed, which is precisely what he decided to text Kelly. 'Yes, the aneurysm is gone…which means that we can have safe pregnancies in the future. Just not right now. Right now, we have Andy.'
Kelly agreed with his best friend, well aware that he named his son after their late best friend. 'OK. You can stop rubbing it in my face that you were the first one to have a kid, and who got to name your son after Andy.' Matt snickered as Kelly said that before giving him a reality check. 'When you have kids, you can name your son Andy too. You know that, right? There's no rule that you can't name your son Andrew as well.' Kelly agreed with Matt as he said that. 'You want me to tell the firehouse that you guys have a son now?' Matt sighed as he turned his head once more and thought about what he wanted his best friend to do. 'Can you keep it a secret for a bit? I want to wait until we're home. Well, not home. We may go somewhere else for a bit.' And let's just say that really confused Kelly. 'Why can't you come home with Gabby?' Matt sighed. 'COVID.' And the moment Kelly texted him that, he understood: he needed to keep his son safe from COVID-19. 'I get that. You want me to contact Van Meter for you?' Matt snickered. 'One step at a time, bud.'
Kelly agreed with his best friend as he said that. 'Right. But how are you doing, honestly? You okay?' Matt sighed. 'I will be when Gabby wakes up. Once she's awake, then I'll be okay. I just need to know that my wife is okay for me to be okay.' Kelly agreed with his best friend, as he could only imagine how worried he was. 'Dude, this is Gabby we're talking about. She's going to be fine at the end of the day. You know that, just like I do as well.' Matt agreed with his best friend and let out a sigh, as he already knew that was true. There was no way that Gabby couldn't be okay. She needed to be okay, as he wanted her to be a part of Andy's life. He can't imagine his life without her, as he loves her more than anything…and because he doesn't want his worst nightmare to come true. He wants to have his wife raise his son with him, which is something Antonio wants as well…just like he wants an update on how his sister is. 'Sorry I didn't stay until she was out of surgery. How is she?' Matt smiled as Antonio texted him, ready to give him an update.
So, he did just that. 'Gabby and Andrew are both here with me, safe and good. They also got rid of the aneurysm, so we should be safe going forward when we want to have kids again…not that we're going to have kids anytime soon.' Antonio agreed with his brother-in-law, well aware that they need to take their time. 'I think that's a wise decision. Gabby is going to need to readjust to life in Chicago before you go for another kid, or are you going to move to Puerto Rico with her?' Matt sighed, as he had no idea what he was going to do. 'I don't know, Antonio. Can we take it one step at a time? Gabby hasn't even woken up after her surgery or met our son. How about we let her do that before we figure out that?' Antonio agreed with his brother-in-law, as that was something he most certainly can do for them. 'Of course, that makes sense. Sorry for thinking too far ahead.' Matt shook his head. 'It's okay. Kelly was doing it too. But listen, Andy is waking up. I need to get a bottle of milk for him, I think.' Antonio agreed with Matt. 'Goodnight.' Matt agreed.
After which, he set his phone down on his side table, only to smile as he looked at his son. "Yeah, someone wants to eat. Here, how about you let daddy get you a bottle of milk?" Smiling as Matt said that, Gabby decided to speak up. "Or, you can let me feed our little boy." Turning his head when he heard Gabby wake up, Matt was surprised. "Hey, when did you wake up?" Gabby smiled as Matt asked her when she woke up. "Maybe 10 minutes ago. I was just taking a minute to admire you and our little boy." Matt agreed with Gabby and smiled as he rubbed Andy's back. "Well, you woke up right on time…he needs to eat." Gabby smiled as she heard Matt say that, as she loved the idea of her feeling their little boy. "I love that idea. Maybe you can join me in bed as I feed him?" Matt agreed, as he most certainly can join her in bed as she feeds him. "Of course. I just need to get the doctor too. He needs to check on your head." Matt said as he carried Andy over to Gabby, prior to laying him down in her arms so that she could feed him.
