A/N: I'm working on three stories at once and this is the one that I've made the most headway with. This happens during Chuck vs The Pink Slip right after Chuck forces himself into Sarah's and Casey's mission. I had to separate this as it was getting too long. Note I will not be repeating verbatim for Chapter 3; that will make more sense going forward. It should be interesting as I have two of the least talkative characters providing the setup.

Chuck vs. The Lemon

Chapter 1 Casey Perspective

As the Colonel finished his oral briefing to the General, he took some consideration as to how different it would have been had he not reviewed the footage. 'That's funny' He mused to himself since Walker was the person who started him with this ritual. She said that it offered a full perspective and surprisingly enough there was something seen that would explain 'his' actions. That was part of it but he also knew that she wanted him to have a cooling off period to protect her moron.

'Her moron, huh, maybe not anymore' obviously something had happened while he was off wasting tax dollars on his spy training which failed. The replay confirmed a few things he had thought he'd seen: first was something not to go in a report but file away, the look of satisfaction on Walker's face after she knocked him out 'He really screwed up' and secondly what did go in was the laser pointer focused on Walker as Bartowski was trying to tell him locate the assassin. He saved Walker, but theoretically blew the op; although when instead of a mark you get an assassination attempt the op was blown long before Chuck came along. 'Damn Ring always seems to be one step ahead of us'. He was going to bring it up to Walker on the drive back, but she was clearly not in a talking mood. Entering Castle he got little more than a grunt #7 (yes) on whether she wanted some coffee 'Still can't believe Bartowski actually made a grunt list with audio accompaniment and gave copies of it to Walker, himself, and the General. Then the General actually corrected one of them.' After setting up for his review he was bringing Walker the coffee she grunted for and was going to see what she thought about the possible leak. After seeing a number of crumpled report forms already on the ground and her complete focus on the form in front of her he just set it on her desk and went back to get his report done.

This brought him back to the present as the General was looking over a few other items on her desk, he did some analysis on where they are, what had happened, and more importantly why the three of them were placed in this situation. If they were going to find and eliminate the Ring he needed to find out more about what went wrong in Prague than 'It's not working'.

"General, what really happened in Prague?" the forcefulness of his tone surprised both himself and from her look the General's as well.

"Well, Colonel. I was just about to say that your report mostly correlates with the first report I received."

'First report? We left the op only 2.5 hours ago and there was no way Walker finished hers, the only other report would be from the agent who was probably just finishing up onsite; unless there was another person monitoring the action and reported right after.'

"Colonel, I understand the reason you're asking the question, although not the tone that it was asked in." She replied as forcefully as the Colonel.

"Sorry Ma'am, but the 2.0 did appear to be functioning tonight." He answered contritely.

"It is somewhat of a mystery. When we first started he was handling everything far beyond our best case expectations. I was scheduled to be there for the first two weeks and then his final one, but he finished all of those tests within five days. We gave him a full day off and started him again with no problems I left after that, but was given daily reports on his progress. He was able to maintain this accelerated pace and finish his training at least three weeks early with the only drawback his inability to kill. He was quite proficient with incapacitating people and using a tranq pistol, but was unable to pull the final trigger. Considering everything else going so well, we planned on pairing him with a sniper as backup."

Grunt #24 (Babysitting duty) came out reflexively.

"Actually Colonel it would have been anybody besides you" she answered with a tiny, tiny grin.

Grunt #3 (Huh?).

"He is used to you protecting him so it would be counterproductive for this purpose. A psy-ops workup predicted to remedy this stated two factors. First is to numb him and make him accept that these people would die anyways while also combining that with guilt by letting them live it would eventually bring harm to his family as they would repay his kindness with retaliation. They felt this would be enough to make him conform." She stated stoically.

Casey could not hide the grimace upon hearing this. He knew Bartowski had the physical skills to be an excellent shot; whether from Duck Hunt or other assorted video games he had a good eye, but he was somewhat of a natural as he displayed good form and balance. From the one time Chuck convinced him to play Laser tag, initially he was pleasantly surprised until his 'team' turned against him by letting Morgan simply walk up behind him and eliminate him. After a death stare he went up to the observation area and decided to assess Bartowski. As many of the Buy Morons eliminated each other there was a group of five that looked experienced in tactics. Chuck found the optimal place and displayed what separates the good from the very good: patience. He had a clear chance to take one out but with two others nearby he would have given his location and most likely been taken out. He waited and got a better opportunity and ended up as the sole survivor. After a well-earned victory Chuck surprised him again by coming up and apologizing saying if he had known they were going to do that he would not have asked him to come knowing how important loyalty is to me; even in a silly game. I returned the surprise by stating I was impressed with how he played and that with just a little work he could be really good. The only thing lacking is the mentality, he wouldn't kill to protect himself, but he would if it were to protect Ellie, Morgan, or Devon. Sarah, hell there's no doubt in his mind if to save her he'd put three in the chest of anybody who'd try to kill her. Regardless he could not see where Chuck could do it upon command. If anybody in the game were to ask he'd say Bartowski doesn't have the stones to pull the trigger where the truth is he has the stones not to. Problem is you don't last long as a spy with that mentality.

