Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination and Abbey and the three boys along with any small characters I cook up :)
a/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter and welcome to the new Matt convinces Abbey to spend some fun time at Molly's before the boys have their first day at the academy and we see a new blossoming romance between Andrew and a mysterious red head. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter.
Abbey woke up ealy with the sudden nerves she had gone to sleep with last night. It was the boys first day at the academy and she and Matt had shift for the next 24 hours. She showered and headed down the stairs and padded into the kitchen where she was startled by Chase.
"Oh God!" Her hand flew to her chest. "I didn't think anyone was awake."
"Sorry mom. Too excited to sleep you?" He handed her a mug of coffee that had just finished brewing.
"Too nervous. You know you'll do great right?" The both of them sat at the kitchen table, Chase turning the cup in his hand.
"What if I can't do it? Dad would be so disappointed in me."
"First of all, your father would never be disappointed in you and second, you'll be amazing in there." Abbey knew that she had to put her fear for her sons aside because he needed incouragement, not her own feelings rubbing off him.
"Thanks mom." They shared a smile before Abbey headed for the stove to start breakfast for the rest of the house. She and Chase were setting the table when the rest of the boys came down, both Logan and Andrew kissing her cheek and sitting down while Matt offered her a smile and a kiss on the lips.
"Eewwwww." Logan teased laughing.
"If you boys don't like the PDA, you know what to do." Matt called after he walked away to grab a coffee. The house became dead quiet because it was an unwritten rule that if the kids were still living here at 25 that they had to pay some kind of rent. Not that Abbey and Matt didn't like living with their sons but they hoped that it would give them a little push to go their own way.
"How was your date?" She whispered to Andrew as she put all the food in plates.
"Great." He blushed.
"Good." She bumped her shoulder against his and grabbed a few plates to put them on the table. The family of five ate quickly before they all had to report to their respective places.
"I want the two of you to work hard and be proud of it."
"Yes sir." They both answered.
"And be carefull out there." Abbey hugged the both of them.
"We will mom." Logan practically huffed.
"I heard that." Matt warned him. He knew how worried Abbey was about them joining the CFD and he didn't need Logan to add to that even though he suspected him to feel smothered by that feeling. "We'll see you at the firehouse for dinner" The four of them went their seperate ways to start their day.
"I'm smothering them aren't I?" She finally said as they rounded the first corner, Matt in the driver's seat of his truck.
"I know you're worried babe but they'll be fine. You need to trust them like you trusted Andrew." He reached across the middle concole and gently gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Ok, I won't hover as much, I promise. Alright, before I stop hovering." She turned to face Matt as he parked his truck in front of the firehouse. "Chase was worried you'd be disappointed if he didn't make it."
"What did you tell him?" Matt hated when Chase felt that way but it was in his nature to compare himself and the other's accomplishments with his own.
"I told him that you'd never be disappointed in him and that he'd be amazing."
"I know he will, he's just like you." He leaned in and kissed her.
"Alright chief, enough with the sweet talking. Let's go inside and start the day." She kissed him back. Half an hour later, Matt had managed to finish his meeting just in time to be called to a structure fire by the overhead paging system.
The boys walked through the academy doors and waited in line like everyone to get their package and clothes and bunker gear before they went to change in the locker room. Chief Thomas greeted them in a classroom, doing roll call and explaining to them the history of the institution and what was expected of them all.
"The Casey twins." Chief Thomas came up to them while people were trying to get aquainted together before they started the drills.
"Yes sir." Chase answered with a smile.
"Both your parents have quite the career at the CFD, make them proud."
"We will." Chase gave Logan a dirty look. He could hear the hint of arrogance in his voice.
"What?" He finally said.
"Cut the crap Logan, arrogance won't get you anywhere." He hissed.
"Whatever." He turned on his heals and went to talk up some other candidates, leaving Chase to wonder how fast Logan would blow a fuse of arrigant confidence.
"The hot head of the two?"
"Yeah." He looked back to his brother before offering the stranger his hand. "Chase Casey."
"Jordan Patterson. Nice to meet you. You're chief Casey's son over at 51 right?"
"One of three." He had heard stories from his father and uncle Kelly about how Kelly had almost lost his squad to his father a long time ago but chose to get to know the guy and make his own oppinion of him independant of his father's name.
They were all called back in formation where they would officially start. They were brought in a classroom for their first ever CFD class, lots of papers being passed around. They stayed in the class for the whole morning, stopping for lunch and then back on the academy's apparatus floor where they would work on drills of what they worked on in the classroom. Everyone geared up in their brand new bunker gear and they did basic drills. After hours of intensive drills, they were down to a last one before the end of the day. They had to put all the heavy gear and run up the academy stairs for a timing exercise. They were going up two at a time and chief Thomas was waiting for them with a stop watch. Logan went up with a guy named Jose and he was faster than him by far, leaving Jordan and Chase to be the last up the tower.
"Good luck." They shook hands and got ready for the signal.
They both ran up as quickly as they could, Chase having a slight advantage of two stairs over Patterson but in the last stretch, Patterson gave one last push before running ahead of Chase, shoving him in the process. They both removed their gear, their breathing heavy from their last effort.
