A/N: Not sure where this came from…the first two sentences appeared and then the rest followed…your thoughts and or help are greatly appreciated for this story…next time, I'll get back to our 'broken' angel…don't own Chuck or any of the characters from the show…however, the shabby treatment they receive at my hands is entirely my fault…bad wiring, it's not just in old houses…thanks to everyone who participated in the Awesome Awards…you people rock! Gotta take a nap to get ready for bedtime…later. Oh yeah, still having fun so thanks, Jim. JT

Sarah Walker - Broken Beyond Repair - Chapter 3

Major John Casey was not a happy camper. Of course, 98.7% of the people who happened to meet him would happily affirm that 'unhappy camper' was he default setting. It had been almost six months since Chuck Bartowski had been 'killed' in a single car accident and a little over five months since he'd last seen Agent Sarah Walker.

In that time, he'd been around the world at least twice, chasing after Bryce Larkin's 'corpse' and with each near miss, General Diane Beckman tightened the security around both Chuck and Ellie Bartowski. There was still no clear indication that the man he was sure he'd killed was, in fact, still alive but, as the General was constantly pointing out, until Larkin was confirmed either alive or dead, nothing was secure.

Casey had spent two weeks in Burbank after Chuck had been extracted, most of the time spent making sure that there were no loose ends. He'd never admit it, to anyone, but he'd been touched by the number of people who'd been affected by Bartowski's 'death'. Ellie had lost it, her sorrow leaving her devastated and almost catatonic for almost a week. He didn't know how she found the strength to make it through the memorial service and had spent almost an hour listening to her talk about her 'little brother' when he'd made an appearance at the small gathering after the service, sitting with the younger woman on the edge of the fountain in the apartment courtyard.

He'd expected her response but had been shocked when the elder Bartowski had expressed her concern about Sarah Walker, wondering if he'd heard anything about Chuck's 'girlfriend' who'd disappeared the same night that Chuck had 'died'. When he'd explained that he barely knew Sarah, Ellie had offered a sad smile while murmuring that she never got to know her either.

Somehow, Devon and Morgan both noticed Ellie speaking to him and appeared just as she was about to breakdown and managed to help her back to her apartment, leaving him silently cursing both the CIA, for screwing things up, and Bryce Larkin, for starting the dominos falling that lead to the surprising amount of hurt that was on display through out the courtyard.

Following orders, he'd kept a close watch on Ellie until a replacement team could be organized. Once the new agents were ready, John Casey introduced his 'nephew' and his wife to Ellie and Devon, explaining that they'd be moving into his apartment since he was re-enlisting. When he'd explained to Ellie that her new neighbors were looking for work and that they both had nursing degrees, she'd perked up a little and within minutes, had managed to find them both positions at Westside Memorial. Casey had expressed his thanks while Ellie spent time getting to know her new neighbors and, thanks to special pressure from the NSA behind the scenes, co-workers.

Casey knew that the two young agents, who were going to be leading a small team that were charged with keeping Eleanor Bartowski safe, had been hand picked by Chuck Bartowski for their compatibility with his sister. He'd been surprised that the moron had acquiesced to the NSA's need to 'kill' him, agreeing with the General's plans only after he'd made sure that his sister would be kept safe.

Almost a month after his death, Chuck Bartowski had greeted him with a hardy handshake and might have tried to hug him if he hadn't been threatened with a violent beating. Major John Casey had been back in Washington for a little over a week and had finally made the time to schedule a visit with his former asset. The General had encouraged the meeting, telling him that Bartowski had actually been asking to see him, hoping to get first hand news of how his sister was really doing.

He'd found Bartowski sitting by himself at a table in the base's commissary, silently pushing his meal around his plate. Hearing a grunt, the younger man had looked up and immediately smiled, getting quickly to his feet and moving around the corner of the table to stand in front of him. After the handshake and aborted attempt at a hug, he'd returned to his seat, gesturing towards the empty chair opposite him. Once he'd taken the seat, Bartowski had surprised him, not asking about his sister but inquiring instead about Sarah.

"Have you seen Sarah?" he'd asked, leaning forward slightly. "How is she? No one will say anything except that she's moved on to her next assignment and I was just, um, just a little worried…"

"She's fine" he'd lied, having been ordered to tell his former asset nothing more than that she'd moved on to her next assignment and that she hadn't said anything more than to wish him luck.

"Well, that's , uh, that's good news" the young man had replied, the look on his face indicating that the news was anything but 'good'. "So, how's Ellie?" he'd asked next, doing an admirable job of hiding the disappointment caused by Walker's supposed moving on had caused. "Does it look like the new team is going to work out? Did they get moved in and start their new jobs?" he'd queried, obviously eager to hear that his sister was safe and doing better.

