Chuck versus the Struggles of Life

A/N: Yes I've released a chapter, I do indeed intend on finishing this story, and writing others. But its simply hard to find time to write with my insane school work load, in fact I probably shouldn't be writing today as I have a Legal Studies Assessment tomorrow, but oh well, there is many hours of the night.

This is undoubtably the happiest I've ever been with a chapter, as I have recently planned out the rest of this story, so no longer am I writing whatever trype comes to me as I go, rather I'm writing to a plan. Let me know at the end if you noticed any step up in quality, or if its still absolute garbage.

I don't quite know how many chapters it'll take to get the rest of the story out, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say 4. I'm dying for that final chapter, its going to be a hoot!

Two questions were raised in the reviews of the previous chapter that I'd like to address, firtly of Chuck's new handler and thirdly of how Devon recognised Bryce. Well the first one I address in this chapter, the second one, I simply put it down to the fact this AU diverged in late season 1, and in my universe, Devon knew Bryce.

Oh and this chapters much longer than other work of mine, hope you appreciate it :)

Disclaimer: No way would I admit to owning Chuck. I was thoroughly dissatisfied with the season finale. That was all Schwedak. Us shippers got sold short!

Note: CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING A SEASON 5 FOR THIS AMAZING SHOW! :)

Without further ado, I present...

C vs SOF - Chapter 10

"I want him rescued by any means necessary. We need him for the project. It ll only work with him. We ve tried others; he's the only one that can make it work. Bring him to me, I don t care how; just get it done."

The man's voice was the only thing that slightly indicated there was anyone or anything in the dark, desolate room. No lights were switched on, pitch blackness engulfed the man and the person he was speaking to. The only sound audible in the distance was the soft hum of the gentle breeze rustling the branches of the trees outside.

A rusty door creaked slightly in the background, breaking the thoughtful silence between the two men; both of their attentions snapped towards the source of the sound, ensuring no one was listening to their conversation. After a few seconds had past, the men's attention focused back on each other.

"But I don't see what's so important about this guy? I mean, what is this project. I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I like details before I rush head first into things."

Although it could not be seen through the darkness, a stern, calculated look appeared on the other man's face.
"You don't need details, other than the fact that this man is very important to our organisation. Now do your job and follow orders Daniel. Bring him in. Quickly."

"Yes sir."

And with that the source of the voice of authority faded away into the darkness, leaving the other man deep in thought by himself in the bleak office building, just as the morning sun began to rear its head far off on the horizon.

"El, are you sure about this? This whole spying thing? I don t really feel comfortable about this. I don t know if it s really our place to be snooping around in Sarah s business. I m sure she has a perfectly good reason for whatever s going on.

"Shh Devon, stop complaining, if she has a good reason, then I d damn well like to hear it."

"But is it really our place-" His sentence was cut off by a glare from Ellie; if looks could kill, nuclear weapons didn t hold a candle to that glare. It was the same type of look Devon got at home when he had said something he shouldn t have, well at least something Ellie thought he shouldn t have said. The two of them slipped back into an intense silence. As they sat in comfortable leather seating of Ellie s new 4-Wheel Drive, Devon could almost hear her brain ticking, mulling over the current situation. Knowing his girlfriend as well he did, he knew she was probably crucifying herself as to why she didn t have better control over the situation, why she wasn t aware of every detail of her brother s life, how anything as big as this could have slipped by without her noticing a thing. She had always been like that; it was one of those cute nuances that only exacerbated his love for her. She cared so much about everything, and always made a fuss about the smallest things. Sure that meant he got in trouble some times, but it was one of scores of things he found adorable about his girlfriend.

In her heightened state of awareness and concentration, it didn t seem to even faze Ellie, the perverted looks she was getting from the crude teenage boys that walked past the car. Devon noticed, but frankly it didn t really bother him, he was used to the longing looks she got. He knew how lucky he was to have someone blessed with such killer good looks, and if that meant she got some sideward glances from strangers, so be it, as far as he was concerned, she was all his, and that s all that matters.

