Posted October 19, 2021

A/N: Sarah's moving in with Chuck, but not today. Casey knows about Morgan and Alex's budding relationship, but Sarah stopped him from preventing it from starting. What's happening today?

Thanks to davida6 again for his great job as beta!

Monday, March 10, 2008
Lunchtime
Burbank Buy More

It was Casey's lunch break, and he wanted to know what was going on at the old Wienerlicious, where Sarah was supervising the construction of the new cover and base they were building. He figured he had plenty of time to get a sitrep and get back for a quick lunch in the Buy More breakroom. He didn't quite make it out the front when he was stopped by the man with a computer in his head.

"Hey, Buddy, where are you going?"

Casey looked down with disgust at the hand that was touching his shoulder, then at the brown-haired Nerd Herd supervisor attached to it. Wisely, Chuck pulled back the hand, saying, "Are you going to see Sarah?"

Yes, he was going to see Walker. No, he didn't need a chaperone. The new NSA/CIA base in Burbank was none of Chuck's business. Unfortunately, that argument wasn't going to work, so Casey didn't say it out loud.

Chuck took the angry silence as confirmation. "I'll go with you to the new, mysterious spy-base." Like that is where he wanted to go. Casey wasn't an idiot and knew he just wanted to see the spy he infected with lady-feelings. The NSA agent grunted, and the two of them went through the sliding doors.

Chuck turned away from the Wienerlicious, so Casey asked, "Where are you going?"

"To get lunch. We can take some to Sarah. This morning, I told her I'd bring her lunch."

Casey would never admit it out loud, but he thought that was a good reason, so he followed Chuck. It probably wasn't good for the cover for him to go see Chuck's girlfriend during lunch. If he did go, Walker would be hungry and surly the entire time because she wanted both food and her boy toy. A few weeks ago, he'd expect her to suck it up, but now, there was going to be more of this kind of thing. It was actually good for the fake jobs/missions cover to have Chuck and Walker not be faking that they were head-over-heels with each other to most people, while faking they weren't with others.

Chuck took them to a Subway in the Plaza. If Lou's hadn't been shut down by the health department, the less-expensive chain probably would have put them out of business, the American way—through competition. Casey and Chuck each ordered a footlong. Maybe Chuck and Sarah weren't going to be a thing for long, because Chuck didn't order one for Walker. All he got her was a drink. Food in hand, they went over to the old Wienerlicious.

Inside, the place looked very much the same as when it was a food establishment that served burnt grease on a stick. It was empty, save one CIA agent, working undercover. He was fairly certain that the only reason it stayed in business these past few months was the teenage boys who came every day after school. The fact that it was never busy made it a good cover job. Because the Wienerlicious was empty so often, it was easier to get away—as the mission the other night showed.

Any job where you didn't have to do much was a good cover job. The downside to this place was the self-important, pencil-necked manager. When it was time to renegotiate the lease, the NSA made an offer the leasing agent couldn't refuse and bought the building. Then, they tripled the rent. With real estate so cheap, Wienerlicious did the "smart" thing and closed. That provided the perfect opportunity for the NSA and CIA to convert the extensive bomb shelter network of rooms and tunnels underneath most of the plaza to a base that he could be proud to serve at.

The construction crews were working downstairs, bringing in heavy equipment at night. Construction was one of those times it was useful that Southern California had so many mini-earthquakes. No one would notice the drilling they did for things like the elevator.

Upstairs, in the old fast-food area, Agent Walker sat at one of the tables, engrossed in whatever she was doing on her laptop. Casey spoke first. "We brought f—"

He didn't bother to finish. Walker's entire face lit up, and she went straight to her guy, focusing on him like the Marine wasn't even visible.

Ugh. He hoped this was just a phase. He didn't need to constantly see Chuck and Walker attach their faces whenever they saw each other. To interrupt them, Casey said what he was thinking, "It was annoying when you two constantly made moony eyes at each other. Can you at least act professional? I don't want to lose my appetite."

The other two disengaged, and Chuck took back the drink holder and one of the sandwiches. It suddenly clicked. Bartowski had made a subtle, but "good strategic move." When they got to the door of this building, he handed the drink holder and sandwich bag to Casey before opening it himself. It wasn't the act of someone who was being polite but couldn't handle it without help. No, he was freeing his hands for what was about to happen when he was attacked by Walker's lips.

