Casey sat in the drivers seat of the Ford Taurus, her mind waging a war over wether to drive off, or stay and wait for Clay.
She had no doubts that Traci would tell him about the rescue she'd organized in the early hours of this morning.
She also had no doubts that Clay would stay with Traci for a few hours, to make sure she was OK and begin her debriefing.
Making up her mind, Casey turned the key in the ignition and drove away from the hospital parking lot.
She drove for hours, stopping only for coffee and gas.
She visited the places she loved, issuing them a final farewell, knowing there was a good chance she'd never set eyes on them again.
There had been another note last night, slipped under her hotel room door, the bold script just like the first.
Another threat against Clay's life if she didn't leave the country immediately.
She had some idea who the threats were from, but she had no proof and until such time as she did, she would have do the unthinkable...she would have to leave him.
It was the only way to protect him.
She knew that telling him about the threats would be a mistake, he would go all out to try and find out who it was, and in the process, most likely get himself killed.
Telling Clay was not an option.
She turned down the leafy street, almost surprised to find herself outside Clay's apartment.
'Old habit's die hard.' She thought to herself.
Her cell phone trilled on the passenger seat.
"McDaniels."
"Casey...it's Clay"
"Agent Webb, what can I do for you?"
Her throat tightened at the sound of his voice, she fought the urge to call him Clay, to go back to that easy familiarity they had shared not so long ago.
But under the circumstances, being aloof and cold was the only way to keep him alive...no matter how much pain it caused them both.
"Cut the crap Case, why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"You know damn well what! Why didn't you tell me that you were heading the team that rescued Traci this morning?"
"It seemed irrelevant. She's alive, you have your partner back...that's all that matters. How she was returned to you was unimportant Agent Webb."
"Seems like a lot of things are unimportant to you these days. What happened to you Casey? When the hell did you get so cold?" He snapped at her as he signed off the call.
Casey stared at the cell phone, wanting so much to call him back and tell him she loved him, that she was sorry...to explain.
But she couldn't.
Doing that would mean he may forfeit his life...it was a risk she was not prepared to take.
She gunned the engine and with one last look at Clay's apartment, she sped away from the curb towards her hotel.
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Same Time
Clay slapped his cell phone shut, a grim look on his face.
"What did she say?"
Traci asked gently from her hospital bed, it was obvious to her that whatever Casey had said to Clay was hurting him.
"She said she thought the details were unimportant, that I had my partner back and that's all that really mattered."
"And what were you expecting her to say Clay?"
Clay ran his finger through his hair for the fourth time in under a minute.
"I don't know Tra ...something...everything...just not nothing!" T
Traci nodded.
"I think you and Casey really need to sit down and talk through this."
"Talk? " He gave a bitter sounding laugh
"Casey doesn't talk to me any more. She doesn't even use my first name...not since Sydney. I think if I hear her call me Agent Webb one more time I'm going to scream." He said sitting down heavily in the chair beside Traci's bed and holding his head in his hands. " I'm losing her Traci, and I don't know how to stop it."
Traci looked at her partner, he loved Casey, it was written all over his face.
She sighed deeply and rested her head back against the pillows.
"I'm sorry Tra...you must be exhausted. I should go."
"No, Clay really, I'm not that tired, I was just thinking about your dilema. Maybe you should..."
She was interrupted by Missy, who came barrelling in the door, her face partially obscured by the large bunch of flowers she was holding.
"Hey Traci, Oh I'm so glad they found you. How do you feel...did he hurt you...I heard he tried to strangle you...Oh I'm so glad they found you."
Missy said in hurried confusion as she pushed the flowers at Traci and smiled at her older brother.
"Hey Clay, where's Case?"
Clay stared at the flowers Traci was holding.
"She had something more important to do I guess." He said quietly.
Missy stared at her brother, he looked as if he'd been to hell and back.
The dark circles under his eyes were testament to the sleepless night he had spent & stubble shadowed his jaw line.
His usually impeccable suit was rumpled and looked as if he'd slept in it and his eyes had that sharp restlessness found only in wild animals and the chronically sleep deprived.
Altogether the man looked dangerous.
"You should go home and get some sleep Clay, you look terrible."
Clay nodded.
"Yeah I should probably get some sleep, You'll be OK for a few hours Traci?"
Traci smiled at him.
"Of course!"
