Chicago Fire FanFic (English)

Chapter 41

4 weeks later:

When Caleb got home from school that afternoon, he couldn't find anyone in the house. "Hello? Anyone home?" Caleb asked. Then he heard voices from below. He went downstairs and opened the door to the home theater. There everyone sat snuggled together and watched the movie Madagascar. Caleb leaned against the door frame and went over the last few months in his head. "Kiki." Lydia said excitedly, snapping Caleb out of his thoughts. "Oh hey, big one.'' Have you been there long?" Kelly asked. "No, just got here." Caleb said. "Will you sit down with us?" Sylvie asked. "I'm meeting the boys. I just brought my school bag." Caleb said. "No. You have to stay here." Benjamin said, holding Caleb's legs. "Serious? You want to play this game?" Caleb asked his little brother. "You can't leave now." Benjamin grinned. "Dad." Caleb said, asking for help. "Come here Benny. Give your brother some free rein." Kelly said. "When you're my age you'll be the same." Caleb said. "No, I won't." Benjamin said. "Yes, you will. Believe me." Caleb said, picking him up and putting him back on the couch. "When are you home?" Stella asked. "I won't be gone long. We're just going to the mall. The new FIFA game is coming out today." Caleb said. "I should never have given you the prepaid card." Kelly said, shaking his head. "This is the first time I using it since the Thailand vacation." Caleb said. "Have fun." Stella said. "Thanks. See you later." Caleb said and left the room. "He hangs out with his friends a lot, doesn't he?" Andrew asked. "Yes, they do a lot together. They've known each other for 10 years." Matt said. "Wow, that's long." Julian said. "They basically grew up together then." Andrew said. "You could say that, yes." Kelly said.

At the mall Nigel, Blake, Zane, Liam and Caleb met. "I've looked before. The game costs $70." Zane said. "I have my credit card. There should still be enough money left." Caleb said. "You have a credit card?" Nigel asked in astonishment. "Yes. My dad gave it to me the day we flew to Thailand." Caleb said. The guys went in and headed straight for the game store. "What console are you buying it for?" Blake asked. "I think for the PS5. That's the one I use the most at the moment." Caleb said. "Are the other consoles actually still working?" Zane asked. "Yes, flawless. Even my PS2, my PSP and all the Wii's, Nintendo's and Game Boys. Unfortunately, you won't find any more games for it. But it's still working." Caleb said. "Exactly how many video game consoles do you own?" Blake asked. "17." Caleb said. "Whoa, that's a lot. And your dad bought them all for you?" Nigel asked. "They all. I got the consoles for either Christmas or my birthday though." Caleb said. "You didn't have to wait long. There's only 7 days between Christmas and your birthday." Liam said. "That's the advantage." Caleb said. The boys bought the game and then walked a bit through the shopping center. "Would you like some ice cream? I'll pay." Nigel said. The others agreed and they went to an ice cream parlor near the exit.

"I'm home again." Caleb said as he walked in the door. "Caleb, come on." Kelly said, waving him into the kitchen. "Erm. Yes. Sure." Caleb said a little unsure and followed his dad into the kitchen. In the kitchen, Andrew and Julian sat on one side of the table and the adults on the other. "What's the matter? Did something happen?" Caleb asked. "No, nothing happened. We just want to talk to you about the new house rules." Sylvie said. "Okay." Caleb said. "Sit down." Stella said and Caleb sat down next to Julian. "As you know, we've registered on Babysitterworldwide." Stella said. "Yeah, but it sounds like it didn't work." Caleb said. "The agency called and told us it might be a while before they found someone." Sylvie said. "It's just too big a job looking after 13 children and 10 of them are under the age of 8." Matt said. "That's why we want you to help us a bit around the house." Kelly said. "OK. Yes. Of course." Andrew said. "We've put together some new rules for you three." Matt said. "Your main tasks will be loading and unloading the two dishwashers, setting and clearing the table, taking out the garbage and doing the laundry." Stella said. "What does take care of the laundry mean, exactly?" Julian asked. "You load and unload the washing machines and hang up the laundry." Sylvie said. "Or we can just stuff the laundry in the dryer." Caleb said. "You can do that too, but it won't come out well. Not all clothes are suitable for the dryer." Sylvie said. "Caleb, you may also help us cook now and then." Kelly said. "Am I finally old enough for this?" Caleb asked. "Why?" Andrew asked. "I've always wanted to help cook a little, but I was always 'too small' for it." Caleb said. "You're going to have to do some sideline work, too." Kelly said. "Okay, and which ones?" Caleb asked. "You keep your rooms clean. Then you have to vacuum or mow the lawn every now and then." Matt said. "OK. That's fine." Caleb said and the other two nodded in agreement. "Okay, we've settled that then." Stella said. "Caleb, I'd like to speak to you privately." Kelly said. "OK. Should I be worried now?" Caleb asked. "No. Let's go to your room." Kelly said. The two went upstairs and into Caleb's room. "So, what's up?" Caleb asked, sitting on the bed. "Stella and I had a little chat and decided it's time we both started spending more time together." Kelly said. "Are you serious?" Caleb asked. "I've realized how much you've had to do without in the last few years and I know that we can't catch up on everything. But maybe we can do our traditional father/son weekends again this way." Kelly said. "That would be great." Caleb said. Kelly stroked through Caleb's hair, got up and started to leave the room. "Dad?" Caleb asked. "Mhmm?" Kelly asked, turning around again. "Since we had to cancel our Jurassic World cinema visit, could we maybe make up for it next week?" Caleb asked cautiously. "The three of us or just the two of us?" Kelly asked. "The three of us, but only if mom wants too." Caleb said. "Well, we have the next weekend off, what do you think if we go then?" Kelly asked. Caleb nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Mom and see what she thinks." Kelly said. "Okay." Caleb said. "Are you coming down too or are you staying up here?" Kelly asked. "I'm coming down too. The little ones will surely want to play with me. However, I still have homework to do and 2 more exams to study for." Caleb said, scratching the back of his head. "Then they'll have to manage without you today." Kelly said. "Yes, unfortunately." Caleb said. "They'll survive." Kelly said, and the two went downstairs.