Author's Note:
This story is dedicated to Night Lotus. It was supposed to be for her birthday, way back….in *mumble mumble* but as I predicted, it ended up being a lot longer in the making. I asked for a prompt and she said "Drive In Cinema." Happily for me, it fitted perfectly with a one-shot idea I came up with yonks ago. So that's the reason why it got all lengthy.
Cheers for Kuryakinsgirl for correcting some of my British wordage and letting me know the characters are still okay.
Do enjoy. I do not own the characters….those dudes that created Chuck do.
Rated for a reason. J
Also, mistakes are my own. There's bound to be some in here…I'm not a professional writer. My spelling does suck as does me grammar.
Christening The Crown
Chuck had suggested the place to Casey, the old drive in movie theatre was an old favourite of the Bartowski clan as Chuck had insisted he and Ellie go numerous times in their past.
When Casey had asked his sister out for the evening Chuck had been quite shocked, more than shocked. He choked, spluttered and babbled for quite a number of minutes before finally accepting it, or rather Chuck accepted the fact that the NSA Colonel wanted to do something nice for his sister. Ever since Devon had gone, Ellie had been so down and these past few months she had been acting like a zombie just going through her daily routine. Not enjoying herself, not moving on.
If there was one person who could cheer up Ellie besides Chuck, it was Casey. Chuck had noticed the tall marine's concern for her, he saw Casey sneak over a few times to her apartment with pies he baked for her…he was one of the few people who made Ellie smile.
And he had just by inviting her away for the evening. Gone was the sadness from her eyes, replaced by a gleaming joy and a smile that Chuck had missed seeing for so long.
"Here's a nice film for you both." Chuck handed Casey the flyer and smiled at the grimace Casey pulled at it. "Don't worry, it's not a chick flick."
"Sounds like one." he scoffed, frowning in clear distaste.
"But its got car chases, shoot outs and…big explosions!" Again Chuck got a grimace in reply. He slapped the back of his hand playfully on Casey's chest and ignored the low rumbles that often came before impending doom. "Things blow up, Casey! Surely you'll love that!"
"Your sister won't like it much."
"Big guy, she will love it. Its got that right amount of romance, sufficient action, a good twisty plot that will keep you guessing till the end and it will also make you-yes you-laugh. It's the perfect movie!"
"You sure she will like it? I thought perhaps I could take her to her favourite restaurant-."
"Casey…this place is an old Bartowski hang out. This will be much better than going for a meal! Ellie and I have been there so many times we have our own meal deal. Two super large cokes, two hotdogs, popcorn, lightly salted and buttered, one large bag of M&Ms AND-!"
"A bad stomach ache?"
"No! A large tub of rocky road ice cream!"
"That'll melt."
"Which is why you take the cooler with you." Chuck lifted up the blue box from the floor and grinned as Casey snatched it from his hand. "Enjoy yourself, Casey. Make Ellie happy, order the Bartowski special, watch the film and have her back before mid-night…right?"
The warning growl that responded only made Chuck's grin spread wider over his face.
"You're gonna love it!"
So Casey took Ellie to the drive in movies.
The huge cinema complex was very much like the one Fulcrum had built their base under, yet this one wasn't even the slightest bit run down, nor did it have that abandoned look. In fact it was just the opposite, a lot of people had turned up for this film and they had to queue to get in but Casey was lucky they turned up on time, any later and they would have missed the trailers. Casey was informed that Ellie didn't like to miss the trailers.
"You have a beautiful car, John." said Ellie running her hand lovingly over the leather seat beneath her. "You've taken such wonderful care of her."
"Thank you. I try my best to make her shiny."
"Unlike some owners with their cars around here."
He had to agree with her, most of the vehicles were in poor condition as their owners obviously failed in looking after them. There were a couple of cars that looked as if they could barely run.
Casey drove up to the food stand and as Chuck had suggested, he ordered the "Bartowski special." The smile on her face was instant, it was one of joyful surprise even though her bottom lip lightly pouted in an adoring "I can't believe you did that!" manner. She jiggled slightly with barely restrained excitement as she helped to take some of the food and drink from Casey's hands.
Casey paid the money over and slowly pulled away to look for a suitable parking spot in front of the screen. A couple of times he gazed over to Ellie who had managed to balance popcorn, drink, hot dogs and candy perfectly in her arms and on her lap. He tensed as he hoped that nothing liquid, greasy or buttery would spill on his leather seats.
"There's a space." Ellie pointed with a hand over towards the tree, though the squeezing of her hand on the cup didn't make John's tension ease. Casey noticed the vacant spot and parked the Crown Vic with ease, taking one of the large cokes and hotdogs from Ellie when all was settled. He also snagged a box of the popcorn and placed it on his own lap. Ellie put the tub of ice cream in the cooler box nestled between her feet and then leaned forward to gaze longingly at the large screen. The adverts were still going and the volume was quite loud but Casey wasn't interested in what people wanted to sell him (unless there happened to be an ad for Wep-con) he was however worried. Worried about what would happen to his precious Vic with all this food in the car.
"You can actually stomach that?" he sneered when Ellie took several large bites out of her hot dog. He saw the mustard seeping out from the bun and he couldn't help but grimace. His own one looked and positively smelled awful. "It looks disgusting."
"Oh…it is!" Ellie said, with her mouth full. She winced and then took several large sips of her drink to wash it down. "I could make better ones from scratch, but Chuck has always said its part of the experience. Eat horrible hot dogs, eat too much candy, drink lots of drink and then miss part of the movie you're watching because you have to pee."
John smirked. It was a very Chuck thing to say. But that's what most people did when they came to places like this. The food maybe bad but that's what was supposed to be memorable about it.
Ellie liked good, well prepared and cooked food, so it was strange to see her indulge in something like this.
"What are we here to see?" she asked eventually, as it became clear she was getting frustrated with how long the adverts were lasting. Casey carefully manoeuvred the food in his hand and somehow managed to get the flyer Chuck had given him, out of his back pocket. He gave it to Ellie who nodded in approval.
