A/N: Last chapter retold S3E16, where it became apparent that the Intersect could damage Chuck's mind. I added Sarah telling Chuck about Molly and the Piranha emerging to help her track down Ryker and his men. It ended with Chuck dreaming that Shaw was still alive. Oh dear.

This chapter is the retelling of S3E17, "Chuck Versus the Living Dead." Another long one,

Thanks for last chapter's reviews. Bringing the baby events forward seemed popular. We won't be able to move forward on that yet as this chapter is a bit busy.

Once again, thanks to JohnnyRayChandlett for reading through this and suggesting improvements.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, nor do I know any living dead, at least I don't think so.

Prove Yourself
Chapter 23 – Dead or Alive?

Sarah wakes on her own. She hates waking without Chuck. She knows they won't always have time to make love every morning, but at least expects a cuddle from her fiancé.

If anyone had asked for her thoughts of cuddles before they got together, she would have laughed, told them that she wouldn't want them and pointed out she had no time for such things anyway, but now she relishes them.

Sarah rises to go and find Chuck. After dressing in a tee shirt and panties, she leaves the bedroom. She can't find Chuck anywhere. She starts to panic. Has he been taken? Maybe by Shaw?

She then notices him across the courtyard in Ellie and Devon's apartment. She pulls on a skirt and shoes, then heads over there.

When she enters their apartment, both Chuck and Ellie look up at her from where they're now sitting on the couch.

"Look who I found, Sarah," Chuck says.

"My Maid of Honor," Sarah replies, beaming.

Ellie gets up and walks over and hugs Sarah.

Sarah pulls back and says, "You're back early."

"Devon caught a rare strain of malaria, so we came back. I was just saying to Chuck that you two haven't been here since we got here."

She doesn't know what he had told her, but soon does. "And I told her we had been away for a few days, living it up on another install in DC."

Sarah rolls her eyes. "DC is not that bad, Chuck." She turns back to Ellie. "So, is Devon getting treatment at Westside?"

Ellie nods. "So, I'm here on my own."

Sarah grabs Ellie's arms. "No, you're not. You're staying with us." She looks over at her fiancé. "Isn't she, Chuck!"

Ellie looks surprised, then looks unsure and there is something else, but Sarah can't quite define it. On anyone else, she would think the person was being deceptive. Sarah hasn't seen Ellie look like that before. "Um. No, I'd rather stay here."

Chuck stops this. "No, El. You are going to be with us. Grab your things and we'll move you over and get you settled in our spare room."

She looks flusters. "I really can't. I- I'm expecting a call about Devon."

Chuck smiles. "Great. We'll wait and hear what what's happening straight away."

She looks even more flustered. "No, no."

"What's going on, Ellie," Sarah asks.

Ellie tries to wave this off. "Oh, nothing really."

Sarah stares at her. "Ellie. Why are you lying to us?"

Chuck looks shocked. "Hey, Sarah, that's not nice."

Sarah ignores him. "Ellie?"

Ellie's shoulders slump and she turns and sits on her couch with her head in her hands.

Chuck is confused. "El?"

She looks up at them with watery eyes. "I have to get in touch with Dad. There are some bad men looking for him."

Chuck crouches down and says, at the same time as Sarah. "Who?"

Ellie looks at them. "Well, John Casey for one. He's a bad man."

Chuck snorts and Sarah glares at him before turning back to his sister. "Who's telling you that, Ellie?"

"Justin, the man who running things in Africa. He's a good man. He saved Devon. Oh, and he works for the CIA."

Alarm bells are going off in Sarah's head. She looks at Chuck and can see he is thinking the same. This man is probably with The Ring, but even if he's with the CIA, he shouldn't get access to Stephen Bartowski.

She makes a snap decision, one that General Beckman won't like, but protecting Chuck's family and particularly his dad, who they need, is more important. "Ellie I…" She looks at Chuck. "…we are going to tell you some things you shouldn't know, but this Justin has made it important that you do. As I say, you shouldn't know this and you can't tell anybody about it. You'll have to sign non-disclosure agreements and if you do tell anybody, you'd be treated as a traitor to your country, but it's time for you to know the truth."

"Wh- what?" Ellie stammers, looking worried.

Sarah sits next to her. "Will you keep this secret with us?"

Ellie looks very confused and worried; however, she nods.

Sarah takes hold of her hands. "I work for the CIA, Ellie, and John Casey works for the NSA; he's a good man and this Justin is lying to you because he wants to get to your dad."

Ellie is obviously struggling to believe this. "You work for the CIA?"

Sarah keeps a level gaze and says, "Yes."

"If that's true, why are you here?" Ellie asks.

Chuck speaks up. "Ellie, It's absolutely true. Sarah and Casey are here because of me."

Ellie switches her gaze to Chuck. "You?"

Sarah tells her. "We were sent here to protect Chuck." Ellie doesn't need to know the full story, just enough for her to stop working with this Justin.

"Why?"

Sarah grips Ellie's hands. "That's a long story and we will tell you it all, but right now you have to believe us. John Casey is a good man and anyone saying otherwise is not a good man, Ellie. How does this Justin contact you?"

The brunette tries to refocus her thoughts. "He calls me."

"On your cell phone?" Chuck asks.

She nods and he holds his hand out for it. She rummages in her bag and hands it to him.

"I'll get Casey to trace the calls," Chuck tells them, rushing out of the apartment.

Ellie is visibly struggling with what they have told her, so Sarah has to get her back on track. "What have you told him?"

"Just that dad told me how to get hold of him."

That is not good. "And have you contacted him?"

"Yes. We communicate by ads in the local paper. I told him I needed to talk and wanted his address."

Sarah is now worried. "Did he give it to you and, more importantly, did you give it to this Justin?"

