For notes and disclaimer, please see part one.

Very happy birthday to the one and only Baschashe!

Here's a couple things you might need to know, or maybe you just forgot: Ellie watches a scary movie and Casey and Downy think she's really in trouble.

A La Mode

Casey got to his feet as Ellie entered the laundry room that Sunday. She carried both her usual laundry baskets, as well as a small picnic basket over her left arm. He moved to help, as usual.

"Hey, John," she said cheerfully, decidedly a very different Ellie than he'd seen on Thursday.

"Hey," he returned, setting her laundry baskets on the folding table.

Downy meowed excitedly, jumping from Casey's laundry basket to the table and immediately into one of Ellie's.

"Guess you ladies were able to really connect earlier this week, huh?" Casey commented.

Ellie shrugged. "I think she just liked having somewhere else to go, some new things to look at... And probably a person-bed to sleep in." She smiled a little. "She almost wouldn't let Devon in either."

Casey chuckled, scratching Downy affectionately behind her ears.

"I really want to thank you, John. You really did go above and beyond the call of neighborly, friendly duty this week."

"It was no trouble."

She looked up at him. "I mean it. While I'm sure Morgan would... try... to help in that kind of a situation, I don't think he'd be able to succeed. Chuck, too. I..." She got lost in his unquestioning, humble eyes. Didn't he know he was a hero? "I just really... I really appreciate it," she finished quietly, getting back to the task of loading the other two machines.

Casey didn't know how to respond exactly. He wanted to tell her not to worry about it, not to mention it. It wasn't anything, really. All he'd done was put her up in a nice hotel and called one of the CIA contractors, the ones who work so quickly and efficiently to put the Buy More back together after the occasional shootout. It was insane, the speed in which the contractor was able to replace the broken jamb and fix the door. Really, he could've just taken Ellie out for a late coffee somewhere and by the time they'd finished sipping and chatting, her apartment would've been as good as new again.

He tried not to dwell on that, on taking her out for coffee, just the two of them. As Downy nibbled at his finger, he realized, the three of them.

Ellie moved the empty hamper off the table, sliding it underneath, and opened the picnic basket she'd brought. "Since you won't let me repay you for the hotel, or for the door repair, I thought I'd make you something," she said. She pulled out two plates first, and two forks and napkins, followed by a large spoon and a serving fork and knife set.

Downy, curious, immediately jumped out of the hamper to investigate.

Casey, however, scooped up the kitten, holding her safely and securely as she tried desperately to see what Ellie was up to. He was sure, too, that Downy could smell it. And it smelled wonderful. In spite of his trained spy-reflexes, his mouth watered as Ellie lifted a pecan pie from within. "Ellie," he managed, groaning softly.

She bit her lower lip, preventing herself from smiling too broadly at his reaction. She could see the desire, the surprise. She set it on the table, followed immediately by a small carton of vanilla ice cream. "Would you care for a slice?"

"I would love some."

Ellie wordlessly plated two generous helpings of the still-warm pie, and scooped a big spoonful of ice cream over top of each.

He watched, somewhat curiously, as she took a smaller spoonful and eased it into Downy's bowl. At seeing the treat for herself, Downy finally wriggled out of Casey's grasp and crossed towards it. They both watched as she sniffed at it at first, before giving the ice cream a cautious taste test.

Ellie laughed softly as Downy attacked the frozen treat with abandon. Setting down the ice cream container, she handed a plate to Casey.

"You didn't have to..."

"You didn't have to do what you did either," she said as they settled into the folding chairs to enjoy their afternoon snack. She loaded her fork with a bite of both pie and a bit of the ice cream, but she waited, watching Casey first.

He knew it was her favorite dessert. He was sure she'd spent hours that morning working on it, ensuring that it would be ready for their normally scheduled laundry time. The flavors exploded on his tongue. The warmth of the pie, the flakiness of the crust, the cool of the ice cream... It was sinfully sweet and just plain perfect. He couldn't prevent the pleased groan from escaping, though he had tried.

Ellie smiled to herself, enjoying her own first forkful.

"Ellie, this is incredible."

She'd fully been expecting the word "awesome" to end that sentence. It was surprising when it wasn't. It was surprisingly nice when it wasn't. She heard "awesome" so often that it had lost a lot of its luster. She didn't fully trust "awesome" anymore. Was it really "awesome" or was Devon trying to placate her? Trying to save her feelings?

She knew for certain, though, that Casey liked it. Incredible wasn't "awesome." It was better than that.

"I'm glad you like it," she said, chancing a glance at him as he took another large mouthful of pie. "And there's plenty, if you want another slice..."

He looked back at her, at the tenderness in her eyes. She was happy, he could tell. It was nice to see that on her face. It nice to know that he'd helped make her that way. "I hope no one else was expecting a piece..."

She laughed softly. "It's all yours. Well, minus one," she said, looking at her plate.

"You're the only one I'd want to share it with," he said.

Stay tuned...