Clay leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'll see you later then." He said as he turned and walked out the door.
He was standing at the elevator when Missy caught up to him.
"Clay, I've got something I think you should see."
"Can it wait?"
"No it can't, it's about Casey." She said, noting that her brother's eyes snapped up to meet hers.
"She's not hurt is she?" He asked anxiously.
Missy shook her head.
"No, but I think you should see these." She opened the manilla folder she was holding.
"I requested a copy of Casey's debriefing to try and find out why she's been acting the way she has. Clay, she went through hell in Russia, they tortured her!"
Missy handed him the folder and a photo fell out and fluttered to the floor.
"Oh my God." Clay whispered, staring at the picture he'd picked up from the floor.
He sat down on the seat near the elevator and stared at the photo.
There in the picture was Casey, in a hospital gown, her back bared for the camera.
No less that 50 deep crimson welts running in all directions across her pale skin.
The photo indicated it had been taken 6 weeks ago by the medical staff at CIA HQ for their records.
Missy looked at Clay, he was clearly horrified at what he was seeing.
She watched as he flipped through the other pictures, his face a combination of rage and sorrow.
"I let her down Missy. She needed me and I let her down. I let her go through 11 months of this!"
"Clay, we were all told that she was dead. We had no reason to believe they were lying to us!"
Clay looked at his sister.
"I knew...all along I knew she wasn't dead. I could feel it."
"Clay..."
"No Missy, I knew. I knew here..." He said placing his hand on his chest. "I knew that she was alive. I failed her."
Missy drew a deep breath, this next part was going to be hard on Clay.
"There's more Clay." she said softly.
He looked up at Missy real fear in his eyes, trying to imagine what could be worse than this.
"What?" He asked in a strangled voice.
Missy sat down beside him.
"I pulled up Casey's personnel file too. There was a recent addition to it, a request made last week from Sydney."
Missy looked down at the folder Clay was holding in his hands.
Clay opened the folder and turned to the back, there at the very last page was the request form faxed from their hotel in Sydney 2 hours before they left to come back to the States.
The black printed letters on the page screamed at him.
Sydney Maritime Grande Hotel:
Fax Message To: Director of Operations
From: Casey McDaniels
REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE TRANSFER TO TEMPORARY DUTY STATION.
"Why?" He whispered "Why would she do this?"
Missy placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That's a question only Casey can answer."
Clay nodded and picked up the folder stuffing it in his coat pocket.
"Thanks for finding this Missy, you have no idea how much this means to me."
He gave his sister a quick hug and them raced down the hospital stairwell...suddenly too impatient to wait for the elevator.
"Hope you find her Clay...before it's too late." She said to herself.
18.45EDT
Georgetown Hilton
Washington VA
Casey's hotel phone rang just as she got out of the shower.
"McDaniels"
"Agent McDaniels, it's Agent Webb. I was wondering if you have time to go over the paperwork from the case this evening?"
"Agent Webb, I don't think that would be a very good idea. We can go over them tomorrow morning at the office if that's alright."
She couldn't see Clay, not tonight.
"Actually, it's not alright. I'm leaving tomorrow morning on assignment and I want to get this wrapped up before I leave. I'll see you at 7.45pm at my apartment."
The call was ended as Clay placed the handset in it's cradle.
Casey groaned and sat down on the bed.
Being alone with Clayton Webb was the last thing she needed right now.
With a sigh she got up and began to get ready.
19:45 EDT
Clayton Webb's Apartment
Alexandria, Virginia
Clay sat on the sofa in the living room, the case notes spread out in front of him.
If this ruse was going to work, he needed to look like he was actually keen on getting the work done.
The knock on the door made him jump.
She was here.
"Agent McDaniels, come in." He said greeting her with studied formality.
"Thankyou Agent Webb."
She stepped into the living room, eyeing the papers spread out on the coffee table, and the suitcase in the hallway.
It appeared that Clay had been telling the truth about his leaving tomorrow, this would be the last time she would see him.
"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked a small smile on his face.
"No, I'm fine thankyou." She returned the smile.
"Can we please dispense with the formality Casey, just for tonight?"
Casey looked at him.
This would be the last time she would see him for who knew how long, maybe dropping her guard a little wouldn't hurt.
"Sure Clay."
She wasn't prepared for the smile that lit his face when she used his name.
