Grace woke up early that morning. It was hard for her to sleep in a new place. Even though she had her own bed, none of her stuff was unpacked and her new room didn't feel like hers yet. She felt like she was on vacation and all she wanted to do was go home. They had planned to move for months, but after Shay died, more change was not what they needed.

She headed into the kitchen in pajama bottoms and a hoodie with her hair in a messy bun. "Hi," She mumbled.

"Well, good morning sunshine." Casey grinned at her. "How did you sleep?"

"I didn't." She said as she reached for the coffee.

"Hey, no." Casey frowned. "I don't want you drinking coffee."

"I didn't want to move and that still happened." She said. "So, compromise?"

"Nice try." Casey grinned.

"Worth a shot." She shrugged and grabbed some orange juice out of the fridge.

"Are you really that unhappy about the move?"

"I don't know. I don't like change." She sighed. "I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"If you unpacked it would probably help."

"I have a lot of stuff." She said. "It's like staring into the abyss."

"That's because your Uncle spoils you." Dawson said, coming into the kitchen with a grin. "The amount of clothes you have is ridiculous."

"Don't blame me for that." Casey said. "Christie shows up with bags of clothes way too often."

"She likes to buy our love," Jake smirked, coming into the kitchen that morning. "And I'm okay with that."

"Are you ready for your first game tonight?" Dawson asked. "How's your side?"

"It's fine." Jake said. "I'm all good."

"Jake, if it's still sore you shouldn't be playing." She said. "Let me apply some pressure."

"That's a good idea." Casey nodded.

"No, guys, I'm fine." He said.

"Jake," Casey started but was interrupted by the doorbell. He sighed, signaling that he'd continue the conversation in a minute.

"Saved by the bell?" Jake grinned at him.

Casey grinned back and went to answer the door for Severide. "Hey, come on in."

"Nice place," He said, walking inside and following Casey to the kitchen. "Hey guys."

"Are you still coming tonight?" Jake asked him, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"But you won't be there unless you let me check your ribs." Dawson said to Jake.

"What's going on?" Severide asked, looking between the two.

"Jake has been motocross racing all summer." Dawson announced. "He crashed last weekend and bruised his ribs."

"I didn't know you were doing that," He said.

"Oh, none of us knew." Dawson said. "He lied about it."

"Oh my God, will you let it go?" Jake said in frustration, rolling his eyes.

"Hey," Casey said with a frown.

"I'm tired of her constantly bringing it up." He said. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you."

"And that's the problem Jake." She argued. "You don't get to keep things from us, especially when you know we wouldn't approve."

"Will you stop with the overbearing mother act?" Jake said. "You're not my mother."

"Jake, that's enough." Casey gave him a look. "Come with me."

Jake sighed and followed him across the apartment to his room. "Uncle Matt,"

"Close the door." He said. Jake sighed again and closed the door. "I know that things haven't been easy for you this summer with what happened to Mandy, and breaking up with Rachel. Losing Shay, and moving to a new place, it's a lot of change. I get it, I do, but you do not get to take it out on us. And you don't get to talk to Gabby like that, not ever."

"Okay, fine." He said.

Casey continued to look at him for a moment before speaking again. "Alright, let me see." Jake took his shirt off and let Casey check his ribs. "Does that hurt?"

"Yeah," Jake said, wincing. "But I want to play."

"Jake, if you get hit or someone runs into you on the court," He shook his head.

"It's the only thing I have left that's still mine." Jake looked at him. "Please, don't take that away too."

"Listen to me," Casey put his hands on his nephew's shoulders. "I'm still here, Gabby and Grace are still here. We're still a family. We aren't going anywhere. You have got to let go of this guilt about Mandy and you have to stop pushing everyone away."

"I know." Jake nodded. "It's just, every time I think I've gotten past one thing, another thing happens or something reminds me about it."

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Casey reassured.

OOOOO

Grace was with Rachel and Claire in the locker room, getting ready before the big game. It was the first home game of the year and it was a big deal to their school. They had a pep rally, then the game, and then a bonfire after for the cheerleaders and the team.

"Isn't it weird how much things can change in a year?" Rachel said as they stood in front of the mirror; fixing their hair and putting make-up. "This time last year, I was with Jake, you were with Tyler and Claire was with Nick. And now all six of us are single."

