AN1 The premise of this story was first started by Chuckfan56 in a story called 'Chuck vs the Inevitability of Life'. I wasn't around when it was first published, but when I did join fanfiction in 2012, it was one of the first stories that I had read. In the original premise, Chuck was a Navy SEAL, and he had the Intersect uploaded. The story didn't get very far. I don't remember it making it past the first few weeks of the story when the author stopped it.

So I am writing this story in homage to a really cool story, and I do believe that fanfiction is worse off for the story not being around anymore, or completed if it was still around for that matter. I've not seen it on FF in nearly eight years now. However, the premise of the original story is the only similarity that it shares with this story that I am now writing. The premise being a special forces soldier gets the Intersect and he gets two agents to protect him. None of the rest of the story will be similar in any way; all that I am using is the opening paragraph (and even that is highly modified to adjust to the new surroundings in my story).

AN2 Disclaimers: I do not own Chuck or any of the properties in this fiction, which I do not get paid a single penny (or cent) for.

The Spy and the Soldier

Chapter One, The Soldier Meets the Spy

CIA Headquarters

Langley

Virginia

2008

Captain Chuck Bartowski, of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force/CAG), arrived by his personal vehicle outside of CIA Headquarters. The reason for his attendance on this particular day was because Chuck had been singled out and selected for a highly classified and covert assignment due to his astronomically high information retention skills in addition to his special forces background. Chuck had been approached by JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) about potential reassignment to a covert NSA and CIA team for a top-secret and highly classified assignment. Chuck had been skeptical and reluctant, initially, because he would need to leave his unit. But his command had successfully convinced him that his pay would substantially increase, and they had argued that he was by far the best candidate for the job. Chuck's overall driving factor and motivation in accepting the assignment, however, was when JSOC had argued to him that agreeing to the new mission could save many American lives. Chuck's chain of command had appealed to him that his new assignment would protect the interests of the country he proudly served a lot more than he could by remaining as a Captain in the Unit, even though they had told him that they would be sorry to see him leave for however long he would be seconded away from Delta Force.

Chuck's new assignment was neurology related. The representatives of the CIA and the NSA that had visited him a few weeks ago hadn't informed him of every single detail about the mission. But the gist of it was that after 9/11, the CIA and the NSA, along with other agencies, were instructed to play nice and to share their intelligence with each other. The agencies had then begun to collaborate, and they had been working in tandem on a top-secret project to mash and encode all of their data into a human mind to allow them to collaborate their information via a computer. They had put every scrap of data they had into the computer, known as the Intersect, and the Intersect saw patterns inside of the data that the agencies on their own could not see. In theory, this would allow the intelligence agencies to make the United States safer than it had ever been before.

Had Chuck had not had studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford, which he had graduated from with a Bachelor of Engineering in 2002, he would not have believed it possible. When JSOC and representatives from the CIA and NSA had arrived at his base to inform him of the assignment, he had initially thought it to be a grotesque fantasy; that was until the representatives had shared their information that they possessed on the Intersect, which had quickly blown Chuck's mind. And, after receiving the information, Chuck had quickly concluded that what the representatives had explained to him was very much a real possibility provided the people working on it knew what they were doing.

The new assignment would not last forever, either. JSOC had informed Chuck that the assignment would last for a period of up to three years, and he would then be replaced by other personnel taking on the duties instead of him. And as soon as Chuck's assignment was over, he planned to return to active service. Chuck's enlistment in the U.S. Army was due to expire in 2010, and he planned to re-enlist as soon as he entered the final year of his contract. He had already re-enlisted once, in 2006.

