A/N Well here we are heading down the final stretch to the end of this amazing show. I'm just so glad I found this site and all the wonderful people here. These great stories will keep these characters alive in our hearts for many many years to come. As Yvonne said in a recent interview, "Sarah Walker will always hold a special place in my heart." I'm sure there are millions around the globe that feel the same way about her, I know I do and all the other characters, well except for plywood but I digress. Its been great to see so many new writers and new stories these days. It gives me hope that this site will remain very active for a long time to come. Check their stories out and give them your support. It helps us get better and brings these characters new blood and new outlooks. Anyway thanks again for all the new readers, alerters and those that have added this story to their favorites. It amazes me that new ones keep coming on board. I also want to thank all of the loyal readers and reviewers that have been along for the ride. I'm so glad that you are still enjoying it.

This chapter has a scene in it that was one of the initial ideas I had for this story. It was something I always wanted to include and kind of drove what I wanted to do as I formed the outline early on. Its just taken 17 chapters and 130k words to get here finally. But lots of stuff is still ahead.

Thanks again to esardi for his run through. As always his eyes on what I'm writing have always made it better.

I still don't own Chuck but if I did I'd be thinking about a script for an Yvonne/Zach romcom in a couple of years.

Chapter 17

The Expansion

Northern Virginia

09:47 pm EDT

Special Agent Daniel Shaw was driving his black Tesla sports car on his way to Langley AFB for his long awaited trip to join Team Carmichael. The night was still warm and humid as the final weeks of summer were drawing to a close. The latest CD from Melody Gardot was playing softly on the stereo. For some reason he got a kick out of the song 'Your Heart is as Black as the Night'. Her voice was beautiful, classic and fit his image as the cool detached spy. Much of his life was based on creating that image and then trying to live up to it. He felt if he couldn't live up to it at least he could look the part. After all image was everything wasn't it?

He smiled as he thought about how perfectly his plan was working. Three hours ago he had gotten the call from the National Security Advisor that he was being assigned as a "special consultant" to Team Carmichael because of his position as the late Director Langston Graham's so called Ring expert. Clues uncovered during the investigation of Fred Mitchell's activities as Acting Director had led them to certain "classified" sections on the CIA's servers that only the Director or in Mitchell's case Acting Director had access to. These files had been the 'top secret eyes only' reports that Shaw had supposedly sent to Graham and then Mitchell concerning his undercover missions against the Ring.

According to those files he was the most knowledgeable expert on the Ring and its activities and would be of vital importance to Team Carmichael in its war. Their team would be the tip of the spear that hopefully led to the unraveling of the Ring's operation and the exposure of all government officials sympathetic to their cause. It seems that Mitchell's analyst with the gambling problem was very good at his job. He almost felt bad about having to send that text to a couple of special 'bill collectors' he was aware of in the local DC mob, almost. He was another loose end that needed to be tidied up. Fortunately the analyst had made it very easy for nothing to ever get pointed back in his direction because of his love of the ponies.

As Shaw was thinking of his good fortune he felt the vibration of his Ring communication device. He reached into his pocket and pressed its only button.

"Yes, Director"

"Daniel, what the hell were you thinking? You do not have the authority to issue a termination order on the former Director of the CIA!"

"Director, I have every right to do what I think is necessary to complete my mission even if that means terminating the President himself!"

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused us? They obviously think it was our hit on him and Security has been tightened everywhere. Our operatives have to go off grid and all future operations have been temporarily postponed until the threat level is lowered. Your little stunt is costing us millions. We have had to suspend all of our drug trafficking through the Gulf Coast because of the increased Coast Guard activities surrounding the oil fields. Private airports are being watched. All conventional communications activities has been suspended. You have created a huge cluster fuck and you did it without clearance! Whatever you have planned it better damn well be worth it or you will be joining your former boss in hell."

"Are you done whining? If you bothered to look at the big picture for once you would see that this was completely necessary. What I am about to bring you is far greater than anything you could have imagined."

"And what might that be. Special Agent Shaw?" The sarcasm dripped from the Director's lips. His British accent only added to his bitterness.

"How about a willing and completely functioning Intersect?"

"What.. how?" The Director couldn't hide his reaction.

"Rather than your lame attempt at kidnapping a malfunctioning Carmichael, I have set us up to get him to come and work for us willingly. With all of his skills in tact. No kidnapping, no torture, no refusing to provide any intel. I am prepared to bring you the greatest weapon and Agent the world has ever known completely at your command."

"How do we know you are on the level and that he will come willingly? We will need proof of what you claim."

