Well hello dear readers, LB here, apologizing for the tardiness of putting up this chapter. But an extra long chapter compensates for some of the tardiness, right? No? Well...maybe not after you read the-well, you'll see. Anyway, as you know, we don't own Chuck; only Beth and AJ are ours'. Thank you so much for all the reviews y'all-you guys literally make our day when you review (seriously-we get a review and usually skype/text the other person with a simple 'New review! :D') We hope you like this chapter-there's only one more installment of VTR left after this, and then it's back to writing about Beth and AJ in our separate stories!

Beth carefully made her way down the steps of Castle. Damn the steps and damn the heels. Actually, her shoes were majorly more comfortable, but the dress was long and hard to maneuver in. But, she actually liked this dress, and didn't exactly feel like ripping it accidently. Plus, Ellie would kill her. And Sarah. And AJ. The craziness of Castle had died down since the wedding was ready. John sat at the table, smoking a cigar and playing what looked to be blackjack. And he was winning. She caught her heel on the last step, and stumbled forward, causing the men to pause their game. Meeting eyes with John, she motioned to the back room, then headed that way. She knew he would follow; especially considering the dress she was wearing gave way to a rather liberal view of her back. She slipped into one of the changing rooms, smiling as John showed up.

"You win?"

"Depends, you my prize?" Taking a moment to look her over, he swallowed, murmuring, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks sugar. I'm pretty impressed Sarah and AJ managed to find the dresses. They're nice…drafty, but nice."

"Good thing the wedding's on a beach then."

John fell quiet, and Beth let herself relax in his arms. They both knew they were stalling. Neither wanted to say goodbye, but Beth didn't need to look at a watch to know she was running out of time.

"John…"

He looked at her, and she couldn't figure out the words to tell him goodbye—they were ending words, and what they had, or almost-had; well, she didn't want that to end. Crushing her lips to his, she let every emotion pour into him—the happiness, the worry, the care—everything was in that kiss. Finally pulling back, she blinked quickly to rid herself of the few tears that threatened. The girls would kill her if she messed up her make-up. And she needed to be strong. For herself, for John.

"You take care of yourself Colonel; I don't want any news saying you've lost any more limbs, got it?"

"I think I can handle that. Do you know where you're going yet?"

"Nothing official, the General hasn't said for sure. When I find out, I'll let you know…if there's some way I can contact you?"

"Number will be the same, you know that."

"I know…I, alright, here's the thing. I'm not going to tell you goodbye, because that implies a long time without seeing you, and whatever we are, whatever this relationship we've just entered into, well, I refuse to call it done or not give it a chance or whatever. So you promise me, John Casey, you promise me that you'll be safe and come back to me. No matter where you are, no matter how far away you are, I'm just a call away—I'm not giving up on this, I'm not giving up on us."

"As if I'd let you go, Tulip." He tightened his arms around her, murmuring into her hair his next words, "Not while I'm still breathing."

Beth could hear his heartbeat, the steady beat strengthened her. He smelled like…manliness. He always did. She could never pinpoint what it was that he smelled like—part gunpowder, part soap, and part, well, man. The hug ended, but John kept his arm around her waist as he escorted her to the entrance of Castle. She waved and said goodbyes to his men, most of them hollering a "Have fun at the wedding!" "Take care" or, in the case of Adrian, a "We'll take care of the Colonel!" John raised an eyebrow at her, and she shrugged.

"What? Your men are good people; I like 'em. Most of 'em are pretty friendly."

"Most?"

She didn't exactly want to tell him she thought one of his men was a creep, so she settled for, "Well, I didn't get a chance to know them all. But Adrian and Jeremy were both kind and helpful."

He grunted, and Beth laughed at him. "Please John, those 'boys' are nothing compared to the man I have in front of me. No need to be jealous."

He grunted again, giving her one last kiss before heading back down the stairs. She watched him head back to the poker table before opening the door and stepping into the familiarity of the Orange Orange. It'd probably be one of the last times she'd step into the good ole' yogurt shop. But she didn't have time to dwell. Not yet anyway. She had a wedding to get to.

