So, so, so, so, so, sorry about the wait on this one. I've hit some writers block with it and have been struggling for inspiration. I know where I want this story to go and what to happen, I just can't seem to get it translated onto the page. I'm not going to promise updates at any certain time, but I can promise that I will try my hardest with this one. It was the first story that brought me into this fandom and I don't plan on leaving it anytime soon, I just need to find my muse for it again. I promise to keep trying for you all! So please stick by me on this one.

Thank you for those that reviewed the last chapter and for all the encouragement you all give. I'm not too sure about this one, but I really wanted to post something for you guys, so if it sucks, I'm sorry.

Happy reading! Chicago Fire is in less than 48 hours people!

I own nothing.

Chapter 16: Meet the Parents… Again

Gabby stretched her sleepy limbs as she looked at the clock on her bed side table, a smile filing her features as she thought of last night's events and her date with Matt.

She rolled over to check her phone as it started to ring and pulled it to her ear right away, letting out a content sigh as she checked the ID and answered. "Hey you."

"Gabby… Hey." She woke up a little at the sound of his voice, uneasy and distressed.

"You okay?" She questioned concerned.

"Yeah, uh Gabby… Your parents are here."

"WHAT?"

Matt pulled the phone away at her loud voice before cautiously bringing it back to his ear. "They uh, said they told you they'd stop by today… They didn't realize you wouldn't be home." He said softly. His voice uneasy as he looked at Gabby's parents eyeing him from the next room.

"Shit…" She stumbled from the bed, kicking the sheets as she tripped over them and grumbling another curse as she went to her closet frustrated.

"Gabby?" He questioned, hearing her commotion over the phone.

"I uh. Can you take care of them for like 30 minutes?"

"Gabby…" He sighed out.

"I'll be there as soon as I get dressed." She reasoned. "Please." She whined, and he knew he was done for when she pulled out that voice, he could just see the puppy dog eyes and pouted lip she was no doubt flashing.

"Gabby, I've never… I've never been with your parents alone before, we've only met once…" He muttered quietly, still feeling the Dawson's strong gaze on him as he talked to their daughter.

She sighed, just remembering that as well. She was sure her not being there was not the impression he wanted to start out with, in truth it wasn't the impression she had wanted to give them either.

"Matt, baby, you'll be fine. I promise. I'll be there soon!" He heard the line click before he could respond, but he felt a little better just from hearing her reassuring voice and that four letter term of endearment that he hadn't heard in weeks.

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath, here goes nothing.

"Gab's is on her way." He says with a smile, pointing to the phone in his hand. Mrs. Dawson flashes him a smile, while Mr. Dawson continues to stare him down cautiously.

Matt takes in his appearance and feels a blush rise to his cheeks. He'd still been in bed when the doorbell rang, it was only 8 in the morning after all, and he was still in just his pajama pants and no shirt. He hadn't expected Gabby's parents to be the ones at his door so early in the morning.

"I uh… Let me go get changed, and then I'll make us some coffee." He tried hiding his blush, and Gabby's mother gave him a reassuring smile. He'd only ever talked to the woman on the phone and a few times while Gabby was in the hospital in a coma, and she'd barely said a thing since she entered his home, but somehow she was putting him at ease. Her father on the other hand, was making him feel intimidated. "Please, make yourselves at home, I'll be right back."

Making his way upstairs and into his bedroom he takes a few calming breaths. Meeting with the (hopefully) future in-laws was intimidating no matter what. Meeting them when he was in his pajamas, alone, and their daughter wasn't living with him at the moment. Terrifying.

Quickly pulling on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt, he brushes his teeth and tames his hair and fixes the front before making his way back down the stairs. Inviting the Dawson's into the kitchen along the way as he started a pot of coffee.

The Dawson's stand across from him across the counter and he smiles uneasily.

"So, uh, where is Gabriella?" Her mother asks sweetly and Matt feels his pulse speed up.

