Although it isn't necessary, you can find background information for this story in Chuck vs. Beckman's Snowman.

Chuck vs. Mr. Smith

Lip-Smacking

At 6:59, Gabriel Mann's Lighted Up filled the room, the music slowly rousing Chuck from a peaceful slumber. He smiled. I do feel lighted up, he thought. It had been two months since his revealing talk with Sarah, and yet he remembered the words as if they were spoken only moments ago.

"Chuck, this is new for me, and I feel like I need to find my own sense of balance. I'm not ready to say anything more," she paused, looking down at their linked hands. "Maybe someday, but not today. Can you live with that?"

Chuck let go of one of her hands and brushed the single tear from her cheek. She lifted her eyes to look at him.

"Sarah, I can live forever knowing that I have you," he said, blinking back his own tears.

He had tried very hard to make her feel at ease since their conversation. He wanted to prove to her that expressing her feelings wouldn't hurt her or her relationship with him. Generally, they did the same things they always did, with the exception that their cover as boyfriend and girlfriend wasn't actually a cover anymore. But he had been careful not to push her, fearing that she might withdraw into herself again. Besides, given their situation as spy and asset, it was difficult to move forward. He had asked General Beckman to regard him as a member of the team, as opposed to being an asset, but he was still struggling to define his role. The music pushed his thoughts away and he dwelled on Sarah's face in his mind.

Chuck smiled again as he rubbed his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs to the floor. Removing his hands from his face, he suddenly jumped up and promptly stepped backward, falling onto his bed.

"Casey!" he exclaimed, sitting back up. "I thought you were going to work on not sneaking up on me all the time!"

Casey, dressed in his Buy More green polo, allowed himself a low chuckle. He was standing against the wall across from Chuck's bed, after having entered from the window. "I waited for the alarm to wake you," he pointed out.

"Oh, well, I guess that makes a big difference," muttered Chuck, reaching over to his nightstand and turning off the alarm music.

"What's that, Bartowski?"

"Nothing, Casey." Chuck shook his head. "Why are you in my bedroom?"

"No Buy More today. I'm taking you to Castle for a briefing," said Casey, tossing Chuck's Nerd Herder outfit at him. "You got exactly fifteen minutes."

Chuck grumbled to himself as he went into the bathroom for a shower. As the hot water streamed down, he was able to think more clearly. A briefing? There must be a new mission, he thought. His irritation with Casey began to dissipate and he began to feel… what? Excitement? Yes, he thought, I do feel excited. It was a strange feeling to have when he would normally feel overcome with dread. If this was a mission, it would be their first since Operation Snowman. Casey's wounds had finally healed, and there had been no Fulcrum activity noted around the Buy More. Finally, he might get a chance to prove himself to General Beckman, to Casey, and especially to Sarah. He dressed quickly and returned to his bedroom, grabbing his keys and wallet from the dresser. Casey was no longer there. Probably going to honk the horn at me any minute, he thought, making his way to the kitchen.

Chuck stopped in surprise as he noted Casey and Ellie sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Chuck," called Ellie.

Chuck approached the table and raised his eyebrows at Casey.

"John brought us donuts for breakfast," Ellie said with a smile.

"But only one for you, Chuck," said Devon, who had walked up behind Chuck. He went to Ellie and planted a kiss. "Morning, babe," he greeted her. "Hey, John," he said. He turned back to Chuck. "I mean let's face it, bro, you are getting a little soft around the edges. You should get up a bit earlier and join me for a run on the beach tomorrow."

"Uh, maybe another time," Chuck stammered, feeling his face flush. He made a big show of looking at his watch. "Wow, look at the time. We should get to work, Casey."

Casey was about to make a sarcastic comment, but held it back when he realized how flustered Chuck had become. Besides, he did give Chuck a scare this morning, and lately, goading Chuck felt more like he was kicking a puppy around. He got up from the table. "Yeah, let's go."

"Great," said Chuck in a relieved voice.

"Bye guys, have fun today," said Ellie. "Thanks for the donuts, John," she added, giving him brilliant smile.

"Sure," said Casey, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. He pushed Chuck gently out the front door and they walked to the parking lot. His phone rang. "Yeah," he said. "Roger that." He looked at Chuck. "Walker says the briefing's been delayed an hour."

Deep in thought, Chuck simply nodded in reply.

Chuck glanced at Casey as they walked and then looked down. "Um, Casey?" he asked.

"What," said Casey absently; he was scanning the surrounding area for any suspicious activity.

"I was wondering, if you could help me…, well, if you wanted to help me sort of…, I mean, it would be a favor…" began Chuck.

"What are you lip-smacking about Bartowski?" asked Casey, irritated by Chuck's rambling. They stopped walking as they reached the Herder.

"I was wondering if you might help me broaden my skill set," Chuck replied quickly.

Casey had opened the driver's door and was about to get in when he stopped and turned toward Chuck. He cocked his head slightly. "Broaden your skill set?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I was thinking that if I am going to be more of a partner than an asset on our team, then maybe I should learn some other skills, you know, like spy skills. Like maybe you could give me pointers on surveillance, or maybe some self-defense moves," Chuck said hopefully, gesturing with karate hands.

Casey scoffed. "Partner?" he said. Actually, the kid did have a point, he thought. Maybe working with Chuck would be less troublesome if he did have better 'spy skills.' Suddenly, he knew just where to begin. "Fine," he said, getting into the car. "We have an hour or so before the briefing, we'll start at the gun range."