The Casey house was a hive of activity as John double and triple checked Alexandra's and his own bags for what they would need for their weekend on Coronado Island. He'd packed clothes, PJs, swimwear, sunscreen, and hats for them. He quickly put the bags in the trunk of the car, making sure to leave enough room for his mom's and Ellie's luggage when he went to pick them up from their respective apartments. When Ellie first brought up the idea of taking a weekend on Coronado with her brother and soon to be sister-in-law, he'd immediately began looking for hotels they could stay in. He'd been able to secure rooms with his military discount at one of the mid-level hotels on the north side of the island. It was originally going to be three rooms, but after his mother had told him to stop being an idiot, he just booked the two. His mom and Alexandra would share one, and he and Ellie would have the other. As it turned out, once he'd informed Ellie of the reservations, she'd reported that it was the same hotel her brother was also planning to stay at, which was fortuitus.
For that night, the plan was to pick up his mom and Ellie and make the hour-long drive past San Diego to the access road to the island. If all went well, they'd meet up with Ellie's brother and his fiancée for supper. He checked his watch again, it was nearly three, which meant Ellie would be wrapping up at the clinic soon. He made sure the house was secured before calling his daughter and loading her up in the car to begin their trip.
The first stop was his mother's condo. She already had her bag packed and waiting by the door when they arrived, so it didn't take long to put her bag in the trunk and load up the car again to head to Ellie's. Just as she had the day she'd helped them move Helen into the condo, she was waiting outside, bag in hand. She was wearing a knee-length light green sundress and a jean jacket in deference to the cool ocean breezes they were bound to contend with, and a pair of brown sandals.
"You look great, Doc," John swept her up in his arms and gave her a soft kiss.
"You don't look half bad yourself, Marine," Ellie made a show of taking in his button-down light blue shirt, khaki board shorts and tennis shoes. This earned her a grunt and a small smirk from her boyfriend who bent down to retrieve her bag and pack it away in the trunk.
Opening her door for her, he assisted Ellie into the front passenger seat and steered the car toward the I-5 South. Due to traffic heading out of town for the weekend, the usual 50-minute drive took nearly two hours, but they'd anticipated that and planned their arrival accordingly.
When they pulled up to the hotel, they left the car in the pull through while they went through the check-in process. Since John wanted to get at least his mother's and Alexandra's things unloaded from the car, he went to retrieve a luggage cart while his mom headed toward the front desk.
"Are you okay with her, while I take the bags up to my room?" Helen asked Ellie, who had been holding a still-sleepy-from-the-ride Alexandra.
"Yeah, I got her," The younger woman confirmed, "Chuck texted me when we were on our way, he and Sarah are already here, just waiting on us before dinner."
"Alright," Helen nodded, "Meet back here in 15?"
"Sounds good," Ellie nodded as John approached them, pushing the luggage cart for his mother's room. She turned to him with a smile, "Is 15 minutes enough time to check in and drop our stuff before meeting my brother for dinner?"
"Yeah," John grunted.
"I'll see you kids in a bit then," Helen waived and then claimed the luggage cart to head to her room.
"Shall we?" John asked, nodding towards the front desk. Ellie agreed and they headed over. "Reservation under Casey."
The young woman at the desk nodded and took his ID and credit card, typing as she went along. A few moments later, she quickly briefed them on the times for breakfast and other amenities before handing them a folded packet with their keys. "Here we go Mister and Missus Casey, I hope you enjoy your stay."
The couple were surprised a moment before John cleared his throat and grunted "Thanks," Accepting the keys, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Ellie and letting her know he'd be up with their luggage as soon as he parked the car. Ellie nodded and headed toward the room.
By the time she had gotten to the room she would be sharing with John, Alexandra had woken up more and began to squirm to be let down. Once the door was opened, and they were inside, Ellie let the little girl down. While they waited on John, Ellie made sure that Alexandra tried to use the bathroom after their long drive and got them both freshened up. She rarely went anywhere without her miniature hairbrush, so was able to brush out and resecured the pigtails on the younger girl's head.
John entered the room as Ellie was securing the last hair tie in Alexandra's hair and they went out to greet him. While he took a few moments to get straightened up after their drive, Ellie sat Alexandra on the bed to wait while she got their luggage sorted and texted her brother that they would be ready to head out in a little bit.
A few minutes later, they were ready to head out and made their way down to the lobby. This time with Alexandra holding her daddy and Ellie's hands as she skipped along between them.
Entering the lobby, they saw a tall man with barely tamed curly brown hair and a woman a bit shorter than him with blond hair that fell just past her shoulders. The pair looked up as John and Ellie approached, and the brown-haired man's face split in a wide grin. He crossed the distance with a few long strides and wrapped Ellie up in a hug.
"Hey Sis," He greeted her.
