Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and the kids names. This next chapter is Justicerocks11 original idea and it tied in super well in the storyline so I'll be rolling with it.

a/n: Thank you so much to everyone who is showing love to this story, it makes me want to write for it all the time hihi. I know it was super mean of me to finish the last chapter the way I did but it was for a pecific purpose so enjoy this next chapter.


The ambulance ride was the longest that Matt had been on in his life. The paramedics were putting grace on an IV and Emma was sitting on his lap, her arms around his neck, sobbing in his neck. He was rubbing soothing motions on her back, doing everything to calm his own raging nerves. His girls were everything to him and the thought of losing him wasn't something he liked to think about very often. His eyes stayed on the monitor, looking at Emma's vitals that were nowhere neer what he knew they should be at. The ambulance suddenly came to a stop and they got out, they had arrived at Lakeshore. The medics took the gurney with Grace on it out and Matt held onto Emma as he walked quickly behind them but being stopped as she was brought through the E.R. He picked up his phone and informed Christie what had happened and left a message to Severide and Boden before he quickly returned to the nurse's desk to find out what was going on.

"They just brought my daughter in, Grace Evelyn Casey. I wanted to know what was happening." He balanced Emma on his other hip.

"Just let me look." She pressed some keys on her keyboard before answering him. "The doctor is with her right now, he'll probably be out in a few minutes to come see you."

"Thank you." He drummed his fingers against the counter and returned to the waiting room where his sister came through the door.

"Hey, how's Grace?"

"I'm still waiting on the doctor. Where's Violet?"

"The neighbour is staying at home while she's sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up."

"Thanks for being here Chris."

"Anytime." The doctor came out right then and Chris took Emma from him so he could give him his whole attention.

"Are you Grace Casey's dad?"

"Yes sir, how is she?"

"We gave her some broad spectrum antibiotics to help with the fever but we need to get her in for a scan, the medics told me she fell this afternoon."

"Yes, from the monkey bars. She said she was fine but she started feeling warm a bit before dinner and she was sluggish."

"It says you gave her some children's ibuprofen."

"Yes, the dose it says for her size. Is she going to be ok?"

"We're not sure yet but we'll know more after the scan. I just need you to sign here for conscent."

"Do everything you have to." He took the clipboard that was given to him and signed at the bottom. "Can I go see her?"

"Of course but she'll still be a little bit sluggish because of what we're giving her."

"Ok thank you." Matt followed the doc to where Grace was, Christie following behind with Emma still in her arms. When he laid eyes on Grace, his eyes welled up with tears. She looked so small in the hospital bed and she had two different IV drips in her arm, each one doing something to make his Grace better.

"It hurts daddy." Grace goraned from her bed, waking Emma in the process.

"Are you ok Grace?" She mumbled from Christie's shoulder.

"My head and my neck hurt daddy." She ignored Emma's question, the pounding in her head too strong. "And the lights are too bright."

"Ok sweetie, I'll go get the nurse." Matt went to the nurse's station and told her what Grace had told him and he came back a few minutes later with her.

She lowered the lights in the small room they were in and checked Grace's vitals, giving her something for her headache. "We are going to go for a scan and we are going to move you up to the peridatric unit and get you situated there." She was talking more to Matt than to Grace but that didn't really easy his worries. Christie offered to bring Emma home for the night, something Matt apreciated and she promised to bring her tomorrow to see her twin in the morning. It gave him one less reason not to worry and right now, they didn't know anything so there was no reason to have a grouchy Emma later.

A few minutes after, Grace left for the scan with Matt at her side. It didnt take very long for the images to be taken before she was taken two levels higher in pediatrics. The lights were dimmed once again and the nurse took some blood so they could figure out what was wrong with her. She had fallen fast asleep by the time the doctor came back with some news.

"So what is wrong with her?" Matt stayed in his chair, his hand holding onto Grace's.

"She has a mild concussion from the fall and the nurse told me that Grace felt sentitive to light and had a head ache and pain in her neck."

"Yes. She complained about that before we went for the scan. Does that tell you any thing more?"

"I think it might be viral meningitis but we need to do a lumbar puncture first to confirm it."

"Meningitis? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes but if it is, we've caught it early and she will be treated quickly. I'll ask for the test to be done first thing in the morning so we can be sure quickly."

"Thank you doc." The doc nodded and left the father with his daughter to get a little bit of rest. The first rays of sun woke Matt up but he went to close the blinds so Grace wouldn't feel any extra pain when she finally woke up. He took a set in his chair again and leaned his forehead against the bed, praying that everything would be ok.


Gabby walked into Lakeshore and went directly to the E.R, ready for her shift. She put her coat in the locker and put her stethoscope around her neck before heading to the nurse's station to look over her patients but Ingrid, the E.R. head nurse was waiting for her.

