A/N: I say this every fic at some point, so, I am shocked at the how many of you are enjoying this fic. I am also shocked at how many of you agree on one thing, unleash the Casey. You might want to find something to hold on to, because Casey, well….he's going to have a feeling…One…but a feeling…Ch 4, Never Count Your Money

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, but I am a bit of an organized crime history nerd…and if anyone asks, we all agree the Mafia doesn't really exist, it's a bad stereotype propagated by TV (whew, don't need to lose a kneecap over a fanfic…)

Casey sat in the car, parked in the driveway, fuming. This was his fault. Even since Christmas he had Bartowski running ragged. Casey had known that after Chuck and Ellie's talk Chuck was going to do the one thing Chuck did best, worry, plan, and eventually do something stupid. So Casey did what he did best, keep Chuck from doing something stupid. Casey made some phone calls over the Christmas break and sure enough, rumors of Intersect 3.0 took hold of the internet, and the video game powers that be, begged Chuck's company for the game ASAP. Chuck went into hyperdrive…was that a thing? Christ, the nerd was rubbing off on him.

Casey knew he could pull back security and take a mini break. He had some of his friends watching Chuck; it wasn't hard, Chuck hardly left the offices, sleeping there many nights. Casey decided to see his best girl, Kathleen. It had been awhile, and Casey was enjoying the two of them, just being together when he got the call. Chuck had taken off for a tournament at the Commerce and somehow his guys had lost him. The one thing they did know was Jenny Burton was spotted with him several times yesterday.

Casey knew he was only a foster parent, but he also knew if he'd let him, the moron would call him Dad. What the nerd didn't know is he thought of him as a son. Chuck had it all, but it wasn't enough, and if Casey was honest, deep, deep down, past the happy center, where the angry center ruled, Casey grudgingly respected that. The kid deserved all the happiness, but Jenny Burton? She was trouble, Casey knew it. He had to go in there and end this, for everyone's sake. Ellie was going to yell, but it was her lady feelings talking and not the analytical doctor.

He got out of the car, nearly slamming the door, but realized, in time, that the Crown Vic didn't deserve that treatment. He walked up to the door and let himself inside Chuck's house.

"Bartowski, we've got to talk," he said, coming into the living room and seeing Jenny and Chuck huddled on the couch. "Christ," he muttered. He sat down in the chair as the two roused by his entrance. As Jenny's eyes saw him, he caught something he didn't expect to see. To the casual observer, Jenny seemed to melt more into Chuck's side, looking like a scared young lady who didn't know who the big man was that had just burst in. However, to the trained observer that saw her eyes, Casey caught it. The look she didn't even know she was giving. Casey knew that look. There were few he had that look for but Bartowski was one of them. She would protect him. "Hmph," he grunted with a slight smile on his face. The two locked eyes.

He slightly raised his eyebrows and cocked his head as if to say to her, "You'd protect him?" He caught her barely noticeable head nod that said, "Yes." Casey took a deep breath, and realized he was too late. If she was that invested…

"Aw, hell," he muttered. "Pancakes, Bartowski?" he asked, heading to the kitchen.

"Uh, sure, Casey," Chuck said. "Good morning, come in, make yourself at home."

"Who is he?" Jenny asked.

"Well, he's Casey," Chuck said. "Kinda my foster parent, kinda my self-appointed body guard, kinda my OVERPROTECTIVE MOTHER each time I try to date." Jenny stifled a laugh at the last part. Casey was going to make a crack about the lack of dating and when he did it was to thieves, but….he couldn't. He already knew how Chuck felt, and now after seeing Jenny.

"You want pancakes, Burton?" Casey asked. Jenny gave Chuck a look. Chuck shrugged.

"He won't poison them, and they're pretty good," Chuck admitted.

"I can even do chocolate chips," Casey said. Chuck's eyes about popped out of his head as he slowly turned toward Casey. Casey was looking directly at Chuck. Chuck gave the slightest of head nods that Casey returned.

"I wouldn't mind chocolate chip," Jenny said, not sure what was going on. She looked at her watch. "We have a tournament we have to get to soon."

"I'll drive you," Casey said. "You need a good breakfast if you're going to do well." Chuck looked at Casey like he had grown two heads. "Bartowski…shut up." Chuck turned back around and looked at Jenny, grinning.

"I'm not saying you need one, but I do have this amazing shower if you feel you need one," Chuck said grinning.

"I do, and so do you," she said returning the grin. His ears went red and she realized what she might have implied.