"Hi, Casey. Don't worry, I'm not going to kiss you in greeting or as a thank you for bringing food." There went the appetite. He still had some, since he was hungry since after bringing in a delivery of big screen TVs that morning.

Leaving Walker's laptop alone on one table, they took one of the many empty ones. Chuck gave his… girlfriend a drink. He pulled up a straw to his mouth, trying to be "cute," like he was going to blow the straw wrapper at her, but she raised an eyebrow, so he quickly reconsidered and put it in his drink. Walker smirked and then raised her own straw and shot the unsuspecting amateur in the side of the head. Chuck opened his mouth to say something, but another eyebrow from Walker kept him mute. She lightly laughed. One good thing about this new arrangement—even if they didn't have decorum, the CIA agent finally had some control and was willing to "shoot" the Intersect to get him to do what she wanted.

"Numbnuts here didn't get you a sandwich."

Walker took one half of the footlong and replied, "That's ok." She held up the sandwich. "No olives and extra pickles, just like I like it. Also, Ellie made a big breakfast this morning."

Chuck followed with, "She's still in celebratory mode and is going all out, probably so you don't change your mind. She'll stop probably a week after you move in. Then we'll be back to cereal and fruits and grains, or whenever you normally have."

"I'm not changing my mind about moving, whatever she cooks. It's probably a good idea if she stops. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go on longer runs every morning."

Casey was a little jealous. Walker was going to get Ellie's cooking on a regular basis. The occasional dinners that she prepared were the best part of this assignment.

Chuck said, "Be sure you stay away from Awesome's green concoctions."

"I know I have to be careful with him. He was bragging a couple months ago about various routines. He wasn't actually bragging or showing off. He was saying I could join him for a jog. I declined because I didn't want to tip him off about what I normally do. Actually, Casey, maybe you can help."

Help control Devon? Not likely. It was Walker's job to figure out how to turn down whitewater rafting trips.

"I have some equipment at Maison 23—for things like kickboxing. I can't take that to the new place. Devon will get ideas, and there's no room anyway. The plans for Castle below include a dojo. Until it's finished, I need to store my equipment somewhere. You have those weights in your second bedroom. Could I set up there?"

Casey nodded once and gave a grunt of acceptance. His apartment was paid for by the government. If roles were reversed, he'd insist on access to a government gym, but Walker still showed the courtesy of asking. If her things were in the room that was converted to a gym, then he knew the CIA agent would stay in shape. He was happy that Walker wasn't going to go totally soft, moving in with civilians.

One thing bugged him, though. Walker and Chuck were splitting a sandwich, but throughout lunch the two of them were holding hands. Walker was right-handed, yet she was eating with her left so she could hold Chuck's hand while they were eating. Couldn't they let it be while he ate in front of them?

A few minutes later, Chuck opened a bag of potato chips. He didn't get a bag for his girlfriend. She didn't seem upset and was undeterred. With her right hand, she continued to hold Chuck's left. She used her left hand to reach over and snatch a chip for herself. Chuck offered her the bag, and she shook her head no. When Chuck pulled in back, Sarah reached over again and took another. She thought she was being cute by stealing one from him. It was sickening.

"What's wrong, Casey?" the moron asked.

He wasn't about to admit anything, so he just grunted. Sarah wasn't dissuaded, so she raised her eyebrows to repeat Chuck's question. "Why are you here, Casey?"

Having had his fill of this couply stuff, he said, "I wanted to know how it's going over here, Walker—If you still think you can provide external surveillance, despite the Wienerlicious being closed."

"Of course, I'm going to be able to do my job. Keeping Chuck safe continues to be my number one priority. If I didn't think I could do it, I would be asking for help. Without Scooter looking over my shoulder to the point I have to threaten him about 'accidents,' it'll be easier." Casey grunted because that made sense.

Walker continued, "Most of the construction work will be downstairs, so I'll be fine up here. Long-term, that helps with the cover because it looks like I'm a supervisor and can leave or close the store as needed." A managerial job made a lot more sense for someone that drove the car she did.