The General continued "Since he would have had backup on his first missions just to evaluate the Intersect out in the field it would not have changed the parameters".

Casey suddenly picked up on the usage of pronouns or Intersect instead of his name and the consistent usage of the past tense gave his stomach a slight twinge, but managed to say, "OK, sounds like Bartowski was on his way. What changed?"

"After he did the shooting obstacle course; unofficially, because it wasn't at Langley, he beat your time by four minutes." 'Damn! The closest anybody had come to his time was Larkin and he was still three minutes behind him' "There was a scheduled break and said there was a bakery/café recommended to him so he took an order from the crew."

"And?"

"And, he was late coming back. He was called, but did not answer which caused a panic. However his tracker and hacking into street cameras confirmed his whereabouts. As he remained there another half hour a group was sent to get him. When the team got there he was still in the same place and apologized saying he was just going over everything and just lost track of time. "

"So that was when things changed?" This must have been where he and Walker had their falling out, or knowing their lousy timing made a mistake on when they were meeting and they figured the other blew them off. Or she wanted to run and Bartowski picked the worst time to grow a pair. Their reactions made him lean towards this option.

"Correct, knowing him it was assumed to be a family issue. However we could not find any unauthorized communications with him or that bearded friend of his. We even sent local agents to check on them. The sister had just returned from their honeymoon. Unfortunately the agent checking on the furry one ended up in the hospital as a misflipped shrimp ended up in her eye."

Grunt #5 (Moron!).

"Agreed Colonel, we also reviewed footage and nobody spoke to him at the café after he placed his order. The workers there all checked out and nothing was found in his blood work. The only oddity was that it took him ten minutes longer to get there than was estimated."

Grunt #46 (well there it is).

"Yes, but he said he was admiring the architecture and turned down the wrong street and ended up backtracking to find the café."

"That certainly does sound like Chuck."

"It did make sense to us as well and so the testing was continued with the Fielder Extraction next, and he seemingly made the mistake every agent makes."

"The second alarm."

"Right, however his reaction to it caused some surprise as he started swearing."

That did catch Casey by surprise, "While Chuck is a boy scout, I'm sure…"

"Colonel, he went on a three minute tirade going through the mission adding F-bombs as every second or third word."

Casey had a small smile as he remembered his tirade was strikingly similar however he was able to curtail most of it internally, well maybe not most, "General you did say seemingly?"

"After the footage was reviewed he had deactivated the second alarm. It turned out the tech was busy setting up the next test and assumed he had forgotten to turn it on when he got back."

"Well, if Chuck actually succeeded how did things go wrong?"

"Because of his reaction and since he had done everything else brilliantly, the main instructor felt it best not to tell him and see how he reacted to adversity." She said as a scowl started.

"So, what did they tell him his mistake was?"

Shaking her head she said, "They told him to figure it out."

"WHAT!" Casey paused as he swore he heard an echo, but after a quick scan with nothing unusual continued, "General, that is the worst thing for Chuck, who knows what his imagination would come up with for his mistake and paralysis by analysis is the worst thing for a field agent."

"I did not agree with their method and told them so, however by the time I was notified they had already done the next test and the spiral started."

'They were really pushing the pace with Chuck' "What was the next test?"

"The Five minute Drop and Grab."

"What happened did Chuck get caught humming the Mission Impossible theme?"

"No, the scenario was set up so that was not an option".

"But that was the purpose of this test: balance and control." Casey said with a hint of frustration.

"Yes, but also it was to test the imagination, before the damned movie, and the main instructor knew enough about Chuck that he wanted to test his imagination."

"What did he come up with?"

"To avoid the pressure plated floor he walked on his hands in the ground joints."

As Casey looked at his hands, "How was he…?"

"He only used his thumb and forefinger."

Casey could only shake his head at the combination of balance and strength to accomplish the initial position let alone moving like that, "How long?"

"Fifteen minutes".

"And the instructor gave Chuck no leeway" Casey growled.

"Yes, even though given the scenario no other simulation could be found less than thirty minutes, in addition a few other people who did not see his performance when told by him his time laughed at him."

Grunt #12 (Dicks!) "Why would you allow them to change the specs so drastically and did they treat him like this all the time!"

"I guess that makes you the pot and not the kettle. Almost all his instructors gave him high marks and still felt he had what it takes despite the setbacks, mostly blaming the accelerated pace. One though said despite his impressive physical skills, in her opinion he would be more effective in the long run as an analyst due to his personality."

