Ed. Note - This story does not fit into any existing timeline of mine or anyone else's.

I do not own Chuck; it owns me.

Light filtered through the blinds into the silence of the apartment. Lazily, Chuck peeked through slits in his eyes, trying to move as little as possible while ascertaining the time. Not that the time really mattered; he was slated to have the day off – from both his jobs.

Sensing some tightness in his lower back, he debated whether it was worth the effort for a stretch. He decided it was.

Tensing muscles in sequence, Chuck chased the tension from his body group by group. He collapsed back onto his bed with a sigh.

Happy Birthday, Chuck, he thought happily. He smacked his lips contentedly, debating whether to roll out of bed or just roll over.

A voice made the decision for him.

"'Bout damn time, Bartowski."

Chuck bolted upright. His fright was chased away by dismay. "Aw, Casey, c'mon. It's my birthday."

Casey, sitting on a chair in the corner, folded the newspaper he had been reading. "Happy birthday. Better?"

"Actually, no. You're starting to damage my calm."

Casey's eyes rolled. "Whatever. Get up. We're taking a little trip today."

"Trip?!" Images of a cell in a bunker immediately jumped into his mind. "Wait, I'm not…"

"Stop it. We're not taking you to a bunker."

"Not that you would tell me if you were."

Casey tilted his head to the side in acknowledgment of the truth of the statement. "Well, Walker would never let that happen."

The mention of the last name was enough to put Chuck into a tailspin. Sarah Walker was the ultra-talented agent who had been helping Casey to guard Chuck for the past year. She was as deadly as she was cunning; Chuck, for one, was glad she was on his side.

Chuck had also been lucky enough to see the more private sides of Sarah. Her talent as an agent was only matched by her beauty, both inside and out, even if she didn't always realize it.

He was hopelessly infatuated with her. While he had reason to hope she returned his feelings, her professionalism had kept their relationship virtually static since the night she cried on the helicopter pad. She had believed the two were being separated, which caused her to show her feelings for him. Sadly, she had carefully kept her emotions under control ever since.

Still, it was his birthday. I'm allowed a wish … right?

Completely distracted, Chuck didn't notice Casey walk over to the bed. He smacked Chuck on the side of the head with the rolled-up newspaper.

"Ouch! Damn it, Casey!"

"Get the lead out, Bartowski. We've got a plane to catch."

"What time is it?" Chuck asked.

"12:30."

"Jesus. What time did you get here?"

"8:30." Casey's eyes flared.

Chuck studied Casey, whose face registered barely controlled impatience. "You wanna leave this room."

"Damn right I do. Now get up!"

Chuck was showered, shaved, and out the door with a small bag in just under an hour. While Chuck got ready, Casey picked up two seats on the next flight to Vegas. Apparently, the two had seats reserved on the 1:00 pm flight, which made Casey grumble. What made him grumble even more was that the only two seats on the 3:30 flight were in first class.

"Pissing away the government's money," Chuck heard Casey complain under his breath as he drove the pair to the airport in the black Suburban.

Turning from his study of the cars whizzing past them on the highway, Chuck said, "If it matters, I do appreciate getting to sleep in. It's probably the nicest – only – thing the government's done for me in the past year."

Casey directed an amused expression at Chuck. "What, a contingent of two full-time agents to guard you so you could keep living in your little paradise wasn't enough?"

"Huh. Never thought of it quite like that."

"Of course you didn't. You're always too busy gaping at Walker to think about anything else."

Chuck's face betrayed his indignation. "I never gaped at Sarah."

"Please, I've lost count of the number of times you've needed to pick up your jaw off the ground. Your feelings for her are probably the worst kept secret in the CIA."

"Wha-a?!"

Casey amended, "OK, the worst kept secret among the handful of people who know you're the Intersect. Hell, even Carina knows."

Chuck felt cold comfort at the clarification. "Casey, for the last time, nothing has happened between us."

"I know that. That doesn't make it any less fun to needle you about it."

Chuck dropped into a stony silence. It was a long time before he spoke to Casey again.

"Casey?"

"Yeah?"

"In all seriousness, thank you for protecting me."

Casey just grunted, trying to act surly. Chuck wasn't buying it; he'd been around Casey long enough to figure out a few of his tells.

"So why are we going to Vegas, anyway? Surprise birthday party? Long overdue vacation? Mafia members gone wild?"

"Sorry, Bartowski: no briefing until we catch up with Agent Walker. While you were snoozing, she headed to Vegas to lay the groundwork. She'll give us a full briefing tonight."

Sarah walked into a stylish boutique. The plans to go to Vegas had come upon the team quickly, giving her little time to adequately prepare for what lay ahead. However, the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace should have everything she would need.

"Ah, Ms. Walker," a friendly store clerk gushed as he floated across the store towards you. "It has been far too long."

"Jerome," Sarah said fondly. "It certainly has."

The man sauntered up and took both of Sarah's hands, holding them wide to admire her. "Look at you! You're positively glowing. It must be a man. Am I right? Tell me I'm right."

She smiled a bit bashfully. "Yes, you're right. There's a man."

Jerome beamed delightedly back at her. "Wonderful. Wonderful! Come, I take it you need something to make his eyes pop out of his head?"

Sarah just nodded, afraid of what her voice might do if she spoke any more.

Jerome excitedly led her into the depths of the store, babbling about the various options and how she would look good in anything. She barely heard him; instead, she thought to herself, Tonight, everything is going to change for Chuck. For us.

She didn't think her grin could have possibly grown any bigger … but it did, if only until another thought entered her head.

Hopefully for the better.