It was obvious that Dawson's had no idea of him and Gabby's current situation and he could only assume that Gabby didn't want them to know. "She's at a friend's." He says simply and watches as her mother's brow furrows.

"So early?" She questions genuinely. "Is she not staying here?" She question's now concerned.

He takes a deep breath as his eyes meet theirs. Mrs. Dawson eyes holding confusion and concern. Mr. Dawson's hard eyes making him want to crawl in a hole and die. It was obvious he had already made an assumption as to what was going on.

"I…"

"Mom, Dad!?" Matt heaved a sigh of relief as Gabby's voice echoed through the foyer before she came into the kitchen, effectively ending that conversation for him. She raced into her mother's arms, who held her tightly.

"Oh my baby, I've missed you!" Her mother gushed, kissing her cheek and holding her close.

Gabby was soon engulfed in her father's arms who picked her up off the ground. Gabby's laughter filtering through the room and putting Matt even more at ease. "I've missed you, Daddy." He hears her whisper with a tight throat, and her father replies the same, the first smile he'd seen from him all morning on his face.

Matt pours Gabby a cup of coffee as all this interaction takes place and once her father releases her she walks towards him and takes it from him gratefully. She places a kiss on his cheek and whispers a 'thank you.' He doesn't really know why he is so shocked by the action, they did go out and have an amazing night last night, but it still surprises him.

She comes to stand by his side and he lets his hand rest comfortingly on her lower back as he kisses the side of her head.

Her father sips his drink before looking at the two of them. "So, Matt here was just telling us why you weren't home, dear."

Gabby shot him a look over her mug that told him to leave it, Matt had a feeling he wouldn't. Mr. Dawson's eyebrow shot up, challenge his daughter and Matt had a feeling he was who Gabby got that quirk from. He'd seen many Gabriella Dawson eyebrow raised challenging looks in his lifetime. He loved that little quirk of hers.

"Oh was he now?" She questioned, her eyebrow raising. I couldn't hide my smirk as I watched her. I knew she'd been awake for less than an hour and had spent less than 20 minutes putting herself together, but she was still able to take my breath away in her dark jeans and nice black top. Her make-up minimal and her hair in lose curls. Beautiful.

Father and daughter stared of for another few moments before her mother interjected. "Breakfast? How about we all go out for some breakfast." She questioned, trying to break the light tension that had gathered.

Gabby smiled thankfully at her mother, Matt shooting her a thankful look as well.

"We could have breakfast here. There is plenty of stuff." Matt asks. Already knowing the tension was there between the group and he wasn't really sure if taking it into the public would be a good idea.

Gabby turns to him and rests her hand on his chest making his heart rate pick up, he wondered if she noticed. "Matt, you sure?" He knew she was giving him an out, he wouldn't take it, but he loved her for it.

Placing a kiss on her forehead he responded. "Positive. There is plenty of food here." He said moving to the fridge.

Gabby smiled to both her parents. "That okay with you two?"

Gabby's father made a face and her mother was quick to nudge him in the side. "That sounds great honey."

She smiled gratefully at both her parents and shot a look towards Matt. "You better be making that famous French toast."

Matt chuckled and shot her a wink. "Count on it." She couldn't hide her blush.

Gabby's showed her parents around while Matt fixed the breakfast and after the short tour was done they made their way back into the kitchen and Gabby scouted up beside Matt as her parents took a seat in the dining room. She let her chin rest on his shoulder as she looked up at him with those big eyes. "You okay?" She asked softly.

He laughed lightly, flipping the French toast on the pan and smiled down at her. "A little overwhelmed… but I'll be fine." He answered honestly.

Her hand came to rest on his cheek and he looked at her questioningly. She stood on her toes and pulled him down to her and their lips met in a soft loving kiss. "Thank you." She whispered, pulling away slightly.

