Chapter Text
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“When will people learn that water does not put out grease fires?” Kidd chuckles as she smoothly backs Truck 81 into the firehouse garage.
“Probably about the same time they learn that no, it’s not worth running back into a burning building for your high school yearbook,” Gallo chimes in from the back, to a round of hearty chuckles from the other firefighters.
Casey shakes his head and gives a shrug with a smile. “We’re here to serve the citizens of Chicago, not judge. Even if that means seeing people make the same mistakes more than a few times.” He pops open the door to the fire truck and hops down, shaking off his turnout coat and hanging it on the rig. “Everyone, check your supplies and air tanks, make sure we’re ready for our next call.”
“Got it, Captain,” the members of truck answer in unison as they clamber down from the rig, and Matt bites back a small grin. He really has trained them well, hasn’t he?
He rolls his shoulders with a slight grimace as he strolls back into the firehouse. The last call had been a pretty standard kitchen grease fire gone wrong that was quick to put out, with no injuries. But it was still a lengthy call, and it was back-to-back off a serious four-car accident from this morning. He’s craving a hot cup of coffee and a few minutes alone in his officer’s quarters to regroup his focus.
He quickly pours himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and makes a beeline for his quarters before he gets pulled into another conversation about internet memes, or whatever Gallo and Ritter are talking about these days. He swears those two always make him feel about 100 years old.
Brett is the only one in the sleeping quarters when he walks in, and he pauses by her bunk, squeezing her shoulder. She looks up at him with her striking blue eyes and he’s enveloped in that warm, comforting presence that always seems to surround her.
“Great job calming down that panicked father this morning,” Casey says. “You always have a way with people.”
“Guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Brett jokes with a self-deprecating smile. She rolls her eyes when he frowns down at her. “I’m only kidding Casey. Thank you. I’m always glad to help where I can.”
“You do a great job of it,” Casey affirms, resisting the urge to touch her again. “I don’t want you to think it goes unnoticed.”
“Thanks,” Brett repeats, smiling gently up at him. “You do pretty okay too.”
“Just okay?” Casey exclaims, mock-offended. Brett laughs and he joins in. “Thanks Brett. Someone’s gotta keep those goofballs in line.” He nods toward his quarters. “Paperwork calls my name.”
“Sounds fun. Enjoy.”
“Always,” Casey jokes, and slips off into his quarters, closing the door behind him.
He lets out a sigh as he drops into his desk chair and takes a long pull from his coffee. Things between him and Brett have definitely moved somewhere past "just friends", into this murky gray area of almost something more. And yet, he keeps holding himself back from fully exploring the spark between them. Sylvie is a kind, generous person, one of the most genuine people he’s ever met. Any guy would be lucky to be with her, and frankly, it baffles him that she seems to struggle so much in the romance department.
So why doesn’t he just take that leap, and let things develop between them? Every time he thinks about taking things further, he stops himself at the last moment.
Matt sighs and rakes a hand through his hair, and decides that filling out the incident logs from today’s calls will probably be a much more productive use of his time then dwelling on his own mess of a love life.
He’s just signing his name to the bottom of the report and idly wondering what’s for dinner when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He glances at the screen absentmindedly before answering, then stops, and stares.
The name Gabriela Dawson is lighting up his screen.
The exact person he’s been adamantly trying so hard not to think of since he spent that one, heated night with her a couple months ago. Which, although incredible, also had brought up a host of feelings that he’d just as rather keep buried.
His phone keeps buzzing and he hastily accepts the call before it rolls to voicemail. “Gabby?”
“Hey Matt,” Gabby says, and even through the tinny sound of his iPhone speaker, the familiar sound of her voice is enough make warmth rise in his chest. “Long time no talk, huh?”
“You could say that,” Matt hedges. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, fine,” Gabby says, then pauses, and Matt frowns instinctively. “Well, yes and no. Listen, I know you’re probably on shift and the bells could go off any moment, so I’ll keep it short. I’m back in Chicago and I really need to talk to you. It’s important. Could we get coffee tomorrow?”
“Of course,” Matt assures her, before he really can process her words. He never was quite able to shut off that part of him that would leap over buildings if Gabby showed the slightest sign of needing him. What’s worse, he isn’t sure he really wants to, either. “Noon, at that place on Grand?” he offers.
“That’s perfect,” Gabby agrees, and Matt doesn’t miss the relief in her voice. Clearly something’s weighing pretty heavily on her.
“Listen, Gabby - I do have to get back to shift but just…” Matt pauses, lets out a breath. “You’re okay, right? Just let me know you’re alright, so I can focus for the rest of shift.”
There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, and Matt feels exposed, embarrassed for asking, but he doesn’t take back the words. He does need to know she’s okay to focus. That’s never changed and probably never will.
“Yeah, I’m okay Matt,” Gabby says eventually, and her voice is softer, quiet. “You don’t need to worry, promise. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow,” Matt echoes, and disconnects the call.
The call leaves him with more questions than answers. Why is she back in Chicago again? What’s so important she needs to talk to him about? And why call him instead of dropping by the firehouse and saying hi to everyone, letting them know she’s in town?