"Good thing I've got two showers in two separate rooms," he squeaked out. Casey shut his eyes in the kitchen. What fresh hell was he exposing himself to being around these two numbnuts?

"I'll just go get my stuff, shower, and get changed," Jenny said, basically fleeing the room.

"This is my fault," Casey muttered. "I've kept you on such a leash you act like a complete moron around women."

"Casey, we can talk about the lack of my love life later, I need your help," Chuck said, coming over to him. "Casey, she's being extorted." Casey turned around slowly to look at him. "Her father…"

"He's a con man," Casey said. Chuck nodded. Casey thought for a second and let out a low growl. "Someone is paying off those who are conned and making her pay it back, plus the vig?" Chuck nodded. "Gotta admit, it's good, but where's the pressure coming to make her pay. Tell me she isn't sappy enough to be worried about her old man."

"They have pictures of her mother doing everyday routines," Chuck replied. Casey was holding a wooden spoon from mixing the batter. The spoon part flew past Chuck's face, while the handle remained in Casey's hand. That was the only noticeable change in Casey, but Chuck knew what had just happened. He had unleashed the Casey.

"She's got nothing to do with any of this," Casey said. Chuck nodded. "Those…" he couldn't finish the sentence. "That's why her bankroll keeps dropping." Chuck gave him a look. "Of course, I've vetted her, Moron. You moon over her like a love sick calf. Do you think I'm stupid?" Chuck didn't answer, because he was pretty sure no matter what he said it was going to be wrong. Casey thought for a second. "I may have been wrong about her," he said quietly. Chuck schooled his features because that was as close as Casey was ever going to come to admitting he made a mistake and apologized. "You offered to pay it, didn't you?"

"Casey," Chuck began. Casey waved his hand.

"Kid, you wouldn't be you if you didn't," Casey replied. "How much?"

"She wouldn't take it," Chuck said. Casey looked at him, stunned. "She wants to help her mom, but she won't take my money." Casey turned around, found a new spatula, and chocolate chips, both white and regular. "Which one does she want?" Chuck stared at him. "Go ask her, Moron." Chuck headed down the hall to the guest bedroom. He heard movement inside.

"Hey," Chuck said from the hallway.

"Come on in," she said. She was dressed, and towel drying her hair.

"I have a blow dryer if you need it," he said. She grinned. "This," he said pointing to his head. "Needs a little help."

"So you want it to look like that?" she asked raising an eyebrow, and grinning at him. Chuck looked affronted.

"Casey asked me if you wanted regular or white chocolate chips, but now, I'm not going to tell him," he said, with an airs about him.

"WHITE CHOCOLATE!" she yelled. Chuck winced. "Is everything okay?" Chuck smiled and nodded.

"Better than I hoped for," he said. "I'm going to go take a shower, think you'll be okay with sir Grunts-a-lot?" Jenny smiled and gently thwacked his shoulder.

"Go, I've been dealing with people for a long time," she said. Chuck nodded and started to leave.

"Jenny, you don't have to alone anymore," he said. She smiled and nodded. Chuck left. She took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen. Casey saw her, and went back to the pancakes. He put some on the plate and handed them to her. She took a bite and nearly moaned. Casey, his back to her, working on more pancakes, grinned where she couldn't see.

"I can take care of him for you," Casey said.

"No you can't."

"All you have to do is give me a name and it's done."

"Fine, Jimmy 'The Shark' Sykes," she said. Casey froze and turned, seeing her eyes.

"Christ," he muttered. "The mob is buying up his markers?" Jenny nodded. Casey sighed.

"Okay, I go get your mom, and bring her back here, and then we have a sitdown," Casey said.

"With who?"

"Gino Toletti," Casey answered. The color drained out of Jenny's face. "Good," he said pointing at her. "You have enough sense to be scared. If Gino says it's over, it's over. It would probably help if we could find your old man and get him to quit conning people. Do you think if he knew your mother was in danger because of it he would quit?" Jenny nodded.

"I don't know what he would do, but he'd quit," she replied.

"Hell, Burton, you supporting him would run you less ragged," Casey said.

"Don't I know it," she said, taking another bite of the pancakes and trying not to moan. "Thank you."

"It's just pancakes," he said. She looked him in the eye, and he shrugged. "Don't hurt him."

"Who, Chuck?" she asked. "We're just friends." Casey gave her a look.

"Burton, I may not have them, but I know lady feelings when I see lady feelings." Jenny smirked and leaned in.

"Casey, we both know you have lady feeling," she said. John grunted and turned back to the pancakes.

