A/N: Sorry for the delay. Thanks again to all for the comments and support.

Thanks, Steelejay for all the beta help, as well as the idea's, it has been a big help.

I don't own Chuck

Chapter 8

Barstow Airport – April 21, 2009 – 7:00 am

Sarah and Casey had been going over the interviews with everyone from the plane. All the stories were the same, Chuck took out everyone in mere seconds, moving like Neo from the Matrix, then took out the pilots and landed the plane.

None of it made sense, they had been with Chuck basically every day for the last 2 years, he didn't know how to fly a plane, and he didn't know how to fight. It was almost like….

Then it hit Sarah like a slap to the face. What if Chuck had gotten other intersect updates, what if Orion had reached out to Chuck. She remembered the intersect update Bryce tricked Chuck into taking with the glasses. Why wouldn't he have told her? He was the most important person in her life, and it had nothing to do with the intersect. She knew he loved her. She was sure Orion could have updated Chuck, adding skills, there was a rumor a new intersect being built contained skills, what if Orion gave them to Chuck. It would make sense, he would be better able to protect himself, especially if.

And there it was, why he didn't tell her, why he no longer trusted her. She gave him up, didn't even give a good argument, just blindly followed orders. She knew it was wrong right after the extraction team took him away she knew she made the greatest mistake of her life. He didn't tell her so he could protect himself from them, from her.

Sarah was brought out of her thoughts by Casey, as the plasma set up in the hangar came to life to see the woman who caused this mess, General Beckman.

"Major Casey, Agent Walker report" the tiny redhead barked.

Casey took the lead "General, after getting to Barstow and working with the FBI, we have determined that the site at the drive in was in fact a main HQ for Fulcrum, we have over 40 Fulcrum agents in custody, Ted Roark was found dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the head. We have determined the base was set up for Fulcrum to create and use their own Intersect here. We believe Orion was here, but when the FBI arrived both Orion and the intersect cube were already gone. The Fulcrum agents were all either tranqed or knocked unconscious, and were zip tied.

With Roark dead, we also found a truck from the Barstow airport, so Agent Walked and I decided to see if we could find Roark's private jet to see if there was more information there. When we arrived at the airport, we identified a G650 that was parked here, like the plane that had been transporting the intersect. We boarded and found the agents, medical staff and pilots all tranqed and zip tied except the nurse, she was tranqed, but her zip ties had been cut, we believe so she could assist the others when they all came to.

We called backup and medical and using the reversal agent, brought them all to consciousness and have interviewed the entire team 4 different times. Each time their story has stayed the same."

"What did they say, who took the plane and why was it landed in Barstow? Was one of the agents/crew Fulcrum? Did they know they had the intersect?" Beckman barked quickly. Her plan was going to shit, she thought she would have the intersect in her bunker available to her whenever she wanted. If they could rescue Orion, father and son could be housed together. But with what happened to a missing asset and Orion, she needed answers.

This time it was Sarah who said "it was Chuck".

Beckman queried her eyebrow, "what are you talking about Agent Walker. The asset was sedated, and even if so. He doesn't have the skills to take a nurse let alone 3 of my agents and fly a plane".

Beckman's dismissiveness towards Chuck did nothing but enrage Sarah, and the fact she still would not call him by name.

"His name is Chuck, Chuck Bartowski, and apparently General he can, because he did" Sarah snapped back.

Casey stepped in, trying to calm everyone down a notch.

"General, everyone on the plane has the same story, Chuck woke up and took out the doctor and the 3 agents in seconds, he also took out the pilots and did in fact fly and land the plane here in Barstow. Bartowski told the nurse some of his story and told her how we betrayed him, and he was going to save his father.

All the computer systems and surveillance at the Black Rock was wiped, only someone trained, or someone like Bartowski could pull that off."

The General was still trying to comprehend what she was hearing. "Where and when he would have acquired these skills, we have had him under 24-hour surveillance for 2 years, and nothing in his past shows where he could have learned these skills."

This time Sarah spoke, a little more calmly. "General, we believe Chuck was in contact with Orion before we knew. We think its possible that Orion revealed himself to his son, and most likely sent him intersect updates of his own, adding the combat and flight training would make sense and explain this. Based on what everyone has told us, we believe Chuck, using enhanced intersect skills, was the man who took out the Fulcrum base to save his father and prevent Fulcrum from acquiring an intersect. ''

"Well, if that's the case Agent Walker, who killed Ted Roark? Let's be honest Bartowski is a bit of a pussy, can you really see him pulling the trigger on anything other than a video game?" the general said in her scoffing tone.

