Update: Now that Ellie & Devon have met Chuck's new girlfriend Hailey and her uncle, things could finally be opening up for the better in Chuck's life. Chuck and Hailey getting ready for another date before their eventual separation. What does Casino have up his sleeve? Let's find out shall we?
Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck or the series characters, but I own everything else lol. 3 chapters done and 13 reviews, already better than original version of this story. Please leave a review, even if it's short. I will respond to you via PM, hope you enjoy it.
CHUCK VS A NEW BEGINNING
EPISODE 4: ADVENTURES IN DATING (PART 1)
LOEWS SANTA MONICA BEACH HOTEL / SANTA MONICA, CA
Chuck was in the Producer's Suite of the hotel, double-checking himself to make sure nothing looked out of place. He was excited to be getting ready for his evening date with Hailey.
After leaving the apartment this morning, they spent the early afternoon together. They got lunch and Chuck took Hailey on a small tour of the area. They talked about their interests in everything: movies, tv shows, music, and of course gaming.
He was surprised to learn that not only did she have an NES system, but a Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and a Playstation too. He knew how expensive the Playstation was since he and Morgan both saved up for months to afford $200 for the console and an additional $50 for each game. Still, the cost was worth it in his eyes.
Hailey had booked a two hour appointment to the spa downstairs, saying she wanted to look extra special for their date tonight. After a quick kiss good bye, she was gone leaving Chuck plenty of time alone to get ready. He looked in the mirror again to see how he looked, and was putting on the finishing touches when someone was knocking at the door. He didn't think Hailey would knock, and he wasn't expecting anyone. He was curious as he opened the door.
Standing in the doorway was none other than A.J. Casino, the always imposing figure that could intimidate from just his mannerisms. He had gotten to know Chuck a little better since he first met him in the lobby of this hotel with his niece, knowing that Hailey was at the spa, he thought it was the best time to see Chuck as he addressed him kindly.
"Good afternoon Chuck. I apologize for the unannounced visit, I know you have plans with Hailey this evening. Do you mind if I talk to you? We didn't get a chance to converse as much yesterday as I originally wanted."
Chuck was surprised that someone of Casino's stature wanted to talk to him. Then again, knowing that Hailey was his niece surely had something to do with it. He figured that he would probably get the talk, like what most parents would give a potential suitor to date their daughter. In this case, the talk was about Casino's niece.
Chuck stepped to the side allowing him into the room, "Anything I can offer you to drink, bottled water or tea?"
Casino smiled gratefully, "Bottle of water will be fine, thank you Chuck."
Chuck grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the mini-fridge, and handed a bottle to Casino on his return before sitting down on the bed. Casino thanked Chuck as he sat down in the recliner before taking a couple of gulps from the cool liquid. Looking at Chuck, he began speaking in a business-like tone.
"First of all, Chuck, I want to apologize for coming unannounced. Like I mentioned earlier, I know that you have plans tonight with Hailey and we didn't have much time to converse. I'm not going to keep you long. Otherwise, I'd have to explain to Hailey why I made her date late."
Chuck nodded in agreement at the reasoning, watching as Casino places the bottle on the table coaster then leans forward to address him.
"Two reasons for my visit, I have a test here for you to take. Nothing major really, it was the one I told you about before how it's like the ASVAB. Figure since she had a two hour spa appointment, best time to use it. When you're done with it, just put the paperwork back in this binder and zip it back up. Contact me personally or Victor at the front desk, one of us will come secure it before sending it to the primary location. Any questions?"
Chuck accepted the zipped up binder and thanked him, "None at all. Thank you A.J., I promise I will have this done before the day is over."
Casino waved him off, "Nonsense my boy, no need to rush on my account. Unlike taking it in school, there's no pressure here and you can at least listen to music or something to help you stay relaxed and not stressed out while working on it. However, I have something else to discuss with you."
Chuck's confused expression was evident on his face as Casino took a nice swig from the bottle. Casino sat the bottle down before leaning forward, his tone turned very serious as he delivered the bomb on Chuck.
"I know about your family, more specifically the secret. You and Ellie have been on your own since your Dad disappeared four years ago."
Chuck's eyes became wide like saucers, this man found out about that! He felt his hands becoming clammy and his breathing began to hyperventilate, Casino noticed, and held up a hand to signal for Chuck to let him finish.
"Please relax Chuck. I'm not telling you this as a scare tactic to prevent you from dating my niece. Besides, you've already experienced that with Maverick. I suggest you drink some of that water Chuck, just relax and I will explain it further."
