And how it all began…(the day they met)

Welcome, this story like many others I written they have been close to what had happened on the show but with a twist. In this story Chuck gets the intersect while still in Stanford and his life starts to unravel. As he decides what to do, he bumps into the very person that has arrived to pick up the pieces and get back what was taken, but unbeknownst to her, he turns out to be the one that shows her that she is not the job and that her life is worth taking risks, even if it doesn't make any sense. Please leave a message or review. Thanks and enjoy - Mssupertigz

Chapter 1

Office of Professor Flemming – A week ago

Bryce looked behind him as he snuck into the waiting area of Professor Flemmings office. He looks over to the desk and hears the Professors voice come over the intercom. Bryce was glad that his charm didn't go unnoticed as Flemmings secretary would do anything for him and going for an early coffee break, as simple as it had allowed him the chance to prevent what happened to him to happen to his best friend.

Bryce entered the room and Flemming looked up. "Bryce, its not good time. I'm waiting for another student."

"Chuck Bartowski? He never got your message."

"What are you talking about?"

Bryce sat down and faced him. "You put Chuck on the CIA recruitment track."

"It's not up to me, Bryce. They want him for the Omaha Project."

"But that's a military operation. They'll turn Chuck into…."

"I'm required to send all the top test results to the agency."

"I want my friend out of this."

"He's a perfect candidate. Keywords in his essay responses correlate to 98% of the subliminal images in the exam."

"You don't get it. Chuck's a good person. He's got too much heart for this kind of work. He's no operative." Bryce slapped the desk. "You can't put him out in the field. He won't survive!"

"The agency is not gonna let go of a recruit this promising. The amount of information he can retain?"

"They're not gonna give him a choice?"

"He's in no matter what."

Bryce looked defeated, then slowly looked at Flemming. "If he cheated on the exam, copied all the answers…. then it would invalidate the results, wouldn't it?"

A slight pause from Flemming. "Yes."

"Good. Now you're going to help me, Professor.

Present day

Chuck headed up stairs as he had been studying at the library longer than a normal person should. But he needed to study, this was his last exam ever and it would allow him to graduate and all his hopes and dreams would start coming true. He had a five-year plan, but he had been planning that journey since being accepted into Stanford. And after he had sent off the last pile of job applications for jobs at Software start up companies and anything that dealt with computers but also what would make him a lot of money in a very short period of time. He heard a rumour that there was going to be a new company starting up in Burbank that would put the freshman companies such as Google and even Yahoo on the back burner of the world wide web with their web design and search engines. Roark Industries would be that ideal job. He just hoped that it would end up in Burbank. He turned on his computer to check his email, hoping that one of the many applications would have sent him an email looking to schedule an interview. But again, his inbox laid empty, Chuck called it a night.

DNI Washington DC (0200 hours)

Bryce Larkin flashed his badge as he entered the restricted area.His ability to say the right thing at the right time was a gift that he had used too many times and one of these days his charm would only get him so far. He headed downstairs of the DNI building and had been casing the place since he arrived the other day after meeting with Professor Flemming. Bryce looked at his watch. He had less than 18 hours to do what he had to do and get back to Stanford. They would be coming by in an hour to check security and he had to be out of there. Bryce looked at the small hand-held device and a pair of sunglasses that were left for him. He also held a note that was hand written that read 'The core panel will allow you upload all the intel onto this device, please put these glasses on as the amount of data can only be consumed by a unique host and the rest is up to you. Once the intel is uploaded, placed the charger and leave. I wish you luck and honestly there's no words to say thankyou for protecting what is most important to me.'

Bryce fell through the vent and landed hard on the floor; he didn't anticipate that he had to fend for himself and crawl into this place. He walked to the end of the room that looked like a large padded cell, with hospital décor. He slid to a stop shy of the panel that was wired from the floor up. He put the device down and inserted the large converter into the tower and plugged the other end into the hand-held device. He typed in the codes and slipped on the glasses. "It's hard to say goodbye."

Bryce pressed enter and the room darkened, and he could see flashes of lights, but they were tinted and they made no sense to him. He waited till the room lit up again and slowly took the glasses off. He now had to get out of there and he couldn't leave the way he came. Bryce stood up and slapped the charger against the tower and turned the dial. He titled his head and started to run. The blast and heat could be felt as he broke through the wall. Flames poured out of the opening as Bryce slipped out of the hall into the darkness.

