"Come on, up and at 'em, baby!"

John rolled over on his back and cracked an eye half way open to see his wife, already in her swimsuit, ready to take their morning laps, standing and smiling down at him. He stood, giving her a tight hug and when she wouldn't release him, dragged her with him, attached at his waist as he brushed his teeth and pulled on his trunks. She was now on his back, piggy back style and had her arms wrapped around his strong shoulders and was nuzzling his neck as he finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed and loaded her brush with paste and handed it up to her, smiling as he watched her in the mirror, brushing her teeth noting that she was drooling paste onto the top of his head, but not worrying as it would soon be rinsed off. She leaned way over and took the cup he offered and rinsed. He bent slightly to let her down, and realized he had a little monkey on his back who was not in the least bit interested in letting go.

John happily schlepped her along with him, as they walked out of the french doors in their bedroom and literally right into the deep end of their pool. He hung onto her as they sunk to the bottom. She'd spun around and had her legs wrapped around his waist and he could now see her smiling and laughing under the water. As they rose and broke the surface, they both started swimming their laps. They did this a few times a week as time permitted and then ate breakfast on their patio as they sunned themselves and dried off.

After twenty minutes of laps, he felt her grab his ankles. He rolled onto his back and floated as she approached him. She stood and held him in her arms, enjoying his weightlessness and bent down to kiss him. "Too bad I can't haul you right out of the water like this," she grinned.

"Well you'd get halfway out of the water and then we'd both tumble back in. But, I think I can manage to carry you to your breakfast table My Lady."

And, with that, he stood in the water and swooped her up, easily carrying her out of the water and plopped her down into her chair at the table and wrapped her towel around her shoulders and then proceeded to towel himself off.

Ellie loved to watch him do this. He'd shake the water out of his hair and then quickly towel off his shoulders and chest and give a quick swipe over his legs and back and then sit down. She'd grin at the puddle that would form under him as his trunks drip dried.

They chatted as they read the morning paper and ate their breakfast of chilled fruit, granola and coffee. Ellie would get an early start on answering her emails from work and John would read his emails from Beckman and Walker. But today, it was the last bit of time they'd have to finish the plans for the final HGTV taping of their episode.

"So, do you think we're all set for next weekend? I'm getting kind of nervous with General Beckman flying in and all. I mean, I know she's your boss, and I've socialized with her before but I'm still embarrassed about the accident and everyth....."

"Hey now, no worries. You know she adores you and she's as excited about this whole thing as you are. As for the accident, you have no reason to be embarrassed. That was all out of your control and she has told me, so many times that I've lost count, that she is so grateful she could help you on the emergency nav system while it was all going down. She's going to be happy to see you healed and in one piece, to see the house and to just hang-out with us. She's not so uptight when she's off duty so, you're going to see a different side to her I think."

"Oh, I almost forgot, she asked if she could bring a date. I've never seen her with anyone at official functions, and didn't realize she was involved."

Casey's interest was peaked at the thought of his boss bringing a date to their party. "Who'd she say the guy was?"

"I was an idiot and didn't write it down, but it was Robert or Roger or something like that. Does that name ring any bells?"

Casey quickly tried to place the names, but nobody came to mind.

"Well he must be someone from the defense department or the Army that I haven't met. That's good though, that she feels relaxed enough to bring a date."

Part of him felt like he was in junior high again and he couldn't wait to tell Sarah, but he squelched the urge for the moment.

"They are flying in on Wednesday as she wants to see the Getty Museum and visit Disneyland."

Casey's eyebrow raised. 'Disneyland? Wow'

"Oh, don't look so shocked! I seem to remember someone having a very nice time on our date at Disneyland so, I bet she'll have fun too."

Casey just grinned as he thought back to the early days of their relationship and the surprise trip she took him on to the Mouse House.

"Are you sure we shouldn't offer to let her stay here with us?"

"She's the type that will want her own hotel room. Of that, I'm certain."

"Well, if you aren't worried, I guess I won't be either."

She was biting into a banana and Casey's brain froze as he watched her lips wrap around the pulp and her pearly white teeth sink into it. He pulled himself together when he realized she was speaking again.