Chuck gulped about half the bottle from his freaking out before starting to choke on it, Casino immediately got out of the recliner and started thumping Chuck's upper back as he chuckles, "Told you my boy, take it easy. Now relax and let me explain this, okay son?"
Chuck noticed that Casino's tone shifted to that of a fatherly figure while he sat there with his arm still on Chuck's shoulder, like a father/son type talk.
"Like I was saying, I always have a complete background check on everybody I'm not familiar with. It's really not any different than applying for a job since they do the same thing. My background checks come from higher level than the standard corporate types like Buy More. You see, since Hailey's family is part of the military, backgrounds are checked by a higher security platform. Whether they're involved with my business or family, you better believe the skeletons in the closet are really shaking in their bones when it comes to the latter choice."
Chuck spoke, extremely deflated, "Sir, please let me explain. It's not what it really seems..."
Casino cut him off, "Chuck, you don't need to explain it to me. You and Ellie had to do what you could to survive. She was 17 at the time, so that was one of the reasons CPS couldn't really come in to do anything. Another factor was having the right connections. There is something else I can tell you, but we need to keep it to ourselves because Ellie deserves to know as well and I will explain it to you both when the time is right. Now this is the most important reason, don't tell Ellie this just yet. I know it sounds unfair, but it's very important. Your father had valid reasons to leave you two when he did, he thought he was doing the right thing because of who his employer was. You know that your father was a scientist and worked on certain projects, much like the one he was working on when you were a child and you my boy accidentally downloaded."
Chuck was shocked hearing that, "How do you know about that? Dad was the only one to know that happened, not even Ellie knows that!"
Casino cautioned him, "Let's just say that Stephen Bartowski wasn't as crazy as you and Ellie assumed he was, his paranoia was for valid reasons. The intelligence communities of our government are not known for being subtle, and those in charge of said agencies don't care who's around when they want to snatch and grab you."
Chuck nodded silently and asked, "So you know where Dad is?"
Casino nodded and explained, "Chuck, let's just say that friends of mine have been keeping your Dad safe since the day he disappeared. Not just that, but you and Ellie were not as alone as you thought. You will understand more in the years ahead while you and Hailey both continue your careers, there's one thing we hold dear to us in every part of life. With us there's nothing more important than family, in our case there's nothing this family won't do to protect one another. Chuck, you and Ellie are part of that family even though you're not officially that. But you keep doing what you're doing with Hailey, I guarantee that will change down the road my boy."
Chuck nodded overcome with emotion as Casino clapped him on his back then pulled him in for a fatherly hug and whispered, "Just thought you needed to know what happened wasn't your fault. Now suck it up son, we need to finish this quick before your date returns."
Casino released him then ordered Chuck to freshen up his face, a few minutes later Chuck was back sitting on the bed as Casino started again explaining what he originally wanted to.
"Back to the matter at hand. The real reason why I had the background check run on you is this, you're an extremely smart guy when it comes to electronics and computer systems. Your talents are being wasted working at Buy More every summer. I know you're doing it for the extra money before you leave for Stanford. I'm just saying to leave options open and have a backup plan. Life can throw some sucker punches. Having a backup prevents you from the crash and burn, especially when things don't work out the way you want them to. I also want to tell you that Hailey's time here won't be that long, a week at the most."
Chuck reassured Casino he was fully aware of the difficulties.
"I understand she's going to be heading back east soon, and she does have a future career that will require a lot of attention. I understand that part of it."
Casino made the attempt to be as candid as possible as he continued, "You know what she'll be doing for a living, and you know the world's biggest troublemakers tend to be from overseas. I know it's four years away, but after she graduates, it won't be long before she's deployed over there. Unlike with other jobs you train for that carry between 4-8 years enlistment periods. The Navy takes aviation training extremely serious due to the costly nature of their training. Once she graduates from the academy and heads to Pensacola for 22 weeks of flight training, it will get much busier from there. Once she gets her aviator wings from completing training, she will be locked in for the next 8 years minimum. I'm going to warn you Chuck, and please don't think I'm trying to scare you off because I'm not.
Deployments overseas are extremely tough on relationships. Months of being separated from those you care about is a very heavy burden. I've seen families destroyed because the anxiety of separation for 6-10 months is too mentally taxing on those here at home. It's much worse when the separation could last up to a couple of years. That only happens when the situation has gotten really bad.
