You Are the Reason – Epilogue

It didn't feel right for me to just leave this story where it was at the end of Act 8, even though my intention for the story was never about their time living in PR for that year, so I wrote up this epilogue for everyone. This is mainly so you could have an idea of how I envisioned Dawsey returning home with their baby as well as some mention of how their time away went for them. I hope you guys enjoy it and thanks so much again for all the support with this story! =)

Epilogue

The airport was quiet on the Thursday morning that Matt, Gabby, and their five month old daughter, Hannah, were there waiting to board their flight home to Chicago. They had been living in San Juan, Puerto Rico for over a year and even though they'd had pangs of homesickness at times, they really had enjoyed being part of their new community. Their home there was closed up for the moment, they were planning to come back in about a month or so with a group of friends and family so there was no need to rent it out right now, and they had shipped the majority of their luggage home so they could focus on keeping Hannah calm on the flight.

The baby was nursing at the moment, Matt keeping a tight hold on the blanket that gave his wife and daughter some privacy in their corner of the waiting area, and the couple was hopeful that the time they had chosen to fly would work out for Hannah to sleep for most of the journey. They had a layover in Charlotte where they could hopefully feed her again, change her, and then have her be awake for a little while before hopefully sleeping for the last leg of their journey home. She was such a good baby overall that she had already handled the trip to the airport with no problems so they weren't overly worried about how she was going to handle the flights.

Matt checked the departure board again, their flight wasn't due to board for another half hour, and then smiled as he looked as his wife and daughter. Gabby's pregnancy had gone surprisingly well overall. There were a few things that happened along the way that as first time parents they might have been a little overzealous about but Dr. Bellamy had been amazing at guiding them through it. She helped them with every single issue and never lost her quiet confidence in them and always provided a comforting voice. She was a gem and Gabby and Matt were grateful to have had her helping them navigate this new experience.

The labor and delivery had been quite an adventure. Matt wasn't sure he'd ever heard Gabby scream some of the things that she did when labor got really intense, but baby Hannah was born on Halloween night with no problems and both of her parents immediately fell in love with her. She was a smiley, cuddly, and expressive baby right from the start and both parents found features in her that reminded them of each other. She was the spitting image of her mom with her dark complexion and dark hair but her blue eyes, dimples, and kind smile were all her dad.

Both Matt and Gabby were able to take some time away from work to be at home with Hannah that first month. Matt eventually had to go back to work but Gabby was actually able to transition her work to their home so she was able to work remotely for the rest of their time in San Juan. This turned out to be a blessing because it meant they didn't have to worry about child care for Hannah and the baby also didn't have to leave their home too early.

The couple had each found a lot of joy in their respective work. Matt's firehouse gave him a much more flexible schedule than he ever had with the CFD although he still worked 24 hours on and 48 hours off. When things came up with the pregnancy or they made plans to go home, the other captain and the two young lieutenants were more than happy to move things around so Matt could have extra time off. They were outstanding officers and he felt like he learned more from them than they learned from him. The one lieutenant, James, went to Chicago for about a month during the winter to complete the exchange program that the CFD and SJFD had arranged back in the spring, and while he had enjoyed the overall experience, he couldn't stop talking about how much he loved seeing snow for the first time once he returned to his firehouse in San Juan.

Matt had also enjoyed getting to know the young firefighters on his shift and they absorbed everything he said like a sponge. They liked hearing the stories from his days with the CFD and were happy to share some of their stories too, some of which were much more harrowing than Matt had expected, but on an island, the calls can literally be anything from a car accident, a bus accident, a boat accident, or even all three together. The fires were much harder to fight too with the weather being warm, sometimes downright hot, all year round. On their calls Matt found himself attentive and protective of his team while also trying to teach them the best ways to be safe and quick when they were on a rescue or fighting a fire.

Gabby's position with the urban planning department turned out to be a very flexible and enjoyable position. She worked with a staff of people who were tasked with creating new ways for San Juan to be safer in the wake of natural disasters. Her experience as a paramedic and firefighter gave them valuable information to go on and she enjoyed getting to know the knowledgeable staff in her office. They were from various positions themselves and had come together in this department with a shared love of the island and a deep desire to help make things better for the future. Gabby started off traveling with the team to various locations and projects but eventually, when her pregnancy got too far along, she became the team's liaison to the main office and remained in that role until going on maternity leave.

Matt was startled out of his thoughts by the announcement that their plane would be boarding in ten minutes. Gabby had finished feeding and burping Hannah and she gave the baby to Matt so she could pack up her things for their flight. Matt cradled his daughter in his right arm and gave her a goofy face which made her giggle. He loved making her laugh and she was such a bubbly baby that he and Gabby found themselves laughing with her quite often.

Gabby finished putting her things away and they then heard the announcement for boarding to begin. They were at the start of boarding due to traveling with a baby so they made their way up to the gate together to wait for their turn. Matt let Hannah rest her head on his shoulder, she would probably be asleep before the plane took off, and he used his other hand to rub Gabby's back. They had come such a long way since that horrible fight in their old Chicago kitchen and they both knew now that even if they could, they wouldn't change a single thing about their journey. Everything that they'd been through, every hardship, fight, and separation, had only made them stronger as a couple, and as they boarded their plane for home, they were excited to see what the future had in store for them on the next part of their journey together.

THE END