New York, Chicago

Chapter 41: The School Project

"Who are you doing?" As Elizabeth and Leòn sit in the firehouse with Gabby and Shay, they try to go over their school project together. "I did mine on Cruz and my Tio in Florida. Who are you doing?"

"I've got my grandpa," getting closer, Elizabeth whispers to Leòn, "I want to do the Chief as my other grandparent" shrugging his shoulders, "then do it. Doesn't Sergeant Voight always say 'family don't end in blood princess'" laughing at his interpretation of her grandfather. "Never, and I mean ever do that interpretation again"

Both kids went to two different schools, but they had the same project. They had to do a presentation on two family members. Elizabeth was given the task of doing both grandfathers.

Seeing that Hank would obviously be the first, she wanted Wallace Boden to be the second. They spent lots of time together, and he's a better father, grandfather, and role model than Benny.

Getting up enough courage, Elizabeth grabs some of her materials and heads to his office.

——

Knocking on Chief Boden's door, Elizabeth waits for a response before entering. Walking in, Elizabeth sees the Chief on the phone. Sitting on one of the chairs in the front of his desk, "Elizabeth, what can I do for you?"

"I have a project for school, and I need to talk about my grandfathers. I've already done Voight...and I want to do you as well." Sitting back in his seat, Wallace is stunned.

Elizabeth knew this would be something he'd be hesitant about, "Papa always tells me that family doesn't end in blood. And, I see you as my grandfather, and a huge role model at any times."

"Okay, let's do it then."

——

Elizabeth and the Chief had been working on the project for two hours now. Kelly went looking for his daughter, wondering if she was hungry and needing to see if she was overworking herself on the homework.

Not finding her, Kelly begins to worry. Making his way to ask Connie, Kelly sees Elizabeth through his chief's window, comfortably writing in his office, and having with Kelly is guessing a conversation with him.

Curious, Kelly knocks on the door. Seeing his Chief wave him in, "I was just checking on Elizabeth, I couldn't find her at first."

"I'm good dad, just talking to Chief. I'm doing a project on him and grandpa. We're almost finished in here." Kelly could see the pride on his chief's face. "There's no rush, I'll be in my office if you guys need me"

——

Three Days Later:

Elizabeth was in the conference room at the firehouse. Leòn had already done his presentation, and he killed it. He told jokes, and really got the crowd involved.

Everyone from intelligence was present, as well as many from Med. When Trudy called Elizabeth up, Elizabeth could have passed out right there.

Walking up, Elizabeth takes one more breath before starting her presentation. "My teacher asked me to talk about my grandfathers and how they have impacted my life. The first two people who came to mind, were Hank Voight and Wallace Boden."

Taking a breath, Elizabeth refuses to look up, "something my mom and grandfather taught me was that family doesn't end in blood, and my presentation is a great representation of that."

"My grandfather, Hank Voight, is a sergeant in the 21st District. He's also over their intelligence unit. Having spent many days before and after school there, I can say that the unit is more of a dysfunctional family than anything else." Getting laughs all around the room, Elizabeth finally starts to feel comfortable.

"While yes, in the past, my grandfather has made some mistakes, it's the way he handled the situations and moved on from his actions that make all the difference today."

Hank was proud of Elizabeth. If it was him up there, he would have definitely frozen up. But for Elizabeth, she's a natural. And that's something he can guarantee she got from Sharon.

"Moving on to Wallace Boden, who is the Chief here at Firehouse 51. Every third shift, he leads the men and women here into dangerous fires, gas leaks, and sometimes explosions. But, he makes the tough decisions that many of us could never imagine having to do."

Kelly was shocked at first when he heard Elizabeth call Wallace a grandfather of hers, but he also saw Wallace as a father, and Wallace had taken Kelly under his wing years ago.

"No matter the challenge that my grandfather faces, he always trusts and believes in the choices he makes. He walks into a mission with his team, and he brings them all back home to their families."

Wallace was overly proud and honored to be mentioned in Elizabeth's report. He never knew that the child saw him as a grandparent until she approached him days ago.

"One thing that I can say about both of my grandfathers, is that because of their jobs, I am definitely going to medical school following my uncle's footsteps."

It didn't take long for Will to pipe up, as well as Ethan sending Elizabeth two thumbs up, "Amen!" Adam, Kevin, Gabby, and Shay were all hunched over in a corner, trying to hold back their laughs.

"I am proud to say that I come from a line of detectives and firefighters. My family puts their lives on the line every day to keep the city of Chicago safe, and they are the true definition of heroes. Thank you."