A/N: Okay, so my inspiration for writing Firefly is wavering lately, I think mostly because I've been rewatching Chuck on DVD and am loving Adam Baldwin more as Casey rather than Jayne in this precise moment! I started planning this fic during Season 1 and that is where its set - about mid-way, after Carina but before the Morgan/Ana relationship begins. It sat unwritten for sooo long, but here it is now - hope I do this fantastic show justice with my little fic...

Disclaimer: Chuck and all its recognisable characters belong to Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, and other important people that aren't me. I own the original character, Marie.

Chapter 1

"Oh my God, Chuck! Chuck!" Morgan yelled over-excitedly as he ran over to the Nerd Herd area, ringing the bell on the counter violently.

With his head under the counter as he picked up a dropped screwdriver, Chuck proceeded to jump and smack his head as he got up.

"Geez, Morgan" he complained, pulling the bell out of his reach, his other hand going to the top of his head where it hurt, "What's the problem?"

"No problem" his little buddy said with a grin as he practically bounced on the spot, "Total opposite of a problem, my friend!" he said, turning to face the same way as Chuck and pointing across the store.

Following Morgan's gaze, Chuck spotted what had got his friend so excited. There with Big Mike, presumably being inducted into the Buy More family, was a woman that could only be described from this angle as a total babe.

"Wow" Chuck exclaimed, "She is really hot" he agreed with what his friend was obviously thinking, "Are we sure she's really going to work here? In a Buy More?" he frowned a little.

"I know, man, she could totally be a model!" Morgan yelled, "Oh, maybe that should be my opening line, or maybe I could..." he continued on, but Chuck stopped listening then.

In that moment, the mysterious new employee turned around and looked their way causing the weirdest feeling to go through Chuck Bartowski. He wasn't dumb, he knew what the thrill of a beautiful girl smiling at him felt like, hell, he got it every time he saw Sarah! No, this was different, this was like she ought to be familiar but he didn't know why, almost like there was something in his brain about her but he couldn't access it.

With his mind scrambling through years of memories, lists of names and photographs of girls he'd known as a kid, in college, and anywhere else, Chuck not only lost interest in all that Morgan was saying to him, but also failed to notice that Big Mike was now heading on over to the Nerd Herd desk with the same girl following behind him.

"Oh my God, they're coming over here and... and I'm not prepared yet!" Morgan said desperately, suddenly bolting away to heaven only knew where.

His yelling at least managed to snap Chuck out of his daze, just in time to hear Big Mike speak to him.

"Bartowski!" he snapped, "Where the hell is Casey at?" he asked, looking round, unable to spot him anywhere.

It was surprising, since locating John Casey was usually such an easy task considering the size of the guy and the fact he was wearing Buy More green! Still, as Chuck craned his neck left and right, he also failed to see his 'friend'.

"Maybe he took a bathroom break?" Chuck suggested as his eyes returned to the apparent newest member of the Buy More team, once again getting the strangest feeling like he should know her, as Big Mike muttered something Chuck failed to hear.

"Bartowski!" his boss suddenly snapped once more catching his attention, "What is wrong with you people today? Did you all eat mushrooms at lunch?" he asked, eyeing Chuck with serious suspicion that made him laugh nervously, despite the fact he'd done nothing wrong.

"Er, no, sir" he shook his head, serious in a second when her realised the guy in front of him certainly was, "Definitely not, sir"

"Uh-huh" Big Mike grunted, "Chuck Bartowski, this is our latest Sales Assistant, Marie Clark" he introduced the two, "Now, can I trust you to keep Miss Clark company for five minutes whilst I drag that idiot Casey out of the damn bathroom?" he said, not waiting for an answer as he strode away.

"Er, you might not what to make him mad... oh, geez" Chuck sighed when he realised it would've been too late even if Big Mike had been listening to him, and he clearly wasn't.

"So, Chuck" he turned at the sound of his name to find Marie smiling at him, "Any tips you can give me for fitting in here at the Buy More?" she asked conversationally as she leant on the counter in front of him, pushing mid-length brown hair back off her face.

