Mr. Grumpy Pants Meets His Match

Mr. Grumpy Pants Meets His Match

 "No way, Walker" Casey said as he glared at his ex-partner, using his 'glare-of-near-death' that he usually reserved for scum of the earth...and his ex-partner when she was trying to get him to do something he really didn't want to do and it was usually something involving the 'weasels'.

 "Ah, come on Casey, you know you love spending time with your god-children" Sarah said as she began to employ her 'you know you really love your god-children' eyes.

 "Why is it, whenever you're trying to talk me into doing something I'm going to hate, you always play the 'god-children' card?"

 "Oh, lighten up Casey. It's not like you're going on a solo mission. Chuck and I will both be there, just in case you run into something you can't handle...again. They're not terrorists; they're active, healthy, eight year olds"

 "Who have both tested above genius level IQs, are both brown belts in several martial arts styles and have hacked my home's central computer system more times than I can count...despite the fact that their father has tried to make my system 'hack proof'" Casey responded, trying but failing to stop a little bit of pride from slipping into his voice. "So what if you're both going to be there? You'll have one of the nerdlings in your arms and 'Mr. Mom' will be holding the other one, leaving me to fend for myself against the weasels and their little army of patience killers. Nope, not gonna do it."

 "Casey, it's the twin's eighth birthday and they've been begging for us to allow them to have a party there for the last three years. We already have confirmations from several of the other kid's parents and a couple of nannies who will be there to help supervise. Plus, Morgan and Carina will be there as well."

 Oh, that's a great enticement, Walker, telling me that the couch wreckers are going to be there. Now I'm definitely not going."

 "JOHN MARION CASEY! You will be there! You will be polite and pleasant...well, as polite and pleasant as you can be! And, you will not damage any of Jim and Nicky's friends! Do you understand me?!"

 "I don't want to go" Casey replied with a grunt that said, 'so there'.

 "Well then, I guess I'll have to tell the twins that your place is no longer a 'Kato' free zone" Sarah shot back and watched as John Casey slowly crumbled.

 "Fine, but I'm not going to sing happy birthday to the weasels...just so you know."

 "Thanks Casey" Sarah answered with a smile knowing full well that her old partner would end up singing, just like he did every year. Sarah also realized that Casey was getting soft in his 'old age' because she hadn't had to pull a knife, which actually surprised her. "We'll see you tomorrow" Sarah added and was rewarded with a grunt as the big man walked away. After hearing the front door close, she got to her feet and headed to the back patio, eager to tell everyone that 'Mr. Grumpy Pants' had caved and he'd be a the party the next day.

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 Chuck and Sarah were sitting side by side at one of the large tables that had been used for all of Jim and Nicky's guests, and as Casey had predicted, they each held one of the newest Bartowski twins in their arms. Everyone seemed unable to resist the one year old identical twin girls and most of the afternoon had involved people ohh-ing and ahh-ing over them as their parents smiled. After being awake for most of the afternoon, the twins were getting sleepy and both Chuck and Sarah expected them to be asleep within half an hour, probably within seconds of each other.

 The party had been quite a success, so far, and it looked like everyone was having a good time. Even John Casey had lost his 'just sucked a lemon' look within minutes of his arrival. He kept a close watch on everything and, as Sarah had predicted, he'd joined in when it came time to sing 'happy birthday'. Once all of the kids had eaten their fill, Casey had offered up the first rolls of tokens and after receiving lots of enthusiastic 'thanks, Mr. Casey' he simply sat back and watched as the children raced towards the video games. Casey had even acted put upon when Sarah and Chuck had filled both his arms with the girls so they could take a quick walk around, both to stretch their legs and to make sure that everyone was having a good time. Returning to the table, the surprised Casey and he struggled to hide the smile on his face as he watched the two little girls sleep.

 Once Chuck and Sarah had reclaimed their seats, Casey pretended to be happy at handing over his burdens into the waiting arms of their parents. He gave a soft growl when it looked like Chuck was about to say something 'cute' and then he got to his feet and walked away, surprising his old partners when they noticed him pulling a roll of game tokens from his pocket as he headed towards the game area.

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 Chuck and Sarah had lost track of time, something they often did while watching the littler girls sleep and it was the concerned voice of Nicky that snapped them back to reality.

 "Mom, Dad...Uncle Casey's acting weird" she said, remembering to speak softly when it looked like the twins were asleep.

 "What do you mean, 'Uncle Casey's acting weird'?" Chuck asked after exchanging a questioning look with his wife.

 "Well, we sorta dared him to play one of the games and now he won't let anyone else play"

 "Nicky, are you sure?"

 "Yeah, mom" Jim said as he joined his sister. "He started playing and now he doesn't want to stop."

 "What game?" Chuck asked, expecting it to be some sort of first person shooter game.

 "Whack-A-Mole" the twins answered, almost at the same time.

 "What?" Chuck blurted out, a look of surprise plain to see on his face. "Are you guys sure?"

 "Oh yeah, dad" Nicky said with a shake of her head.

 "Yeah, come on dad" Jim said, already turning around and heading back towards the game area.

 "This I've got to see" Chuck said as he slowly got to his feet, trying to make sure that his armful didn't wake up.

 "I'm right behind you" Sarah said as she repeated Chuck's actions.

 Moments later, Chuck and Sarah stood side by side, their mouths hanging open as they watched John Casey attack the 'moles' as the stuck their heads up from the machine in front of him. His strikes where very precise and, judging by the score, accurate as well. Chuck watched in amazement as the big man closed in on the existing high score. As he was pummeling the machine, a kid walked up and asked if she could play next. The interuption broke Casey's ryhthm and he turned and glared at the young girl, probably not intending to give her his 'WTF' glare but it happened. Before Chuck or Sarah or anyone, for that matter, could believe it, one of the nannies who was helping chaperone walked up and grabbed Colonel John Casey by the earlobe and dragged him away from the machine. Pulling his face down to hers, the striking young woman gave a glare of her own and moments later, Casey had profusely apologized to the young girl who'd asked to play the game and then offered her the rest of his tokens.

 Once the shock had worn off, everyone wnet back to what they were doing, except for John Casey who simply stood still, staring down into the unflinching eyes of the nannie who'd just cowed the big man with a glare.

 "John Casey, USMC, retired" he said as he extended his hand.

 "Brooklynn Masterson, USMC, retired" she answered and almost laughed at the look of shock on Casey's face. "Twenty years...I'm thrity-eight" she added, clearly anticipating his question.

 Casey simply stood and stared, his mouth hanging open.

 "Alright, soldier. Snap out of it" she said with a smirk.

 "Right, sorry ma'am" Casey finally managed to respond.

 "Alright John Casey, what say I let you buy me a diet Pepsi and then I'll whip your ass in skeeball"

 "Yes ma'am" Casey answered and then turned to follow Brooklynn Masterson as she walked towards the 'bar'.
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Fin.....or something like that.     JT