#I am definitely a rusty writer haha

[justoneofthoseghosts]

Brettsey and “You say you hate it but your red face is telling me otherwise.” 

This prompt looked interesting!

Okay, honestly, this one was a bit challenging 😅 but hey, I tried my best.

Matt shuffles Julia in his arms as he makes an attempt to grab her bottle from the kitchen table. She coos softly, resting her cheek against his chest. He grins down at her. He loved how she did that every so often, like she liked listening to his heartbeat. He kisses the top of her head earning another soft coo followed by some drool on his shirt.

He glances down at the baby again resisting a groan. He had just changed an hour ago since Julia decided to fling some mashed sweet potato at him during breakfast.

Julia looks up at him with her big, blue eyes and he melts. He could never be mad at her - she was his sweet Julia, light of his life and one of the best things to have ever happened to him.

As he grabs hold of the bottle, his eyes catch something else on the table. It's a letter with the CFD logo on the upper right side. His curiosity gets the better of him. He rearranges Julia again in his arms before taking a seat. He reads the letter slowly while feeding the baby her milk.

For a second, he feels guilty but it wasn't snooping if it was lying there out in the open, right?

His eyebrows shoot up as he continues to read. It's a commendation letter for Sylvie for kickstarting Paramedicine. It mentioned she was going to be honored at the CFD gala in two weeks. He smiles. It was a long overdue recognition in his opinion. Sylvie's program has done wonders for the city of Chicago by making sure CFD paramedics were directed to emergencies while still providing care to other residents with non-life threatening emergencies. It amazed him on a near daily basis, even more so when he decided to ride along with her for a shift. He really felt how many people Sylvie helped out and saved.

"Your mom's a brilliant woman, Jules," he whispers at the baby.

She blinks up at him, one hand still on her half empty bottle.

He grins at her, looking up as the door clicks open.

"Hey," Sylvie greets, smiling warmly at Matt and Julia when she spots them in the kitchen.

She had a bag of groceries in her arms, beginning to explain how she got some banana and strawberries they could make Julia try since she recently started on solids.

He raises an eyebrow at her. Clearly, she wasn't going to tell him about the commendation. Come to think of it, she didn't even mention it when he asked last night if she wanted him to take anything to the dry cleaners in time for the event.

"What?" she questions at the strange look on his face.

"You're getting a commendation, Sylvie," he tells her, pointing to the letter, "we should go out and celebrate."

She laughs, shrugging it off, "oh that - it's not a big deal. You know how I hate being the center of attention."

He truly did.

They were alike in that sense. Both of them did their jobs because they loved it not because they were chasing after recognition and awards. They kept their heads down and did the work but Sylvie deserved to be celebrated. An idea forms in his head. He'll probably have a lot of help planning and executing it but thankfully, he could still count on his 51 family. Ben and Griffin were definitely going to help too.

He gets up just as Julia finishes her bottle. He re-places it on the table, cradling Julia close before walking over to Sylvie.

"Okay - nothing big then," he proposes, "maybe dinner one of these days?"

She smiles at him, leaning close to kiss Julia on the cheek.

"Sure," she agrees, "dinner sounds wonderful."

---

A lot of coordination goes into planning Sylvie's big celebration. Herrmann and Mouch agree to have it at Molly's. All of Sylvie's close friends were coming and more importantly, her parents. He called them the day after he found the letter, explaining how Sylvie was getting this big award. They laughed when he told him how she didn't want a huge celebration, saying it sounded exactly like their daughter. They would be flying in from Indiana, eager to spend more time with the whole family, especially with little Julia.

He had it all accounted for, even making a spreadsheet like the one Sylvie had for their wedding. He kind of understood why she liked them so much but hoped he rarely needed to bust them out ever. They were more of her thing anyway.

What he didn't expect would be a challenge was getting Sylvie to Molly's. They were there most of their nights off but tonight, Sylvie seemed to want to stay at home, cuddling on the couch with Julia while watching an old rom com she loved.

He lets out of breath, thinking of an excuse, any excuse really for them to go. He already arranged for Griffin to take Sylvie's car fitted with the car seat to bring Julia to Molly's after they left. He grumbles when he gets a text from Stella asking where they were, clenching and unclenching his fist.

"What's going on, Matt?" Sylvie asks, having tuned into his anxious energy.

He sighs. He really wants to keep it a secret but all of it was going down the drain if he didn't get her to the bar fast.

Screw it. Some things were meant to be spoiled. It’s for the best.

"Everyone's waiting for us at Molly's."

She raises an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"I planned something for you tonight to celebrate your award," he admits.

"Matt -" she begins, eyes going wide, face reddening.

It didn't look like she was angry, maybe more embarrassed that he made a really big deal out of her award. He sees her expression change to one of surprise then wonder.

"You say you hate it but your red face is telling me otherwise," he starts out hopefully. "I just really wanted this chance to celebrate you and all the good things you've done for this city. I hope you're not mad."

She smiles at him before biting down on her lower lip, "I'm not mad."

"No?"

She shakes her head, "it's incredibly sweet of you to do that - unnecessary but incredibly sweet."

He walks over to her, sitting close to her on the couch, "it is always necessary to celebrate you. In fact, we should make that a rule - celebrations are mandatory in this family."

He tickles Julia, "am I right, munchkin?"

Julia giggles happily. He beams.

"She agrees with me," he says proudly.

She lets out a tinkling laugh, shaking her head again.

"I love you," she tells him.

He smiles widely. There was a time when he thought he'd never hear her say that to him ever again. He savors it every time she tells him this, always saying it back.

"I love you too."

He leans in to place a soft kiss on her lips before taking Julia from her.

"Come on, Jules - we need to get ready for Mommy's big party," he says as the baby coos.

Sylvie smiles at him, pinching the baby's cheek lightly, earning a squeal from Julia.

He glances back towards her, "can I ask that you act surprised later? They all put in a lot of effort."

"I can try," she tells him, "but I'm not a very good actress."

They both burst out laughing. It was true but Matt didn't think anyone would notice anyway. He didn't tell her that her parents were coming too so there was still some element of surprise left in the night, one he hopes would be a special and memorable one for Sylvie.