Sarah exploded "CHUCK BARTOWSKI IS THE BRAVEST MAN ANY OF US HAVE EVER FUCKING MET!"

Sarah stopped, trying to get some composure. Then continued.

"He jumped into this world with no training, no warning, no understanding, and he has thrived. He was one third of the best spy team in the world, and we all betrayed him. He willingly volunteered to work with us and received no compensation, no appreciation. That first night he saved me, Casey, General Stanfield and hotel full of people, and you can't even thank him.

Chuck hates violence, but I believe he can pull the trigger to save people he loves, people he cares about.

General, you have done nothing but disrespect and belittle him."

"Agent Walker, don't forget who you are speaking with" the general admonished.

"I know very well who I am speaking with. If we had treated him with the decency and respect he deserved, he earned. He would be standing beside us as we took down, recovered the intersect cube and Orion. But because of the actions you ordered. He did it all himself.

You have always underestimated him. Orion hid from you successfully for over 15+ years, if Chucks with him, do you really think we are going to find them if they don't want to be found?"

Casey thought his eyes might bug out of his head, he couldn't believe Walker had let the General have it like she did, but he also did not disagree with a single word. Family was the most important thing to Bartowski, and Casey firmly believed if he had to, Chuck would pull the trigger. He always thought it would be some situation involving Walker, but now he just didn't know.

The General sat there contemplating what to say next. Were they right? She never thought much of Chuck Bartowski, an underachieving loser who worked at a Buymore. But the more she learned, saw him in action, the more her perception started to change, although glacially slow. They had been the best team the US government had, the other thing was he was able to take 2 hardened spies, used to working on their own, and got them to work as a team, a highly successful team. Did she make a rash decision sending him to the bunker? With these newly discovered skills, the asset and this team could take on all enemies out there.

Her next thought was, was it even necessary? The new intersect was coming online in less than a week, and Agent Larkin was set to be the host. With his already honed spy skills and the added intersect skills, she could plug him into this team and the results far outweigh anything Team Bartowski could do.

"Agent Walker, Major Casey I will assign a team to lead the search and reacquisition of the asset, you will assist, it shouldn't be that hard. You will assist in that search for now. I have a new assignment for both of you coming up, I will update with more information soon."

With that Beckman cut the feed.

Sarah was stunned, she and Casey would not be leading the search for Chuck? They knew him best, this would be her chance to get to Chuck, explain why she did what she did and beg and plead for him to forgive her. She would admit her mistake and for the first time, she would tell him the truth, that she loved him, wanted a future with him, and would do anything to earn his trust back. She was drawn out of her thoughts when Casey spoke.

"Beckman's up to something".

Sarah spoke up, "I agree, we should be leading the search, we know him best, why bring in another team to lead the search?"

"She mentioned a new assignment for us, I got the feeling she is going to keep us partnered up, but this should be the priority, with Bartowski's using the intersect the way it's been described, we would be able to do a lot of good."

"Casey, do you honestly think when we find him, we can convince him to work with us again?"

Casey thought about it for a minute, it was a fair question. "I honestly don't know. Bartowski does the right thing, always. We betrayed him, we were following orders, but I think we both know, once he was taken, we were wrong. They were illegal orders, as much of a pain in the ass the Moron can be, he didn't deserve that. He has done what we've asked and more. What are you going to do about it?"

Surprised, Sarah answered "what do you mean?"

"Walker, you've been compromised almost from the start, I know you care about him greatly, maybe even love him. I will admit, I wasn't sure you were actually going to bring him down here when ordered. Are you going to bring him back in if we find him, can you do that to him again?"

"No Casey, I want to find him, tell him I love him and beg for his forgiveness. I will do whatever he wants, if he wants to run, I'll run, if he wants to try and work something out, I'll help him. But I WILL NOT allow Beckman to take him again.

What about you Casey? Are you going to bring him in?"

"No, I want to find him and apologize. He's a good man and done a lot of good. If he'll let me, I will still protect him."

The 2 partners looked at each other, a new understanding between them.

California Mountains - April 30, 2009 - 10 am

Chuck was just getting back to the cabin, he sweat soaked T-shirt clinging to his chest. After getting his father and taking Ted Roark's jet, which he was now affectionately calling it the Millennium Falcon, was stored in a hangar at a small airport roughly 15 miles away. Chuck and his father had a long talk about what to do. They both agreed with the intersect, their combined intelligence, and hacking skills they could still do a lot of good. At first Steven had wanted to teach Chuck to live off the grid as he had for the last 15 years, Chuck however would not hear of it. He wanted to get his life back, do something meaningful, make a difference and then eventually get the damn intersect out of his head. But till then, he was going to help people that needed help. They both agreed, they cannot trust Beckman or anyone involved with any of the intelligence agencies. They would have to do this on their own.

