Hi Readers: And welcome to your daily update of The Caseys. I know that this update is coming really late in the day, and that means that I will not be able to get as many updates for Lost and Found out to you guys. But still, I felt it was my duty to ensure that I still got an update of The Caseys out to you; as that's something I will always do each and every day. Thanks again for reading and enjoy.
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Five
Arriving at the Office
Casey Offices, Downtown Honolulu – They were a bit late arriving at the office today, but there was a reason for that; it wasn't due to the fact that they left the house late, as they ended up leaving right on time. Rather, it was due to the fact that there was a bunch of traffic on the way to the office from Jay and Alex's home. But now, they were here; and Jay was letting the rest of the team know that they were here right now, as they were currently on the phone with each other. "Yeah, I know. The traffic was a bit more than I expected on the highway, and I had to deal with some things at home. Had to turn around and take out the box of diapers that I forgot to take out of my truck yesterday." All of the fathers laughed as they heard Jay say that, having done that at some point.
"Well, I've for sure done that a couple times; and been yelled at by Jane for it."
And that was the truth, as every one of them have been yelled at by their wives; however, maybe they shouldn't advertise that, as there was somebody on the line who was quite offended by that. And that would be Ms. Gabriela Casey. "Rafael, did you really just say that? Last time I checked, I am friends with Jane, and I can easily text her right now!" Rafael sighed as he heard Gabby say that. "My apologies Gabby, please don't get me in trouble." Will laughed as he heard Raf say that, before shaking his head. "Wow, you guys are really scared of your wives." Turning his head, Jay looked at his brother. "And you aren't? Last time I checked, Natalie wore the pants in your marriage!" Will agreed with his brother, however there was a reason for that; and that was that she was pregnant.
"Do I need to remind you that my wife is pregnant with your nephew?"
Jay shook his head as he heard his brother say that, well aware that his brother's wife is pregnant with his nephew. "How's she feeling today Will? She doing better? I know she had a bit of morning sickness yesterday, and that her stomach was bothering her last shift." Will agreed with Gabby (whom was the one who asked him the question) when it came to whether Natalie was doing better, as she was thanks to the pills that she got. "We got some medicine for her, and she's doing better." Matt agreed with Will as he said that, glad that was the case. "I'm glad. Now, can we please just get back to the conversation at hand?" Rafael agreed. "Now, I want to make sure that we all know that the Severides will not be there, and Mr. Severide has decided to stay away." Matt agreed with his interim CEO.
"As much as I love Kelly as a brother, I think that's for the best fright now."
Concurring with her brother, Christie soon agreed. "I can't help but agree with you Matt, and I hope that you don't mind if I stop by at some point today." Matt agreed with his sister as she said that, as he would love to get a visit from his sister. "I love the idea of getting a visit Christie, come by after the Press Conference!" Gabby agreed with her husband, as she felt the same way. "I'd love it too. But please, can you text me when you're on your way; I might get you to grab some snacks for us on the way, as the Hospital has crap!" Will then proceeded to defend the hospital. "HEY! You aren't staying at a five-start hotel. Take what you can get, as we offer you quality care." Matt then went to speak to Will. "May I remind you that your paternity leave can change to a working leave."
Will got nervous as he heard Matt say that, well aware that was the case as it was in their contracts; they all agreed that if the company needs to have them work, they can be asked to change from a paternity leave to a work-from-home situation. And that was not exactly something that he wanted right when his son was born. "Of course, I promise to behave Mr. Casey." Matt agreed with Will as he said that, while also hating that he had to threaten his friend. "Sorry about that, I just need today to go perfectly; I can't have this get screwed up, as I don't want this to have to go for too long." Christie agreed with her brother, before giving him some reassurances that everything will be okay. "Matt, we're all here so that we can fix this problem; and we're going to do that, as a team."
Matt agreed with his sister as she said that, well aware that was the case. "And I hope that you guys all know just how much I really appreciate this. What you guys are doing means the world to me…" Gabby then added on to that. "To us, because we do not want to have to deal with this for too long." Christie agreed with her brother and sister-in-law as they said that. "And hopefully, we won't have to deal with this for too long after what we do for you guys today." Matt agreed with his sister as she said that, well aware that they were going to make a big impact on how things are. "How's Noah anyways?" Jay agreed with Christie, having forgot to ask about Noah. "Yeah, I forgot to ask. How is the little guy, he feeling better?" Matt and Gabby both agreed as they were asked about Noah.