"Leave that to me. But I have one condition. I want a face to face with the Ring Elders. All of them. No video conference, no subordinates, no you, just them and me."

"Shaw there is no way in hell they will agree to that. They never all get together in person. It's simply too dangerous and it's out of the question especially in light of what you have caused by going off script."

"Well then you will lose the Intersect and you will lose this war."

The Director paused before answering. He knew Shaw was right. The Intersect was the key and if he could get him to come willingly to the Ring it would be the greatest coup imaginable. He realized that Shaw had him and he had no other choice but to try and concede to his demands.

"Ok Shaw, you win. I'll let you know what your orders are."

"I'm afraid you have it wrong Director. I'm the one giving the orders now. I'll contact you once I have gotten Carmichael's cooperation. Don't try to contact me. Just be patient and all of this added security will blow over soon enough and when it does you will get your Intersect."

Special Agent Daniel Shaw then simply pushed the phone's single button and the Director was left speaking to dead air.

Daniel then picked opened the glove box and reached in pressed the key sequence that opened the compartment where he kept another burner phone. He called another number he knew by heart.

Zuoz, Switzerland

03:03 CET

The older woman was startled from her sleep by the sound of her special burner phone ringing in the drawer of her night stand. She looked over at her sleeping husband and noticed his stirring. She grabbed the phone to silence the ring. She quickly got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom before she answered it.

„Hallo. weißt du, wie spät es ist?"

"Sorry for the late hour Ursula but I needed to talk to you."

"Fine, Daniel. What is this about and why couldn't it have waited till morning? Do you have information for me? Is it done?"

"No. but I need you to collect all of the data you have from the servers, any info from the worm you installed on Saunders computer about our mutual 'friend' and any other relevant medical and psychological data on the subject and I will send you a special device to put it in. In that device will be special data drives that you will need to copy the data you have on to. Once you have copied the data a special encryption program with secure it inside of some bogus files I will have already put on the drives. Once that is completed place it in the device. Iit will lock itself and can only be opened by a special crypto key that will be sent to me separately. Then place the device inside the steel briefcase I will send along with it. That briefcase will be picked up and brought to me."

"Understood. When should I be expecting the device? I need a few more days to gather anything from her apartment and check if she has put a backup anywhere or stored anything outside the facility."

"That should work. It will take me a few days to be ready for it. I'm about to board a plane it will take me some time to be in position to pull this all together."

"Daniel, I will do what you ask but please make sure you don't send me anything here at our home. My husband still knows nothing about Eve and after all this time it would kill him and us if he found out about my betrayal of his trust."

"I understand and it will be delivered in person to wherever you choose."

"Thank you Daniel. I I just couldn't protect her. I had lied about her for too long. It would have been the end of everything."

"Don't worry. She was my wife. I promise I will make the bastards pay that killed your daughter."

Castle

Burbank

20:00 PDT

Chuck, Sarah and Casey had been working for the past two and a half hours to restore Castle's systems. The data had been offloaded onto the CIA mainframe after the facility was shut down when former Acting Director Mitchell had dismantled Team Intersect. Fortunately the operating systems were still installed and retrieval of the data could happen in the background.

The security system software had been reinstalled first and communications software had followed that. Once that was completed the folks at Langley could remote access into the systems and install any updates and new features they wanted. Chuck had found that there were at least 3 bad hard drives in some of the raid arrays but fortunately each had spares that could easily be reconfigured. Chuck was well aware that the worst thing you can do for a hard drive is turn them off and he had fully expected to have more failures than they did actually. Thank god the CIA techs were in love with Raid 6 systems.

During that time the team got their natural groove back quickly. They understood each persons role well and much of what they accomplished happened without really thinking about it. Just as Chuck had the Security camera server up online, Casey had each camera tested, reconfigured and active for Chuck when he needed it. Sarah had the access terminals, motion sensors, and detention cell systems all ready once Chuck had its server up and linked into Langley.

At precisely 8pm, when General Beckman punched the key in her office in DC to begin the video conference the team was ready and standing in their appropriate positions awaiting their boss.

"Team, I see that you had no trouble re-activating Castle's systems?"

"No ma'am." All three said in unison.

"Good, Agent Walker I expect your recommendations by the end of the week for any and all improvements needed or requested."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I guess the first order of business is the new security and living arrangements for the as.. Mr. Bartowski. Have you made a decision Agent Walker?"