Devon decided one more time to try and talk Ellie out of whatever crazy plan her brain was currently formulating, "El are you sure this is even legal spying like this?"

"Devon! What is the matter with you. Little bit of pressure and you re cracking like a little girl. Sure when you want sex you re like the man for all moments but little bit of spying, and you act like a baby", Ellie replied - the last part in a quiet, sarcastic whisper under her breath.

The summer sun was just reaching its highest point in the sky and was now glaring down on the car park they were situated in. The fact that they were sitting in a black car with leather seats hardly helped the matter; and Devon was seriously starting to feel the effects of the midsummer s day. He grabbed the bottom of his black T-Shirt that Ellie had insisted on them wearing on their mission as she called, and attempted to fan his torso to provide at least some comfort from the extreme discomfort that the heat provided.

"El, can you please crank up the AC, I m dyi-" Before he could finish his sentence, Ellie raised a warning hand indicating for him to stop talking. Instead of arguing with her he followed the path of her eyes that were now boring a hole in the windscreen of the car with the sheer intensity of her gaze. When his eyes finally tracked hers, he saw what she was looking at - three figures dressed in what appeared to be woolen black clothing, typical on what you d see people wearing on those spy shows on TV, exiting the Weinerlicious. He strained his eyes to see what strange folk had been eating at the German-inspired diner in such impractical clothing on such a hot day, but suddenly his eyes shot wide open in realization as he saw the blonde hair of one of the figures gleaming in the sun.

"Oh my God is that?" However Ellie scarcely seemed to notice his open ended question due to the utter disbelief radiating from her as her eyes tracked the three figures walking across the car park, loading some equipment into the back of an unmarked black van ( Typical Devon thought) before hopping into the front, and starting the car and driving out of the car park.

Without even acknowledging Devon or offering any sort of musings into the situation which was becoming increasingly confusing and a greater web of deception by the second, Ellie simply started the engine, and began driving after the black van, but allowed a decent distance between them and the van to ensure least chance of being spotted.

As they continued to follow the vehicle, Ellie seemed to quickly find her voice again, panic washing over her as she worried about losing sight of the van, even though only 30 meters separated the two vehicles and the road separating them was dead straight.

El, calm down, it s alright, we can still see them.

"Devon, if you tell me to calm down again, you re not going to be having sex anytime in the near future." Audibly gulping, Devon decided against any more attempts to calm Ellie down, rather allowing her to deal with her anxieties in her own way.

As much as Ellie wanted to remain inconspicuous, it was becoming increasing difficult for Devon to keep count of the sheer number of road rules that she was breaking to keep up with the van in front, which despite its size was moving at a rather lively pace. Any outsider would have thought something was counting on that van being somewhere as quickly as possible. But little would they know how close to the truth that assumption would have been.

The three seasoned agents sat in relative silence as Casey drove as fast as he could without drawing too much attention to them. Sarah sat in the passenger seat while Bryce sat in the back. Sarah was more than used to the jittery sensation she got in her stomach before missions, but she fully well knew that more rested on this mission than most she had gone in the past. As a reflection of the nervousness she was feeling, her thumb gently slid over the handle of her gun, relishing in the comforting cool that the metal provided.