He smiled softly. She didn't have to thank him, not at all. He'd do anything if it meant she kept that smile on her face. He bowed down, claiming her lips softly again before pulling away and shooting her a reassuring smile. They'd kissed a handful of times the night before on their date, but it was still new after nearly a month apart and he had to admit it was completely amazing to feel her lips under his once again.

He dished up the rest of the French toast and put the eggs, bacon, and fruit in their separate dishes and Gabby helped him take it all to the dining room table that he had set during their tour of the house.

"You wanna grab the orange juice babe?" He questioned off hand as he placed the dishes on the table, not realizing the affect that four letter term of endearment had over her.

"Sure baby."

As they all sat down at the table and tucked into their food Matt's hand found Gabby's under the table and he squeezed it comfortingly when he saw the nervous look in her eye. That simple gesture giving her all the reassuring she needed.

"This is delicious Matt." Her mother gushed. "Did Gabby teach you too cook?" She questioned.

Gabby snorted with laughter and Matt sent her a playful glare. "She's taught me a couple things, but I also picked up a few things on my own."

Her mother nodded thoughtfully watching the two of them interact. "So Matt, Gabriella says you built this place?"

Matt shot Gabby a look, wondering what else she'd told her parents and smiled at her mother. "Well I didn't build it, but I did a full remodel of it when I bought it a few years ago, ma'am."

"It's beautiful in here… and please, call me Maria."

Matt smiled politely to her and nodded his head, mumbling a thank you. Gabby looked between Matt and her parents and sighed quietly. She had hoped that she would be here during their first meeting and that things wouldn't have had to start off so awkward. She knew that her parents had loved Matt a few months ago when he had proposed, and they'd met while she was in the hospital, but she'd learned from Matt that they hadn't gotten to speak very much during that time. She knew that they both liked Matt, but showing up at the place she was supposed to be living with him, and not having her be there had thrown them for a bit of a loop, her father especially.

"So, Daddy, how was grandma?" Gabby questions, referring to her father's mother that they had spent time with in the Dominican Republic.

"She's doing well. Misses you. Wants to know when you and Antonio are going to visit." He smiles softly, Gabby returning it.

"You know it's hard for me to take time off work, especially now with being a Candidate." She reasons.

Her father nods. "How is that going now, at 51?" He questions looking between the two.

"I love it… It's definitely something I could do for the rest of my life. There's nothing like it." She tells them and Matt's face lights up listening to her talk about it.

"Gabby is shaping up to be a hell of firefighter. One of the best Candidate's I've ever had, all the guys agree." Matt doesn't miss the blush on her cheeks as he squeezes her shoulder his eyes sparkling with pride.

"How is that going with you two? Working together like that?" Her father questions.

Gabby shoots him an admonishing look, quickly realizing he is more interested in finding out what was going on between the two. "It's going fine Daddy."

Maria quickly interjects. "So what does that mean for the wedding?" She questions excitedly and Gabby tenses.

Matt lets his arm rest on the back of Gabby's chair and rubs her shoulder soothingly. "Well since we are working together we have to put the wedding on hold until her Candidacy is up." He says, trying to deflect the question.

"And after the Candidacy is up?"

Maria sends Gabby's father a warning glance, and to Matt's surprise Gabby is the one to answer his question.

"After that we will figure it out." Her eyes meet Matt's reassuring him just as much as she was trying to her parents. She squeezed his thigh under the table and he kissed the side of her head in reply. He loved her more than he ever thought possible. And the reassurance she had just given him made him feel amazing. They would figure it out.

After breakfast Gabby and Maria retreat to kitchen to work on the dishes after insisting that Matt cooked and they could do them, and Matt and Gabby's father head for the small back yard that Matt had been working on fixing up.

Maria caught sight of the two men through the kitchen window and smiles to her daughter. "So…"

"Here we go…" Gabby mumbles.

"You wanna tell me what's going on between the two of you?"

"Mom… please…" Gabby breathes out, not wanting to get into it.

