Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. I will be going out of town this weekend but will update this story once I get back. Thank you all for the reviews and please continue to leave reviews :)

CHAPTER 4

"Dusty has taken to you." Mr. Larson noted.

"I know. He's such a sweet cat." Brett smiled.

"He is. He's all I've got left." Mr. Larson sweetly said.

"You know, Sylvie here has some treats for Dusty." Casey said.

Mr. Larson looked at Brett and smiled.

"You always bring my Dusty some treats." Mr. Larson smiled.

"Yes, she does." Casey smiled.

"So, what do you two have planned for today?" Mr. Larson casually asked.

"Well, two of the firefighters are gonna help me finish remodeling a house for a client and Sylvie is supposed to help paint one of the rooms." Casey said.

"That's so sweet of her to do that." Mr. Larson said.

"You know, Mr. Larson, I would be more than happy to fix up your house once the insurance comes through for you, if you would like." Casey suggested.

Mr. Larson was touched by that gesture.

"You would do that for me?" Mr. Larson asked.

"No charge at all. I'll take care of everything and I'll make sure that all the wiring and everything is up to code." Casey said.

"Bless your heart, boy. I...I...I don't know what to say except, thank you." Mr. Larson said with a smile.

"No need to thank me. Just remember that Chicago shows up for each other whenever they need us and this is the least I could do for you." Casey said.

"I really appreciate that." Mr. Larson said with a huge grin.

"I'll help Matt out in any way I can. I'll also see too it that Dusty has enough cat food, treats, toys, and anything else you might need for him and whatever you might need as well. Consider it our way of paying it forward." Brett smiled.

Mr. Larson was touched by the generosity that Casey and Brett have shown him that nothing he could do would ever compare to their generous offer. His eyes filled with tears of happiness.

"Thank you both so much. You have already done so much for me and for Dusty." Mr. Larson said with tears.

They all chatted for a few hours before Casey and Brett had to leave. Mr. Larson was forever grateful and thankful for the friendship he made in both Brett and Casey. After saying their goodbyes, Casey and Brett headed out to Casey's truck.

"Hey, are you alright?" Casey asked.

"Oh, yeah." Brett lied.

"Liar." Casey said.

Brett gave him a look. When did Casey become so good at spotting her lying to him? When the heck did Casey start paying attention to the small details about her? Either way, she was glad.

"Ok, fine." Brett moaned.

"You're thinking about yesterday, aren't you?" Casey asked.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" Brett asked.

"Because I know you and I know that you said you had a lot too think about." Casey said.

"You know me better than I know myself." Brett admitted.

Casey had just pulled into the parking lot of Brett's apartment when she said that. He parked the truck and turned to look at her.

"You know me better than anyone else as well." Casey flashed a smile.

They got out of the truck and walked up to her apartment. They walked inside her apartment and Brett headed to her bedroom to change into some old clothes before heading back out with Casey to the house.

"Ready?" Brett asked.

"Yeah." Casey replied.

They headed out of the apartment and to the house where Casey was meeting Severide and Kidd.

"Hey, I brought backup!" Casey joked as he and Brett got out of the truck.

"How did you talk her into this? I've tried and she wouldn't budge." Stella joked.

"Well, it was Mr. Larson who talked her into that." Casey lied.

"Mr. Larson? The old man that has the cat?" Stella asked.

"Yeah. Casey was telling him about this house and Mr. Larson said that I should help. I couldn't give him an excuse, so here I am." Brett lied.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. I didn't like being out numbered by these two." Stella joked.

"Well, I'm here, so things are even." Brett giggled.

"Alright, you two. Kidd, can you and Brett go to the back room and get started painting on it?" Casey asked.

"Sure. Where's the paint?" Stella asked.

"I have everything in the room." Casey said.

Stella and Brett left and headed into the back room where they began painting the room.

"Do you wanna start on that wall and I'll start on this wall or what do you wanna do?" Brett asked.

"That sounds like a plan." Stella said.

They started painting the room while the guys were in the room beside of them painting.

"So, you and Brett seem to be hanging out a lot." Severide acknowledged.

"It's nothing." Casey shrugged it off.

"You sure about that? You guys seem to be getting close lately." Severide smirked.

"She's going through something that I can't say. That's something that she has to tell you on her own terms, but that's her business. She just felt the need to open up to me." Casey said.

"Is everything ok?" Severide asked.

"I don't know. She hasn't said much but I know something is bothering her." Casey said.

"She knows she has a family at 51, doesn't she?" Severide asked.

"Yeah, she does. I think she's just gotta deal with whatever it is she's going through in her own way." Casey said.

Back in the other room, Brett and Stella were talking.