"My only concern is the three to four weeks they're remodeling up here. Normally, that would take months, but double crews will be working 24-7. Despite the shortened time, it's still a time period that I can't be here. We'll have to figure out how to cover. It might seem weird if I'm sitting out in a Porsche in the Buy More parking lot all day."

That's true. "Not a honeymoon trip," he asserted. It wouldn't be the first wedding the CIA had helped throw, but it would be too far. There were limits to his tolerance. Walker was inscrutable about the idea, but Chuck seemed to like it.

Walker wisely said, "We can't step on Ellie and Awesome's thunder."

Chuck followed up saying, "How about we go on a vacation together? Are we allowed to do that? I've always wanted to see Paris."

"Not Paris. Bad memories. Maybe someplace closer."

Casey interjected, "No cheating with the Intersect in Vegas." They might also come back married.

Chuck looked offended at the idea of cheating. His protector said, "He didn't cheat at Stanford, so why would he cheat now. If it's in his head..." She looked at Chuck.

"I don't know. The guys at the frat house wouldn't play with me because of my math skills. That's without the Intersect. Who knows? Maybe we could go halfway."

"What's halfway between here and Vegas? Barstow? I bet they have hotels there. We don't need to leave the room much."

"That's not what I meant, but I like the idea."

"No. Not Barstow. The motels are probably gross with no good room service. We'll need a steady supply of sustenance."

All of this "strategizing" of how to have a lot of sex while keeping Chuck protected was making it difficult to keep his sandwich down. Time to change the subject. Nodding at the laptop on the other table, he asked the other agent, "What are you working on? Something specific in the plans for the Castle dojo?"

"Not yet. I want to move on Saturday. That means I have to finish writing up the security protocols for the new living arrangements by today. You can review them tonight. I can incorporate your changes and submit the plan tomorrow morning. They won't be able to stall saying it takes more than two days to review security protocols for the Intersect. They will have three."

Casey agreed with that strategy. He expected it to take no more than one. If either the General or the Director finished in a day but the other took more than two, the one who finished would use it as proof the other wasn't serious and use the opportunity to take control over the entire Intersect project. Neither would want to risk that—the virtue of competition.

Casey thought Sarah was a great partner—a lot more skilled than anyone else he had served with for almost two decades. He didn't like the lovey-dovey part of the new real relationship, but there was no question Walker was more dedicated to protecting the Intersect (and its host) than anyone else on the planet.

Maybe he could get Chuck and Sarah to "turn it off" when it wasn't necessary. He said, "I know this isn't a cover anymore, but do you have to do that," he nodded at Chuck and Walker's linked hands, "when no one besides me is around."

Chuck turned red, sort of in apology, and started to pull his hand back. Walker tightened her grip, so the other man didn't finish doing the right thing. Walker explained, "I've been looking forward all day to eating with Chuck. He's not here for lunch with his cover-girlfriend. He's here for lunch with his real girlfriend. I don't have to pretend I don't wish we're a real couple because we are a real couple. You are the person who came uninvited. We shouldn't have to behave differently because you decided to be a third wheel."

Third Wheel? Casey thought this was a status meeting that was his idea. He didn't know Walker and Chuck already had plans. A little respect… understanding… something would be nice. "Maybe so, but could you refrain when not in public, but when I'm around."

"We are in public."

What was that supposed to mean? Casey looked around the room. Only three of them were there. For security reasons, the construction crew would not be going into and out of this building during daytime hours, at least until the work upstairs started.

Walker guessed what he was thinking. She turned to Chuck. "Sweetie, could you pull up the Friendster feed with the photos."

"What are you talking about? No one uses Friendster."

"I'm talking about the website that I know you know about."

Under the steady stare, Chuck lowered his head and went to the laptop. Walker definitely had more control than before. It was so much more complicated with civilians. In the service, you followed orders. Regular people had to be convinced in other ways.

It only took a minute before Chuck pulled over the laptop and showed Casey the pics. They were all pictures of Walker in her Wienerlicious get-up. "What is this?" he asked.

With quiet displeasure in her voice, she said, "That has pictures of me working here."