"No. I'd just deciphered his message back to me. He said he'd be in touch."

Sarah is relieved. "So, what call were you waiting for?"

Ellie's shoulders slump again. "Justin. He calls to find out what I know."

Sarah is curious about their dad's behavior. He had let Chuck have a number to call him, but not his daughter; she had to go through this elaborate routine to contact him.

As she was puzzling over this, Chuck reappeared with the cell phone. "It just started ringing."

Ellie looks at Sarah who just says, "Speaker phone."

Ellie takes the phone and answers. "Hello."

"Took you a while to answer," the man's voice sounds suspicious.

She replies, "Do you expect me to take it into the shower?"

Sarah is impressed at Ellie's quick thinking. Must be a Bartowski trait.

They hear him huff. "Well?"

Sarah winds her fingers around in the air, indicating to string him along.

Ellie states, "Dad hasn't replied yet, but I expect him to do so later today."

Sarah gives her the thumbs up.

Justin replies, "Okay, let's meet. Same place as last time, okay? Say. 2pm?"

Chuck is waving his hands, but Ellie ignores him. "Okay."

Justin ends the call.

"Why the hell did you do that, El?" Chuck almost shouts at her.

She looks at him, with the same cold stare that Sarah knows she uses. "To catch this bastard." She looks between the two of them. "Now you sit and explain yourselves. I need the 'long story' now."

Sarah pulls him down to sit by her. "I can't tell you everything, but will tell you as much as I can."

Ellie doesn't give her a chance, but launches into interrogation mode. "What is your role here with Chuck?"

Sarah knew Ellie would go straight to the most important things to her. She smiles. "I'm his fiancé and we will be married as soon as we can, Ellie."

Ellie looks at her for a while. "Do you love him?"

That was an easy one. Sarah looks at Chuck and places her palm against his cheek. "With all my heart."

Ellie nods. "Why are you here?" Then she obviously realizes she might get the same response again. "Why did you come here?"

Sarah looks back at her. "Chuck received an email containing governments secrets. I was sent to retrieved them, if I could."

"And what then?" Ellie almost seemed to know the difficult questions to ask.

"Leave with them," Sarah answers, dreading either of the next questions.

Ellie homed in on one of them. "You stayed, so I guess you didn't get them. What were you to do if he refused to give them to you?"

She didn't want to lie to Ellie anymore, but this was the worst question. Before she answers, Chuck cuts in. "That's not important, El. I didn't refuse, but I couldn't give them to her."

Ellie looks at him. "Why?"

Chuck looks at Sarah and shrugs, looking apologetic, then turns back to his sister. "Because they were stuck in my head."

"WHAT?!"

Sarah takes over. She wishes that he hadn't said that, but it was done now. Maybe Ellie would be able to help with her medical background. "The email had an attachment, a compressed file containing images that downloaded into Chuck's head. From that point, he was carrying the secrets in his head."

"Don't talk crap!" Ellie angrily retorts.

Chuck cuts in, "It's true, El. It uses technology that dad built."

Ellie looks shocked. "Dad?"

Sarah grips Ellie's hand. "That's why Justin wants to get ahold of your father, Ellie."

Ellie sits back. Her head is obviously reeling from this news. She sits in a state of shock. Chuck opens his mouth to talk, but Sarah shakes her head. Ellie needs time to think about this.

After a couple of minutes, Ellie focusses on Sarah again. "You stayed to protect him or to use him?"

Sarah swallows. She will tell Ellie the truth. It actually felt good to do so. "I stayed to be his handler, both keeping him safe but also working with him on the information he retrieved from the Intersect, which is what it's called."

"Retrieved?"

"I flash when something triggers it, usually a picture, but also sometimes just a name. I then recall more images and data on the subject."

"So, why you?"

"That's more complicated, El," Chuck replies.

"Bryce Larkin sent it to him," Sarah states.

"That bastard!" Ellie exclaims.

Sarah looks at Chuck, trying not to smile or laugh. He shrugs. They both know how much Ellie hates him.

"Ruining your life, again!" Ellie almost shouts.

Chuck shakes his head. "No, El. I thought that originally, but it brought Sarah into my life. She saved me from more than just danger, she saved me from wallowing in self-pity. She gave me confidence in myself and brought love into my life."

Sarah leans over and kisses him.

Ellie watches this. A tentative smile forms. "I want to know more about all this, but first, when did you fall in love?"

"Immediately," both state, then look at each other and grin.

Ellie grins too. "I thought so. " Then she frowns, "So, why did you keep splitting up and hurting each other?"

They reply in unison, "It's complicated."

Sarah looks down at her hands, that she has now folded in her lap. "Chuck was called an asset and I was his handler. We were pretending to be girlfriend / boyfriend as a cover, but if my boss thought it was real, I'd be sent away as compromised. I was terrified of that happening, for both of us, so we didn't become a real couple for over two years. It was hard, Ellie, and we made mistakes."

Chuck is also looking sad. "I wanted a real relationship and because Sarah said we couldn't have one, I split up with her."

Before Ellie said anything about that, Sarah says, "He kept trying to be with me, for real, and I kept saying no. If I got sent away, he wouldn't be as well protected and may end up in a bunker or worse."

Ellie nods, then asks, "So, why are you together now?"

"Dad, helped remove the Intersect when he was here last, so I was no longer an asset," Chuck replies.

Ellie frowns, "So, you are no longer working for them? Either of you?"

Sarah speaks first. "I am still, officially, a CIA Officer, but on secondment to the NSA."

Sarah knows Ellie is about to ask her why, but before she does, Chuck speaks, "I downloaded a new version of the Intersect and I now work for the NSA too."

Ellie looks at him, shocked and says with her voice both rising in volume and pitch, "You're a SPY?"