Chuck moved to depart his vehicle dressed in his service dress blues uniform with numerous medals and ribbons pinned to his dress. The most significant military distinction in place on his uniform, being that of a Distinguished Service Cross. In the U.S. Army, the Distinguished Service Cross was the second-highest military award that could be given to a soldier. The Distinguished Service Cross was only awarded to a member of the military if extreme bravery and courage were shown in service of the United States Armed Forces in combat. Chuck had earned his Distinguished Service Cross while serving with his Ranger battalion in Afghanistan in 2005. Chuck was also wearing his tan beret signifying his lineage to the 75th Ranger Regiment. The tan beret could only be worn in the U.S. Army by those assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, the Ranger Training Brigade, or those who had served with the regiment for at least one year and was actively serving within the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Chuck had enlisted into the U.S. Army within just a few weeks of his graduation. His drive and desire to do so had stemmed from an overwhelming patriotic sense of duty and requirement to serve his country after the devastating and dastardly September 11th attacks a year earlier. On that dreaded, horrid day on September 11th, 2001, Chuck swore he would enlist into the U.S. Military at his earliest opportunity, and he did do so, despite the strong objections of his sister, Eleanor Faye Bartowski. Ellie had attempted to talk him out of it, and she had spent several days urging him to spend his life using his incredibly gifted mind and to follow every dream he had ever had with his life instead. But how could he just sit back and not play his part, while so many others willingly signed up? After 9/11, volunteering to join the military and the CIA sharply increased for the first year. Re-enlistment numbers, like the rise in volunteers, sharply increased also. Chuck was just one of tens of thousands to obtain that patriotic duty that had been missing from him before 9/11 had occurred.

After signing up at the recruitment office and having requested a clause in his contract to be considered for Ranger school on completion of basic training, Chuck departed off to basic training, where Chuck first encountered his best friend and comrade, Morgan Grimes. Chuck and Morgan completed basic training together, and they quickly built up an incredible rapport with each other. Morgan had enlisted into the Army after graduating from college to impress his girlfriend, Anna Wu. It didn't work out very well at all, because she had left him almost immediately after he had signed up to be with a Benihana chef in Hawaii instead. But while Morgan and Anna's relationship faltered, Chuck and Morgan's friendship prospered. The two future officers and comrades then went onto Officer Candidate School together, where they would go on to complete it, and on completion, Chuck and Morgan were officially commissioned into the U.S. Army at the rank of Second Lieutenant. After OCS, then followed further Officer Infantry training, before the best friends had gone off to train to become Rangers together. Chuck had told Morgan of his intention to join the Rangers during basic training, and Morgan had quickly decided that he had wanted to follow his friend into the Rangers, and his determination and desire to do so earned him a spot together with Chuck at the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. The two friends successfully had passed that latest part of their training together, and they had then went on to Airborne school which they had completed before finally, and after a long and gruelling year of training, the best friends had completed their training at Ranger school and they were awarded their coveted tan berets and they were posted to a Ranger battalion together. Throughout that entire long and challenging year, Chuck and Morgan had pushed each other every step of the way through all of the blood, sweat, and tears that came from the training, and on completing their training, their bond and togetherness they shared had been unbreakable ever since.

Over the next two years, Chuck, together with Morgan, had then served two deployments with the 75th Ranger Regiment and Chuck was subsequently promoted to First Lieutenant in 2005, with Morgan's promotion following soon after. Then came one final deployment with the Rangers for the two best friends, and in mid-2006, after nearly three years of being with the Rangers, Chuck had begun to explore the possibility of his greatest challenge yet, to become a member of the Unit. Morgan, precisely as he had done so years previously, decided he wanted to follow his best friend, and they had both attended a briefing course in the summer of 2006, and they then subsequently put forth their names for selection to 1st SFOD-D. Chuck and Morgan were subsequently invited to selection, and they had spent the next six months of their lives in the most challenging training that they had ever undergone together. If they hadn't have had their Ranger training prior, in addition to once more pulling each other through and out of hell together, they would have undoubtedly cracked and thrown in the towel. Still, they had passed, and they were subsequently posted to an operational sabre squadron inside of the Unit in early 2007. Almost immediately after Chuck and Morgan's acceptance into the Unit, Chuck was promoted to Captain, due to time served and also the excellence he had shown to his duty during his time in the Rangers. Chuck had then spent the following eighteen months on operational deployments with Delta Force until today.

Now standing at the entrance doors to CIA Headquarters, Chuck moved to enter inside, and he paced over to the reception area to confirm his attendance and to receive his visitor's badge.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Agent Sarah Walker arrived outside CIA Headquarters in her Porsche. Sarah had been approached for recruitment into the CIA from Burbank High School that she had attended while she and her father were in Burbank as he ran cons out of the area. Her present name was just an alias, of course, but she felt more attached to this name than any other name that she had ever used since she first took off with her dad to help him run his scams many years ago.

While at Burbank High, her father was arrested for his own protection after a scam went wrong. He had left her a hidden cache of money for such an emergency, and it was while she was recovering the cache that CIA Director Graham first approached her. He had taken her in after being impressed by how many aliases she had burnt through with her father over the years.