"What the hell Patterson?" Logan confronted him, shoving his shoulders, making him slightly stumble backwards.
"Nothing's up Casey, what's wrong with you?"
"You sure as hell know what you did." He pointed his finger at him.
"Let it go Logan." Chase tried pulling his brother back but he only shoved him aside.
"You did that on purpose." He ignored his brother's plea.
"I don't even know what you're talking about." Patterson lied, a tiny smirk on his lips.
"You knew he was winning so you shoved him out of the way." He went after him again, pissed of that his brother wasn't defending himself.
"And who do you think you are huh?" Jordan countered.
"What? Do you think you're the only one with an important name up in the CFD?" Logan smirked, bringing the arrogance up a notch. "You'll get to find out what brushing up with a Casey means Patterson, this isn't over."
"Yes it is." Chief Thomas booming voice broke the argument between the two candidates. "Everyone, take a break. Casey's, Patterson, classroom, right now." Everyone scattered under the chief's watchful eyes before the other three followed the chief back downstairs. "The three of you want to tell me what that was all about?
"You saw what he did chief." Logan started to protest, Chase trying to make him shut up, Patterson with a satisfied smirk.
"I didn't do anything, it was just some friendly competition, right Chase?" Chase glared at him. The saying was true when they said like father like son.
"That's ENOUGH!" Chief was angry now. "All three of you will have this in your file, dismissed. All three leaving Patterson to one side and the Casey's on the other one, leaving Thomas with no other choice to inform both fathers that were both chiefs about what happened.
The afternoon wound down and the sun was starting to set when Matt managed to make it to his office to start up with the paperwork of the day as well as the fire log he kept, keeping Boden's tradition of doing it by hand alive. They had saved everyone today and he smiled at that accomplishment but when the phone rang and he answered, his smile faded.
"Chief Casey." He listened to what the other person on the line was saying, his brows frowning before anger started to bubble. "Thanks chief, I'll take care of it." He hung up the phone roughly.
"What's wrong chief?" Abbey smirked from the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I just got a call from chief Thomas over at the academy."
"Are the boys okay?" She walked in, worry coming over her.
"Oh they'll be fine until they step foot in this house." He growled.
"What did they do?" She sat down in the chair that was sitting across his office.
"Logan got in Jordan Patterson's face."
"I thought that was over." She leaned on her folded hands.
"Doesn't sound like it. Anyways, what's for dinner?"
"Gabby's making her grandma's mac and cheese." She smirked, leaning back into her chair.
"Oh yeah." She could almost see his mouth watering just by thinking about it.
"I thought I made the best mac and cheese." She teased him.
"Oh you do but that recipe is something else."
"Whatever you say chief." She chuckled as she got up to join the others in the common room. Lily had made an appearance while they were in the office, helping her mother out with dinner. Almost as soon as Matt made it to the common room as well, the twins came walking into it as well, recieving a glare from their father.
"He knows." Logan whispered to his brother.
"If you had kept the Casey temper in check, this wouldn't be happening." Chassed hissed back.
"You two. My office, right now." The boys walked through the common room under everyone's very curious eyes. No one knew about what had happened at the academy except Kelly who had recieved a text from chief Thomas as promised but kept his mouth shut. They caught their mother's eye at the round table but she wouldn't be of any help, they were on their own and their father was mad. It didn't take any time after the door shut that he let themn have it.
"Does one of you want to tell me what happened or do I have to tell you about the phone call I recieved from chief Thomas first?"
"That ass shoved Chase aside just so he could win dad and Chase did nothing. I had to put him in his place."
"And you thought that throwing the Casey name around was the best way to do it?" He slammed his hands on his desk, making Chase jump slightly, stunning Logan into silence. "You may be born Casey's but you haven't earned it yet." He sounded harsh even to himself and he sighed. "You can't go confronting Patterson son. People are going to talk about you, being a chief's sons but you have to ignore them, work hard and live up to the reputation we've made for ourselves. You have to make them respect you for who the two of you are, not who your mother and I are. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir." They understood the chain of comman more than anyone and they knew their father was right. Being Casey's didn't entitle them to anything except to be the best that they could be as people and as future fire fighters.
"Alright, go grab yourself a bowl of aunt Gabby's mac and cheese." Logan was quick to walk out of the door, Chase straggeling behind.
"He was just having my back dad."
"I know Chase but what you did took a lot of courage."
"I just let him do it to me, didn't want to argue."
"I know and that's what took guts. It's easy to lose your temper, god knows I've let it get in the way a few times and Logan takes that from me but you'll do great, don't ever doubt that. Your mother and I are proud of you."
"Thanks dad." They smiled at each other and headed back to the common room where they grabbed some food, Matt smiling at Abbey from across the room.
a/n: So the boys run into a new but old familiar face at the academy and things get heated up, somewhat opening a new rivalry amonth the CFD.
Matt was a bit hard on the boys when he first found out about the fight but knowing how Matt is, he just wants his sons to be strong,couragous and upstanding men. Abbey on the other hand will have to learn to let go and trust her sons to make it. I hope you guys liked this chapter and please take a few minutes to leave a review, I really like to see what you guys think of it. - Sarra