Whilst he was fully concentrating on the road, Casey could almost feel the nervousness and worry emanating from his partner ex-partner that is. He looked over and saw the concern that graced her handsome (Yes even a man as tough as Casey could appreciate a good-looking women) features. Her face seemed different from before she left, rougher; the sign of a woman who had been through hell since leaving Burbank. However he knew too well the reciprocal effect of that decision. He recalled how despondent and distant from his family and friends Chuck had been since Sarah left. He had been a mere shadow of the man he was before, slowly dying on the inside from a broken heart, stolen away by the women sitting next to Casey. Despite the rough, tough, cold agent exterior Sarah put out when on missions, Casey saw through the outer fa ade; he saw a woman that had been softened by her stint in her Burbank. As much as his old self - the one that worked up an appetite by butchering bad men on missions wanted to condemn Sarah for her wavering dedication to her job and the greater good, he couldn t deny the fact that he himself, despite his years of training, and being in the field found himself with a soft spot for that damn nerd, so impossible not to like, so hard to resist his idiotic charm. Of course he d take torture and death gladly before admitting that to anyone, but he knew deep down how Sarah felt. He increasingly found himself caring about finding Chuck; not just to maintain his impeccable service record with assets, but because it would be a horrible thing for such a good person to die for doing nothing but what he could with the crap life dealt him, he knew if Chuck died he wouldn t have lost an asset, he would ve lost a friend.

"You okay Walker?" Casey asked in as sincere a tone as the bear-like man could muster, but in a soft, quiet tone so as not for Bryce to overhear him.

Sarah snapped out of her inner monologue after hearing her old partner s question, mustered as much of a smile as she could before responding, "Yeah I'm fine". But she knew she wasn t fooling anyone, especially a spy of Casey's caliber. However Casey didn t press the matter, rather, he knew it was best to let the mark take the next step.

And after a few moments, Sarah quietly spoke, "How s he been since well you know, since I got reassigned?" she inquired, refusing to label her actions as leaving him .

Casey, forgetting that he wasn't just talking to Sarah the woman but also Sarah Walker, CIA legend, momentarily tricked himself into thinking that she would believe him when he responded, He s been fine, but noticing her unconvinced expression, he elaborated, being careful as to not the break the very sensitive eggshells he was stepping on, "He's been pretty broken up. He barely talks to anyone anymore, even Ellie and him don t talk much anymore. He hardly even plays games with the little gnome Grimes anymore".

Sensing the silent permission Sarah was giving him to carry on, Casey continued, "On missions he's purely professional, just gets the job done, nothing more, nothing less. He treats your replacement like crap you know?" He rhetorically asked with a snicker, "Hates her guts, hates the concept of her even attempting to on any level, replace you. That idiot really loves you, you know." God knows why . He added to lighten the mood. He hoped he wasn t too blunt with Sarah, but he thought it important she totally know the impacts her decision to leave had had, especially on Chuck.

Sarah refused to respond to Casey s omission that Chuck loves her; rather she questioned him, "My replacement? Who is she? Where is she now?"

Casey chuckled, fully having expected Walker to get defensive and nosey at learning someone had been sent to replace her. "Names Lucy Mathers, typical CIA scum", Casey snidely remarked. Sensing what was on her mind he continued, "She's nothing like you, you know? Way too professional, even by my standards. But boy that s one hot piece of CIA skirt, Sarah s lips turned upwards in a rare, genuine smile, something that had hardly happened in the recent months. But she left about a month ago, didn't even tell me anything. When I asked Beckman about it, she gave me the strict need to know spiel."

"So Chuck doesn t like her?" Sarah reaffirmed, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it again for her own satisfaction.

"Can't stand the site of her" Casey replied, willing to play Sarah's game.

A small grin crept its way onto Sarah's face as she imagined her adorable nerd despising the new agent that had been sent to replace her. She knew he had no right to, but as a woman it gave her a sense of comfort and satisfaction that Chuck hadn t moved on; as much as she wanted him to be happy, the selfish, womanly part of her wanted Chuck all for herself and didn t want any other women near him, let alone dating him. Even if she couldn't have Chuck for herself, it made her happy that no one else would be able to love him either. She chastised herself for her extremely selfish line of thinking, though deep down she knew how jealous, even hurt, she would be if Chuck had moved on.

Bryce, who had been quietly sitting in the back the whole time, pretending as though he wasn t using his honed spy skills to listen to every word Casey and Sarah were saying, stuck his head between the two front seats, forcing his colleagues to pay attention to him.

