The Caseys: Our Journey to Parenthood

(153) The PTSD Conversation - Part One

Hi Readers: I wanted to let you know before you read this chapter, that this chapter will take place one week after the previous chapter; but other than that, there's nothing else I need to tell you about the story for now. Enjoy!
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One week later – February 22nd, Casey Home
They've been staying away from the office at "their big house". As in, the home that's great for entertaining by the pool; the pool which is surrounded by a fire pit, and a nice outdoor kitchen that they have. And they've been here for the past five days now, and there was a reason for that; it was for Matt's health. More specifically, his mental health. And that was due to the fact that his mental health has truly been on a downward spiral for the past few days, as the former firefighter just doesn't comprehend just what was truly going on right now. It's put him in this hard situation, a situation in which he just doesn't really know what to say; and he also feels quite depressed right now, as well as being incredibly confused. There's just something going on with him that truly baffles him, and that he can't explain; and the fact that he can't explain how he's feeling right now, it just frustrates him to the core as he just needs to know what's going on. But he doesn't.

He doesn't know what's going on with himself, but he's still trying to be strong for his wife; as she needs him right now, as she's pregnant with their twins. But the truth was, Gabby could see behind the façade; she could just see that he was clearly just putting on a brave face for her sake, which made her sad. And even worse, she hated the fact that she didn't recognize the man who was currently sitting outside; she knows who he is, he's Matt. He's the man she loves, and he'll always be the man she loves; but he just isn't the same man that he was a year earlier, and she truly wonders whether he ever will be. But that didn't mean that she's going to give up on her marriage, as she will never give up on their marriage; especially after everything that they've been through, and all the work that they did over the past five months to get back to a good place in their marriage. But this was something different, something that she really just can't understand right now.

And the truth was, she highly doubts that she's ever going to truly understand just what her husband is going through right now; and that's due to the fact that he's gone through so much more, which was why Matt was currently sitting outside. He was just taking some time right now, time to think as he's really having problems; problems that he was quite ashamed of (even though he shouldn't be ashamed of it whatsoever). And that was why she called in reinforcements. More specifically, she called Matt's best friend so that he could be here and help her try and figure stuff out; and she also hoped that he would be able to make him feel better. But before she spoke to Severide, Gabby decided to fill him in on what's been happening recently. Just looking at Kelly, Gabby took a breath as she went to look at him. "Kelly, I hope you know that I really appreciate you coming here; especially when I know that you and Stella need to work on...." Kelly just stopped her.

"Hey, don't even say anything more Gabby. Gabby, Matt's my best friend...and my brother; there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. And after what I heard last week, I know that he's not okay right now. And if you need me to help you in whatever way, then I am more than happy to help you out; plus, it's not like I'm working right now." Gabby took a breath when she heard Kelly say that, well aware that this truly has wrecked all of their plans; and that's due to the fact that they have decided to put their plans of really creating a company on hold, for good reason. Right now, Matt is barely able to function when it comes to just talking about how he's feeling. So, Gabby told Matt that she doesn't want him to work (as you already know); instead, Matt needs to take time away and just concentrate on his mental health. That way, he can make sure that he's in the best mental health space that he can possibly be in when they welcome their twins in three months.