Sarah had returned to school to finish her final year, and several of the popular students cruelly mocked her as the jailbird's daughter because of her father's imprisonment. After graduating from school, she quickly became Director Graham's protege, and she spent the following years training to become a CIA agent while at Harvard University.

After graduating, Sarah's earliest assignment with the CIA was with the CAT (Clandestine Attack Team) Squad. The CAT squad was a team of female spies that included Sarah's good friend, Carina, who was now an agent with the DEA instead. The CAT team eventually broke up in 2003, when Sarah discovered a bug indicating one of the members, Zondra, was a traitor. Although an official government inquiry had cleared Zondra, the relationship of the CAT squad was no longer sustainable.

Sarah's CIA red test, which was a recruits' first kill in the CIA before being handed official agent status, came in 2005. Sarah, at the time, was not handed any background information about her target. Instead, she was handed just a name, a location, and Graham had given her the orders to assassinate her target. That worst moment in her life had really played on Sarah, and it had forever changed who she identified as ever since. Sarah had gone from being just a girl conning people with her dad, to an assassin of the United States government.

After her red test came Sarah's first partnership as a fully-fledged CIA agent with a CIA agent called Bryce Larkin in 2005. Their partnership had lasted for more than a year, and their professional relationship had developed into an intimate one until Sarah had returned to their hotel room one night, and she had found him in bed with another woman. And, on discovering that Bryce wasn't treating their relationship as an exclusive one, whereas she was, Sarah was undeniably hurt, and she had broken up with him because she didn't want to be partnered with him anymore. But no sooner than she had ended things with Bryce, another CIA agent had reached out to her, Kieran Ryker. Ryker had offered Sarah a new mission, and Sarah had used this mission as her opportunity to get away from Bryce Larkin. Ryker had assigned Sarah to retrieve a package, which later turned out to be a baby girl. Sarah had quickly discovered that Ryker was corrupt, and he was attempting to use the baby for his own sinister gains. And, once Sarah had returned to the United States, she had left the baby with her mother, who was unknown to the CIA due to Sarah's history of hiding her real alias with her father.

On completion of the assignment, Sarah had returned to CIA Headquarters, and Bryce was there waiting for her. He apologized unreservedly over what had happened when Sarah had discovered him sleeping with another woman in France. Bryce had begged her to return on assignment with him, stating how amazing they were as partners and that he would never do anything like that to her again. It had taken some serious persuasion from Bryce, but Sarah did return to him, and they continued their partnership traversing on from one CIA mission to the next until a month ago.

About a month ago, Sarah had realized that she had begun to fall for Bryce Larkin. Sarah also knew that he did not feel the same way towards her in any capacity. Bryce Larkin would always be focused entirely on his career in the CIA before a relationship with her. There had also been further women after Sarah had caught him the first time, but eventually, Sarah had begun to get used to Bryce's bullshit, and she had argued to herself that they did have their moments, and they still worked well together despite Bryce's infidelity towards her. It was only once Sarah had begun to realize that her feelings were becoming serious that she began to rock the boat in their partnership once more. Sarah had been told umpteen times during her training that spies don't fall in love. And Bryce Larkin was not in love with Sarah Walker. And, the fact that she was beginning to fall in love with him, and that it wasn't reciprocated deeply distressed and scared her, and she had decided that she needed to get away from him permanently and to be assigned elsewhere instead. Sarah had then subsequently reached out to Graham, and he had offered her a new assignment instead. CIA Director Graham had told Sarah that the assignment was to last up to three years and that she would be the only CIA representative on the mission, which was perfect for Sarah because she would no longer be in any further contact with Bryce. He would get over her; she was beyond convinced that within just hours of her leaving him, he would have already been in bed with another woman.

Getting out of her Porsche, Sarah headed to the entrance of CIA Headquarters. Entering inside the building, with her credentials already in hand, she walked over to the metal detectors, where she must surrender over her Smith & Wesson 5906 personal sidearm as no guns carried by anyone were allowed past the reception area in the facility. On arriving at the metal detectors, she paused, waiting as she observed as a tall male dressed in a formal army dress uniform appeared to be reluctant to surrender over his personal sidearm to the guard. Sarah glanced at the weapon in the soldier's hand, which appeared to be a Glock 19. She watched as he then with great reluctance handed over the pistol, and a smile formed on her face, as she'd had the same unwillingness to surrender her sidearm numerous times over the years.

