The scowl on his face said it all. It spoke the words that his lips were refusing to allow out of his mouth. Not to mention the twitch of the muscles below his left eye as he stared out into the courtyard at the people that surrounded the courtyard. Music filtered out of speakers that were strategically placed around the courtyard. The organizers of the party even took time out to set up lights around the fountain.

A growl escaped his lips as he looked around the courtyard. The music, the commotion, the bright flashing lights were disrupting his surveillance system that he had painstakingly put into position to monitor everything that went on around him and the asset at any given time of day or night. Nothing happened in that apartment complex without him knowing about it.

"Here, Casey," a voice said from his right side. He felt an elbow nudge his arm as a beer bottle was held out in front of him. "You look like a man that could use a drink."

Frowning, he looked at the beer for a moment before turning to the man that was offering it to him. "What makes you think I want that?"

A shrug lifted the shoulders of Chuck Bartowski as he smiled. "For starters, you need to loosen up."

John Casey snorted as he grabbed the beer bottle from the younger man and took a long drink from it. "I don't have a problem loosening up."

Chuck lifted a curious eyebrow as he watched the bigger man finish the beer off without taking a break. "If you say so, Casey." Reaching out he picked up another two bottles and handed another one to the man. "How about another one there, big guy?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he took the bottle and twisted the cap off before tossing it across the courtyard without looking. The cap landed in the trash can that was set up to help keep the litter down. Chuck's eyes followed the cap as it bounced off the rim and into the trashcan with no problems. Shaking his head, he could not believe what he witnessed. Turning back, he looked up to see a rare sight.

A smile on John Casey's lips.

"See, a smile."

John lowered the bottle from his lips and winked. "Don't pat yourself on your back just yet there, Chuck."

"Seriously. What is it with you?" Chuck said as he took a sip from the red plastic cup that held his drink. "You've been having more mood swings than…well…" He took another drink and cocked his head to the side. "Well…Morgan."

A soured look covered John's face as he aimed a finger at Chuck's chest. "Don't ever compare me to that little leprechaun."

Chuck nodded his head as the finger moved away. "Understood."

"Good," John said before turning back to look out into the courtyard. "I don't have a problem loosening up. I know how to have fun when I want to."

Turning to look out over the party, Chuck took another slow sip of his drink. As much as he would have let his curiosity get him, to ask the question that he wanted to ask, he did not. Some questions were best left unanswered, especially when it came to John Casey. If there is anything that he learned during his two years working alongside the NSA agent was that if he felt the need to say something then he would, otherwise it is better not to question anything.

When the silence between them began to make him nervous, John looked out the corner of his eye at the other man. "What the hell is this all about anyway? Something happen that I don't know about?"

Chuck shrugged. "Do you really need a reason to have a party?"

An eyebrow lifted as John lowered the beer bottle from his lips as he turned to look down at the other man. "A reason to party is when you bring down a plane load of bad guys with a surface to air missile." He aimed a finger at Chuck. "You guys find something insignificant and say you're having a party."

"As it should be," Chuck said. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face him. "Look, Casey. I'm not telling you your business, but if you let yourself enjoy life from time to time, you'd be a happy man."

John's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. "You wouldn't know the first thing about what would make me happy."

Just shrugging, Chuck smiled. "Maybe not." His smile grew as he motioned with his head towards the entrance to the courtyard. "But I know one thing that does make you happy."

"And what's that, Bartowski?"

"That woman over there."

Straightening himself, John turned around to see what Chuck was talking about. His eyebrows lifted as his head tilted slightly to the side as he studied her standing by the wrought iron gates of the courtyard entrance.

Her age and maturity showed over the twenty and thirty-something year old attenders that were gathered around the area. She was wearing simple black wraparound dress that came down slightly above her knees, hugging her body in all the right places. A growl escaped him once again, but it was not from annoyance of the crowd that was disturbing him, but for something much different disturbing him now.

Chuck nodded his head and patted John on the back. "My work here is done. See you later, Casey."

"Yeah…sure, Chuck," John said as he finished off the remainder of his beer and tossed it in a nearby trashcan.