Because you two are just taking your first steps into a potential relationship, I wanted to give you a heads up of what to expect. It helps to talk to your friends, but mostly it helps if you're able to talk with those who have dealt with it first-hand. There are support groups or even counsellors that specialize in these types of things."
Chuck sat back, trying to take in all of the advice Casino was sharing with him. He already knew that he would have to face long separations from Hailey while she was at the Naval Academy. This couldn't be much worse could it?
"We're already going to talk about the long distance issues, since she's going to Annapolis while I'm going to Stanford. The 3-hour time difference will factor in to when we'd be able to call or instant message each other. Would that be any different than a deployment?"
Casino smiled at Chuck's clever thought process. This was indeed a great idea from him; yet it wasn't that simple. He sighed before continuing.
"Well, the truth is this Chuck. Have you heard any talks, or read any studies about how long-distance relationships never work out? How many of those relationships do you honestly believe failed because the distance was too much? Please don't take no offense at this, but the problem isn't distance.
Dating nowadays isn't nearly the same as it was even in the 80's. It takes both people to make a relationship work. You need to have three major components. Communication, trust, honesty, and as a bonus you need to have love. The biggest issue we see is most couples don't want to tough it out. They only want the good times that come in the relationship. Once the first bad time happens or the first fight, they want to end the whole thing and never want to see each other again.
Why do you think divorce rates are so much higher now than before? They're minds don't evolve from the beginning of dating to marriage. They treat the marriage like their still dating and want to break up over the slightest bit of problem. That's the biggest reason why divorce rates are so high.
Irreconcilable differences are what they call it. But in reality that's just a fancy word they use to make themselves sound better. Truth is, that's just an excuse and it's a huge cop out! You put in a lot of work to get to the step of getting married, but don't want to put the same amount of work in to keep it together. That's what the whole issue is Chuck. Sorry about rambling on about that."
Chuck relaxed a little as it seemed they were on the same page, "It's okay A.J., it's a very sensitive topic that I agree with you on."
Casino smiled again, "Remember what I told you about the keys to a successful relationship; communication, honesty, and trust? If you really want to make things work with Hailey, you will need to do just that. Trust me Chuck, she's the type to stick by your side if you're completely open with her and don't hold back any secrets. On that note, I think I've taken up enough of your time."
Chuck stood up and offered a handshake again, "Thank you for the talk A.J., I can say it's certainly an eye-opener."
Casino accepted Chuck's hand, then offered a pointed warning, "Think nothing of it my boy. All I ask is that you treat her right. You break her heart, you won't have to worry about anything else in life anymore. You get my meaning?"
Chuck apprehensively asked for clarification, "Does that mean a dirt nap or sleeping with the fish; if you don't mind my asking?"
Casino was alarmingly blunt; despite exiting with a smile, "Something along those lines, but with us, it's different. There wouldn't be any evidence of your body, it will be like you never existed both physically and digitally. Good night Chuck, enjoy your date with my niece."
Casino walked out of the room leaving Chuck standing there stunned in disbelief. He started having flashbacks to the previous night. The words that Casino just laid down on him scared him straight to the bone. He quickly went to take another shower and change into clothes more suited for the evening, to avoid any embarrassment from taking place.
OPERATIONS CENTER / CODENAME: NEW MILLENNIUM BEACH
David Smith had been enjoying a peaceful day. His teams were finishing up their daily training routine, thankfully he had no migraines from the usual troublemakers.
A knock on his door brought him out of his musings. He looked up to see the worried face of Professor O.
David motioned him in, "Come in Professor, you look like something's bothering you. Sit down and relax my friend."
Professor O. sat down and heaved a deep sigh, "Thanks David. I'm sure you heard from Casino, have you read the background check he ran on Chuck Bartowski?"
David could see the troubled expression on his friend, "As a matter of fact, I not only did that, I reviewed Chuck's test results too. This kid's bright, I can say that much. Scored a perfect 99 on it. He's planning on going to your alma mater in September."
Professor O. had a stunned look on his face, "What do you mean he took our test? I still don't see how his results mean Chuck's going to get recruited, especially if he's going Stanford. I don't want him to be involved with my former employer."
David reasoned, "Relax Doc, the only reason why Chuck took the test was because Casino spoke with his friends and the manager of his summer job. The kid's got an IQ of 140, computer genius, able to retain an incredible rate of information. Chuck has mentioned that he plans on starting up a software company after he graduates in a few years, maybe Casino is planning on having Chuck do some freelance work for him during his summer breaks while working at the Burbank Buy More."
