A/N: I know, I know…it's been a while and the only excuse I can offer is…Life(business, bills, health etc. etc.) and for that, well, I'm sorry but I'm muddling as best as I can. First, I want to thank ayleaa, bigfan22, gtpse, ygbsm and the rest of you who have asked about the scribbles and just want to say that I'm going to try and do what I can, when I can. I also want to thank Mr.88 who took a look through the first part of this chapter and to apologize for not using all of the suggestions that would have, no doubt, made this better. Now, while I haven't been writing I've been reading a little and want to say thanks to steampunk, frea, dettoit, mvk, ygbsm, anthro, maverick, thereisanother, bigf22, thecharleses, angus, ninja and many others, who I'm no doubt forgetting, who keep this place alive with great stories. A huge shout out to quistie and the finish of the superlative SOMII…what a long and fantastic trip it was and I really hope we get to read more of that great world. This chapter is a little short and I'm not sure if I've re-captured the 'voice' for this world…please let me know what you think. Yeah, it's been a while and here I am, begging again…for your opinions of the scribbles.

A big thank you to Jim, for the initial nudge, and to Tom, for the periodic prodding…and to anyone else who took the time to drop me a note. Please believe me, they were all greatly appreciated.

I don't own anything in the official 'Chuckverse', I'm not making any money doing this(surprise, surprise) and except for some great suggestions from Mr.88(of which I didn't take enough) this scribble is, good or bad, entirely my own. JT

Bryce Larkin : Douche Bag At Large - Chapter 22

It had been almost seventy two hours since the briefing with the powers that be that had dropped the 'Orion is your father' bombshell into Chuck's lap and he really wanted some down time to do some research on the tenant in his skull. He was pretty sure that the Intersect was, in many ways, a separate entity that was now squatting in his brain. He was pretty sure that the term entity was a little excessive as a description because there was nothing 'living' about the files but he also felt that normal files don't act or react the way his father's creation did. So far there seemed to be no side-effects from his continued use of the programming, unless he counted the wear and tear that his girlfriend was putting his body through whenever she unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) accessed his knowledge of the Kama Sutra, and he really wanted some down time so he could dig further into his dad's original research, which he'd now cataloged into a separate section in the Intersect database.

He, Sarah and Casey had been going almost non-stop since the end of the video conference with 'the powers that be' 3 days ago. First with a mission to retrieve a blue diamond, which ended up being some kind of key to a possible Middle East nuclear threat; that mission had included an outside agent who had some kind of past with Casey and some prior work experience with Sarah. When they'd completed their mission, Carina Miller had hit on him, quite blatantly, offering to take him back to her hotel and show him her hand-cuff collection. Casey had snorted, Sarah had growled and he'd quickly moved to restrain his girlfriend while giving Carina Miller a quick 'thanks but no thanks'. After saying goodbye while dragging a still simmering blonde angel from Casey's apartment, he had accessed and done a quick scan of the DEA agent's files and was pretty sure he must have been blushing, something he was glad Sarah had missed.

Less than two hours later, just as he and Sarah had finally gotten to sleep, Casey called and the team was back into action once again. The next twenty four hours had been a non-stop chase as they first followed and then worked alongside a Chinese intelligence officer as she struggled to rescue her kidnapped brother. Feeling great about getting to use the Intersect to help save the siblings, he was still smiling when he and Sarah returned to the apartment complex. That euphoria only lasted until they'd been within five feet of the front door and Carina's voice had called out to them from the direction of Casey's apartment.

"Hey, Chuckles, bring that cute ass and that old broad over here, the 'powers that be' want to have a little video chat with us" she'd called to them in a quiet but insistent voice before quickly disappearing back into their partner's apartment. He'd been glad that Carina hadn't shouted the directive but a little worried when he felt his partner suddenly go rigid.

"I'm gonna kill me some skank" Sarah growled, taking two quick steps towards Casey's apartment before being brought up short by Chuck's grip on her hand.

"Easy there, tiger" Chuck said with a laugh, "you're not that old" he finished. When Sarah whirled back to face him, the glint in her eyes reflecting murderous intent, he wanted to flinch but managed to stand his ground, even keeping his hold on her hand that was now clenched into a fist. Before he could say another word, the blonde she-devil of an agent he was in love with had produced a wicked looking blade that she was slowing weaving in a figure eight mere inches from his nose.

"Let me go, Chuck. Carina and I need to have a discussion about exactly whose ass she is allowed to look at" she hissed out from between her tightly clenched jaws.

"Sarah…no" Chuck told her, staring into her frosty blue eyes, about eighty-seven percent sure he could talk her down from the angry ledge she was currently standing precipitously close to the edge of. He had decided not to try and diffuse the situation further by using his free hand to give his girlfriend a light, loving tap on the tip of her nose. He would admit that, at that very moment, Sarah Walker might not see the love behind the action and he might end up with a much shorter index finger and he was secretly relieved when he caught just the barest glimmer of a smile.

"Chuck…" Sarah almost growled, her eyes still locked on his as she continued to tug at his hand in a less and less serious attempt to escape.

"Sarah, please, it's been a really long three days and I'm using the last of my strength to keep you from going on a killing spree."

"Chuck, it's not a spree if there's only one victim…one, misguided, skanky, boyfriend's ass viewing victim."

"Sarah…please" Chuck almost whined, managing to stretch the word please from six letters to almost sixty while keeping eye contact and giving what he was sure was his best, heart-melting pout.

