Author's Note: This story was thanks to the little fluffy bunny sent to me by Kuryakinsgirl. She showed me this picture of Big Mike's phone, on which was the post it note. It was wonderful and so I came up with this. As usual, it has Jellie. Well...duh! :)
Usual disclaimers...the characters don't belong to me...yet they do...IN MY MIND!
Do enjoy.
Big Mike's Big Search
He had forgotten how many times he'd asked for it. But judging by the amount of papers in front of him, it must have been a lot.
Big Mike glanced at the original application and shook his head in dismay. If he had passed on that donut offer, then he wouldn't be in this mess and the all important six numbers would be as clear as day to him. But instead the jam smear across the section his employee had filled out completely obscured the date. Big Mike did love those glorious jam centred dee-lights and the sugary sweetness was often too hard to resist. Yet his desire and cravings for the devilish bakery temptations had only incited his curiosity.
It seemed that on more than ten separate occasions Big Mike had asked for this information from his employee. Hells, Mike had asked him directly as well but the cunning man had managed to avoid it by swooping off to serve the customers. Big Mike was angry about it now, but then he'd been pleased that the guy was reeling in the dollars for the Buymore. He had a certain charm and Mike fondly sighed as he remembered the day John Casey managed to sell five Beast masters. That was a good day indeed, the guy was a hell of a salesman.
Now was a different matter. Each piece of paper that Casey had handed to him was supposed to have had the date written on it, but it was a might bit suspicious that they were conveniently obscured.
On some the hand writing was unreadable, with others the pen ink was smudged and a couple even had coffee rings overlapping the numbers. Big Mike recalled one day seeing Casey put the paper on his desk and in a hurried attempt to go and read it, he had accidentally spilt his own drink over it.
What was so difficult about finding out about Casey's birthday? All employees had to put this data for their files but the only one that was ever allusive was the towering lean Beast-master king.
Mike shook his head and as he reached for his meatball sub with one hand, he grabbed a pen and scribbled on a yellow post it note: "Find Out John Casey's B-Day". He took a huge tearing bite of the sandwich and then stuck the note onto his phone. This was important, he had to know!
It shouldn't be that damned hard!
"Bartowski! Get in here now!"
Chuck nearly fell off the chair behind the Nerd Herder desk, yet he managed to find his stability and walk over to Big Mike's office. He could feel the seething vibes of frustration and anger emerging from the office before he reached it and knowing that the Big M was not in a good mood, he had to be calm and collected. He had to be ready for anything.
"Yes, Big Mike? What can I do for you?"
The large manager of the Buymore bobbed the back of his chair a couple of times before he got up out of it and approached Chuck. The vibes were so strong that Chuck couldn't help but gulp nervously. It couldn't have been anything that he had done that made Mike angry, could it? Had he noticed the number of times Chuck had gone out on a supposed "Install" job? Was he going to ask numerous questions as to why he was hardly ever around?
"You and John Casey are pretty tight, aren't ya son?" snapped Big Mike.
"Er…tight as in-?" Chuck's fears were slowly being confirmed. If he was asking about Casey then it would only be a matter of time before his attendance would come into question. Sarah had told him a few stories to give out, but he wasn't sure if Big Mike was going to be convinced. The manager was in his "I'm not taking any crap today" mood.
"Tight! As in you and he are friends! I've seen you go off to the Orange Orange for lunch. I notice how he and you are always talking quietly on the shop floor."
"Oh…it's a work thing." said Chuck smiling softly and waving a dismissing hand. "I help him out and as for lunch, we both have a love for frozen yogurt. We're not tight tight. We're not-!"
"Yeah I know." Mike grumbled. "You've got your sweet little blonde lady and the Beast master king doesn't strike me as sly. Bartowski, I know you and he are friends. So I'm guessing you know when his birthday is. Right?"
Chuck's eyes rose in shock. He hadn't been expecting that! Why was Big Mike of the Burbank Buymore asking about Casey's birthday?