After which, he was about to walk away to grab his shirt, only to have Gabby grab his hand and stop him. "Matt?" Turning around, Matt looked at his wife. "Can you stay? I'd rather have you stay right now." Matt nodded as Gabby said that, only to make his way over to his wife this morning. After which, he opened the covers and smiled as he decided to climb in bed with the woman he loves. Upon doing so, he wrapped his arm around her and smiled as he watched Gabby bring Andy close to his chest; after which, he started to feed from his mother. "Oh, now that feels nice." Matt agreed with his wife and smiled as he looked at Andy as he fed from Gabby, only to soon turned his head and press his lips to her forehead. "How does it feel to have those lips on your breast?" Turning her head as Matt asked her that question, Gabby smiled at him. "It feels amazing. One of the best feelings in the entire world. A feeling I've wanted to feel ever since I wanted to be a mom." Matt agreed with his wife and smiled as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
In the process, he smiled because of how happy he was to have Gabby back in his arms. "You have no idea how scared I was just a couple hours ago." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she figured that he was scared. "I'm sorry that I scared you like that. I know it probably wasn't easy to watch me go through that." Matt shook his head. "Oh, it was hard. I was worried the entire time. I'm just glad that they were able to save your life…and get the aneurysm out." Gabby was surprised to hear Matt say that. "They got the aneurysm out?" Matt agreed with his wife and smiled, as they most certainly did get the aneurysm out. "Yeah, they did. You have no idea how glad I was that they were able to do that for us. I knew that you'd appreciate that." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she appreciated it more than anything. Just the fact that she knew that she was going to be here for the rest of her life was everything to her. "Thank you for doing that for me. Knowing that I'm going to be here for you and Andy for the rest of my life is exactly what I want to hear."
Matt agreed with his Gabby and smiled as he tugged the covers up on top of them some more, only to press his lips to her forehead once more this morning; as a result, Gabby smiled because of how nice this feels. Just the way her husband was holding her in his arms is precisely what she wants: for Matt to hold her close like this now and for the rest of her life. "Do you have any idea how much I love it when you kiss my forehead like that? It's exactly what I want to feel." Looking down at Gabby, Matt agreed with his beautiful wife and smiled as he soon bend down and kissed her softly this morning. "Good, because I have plans on kissing you each and every day for the rest of my life." Grabbing Matt's hand as he told her that, Gabby took a breath. "Do you mean that, Matt?" Matt agreed with Gabby, as he meant it from the bottom of his heart: he wants to have her in his life for the rest of his life. "Gabby, of course, I mean it. I want to have you in my life forever. You're my wife, and I love you more than anything." Gabby agreed with Matt.
After which, she turned her head to look at Andy again and smiled as she pressed her lips to his forehead. "So, did Kelly text you already?" Matt laughed. "Yeah, I told the firehouse about our little guy." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled. "How did Kelly like the fact that we got the name first?" Matt snickered as Gabby asked him that question. "We aren't talking about that when you're feeding our son and I almost lost you." Turning her head as Matt said that, Gabby took a breath. "I hope you know that I never meant for that to happen. I mean that, Matt." Matt agreed with his beautiful wife, well aware of the fact that she never intended for that to happen. "Gabby, of course, I know that. I know that you didn't want to do that to me. I know that, and I'll always know that. There's no need for you to say anything like that. I promise, we're good." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled as she looked at Andy this morning. "He's beautiful." Matt agreed, as he felt the same. "And he's all ours for the rest of our life." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled.
