Posted February 25, 2022
A/N: This story is not going to be AU. Instead, it's going to be comprehensive for the show. There's a lot of things we didn't see because it wasn't Monday (or Friday, 5th season). This story will include a lot of what we didn't get to see. It will have a chapter set "in between" every one of the 91 episodes of Chuck. It will pause several times for other stories. Each chapter will start with a "recap" of what came before. Some chapters will be tags/post-eps/epilogues for the episodes, and some chapters will be setups/prologues for what is to come. That's 90 "in betweens" and 91 recaps. There will be a short epilogue for the "in betweens."
The Chuck show was a great combination of Romance, Adventure, Humor, Friendship, Family, Friends, and Drama. As much as we'd like things to go faster for the Charah relationship, that's not going to happen in this story because it's following canon's pace. The end of each chapter will point out AU and canon-compatible chapters that I've written for the same time period. A few new stories (AU or canon-compatible) will start as this story gets to that point in the timeline.
The dates mentioned in the chapters are based on analysis started in 2022, which flushes out the possible timeline on chuck-nbc fandom's Chuck_Timeline. Some things in the Chuck timeline are not possible, as noted in that wiki page, and when that's the case, this story's chapters will fit the best they can in a fictional universe.
Chapter 1 of this story was posted about ten years after Chuck ended. The fact that Chuck fanfic is still thriving this many years later is a real credit to the enthusiasm and great atmosphere that the fans have maintained. I hope you enjoy this long trip down memory lane, catching glimpses of the time "in between."
Before this story begins, one non-Chuck acknowledgement: This story was inspired by Rachel500's fantastic Aftershocks stories in the Stargate:SG-1 and Stargate:Atlantis fanfic category. Those stories are complementary stories that fit with canon. When Chuck was still on the air, those stories got me thinking about a similar story for Chuck. At the time of writing this first chapter, Aftershocks has four principle stories, with 154 chapters for the first 161 episodes of that series. There are two companion stories with one additional chapter each.
Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?
Disclaimer 2: No beta. However, if you PM me issues, I'll fix them. There's no expiration date.
"Chuck vs the Intersect" (1x01) Recap
Here are a few things you might need to know in case you forgot.
Chuck Bartowski lived with his sister, Ellie Bartowski, and her boyfriend, Devon Woodcomb ("Captain Awesome") in an Echo Park, Los Angeles, apartment. He worked as the Nerd Herd Supervisor at the Burbank Buy More. His well-intentioned (and sometimes a little pushy) sister invited many of her single friends to Chuck's 26th birthday party at the apartment complex's courtyard. Chuck did not present himself well to the women because he talked about his nerdy habits and his ex-girlfriend from college, who he was still hung up on. He thought Jill ended up with his college roommate Bryce Larkin and thought Bryce was a college athlete who became an accountant. Bryce was actually a CIA agent. That evening, the spy broke into a US government lab, destroyed a top secret computer, killed at least one guard, and was shot in the back while trying to escape. Before he was shot, he sent an email to Chuck, containing the contents of the computer in that lab, the Intersect. After the party, Chuck received the email, protected by a riddle password that only he and Bryce would know from their time together in college. The email contained thousands of images that put Chuck into a trance. He passed out, and the email fried the computer.
The next day, Sarah Walker showed up at the Buy More, and Chuck repaired her phone in a few seconds. She flirted with him, but Chuck stopped to help a frantic father who had failed to tape his daughter's ballet recital. Chuck saved that man's marriage and helped the esteem of the little girl. Before he could return to Sarah, he was waylaid by the abrasive sales supervisor, Harry Tang. When Chuck finished with him, Sarah was gone, but she had left a card.
That evening, Chuck returned home to find a person dressed completely in black stealing his computer. He feebly failed to stop the ninja/thief. During the "fight," the ninja put the computer on a shelf, only to have the shelf fall and the computer break into pieces. While driving away from the failed theft, the ninja removed her hood, revealing herself to be Sarah.