None of it makes any sense, and isn’t like Gabby at all.
All he knows for sure is that tomorrow can’t come soon enough.
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For once, Matt’s thankful that his shift ends up being jam-packed with calls, because it keeps his mind off Gabby and her sudden reappearance in Chicago. By the time he makes it back home the following morning, he’s worked off most of his nervous agitation and is left only with a burning curiosity to know what Gabby wanted to tell him so urgently.
He gets to the coffee shop early - he has a habit for being 10 minutes early to everything that was all but drilled into him by his father. Might be the one good thing that man ever gave him, really.
Flicking through his phone while sipping on a cappuccino, he checks his watch for what must be the hundredth time. Nearly noon - Gabby should be here any minute. He shifts in his chair, restless. He wishes he had a halogen in his hand and door to break down. Get in, rescue people, get out. Why couldn’t all of life be as simple as firefighting?
“Hey you,” calls a familiar voice and Matt looks up, and not for the first time, Gabriela Dawson takes his breath away.
She’s as beautiful as ever with her striking, dark eyes and bright smile. Her whole face lights up with a grin when he looks at her and his body reacts on instinct, standing and pulling her into a tight hug. She’s always seemed so much larger than life that sometimes he forgets how petite she really is, she’s dwarfed in his arms as he holds her close to him. The feel of her in his arms is like being home after a vacation he never really wanted to take.
He breaks away sooner than he wants to, gestures to the chair across the table from his. “Can I get you anything?” he offers, cursing the awkward stiffness of his voice, as if they’re business partners meeting for the first time, not two people who have been through more than most people experience in a lifetime.
Gabby’s eyebrow lifts slightly and he knows she’s thinking the same thing. “Oh, um, sure yeah, green tea would be perfect. Thank you,” Gabby says, settling into her chair.
That’s new, Matt muses as he strides over to the counter to order Gabby’s drink. She’d always been a strict coffee person when they were together. There’s probably a lot about her you don’t know anymore, he reminds himself. They aren’t together; he doesn’t have the right to know her coffee order anymore. That’s just how it is.
He carefully brings her tea back to the table and she wraps her fingers around the mug, sighing gratefully at the warmth. She’s got black nail polish on her fingers that’s chipping at the edges. The familiar sight of it makes Matt’s chest ache faintly.
“Bet you don’t miss these Chicago winters,” he says with a low chuckle, glancing out the windows to the awful mixture of snow turned sleet that’s currently flurrying outside.
“Ah, you’d be surprised,” Gabby shoots him a lopsided grin and a small shrug. “Sometimes it’s only when you leave that you realize what you’re missing.”
“Sure, I get that,” Matt nods, even though he doesn’t, not really. He’s a Chicago man through and through. The longest he’s ever left was a two-month exchange program in high school.
“It’s good to be back, though,” Gabby says, taking another sip of her tea. She absentmindedly slips her beanie off and shakes her hair loose, running a hand through it. It’s grown a little longer than Matt remembers, brushing her shoulders and the ends curling in that way he always loved. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me.”
“‘Course,” Matt says gruffly. “I’m sure everyone at the house would love to see you too, if you want to stop by. How long are you in town for?”
“I’m um…” Gabby fiddles with her necklace, one of her telltale nervous habits. “Well, I’m back, Matt. I transferred out of field work into the nonprofit’s office here in Chicago, I’m going to be doing advocacy work now. So I’m here for... well, for the foreseeable future.”
Matt’s heart lurches. He had been expecting her to say a day, maybe a week at most. She was back for good? His brain scrambles to process the information.
“Wow. Gabby that’s... I mean, good for you, if that’s what you want?”
“It is,” Gabby nods. “I have some... things, to think about and I just you know, wanted to be somewhere more stable, closer to home, you know?”
“Of course,” Matt repeats, frowning slightly and searching her eyes. Gabby sounds unsure, which is so unlike the woman he’s always known. He decides he’s had enough of dancing around the subject. “Gabby, is everything okay?”
Gabby looks at him for a long moment then tips her chin up, like she’s steeling herself for something.
“Matt... I’m pregnant.”
A tidal wave of emotions washes over Matt and he’s left speechless. Happiness for her and whoever the father is. Sadness that he’s 40 and childless. Jealousy that she’s going to have with someone else what they could never have together.
“Wow, Gabby that’s…” he clears his throat, tries to refocus his thoughts. At the end of the day, his own feeling aside, he knows this is the one thing Gabby’s wanted more than anything else. He musters up the most genuine smile he can. “I’m really happy for you Gabs. You’re going to make an amazing mom. Congrats.”
Gabby stares at him for a moment as if he’s grown two heads, and he raises an eyebrow. “Did I say something wrong?” he asks tentatively. Maybe she isn’t happy about the baby after all.
“Oh my god Matt, for a firefighter you really are slow sometimes,” Gabby rolls her eyes, leans forward. “The baby is yours Matt.”
Matt feels like someone just knocked all the air out of him. “But we haven’t... we just, that one time, and you were on the pill?” he stutters, brain whirling.
