Prompt: "I thought you were dead!"

The first thing Matt is aware of as he enters the apartment at 6 that evening is the quietness of the house. Most days, he will come home to the sound of the TV or the radio; his wife's voice filling the space as she hummed or sang along. He is surprised to find no lights on in the living room, and switches on a lamp as he wanders through the space, continuing his search for Gabby. He remembers seeing her car parked out front, and sees her purse on the side, her phone charging next to it, and yet she is nowhere to be found. He checks the guest room and then makes his way to their bedroom, his worry level rising upon finding it empty.

He is about to phone Antonio to file a missing person's report when he sees light seeping from under the bathroom door. He freezes upon opening the door as his eyes fall onto his wife. She is lying, unmoving, on her back, in the middle of the floor. He quickly drops to his knees besides her.

"Gabby, baby, can you hear me?" he calls, his hand coming up to her neck to check for a pulse.

Gabby groans, opening her eyes quickly, startled by the sudden noise. She looks up at Matt with confusion, a hand coming up to wipe at her eyes.

"What did you wake me for?" Gabby moans, using his arms to pull herself into a sitting position.

"Gabby, I thought you were dead!" he replies, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes checking over her body for any signs of injuries.

She rolls her eyes at him. "Don't be so dramatic."

"Gabby, most people don't take naps on the bathroom floor."

"Most people don't have a baby sitting on their bladder causing them to need to use the bathroom every five minutes." She explained pointedly. "Besides," she added, after a moment of contemplation, "I think she likes the underfloor heating. This is the only place I've found where she'll settle."

Talk of his unborn child causes a huge grin to spread across Matt's face, and he reaches both hands out, placing them gently on Gabby's protruding stomach. He marvels at the life currently growing inside his wife; he never gets tired of the feeling of his daughter as she kicks and elbows, and can't wait for the day she is born and he gets to hold her in his arms. Feeling a solid kick on his hand, he looks back up in awe at Gabby.

"Well, I guess she's awake," Gabby half-moans, unable to keep the smile from her face as she absentmindedly rubs at her bump.

"Wait here?" Matt requests, jumping to his feet. At her nod, he turns and leaves the bathroom. It isn't much of a choice for Gabby anyway; at 35 weeks, her ability to perform everyday tasks is becoming less and less as her daughter grows, and she's not sure if she would even be able to make it off the floor without some assistance from her husband.

Matt returns a few moments later, his arms full of pillows, blankets and snacks. At her questioning gaze he explains, "You're going to get a sore neck and back from lying on this floor. But if it's the only place that the baby will sleep then we'll just have to move into this bathroom."

Gabby lets out a small laugh, getting comfortable on the blankets that Matt is spreading out for them on the floor. He hands her an assortment of snacks, and she is grateful that he has remembered to include foods that she has been craving lately. "Is this dinner?" she teases, placing a piece of candy in her mouth before lying back down. She is confused when he doesn't lie down next to her, but instead lies down by her thighs, his head level with her abdomen, and she smiles when he starts to talk to their daughter.

"Hi baby, it's your daddy here," he begins, grinning from ear to ear when he gets a kick to the hand in response. "I know we haven't met you yet, but I can already tell you're going to be just as beautiful and smart and stubborn as your mom..."

Her daughter's movements still as she responds to the soothing voice of her father, and Gabby smiles. Here in this moment, she is content. Matt continues talking, but Gabby can't make out his words any longer, his gentle tone lulling her quickly to sleep.

A/N Hello! First of all I must apologize for being absent for so long. Being in my final year of university has been very challenging and so, sadly, writing had to be placed on the back-burner. That being said, I am now only 6 days from being completely finished and so I've pulled out my old one-shot folder. I've got a few finished pieces (including the companion piece to chapter 2) that I will be posting over the next few days/weeks. Again, sorry for the lack of update. I hope you can forgive me. Heather x