Matters of the Heart

Chapter 54

June 29, 2025

A lot has happened for Jesse and Abbey in the last 2 years. After Chicago PD ended, Jesse took a year off of acting to be with Abbey and Jaylee, and it was one of the best years of his life. He loved being able to stay home with Jaylee every day and he didn't mind being a "house husband" at all.

After his year long sabbatical though, Jesse decided he wanted to take an indefinite break from acting and go in different directions. He then started to develop his own television series. So he created and wrote a pilot for a sitcom about a well known actor falling in love with a DR after ending up in her Emergency Department after a stunt that went wrong, obviously based off of his own story with Abbey. He pitched it to NBC and they immediately picked it up. So he went to work on writing a season long script based on his and Abbeys life together. Patrick was in between jobs at the time so he convinced him to do it with them. So Jesse and Patrick went to work together, as co- executive producers and took turns directing the episodes. It was a perfect match for them. A way to continue to work together every day and a way to get Patrick to continue to live full time in Chicago. It was a no brainer for Patrick, working with his best friend again day in and day out and staying in Chicago where he could see his goddaughter everyday.

They had even brought Marina into it. She was playing Abbeys character. And Marina and Abbey always had a mutual admiration for each other and they had become very close through the years. As it turned out, Marina had divorced her husband and was now (finally) in a serious relationship with Patrick, thanks to help from Jesse and Abbey. The four went out on double dates twice a month and Abbeys parents would watch both Jaylee and Maddie (Marina's daughter) overnight.

Abbey still works part time in the Emergency Department at Rush University Medical Center. She loves being a Doctor and worked hard to become one and she didnt want to completely give that part of her up.

Jaylee is almost 4 now and will be going to preschool soon at the school and daycare center at the church that Jesse and Abbey attend. She is incredibly smart for her age and is a complete daddy's girl but absolutely adores her mother as well. Jesse and Abbeys world revolves around Jaylee Grace.

Jesse and Abbey have been married for 4 and a half years now and their marriage is stronger than ever. They think about Jameson, the son they lost 2 years ago, often, and miss him everyday. Their journey to have another child has been a long one. They tried nonstop for 6 months to have another child to no avail. So they attempted in vitro fertilization. Abbey went through weeks of painful injections and all 8 steps of the IVF process twice only to have both rounds fail. So they tried it one more time and the third time around they went through the IVF process but decided to implant their embryos into Leah, who volunteered to be a surrogate for Jesse and Abbey. Sadly, Leah had a miscarriage 6 weeks in so Jesse and Abbey took that as a sign that it just wasn't meant for them to have another child of their own. After all, Jesse and Abbey were approaching their 40s. So they gave up on having a baby of their own. And though most celebrities made headlines adopting children from foreign countries, Abbey knew from her years as a Doctor in Chicago, and Jesse from his years of working on Chicago PD for that matter, that there were plenty of children that needed a safe and loving home right here in Chicago so that's why they decided to do. They registered with DCFS to be foster parents and they would eventually adopt a child. They knew they wanted several children so this was a surefire way that they would get the family they always wanted.

But then October of 2024 happened. And neither Jesse nor Abbey are still sure how it happened. But even so, it did.

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December 2024

Jesse came home from the set of his new project to find Abbey in the kitchen pulling Christmas cookies out of the oven. He went up to her wrapping his arms around her. She smiled, setting down the tray on the counter, taking off her oven mitts, as Jesse began to nibble on the back of her neck. She turned herself around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him. She then pulled out of his embrace. "I have something for you, an early christmas present" she told him. He looked puzzled.