The next day, we learned that Sarah was a CIA agent. She had been assigned to retrieve the Intersect from Chuck. She went back to the Nerd Herd desk with "phone problems" again. She said she wasn't sure if she could receive calls because she never received one from Chuck. The flirting worked this time, though that didn't matter because Buy More salesperson and Chuck's best friend, Morgan Grimes, accepted on Chuck's behalf.
During the date, Chuck made Sarah laugh, and she decided she liked him and could trust him. After dinner, Chuck took Sarah to a club with a live band. She noticed a team of agents arrive to apprehend him, so she pulled him onto the dance floor. While dancing provocatively with Chuck, she used knives to neutralize several agents. One was left, an NSA agent she knew by reputation, John Casey. Knowing she couldn't take him out as easily, she pulled Chuck outside. After an exciting chase, with the NSA ramming Chuck's Nerd Herd car and trying (and failing) to run over Sarah, Chuck and Sarah got away.
They ran to the roof of a building, waiting for extraction, and Sarah came clean about why she was after Chuck. Casey tracked them down, resulting in a handgun standoff. Chuck had an Intersect "flash" for the fifth time since he had passed out from the email. Turns out, Chuck had downloaded the Intersect's subliminal images into his head, so a flash could reveal any of the government's secrets. This time, he was able to combine information about a bomber he ID'd while in the Large Mart, the schedule of a visiting NATO general, and a nearby hotel to know that the bomber was going to try to assassinate the General when he gave a talk at that hotel.
Sarah and Casey stopped arguing about controlling the Intersect and went with Chuck to save the General. They found the bomb, and Chuck was able to disarm it using a computer virus he knew about from working in the Nerd Herd.
After saving the General and everyone else at the talk, Sarah convinced Casey that they shouldn't put Chuck in a bunker, taking him away from his friends and sister, because they don't know whether he would crack under pressure. Chuck spent the rest of the night at the beach, watching the sun rise and thinking about how his life had changed. Sarah watched over him and said to Chuck that he couldn't get away and that needed to trust her.
The next day, Chuck submitted an application to be the Buy More Assistant Manager, found out that Casey had started a new job with the Buy More Sales Team, and saw Sarah shopping undercover at the store to keep an eye on him.
Chapter Characters: Chuck, Sarah (with Casey, Scooter, and Graham)
Songs (from 1x01):
- "Into Your Dream" by Foreign Born
- "A Comet Appears" by The Shins
www. imdb. com (8.5/10)
chuckthisblog. wordpress. com (5/91)
September 21, 2007
Buy More
Burbank, CA
Don't Freak Out.
Chuck had been told that and told himself that at least a dozen times in the past day. After being stuck in a rut and putting off creating a five-year plan for almost five years, he had a new plan hoisted on him. The new one was filled with spies, car chases, computer-stealing ninjas, and him saving the day.
Sarah said it would all be ok if he simply trusted her. How could he do that? He saw her doing amazing things last night. First, she drove a Herder backwards. Then, she stared down an SUV and stopped it by throwing a knife. Next, she told him not to freak out right before pointing a gun at him.
She worked with Bryce at the CIA before he died. Bryce was the person that ruined Chuck's life in college and again with the Intersect email. Chuck didn't flash on Sarah when they met, but he flashed on her ring as she browsed the store. His flash had parking lot surveillance footage, and in it he saw her easily kill several people.
Before Chuck saw Sarah be an amazing spy, they were having an amazing date. Now, she was posing as his girlfriend—as if that could ever happen. She was too amazing. At one point during their date, he thought he was the luckiest guy on the planet because he and Sarah were hitting it off. She didn't even run away in fear when his lack of suaveness came out with his offer to be her "baggage handler." Turns out, the date was an act to find out about the Intersect. That made a lot more sense than her being interested in him. She was way out of his league.
Now, Casey was going to be around him at work, and Sarah was going to be around him the rest of the time. He hoped for their sake that they wouldn't be subjected to being around a loser like for him very long. That would be the case if they quickly figured out how to get the Intersect out of his head. Computers had recycle bins and "undelete." The Intersect in his head was considered a computer. Certainly, they'd want someplace more permanent for the secrets in his head—like a real spy.