"Good morning Gabby." She smiled at her.

"Good morning Ingrid." Ingrid wasn't on the floor every morning so it was strange for her to be there this morning.

"I am officially springing you from the E.R. They are expecting you in pediatrics this morning.

"Oh ok. I'll head up there right now then. Thank you for letting me work here, it helps get back in the groove of things." She smiled at the woman.

"I'm happy to hear that. If I need you again, I know where to find you."

"Perfect, thanks again." They smiled at each other one more time before Gabby made her way to the stairs and up to the second floor to report to Nathalie. Nathalie greeted her with a smile.

"Finally I have you on a permanant basis. Ready to work?"

"Absolutely." Nathalie handed her four files and let her look through them. The first one she looked through was a four year old little boy with the measles. The second one was a little girl of eight with an ear infection that required surgerie to put some tubes in. The third one was another girl of eight that was in to get her tonsils removed and the fourth one was a kid with diarrhea but that wasn't what caught her eye. The file that was on the desk was opened and Gabby could see the name. Grace Evelyn Casey.

"Oh my god." Slipped from Gabby's lips, her stomach suddenly dropping. "In what room is this patient in?"

"212. Do you know her?"

"Yes." She put her files on the desk, protocole out the window and she went in search of the room number. She found it rather quickly and knocked before going in. "Matt." She said quietly, Grace still sleeping.

Matt turned around and locked eyes with Gabby. "Hey."

"How is she?" She walked farther into the room, placing a hand on his shoulder as he looked back in Grace's direction.

"She has a small concussion from the monkey bars but they think she has meningitis." A gasp escaped Gabby's lips and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Are they sure?"

"No. They have to do a lumbar puncture to confirm it this morning. Are you the one taking care of her?" He looked back up at her.

"No, Jess is but she'll take great care of her." He nodded but all he wanted right now was for his daughter to be ok.

"I have to go check out my patients but I'll be back a little bit later to check up on you guys.

"Thanks Gabs." He put his hand on hers that was on his shoulder and she turned hers to squeeze his.

"Anytime." Gabby slowly turned around and made it back to the nurse's station and sat down to go through her patient files properly. Once she was done, Jess came back from seeing her patients. "Do you have a time for Grace Casey's LP?'

"It says here 9:30."

"Perfect. That break time for me, thanks." Gabby got up and moved around the floor to go see her four little patients and give them their morning care. When she returned to the station, Emma walked on the floor hand in hand with a woman she could only assume was Christie.

"Hi. Can you tell me in what room Grace Casey is in?"

"Ms Dawson." Emma called out to Gabby.

"Hi sweetie." She smiled at her over the station.

"Is my sister going to be ok?" She asked.

"We're taking the best care of her right now. Come on, let's go see her." She walked around the station and offered the little girl her hand, which she took.

"You must be Gabby Dawson." Christie offered her a smile.

"Christie right? Matt's sister?" Chris nodded, they didn't need to discuss this right now. They stopped in front of Grace's room and Gabby grabbed a mask before she kneeled down in front of Emma. "Your sister is probably still sleeping but you are going to see her with some tubes in her arms so I don't want you to be scared ok?"

Emma nodded, trying to stay strong for her sister. "Ok."

"We have to run some tests on her this morning but since we don't know what she has yet and that it could be dangerous for you, I need you to put this mask on." She showed Emma the mickey mouse mask that she had been holding. "All you need to do is put it over your nose like this." She put the mask in front of her properly. "And pinch your nose." Gabby let Emma do it before she looped the elastics around her ears. "You're all set. You can go and see your sister and daddy." The little girl nodded and walked into the room, immediately being hugged by her father.

"Do I need to put one?" Christie asked, her eyes glued to her brother and her nieces.

"No, you're good. It might be meningitis and we just want to take precautions with kids. You can go in too, there's no visitor limit."

"My brother hasn't told me everything but I'm glad he has you in his life. Just, his heart is fragile, please take care of it."

"I know a little something about a fragile heart, I won't hurt his." Gabby smiled at Christie and let her go in to join her brother so they could be together as a family. She looked into the room a few more minutes, thinking about what Christie had said. They both had some bad happen in their past and maybe each other is what they needed to get past all of it. Gabby made one last round before it was time for her break, giving her report to Jess in case something happened while she was gone. She walked to Grace's room as the same time as the porter to take her to her LP.

"Can you stay with me daddy while they do the test?" Grace was still weak and her voice was low.

"I'm sorry sweetie I can't. I need you to be a big girl and be brave ok?" He knew that he couldn't be present during proceedures and hoped his little girl would be brave.

