Entry 10, 'Double Vision Pt 2', CvTFToJMTP, Chap 22 by GoddessofBirth
Title: Double Vision, Pt 2
Author: GoddessofBirth
Series: Casey vs. the Family Tree or Jayne Meets the Parents, Chap. 22
Fandoms: Chuck/Firefly
Pairings: Rayne, Jellie, Charah
Word Count: 2223
Chapter Rating: R
Series Rating: R
Previous Chapters
Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't profit from it
Beta'd by sunshineali
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Ellie folded her legs into the lotus pose and concentrated on centering her chi. She had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a ridiculous and disturbing dream featuring John and Jayne, both dressed as Zorro, hunting and shooting bunnies with handlebar mustaches. Although she'd tried her best, she hadn't been able to go back to sleep and in the end she'd sighed and headed to the kitchen, resigned to cooking the rest of the night away. It was a familiar routine; she'd done it often in the nights after she and Devon had split.
A breakfast casserole was now warming in the oven, along with a pan of cinnamon buns, and it was still at least another hour before any sane person would be awake. She'd decided now was as good a time as any to resurrect the daily yoga practice she'd abandoned in the wake of her separation.
She took a deep breath and formed her hands into the Jnana Mudra and concentrated on the blackness behind her eyelids. She used the ticking of the clock on the wall to meter out the release of her tension and busy thoughts, but after only a few minutes of blessed blankness her newly focused brain centered in on its most pressing issue: John. After a couple of struggling attempts to blank back out she decided it must be a thread that needed to be dealt with and let her thoughts run free.
When she had realized John was some kind of spy she had intellectually accepted that the profession more than likely required the occasional act of violence. But having that violence focused on someone she'd actually known had quickly moved it out of the realm of the theoretical and into the cold arena of reality. True, Bryce had apparently been some sort of enemy agent, but the tone in John's voice said it wasn't the first time he'd killed someone and he didn't expect it would be the last. That, combined with a few of the more cryptic comments he'd made over the last few days, led her to believe that death and destruction were more than just an occasional visitor in his life.
She worried what that revelation meant as far as Chuck was concerned, and what his day to day life might entail, but beyond that, she wondered how much of the John she saw was real. He had told her flatly that his cover was a lie, but she didn't think he could fake the dry sense of humor she saw sparking underneath his outwardly intimidating exterior, or the grudging respect he was developing for Jayne, or the way he looked at her when he thought she couldn't see. And long before she'd known what he was, he'd kept guard over her, above and beyond what was necessary for his job.
He'd thrown his role in Bryce's death in her face almost like he was trying to scare her off, convince her that he was the last person she should trust. It was eerily similar to Jayne's attempt to throw her off the scent of he and River. Maybe the two men were more alike than they wanted to admit. And if Casey's history was anything like Jayne's, could she accept that?
She took another deep breath. She was acting like she was weighing him as a potential romantic prospect. Then she rolled her eyes - Yoga was terrible for her ability to lie to herself. Of course she was weighing the pros and cons of getting involved with him. How he'd gone from neighbor to prospective lover so quickly was a mystery, but that bridge was obviously crossed and burned. She needed to stop worrying about the how and concentrate on figuring out if the man was more than his actions.
She transitioned into Downward Facing Dog and started scheming of ways to get John to open up about his past. He might be a spy, but she was a Bartowski, and no government trained agent was a match for that.
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Casey muttered his daily mantra as he stalked through the doors of the Buy More. He was already in a foul mood following his meeting with Beckman. He'd spent the entire hour lying through his teeth about the factual reality of Cobb and River's craft, the events that led up to the astronomical body count the Cleaners had found in the woods and the less than tranquil atmosphere that currently existed in Burbank.
He didn't like lying to his superiors, and especially to Beckman, who had stuck her neck out for him more than once. But he'd already accepted that his loyalty to his team and the Bartowski siblings outweighed what he owed the government, and if that meant whitewashing the truth, then that was a price he was willing to pay. But that didn't mean he enjoyed it, and it didn't mean that his mood in the aftermath wasn't something that very clearly projected 'STAY AWAY.'
Apparently the store's moronic duo had a death wish, because as soon as he passed the security sensors they appeared, one on either side of him, like a couple of annoying hyenas.
Lester looked oddly smug. 'It's good to see you've recovered so well, John. You can apparently handle your alcohol.'
Jeff nodded loosely. 'Very impressive.'
Casey grunted and walked past them. Who knew what the idiot was talking about. He'd probably huffed a bit too much of his boyfriend's ether. Jeff and Lester didn't take his very obvious hint, instead quickening their pace to keep from falling behind. Lester overtook Casey and walked backward in order to continue the conversation.
'I must say that when you decide to let loose, you really let loose. I didn't think you had it in you. And the girl? Quite the hottie, wasn't she, Jeffrey?'
Jeff leered. 'I'd like to show her my pool cue.'
Casey ignored them, intent on getting to the break room where he could lock them out before he killed them with the stiletto shoved in his boot.
'I'd never guessed you liked them so young, John. ' Lester looked like he was holding some incriminating piece of evidence. Jeff had joined him in his backward march, and if possible, his leer got even worse.
'The younger the better...perfect for breaking them in. As long as they're old enough to drive, right Casey?' At that point the trick of walking backward became too much for his shoddy coordination and he stumbled and crashed into a DVD display. The same display, now that Casey thought about it, that Lester had knocked down two days ago. As if by magic, Bunny again appeared and set to realigning the stand.