Twisting his neck around, he felt the bones in his spine crack as he watched her look through the crowd until her attention moved to him. He motioned with his head towards his apartment and quickly moved a couple that stood in his path to the doorway. Opening the door, he stepped to the side as he allowed her to enter the apartment before he stepped inside and turned the lock to prevent the outside world from interfering any more than they already had that night.

Marlana Wheldon did not know what to expect when she received a text message earlier that afternoon. She had spent most of her day sitting in a hotel room doing surveillance on a man that the NSA thought was moving weapons to the highest bidder. In between sitting in the hotel room, she spent much more time sitting by the poolside than she had wanted to try to spy on the man.

The only problem was that he was not cooperating with her. The man behaved like a normal hotel guest and shattered her chances of getting the assignment done as soon as possible. Now she would have to spend tomorrow at the hotel again trying to catch the man before he was able to sell any weapons to anyone that might be used against the country.

Although the message was a perfect distraction to her horrible afternoon. As cryptic as it was, she was only given an address and time. Training had her prepared for anything that she might run into when she arrived at her destination, but she did not foresee needing any backup for this call. Dealing with whatever was here would be easily taken care of with what she was sure little effort.

Smiling, she stood just inside the entrance of the courtyard and ran a hand down the length of her hair to brush it back behind her ear as she began to look around the busy courtyard. People wandered around, carrying beer bottles, plastic cups holding a variety of substances. Music filling the air with a recent top billboard pop song that had some of the partiers gathered dancing in a mixture of smooth, fluid moves that matched the rhythm to something like body spasms.

Many of the faces she was unfamiliar but there were several that she recognized. Those that she recognized were from the Buy More, a store that she was finding herself frequenting a bit more recently since she had accepted her latest assignment to California. Other faces that she observed were that of people that had been in the files that were given to her when she moved into the area. It was important to know all the players that were involved in the game.

There was Agent Sarah Walker standing over to the side, carrying on a conversation with the newlywed Ellie Woodcomb and her husband, Devon, stood nearby. The strange duo of Jeff and Lester were standing suspiciously near the punch bowl, leaving her to make a mental note to stay away from it. But as she turned her head further to the side, she felt the intense hard stare coming from one of the men that gazing back at her.

The younger man wore a friendly smile as he nodded at her. The other man jerked his expressionless head in the direction of the apartment behind him, a silent order to come in his direction and to follow him inside. She considered not going over there and find a drink for herself to enjoy. However, she figured that there was a reason that she was texted to be there at that time and if anyone would give her the information that she needed it would most likely be him.

She was still an outsider to the group, just as she wanted it to be. Her job was to do what the government and her superior officers ordered her to do. There was no telling when she would be called away or where she would end up at any given time. It was a sad lonely life, but it was one that she was destined for the moment she signed the enlistment papers for the Navy what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Slowly making her way through the crowd, she narrowed the distance between herself and the man that was quickly removing a young couple that were standing in the doorway. The young man that had been talking to the older man when she arrived made his way towards her, his usual smile growing as he approached her.

"Agent Wheldon," he said as he continued to walk by.

She nodded politely and smiled. "Mr. Bartowski."

Finally reaching her destination, the man towered over her as she looked up at him. He never said a word, just motioned with his head once again. Accepting it as an invitation to go inside, she entered the apartment and stepped into the private domain of the man.

Marlana stood silently in the main room of the apartment, slowly taking in as much as she could to get a mental image of her new surroundings. Another occupational hazard, she always needed to know what her was around, no matter where she was. The sound of the door locking behind her pulled her from her thoughts.

"Why are you here, Wheldon?" he asked.

She took in a long deep breath as her eyes slowly closed. The man smelled of authority and raw masculinity. It was a powerful combination for a woman such as herself, one in her profession. Opening her eyes, she pulled out her cell phone of her purse and held it up. "I was texted to meet here. It was a high priority, encoded message."

He moved in front of her and folded his arms across his chest. The sleeves of his shirt pulled tight around his muscular upper arms. His upper lip quivered as he released a growl. "I'm going to choke that nerd one of these days."

"Am I to assume you mean your asset?"

"Who else?" Nodding, he looked at her from her head to her toes. "What were you doing?"

"Trying to get close to Dorian Carter."

His lips turned up in a lopsided grin. "Weapons dealer, huh? Heard he might be in town."