"I only ask because I am concerned, honey. We've missed out on a lot the past few months since we left. You've been through a lot since we left and I hate that I missed that…" Her mother says softly, thinking of the horrifying incident with Welch and the trial she had gone through right after her parents left. They'd wanted to come back to be there for their daughter, but they'd only just left and barely had the money to cancel their tickets and switch them to an earlier date to come home. "I just want to make sure things are going alright with the two of you. I know how happy he made you."

"How happy he makes me Mom…" She corrects. "We… we hit a rough spot, a couple weeks ago." She sighs and her mother looks at her worriedly. "It was kind of a mess and really all a big misunderstanding, but it was big… I've been staying with Shay and Kelly while we worked it out." She whispers.

"Gabriella…" She admonishes, not expecting this news and surprised that her daughter hadn't told her sooner. "We talked on the phone last week, why didn't you say anything about all this?"

Gabby shakes her head. "Because I knew if I did you'd be using that tone of voice and giving me the look you're giving me now." She says, raising her brow and challenging her mother to argue.

Maria huffs. "Well what do you expect me to do? What did that boy do? Months ago he was proposing and asking for our blessing and now you two are living in separate households." She grumbles.

"Momma it's not that bad, I really don't want to talk about it. In all honesty I may have over reacted a bit, I just… It was one big mess and it's over now. Matt and I are working on things and are doing well. We uh, we went on a date last night actually…" She trails off, thinking of her night before with Matt. Her mother doesn't miss the happy, faraway look in her eyes and can't hide her smile.

"And?" She prods.

Gabby shrugs as she looks down at the plate she was washing. "I love him Mom. He's the one, that hasn't changed, and it's never going to." She smiles softly, watching Matt and her father as they talked outside.

"So Matthew, care to explain what's going on between you and my daughter?" Mr. Dawson says, giving Matt a pointed look as he takes a seat in one of the chairs he had placed outside.

Matt plops down in the seat across from him and sighs softly. "I messed up… It was a couple weeks back and it really threw us off the tracks for a while. Things got pretty complicated, with home and work and… I messed up. Gabby went to stay with Shay and Kelly and we took some space to clear our heads and get over everything. It was all just one big mess and misunderstanding and…" He sighs heavily. Meeting her father's eyes now. "We're working on things. I took her out last night actually, and we had a long talk about everything… We're doing a lot better than we had been." He says softly, thinking of the progress they'd made the night before and the little progress they seemed to have made this morning.

Her father nods. "What'd you do?" He asks, not going to let up on that. Gabby was his baby girl after all, he had to look after her no matter what.

Matt sighs as he tells the shortened version of the sordid events. The newcomers into the house. The jealousy on both parts. Riders advances at him. Him lying to Gabby. Him telling Gabby. The kiss with Rider. Gabby seeing. The mess that ensued afterwards. The big misunderstanding that had torn them apart. The progress they were now making. The forgiveness.

"I know I was in the wrong… I should have never lied to her and none of this would have happened, but I don't know. We can't take any of it back now, and we are trying to move past it. I love her too much to just give up on her." He tells him softly.

Her father sits silently for a moment, taking in all the words that the blonde had said. "You know, I could tell from the first time my daughter spoke of you, years ago, that she was in love with you. When you two got together, I wasn't around, but talking on the phone with her, I knew she loved you still. I could hear it in her voice. She was happy. And when I met you for the first time in the hospital, sitting by Gabriella's bedside and barely leaving, I knew you loved her too… I knew I could rest easy knowing that my baby girl would be safe with you, that you would look after her. And you haven't let me down yet. We all make mistakes, it's a part of life. We all tell a lie or two to our spouse. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't over the years and I know Maria would say the same… Gabriella will come around. She's got a hard head, as I'm sure you know." He chuckles softly and Matt nods, boy did he know. "But seeing her today, whether you two are still working on things or not, whether she is living here or not. I can tell she is happy… And I can tell that it because of you… That's all a father can ask for."

xXx

Matt smiles as he watches Gabby give her mother and father a hug. Her mother having already pulled him in for a hug and her father giving him a hand shake before Gabby was ushering them out the door, waving at them as they went.

