A/N: This was something I had been working on before I left on vacation and I've only gotten around to finishing it now. These are short(er) interludes that serve as epilogues for chapters 1-3, so please refer back to those for background context. I don't remember exactly what gave me the idea to start these, but it ended up being an opportunity to create more interactions between our main characters. The story will keep moving along next chapter.

CH1.5

"I'm home!" Brian called as he walked through the front door. He didn't get an immediate response but surmised that Casey was around somewhere, judging by the pair of hastily discarded shoes by the entryway. "Casey, where are you?" he called out again as he walked through the living room.

"In the kitchen!" she called back. "Dinner's almost ready!"

She was serious about that? Brian thought, looking down at the bag of takeout in his hand. He briefly considered hiding or even discarding it somehow, but before he could do anything he was met by Casey, who was exiting the kitchen with a large salad bowl in hand.

Her cheerful expression turned into a frown as she noticed the bag. "…what's that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Nothing!" Brian stammered as he swiftly pulled the bag behind his back, for whatever good that would do. "…leftovers?" he mumbled with a sheepish grin.

"I told you I would make dinner!" Casey said with a glare. "Or did you not trust me to do it?"

Brian's usual defense here would be an attempt to diffuse the situation with humor, but he could tell she was legitimately angry. "No, it's not that," he started. "Look, the truth is you were gone already by the time I got back from my flight and I didn't know what your plan was. I figured it was better to be safe and bring some food back in case because it's getting late… and I'm kind of hungry."

Casey was still upset that he hadn't believed her, but was a bit surprised that he had owned up to it directly instead of lying or trying to come up with some lame excuse. Perhaps his skepticism was somewhat warranted since it was the first time she had offered to make dinner like that, and she had done it out of the blue earlier. On top of that, the only thing he had probably eaten all day was the egg salad sandwich she had brought him for lunch, so it made sense that he would be very hungry by now. "...what did you get?" she asked, her expression softening.

"Roast beef sandwiches," Brian replied as he took the bag out and opened it. "And those cajun curly fries you like."

As soon as the bag opened, Casey caught a whiff of her favourite combination from a burger place they had gone to a few times before. He remembered…

Suddenly, the meal she had prepared seemed a lot less appetizing. "…we can have some of the fries, but don't eat the sandwiches now. I made pasta," she said, motioning her head back towards the kitchen.

"Sounds great," Brian said with a smile. "Uh, let me help set up," he said, putting the takeout bag down on the dining table and taking hold of the salad bowl in Casey's hands.

She didn't let go. "I'm still mad at you," she said with a pout.

"I'm really sorry," Brian tried to put on a remorseful look, but he couldn't stop a bashful grin from slowly coming up as he felt her anger melting away. He shifted his hands to get a better grip on the bowl, slightly brushing against hers as he did so.

"…but at least you remembered what I like," Casey finished with a small smile of her own, releasing the bowl. "I'll go get the pasta, you can set the table."

"Yes ma'am!" Brian said as he turned and set the bowl down before giving an exaggerated salute to her, drawing her usual eyeroll as she turned and went back into the kitchen.

After a short while, they were settled and ready to eat. Casey had waved Brian away to the bathroom so she could bring their dinner plates out along with some makeshift covers to set up a grand reveal of her main course. "What's this?" Brian asked bemusedly as he returned to the table.

"Ta-da! Dinner is served!" Casey said as she pulled the cover off of his plate, revealing a somewhat messy plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce.

"It looks… good," Brian said diplomatically as he looked over the dish carefully.

"You don't have to lie," Casey said ruefully as she took the cover off her own plate and sat down. "I know it probably doesn't look the best, but hopefully it tastes okay, at least."

"No, it looks fine," Brian assured her. "Let's give it a try," he said, rolling a large chunk of spaghetti around his fork and eating it. Unlike earlier in the day, Casey looked anxious rather than excited as she waited for his reaction.

The spaghetti itself was rather mushy as he slowly chewed into it, and the sauce was a bit watery and bland in taste. Brian was no ace in the kitchen by any stretch, but his best guess was that she had boiled the pasta for too long, while not letting the sauce simmer long enough and probably forgetting to season it. As he swallowed, he noticed that Casey was not eating, only watching him intently. "What's wrong?" Why aren't you eating?"

"…it's no good, isn't it?" she asked sadly, noting the slightly strained look on his face.

"It's… not the best I've ever had, but it's honestly not bad," Brian replied slowly. "It's really hard to make sauce from scratch, you know."