}o{

Jenny looked at the clock. They were supposed to stop in thirty minutes, but everyone knew they were going until the next person busted. There were currently two tables of nine players and one of ten. She glanced over to the table beside her. Chuck leaned back, and smiled at her, and she returned it. He was at the table of ten. The next person that bust made zero dollars this tournament, and everyone else made at least $22,690…well, that was the payout. That still wasn't enough to pay off Jimmy.

After Chuck came out of the shower, there had been discussions that Jenny just didn't like, but she had to admit, it was the best play. She was going to stay with Chuck until this thing was over. It made Casey's job easier in case someone decided to do something to her. She had protested saying that she couldn't put Chuck in jeporday and she was returning to Vegas when the tournament was over. Casey muttered great, Chuck shrugged and headed to his bedroom. Jenny had followed to find him packing a bag.

"You aren't my protector!" she yelled.

"No, but I am your friend, and you need one right now, and I'm going with you," he said.

"You have a job, you just can't leave!" she countered.

"I don't give a damn about that company, especially if something happens to you," he replied calmly. Jenny was stunned. She fled the bedroom and nearly crashed into John.

"You're wasting your time arguing, this is what he does for those he cares for," Casey said, gently. "He's decided you are someone worth caring for, so you can fight it, or just let him have it. It's easier to just let him have this."

"What does he want from me?" Jenny asked. Casey chuckled.

"Burton, he just wants to help you, that's it," Casey replied. "I'm not saying he doesn't have other feelings for you, but what he wants is for you to be happy and safe. That's the Bartowski way, and once they decide your one of them, you have no choice but to become Bartoskified." Jenny laughed at that.

She had told him she'd stay, but Chuck insisted on keeping the bag pack, just in case she changed her mind at the last second. They had a plan, Jenny didn't think it was a great plan, but it was the best they could do on short notice. Jenny and Chuck would go to the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose the next week to play on the next WPT stop. Casey had friends there that would guard them. They tried to book a room with two beds, but there were none available. Chuck then said, two rooms, but Casey vetoed that saying he didn't have enough people to guard two. They finally got a room with one bed, and Chuck insisting he take the floor. She'd fight that fight later.

While in San Jose, Casey would go to San Diego and get Jenny's mom, Emma. Bringing her to Chuck's and her being guarded made life easier for Casey. After that it was time to see if they could hunt down Jack and set up a face to face with Gino Toletti. Chuck had told her he would gladly pay off whatever was owed and she could pay him back, whenever or not at all. Jenny relented to the point of agreeing to if she had no other option, but she was going to do everything in her power to make sure she could pay him back.

She looked down at pocket Aces and she wasn't sure what to do. She had been folding everything, trying to make sure she made the money, but now she knew she had to come in eight to get out of the current nightmare. She looked around, mostly at pros. She was here to win, and you didn't win folding pocket Aces preflop. She raised the pot, and was called by Steve Zolotow. Jenny's heart sank. Steve was one of the best no one knew about. He was famous for his pay at the Mayfair Club in New York. The flop came out 2 of spades 5 of diamonds and the 7 of hearts. Unless Steve had a pocket pair of one of those three cards on the flop, Jenny knew she was in the lead. She checked giving Steve the rope to hang himself with. Steve wasn't short stacked, but he didn't have a lot of chips. A bet would take about half his stack. He deliberated for a moment and then pushed all-in. Jenny was getting amazing odds, and knew even if she busted she'd still have about ¾ of her stack, which would put her in great shape. She shoved all in. Steve flipped over pocket Kings, Jenny flipped over pocket Aces and Steve nodded. Someone said they had folded a King, which if correct gave Steve a five percent chance of catching the remaining King. A three of clubs came on the turn, leaving him with a two percent chance. A Queen dropped, making everyone gasp at seeing a face card, but then there were cheers. Everyone was ready to go home, and Jenny found herself as one of the chip leaders.

}o{

"I can't sleep on the couch again, Chuck," Jenny said to him grinning as she came in.

"Probably best, since Casey will sleep there," Chuck replied.

"I thought he had his own room here," she said. Chuck laughed.

"It's too far into the house according to him. He wants to be near that door, just in case."

"Chuck," Jenny said, taking a deep breath. "Tomorrow, you need to play to beat me. Do you understand?"

"No, Jenny, I don't," he replied. "Explain it to me."

"Look, I had a con man father, he took every advantage legal and illegal that existed. I look for the edge, but not an illegal one. There are plenty of ways for me to win, but taking chips off you just because you want to give them to me, that's not acceptable. This is non-negotiable, Bartowski," she said.