"Don't worry. I have the same problem every time I come here also. I never want to give mine up," Sarah called out, and the soldier began to turn to face her.

And, once he was fully facing her, the soldier gave her a wide grin. "Heh. Yeah. It's like being given a present on Christmas Day by your parents, only for them to say that you can't have it anymore, and they try and forcibly take it away from you," he joked.

Sarah nodded. "Exactly," she replied, as she returned his warm glance.

"What are you carrying?" the soldier asked as he glanced at her pistol holster.

"Smith & Wesson 5906. It's my baby," Sarah laughed.

The soldier laughed softly, and she smiled at him. "Glock 19 here. Which is also my baby," he joked.

"I know. I recognized it when the guard was wrestling with you to surrender it," she replied.

His wide grin continued. "Ooh, good with guns, huh?" he teased.

Sarah nodded. "I have always preferred a gun to a Barbie doll," she joked.

The soldier chuckled again. "Nice, I like it. Same here."

It was Sarah's turn to laugh. "Obviously. I don't know many guys that like Barbie dolls. Especially soldiers," she chuckled.

"What's wrong with Barbie dolls?" the soldier replied with a warm grin.

Sarah shook her head in disbelief. "Wow, a soldier that likes Barbie dolls? Now I really have seen it all," she said, humorously.

"I would appreciate it if you kept it between us. Or I would have to kill you," he retorted with his continued smile.

Sarah scoffed, as a wide smile took shape once more. "I'd like to see you try."

"You know, I recognize you from somewhere," the soldier declared to her.

Sarah shook her head. "We've not met. I would know," Sarah responded dismissively. I would know because you're a handsome guy in that uniform you're wearing. And besides, I've not worked with a special forces soldier before, which is obviously what you are

"It'll come to me in a minute," the soldier said.

Sarah began to get anxious as she watched the confusion play out on the soldier's face as he attempted to ascertain where he knew her from. But Sarah was convinced that they had not met before.

"I really don't think we've met," she protested once more.

"Jenny Burton!" he declared after a few seconds.

Sarah did an immediate double-take on hearing the soldier's declaration and of the name that she had used in High School.

How does he know me?

"How did you know that?" she asked in complete surprise, and her face filled up with the expressions that expressed that surprise.

"Chuck Bartowski, we went to school together at Burbank High," he informed her.

Sarah sunk her eyebrows into a frown as she queried his revelation, and she dug her mind back into that period of her past, and then it hit her. He was, indeed, correct. They had attended the same school together.

"Oh! You were in Junior Year when I was a Senior, right?" she asked with a loving smile.

He nodded. "Uh-huh," he replied as a wide smile formed on his face.

Sarah shook her head in complete amazement. "Wow, I'm surprised you remembered me. We didn't even talk that much with each other," she declared.

Wow, he has changed a lot! He's so handsome in that uniform, and his muscle growth body-wide has likely increased a thousand percent since I last saw him ten years ago. He used to be so tall and lanky, but cute!

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. My memory is excellent. Sometimes I can remember too much," he admitted.

"Clearly," she said, and they shared a warm smile once more.

Sarah then moved to hand over her Smith & Wesson, before Chuck and Sarah walked through the metal detectors together. On walking a short distance away from the guard and the metal detectors, Sarah spoke once more, "So, Chuck, what are you doing here today?"

"I can't tell you to be honest," he admitted with a sad smile, and she nodded in acceptance.

"What about you?" he then asked.

Sarah's lips creased into a sad smile of her own. "Me too."

It was Chuck's turn to nod. "Fair enough."

"In any case, you have certainly been busy with your life since we last saw each other ten years ago," Sarah declared.

Chuck nodded. "So have you, Jenny. The headquarters of the CIA is the last place I would have ever expected to find you," he admitted.

"Same for yourself!" Sarah quickly retorted.

They shared brief laughter together.

"You are the first person I've reconnected with from our school since leaving the school," Chuck informed her.

"Me too," she replied.

"A small world, huh?" Chuck asked.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm. A very small world, Chuck," she declared as she shook her head at the revelation that the cute guy a year younger than her at her school was now very likely a special forces soldier.