Hours later Stanford

Chuck walked the courtyard back to his dorm feeling pretty good after writing his last exam. He grabbed a quick nap and planned to meet Bryce and the rest of frat brothers and his girlfriend Jill for drinks later in the day. Chuck woke up to the noise in the hall, then the knocking on his door. Chuck got up and saw two men and a woman standing in the hall, and one of the men was part of campus security. "Chuck Bartowski?"

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Can you come with us?"

"Sure." He had no reason not to.

He followed the three to the Administration office where he saw Professor Flemming standing in the hall. He wasn't as cheerful as he was earlier in the day. Chuck was escorted into the conference room. Chuck also saw sitting around the table was his student rep. Chuck sat down very nervous, but his fears were legit. As the man and woman from the Admin office introduced themselves and explain to Chuck that he was there because they believed that he had cheated on his test for Professor Flemming. Chuck looked at the Professor. "Your kidding right. Me cheat?"

"Chuck I was very surprised that you would even think of cheating." Professor Flemming looked at Chuck.

"I didn't." Chuck looking at everyone in the room.

"Not from what I got from your test. Can you explain how you got exactly the right sequence for question 21 when I didn't even teach it." Flemming staring at Chuck.

"Luck?" Chuck shrugged his shoulders.

"And how can you explain your answer in essay form with word for word of my written answer."

Chuck turned in his chair. "Can I see my test? Show me where you think that I cheated? And why would I cheat when I have a 99% average in your class. Why would I jeopardize that?"

"Well you did, and because of the severity of this, I had to bring it to the attention of my program head."

"You must have me mixed up with someone else?" Chuck's head on a swivel.

"Mr. Bartowski." The woman stands up. "We take cheating very seriously and because it was a final, we have no other option than to remove you from the course and from Stanford. You have been expelled."

Chuck stood up. "What!"

"Professor, tell them that I am one of your top students."

"Yes, you are and that is why this is so hard for me to do this. I am sorry Chuck and I wish you all the best." Professor Flemming exited the room.

"Mr. Bartowski, you have 48 hours to leave campus. Your grades and application to graduate will be denied and you will no longer be a student at Stanford."

"For one test, which I didn't cheat on. You have the wrong person!" Chuck stance changed.

"Mr. Bartowski, I wish you luck and we regret how this has ended a promising future for you." As the group left.

The room was quiet. Chuck watched as his student rep walked off and said nothing. They never asked for an inquiry or a chance to explain or even offer a rewrite. Chuck felt alone, numb as he tried not to cry. He wasn't a crier not since his parents left and even that wasn't that bad to deal with cause his sister and him were used to being alone. He pulled out his phone and found Ellie's number. He pressed the green button and slowly held the phone to his ear. "Ell."

"Chuck how did the exam go?" Chuck sat down.

"That is why I am calling. They believed that I cheated and I got kicked out….." (as he continued to talk to his sister)

Chuck lowered his hand and pressed the red button and pushed his seat away from the table and walked out and dreaded the walk back to his dorm. The dorm was quiet as they all had to be out for drinks. He grabbed a box from the back of the kitchen and headed up the back stairs. He started packing. He told Ellie that he'd be home in 2 days as he tied up loose ends here. Chuck slid to the floor leaning against his bed as his whole world was crashing. He heard students cheering and laughing outside as his heart was breaking inside.

A van sped down the highway into the sleepy Stanford town. But the quietness erupted as the van drove onto the main road into the University. The tracker had picked up a strong signal and the person holding the tracker wanted to know why, the files that were stolen would be here. The blonde agent sat in the front directing the driver. She didn't want this mission, if you call it that. 'Go retrieve the files and return to DC.'

That were her orders. She was taken off a destination mission in San-Tropez with her bestie and fellow agent Carina Miller. All to come and bail out her former partner Bryce Larkin who the CIA and NSA believed had stole the intel and sent it here. "Agent Walker where to?"

Walker made the van stop outside the main hub as students and party goers hooted and hollered celebrating their final exams being over. Walker looked around and the signal went dim then as she turned back it got stronger. "I am going by foot. Track my steps and I will call when I have located the file for extraction."

"Yes, Agent Walker."

Walker walked the length of the hub staring at the tracker. Bryce slipped inside and headed up stairs after word got out that Chuck had been kicked out. He had to play the grieving friend and sell it. It had to look and sound real. Chuck looked up at his frat brothers that yelled in their drunken stooper how they felt that he had been cheated literally. Chuck was pulled out into the hall as he looked up and saw Bryce. "Am I glad to see you. They believed that I cheated."