"Er…why do you want to know about that?" he asked, stammering a little. Casey's personal information wasn't something he could give away. Even such a simple thing as a birth date? "Why don't you look on his application form? Surely that's kept in his file?"
"Would I be asking if it was in there, Bartowski?"
"Of course…no you wouldn't." Chuck nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot and then let out a sigh. As he calmly thought about it, Chuck realised that even he didn't know when the Colonel's birthday was. Perhaps it was in his NSA files. "Erm…Big Mike. I'm not exactly sure when it is, but I could find out for you. If you'd like?"
"How could you not know when your friend's birthday is?"
"Well, you know Casey."
"No! I don't! Except that he's a far better salesman than any of the other green shirts!"
Big Mike pointed to the board on his wall, where the employee of the month photos were on full display. The majority of the photos were of John Casey snarling and frowning and Chuck remembered having to undertake the mission of taking those. He shuddered at the memory.
There were a couple of Skip Johnson but other than that there was no one else. How Casey managed to achieve this when he was away most of the time on missions and that he was not the best at people/customer relations was beyond Chuck. The guy could do anything.
"I'll see what I can do for you, Big Mike." Chuck smiled his largest and most assuring grin at his boss and when he saw Big Mike relax, when he saw the relieved happy smile spread across his face, those angry and frustrated vibes in the room seemed to wash away. "I'll find out for you."
"Good man, Chuck." Mike sighed and then patted Chuck on his arm. "You do that. Knew I could rely on you."
"No problems, Big Mike. I'm only too happy to help."
Chuck turned around and walked out of the office. The lie had been for the big fella's benefit. Mike was a good man and he had earned just about everyone's respect, but Chuck was far from happy to be given this task.
He did know John Casey and Chuck was all too aware that trying to get anything personal from the tall fortress of a man was a risky chance. Chuck did take a little solace in the fact that he had managed to wheedle the info about Ilsa out of him…so a birthday date shouldn't be that hard.
No, it wouldn't be hard just very unpleasant.
Chuck took a few deep breaths and looked around the Buymore store. Casey was nowhere in sight. So he was either at lunch or out the back moving some of the stock about.
Chuck looked back towards Big Mike and noticed that he was now holding a yellow post it note in his hands and frowning at it. When the manager of this store got curious about something (and that was not often as long as people did their "damned" work) it ended up being more than just a case of curiosity. It was a mission.
Bartowski had failed him. Over the past few days, Chuck had failed to find out John Casey's birthday. The yellow post it note on Mike's phone was now taunting and mocking him. It was doing it so much that even the glazed donuts in front of him failed to appease.
This was way beyond a joke now. He was being put off his food and that would not do.
Unfortunately for Mike, John Casey was sick. Chuck had mentioned something about a spastic colon and so Mike was unable to confront the man directly. He then tried phoning his previous employer's, mentioned on his file and whose numbers weren't covered in damned donut jelly.
He was only met with disappointment when they too mentioned that the dates on their forms were unreadable. Big Mike was disappointed but now extremely suspicious.
Yet there was a ray of golden sunshine for him. No it wasn't another sandwich, instead it was the one other person who he had ever seen John Casey utter more than a few words to. It was also the only person he'd seen Casey smile for.
Mike scrambled up out of his chair and walked across the Buymore to where she was browsing over the electronics. Just before Jeff and Lester could hassle her with their damned creepyfyin come on-s Mike clamped a hand on each of their shoulders.
"It's all right fellas." he said, feeling the little one quake with fear. "I shall help this young lady."
"The big M serving a customer?" hissed Lester when he and Jeff walked cautiously away. "Something is seriously wrong, Jeffrey. Alert the troops!"
Big Mike ignored them and grinned pleasantly at the woman standing before him. She looked so thankful that Mike had taken over, he noticed the look of creeped out fear in her eyes as she watched them walk away before genuinely smiling back at him.
"Ms Bartowski."
"Big Mike."