"This sounds like fun." she said. "Thank you for bringing me here. I get this impression that you're not quite comfortable. You don't come to the cinema often?"
"Not really." John mumbled, grimacing once again as his stomach rumbled and complained about the food. He didn't want to eat it, yet it was calling out to be eaten. He nibbled reluctantly at the bun and the meat and realised that his first instincts were right. It was disgusting.
Ellie had finished hers now and Casey watched her screw up the wrapper and look around for a place to dispose of it. That fearing tension clasped at his body as he thought she would leave it somewhere in his car. He also hoped that she wouldn't spill her drink or drop some popcorn.
It dawned on him as to why he was allowing the consumption of food and beverages in his prized possession when he never allowed it.(Well not after the whole Morgan and the burger relish incident.)
It was Ellie, this whole evening was about her and making her happy. He had seen her go through so much; the death of her father, finding out about Chuck and what he had become, losing Devon. Ellie had this feeling of guilt and remorse that had been plaguing her and nothing anyone else did eased her suffering. Ever the strong and resilient woman, Ellie carried on with her life, but it wasn't her. Casey had kept out of her way, busied himself with his own job and the missions, until one day he had seen her finally break down. Her sadness was impossible to ignore, her grief affected him a lot more than he was letting on, more than he thought possible. When he finally began to spend time with Ellie, he noticed she drew comfort and strength from him, she smiled…just that little bit more.
Bringing her here tonight was getting her closer and closer to becoming the woman he had grown fond of.
Breaking out of his contemplation, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Ellie leaning forward to put her coke on the dash of his car. Instincts took over and his hand shot out to touch her.
"No!"
He made her jump which frightened him even more when the tub of popcorn in her lap nearly up ended. He made a grab for her drink but his own hand was holding the nibbled hotdog. His anxiety made him squeeze the bun and as the ketchup oozed over his fingers and smeared on hers, he cussed under his breath.
"Not on the dash. Please. The condensation will leave a mark on the…"
He was nearly in full on panic mode as the sauce on Ellie's fingers threatened to drip all over his car. Again Casey mentally chastised himself for thinking more about his car than her.
"We can eat outside if you wish." said Ellie noticing and looking concerned about Casey's fear. "We'll be able to see the screen more clearly and I won't spill anything in your car."
Casey managed to breath a huge sigh of relief and he nodded his head. He opened the door and turned himself round to get out. He placed his popcorn and drink by the wheel on the grass and in a conveniently located trash bin, he dumped his hotdog. There was no way he was going to eat the rest of that without vomiting. Casey then went to the trunk of the Vic, pulled out a blanket and spread it out over the front of the car. Ellie climbed out and placed her own food just in front and she watched him with a rapt fascination. She was astonished further when Casey held out his hands to aid her onto the hood.
"I still have ketchup." she said waving her sauce covered fingers at him. "Do you have a napkin?"
"I didn't get any at the food stand. Sorry."
Napkins! Why didn't he think of napkins?
She shrugged her shoulders and then Ellie Bartowski lifted those fingers to her mouth and licked each one clean with her tongue. Casey's whole body stiffened as he became entranced at the very arousing way she sucked on her tips. Yeah, it was ketchup and probably it was the cheap nasty kind but she did it in the same way she had done with that peach he had given her only a few weeks ago. Something else was beginning to get aroused.
It wasn't exactly how he wanted to be on this…date.
Date?
He hadn't planned on it being this, he hadn't nor was he intending to make this evening anything but trying to make her happy. Coming here had done that. He should concentrate on watching Chuck's recommended film and keep it at that.
But the heat of this summer's evening was making him even more on edge, as was Ellie as after she picked up her drink, she hopped up onto the hood of his car. The Vic wobbled slightly under her weight but Casey was drawn to her and the dress she was wearing. The way the green hem shifted further up her legs and revealed more flesh, the way her long feathered brown hair cascaded over her bare shoulders, it made a rumble of desire coarse through him. His fists clenched and he tried to get rid of the crazy thoughts that kept popping up in his head. It wasn't working, it didn't help when she rolled the cold cup across the low neck line to cool her skin.
"Aren't you going to sit next to me, John?" she asked, bringing the straw to her lips and taking a sip. She patted the space beside her. "The trailers are starting."
Casey shifted nervously on his feet and picked up his own drink and then hitched himself up. He winced as something hard jabbed into his back and after adjusting his gun in the back of his pants, he was able to scooch up. The car wobbled, protested with his extra mass and Casey patted the edge beside him. Affectionately.
"Sorry." he whispered.
"What did you say?" Ellie queried, tearing her attention away from the trailers.
"Nothing. I was just clearing my throat."
"You were talking to your car, weren't you?" she chuckled, elbowing him in the arm with a playful nudge. Casey frowned but that was only brief as the jolt then tingled warmly along his arm. Ellie laughed some more and then rolled over to reach down on the ground. "I do it all the time! Though I'm not as polite to mine as you are to yours. The way you look after your Victoria, you could never call her a piece of crap!"
Ellie rolled onto her back and shook the popcorn at John in offering. He declined respectfully. She popped a few of the pieces into her mouth and looked back up at the screen.
"Thank you for bringing me here, John." Ellie's eyes fleeted between the screen and Casey, noticing the distance he was trying to keep and the tension in his body. "I haven't been here in a long time."
"It was Chuck's idea for the cinema." he said as if he was giving a report to Beckman. "I was going to take you to that restaurant you liked…the one with the fish?"
"John, that's so thoughtful, but here or at the restaurant, I'm pleased that I'm able to be with you. You've done a lot and you've made me feel like my old self again. You've not pressured me or demanded anything of me. Men don't normally do that."
"I'm pleased that you're pleased." he replied, still sounding very formal. If it was possible, Casey tensed up even more when she put the popcorn on the edge and touched his arm.
