A/n: and here's another part of the story to explain why Casey is screwed up. We'll get Danny and Maggie's perspective later.

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple—Dr. Seuss

Steve felt bad. He knew that he had upset Casey earlier when he had called and now seeing her looking so upset was making him feel worse. He and Danny had returned home to find Makayla content in her bassinet while Maggie sat pensively in the living room reading. Casey was outside in one of the deck chairs and it was clear to the two men that something had gone down between the mother and daughter so they decided to divide and conquer. Danny had taken his mother while Steve went to Casey who was sitting curled up in the chair as she stared out absently at the ocean. He didn't say anything, waiting for his sister-in-law to start the conversation.

"Has Danny ever told you much about our father?" Casey asked Steve as he sat down in the wooden chair next to her.

"I know he was a firefighter and that he had to retire earlier because of an injury but that's about it." Steve replied with a shrug. Danny didn't talk much about his family and Steve never really thought to ask.

"Well, that's the cliff notes version of things. Let me tell you a little story." Casey said. "I adored my father when I was younger. I didn't think there was anybody in the world who was braver or stronger or cooler than my daddy. I mean I literally took the daddy's girl thing to an extreme. My father was a firefighter and a damn good one. A lot of times, he'd get called out in the middle of the night and sometimes he would be back in time to take me to school and sometimes he wouldn't. But one night he got called away and when I woke up in the morning, both my parents were gone and it was just me, Matt and Danny." A haunted look flashed over Casey's eyes. It was one that Steve recognized because it's the same one he got when he talked about his mother.

"Your dad got hurt on the call." He stated. Casey nodded.

"He had gone back in to get one of the men who had gotten trapped because firefighters and SEALs share a common philosophy that you don't leave a man behind. He got the other man out but as my father way trying to escape, the roof of the building collapse. One of the ceiling beams fell on him and trapped him. The beam broke his back in several places and knocked him unconscious. He suffered some minor burns but it was the back and head injury that were most severe." She explained.

"How bad?"

"The beam fell across his shoulder blades. He broke five vertebrae in his back as well as both his collar bones. He was in coma for four days. I was eight at the time and everybody thought I was too young to be able to handle it, so nobody told me anything. I wasn't allowed to visit my father until two weeks after the fact when his burns had cleared up some and he wasn't wearing a neck brace anymore. I remember telling my dad that it was all going to be okay. That he'd get better and go back to the firehouse and everything would go back to normal." Casey said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It never goes back to normal." Steve declared with a whisper.

"Nope." Casey shook her head in agreement. "My father went through almost a year of physical therapy to regain the strength in his upper body and legs. To get back on the job though, he had to pass a physical….Steve I can still remember that day as if it were yesterday." She whispered, tears now running down her cheeks.

"He didn't pass the test." Steve said, his heart breaking as he realized where this story was going. Casey shook her head.

"He didn't have the strength to carry the dummies or the hoses and the doctors said he probably never would. I remember telling my father that it was okay, that he just had to keep getting bigger and stronger and then he could try again. He snapped at me. I can't recall exactly what he said to me but remember the look in his eyes. He was defeated. He'd given up. And as a little girl, to see that look in the eyes of the man I considered to be my hero—it was like finding out that the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and God didn't exist. I was so disappointed and my father knew it, because he hasn't looked me in the eyes since." Casey choked as she tried to hold back her tears.

Looking at her Steve could see the scared little girl, no older than Grace, in his sister-in-law's eyes. He couldn't help but think about Grace and what it would do to her if something like that ever happened to her Danno. He made a silent vow to make sure he never had to find out.

"So where does the conflict with your mom come in?" Steve asked. Her whole story so far had been about her father but from what he knew, the real issues were between her and her mother.

"After my dad failed his physical, he quit going to rehab and went on disability. He still needed a lot of help getting around and if he had finished his rehab he would have become independent again but instead he would sit around all day watching TV until my mother got home. Then he would bark out orders to her and me to do the things he needed. My mother was exhausted between taking care of him and working full time and I didn't make things any easier. The stupidest thing is that all of the anger and resentment that I have isn't even about her—it's about him. I was mad at him for giving up and not trying harder but I blamed her because I thought she didn't push him hard enough. I didn't understand then what a difficult situation she was really in." Casey explained, the bitterness and regret evident in her voice.

She had spent most of the afternoon thinking about everything that had gone on between her and her mother and was beginning to realize as she looked at her own situation that she may have been harder on her mother than necessary at times. Not to say that Maggie hadn't made things difficult but she was dealing with her own issues and maybe she didn't have the best coping skills either. As the saying goes, like mother like daughter.

"How could you have known? You were just a child." Steve reminded. Casey smiled humorlessly at him.

"The problem is that I still am. I may have gotten older but I certainly haven't 'grown up', not until now at least. Now I'm doing it all at once and it's a little overwhelming. Do you know the one thing I wanted to do more than anything when I found out I was pregnant?"

"What?" He asked.

"I wanted to be able to call my mother. I wanted to be able to call her and cry and tell her that I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I wanted her love and advice. But I burnt that bridge a long time ago and I don't think we can ever go back." Casey admitted, wiping at her tears violently.

With everything that she had been through lately, she was starting to realize that this feud that she had perpetuated between the two of them was only causing them both pain and they were both too stubborn and proud to admit fault.

"I bet if you were willing to try, you and your mother could fix your relationship. It might not ever be perfect again but you could at least be civil towards each other and have some type of relationship again." Steve pointed out.

"I don't know where to start." Casey stated, feeling a little lost. She wasn't even sure her mother would want to fix things considering how awful her daughter had treated her.

"You start by apologizing and asking for forgiveness. Then you let go of all the baggage and bullshit that's kept you two apart for so many years." At least, that's what Steve would have done with his father if he had been given the chance.

"That simple huh?" Casey asked, looking at him skeptically.

"I know it seems overly simple for such a complicated problem but sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." Steve stated.

"Thanks Dr. Seuss." Casey ran a hand through her hair. "God I hate groveling but I feel like this is something that I have to do for my daughter. This is another example that I have to set for her because how can I ask her to have a relationship with me if I don't have one with my own mother?" She shrugged.

"You want a relationship with Makayla?" Steve asked, a little surprised considering how his sister-in-law had been doing her best to avoid the baby for the past few weeks. It was also one of the first times that he had heard her referring to Makayla as her daughter.

"Shockingly yes. At first, I thought that I had to stay away, that her not knowing me would be better. And then I stopped and thought about my own life and how desperately I wanted a relationship with my mother and how different my life could have been if I had a better one. So I decided that I needed to be there for her, in spirit if not in the flesh. That is, if you guys want me to be involved." Casey admitted.

"Of course we want you to be a part of Makayla's life. You're her mother, that's a role that Danny and I can never fill in her life. We may be her parents but she'll only ever have one mother." Steve explained. Casey looked over at her brother-in-law with a watery smile.

"Thanks Steve, for listening. I didn't realize how much I just need to talk to someone."

"You should talk to Danny. He wants to help you." Steve suggested.

"I know." Casey nodded. "I just feel like I'm taking advantage of him-"

"You're not." Steve quickly corrected. "It's in Danny's nature to want to help people. It's not an imposition to ask him—or me—for help."

"I want to get to a point in my life where I don't need to ask for help." Casey sighed.

"No shame in needing a little back up from time to time. That's definitely something your brother has taught me." Steve chuckled.

"Does that back up happen to come heavily armed?" Casey asked, only half joking. Steve gave her a smile.

"It comes with full means and immunity."