Chuck unhelpfully offered, "Someday, they'll have an easier way to share pictures like this." After Walker slowly turned a stern glare to his direction, he amended, "And that would be really bad."

Casey scrolled down and saw dozens of pictures. Some were of Walker cleaning tables outside. Some were of her cooking. A couple were taken from outside with some kind of telephoto lens. Someone could be looking at them at that moment. He quickly looked out the window, before realizing school wasn't out, so it was pointless. It shouldn't matter.

As if she had heard his thoughts, Walker said, "A few of the post times were around lunchtime, while school was in session. They aren't smart enough to not leave a trace when they play hooky. My point is this room is not secure from observation."

That might be true, but Casey still thought the new couple was going too far. "Your boy toy came to each lunch with you, which should be enough. You don't have to flaunt it."

Walker scooted her chair closer to Chuck and put her arm around him. "If I'm not affectionate at all times, they might isolate my image." She pointed at a picture on the laptop. "See the white at the edge of that one. That's Chuck's sleeve."

Sure enough, at the edge of one picture was something that was probably part of a Nerd Herd shirt. "We should do something about this. Take down the web site."

"We shouldn't do anything about this. They're taking pictures of a server at a fast-food restaurant. If there is any action against teenagers, that might make the news because it looks abnormal and is a sign that something else is happening here."

She did have a point. It wouldn't be a "proportional response." He softened his suggestion, "I understand why you are doing it, but could you tone it down a little?"

Chuck started, "Y—"

Walker cut him off, "No. As I said before, I already had plans with Chuck, and I'm not going to change that. Things don't always go the way you want. I'm getting what I want, and that doesn't happen often."

Casey let out a grunt of disapproval. He didn't agree with Walker's justification. She said, "Do I need to tell Chuck what you recently found out?"

She wouldn't.

"You know Chuck is going to find out soon."

"What am I going to find out?" the moron asked.

Casey was no longer disgusted or angry. He was frightened.

He didn't hide that fear from the person not trained to read people. Chuck asked, "Now, I really want to know. What am I going to find out?"

Walker was right. When Ellie threw a party for the new housemate, Morgan would show up, even if he wasn't asked. If he and Alex were still dating, she'd come, too. Chuck would find out. In resignation, he nodded to Walker that she could say something.

The spy started explaining to Chuck, "You told me you don't care what my birth name is. It's not even in my CIA file, but you know the name I had before I joined the CIA and my full legal name. Changing the names of spies is common to protect people in their past. John Casey was not born with that name."

Surprisingly, Chuck's jovial tone was gone, and he was taking it seriously as Walker explained more. "His name was 'Alex Coburn.'" That caused a flash. Part of Casey wondered if the biggest grenade of information was in government records that no one had told him and if that information was fed into the Intersect.

Apparently not. Chuck said, "Alex, like Morgan's new girlfriend." Casey involuntarily flinched at the description.

"Exactly like Morgan's girlfriend," Walker said.

"Morgan told me she was named after her father who died in the Marines…"

It might not be in the Intersect, but Chuck was a smart guy on his own, so Casey could see when he figured it out.

"…but he isn't really dead." Chuck's eyes got big. "But Morgan might be." He looked directly at Casey. "Please don't kill him."

Walker responded for him. "He won't kill one of the three people that would do anything for you."

Three people? She meant Ellie, Morgan, and herself. He had been left out of that list intentionally. She was subtly reminding him that she was watching him for an illegal order. Casey didn't want to get on the business end of one of her guns or knives, and Morgan was under her protection.

On the upside, she stuck up for Alex a little. "Morgan's safe as long as he treats her well. If so, Casey will meet his daughter at Ellie's dinner. I've already explained that if he doesn't tread carefully, Alex might choose the new boyfriend over a father who, from her perspective, abandoned her before she was born."

That was harsh—true, but harsh. Casey tried to say something he considered positive. "Maybe they won't be serious. It might not last that long."

Chuck's eyes got bigger. He struggled and failed to hold back a smile. "You didn't hear."

"Hear what? They've only been on one date."

"One date Friday. Then they had lunch on Sunday."

"That's still not three dates," Casey gruffly pointed out.

