fic: cold school killer
Title: Cold School Killer
Author: wepdiggy
Rating: PG for mild language
Pairing: Casey/Sarah antagonistic partnership (possible pre-Casey/Sarah, but you have to look hard) and mentions of Chuck/Sarah
Timeframe: Mid-Season 2
Summary: When our favorite NSA agent gets a man sized cold, it’s up to his partner to take care of him.
~*~
Sarah descended the stairs to Castle humming a tune that had been stuck in her head all morning. The previous night had brought with it another successful mission, followed by a really fun cover date with her cover boyfriend to see Couple’s Retreat. Not a masterpiece, by any stretch of the imagination, but they both loved Kristen Bell. Followed up by a nice, long shower, a relaxing night’s sleep, a spirited morning workout, and a surprise breakfast of chocolate éclairs provided by the aforementioned cover boyfriend, and Sarah was in an uncharacteristically cheerful mood.
When she reached the base of the stairs, her smile dissipated slightly. Her partner, John Casey, sat at the table in Castle’s main meeting room. He wasn’t going over reports. He wasn’t cleaning a firearm. He wasn’t watching the screen showing surveillance of the Buy More intently. Casey instead had his head resting against the table, his arms by his side, and for all the world looked like he might be dead.
“What the hell are you so happy about, Walker?” said Casey in his usual gruff voice.
Sarah was relieved that her initial fears that something terrible had happened to her partner had proven false, but she couldn’t help but think something still sounded…off about him.
“Just another day in Burbank,” she said simply, ignoring the niggling temptation to question the NSA agent further.
Of course, Casey only grunted in reply. But even his grunt sounded different than normal. It was far more…nasal.
“You okay?” Sarah asked, taking a seat at the table and gathering up some paperwork she planned to go over that morning.
“I’m fine,” Casey said tersely.
“Really?” Sarah asked. She wasn’t buying it for a moment.
“Really,” Casey said. Then a sniffle.
“Because if you were sick-“
“I’m not sick!” Casey huffed.
“Because if you were,” Sarah continued, unfazed. “You would tell me, right? I mean we’re partners, and if Chuck’s safety were in danger and I thought I could count on you, but I couldn’t…”
“I’m fine,” Casey reiterated.
Then he sneezed. A big, loud sneeze. Fortunately, he’d managed to cover his nose, but the sneeze had clearly been very productive, as the big man kept his hand cupped over his face and made his way wordlessly to the restroom.
Moments later, Casey returned. His eyes were watery and puffy. His nose looked raw from rubbing it.
“To be fine, you sure look like shit,” Sarah said, barely looking up from her papers.
“Blow me,” Casey stated firmly.
“Thought you weren’t interested?” Sarah asked, smirking.
“I’m not, but hell, I figure you would know what you’re doing better than most.”
“Oh, I do,” Sarah said proudly.
Casey looked flustered. He’d intended his comment to piss his partner off. After all, what woman is proud of being a whore? Maybe he hadn’t been clear enough.
“What I meant was, I figure with your vast experience-“
“I know what you meant, Agent Casey. I don’t care,” Sarah said distractedly. She wasn’t going to let Casey get the best of her. Not when he was clearly not his best.
Casey huffed in frustration. He felt like death warmed over, and he really didn’t appreciate Walker’s attitude.
“You still didn’t tell me why you’re so damn happy this morning,” he said, bringing the issue back up.
“And you didn’t tell me what’s wrong with you. Should I be wearing a germ mask or something?” Sarah asked in reply.
“What, no. It’s just a cold. Now answer my question!”
“Fine, I was happy because I was positive that I could come to work today without getting sick. Now I’m not happy anymore, as I’m pretty sure I’m in danger of catching whatever you have,” Sarah said.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” Casey said.
“I mean, I’m sure Beckman would just love us not being able to go on a mission because I caught something from you that I passed on to Chuck,” Sarah said, ignoring Casey’s dismissal.
“Well if you kept your tongue in your own mouth, that really wouldn’t be a problem, now would it?” Casey asked.
“It’s a part of our cover, Casey,” Sarah reminded him flatly.