Laying Andy down in his crib after Gabby fed him this morning, Matt smiled because of how beautiful he looked as he laid there. It was exactly what he wanted, because he finally had a family with the woman of his dreams. The woman who just came back from going to the washroom and putting his dress shirt on. "I'm so glad that you asked Kelly to get me some clothes." Turning around to look at his gorgeous wife, Matt smiled. "I can only imagine that you're comfortable wearing my clothes again." Gabby blushed as Matt said that. "I mean, other than the clothes you took with you to Puerto Rico." Looking at Matt as he said that, Gabby was surprised that he knew that she took some of his shirts to Puerto Rico. "You knew about that?" Matt snickered as Gabby asked him whether he knew that she took some of his shirts to Puerto Rico. "Of course, I knew that you took some of my shirts to Puerto Rico. Plus, I may have put some in your bags the last time you came." Gabby agreed with Matt as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Meanwhile, Matt placed his hands on the side of her face and smiled as he leaned in and kissed her softly. "How are you feeling?" Gabby took a breath as Matt asked her how she was feeling. "Would it be bad if I said that I was still a bit worried and scared after what happened?" Matt shook his head, as he completely understood why she felt that way. "Hey, of course, not. Let's go sit down and just relax. I want to talk about what you said." Gabby agreed with her husband as she grabbed his hand, prior to leading him to their bed so that they can relax and hold each other close; after all, it was the middle of the night, and she needed to take it easy right now. "I thought you'd never ask, as I want to hold you close to me just like I plan on doing for the rest of my life." Matt agreed and smirked, as that's precisely what he planned on doing as well. "Good, because you're not going to hear me complain that you want to be stuck with me and Andy forever." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled as she turned around to look at him this morning.
Meanwhile, Matt stepped close to his wife and wrapped his arms around her; placing his hands on her butt, he smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Remember to take it easy, okay?" Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled as she leaned up and kissed him softly. "I promise, I'm going to take it easy as you hold me in your arms. There's nothing more I want to do other than just relax as we hold each other close." Matt agreed with his wife. "And I want to do that for the rest of my life with you. I just hope that now that we have Andy, this means that…" Gabby agreed with Matt, as she already knew precisely what he was going to ask her: whether she was moving home. "Hey, don't you dare worry about that. Of course, I'm moving home." Gabby said as she went to lay down in their bed so that she could relax this morning. "Matt, do you really think I would take our son away from you when I wanted to give birth so that you can be a dad? Matt, that doesn't make any sense." Matt agreed with his wife, as it most certainly did make sense.
So, he decided to apologize to gabby. "Right, sorry that idea even crossed my mind." Gabby shook her head, as she knew that they've dealt with a lot over the years. "Hey, I know that you've got a lot on your mind right now." Matt agreed with his wife as she said that, prior to leaning in and kissing the love of his life softly. "How about you lay down in bed? I'll get in with you right after." Gabby agreed with Matt as she turned around so that she could lay down in bed…and let's just say that it felt so nice to lay down in bed. It was extremely comfortable and exactly where she wanted to be: in bed, waiting for Matt to join her in the comfort of their hospital bed. "I just hope that you're comfortable in the hospital bed. I know that your back always hurts after shift." Matt smiled as Gabby said that, only to climb into bed with the woman he loves. "I have you in my arms, so I'm extremely comfortable. Believe me when I tell you that, Gabby." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled, as she loved the sound of him telling her that.
After which, she wrapped her arms around his muscular torso and cuddled up to him; meanwhile, Matt grabbed the blankets and tugged them on top of the both of them so that Gabby was warm. "Comfortable?" Gabby agreed with her husband as she laid her head down on his arm and wrapped her arms around his back. "Being in your arms is what makes me comfortable. So, yes." Matt agreed with Gabby and smiled as he rubbed her arm this morning. "I'm happy to have you home, by the way. I'm not sure if I told you that yet." Gabby agreed, as she knew that he was happy to have her home. "I'm happy to be home too. It feels great to be back in your arms. Honestly, I can't help but wonder if I should've come home the moment I learned that I was pregnant." Matt shook his head, as he didn't want Gabby to do that: second guess any decisions she made when it comes to the pregnancy. "Gabby, you had to do what was best for you at the time. If you thought that you could do it alone, then you could do it." Gabby agreed with Matt.
