Warning: This is PRE-SLASH! So if you don't like the pairing, don't read my story. If you still read it even after knowing that it is a SLASH story, then that's your own fault, do not flame me for my choice of pairing. Thank you.

Pairings: Casey/Chuck

Rating: T

Category: General/Faint Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Slight Angst

Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck. Merely my fanfics including the characters.

Author's Note: I'm going through my older stories and re-writing them. I hope you like this newer edited version of Pain Striken Love. Enjoy.

Beta Reader: Willowsnake


The sound of a helicopter landing nearby fell on deaf ears as Major John Casey stood stock still on the roof of an abandoned warehouse and watched as trained NSA medics were gathered around another, trying to get them stable. Casey briefly remembered being led to the same helicopter, Sarah right there behind him, and flying off to an NSA field hospital where he and the others were taken inside.

He stood still as the medics wheeled the other through double doors and further into the hospital, leaving him and Sarah to stand in the hallway, watching them. He remembered being asked if he needed to get checked out, but he simply shook his head, glancing down at his blood covered hands, along with his shirt. He gave each nurse the same answer when they asked him if he needed medical attention.

"It's not my blood."

Thirty-four hours earlier . . .

"Sir, you have to plug the cord in the USB outlet," Chuck explained as he rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on and inwardly groaned.

"Okay, I see it now. Thank you," the man on the other line said.

"Yeah, you're welcome." With that said, Chuck hung up the phone and sighed to himself.

"Tough day, buddy?" Chuck looked up and saw Morgan leaning onto the counter of the customer service desk he was standing at.

"Yeah, you could say that," Chuck answered as he sighed again.

"So, are we still on for tonight?" Morgan asked with a grin. Chuck opened his mouth to speak but was cut off before a word could pass his lips as Casey walked up to the two, his usual scowl set in place. He shifted his eyes on Morgan and narrowed them at him, silently telling him to leave…now.

"Y-Yeah, well, I-I'll get back to you on tonight then, Chuck. See ya later, buddy!" Morgan hastily said as he quickly walked away from the two. Chuck watched his friend jog off with slight amusement. He then turned his eyes away from him and looked up at Casey.

"You know, you really should try giving him a chance. He's a really cool guy once you get to know him." Casey sneered at him for a second before speaking.

"Let's go, Bartowski," he said as he reached over and grabbed Chuck by the shoulder of his shirt and pulled around the desk.

"What's up? Where are we going?" Chuck asked as the two walked out of Buy More and across the street to Orange Orange.

"We've got a mission." Chuck looked up at the older man with a puzzled look.

"A mission? But I haven't flashed on anything." Casey glanced at him as they entered the shop.

"We're hoping you will when we show you some pictures." Still slightly confused, Chuck followed Casey down the stairs. He looked over and already saw Sarah sitting at the table, waiting for them to arrive and to be briefed. When she saw the two entered she smiled at Chuck and waved at him.

"Hey, Sarah," Chuck greeted as he sat down next to her.

"Hey, Chuck." Suddenly, the General appeared on the large screen in front of them.

"Morning, everyone."

"Morning, General," Chuck said with a smile to the older woman. She glanced at him for a quickly moment before addressing them all.

"I called you here today because we have gotten word that Dan Carver is in the area." Chuck watched with confusion as Sarah sat up straighter and Casey's shoulders tensed. He turned his attention back to Beckman.

"Excuse me, who is Dan Carver?" Sarah looked at him with slight surprise.

"Dan Carver is a well known drug and arms dealer. He smuggles illegal drugs and guns in the black market. The CIA and NSA have been after him for quite a while. But it seems he always manages to stay just out of our reach," Sarah explained seriously. Chuck's eyes widened slightly.

"We are hoping that you will flash on something important when we show you his picture," Casey added as he stared at him. Chuck met his eyes, but was still confused about all this. What do they expect me to flash on? Don't they know everything about him already? Chuck sighed to himself and held out his hand.

"Alright, let me see his picture." Casey opened a thick looking file next to him and pulled out a photo, handing it to him. Chuck held the picture in front of him of a man in his thirties, dark brown hair and green eyes and almost immediately started to flash. Flashes of Dan's previous crimes quickly came first. Then some more of recent deals he had made. Suddenly, he flashed on Dan's 'favorite' spot to do his deals. It seemed that he never strayed far from the area.

When the flashes ended he blinked his eyes a couple of times to refocus them and dropped the picture on top of the table. He looked up and saw the other three waiting for him to talk about what he had just seen.

"He's going to make a drug and arms deal later in the afternoon at an abandoned warehouse in the Southern pier," he said quickly. Beckman nodded and looked to Casey.

