Casey glanced around at the people gathered in the courtyard. It was a decent party, as far as these things went. The thing that amazed him was that Ellie had been able to find more than five people to pad the guest list. He'd been betting with himself for half the evening, wondering how many people actually knew Chuck and how many were there just for the free eats. The only one missing was Devon.
"Having fun?"
He glanced over as Ellie walked up to him, her beaming smile drawing a reluctant one from him. "Not much of a party guy myself," he admitted. "Just thought I'd show up to see how Chuck liked his gift." He'd ended up acquiring a TRON magazine signed by the cast and crew, as well as a pair of passes to the original premiere. He'd thought they were pretty boring, but his contact assured him that not only were they hard to find, any TRON fan would be thrilled to have them.
Ellie lit up, affirming that they'd been a hit. "It was the most amazing thing ever!" she exclaimed.
Casey raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were a TRONnie," he remarked. "Thought the nerd-worship ended with your little brother."
Ellie laughed. "I'm not. What I meant was, it was the most amazing thing ever for him, which means I have just collected about a thousand awesome-big-sister points, all thanks to you." It was true. Chuck, Morgan, Jeff, Lester, and the rest of Chuck's nerd friends had practically spontaneously combusted when Chuck had opened his present.
Casey was uncomfortable with the gratitude, especially since he wasn't even the one who'd procured it. "It was nothing." Actually, it had been a pain in the ass. He'd called his friend Sergeant Sawyer, the only man he knew who was as adept with gift-giving as he was with weaponry.
What a conversation that had been.
"Got a situation here. I promised a friend I'd come up with an amazing gift idea for her little brother and I don't have a friggin' clue what I'm going to tell her. I need your expertise."
"What are the subject's likes, hobbies?" Sawyer had asked brusquely.
Casey's mind went blank. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" he growled.
Sawyer snorted. "Y'know, Major, you've been trained to notice details, be aware of your surroundings, that type of thing. One would think you'd have picked up an interest or two."
Casey rolled his eyes. "The kid is a major pain in the ass, Sawyer. I pay as little attention to him as possible." He paused. "He's a nerd. Computers, electronics, etcetera."
"No good. Too common. If you're going to wow with this gift, it has to be something out of the ordinary, something he can't get at his local Buy More."
Casey felt helpless. Damn Ellie. It was all her fault he was worrying about a stupid birthday gift for Bartowski instead of reviewing the specs for the job at the embassy. "Can't you give me some kind of generic idea that any normal person would think is awesome?"
Sawyer chuckled. "Tell you what, I'll make it easy for you. Take pictures of the sub's room, what's on his walls, his CD and DVD collection, clothes, and so on. I'll come up with something."
Casey smirked. Easy. Right. Now getting the perfect gift for Ellie for Chuck involved him actually doing something. At least it meant he could break into Bartowski's room and mess with him. Steal his TRON poster or some-. "Wait! He likes TRON, that movie from the eighties. Does that help?"
"Might. I'll check around, see if there's any kind of rare memorabilia. Get me a couple other ideas in case this one busts."
"Thanks, Sergeant. I owe you for this."
"No problem, Major. I like having a marker from a superior officer," Sawyer said with an easy laugh.
Casey disconnected, breathing a sigh of relief. That ought to buy him some major points with Ellie.
Remembering it now made him grimace. Who knew what Sawyer was going to make him do in return for that little favor?
"Well, at any rate, I owe you big time," Ellie promised him, linking her arm through his and guiding him back into her apartment. Casey considered, and decided that her owing him was worth him owing Sawyer.
Casey snagged a handful of chips and a bowl of salsa and sat down on the couch, relieved to be away from the loudest of the party noise. Ellie had refused to have a bunch of half-drunk degenerates ruin her home, so they'd set everything up outside. He could still hear the music and the shouts and laughter, but it was blessedly muffled.
"So where's Doc Awesome?" he asked, finally getting the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity regarding Devon's apparent absence.
It was the wrong thing to say-or maybe, the right one. Ellie's eyes dimmed and she struggled to hide her disappointment. "He's at work," she said, and it was apparent there was something else she wanted to say, but didn't.
He waited a beat. "On Chuck's birthday?"
It spilled out. "He's always at work. He's never home anymore. When I reminded him about the party, he just said, 'Babe, it's not like he'll never have another birthday. Tell him I said 'grats on turning the big 3-0 and I'll give him his present tomorrow.' Then he left. Like it was no big deal. He didn't even apologize."
Casey didn't know what to say. Relationship advice was not his forte. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Ellie needed advice, just someone to listen.
"We work opposite shifts, he plays games and works out when we are home together. It's like he's taking me for granted. Worse, I think he just might be tired of our relationship." Her eyes glistened, and Casey started to panic. Tears were definitely not his forte.
She took a deep, steadying breath, and he could see her mentally straightening herself. She lifted her chin and the tears that were beginning to well up dried away. He smiled inwardly. Good girl, he applauded mentally. His Ellie had spine.
"If he has, I'll deal with it. He's not the only man in the world." She watched him as she said it, and he took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"No. He isn't."