Meanwhile, he had to get used to the spies in his life. Earlier, Sarah was roaming around acting like she needed to buy electronics. She couldn't stay in the store very long, but Casey got a job as a Green Shirt, so he'd keep an eye on him the rest of Chuck's time at work, whenever they had the same schedule. Chuck did the work schedule for the Nerd Herd, but that job would be harder to fake than a Sales job.
Who was he kidding? The Green Shirts didn't have to work, and the NSA agent would probably make sure they always had the same work schedule.
Big Mike told him to train "the new guy." As a prospective Assistant Manager, Chuck needed to do that. It didn't matter that he had been up all night. Chuck went up to the scary NSA agent who had tried to kill him the night before. "Hey… John… Mr. Casey… Agent… Major…"
The gruff man grunted and answered, "Casey is fine. For the cover, when others are in earshot, you can call me 'John.' Don't think that makes us friends."
Chuck gulped. This hulk of a man was terrifying, even without a flash of him killing a bunch of people who attacked him before shooting out the security camera, like his flash of Sarah. Casey could probably kill him simply by staring through him. That was a thought. Maybe he could scare the Intersect out of Chuck by looking at him.
Chuck looked around and saw no one was close enough to hear him say, "So, Casey. You're here to keep an eye on me, and Big Mike told me to train you how to work in the Buy More. I'm the Supervisor of the Nerd Herd." Chuck pointed back to the center desk where he was in charge. "The supervisor of the Sales Team is Harry Tang, but trust me, you don't want to be around him any more than you have to. I'll show you around the various parts of the store. I don't know what department you will work in—"
"I don't care about selling things here," the spy interrupted. "I won't be here long." Chuck hoped that was true. "I'm here to protect that thing in your noggin, if anyone suspicious comes to the store. In case I ever need to know, I'll study where things are out here on the sales floor by looking around. Before that, I need to know the egress points, like the loading dock, and I need to know where the building's power is controlled."
Oh boy. Chuck had no idea how this man was going to actually talk to customers. Fortunately, at the Burbank Buy More, he really didn't have to do anything. As some people proved, someone could work in the store a long time without doing anything. Chuck hoped he'd get the Intersect out of his head soon. That would mean he hoped Casey would be gone soon.
Chuck told his watcher, "Let me give you a copy of the emergency response report." That should have everything Casey wanted to know. "They haven't updated it since I started five years ago. It'll still have references to what to do when the Y2K bug hits, which means it's even older, but it should be close enough to what you need."
Chuck got a grunt in response. At least the NSA agent didn't pull a gun on him, unlike when he had just flashed. Being in the middle of the store probably helped. Chuck realized he should probably keep his talks with the angry man in public places. They couldn't talk about things close enough to others to hear, but it'd be safer for him if there were witnesses.
After leaving Buy More, Sarah knew she needed a better plan for staying close to Chuck. Browsing worked initially, but it wouldn't work for more than a few minutes. She couldn't do it every day, either. No one would understand if she shopped at the Buy More five minutes every day, not to mention eight hours every day. She went to her car to think of a new plan.
Even when she was in the store, something seemed off. Initially, Chuck seemed surprised, then almost happy to see her. Whenever he looked at her, his eyes lit up and that created an odd butterfly feeling in Sarah's stomach. She had never felt like that before, with or without a mark.
She wasn't even sure what Chuck was classified as anymore. He was initially a mark, but now he was a cover-boyfriend who didn't work for the CIA. What do you call that?
Anyway… After Chuck's initial look—one that made her feel like she was the most special person on the planet, his demeanor quickly changed. He didn't look at her for ten minutes before she gave up and left.
Sarah thought maybe she could work surveillance in the store if she was dressed to be unattractive and unassuming. The problem was she needed to be dressed like someone last night's hero deserved, not as an average person who wouldn't be noticed. The other Buy More employees would probably notice the same person return eventually, no matter what she looked like.