Though, that didn't mean that she completely believed him; especially the part where he didn't look mad. "Why aren't you mad at me?" Matt shook his head. "I'm not mad. Worried? Yes. I'll always worry about you. But, I'm not mad. You risked your life to give me our son, and that's more than enough for me to just that it easy with you. You don't need me to be mad at you, you need me to take it easy and help you through this time. I know that you're still scared." Gabby agreed with Matt, as she was scared. She was still worried about everything. "It just doesn't feel real. It feels like I'm going to wake up from a nightmare and be dead." Matt agreed with his gorgeous wife as he moved his hand to the back of her head, only to lean in and kiss her softly. "I promise, you're here. You're safe, and I love you more than anything." Gabby agreed with Matt as he told her that and smiled, as she loves him too. That was never something he had to doubt. "I hope you know that I love you too." Matt agreed with his wife as he kissed her.
After all, there was no doubt in his mind that she loves him. "Any doubt in my mind that you love me was completely evaporated the moment you came back pregnant." Gabby agreed with Matt and smiled as he told her that, only to cuddle up to him some more; while, at the same time, she realized just how small the bed was. As a result, it makes it quite uncomfortable when you lay down side-by-side. So, she decided to ask Matt to do something. "Can I lay down on your chest, babe? The bed is small." Matt laughed as Gabby said that, only to roll over onto his back so that his wife could lay down on his chest…and let's just say that Gabby wasted no time in getting on Matt's chest. Rather, the moment he was lying down on his back, Gabby laid down on his chest and cuddled up to him…and damn, did Matt love the feeling of her on his chest. It was precisely what he wanted as they held each other in bed. "So, was giving birth everything you always hoped it'd be?" Gabby sighed as her husband asked her said question. "It was…"
Matt sighed, as he soon realized that he should've of asked her that question. "Yeah, maybe that wasn't the best question to ask you." Gabby sighed as Matt said that, as she knew that he didn't want to hurt her. "It's ok. I know that you didn't want to hurt me." Matt agreed with Gabby as he rubbed her back, only to turn his head and press his lips to her forehead. "I'll never want to hurt you. I've never meant to hurt you, and you need to know that, Gabby." Gabby agreed with Matt as she wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head down on his chest. "Can you promise me that you forgive me?" Matt nodded, as he most certainly does forgive her. "Of course, I forgive you. Gabby, this is a new start for us. I promise. Everything that happened before you gave birth to Andy, I can forgive that. The hiding and everything. You did it because you wanted to make my dream come true, so I understand why you hid it from me." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled as she bent down and kissed his toned chest this morning. "You've been working out."
Matt agreed with his gorgeous wife and smiled, as he most certainly has been working out. "Do you like that I've been working out?" Looking up at Matt, Gabby smirked; after all, she most certainly does like the fact that he's been working out. "Oh, you don't even need to ask me that question. Of course, I love that you've been working out." Gabby said, as she slipped up his chest this morning. After which, she leaned in and kissed him softly. "I love you, and I find you to be the sexiest man in the entire world…while also being the love of my life and the only man I'll ever want to be with for the rest of my life, I promise." Matt smirked as Gabby told him that, well aware that was the case as he wrapped his arm around her back. After which, he pressed his lips to her forehead and smiled as he held her close to him. "I love you Gabby, and I'm so happy that you're home. This is our home forever." Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled, as she felt the same way: this was their home forever, and she was so happy that was the case.
After all, she's missed living here in Chicago. "I've missed you, and I hope you know that." Matt smiled as he agreed with Gabby, well aware that she's missed him due to the fact that he's missed her too. "I missed you too. Now, how about we get some rest before Andy over there needs another feeding from you?" Gabby agreed with her husband and smiled as she fell asleep in his arms for the first time since the night they made love…the night they created their miracle.