The first week after he'd 'died' had been difficult and several times he'd been moments away from being sedated, calming down only after 'emergency' conferences with General Diane Beckman that involved promised being made that would allow him to contribute to the selection of the agents who would form the protection detail for Ellie and Devon. Once the team had been selected, Chuck had eased into his 'duties' that included twice daily reviews of the latest intel reports and writing an analysis report about any flashes he experienced.

In the months since, the moron, as Casey still occasionally referred to him, had eased into his routine and had also started working out. He'd told Casey that he'd been bored and figured that he couldn't spend all of his free time sitting around and playing video games so he might as well make use of the base's gym and numerous jogging trails. 'Besides', he'd added, 'jogging allows me some time in the sun'.

Returning from his latest 'Bryce hunt', Casey had been shocked when he found Chuck Bartowski sparring with one of the agents that made up his personal security detail, a group of 'newbie' agents who accompanied the asset whenever he was outside of his residence. Standing in the doorway of the base's dojo, he'd watched as the self professed nerd managed to hold his own against a trained agent, even managing to land a couple of punches before missing a block and landing on his ass, his lip split and bleeding.

"Not like Mortal Kombat, is it" Casey called out with a snort of humor.

"Casey, good to see you" he said after allowing his sparring partner to give him a hand up. After pausing to exchange bows with his opponent, Chuck jogged over to the doorway and, after pulling off the padded sparring glove, shook the bigger man's hand.

"Your hair's getting a little long" Casey told him, secretly impressed by the strength he noticed in his former asset's grip. "You're starting to look like this hippie, hacker geek I once met in Burbank" he announced, remembering when he'd first suggested that the nerd cut his hair so he might blend in a little better at the base, something that the General had supported.

"I'll take care of it this afternoon, Casey. I'm gonna hit the showers" Chuck announced, tucking his headgear and gloves under an arm. "Wanna get some chow?"

"Sure, why not" Casey answered with a shrug.

"Great. Looking forward to hearing all about the 'zombie' hunt. Meet ya in the mess" Chuck told him before turning and heading towards the locker room.

Casey chuckled, remembering the first time Bartowski had referred to Bryce Larkin as a zombie since his corpse seemed to have gotten up and walked away. It had been almost two months after his 'death' and the nerd had been the first to find hints that the CIA's most infamous rogue agent was still alive. In the four months since the first 'sighting', Chuck had been leading the hunt, at least in the cyber world, and each near miss seemed to make the young man work even harder.

When Chuck had received his first intersect update, almost three months after his 'death', he'd learned of the relationship between Bryce and Sarah and ever since, he'd asked less and less about his former cover-girlfriend, leading Casey to hope that maybe the kid hadn't fallen as hard as he first thought. That update had also marked a turning point in Chuck's control of the Intersect as it evolved from random flashes to an increasing level of control over the information in his brain.

John Casey had been out of country when the four month 'anniversary' of Chuck's death had rolled around and he'd actually taken the time to call and wish him a 'happy death day'. The growing rapport between the two of them had confused him at first until he realized that he was actually coming to think of Chuck as a friend and when General Beckman had contacted him with the news of a 'growing' Intersect agent who had also been developing physically, thanks in no small part to older NSA agent's constant ribbing about the nerd's lack of anything resembling stamina, he'd felt a strange sense of respect for the nerd. Normally the young man would've ignored his razzing but ever since the first update, he'd been pushing to be allowed to join the him in the field and the General had slowly been coming around to the idea of putting together a new Team Intersect.

That was the upside to his visit to the base and he was actually looking forward to giving Chuck the news. Graham and Beckman had finally agreed on an agent who would fill the position once held by Sarah Walker and despite his own personal misgivings, he agreed with the choice because he had a feeling that the new member might be the perfect foil for both Chuck and himself.

After a stop at the armory, he made his way to the mess hall and, after catching sight of freshly shorn nerd, made his way across the room to join his once and future partner as he made his way through the chow line. Sliding into place beside the younger man, he couldn't help noticing the increase in increased definition of Chuck's upper body. He knew the nerd would never mention his increased size and promised himself to congratulate him as soon as he could do it while delivering one of his usual putdowns at the same time.

"Nice haircut, moron" he mumbled while delivering a shoulder bump that nearly knocked younger man down.

"Thanks, old man" Chuck answered, watching the server on the other side of the steam table as he plated up a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. "Hey Robert" he said to the man behind the counter, "think you can find some soft food so the Major doesn't have to put his dentures in to eat his meal?"