Ellie looked beautiful, walking up the sandy aisle lined with flower pedals, Chuck on her left and Mr. B. on her right. Like most people, AJ zoned out during the wedding itself, focusing instead on the how in love Devon and Ellie looked, and how Sarah subtly shook her head in the direction of a grassy hill AJ felt sure Bryce was hiding behind, and how Beth seemed kind of melancholy despite obviously being pleased the wedding had turned out so well.

When it was over, AJ sped all the way back to the apartments to secure her parking spot before the rest of the wedding guests arrived. The Marines had cleared out; no doubt they were already on their way to some war zone or another. She made her way over to the fountain, taking a seat to watch the other guests arrive, and was soon joined by Beth.

"So, this shindig went pretty well, right? The ceremony was beautiful—everything went off without a hitch. What do you think that makes us?"

"The greatest bridesmaids in the world," AJ said with a laugh. "Mind you, we couldn't have done it without Casey and his Marines."

Beth smiled briefly before biting her lip. "You're right…they were amazing. Who knew Marines could even do that? But they did…y'know, I talked to a couple of them—they're really good people."

"Yeah, seemed like it. Oh look, here comes the hero of the hour. Hey, Chuck."

He picked up three drinks from the bar and took a seat between Beth and AJ, handing them each a drink. "I can't thank you guys enough."

"We're happy to help, Chuck. You're sister's a wonderful woman; she deserves a five star wedding, which, y'all certainly got. Are they mingling? Or are they too busy looking lovingly into one another's eyes?"

"I'm guessing it's the latter," AJ commented. "Can't blame them really. Listen you two, I'm gonna do a bit of mingling myself before I have to head to the airport."

"You'd better say goodbye before you leave," Beth said.

"Of course." AJ stood, and made a beeline towards Morgan, who was standing on his own, sipping champagne.

"So, guess this is the end of it all, huh? I mean, my sister's married, the Intersect is gone, I'm just…Chuck Bartowski. Casey's heading out with his men, and you're…actually, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I have a feeling, well, now that I'm back to field work, I think Beckman's hankerin' to send me overseas for awhile…I'm hoping not, but if I'm right, I'll be headin' out to Poland." At the name of the destination, she scrunched up her face.

"Couldn't you just…stay? I mean, if you didn't want to go to Poland, you could always stay here, couldn't you?"

"It's not that simple; it never is. Besides, now that…well, I don't really have anything tying me to Burbank anymore."

"Of course you do! I mean, I'm here, and there's Ellie and Awesome. Burbank's a good place to live. And isn't your friend Kate still here too? It won't be so bad, even if some of the team is disassembled. Casey won't be gone forever, right? You could visit him or…"

"Chuck, that's real sweet of you, but I'm afraid visitin' John would be a lil' difficult—he's bein' sent somewhere in the Middle East, I think. It's deep classified black-ops; no one will really know where he is. But…I mean, he knows my number, he'd be able to call, right?"

"Exactly! He'll still be watching over you—I'm sure you two grew close—roommates and all. He'll be alright because he's Casey. I mean, nothing scares him."

"I know…that's what worries me. He—"

"Chuck, Morgan told me you were over here—oh, hey Beth, having a nice night?"

"It's pretty decent, Sarah, I can't complain. I'm guessing you'd like to dance with your man? He's all yours," she said with a wave of her hand.

Chuck lost no time in taking Sarah's arm and escorting her to where the other couples were swaying to a soft love song. Beth watched with a bit of envy. John was probably smoking another one of those cigars he liked while wiping the floor with his men during poker. Laughing and telling stories. What she wouldn't give to have just one dance with him. She could go to Castle but…no, she couldn't. He needed to keep his focus. He needed to be the gruff n' tough John Casey, not the big ole' bear he was with her. She felt eyes on her, and looked over to see Stephen Bartowski talking to Sarah and Chuck in an urgent manner. Sarah had her spy face on, then suddenly looked shocked. Well, shit. That couldn't be good.

"Can't believe you're actually leaving," AJ said to Morgan as she neared, clapping a hand on his back.

"I know, right? It's crazy."

"I'm proud of you, Morgan," AJ said, covering up a sigh by taking a sip of champagne.

"You are?"

AJ nodded. "Of course I am. You're gonna be the greatest Hibachi chef ever, and I expect you to cook for me when you're done with your training, alright?"