Chuck began to check his watch for a brief moment.

"Oh, hey, um, Jenny, do you happen to know the way to Briefing Room A? I have an appointment there."

Sarah's eyes almost popped out of their sockets because that was where her briefing also was. She suddenly became very curious as to who Chuck actually was and if he was going to be a part of the upcoming assignment together with her.

"Sure. That's also where I'm heading, actually," she informed him.

A look of shock appeared on Chuck's face. "Wow, no way!" he declared.

She nodded. "My thoughts exactly, Chuck!"

"I guess I'll follow you then," he stated.

"Sure," she replied as she began to walk in the direction of where the conference was to take place.

As Chuck and Sarah continued walking to the briefing room, they also continued engaging in conversation.

"Jenny, I'm still shocked that you carry a gun and that you're CIA." Chuck declared.

Sarah paused from walking as she turned to glance at Chuck, who had also stopped just behind her. "The same applies to you, Chuck. I'm shocked that the friendly nerd from school is now in the U.S. Military. I could ask you what outfit you're with, though I know you won't tell me, because if I had to guess what U.S. Army outfit you're with, then I would say you're special forces."

"Jenny, I can tell you what outfit I'm with. I'm with the 156th Logistics Company," Chuck replied with a straight face showing absolutely no signs of deception on his face. His face and the tone he had used had made him appear to be telling her the truth, even though Sarah knew he was lying, because you were not requested for a briefing in the CIA if you were with a logistical outfit! But the most concerning thing for Sarah was that Sarah's CIA training had taught her to be able to read anybody to perfection, and Chuck was not showing one single hint of deceit on his face, or in the tone he had used with her, so he had likely had similar training as her.

Sarah nodded. "See, my point exactly!" she retorted as the two acquaintances then continued on towards the briefing room of their upcoming assignment.

Having arrived outside the briefing room a few minutes later, Sarah and Chuck began to engage in a final conversation before entering the room.

"Well, Jenny. I guess we will become partners once we enter inside this room," Chuck declared with a warm smile.

Sarah returned his smile as she said, "I guess so."

Sarah then entered into the briefing room, and Chuck followed on behind her…

O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"Good afternoon. I am CIA Director Langston Graham, and let us begin with the introductions of why we are all here today," Director Graham paused, and Chuck watched as the Director glanced around the briefing table at a gathering of ten individuals. "Next to me is General Diane Beckman, and together, we will be in joint command of this upcoming assignment. The assignment, if Captain Bartowski agrees to it today, will involve the Captain downloading all of our secrets and information shared between our intelligence agencies into his brain via a computer known as the Intersect. Out of our list of options to collaborate after 9/11, we had chosen the Intersect as the tool that we could potentially use in our fight to keep the country safe. The initial versions of the Intersect had been created much earlier than 9/11, but only since 9/11, has a super-computer that is gigantic in size had been built here in D.C. The Captain, should he agree to the assignment, will attend the location of the computer, and he will have our shared intelligence database uploaded into his brain to be used at our disposal to protect and make safe the United States. I am sure you have questions about this, Captain Bartowski, and if anybody else has any also, then please ask away."

"How safe will this upload be for me?" Chuck asked as he glanced around the table at the Director, the General, and at all of the analysts present.

"First of all, thank you for your service, Captain Bartowski. Your record is exemplary, and you are a hero of this nation," General Beckman offered her praise to Chuck.

Chuck nodded at the superior officer's praise as he warmly responded, "Thank you, ma'am."

"And in answer to your question, we have been assured by the creators of the project that it is quite safe for upload," General Beckman declared.

"And you can attest to that also?" Chuck asked as his glance shifted to Director Graham.

"I would also like to echo my counterpart's remarks. Your record is exemplary. And yes, I can attest to the General's declaration. The CIA has also reached the conclusion that the Intersect is safe for upload to a human being," Director Graham informed Chuck, and Chuck nodded.

"But you've not uploaded it to anyone before?" Chuck asked.

"You are the first," Director Graham admitted.

"You don't have to go ahead with the upload. But you have been singled out for this assignment because your information retention skills amount to ninety-eight percent. You are by far the best candidate for the job," General Beckman declared.

Chuck took a moment to digest the words of the General and the Director.