First, they both started hacking into both US and other countries intelligence agencies creating backdoors, so they could get in easily without having to hack in every time. They had spoken to Ellie & Awesome a couple of times on the modified Roark 7 computer Orion had sent Ellie to help with his research.

With Devon's help, the internet and the intersect, they had put together a workout routine for Chuck. If he was going to be a super spy, he needed to get in shape and build up his endurance.

As Chuck was getting back after his run, he had been working to build up his strength and stamina, the running, swimming in the nearby lake, and a lot of pushups and sit ups, it wouldn't take long till Chuck was looking more like Awesome and less like the lanky nerd he had been.

After the backdoors to the intelligence agencies, the next was set up fake ids, Chuck and Steven worked on coming up with the names they both would use, looking at obituaries all over the world, what countries they would be from, both Orion and Piranha could set up the electronic backstories. They would need "professionals" to create the actual paper identifications. Using a combination of the intersect and the dark web, they identified 5 different "artists" they could hire to create the ids. It made sense to spread it out, so if one were caught, they wouldn't know the others. Chuck set up meetings with the 5, 3 were in Europe, 1 in Canada and 1 in the US. Ironically the one in the US was retired from the same job at the CIA. Steven would need fewer than Chuck, they figured up to 10 for Steven, but because Chuck would be the one taking on the missions and moving about, they were creating up to 35-40 different ids of different countries. Thanks to the intersect, Chuck could speak any language fluently, so mixing up nationalities would not be an issue.

Chuck's meetings with the forgers went well, he also started reviewing and scoping out different banks for secure drop boxes, where he could leave cash, clean ids, and weapons, if need be, in case things went wrong on an operation. He also would have to set up safe houses just in case. Having the Roark money, as well as the royalties Steven was now receiving regularly from Roark products created based on his designs, the Bartowski's would never have to worry about money again.

With the setup in progress, now the focus was for Chuck to get in shape and to master the intersect. Working with his father they continued to tweak the programming, so it would be easier and work more quickly for Chuck to process, especially in a combat situation. The days went by, and Chuck kept getting better and better. It was only a matter of time to test it out on a mission. He was both terrified and excited. For the first time in over 7 years, Chuck Bartowski felt like he was in control of his life.

May 15, 2009 – Castle – 10:30 am

Sarah Walker was not happy, in fact she was miserable. She and Casey had been searching for Chuck for 23 days and counting and couldn't find a trace. They figured that Chuck had taken Ted Roark's plane, and with his father took off. They knew Orion knew how to hide, but she couldn't picture Chuck sitting in a trailer like his father, his need to be around people was too great, so they were waiting for him to make a mistake. She wasn't going to bring him back to Beckman, she was going to, for probably the first time tell him the complete and honest truth, that she loved him, been in love with him for some time, and beg and plead for his forgiveness for what she had done. That she was trying to keep him safe, but almost as soon as Casey tranqed him, she knew she had made a mistake, and if he would let her, would spend the rest of her life making it up to him. She was brought out of her throughs by the Castle door opening and Casey walking in.

"Walker, any new intel on where the moron is?" It may not have sounded like it, Casey was worried about Chuck, and he too was sorry for what he had done. The kid was a hero, risked his life for his country and his team, no matter what was in his head, he didn't deserve a bunker or a bullet to the back of his head.

"Nothing, there is nothing Casey. We have Ellie under surveillance, phones and her computer tapped, and nothing."

"We know he called her at least once, based on the verbal bashing she gave you".

Sarah didn't like to think about it. Ellie had confronted Sarah in the courtyard, she knew, and she knew everything, the cover relationship, her being CIA, the as she put it 'thing in brothers head', and most importantly her betrayal of Chuck. Despite Sarah's desperate pleas, Ellie wouldn't hear it. The rage that emanated from Eleanor Bartowski was something few had ever seen. She was close to a physical confrontation with Agent Walker, but had remembered Chuck had told her what Sarah was capable of, and he didn't know how she would respond to a physical threat from her.

Ellie had cancelled the big wedding Honey Woodcomb had bullied her into, and she and Devon instead had a small beach ceremony of about 10 people. Sarah watched from a distance, missing the feeling about being part of the Bartowski family. She never said it, but she was really excited about being in Ellie's wedding, it would have been the first time. Instead, she watched through binoculars 400 yards away. She felt horrible, not only about everything that has happened, but for Ellie, here on her wedding day, the closet thing she had to family there was Morgan. Morgan stood in for Chuck and his dad and walked her down the aisle to Devon.