"John? Relax, please? You're not on duty now." Ellie paused and lightly tilted her head to the side. "Or are you?"
"I'm always on duty."
"Very well." Ellie straightened up and adopted a slight mocking formal tone. "I order you to relax, Colonel Casey. Is that understood?"
John allowed a soft smile to form upon his face. He managed to bring up his hand for a salute.
"Of course, Doctor Bartowski. I shall obey."
He didn't relax much, but then how could he when her hand trailed down his arm and covered the back of his hand? This was too close, she was complicating his plan. It was just supposed to be a trip to the movies, not frustrating as hell.
Yet the longer he looked at her, the more he was becoming lost. The sound of the cinema trailed away into a hazed back round buzz and everything but her became a blur. Her eyes were shining again, like they used to at the family dinners he was invited to, and then he really was lost.
"Regular or nuts?"
"Huh?"
"M & Ms?" Two bags of candy rattled in front of Casey's face and broke him from his daze.
Dammit, he'd zoned out again?
"Do you want regular or nuts? I don't fancy the peanuts right now. Not sweet enough."
"We can share the chocolate ones." he said.
"You won't hog them all?"
"Who do you think I am, Doctor?"
"Chocolate M&M's for two it is then!"
Having agreed to share, Ellie threw the yellow bag on the ground and opened the brown, offering Casey a few pieces of the candy first before placing the bag between them. Ellie clawed a few M&Ms from the bag and looked up to see the trailers.
Whilst she was focused the first one, Casey decided to keep himself distracted from her for the moment. He trained his focus onto the surroundings making a more detailed observation of who and what was nearby. When they had arrived, he had mentally mapped out all the exits and possible escape routes in case "work" interrupted and they were attacked. He took note of the people parked around them and although they appeared harmless enough, he knew that if any of them tried anything, he could handle them. Probably with just one hand tied behind his back.
Once he was satisfied that he had covered all the bases, Casey relaxed (again just a tiny teeny bit) and looked at the trailers.
Rubbish.
Rubbish.
Seen it. It was rubbish.
Ugh, chick flick.
Sci-fi crap.
Dumb-ass college comedy.
Rubbish.
Oh. That one looks cool.
It was not a great selection of films, but at last the main attraction was beginning. Leaning back against his windscreen, (he's going to have to wash Vicky after tonight) Casey breathed a few calming breaths, drank some more of his drink and grabbed at the sugar coated chocolates as he concentrated on the film. He seemed to calm, relax more as the opening titles displayed on the giant screen, but that calm didn't last for long.
He reached for the bag of candy again, but instead of gathering the different coloured sweets, his fingers caught Ellie's. His head shot round and both of them caught each other's startled gazes and their hands pulled away at the static and excitable shock that passed between them. Both of them tensed yet the red flush on Ellie's cheeks and her beautiful yet slightly embarrassed smile revealed how that touch had made her feel.
He couldn't take his eyes off her. As the slight evening breeze wafted her hair in her face and she swept it back with a stroke of her hand, Casey simply refused to look away. The film held no interest but when both of them tried to get back to following the plot, Casey couldn't concentrate. Mere seconds passed when he reached for the chocolates again, only this time it wasn't just a gentle caress or graze. Their fingers automatically entwined together and they began to play and fondle before he took hold of her hand completely. Feeling her look at him, Casey turned to her and he saw her eyes brighten and dazzle when her thumb caressed the back of his hand. He reacted by doing the same, adding a gentle squeeze with his palm. The playing continued, their fingers explored and teased and their eyes read the intentions, the new sudden wants that both of them were now clearly projecting. Casey's body juddered as the want to touch her more increased to a level he could barely contain.
This wasn't supposed to be happening.
All Ellie needed was to be happy not to have some aging spy try to seduce her.
He was denying it, he had to. So Casey closed his eyes, yet when he opened them she seemed even more breathtaking. She was biting her bottom lip in that nervous but adorable way she did when she wanted something and she wasn't wanting another handful of M&Ms.
Then he realised he was leaning. Leaning over towards her. He had dropped his drink over the front of the car and his cold hand cupped her cheek before his lips brushed lightly with longing against hers. They were soft, moist and cold, he tasted the coke she had been drinking and then a flush of warmth rushed in his mouth as Ellie reacted back to his kiss.
She rolled over on to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and he respond by supporting her with his arm around her waist. With her body pressed against him, with the lush soft sensation of her lips moving over his mouth, everything inside him roared.
His heart began to beat faster and harder in his chest, his lungs screamed for her breath and he yearned and craved to touch more of her. The kiss still remained gentle despite his urges and despite that Ellie was now rhythmically grinding herself against his hips, that changed when Casey supported his grip behind her neck and further down on her waist.
There was a crunching sound as Casey rolled them both and the M&Ms crushed beneath Ellie's body. She wasn't disturbed in the slightest at that but craved for more as the kiss intensified and as Casey's large hand palmed at her bottom. The blanket on the hood began to slip and it dragged the amorous couple down and when Casey's feet touched the ground, he had to stand and ease Ellie down from the car. The kiss broke, leaving them both panting heavy breaths.
Ellie didn't say anything, she stepped into him and rested her cheek against his deep heaving chest. Her hands touched and held at his hips and eventually John allowed himself to envelop his huge arms around her shoulders. His face leaned down to rest on the top of her head and through his recovering breaths, he could smell the coconut scent of her silky hair.
The silence was uncomfortable. The reality of their first and sudden kiss finally sunk into him. His swollen lips were desperately wanting to find hers again but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I'm sorry." he whispered into her hair. "This is too fast. I didn't mean to-."
"Yes. You did mean to." Ellie tilted her head up and looked directly into his eyes. There was genuine worry in those blazing blues and there was fearful expression upon his rugged flustered face, no doubt about having kissed her so suddenly. "And no, it's not too fast. I needed to know."
"Know what?" Casey asked in puzzlement.
Her hand reached up and touched his tense jaw.