"I feel like I was a lot more excited for these games last year." Grace said. "It's like the hype of being a senior ruined it. This is supposed to be our best year."

"Well, the problem is those boys." Claire said. "We were excited to watch them play and cheer on our boyfriends and now it's different."

"Am I the only one that misses being with them?" Rachel asked. "Call it a cliché, but I liked being the cheerleader dating one of the stars of the basketball team."

"I miss it too." Claire admitted.

"Well, aren't you and Nick on a break?" Grace asked.

"A pretty extended break." Rachel said. "But yeah, you two always break up but you always get back together."

"I know but we've been broken up for a while this time and it didn't bother me until we came back to school." Claire sighed. "Now suddenly, I really want him back."

"Summer flings are over." Grace said. "Back to reality."

"What about you and Ben?" Claire frowned. "What are you guys?"

"We're dating," Grace said slowly. "We're not official or exclusive, or anything."

"We all know you're still into Tyler." Claire said. "And he's obviously still into you."

"I wish it were that simply." Grace said.

"So, what are we going to do?" Rachel said. "I'm not going to sit here and feel sorry for myself and I won't let my two best friends do it either."

"I say that tonight at the bonfire, we show those boys our full court press." Claire grinned.

Later that night the bonfire party was in full swing, celebrating the team's win. Claire wasted no time in setting her sights on Nick, but they had been on and off for four years and it never took much to get them back together. All she had to do was wear tight jeans, a low cut top and flirt with him.

Grace still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. In truth, she wanted Tyler, but she wanted things back to the way they were at the beginning and she didn't think she'd ever get that back. Rachel was too shy to make an aggressive move and Grace didn't blame her. Jake had really hurt her this summer, but despite that, Rachel still had feelings for him. Grace knew Jake was starting to come around and she decided to help Rachel.

"I think you should talk to her." Grace said when she noticed Jake was watching Rachel.

"What am I supposed to say?" Jake asked. "I've been so horrible to her that I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Start with hello," Grace smiled. "And then maybe apologize."

"You think it's that easy?" He frowned.

"Love is blind." Grace said, she knew Rachel wouldn't take much convincing.

"Hey," Jake grabbed her arm as she was walking away. "Love is blind, be careful."

She nodded, she didn't have to say anything. There was no use in denying it, or trying to convince him otherwise, he knew her too well. The reason she was able to forgive Tyler and see past his faults was because she was still in love with him.

Grace headed outside. She needed a minute to get away from it all, to clear her head and try to think. She was so consumed in her thoughts she didn't hear him coming up behind her and she jumped when she heard his voice.

"Hey," He smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." She shrugged. "That's what I get for zoning out."

"Did you need a break from it too?" He asked. "Now that I'm not drinking I realize how annoying everyone who is drinking can get."

"Yeah, just a bit." She smirked. "So, how are you, with everything?"

"Good." He nodded. "I think hitting rock bottom actually made me a better person. My game is better and my grades are a lot better, and I like to think I'm a better friend now."

"You have a better attitude." Grace nodded. "And you seem happier."

"I am happy, for the most part anyway." He said. "Are you?"

Grace looked at him before nodding her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, I think so."

OOOOO

Grace knocked on their bedroom door early that morning. She had spent the night at Claire's for the cheerleader sleepover and just got home and finished taking a shower. Her room was still filled with boxes so she just slipped on the few things she had unpacked; yoga leggings, wool socks and slipper boots, a grey V-neck t-shirt and a red plaid long sleeve button down. Her hair was up in a top knot bun, still wet from the shower.

She heard Dawson call her in and she opened the door. She could hear the shower running and Dawson was lying in bed, admiring her ring. She smiled at Grace, holding her hand up and Grace grinned back and excitedly jumped into the bed beside her. "Finally!"

"I know, I know." Dawson said. "We took our time."

"It was like your relationship was in slow motion." Grace said, flopping down in the bed beside her.

"How was the sleep over?" She asked.

"I know it's tradition and all, but that many girls should never be allowed alone in one room." Grace said.

"Drama?"

"Oh, so much." Grace shook her head. "If the basketball team wasn't a part of the bonfire I think it would have been a disaster."

"Sounds like high school." Dawson laughed. "Are you going out with Ben tonight?"

"I think so." They always went out on Saturday night.