"He's being monitored and is sleeping a bit more than usual, and he's actually taking a nap right now; but other than that, he'll be okay."
Everybody just felt relieved as they heard that Noah would be okay, as that was everything that they wanted to hear; well, that and another thing which Jay asked them about. "So, how long until Noah is released?" Gabby laughed. "We actually decided that he's going to stay with us, and that we're just going to all be here as a family ahead of Christmas. He was going to come here on Christmas with Matteo, but we want them here sooner; we've really missed the two of them." Matt concurred with Gabby. "Plus, we need to get used to the whole four kids situation." Everybody agreed with Matt as he said that, well aware that was the case. "I'm glad that everything is going better, and I promise to check on you guys tomorrow." Matt and Gabby agreed with Will as he said that.
"Actually, Natalie is going to be coming to check on him when the press conference starts; that way, we can all watch it together. And yes, me and Matt are going to watch the press conference."
Everybody agreed with Gabby as she said that, not that they expected anything other than having him watch from the hospital; and that was exactly what Jay decided to tell them this morning. "I think we all already knew that Matt and Gabby. We both knew that you were going to watch. Now listen, we might loose service in the garage as we're pulling up; so we'll let you go so that we can get upstairs." Matt and Gabby agreed. "Okay, bye Jay and Will." Ending the call on the steering wheel, Jay took a breath as he drove up to the garage; after which, he went to grab his pass so that he could get in. "You thinking of when Michael and Olivia were in the hospital?" Turning his head as Will asked him whether he was thinking of when Michael and Olivia were in the hospital, Jay sighed.
After all, that was exactly what he was thinking about as he watched the gate to the hospital parking garage open; after which, he started to drive in while answering his brother's question. "I mean, how can I not think about it Will? I hate to say this, but I need to go to my doctor soon. My PTSD is starting to get bad from that time." Will agreed with Jay as he said that, before taking a breath. "Have you told Alex that your PTSD is back from that time?" Jay shook his head as he's yet to tell Alex about the fact that his PTSD from that time is back. "I don't want to worry her, not when I know that she's got to have some of the same PTSD as me." Will sighed. "Jay, you need to talk to your wife; we both know that it's the right thing to do, unless you want to get in trouble with her." Jay sighed.
"I just don't want her to think that this is going to be normal, and that I am going to go all protective again."
Will snickered. "Jay, I don't think that Alex would mind if you went all protective on her again; rather, I think she would understand base don the situation that the both of you find yourselves in. I mean, isn't Alex feeling the same way about all the memories that this is bringing up for the both of you?" Jay sighed and agreed with his brother, as it most certainly is. "It is, and we are going to really have to talk about them; might even do that this afternoon when I'm home with her, and the kids are taking a nap." Will agreed with his brother, as he thought that was a wise thing to do based on the situation that he and Alex find themselves in. "Jay, you need to talk to her; or you need to talk to somebody, then you can get some help." Jay sighed and agreed with his brother once more.
After all, that was exactly what he needed to do; he needed to talk to someone, so that he can get help with what's bothering him. "Has Max been alerting you to it? And waking you up?" Jay sighed, before agreeing. "If you're asking if it's part of my night PTSD, then the answer would be yes." Will agreed with Jay, before moving his hand to his arm and rubbing it. "Then I have a feeling that Alex already knows about it, based on the fact that Max only does it when you have PTSD." Jay took a breath, while agreeing with his brother; after all, there was no way that Alex couldn't know about it. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have to talk to her about it, as he most certainly does. "I promise, I'll talk to her about it later." Will agreed with his brother as he said that, as he needed to.
Office of Rafael Solano, 21st Floor – To say that Rafael was a bit nervous today would be an understatement, as he was going to be speaking as the temporary head of the company for the first time; something that he really didn't think that he'd have to do. After all, this is something that he never does as the Principal Deputy Chief Executive Officer-at-Large. Rather, he mostly works in the background and co-ordinates between all of the different divisions on the company on Mr. Casey's behalf. But now, he was working as the Acting Chairman and CEO; and that was nerve-wracking, which other people could clearly see. One of them being the Interim Vice-Chairwoman and Interim Deputy CEO for Casey Creations, Ms. Christie Casey; and she just hoped that he knew that he had help.
"I hope you know that you aren't doing this on your own Rafael, and that you have help if you want it."