"What it was like to kiss you. If I wanted more."
"D-do you?"
A shy yet wanting smile graced her face and once again she bit her bottom lip.
As if he had to ask. She was giving him all the signs wasn't she? Was the fact that her body was pressing against him, her hands stroking his face not clear enough for him?
"Ellie, you've just come out of a-"
"If you think I'm using you as my rebound then you are a fool, John Casey. I know what I'm doing, what I want. Question is…do you?"
Casey closed his eyes.
"I know what I would like, Ellie. It's not that simple. I feel like…this is…what I do, my job and who I am…it's complicated."
When he opened them, Ellie's expression was so certain and confident.
"Don't I know it." Then she sighed, frustrated a little by his wavering doubt. "So why did you invite me out on this date, John? Did you want to or was it really all Chuck's doing?"
Casey placed his hand over hers that still rested on his face and he let out a whisper of a breath against her palm.
"I asked you because I wanted to see you. I wanted to see Eleanor Bartowski again, who she was before she became so sad. So hollow."
Her body began to shake and she choked as she let loose a brief sob. She sunk into him, going limp as her burdens and fears flowed from her body. She had needed to hear those words, words that no one else had offered to her until now. She was shaking, so all Casey did was hold her tightly and rock her to ease those trembles. He didn't know how long it was for, but eventually he felt her move, squirm and once again she was looking up at him.
She looked so happy.
"You wanted to spend time with me?" she asked again.
"Yes."
"Then right now, there is no problem. Not with you or your government job and not with me. I'm done wallowing. John, you've woken me up, so why don't we stop talking and you can kiss me again."
"But-!"
Ellie pressed a single finger to his lips to silence him.
"Do you need me to make it an order, Colonel?" she asked with a new teasing and playful glint in her eyes. She bit her lip again to tempt him more.
"No ma'am." He nodded in confirmation of her order.
Then he followed it out.
Both his hands cupped her face and Casey moved in to kiss her again. Ellie staggered beneath the immense surge of his powerful lips and her grip which nearly ripped at his shirt, rose up and tangled into his hair. She had to stand on tip toe a couple of times to make sure that she could keep interlocked with him yet the feel of his tongue within, the feel of it coaxing and playing with hers, it only made her legs turn to jelly. Instantly, John's hands whipped down from her face to her waist to prevent her from falling to the ground and her squeeze around his neck drew the kiss on.
It was his turn to stagger. Casey turned round, lifting Ellie up off the ground and in doing so upset his balance. His legs buckled and impacted with the bumper of the Vic. That sent him tumbling along the side of it until his back slammed against the door. Such an impact turned him round and he pressed Ellie up against the window.
When one of Ellie's legs coiled round his waist, all innocence of their first kiss, all doubt and any second thoughts of what might happen vanished. This moment was now and both of them needed it and had to unleash everything that had been pent up for so long. Casey brought her other leg around him and used his mass to keep her up against the Crown Vic as his hands curled and twisted in her hair.
Though this was a new and unexpected turn in their relationship, Casey could feel something more from her. She was wanting to give him everything, she was wanting everything of him.
It saddened him that he wanted to, but wouldn't be able to. Not yet, not now.
"Do you mind?" a voice from a few cars back screamed at them. "We're trying to watch the film here! We didn't pay good money to watch you suck face!"
Casey growled. His body stiffened with anger at being yelled at and so he let Ellie drop to her feet and broke apart the kiss. The scowl of rage creased his face and the rumble in his chest still reverberated, but Ellie wasn't going to allow him to leave her. She patted at his chest and rubbed his stomach to settle his brewing anger, then she had to pat his face just a little bit harder to get him to turn back round.
The anger disappeared and a smile replaced that gruff threatening expression. A much more contented and deeper moan came from him, it pulsed against her trembling lips and Ellie couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She caught the back of his hand and held it as she lead him to the back of the car. She opened the door and sank down inside, pulling him after her.
Casey pulled the door shut behind them.
Above the film's blaring volume, the angry cinema goer cried out in sarcastic gratification.
"At last! Thankyou!"
Casey never heard the voice.
Now he and Ellie were on the back seat of the Crown Vic away from prying eyes. Casey had to shift and take his gun out of the back of his pants, a small compartment under the seat opened and Ellie looked impressed as he locked the weapon away safely and quickly. Before she could say anything, his hand slipped round her waist and pulled her close to him. They embraced, entwined their legs and arms around each other and as they stared into each others eyes, their hands fondled and caressed against their faces and necks.
"Ellie…" John rested his forehead against hers and threaded his fingers through her hair. "Are you sure? Do you really want this?"
"Yes." she said firmly. "Yes!"
He wasn't going to ask again. John tilted her head back and kissed her, this time harder and more passionate. Ellie fought back with equal vigour, squirming and wriggling in his crushing arms to position herself on his lap. Her energy and want was making Casey even more heated. Desperate.
It's a first date! It's only a first date!
Casey's body wasn't listening to what his mind was screaming at him as he began to take the thin straps of her dress down over her shoulders. She wasn't objecting to this rushing pace, in fact she encouraged it and she herself began to claw at his shirt, ripping off several buttons in the process. With his chest bared, Ellie broke from his mouth and slipped down, trailing her hot salivating kissing over his skin. He shivered with delight. He fell, slipping from his upright position onto his back, knocking his head against the window in the process.
Ellie smiled at Casey. Even in the back seat, it wasn't roomy enough for his six foot four frame. He tried to position his feet and legs without making foot prints all over the interior but then Ellie bit a little too enthusiastically on one of his nipples and the Casey was unleashed.
His fingers pinched on her arms and he dragged her down for a kiss that sent her into a wild frenzy. Their hands groped and clenched desperately and the lack of room didn't even deter them. Casey trembled as he felt his fingers pushing her dress further down over her body, they hesitated as his palm brushed lightly at one of her breasts and his eyes shot open in horror. John attempted to push Ellie away from the kiss, but it resulted in his head banging on the door handle.