Bryce looked up at Chuck. "Didn't they tell you that they found the test under your bed?"

"What!"

"Yeah I was told that they came by earlier and had their doubts that you did as well as you did on your test. I was across campus and I wasn't here. I finally hooked up with that girl. The one that I told you about."

Chuck was totally confused. What exam under his bed and the only girl that Bryce was interested in was his girlfriend Jill? Chuck felt like he was on a merry go round and everyone and anyone was standing on the side lines jabbing him and yelling at him. Chuck looked at Bryce. "You couldn't have been on the other side of campus, your exam was in the same building as me and the only girl that you know on the other side of campus is…."

"Of all classes Chuck to cheat on you decided to do it with Professor Flemmings class. That took guts man." Bryce started to laugh. Chuck could hear Bryce and see him talking, but nothing was making sense. Bryce knew how to play with Chuck and he also knew that Chuck was smart, that he now knew that he had slept with his girlfriend Jill. Chuck looked at Bryce as Bryce went for jugular. Chuck faintly heard Bryce say over the crowd. "You did this to yourself."

Chuck tried to grab Bryce, but Bryce caused a scene making the room grow louder with chants and cheers. Chuck headed back up stairs and slammed the door. He wished that he was on that train. He threw his stuff into the box and went for his laptop grabbing the plug when his saw his email notification come on. Chuck clicked on the email and saw that is was from Bryce. He didn't know why he opened it but as he clicked on it a riddle appeared, he answered it and instantly 1000 of images and flashes bombarded him. Chuck fell backwards and when he opened his eyes his computer was smoldering, and his clock read 2:30 am. Chuck got up and walked over to his computer and saw the smoking lump of plastic. He opened his door and the dorm was still full of people, but their voices were muffled, and no one made any sense. He headed to the stairs and stopped as he heard voices that for the first time make sense but what followed scared the living day lights out of him. Chuck saw images of dead people and Government documents, secret files with the red label top secret stamped across them. He saw them coming from the stairwell and ran down the hall and out the fire escape. The men head upstairs. Chuck could hear them talking to someone. "He's going down the fire escape."

Chuck was never a runner but that moment he would have made the track coach very happy. Chuck ran across the dorms and across the courtyard. He saw the men coming up fast behind him. Chuck skidded and started running west trying to blend in with the crowds. But the more he ran the less amount of people there were to shelter him. Chuck stopped then cut across and ran towards the Geology building not watching where he was going and crashed into a person falling backwards. Chuck flashed as he looked up at her. He flashed on her name; Agent Sarah Walker CIA. As Chuck looked at her, Sarah knew that he was more than an innocent bumping into her. Chuck looked all sweaty and the fear in his eyes and the looking back behind him, he got up and scampered off. Sarah ran after him. Sarah saw two men running after Chuck and they are not CIA. Sarah finally met up with him again. He looked scared. "It's okay, I'm not the bad guy." Chuck looked at her as he tried to catch his breath. Sarah slipped him her card knowing that she has just seconds before she knew that he was going to run again. "Take this."

Chuck looked at her and grabbed the card and ran. Then her CIA arrived, and Sarah walked off when she heard a familiar voice. "Where did he go?" Sarah turned and saw Bryce. "Great. Not that this evening could get any worse."

"Did he talk to you?"

"Who?"

"Chuck Bartowski, the guy you chased."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I do. Because what he knows is worth a lot to a lot of people. We need to find him."

"Why is he so important?"

"He's not only my friend, he's the one that I sent the files to."

Sarah looked up. "You started this?"

"I was just doing my job."

"Your job wasn't to send this to whoever and your job wasn't to steal these files in the first place. Where you hoping, for a happy ending?"

"No, it was the only option we, um I we had."

"We? You and who else?"

"I can't tell you that."

Sarah walked off and continued looking for a signal and this Chuck guy. It was almost four before she headed back to the van. She was about to call DC when she looked at her phone and saw a missed call from Beckman. Sarah listened then called her back. "Walker here. I was about to call you."

"Have you found the files yet?"

"No ma'am."

"We have a name though. A Chuck Bartowski might be a person of interest." Sarah shook her head. "I wish that I knew that an hour ago when I came across him. Then Larkin showed up and scared him off."

"Well don't get to use to doing this alone. We need to work with him."

"Excuse me?"