Chuck shakes his head. "No, Ellie, I'm an Analyst."

"Is that better?" she questions, still looking agitated and upset.

"Yes!" both Chuck and Sarah reply. They look at each other and smile.

Sarah is the first to look back at his sister, "Ellie, there's a lot we need to tell you, but you need to know some key things right now. First, Casey is a Marine and the best agent within the NSA, not an enemy. Second, I love your brother, he's the most important person to me, but you're his family and I will do everything to protect you too. Thirdly, this Justin is a bad man, part of an organization, The Ring, which is killing people and trying to destroy everything we stand for; he is after your father to help them with their version of the Intersect."

"Why?" Ellie asks, totally confused.

"Because he built the original Intersect, Ellie," Chuck explains to his sister.

"What?!"

Sarah doesn't answer, because they have more important things to do. "We don't have time to explain. We need you to meet Justin."

"No!" Chuck shouts.

Both women glare at him. Ellie is the one who speaks. "I've already told you. I'm doing this."

Sarah looks at Chuck and adds, "We need her to do it, so that we can take him."

Chuck throws his hands up in the air and storms out of the apartment.

Sarah shakes her head. She is going to have to get him on board with this or he could get one or all of them hurt. She turns back to his sister. "Has he always been impulsive and done crazy things?"

Ellie grins at her. "Always! His heart is in the right place, but sometimes has difficulty holding himself in check."

Sarah smiles and nods. "He has the most creative mind I have ever experienced, but sometimes his impulsive behavior needs to be reigned in."

"And you can do that?" Ellie asks with a smile.

Sarah looks at her and looks a bit sad. "Sometimes." She is thinking of all the times when he would try to save her or Casey, putting himself at risk. Even recently, he hit that Zamibian scientist, causing more problems than were necessary.

Ellie grips her wrist. "Thank you, Sarah."

Sarah hugs her and then says, "Get ready to go. We'll follow you. I need to get Chuck's head in gear."

As she starts going towards the door, Ellie calls to her. "After this is over, we need a long talk, Sarah."

Sarah looks back and nods.

As Sarah enters the room, she sees Chuck pacing around. She walks over to him and grabs his shoulders. He looks at her with haunted eyes.

She fixes her eyes on his. "We need to do this, Chuck. You know it. If we don't, this Justin will come after her."

He nods. "I know. I don't like it, but I know."

"Can your brilliant brain help with what to do?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "I think this needs your spy brain and probably your nimble fingers to take his gun and Ring phone from him."

She grins at him. "There. Your brain already knows what we should do."

He swiftly puts his hands on her waist and pulls her into an embrace. He whispers into her ear, "Keep her safe, Sarah."

She pushes back, then lifts her lips to his. After a tender kiss, she answers, "I will, Chuck. I will."

They had followed Ellie driving into Los Angeles, but parked away from her car. They could both see her, now sitting on a bench waiting for Justin.

"I don't like this," Chuck says for what feels like the hundredth time.

Sarah sighs. "None of us do. Just keep quiet and watch."

She looks around the area they are in. Surprisingly, she recognizes the building behind them; the Los Angeles CIA office. The one they had been in with Casey.

"There," Chuck suddenly says, pointing at a man approaching Ellie.

It was too risky to have Ellie wear an earpiece; Justin would have spotted it, so they couldn't give her any instructions. However, they had a mike under her collar, so they could hear any conversation.

Justin stops in front of Ellie. "Follow me," he says.

Sarah is incredibly proud of her soon-to-be sister-in-law, who replies, "Sure. Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," he nods towards Chuck and Sarah. Sarah guesses he must be heading towards one of the cars in front of them. She is glad her car windows and windshield are all too dark for anyone to see them.

As Ellie gets up from the bench and turns their way, Chuck flashes on the man. The flash looks painful and he holds his head in his hands. Sarah's attention is torn between Chuck and the pair walking towards them. "Chuck, you hadn't told me the flashes were hurting you."

"They hurt a bit before, but this one was bad. Justin Sullivan is CIA, but obviously also Ring."

When Justin walks between the car in front of them and the one in front of that, she is surprised.

Justin walks straight towards the CIA building.

"Chuck, I should be able to get in, but you shouldn't go into another CIA office." He is about to argue, but she cuts him off. "If you go in there, while you are like this, you will flash on many people. It'll cripple you, my love." She looks at him imploringly. "Please stay in the car, Chuck."

He nods, but that hurts him as well.

When Ellie is ushered into the building, Sarah gets out of the car and heads in. She passes through the security checkpoint, showing her CIA badge as she goes. She walks behind a group of women heading towards the lift that Justin and Ellie have just entered.

Sarah stands back and watches the floor number for that lift. When it stops, she catches the next lift, thankfully empty, and presses for the same floor, thankfully only three floors up.

She exits the lift, looking in both directions and sees Ellie being guided around the corner. She hurries to follow.

Just around that corner, she watches Justin usher Ellie into an office.

Sarah moves down the hallway. She opens the door opposite, ready to apologize if there is another in there, but thankfully the office is empty. She grabs some of the papers on the desk and opens the door ready to cross and pretend she has them for Sullivan.

The door opposite opens, so she steps back into the room. Sullivan tells Ellie he will bring her a coffee before they talk.

Sarah knows Ellie must be frantic, so as he turns to close the door and, interestingly, pulls out a key to lock it, Sarah moves out and hits the back of his head with her gun and catches him as he slumps down. She opens the door and drags him back in with Ellie.

Ellie is obviously relieved to see Sarah, but shocked that she has Justin like that. "He's only knocked out, Ellie. I know my way around this building. There's a stairwell two doors down from here. We'll take him out that way."

