Casey had watched as Ellie led her parents into the apartment she shared with her brother and fiancé before retreating into his own place to watch one of his favorite World War Two documentaries. He'd just pulled his hot pocket from the microwave, poured a few fingers of Johnnie Walker Black Label, neat, and settled into his comfortable recliner when he heard the audio feed from the kid's apartment. He'd forgotten to turn it off after reviewing the tapes earlier.

With a grunt, he rose to turn the sound off, but before the feed could be cut, he heard Ellie's accusation that her father reprogrammed her brother's brain when the geek was just a kid. He rewound the tape and listened to their preceding conversation between the father and daughter.

"Son of a bitch," Casey huffed, "The geek's gorram father is Orion. Walker's gonna shit a brick when she hears this."

Knowing it was better to just get it over with, he went back into the kitchen where he had his cellphone charging and dialed his partner's number, "Walker, it's Casey." He grunted into the phone, "You aren't going to believe what my bugs just picked up in Bartowski's apartment." He gave her a brief overview and played the tape back for her to listen to. He gave his partner a few moments to process before speaking again, "I know she's had a lot come down on her since the kid was shot, but I think we need to read her in. If Orion thinks she has the best chance of getting the geek back on line, she may very well be our best option to fix his head."

" I'll bring the flak jackets and back you up, if you think that's the right play," Sarah sighed over the phone, " We probably should have gotten permission to read her in after Zarnow was revealed to be a traitor and especially after Perceus was killed. Are you sure Beckman will go for it?"

"Let me worry about Beckman," Casey advised her, "You can go back to daydreaming about the geek."

"I'm not daydreaming about Chuck," Sarah groaned.

"Sure you're not," He grunted, "It ain't none of my business whose chocolate is getting mixed up in your peanut butter, so long as you keep it in your pants around me and it don't affect the job."

"Don't you have a bonsai to trim or a picture of Reagan to polish?" Sarah shot back.

Casey enjoyed pushing Sarah's buttons. He'd realized early on that she was a lot like his younger sister, Nicolette. Nikki was headstrong and funny in her own way, but she tended to let things bottle up and get stuck in her own head when stressed out just like Walker did. Easiest way he'd found to get either of them out of their headspace was with a little friendly ribbing. They both gave as good as they got so it was fun to needle them now and again, just to see how they'd react. Not that he'd ever admit to Walker, or his sister, he wasn't stupid.

"It's late in DC, and it'll keep 'til morning," He stated, ignoring his partner's jab, "I'll brief Beckman in the morning and get back to you."

"Fine," Sarah agreed, "I'll talk to you in the morning. Good night Casey."

"'Night Walker," Casey grunted than hung up. His hot pocket had long gone cold, but he didn't care. Relaxing in his chair again, he took a long draw of his whisky and hit play on the remote and let the soothing sound of cannon fire and dog fights wash over him.

The courtyard was dim, almost as if the twinkle lights overhead had a sense of all that had occurred within their walls of the complex and had adjusted to fit the mood purveying the courtyard. He knew this would be the last time he would be able to linger here basking in the glow of the lights overhead and the sound of water trickling over the tiered fountain. He'd told Ellie the truth, while their meeting had not been by chance, he really had come to care for her. It hadn't been love, but it had probably been the closest thing to it that he'd experienced since before his mother, his real mother, had fallen ill and passed away when he was a teenager.

"Dimitri," The woman stepped out from the shadow of the archway, breaking his reverie and making him jump.

"Frost," He turned to face her, "You startled me."

"You deserve worse than to be startled," She admonished him in his native tongue, "You disobeyed your orders. My orders were for you to befriend her, nothing more. The last thing I wanted was for you to break her heart."

"I doubt I broke her heart," He shook his head, "Sure, she's understandably hurt, but I that's more because I came into her life under false pretenses and on orders from the mother who abandoned her with no warning."

"Watch your done, Dimitri," Frost scolded him sharply.

He nodded his understanding before continuing, "My point is she is hurt because I have lied to her since the day that I met her. She doesn't trust easily and I betrayed that trust. She never really loved me. Did you know she accused me of proposing because of some hypothetical life plan? Interesting thing is, she's the one who has preconceived notions of what her life is supposed to look like and at what point she should be hitting certain milestones. She wants the husband and the house, the kids and the dog, I think she is trying to reclaim what she lost the days your husband and you chose your carriers over your children."

"I did not come here to have you analyze my daughter," Frost huffed.

"Doesn't mean it's not true," He pointed out, "I'm guessing you have a reason for lurking in the shadows? I don't suppose I'll be allowed to stay here." He was not relishing returning to Moscow after living in Southern California for as long as he had.

"No, but I can't have you coming back to Moscow," Frost explained then gave him a wry look, "At least not Moscow, and frankly returning to Russia in general is not the best idea, either. The less chance you have to come into contact with Alexei, the better. Orion has already set you up with a new identity with the same training and credentials you currently have, just as was done when you were sent here. There are several hospitals both in the US and abroad who are looking for a good cardiothoracic surgeon and are waiting for you to call and set up an interview with them. You can find your new documents in the usual drop location. Beyond that, your life is your own, this will be the last time you will have any contact with anyone connected to Volkov or the Bartowskis."

"I'm not sure if I should thank you for any of it," He deadpanned, "But you got me out of Russia, which I suppose I should be grateful for."

Frost did not acknowledge his statement other than to turn and walk out of the courtyard. He sighed and shook his head for expecting anything more from her. He'd head back to Gavin's for the night, they would get his stationary bike the next day, and after that, he'd see where he'd go from there.

His time in LA had been some of the best in his life, but it was time to move on, and live for himself for the first time. While he wished things had ended better for himself and Ellie, he was glad it hadn't been worse. He knew he deserved a lot worse for what he'd done, it was just disheartening to see Ellie so beaten down by all that had been piled on her the last couple months especially. As he made his way out of the courtyard and to his car, he sincerely hoped that Ellie would find a way to get through this, and maybe, someday find the man who would be her perfect compliment.