"Mind if I tell Walker she's a brunette" Casey smirked; although not happy with how Chuck was treated if the team is reformed it never hurts to have ammunition stockpiled.

"Well she is", the General answered with a shocked look as to why that was important, "No Colonel the instructors and techs liked and respected him even more with what happened next."

Grunt #6 (Surprise)

"The tech who blew the previous test told him what had happened; despite fearing his wrath he felt guilty."

"Chuck… wrath?"

"I'll get to that, his next test was scheduled for the next afternoon, so he worked with the tech creating a program that interacts with the scenario allowing feedback and keeping track of what has occurred. After checking the code it has been installed in a few tests at Langley, and has already shown positive results."

Grunt #79 (That is just like Bartowski).

"Agreed, his wrath was displayed two days earlier when our top martial arts instructor made some disparaging remarks" she paused.

Grunt #11 (Tell me more).

Grunt #1 (Who the hell do you think you're talking to)

Casey's face drained of color for a moment but soon recovered, "Sorry General, but Chuck is not a violent person. He'd do his best to protect family and friends." The Colonel closed his eyes, "What did the asshole say?"

"Apparently when asked why he had done so well, he would attribute it to you and Agent Walker. The instructor said he had a relationship with Agent Walker."

Grunt #16 (Oh boy)

"Yes he went into a quite graphic description of a liaison between himself and Walker after she picked him up in a bar. He said they scheduled to meet the next week, but when he got there he saw her leave with somebody else. Out of curiosity, he showed up the next week and she left with somebody different. So if it was the same blonde haired, blue eyed whore, it may be the time to invest in penicillin." She said with a hint of disgust having to repeat that.

Casey noticed the temperature of the room rose suddenly at least ten degrees and checked the thermostat, satisfied that it was still working, shook his head and stated earnestly, "Ma'am that does not sound like Agent Walker at all. How did Chuck respond?"

"He said 'There's nothing I will learn from you so consider this my final exam so you better bring it bitch!"

Grunt #13(Whoa)

"I was just watching the footage from the fight, while the trash-talking lasted about five minutes; I have an edited version containing just the fight. I just sent it to you so take a look."

Casey opened the video file and started watching as the initial frown as Chuck had one arm held behind his back slowly changed to a grin as he held off everything the sensei was throwing at him with minimal effort. The sensei made a lunging move which Chuck anticipated springing into a jump punch with a primal scream that was only dwarfed by the sound of the sensei's jaw breaking.

"Way to go Chuck, Yes! ... Sorry General" as Casey realized, albeit an asshole, the man down was serving this country. He also noticed that Chuck motioned the physician over right after the punch, he held a cool demeanor throughout the encounter and although from just what the General told him the guy earned the broken jaw, afterwards Chuck must have felt horrible.

"It was impressive, wasn't it? That was the highlight as it showed what the Intersect was capable of. Despite the tech's admission nothing clicked as it had before; then there were occasions where the Intersect would not flash which became more frequent. Almost everybody there showed concern which somewhat compounded the problem as they asked if there was anything they could do making him more self-conscious and prone to mistakes. I cleared some things to see if there was anything I could do, but in a relatively simple escape scenario the Intersect would not flash for his escape. At that point the only thing to do was close up shop and send him home as his position needed to be reevaluated. After last night's episode a decision has been made and it is for the best."

As Casey was about to respond he heard a tiny, garbled 'No', "General, I think I heard the door open; let me check on Walker."

The General answered immediately, "Go" and watched as Casey disappeared behind a corner.

As Casey turned the corner he found her sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her legs, with for just a moment a broken look upon her face. "Walker… Walker" with no response in a more forceful, but still hushed tone, "Sarah". As she looked up he did not want to look into her eyes, "Sarah, I don't think she could do it again, but do you really want your last memories to be from this mission. Go!"

As he was talking she was getting up although a little shakily, she looked quizzically, then nodded and ran off. Casey took a deep breath to find his calm center and returned to the monitor. The moment he turned the corner he was quickly questioned.

"Was that Walker and what did she hear?"

"It was General, and she heard enough so that she is heading over to Chuck's right now. The thought was crossing my mind as we've been talking for an extraordinarily long time, avoiding Chuck's name, constantly using the past tense in referring to him, and anytime somebody says a decision has been made and it's for the best means that there is one person called upon to make a sacrifice. Especially after all this kid has done and been through I just cannot believe…" The Colonel suddenly stopped as two things suddenly crossed his mind: first he just told Walker that Chuck at one time did have a hit put on him and second while she has given him leeway in the past, completely disrespecting your commanding officer was something that the General did not deserve. He quickly looked down.