Ellie nods. She's smart, as Sarah already knows, and bends down to pull Sullivan up, wrapping his left arm around her neck. Sarah nods, and does the same with his right arm.

They leave the office and head to the stairwell. Sarah is surprised when they get to the basement, having met no one. They leave through one of the side entrances. As they get out, Sarah calls Chuck telling him where they are.

In no time, Chuck arrives and they get Sullivan into the passenger seat. "Go with Ellie, we'll meet back at the apartment," Sarah instructs him. He nods.

She gets in the car and drives off, watching the siblings head towards Ellie's car. When they are out of sight, she calls Casey telling him to head to Castle, she was bringing a guest. Then, she calls General Beckman, telling her they have a Ring agent who she's taking to Castle. When Beckman asks why she wasn't with Bartowski, Sarah says, that Eleanor Woodcomb was with him. The general could tell there was more to this story, but didn't pressure her at this point. "We will talk about this later, Agent Walker."

"Yes, General," Sarah replies. As she hangs up, she knows that will not be a fun call.

After handing Sullivan over to Casey, she heads straight to the Woodcomb's apartment.

"Chuck, you need to stay with your sister." Sarah looks at her fiancé with her mask fully up.

Chuck swallows. He knows they need to do this, for Ellie's sake, if nothing else; probably for his dad's sake too. However, she knows it goes against all of his principles; hurting people is not something he can cope with normally, but there is no way to get information out of a trained CIA agent other than this. Even this will take time; he won't give up his secrets easily.

Chuck nods and watches her leave. As she does, she hears Ellie ask him, "What're they going to do?" Her voice sounds as shaky as she probably is.

"Get info," is all Chuck replies. Sarah is proud of him. He is probably shaking as much as his sister. Sarah loves him for it, but it does confirm that he is not spy material.

As she drives back to Castle, she thinks about what she needs to discuss with the general. That Ellie had been duped by a Ring agent, what that agent wanted from her, the whole Orion debacle again and, the bit where she will get yelled at, Ellie now knowing about them.

She will just have to brace herself and face the music.

It had taken six hours to break Justin; his friendly face hiding that he was a hardened agent, and his dark passion to see The Ring succeed won out over his will to live. He is unconscious again, but this time they are letting him stay that way.

Sarah had been surprised to see Casey as he worked. In the past, he would have had a gleam in his eye as he tortured their enemies, but he almost seemed sad to be doing it. She had surprised herself, too. The moment Casey fully hit Justin's face with a blunt tool and teeth were flying and the man was spitting blood, she turned away. She avoided looking at Justin again, rather watching Casey from behind, knowing what effect his actions had. The old Marine turned around once and sought eye contact with her, and both understood that they did not function like that anymore - Chuck had softened them. The time it took to make Justin speak was an ordeal for both.

She let Casey take the still breathing, shell of the Ring agent to one of their cells. A cleaner crew would work on the interrogation room. She and Casey were now going to have a call with Beckman. She wasn't going to like what they had to tell her, but Sarah expected to be told to hold onto the broken agent until they had resolved all this.

She walks through to the main room and calls the general.

Beckman appears on the screen. "Well?"

"Casey's just housing Justin Sullivan, the Ring agent, in a cell," Sarah responds.

"No. I'm here," her partner states as he walks up next to Sarah.

"First, tell me how you got hold of this man and why I wasn't told sooner," Beckman's eyes bored into Sarah's.

There was no easy way to tell her. "Chuck and I found out about him this morning, from his sister."

Beckman only raises her voice slightly. "How the hell did she know about him, or The Ring?"

"He knew she was Stephen Bartowski's daughter. He 'befriended' her in Africa. I suspect he also poisoned her husband, so that he could get her home quickly." Sarah is sure of this.

Beckman looks surprised. "Devon Woodcomb?"

Sarah nods. "Yes, General. We found out this morning, he was sent home with an apparent extreme case of malaria. I believe that to be false now."

"And his wife came home with him?" When Beckman sees Sarah nod, she asks, "And this Justin Sullivan?"

"He followed them, then, apparently when we were away, met Ellie and persuaded her that he was CIA and that Casey was a bad man trying to get to her father." Casey grunts, angrily. "He said he needed to with meet with her father 'to protect him'."

"And you found this out, this morning?"

"Yes, General. When she said she was in contact with Stephen Bartowski to get his address, it rang alarm bells in both my head and Chuck's. She was also terrified of Casey and Sullivan said he would take care of him. We had to correct this, General."

Beckman rubs her hands over her face. "What did you do?"

Sarah gives her part of their story. "We told her Casey is a loyal Marine, works for the NSA and an upholder of American values which meant Sullivan, she just knew him as Justin, to be the enemy."

"And?"

"She is very sharp, Ma'am," Sarah starts. Casey snorts this time, humorously. "She asked how we knew and why he was here. She got the truth out of us." Casey barks a laugh at this.

"Something to add, Colonel?" Beckman asks, pointedly.

"Eleanor Woodcomb puts our best interrogators to shame, General," he replies.

Beckman looks back at Sarah. "And what is this 'truth' you told."

Well, this might ruin my career. "My role, the Intersect, Chuck's role, her dad's role. Just nothing about missions."

Beckman shakes her head, then asks, "Why so much?"

That is easy. "Because if we hadn't, she'd not believe us and go and do something reckless."

Beckman then says something unexpected. "I had been considering reading her in anyway. Her specialization could help control these problems with the Intersect. Has she signed an NDA?"

Casey looks shocked at that revelation. Sarah, however, reacts quicker. "Not yet, General, I didn't have the paperwork and had to move fast, but she has promised to and to not even tell her husband."

"Good. Get that done," replies the general. "Now, tell me what he's told you."

Casey answers this time, "They've built a new Intersect, but it has flaws. They want Orion to fix it."