"Yes ma'am. I agree with your assessment that the best option is that I move in with Chuck. We have also gotten the cover story you set up in place with his sister and brother-in-law. They move into their new place at the end of the month and we will take over their lease at that time." Sarah remained professional but Casey couldn't hide the glance he sent his partners way completely. This actually meant he would have to spend less time monitoring the inane conversations of tweedledumb and tweedledumber. Chuck's safety was going to be Walker's full time job now. Not that he believed she minded.

"Very well. Now onto the other matter at hand. We will have another conference tomorrow morning at 11:00 am at which time you will be introduced to your new prospective team members. Some new information has come to light that has changed what was originally planned but that will be discussed once the new members are in place tomorrow."

"General if I may."

"Yes Agent Walker?"

"As team leader I feel that any final decisions as to the makeup of our team should allow for input from the current members themselves. The Intersect project is a very sensitive project and team makeup is critical to our performance."

"I agree Agent Walker. I will expect a full report from you regularly evaluating every member of this team and if any of the members are not of the finest level of ability and performance I need to know about it. If any member creates any problems or dissention on the team I want to know about it. This team is critical to our fight against an extremely dangerous organization. Their recent actions prove that the threat from them is vast and that we will have to be at our best if dealing with them."

"Thank you ma'am"

"Agent Walker, if you or any of the three of you feel that the people we assign to this team will be a problem, please let me know immediately and we will take the appropriate action. The importance of this project comes from the highest levels of the government and they have insisted that you get the best resources we have available."

"Thank you ma'am"

"Good evening team and I must say that its good to have you all back together where you belong."

"We agree. It's good to be back."

The screen then went black and both Chuck and Sarah were waiting for Casey's comment on their new living arrangements.

"So the skirt and the moron are going to be shacking up. I guess that means I'm going to have to turn off the mikes in your bedroom before I loose my dinner each night."

"Thanks Casey I'm really gonna miss your warm, caring and touching monitoring of every minute of my life. It felt like I was wrapped up in a big old bear hug each night." Chuck said with a bit of a grin.

Casey growled at the emphasis Chuck put on the word bear.

Sarah then turned and stepped towards her partner. He needed to know what was going on between Chuck and her. He deserved that much after all they had been through.

"John, Beckman knows that Chuck and I are together, that it's real and not just for a cover anymore. She's agreed to look the other way till Chuck officially becomes an Agent when there will be no more protocol prohibiting it." Glancing over towards Chuck as he smiled his approval, she continued. "We want you to know the truth about us because you deserve it but we need to know if this will be a problem for you and we need you to keep this quiet as well."

"Hey as long as you keep it out of the missions, I don't care what you guys do outside work. Besides its not like I haven't suspected there was something going on between you two all along. Now at least I won't have to listen to those stupid moron to moron debates anymore. That's your job now Walker" all three smiled and chuckled a bit, even Casey.

"Thanks Casey. It's good to be back here and I'm glad you are with us again. We wouldn't want it any other way." Chuck added as he reached out and shook Casey's hand.

"Ok let's get back to work. We need these systems completely functional by tomorrow's briefing." Sarah said in her best AIC voice. Her two partners looked at her and both smiled. Chuck's a little larger than Casey's of course.

"What?"

"Sarah Walker, Agent in Charge!"

"Oh, shut up!" She said as she smacked her boyfriend in the arm.

Chuck and Sarah's bedroom

Echo Park

22:45 PDT

After getting all of the original systems back in full operation, Chuck and Sarah left Castle and headed to their soon to be home. Casey had decided to stay and reconfigure the armory for the arrival tomorrow of their weapons cache that had been removed when Castle had been decommissioned. He would never say it but he was glad to be home as well and Castle's armory and range were as close to a home as he had had in many years. A place where he was completely in his element.

Sarah walked into her soon to be bedroom in her soon to be home and plopped down on the bed. She was exhausted. Between jet lag and the stress of the last week it was all catching up to her.

While Chuck took a shower and did his nightly routine, Sarah looked around at her first real home since she was eight and could not help but smile. Sure the room screamed Chuck and there was nothing that identified that she lived there except for a couple of pictures, but here is where she felt most comfortable… safe. Isn't that what a home is? A place where you feel safe? Where you are warm, welcome and just being there puts a smile on your face. But the more she thought about it she realized that it wasn't this place that made her feel at home. It was the man showering across the hall. Chuck was her home, her warm, safe and comfortable place. Where ever she was, as long as he was beside her, she was home.

In time she would make this place no longer his, but theirs. They would find new things that would represent who each of them were as well as who they were as a couple. But hopefully there would be plenty of time for that. Right now all she was concerned with was taking a shower, making love for the first time in 'their' bed and sleeping as soundly as she knew she would with him by her side. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day for Sarah Walker and her new expanding Team Intersect.