"Okay," Chuck said nodding. She nodded and turned to head toward her bedroom. "One condition." She stopped and turned around.

"Whatever money I make the rest of the way goes toward paying off the debt." Jenny looked like she wanted to say no.

"Minus the entry fee," she said. "Non-negotiable." Chuck stepped toward her and stopped with just inches separating them.

"A lot of things in your life seem to be non-negotiable Burton," he said softly.

"Some of them only seem to be, but they actually are negotiable," she replied. Chuck swallowed thickly. "Careful, Bartowski, I will call any bluff."

"I am well aware, Burton," he said. She smirked, raised an eyebrow, turned, and headed to her room.

"I owe you, Chuck, and I don't know if I can ever pay you back," she said, looking back at him.

"That's called friendship," Chuck said. Jenny nodded.

"Don't screw it up."

"I won't, I don't want to lose you again," he said. Jenny just stared at him, nodded, and walked back to her bedroom.

"Damn, Bartowski," Casey said, scaring the life out of him. "You're actually a little smooth."

"Thanks, Casey," Chuck began.

"I mean a 5 year old has better game than you, but not terrible."

"And there it is, Caseified."

}o{

It had been a long day, and Chuck was exhausted. They had made it to the final table, but play would continue until they made the TV table, or the final six. Those six would duke it out tomorrow for a first prize of nearly 1.4 million dollars. However Chuck and Jenny found themselves in the final nine. Chuck had no hand, but a ton of draws, and knowing he was feeling the exhaustion of playing tournament poker for three straight days, he moved all-in. The odds made him a 55-45 dog, but he was thrilled to get his money in there. If he won, he would be in the chip lead, if he lost, he was out, but at least he could then relax. What had him confused was the death-glare. After he moved all-in, he smiled over at Jenny and was stunned at the look she gave him.

He busted out, and shook everyone's hand. The table took a break, and a hand on his elbow marched him away as he got his payout slip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Moving all-in," Chuck replied, really confused.

"Don't give me that crap, Bartowski," she said, madder than a baptized cat. Chuck stopped walking, make her ever madder, which he didn't know was possible.

"Why don't you tell me exactly what you think I did that has you so mad."

"Don't play games with me, damn it! You promised," she said, glowering.

"What did I do?"

"You lost on purpose so I'd make eight place to pay off Jimmy," she said.

"No I didn't," Chuck replied. Jenny started to retort, and he held up his hand. "Jenny, I'm a cash game player. Three days of tournament grinding, I was nearly done. I had the math to make the move I did."

"You keep talking about math, I know math," Jenny said, irritated.

"No, you know some math, basic poker math, but there is more to it," Chuck said.

"It's overrated."

"You've never beat me," he said, and she wanted to be mad, she did, but he was smirking and she found herself wanting to knock it off his face. It was the how that was bothering her. She took a deep breath.

"And the fact if you went out had nothing to do with it?" Jenny said, her anger subsiding.

"One hundred percent honesty, yeah it factored in a little, but Jenny, we already had the money," Chuck said. Jenny looked confused. "Between you and me, if we both busted back to back, we had the money." Jenny thought and realized he was right.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Chuck," she began. Chuck put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him.

"Jenny, I get it, this is new, and you have to be careful, but in the future if you see something squirrely about me, talk to me, but give me the benefit of the doubt until you do, please?" She nodded. "Now, go, I'll cash out and you go win 1.4 mil." Chuck went to the window to cash out, and the tournament started back up. He was taking his time getting back when he heard a commotion. He got back and saw Jenny had gotten all-in with pocket Kings. With the blinds moving up, her opponent with pocket sevens had reraised her and she had move all-in. Chuck watched as her opponent missed on the turn. Jenny was about to double up and be the chip leader, eight handed, and then…the third seven, or a set, hit on the river. She took it well, and she collected her things. She met Chuck, who were both shaking their head, and he gave her a hug telling her she had played it perfectly. She backed away, with his arm around her, put her hand on his chest, and took a deep breath. The important part was they had the money to pay off Jimmy. As they were walking away together, Chuck's arm still around her, they didn't notice the pictures being taken of them for the WPT.

A/N: You do realize that we are four chapters in and our heroes haven't even kissed yet…the fluff police will be after me soon…Don't worry…There will be Chenny…(It seriously took me a few minutes to figure out what that was those of you who said it in the reviews)…Take Care, till next time.

DC