Turning his head, Rafael smiled as he looked at Christie this morning. "Good morning Christie." Christie smiled as she looked at Rafael, seeing that he was currently in the midst of reading over the statement that he was going to be making today. "Let me guess, you're nervous." Sighing, Rafael agreed with Ms. Casey as she asked him whether he was nervous. "How could you tell?" Christie laughed. "Because you're more concentrated on the speech than you are drinking some water, which is something that your wife asked me to tell you to do." Rafael agreed with Christie as she said that, a bit confused as to when she saw Jane. "When did you see Jane this morning?" Christie smiled. "I just had a meeting with the staff at Casey Creations and told them I was interim CEO." Rafael agreed.
"And how did they take that news?"
Christie sighed as she looked at the chairs in his office, before trying to get him to ask her to sit down, which Rafael soon did, by pointing to a chair. After which, she walked over to them and proceeded to sit down. "Technically, I don't need to offer you an opportunity to sit on the chairs when you own 5% of each of them." Thinking about that, Christie agreed with Rafael as she got comfortable here in the chair. "So, how are you doing right now?" Sighing as he looked at her, Rafael just hoped that he could be honest with her. "Can I be honest?" Christie agreed with Rafael as he asked her whether he can be honest with her, as he most certainly can. "Rafael, of course you can be honest with me. That's exactly what you need to do right now." Rafael agreed.
After which, he took the chance to do just that; to be honest with his other boss. "The truth is, I am just worried that I'm going to screw something up, and loose business for us." Christie shook her head. "Rafael, I do not think that's something that you will ever have to worry about; and that's due to the fact that my brother knows that this is a lot, especially since he's done it." Rafael agreed with Christie as she said that, well aware that was the case. "He's done it with twins and a pregnant wife, so I am positive that you can do it as well." Raf sighed, before adding on. "Don't forget the fact that he also has PTSD and a dog to take care of." Christie agreed, before smiling. "God, I swear. My daughter wants me to get her a dog now. A dog she can actually play with." Rafael agreed again.
After all, she can't play with Andy due to the fact that he's her uncle's service dog. "How is he doing at the hospital? He good with the twins?" Christie agreed. "He is, and they are all just taking it easy." Rafael agreed. "And that includes Noah, I spoke to your brother today but what are you thinking?" Christie sighed. "I am not sure, as I am trying not to worry about it too much; all I know is that it just breaks my heart to have to see my brother go through this." Rafael took a breath, before thinking of something. "Christie, can I ask you something then?" Christie agreed with Rafael as he asked her whether he can ask her something. "Always." Rafael agreed, before taking a breath due to the fact that this might be going into territory that was a bit too personal; but he still felt like asking.
"How are you doing right now?"
"How are you doing right now?"
Now that was a question that Christie Casey never expected to be asked, which was why she was a bit taken aback when Rafael asked her that question; but at the time, it felt good to be asked that question. "You know what, that's too…" Interrupting Rafael, Christie stopped him. "Rafael, stop. Take a breath and stop." Agreeing with Christie, Rafael took a breath and did as he was told; he stopped talking, so that he could listen to her. "Thank you for asking me that question, as nobody has really asked me that question; they have mostly been asking how my brother is, and now how I'm dealing with this as the aunt and sister." Rafael agreed with Christie as she said that, before noticing that there was pain in her voice; as strong as she was trying to be, he could just tell that she was hurt.
And that was probably something that she's been needing to talk about for a while, but just hasn't been able to. "Let me guess, you haven't spoken to your brother about it yet?" Looking up, Christie sighed. "How can I tell him that? I mean, they aren't my children." Rafael agreed. "But at the same time, they are your nieces, and Noah is your nephew; Matt is your brother, and you have every right to worry about your family. If I knew that my sister and nieces were in trouble, then I would do the same. Heck, I think I can speak on behalf of the entire company and say that we're all worried for them; and that means that you have every right to be worried, as you're a member of the family." Christie agreed with Rafael as he said that, as that most certainly was the truth right now.
She was a member of the family, and she could just tell that this was killing her brother. "I can just hear it in my brother's voice that he's worried every single day for all of his children, and that he's just putting on a brave face; but then he walks by the girls, and it's like the worry comes flooding back in his voice. And as his sister, that just breaks my heart." Rafael agreed with her, clearly able to see that's the case. "Christie, I hope you know that you don't need to hide this when you work. Speaking on behalf of the entire company, I can tell you that we would understand if you needed a moment every once and a while to just take a breather and go have your moment." Christie sighed, before agreeing with Rafael; clearly able to see now that her brother made the right choice for the job.
"Now I can see why my brother put you in charge as interim Chairman and CEO."