"You're turn, beautiful."

"I can't wait till we have this place to ourselves and we can do our part to conserve water and energy."

"Hey that memory of Devon and Ellie in the shower together is burned into my brain. I've tried many times and just can't un-see that. Though I would love to join you I have no intention of ever having my sister walk in on you and me. I can be ecologically unfriendly for a couple of weeks thank you very much."

"Chicken" Sarah kissed Chuck on the cheek as she headed off for her shower.

When Sarah returned wrapped in a towel with a second wrapped around her hair in like a turban, she saw Chuck lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling deep in thought. "Penny for you thoughts?"

"That obvious?"

"Yea, you are pretty easy to read when your mind is going a mile a minute like that. What were you thinking about?" Sarah sat down on their bed and continued drying her hair.

"A lot of things actually." Chuck then turned over on his side and reached out to take her hand in his. Sarah tossed the damp towel over the back of the desk chair and sat up with her legs crossed fully on the bed.

"So give me the top three."

"Well you of course, us and I guess our future."

"Chuck you know I love you and the very thought that we have a future makes me very happy."

"I know and me too. Its just there are a lot of things happening so quickly and I don't want to get caught up in them so much that I neglect showing you how much it means to me to go through them together."

Sarah then leaned in and gave him a chaste but tender kiss on the lips. "Chuck, I know it's a lot to take in right now but we are in this together and as long as we remember that we'll be fine."

"I know that believe me, amazed as I am that its true. But we are living together now and that will be an adjustment even without the pressure of our 'other' jobs. We need to decide on a new cover life. I don't want to go back to the BuyMore and no matter how hot your uniforms were I don't think you want to go back to the fast food industry either."

"No, my days of burning hot dogs and teenage boys leering at me while I served them frozen yogurt are over. But we don't have to decide on that tonight. We can work on it tomorrow after we meet our new team."

"Sarah, that's another thing. You, Casey and I work well together, we have proven it many times and I don't want anything to change that. I don't want some hot shot Agent coming in here trying to take over this team to make a name for him or herself."

Sarah took both of his hands in hers and caressed his palms with her thumbs. "Chuck, Beckman appointed me Agent In Charge and part of that job is to make sure our team works smoothly and that nothing or no one damages what we have as a team. I've worked with a number of those hotshot Agents who think they are either god's gift to women or the sexiest thing outside of a Victoria's Secret catalogue. Who see every mission as a way to climb up the ladder and to hell with the consequences. There is no way I'm going to let that happen. I'll have them reassigned before they even know what hit them. Male or female"

Chuck, we are in a very unusual position here. We are the lead team in the war against the Ring. Whatever we need we can get and whatever or whomever we don't want will be gone. We have some power here and we shouldn't be afraid to use it. All Beckman wants are successful missions and we just need to make sure she gives us what we need."

Chuck then sat up and put his hands on his boss/girlfriend's shoulders, smiled at her and said, "Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you are in charge?" He began nibbling at her ear and proceeded to head towards that spot on her neck he knew made her weak when he kissed it.

"Well the boss wants to break in her new bedroom, in her new home, in our bed and the boss always get's what she wants."

"Yes ma'am!"

Castle

10:45 am PDT

Chuck and Sarah had arrived around 9:30 after a good easy run, shower and breakfast. Sarah had convinced Chuck to get up at 6:30 to go running as she said it was "part of your training and an order from the boss". Chuck was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole girlfriend was also his boss thing. But when she told him that Ellie and Devon were already at work and that if he could keep up with her for the first 3 miles that he would be rewarded by their first "joint mission" in the shower. He quickly realized the benefits of the training that Andrea had put him through.

Casey had been there since 8:00 am working in the range. He had brought some of his own stash of weapons from home to have there until the gear they had ordered from Beckman could arrive. The thirty foot rule was very close to Colonel John Casey's heart.

The three partners sat around the conference table anticipating what was to come. They were glad to be back together and back at Castle but the "big three" was about to become something very different.

"So either of you have any idea who they are saddling us with? I don't want to have to train some new green kid right out of the farm or some James Bond wannabe."

"No Casey, all Beckman has said is we will find out this morning."

"Walker, you mean that they didn't even brief the AIC on something so important as the makeup of her team?"

"Nope, not a word. But I did get the impression that things are different than she may have originally planned after Mitchell's death."

Sarah then looked at each of her partners. "I need both of you to keep a close eye on whoever this is and report anything you feel is off about them. We are going to have to be completely certain that all of us feel we can trust them. If any of us have any doubts we have to immediately let the others know. I'm counting on you both to keep me informed honestly and completely and if either of you feel that our performance is being affected in anyway negatively by whomever we meet today, they're gone."

