For notes and disclaimer, please see part one.

Also, very happy birthday to my dear friend Cindy Ryan! (5/27)

Here's a couple things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot: It's game afternoon again, and this time they learn about regrets. They also make up another rule for future games.

Creature Feature

Downy was scratching at Ellie's door when Casey rolled in late Thursday night. He frowned as he crossed towards her. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?" he asked as he scooped her up.

She meowed plaintively.

He hadn't picked her up incorrectly. Her back paws were supported. She wasn't at an odd angle. "What?" he asked, as though Downy were fully capable of responding intelligently.

As he looked in Downy's amber-colored eyes, he heard, very clearly, a terrified scream from within Ellie's apartment.

He didn't bother to set the cat down. He did, however, transfer her from his right hand to his left as he kicked the door in. "Ellie!" he called out, his right hand on the grip of his SIG Sauer.

He'd barely been able to finish calling out for her when the doctor in question barreled into his arms She almost knocked him into the courtyard. Downy jumped out of his hand and he left the government-issued weapon in the back of his khaki slacks as he wrapped his arms around her, visually assessing their surroundings. They seemed to be alone.

Ellie had a death-grip on his green polo shirt. She was trembling, breathing hard. He could feel her heart pounding.

"What happened?" He needed to know who he needed to chase down and throw in some undisclosed holding cell indefinitely. It had to be someone given the way she was shaking.

She shook her head, burrowing deeper into his embrace which, oddly, briefly, reminded him of Downy on laundry day in his hamper.

With strong yet gentle hands on her upper arms, he eased her away from his chest, so he could see her face, so he could see if she was hurt, so he could see what kind of assistance she needed. When he realized he still couldn't see because of her hair, he reached out, brushing it back from her face, tucking it behind her ears.

"Just... we could pretend this didn't happen," she said quietly.

He could still see the vestiges of her pure panic and terror. It was visible in her eyes, in the tension still in her jaw. It was then he heard the TV in the background. The screaming, the gushing of blood, the crushing of bones, all creepily accompanied by staccato, screeching music.

She still held onto his shirt, her hands locked into place at his sides.

He moved forward, with her attached to him, until he was able to reach the large flat-screen television at the front of the living room, turning off the horror movie that was playing.

"I hate scary movies," Ellie admitted in a whisper.

"Then, why were you watching it?" It wasn't an accusatory question. His voice was soft, simple.

"Well, Devon was here when it started. And he got called into the hospital... and then it was kind of like watching a train wreck? At some point I got so scared, I threw the remote. I have no idea where it went."

"Why don't you sit down?"

She looked up at him fretfully and he could feel the tug of the green material across his stomach and back as she pulled more of his shirt into her fists. With her hands at his sides, thankfully she remained unaware of the gun at his back.

Casey adjusted his plan. He eased an arm loosely around her, guiding her towards the kitchen.

She watched as he retrieved a glass from the cabinet before filling it with ice and water from the refrigerator dispenser.

She reluctantly released his shirt from her right hand, accepting the glass. "I know it's silly," she said, the ice chinking against each other as she was still shaking. "I know they make those movies locally, for the most part, but... it's just... I mean... The goal of those films is to startle you, to scare you. And they work so well on me..."

"It's okay, Ellie." What wasn't okay was the broken door. He let out a slight sigh as he looked back at it. The jamb was broken in two places, not to mention there was the gigantic footprint centered in the lower half of the door. "But, you can't stay here."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at him.

He gestured towards her door.

Her eyes grew wide. "You did that?"

"You screamed. Thought you were in trouble."

She winced slightly. The landlord was going to be delighted.

Downy, who'd been exploring the living room, wandered into the kitchen, spotting her owners. She easily jumped onto the kitchen counter, sniffing at the toaster oven and the blender.

"That door isn't going to lock, not until it's fixed. Let me put you up in a hotel for the night."

She looked up at him. "John, it was entirely my fault. I screamed, you reacted, that's not... that's not your fault."

"I know a guy who can fix that, have it back to normal by the morning," he said. "But you don't need to be here for it. We can find some place that accepts pets. You and Downy can stay till Devon gets off work... on the one condition that you don't watch any more scary movies tonight."

"Definitely not. John..."

He looked down at her. He allowed one brief, stray thought to enter his mind. She fit so perfectly in his arms, against him. Okay, two thoughts. It was nice, to be needed by her.

"Thank you."

"Go pack. I'll drive you ladies. We'll get Chuck to watch the place till I can get back."

"You really don't have to, though, I... I can drive, and I can... I can pay for the hotel... and for your friend who can fix the door."

He just looked at her, fixing that intense blue gaze on her. She was still on-edge, still nervous. She was in no state to drive.

She inhaled deeply, relenting. "I... I'll go pack." She still had a handful of green material in her left hand, in a white-knuckle grip. She slowly released him.

He watched as she crossed through the living room, heading up the stairs to the bedroom. He glanced at Downy when he could no longer see Ellie. "How 'bout it?" he asked, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "Want to explore somewhere new?"

He inhaled slowly. He was going to have a long night ahead of him.

Stay tuned...