Title: Crossing the Line

Author: Night_Lotus

Rating: R for this chapter, and NC-17 in later chapters

Word Count: 1,155

Chapter: 1/?

Disclaimer: I neither own Chuck nor its marvelous characters, but because of the creative genius of Chris Fedak and Joshua Schwartz, I am thankful for the opportunity to play in their sandbox.

Summary: Ellie accidently intercepts an email meant for her brother, Chuck, and is left with the Intersect computer embedded in her brain. She and her NSA handler, Major John Casey, are tasked with a delicate operation by General Beckman.

Author's Note: AU, but takes place within the Season 2 timeframe of "Chuck." Any errors and/or omissions are mine and mine alone. Thanks for joining me on this Jellie journey.

"Major Casey!" the voice snapped in the darkness. "Wake up!" He jerked upright in bed, automatically reaching for the fully loaded SIG Sauer that he kept on his nightstand, disengaging the safety and aiming it in the direction of the disembodied voice that had so rudely snatched him from sleep.

His narrowed blue gaze immediately sought and found the source of the disturbance. The wall-mounted video screen across from his bed was lit up and filled with the scowling face of General Diane Beckman.

"For god sakes, Major, cover yourself!" the General commanded. "What?" Casey grumbled confusedly, not yet fully awake. Beckman pursed her lips and allowed her gaze to travel pointedly down Casey's broad and very bare torso, following the patch of dark hair that narrowed as it trailed down his muscled chest and continued below his lean hips, lingering where the sheet pooled, barely covering his assets. Realization dawned, and he quickly grabbed the sheet with his free hand, yanking it up to his chin as he set the gun back down on the nightstand.

He focused his full attention on the screen. "Ma'am?" "Get Dr. Bartowski," she directed, "and be ready for a briefing in ten minutes." "What about Walker?" he questioned. "Agent Walker's presence is not required." Beckman speared a button on her keyboard with her index finger and the blue and white seal of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence appeared, accompanied by an electronic bleat informing Casey that while their conversation was temporarily over, he had best haul himself out of bed, get dressed and gather Ellie, post haste. It was 0300 in Burbank and 0600 in D.C., which was early, even by Beckman's standards, to be awake, in uniform and summoning field agents for a briefing.

It was assuredly an urgent matter that General Beckman wanted to discuss with them, but "urgent" pretty much described Casey's life in the field, and he didn't let it concern him overmuch as he pulled on a pair of boxers, jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed a pair of socks and tennis shoes on his way downstairs.

The low, base, rumbling growl of a male Bengal tiger filled her bedroom and awakened her from a sound sleep. She reached out and blindly groped for the cell phone on her nightstand. She didn't need to open her eyes to know that John Casey's face would be frowning at her from the iPhone screen. While amusing at the time, given the early hour and her lack of sleep, selecting the growling tiger as Casey's ring tone did not seem very funny right now.

Her grey eyes opened wearily and she tapped the Accept button with her index finger. "John, it's three o'clock in the morning." A long, belabored sigh filled her ear. "I'm painfully aware of the time, Ellie. Now get dressed and be at my place in five minutes for a briefing with Beckman." Before she was able to give birth to the protest forming in her mouth, Casey was gone, giving her no choice but to climb out of bed and get dressed.

Responding to the soft knock, Casey opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a very sleepy and slightly disheveled Dr. Eleanor Bartowski. Though he would never admit it, a twinge of guilt needled him in the gut. "Good morning, sunshine," he smirked, moving aside to allow Ellie to enter the apartment. He caught her eye roll as she made her way past him into the living room and it almost caused a full-fledged grin to spread across his face.

"Coffee's on," he said, with a slight nod toward the kitchen counter as he picked up his steaming mug from the desk. With her back to him, Ellie smiled as she noticed the clean, plain white mug waiting next to the coffee maker. She took her coffee the same way he did, hot, black and bitter. She poured herself some and went to join him in front of the video screen.

They both sipped in companionable silence, waiting for the General to join them. I wonder if it hurts her to maintain that serious expression all the time, Ellie wondered, mentally calculating the number of Botox injections it would take to relax Beckman's visage, when the General's image suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Major Casey, Dr. Bartowski," she intoned crisply as she rested her clasped hands on her desk blotter and leaned in closer to the camera. "We've just received intelligence that Franz Jaeger, the boss of the Besitz slave trade syndicate, has booked passage aboard the Queen Elizabeth for a two week Caribbean cruise, which sets sail from Southampton, England in precisely one week. We believe it is his intention to kidnap young women from the various ports of call along the cruise route and traffic them to the highest bidders.

Major, you and Dr. Bartowski will board the ship in Southampton as newlyweds on their honeymoon. Your primary objectives are to obtain Jaeger's encrypted data files cataloging all of the victims previously abducted and to whom they were sold and prevent him from capturing and selling additional women.

Casey's facial expression didn't change during Beckman's explanation, but Ellie's eyes widened and her jaw slackened in response to the General's directive. Beckman zeroed in like a hawk on Ellie's sudden change in demeanor. "Dr. Bartowski, you and agent Casey have been living your cover as a boyfriend and girlfriend for over a year now. Surely neither of you will have any trouble convincing Jaeger that you are a newly married, very affectionate couple. Speaking of which, I suggest you quickly become more comfortable around each other, since it is imperative that you present an impenetrable cover that allows you to gain Jaeger's trust."

"Yes ma'am," Casey replied, still standing at full attention and facing the screen. "And, Major Casey? Loosen up!" she ordered and was abruptly gone with the push of a button.

Ellie suddenly felt his eyes on her, and as she turned to look at him, she caught a glint of something she couldn't quite decipher. "You heard the general, there's no time to waste. It's time to play house. Change the sheets, doc. I'll be spending the night this evening. Wear something sexy," he smirked, winking at her.

She didn't attempt to hide the roll of her eyes this time as she walked to the door and quietly let herself out of his apartment. The trip across the courtyard to her apartment was brief, and she knew he was watching her. Watching her to make sure she made it home safely, because that is what he did. He watched. He protected.

He wanted sexy? He was going to get sexy in spades. I'm going to topple his calm like a shoddily assembled Jenga tower, she mused as she turned the key in the lock and opened the door to her apartment.

TBC…

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Honey Spot