Matt's POV
After me, Boden and Hermann got downstairs to the cafeteria, we all grabbed our individual plates of food. I was about to go and pay when Boden stopped me. "Matt, go sit down and I will pay." I nodded and smiled. "Hermann too?" Chief nodded and smiled, glad to pay for us. After hearing that, I didn't complain and just made my way to a table to talk to them.
While walking to the table, I saw Will walking past me. "Hey Will." The older of the two Halstead brothers turned to look at me and smiled. "Hey, I heard about Gabby from Maggie. Is it true?" I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am the proud father of a baby boy." He smiled at me. "Glad this one turned out better for you guys." I smiled and nodded before making my way to the table.
Once I made my way to a table, I sat down and watched as both Hermann and Boden joined me for breakfast. Boden smiled at me and then put his hand on my shoulder. "Congratulations." I smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Now, for the reason I brought you here. First of all, I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to you but....I am going to be taking at least a month off."
Boden looked at me. "Matt, that is not normal for a new baby." I sighed, knowing this was hard to say. "Boden, I am pretty sure that Gabby is going to be on bedrest for at least 2 weeks after giving birth because of her problems. Then, as you can both remember....this was sprung on me so, my house has nothing. I have nothing for the baby." They looked at me and nodded.
"Listen, if it's an emergency and you are down a man, I will commute. But...I can't be at the firehouse when I have a fiancé in bed, with a day old baby and a house that isn't baby proofed. I mean guys, you must remember how stressed your wives were before they gave birth with the baby proofing? Try having to do that in reverse. You guys had 9 months to get ready for the baby to come home. I have 24 hours."
They both stared at me, realizing why exactly I needed a month off for. Boden then spoke up. "Okay, you can have your month. We will work it out." I smiled before looking at Hermann. "Hermann, effectively immediately you are acting Captain." He nodded at me and smiled. "Listen, I am going to call Cindy okay? I am sure we have stuff somewhere. I'm a hoarder." I smiled, thinking about that before hearing Boden. "Me and Donna probably have some stuff left over from Terrence as well." I smiled at them both. "Thanks guys. I'll let you know when we can have you over to get the stuff. However, if you want to bring some right now.....that would be great because we have nothing."
They both nodded and smiled. "I'm calling Cindy right after breakfast. She's gonna be here within 2 hours most likely to give you everything you need." I smiled and nodded. "Thanks."