"I ordered the steaks and you said we have plenty of propane. Sarah and Chuck are taking care of all the salads, your secretary said she'd bring all the desserts and Morgan and Ana said they'd bring the alcohol and other drinks. I keep thinking we're forgetting something, but I think it's honestly all covered. Oh, did you fill the kegerator on the patio?"

"Are you kidding, with Chuck and Morgan over so often, it's always full. So, exactly who is coming again? I keep forgetting?"

"Well, Chuck and Sarah of course, Ana, Morgan, Big Mike, Jeff and Lester-- and please do not let them try to entertain us with any live music. In fact, that's your main responsibility for the day. Keep those two under control Colonel!"

"Yes Ma'am! Got it."

"I invited Karen and Janice from the ER and Shelly of course and.."

He watched her as she stopped speaking and appeared to be mulling something over in her head. She then continued.

"Well, I'm not sure how you feel about it, but I thought it might be nice to invite..."

"Devon," they both said at the same exact time, with big grins, realizing they were again, on the same page.

"Yes, I thought of that too," he replied. "What's in the past, is in the past, and he was-"

"Awesome when I was in the hospital," she giggled, again finishing his sentence.

John smiled and continued, "Yeah, he came through big time. I think it would be nice to have him come. I was also thinking of inviting Sam Traynor, you know, the CHP guy. He was a pro through that whole thing, and I thought I'd like to speak with him about taking a security job with the company..what do you think?"

"Oh, sweetie, he was really nice, that's a great idea, plus, I got the feeling he was single and he seems to be Janice's type so, maybe they'll chat each other up and we can play cupid."

"YOU can play cupid, it must be a Bartowski thing that runs in your genes. I'm staying out of it, but yeah, he's cool. I'll give him a call when I get to the office."

He'd already done a thorough background check on Traynor and decided to offer him a job with the company. Beckman was on board and if Traynor was interested, he'd train on site and join the elite ranks of the NSA.

--

Casey was fretting when he saw the camera crew setting up on his freshly cross-cut back lawn. He really didn't need any brown spots or burns. He'd shut off the sprinklers the day before to avoid and wet areas and surveyed his yard with his well-trained lawn jockey eye. He briefly recalled his days of trimming his small, potted bonsai and now reveled in the fact that he had a huge yard to maintain. He'd never admit it, but it brought him peace and tranquility tending to his yard and it was something he'd really come to enjoy.

Shelly was there early and was sitting on the settee, chatting with Ellie.

"You know, Ellie, the staging crew told me this was one of the few homes they've worked on that didn't really need anything done to it prior to taping. You guys have nailed the decorating. They don't have to move any furniture or anything. They are going to bring a few large floral arrangements to place throughout the home to add color, but you're good to go."

John walked up and handed both women cool iced teas as he sat down next to his wife. She'd been so worked up about the party that she was slightly flushed and had been a bit nauseous earlier in the morning. She looked fine now and was sitting comfortably and seemed relaxed. She looked great. They'd coordinated their clothes to look tropical. He'd donned a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a Tommy Bahama shirt and was wearing a pair of leather flip flops. Ellie had chosen a pretty floral sundress and matching jeweled sandals.

"Shelly, thank you for all of your help with this. Ellie and I love this place and were so happy that you found it for us."

"It's my pleasure, John. I guess we have Morgan to thank. He's the one that gave me the lead."

John smirked, inwardly thankful that Morgan introduced them to Shelly. He truly loved the new home and was glad Morgan had made the connection. "Well, If I were a betting man, I'd guess that Morgan and Ana and Chuck and Sarah will be looking in this neighborhood soon, so hopefully you can find them the perfect place as well." She smiled at him and kept chatting with Ellie as he glanced up and saw Devon coming out of the house onto the patio. He grabbed a beer and approached him.

"Nice to see you Devon."

Devon smiled and slapped him on the back as he took the cold beer and waved at Ellie.

"Dude, you've got quite a castle here. It's awesome! the pool rocks, and what a party-house, Man. You're going to have some memorable times here, Bro. Is Chuck here yet? I want to see if he wants to join the new fast-pitch team I'm on. We need a few more guys. It's a traveling team so I thought he may be into that. I know he played fast pitch in high school and was pretty good at it if I remember.