All three Agents heard the beep signaling that the conference was about to begin, They all stood up and within a few seconds the NSA logo disappeared and the familiar shot of General Diane Beckman sitting at her desk in front of her bookcases appeared.

"Good day team."

"Ma'am" The three nodded their greetings to their boss.

"As I am sure you are aware, the situation with the Ring has become a matter of top priority. The events of the past few months have shown that their reach is far greater than we suspected. Team Carmichael has been reformed at the request of many of the highest officials in the government. I have been personally briefing the President over the past few days on the serious of this matter. It is our belief that a three person team simply isn't large enough to both continue with Mr. Bartowski's training and run major operations in the field. "

"Yes, ma'am" Sarah as AIC responded.

"Some new information has come to light in the last thirty six hours that has changed what the National Security Advisor and I had planned to do. While we are fully aware how the dynamics of this team have been critical in your successes and that adding new members has a risk of upsetting the dynamic of the team, we feel it is critically necessary to give you the best possible tools you can have in this fight."

"Thank you ma'am"

"However I expect full reporting on the team's progress and to be made aware of any problems before they are a threat. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am. General if I may?"

"Go ahead Agent Walker."

"Will they be read in to Mr. Bartowski's special skills?"

"Not at first. We need to see how they fit in before we grant them clearance for knowledge of the Intersect. Once you have approved their performance and we feel it is appropriate they will be read in. But for the time being, Charles Carmichael is just the best analyst on the west coast."

Sarah glanced over at Chuck and saw the hint of a smile. The cover Beckman was giving him happened to be completely truthful in Sarah's mind.

"Team, through the investigation of former Director Mitchell's files it was learned that the late Director Langston Graham had been aware of the possible threat the new organization called The Ring represented. He then assigned an Agent to work solely on finding everything he could about the Ring. Who they were and how great was the threat they posed. Because no one was really certain of anything with regards to them, it seems that knowledge of this Agent's actions was known only to Director Graham. It wasn't till Mitchell was made acting Director that Graham's files were passed on to anyone else. Late yesterday afternoon these files were discovered and it was decided by my superiors that this agent would be added to the team as a consultant and would be brought in to bring you all up to speed on what his activities were in regards to hunting down the Ring."

The three members of Team Bartowski looked at each other and the looks of skepticism were evident on all three. They were two great Agents and one very intelligent and gifted asset/agent. Bringing in an unknown commodity at the last minute seemed like poor spycraft but it seemed they had little choice than to at least see how things went before giving their final judgment.

"Team, I can see that you have some concerns with this action and actually I'm glad you do. You are great spies and great spies don't accept simply being told someone is a great Agent and would be helpful to their team. They need to see them in action to judge for themselves. However I can assure you that my superiors feel that this is necessary and that this agent will be beneficial to our cause. But if he isn't as good as advertised, he will be on the first plane back to DC."

Before the team could ask any more questions they saw the security notification that someone was entering the freezer behind the Orange Orange. When Chuck saw the security camera feed pop up along with the name of the Agent who was about to enter Castle, he flashed. Sarah and Casey both noticed his reaction and knew to ask him what he saw later. The three Agents heard the door to Castle at the top of the stairs open. They turned and looked up to see a tall, raven haired Agent about 6'2" and in many ways stereotypically handsome begin to walk down the stairs. General Beckman noticed their reaction and said. "I believe that would be your new consultant now. Agents this is Special Agent Daniel Shaw, Langston Graham's so called Ring expert. He will be briefing all of you on his operations for the last 5 years and you are to use him as you see fit."

Once he had entered the field of view of the camera on Beckman's monitor, she began to introduce Shaw to his new possible partners. "Special Agent Shaw, this is Agent Sarah Walker of the CIA. She is Agent in Charge of this mission and you will report directly to her. She is responsible for all aspects of your time here and you are to follow her orders to the letter, Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am" Shaw then reached out his hand to Sarah and gave her a classic Farm trained smile, with just the hint cocky narcissism that Sarah saw countless times from these cookie cutter agents. "Agent Walker, it's an honor to be working with you. Your successes are legendary and it will be my pleasure to do whatever you ask."

Sarah wanted to either wretch at the blatant innuendo in Shaw's response or at the very least give a huge eye roll. 'Yep, another James Bond wannabe.' She thought to herself. "Agent Shaw, welcome. This is Colonel John Casey of the NSA. He is our security and firearms expert."