"Would you like it if I was there Grace?" Gabby asked from the door and the little girl nodded and cracked a faint smile. "Ok so say bye to daddy, aunt Christie and Emma and we'll be back before you even know it." The porter attached the IV bags to bed pole and after a hug from everyone, they were on their way, Gabby holding Grace's hand as they went.

They were wheeled into a rather big room and a doctor was waiting for them. "I'm doctor Walker and we're going to try to find out what is wrong with you so we make you all better ok?" He smiled at the little girl and rubbed her forehead.

"Ok." She mumbled, too weak to talk a lot.

"I need you to turn on ur side and bring your knees up closer to your chest. Can you do that for me Grace?" Gabby helped her position herself properly. "Are you her nurse?" He questionned Gabby this time.

"No but I work in peds and I'm a friend of the family. I'm Gabby Dawson"

"Alright. Now Grace, I have to put a needle in your back so I need you to breathe through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. Can you do that?" She only nodded and took Gabby's hand.

"You can squeeze my hand as hard as you can if it hurts ok sweetie?"

"Ok."

"That's perfect. On three. One, two, three." Grace had her eyes squeezed shut and held onto Gabby with both her hands as the needle pierced her flesh but she never cried of or complained and Gabby didn't feel pressure on her hand what so ever.

"Does it hurt Grace?"

"No." She finally opened her eyes and her blue eyes locked with her brown.

"You're doing great Grace we're almost done." Dr Walker smiled at Gabby, a silent signal things were going good and he was almost done. "Here you go Grace, it's all over." He patted her shoulder. "Now she'll need to stay on your back for a few hours and I'll come by with the results as soon as I get them." He gave his instructions to Gabby as the porter helped her get back on a flat on her back position and he wheeled her back to her room.

"You did great Grace, daddy will be so proud of you."

"Am I going to be ok?"

"As soon as we're sure what you have, we'll make you all better I promise." Grace smiled at her as they were brought back to her room.

"How did it go?" Matt asked, taking a seat at the edge of her bed and hovering over her with a smile.

"She did it like a champ." Gabby smiled at her. "Dr Walker said he'd come by once he has the results. I'll come back when he does."

"Thanks you Gabby." They both smiled at each other, Matt happy to have her support.

"Anytime. I'll see you all later. Great job Grace." she leaned down and kissed her forehead before leaving.


Matt was more than grateful to have Gabby's support. When Grace had been wheeled into the E.R. the previous night, his heart was pumping a mile a minute and he was terrified. It had nothing to do with the adrenaline he felt running into burning buildings. One of the two most important people in his entire world was sick and he didn't know what she had and when the doctor had suggested meningitis later in the night, his worry became ten fold. Having Gabby here to keep an eye on them made his raging heart calm down a little bit. She wasn't Grace's attending nurse but just the fact that she came to check how they were doing was a really nice gesture.

Emma was sitting on the side of Grace's bed, Matt not wanting her too close just in case because he didn't want to have the two of them in the hospital as patients, he didn't think his heart could handle that.

"Do you want anything to eat Matt?" Christie rubbed his shoulder.

"If you can find me some coffee that would be great."

"Come in kiddo, let's go find something for daddy to eat." Emma jumped off the bed, happy to go with her aunt. Christie came back with come coffee and a breakfast sandwich and Matt ate a few bites even though he wasn't hungry, knowing both Chris or Gabby would be on his case if he didn't. About an hour later, a doctor came in with Jess and Gabby behind him.

"You have a brave little girl Mr. Casey. She didn't flinch once while doing the test." Matt smiled proudly at his daughter.

"Thank you."

"Unfortunately, the meningitis diagnosis was confirmed with the LP so we have to keep Grace in the hospital for a little while longer. Jessica is replacing the broad spectrum antibiotics by corticosteroids and we'll keep her regular IV drip to keep her hydrated. She can eat what she can at meal time but don't force her if she doesn't eat everything."

"And how long exactly does she need to stay here?"

"Maybe a week or two. We'll keep a close eye on her but she should be better in no time."

"And is it contagious for Emma?"

"If she keeps a mask, she can make short visits with her sister, it'll help her too." He smiled at Matt, knowing just how scared he was right now.

"Thanks doc." At least now they were set as to what was wrong with her.

"I'll be back later tonight to see how she's doing." He wrote something down on her chart and placed it back at the foot of the bed before walking out.

"Here you go Grace." Jess smiled at her patient. "This should make you all better." She smiled at Gabby before leaving.

"Did you tell daddy that you didn't cry during the test?" Gabby winked at Matt and smiled, his heart skiping a beat as she did.

"She did. And she said it didn't hurt too."