The way she was dressed, virtually all of the people working at the Buy More seemed to watch her the entire time she was there. Some of them were kind of creepy about it. Not Chuck, though. He seemed to be looking away from her. Why did he stop looking at her? Had he flashed on her past?
That didn't make sense, though. He didn't flash on her identity when she first made contact, when she came back to ask him on a date, during the entire date, or this morning when she joined him at the beach.
Chuck's behavior today didn't make sense, at all. Long before he charged into danger and disabled a bomb, saving hundreds of lives, she could tell he was something special. During their dance, he was respectful. Considering what she was doing, he didn't have to be. Marks that were bad guys would try to take advantage of the situation. During their dinner, Chuck was a real gentleman and very funny.
Even when he said potentially embarrassing things, like offering to be her "baggage handler," it came off as charming. She could tell he meant it and it wasn't just a line. Chuck was actually willing to help with her problems. If Chuck had had any idea how big of a task that was, he never would have offered. As a spy, she packed light, but her "baggage pile" was massive. Despite that, she could tell he would try to carry it all at once anyway. She genuinely liked him for offering to try.
When they met, she was positive he was into her. He was effortlessly flirting with her while he fixed her phone, before he was pulled away to help some idiot father. The man was about to destroy his marriage because he had tried to record his daughter's dance recital without a tape. Why would analog versus digital make a difference? He'd still need a tape to be able to put the recording someplace. It's not like a video camera could store the video internally or send the video over the air to someplace safe.
Based on what Chuck did, Sarah was convinced she had to flirt harder with this particular mark to keep his attention, but no. He was pulling off the type of thing you never see in a retail story— an impromptu recital. He cared more about building the confidence of a sad, little girl than talking with a woman he had just met who seemed interested in him.
The next day, she had upped her game to get a date. Turns out he was simply shy, so that wasn't the problem. Chuck didn't have high confidence when it came to women, like virtually everyone else who hit on her the instant they met. Chuck definitely wasn't cocky like Bryce, who always was very willing to initiate flirting with marks to accomplish mission goals. In the end, it didn't matter. She liked being the one to ask out a good guy for a change.
This mission was different from any of her previous missions in many ways. She was in the US. She had done inter-agency work with the Secret Service, but never the NSA. Major Casey would do his job, which at the moment seemed to be to protect Chuck. She couldn't trust him forever, though. Who knows when his orders might change? Sarah had always been good at reading people, and Chuck was a genuinely good person. Even if the major's orders changed, Sarah was committed to protecting Chuck. She hoped he trusted her.
Another way this mission was different from anything she had worked before was that virtually all of her missions didn't last as long as this one already had. So far, this mission was only on its third day, but there was no end in sight. In the past, she'd infiltrate someplace, complete the mission objective, and get out. In the past, she'd have a handler who knew how the mission fit into the bigger picture and who would deal with a lot of the details of the plan. This time, she was the handler. She needed a reason to stay close.
She couldn't sit in her car all day, like she was doing at the moment. It didn't matter that she was in a Porsche. In this country, most people would ignore the woman in the car. However, all it took was one "overly concerned" person to call the police on her for potentially being a stalker for sitting in a car and staring at the store.
For a moment, Sarah thought It would be a lot easier if she worked in Buy More, instead of Casey. Since she didn't completely trust him when it came to Chuck, the only way to be sure he was safe was to watch him all day, herself. It's not like a place like the Buy More would have rules against employees dating, so she could still be Chuck's girlfriend—no, cover-girlfriend. If she was in the store, she could keep one eye—no two eyes on Chuck at all times. She'd be happier doing that—no her job wasn't to be happy. She needed to trust the NSA agent who tried to kill her the day before because his orders now were to protect Chuck, which was the same as Sarah's mission. She needed to work somewhere in the close, but not inside the store.
She looked around at the other stores in the plaza and saw an option. Across the parking lot was a hot dog place, Wienerlicious. From there, she could always stay nearby during the day, able to provide surveillance over the surrounding area. She'd be nearby if Chuck flashed.