John filed that away, learning yet another new thing about his brother-in-law. "He's not here yet, but should be around any time. Come on over here and meet some people." John walked Devon over to the table that Sam Traynor was sitting at. Devon and he hit it off right away and Devon noted that Janice from the hospital he used to work at with Ellie was openly flirting with Traynor. Devon took the chair next to Karen and got all caught up with her. He hadn't seen her in quite a while either. Soon Jeff, Lester and Mike dropped by and quickly seated themselves near the two pretty nurses and the other men.

As more guests arrived, Ellie got up to set all the food out in the back yard kitchen. As she worked, John helped Morgan and Ana carry in the boxes of drinks.

"Whoa, you've got enough alcohol here for a party at Paris Hilton's house," John grinned, taking a large box from Ana and following Morgan into the house.

"One can never have enough alcohol when entertaining, John," Ana grinned as she gave him a quick hug and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hey, my man, whose that scamming on your woman?" John turned to look in the direction Morgan was staring and was stunned to see Roan Montgomery kissing Ellie's hand.

"Christ," he mumbled. Of all the people his boss could have chosen to bring, Roan Montgomery was not who he was expecting. Before he could answer, he heard his boss walking onto the patio towards Roan, who held a beaming Ellie's hand as we worked his charms on her.

"Ellie, it's so good to see you, dear. You look lovely!"

John watched proudly as Beckman hugged Ellie tightly noting that Roan had finally let go of her hand. For some reason, it was important to him that Beckman liked Ellie and approved of their relationship.

"I'm so glad you're healed and that the whole ordeal is behind you."

"Thank you Diane, it's nice to see you too and, thank you again for keeping me calm through everything."

"I'm just so happy everything worked out like it did." She sat down next to Ellie and they began chatting with Roan who had already begun to hold court with all of the ladies.

Roan looked at his reflection in the patio door, happy with the Lagerfeld suit and coordinating dress shirt and tie he'd chosen. He'd made sure to wear the latest spring line that was appropriate for the sub-tropical Los Angeles weather while still looking discerning and dapper. He was saddened that Casey had chosen a pair of what appeared to be cargo shorts, paired with an equally garish shirt to wear instead of making a more appropriate fashion choice. He'd worked so hard trying to teach that boy the ropes. At least the amateur hadn't chosen a dreadful pair of jeans he sighed to himself. He focused back on the conversation with the women and perked up as he watched the lovely enchantress of a wife that Casey had somehow managed to land, and her lovely, long legs.

John growled quietly to himself as he noticed where Roan's attentions were currently focused. He approached his guests and pulled up a chair across from his wife, at the table with Traynor and the others, facing Roan and his boss, who were seated on the outdoor couch under the covered patio.

"John, nice to see you again. You have quite a place here, how did you find it and who was your decorator?" Roan gestured with his hand as he sipped his wine.

John did his best to smile and not growl, noting that Roan was now resting his arm on the cushion behind Ellie's head. He coolly replied, "My associate Morgan introduced us to Shelly and she found the place. Ellie and I loved it the moment we saw it. We both chose the furnishings." He hated making small talk, but at the moment he was trapped.

"Well, Shelly, what a lovely home you found. And Ellie, the decorating is impeccable."

John was about to gag on his beer and was never happier to hear Chuck's voice as he looked up and saw Chuck and Sarah. They'd agreed that John would introduce Beckman and her "date" as old friends of his parents who were visiting Southern California. As everyone gathered on the patio and took their seats, John made the introductions of "Roan and Diane Le'dreau," his old family friends from way back. Ellie, to her credit didn't seem at all nervous with the deception, as she understood the need to keep their identities and professions secure from everyone.

Beckman and Montgomery played their roles as "The Le'dreaus" with finesse, as would be expected given their combined experience. Chuck and Sarah had somewhat stunned looks on their faces when they arrived and saw whom Beckman's "date" was, but they both quickly recovered as Ana and Morgan walked up.

"Oh my, who are these lovely creatures?" Roan asked of Ellie as he stood and took in the lovely Asian goddess who'd just joined the party and Casey's sexy partner and CIA intersect handler. Ellie quickly scooted over and made room for Ana and Sarah to join them. Roan politely took each of the women's hands and softly kissed the top of each as Ellie made the introductions. Honestly, how Casey had managed to be surrounded by such lovely women was a mystery he thought to himself.