Casey's face fell. She knew he was still trying to be nice and was now wondering how bad it actually was. She took a mouthful of spaghetti and sauce for herself, frowning as she chewed through it and forcing it down with great effort.

Brian raised an eyebrow as he watched her. "Are you okay?"

Casey didn't answer, only giving a small nod while trying to push out a smile. She reached across the table to grab a handful of curly fries and ate them all at once. Even with her mouth full, Brian saw her forced smile changing into a real one.

Brian laughed, picking up the plate of fries and putting it front of her. "The sandwiches are still in the bag," he said as he rolled up another forkful of spaghetti.

"Stop, you don't have to eat it," Casey pleaded as she reached over and grabbed his fork-holding arm. "…I know it's not good."

"I want to," Brian protested as he forced the fork into his mouth. "You can't stop me," he mumbled with his mouth full and the fork still sticking out.

"I'm not responsible if you get sick," Casey said as she sat back and folded her arms, trying to suppress a laugh at how silly he looked.

"I'm sorry you couldn't get to see that movie premiere tonight," Brian said unprompted, taking out his fork and putting it down.

"I already told you it's fine, we'll just watch whatever's on TV tonight," Casey answered with another frown. "We can go see it when you're not so busy."

"What if things stay busy for awhile?" Brian replied, unusually serious.

Then I'll wait for you… Casey thought to herself.

Brian saw her mouth move but couldn't hear what she had whispered. "…what'd you say?"

"I…I just said we can wait until it shows on TV," she tried to cover quickly, cursing her penchant for thinking out loud. "Come on, let's eat. It's really getting late now and you're hungry," she added, offering him the bowl of salad.

"Thanks for making dinner," Brian smiled as he scooped salad onto his plate and prepared to dig into the spaghetti again. "It's… delicious."

"You're welcome… you big fat liar," Casey said, sticking her tongue out at him cheekily as she pulled one of the roast beef sandwiches out of the takeout bag.

CH2.5

"Ah damn it, he turned all the lights off!" Casey cursed as she stumbled towards the front door. The entryway was completely dark, and the only light she had to guide her came from the nearby streetlamp far behind her. Visibility wasn't the only issue either; the accumulation of alcohol she had consumed tonight was making the walk up more challenging than usual, and she was in heels to boot.

It had been a good night out; Casey joined her old coworkers from the department store for one of their occasional get-togethers. It was actually the first time she had gathered with them since she had quit in spectacular fashion when she thought she was leaving Nantucket previously, an event that her friends found great joy in recounting throughout the night. They had so much fun that by the time her taxi got her home it was well past her usual bedtime, to say the least.

Casey slowly and carefully made her way to the door, leaning against it as she opened her purse and felt inside for her house key. Even though she didn't have much else in her handbag, it was a bit tricky to fish out a small item in the dark, plus she was still holding onto a bag with a gift from her friends in her other hand. "Got it!" she said, pulling out the key, only to immediately drop it on the ground as she lifted it out. "You've got to be kidding me!" she cried, bending down and trying to feel around where she had heard it clink on the ground.

She located the key after a few seconds and tried to stand up, but her head spun for a moment and she fell sideways, fortunately back against the door instead of onto the ground. With key in hand, she felt around for the door lock clumsily and managed to unlock it after a slight struggle. As she pushed open the door and tried to step inside however, the heel of her shoe slipped across the door frame and she tumbled to the ground with a scream.

"Ouch…" Casey moaned as she slowly rolled over and sat up. …oh no, the gift! she thought as she searched for the gift bag frantically, finding it nearby. "Good, not broken," she said with relief after checking inside. As she pulled off her shoes and tossed them aside, she felt pain in her right leg and noticed she was bleeding from a cut near her knee.

"Just my luck," she grumbled as she got to her feet slowly and hobbled to the light switch, turning on the lights in the living room. She wanted nothing more than to just roll into bed and take a much-needed rest, but she needed to take care of her wound first. She pulled herself into the bathroom and opened the cabinet inside, hoping that Joe and Helen kept a first aid kit there. Fortunately there was one, and with a bit of effort she was able to clean the cut and put a bandage on it.

Heading back into the living room, Casey flopped onto the sofa, not wanting to exert the effort needed to go upstairs. She was tired enough that she felt like she could probably fall asleep right there, but she would probably have body aches for the whole day tomorrow if she did. It was already late enough that she wasn't going to get a full night of rest anyway, and only now did she remember that supplies for the lunch counter were being delivered first thing in the morning. The exhilaration from her night of fun was quickly evaporating.