"So, they're not after our Intersect?" the general's question going straight to Sarah's worry.

"No, Ma'am," Casey replies.

"There's more, General," Sarah states. "Eleanor Woodcomb helped us by meeting with him, at a location of his choice. Chuck and I were observing. He took her into the Los Angeles CIA headquarters. We took him and rescued her from there. He has his own office there."

"We knew they had infiltrated the agencies, so him being based there is no real surprise," Beckman replies.

Casey chips in, "Their Intersect is there too, General."

She looks surprised and snaps, "Where?"

"Basement, apparently," he tells her.

Beckman shows no hesitation. "You need to destroy it."

Casey grins. Watching him, Sarah rolls her eyes. Destroying something in a CIA building would appeal to him, probably damaging the building too. Part of her feels the same. She looks back at the general. "Just the Intersect device?"

Sarah is not surprised at the response. "Yes, just the device."

Casey looks pissed. "Unless the servers with backups are with it, we should do more than that, General."

"Not with all the CIA staff there. Many will be loyal to their country. You have your orders, Colonel," Beckman replies.

"Yes, Ma'am."

When the call ends, Sarah releases a sigh of relief. She'd expected to be berated, but that hadn't happened. She prints off the NDA forms, while Casey pulls together what he needs to destroy the Intersect device in the basement.

"You two did well," he mentions.

She looks up and smiles at him. "Thank you, John."

He obviously won't say any more. It's a big deal for him to say that much.

"When?" she asks.

"No time like the present, before The Ring realize he's gone," Casey replies.

She shakes her head, having thought this through more than him. "I'll need to give you access. Let me get these to Ellie, then I'll join you there. Give me an hour."

"Okay."

She heads up the stairs to go and get Ellie's signatures.

She left the signed papers with Chuck. He isn't happy with her leaving again and going into danger without him, but acknowledges that one of them needs to keep his sister safe. They now feel they can't trust anyone else.

She drives straight to the CIA building. With the LA traffic, she only gets there five minutes before she is to meet Casey.

Once again, she is able to go in after showing her identification. Part of her had worried that they would have denied her access or, worse, arrested her.

She heads to the exit by which she, Chuck and Ellie had left earlier that day. She gets there at the agreed time and opens the door, letting Casey in. They head straight to the basement. Casey leads them to the room Sullivan had mentioned. Opening the door didn't take Sarah long. She holds back to ensure they are not trapped in there, holding the door open with a foot in it. Casey rushes in opening his bag and taking out the C4.

In the middle of the room was the access device, the panels around the room where the images would appear, all blank.

He sets the charges and rushes back out. In two minutes, he will be out of the building. Sarah returns to reception. She is careful not to leave too quickly.

The floor beneath her rocks with the explosion. She has no difficulty looking surprised. She is. He obviously used more explosives than they had agreed on.

She, like everyone else, is encouraged to leave the building. Unlike the others, who wait outside, she heads to her car and drives away.

This feels damn good, striking back, but with no collateral damage.

When she enters the cell containing the whimpering Sullivan, she sees him flinch as she approaches him. So, she stands away from him to ask the question Casey should have asked before. "Who was going to be the first Intersect?"

"Shaw," he instantly replies.

She is surprised by this and, after the conversations with Chuck, nervous too. "Daniel Shaw?"

"Yes."

"But he's dead," she states.

"No."

Sarah stumbles out of the cell and only just manages to seal it up again.

She calls her fiancé. "The Intersect device that they were building is gone, but you need to come to Castle, now. You need to hear what I have to tell the general."

She ends the call and leans her back against the wall, sliding down. Shaw! If he's alive, he will come for me, for us.

After a couple of minutes, she gets up and walks through to sit in the main area, out of sight, listening to Casey tell the General about the successful destruction. "It was surprisingly easy, General. Walker got me in there and we found the room, right where Sullivan told us. No one was guarding it."

"That sounds suspicious," Beckman comments. "Are you sure there is no other Intersect room?"

Sarah had been worrying about that too.

"If there is, I don't think Sullivan knows about it," Casey replies.

"Ask him again," the general orders. Sarah shivers at the meaning of that. She can't let Chuck see it when he gets here.

Casey just agrees. "Yes, Ma'am."

Beckman nods. "If there definitely no other, we don't need him anymore."

That is probably best, even for Sullivan; he wouldn't ever be able to write or hold anything and he'd only be able to walk with artificial limbs. Ending his life would be a mercy.

"Do we have a list of other Ring agents there?" Beckman asks.

"Yes, General, they need to be rounded up," Casey replies.

Beckman looks pleased. "Good. I'll pass that on to the CIA to deal with."

Chuck walks down the stairs. Sarah walks over to him and guides him to one of the chairs. She sits as well, before looking at the screen.

Beckman looks at her. "Agent Walker, I am glad you were successful."

"I have just got some troubling information from Sullivan, General."

The general raises a brow.

Sarah tries to stay calm, but grips Chuck's hand. "The first Ring Human Intersect was to be Daniel Shaw."

"Well, good job he's dead, then," Beckman comments.

"Sarah looks at Chuck, before turning back. "Apparently not."

The following day, all the Ring agents in the CIA office are rounded up and taken away. The team know this because, Casey had been watching the building. A stake out of a government building!

Ellie had moved in with them as they still wanted to keep her safe. That had, inevitably limited Chuck and Sarah's sex life, while she was there. Thankfully, she was still working, so when she went to the hospital, they were all over each other.

Today, they haven't been able to, because Chuck has to work at the Buy More. So, Sarah goes with him.

She is chatting to Morgan, away from the Nerd Herd desk, when she spots a man walk in with a baseball cap pulled low over his face. He looks familiar, so she apologizes to Morgan and follows him.

