Casey had a doctor's appointment and couldn't pick Grace up for an hour. He didn't say it, but Grace knew he didn't trust her to go home and stay there. He was upset with her, she knew that and she knew he had the right to be. So he called Severide, he was there teaching a class anyway and he could keep an eye on her.

Grace was waiting downstairs for him. Mills had left but she wished he would have stayed. Severide was different than Casey and the rest of them when it came to stepping into that parenting role. Casey was firm but understanding and easy to talk to because he really listened, Dawson was nurturing, Shay was funny and Mills was the older sibling type. But Severide was the most intimidating. He wasn't as understanding and he didn't joke around. When you disappointed him, you knew it and he made sure you knew it.

Severide came through the door and Grace went to meet him. "Hi,"

He raised his eyebrows. "You take off for half the day and all you say is hi?"

"I told Matt I was okay." She defended.

"Yeah, a text message that you needed to clear your head solved everything." He scoffed. "Look, I get it, sometimes you just need the day off but you can't just disappear."

Grace sighed and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know."

"Don't get an attitude with me, little girl."

"You have no idea how frustrating this is!"

"Then explain it to me." He said with arms out stretched, feeling equally frustrated.

"I can't!" She yelled, angry that she was getting emotional.

Severide sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "I have a class to teach. If you aren't going to talk to me you can sit there and think about how you are going to explain what's going on with you because I want an answer and so does everyone else."

Grace followed Severide through the halls and outside to where his class was waiting. As soon as Dawson saw Grace she headed over to her with a look that was mixed between relief and anger. Severide stepped between them as the other instructor called the candidates to form their lines.

"Where were you?" She demanded.

"Dawson back with your class." Severide interrupted.

"Severide,"

"Instructor Severide," He corrected.

Dawson shot him a look that Grace had never seen on her face before. "Give it a rest, Kelly. Whatever power trip you're on with this job I have had it. You're not going to order me around when it comes to my family. I have spent the entire morning worrying about her after a sleepless night worrying about her. Do not push me."

"Dawson when you're in my class, you're my student. The personals get checked at the door." He said. "She's fine. You can talk to her after class at home."

Dawson glared one more time at him before she went to stand with the group. Grace looked at Severide and he just shook his head, silently telling her not to worry. She stood and listened as Severide and the other instructor explained the drill. She watched as they went through the drill and the instructors began recording their results. When they finished the round they could take a break and wait until everyone had finished. Grace was glad that Dawson was one of the last ones to go so that she didn't have to talk to her just yet.

"So, are you the reason Severide gives Dawson special treatment." The only other female firefighter approached Grace and asked, smirking as she tried to pass it off as a joke.

Grace frowned. "Is that your way of asking me if I'm their love child?"

Jones shrugged. "Well, are you?"

"No." Grace said with shock. "They used to work together, they're friends."

"So where do you fit in?"

"Why do you care?" Grace asked.

"Just making conversation," She shrugged. "And I'm kind of curious that he showed up to work with a kid. Is it bring your kid to work day?"

"I'm not his kid." Grace said.

"So, you're her kid?"

"No, I'm Lt. Casey's kid." Grace said, tired of being asked questions. "Dawson dates him and lives with us and Kelly is his best friend. They all used to work together at 51."

"Well, that's not nearly as interesting as it could have been." She smirked.

"Well, it's not like it was any of your business anyway."

"Problem?" Severide asked, coming over when he noticed them talking.

"Just being interrogated," Grace smiled at him.

"Jones, back to the group." Severide said and watched her go. "What did she want?"

"To know if I was your kid." Grace said. "More specifically if I was yours and Dawson's kid."

"What?" Severide frowned, shaking his head. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Grace sighed as she crossed her arms. "I don't know what it is. I'm just not happy and I don't know why. I mean, I'm sixteen I'm not supposed to feel like this right? But everything changed after Matt's accident and then Tyler and I broke up and I don't know. I feel sad and I can't make myself feel better. So, I went to dance this morning because it's the only way I could stop thinking and get out of my head. When I dance, I feel like I'm flying, like I'm free. But it didn't help for long. I'm back to feeling like I'm lost."

"Hey Grace," Severide pulled her into a one armed hug and kissed her head, a frown settling on his face. "Why haven't you said anything?"

Grace shrugged. "Because Matt got into the accident and it didn't seem right to bother people with my problems. And then he recovered and he got together with Dawson and she moved in and everything started going really well and I didn't want to ruin that."

"You wouldn't have been bothering us, and you're not bothering anyone now." He said, rubbing her back. "If something's going on with you, you need to let us know."

"I'm so messed up," She said with a smirk.

Severide couldn't help but grin. "All teenagers are messed up." He said before nodding towards Casey who was approaching. "Casey."

Casey nodded back before dropping his gaze to Grace. He frowned at her, sighing before he ran a hand down the back of her head. "You ready to talk to me?"