"Hi Chuck," Ellie returned his embrace, one handed. Stepping back from their hug, she evaluated him before speaking again, "You need a haircut, your curls are making funny animal shapes again."
Chuck playfully ruffled his fingers through his hair and shrugged, "Sarah doesn't mind them." This earned him an eye roll from his older sister.
"Ellie, it's good to see you again," Sarah greeted her with a hug as well.
"It's good to see you too," Ellie smiled, "How are your grad courses going?"
"Pretty good, we're both on track to finish up within the next year," Sarah shrugged, "We might even be able to wrap up by the end of winter quarter."
"Good luck," Ellie smiled.
"Oh, there you are," The group turned to see Helen approaching from the elevators.
"We're all here, Mom," John greeted her.
Ellie smiled at Helen's entrance and waited for her to join them before starting introductions, "Chuck, Sarah, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend John, his mom Helen, and this little cutie," She shook Alexandra's hand in her own eliciting a giggle from the girl, "Is Alexandra, John's daughter."
"Nice to meet you," Chuck greeted John, shaking the older man's hand, "Ellie has had nothing but good things to say about you and your family."
"You too," John grunted.
"You two make a lovely couple," Helen complimented the younger couple.
"Thank you," Sarah smiled as she and Chuck blushed slightly under the older woman's praise.
The group exchanged small talk for a moment before Chuck spoke up again, "I believe I was promised dinner; so, shall we?"
They all agreed and headed out to the parking lot to load up in their respective vehicles to head across the island to a small pizzeria that was recommended by some of John's buddies who had been stationed at Coronado before.
Since it was a mild night, they asked to be seated on the patio and were soon shown to their table. The waiter handed them their menus and took their drink orders before stepping away to give them time to decide what they wanted to eat.
"So, John," Chuck spoke up a while later, after the waiter had come by to get their pizza orders, "Ellie says you're in the Marines; how did you decide to join up?"
"My pop was a Marine, as was my granddad," John shrugged, "I wanted to protect this great nation the way they did. It wasn't always an easy road for them, either, I was born a couple years before the Vietnam War ended, and still have some hazy memories of my dad getting a fair share of anti-war sentiment thrown at him, even years after the war had ended. Pop didn't let it get him down, held his head up high and took pride in being a Marine. It made an impression."
"Isn't it a dangerous job to have when you have a kid?" Chuck questioned.
"Chuck," Ellie warned.
"It's a valid question, Elle," Chuck protested and turned back to John, expectantly.
"It can be, but Alexandra wasn't born until I'd been in the corps for a while," John explained, "My superiors are aware of our situation, and I have plans in place for when I'm on deployment. Not to mention contingencies in place if I'm not able to take care of Alexandra for a while."
Chuck considered the older man's words for a moment before asking his next question, "If you have such a dangerous job, why is Alexandra with you instead of her mom?"
"Alexandra's mother is no longer with us," John stated.
"A bad man hit Mommy's car," Alexandra piped in, "So Jesus took her to Heaven."
"Oh..." Chuck tried to ignore his sister's reproving glare, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"Thank you," John nodded, "Kathleen was a good woman, and she did a great job raising Alexandra. I just hope I can raise our daughter in a way that honors her."
"You're doing a good job so far," Ellie assured him, nudging him playfully with her shoulder.
John grunted his acknowledgement of Ellie's statement, blushing slightly at her praise.
"So, how did this all happen?" Sarah asked, gesturing to John and Ellie's closeness and behavior toward each other.
John and Ellie shared a look. Ellie had learned over the months that, while John could and had been willing to talk at length with her, his mom, and daughter, in social situations, he preferred to not talk as much. She could tell he was starting to reach his limit, so she took over.
"A few months ago, Alexandra took a tumble at daycare and broke her arm," Ellie explained, "As it happened, it was one of Doctor Clark's and my urgent care days, John brought her in to be looked over. He seemed like a good man and I, at least, was very drawn to him."
"It was mutual," John interjected, causing his girlfriend to blush.
"However, I didn't think I could do anything about it, since Alexandra was by now my patient," Ellie shrugged, "I helped get them through the appointment and casted Alexandra's arm, all the while getting to watch how John was with his daughter. As they were checking out, Calvin practically insisted that I give him my number, playing the semantics game saying that, technically, Alexandra was his patient, not mine and was therefore a grey area, ethically."
"A week or so later, I talking him into calling her," Hellen added with a chuckle, to which John rolled his eyes.
"They rest, as they say, was history," Ellie smiled up at her boyfriend, reaching out to squeeze his hand in hers, "We've gone out together and with Alexandra several times, and it seems to be going well. Your visit coincided nicely with Alexandra getting her cast off, so I thought it would be nice to let them join us so she could play on the beach."
"The three of you look happy together, so that's a good thing," Sarah smiled over at her fiancé's sister. "I'm glad you found each other."
