For notes and disclaimer, please see part one.

Here's a couple things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot: Another Sunday passes with Ellie impressed with Casey's Cat Whispering skills. She accuses him of being Superman, which he denies. He can't be, because he's missing a Lois Lane.

Twenty Questions, Part 2

She watched him intently, her fingers lost in Downy's fur as the cat sat in her lap. "You're stalling."

"I'm not stalling. I'm thinking."

"I'm thinking that you're stalling," she said, a smile growing on her lips.

"There is a difference."

"I disagree."

"I say that your disagreement is stalling and preventing me from being able to think about the question properly."

"I just don't understand how the simplest of questions give you the most trouble."

"That's yet another interesting observation on your part which is, again, preventing me from thinking about my response."

"I love how you're turning this back on me," Ellie said with a warm laugh. "C'mon, John. Worst job ever."

He wanted, desperately, to say the Buy More. But, it wasn't entirely bad. He wanted, desperately, to say the Human Intersect Project assignment. But, it wasn't entirely bad either. It was classified, but not entirely bad. He sighed. "I worked one summer in high school as the hot dog guy."

Her eyebrows drifted up her forehead. "The hot dog guy?"

"You know, the guy that dresses up in an inane costume, stands on the sidewalk and waves at cars that pass by..."

"You didn't."

"I did." It was part of why he'd jumped at the opportunity to work at the Buy More instead of the Wienerlicious for the cover aspect of his current assignment.

"Seriously?"

"Asked and answered, counselor," he challenged. "My turn." He eyed her for a moment. "Biggest regret?"

She inhaled slowly.

He made a rather large production out of looking at his watch.

She laughed. "What... what is that?"

"Well, if I have a limited amount of time to respond to these questions, I think you should, too."

"It's not for simple questions like your worst job ever or your favorite vacation spot. Biggest regret, that's a serious kind of question."

"Somehow I think someone's stalling."

"Stalling! I am not stalling. Right now, I'm thinking that my biggest regret was asking you to play this game again."

He smiled. "Fair enough."

"Oh, that worked did it?"

He shrugged.

"What about you? What's your biggest regret?"

Casey was silent. Not knowing about his daughter. Missing out on fatherhood. He shook his head. "I don't have any."

"Not one?"

He shook his head. He was a spy. He lied for a living. How was this any different?

It was different because Ellie wasn't buying it. The way she looked at him, he could tell. The softness, the laughter that had been in her eyes mere seconds ago was gone now. "Challenge."

"What?"

"I'm challenging your answer. Like in Scrabble, when you don't believe it's a word, you get a chance to look it up in the dictionary."

"This isn't Scrabble. This is twenty questions."

"You made up the veto rule the last game."

"Well, what's the challenge rule?"

"The challenge rule is, if you don't believe the answer the other person gives... they have to give you another one. The real one."

"Ask it again, then."

"John Casey, what is your biggest regret?"

"Veto."

"You're going to veto my challenge?"

"Yes."

"So, you lied to me the first time..."

"If you're not going to accept the answer the first time around so I have to give a different one... I'm not going to make something up." It had been painful enough admitting, truthfully, he'd used to dress up as a gigantic walking, talking, waving hot dog for money. He wasn't about to lie to her, and he wasn't about to tell her the truth. What would she think? How would she react? Maybe someday, he'd tell her. But not that day, not in the middle of their game.

Stay tuned...