"Colonel, your reputation precedes you as well." Shaw shook Casey's hand. Upon looking at the new member of the team Casey let out grunt #16, 'Great, another CIA puke. Too bad I've never heard of you Shaw.' Casey then turned his attention towards his partners.

"Agent Shaw, and finally this is Charles Carmichael. He is our team analyst and is an expert on computers and data recovery and encryption. His skills in mission planning and communications are second to none."

Chuck then reached out his hand to shake Shaw's and gave the new Agent a small Bartowski smile. Chuck was concerned about the fact that much of Shaw's activities were redacted. He had flashed but got very little info. As soon as they were alone he needed to talk to Sarah and Casey. "Agent Shaw it's a pleasure. Welcome to our humble little abode."

"Mr. Carmichael, I'm sure I will be taking advantage of your services very soon." The confidence and cockiness Shaw displayed, Chuck dismissed as Agent's bravado. He was trying to enforce his perceived superior position. "Call me Chuck Agent Shaw."

"Ok Chuck." The fact that Shaw didn't try to change how Chuck addressed him did not go unnoticed by all three. Shaw may be the classic Agent type but he had yet to prove himself and it was clear he was trying to establish his position on the team.

"Agent Shaw, now that the introductions are out of the way we are going to need you to brief us on your activities since you were selected by the late Director Graham to be the lone lead agent investigating the Ring. A number of the mission reports we have obtained that you filled with the late Director seem to create a case that the Ring is a much larger and well entrenched organization than we had been led to believe. I'm sure we are all very curious as to what you see as their threat level and why were you tasked to do this alone? If the Ring is such a big threat to our nation and the world then why were your activities kept so secret and why weren't you given a team of Agents to work with? Did you report to anyone besides Graham or was he your only contact?"

"General, Agents Walker and Casey first of all over the past five years, I reported to only Director Graham. After his sudden passing I continued with my activities waiting for a new permanent Director to be named before I briefed anyone on my mission or what I had found out. The sensitive nature of my activities had to be extremely well concealed. There are Ring Agents high up in the CIA and we could not risk any of them finding out what I was uncovering."

While Shaw continued to explain what he saw as the threat from the Ring, most of which they had already heard from Andrea, Chuck noticed that Shaw had ignored him when addressing the team. He also noticed Shaw giving a few glances towards Sarah while he was speaking. To most people this would have seemed simply like he was paying respects to his superior but as he seemed to be leaving Chuck out of these discussions he had a chance to focus more on any subtle tells he may be seeing. That was one class that Saunders had stressed he pay close attention to. Learning to read people and tell if something wasn't quite right could be critical to keeping an Agent alive. It was a skill he had spent a great deal of time studying during those quiet nights in his room in Zuoz. Sarah was a master at it, much of that coming from her days with her father and he couldn't wait to talk with her and see if she had the same reservations.

He thought he saw something but he wasn't sure what it was. Was he simply being jealous as the handsome Agent spoke with the team and looked at his girlfriend? Sure he looked like he was cut from the same cloth as Bryce and Bryce had always brought out his own insecurities when it came to women in general and Sarah specifically. But that was all long before he and Sarah had become a real couple and professed their love for each other. He trusted Sarah and knew her feelings were real, but there would always be a hint of doubt not in Sarah, but in himself about whether he could stand up in comparison to agents like Bryce and Shaw. It was just part of who Chuck Bartowski was and life certainly had a way of reinforcing it on many an occasion over the past 29 years.

But this time was different for a couple of reasons. First he knew Sarah. He knew how she felt about him, she had proven that to him clearly last night in their room and again this morning in the shower. He also knew that Sarah clearly saw the look on Shaw's face when he glanced at her. She had seen it from many a man or Agent before. He may be a skilled Agent and very good at hiding it but if it was there, Sarah saw it. She was simply too smart and too good a spy to be fooled by an Agent like Daniel Shaw. This was not her first go around with handsome, soave ego centric Agents. He either cut the mustard and proved he was an asset to the team or he was gone.

Plus Shaw seemed humorless. Sure they were in a briefing and he was being entirely professional but Bryce still had the ability to show some humor and personality in their few professional meetings. Maybe he was reading too much into things right now but so far he was not comfortable with his new 'consultant'.

As Shaw continued, Sarah could not help but sense that although he seemed like a professional Agent she was concerned she had never heard anything about him. She wasn't someone who got caught up in the Agency gossip but a good agent always kept tabs on the other agents and what their reputations were. That kind of info could be very helpful in the field and an agent never was in danger of losing their life because they had too much information. Well except for maybe Chuck but that was an entirely different matter. A well informed agent was a smart agent and a smart agent stayed alive.

