"Lieutenant Casey, phone call!" called Connie, Chief Boden's secretary. She walked towards the driveway of Firehouse 51 where Matt Casey was leading his company in some mid-afternoon drills.
"It's the nurse from your kids' school," said Connie, as she waved Matt back inside the house.
"I'll be right back," Matt said to his men. Inside the firehouse, Matt picked up the phone from Connie's desk.
"Mr. Casey? This is Nurse Connors from Carmichael Elementary. I have your son, Jake, here in my office. He's running an almost 101 degree fever. Poor thing is curled up on the bed in my office. I've already tried to contact your wife, but she was unavailable. Are you able to pick him up?"
Matt looked towards Chief Boden's office where Boden was sitting at his desk completing paperwork. Technically, Matt wasn't available to pick Jake up from school but neither was Gabby, as she was spending the day teaching classes at the Firefighters' Academy. Surely, Boden wouldn't mind if Matt took off for a bit to pick up Jake at his school. After all, Boden was also a father. He could drop Jake off at Gabby's brother, Antonio's place or her parents' house until Gabby was finished at the Academy for the day.
"Poor kid. I should be able to be there in less than 20 minutes. I just have to let my boss know," Matt told Nurse Connors.
"How can I help you, Casey?" Boden asked, looking up from his paperwork.
"I just need thirty minutes to pick Jake up from school. He's running a high fever, and Gabby's teaching at the Academy today so she can't pick him up. I'll drop him off at Antonio's or Gabby's parents and be back here as soon as I can," Matt said, hopefully.
Boden nodded and pointed towards the door. "Go get your son. Hermann will be acting lieutenant while you're gone."
"Thanks, Chief. No more than thirty minutes, promise," said Matt, as he walked out of the room.
Matt walked into Carmichael Elementary in full turnout gear, even though he had driven to the school in his pickup truck. He knew that Hermann was the acting lieutenant while he was gone, but he still wanted to be ready for action. A few students passed by on Matt's walk to the school office, and their mouths dropped when they saw a "real life firefighter," as one pigtailed girl said to her friend.
In the office, Matt signed his son out for the day, picked up his backpack, and held his little hand.
"How are you feeling, bud?" Matt asked, as he tousled his son's mop of brown, curly hair. The kindergartner was pale and had circles under his big, brown eyes. Matt's heart broke when he realized how sick and sad his son looked.
Little Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Are you taking me home, daddy?"
"Probably to Uncle Antonio's or your abuelos'. I'm on shift, and mommy's working today, too. Sorry, buddy," Matt said to his son.
As he buckled Jake into his car seat, Matt noticed that he had a new text message from Antonio.
"Damn," Matt mumbled under his breath, as he read his brother-in-law's text. Antonio worked as a detective for the elite Intelligence Unit. He was working on a case and wasn't available to watch Jake. Just then, he realized that he had another new text. This one was from Gabby's mom, a reminder that Matt's in-laws were in Florida for another few months before returning to Chicago for the summer. Matt looked into his son's eyes and knew he had only one choice.
"I'm sorry, Chief, but I don't have any other options right now. It'll only be for an hour or two, until Gabby can pick him up when she's done at the Academy," Matt said, once again standing in his boss's office. This time, he held his sick five-year-old in his arms.
"Matt…" Boden began. Just then, Connie popped her head into Boden's office.
"I can keep an eye on him if there's a call. I have a soft spot for the Casey kids," Connie said with a smile and a wave to Jake.
"Hi, Miss Connie," Jake said with a small wave of his own.
"Thanks so much, Connie. Chief?" Matt asked one last time.
"Only for a Casey kid. Now, go get that boy into bed," Boden said, his eyes once again returning to the paperwork in front of him.
"Thanks, Chief," both Casey men said in unison.
Matt tucked his son into the bed in his own office. Within minutes, Jake was fast asleep. Matt texted Gabby an update and spotted Kelly Severide, the lieutenant of Squad 3 and Matt's best friend, walking towards his office.
"My mom's free today. I've never met someone else busier in retirement than when they were working. Anyways, she said she could swing by and pick up Jake if you'd like," he offered.
"Thanks, Sev, but Gabby should be here in an hour or so, and if we get a call, Connie volunteered to watch Jake. She said she has a soft spot for my kids," Matt said with a laugh. "Tell your mom thanks so much for her offer, though."
"Of course. Connie's not the only one who has a soft spot for the Casey kids," Severide said. "Why don't you finish those drills you were running earlier, and I'll stay in here with Jake?"
Matt nodded in appreciation for his friend's offer. "That would be great, Sev. You know that saying, 'it takes a village'? Takes on a whole new meaning when you're a parent."