"As much as I hate to break up this oh so cute heart to heart, while you two were discussing your feelings, you seem to have overlooked the fact that the same black vehicle has been on our tail since we left the Weiner place".

"Shit!" Casey exclaimed at no one in particular, livid at the fact that his god damned girly feelings had made him be so oblivious of what was going on around him that he hadn t noticed anything. Lesser agents lost control of their situation and weren't aware of their surroundings, but not John Casey, he was always aware, like a tiger to its prey. How had been so stupid to not even see someone tailing them, and now that he focused on the vehicle in question, they were doing a pretty poor job at concealing themselves he had to admit.

Casey immediately pressed his foot down on the accelerator narrowly changing lanes in time to avoid an old lady driving at a pace that could only be described as so slow it was bordering on illegal. He quickly formulated a plan in his mind to deal with the unwelcome tail.

"Walker, Larkin, get ready. There's an alleyway up ahead. We ll teach these bastards not to tail good spies...oh and Larkin." Bryce merely shook as his head at the attempt at humor from the burly NSA agent.

"Okay Casey just drive, oh and try to keep your eyes on the road. Death by car accident wasn t exactly how I planned on leaving this world."

"How about death by accidental misfire from teammate?"

"No, don't you remember Case, you already tried that, and how'd that turn out for you?"

"Not well enough evidently," Casey grunted.

Having had quite enough of the childish bickering between her teammates Sarah decided to play mediator between the two parties, "SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU! Casey, drive. Bryce, shut the hell up!"

Bryce appeared taken aback by Sarah s outburst, not used to his old flame s anger being directed at him, Casey however, merely smirked, pleased at the effect Walker's scolding had had on the scum she once called her boy toy.

Ellie and Devon meanwhile we're trying their best to keep up with the van that picked up its pace quite significantly in the past minute. Just as they thought they might be about to lose sight of it, it made a left turn in what appeared to be a deserted alleyway. Ellie, disregarding the impracticality of such a location, similarly turned into the same location, but was shocked to see that the van had stopped in the middle of the road. She quickly applied maximum pressure to the brakes in order to avoid hitting the van. As upset as she was with Sarah, killing her in a car accident wasn t on her agenda yet.

As the car pulled to a sudden, screeching halt, Ellie was frightened to see the drivers and passenger door opening simultaneously and two figures covered from neck to toe in black gear stepping out of the van with guns raised aiming straight at Ellie.

"Get out of the car now!" Yelled one of the figures in a strong, confident voice. Ellie quickly identified the speaker as being John Casey! Her old neighbor! What the hell is he doing here? Ellie thought before turning her thoughts to the more pressing situation at hand.

However as Sarah and Casey both got a good look at the driver of the car whom they both they had their weapons trained, they were both shocked at who they saw.

"Ellie?" Sarah uttered in sheer disbelief, totally convinced that her eyes were failing with her; but when the driver side door of the Four Wheel Drive opened and the young doctor stepped out of the car, Sarah knew it was indeed Chuck's sister who she was currently looking at...and aiming her gun at.

"Sarah, Casey, what the hell is the going on here? And where on God's earth is my brother? And why are you aiming guns at me?" Ellie inquired menacingly, her voice becoming more on par with a scream as she continued speaking.

A/N 2: Well there it is. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review telling me how you think my writing flows. One of the biggest problems I notice when I proof read is lapses in the coherency of my writing. Oh and I'm looking for a full time Beta-er, preferrably someone who has experience and can be reached fairly easily. I just think it'd be better having a third party read my writing and to bounce ideas off.

Can the writers out there tell me what program they write their stories on, I tried writing this time in word (for my best friend, spell and grammar check) and then copying and pasting to notepad, but my paragraphs all got glued together and I lost all apostrophes!

Thanks for reading,

Nick