"We believe that Larkins plan initially was to steal what we just recently found out to be a file called the Intersect. All of our intel and data and the only thing that the CIA and the NSA agreed upon after 911 is on there. Also, it was created by a man we only know as Orion. Larkin has some connection with this Orion guy and we believe that Chuck was the emergency last resort. He may have the files on another drive or computer. We need to find him. I am sending NSA Major John Casey to assist. I don't trust Larkin, but we need him on our side. Major Casey will be there in the morning."

Sarah didn't want to tell Beckman that Bryce already confessed to stealing the files and she didn't want to tell Bryce that Beckman had her suspicions as well.

So, she kept quiet. Sarah jumped into the van sat back planning her next move whatever it was going to be, plus wait for this Major Casey to show up.

Chuck slipped into a coffee shop away from campus trying to avoid anyone that might know who he is. He knew that he couldn't go back to his dorm yet or at all. He ordered a coffee and doughnut and paid for it with the last five bucks he had in his pocket. As he brought the five dollar bills out, he also saw her card. He asked to use the phone and the waitress obliged. Chuck dialed the number and instantly she answered.

"Walker here."

"You gave me your card."

"Yes, Chuck. Where are you?"

Sarah motioned for her driver to head north. The van rolled to a stop as Sarah made sure that no one had followed them. She fixed her suit jacket and headed across the street and walked inside. She saw him cowering in a corner booth, but he sat up when he saw her walking his way. Sarah sat down as the waitress poured her a cup of coffee. She didn't say anything for awhile as Chuck watched her doctor her coffee, almost exactly how he liked his. She took a sip and welcomed flavour. She took another sip then put her cup down. "Hey."

Chuck nods.

"Thanks for calling."

"Didn't have a choice."

"Do you know a Bryce Larkin?"

"Bryce Larkin, great your looking for him too? Try the girl's dorm and room 12."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, Bryce is not one of my favourite people right now and because of him I have spent the last few hours running for my life and now even sitting here with you I'm not sure if this a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know you from a hole in the wall."

"But you called me?"

"Yeah because I sensed that you're a good person despite a few infractions?"

Sarah looked at him.

"Never mind."

"Why do you want Bryce?"

"Did he send you anything?"

Chuck sat up and Sarah knew she had gotten something. "Did he send you something? Maybe something that you weren't suppose to see?"

"You mean that I wasn't suppose to see them?"

"Them? As in…."

"As in 1000 of files and images sent by email."

"Did you save them to a portable drive or…."

"No."

"Do you still have them?"

"No, my computer blew up."

Sarah sat back. "Those men?"

"Not CIA."

"And how do you know that?"

"I heard them talking and…"

"Heard them talking about what?"

When Chuck couldn't answer her questions, she knew he was not behind this but an innocent party. "Thanks to Bryce."

Chuck gets up. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my dorm maybe their gone. And thanks to Bryce I got kicked out."

"Kicked out?"

"Somehow they think that I cheated on one of my finals and Bryce was the only person who could tell them that I didn't and when I asked him to help me, he say this was all my fault. My train leaves tomorrow morning back to LA and I need my things."

Sarah got up with him and took him to his dorm and snuck him inside. He grabbed what he could and what wasn't strewed around. His computer was gone, video games tossed mattress that was cut and drawers pulled open. Sarah looked up at him as she picked up a photo. "That's my sister and she's not very happy that I am coming home."

"This email. Did you save it? Will they find it?"

"My computer went up in smoke after I opened it.

If they have it, they won't find anything. There was nothing to save."

Chuck looked up.

"What is it?"

"We got to run their here."

Sarah heard someone talking but didn't recognize the voices, but Chuck seemed to. Sarah grabbed a few things that Chuck had scrambled to take and as he grabbed his suitcase he took one last look. He saw the Tron poster and grabbed it as they ran out and down the back before men in suits saw them. But as Sarah looked back she didn't recognize them as they reached the end of the hall. "This is Walker, need extraction location east side, we're on foot."

They escaped down the fire escape and into a waiting van. The men chasing Chuck looked out of the stairwell doorway as the van sped off. A half hour later the van pulled into a car port. The agent on the passenger side got out and slid a larger door open. The driver then drove through and the main doors were closed. Sarah got out and turned. She looked at Chuck and remembered that she hadn't introduce herself formally. He probably wouldn't care less who she was by the look he had on his face. He looked liked he had just lost his best friend and in hindsight he did in the worst way possible even to top it off sleeping with his girlfriend. Sarah slipped her phone into her pocket and turned. "We haven't been formally introduced. My name is Sarah Walker."