Lester paused long enough to pull Jeff to his feet and they again flanked Casey's side. Casey had finally started listening to their babbling and an angry suspicion was forming in his head. The thundercloud around him darkened and an angry growl erupted from his chest.
'Now, Jeffrey,' Lester fingered his chin and addressed his other half. 'What about the beard? Positive accoutrement or disastrous distraction?'
Young girl, alcohol, beard...Casey's suspicion snapped firmly into place and he grabbed each of them by the collar and plowed them backwards until the slammed against the back wall of the Buy More. Their feet dangled several inches off the floor.
'Now, before I end both of your pathetic existences, tell me exactly what you're babbling about.'
Lester attempted to bluff him. 'Now, now John, didn't we already come to an agreement about your mistreatment of us? I'd hate to have to bring Big Mike back into this.'
Casey tightened his grip on their necks and smiled as their faces turned red from the strain. Jeff cracked first, speaking in rapid fire. 'You, Friday Night, Bennigans. Played pool, started a fight, left with a girl. Can you put me down? I'm late for my mom's weekly call from the Pen.'
Casey shook both of them. 'I wasn't anywhere near that crap hole, I don't play pool, and I certainly didn't go anywhere with a female. Understand?'
Instead of the cowed expression Casey expected, Lester suddenly looked triumphant. 'Really, John? Then who, Sir, is that?' He looked pointedly over Casey's shoulder.
Casey closed his eyes and let out an exasperated groan. Without relaxing his grip he turned his upper body to look behind him. Sure enough, River was standing by the movie section, waving madly while bouncing up and down.
'John Casey! John Casey!' When she saw she had his attention, she continued, at a decibel level guaranteed to alert the whole store to her presence. 'Ellie would like John Casey to use his store discount to purchase -' she paused to look at a small piece of paper in her hand, ' - Casablanca. If he complains, she is to remind him that she suffered through Full Metal Jacket last night. With commentary.'
He heard a pleased gasp behind him and was reminded of the two numskulls in his fists. Jeff was wide eyed and grinning.
'We were wrong...not the hot minor...the former Mrs. Woodcomb.' Then he licked his lips. 'Or are they a package deal?'
Casey's scowl blackened, but before he could carry out his plan to put Jeff through the wall, Lester gave a terrified squeak.
'Retreat, Jeffrey, retreat. Run away now!' His eyes rolled wildly and he tried ineffectually to wiggle out of Casey's grasp. Jeff was unfocused, still caught up in whatever demented fantasy he was having, but he took time to answer in an annoyed tone.
'What? Is it Erin again? Man, I don't know why you had to take out that restraining order. Who cares if she's a stalker? She's hot, and she wants us.' His face turned dreamy. 'She's like my perfect other half.'
Casey watched as Lester turned his panicked gaze on his partner. 'Jeffrey! Focus, Jeffrey! It's time for evasive maneuvers. There are two of them!'
Casey felt an evil grin spread across his face and he turned to see Cobb come up behind River, his perpetual scowl firmly in place. River grabbed his hand and pulled him toward Casey.
Jayne glared around the store. He didn't wanna be runnin' these go se errands for Bruny, and would have said so, except for the fact that he couldn't quite forget that she was his somewhere down the line grandma, and he'd had respect for his elders drilled into him before he could walk. River puttin' her soft hand in his and sayin' something about wantin' to show off her shirt hadn't helped his resolve neither.
He and River'd split up to look for Gramps and he'd just about reached the end of his rope tryin' to get his whereabouts outta some kid with way too much red hair on his head who kept lookin' at him like he was the boogy man when he'd heard the girl shoutin' out Casey's name. Followin' the sound of her voice he found her bouncin' around. It was doin' all sorts of nice things to her girl bits, which he enjoyed until he realized he wasn't the only one doin' so. He scowled at a pack of boys in Simon lookin' shirts and ties and had the satisfaction of watchin' 'em scatter faster than a colony ship from a bunch of reavers.
River turned her head up to look at him. 'She has located John Casey.' She laced her fingers with his and tugged him toward the back of the store. He squinted at where she had nodded and saw Gramps grinning madly in his direction while keepin' somebody - scratch that, two somebodies - penned against the wall. As they got closer, he realized the two idjits looked familiar. Half a second later he realized they were the two creepy fucks from the bar and in the next half second it hit him that they'd thought he was Gramps. Ew.
They were both strugglin' desperately to get away from Casey, lookin' between the two of them with growin' horror. Jayne met Casey's gaze and a smirk spread across his face. When he reached his side, Casey abruptly released the boys and he and Jayne crossed their arms across their chests and stared down at them with identical snarls on their faces.
The dark haired little one wordlessly squeaked before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the floor. The doughy blond boy only paused at his friend's side for an instant before turnin' tail and runnin', screaming as he went, 'Feast on the small one! He's meatier than he appears!'
River appeared in front of Jayne and Casey and, putting her hands on her hips, shook her head at them. 'Should not scare the wildlife. It's rude.'
Casey gave a dismissive grunt before turning to Jayne. 'How about we discuss the penalties for impersonating a government official instead?'
Jayne sneered and gave Casey the finger before telling him in exact detail where he could stick his government official. During the heated exchange that followed, Lester briefly regained consciousness; but when they both broke off long enough to growl down at him, he laid his head on the ground and promptly passed back out.