No. This is Chuck's sister! You can't treat her like this. She's not a woman you can grope and sex like this. She deserves better, she deserves to have this happen somewhere sensual and a lot more comfortable!
His eyes widened again, only this time mixed with confusion and desire. Ellie covered his hand and helped him push the rest of her dress down and then placed it over her breast. She was wanting this, allowing him to do this, so why was he still behaving like he was taking advantage of her. She felt wonderful in his palm, so supple and soft; Casey closed his eyes and allowed his tactile touch of her roundness to be his sight and then his hands touching them wasn't enough.
Ellie gasped and arched into him as his mouth smothered over both of her breasts. She coaxed him, guiding his motions with her hands on the back of his head, showing him the right place to make her moan. Then it seemed she couldn't take it anymore, her legs were quivering on top of him and she suddenly pushed him back (again Casey's head knocked on the door handle) and she gave him back a kiss just as powerful and ferocious as the one he had started.
Everything was moving so fast and hard, Casey grabbed hold of her thighs beneath the rumpled dress and clenched her hard. Eventually they needed to breathe and the kiss became urgent smatters between gasps for air.
"Do-you-have-?" Ellie couldn't get the whole question out. He grunted an affirmative response into her neck.
"Wallet!" he winced as his head hit the door handle for a third time. "Back-pocket!"
Casey, in the position and with the room he had, rose his hips so she could reach it. He was pleasantly and worryingly surprised when her very nimble fingers undid his belt and fly and scrambled to pull his jeans down.
This was not what he expected at all when he watched Ellie rip his wallet from his jeans. John Casey didn't behave like this with women like her. This was reserved for seducing other spies on missions, or for those he just wanted a bit of physical intimacy with. Eleanor Bartowski was not even in the same league as them.
She was the Intersect's sister. She was a lady and she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Just like Kathleen and Ilsa, he fell in love with this kind of woman.
But if this was what it took to make Ellie happy for tonight, he wasn't going to argue any more. After tonight, he didn't know what he would do or what would become of him, but John would cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Jeffrey! Are you even watching this film?"
A piece of popcorn flew across the car and it bounced and found a new home in amongst Jeff Barnes' tangled hair.
"You do realise that some major and I repeat may-jore ass kicking is about to occur in this film?"
"Don't care." murmured Jeff, slurping fiendishly on his straw. "There's a much better show going on just off to the left and about six cars down. Everyone's watching, man."
"Where?" Lester grabbed at the binoculars still attached to the strap around Jeff's neck and frantically gazed through the powerful lenses to see what was going on. Sure enough there was a black car (that looked strangely familiar) and it was rocking mainly to the left, but it was definitely rocking. Then suddenly there was a long blast on a horn that made Lester jump and nearly throttle Jeff in the process as the strap on the binoculars tightened round his throat.
"All right! The honkin's gettin' started!" Jeff coughed. "It's serious when the honkin' starts."
"Oh puhleeze!" Lester moaned shoving the binoculars back at his friend. "It's disgusting! And it's spoiling everyone else's enjoyment of the film!"
There was another blast of a horn.
"You're just jealous because you're not the one doin' it." Jeff sneered. "I told you we should have brought the van and not your mom's clapped out rust bucket. Those hot chicks would never have refused us in the van!"
"First off, don't diss my mother's car and secondly they would never have said yes because you drooled in their hair. You freaked them out!"
The car horn began to blast several times in quick succession and others in the sea of motor vehicles tooted back in response. There were laughs and cheers and that only angered Lester even more.
"Okay! That's it! I've had enough! I paid good money-!"
"We didn't pay, dude."
"I sneaked in whilst the ticket salesman was taking a lavatory break to watch a potentially epic and possible future masterpiece. Instead my evening is being ruined by a couple who can't keep their hands off each other!"
More horn honks from the rocking car sounded.
"Chill man." said Jeff who finally realised the popcorn was tangled in his hair. He pulled it out, sniffed it and then ate it along with a couple of his hairs. "They're just enjoying the lovin'. They're getting jiggy with it."
"Well they need to get a room. Somewhere that is not here. I have a good thought to go over there and give them a piece of my mind!" Lester bit angrily at his nails and flipped back his black bangs. He tried to look at the film, but he couldn't stop thinking about the couple who were obviously enjoying themselves way more than he was. Jeff was right, he was jealous, but he wasn't going to admit that. He had a cool image to portray.
The action sequence of "epic" proportions seemed lost on Lester Patel who's eyes kept on glancing away from the screen and in the direction of the shaking car. Then eventually his patience snapped. He flung open the car door.
"I wouldn't go there if I were you." Jeff's eerie voice sing-songed in a threatening manner.
"This is not the time or place! The audience are being robbed just because they're having sex! I won't stand for it."
"Whatever." said Jeff as he searched for his hair for another possible piece of food. "I really wouldn't go there if I were you, man. You'll regret it."
"I have no time for your threats, Jeffrey."
"Whatever dude, but you can't say I didn't warn ya. You're gonna get buuurned."
For a moment, Lester was caught in a state of fear at the wide eyed and very creepy glare his friend gave him, but then he dismissed Jeff's warning and slammed the door behind him. Jeff wasn't wanting him to disturb the "better show" and was using his usual tactics to prevent Lester from doing so. Yeah, that was it.
Deep in the pits of his mind, the jealousy churned. Lester was disappointed and angry that someone else was enjoying themselves like this, so he had to make them stop.
Lester walked past the other cars and just like Jeff, their owners and occupants were smiling and pointing to the car. Lester shook his head and carried on walking until he reached the back of the very familiar looking vehicle. A Crown Victoria? Who did he know that owned a vintage 80s car?
He couldn't recall where and how it looked familiar, but Lester was now beginning to think perhaps Jeff was right (again). This wasn't a great idea because the closer he got, the more he could see. The windows were a little steamed, he couldn't get a clear view of who was inside but the outline of one of them seemed to be the same size of a bear. He guessed that would have been the man. Either way, it wasn't pleasant.