Standing outside the door, she saw a "Help Wanted" sign in the window. That was perfect. She'd fake her way through an interview and get the job. Wienerlicious would get some wanted help for a couple days, and she would get a daily position where she needed to be.
For a second, Sarah thought maybe she needed to prep before this sub-mission to get a cover job. She looked in the window and saw someone working inside who could give her an application. She was good at sizing most people up. (She was good at sizing up people except Chuck, when she was trying to get a date.) This guy looked like someone she could have sold cookies when she was only seven. No prep necessary. She could do this.
The door was locked, so she smoothly pulled out her pick set, easily unlocked the door, and went inside. No one was inside the restaurant. Someone was there a second ago. Where was he?
The question was answered by a skinny man in a red, polka dot vest and a bow tie coming from the door to the back. On one hand, that wasn't very secure, but on the other, if she was ever attacked in this place, she could use the back room to her advantage.
The man stumbled in shock. "Whoa. You almost scared me. We don't open for a half hour, and I didn't know anyone was here."
Sarah kept the smirk off her face. If she had wanted to scare him, he would really be scared. If he knew what she could do, he would really be scared. She held up the "Help Wanted" sign she had grabbed on the way in.
"Right. You're here for a job. I thought that door was locked. It must not have been. We don't open for a little bit, so if you want, we could do the interview right now. You can fill out the job application when you are done. I'm Scooter, by the way."
"Sarah," she responded with a smile. This job was going to be easy to get. Scooter came over to a table and motioned for Sarah to sit across from him. Sarah asked, "I'm sorry I don't have a resume on me. Do you need to know my qualifications?"
"No, I don't need your headshot nor a list of what auditions you've had." Auditions? Scooter must have thought she was a struggling actress. Wienerlicious was the kind of place that didn't care about experience, which was perfect for a cover job. It was probably better that she didn't waste time on a resume. She'd never admit that she graduated from an Ivy League school to a place like this.
Scooter asked, "Have you ever worked at a fast food restaurant?"
She said, "No." Sarah wasn't going to be honest and say what she did when she was a teenager because the CIA might not even know about that hamburger dive where she worked after she stopped working cons with her dad. Graham had found many of her fake names, but she didn't think he knew all of the fake social security numbers she used back then.
"That's ok. You don't need any experience to work here."
"Do I have to go through training?" That would be a distraction when she should be watching Chuck.
"Not really. It's not that hard. Can you cook?"
She confidently nodded and said she could. Could she? Not recently, but why not? She could mix explosives. How hard would it be to cook a hot dog and french fries?
"There are good, official instructions on how to make everything. If you can shadow me today through the lunch rush, you'll see how to use the cooking equipment and the register, and you can start tomorrow. Does that work for you?"
"Yes." Tomorrow would be perfect. She already had the job? Getting a job here was even easier than she thought. She didn't even have to flirt with her new boss. They must really be desperate. Or the standards were really low. Or there were no standards.
"That would be good. You're hired. Your first paycheck will be in two weeks, after your application has been processed by Corporate and after you've collected some hours. Today's training even counts."
Scooter passed Sarah a pen and application to fill out. It was simple, with things like her contact info and SSN. She had three CIA-authorized fake ones for that. She thought she'd have to pull some strings to expedite a background check, but apparently, she was immediately hired on contingency. Normal background check protection protocols for a field agent would suffice.
Sarah was done with the simple application in no time. When she was finished, Scooter returned from the back, holding a uniform for her. "This is yours. Even though you are just a trainee, you should be dressed in company garb during your shift, today. You can change in the storage closet."
Sarah smiled and thanked him before heading to the back. For the CIA, she had worked a couple dozen service jobs in which she had to fake an interview so she could infiltrate to be closer to the mission objective. It was never this easy without the Company pulling strings. This time, she walked in off the street and was given the job without question. That really helped with her problem for her real job, staying close to Chuck so she could protect him.