Casey, Chuck, Morgan and Devon had retreated to the safety of the kegerator and were watching Roan hold court with the gaggle of adoring women hanging on his every word.

"Dude, what's with that guy? Who'd you say he was?" Devon groused as he sought comfort in his beer, watching the older gentleman weave his magical spell on the women. "He's totally mackin' on Ell."

"Just an old friend of the family," John grumpily answered, trying to change the subject.

The party went well. The cameras stayed on the perimeter of the yard and patio, nobody fell into the pool, Jeff and Lester were kept under control, nobody got drunk, disorderly or naked, no car alarms went off in the garage and Roan and General Beckman enjoyed themselves and were able to stay off camera the entire time, much to their relief. In a few hours the camera crew left and the party started to wind down. Ellie and John said goodbye to their guests, except for Chuck and Sarah who would stay later into the evening as was the norm.

--

Three weeks later, their episode aired and the same people (minus Roan and the General,) converged to watch the "premiere" on the big screen in the Casey's great room. A potluck dinner was served and everyone laughed and enjoyed the episode. They watched Ellie fall into John in the bathtub that was as big as Lake Superior, they laughed at the "chicken" house and it's wild decorating, they all agreed the house with the large imposing two story directly behind them was not a good choice, but more importantly, they all agreed the home John and Ellie had selected was absolutely, undeniably perfect for them.

Unbeknownest to John, Ellie had a little surprise planned for him at the end of the episode. After her small dizzy spell while gardening a month earlier, she'd had a few more tiny bouts of nausea and was feeling more tired than normal and feeling slightly bloated. She had her suspicions about what may be "ailing" her and decided to run a few tests at work. Her suspicions were confirmed, she was pregnant. She pondered how and when she would tell John, resisting the impulse to immediately call him and share the joyous news. Instead she phoned Shelly and shared the happy news with her. They both plotted a fun way to surprise him and their friends and family by including the important news in their final episode of House Hunters.

On the day of their party, Ellie took a cameraman, the producer and Shelly aside and met them in the spare guest room that was next to she and John's master suite. Shelly made sure that John was fully occupied barbecuing and figured they'd need only ten to fifteen minutes to tape the special surprise. The hostess' vocie would reveal the news but Shelly and Ellie spent the ten minutes discussing whether to paint the room yellow, blue or pink and what type of decorating motif would work best. As they were talking and being taped, Roan Montgomery was walking down the hall to find the water closet. Upon hearing the women talking, he got a huge smile on his face and peeked into the room, always mindful of staying out of the cameras eye. He shared what would turn out to be excellent decorating advice.

"Ladies, may I suggest that you stay away from the more common, garish cartoon themes and go with a more refined and elegant theme. Perhaps a Beatrix Potter motif would be appropriate. You can use shades of cream, taupe and yellow as accent colors while conveying elegance at the same time."

The two women stood slack-jawed as they processed what the elegantly dressed man was saying.

"Oh, please say you picked up his voice even though he was off camera?" Ellie excitedly asked of the camera man. She could just see the episode play out in her mind and couldn't wait to see John's reaction as he heard Roan's voice in the background.

"Yeah, I got it all. It'll sound fine, and we can tweak it with the equalizer if we need to so it picks up better."

Shelly and Ellie giggled with delight and quickly wrapped up the taping, hurrying back to the patio with nobody the wiser.

--

(present day, the "viewing" party)

Chuck and Devon were commenting to John about the fact that they never had to paint or strip wallpaper as they viewed the "before" views of their home. Chuck told Devon how easy the move-in was.

"You guys scored with the kegerator in the outdoor kitchen. That is so awesome. I'm comin' over more often. This place is like a club, Man, and the place was move-in ready? You two lucked out. Did you have to do anything in advance?"

"Not really, I mean we had it wired for the sound system and computers and I had the front fountain built for her, but everything else was ready to go," John answered.

"It saved us a ton of time and money," Ellie added. "But, there is one room that will need to be completely redone."

John looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face and began to ask her what she meant when she politely shushed him and pointed to the screen as the commercials were now finished and the show was resuming. Everyone else quieted to watch the remaining few minutes. Ellie knew what was coming and casually walked over to her husband and sat down on his lap. He was sipping his beer and attentively watching the show as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Suzanne Wang, The hostess, was wrapping up the episode as they all listened.

"Welcome back, it's been three months and John and Ellie have moved into their new home and are enjoying their pool and the casual Southern California lifestyle they love. All that's left for them now is to design the nursery. The stork will be paying them a visit, and luckily they have plenty of rooms to choose from."

The scene quickly switched from Suzanne Wang, to a shot of Ellie and Shelly standing in the guest room.

Ellie glanced at John who had a funny look on his face and tilted his head up to her before focusing all of his attention back on the screen.

Sarah, already figuring out what was coming next, had a huge smile on her face as did Chuck when they realized that Casey did not know about this little section of the show. They both watched Casey and Ellie intently, waiting for his reaction when it sunk in. Morgan still had no clue and was talking with Ana who shushed him and looked back at the screen which now showed the scene where Ellie and Shelly were discussing decorating options.

"So, Ellie, what color do you think will work best?"

"I don't know, we want to be surprised, so I guess we'll have to wait until after the birth. But it's tempting to start painting now. Eight months is going to go by quickly."

A male voice could clearly be heard from the doorway.

"Ladies, may I suggest that you stay away from the more common, garish cartoon themes and go with a more refined and elegant theme. Perhaps a Beatrix Potter motif would be appropriate. You can use shades of cream, taupe and yellow as accent colors while conveying elegance at the same time."

"That's not a bad idea," Shelly remarked. The camera panned to Ellie who held her hand delicately over her abdomen and just smiled at the camera as she spoke.

"This home is a little slice of heaven for us. It's going to be so fun to raise our family here."

Suzanne Wang's voice ended the episode.

"Well, Ellie and John have eight months to decide on the best color and decorating scheme for their nursery. And, with plenty of room to design and enjoy, and plenty of outdoor living space, John and Ellie are definitely ready to expand their family and enjoy their new home and community for many happy years to come. Well, that's our show. I'm Suzanne Wang, thanks for watching and tune in next time for House Hunters."

The familiar musical jingle closed off the show and the room was completely silent. All eyes were focused on the Casey's.

John looked up at Ellie on his lap and was speechless. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her down to his level. Ellie said nothing and just gently cupped John's face in her hands and kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him.

Morgan whispered in Ana's ear and the two of them jumped up and hurried into the kitchen.

As the couple finally stopped kissing, Chuck stood and helped his sister to her feet off of John's lap. He embraced her and kissed her hair. The siblings did not speak and tears could be seen shining in both of their eyes. Sarah walked over to Casey and bent down to hug him.

"Congratulations Casey, I'm so happy for you," she cooed as she hugged her partner tightly. John was still too stunned to stand up and just silently hugged her back. Chuck and Ellie had finally released each other and Chuck, comfortable showing affection to his brother-in-law, now stooped in front of him and hugged him with a firm pat on the back.

"Congratulations Casey. I can't wait to be an Uncle."

John cleared his throat and earnestly replied "You'll make a damn good Uncle, can't think of anyone better suited for the job Bartowski." He finally stood and smiled as he glanced around at his friends and family. Morgan and Ana picked the perfect time to come back into the room holding tray's with champagne flutes. They passed a glass to everyone and gave Ellie a special glass filled with orange juice, then, Morgan spoke.

"Guys, I can't say how happy I am for you. When this whole house hunt started, I'd asked Ellie if it was because you two needed more room. She said no, but I thought it would just be a matter of time before the Casey tribe grew. To you my friends. May you have happiness, health and wonderful family times in your new place."

The glasses all clinked together and everyone was laughing and congratulating the couple.

"Hey Man, If you need a live-in Nanny, I'm up for the job. You two can work without any worries about your little one. Think it over and let me know when I should start, I have to get all my shit packed up so give me a few days notice before you want me to move in."

Ellie gawked at Jeff's announcement and tugged her husband's hand.

"Deal with him Colonel!"

"Yes Ma'am, I'm on it."

--end--