"Still gonna tell them?"
Lester nearly leapt out of his skin at the sound of Jeff's sudden voice right behind him. He gasped and tried to get his breath back, whilst he older man goofily gazed at the car in front, happily watching what was going on.
"I'm missing my film! Too right I'm going to tell them to stop!" His confidence wasn't as strong as he hoped it would be when there was a woman's pleasured cry, followed by what sounded like the sound of a grunting bear.
But instead of following Jeff's advice, Lester walked up to the car and opened the back door, pointing with a shaking finger.
It was the worst mistake he could ever have made in his life.
"Hey you! Get your damned hands off each-!"
The rest of his supposedly angry affront trailed off with a high pitched mousey squeak of fear when he saw who it was he had interrupted.
"I'm dead. I'm dead. Oh gods I'm dead."
Lester looked at the beautiful naked woman straddling the angry bear of a man, but when he heard the growl again, he blinkered his eyes with his hands and tried to turn away, but then the killer blue gaze bore down into his pathetic soul.
"I think you've got the wrong car, Patel." The was the sound of clicking from somewhere. Lester gulped. "Turn around, Patal. Turn around and walk away."
"Sure John!" Lester chuckled, pretending that he wasn't in the slightest bit scared or worried. He backed away from the car still attempting to be aloof and cool. "No problems. I shall let you love birds carry on…oh Ellie! Hi!" The bear called John Casey growled and it told Lester all too clearly that he was going to die. "I'll…I'll just be going now. You…you both have a nice evening now…not that you aren't already and well….bye!"
Lester slammed the door shut and ran for his life. Jeff watched him flee and chuckled.
"I'll kill him. He's a dead man." Casey sneered those words under his breath with utter contempt but all Ellie could do was smile. There was a real intent to do some harm to the man for disturbing them, but she knew that he wouldn't go as far as to kill Lester. He was annoying and yes he had just interrupted the best time she had ever had and seen them naked, but he wasn't a threat to National Security. "I will hunt him down and pin him up on the ruins of the Buymore by his skid marked underwear and then I'll-!"
"John-" Ellie flattened her hands on either side of his face and pulled it up to make sure he was looking at her. As soon as she glared back at him with her understanding and beautiful smile, she felt the anger in his muscled torso and in his arms ease considerably. His features softened and he gasped a sigh of release. "Don't take your anger out on Lester."
"I bet all my wages that Jeff is out there too! Lurking and being all moron. They are both going to regret ever being born."
Ellie couldn't even begin to imagine what Casey had to put up with when he had worked with those two at the Buymore. Lester and Jeff made her shiver with disgust, they freaked her out just by being in their mere presence. Yet John was over-reacting a little and to her astonishment she was surprised at how calm she had been about Lester's sudden intrusion. She hadn't screamed or even tried to cover her naked body.
She had to smile. Casey had said this evening was supposed to cheer her up after her split from Devon. It had, even in this crazy and very teenage entanglement. She felt so alive, yet it was her turn to reassure him, to make him happy.
"John." She kissed her lips on his forehead and felt some more of his unease ebb away. She also felt his hands squeezing at her thigh and they were wanting her to help him calm. "We weren't discreet doing what we just did. Jeff and Lester were here probably because they wanted to watch the film and we disturbed them. This is a public place and we were the ones acting like a couple of teens, we're in the wrong and so I know you won't hurt Lester. Not really."
"I can," he uttered, drooping his head down into the crook of her neck. He nipped lightly at the skin of her shoulder and sighed. "Ellie, you know what I do for a living, you know I am capable of more than that."
Ellie knew what he was capable of, but that never scared her or angered her. Not now. Before she did fear that the man she thought was her neighbour and friend was a spy and had killed. However it had all changed, she felt protected just be being in his presence, she was safe with him.
Chuck said that he trusted this man with his life, that he was the most honourable man he had ever known and now after this moment she had shared with Casey, Ellie felt something a lot more than trust towards him. It was something she couldn't describe to herself, but it felt right.
"You're not a bad man, John. Chuck has told me and I believe him, so let's not think about Lester. He's not important to us."
"Thank you…but that's not entirely-!"
"Nothing else is important right now. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. I do." Casey responded. He kissed her neck and trailed his mouth back up to the elegant lines of her jaw and to her lips. "They're not important…you are."
Ellie kissed him back, her heart palpitating and her head spinning at hearing those words. Men didn't say things like that very easily, Devon certainly hadn't uttered them that early in their relationship. In fact it had taken him months to say how important she was to him, yet John Casey had uttered it on their first date.
First date? This was a date? If it was, wow! What a first date it was! This was much better than a broom closest.
Ellie had smiled, but now she was finding it hard not to laugh. Lester had caught them in the act and not the cinema staff and for a moment she felt like she was a teen again, being extremely naughty.
John Casey was no inexperienced teen or frat boy, not with what he did to her and certainly not how he made her feel. This whole experience may well have happened just because of a touching of hands and a calling for chocolate M&Ms, but to Ellie this was something much more. A new beginning. What kind of a beginning she didn't know, but she was actually looking forward to finding out.
She shuffled off him, smiled slyly as she edged over the flipped down front seat and turned onto her front. She giggled at the deep and almost sensual purring behind her, which was followed by a cuss as he no doubt banged his head against the side of the door again. There really wasn't the room.
His lips smattered against her bottom and across her spine and then there was the careful press of his body on top of her. She grinned and then reached up to the steering wheel and thumped excitedly on the horn several times.
"Must you do that?" he murmured. She only replied by pressing on the horn again. "Ellie!"
"Couldn't help myself. I can't help anything…with you."
She moaned as his rough wet tongue lusciously crept up the middle of her back and across her neck only to wince a little as he nipped on her shoulder. Her hand didn't mean to hit the horn again but she held it down a little bit longer than necessary. If Lester was upset that they were interrupting the film, then some others were also beginning to, she heard them. It probably wouldn't be long before a member of staff came along to ask them to leave.