Grace nodded and turned to Severide, offering a small smile before following Casey out to his truck. Casey started to drive and waited for Grace to say something, but she didn't. He thought about starting the conversation but he figured it was better to leave it until they got home.

As they drove home, Grace stared out the window, zoning out. It was snowing lightly and as she watched the snowflakes hit the ground and melt, she realized she felt kind of peaceful. When they got home, Grace followed Casey into the living room and sat on the couch with him.

"What's going on Grace?" Casey finally asked.

Grace sighed. "I just wanted a break."

"From what?" Casey asked with a frown.

"I don't know; life." Grace shrugged. "Between all my AP classes and SAT prep work I feel like I'm suffocating at school. I'm so stressed out and then you got in that accident and it got worse so I used school to keep my mind off of it. But then you recovered and it hit me like a freight train that you could have died. So, then I would get worried every time you were on shift and I couldn't sleep, and I still can't. And somewhere along the line the thought of how short life is entered my mind and today I realized that I'm not happy."

Casey frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I kept wondering why it bothered me so much that you guys justify the dangerous risks you take by saying it's your job. And I realized that it's because you love your job and not many people can say that. Well, I want to be dancer. It's my dream job. It's what I've always wanted to do. I even had this back up plan that if I didn't make it big, I would open up my own studio and teach dance. But my parents were always so unsupportive of me that I pushed the dream aside and focused on school because all I wanted was their attention and praise. Instead I got praise from teachers and it just became expected of me to be smart and over achieve so I did. But I can't do it anymore."

"That's what all this is about? You want to dance professionally?" Casey asked, relieved. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I'm the smart one," She said, before she admitted, "I didn't want to disappoint you."

"Grace, you know that I will support you no matter what. I do love my job and I think everyone should follow their dream and do what their passionate about." He said. "I want you to go to college but if you want to study performing arts and dance in college, that's fine with me."

"Really?" She asked, a little surprised.

"Of course," He said. "Look, I know that Jake wants to be a firefighter but I don't want him to close any doors. Which is why he takes AP classes so that he has options if he changes his mind. The same goes for you. As long as you two are doing your best in school, I'm happy."

"I should have known you'd see it like that." She said. "Sometimes I'm still not used to it. I'm used to parents who told me being a dancer was stupid and that I wasn't good enough."

Casey frowned. "It's not stupid, Grace. But stressing yourself out instead of telling me what was going on wasn't a good idea."

"I know, I'm sorry."

Casey nodded. "Come here, sweetheart." Grace fell into his embrace, letting him hold her, his chin resting on the top of her head. "I love you, you hear me?"

Grace nodded against his chest. "I love you too Uncle Matt."

OOOOOOO

Grace was sitting at the kitchen table in the middle of the night with a tea. She couldn't sleep and she wasn't too sure why. She guessed it was just one of those nights and when Jake came down the stairs and into the kitchen to join her, she figured he was having the same night.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Jake asked as he sat down with her.

"Not really," Grace said.

"You thinking about him too?"

Grace looked at him. "Something's wrong."

Jake sighed. "Usually I'd say you're being paranoid, but something's different about him."

"It's his memory," She said. "The other day I came down the stairs and he had this surprised look on his face and he asked me why I was here. He tried to pass it off like he meant why I was home, but I swear it felt like he forgot we live with him for a minute. He snapped out of it pretty quick but it was weird."

"Yeah, I know." Jake nodded. "He's been asking me weird questions like he's trying to piece things together."

Grace sighed. "The fact that you're just as worried as I am is not a good sign."

"No it's not," Jake smirked. "So, is this why you had a meltdown?"

"Not really," Grace shrugged. "I was already having the meltdown before the accident."

"You really want to dance?" He asked. "I thought you gave up on that?"

"I didn't give up. I just stopped telling people about it because Mom said I wasn't good enough and Dad said it was stupid." She explained. "But then when we moved here and with dance in school, cheerleading and this summer I remembered how much I loved it."

"Then you should do it," He nodded. "I don't know anything about dance but I know you and if you want it to happen, you'll make it."

Grace smiled. "Thanks."

"What are you two doing up?" Casey said, walking into the kitchen.

"We can't sleep," Jake said. "Why are you up?"

"Must be something in the water," Casey said. "I can't sleep either."

"We could watch a movie?" Grace said. "It worked when we were younger."

"One of my many tricks to get you two to calm down," Casey grinned. "Come on."

The twins followed Casey into the living room and sat on either ends of the couch as he put a movie on. He sat in the middle, with Grace immediately ducking under one of his arms and leaning against his chest. Casey was surprised when Jake leaned his head against his shoulder, looking for comfort, and Casey realized what was really keeping them awake. He frowned, worried that they were worried about him. But he pressed play and held them a little tighter, hoping to calm their fears for tonight.