After their talks things had went by much more smoothly.

They'd all settled around the living room and the conversation flowed easily. The tension from the morning erased. It was nearly 6p.m. when Gabby's parents left Matt's place, making for a long day.

Matt watches as Gabby closes the door and turns to face him her back resting against the door as she take a relieved breath.

"That was… interesting." Matt laughs softly and Gabby peaks her eyes open and giggles softly.

"It was…" She says gently. "I'm sorry they just showed up here, I didn't mean to ambush this day on you like that… after last night I had completely forgotten they were coming today."

"Don't worry about it Gabs. This is still your place too, your parents are welcome here anytime." He tells her softly. Meeting her eyes.

He makes his way to the kitchen and she follows behind, leaning against the counter as he grabs them both beers, handing her one before leaning against the opposite counter across from her.

"Your parents really love you Gabs." He smiles, loving the happy look on her face from the day's events.

She smiles bashfully. "There pretty great… They really love you too, you know?"

He looks away from her to hide his smile and the pink that has risen to his cheeks. She had no idea how much those words meant to him.

"So, uh, looks like you and my Dad must've had a nice talk?" She asks, quirking her brow in interest.

He laughs and shakes his head. "We did."

She scuffs. "That's all you're giving me?" She asks incredulously, wanting to know the words they'd exchanged.

He shakes his head once again, smirking around the bottle of beer he'd brought to his lips. "He just told me to keep making you happy and we'd be good."

She smiles at those words. He was making her happy. As she stares him down, all faded blue jeans, her favorite blue shirt, and his scruff on his face from not shaving this morning she fells things coursing through her that she hasn't felt in a while.

Her muscles contracting with every lift of his hand to bring the bottle to his lips. The way he was leaning with his back to the counter. His hair perfectly messy. His blue eyes shining.

She wanted him.

And the best part was, she had him.

She sets her beer bottle down and strides over to him, practically throwing herself at him as she wraps her arms around his neck and crashes her lips to his. He moans in surprise at her sudden action but it doesn't take long before he is setting the beer bottle in his hands behind him and wrapping his arms securely around her.

Her tongue slipping into his mouth as she kisses him heatedly. It'd been far too long since they'd shared a kiss like this. Far too long since they'd been alone in this house. Far too long since he'd made these feelings pool in the pit of her stomach.

She'd missed him over the past few weeks. She'd missed the way his lips felt on hers. The ways his rough hands felt against her skin. The way his breath felt on her neck. The way her name slipped from his lips.

He'd missed all of the same things.

He picks her up in an instant, her legs wrapping around his waist and he is carrying them to the bedroom only briefly ending their heated kisses. When he sets her down after they've entered the room she pushes him on to the bed and they are crashing against the mattress in a heap. Her straddling his lap and him holding her close as their lips stayed locked.

When she pulls away to look down at him he lets his hand rest on her cheek and looks up at her with a soft smile.

She bites her lip, nerves taking over. It'd been over a month since they'd been together, so much had happened. But she was ready. She wanted this. She wanted him. She wanted them to take the next step and get past all of this.

"I love you." She whispers softly, her words full of conviction.

His smile brightens and he pulls her lips down to his in a sweet kiss. "I love you too, Gabby. So damn much."

Her lips are crashing down on his as the words leave his mouth and he is rolling them over and pinning her too the bed. His want for her taking over.

Clothes are shed and words of love and want are filling the air. Promises are made and love is renewed.

They'd be okay.

They were going to get past it all, and they were going to do it together.

Yay, for finally having an update. I promise to try and not make you wait so long next time!

Review please!

XxXx