"Will you leave my car alone?" Ellie heard the light amusement in John's voice along with a pleading hopefulness if she would actually leave his precious "Vicky" alone. It was too late for that.
The Crown Vic had taken a little more punishment than any prisoner of the NSA could have given her.
"I'll leave her alone if you do," she said biting her bottom lip as his body laid just a little more weight on top of her. She could feel that he was still aching for her and she badly wanted to let him ease that ache, but there was one problem. There had been only one in the wallet and that was all used up.
She didn't want to go. Ellie was enjoying herself too much and she could tell that Casey was as well, but they couldn't continue with what they wanted and she was a little concerned that they may even get thrown out.
"Shall we go home?"
"Shall we go home?"
Ellie had to laugh as they both said the same thing at the same time. He lifted up off her and Ellie struggled to turn round but when she managed to look up, when she saw that gentle caring smile that she always loved, Ellie draped her hand down over his face and lingered her fingers against his mouth. She traced her fingers over the up ward curve of his lips and she was startled as he took two of her dainty digits into his mouth. John sucked on them like a lollipop, slow and long and he was quite disappointed when she pulled them out.
She moaned and bucked her hips up against his ache. For a moment Ellie thought that he would just slip inside her any way, protection or no protection, but Casey groaned as well.
Damn it.
It was time for them to get dressed and head back. They couldn't be that reckless.
Dressing was not an easy thing to do. John banged his head a couple of times as he attempted to shirk back into his pants and when he finally got his shirt on, it was useless to do up as the buttons had come off or were in the process of falling off. For Ellie it was easier, she found her dress beneath the passenger seat and managed to shimmy it back on, not worried in the slightest that it was crumpled.
The seats were put back into the upright position and so too were the passengers and Casey soon got the Vic's engine running.
She was purring.
"We didn't damage her then." said Ellie checking her hair in the mirror on the sun visor. Casey patted the steering wheel with a comforting touch and then opened the windows to let them clear. Ellie could see the people still looking at them but she wasn't embarrassed at all, she simply grinned back at them as Casey drove slowly out of their spot and out of the complex.
"She's not had this happen to her." John said eventually.
"She's been christened at last." Ellie replied stroking the sides of her seat, just as she had done when they first went out. "Every car has to be christened. Right?"
Casey didn't reply to that, he simply concentrated on driving back. Yet the small smirk on his face never faded. The Crown had indeed been christened and Ellie saw in his gleaming eyes that he was pleased, pleased that it been the two of them who had done it, together.
Unfortunately for Chuck Bartowski, he missed seeing his sister come home from her "date." with his team-mate. It wasn't because he hadn't been trying, for Morgan had gotten a little hacked off that their Call Of Duty game had been interrupted by Chuck's constant need to find out what happened.
He sent various text messages to both Ellie and Casey and he received only one back from each of them.
"I had a lovely time."
"Stop texting me Bartowski!"
It was odd that his sister didn't call him back and talk about the film, it was odd because Ellie and Chuck always discussed films they saw at the drive in complex. It was plain bizarre. He then called Sarah and Alex to see if Casey had said anything to them, but neither one of the other women had heard a peep.
He was worried. His hopes were raised the next day when his i-phone buzzed and the incoming text along with Casey's angry scowling face displayed on his screen. He opened the message and sighed.
"Meet out side, now. New mission. Walker's meeting us."
Perhaps he could question the NSA Colonel and find out what happened that way.
Sure enough, Sarah was waiting by the fountain, dressed casually in jeans and a clinging turquoise top. Her hair was loose and although her eyes were hidden by the shades, Chuck knew she was looking at him. He crossed over to her and smiled.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"New mission?"
"Just waiting on Casey for the details. Beckman told him only this morning."
Chuck nodded in understanding and then for a few minutes stood by the fountain rocking impatiently on his heels. A new mission was always exciting, but this morning the news of what happened to his sister on her date was far more important. He would try and get some answers!
"Strange, Casey is normally the one waiting for us." said Sarah after ten more minutes had gone by. Chuck looked at his watch and his eyebrows rose in surprise. It was fifteen minutes after Casey had sent him the text. This was not like him.
He was just about to go and knock on the door when it opened and Casey emerged all ready for a mission, rucksack secured on his back and no doubt weapons hidden elsewhere on his person. His aviator shades were quickly slipped from the top of his head over his eyes and Chuck was again surprised. Instead of mission packs in his hand, he held a crumpled brown bag of M&Ms.
"Ooh! Candy! Can I have some?" asked Chuck, rushing over to the man and holding out his hand like a begging child.
Casey looked at the bag and then smirked back up at Chuck, moving the bag away from him.
"No. You don't like M&Ms." he put a handful of broken chocolate and sugar shells into his mouth and walked away. Chuck and Sarah followed, both of them giving each other funny looks.
"I do too like them!" the Intersect said as they approached a very shiny Crown Victoria. To Chuck the car seemed to sparkle and gleam even more than usual. "Great to know you ordered the Bartowski special on my recommendation! I love chocolate. Who doesn't like chocolate M&Ms? Do you love chocolate Sarah?"
"Yes." Walker replied, bobbing her head enthusiastically. "Definitely."
Casey scoffed again at their pathetic attempts. The scowl intensified when both of the younger agents kept glaring at him as if he was going to offer them some. He looked inside the bag and made another growly humph. There was plenty to share, but he couldn't help recall just how those delicious pieces of candy got broken in the first place.
"You won't like these ones." There was a small chuckle from Casey and he opened the trunk of his car. He secured his backpack inside the trunk, slammed it shut and then went to get in behind the driving wheel.
He paused when Chuck and Sarah both went to get in. In fact Casey frowned in confusion at what his fellow agents were attempting to do. Had he offered to carpool today?