"Major, I want you to get a team together and go down there tomorrow." Casey nodded.

"Yes, General."

"Take Agent Walker and Chuck with you as well." Chuck blinked and looked at the General with surprise.

"Wait, I'm going too?"

"Of course, Chuck. We cannot leave the Intersect unprotected," Beckman explained simply. Chuck's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Right. Of course."

"I expect to see you all here at 0900."

"Yes, General," the three said as the older woman singed off. Chuck sighed quietly to himself as he stood up from his seat. He stretched out his arms, trying to release to tension in his shoulders that appeared during the conversation.

"You okay, Chuck?" Said male looked at Sarah as she stared at him with concern evident in her eyes and voice. He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Yeah, Sarah, I'm fine. Just a little worn out from work." Chuck watched as Sarah's narrowed at him for a moment before she nodded.

"Let's go, Bartowski!" Chuck jumped slightly at Casey's order and turned around, running after the older man as he made his way into Orange Orange. Chuck stopped at the top of the stairs and turned, giving Sarah a smile and wave.

"See ya later, Sarah!" he called back to her before a hand reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, dragging him out of the doorway. Sarah smiled and waved at him before he disappeared behind the corner.

"See ya, Chuck."

Later that night, Chuck lay in his bed wide awake. He was nervous about the next day. He would be going on a dangerous mission to arrest a drug and arms dealer. At least he would be staying beside Sarah and Casey. Chuck paused in his thoughts and blinked. The mere thought of being near Casey made Chuck relax and feel just a little bit safer.

He smiled slightly and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off into a restful sleep. The worries and fear of what tomorrow may bring forgotten for now.

The next day Chuck sat nervously at customer services desk, his leg twitching and his fingers drumming on the surface of the desk. He glanced at his watch and inwardly groaned as it read 11:20. The cover they settled for Chuck was that he was taking Sarah out on a lunch date before he had to come back to work.

Chuck then looked up as he saw Sarah walking towards him with a smile. Smiling back at her Chuck stood up and walked around the desk.

"Hey, Sarah. Are you ready for our 'date'?" Chuck asked as she looped her arm with his.

"Yeah, Chuck. Let me just drop off my uniform at Orange Orange." Chuck nodded as the two walked towards the main doors Chuck saw Morgan standing in the DVD section. The two waved goodbye to each other, Morgan giving Chuck a quick thumbs up before the 'couple' walked through the doors. Chuck smiled and shook his head.

When the two got inside they quickly downstairs where Casey and two teams of NSA and CIA agents were gearing up for the mission. Sarah took off her jacket and started to get ready too. Chuck sat down and watched them go over ever detail about the mission and double checking their gear.

"Chuck." Said male looked up at Sarah. "You'll be with Casey and me when we get there. Okay?" Chuck nodded his head.

"Okay, Sarah. Got it." She smiled at him before Casey's voice sounded through the room.

"Alright, listen up people! Our target is Dan Carver. We find him, take him down, that's it. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" rang out through the room.

"Let's get moving!" With that said, they all walked to the back of the store and outside were four black vans were parked behind the store. They all piled into the vans and set off for the abandoned warehouse where the deal was supposed to be made.

During the ride there, Chuck tried to calm down his nerves and keep himself from shaking. Casey glanced at him and noticed that he was staring at the ground, twirling his fingers in a nervous habit. He leaned closer to the nerd and nudged him to get his attention. Chuck looked up at him with surprise.

"Stay close to me and Sarah, got it kid?" Chuck nodded his head, his throat suddenly going dry. It wasn't much longer until they arrived at the piers. They all got out of the vans and gathered around to get their next orders.

"Team 2, take the North exit, Team 3, take the West, Team 4, the East, Team 5, scout the area. Alright, let's move out!" The agents all nodded their heads and then scattered off in different directions. "Come on, Bartowski, we're taking the back." Chuck nodded his head, throat still dry, and followed Casey and Sarah to the back of the warehouse.

Crates were scattered around, letting the three hide behind them as they got in position. Casey and Sarah held their guns in a tight grip as they glanced over the crates and at the back door of the warehouse.

"Status." Casey hissed in the radio.

"Team 3, in position."

"Team 2, in position."

"Team 4, in position."

"Team 5, in position."

"Move out!" Chuck flinched slightly as he heard a crash and yelling following right after. The three stayed still as the other teams stormed the warehouse, making sure no one got out the back. They waited for a few minutes for a report.

"Major, there's no sight of Dan Carver." Casey's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Are the others apprehended?" Sarah asked through the radio.

"Yes, Ma'am." Sarah scowled.

"Good job, men," Casey said as he stood up, Sarah and Chuck following.

