Matt Casey's nieces and nephew

Chapter 18

Casey watched the triplets as he explained the situation with Voight. He told them everything, from Curtis dying to Voight being released to him apologizing at the bar earlier. Hallie stood silently by his side but didn't say anything. She had been through all this with him, watched him change because of it and she was just as worried.

"Do you believe him?" Ellie asked looking scared. "Do you think he's going to back off?"

Casey hesitated as he glanced at Hallie. "I don't know, but I don't trust him. I can only hope he keeps his word."

"What do we do now?" Jake and Ellie looked at Grace, who hadn't said a word yet.

"We aren't going to do anything." Casey said. "I said I'd be honest with you but there isn't anything to do."

"Aren't you scared?" Grace looked up at him.

"What if this is just some plan to get you to let your guard down? He tried to kill you."

Casey kneeled in front of the twin girls seeing fear. "I'm not going to stop living my life because of him and I won't let him make my family live in fear. I said I'd be honest with you guys, so I'm telling you what's going on. But I don't want you to worry."

"How can we not?" Ellie asked and her and Grace's reaction and the look in their eyes is why Casey never wanted them to know.

"I know it's hard. But you can't get caught up in it." He explained. "Trust me, it doesn't help and it doesn't solve anything. Let's just keep moving on with our lives and if something comes up where we are put in danger, we will deal with it then. For now, I need you to trust me that everything will be okay."

Ellie was the quietest triple good grades good with friends but it wasn't always like that she was a loner getting bullied in LA by students and even left out at home. The only family she saw was her twin brother and sister and uncle Casey could it all get changed because of this Sargent Voight. Ellie never really told people things and hid her emotions but now being in a more safe home could this change will her passed come out.

Ellie and Grace both nodded but they exchanged a look with Hallie when Casey turned to Jake. Hallie ended up staying the night and Grace had mixed feelings about it. Even Jake seemed to be worried, but not about Hallie. Ellie liked Hallie and Grace liked Hallie, she really did, but she didn't want her uncle to get hurt again. Even if she desperately wanted her Jake and Ellie to have a motherly figure in her life. Dawson and Christie sometimes filled parts of that role, but it was never really complete. They needed a female presence in their life all the time. Maybe Hallie was the answer, but Grace wasn't quite ready to fully trust her just yet.

A week went by and Hallie and Casey were getting closer and spending more and more time together. Ellie and Jake didn't mind her being around and Grace was getting used to it. She had forgotten how much fun and easy Hallie was to talk to. But despite Casey's happiness, Ellie and Jake and Grace didn't like that he seemed to be spending more time with Hallie and less time with them.

Grace and Tyler made up and Rachel and Jake were going strong. Ellie began to start talking more to Alex. Both the basketball team and the cheerleading squad were getting ready for the weekend. The basketball team had a tournament and the cheerleaders had a competition. Both events were in the same place so that the cheerleaders could continue to cheer for their school teams. It was shaping up to be a good and fun weekend, until two chaperones cancelled. Even though the events were in Chicago, the school still decided to put the teams up in hotel rooms to create unity and to keep the teams focused. But without two more chaperones the school board wasn't going to let it happen.

The coaches had let it slip that having professionals, firefighters or paramedics, would really impress the school board. Ellie, Jake and Grace knew they were being signaled out but they understood. They were new, their 'parents' probably should take a turn chaperoning, but convincing members of the firehouse to watch a bunch of teenagers on their days off wasn't going to be easy.