Okay, so I know that this chapter is a little shorter, but I thought that the tension between Casey and Jamie had gone on too long. I hope that you enjoy reading it.
Once again, I do not own Chuck.
Learning to Live with Regret
Casey had agreed to talk to Jamie about whatever she needed his help with, so fifteen minutes later, she found herself knocking on his door. She tapped her foot nervously. She knew that before he would help her, they were going to need to straighten some things out between them.
He opened the door. Jamie didn't want to look at him. She maintained her icy expression and asked straightly, "can I come in?"
"First," he started, "If your going to come in, you're going to have to talk to me about why you're so upset."
Jamie huffed "Okay, fine, I'll talk."
He stepped aside so she could come through the door.
"Can I get you anything?" He asked, "Maybe some water?"
"Actually, I'd like some scotch." Jamie replied. "I think I'm gonna need it."
Casey looked at her quizzically, "You're not old enough to drink."
"John, I'm twenty-two."
Casey let out one of his patented grunts and made his way toward the kitchen. "The little girl is all grown up."
"Yeah," Jamie scoffed as she sat down on the couch, "No thanks to you."
Casey almost dropped the bottle of scotch. So that really WAS what she was angry about.
He walked back into the living room, without the whiskey. "Jamie…" he began, shaking his head slightly, "I never wanted to leave you."
"Then why did you?" Jamie spat, "You should have said goodbye! I mean, the least that you could have done was send me a postcard."
"I—had my orders." Casey defended himself.
Jamie was quiet for a moment, and then whispered, "That never stopped you before."
"My hands were tied, Jamie!" Casey shot out, a little louder than he expected. "I wanted to explain everything to you. But, I had to rely on the fact that I had just spent the past three years training you for situations like these, and I just had to hope that you would understand, but apparently, you didn't."
"No, John, I didn't. I trusted you, and you betrayed me. My new trainer, his name was Brett Huntington. Do you know how many times he tried to manipulate me? I couldn't trust him, John, and I keep thinking that maybe I should have never trusted you."
"Jamie, you can always…" Casey began.
Suddenly, they heard someone clearing their throat. Turning around, they saw that General Beckman had come on the monitor.
"Colonel Casey, Agent Bartowski, I wasn't aware that you two were already living together." She said.
Casey and Jamie looked at each other, and then back at the General, "We're not, General," Jamie finally spoke up. "Casey was just showing me around the place."
"Is everything alright between the two of you?" Beckman asked, concerned. "I caught the last part of your conversation," she explained.
They were quiet for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say, when Jamie spoke up, again, "Yes, General, everything's fine. It's just; we're two spies with two different opinions."
"Very well," The General said, "I was just checking in. Sorry to disturb you." With that, the screen went blank.
Casey turned to face Jamie, "Look," he began, "I'm sorry. I wish things were different, but they're not. All I can hope is that maybe, someday, we can be friends again."
The corners of Jamie's mouth turned upward a bit, "Friends, huh?" Her smile widened, "Yeah, I think we can work on that."
Casey gave a slight smile back. "Okay," he said, "What is it that you need my help with?"
Jamie gave him a sly grin. "A mission," She whispered, "Under the radar"
Casey gave her a menacing look. "We've been friends again for all of thirty seconds and you're asking me to go on a rouge mission with you?"
"Not rouge," Jamie corrected, "I said 'under the radar'."
"What is it that you want?"
Jamie pulled a file out of her bag. "Information on this man."
Casey looked at the picture in the file, "Peter von Hofner?" he asked, and "Who the hell is he?"
"He's the man who killed Reed." Jamie explained, "And you're gonna help me find him."
"I seem to remember hearing that you got a direct order to stay away from that case." Casey said.
"Oh, you're so naive, John." Jamie chuckled. "I'm not working on finding Reed's killer; I'm working on finding a terrorist."
"Leave it to you to twist a story," Casey grunted.
"I just can't do it without your help, John. Von Hofner is one of the prime suspects in Reed's murder, and if I'm caught investigating him, I could end up in big trouble."
Casey shook his head, "Sorry kid, I can't help. If I did, both of us would get caught. That wouldn't look so good for you."
"I have to find him, Casey."
"We will, in time, don't worry."
Jamie looked up and gave him a small grin, "Okay," she said, "I trust you."
Casey smiled back. It was so nice to hear her say that. "Good," he replied. "Now how about that scotch?"
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