After quickly changing into her Wienerlicious outfit, Sarah returned to the main room for training. The uniform was the kind of an over-sexed costume she should expect for a greasy dive like this. She kept displeasure in the female "uniform" of her face, but that didn't matter. She'd never say anything bad about what she wore, but Scooter correctly assumed her thoughts. He said, "If you don't like the blouse and skirt, that doesn't matter. It's the official Wienerlicious uniform for women, so you have to wear it every day at work."
If it kept her closer to the man she was supposed to protect, she'd wear it without complaint. She did ask, "Is it ok if I wear bicycle shorts underneath?"
"That would probably be a good idea. Someone who looks like you will have a lot of people checking you out when you bend down. You have to buy bicycle shorts yourself, Wienerlicious doesn't provide them. And they have to match your uniform." Sarah nodded that she understood. Scooter motioned to what he was wearing and added, "It's not just you. I have to wear this thing every day."
That was something she didn't understand. What was the big deal about a white shirt, a red vest, and a red bow tie? It wasn't as cute as what Chuck wore…
What was she thinking? She needed to stop imagining how great Chuck looked in his white button down and grey tie. He'd look just as good in a Wienerlicious outfit—better than Scooter… No, she didn't need to be imagining how good her cover boyfriend would look in… well anything.
Over the next few hours, Scooter showed her where the supplies were in the freezer, how to cook fries, hot dogs, corn dogs, and other things on the menu that people bought to get their daily sodium and saturated fat. The register was fairly simple. If she had to be in Burbank longer, she'd have the CIA send a replacement that connected to their network, but if all went as planned, they'd get the Intersect out of Chuck's head in a couple weeks. He could go back to normal. Someone like Chuck didn't deserve somene like her in his life.
The place wasn't busy. She helped clear and clean the tables a few times, but there never was more than four patrons at two tables at one time. She hoped this place would stay in business long enough for her to finish this mission in LA.
Scooter asked her about hours. That seemed like a question for before she got the job. When she said full time, he was pleasantly surprised. She explained that she wasn't sure about the schedule, yet, but would know soon. She didn't explain the reason she wasn't sure was she had to get Chuck's work schedule. Her new "boss" was just happy that Sarah would be working enough hours that he didn't have to interview a second part-time worker.
She finished up shadowing at 2 pm. She could take home two extra uniforms to rotate, and she'd be start tomorrow as a probationary employee. She only got one plastic hot dog necklace, and one cheap name tag. It had a sticker with her name that was printed right in the store. For the last order of the day, she handed the person their food. "Danke, dass Sie uns im Wienerlicious besucht haben."
She turned back to Scooter to see if she passed training. "How did I do?"
He didn't answer for a few seconds, just standing in shock with his mouth hanging open. Finally he said, "Was that German? What did you say?"
"Thank you for visiting us at Wienerlicious."
"Wow. Ok. Yes. You'll be fine. We've never had anyone who speaks German. Even though the chain is German, we aren't required to speak it. However, if you happen to be able to, then that's great. Here I thought just having someone who looked like you would bring in more customers, but adding a little European flair couldn't hurt." Then, he formally said goodbye. "Thank you for joining us at the Wienerlicious. I'll see you at 10:30 tomorrow. "
Back at her car, Sarah called Director Graham. It was after 5 in DC, but knowing him, he'd be at the office until almost 8.
Right to the point, he answered, "Walker, what's the status?"
"Sir, I saw Chuck at his job at the Buy More. I couldn't stay in the store for long, but I saw Agent Casey was there to protect him. I don't trust him to guard Chuck. After all, he tried to kill him last night when he rammed us with a car. Right after that, he tried to run me over while I was on foot."
"That explains the bill I got from the NSA to the CIA. There was the replacement of a destroyed black SUV and of a demolished, unusually painted Toyota Yarvis. I assume that is the Intersect's Buy More car."
"Yes. That's what Chuck drove for our date."
"Really? I'm sorry you have to stay with him. You have your work cut out for you with that one." Sarah didn't understand the sympathy. He wasn't a murderous despot with delusions of grandeur. She thought it was kind of cute.