"You don't sound very excited." She frowned. "Does this have something to do with Tyler?"

"Ben is a really good guy. He plans dates every week and he's so nice and romantic and such a gentleman." She sighed. "But there's no spark between us. Tyler was adventurous and spontaneous and I could be stupid and silly around him."

"Grace, you dated Tyler for a year and a half, you were comfortable around him. You could be yourself and that's a big part of relationships." She said. "Maybe you just need more time with Ben, or maybe it's too soon after Tyler."

"Tyler and I had sparks right away." She said. "I miss that, I miss him and I miss us. And that's not fair to Ben."

"Are you thinking about breaking up with Ben?"

"I don't know. I'm so confused." She shook her head. "What do you think?"

"I think your head says Ben, because he's a good guy and he seems like the right choice. He's the safe choice." She said. "But your heart wants Tyler, and the problem isn't you or him, it's all the other people in your life."

"Uncle Matt would never go for it." She mumbled. "What do I do?"

"I can't tell you that, Grace. You're going to have to work it out yourself." She said. "But, I will say that as much as I want to protect you from the people in this world, you have to learn how to do that yourself."

"Tell that to Jake." She said. "He seems to think he's my personal body guard."

"Did Jake come home with you?"

"No, I told him I'd pick him up later." She said. "Is Kelly here?"

"I'm pretty sure he spent the night with Lindsay."

"Oooh," Grace grinned. "I like them together."

"Yeah, me too." She nodded.

"Well, I'm sure Kelly will be happy to hear you approve of his love life." Casey said, standing in the door way of their bathroom. He sat down on the bed in front of them. "So, should we stay in and unpack or go out for breakfast?"

Dawson and Grace exchanged a look before answering together. "Go out for breakfast."

"We're never going to finish unpacking." Casey smiled as he nudged Grace. "You need to start."

"I have too much stuff." She whined. "I get overwhelmed trying to decide where to start."

Casey shook his head, smiling. "Go get ready," He looked at Dawson. "Both of you."

"Oh, you think you're the boss of me now that we're engaged?" She said, sitting up and leaning towards him.

"No, you're always the boss." He smiled.

"That's right." She grinned as she kissed him.

"And bye." Grace said, getting off the bed and heading toward the door.

"Hey," Casey called after her. "I'm assuming your brother is not here?" She nodded. "Call him and tell him we'll pick him up on the way and he better not be hung over, and if he is, he better hide it well."

Grace smirked. "You got it."

She left the room just as Jake was coming in the front door. "Rachel drove me home." He said, knowing she was about to ask.

"Oh, she did?" Grace said curiously. "So, you talked?"

He nodded. "We did."

"And?" She promoted.

"And, it's none of your business." He grinned at her. "We were just talking."

"You know she's going to tell me."

"Yeah, probably." He shrugged, walking towards his room. "And Tyler will probably tell me everything once you're done talking to him."

Grace frowned. "What?"

"He's waiting for you outside." Jake smirked.

Grace walked to the door, opening it and heading out into the hallway. Tyler was standing a few doors down and he smiled nervously when he saw her. "Hey."

"Hey," She said. "What are you doing here?"

"After we talked last night, I started thinking about us." He said. "I miss us, and I know you're with someone else, but we were friends first, remember?"

"Couldn't forget if I tried." She smiled slightly.

"I want you to be happy, Grace, I mean that." He nodded. "I heard he's a great guy."

"Yeah," Grace said. "But he's not you."

"What?" He asked softly.

"He's a good guy; he's nice, he's a gentleman, he's romantic, and I should be happy being with him. But he's not you." She shrugged with her arms crossed. "He doesn't make me laugh like you do. He doesn't surprise me and take me on adventures like you did. I can't talk to him for hours like I talk to you. And there are parts of my life he's just never going to understand." She paused and wiped a few tears away. "But you walked away from me once already and you hurt me, twice. The problem isn't that I don't know what I want, the problem is that I'm afraid of what I want."

A/N: I've had a few people ask about wanting the twins to start calling Casey 'Dad'. I'll let you guys vote on it in the reviews. I go back and forth with the idea so I'll leave the decision up to you.

VOTE: Should the twins start calling Casey 'Dad'?

Also, review and let me know what you think about the idea of Grace and Tyler getting back together.

Reviews make writers happy. Happy writers write more often.