"Me too," Ellie beamed, pulling slightly on John's arm to get him to lean down so she could give him a quick peck.
The pizza arrived soon after and they enjoyed their meal, trading small talk. Chuck and Sarah talking about school and their plans for after graduation. Ellie sharing stories from the office and clinic, careful not to share so much as to violate privacy guidelines. Even Alexandra got in on the conversation, talking about how excited she was for school and her friends at day care, which earned her some small chuckles at some of the silly stories she told.
After dinner, they'd walked down to a nearby ice cream shop to grab dessert. Eventually, it was nearing Alexandra's bedtime, so the decision was made to head back to the hotel. After a round of hugs and kisses, Chuck and Sarah headed up to their room while Hellen took Alexandra up to their room to go to bed.
John and Ellie weren't quite ready to turn in yet, so they decided to take a walk. There was a pathway that ran behind the hotel along the north side of the island, so they headed out, enjoying the sound of the bay's water flowing between Coronado Island and San Diego as they walked hand in hand. Enjoying the peace and each other's presence. Eventually the sun set, and they headed back to the hotel for a night cap and to turn in.
Ellie let John use the bathroom first to get freshened up while she started gathering her things for bed. Soon the door opened, and he emerged in a t-shirt and his boxers, while he put his clothes away, she slipped in to freshen up. Knowing that she'd be going to sleep, she took off her make up. However, since she was hopeful that this weekend could lead to their relationship progressing, she left her hair down rather than braiding it like she normally would for bed. She changed out of her clothes and into her night clothes and ran a brush through her hair one last time before emerging from the bathroom herself.
John was already in bed, a Reagan biography in his hand, reading as he waited for Ellie to return. Hearing the click of the door latch, he turned his head, and nearly dropped the book he was holding. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and that wasn't even doing her justice. She stood in the entry way of the room, in a dark purple nightie with spaghetti straps, that hit her mid-thigh and had a small slit over her right leg. It was hemmed in black lace along the bottom and the neckline which dipped just enough to give a glimpse of cleavage.
"Wow," He gasped.
"Do you like it?" She asked shyly, biting her lower lip nervously.
"Like it?" John asked, slipping out of the bed and walking over to her, "I love it, you are radiant. You'd make a burlap sack look good, so this is… wow. There are no words that can even express… I… you… wow."
Ellie giggled, closing the distance between them, and lifting her hands to cup his face, smiling as his hands reciprocated, gripping her hips and pulling her closer. "John?"
"Hmm?" He asked, the sensations of the smooth silk, her warm body, and presence overwhelming his senses.
"Shut up and kiss me," She ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am," John grunted, bending down to do as he was told. The warmth of her lips pressed against his, released the last vestiges of control he was barely holding on to, and soon he was devouring her kisses as if her were a starving man. His hands slipped from her hips and wrapped around her back so that she was not tightly pressed against him. He was also aware of her arms moving to wrap around his neck, her fingers playing with the short hair at the back of his neck, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine.
He tried to guide her back to their bed, but kept tripping over her feet, so he lifted her up in a bridal carry and brought her over to the bed, where he laid her down. Sliding in beside her, he resumed their make our session, knowing where this was heading, and anticipating the moment that had been coming for a while now. He loved the gasps and moans she let out as his hands and lips explored her body.
She'd been doing her fair share of exploring as well, it didn't take long for her to remove his shirt. The feel of his skin and muscles under her hands was even better than she'd ever imagined. She'd attached her lips to his throat when she both heard and felt the low, and inquisitive growl he let loose when his first searching hand had ventured further up her leg and over her hip under her night gown, following it around to her rear, which was now firmly gripped in his strong hand.
She gave him a devilish smirk, "It came with optional panties, I just opted to not wear them."
John hummed in approval and rolled them over until he was hovering over her, slowly sliding the nightgown up her body, loving the sight of her that it revealed as he pulled it up and over her head, exposing her to him. She quickly returned the favor, stripping him of his boxers.
"Now we're even," She giggled.
They continued to explore each other until John reached to the drawer of his nightstand, where he'd stashed a box of condoms, just in case. He paused a moment and met her eyes, waiting for them to clear and fully focus on him, "Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes, John," She nodded surely, "I want you."
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips, tearing open the package with his teeth, loving the way her eyes followed his hands as he slipped the condom on. He spent a few more moments ensuring that she was ready before proceeding to make love to her until the early hours of the morning when they finally drifted off to a sated sleep.
As the last dregs of consciousness fled from him, he realized that he had not only fallen for the woman who now lay in his arms, but that he was well and truly in love with her. He now couldn't imagine his life without her and didn't want to. True he'd been engaged once before and was able to make the decision to walk away from that. He knew now that if, faced with the same decision now, he couldn't abandon Ellie, wouldn't abandon her. She was it, now he just had to convince her of it, although he had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard of a task.