Rafael smiled as he heard Christie say that, before nodding his head. "He wanted to do it for you Christie, because he knew that you would have too much on your mind. If you took over the entire company, it would be too much; and that would mean that you'd just get so overwhelmed that you wouldn't be okay. You needed someone else to do this for you, while you work as my assistant." Christie agreed with Rafael as he said that, really glad that this is what her brother decided to do for her. "God, my brother always thinks of others before he thinks of himself." Rafael smiled as he heard Christie say that, because he couldn't disagree with what she just said. "I can tell you this though, your brother is one strong man to have to go through all of this." Christie agreed with him, before sighing.
"I just hope that he's talking to Gabby and taking it easy."
Rafael agreed with Christie as she asked him that question, a question which he knows the answer to. "I can tell you that he has, as I have been monitoring his logins. If he's on there, I will call him and ask him what he needs me to do; because if I can help, then I will do whatever I can so that he can just take it easy in the hospital." Christie smiled as she heard Rafael say that, as that was something that she truly did appreciate. "You have no idea just how much I appreciate you doing that, as that's exactly what my brother needs. Someone to stop him from working right now so that he can concentrate on his family." That's when Christie heard some other voices agree with her. "Now, if that isn't the truth. Matt most certainly does just need to take it easy right now." Turning her head, she smiled.
Smiling at the Halstead brothers shortly after they came upstairs from the parking garage, Christie got up and made her way over to the both of them; after all, she wants to thank them for the message that they sent out. It was perfect, and she's just so glad that they sent it out. "You have no idea how much that press release meant to our family." Jay agreed with Christie as she said that, before hugging her once more. "Well, I'm glad. Because our family truly meant it from the bottom of our hearts, especially since I know what Matt's going through after having to deal with this when Alex gave birth after a fight with her dad." Jay made sure to say that part, as he didn't want Christie to get mad at him, because she would've done just that had he not clarified how he knew how he felt.
"Right, I remember that. Your father-in-law."
Jay sighed. "We aren't calling him that anymore." Christie agreed with Jay as he told her that, before nodding. "Okay, but I appreciate you saying that. And I am sorry for having almost yelled at you, because I was thinking about it." Jay shook his head as he heard Christie say that, as that was something that he would've understood if she did. "Christie, I would've understood if you yelled at me. This is a hard time for your family, especially when you have three of your nieces and nephews in the hospital with your brother." Christie smiled. "And that's why I am so glad that my brother hired friends as executives, because I know that you guys really mean that from the bottom of your hearts." Will agreed with Christie as they most certainly did. "We always will Christie." Christie agreed.
She then continued to make her way over to Will, before hugging him. "Where's Natalie?" Will smiled. "She's at the hospital today and checking on your brother and the kids. I promise, you can always ask me to call Natalie if you want a check on your brother, nephew, and nieces." Christie laughed as she heard Will say that. "I'll hold you to that." Will smiled before turning to look at Rafael. "So, are we going to talk about how we're going to do this? Or are we waiting for somebody else?" That's when Jay heard his friend laugh. "Gee, thanks for remembering the other family representative." Turning around, Will looked at Antonio before smiling at his friend; after which, he walked up to him and went to shake his hand. "How are you doing Antonio?" Antonio smiled. "Better now." Jay agreed.
After all, he's been talking to him a lot lately; and he knows that he's been worried each and every day for his family. So, for him to say that he's feeling better is something that he's really happy about. "I'm glad, and I just hope you know that I'm still a call away." Antonio agreed with his friend as he said that, before walking over to Christie. "How are you Christie?" Walking up to Antonio, Christie went to hug him as they both kissed each other's cheeks. "I'm good. Ready for this." Antonio agreed. "Just warning you guys, my statement might get a bit tense as I am not happy about all of this." Rafael agreed with Antonio as he said that, as he was warned ahead of time by Matt that may happen. "Oh believe me, Matt told me ahead of time that may happen." Antonio was shocked.
"Really?"
Rafael agreed with Antonio as he asked him that, as he most certainly did. "He told me about all the tension in the family, and your ire for Stella." And that was when said person came in. "And that's why I'm here, so that I can help out today with the pleas." Turning to face Stella, Antonio's blood just started to boil.
"Excuse me?"