Chuck looks up as the man approaches. Sarah can hear the conversation as she gets closer. "Hi, hey, Dad, hi."

Stephen Bartowski replies, "Not only did you call, but your sister contacted me. I want to check with you and make sure that everything is okay with her, before we discuss your situation."

Chuck looks over his dad's shoulder. "Sarah, you remember my father."

Sarah grins at his dad, "Hi, Mr. Bartowski. It's great to see you. Thank you for coming."

He frowns at her and turns back to his son. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

Leaving work early is now a frequent occurrence for Chuck Bartowski. He'd been doing it for a while for his "other job". So, here they are back at their apartment. Ellie is at the hospital, so talking about the CIA would seem acceptable to Chuck's dad.

"So, you're back being 'handled'," Stephen Bartowski starts the conversation so pleasantly.

Sarah didn't want this to be misunderstood. "I am not his handler anymore."

Stephen glares at her and snaps, "Then what are you?"

Chuck cut in before she could reply, "She's my fiancé. We love each other, dad."

Stephen's eyes narrow, which has Sarah anxious. He doesn't believe it!

"We are still waiting for the ring to be sent. It is being resized." She wants him to believe. "I love your son so much, Mr. Bartowski."

Before his dad can respond, Chuck adds, "Sarah persuaded me to tell you about the Intersect and that I needed help."

"You didn't tell me about her," his dad states, thumbing in Sarah's direction.

Chuck glares at him. "You cut off the call too quickly, Dad."

Stephen still looks annoyed.

Sarah states. "They were trying to get to you through Ellie." Chuck glares at her for being so blunt.

Stephen looks at his son. "Through Ellie? Why not you?"

"I think they must know I am with Sarah, so not easy to convince," Chuck tells him.

Sarah can see Stephen's eyes narrowing again. "They know Casey and I are still with, and protecting, Chuck."

"So, Eleanor is dragged into this." The elder Bartowski puts his head in his hands. "Do you know why they want me?"

Sarah holds her hand up to stop Chuck replying. "They've built their own Intersect. It is flawed and they need you to fix it … Orion."

He seems to ignore this. "Is she safe?"

"She is now, Dad."

"Okay. Well, I won't help them. However, about your condition…" He reaches into the bag he has brought in with him. "This should help." He hands a box to Chuck.

Chuck takes it from him, opens it and pulls out a watch.

"I call it The Governor 'cause it sort of governs the Intersect. See, I realized through the years that... that, just like a computer, that the Intersect can overheat."

Chuck looks up at him. "Is that what's happening to me?"

His dad nods. "Yeah, see, your brain is like a circuit, and when you flash, it releases a surge of electrical energy, but if it's not controlled, it can lead to dementia an... and... and insanity, maybe even death, but I've been working on a fix a... and this is the closest that I've gotten to one. See, it, um, it governs the neural network and helps control the power of the Intersect, almost like a, uh, like a pacemaker would for the heart."

Sarah asks, "Do you know it will work?"

Stephen turns to her, with a sheepish look. "Worked for me for years."

"You have an Intersect?" Chuck is as surprised as Sarah.

"Yeah," his dad replies.

"And this will work for the Intersect 2.0?" Sarah needs to know this will help her love.

Stephen looks at her briefly. "It will." He looks back at his son. "I never wanted you involved in this, but I can see I was deluding myself. You're my son, and you downloaded the 2.0 for the same reason I created the original, to help people. You want to be a spy. I'm gonna do everything I can to... help you be the man you want to be."

Chuck smiles at his dad. "Thanks."

Sarah grabs Stephen's hand, squeezing it. "Thank you."

"Dad, before Ellie gets here, why did you give me your contact details and not her?" Chuck asks, frowning.

"You know more about me than her, son. I didn't want her to know any more. Besides, she has Devon to be with now and doesn't need me. I also partly worried than you might get caught up in this again, so may need to contact me more urgently. Seems I was right."

The elder Bartowski stands back and glares at them both. "This spy business is never over. There will always be another mission and another and..." He takes a deep breath. "A spy has a spy will because any mission they go on could be their last. For every spy, there's someone who cares about them. Someone who has to open the box, read that message, and mourn their loss. This is a bad business. And I didn't want my family any part of it." He turns away and leaves them.

Sarah had thought about her spy will and looks at Chuck who is frowning. She must talk to him about this soon.

They had a wonderful meal together that night. Ellie persuaded her dad to stay with her for a few days, back in her apartment, at least until Devon was released from hospital.

Watching them walk over the courtyard to Ellie and Devon's apartment, Sarah is worried about both of them.

"They'll be fine over there, now Sullivan is no longer a problem." Chuck's confidence feels misplaced, but Sarah relents. She has asked Casey to keep a close eye on any movement in the courtyard. He hadn't taken down the surveillance equipment there, so it didn't take him long to reactivate it.

Sarah is mindful of the need for that long chat with Ellie, but that will have to wait.

"Chuck, I have to tell you a bit more about Sullivan," Sarah tentatively tells him.

Chuck looks at her nervously, "He is still locked up, isn't he?"

"He'll be dead soon, Chuck," she states, watching him closely.

He stares at her, his eyes boring into her soul, or so it felt. "You?"

She looks straight back at him. "No, Chuck, I won't do that and it wasn't me that got the information out of him, either, but taking his life will probably be a mercy killing, in the end."

"Casey?"

She nods. "We had to make sure he was telling the truth. I couldn't do it… You've softened me, Chuck."

He gives her a small smile at that, then shakes himself. "I can't think about that, but thanks for not hiding it from me, Sarah."

She hugs him. With her cheek against his chest, she replies, "No secrets, no lies, Chuck."