"Tell you what? When my shift is done, I'll find you some ice cream since you were so brave, how does that sound?"

"Fun."

"Alright, see you later kiddo." Gabby returned to her work and soon enough, her work day had come to an end and she was back with ice cream, two bowls of them.

"Two bowls, you're lucky kid." Matt teased Grace.

"Hold on daddy. One is for Grace and one is for Emma." Gabby chuckled. "Emma has been brave too. It's not easy seeing your sister sick." Gabby winked at Emma, making her giggle, Grace smiling in her bed before Gabby each gave them a bowl.

Once they were done, Christie left with Emma to pick up Violet and Emma would spend the night there again. Grace had fallen asleep again and Matt leaned back into his chair.

"How is she feeling?" Gabby's voice startled him a little bit.

"A little better, she was a little more alert. Thank you for being here Gabby, you didn't have to."

"When I saw her name on that chart, I panicked." She stood next to him and placed a hand at the base of his neck, her fingers playing with his hair. He instinctively wrapped his left arm around her waist and leaned into her.

"Emma screamed out to me last night. I was in the living room while they were sleeping. I should have brought her in sooner. She looked so miserable after dinner."

"Don't do this Matt. You did great and you brought her as soon as you thought something was really wrong. We caught it early, she'll be ok." Gabby soothed him, his eyes closing at the contact of her hand on his neck. "You should head home, take a shower and bring Grace some of her things so she can be as comfortable as possible."

"I can't leave her side Gabby."

"I'll stay with her while you go."

"I can't ask you to do that Gabby, you have a family to take care of too."

"It's ok. They're at my parent's house, I was going to grab dinner with them anyways. My mom knows I'm staying, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now go while she's asleep."

"Ok." Gabby had one this argument. "I'll make it quick."

"Take your time." Matt got up and kissed her temple.

"Thank you." She simply smiled at him before he turned around and left, closing the door behind him and comeing face to face with Antonio.


Antonio walked into Lakeshore and went to the E.R. section where he knew his sister was working for the past few weeks. He knew her schedule and he had come to see her because he sent her a message about going over to their parents dor dinner but she hadn't replied to him so he just wanted to make sure she was ok.

"Is Gabby Dawson still working?" He asked the nurse's station.

"She wasn't working here today, she's been sent up to pediatrics to resume her original post. It's on the second floor." She smiled politely at him.

"Thank you." He made his way to the second floor and asked the nurse there the same question as the one downstairs.

"She's in room 212 with the Casey girl." Antonio found his way around to room 212 but wasn't expecting what he found. Gabby had her hand on Matt Casey's neck and his arm was wrapped around her waist, his body leaning into her, their body language telling him that they were talking. Antonio knew that she had told him the truth but he didn't want to have his sister's heart broken like it had been before. Matt finally stood up and kissed her temple before walking out of the room and closing the glass door behind him and looking up to come face to face with him.

"Antonio, what are you doing here?"

"I came to find my sister, she hasn't returned any of my calls or texts. The E.R. sent me up here."

"Sorry about that, she's been with us a good part of today. One of my daughter is sick." Antonio felt bad for the father in front of him, knowing how bad he felt when one of his kids were sick.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Both men stood in front of a each other a few seconds, silence between them. "Listen Matt. I know this isn't the best time to talk about this but I know she told you the truth last night."

"She has. And I asked her out on a date." He knew Grace was safe inside so he didn't mind taking a few minutes to talk with Gabby's older brother.

"Like I said, this isn't the best time to talk about this but don't break her heart. If you break her heart, I'll have to break you."

"We're taking things slow right now, nothing big. But your sister is special Antonio and so are her kids and I know what it's like to protect the people you love. I wouldn't want to do anything to jeapordize that."

"It's all I wanted to hear." Antonio extended his hand and Matt shook it before he took his leave to grab some things for his daughter. Gabby was looking at her brother through the glass door, having seen the interraction between him and Matt. They smiled at each other and Antonio turned around to leave, knowing that his sister was in capable hands.


Alright. Before anyone chews my head off for all the medical stuff that might be wrong and how Grace handled the LP, I'll tell you a little story. When I was 7, I had meningitis and it's possible that Grace didn't feel pain because I didn't back in the day but I felt the same symptoms as she did. As for the medical stuff, the only thing I'm really not sure is the meds that they give her. I looked on the internet and that's what they gave me.

I really hope you guys liked this chapter. It's twice as long as what I normally write for this story but since it was a big part of the SL, I didn't want to split it in two but don't expect long chapters like this too often otherwise I won't be able to update as often (it took me part of yesterday plus two hours today to write it) Please leave a review to tell me what you thought. See you next week for the next update - Sarra