But Shaw was an enigma. Cast certainly right out of central casting in a way similar to the MI6 Agent she had shot in St Moritz but he was dry, emotionless and generally stiff as a board. Professionalism was one thing but something felt off here and Sarah had learned a long time ago to trust her gut feelings. They had kept her alive for most of her entire life.

"General, I have some new intel that I think needs further investigation. One of my sources has picked up that some valuable information and data files will be transported to the Ring that I think we should intercept."

"Agent Shaw, I think we should wait till later to discuss this. I have a meeting with the National Security Council scheduled in a few minutes and besides there will be one more Agent joining the team. I think we should wait for them to arrive later today from their prior assignment."

"Another Agent ma'am?"

"Yes, Agent Walker. I told you that we would be expanding the team and Agent Shaw is just part of that expansion. In fact the person arriving later was part of my original plan and Agent Shaw was added based on the new intel that the National Security Advisor just received yesterday. They are scheduled to arrive in three hours. I suggest Agent Shaw that you check in to your living quarters and the rest of the team continue with the outfitting of Castle till the new member arrives."

"Yes ma'am."

The feed went to black and the three original team members looked at each other and then at their new 'consultant'.

"Agent Walker, I just want you to know that my role here is to assist you in taking down the Ring. They are a very vast and dangerous organization and a very large threat to our country and the rest of the world. They are after something and we need to stop them before they get it."

"Very well Agent Shaw. Be back here in three hours and you can brief us on that 'intel' you believe we should go after."

"I'll be looking forward to it Agent Walker." Shaw gave her a text book seduction smile and turned around and headed up the stairs. The penthouse at the Hoff building that he usually stayed at when he was in LA beckoned. He needed to set up the transfer of the data from Ursula and then plan the 'mission' he would arrange to get it. It would establish both his credibility as a source of information on the Ring and he would also get the data to find out everything he needed to know about one Charles Carmichael. He was the key to his plans for revenge against the woman who killed his wife. The phony added mementos of his life with Eve would help establish him as the broken man fighting to avenge the death of his beloved spouse. He would try to use that as a way into the confidence of Sarah Walker. He knew about the death of her former partner and lover Bryce Larkin and hoped he could plant the thought of two empty agents seeking comfort in each other to help them get over the loss of someone they loved. If he could do that she would lower her guard around him and become his unwitting prey. Her possible relationship with Carmichael that Ursula had told him about created some problems with that idea and it may take some time to separate them but in the end it would serve both of his goals. He just needed to confirm the extent of their involvement. After all was there any chance that Daniel Shaw would lose the girl to Charles Carmichael? Never gonna happen.

Shaw knew that avenging Eve's death was actually more for her mother than for him as there were plenty of Eve Shaws coming out of the Farm every year. He had already tried out quite a few replacement candidates but her mom had been helpful to his real plan for his future with the Ring and as long as he kept his promise to kill her assassin and keep the secret of her indiscretion with a mark that led to Eve Shaw's birth she would remain useful into the future. The Ring was right about one thing. Gaining info on new recruits like they had been doing with his ex-partner Andrea Saunders was key to the ultimate growth of the Ring and its influence throughout the world. Besides, he liked them young and impressionable. He didn't have to work so hard.

But he knew Sarah Walker was going to be a difficult nut to crack. She was seasoned, smart and had heard every single line out of the Roan Montgomery seduction book countless times before. He would have to work for this but the reward would be sweeter than he had ever had before. He loved the love life of a spy, screw 'em and shoot 'em.

After Shaw left the three Agents sat back down at the conference table. They had things to discuss and Sarah wanted to hear what Chuck had flashed on in regards to Shaw. Hopefully he had some intel into this new mystery man.

"Chuck did you flash on Shaw?"

"Yes, but there was virtually nothing. Just a bunch of empty blocks of time with nothing and what was there was so heavily redacted it was virtually useless."

"So moron, what was this new information Beckman was talking about then?"

"I don't know as it certainly wasn't in the Intersect."

"So Graham was holding out critical information on a direct threat to this country. So much for playing nice CIA."

Sarah turned and gave Casey a look that let him know she wasn't too pleased with his comments about her agency but she knew he was right. If Graham was holding out information it was against what they were told were his orders from the President after 9/11.

"You know, Shaw may be CIA but I don't trust him."

"It's easy, get in there find out who he really is and find out what he's after. I want a detailed report."

"Casey, we have the same clearance. I know what you know."

"I'm talking about spying, make him your mark. Use your other spying skills... the female ones."