"I want to do it. If you believe and you can tell me with one-hundred percent certainty that this can make our country a safer place to live in for our families and the civilians of this country and that I really am the best guy for the job then I feel like I have a strong sense of duty and obligation to take this assignment," Chuck declared.

"We do believe that," Director Graham retorted.

"Then I would like to proceed with the assignment," Chuck gave a verbal confirmation.

"Once more Captain Bartowski, you are a hero of this nation, and we are fortunate to have you in our service. What you have just agreed to is a noble and courageous act, and it is one that we will never forget," General Beckman declared with a strong feeling of respect towards the junior officer.

Chuck nodded at the General's bestowal towards him once more.

"The upload will take place in five days at a facility in Washington D.C. where we have built the Intersect computer. It is a process that will take place over at least several hours and you will be unconscious throughout the upload," Director Graham informed Chuck.

Chuck nodded. "That's fine."

"We will have a car sent to collect you from your base on the day of the upload. After the upload, Major Casey here and Agent Walker will immediately assume protective duties of you. You will all work as a team together as you act on any intelligence that comes into your possession," General Beckman stated as she pointed at Major Casey and Jenny.

"Do I need protection?" Chuck queried Beckman's statement because he was a Captain in Delta Force. He was adequately capable of protecting himself. He would need a team to go on missions, sure, but he didn't need a protector to watch over and to babysit him by tripping over his feet wherever he walked. Chuck could walk and stand on his own and he needed nobody to protect him.

"Captain Bartowski, this is an intelligence-funded operation, not a military-funded operation, so it's very much our bag. You are here because you are undoubtedly the best guy for the job with your information retention skills primarily, and Agent Walker and Major Casey are here to protect the significant investment that we have made in the project. We aren't mollycoddling you or taking away your status as a seasoned Delta Force operator. We are more than sure you can handle yourself. While you are on assignment with us, you will be given temporary Agent status in both the NSA and the CIA, but having representatives from our agencies throughout the length of the assignment is a mandatory term and condition, and they are not negotiable," Director Graham stated with no room for negotiation in his tone.

Chuck nodded once more. "Very well."

"Great. Well, that is almost the end of the briefing. We will see you in five days at the location housing the Intersect computer," Director Graham said.

Chuck nodded, and General Beckman moved to pick up numerous files before she walked over to Agent Walker, Major Casey, and finally, to Chuck.

"Here is the full background that we have on Captain Bartowski. It contains his entire life, from the moment of his birth until today, including his time served in the Rangers and Delta Force. The Captain's command had highly classified this information, and we were only authorized to share it with you both once the Captain had agreed to the assignment. You should spend the next few days familiarizing yourself with him before he becomes your partner," General Beckman said to Major Casey and Agent Walker, and they both nodded.

The General then walked over to Chuck's location at the table, and she handed Chuck two files of his own.

"And here is the classified information concerning Agent Walker and Major Casey. Because of your Top Secret clearance level in the U.S. Military, you are entitled to view these files of your two new partners. I would strongly advise that you also familiarize yourself with your two new partners that you will be working with for the duration of the assignment," Beckman said.

"Ma'am," Chuck replied with a nod of the head.

And that was officially the end of the briefing. The conference personnel then began to depart. Chuck moved to stand up from his seat, and he began to head towards the exit. Having arrived at the doorway a few seconds later, Chuck walked up to his two new partners who were stood close by to each other.

"I'll see you in a few days, Captain Bartowski," Casey said.

Chuck nodded as he said, "I look forward to it, Major Casey," and he offered out his hand to the Major.

Casey nodded, and he moved to shake Chuck's hand.

"Same for you, Walker," Casey said.

Sarah nodded. "Casey," she replied.

Major Casey departed the room, and Chuck and Sarah followed suit after him.

"So, Captain Bartowski, huh?" Sarah said on them stopping outside the briefing room.

Grinning, Chuck replied, "Agent Walker, huh?"

Sarah began to smile

"So much for the 156th Logistics Company," she said humorously.

Chuck suppressed laughter, and he replied, "Sorry."

She held her smile. "Don't worry. I know you weren't allowed to tell me which unit you were with. I won't hold it against you. I guess it's more than your job's worth if you had disclosed what it is you actually do to me," she declared.

Chuck nodded, as he held his warm glance towards her. "Yeah, it is. But I have a question of my own."

"Sure?" Sarah asked.

"Agent Walker?" Chuck then asked his question.

