For notes and disclaimer, please see part one.

Also, a quick note of gratitude. As I prepare to post this, I've had 9,994 hits on this particular story, more than anything else I've posted. Given the occasional bouts of the traffic counters being down, I'm sure I've already reached 10,000, but it'll be nice to "see" it finally. Many, many thanks to all of you who have read and enjoyed, who have chosen it as a favorite story or subscribed to it, whether you've sent me a message about it or not.

I'll always be indebted to my dear friend Cindy Ryan, who gave me the idea and told me to run with it. We're in the final weeks of this marathon, and it's been a heck of a run. With love. ~K

Here's a couple things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot: After Ellie learns about Casey's daughter, they attempt to do laundry separately. Downy won't let them.

Revelations

Ellie paused just outside the door to the laundry room. She could see him, through the window, pacing. It was a new, different thing, seeing Casey nervous. She wasn't sure the word was in his vocabulary much less his emotional repertoire.

Things were still not quite right. She wasn't sure what to think of him. He, clearly, wasn't sure what to do.

Exhaling, she let herself into the laundromat. She saw that he stilled instantly but she didn't bring attention to that fact. She smiled at him a little, but it wasn't the same kind of a smile she used to give him on Sunday. Because of that, she could see there was... disappointment... in his eyes in return.

"How are you, John?" she asked, setting about filling her machines. Her smile grew, if only a touch, as she had to shoo Downy out of her basket almost as soon as she'd set it on top of the dryer.

"I... I brought coffee."

She glanced up at him, seeing his hesitation, his anxiousness. On the table sat two take-out cups of coffee as well as a small Styrofoam container.

"Thanks"

He nodded slightly, easing the coffee as well as the container towards her.

"What else did you bring?"

"It's, um..."

He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, he sounded more authoritative, more definitive. More John-like, Ellie realized.

"It's pie. Apple. From this restaurant across town..."

"You didn't have to," she said, adding soap to her machines and starting them.

"The restaurant across town, where my daughter works."

Ellie blinked, looking up at him. She wouldn't have imagined he had a child old enough to work. And she really hadn't expected him to offer that information willingly, either.

"Her name is Alex," he said. "She's working her way through college. Studying hard, working hard."

"What happened?" Ellie asked, picking up her coffee and taking a seat.

"We were young, her mother and I," he began, leaning against his washing machine. "She... I told you before, I was engaged once. It was to her mother."

Ellie nodded slowly.

"I shipped out and I... I was gone a long time. I never knew she was pregnant, Ellie. She never told me. Part of it, I think, was that she didn't get the opportunity. Or, maybe she didn't know how to tell me." Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter. "I was gone so long that I was someone else when I came back." Literally, he added in his head. "She'd moved on, Alex was grown... They didn't recognize me. I saw them, I talked to them, but Kathleen didn't..." He drifted off, getting a far-off look in his eyes.

She reached out, placing a hand over top of his.

"I didn't know. And that's my biggest regret. Not knowing I had a daughter, not being there for her. I missed everything."

"Not everything." She stood, moving to stand beside him. As she did, her hand never moved from his. "Speaking as a daughter whose father was never there... Trust me when I tell you that it doesn't matter when you show up. It's just important that you show up."

"Ellie, they..." He glanced over at her. "The Marines told them I was dead. Alex thinks I'm dead. That's not something I can just undo."

"As much as you guys tend to think that us women will break at the truth... I can guarantee you, we won't. She's your daughter. If she's anything like you-and I'm sure she is-then she's got strength enough within to surprise even you."

He inhaled slowly, nodding.

"She's not the only one with strength," Ellie said.

He looked over at her.

"I can take it, too. Whatever it is you're hiding from me."

"If it were up to me, I'd tell you."

Her expression turned curious. "Who is it up to?"

He opened his mouth, then stopped, shutting it abruptly.

"John..."

"Please don't ask," he said, his voice quiet, strained.

"Who is it up to? What are you keeping from me? What secret?"

He shook his head.

"You've told me about your daughter. You've told me that you don't want to lie to me. So stop. What is it?"

He slipped his hand out from beneath hers and appeared, at least to her, to be wringing his hands. "I can't tell you."

She frowned. "John?"

"I can't tell you," he said again, reaching out abruptly, taking her hand in his.

She gasped at the sudden contact, particularly as he guided her hand to his ring. He'd spun it around, so that the garnet was on the inside. He made her fingertips graze the gem. She looked up at him slowly. "Are you still...?"

He just held her gaze. He didn't tell her no. He didn't shake his head. It was that truth-telling silence again.

"John," she whispered, thoroughly shocked.

He leaned in, invading her space, whispering in her ear. "We can't talk about this. At all." He knew exactly what decibel levels could be picked up on the microphones he'd planted in various places around the apartment complex. His whispers would go undetected.

"But-"

"At all, Ellie," he stressed.

His breath was warm against her skin. It left her reeling, especially as he pulled back from her.

"You should try the pie," he said nonchalantly, nodding towards the container on the table. "It's not like your pecan, but it's still good."

Ellie glanced over, to see Downy sitting beside it, patiently looking up at her owners. She exhaled before looking back at Casey.

He couldn't help but notice it was that same different look when she'd first realized he'd been a Marine. He rubbed at the back of his neck, uncomfortable at the attention. "Before Downy figures out how to open it," he added.

Stay tuned...