He thought he was hearing things. Stella Kidd wants to help with the press conference, fat chance that's going to happen. And if it did happen, it would be over his dead body; there's no way that Antonio was letting this bitch anywhere near the mic, just so that she can defend herself and play all nice. Not when she was the one that did this to his baby sister and caused her to have to endure more pain that she had to. "Jay, Will, Rafael? Do you mind giving us the office?" The three gentlemen all understood why that was the case, especially after what they just heard from Stella. And that was why they didn't even skip a beat; they just left the three to themselves.
He still thought that Stella was joking, she wanted to help? Help fix the problem that she created? Help fix the problem that led to his sister going into premature birth? Well, that's just rich and he can't wait to see what the hell she's thinking about this; like he would really let her make a statement, when she's the reason they're here. But first, he's going to just see what she's thinking. "Hey Christie, uhm. Did I just hear that right? Did I just hear that this woman here wants to HELP?" Crossing her arms, Christie agreed with Antonio. "Yeah, I think you did." Well aware of what Antonio was doing, Christie just looked at Stella as she still had to give her a piece of her mind. "Go sit your ass down!" Stella just looked at the woman. "Excuse me, but this isn't between…" Christie just looked at her.
"Oh, hell yes it is. Do you seriously not recognize me?"
Stella was a bit confused, before realizing. "Oh shit." Christie agreed. "Christie Casey, Interim Vice-Chairwoman and Deputy CEO of Casey Creations." Stella looked at her. "No, that's me. I'm the…" Antonio just looked at Stella. "Seriously? You think that Gabby is going to put YOU as the interim Vice-Chairwoman and Deputy CEO of Casey Creations?" Stella just looked at him. "First of all, it's ELLA Cr…" Antonio shook his head. "Nope, Casey Creations. Did you not get the press release? Stella, did you seriously think that you could take over in this job? After what you did to my sister? Stella, she gave birth prematurely AGAIN!" Stella agreed. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that…" Christie just looked at Stella. "Yes, it does. Because you've burned too many bridges…" Stella just looked at Christie.
"Can you shut up? This isn't…"
And that was when Christie snapped, before walking over to her and slapping her across the face. "Tell me to shut up again!" Stella just looked at Christie as she said that. "First of all, I help pay your paychecks! I know my brother told you that I am a shareholder, so please don't forget that. I may not be your direct supervisor all the time, but I am a Casey! I am a shareholder! And I pay your salary! Speak to me like that again, and you will be more than suspended Ms. Severide; I will fire you, and I will make sure that you're nothing but a housewife." Stella just looked at Christie when she said that, about to argue…when Christie continued. "You put Gabby, Bella, and Sofia's lives at risk. And you think that YOU'RE going to be the Interim Vice-Chairwoman and Deputy CEO?" Stella then got quiet.
Real quiet. "Honey. You're lucky that my brother and sister-in-law love you like a sister, and that they love your husband like a brother. Because if I were in their shoes, you wouldn't be at home with your sons right now. You'd be in jail awaiting trial, away from your husband and sons. So, don't push your luck bitch. Because right now, your life is looking pretty good right now. Sure, you may not have a job at the moment; but you're home with your sons, and not in jail awaiting trial. So, how 'bout this? Either you leave, and don't come back until you're summoned back to our offices; or I'll call the cops and have them escort you right to jail away from your sons. Until the day that our nieces are out of the NICU…you stay the hell away from my family, and from this building!"
And just then, Stella got scared. After all, she could hear the anger coming out of Christie's voice; and that was something that made her know that she wasn't kidding, and that she would very much do exactly what she just promised that she'd do. And that would mean that she'd be away from Kyle and Stephen. So, she didn't waste anymore time and just left to go; because right now, that was where she needed to be. Meanwhile, Antonio turned to look at Christie as he was shocked at what she just did. "Holy shit." Taking a breath, Christie just looked at Antonio. "I didn't push it, did I?" Antonio shook his head as he walked up to Christie, before hugging her. "No way, because that was exactly how I feel too. And that is exactly what we would do." Christie smiled, agreeing with Antonio.
After which, they watched as Rafael came back into the office. "Everything okay?" Antonio agreed. "Oh, Christie just put Stella in her place and told her to leave before she ends up in jail." Turning his head, the interim Chairman and CEO agreed with Christie as she said that. After which, Jay and Will returned into the office as well. "God, I heard everything. Now that was nice Christie." Christie laughed as she heard Jay say that, before smiling. "Listen, I am really not in the mood to have to deal with this again. Right now, I just want to take it easy and concentrate on what really matters. And that would be our family, whom we want to make sure are safe; so, how about we get to it. We can practice our statements and the order." The five of them all agreed, before going to sit as a group.