Not hearing Sarah's thoughts, Graham continued, "That car will take a couple days to replace because of the custom job for the business's paint and logo. The SUV is more normal for the government, so we have many and can reallocate one by tomorrow." Graham lightly chuckled. "Obviously, the NSA agent didn't know that you are tougher than a government-issued SUV. He knows now."
He chucked, then said, "Don't worry about Major Casey, though. He might be a burn-out, but he will follow orders. His orders last night were to capture Chuck. Today, his orders are to protect him. Since yours are the same, he won't get in your way again."
Sarah still wasn't sure about him, but there was nothing she could do unless Graham was willing to back her in a war between the CIA and the NSA. She didn't even want that kind of inter-agency war, unless Casey looked like a threat again.
Moving on with her important status update, she said, "I realized I can't shop in Chuck's store for long periods of time, so I got a job in the Buy More plaza at a fast food restaurant. It provides a good place to monitor the exterior of the store."
"Good thinking. As for getting the Intersect out, General Beckman of the NSA has said they're sending out their top scientist to run tests on him. Your job is to convince the Asset to cooperate. Use whatever means you see fit. While you can trust the NSA Major to a point, we shouldn't trust everyone in the NSA, so it is important that you keep the Asset's identity a secret from the NSA scientist."
"Yes sir." On one hand, Graham seemed to have a good estimate of Casey's probable trustworthiness. After all, Casey was at the bomb diffusion with Sarah and Chuck. Casey would agree that Chuck was too valuable to share his identity with just anyone in the NSA. On the other hand, Graham was already calling Chuck "the Asset," not a cooperating citizen. Chuck was more than an asset. He was a decent guy, and last night, he was a hero. With an "asset" designation, Sarah was his official handler. Balancing him as a valuable ally and a cover-boyfriend would have been tricky. Having the "asset" designation made the situation clear under handler/asset rules. The relationship was just a cover and was a relationship for everyone else and only a cover for them.
After disconnecting that call, she called Casey.
"What is it, Walker?" he gruffly answered his phone.
"I'm calling to check on Chuck. Is he ok?"
Sarah could detect every bit of sarcasm in Casey's voice because he wasn't trying to mask it. "Your boy toy is fine. This is an electronics store. What could happen?"
She wanted to argue the "boy toy" title. She and Chuck never had a chance for anything like that last night…
She had to stop thinking about Chuck like that. A chance? No. Last night, he was her mark. Now, he was her asset. He never was her real boyfriend. She decided not to quibble and instead informed the other protector about her new job and the plan to remove the Intersect from Chuck's head after the NSA scientist's test.
Casey thought the external surveillance was a smart thing tactically. He was happy to hear the higher-ups didn't think they wouldn't be in Southern California long.
With that call over, Sarah drove back to her room at Maison23. She couldn't think about Chuck as more than an asset at the moment, but maybe when they got the Intersect out of his head and he was no longer an asset, they could try to complete that first date. It was a great date until the NSA crashed it.
What was she thinking? She really needed to stop thinking that way.
A/N: As I said at the beginning, the Charah pace in this story is the same as the show. If you need a "palate cleanser" for the fact Chuck and Sarah aren't together, many have written good AUs (spy and otherwise). Here are my stories which relate to "Chuck vs the Intersect":
MyNameIsJeffNImLost AU stories:
- "Chuck vs the Nemesis's Ex" (chapters 7 "Troubled Waiter" & chapter 8, "Flashes")
- "The Bartowskis vs the Spy World" (chapter 1, "The Big Kahuna")
- "Chuck & Sarah vs the Email" (chapters 1-6, "We Need to Talk," "What Was That?", "Do You Want to See Me...", "Dinnertime," "First Date," & "Standing in Front of a Tank")
- "Chuck & Sarah vs Trust" (chapter 2, "First Date")
- "Ellie vs the Ninja" (chapter 1-3, "Ellie vs the Computer-stealing Ninja," "Ellie vs the CIA," and "Ellie vs the Dinner Guest")