Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and Abbey Mitchell as well as her three sons with Matt.
a/n: Alright so I've had this idea for a sequel for The story the dream that I've previously published for a little while and since I have one finished story, I decided to post it. Now it won't be in the same format as The dream (the chapters will be half the size AND there will be NO POV's) but this will explore a mother's fears from having her kids be in dangerous situations.
Abbey sat in 44, stocking the ambo and her mind took her to the past twenty years. Her marriage to Matt had been wonderful and seeing all three boys of theirs grow up into wonderful young men made her proud. Andrew, still the spitting image of his father at 25, had gone into the Chicago Fire Academy to become a firefighter and moving to Squad after his candidacy and squad training was over, working under Severide, who was still as pationate as ever at the helmn. Both Chase and Logan had been out of high school for a few years and still weren't so sure where they wanted their lives to take them but that was ok. They were in college, doing main courses until they figured it out. Matt had been promoted to Chief of 51 after Boden had retired about ten years ago, the new title and responsabilities suiting him well.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Matt leaned against the ambo doors.
"I'm just thinking how wonderful our life has been so far." She looked at him and smiled.
"You're not tired of the four of us boys?" He hopped in and took her hand in his, running his thumb over her fingers.
"Never. Speaking of boys. Shouldn't Chase and Logan be here by now?" She looked at her watch and then to the a,pparatus floor, the boys still nowhere to be seen.
"They have class until four, they'll be here soon. You worry too much babe."
"It's my job to worry about you guys, even if you don't go in burning buildings as much as you used to, I still worry. Thank god the twins aren't showing an interrest in fighting fires." She looked at him as he looked down at the ambo floor. "Matt." She warned.
"I wanted to tell you Abbey, I swear." She leaned her head back against the compartments and closed her eyes, sighing.
"Just tell me when." She opened her eyes and looked into his blue ones.
"Last week, when you were over at Gabby's for girls night."
"We need to talk to them Matt." Her eyes were full of worry.
"Abbey. They were scared of coming to you because they knew you'd be worried. They need you to support them." She breathed in a few ragged breaths, tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey mom. What's for dinner?" Andrew popped his head in the back of ambo, seeing his mother, tears pooling in her eyes. "Mom, are you ok?"
"I'm fine." She smiled, getting rid of the tears with her thumbs. "What about grandma's chilli? It's been a while since I've cooked it here."
"Thanks." He disapeared as quickly as he had made an appearance.
"Come on, let's just get dinner started until the boys get here from school, it's going to be ok."
"It better be Matthew Casey."
"I promise." He kissed her temple and got back onto the floor and helped her out of the ambulance, walking back into the common room, hand in hand.
Abbey pulled away from Matt and headed for the kitchen, getting everything she needed out to make dinner, avoiding everyone else in the house.
"Another twenty something years and still you don't talk about it when something is bothering you?" Mills appeared next to Abbey, both sharing a smile.
"I don't like being blind sighted Peter." She knew in her gut that he already knew what she had just found out, with the fact that he was at her place while she was at his.
"Matt told you?"
"Mmmhhmm. Only because he was backed against the wall." Mills knew the recipe by heart so he handed her what she needed while she cooked.
"I'm sorry about that. They'll be ok, we'll make sure of that."
"How can we even make sure they're ok if they end up in another house? And I'm not even sure we can deal with all these Casey's in the same space." she laughed nervously.
"We'd be in trouble. Three Casey's is enough." He laughed, making her poke him in the ribs.
"I'll remind you of that when a Casey saves your ass in a fire Peter Mills."
"Ha ha, very funny Mitchell."
"That's Casey to you." She laughed as the twins came in like a tornado. Andrew got a hold of them first, ruffling Chase's hair and trying to fight with Logan before Matt demanded their attention.
"In my office, the three of you." They looked at each other, wondering what they had done wrong but followed their father none the less. Matt let them come in and closed the door behind them. The twins sat down in the chairs while Andrew leaned against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Something wrong dad?" Chase was the first to break the silence that settled in the office, Matt taking place in his own chair and leaning back in it.
"I know you guys said that you'd tell your mother about your decision to join the fire academy but we were just talking in the back of the ambo and she knows." A curse escaped Andrew's lips and the twins looked between each other.
"How upset is she?"
"She's more afraid than she is upset. Let's just have dinner as a family and you guys can come sit in here after and talk about it." Matt suggested. He knew Abbey would feel a whole lot better if they had that moment together. They all filed out of Matt's office and back into the common room where Abbey, Shay, Dawson and Brett were serving up dinner for everyone. They ate together for dinner as much as everyone's schedule would permit it and Lily would often come around when she wasn't on call at Lakeshore. She had enrolled in medicine at Chicago U and was now in her first year residency.
"Hey mom." The twins came and flanked Abbey, each kissing a cheek.