"Yeah. Sarah Walker, that's my name," Sarah admitted.

"That's your cover name?" Chuck asked.

"Uh-huh," she replied.

"Ok, I'll have to get used to calling you Sarah then, which is strange, because I know you as Jenny," Chuck admitted.

Holding their warm gaze, Sarah admitted, "Chuck, I had a name before Jenny too."

Chuck winced. "Ouch. I was already interested, to begin with, but now I am extremely interested in looking at this file they have given me about you to find out why that was."

"I might steal it from you and burn it here and now so you can't see any of my past," Sarah said with a mischievous smile.

"I'd like to see you try and remove this grip that I have on your file, Agent Walker," Chuck said in a playful tone with a mischievous smile of his own.

"Don't push it or I will, Captain Bartowski," Sarah replied in the same tone, as they continued to hold their friendly glance.

"Well, as much as I would love to continue catching up with you after not seeing you for ten years, and the place that I have found you in, I sadly have a long drive back to my base, and I should probably depart," he declared with a faint smile.

"Chuck, that's fine. It was good to see you again. You have changed so much," she said.

"So have you," he replied.

"I'll walk you out," Sarah offered.

Chuck nodded. "Great."

Chuck and Sarah then began to walk back the way they had come from earlier in the afternoon.

"Which university did you attend, Chuck?" Sarah asked as the new partners continued their walk.

"Stanford. What about you?" Chuck asked.

"Harvard," Sarah replied. "What did you major in?"

"Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. How about you?"

"I took a Business Degree," she said.

"That's cool," Chuck responded, and he paused from walking, and Sarah joined him. "Oh Jenny, by the way, I know we didn't talk much at school, but I thought you were a nice girl. And I hated how most of the school picked on you because of your dad. That was really unfair and I never did that to you ever. I hope your dad is ok," he declared.

"Chuck, thank you. He's fine, and I know you didn't. You were probably the sweetest guy at the school," Sarah declared as they shared another warm smile.

"Jenny, thank you. That means a lot because you were probably the sweetest girl in the school, heh," he said.

"Chuck, my name never was Jenny Burton, it was just an alias I used with my dad," Sarah declared.

Chuck nodded. "I get the message. I can tell that you're uncomfortable with me calling you Jenny repeatedly. So you don't want to be called Jenny any more then?" he asked.

"I identify as Sarah more than any other name I have ever had," Sarah admitted.

"But you would say that, if you were attempting to hide your actual name," Chuck retorted jokingly.

Sarah nodded. "I would do that, yes, but I'm not."

Chuck nodded. "Fair enough, Sarah, it is then," he declared.

They continued their warm glance at each other as Sarah responded, "Thank you."

Chuck and Sarah then arrived back at the metal detectors once more, and they proceeded to collect their sidearms. On having retrieved their weapons, they began to depart the building together.

"Sarah, I hope they send you to pick me up on the day of the upload," he stated.

Sarah laughed as she teased, "I'm not your chauffeur."

Chuck shared the laughter with her before he replied, "According to them, you are."

"I'll have them send Casey for you instead," Sarah joked.

Chuck winced. "Ouch! Burbank High Students are supposed to stick together," he retorted.

The new partners shared a final smile before Sarah declared, "I'll see you in a few days then, Chuck."

"Indeed, you shall. I'm looking forward to working with you, Sarah."

"Me too," she replied with her held smile.

"Bye then," Chuck declared.

"Bye," Sarah replied, as they then separated from each other and walked back to their respective cars…

End of Chapter

AN3 Thoughts? Please leave me a review and let me know if you would like to share this story with me or not.

AN4 Next Chapter: Chuck's final days before being seconded to the CIA and NSA Intersect assignment. I will also be showing Chuck and Sarah reading each other's files.

AN5 United States Military personnel are not authorized to carry firearms when not on a mission. But the CIA does not operate in the United States either. Nor is any CIA employee a James Bond superspy like Sarah is. Nor is there a superspy role in the NSA. In the NSA in real life, it is an organization full of hackers and nerds and someone like Casey would never be in it. So this is just a slight fantasy on my behalf. But the canon universe of Chuck had plenty of that, so don't hold it against me for bending realism to suit my needs for dialogue and scenes when I see fit. I can promise it won't be even close to some of the events that occurred in canon such as Russian Spetsnaz dropping into the United States :)