Major John Casey opened the door and pulled his suitcase into the foyer of his townhome. He hardly ever came back here, but, it was good to be in his old home again. He'd been called back to D.C. by his boss, General Beckman to discuss his situation. He walked upstairs to his bedroom and quickly unpacked his suitcase and put it away in the guest bedroom closet. Back in his room, he opened his closet and took out his robe and slippers and headed downstairs for a glass of whiskey and his "Ellie" time on the phone. He poured a small amount of whiskey into the glass, lit a fire in his gas fireplace, turned on his stereo and popped in a Steely Dan CD, dialed up Elllie and settled in.

It would be around five in the afternoon back home in L.A. and he knew Ellie got off shift at three that afternoon. The phone only rang once before she excitedly answered.

"Oh, I'm so glad you landed safely, how are you? how was your flight? Have you had your dinner yet? I'm going over to Chuck's in a half an hour for chicken dinner with them. God I miss you....I'm kissing the phone now. Smooch, smooch, smooch...."

John grinned into the phone as her rapid fire, excited questions all tumbled out in under a minute and he now heard her making "smooching" noises into the receiver. He remembered a time when he'd witnessed Chuck making smooching noises into the phone with his old girlfriend Jill. He was horrified when Chuck did that, and had tweaked his ear and given him what for. Casey now chuckled softly when he realized he was on the receiving end of his very own "smoochy kiss" phone call. And damn if it didn't make him relax and feel warm and fuzzy. She had paused now and was waiting for his reply.

He made his own "Maawahh" smooch noise in the phone in reply to hers. "Hey Baby, I'm in for the evening. I got into Fort Meyer about an hour and a half ago. The plane was full of troops, so it was a bit cramped, I guess I should have sprung for the commercial flight instead but at least I'm here and in one piece, but I'll admit those seats aren't quite the same as business class on a regular flight. I'm sipping some whiskey and almost off to bed."

"Oh I hope your knees aren't sore after being squished. Take six hundred milligrams of motrin and don't worry about the whiskey, if you're only having a small drink, you'll be fine. It'll help you sleep and take the edge off."

Ellie worried about his knees. He was so tall and she'd noticed that every time they'd flown together, his knees ached afterwards if they sat in seats that were too close together. On the last two flights they'd taken, she'd insisted they fly business class for his comfort, but he'd been forced to take a military transport this time due to time constraints. It was truly the safest flight available for him, so she always felt better when he flew by transport but knew he'd be sore afterwards, as it was bare bones where comfort was concerned. She smiled and hugged the couch pillow closer to her as she relished in listening to his low, rumbling voice.

"Yeah, I'll take some after I hang up with you. So, how about you tell me what you're wearing right now?" he sultrily asked as he took a sip of the whiskey. He heard her giggle lightly in response to his question and it sent a shiver down his spine. She had such an affect on him. There was something about her that was unlike any woman he'd ever known before. She was it for him. All of his years as a batchelor had been for a reason. And the reason was her. She completed him and made him whole. He'd never imagined meeting her, much less getting married and having a normal life with her.

He'd taken a bit longer to adjust to the intersect assignment in L.A. than Sarah had and he'd initially been almost bitter about the assignment and not thrilled about L.A. or the Bartowski's. Little did he know what a life changing event it would become for himself and everyone else for that matter. He smiled as he listened to his wife chat away. He had no interest to do anything else but listen to her and enjoy everything that came out of her sweet mouth.

"Do you want the truth or should I make something up?" she laughed.

"Truth," he replied, as he imagined her getting ready for an afternoon swim in her black bikini...or, coming back from a run, all sweaty in her jog bra and shorts..yeah, that worked nicely he thought as he imagined his beautiful wife, covered in a sheen of perspiration in her cute running outfit, or even better, laying on their bed in her silk teddy he'd bought her for his birthday gift to himself.

"Well, it's not going to do anything for you, as I'm in sweat pants and one of your old t-shirts. But, I'm not wearing a bra. Does that help?" she giggled.

"Yep. I can live with the sweat pants, but the idea of you bra-less in one of my t-shirts works much better. So, that happy or should I say perky image should definitely help me fall asleep with a smile on my face Dr. Casey."

"Good, glad to be of service," she purred in reply. "So, what did the General have to say?"