Chuck looked up. "Sarah Walker; CIA Agent clearance level – level six. Top agent and wild card, former team member of the CAT Squad. Supervisors Langston Graham and currently a General named Diane Beckman."

Sarah was shocked that he knew as much as he did. "Did you memorize the intel? You had to in order to know all of that about me?"

Chuck shook his head. "No didn't read anything nor did I download it or transferred it, it's all up here." Chuck pointed to his head. "I'm remembering things that I know that I shouldn't. And those guys weren't really CIA."

Sarah had to know for sure and if by chance Chuck was telling the truth that all their secrets were in his head. "Chuck what do you know about a place or the name Omaha?"

Sarah looked at Chuck. "You said Omaha?"

"Yes, beside being some weird line from Casablanca it's a military operation, and Omaha is the name that you have called it."

Sarah knew now that no man could know that unless they were told directly or somehow it was magically uploaded into the brain of a man named Chuck Bartowski."

"Chuck it's an important CIA Op and it was what Bryce and I were asked to work on when this change occurred, and I had to come out here and locate the missing files."

"Missing files?"

"Yes, Bryce stole the files from the DNI and sent them to you."

" Bryce is behind this. No way, Bryce from Connecticut couldn't steal an apple from a grocery store."

Sarah looked at Chuck.

"I am still surprised that your still together with all that amount of data. There's no way, no human way that anyone can survive."

"Well I guess someone can."

"Yes, and your doing surprisingly well."

Chuck looked at Sarah. "What do you mean Bryce stole the files?" Then stood up and followed Sarah inside the warehouse and headed upstairs. "This is a CIA safe house we are safe here."

Sarah took her coat off and Chuck couldn't help noticing how attractive she was. She rolled up her sleeves and unbutton the second button of her white dress shirt. Next to Chuck and his not so bad nerdy stature he was a far cry to her beauty but she was still talking to him.

"Bryce broke into the DNI hours ago and stole these files and sent them to you. We believe that he's working with someone, but we don't know who. And whoever this person is, they thought that it would be a good idea to send it to you."

"I know that now but why me? I'm not a spy and as of yesterday I am not a college student either. But now I have all the Government secrets inside my head."

Sarah looked up as the driver walked up to her and whispered in her ear. She nodded. "Chuck try and relax I'll be right back."

Sarah left with the driver and closed the door. Chuck got up and walked around the room, but his moves were watched by the other agent.

Sarah grabbed the phone that was resting on the table in the next room. "Yes General, I have Mr. Bartowski. We were chased by a few men that weren't CIA but looked the part."

"And how do you know that?"

"Chuck told me. He also knew a lot about me and my career. Also, whoever took his computer they won't find the files in there.

"Did he upload to something else?"

"No ma'am. Somehow and I don't know how but all those files and Intel have been uploaded into his head."

"What!" Sarah had to pull the receiver away from her ear.

"Your telling me that all our secrets are inside this Chuck."

"Yes General."

"And he's still alive?"

"Surprisingly he is, and he is very smart man. There's more to this and I am guessing with what has happened the last 24 hours, Bryce had his hand in it. Chuck was kicked out Stanford yesterday for cheating, which I find impossible and a week ago the DNI was broken into?"

"Where's Agent Larkin?"

"I left him when Chuck called me."

"Does Bryce know you have this Chuck person?"

"No, but he will figure it out. There's not that many safe houses in the area."

"Well the Major will be there in 8 hours. He was on a mission when I pulled like I pulled you and he will be there to assist you."

"Yes General."

"Anyone else know about him and this being kicked out?"

"I guess he called his sister, who lives in LA and she's waiting for him to arrive tomorrow. Maybe we let him head home get him out of here then come up with a plan."

"The plan is to lock him up with 24-hour supervision."

"But General, I don't think that's a good idea. He knows stuff and he heard those men coming up the far stairwell before I did, and he just had to hear their voices to know who they were. And when he saw their faces, he knew that they weren't CIA. I think that he can be a great help to us. We protect him and with the Majors help and mine we can keep him safe and still try to find out more about these files and why Bryce of all people sent them to him. Also, I must tell you he knows about Omaha?"

"That's top secret."

"Well it's not now and if it is in these files or was mentioned he knows or is able to retrieve that intel."

There was silence on the other end, then Beckman came back on. "Give me till morning and when Major Casey arrives, I will let you know whether you go with him to LA or you bring him here to DC and he will be locked up. That is all Agent Walker."

"Yes General."

End of chapter 1 – please come back….so what did you think?