"And you're not mad that Anna's coming with me?"

Though not particularly fond of the champagne, AJ took another large gulp. She then proceeded to make a face and start coughing up a lung, holding up a finger for Morgan to wait a moment.

"AJ? Are you okay?"

"'M fine. Really, about Anna too. She and I might not get along, but if she makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

Morgan smiled, pulling his old friend into a hug. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," she answered, fighting back tears. "Listen, I need to get going soon, so we should probably go ahead and say our goodbyes now. Promise you'll take care of yourself."

"Only if you make the same promise."

"Promise…bye, Morgan."

"Bye, Ava."

AJ kissed his cheek, and she could swear he brushed his lips along her cheek in turn. Watery eyed, she moved away to look for the others, so she could get the rest of the farewells out of the way before it was time for her to leave.

Beth had to jump over two potted plants, dodge some couples, and ended up out of breath, but she was just in time to hear Sarah say, "Well if they know about Bryce they must know about Casey…"

"Sarah, what's going on?"

"Bryce was taken by enemies spies. And Casey's…"

"At Castle. With Roark. A mole must have…and John and Adrian and Jeremy and the men…fuck!"

Beth didn't bother waiting for Sarah to lead the brigade—she was in her truck and hollering for her to jump in as she was peeling out of the parking lot. Her mind was rushing…she couldn't think. Not John, not her John…oh God. She worried he'd get injured or killed in whatever small lil' terrorist cell he was gonna be kickin' butt in, but she never thought he'd be in danger before he even left. Who could it have been? Who would have done—

"Beth! Watch the road!"

She pulled a hard right, almost overshooting the Orange Orange. Mumbling an apology to Duke for her harsh driving, she pulled into a parking spot, and was heading inside as Sarah talked.

"You have to focus. He could be fine."

"Yeah, and he could be lyin' in there covered in blood, shot to death, silenced with a bullet. There are too many scenarios to think of. And I am focused."

Although Sarah got to the door first, Beth practically bowled her over going down the stairs, but when she hit the bottom, she jerked to a stop. Oh my…bodies. Oh God in heaven above. She recognized Jeremy's dark hair, and her heart stopped. Jeremy, Adrian, and one other man lay dead, slumped over their game of poker. Where was John? He couldn't be—she spotted him on the ground, and choked back a sob.

"John!"

By his side in a minute, she cradled his head, not able to stop the tears from falling. Why wasn't he moving? She didn't see any bullet wounds—he should have been moving. What kind of a monster did this? Killed three Marines in cold blood, and left their commander…in whatever state he was in.

"John, sugar, you gotta wake up. You gotta talk to me, baby. You can't be a big ole' grouchy bear when you're not talking. Don't you dare die on me now, or I swear to all things good and holy I will walk right up there to heaven and drag you back to your body just so I can kick your ass. Please John, just—"

He groaned, and she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"What the hell…Miles. Beth, what…?"

"Bryce was taken by enemy spies. Whoever did it had to know about you too. I should have been here—I was gonna stop in, I should have, I could have helped. They could have lived—they didn't deserve to die, I mean, Jeremy was such a sweetheart, and Adrian had a lil' gal he was goin' after and I should have been here, I could have helped. I could have—" She took a shuddering breath, biting her lip to keep composure, shaking her head every once in awhile, her arms protectively wrapped around her body.

John sat up, his head slightly throbbing, but that wasn't his primary concern right now. They needed to get to Larkin, and he needed Beth to calm down. She wasn't going to be of use to anybody if she hyperventilated and passed out. When he finally tuned into what she was saying, his heart gave a jolt—did she really think she should have been here? She would have been killed. He made mental note: they would be having a conversation over that, but later—right now they had a mission to complete.

He reached for her, holding her hands. "Breathe, Tulip. It's alright."

"I should be telling that to you! You—you could have…and," She flung her arms around him, speaking into his neck. "Thank God you're alright. I don't know what—I mean, if you'd…I thought I'd lost you."

"Pull yourself together, Beth—mission's not over yet." His words were uncharacteristically harsh, and she flinched, but nodded. All he wanted to do was pull her closer to him, but Walker was watching their interaction rather closely—a little too closely.