That smile of his still did things to her heart.
"Have you eaten yet?" He asked.
"No, I wasn't sure what your plans were."
"My plans include Tony's ?Everything On It' Pizza delivered as soon as possible! " He said with a smile. "
Sounds like a recipe for indigestion to me!"
She said dryly, smiling at the look on his face.
Clay smiled as he walked to the kitchen to pour himself a drink.
The evening was off to a good start, she had dropped the formality and had even smiled.
Maybe there was hope after all.
An hour later after eating enough pizza to make them both feel like they were going to explode, they sat together on the sofa going over the case notes.
"What about this one...I don't think that's going to be admissable as evidence."
Casey said handing him the note Palmer had written when he captured Traci.
"Hmmm you're probably right, we'll put it in anyway, they might still be able to find some way to use it."
He reached down beside him and pulled out the manilla folder Missy had given him.
"Here, look at this one will you?" He handed her the folder and watched as she opened it.
Casey took the folder and blanched when she saw the pictures the hospital staff had taken of her after her escape.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Clay asked softly.
Casey stared at the pictures, noting that her request for transfer paper was in the back.
"I couldn't..."
"We were more than partners Case, we shared a whole lot more than just work."
Like she needed reminding, her mind screamed.
She turned and looked at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"Clay, there's nothing you can do to change this. I'm leaving as soon as my transfer is approved."
"Why Case? Did what we have mean so little to you that you can just walk away and not give it another chance?"
She turned away from him and stared down at the manilla folder, a lone tear escaping and sliding down her cheek to splash on the page.
"It's not that easy Clay...there are other factors to consider ... things you don't know...."
She got up and walked to the window, staring out through the sheer curtains at the dark night, a night that held someone that wanted to kill the man she loved.
"Then tell me! Show me, but for God's sake, don't just get up and leave again!"
He said coming to stand behind her.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her tense.
"Clay...."
"Shhh...you told me once that partner's share things. Then share this with me Case, tell me what's going on."
"We're not partners any more Clay, you have Traci now."
Clay placed his other hand on her shoulder and began to massage her neck.
He felt the shiver go through her, felt her relax under his hands.
"Traci and I are partners true. But not the way you and I were partners. No-one will ever be my partner the way you were Case." He said softly.
His hands kneaded and massaged her neck, sending all her senses into overload.
He was so close, she could feel the heat of his body through her sweater, the subtle, spicy aroma of his cologne surrounding her.
When he spoke, his mouth so close to her neck, she could feel his breath warm and silky, sending shivers along her spine and making her skin sizzle with electricity.
At some point her resolve melted away and she leaned back against him, their bodies pressed against each other.
His lips brushed her neck, he could feel her pulse drumming under the tender assault of his lips.
"Case?" He asked huskily, a question that had only one answer.
She turned to face him and their lips met with a savagery and force that surprised them both, 11 months of heartache, of frustration and pain burnt away in the white heat of need.
'I have to leave him tomorrow, let me have tonight' Casey thought. 'One last memory."
Clay awoke late the next morning, tired but happy.
He dressed for work, humming along to the radio.
Casey stirred in the rumpled sheets.
"Clay?"
"Hey, go back to sleep. I'll tell them you're coming in late." He said kissing her softly.
Casey rolled over and watched him, she had always enjoyed watching Clay dress.
There was something sexy about the way he efficiently knotted his tie and slipped on the waistcoat of his three piece suit.
Clay looked at Casey lying languidly in his bed, her hair fanned out like a flame against the cream coloured sheets, watching him dress.
"You keep looking at me like that and I'm never getting out of here." He said with a smile that indicated he couldn't care a bit if he ever left the room.
Casey smiled at him.
"You missed a button."
Clay looked down at his waistcoat, sure enough he had missed one and had buttoned all the others wrong.
He laughed and shook his head, the clock in the living room chimed the hour and he grimaced.
"I've gotta go or I'll be really late, see you at the office at about midday?"
He asked looking to her for confirmation.
Casey nodded and kissed him deeply as he leaned over to kiss her goodbye.
"Good-Bye Clay." She said, knowing it would be the last time.
"Bye Case...see you at midday."
He walked out the door of his apartment and to his car.
From the window of his bedroom Casey watched as the car pulled away from the curb, taking the man she loved away from her forever.