"We didn't really have time to get into the particulars, but she wants me to join her at the Officer's Club tomorrow evening for dinner so we can iron everything out."

"Well, that sounds like a good start. I know everything will work out, especially if you wear your dress uniform," she happily replied.

"Oh, you think I'll dazzle her do you? A hardened General who sees nothing but men and women in uniforms all day long. She'll take one look at me and agree to all of my terms due to me wearing a dress uniform?"

"That's exactly what she'll do, I guarantee it. Not everyone has the broadest, sexiest shoulders and the longest legs and the buffest body and the bluest of blue eyes Major Casey...that's all you and that's why you're so special and she'll definitely be affected. I've seen women look at you when you're in uniform and a few men as well and it's always the same look....one of lust. You'll get everything you want, I just know it."

"Sure hope you're right Ell. Hey, I, uh liked those kisses. I sure wish you were with me now to give me some more. I've got a fire going and it just doesn't cut it without you here in my arms," he sighed taking another sip from the glass. "I'm going in early tomorrow for a debriefing on all my L.A. stuff so, I'll be in meetings most of the day. I'll call you once I'm back home before I hit the sack after dinner tomorrow night."

"Will I be able to reach you on your cell if I need you?" she asked with just a hint of nervousness in her tone.

"Of course Baby, it's always on and if for some weird reason you can't reach me you can call the number I gave you and they'll always find me and patch you through to me. No worries Babe, you'll always be able to get through to me if you need me okay?"

"Okay, I won't bother you, but it's nice to know I can get you anytime I need to."

"Anytime Ell. Anytime. Enjoy your dinner with the genius and Sarah."

"I will. Goodnight Baby."

"Night Sweetie, Sleep tight."

As he put the phone down, he reflected on how far they'd come and how proud he was of her. She'd understood and accepted the fact that he worked military intelligence, she knew his true rank, his true name and background and knew he was covertly assigned in L.A. on what she assumed involved his computer espionage related business and that he'd need to report to his superiors at the Pentagon on occasion. She'd even travelled with him to D.C. and attended several special occasion dinners and balls. She knew his work was highly classified and secretive and that only she and Chuck knew about it.

She completely trusted him and understood that he could not speak about the particulars of his job. She did not know that he was with the N.S.A. and more than likely never would, but that was fine. She knew what mattered the most and her only concern that he knew she tried to hide from him, was her worry about not knowing where he was and how she would reach him at any time if need be. They'd solved that problem with a secure, military line on his cell phone. She could get through to him, no matter where he was, at any time and that had alleviated her fears.

Since they'd gotten involved, she was aware he had an undercover assignment at the Buy More and while she never asked him about it, he knew, through speaking with Chuck that she assumed that assignment had dealt with homeland security and "super secret computer stuff." She had no knowledge of his N.S.A. connection to Chuck and Sarah other than the new business they'd founded together. She was happily unaware of the special situation involving her brother and his intersect brain nor Sarah's C.I.A. connection to Chuck.

Chuck, Sarah and Casey (and the Department of Defense) had started their own company that specialized in helping businesses maintain their computer security and fight off international business espionage. What it really was, in addition to being a, well-run business in which Morgan legitimately helped to manage, was a medium-sized west coast base of operations for the N.S.A. and the C.I.A. that was totally covert. Only Chuck, Sarah and Casey knew it's true purpose.

Chuck was safer than ever under the dual protections of the heavy N.S.A. and C.I.A presence and served to run the legitimate business end of the operation with Morgan. Chuck's status with the Department of Defense had been upped and he had true rank and pay as a goverment employee as well as a very high security clearance. All in all, it worked out well for everyone. The Department of Defense had a new, high-tech facility that revolved around the intersect and was staffed with the best agents and operations staff, Chuck and Morgan had a legitimate business to run that was booming, Morgan could use his extensive computer knowledge and friendly manner to help Chuck run their company, oblivious to Casey and Sarah's true work nor the fact that most of the employee's of the corporation were actually classified government workers in one form or the other. Casey and Sarah had been moved away from their field agent duties to overseeing the running of the top secret facility for their respective agencies and Ellie knew her husband co-founded and worked with her brother in their business that was tied to international computer espionage and anti-terrorism security work.