Professor O. rubs his chin in thought, "Chuck's a special kid. He and his sister Ellie have been on their own for the last couple of years. He's had it rough; he still thinks to this day that his Mom left when he was nine years old just because he broke her favorite necklace. You and I both know that's not the case."
David agreed, "It's never easy to leave your child behind in this line of work. Deployments for missions are bad enough, but deep undercover missions are killers. Of course, it really doesn't help if the spooks are trying to force you work for them."
Before Professor O. could say another word, another voice cut through the room.
"Hey! I take offense to that. We're not that bad."
Both men looked up to see CIA Deputy Executive Director Steven Webb standing there, known as Spyder among the group.
David raised an eyebrow and casually tossed out, "Well that's because you learned your lesson after Eagle busted your beak a couple times for poaching his people when you were a cocky field agent, at least now you mellowed out. Same can't be said for your department rival Graham."
Spyder sighed, "Unfortunately, Graham wasn't lucky enough to cross paths with Eagle. That 'Wild Card Enforcer' charade he has going on claimed another one."
Spyder handed David a file, as he skimmed through it then looked up with a raised eyebrow as he spoke.
"What's the backstory on this one Spyder? I can tell but your face that what we just said really hits the target on this" David asks holding the file up.
Spyder softly reveals, "Her current alias is Sarah Walker. Before that she was Jenny Burton who attended James Buchanan High School in San Diego, her father Jack Burton was a big time con man. Shortly after graduation, Jack had conned the wrong people and Graham had him arrested. My guess is that Jack told Graham about the secret spot where he would hide their con money for getaways, because he found Jenny and gave her the option of joining the CIA or jail with her father."
David's eyes turned into two pools of dark blue ice orbs as he bit out, "That's force conscription, which you know as well as I do is illegal in this country!"
Spyder sighs, "There's nothing that can be done as long as he's got Kershaw's ear, you know how he's been his pet agent from the beginning. However, I do have a surprise for you."
Spyder opens the door to the office as he signaled the mystery guest to join them. What caught their attention was the beautiful redhead entering the office and come to a stop standing next to Spyder as he smiles. David didn't recognize her, and was about to light into Spyder for bringing an unknown to their location.
Spyder briefly explained, "Please meet Carina Miller. She's just been promoted to Agent level with the DEA, Eagle looked over her file and made her our liaison with them."
David replied, "Nice to meet you Agent Miller. I'm sure you're aware from meeting with our boss that what we do is blacker than any type of black operations you know about. We don't exist, as far as the federal government, or any intelligence agencies are concerned. We like it that way, it eliminates any bureaucratic red tape. That I'm sure you've noticed."
Carina smiled, "I understand Mr. Smith, it's the old adage of 'need to know'. Please accept my apologies for interrupting your meeting, Spyder was just taking me out to lunch after my meeting with Eagle."
Spyder chose to add his two cents, "Speaking of our favorite bald-eagle, he wants to see you both ASAP. Seems he's got some work for our boys, if you know what I mean. Some new toys that were proposed, but killed by axe-grinding politicians."
Professor O. was deep in thought, "Knowing that a certain type of aircraft is headed for extinction. I think it's best to get our hands on some, I will contact Boneyard to keep a look out for new shipments. We can also bring on board those originally involved with the proposed projects, at least have Egg take a look at the designs. If anyone sees what can be done, or what alterations can be made to make them a reality. There's nobody better than him in the world, the people that work in his R & D department are extremely good at their jobs and our builders can make anything. Overall, we could make those a reality faster than the manufactures."
David noted, "I guess we'll know more when we meet him. Carina, try to keep Spyder out of trouble. You know it always seems to attach itself to his web."
Spyder huffed, "Don't quit your day job to be a comedian David. On that note, we're leaving so I better feed the lady and quit being abused."
Carina couldn't help herself, "You know I was planning on getting some dessert too. Since you just complained about being abused, maybe dessert will have to come from someplace else."
David nearly laughed as Spyder began sputtering, "I meant quit being abused from this guy. You on the other hand can abuse me how often you like."
Carina's eyes were twinkling, "Let's see how much abuse and torture you can really stand Spyder. I'm looking forward to it."
Carina began pulling Spyder away from the office, David gave one last parting shot.
"Spyder, you better notify your next-of-kin. I think Carina's about to be the death of you."
Spyder gave him the traditional "I'm not amused" look complete with the one-fingered salute on his exit. David just smirked as he returned his focus back to Professor O.
"Looks like we've got a meeting to attend Professor, we can talk more after that."
Professor O. nodded in agreement as both men left the office.
