Gracies POV (6 Years Old)
"Ok, remember what I said?" Jay asked me for the millionth time and I huffed,
"I know Jay" I complained but stopped when I saw the look he gave me in the rearview mirror "be on my best behaviour and do everything I'm told to" I repeated "jeez" I muttered as Jay pulled his truck to a stop outside of firehouse 51,
"I mean it Gracie" he turned towards me "you could just as easily come to work with me and sit in the break room all day" he threatened "if I get a phone call saying you're not behaving then I'm gonna have to come get you and I won't be too happy about it" he lectured and I nodded. Jay jumped out of the truck and opened the back door for me to also jump out. We walked hand in hand up the driveway and saw Kelly and a few others sitting at the squad table,
"Hey Jay" he greeted "hey squirt" he smiled to me and I smiled back at him,
"Hey Kelly" my brother greeted "thanks for watching her" he said "she could come to the district with me but we're super swamped at the minute and she get's bored there real quick" he explained,
"No worries man" Kelly shook his head "there's enough big kids here to keep her entertained for a while, isn't that right Gracie" he asked me and I giggled and nodded in reply "why don't you go on inside, I'm pretty sure that there are some pancakes to be had" he informed me and I looked up at Jay who nodded,
"Bye Jay" I said as I gave him a quick hug before darting off in to the communal area,
"Hey Gracie" Mouch greeted from his place on the couch "how's my favourite Halstead doing today?" He asked and I smiled back at him,
"I'm good" I replied and he nodded with a smile,
"That's great" he replied,
"You hungry kiddo?" Peter Mills asked me from his place in the kitchen "I got some fresh pancakes that are nearly done" he offered and I nodded gratefully,
"Hey, I thought the next batch where for me" Herrmann complained,
"But then Gracie came and won me over with her cuteness" Mills replied making me giggle,
"That's unfair, there's no way I can compete with that" he insisted as he ruffled my hair slightly.
I sat at the table with Otis and Cruz as I ate my pancakes happily and once I was done I took my empty plate back to the kitchen and in to the sink,
"Thank you for the pancakes" I thanked Peter as I had always been told to and he smiled down at me,
"You're very welcome" he replied "I'm gonna try and bake some brownies later if you wanna help me?" He asked and I nodded enthusiastically,
"Yes please" I smiled "I've only ever done baking with Hailey and Kim because Will and Jay are rubbish at it" I told him and he laughed "please can I go on my Nintendo?" I asked him,
"You'll have to ask Kelly that one kiddo, I don't know the rules" he admitted and I nodded as I walked over to Kelly who was stood talking to Casey by one of the trucks,
"Kelly" I said in a bid to get his attention "can I go on my Nintendo please?" I asked hopefully,
"Sure" he nodded "but your brother said no more than an hour" he told me and I nodded happily, already knowing the rule, before returning to the main room and fishing my Nintendo Switch out of my backpack.
I climbed up on to the couch and turned on my game that just so happened to be Mario Kart, my favourite,
"Hey Gracie" Otis greeted "whatcha playing?" He asked as he sat down next to me,
"Mario Kart" I informed him and he nodded,
"Huh?" I heard Mouch say from the opposite side of me,
"It's a game where you have to drive around different roads and do different things to make points and be faster" I explained as he looked at me confused,
"Who are the different funny looking characters?" He asked as he examined the three profile options on my screen,
"They're different people who have played and you can change the character you are" I continued to explain "see that's me" I said gesturing to princess peach "that's Jay" I pointed to Wario "and that's Will" I finished pointing to Yoshi "but my brothers are better than me, that's why they have more levels unlocked" I said with a slight huff,
"It's like a whole other language to me kiddo" he said as he took his leave and left the room,
"Wanna play with me?" I asked turning back to Otis who nodded,
"Sure" he accepted "I've not played in a while though so you'll have to go easy on me" he said and I laughed slightly as I began to set up a new profile under his name,
"You should be Mario because you look like him" I stated as I clicked on the character without giving him a choice in the matter,
"Oh my god, you know what Gracie you're right" Cruz exclaimed as he sat down where Mouch had previously beed sitting "I always knew you looked familiar but now I know" he laughed,
"It's the moustache" I told him and he smirked,
"You know what, this dude is the best plumber in the world. I'll take it" he shrugged and Cruz and I laughed at his statement.