"What are you doing?" he rumbled. "Take your own damned car, Bartowski! I'll give you the briefing on the mission when we reach Castle."
"Can't." Chuck sighed. "Morgan wanted to borrow it. Sides, you can tell us about the mission on the way. Oh AND you can tell us how your date with my sister went!"
Casey's eyes began to twitch. Chuck clamped his mouth shut and thanked all the gods when Casey's head snapped round to glare at Sarah.
"Where's yours, Walker?" Casey's voice had a little tone of fear in it and he nervously popped a few more pieces of candy into his mouth.
"It's having a paint job. Well actually my car got a few bullet holes in it from the last mission and it's not really driveable." replied the CIA woman, greatly amused that something was worrying her partner. "Alex gave me a lift here. Is there something wrong?"
Casey went to speak but before he could object further, Sarah got into the front passenger seat and Chuck slipped into the back. He groaned, quickly gave a reassuring stroke to Vic's roof and got in himself.
As soon as he started the car, Chuck watched Casey's eyes in the rear-view mirror. He was really worried about something now.
"So, how was the date last night?" Sarah asked before Chuck could.
"Fine." Casey grumbled, again his eyes peering at Chuck on the back seat. "Now, about this mission. General Beckman has ordered us to go and-"
"Was the movie as good as I said it was?" Chuck blurted out, leaning forward and grinning between the two front seats. "I bet you loved it!"
"Put your damned belt on, moron!" John yelled, almost like an angry dad yelling at his kid. "Safety first! I.e mine! I'm not having you be the cause of my death!"
Chuck did as he was told and then stretched forward as far as the safety belt would allow.
"So? Did you like it?"
"The movie was fine. I told you. Now about the mission-!"
"Fine?" Chuck gasped shaking his head in disbelief. "It was just fine? Did you even watch it?"
Casey slammed on the breaks nearly causing Chuck to smack his head on the front seat.
"I said it was fine! So why don't you zip your girly lips and let me brief you on the job at hand?" Chuck was about to open his mouth and say something else when Casey growled again, the very threatening and familiar growl/grunt of number 21 on Chuck's list. He closed his mouth and allowed Casey to inform the rest of his team about the upcoming and very important mission. Chuck took it all in, he listened and both he and Sarah understood what was needed of them, so when Casey finally parked the Vic in the Buymore lot, he was ready.
"So." Casey turned to look at both Walker and Chuck. "Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah. I do." said Chuck.
"What?"
"Did Ellie have a nice time? Did she enjoy the film?"
"Do-you-have-questions-about-the-mission? Dumb-ass?" sneered Casey slowly pronouncing every single word. Chuck pretended to think about it for a moment and then shook his head.
"Nope. Not about the mission."
"Then this briefing has ended!" Casey snarled and got out of the car, slamming the door furiously behind him. Chuck noticed the man look back at the car with a little apologetic gaze and the Intersect agent found it amusing. He knew it was for slamming his precious Vic's door and not for Chuck himself. However, his amusement was short lived.
Something caught his eye as he went to get out of the car. He hadn't noticed it at first but now it was plainly visible. A little speck of green beneath the black of the front seat. When Sarah got out of the car, Chuck shuffled around on the seat and managed to pick it up.
It was soft and cottony and-
"Ohmygod! Ohmygod!"
It was a pair of women's under panty…things! To Chuck's knowledge there had only been one woman in the Crown Vic recently. His sister.
As Casey walked across the parking lot, he heard the girly scream of the Intersect 2.0. He had to laugh.
She was so pleased that it was her day off. Ellie didn't think she would be able to get out of bed anyway, let alone go all the way back to her apartment and prepare for the hospital. She managed to, after about five minutes, lift her head up from the pillow but her body refused to co-operate. It hurt but it was the throbbing pleasured pain that made her grin from ear to ear. Remembering everything from last night, the feeling of him on her and in her, she couldn't help but grin. John Casey had taken this wallowing, bitter and upset woman and changed her life.
She turned and dragged her weak arm across the empty, yet still warm, space beside her. She wasn't sure what or even if there was a future for the both of them, but for now Ellie was pleased that she was herself again. A relationship with John Casey wasn't something she had thought of, or thought to be possible, especially with what he did and who he was, but if there was a chance, even a slim chance then she could be happy for a really long time. He was no Devon Woodcombe.
Ellie's head turned and upon the pillow she noticed the hand written note. She picked up the note and after rubbing at her groggy eyes, she read it:
Ellie.
I 'm sorry I'm not there to see you wake and greet you properly, but an urgent mission has arisen. I shall be back at the end of the day but in the meanwhile, I wish you to know this.
I had set out last night with one objective. To make you smile, to see you happy again after what you've been through. I never thought that you would end up doing the same for me. This is not easy for me to write down or even admit, but you did. For the first time in a long while I was happy and it wasn't because of my job. I'm a Marine, Ellie, an agent of the NSA. It's who I am and what I love doing, but I never imagined that I could feel that same sense of pride, love and honour towards anything or anyone else. I'm pleased that I was wrong.
I don't know what will happen after today, but I do know that it won't be easy, even if it is allowed.
So, thank you, Eleanor Faye Bartowski. Thank you for last night and for any other night you may still want to share with me. I only hope that the beneath will convince you to come back for more.
John. Xx
She didn't see anything else on the paper, but when the words of his letter sunk in, when she knew that he wasn't wanting this to be a one night stand and that it had meant a lot to him too, her whole body did an involuntary yet excited lurch on his bed.
Something fell to the floor. Ellie pushed herself beyond her euphoric agony and weakness and peered over the end of the bed. If she smiled any more, her face would surely crack.
The new bag of chocolate M&M's had a note attached to it as well, though all it said was:
"You make the "special" of the "Bartowski special.""
For that, she would have to make him a meal fit for a king when he got home. Perhaps they might even share that tub of Rocky Road ice cream that was in John's freezer.
Perhaps. If she could get up.
The End.