"So, you and Casey seem to be a bit chummy lately." Stella causally said.

"It's not like that. I got some news and he just happened to be there when I got it." Brett said.

"What's going on?" Stella asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it. It's not something I'm ready to tell everyone. Casey just happened to be there when I got the news, so that's how he knows." Brett tried to change the subject.

Stella knew not to push Brett. She knew that Brett was going through something but knew that if she had pushed Brett for information, Brett would snap. Brett rarely snaps at people but Stella didn't want to risk an argument with her friend.

"So, what's going on with you and Severide?" Brett asked, changing the subject.

"Well, you know he asked me to move in with him but I think he's got a lot on his mind." Stella said.

"I know Cruz has been upset that Severide hasn't helped him with the wedding." Brett said.

"I don't know what's going on. Cruz is stressing about the wedding and Kelly hasn't really cared about it. I guess that's men for you." Stella joked.

As they finished painting their side of the walls, they started on the other two walls. Within two hours, they had finished painting the room. They met the men in the kitchen.

"That's it. All we have to do now is wait until the walls dry in order to put the furniture back and that's all that's left." Casey said.

"See you guys tomorrow." Severide said as he and Stella walked out of the house.

"See ya." Casey replied.

Casey was gathering the rest of his tools when Brett's phone rang. It was the adoption intermediary.

"Hello?" Brett asked as she answered the phone.

"Yes, is this Sylvie Brett?" the adoption intermediary asked.

"Yes." Brett replied.

"I'm the adoption intermediary. We spoke the other day. I'm just following up on the information I gave you." the intermediary said.

"I have yet to open the envelope that you gave me. I'm sorry." Brett said.

"That's alright, Ms. Brett. I understand. Do you plan on making contact?" the intermediary asked.

"As of this moment, no, I don't plan on it." Brett said.

"Thank you, Ms. Brett. Have a good day." the intermediary said as he hung up the phone.

"That was weird." Brett said.

"What?" Casey asked.

"So, the adoption intermediary called and asked if I had planned on making contact with my birth mother. I haven't decided on that yet and told them that I had no plans in making contact with her." Brett said.

"How do you feel about that?" Casey asked.

"If it means that the adoption intermediary stops calling me and trying to get me to make contact with my birth mother, then I'm ok with that." Brett said.

"Good, now what do you say we get out of here and grab a bite to eat? I don't know about you but I'm starving." Casey chuckled.

"Me too." Brett smiled.

After packing up the rest of his tools, he and Brett headed out of the house and to her apartment.

"What do you want and I'll place the order." Casey said.

"Sesame chicken, rice, broccoli, and fortune cookies." Brett giggled.

"You got it." Casey smiled.

Casey placed an order for him and Brett over the phone and then hung up after he was done.

"They said they will be here in about twenty minutes." Casey said.

"Sounds good. I'll be back." Brett said.

Brett went into her bedroom to change clothes. She put on a pair of gray sweat pants and a blue tank top. It was 6:00 p.m. and Brett had no intention of going anywhere else. She walked back out into the living room where Casey was sitting on the couch.

"Sorry about that." Brett said as she walked back into the room.

Casey noticed she wasn't wearing the same clothes that she had when they came home.

"No need to apologize." Casey said.

"So, I was thinking. If I do decide to meet my birth mother, I want you to go with me but for now, I'm not doing anything." Brett said.

"Whatever you need, I'll be there." Casey said.

There was a knock on the door. It was the delivery man with the food.

"I'll get it." Casey said as he got up and answered the door.

Casey paid for the food and then brought it over to the living room.

"Food is here." Casey said as he placed the food on the coffee table.

"Good. I'm starving." Brett giggled.

Casey chuckled and got the food out of the bag.

"It smells so freaking good." Brett smiled.

"I know." Casey returned the smile.

After Casey got all of the food out of the bag, he and Brett began eating the food.

"I forgot how much I love sesame chicken." Brett said with a mouth full of food.

"When was the last time you had Chinese food?" Casey asked.

"It's been a few months." Brett said.

"Wow." Casey giggled.

It felt a bit awkward between the two of them for a few minutes. Casey has never really been to Brett's apartment and hung out with her. They usually just hang out at work or at Molly's. This was definitely a first for the both of them but it was a nice change. This was truly the first time that they had hung out together outside of work and without the other members of 51. Brett felt at ease with Casey and Casey felt the same way about Brett. As they ate their dinner, Brett turned the TV on and put it on a movie channel that was showing a marathon of Harry Potter movies. Casey felt at home with Brett, something he hadn't felt with anyone else since Gabby. They talked about movies and other things, just enjoying each other's company.