“Get off it, Walker. You’re not fooling anyone,” and another sneeze, this time failing to completely cover his mouth.
“Ugh, that’s gross!” Sarah shouted before getting up and leaving the room. When she came back a few minutes later, she was wearing a mask over her nose and mouth, and was carrying a bottle of disinfectant spray. She immediately began to spray and wipe down the table.
“You should go home,” Sarah said, her voice muffled by the mask.
“I don’t need to go home,” Casey argued.
“Well, clearly you’re too sick to do…well, anything. I think it’s best if you go home. I’ll grab Chuck when he gets off, and we’ll head back to his place, seeing as you’re too sick to do surveillance” Sarah offered.
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Casey asked snidely. His head was now back on the table.
“I would like to be away from the cold germs,” Sarah replied pointedly. She sighed. Casey was obviously not going to go home. “Fine, if you’re going to stick around, you want me to get you anything? Soup, Kleenex?”
She shouldn’t have asked. For the next three hours, Casey enlisted Sarah as his personal do-girl.
It started simple enough. He wanted a broccoli and cheese soup from Subway. She complied. After all, she could go ahead and pick up lunch for herself and Chuck while she was there. Next Casey wanted a bagel from the bakery down on the corner. Well, you’re supposed to feed a cold, so Sarah got that for him. Casey then requested his partner run back to his apartment and get his Glenfarcias 25 year old. She reasoned that drunk Casey might be a little easier to deal with, so she got that too.
~*~
Drunk Casey wasn’t any better, however. He had Sarah get his dry-cleaning, mail some bills, and even finish up his report from the previous night’s mission. In short, he ran her ragged, all the while still managing a number of gross sneezes, which were now accompanied by bitching and moaning, the likes of which Sarah didn’t know her partner was capable.
“Uuuuggh,” Casey wailed once again.
“What is it this time?” Sarah asked, clearly annoyed.
“It’s almost lunchtime for the Intersect,” sniffle, “and I don’t know if this head cold can handle Bartowski today. Think you could call in a fake computer emergency somewhere? Anywhere but here?”
“No,” Sarah stated flatly. She’d put up with Casey’s insufferable whining and his demands all morning. She wasn’t about to sacrifice the one bright spot of her day, lunch with Chuck, for the NSA agent.
“Fine,” Casey huffed. “I guess I’ll do it myself.”
Casey pulled his phone from his pocket and began to dial. He was really going to go through with it. And that was the final straw for Sarah. She couldn’t let him continue.
Pulling a tranq gun discreetly from under the table, she fired three quick shots into her partner’s neck. He looked at her with an expression of betrayal on his face. Sarah didn’t care. Hell, sleep would probably do Casey some good. And even if it didn’t, him being unconscious would certainly do her some good.
~*~
Chuck made his way down the steps of Castle with a smile on his face. He hadn’t heard from either of his handlers all day, which more than likely meant it was a quiet day on the “spy world” front. That would mean no mission that night, more than likely, which would mean a good opportunity to just kick back and relax with his “cover” girlfriend. Those were always good nights.
His smile faded as he got closer to the bottom step, however, and he heard the unmistakable sound of Sarah grunting with exertion. Was she fighting with Casey, again? A quick scan of the room disproved that theory. Well, kind of. She wasn’t fighting with Casey. At least, she wasn’t fighting with him any more. If there had been a fight, it was over.
“Wuh-what’s going on?” Chuck asked.
Sarah looked up at her asset startled, causing her to drop the body of the major, which she’d been dragging toward the detention block, to the floor.
“Casey got what he deserved,” she said plainly. All of the exuberance she’d had this morning was clearly gone from her voice. Her hair was frazzled, and she looked like she’d been in a fight with five or six terrorists already that morning.
“You,” Chuck swallowed hard, “you killed him?”
Sarah let go of a breath in frustration. “No I didn’t kill him. I just tranqed him. Now, are you going to help me drag his heavy ass to a holding cell, or are you just going to stand there observing?” she asked with frustration.
“I, um, I guess,” Chuck said bumbling. He went over to where the two agents were. “So, you want me to get the legs or the head?”
“Here put this on,” Sarah said, throwing him a mask like the one she was still wearing. “And then, grab the head.”