"How can I help you? I can see you're eyeing up our new selection of Mp3 players."
Eleanor Bartowski nodded and turned round to look again at the two sleek black devices that had originally caught her eye. Mike watched as the young beautiful Ms Bartowski scanned over her possible choices again, deep in thought and biting tentatively and ponderously at her nails.
"I was thinking of getting a new one for myself." she said, turning to Big Mike and smiling so sweetly that he had to return the gesture. "But what I'm really here for is to find something for John Casey's birthday."
Halleluiah! Trumpets sounded triumphantly in Big Mike's head and his eyes lit up with joy and hope. A chorus of angels could have even started singing, but it would have been nothing compared to those sweet words from the woman's lips. He could have hugged her, he nearly did but instead he kept his cool. No need to go freaking her out, she maybe Bartowski's sister, but she was still a customer.
"You know when Casey's birthday is?"
"Yes." she said, smiling fondly. Yet her eyebrow rose and Ellie gazed at him curiously.
"When is it?"
"Soon. Why do you ask?"
"Need it for the employee files. It ain't there."
"Oh. Well, you know John Casey."
Gods, she sounded just like her brother then. No! He didn't know John Casey! Not that well anyway. Why did these Bartowski's say things like this instead of answering his questions?
"He's a mighty fine salesman. Did you know he sold five Beast masters in one day? Five?"
"Impressive." Ellie said. She kept quiet about the fact that she brought one of them mainly because she felt Mike would talk at great lengths about it, just like Chuck and Morgan would talk about their computer games. "I am going to make him some mini quiches and a nice cheesecake, but I was thinking perhaps he'd like something to keep. I don't know. I haven't made up my mind."
Big Mike was stumped. What would you buy John Casey? He didn't ponder on that for long, he was needing to know when his birthday was.
"So when is his B-Day? How old is he going to be?"
A horrible sickening churning in his stomach reared up as he remembered the same thing had happened to the "Age" section on Casey's application form. Damned those temptress donuts! Damn the sweet jam centres! However he calmed himself down when he realised he could deduce Casey's age once he got the date of his birthday.
"Mr Tucker."
"Ah ah ah! Big Mike. Please."
"Big Mike…I think, actually I know, it would be better if you ask him. Some people don't like it when others talk about their personal stuff and John Casey is one of them. If you ask him politely and say what its for, he'll be accommodating I'm sure."
"John is sensitive about his age? Fine strapping boy like him worried? Ms Bartowski, John Casey don't come across to me or any of this lot-!" Big Mike jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to where Morgan and the rest of the green shirts were watching what was going on. "-as the sensitive kind. He scares them and frankly he does the same to me. Just a little mind. But are you seriously telling me that he's worried about his age? Man looks fine girl-!"
Mike paused in the middle of his babbling as he noticed that the young woman had turned away, her hand touching at the side of her face. Was the Lady Bartowski blushin?
"Darlin…" Big Mike sighed. He should keep a control on his curiosity and just ask the big man himself. "You're right. Me pushing this Casey issue aint right. If you say its best to ask him, I shall. I just gotta wait till he comes back to work, wait until his spastic colon is alright."
"Spastic colon?" Ellie spun round, her voice was so suddenly loud that it made all the green shirts scatter like cockroaches. Except Morgan who just looked like a deer caught in the headlights when he realised he was the only one there. "That's impossible! He was fine when I spoke to him earlier! Tonight we were supposed to be meeting-!"
She clasped her hand over her mouth and then rushed out of the store.
Big Mike was mildly surprised at Ellie's reaction, but it also made something else rile up inside him.
John Casey is shirking off work? Something is not right.
The yellow post it note was calling out to him. It was all because of this tiny little bit of paper and sticky glue. Big Mike's big search for a simple birthday had uncovered something else.
He and John Casey were going to have words.
The door opened to a man he was not expecting. Nor did he ever expect.