She is wondering about The Governor. They need to test it, but if it doesn't work, he will get hurt again. Best to do it at home, rather than when out. "Chuck, what do you know about my time in the CIA?"

He looks at her, puzzled. "About your missions? Only the few I flashed on. I don't know why."

"What about my time in the CATS?" she asks, watching him closely.

He instantly flashes. Thankfully, he shows no negative reaction.

She grips his hands and tentatively questions, "No headache?"

"Only the thought of what you were like back then," he replies.

"Hey, I was young and new to the world of espionage, and everything else as well," she responds, then starts thinking about the drinking and partying. She hopes there aren't reports of her one-night stands in the Intersect. Sarah wasn't ashamed of the life she led. She just wished she could tell him on her own terms. Sarah didn't want to keep anymore secrets from him, but someday, when there was a moment, they would speak about past lovers. She would prefer to tell him herself, using words that did not hurt and put into perspective who she had been back then and who she was now.

He nods, "You achieved quite a lot back then and partied hard."

She is embarrassed, but also pleased the flash didn't hurt him. She launches herself at him and kisses him hard. "The Governor works, Chuck. I am so, so happy. And, you know, I have never partied as hard as I do with you."

He leans back from the assault. "Shall we party hard now?" The look he gives her leaves no doubt what he is meaning.

"Yes. Bedroom. Now."

They are lying next to each other, sweaty but very satisfied with the 'partying' over the last hour.

Chuck looks over at her. "Zondra?"

Sarah frowns. Hardly the topic she wants to consider after great sex. "Trouble," she replies, hoping he will drop the subject.

He doesn't. "You accused her of treason."

She sighs. He obviously won't drop this. She should have chosen something else to trigger his flash. "We had a mole. We were after Augusto Gaez."

He flashes again, "Hmm. Bad man and still free."

That is not good. "He always knew when we were coming. Then I found a transmitter in Zondra's shoe. She denied it, but I knew then that she was the mole."

He frowns. "Why would she leave it somewhere linked to her. Wouldn't it be better somewhere else?"

Sarah had thought this before. "No time to hide it."

"When did you find it?"

"After we failed, again." Thinking about this was painful.

"She was cleared, but sent to work in the Middle East. She hasn't been back since," he tells her.

"You flashed that already?" Sarah is surprised.

"Yeah. Amy stayed in South America." He was still frowning. "Often in places where Gaez is sighted."

"Maybe she continued to track him." As she says this, Sarah doubts it. If he was dangerous enough to send a team of four after him, the CIA wouldn't then drop it down to one.

Chuck is quiet for a few seconds. "If she did, it wasn't sanctioned by the CIA. I'll dig a bit deeper, but I don't think Zondra was your mole."

Sarah doesn't really want to hear this. "If that's right, I ruined the career of a great person."

He shakes his head. "Not ruined; maybe slowed down a bit. She has made quite a name for herself out there. Ruthless, but very successful."

Sarah remembers the woman who, at that time was her best friend. She was more like Sarah than Carina or Amy, both of whom were more into the party life than her. She will have to wait for what Chuck finds, but maybe she has a lot of apologizing to do.

That night, Chuck wakes with another nightmare.

In a way, Sarah is reassured by this. It means the nightmares are not linked with the Intersect degradation of his brain. However, his words are not good.

He is gasping and has hands are gripping the sheets. "Sarah, not only is Daniel Shaw alive, but you didn't destroy the Intersect device, just a backup version."

She really hopes this is just a dream, but after the last one, she needs to be realistic. If it is all true, their world is about to be turned upside down.

"General, if this dream is as reliable is the last one, which we dismissed…" Sarah pauses, watching the general wince. Beckman doesn't like to be reminded of her mistakes, but Sarah wants her more focused on the possible dangers ahead. "… then we have a big problem."

"Indeed, Agent Walker," Beckman replies. She looks at Casey. "Your interrogation seems to have failed us."

Casey grunts, a very unhappy, dissatisfied grunt. "He's still alive, General."

Sarah chips in at that point. "He may have only known about the one, General."

Beckman raises a brow. "So, how do we find this other device?"

"Through Shaw, General," Sarah replies, giving off more confidence than she actually had.

"And how will you do that?" The inevitable question.

"I've found the apartment he used when here before, Ma'am. He may still be using it," Casey replies.

"Very well. Go there," Beckman states.

Chuck has been quiet throughout the call. Sarah looks over at him. He is looking very upset. "I don't want you going there, Sarah. I can't lose you."

She grips his arms, but doesn't pull him in. "I can't live in fear of him, Chuck. The spy life is full of danger."

"I'll be with her, Bartowski," Casey states.

"No. I'll be with her, Casey. You stay in the car, this time." Chuck glares at them both.

Casey doesn't agree, but comments, "One of us should be in the car. If he makes a break for it, he should be followed."

Sarah is driving in silence and Chuck, currently, is quiet too.

She knows that he can look after himself, just as he knows that about her, but Daniel Shaw is someone that always keeps coming back at them and last time could have ended them both. Neither of them wanted the other to have to face him without an Intersect; with one, he would be unstoppable.

She pulls up opposite the hotel. Casey drives past and pulls up just beyond it.

"There's no point me being in the car, Sarah. If I have to tail Shaw, we'd lose him. You need to do that," Chuck says, decisively.

"He knows my car, Chuck," she starts.

Over their earpieces, they hear Casey. "Fine, so I will stay and follow him. If he IS actually alive."

"Can't resist a dig, Casey?" Chuck snaps.

Casey snaps back, "what of i..." He stops as they all see a car pull up on the other side of the road, right outside the hotel. The driver gets out. "That's him," Chuck states the obvious.

"Seems none of us need to go in," Sarah comments.

"On it," Casey informs them. He slips out of his car, runs over to Shaw's car and plants the tracker on it. He's back in his Crown Vic, settling in to wait, within the minute.