"I'm…I'm good. You're right; we've gotta whip this thing. You need some ice for that bump; bet it hurts like a mother. Sarah, fill him in on the situation please?"

She nodded and Beth went to grab the ice. By the time she returned, John was up off the floor and they had moved to the back room, away from the eerily chilling scene in the main room. Passing the ice to John, she spoke.

"So, what's the plan?"

"You're not going to ask what happened?" Sarah questioned.

In a cold voice, Beth responded. "Don't have time. All I need to know is three Marines were murdered in cold blood—that's three less heroes the U.S. now has. By the fact Miles is neither dead in the other room nor was he found injured with John, I think it's safe to assume he's the reason. So now we grab our guns, suit up, and go kill the bastards who did this, all the while saving Larkin while we're at it. Now are we headin' out or what?"

John and Sarah both looked at her with something akin to surprise, but she had no time for it. They had a man to save, and an enemy to take down. Sarah nodded, and they left the back room just as Chuck practically flew through the doorway.

"Hey, I'm coming with you."

John disagreed. "You stay here; it's not your mission."

"Wait! This is the Intersect we're talking about, and I'm a Bartowski." Showing the group the arm bracelet Mr. Bartowski designed; he finished with, "You need me."

John gave the others a 'well, moron's got a point' look, and Beth nodded her head.

"Sounds like as good a plan as any—we're gonna need all the help we can get. Now let's go kick some ass."

"What's going on, Mr. B.?" AJ asked, having witnessed Beth and Sarah's frantic departure, with Chuck leaving right after them. "More trouble?"

"You could say that," he said, looking grave. "I didn't want any of you involved with this business, but Charles—"

"—is in love with Sarah." AJ finished. "And Sarah's a spy through and through."

He nodded.

"I don't like it either, sir, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and Sarah's a great girl. She'll protect him."

"Yes, I suppose so. So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Thinking of going after them?"

AJ laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't be of much help."

"Oh, I don't know, I'm sure your skill set could come in handy."

Raising an eyebrow, AJ said, "I thought you wanted me to stay away from all this spy business?"

"Oh, I do, you and Charles both, but—" Mr. B. shrugged. "It's a calling. There's nothing I can do about that."

"Well, no need to worry about me, it's not my calling," AJ reassured him.

Mr. B. nodded again, though he didn't look quite convinced.

"Seriously, I'd make a horrible spy. Between my wanderlust and my rebellious streak, they'd boot me out of the CIA faster you could blink. Besides, I'm not strong like Casey, super observant like Beth, or have freakish skills with knives like Sarah does. Why would they ever want to recruit me in the first place?"

"First of all, the government prizes candidates who enjoy travel and can think for themselves. And second of all, they recruited me for my computer engineering skills; they could easily recruit you for the same reason. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks, sir, I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever approached by the government," AJ said. "Anyway, I came over to say goodbye."

"You're really leaving then?"

Nodding, AJ said, "It's for the best. Besides, I always said this was temporary. I never planned on putting down roots."

"But you did anyway."

"I—" AJ couldn't really deny it, as much as she may have wanted to. Itchy feet aside, she liked living in Burbank, with her friends as coworkers and neighbors. And really, once she'd gotten caught up in trying to figure out the others' secret, she'd completely forgotten about her itch to travel. Instead of answering, she diverted. "How about you? Planning on sticking around for a while?"

"Only until Eleanor and Devon get back, they asked me to watch their apartment for them."

"Mind keeping an eye on my place while you're at it?"

"You're not selling it?"

AJ shook her head adamantly. "No way, too many memories. Besides, I'll need a place to stay if I ever come back to visit."

"To visit, right." Mr. B. smiled knowingly. "Of course I'll keep an eye on it for you."

Hugging him, AJ said, "Thanks. It was so good seeing you again."

He hugged her back. "You too, Ava. Now, Charles and Eleanor already now how to get in touch with me if they need to, but in case you run into trouble overseas, I want you to take this." Mr. B. pulled out a flash drive from his pocket and handed it to AJ.

"What is this?"

"The names and contact information of a few of my international associates from the old days. You need anything, you get in touch with them and tell them I sent you, and they'll help you out. Now, the information's heavily encrypted, but I have no doubt you'll be able to handle that."