Big Mike was right there, gazing up at him with a mixture of annoyance and concern in those wide eyes of his, along with great disappointment. In his hand he was playing with a post-it.
"Son, we need to talk."
John Casey really didn't want the man to come into his flat, so instead he nodded in reply and came out into the courtyard closing his door behind him. He held out his hand to the fountain and followed the manager so this talk could begin.
He expected that this "talk" would happen, just not now, not tonight. If Big Mike had come all this way just to "have words" then Casey was going to have to have some of his own with Chuck.
"What can I do for you, Big Mike?" he asked after a long lingering silence.
"Son, you are looking all smarted up this evening."
Casey looked down at his attire. He was dressed completely in black; his jacket, shirt and tie, but it was tailored perfectly to him. He was smart most of the times, of course it was force of habit when you were a Marine, but tonight he had gone that little bit further. He was looking more than smart, he was looking sharp.
"Big Mike…I know what you're going to say."
"This ain't like you Casey!" Mike said, still fiddling at the yellow post-it in his hands. "You an upstandin' and perfect example for the Buymore! With you on shift, those morons actually do something, they work. They sell! When you're on shift, the sales go up! You are pinnacle of the Buymore! You're the wheel that grinds them suckers in the dirt if they slack behind and you bring up into the sun when they work hard. You set an example, son."
Casey frowned. He wasn't quite sure how to take those remarks. He was being complimented or insulted?
"But slacking off from work, that ain't like you. Chuck tellin' me porkies about yer colon has also got me real concerned. You getting others to lie for you, son? To cover for you whilst you what…?"
"I was preparing for this evening, Big Mike."
A proud happy smile drifted over Big Mike's face. He nodded in understanding.
"Date night. Can't say I blame you, fella. Man's gotta get the Lady lovin' and I'm all down for that myself. But there was no need to lie to Big Mike!" He patted Casey on the arm, "You're one of few folks back at the Buymore who works hard and takes pride in their work. I like that, I like it a lot. Now I catch Jeff or Lester shirking off or doing whatever it is they do…I burn down on them hard."
"They're idiots."
"Preaching to the choir, Casey. Now you…I just want to know why you lied to me?"
Casey hadn't lied to him. It had been Chuck. The Intersect couldn't get a simple thing right, all he had to do was say that John wasn't coming in for his shift because it was a special day for him. He wanted the time taken from his annual leave and that the cover had already been arranged. But instead the spastic colon had come into play.
Was Chuck still angry at him?
Didn't matter to Casey. Not any more.
"I just thought that if I told you the truth, you wouldn't allow me to have this evening. It's important for both of us…its an anniversary."
"Hells Casey! You know you can come to Big Mike for anything!" The man whacked Casey on the back, making John growl just a little bit with contention. "You want time to woo ya Lady I will be only too happy to let you have time off for that! A hard worker like you, who has proved they're Buymore Elite deserves a little slack now and then. Next time don't be afraid to ask! Okay?"
"Er….yes. Thank you, Big Mike." John nodded stiffly his appreciation and gently smiled for his "fake" employer. He straightened even more in his stance and for another few minutes the two men just stood there awkwardly smiling at each other in silence.
There was something else. The post-it.
Big Mike was wanting to ask Casey something and judging by the way the large round man was rocking on his feet and fiddling with that yellow scrap of paper, it was something of vital importance.
"Is there anything else I can help with, Big Mike?"
"Yes son….there is." Big Mike sighed. "Don't ask me how its gotten to be like this but its just been driving me damned well round the bend and up to the cuckoos nest. I've been trying to find out, even from you but something always got in the way. I feel kinda foolish for not being able to carry out a simple task, but it has been plaguing me somewhat. Casey, its only for your staff records, but I need to know your birthday."
Casey tried not to smirk. Was that all?
"Of course." Casey managed to curb the smirk and turn it into a pleasant Buymore greeting smile. He saw the look of triumph on Big Mike's face and saw him mouth "thank you god!" up to the sky before grabbing a pen from his breast pocket. "Though before I do…I must request that this is not shown to anyone else employed at the Buymore. Only you are allowed to see it."