"Alright, Chuck, but you owe me" Sarah replied with a pout of her own. Stepping closer, she gave her now relieved boyfriend a quick peck on the lips before slowly, and teasingly, lifting her skirt and slipping her knife back into the holster that was strapped to her inner thigh. Looking up, she found just about what she'd expected; her boyfriend standing with his mouth slightly open and a light glaze to his eyes. She loved that she had this affect on him and smiled as she remembered the many times she caused this reaction in him before. "Come on then, Chuck, you're the one who wanted to go to this meeting" she teased him, snapping her fingers just inches from his face.

"Huh…wha…no, no I didn't want to go to this meeting. I just wanted to make sure that the meeting would be a murder free zone" he explained, stumbling slightly as he moved to catch up with the blonde CIA agent who'd managed to slip her hand from his without him even noticing and was now several steps ahead of him. By the time he was completely back in the moment, Sarah had already opened the door to Casey's apartment and had turned to look back at him, a 'hurry up, Chuck' look on her face, almost as if nothing had happened just moments before.

-xoxoxoxoxoxo=-

By the time that the video link with Washington had been established, Casey had somehow managed to find the spot in his apartment that was as far from Carina as it could possibly be and still remain within range of the video camera that anchored this end of the bi-coastal tele-conference. Sarah was almost sitting in Chuck's lap because Carina had made the mistake of sitting too close to him on the couch and she'd had inserted herself into the small space between them, practically growling at the redheaded agent while slowly grinding herself against the object of her affections. Her actions earned her a disdainful smirk from her occasional best-friend and former partner while her current partner simply snorted and looked daggers towards the bundle of trouble that was Carina Miller.

"Hey, shamrocks, when's the meeting supposed to start" Carina asked, looking towards Casey.

"Get thee back, succubus" Casey grumbled in reply before snapping to attention just as the video screen snapped to life, the split picture showing General Diane Beckman of the NSA and Langstom Graham, her counterpart at the CIA.

"Well, team…and Miss Miller, I realize it's been a hectic seventy-two hours but something has come up" the diminutive red headed General said while glancing down at something on her desktop and then looking back at the camera, "and I…"

"We" interrupted the director of the CIA.

"Uh, yes, we need you to look into…"

"Um, excuse me General, but does Agent Miller really need to be here" John Casey asked, clearly hoping the answer would be no.

"Major Casey" Langstom Graham answered, clearly not pleased with the interruption, "until further notice, Agent Miller will be joining the Burbank operations. She will be reporting directly to me…"

"To us is what I believe Director Graham meant to say" General Diane Beckman corrected with just a hint of irritation in her voice. "The director of the DEA was only too happy to lend Miss Millers talents to our endeavor."

"I'll just bet he was" Casey mumbled.

"What was that, Major?"

"Uh, I said, 'lucky us', ma'am" Casey answered, quickly schooling his features to his usual stony look.

"You know me, John, have handcuffs, will travel" Carina offered, giving the big man a sidelong glance before turning her attention back to the screen.

"Enough!" the barrel chested man on the right side of the video screen yelled, slapping his palm against his desktop for added emphasis. "We have need of her skills and that is all the explanation that is needed. Right about now a courier should be delivering information packets for Agents Casey, Walker and Miller." The sound of a knock at the front door caught everyone in the apartment by surprise and Casey used the excuse to move further away from the briefing, actually looking relieved by the interruption.

"We want you all to spend the next six hours going over all the information contained in the files, at which time we will reconvene for a final briefing before getting started on your first sanctioned mission as Team Bartowski" General Diane Beckman said just as john Casey was reclaiming his former position, a bundle of files in his hands.

"What?" four confused voices responded, almost at once.

"Team, Bartowski, General?" the titular member of the group added.

"Yes, Mr. Bartowski. For this operation you will be the acting AIC and as such we need to have a private conversation with you about your new responsibilities. Once…"

"General, begging your pardon ma'am, but…" John Casey interrupted.

"Major Casey" the head of the NSA shot back, the look in her eyes leaving no doubt that she wasn't in the mood to listen to anymore questions or opinions, "you are to take Agents Walker and Miller, go out into the courtyard and investigate the fountain until Director graham and I have concluded our private briefing with Mr. Bartowski. We will speak again in five hours and fifty-five minutes. Dismissed" she concluded, leaving no doubt that she wouldn't tolerate anything except total cooperation.

"Yes ma'am" three agents answered, quickly getting to their feet and with their files in hand, making a hasty exit from the apartment.

Chuck sat in stunned silence as the room cleared, unable to think of a reason that would answer the questioning look he gotten from Sarah just before she stepped through the doorway and out into the courtyard. Once the front door closed, he turned his attention back to the video screen, wondering just what the hell was going on.

"Well, Mr. Bartowski" Director Langstom Graham said with a chuckle, "I bet you're wondering what the hell is going on, aren't you?"

"Well, to be honest, yeah, just a little bit" Chuck answered honestly.

"Well" General Diane Beckman replied with just the tiniest hint of a grin, "it seems that your old pal, Bryce Larkin, has gotten himself into a bit of trouble and he's requested your help."

"What has the douche bag done this time?" Chuck asked despite really, really, not wanting to know.

A/N: 2 your thoughts, good or bad, are always welcome…just hit that review thingie. JT