"What's so special about three dates?" Walker asked.

Chuck tried to explain, "The three-date rule is after three dates, a new boyfriend and girlfriend… you know… Their third date is tonight."

Without the fryer going, Casey didn't know this place could be that quiet. Casey broke the silence by saying, "I should have stopped this that first night. The third date still hasn't happened."

"By doing what? Drying through the front of the restaurant?" How did Walker know he was thinking that? She asked Chuck, "Morgan doesn't always follow the rules. Will he follow that one this time?"

"That's not an issue." Morgan didn't follow the rules. There was hope, until Chuck kept talking. "Jeff and Lester went on and on about the three date rule. Morgan said a gentleman would never tell."

"What did your girlfriend say to you when the others weren't listening?" After receiving a glare from Walker, Casey changed that to, "What did your other girlfriend say?" The glare intensified. "What did Morgan say?"

"He said he didn't follow the third date rule, but I could tell there was something he didn't say. I don't know what."

Walker killed the hope completely. "He didn't have to worry about this rule that I didn't know about because they didn't wait until the third date." She somehow knew Casey's daughter and Morgan had sex yesterday.

Chuck said what Casey was too shocked to say, "How do you know?"

Walker showed off a benefit to having someone so close to the protectee. "Last night, I was going to go back to my hotel room because Morgan was coming over for an all-night video game marathon. Right before I left, he sent you that text message that said he wasn't coming, which was great because you and I had a different kind of all-night marathon." They both grinned like idiots about the memory before she concluded, "Morgan was still on his date with Alex."

"That was 9 o'clock. They went to lunch."

"And dinner…and breakfast this morning. Think about it. Morgan always gave you a hard time when a mission got in the way of one of your video game nights. For him to cancel, he had to be having a great time with Alex." Walker sensed the father's distress and added, "I know that idea bothers you, but Morgan cancelled on Anna at least three times to cover for Chuck for missions. He never cancelled game night. It's only been a few days, but he's putting Alex first. I think it sounds like he's growing up."

She turned to Chuck and said, "I'm worried about this three-date rule. We haven't actually completed one real date. The first date was a mission, but it sort of felt real and it was real for you, until a certain NSA agent crashed in, so it's less than one date. All of our other dates have been cover dates. This lunch date was crashed by an NSA agent, yet again. But we are already past sex and are on to making love. Is it too late to have the dates?"

Chuck calmly replied. "It's a guideline more than a protocol or rule. It's ok. We'll have the dates eventually."

Walker added, "Maybe even a few that Casey doesn't crash."

Their lips met in a soft kiss, but this time Casey held in his reflexive noise of disgust.

Walker changed the topic. "Casey, can I count on you to help move my things this weekend? There isn't much. You've already volunteered to take the exercise equipment. My car doesn't have much room, so your new Crown Vic would be a lifesaver. I'm sure Morgan will be helping." She turned to Chuck. "Right?" She turned back to Casey with a smile that he would trust if he didn't know the person behind it. "Please?"

With Morgan helping, Casey had to help, so he nodded. It was bad enough that his daughter was already sleeping with the bearded buffoon before he had the chance to meet her. He wasn't going to have Alex hear stories about how Morgan helped his friends but her not-dead dad wouldn't.

They all stood to get back to their respective cover jobs. Chuck went to slap Casey on the back in thanks, but Walker wisely blocked the action. His partner was throwing the biggest monkey wrenches in his life at the moment, but at least she was still coming through on all the little things, like keeping the Intersect from laying hands on him.

At the door, Casey realized he was alone. He looked back for Chuck and saw him and Walker in a passionate embrace, making out. He needed to get out of this place, to the Buy More, where it was "safer."

A/N: Instagram was created two years after this chapter took place. Twitter didn't support pictures yet. Friendster existed until 2011, but I didn't bother picking a place. The boys had to have shared pictures someplace.

Casey thought it was bad having lunch with Chuck and Sarah being so into each other. Then, things got worse when he heard about Morgan and Alex's second date that lasted most of Saturday. By comparison, helping someone move, something you are always supposed to avoid, is no big deal. If he's lucky, he might even get the chance to push someone out of the car, while he is going through an intersection.