"I have to get to bed," Casey groaned, pulling herself off the couch. As she went to turn off the lamp beside the coffee table (…had that always been on?), she noticed a wrinkled piece of paper conspicuously left under the light with an uncapped pen discarded beside it. "This definitely wasn't here before," she said as she picked up the paper and read it.

"Talked to Joe, he says hello, signed B." He didn't mention that they had scheduled a call, did something happen? I'll have to remember to ask him later.

"Have early morning… do you need ride tomorrow, signed B." Oh that would be a huge help! If he's going early, I can hitch a ride and save time so I can sleep a bit more…

On previous delivery days, she had asked Brian to drive her in, and he never said no. But lately she felt bad about making him get up earlier than he had to after a usually-full day prior, so whenever possible she just wouldn't tell him and get up (very) early to take the bus. But since he had to go in early anyway this time, she would graciously accept his offer.

"There's dessert in the fridge… signed B." Why is he initialing after each line? And come to think of it, why does this paper look like it was pulled out of the garbage?

She had two guesses as to what had happened. The first was that he had been drinking when he wrote this, but that seemed unlikely. The writing was far too neat and coherent for someone who had taken leave of their senses. The second theory was that he started writing and had to keep coming back to it for whatever reason, to the point where he almost tossed it out completely, but ultimately decided to keep it out for her. There wasn't any more writing in the middle of the page, but as Casey scanned the page carefully her eye caught a small note scribbled near the bottom.

"Good night… B."

Despite her weariness, Casey felt her heart beating faster for a few moments. She couldn't help a goofy grin from coming out as she read it, despite how random and seemingly devoid of context Brian's note was as a whole. She picked up the pen and wrote in big words diagonally across his lines.

YES PLEASE, DELIVERY DAY TOMORROW

-C

DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME

-C

PLEASE WAKE ME IF I'M NOT UP

-C

She left the paper back on the table, giggling to herself with a sense of satisfaction even if she didn't know exactly why. Remembering that she really did have to get to bed now, she turned off all the lights downstairs and quietly made her way up the stairs. As she tiptoed her way across the hall, she paused and stopped in front of Brian's bedroom. She opened the door ever so slightly and peered inside. The room was completely dark, of course, but the faint sound of Brian breathing as he slept contentedly could be heard from inside.

"…good night, B," Casey whispered with a smile as she closed the door.

CH3.5

"Easy does it, watch your step there," Casey said as she extended her arm out, offering support.

"Casey, relax. I know how to get back into the house," Brian replied as he waved her off. He was trying to walk as normally as he could, but his steps were visibly slower and off-rhythm compared to his usual pace.

"Excuse me for trying to be careful!" she said with a huff, pulling her arm away. Part of the reason she was so worried was actually her own fault; she had forgotten to leave the front house lights on in her haste to leave earlier. She continued to hover around him as he gingerly made his way towards the front door. "Is it hurting to walk? You're moving kind of funny."

"It feels like a slight pinching when I move around too much," Brian replied. "One of these should help though," he added, shaking the bag of painkillers he was holding in his hand.

"The pharmacist said you should only take one if the pain feels unbearable," Casey scolded. "He said it's strong stuff; you shouldn't take too many if you don't need it."

"Keep up the nagging and we'll get to unbearable pretty soon," Brian grumbled as he unlocked the door and opened it, pretending not to notice the threatening look she shot him. As he felt around for the light switch inside, he stepped on something uneven and lost his balance, only being saved from falling over by Casey grabbing him from behind. "…good catch," he said, wincing slightly from the sudden movement and the fact that she was holding onto him around his injured rib area.

"Sorry, are you ok?" she asked with concern as she let go of him. "Did you trip on something?"

"I think so," Brian answered as he finally found the switch and turned the lights on. He made a face as he looked down and realized what he had stepped on – one of Casey's high heels that had been casually discarded near the door. "…your shoe," he said dryly.

Casey let out a nervous squeak. "I must have made a mess when I was looking for my flats earlier…" she said as she stepped inside and surveyed the area. She had rushed out in such a hurry before that she honestly had no recollection of leaving things lying around.

"Evidently so," Brian said with a smirk as he carefully stepped over several other items strewn across the ground, including an umbrella, a wind jacket, several hair clips and two pairs of socks.

"I was in a rush to leave because I was wor…!" Casey started to retort. She was expecting him to laugh and keep walking away while ignoring her like he usually would, but this time he stopped and turned back, looking at her intently. She felt herself flushing slightly and turned away from him, leaving an awkward silence in the air.