Author: wepdiggy
Rating: PG for mild language
Pairing: Casey/Sarah antagonistic partnership (possible pre-Casey/Sarah, but you have to look hard) and mentions of Chuck/Sarah
Timeframe: Mid-Season 2
Summary: When our favorite NSA agent gets a man sized cold, it’s up to his partner to take care of him.
~*~
Sarah descended the stairs to Castle humming a tune that had been stuck in her head all morning. The previous night had brought with it another successful mission, followed by a really fun cover date with her cover boyfriend to see Couple’s Retreat. Not a masterpiece, by any stretch of the imagination, but they both loved Kristen Bell. Followed up by a nice, long shower, a relaxing night’s sleep, a spirited morning workout, and a surprise breakfast of chocolate éclairs provided by the aforementioned cover boyfriend, and Sarah was in an uncharacteristically cheerful mood.
When she reached the base of the stairs, her smile dissipated slightly. Her partner, John Casey, sat at the table in Castle’s main meeting room. He wasn’t going over reports. He wasn’t cleaning a firearm. He wasn’t watching the screen showing surveillance of the Buy More intently. Casey instead had his head resting against the table, his arms by his side, and for all the world looked like he might be dead.
“What the hell are you so happy about, Walker?” said Casey in his usual gruff voice.
Sarah was relieved that her initial fears that something terrible had happened to her partner had proven false, but she couldn’t help but think something still sounded…off about him.
“Just another day in Burbank,” she said simply, ignoring the niggling temptation to question the NSA agent further.
Of course, Casey only grunted in reply. But even his grunt sounded different than normal. It was far more…nasal.
“You okay?” Sarah asked, taking a seat at the table and gathering up some paperwork she planned to go over that morning.
“I’m fine,” Casey said tersely.
“Really?” Sarah asked. She wasn’t buying it for a moment.
“Really,” Casey said. Then a sniffle.
“Because if you were sick-“
“I’m not sick!” Casey huffed.
“Because if you were,” Sarah continued, unfazed. “You would tell me, right? I mean we’re partners, and if Chuck’s safety were in danger and I thought I could count on you, but I couldn’t…”
“I’m fine,” Casey reiterated.
Then he sneezed. A big, loud sneeze. Fortunately, he’d managed to cover his nose, but the sneeze had clearly been very productive, as the big man kept his hand cupped over his face and made his way wordlessly to the restroom.
Moments later, Casey returned. His eyes were watery and puffy. His nose looked raw from rubbing it.
“To be fine, you sure look like shit,” Sarah said, barely looking up from her papers.
“Blow me,” Casey stated firmly.
“Thought you weren’t interested?” Sarah asked, smirking.
“I’m not, but hell, I figure you would know what you’re doing better than most.”
“Oh, I do,” Sarah said proudly.
Casey looked flustered. He’d intended his comment to piss his partner off. After all, what woman is proud of being a whore? Maybe he hadn’t been clear enough.
“What I meant was, I figure with your vast experience-“
“I know what you meant, Agent Casey. I don’t care,” Sarah said distractedly. She wasn’t going to let Casey get the best of her. Not when he was clearly not his best.
Casey huffed in frustration. He felt like death warmed over, and he really didn’t appreciate Walker’s attitude.
“You still didn’t tell me why you’re so damn happy this morning,” he said, bringing the issue back up.
“And you didn’t tell me what’s wrong with you. Should I be wearing a germ mask or something?” Sarah asked in reply.
“What, no. It’s just a cold. Now answer my question!”
“Fine, I was happy because I was positive that I could come to work today without getting sick. Now I’m not happy anymore, as I’m pretty sure I’m in danger of catching whatever you have,” Sarah said.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” Casey said.
“I mean, I’m sure Beckman would just love us not being able to go on a mission because I caught something from you that I passed on to Chuck,” Sarah said, ignoring Casey’s dismissal.
“Well if you kept your tongue in your own mouth, that really wouldn’t be a problem, now would it?” Casey asked.
“It’s a part of our cover, Casey,” Sarah reminded him flatly.
“Get off it, Walker. You’re not fooling anyone,” and another sneeze, this time failing to completely cover his mouth.