"Colonel, while not shocked by your outburst, I am glad you do have some control before you said something that you would truly regret." She stated with a look that has made other Generals cringe, she then took a breath, "While that option is always available it would be very difficult for me to give his termination order. Granted the likelihood of me placing the order is greater than the ability of either Walker or you to complete that mission. However, that thought crossed his mind, or as it turns out was suggested by his brother-in-law as he contacted me to discuss the possible options for him."

"Options, Ma'am?"

"Well Colonel, glitchy or not obviously the Intersect is extremely valuable and cannot be left exposed out in the open. So there are the three options that have been there since this began: elimination, which is an extreme last resort; second place him with a protective detail; and last bring him in."

"Wait, was last night a test to see how we still work together?"

"Colonel, last night was an important mission to find a crack in the Ring. However as a secondary mission it was vital to see how you three were able to interact. While your report showed some promise. It wasn't enough to counter the original report; so he is being brought in."

"Who wrote the initial report?"

"Chuck did." Casey was shocked. "Colonel, contact Agent Walker and tell her to come back."

"I doubt she will, but I'll make the call." Casey dialed and not surprised as it went to voice mail, "The goose is not cooked, but the head chef is putting him in the freezer."

"Interesting code. I take it she did not answer."

"Affirmative"

The General sighed, "Bartowski sent me a letter to give to Walker in her next mission brief."

"He didn't mind you reading it?"

"Well I said I wouldn't and he responded about not needing a 49B where he was going. John, has something changed where they can no longer work together?" She voiced with concern.

"General, it isn't my…" The look staring back at him was the equivalent of a Grunt #32 (Come on moron), "So you read the letter."

"Please, it is painfully obvious; with the right results I can overlook it, but if it is a detriment I need to limit how many people know and I don't want to create a revolving door of agents, he won't work with."

"General I do not know what has happened to them that displayed itself last night. I know Bartowski doesn't think he measures up to what Walker wants and Walker thinks she has done too much in the past to be with Chuck. I have had nightmares where I've interceded to finally get them over it. One was a cabin in the deep outback; another time was in the bedroom here in Castle."

"Nightmares?"

"They do tend to resolve their issues with fervor, over and over. The only thing stopping me from scooping out my eyeballs is they haven't seen anything."

A belly laugh from the General catches Casey off guard, "That's another order I don't think I can give". Both started laughing, "This is not what I signed up for" the Colonel retorted garnered laughs from both of them as well. As a realization hit both that while Bartowski is the cause for their laughter, he also made it possible for them to laugh. 'Damn moron' both thought as the moment of mirth was replaced with a serious discussion.

"General, I am not sure Bartowski will function in a bunker."

"The plan is a bunker for about two weeks as the finishing touches are put on more of a research facility. The 2.0 was designed for field work so Chuck's training will continue at a more standard pace. However as a central figure he can help out operatives all over the world and not just Burbank. When he is ready he will be out in the field as I do not think we prevail over the Ring without the Intersect in top form."

He could see that there were some advantages to this and with an end game Chuck should be able to handle the facility, but he was not completely convinced. "General, what if Walker convinces him to stay?"

"Why do you think I asked the question about them earlier? If Walker shows up… hold on." The general pushes a button, "Hold on extraction until further notice. Colonel I somehow doubt 'if' comes into play I don't need the extra paperwork on an extraction team's decimation."

"Wise call Ma'am, although when Chuck tells Walker that it is his idea to go underground, the Intersect may be slightly bruised." The Colonel grins, but adds, "Sorry. I've dealt with Walker before Chuck, with Chuck, and just recently after Chuck and without a doubt she is at her best with Chuck despite the lady feelings, mostly from Bartowski."

"Colonel"

Understanding the next question, "General, I will go to where I am assigned and although there are drawbacks to any post being on the kick ass team makes all the difference."

"Thank you Colonel, I of course will not tell either that it was your choice to stay."

"One last question, General".

"Go ahead"

"I will admit to being the pot. However, I wouldn't mind comparing notes with the kettle." To emphasize the point as he was saying the last words the unmistakable sound of knuckles cracking was heard.

"Actually that is the last point I was going to bring up to you as option 2 seems to be back on the table. While I do not condone many of the actions he attempted in Prague there is a reason behind it. He is in charge of the operation against the Ring. He has spent almost six years both trying to uncover them and state they were a larger threat than Fulcrum. He has been given the highest clearance, so he was the only person in Prague that knew Bartowski is the Intersect. He needs to know the limits and push him to them."

"Until he broke".

"As I've said I don't agree with what he did. However at some point he will go to Burbank and take control of the team. Colonel, it is imperative for Bartowski and Walker not to know of his role in Chuck's training. I believe a loss of trust hampered it and I don't think Walker would be receptive either to somebody who treated Chuck in this fashion. If she convinces him to stay."

"Understood." As he let out a deep breath, "What is his name?"

"Daniel Shaw."