"Sensitive about your age, huh Casey?"
"I suppose you could put it like that." There were a whole load of reasons why Casey didn't want to give out his birthday, but he wasn't going to tell Mike that.
"Like I said, boy. Nothin' to worry about. You look mighty fine."
Casey didn't bother telling Mike that he was older than the manager by three years. No one had to know. No one.
"Okay it's three, fifteen, nineteen-sixty five."
"Marvellous!" Big Mike let out a huge relieved sigh, just moments before his stomach growled. The food was calling out to him. "Casey, you have my word of honour that no one else will see this. Thanks."
Big Mike looked very pleased but that expression quickly turned to wonder as he looked behind Casey.
"Sweet holy mother of all things…now there's a dame and no mistaking."
John turned round and he couldn't help but match the big man's entranced gaze.
Emerging from her apartment was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
Ellie Bartowski was dressed a deep royal blue dress that slinked over her slim shapely body, when she turned round to lock her door, Casey saw her smooth unblemished and perfect skin where the dress conveniently decided to not cover. Her hair was just like it had been at Goya's consulate party yet to Casey she looked more beautiful now that she did then.
He was suddenly very aware of his tongue. It couldn't stay still inside his salivating mouth.
She was so beautiful.
"Amen." he deeply growled in response to Mike's exclamation. He felt the chunky hand whacking him on the back.
"You enjoy your evening, Casey." said Big Mike still in awe as the woman glided over towards them. "I'll see you next week. Take some time off if you need to."
"Tha-thanks."
As Ellie approached smiling, Casey forgot all about the man standing next to him. He stepped forward and took up the hand that wasn't clutching the matching blue purse and brought her knuckles to his lips for a kiss. Ellie became quite flustered by such a charming greeting but was soothed into a blessed calm as he offered out his arm for her to hold. Her hands snaked round the bulge of his bicep and the two of them began to slowly walk out and away from the courtyard.
Big Mike watched them go.
"So…" Ellie whispered to John as she pulled herself closer to him. "Did you mention that your birthday was today?"
Casey shook his head.
There was no reason to give out his real birth date, Big Mike seemed satisfied and pleased beyond all manner of pleased that he had something to put in Casey's file.
"You're the only one who knows." he said as he opened up the passenger door of the Crown Vic. "And I like it like that."
"You sure you don't want a party?"
"Ellie…we talked about this. Being with you is more than I could want on my birthday."
"Then let's make it one to remember."
Casey matched Ellie's bright beaming smile before he leaned in and gave her a tender kiss to her lips. It already was a night he would remember for a long time to come.
No one went near Big Mike for the following few days. They didn't speak to him or even look at him, because the black stormy cloud that hung over the manager's office looked as if it would never end.
By the beginning of the following week it was a crazy and confusing time for the employees, whilst Big Mike's bad mood increased and scared them all to the point of having accidents in their pants, the cheerful and good mood of John Casey had them even more on edge. They could cope with Big Mike, but the dramatic change of the resident grouch was more than any of them could bare.
Customers didn't appreciate being served by staff members who were quaking in their shoes and distracted. So instead they went to the one man who was radiating pleasant and joyful vibes.
Whilst Chuck knew the reason for Casey's dramatic change, he hadn't a clue as to what put Big Mike in such a foul mood.
If only he had asked. If he had asked, he would have known about the whole laundry incident. He would have found out about the yellow post-it note that had been left in Big Mike's pocket and of the important information lost thanks to detergent and water. If Chuck had found all this out, he could have quite easily have rid Mike of his mood by asking Casey directly.
If anyone had asked Casey when his birthday was, he would have been truthful as well and then all this would have been resolved.
But no one said anything.
So Big Mike remained in his office staring at his phone, where a new yellow post it note was sealed to the plastic.
"Find out John Casey's B-Day."
It should never be this hard!