They figured Chuck had called her right after saving his father, knowing Chuck it was to say goodbye. He could never just leave Ellie without a word. But the phone they figured he used had gone dead that same night and has not been turned on since. She couldn't help but smile, "good boy Chuck, never use the same burner twice". He had picked up a lot in his 2 years working with them. Despite what Beckman and even Casey thought, Chuck was highly intelligent and paid attention, and with his desperation to stay out of a bunker, she knew this search was never going to be quick or easy.

Coming back to the present, the monitor clicked on with the NSA logo and General Beckman appeared.

"Good morning team, report."

Casey took the lead, "Ma'am, we have no new leads on where to look for Bartowski, as you know we are unsure of what aircraft he and his father took, and no way to track that way. We have Ellie Bartowski and her husband under constant surveillance and are tapped into her phone and email, plus we still have the bugs in her apartment. By the lack of discussion, and the reception she gave Agent Walker, we know she knows about CIA/NSA involvement and the fact her brother was an asset. We will not get any cooperation from her, and she is going out of her way in her apartment not to speak of Chuck."

Sarah piped in "We have been watching Morgan Grimes as well, Chuck's best friend. It's obvious he knows Chuck is gone and probably not coming back, we can assume Ellie told him that much. He is in the process of relocating to Oahu to attend school to become a Benihana chef with his girlfriend Anna Wu from the Buymore."

"So, we have nothing, I am going to have the lead team take sole responsibility for locating the asset, as I have a new assignment for you both". The general stated.

Sarah was not happy, she had to find Chuck, and had to explain her actions. She and Casey had had a difficult time convincing the General to let them help with the search and argued as they knew him best it was important, they be involved. She didn't know if he could forgive her, but Chuck Bartowski was the most forgiving person he knew, if anyone could, it would be him. She just prayed she would get a chance.

"General, Casey and I have worked with Chuck for almost 2 years, we know him best, we have the best chance of finding him" started almost desperately. She was not going to stop till she found Chuck, but if she was leading the search, it would be easier with all the CIA/NSA resources.

"Well so far he has seemed to successfully avoid any path you have taken. It's time for fresh eyes. You and Major Casey will be continuing to work on the intersect project, we have successfully uploaded a new version of the intersect into a proper agent this time, someone who you are both familiar with." At that moment, the freezer door to Castle opened and in walked Bryce Larkin.

When Sarah saw Bryce and his trademark grin, she cringed. Could this get any worse, she was being taken off the search for her Chuck, and now she was going to have to work with her ex. While at one point they were a great spy team and lovers, she knew the second part of that would never happen again, not after meeting and falling in love with Chuck Bartowski. She would do her duty, she would work with Bryce, but it would strictly be professional.

"Agent Larkin successfully uploaded the intersect 2.0 a few days ago and has passed all the tests. Unlike with the original, the 2.0 has added skills that could prove useful to a spy, as well as the updated intelligence. Based on the reports, we must imagine the assets updates he received unknown to us, included similar skills updates. These, as well as Agent Larkin already being a successful agent, I expect your results to be even better than when you worked with Bartowski".

The General stated arrogantly.

"You will be based in Burbank and continue to use Castle as your base of operation as Agent Walker and Major Casey are already established here. Agent Larkin, you need to find suitable accommodations. I will have a jet available, as missions could be based anywhere. I will let you all get reacquainted, and we will have a briefing tomorrow."

With that the video feed ended, Sarah thought, she still doesn't know how to say goodbye. She grinned, knowing what Chuck would say.

Bryce caught the grin and assumed it was for him. "Hi Sarah, great to see you again".

Sarah, realizing what Bryce was thinking, "Bryce, how are you handling the upload? Any issues when you flash?"

Bryce grin grew, thinking Sarah was worried for him "no issues, I'm ready to get out there. The Ring or anyone won't stand a chance against us, between the intersect and the Andersons this will be great".

Sarah stopped him right there, "Bryce, we are a team and that includes Casey (who grunts at her acknowledgement), but the Andersons are no more. I will play the cover, when necessary, but what we once had is long over, and I am not interested in going back. We're work partners, but that's all".

She could see she surprise in Bryce's look, "are you sure Sarah, we were great once, we can be again?"

"I am Bryce, we're partners, maybe friends, but we will never be lovers again".

"Ok" Bryce responded. But in his mind, he was sure all she needed was time before she would fall back into his bed.