Taking another deep breath, she turned away from him and lowered the strap from her purse down her arm before setting it down on the table beside the couch. "He is. But right now, someone else is following him around. I'm taking the evening off."

She heard a sound that was not something that would come from him. A chuckle.

"All work and no play…"

Turning around, she found herself staring up into his dark eyes. "Are you trying to insinuate something, Casey?"

John quickly shook his head, cocking an eyebrow as he looked down at her. "Nothing. Just something the geek said to me earlier today." He turned away and headed for the kitchen. "Want a drink? I just got a twenty-year-old bottle of Scotch."

She knew that she should turn him down, grab her purse and go back to her own place and catch up on reading intel reports that were sitting on her computer. But just as she began to open her mouth to say "No" the words came out "Thank you."

John nodded his head as he stepped into the kitchen and opened the cabinet above the sink. Pulling out two heavy glass tumblers, he sat them down on the countertop before reaching up to bring down the bottle of Scotch that he had been saving for a special occasion. Only the special occasion came and went, and he was still working at the Buy More protecting the Intersect that was Chuck Bartowski. He was still there doing his job just as he had been for the last two years and just as he will be until he is called away.

"Any idea how long you'll be working the Carter assignment?" he questioned as he twisted the cap off the bottle. Pouring the two tumblers full, he tightened the cap and picked up the glasses. Stepping into the living room, he found her leaning over to look at the computer that sat on the desktop. "Here you go."

She nodded as she straightened herself and accepted the tumbler from him. "Thanks," she said before taking a sip. Lowering the glass from her lips, she looked at him and sighed. "At least a week, maybe two. I have been sitting on Carter now for a week. The closest I've made it was a brief conversation by the pool."

Lifting an eyebrow, he followed the cut of her dress down from her shoulder to the swell of her breasts to see a modest amount of cleavage peeking out from beneath her dress. "Must be nice working on your tan and all," he said before taking another drink.

"I'd rather be doing something much different."

He wore a lopsided grin as he looked at her. "And what is that?"

"Anything other than talking about work."

Nodding, he sipped from his tumbler as he kept his eyes focused on her. "Anything on your mind?"

Setting the glass down on the fireplace mantle before turning around to face him, Marlana reached out and took his glass and placed it beside hers. Her hand moved quickly away from the glass as she twined her fingers in the buttons of his polo and pulled him closer to her body. Using the advantage of her added height from the heels she wore on her feet; he found his lips easily.

John's hands found her waist and pressed her body against his as he urged her forward as he stepped backwards towards the couch. Lowering down, she parted her legs to straddle his as she sat down on his lap.

"Yeah…" he said pulling his lips away briefly before kissing her again. "This is much…" Another kiss. "Better than work."

She pulled back slightly, her breath heavy. She knew this was wrong, that being here the way she was now with John was not the smartest thing she had ever allowed herself to do. Just being here right now in his arms, their bodies pressing against each other in a way that will surely end up with them in a very delicate position, all of this was a big mistake.

"Don't think about it," he whispered in her ear as he nipped at her ear. "Think about how good it feels."

She tugged at his shirt, pulling it from the waistband of his jeans. "That's the problem."

He shook his head before trailing his lips down her collarbone to the curve of her breast. "Don't fight it."

Marlana felt her dress open and slowly fall down her shoulders. "That's the other problem." The feel of his heated breath against the edge of her bra through the flimsy lace that held her was enough to make her put her regrets to the rear of her mind.

He pushed her dress the rest of the way off her arms until she wore nothing but the lacy bra and panties along with the thigh high hose and heels that she wore. The pain in his groin was getting stronger not to mention tighter. His erection was pressing against the zipper of his pants. If he did not get his pants off soon enough, he was going to rip the seam of his jeans or need to seek some serious medical attention.

Similar thoughts were going through his mind as he pulled away from her long enough to lift the shirt over his head and toss it behind him. With one smooth flick of his fingers he had the clasp of her bra released behind her back and threw it back over his shoulder with his shirt. Just having her here right then could be dangerous for either of them, could even cost one of them their lives. Only problem was that he was not thinking with the head on his shoulders as he heard her breath caught as his lips wrapped around a taut nipple and suck gently on it.