"…I know you were," Brian said, finishing her thought. The two of them could usually tease and banter without inhibition, but tonight was different. "…sorry," he added quietly as he turned around and made his way to the kitchen, suddenly feeling his throat dry up.

As he entered, he noticed that the kitchen was a mess inside, with half-prepared ingredients and cooking tools laid out across the counter. It was clear that Casey had been preparing dinner before she rushed out to the hospital. The realization that she hadn't eaten anything all night on top of everything that had happened made Brian feel even worse than he already did. "You were making dinner?" he asked as he heard her footsteps approaching from behind.

"Yes, but… well, you see," Casey replied timidly. "…you must be hungry. Let me see if there's something in the freezer that I can heat up for you." She brushed past him as she stepped towards the fridge, but was stopped by him lightly grabbing her arm.

"You want to order a pizza?" Brian asked. "…you haven't eaten anything tonight either, right?"

"I haven't, but… I don't really want pizza right now," Casey answered.

"It's pretty late now, I don't know if there's anything else we can get delivered at this hour," Brian said, trying to think of any other available food options. There were some restaurants and bars that would still be open, but they didn't even have a car to use now. Brian's own car had been towed away after he had been picked up by the ambulance earlier, and just now he had insisted that Casey leave Helen's truck at the hospital and they take a taxi home instead so she wouldn't have to drive it back.

"It's okay, really!" Casey said, trying to inject some energy into her voice. The truth was that she really was hungry, and after everything that had happened tonight she felt dead tired now too. "I'll be fine, but you, you really should eat something… to keep your strength up."

"I… don't really feel like eating either, to be honest," Brian replied slowly. "This ended up being quite a long day, maybe we should just go and get some rest. Tomorrow's still a work day."

"You're not serious, are you?" Casey asked incredulously. "How can you think about work right now? You need to stay home and rest!"

"There's going to be Sandpiper stuff I need to handle, especially since I won't be able to fly for a bit," Brian answered, the bitterness in his voice evident at that last part.

"If it's just re-booking your passengers for tomorrow, I can go do that for you!" Casey offered frantically.

"I know that it would probably be best if I took some days off," Brian said, looking directly at her with a sad smile. "But without anyone else to help run the airline, I… I really can't. It's something I have to do."

"…isn't there anything I can do to help?" Casey asked desperately. The helplessness she felt in the moment made her want to cry again.

"You've already helped a lot tonight," Brian said, putting one arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a half-hug. His reassurance didn't seem to have the effect he had wanted, as she simply stared down at the ground while letting out a quiet sniffle.

"…just promise me one thing," Casey said after a moment.

"What is it?"

"That you won't push yourself too hard while you're recovering."

"I'm not going to be crawling up any ladders for a while, Casey," Brian said as he tried to put on his usual carefree air, despite his body sending a painful reminder of what happened the last time he did.

"I don't mean just physically," Casey continued, her tone stern. "You've been taking on so much yourself and it's just…" she trailed off for a moment. "Just promise me, Brian."

After everything that had happened tonight, Brian knew that she was serious. "Okay, I promise," he answered, turning her around so that he was facing her directly with both arms on her shoulders. "No backsies," he added cheekily.

"You'd better not be lying," Casey said, not resisting his hold but trying her best to scowl at him. "Or else you can consider my offer to help rescinded."

"Well while that's still on the table… I just thought of something that I do need your help with," Brian said, letting go of her.

"What's that?" Casey asked curiously.

"Could you come with me to get the car back tomorrow? I just remembered that the doc said I'm not allowed to drive either," he replied sheepishly.

"How could you forget that?" she said with a glare of disapproval. "But yes, of course. I figured I'll have to drive for both of us while you're healing."

That was something that Brian had actually not considered until now. "Will you be able…"

"I will," Casey stopped him before he could finish. "Because… it's something I have to do," she said with a bright smile as she straightened up and stood tall in front of him.

Not for the first time tonight, Brian found himself both surprised and impressed by her resolve. "You got chutzpah, lady," he said with a laugh that turned into a big yawn.

"You're tired, you should go upstairs and sleep," Casey said as she stifled a yawn of her own. "I'll clean up here first," she said, turning back towards the messy kitchen counter.

"No you won't," Brian said, holding out his arm to block her path. "Or at least not by yourself you're not."

"Brian now's not the…" Casey started to protest.

"…we'll get through it together, right?" he cut in, with a bright smile of his own on display.

Casey couldn't hold back a giggle. "If only your memory was always this good," she said, pulling a nearby towel off a hanger and handing it to him.