"I guess we just wait now?" Chuck asks.

Sarah places a hand on his. "Yes, Chuck. We wait."

Chuck is dozing off next to her. She is feeling sleepy too. It's been an hour since Shaw went into the hotel.

Sarah has been thinking about what to do for the last forty minutes and has made a decision. "Casey, you follow him and we'll follow you."

"I thought you two were too worried about each other around him, Walker." Casey made the 'worried' sound pathetic.

Still trying to keep her voice down, to avoid waking Chuck, she snaps, "Would you take your daughter to meet him?"

She just got a grunt at that.

She then feels bad making that remark. "Have you contacted her yet?"

"Not yet."

"Are you going to?" she asks quietly.

There's silence for a while. "She'll probably hate me."

"I think she will be glad to have you back in her life, John." She doesn't just think it, she is sure of it. She hasn't had her mom in her life for over twenty years and would love for that to change.

"Maybe," he replies.

At that moment, they both see Shaw exit the hotel and get into his car. Sarah nudges Chuck to wake him. "Time to go, Chuck."

Shaw drives away, thankfully in the direction they are facing.

Twenty seconds later, she watches Casey set off. Sarah gets the car started. She looks at Chuck and leans over to kiss him. "Ready?"

He nods and she sets off, keeping Casey's Crown Vic in sight.

They pull up behind Casey who has parked a block away from the CIA building.

Casey gets out of his car and walks over to them. He points at a non-descript small structure. "He went in there."

"Well, let's go then," Chuck states, getting out of the car.

Sarah is around at his side and grabs his wrist. He turns to her and she tells him very clearly, "We all go in, but you do not go first."

He is about to argue, but Casey brushes past them.

Chuck and Sarah glare at each other and then quickly follow.

They enter and can only see steps going down, which they follow quietly. At the bottom, they arrive at what must be a subway maintenance area. There is one door facing them with some light seeping under the bottom of it.

Casey quietly opens it. They all look in. The walls, on the far side, are blank. There is a man standing, with his back to them, facing a device just like the one they destroyed. He is about to place his hand on the top.

Chuck pulls the other two back and closes the door. "You can't look at this."

They both know what he means. The light under the door flickers for a few minutes, then stabilizes.

Chuck opens the door and looks in. The figure is slumped down on the ground.

Sarah and Casey push past Chuck.

Although obviously still recovering from the download, the man forces himself to stand. He turns around and Sarah can see the gleam of triumph in his eyes; Daniel Shaw knows that he has just become a walking, breathing weapon, almost impossible to defeat. The exultation he exudes has a violent, sadistic air to it. The moment he will gain full control of the Intersect download, he will be standing between Chuck and Sarah forever, deterring them from the life they wish to lead. Sarah does not hesitate, but Casey is faster. He puts two bullets into Shaw's chest, but the man apparently wears a vest. He staggers back, the pain he feels visible, morphing into fury, and Sarah can see him flash. In the blink of an eye, they all will have no chance against him.

It's not only him or me, Sarah knows. It's him or all of us; it's him or my life of love I never expected to find.

As he lunges at her like a blood-thirsty creature, Sarah shoots. Just once. Cool and precise like never before in her life. Comfortable with killing as never before.

He obviously hasn't got full control yet, or he would be able to dodge. The bullet hits Shaw right between the eyes. The expression of hate remains on his face and Sarah shudders as she looks at it. That is hate that would have followed them to death. Thankfully, it ended right now, with Shaw's death.

Casey looks down, relaxed, as Chuck turns away, still not good at seeing dead people. Sarah, however, just feels relieved. Shaw is no longer a threat.

"I'll get some C4 to finish this place off." Casey turns to walk out. He slaps Chuck on the shoulder as he passes. "Still the only Human Intersect."

Sarah knows she should call Beckman, but Casey can do that, later. All she can think about is Chuck. She pulls him to her and kisses him like it is the only thing she ever wants to do again.

Sarah is sitting, cross legged, at the bottom of the bed, waiting for Chuck to return. In her hands, she holds the case containing her spy will. She doesn't know why she never gave this to him before; probably because she just never thought about ever having someone to give it to.

He walks into the room and she pats the space next to her. He walks over to her, asking, "What's wrong?"

Sarah looks down at the red box in her hands. "I've been thinking about what your dad said today and what has happened to us both. How you could have died. How I could have died. You know, everything that your dad said about the life that we've chosen... He's right. What we do is not safe."

She looks into his eyes. "I want you to have this. I should have given this to you before. I'm sorry." She hands him the box. "My spy will."

He takes it and looks down at it. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Chuck, this is me. It's everything I know, it's my life, and if something were to happen to me... you are the person who should have it."

"Nothing's going to happen to you. You're not going anywhere." He cups her face with his left hand. "And neither am I."

She looks at the man she loves. "We don't know that, Chuck. Please take it."

He nods. "I will, my love." He is echoing her thoughts.

Then he smiles. "Can I have an Analyst Will?"

She laughs. "I don't see why not. A Field Analyst should probably have one too."

"I'll write one tomorrow." He puts her spy will down on the desk and then rejoins Sarah and kisses her. The pent-up stress of the day is released through the kiss which increases in passion, from both of them.

She falls back onto the bed, gasping. "Gonna love me to death?" she asks, beaming at him.

"Can't think of a better way to go!" he replies, with a grin before rolling on top of her.

As she succumbs, she manages to get out, "Me neither."

A/N: So, that was an alternative take on S3E17. Thankfully without any upset between Chuck and Sarah over Shaw or Ellie deceiving everyone. Also, they've finally killed off Daniel Shaw. The chapters will now move further from the plot in the episodes.

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter in a review.