Gabby looks sheepish. “Between the travel back and forth and time changes I must have missed a dose or two. Sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“No, that’s not... I’m not mad,” Matt offers lamely.
Something closes off in Gabby’s expression, and she gets that determined no-one-can-stand-in-my-way look on her face that he’s seen many times before.
“I don’t expect anything from you, just so you know,” she says, eyes blazing. “I can take care of myself and you don’t even need to worry about child support. I have everything covered and I’m not asking anything from you. I just thought you had a right to know, but if you don’t want to be involved in the baby’s life I’ll under --”
“Woah, woah, slow down,” Matt interrupts, his jumbled thoughts finally clearing. He reaches across the table and lays a hand over hers. “Gabby of course I want to be involved in this baby’s life. And of course I’ll support you, both financially and otherwise. No, that’s not up for debate,” he adds firmly, when Gabby opens her mouth to protest. “I’m helping. End of story.”
“Well, thank you,” Gabby says quietly, looking down for a moment and brushing a thumb under her eye. When she looks up her chocolate brown eyes are shining with tears. “Sorry, I’m so damn emotional all the time now,” she says with a watery laugh. “But thank you. I was afraid... I don’t know, I was afraid after everything that happened between us, you wouldn’t want anything to do with me or this baby. Which would be understandable, frankly. But I’m just glad our kid doesn’t have to grow up with only one parent.”
“Gabby,” Matt sighs, and rubs his thumb over her hand slowly, not breaking his gaze so she’ll feel the sincerity of his words. “Yeah we’ve been through a ton. More than a lot of people. Not all of which is on you, by the way. I’m sorry if I didn’t seem excited right away, it’s just a lot to process. You know how much I’ve always wanted a kid. I couldn’t be more happy about this baby and I trust you more than anyone I know to be the mother of my child, and I mean that.”
Gabby smiles up at him, a few tears leaving trails down her cheeks. Matt shakes out a napkin and hands it over, rubs his hand up and down her arm comfortingly a few times until she seems a little more settled.
“You really are happy?” Gabby finally asks, eyes hopeful.
“Ecstatic,” Matt grins, and he knows his face shows it.
“Me too,” Gabby smiles.
“But your health, and uh, all that? Have you been to see a doctor?” Matt frowns, not wanting to reopen old wounds, but also he needs to know she’s all right.
“Yeah I saw an OB in Puerto Rico and I found a new one in Chicago, my next appointment is next week. The doctor said that all signs are pointing to a healthy pregnancy so far. I’m 10 weeks.”
“And you’re sure…” Matt hesitates, not wanting to sound tactless. “Uh, you’re sure it’s mine, I mean?”
“I haven’t had a lot of time for dating what with building houses and saving lives, Matt,” Gabby shoots him a wry look. “Yeah I’m sure. You’re the only person I’ve been with for months.”
“Same here,” Matt says quickly, then feels heat rise in his cheeks. Unnecessary information, Matt. He can’t pretend there isn’t a small part of him that is happy Gabby hasn’t been with anyone besides him though, no matter how unhealthy it is considering the fact that they’re divorced.
He clears his throat. “Well, I’d love to come to your next appointment, if you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Gabby smiles.
“Good,” Matt says, then takes another sip of his cappuccino, thinking. Severide always says he’s such a dad and he already feels like one, thinking about appointments and finances and what Gabby and the baby will need. He has to admit it’s a nice feeling though. “Where are you staying, anyway?”
“Oh an old high school friend is letting me crash at her place while she’s out of town for a few months, while I work on finding something permanent. Luckily it’s close to the doctor’s though, so I’ll be good to walk to appointments until I can get around to buying a car.”
“I’ll drive you,” Matt offers immediately. “You shouldn’t walk Gabby, it’s the middle of winter. You’ll freeze.”
Gabby smirks at him faintly and doesn’t say anything.
“What?”
“Nothing. You’re going to be totally overprotective this whole pregnancy, aren’t you?” she chuckles, but she sounds fond, not angry.
Matt runs a hand through his hair. “Not overprotective. Just. You know. Concerned.”
“Mmhmm,” Gabby nods with a dubious expression and he nudges her playfully with his elbow for that. She laughs, bright and free, and the sound is like music for his soul.
“We’re going to be parents. Wow,” Matt muses, squeezing her hand again. “Third time's the charm?”
“Third time’s the charm,” Gabby agrees firmly. “This is our baby, Matt. We’ve had enough losses for a lifetime. Something’s different about this...I can just, I don’t know, feel it.”
“I believe you,” Matt says, and he does, or at least he’s going to try his best to.
Gabby drains the rest of her tea and slips her hand from his. His feels cold already at the loss of contact. She stands, pulling her hat and coat back on. “Well I have to finish tackling unpacking and just generally sorting out my life so... see you next week for the appointment?”
“Sounds good,” Matt agrees, and pulls her into a long hug. “I’m really happy, Gabby,” he murmurs again into her hair.
“Me too, Matt.”
She sends him another bright smile and slips out back into the blustery afternoon snow, leaving Matt feeling more joyful than he’s been in years.
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