"You boys aren't causing too much trouble at school are you?" She slapped Logan's hand as he stole some veggies out off the plate while Chase stole some bread while she was busy with his twin brother.
"Absolutely not." Chase acted outraged.
"Uh huh." She smiled. They were natural trouble makers and being two, it was easier to sometimes get away with it. They left to torture Mouch that was watching news from his spot on the couch and Andrew came to take their spot next to her.
"You know they'll be alright ma." He put all the vegetables in the large pot that was simmering on the stove. He had always loved cooking with his mother growing up, both finding peace in it.
"Andrew James Casey. You are just like your father, always finding the right words but I'll always worry about you boys."
"I know." There wasn't anything left to do with dinner when the overhead paging system called ambo 44 and 61 to a house call.
Abbey had always loved driving the ambo through the streets of Chicago and even after all these years, she still loved doing it.
"Out with it Abbey." Brett's voice cut through the silence of the ambo, Abbey's mind on what her youngest sons had yet to tell her.
"Matt told me that the boys want to join the CFD." Her voice was low and even, that little voice reminding her of what a career in the CFD brought.
"You must be going out of your mind with worry." Brett had seen her fare share of bad things happen to firefighters and cops in the city and she knew that the mother of three was scared for her now adult brood.
"I know that they'll be in good hands in the CFD but they'll be in different houses and I won't be able to keep an eye on them."
"But Andrew's doing great on Squad."
"He is." Abbey smiled proudly, thinking of her eldest son. "But Matt and Kelly are there to protect him and so is the rest of the house. What if they end up in crappy houses? What then? I don't think I can handle having a badge with the name Casey on the academy wall."
"No Casey will have their badge on that wall." She patted her leg.
"Thanks for the pep talk Brett."
"That's what friends are for. Let's just get this over with and get back to the house." After arriving on scene, it was only bikers that had been involved in an accident, which meant that the four girls patched a few people up and had to take two with fractures to Lakeshore but other that, it had been a smoothe run. When Abbey parked the ambo back in 51, the girls hopped out and headed into the deserted common room. There, Abbey picked up a hand written paper saying the boys had gone on a run and that they would be back in time for dinner.
Abbey slumped down in the couch, leaning her head against the back of it. "What's up girl?" Shay wondered as she sat down next to her.
"Matt told me Chase and Logan want to join the fire academy."
"Really?" Gabby sat on the small table opposite her. "I thought they had no interest of becoming fire fighters."
"I don't know Gabby. I didn't see it coming."
"Have you talked to them?" Abbey turned to look at Brett that was picking something to drink out of the fridge.
"No. Matt said they wanted to tell me together. They'll probably want to tell me after dinner or something."
"They'll be ok, you know that right?"
"Everyone keeps saying that." She huffed, clearly doubting those words.
"Maybe you should listen to us every once in a while." Shay bumped her shoulders with Abbey's, all four girls starting to laugh about it.
"What's so funny?" Matt asked. Clearly the girls hadn't heard the trucks return from their kitchen fire call.
"Nothing." Brett smiled at him as everyone else filed through the doors.
"Alright, time for chow." Abbey got up to serve everyone.
"I'm starving." Logan came in ahead of Chase from their run.
"Go shower first you knuckleheads, you guys stink." Andy threw a wash cloth his brother's way. Abbey served everyone and by the time she was done, the boys were returning from the showers. every member of the Casey family had a spot in the firehouse with a set of extra clothes for emergencies. After everyone was done raving about Abbey's chilli, the girls picked the dishes up and started cleaning them.
"Mom?" Abbey looked up, her hands in warm bubbly water. "Can we talk to you in dad's office?" Logan questionned her as she wiped her hands down.
"Go." Gabby whispered to her with a little push. She looked back at her three best friends and headed to Matt's office. She noticed that Andrew was staying back, engrossed in yet another crossword puzzle with the boys from Squad. When she made it to her husband's office, he was sitting at his desk with a warm smile, hoping it would calm her nerves a little bit. She closed the door behind her because this was a private discussion although she had a feeling that more people knew about it than they let on. She leaned against Matt's office, her nerves suddenly hitting in high gear. She knew what they were going to say but she couldn't stand the near silence that was engulfing the space that seemed to tighten around her.
"Mom." Chase started.
"Alright! I know about it, just say it." She said, trying to gain control of the situation.
"We want to join the fire academy." The twins said at the same moment, Abbey's lungs constricting in her body. The one thing that she hoped, maybe even prayed for wouldn't happen, just did.
a/n: Alright so here is the first chapter of the sequel for the dream that has been dancing around in my mind. Alright so I'm not sure where I'm taking this story as I'm done writing this introductory piece. I'm thinking of a short ten chapters but I'll see where it takes me.
Like every first chapter, I'm kind of nervous about it so please take a few minutes to tell me what you guys thought about it. - Sarra