Twisting his body, he lifted her slightly so he could move her to the sofa and pin her beneath his weight. His left hand moved to hook his fingers through her panties at her hip and tug them down as his right hand worked to unbutton his jeans and slide the zipper down quickly.

Lifting her hips from the sofa, she kept her eyes on him as he pulled her panties down over her hips and down her legs. Just as she reached to pull off a shoe, he shook his head and growled at her.

"Don't you dare."

She nodded as he dropped to the floor beside the sofa and hooked her legs over his shoulders. Eyes rolling back as her head fell back against the sofa; she felt his tongue roll over the swollen nub between her legs. At first, she felt a solitary finger eased into her body as his tongue continued to work over her in a steady rhythm. The movement of his tongue increased as his finger pulled out and a second replaced it.

The pulsing of her heart pounded in her ears as he continued to work her body. She felt lightheaded from the lack of oxygen as he done things to her body that only he has been able to illicit from her. There had been many lovers over her career in Naval Intelligence as well as with the N.S.A. but none compared to that of John Casey.

"This is exactly what we both needed to get our mind off work," he said as he lifted her up to straddle his legs again.

Adjusting her hips, she positioned herself over him and slowly eased herself down over his hard shaft. Her inner walls tightened around him as she lowered down his length. Fingers tightening at her side as he growled and pushed her down to impale her to the hilt. Her head fell back with a moan as he filled her.

He moved her slightly to give himself a better advantage before he urged her back up and then down again. Marlana placed her hands on his shoulders, her nails digging into the thick muscles that stretched across his upper back and she followed the rhythm of his hands on her hips. A nice steady rhythm that gradually increased until they found the motion that would reach them to the final goal.

Lowering his head forward, he brushed his lips against her breast before he swirled his tongue over her nipple. Her back straightened in response as his lips latched on. A hand moved across her back to hold her in place as she tried to escape his lips against her breast as he nipped at it with his teeth before moving to its neglected twin.

They moved together in unison as they neared their climax. Pulling his lips away from her breast he moved it back to run his tongue along her ear. His breath hot against her cool skin as he pushed into her harder with each stroke. It did not take long before her body tightened against his as her inner walls clamped around him. He felt her orgasm surround him like a vice as he continued to work his way in and out of her body until he reached his own.

Resting quietly in each other's arms, they remained still. The only sound coming from the heavy breathes they took and the pulsing beat of the music that filtered in from the party outside. It was not until they heard someone knocking at the door did, they realize that they were still in the position they were.

"I'm going to kill someone," he mumbled as he felt her slowly lift herself up from his body.

She smiled, shaking her head as she gathered her clothes quickly and removed herself from the living room in the direction of the bathroom.

Waiting until he was sure she was out of sight, he slid into his pants and walked towards the door as he zipped his pants closed. Opening the door, he snapped out at the person that stood on his doorstep.

"This better be good, Bartowski," he growled.

Chuck's eyes were wide, his jaw slacked. Trying to desire to run, he nodded his head to the side as he motioned towards Sarah. "We got a call. The General wants to talk to us."

"Yeah. Be right there," he said before slamming the door shut as he turned away.

Running his hand through his hair, John blew out a heavy breath as he found Marlana standing beside the sofa, gathering her purse.

"Got a call," he said.

She nodded as she stepped towards him. "Mine went off, too. Text message for me to head back to the hotel."

He reached out, taking her hand into his. Pulling her close to his body, he kissed her gently on the lips. An action that was atypical for him. Marlana tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at him.

"Something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Just…" He blew out a heavy breath. "Just be careful. Carter's a tricky bastard. He's hurt a lot of people."

She nodded, smiling. "I'll do my best."

Pulling the door open for her, he watched her step out into the courtyard and walk away. She never looked back as she weaved through the crowd and out of the complex. John stood in the doorway of his apartment and watched as she left.

"Casey?"

It was not until the second time that he heard his name called that he turned to see Sarah standing beside him. "What?"

"Something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing that I can't handle." He lifted his fist and placed it in the palm of his hand to crack his knuckles. "C'mon. We got work to do."

Sarah looked back over her shoulder at Chuck who wore a big grin on his face. Smiling she nodded. There were much more to John Casey than anyone would ever know, she was sure that they had just witnessed a side of him that no one could see.