We sat for a while playing on my Nintendo and Cruz ended up joining in after Otis kept calling him a 'back seat driver'...whatever that means.
"Hey Gracie" Kelly said from the table where he was sat with a mug of coffee "maybe it's time to put that away and do something else now" he suggested and I whined slightly,
"Awe, five more minutes" I pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes I could muster,
"Yeah five more minutes" Otis repeated and copied my actions along with Cruz causing me to giggle,
"Fine, five minutes" Kelly caved with a smirk "but it's not for you two" he stated pointing at the two firefighters who had gone back to the game.
The five minutes where soon up and this time Kelly was determined that it was time to put my Nintendo away which I did with a slight sigh,
"What am I supposed to do now" I complained as I face planted the sofa,
"Read a book" Herrmann suggested and I looked at him like he was a crazy man,
"I can't read properly" I told him and he shrugged,
"All the more reason to practice" he stated,
"Only if you help me" I bargained,
"Now that I can do" he agreed and everyone looked at him skeptically "what?" He questioned offendedly "I have five kids I know what I'm doin'" he defended,
"I know what it's called" I said proudly as I pulled the book from my backpack "'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'" I read out as I used my finger to travel along the words,
"Very good" Herrmann praised as I sat down between him and Mouch on the sofa.
I read a few pages of my book until I was about half way through when I began to get tired of reading so we decided to put the book away and instead I did some colouring.
It soon came around to lunch time and Peter made me a ham and cheese sandwich along with a glass of juice to go with it. I ate my sandwich happily and once I was done Peter said we could make the brownies. He let me do most of the stuff on my own but he was always there to help and assist if I needed it. He even let me lick the spoon once they had gone in the oven!
"Something smells good over here" Casey commented as he walked over to the kitchen,
"We're making brownies" I told him proudly, making him smile.
"My favourite" he commented,
"You can have one when they come out the oven" I told him,
"Thanks Gracie" he said as he ruffled my hair playfully "corner pieces are my favourite" he whispered with a wink causing me to giggle.
A short while later the brownies where ready to come out of the oven and we waited patiently for them to cool before Peter helped me cut them up.
"Can we hand some out?" I asked making Peter smile,
"Sure you can" he nodded "how about we put some to one side for you to take home first?" He suggested.
"And some for Will and Jay as well?" I asked,
"Of course some for Will and Jay" he nodded as he took a few brownies and wrapped them up in tin foil.
We put the rest on to a plate and I began to offer one to anyone I could see, making sure to leave a corner piece for Casey. I walked through the sleeping quarters towards his office and lightly knocked on the door.
"Come in" Caseys voice spoke from the other side of the door and I carefully pushed it open. Casey turned around in his desk chair and a smile spread across his face when he saw me,
"I saved you a corner piece" I told him as I held out the plate for him to take the brownie from "I had to stop Cap from stealing it though" I added making him laugh.
"I knew I could count on you" he said as he took a bite from the chocolatey treat "these are amazing kiddo" he praised "have you taken one to the chief yet?" He asked "he loves a brownie" he added.
"I'll go and give him one now" I told him as I turned to leave,
"Just make sure you knock on the door first though ok?" He asked and I silently nodded.
As Casey had suspected the chief was more that happy with my offer of a sweet treat and my plate was soon empty.
I spent the rest of the day doing different colourings and drawings that I had brought with me and I even drew a special picture that Cruz put straight up on the refrigerator.
"And as you can see she's been a terror all day long" I heard Kelly say jokingly and I turned around to see him and Jay walking in to the room,
"Jay Jay" I exclaimed as I ran over to him and launched in to his arms.
"Hello to you too" Jay laughed as I wrapped my arms around his neck "have you been good?" He asked and I nodded assuredly,
"Yep" I told him proudly "I made brownies and taught mouch all about Mario cart and I drew a picture and Cruz put it on the refrigerator" I rambled excitedly.
"That's great" he smiled before putting me back on to the floor "go and grab all your stuff so we can get you home" he instructed. I packed all of my things away in my backpack and grabbed my jacket and brownies before walking back over to my brother "I really appreciate you guys watching her today" Jay said as he rested a hand on top of my head,
"It's no trouble" Kelly assured,
"Feel free to drop her off anytime you want" Sylvie said as she sent a wink in my direction.
"What do you say Gracie?" Jay prompted,
"Thank you" I said to everyone in the room making them all smile. Best day ever!