"Where do you think he is?" Sarah asked as she lowered her gun.

"He must have been tipped off that we were coming. He could be anywhere," Casey growled as he, too, lowered his gun.

"What does that mean?" Chuck asked the two. Before either could open their mouths and answer, a gun shot rang throughout the area. Casey and Sarah instantly lowered back to the ground behind the crates, guns raised, not noticing Chuck stumble forward as few steps.

"Bartowski! Get down!" Casey yelled as he searched the area for where the shot came from. Sarah suddenly caught movement to her left, behind Chuck, and quickly got to her feet.

"I got him!" she called as she began running after the perp when he got up and darted off. Casey growled as he watched her run off but stopped when he realized that Chuck hadn't moved. He looked up at the younger male and glared at him.

"Bartowski! I told you to get down!" Casey growled. But Chuck didn't hear him. All he could do was stand there and feel a searing hot pain in his back. Suddenly he snapped out of his thoughts as he felt a hand on his wrist. He looked down into Casey's hard blue eyes, his own wide with pain and shock.

Casey's eyebrows furrowed when he saw the scared and pained look on Chuck's face. He was about to ask the nerd what was wrong when Chuck started to sway.

"C-Casey," Chuck whispered before his knees gave out under him. He felt himself fall forward before two arms quickly wrapped themselves around his small frame, holding him steady.

"Whoa, easy there, kiddo." Casey said as he knelt down on the ground, Chuck held close to him. "What's wro-" Casey froze. He looked down at Chuck with shock before he shifted his eyes to his hands. Slowly, he pulled them away from Chuck's back and gasped.

He stared in horror as his hands were covered in blood, Chuck's blood. He looked down at him and could see Chuck's face had become pale with blood lost and pain. Suddenly, his instincts and training took over and he quickly covered the wound with his hands once again.

"This is Major John Casey! I need a medical team here! NOW! I've got a gunshot wound! Man down! Repeat, man down!" Casey ordered into the radio as he looked down at Chuck. He could feel Chuck tremble within his arms and brought him closer to his chest. "Hang on, Chuck. You're going to be fine. Help is on the way," he whispered in the other's ear.

Chuck gasped as wave of pain shot up his spin, making his whole body shudder. He reached up and grabbed onto Casey's sleeve in a weak grip.

"H-Hurts."

"I know, kid, just hang on a little longer," Casey said softly as he laid his head on top on Chuck's, trying to sooth the younger male. Chuck's breathing became ragged as he tried to breathe in and ignore the pain, but it was no use. The edges of his eyes began to blur and darken as consciousness start to slip.

"C-Casey . . . I ca-can't . . ." Casey began to panic as Chuck's body fell limp in his arms.

"Chuck? Chuck?" he asked softly as he shook the nerds shoulder, trying to rouse him awake. Swiftly, he placed his fingers on his neck and sighed with relief when he felt the faint pulse beneath them. Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter off in the distance reached his ears. The next few moments seemed the blend together for Casey.

He didn't appear to notice when Sarah came running up to him, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared down at Chuck, lying in his arms, or when the helicopter landed nearby and a team of NSA medical agents circling around him and Chuck before they pulled him from his arms and onto a stretcher.

Now, four hours later, he sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair next to Chuck's hospital bed, waiting for the younger man to wake up from his morphine induced sleep. He sat in the chair, replaying the day's events through his head. He should have searched the area around them. He should have pulled Chuck down with him. He should have noticed him stumble. He should have noticed right away, but he didn't.

Casey was torn away from his thoughts as Chuck began to stir in his bed. He leaned forward and watched as Chuck's eyes fluttered open, taking in the room. When his eyes landed on Casey he blinked at him with confusion.

"Casey?" he asked in a low whisper. Casey smiled at him.

"Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?" Chuck shifted in his bed and winced slightly.

"Okay, I guess." Casey watched him carefully, his eyes softening when he saw the younger male wince in pain.

"Do you need anything?" Chuck shook his head. He suddenly felt his eyelids become heavy. Noticing this, Casey smiled and placed his hand on Chuck's arm. "It's okay, kid, go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." Chuck looked up into Casey's eyes, his own half-lidded.

"Will you stay?" he asked softly. Casey blinked at him before nodding.

"Yeah Chuck, I'll stay. Wasn't really planning on leaving." Chuck smiled at him as he closed his eyes and let sleep take over him. Casey watched as Chuck's breathing evened out. He sat still for a moment, his hand still on the others arm. He knew that the next few days were going to be tough. With Chuck being stuck in the hospital healing and the yelling they were all no doubt going to get from the General was proof.

But for right now, all that didn't seem to matter, because Chuck was safe, with Casey right beside him, and nothing could be better.