"Sure thing Chuck. It's a little early but I'm sure I can find him something off the 'senior's early bird' menu" the young man answered with a laugh, ignoring the glare from the burly Major.

"Ha ha, very funny, Bar…on Asswipe" Casey shot back, catching himself at the last minute. He'd been the first to suggest giving Chuck a 'new' last name and still occasionally caught himself slipping into his old habit of calling him 'Bartowski'.

"Nice save, Casey" Chuck said quietly. "Much better than 'Bar…nacle Bill' or 'Bar…talbee', although I was happy to learn you'd followed my advice and watched that Kevin Smith movie. So, what did you think of my latest range scores?" Chuck asked while moving to swipe his ID card to pay for his meal.

"How'd you know I checked your scores?" he asked, honestly a little interested in how Chuck had figured out what he'd been doing before joining him for lunch.

"The faint smell of cordite tells me you went to the armory and you aren't sporting the usual afterglow you get whenever you've fired off a few hundred rounds so…you checked on my scores, right?"

"Not bad, moron and, not bad, moron" he answered, happy to get a 'double moron' out without having to admit that he was really impressed with Chuck's amazing proficiency with both handguns and rifles. He still couldn't believe that the nerd was currently ranked third overall for the entire base, his sniper scores coming surprisingly close to his own. Of course, range shooting was an entirely different animal than pointing a gun at living targets but, he was still impressed. Of course, he'd never tell the moron that.

"A double moron? Been a while since you've managed one of those. Ah…memories" Chuck said with a snort, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at an empty table that was as far away from any others diners as possible.

Taking a seat across from his former asset, he picked up a cupcake from his tray and dropped it onto the tray across from him. "Happy 'death-day', putz."

"Ah Casey, you remembered…how sweet. So I guess the gray hairs are only a sign of your encroaching decrepitude and not senility, good for you."

"Shut it, before I decide to take over your hand to hand training and accidentally break all of your bones."

"It really is good to see you Casey. What happened with the zombie hunt?"

"I can't prove it yet, but I'm sure it's him. Once we get the team into the field…"

"The team?" Chuck asked excitedly. "Exactly what team would that be, Casey?"

The General" Casey started the explanation with a lie, knowing that the General had already admitted to being impressed with Chuck's performance, "seems to think that if you continue to improve in your training…"

"Yeah?" Chuck asked, suddenly very curious.

"And if the new transfer works out…"

"What transfer, Casey? Who'd we get?"

"Some DEA skirt who recovered the Nadan Ah Noor diamond a few months ago…" he said, pausing when he noticed Chuck closing his eyes and dipping his head, tell tale signs of a flash. Ready for whatever might be asked of him, he waited patiently for Chuck to lift his head and quiz him about whatever he'd gleaned from the flash. Waiting patiently began to drift towards worry when Chuck's head remained lowered for much longer than flashes usually took. Just as he was about to reach a hand across the table to shake his young partner, because that was what he now was, Chuck's head lifted back up and he found himself staring into a pair of brown eyes that suddenly seemed much older than they had moments before.

"So, she worked with Agent Walker and slept with you…"

"We, uh, we never actually slept together" he blurted out, somehow keeping his voice low.

"Oh, so it was just handcuffs and boxers? Because that makes it better? She's a wild card, Casey. Do you honestly think she'll make this work?" he asked, referring to the proposed team.

"Believe it or not, I do. And if I'm wrong, we'll simply find another agent for our third."

"Unless she manages to get you or I killed…or turns out to be Fulcrum. She worked with Walker, who was partners with Larkin, who may or may not be alive and may or may not be Fulcrum. Are you sure we can trust her, John?"

"Yeah, Chuck, I do."

"Well then… I guess you better talk to the General and get things in motion" he said flatly, returning to eating his meal as if something huge hadn't just happened.

"Chuck, I'm sure about her. She may be a wild card, like you said, but I believe in her ability to get the job done. I'm just asking you to trust me on this."

"Alright , Casey, make the call. I'm actually looking forward to meeting the woman who conquered the 'mighty Casey' and left him cuffed…"

"Ah, shut it! Eat your cupcake, cupcake. I'll make the call" he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. After a quick series of taps on the display screen, he lifted the phone to his ear. "Hello Carina, it's John…John Casey…J…O…cut the crap and get your ass to…hello?…hello? She hung up" he said and looked at his partner and felt really, really tempted to slap the smirk off of his face.

"This feels like the start of a wonderful friendship."

A/N: Thoughts?