Chuck looked at Casey and then back to Sarah. He was not at all pleased with this idea. But she squashed it immediately.

"Really, that's you plan." Sarah smirked back at her partner.

Casey nodded. He was semi serious about the idea but part of him just enjoyed making Chuck uncomfortable with their found relationship status. It was always a good day when he got to poke that bear.

"Shaw's gonna see right through that, no."

Sarah glanced over at Chuck to gauge his reaction. The idea of Sarah having to flirt and seduce a mark was going to be another of the many things they would have to deal with and talk about at some point now that they are a couple. But this was not the time to do that. Especially with someone like Shaw. Sarah knew of Chuck's still present insecurities and Shaw did in a way remind both of them of Bryce and Cole so there was no way this was going to happen. Besides she was right. Shaw was a spy and her coming on to him so soon would be a red flag to him surer than shit.

Chuck smiled back at her and she knew he appreciated what she was doing. The green-eyed monster would have to wait for another day to invade their new world.

"Now you are going to call your friends and I'm going to hit my network. Chuck, I want you to do some of your 'special research' like you did when you were looking for your father. This guy has a secret and I want us to find out exactly what it is."

"Yea, I bet."

"Casey, Sarah's right. Something isn't right with this guy and we need to find out exactly what is going on and why is he here. Somehow I don't think it was Beckman's idea. She still probably isn't completely trusted after everything that's happened with this project over the last 3 months."

Sarah then put her hands on the edge of the table in front of then and looked down for a second. Her first official day as Agent in Charge and already there was a problem with her team. Plus she didn't even know who Beckman was sending later on. 'As if this day couldn't get any better.' She thought sarcastically.

She then stood up and said to her partners, "Well we got three hours to find out what we can before he comes back and our other new 'partner' arrives. Let's get moving and see if we can dig up anything on Special Agent Daniel Shaw".

Castle

02:50pm PDT

Chuck, Sarah and Casey had spent the last three hours trying to find out anything they could about Daniel Shaw but everywhere they turned they came up empty. Shaw was truly a ghost.

Chuck had thought about asking Beckman to see the intel that she had gotten and ask why it wasn't in the Intersect but they needed to cover their tracks and proceed slowly here. If they were going to go to Beckman they needed something that warranted them questioning her orders. She had promised to send home any agent who created problems but they would need some evidence of it.

They each shut down what they were doing as they had seen Shaw re-enter the freezer in the Orange Orange. He quickly came down the stairs smiled another in the series of trained smiles at Sarah. He must have studied very hard in that class as it seemed most of his facial expressions seemed to be right out of the video that Sarah knew they showed at the Farm. To an untrained eye they probably seemed perfectly natural but to a great spy like Sarah and Casey for that matter, she knew this was all part of his mission and they needed to find out what the hell it was.

"Good Afternoon, Agent Walker. Nice to see you again. Colonel Casey." Shaw noddeed. Casey gave Shaw his very favorite grunt for CIA pretty boys. It was so special it didn't have a number. He had named it after the person he first 'grunted' it to. Shaw got his first 'Larkin' and Casey knew it wouldn't be his last.

"Chuck I'm going to need some things looked at and I'd like your opinion on." Ok Daniel, Carmichael needs to be worked just like any other mark. The plan to divide and conquer should be played from both sides. "Agent Walker says your the best. I'd like to see that for myself."

Sarah immediately stepped up in Shaw's face. "Agent Shaw, let me remind you that I'm the Agent in Charge here and any 'requests' for Mr. Carmichael's time must be cleared through me. Do you understand that Agent Shaw? You are a consultant on this team and until you hear otherwise you are to follow my orders and not give them. Chuck is an equal member of this team and will be treated as such. Understood?"

Shaw just smiled back with another in his long list of bogus facial expressions. "Understood Agent in Charge Walker."

"Good. See that you do."

"Agent Walker, is there a problem?" They all turned to the video monitor.

"No General. Agent Shaw and I have come to a good understanding of our roles here."

"Very well. We will begin our briefing in just a minute. But first I'd like you to see your final team member."

Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Shaw all turned towards the Castle stairs just as the door was opening. The three team members gasped for just a second and Casey gave his #6 'Oh shit.'

Chuck and Sarah both smiled widely as at least it wasn't a complete stranger. The devil you know and all that. Shaw was unaware of his new teammate's identity but her model looks and auburn hair certainly didn't go unnoticed.

"Hi guys, miss me?"

A/N2 So a party of five. I can't wait to write a scene with our two new teammates. That is going to be a lot of fun.