Matt Casey's nieces and nephew

Chapter 44

It all happened so fast.

It was a co-op day and Jake wanted to be at the firehouse with the guys, not volunteering at a charity run. He didn't get a choice, he had to be under supervision of his Uncle during co-op hours and since his Uncle was volunteering, Jake had to volunteer too. Casey thought it would be a good idea for Jake to volunteer and it was an added bonus that he wouldn't have to work the tent alone.

They were walking down the road before the race started. Dawson and Grace also Elle and Alexandra all had left to register and as much as Jake didn't want to volunteer, he really didn't want to run in the race. He didn't understand why his sisters wanted to run; Grace had never been a runner before, but when Dawson suggested they train together and run together, Grace agreed. Whilst Elle loved running since she was a toddler. She is a great runner. Jake figured Grace was running because it was a way for them to bond; Grace liked having certain things with people that were just between the two of them.

"Why are you so quiet?" Casey broke the silence.

Jake shrugged. "I'm tired."

"Am I going to hear something I don't want to
tonight?" Casey asked, referring to the parent-teacher conferences.

"No, it's not that." Jake sighed. "It's just, if I become a firefighter, I can't work for you as a candidate right?"

Casey frowned. "Who told you that?"

"I heard Dawson telling Shay she can't serve under you because you're involved." He said.

"We're related."

"It's not the same thing, Jake." Casey tried to reassure the teen. "This job runs deep in a lot of families. Look at Severide and Mills. Dawson can't work under me as a candidate because our relationship could compromise my judgement."

"But couldn't that happen with me too?"

"If anything, I'd be harder on you than most candidates. The CFD would never question whether I was judging you fairly." He explained.

"But would not working for me change your mind about being a firefighter?"

"I don't know." Jake shrugged. "I just never thought about working for anyone but you. I always thought it would be something we do together."

Casey put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "I know that you've never had the relationship with your Dad that most sons get to have. I've stepped in as much as I can and you don't owe me anything for that. If you don't want this, it's okay."

"I want this." Jake said. "I just want to do it with you."

Casey nodded, slinging his arm around Jake's shoulders as he pulled him to continue walking. They watched two young girls run by with balloons and Casey smiled. "I like the balloons." He called after them and turned to Jake when an explosion happened. They were both thrown back and landed on the ground, the wind knocked out of them and they were disoriented.

It was like slow motion and utter chaos all at the same time. Jake was okay, a little banged up and a lot scared, but okay. It took him a few minutes to register what happened and come to. It reminded him of the car accident, the ringing in his ears and his head pounding. There was smoke and dust everywhere and people were screaming and running around.

Casey forced himself to get up and immediately turned to help his struggling nephew. "Are you okay?" He asked, putting his hands on the sides of his face.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, his eyes wide and confused. "Yeah, I think so."

Casey pulled him into a comforting embrace for a few moments before rushing to help people. He was surprised that Jake jumped right in with him, offering help. Casey thought he might freeze up in the midst of all the commotion like most people do when seeing something traumatic. Casey continued to help until the fire department arrived on scene. As he was briefing the Chief, a paralyzing thought crossed his mind.