"Glad to be part of that village, man. Now, get out there," Severide said, slapping Matt on the back as he walked away.
About an hour later, Gabby parked her silver SUV outside of the firehouse.
"You can quickly go in and say hi to everyone while I get Jake. Quickly!" Gabby told her seven-year-old eldest child, Mia, and her almost three-year-old youngest child, Luca.
She unbuckled Luca's car seat and then followed behind the kids as they ran into the firehouse. First, Mia and Luca stopped at the squad table, attacked their Uncle Kelly with hugs, and gave high fives to everyone else at the table. Luca's adorable giggles caused by a tickle attack from Kelly quickly turned into a coughing fit.
"Not you, too," Gabby said with a sigh, as she walked up to the table and heard Luca's coughs. "I guess mom and dad will be spending their two off days caring for two sick kiddos."
Gabby had texted Matt to tell him that she and the kids arrived at the firehouse. He walked out to the apparatus floor where his family was still standing by the squad table. Jake was fast asleep in his dad's arms, and Matt had his son's backpack slung on his own shoulder.
"Hey, baby and babies," Matt said, giving Gabby a quick kiss while Mia and Luca hugged his legs and shouted greetings of, "Daddy! Daddy!"
Luca fell into another coughing fit, followed by a fit of sneezes.
"Not you, too," Matt said, looking at his youngest son and then his wife.
"Wow, married long enough and you start saying the same things," Severide said with a laugh. It seemed that the closest he would ever get to another marriage, after a brief one many years before, would be hanging out with Matt and Gabby.
"I just said the same thing to Luca," Gabby explained. She reached into her purse and handed her daughter some hand sanitizer. "Let's try to keep at least one healthy!"
Matt laughed. "You both said hi to everyone, so now let's get you crazy, coughing monkeys back in the car and home."
The kids waved goodbye to everyone at the squad table, and the whole family made their way back to the SUV.
"Looks like we might have to cancel our double date with Kim and Adam tomorrow night. I would feel bad leaving two sick kids home with the babysitter," Gabby said to her husband.
Matt nodded. They had both been looking forward to their double date with their friends at a new restaurant downtown. It was rare for them to get a night out without the kids these days.
Severide had walked over to check on something with the squad truck and overheard what Gabby said.
"Matt, Gabby!" he called after them. "When's the last time you two went out without the kids? I doubt that Adam and Kim have had a lot of alone time since they had their baby either. Go out tomorrow. I'll watch the kids. No teenage babysitter stuck with sick kids."
"Really, Kelly?" Gabby asked.
"Thanks, Sev, but you don't have to do that," Matt said.
"I don't have to, but I'm going to. Like you said, it takes a village. I can't tell you enough how lucky I am to be a part of yours," Kelly said to his friends.
"That means so much. We'll call you tomorrow with the details!" Gabby said before the family continued their walk to the car.
The crazy day had proved to Matt and Gabby just how big their "village" really was. They knew that they were the lucky ones to have so many people who loved and cared for their family. Matt was always busy with shifts at the firehouse and construction jobs on his days off. Gabby juggled teaching at the academy with working at Molly's and volunteering with The 100 Club. On top of all of that, they tried to spend as much time as possible with the kids, who had their own increasingly busy schedules.
Matt and Gabby never would have gotten together in the first place if not for their "village" of friends at the firehouse, who rooted for and supported them. Their friends at 51 had been there for them through many ups and downs long before they helped with their children. Leslie Shay, Gabby's best friend and partner on Ambulance 61 who passed away years before, had helped Matt pick out Gabby's engagement ring. Kelly was there for Matt when he and Gabby's engagement briefly ended. Everyone at 51 was there for them when Gabby had a miscarriage a few years before Mia was born.
These days, their village of family and friends showed over and over again that they would drop everything to lend a helping hand and show support for the Casey family. Matt was on a call when Gabby went into labor with Mia, and Hermann's wife, Cindy, drove Gabby to Chicago Med. Back when there were only two Casey kids, Cruz and Otis once filled in for a babysitter who had cancelled at the last minute when Matt and Gabby had to go to a fundraiser for The 100 Club. Even earlier today, Connie had volunteered to help with Jake, and Kelly had reached out to his mom. Now, Kelly was stepping up yet again and proving to Matt and Gabby that they couldn't do all that they did without the village they had behind them.
"We couldn't do this without all of them," Gabby said, looking back to the firehouse after she buckled Luca back into his car seat.
Matt smiled and kissed his wife on the forehead. "And I couldn't do this without you. Our life together with the kids? Nothing has ever made more sense."