Matt Casey's nieces and nephew

Chapter 15

-HOME –

Grace and Ellie made their ways down the stairs but quickly retreated when they heard a women's voice. They listened for a moment, trying to hear their muffled conversation, before Jake came up behind them. Grace made a gesture to silence him and he listened along with her.

"It's Heather." Elle whispered.

"Did she spend the night?" Jake asked, his voice equally as low as his sister's.

The girls nodded and jumped when they heard the doorbell. Jake pulled them back off the stairs and around the corner into the hall as Casey answered the door. They were out of sight, but the triplets could easily hear the conversation at the door from the top of the stairs.

"My Dad wanted me to drop that off, his way of apologizing for you catching that elbow," Severide said. "And for the Jake thing too."

"Thanks, I've had worse than an elbow and as for Jake," Casey said. "I may owe your Dad because Jake has been perfect the whole week." Grace and Ellie grinned at Jake, but he just rolled his eyes in annoyance and embarrassment.

"Matt do you have any mouth wash?" Heather called and everyone froze.

Ellie, Grace, and Jake listened as Severide and Casey began to fight. It was less of a fight because it was mainly Severide yelling assumptions without letting Casey explain. Darden was a sour subject between them, and Heather wasn't the solution. If anything, she was like adding gasoline to the fire. A fire that everyone thought had been extinguished, but it only takes one spark to reignite, and that spark was Heather.

The triplets waited until Heather had left before finally coming downstairs. Casey was ready to pretend nothing happened and go on like any other morning. He was hoping the triplets heard nothing and knew nothing of what went on with Heather or Severide, but he knew they probably heard something.

"Good morning," Casey greeted when they walked into the kitchen.

"Did you have a good night?" Jake teased with a grin.

"What?" Casey frowned.

"Well, if I had a girl sleep over, I'd have a good night." Jake said as he tried to keep from laughing.

Casey tried to hold back a grin, but he failed. "Amused, are you?"

"Oh very," Jake nodded. "If you can have a girl stay over, I can too, right?"

"Does this mean Tyler or Alex can sleep over?"

"No." Casey said firmly, mainly to Grace and Ellie, but he made sure to look at Jake as well. "Heather is a friend and only a friend. She fell asleep watching a movie last night and she spent the night on the couch."

"Jake used the same story last weekend with Rachel."

"It is not a story. That is what happened, and it is all that happened." Casey turned to Jake. "We still need to have a discussion about you and what happened last weekend."

Jake groaned. "I don't need the sex talk, or the respecting women talk."

"Maybe not, but you do need a respecting your uncle talk and a talk about following rules."

Jake sighed. "Fine but can we do it after school and without company."

Grace glared at her brother as Casey nodded. "Get your stuff; you're going to be late."

- SCHOOL –

"Did you hear?" Tyler asked Grace when she met him in the cafeteria at lunch.

She frowned. "Hear what?"