“Ugh, that’s gross!” Sarah shouted before getting up and leaving the room. When she came back a few minutes later, she was wearing a mask over her nose and mouth, and was carrying a bottle of disinfectant spray. She immediately began to spray and wipe down the table.
“You should go home,” Sarah said, her voice muffled by the mask.
“I don’t need to go home,” Casey argued.
“Well, clearly you’re too sick to do…well, anything. I think it’s best if you go home. I’ll grab Chuck when he gets off, and we’ll head back to his place, seeing as you’re too sick to do surveillance” Sarah offered.
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Casey asked snidely. His head was now back on the table.
“I would like to be away from the cold germs,” Sarah replied pointedly. She sighed. Casey was obviously not going to go home. “Fine, if you’re going to stick around, you want me to get you anything? Soup, Kleenex?”
She shouldn’t have asked. For the next three hours, Casey enlisted Sarah as his personal do-girl.
It started simple enough. He wanted a broccoli and cheese soup from Subway. She complied. After all, she could go ahead and pick up lunch for herself and Chuck while she was there. Next Casey wanted a bagel from the bakery down on the corner. Well, you’re supposed to feed a cold, so Sarah got that for him. Casey then requested his partner run back to his apartment and get his Glenfarcias 25 year old. She reasoned that drunk Casey might be a little easier to deal with, so she got that too.
~*~
Drunk Casey wasn’t any better, however. He had Sarah get his dry-cleaning, mail some bills, and even finish up his report from the previous night’s mission. In short, he ran her ragged, all the while still managing a number of gross sneezes, which were now accompanied by bitching and moaning, the likes of which Sarah didn’t know her partner was capable.
“Uuuuggh,” Casey wailed once again.
“What is it this time?” Sarah asked, clearly annoyed.
“It’s almost lunchtime for the Intersect,” sniffle, “and I don’t know if this head cold can handle Bartowski today. Think you could call in a fake computer emergency somewhere? Anywhere but here?”
“No,” Sarah stated flatly. She’d put up with Casey’s insufferable whining and his demands all morning. She wasn’t about to sacrifice the one bright spot of her day, lunch with Chuck, for the NSA agent.
“Fine,” Casey huffed. “I guess I’ll do it myself.”
Casey pulled his phone from his pocket and began to dial. He was really going to go through with it. And that was the final straw for Sarah. She couldn’t let him continue.
Pulling a tranq gun discreetly from under the table, she fired three quick shots into her partner’s neck. He looked at her with an expression of betrayal on his face. Sarah didn’t care. Hell, sleep would probably do Casey some good. And even if it didn’t, him being unconscious would certainly do her some good.
~*~
Chuck made his way down the steps of Castle with a smile on his face. He hadn’t heard from either of his handlers all day, which more than likely meant it was a quiet day on the “spy world” front. That would mean no mission that night, more than likely, which would mean a good opportunity to just kick back and relax with his “cover” girlfriend. Those were always good nights.
His smile faded as he got closer to the bottom step, however, and he heard the unmistakable sound of Sarah grunting with exertion. Was she fighting with Casey, again? A quick scan of the room disproved that theory. Well, kind of. She wasn’t fighting with Casey. At least, she wasn’t fighting with him any more. If there had been a fight, it was over.
“Wuh-what’s going on?” Chuck asked.
Sarah looked up at her asset startled, causing her to drop the body of the major, which she’d been dragging toward the detention block, to the floor.
“Casey got what he deserved,” she said plainly. All of the exuberance she’d had this morning was clearly gone from her voice. Her hair was frazzled, and she looked like she’d been in a fight with five or six terrorists already that morning.
“You,” Chuck swallowed hard, “you killed him?”
Sarah let go of a breath in frustration. “No I didn’t kill him. I just tranqed him. Now, are you going to help me drag his heavy ass to a holding cell, or are you just going to stand there observing?” she asked with frustration.
“I, um, I guess,” Chuck said bumbling. He went over to where the two agents were. “So, you want me to get the legs or the head?”
“Here put this on,” Sarah said, throwing him a mask like the one she was still wearing. “And then, grab the head.”