"Er, well, I don't know..." he said feeling flustered, not least because a beautiful woman was actually talking to him like he mattered, but also because he was fairly certain that Big Mike was about to die at the hands of Major John Casey!

On top of that there was the fact that every time Chuck looked at Marie he got that weird feeling again, like he ought to know her and yet... nothing.

"Okay, is there something on my face?" Marie checked, running her hand over one cheek, "because you keep looking at me like there's something wrong..."

"No, I'm sorry" Chuck apologised immediately for making her uncomfortable, "Honestly, its nothing, you're nothing, I mean, not that you're nothing because I'm sure you're a wonderful person, beautiful obviously and probably very intelligent..."
"Okay, slow down, breathe" she urged him with laughter in her voice as he seemed half way to hyper-ventilating for the sake of what ought to have been a simple apology, "Really, it's no big"

Chuck felt more ridiculous right now than he sometimes did in front of Sarah as he tried to gain control of his voice and his brain once again. He was being so stupid, assuming that just because Marie looked familiar in some way it had to mean badness. The Intersect and his secret agent associates were making him so paranoid, it was crazy.

"I was just wondering" he said, leaning on the counter and looking closely at Marie now, "Do I know you from somewhere? It's just you look familiar..."

"I doubt it" she shook her head, "I'm not from around here, and I'm sure I'd remember if I'd met you before" she smiled at him, making poor Chuck blush despite the fact her comment had been barely suggestive.

No more was to be said as Big Mike reappeared, followed by Casey who looked less than happy. Still, Chuck observed, that was pretty much his usual expression, so there was nothing to say any particular event today had made him mad.

"So, here's the plan" Mike said as he stood between his two newest employees, "We're going to perform a little experiment, see how well the training system works in this place, and how thick your head is" he said, glaring at the man behind him, "John Casey, meet your new shadow, Marie Clark. You're gonna teach her everything that you've learnt about working here at the Buy More..." he explained, though neither of his charges were exactly listening by now.

Marie seemed entirely distracted by the sight of her mentor, as far as Chuck could tell. The smile on her lips and the twinkle in her eyes suggested that, of all unholy things, she might actually find John Casey attractive! Of course, it shouldn't be so crazy, when Chuck gave it a little thought. Perhaps he was biased to thinking of Casey as scary and weird because he knew what he was capable of. Marie only saw a muscle-bound hero type from her perspective, he guessed, and it was obvious she liked what she saw.

For Casey's part, Chuck was sure the guy couldn't be quite so oblivious as he looked. Marie was obviously a hottie, a well-toned figure clear beneath her ugly regulation uniform and beautiful green eyes that a man could drown in. Were he not already head-over-heels in love with Sarah on sight, Chuck thought he'd be making the most of the fact Marie seemed to find him to be a nice guy, though quite obviously not as 'nice' as she found Casey.

"Thank you, sir" she said sweetly when Big Mike finished what he was saying and turned to walk away, "Guess that just leaves you and me" she said as she looked up at Casey who was almost a foot taller than her, "I put myself completely in your hands, John" she said, leaning into him just a little.

Chuck couldn't help bit stare at the odd display. He really didn't think about Casey dating, though he must've done so once. Having a woman like Marie clearly coming onto him, getting all up in his personal space and using his rarely heard first name, well, Chuck wasn't altogether sure how his agent friend would deal with that. His confusion and wondering showed on his face, and it at least caught Casey's attention.

"You okay, kid?" he asked, with a look that suggested he wasn't so much enquiring about his health or similar as he put a hand on Marie's elbow and turned her around some as they moved to walk away.

"Fine" Chuck nodded and smiled, his answer covering every possible connotation of the question, "It's all good" he said, with a thumbs up sign as Casey nodded once and led Marie away across the store.

Even now as he watched them walk away, amongst all thought regarding the weirdness of anyone finding Casey attractive and dateable, a little voice bothered Chuck. He should know Marie, or something about her. He ought to be worried about her, or maybe just about her being here, but for the life of him he didn't know why.

To Be Continued...