"I can't take this," AJ said, trying to hand the thumb drive back. "It's too much, sir, really, I'll be alright."

"Keep it anyway, just in case. I have no use for it anymore anyway. One more thing, remember what I told you about the floppy drive on your old computer? You might want to check that before you leave."

Nodding, AJ said, "Thank you. Really, you've always been too kind to me."

"You're a talented young woman," Mr. B. said in parting. "You'll find your place."

"Until next time, sir," AJ said, shaking his hand.

"Until next time."

John and Sarah took the lead through Intersect headquarters, while Beth was in back to guard the rear, leaving Chuck sandwiched someplace between the three of them, guarded on all sides. The building was silent—it gave Beth a definite sense of unease. Holding his hand up to halt them, John moved forward slightly, pulling back when gunfire sounded, the bullets narrowly missing him.

They shot in tandem—hitting some, but Beth knew they weren't making headway; no one could get a decent shot out due to the confined space; plus, there were so many of them. Sarah told Chuck to get help, and he left, leaving three guns versus lord knew how many. A bullet grazed Beth's right arm, and she hissed, whipping around out of sight.

"Hells bells!"

"Beth?" "Tulip!"

She waved off both of her team's concerns. "I'm fine, it's just a graze."

"You should wrap—"

"Don't have time, big bear; in case you're unaware, we're kinda under fire here. I'll be just fine."

She flexed her arm slightly, deciding it didn't hurt too much, and went back to shooting. They were holding their own when footsteps started coming from the other direction. Letting out a slew of expletives in Russian, she spun on her heel, but was stopped when one of the men grabbed her, gun placed to her temple.

"Guys, we gotta problem."

Sarah and John both turned, ready to shoot, but lowered their weapons when they saw Beth's predicament. One of the armed guards spoke.

"Drop your weapons. Or she dies."

No one moved. Beth tried to get John to look at her, trying to communicate that it'd be okay to shoot the ass who had her; she'd live. But he didn't get that, because after sharing a look with Sarah, they both placed their weapons on the ground. The men started herding the three forward in the hall until they arrived at an open doorway, its insides pure white with one computer in the center. The Intersect 2.0, Beth would guess. Nothing else it could be. When they were walking inside, Sarah looked over, saw Bryce's dead body, and rushed to his side. Beth closed her eyes, whispering a prayer that he was in a better place; she knew sacrifices had to be made, and she didn't know him all that well, but a life was a life. Too many people had died. And on account of what? Some special program a group of rogue agents decided would better themselves and their plan to take over the world?

Humanity was so selfish sometimes. And it really miffed her. Once they were in, Miles ran to the machine, attempting to gain access only to find out Chuck had destroyed it. Cursing, he turned but paused when Casey spoke, a smirk firmly in place.

"So you lose."

"Know this, no one stops us. No one ever has."

"…til now."

Miles looked over to Beth, his eyes widening slightly in recognition.

"Well if it isn't the Colonel's catch. I see you've put on more clothes since the last time we saw each other…when was that again—ah yes, wedding preparations, weren't they?"

"You mean right before you murdered three Marines, honorable men who didn't deserve to die? You didn't even have the guts to face 'em; you're nothin' but a yellow-bellied coward."

He walked closer, and she willed herself not to back down. No way was she going to let some cowardly killer unnerve her. Stopping in front of her, he slowly raised a hand to her face before swiftly slapping her. John growled menacingly while Beth looked up, fire in her eyes.

"You should show a little more respect when one of the best spies stands in front of you," Miles said.

Beth gave him a glare, shaking her head. "The only thing I see is some low-life, pathetic excuse for a human being who, either for the money or the power trip, betrayed his country and his men. Did you even care that those men had families? They were more than just a uniform. There's a very special hell waiting for you. Gods you're revolting." He reached for her, and she spat at him, eyes shining with defiance.

"You little—"He grabbed her chin, and she swung her right fist around, effectively connecting with his nose. Bringing her leg up, she managed to give him a couple good kicks to the groin before a shot rang out.

Sarah and John watched in horror as Beth sunk to the ground; neither happened to notice Chuck stumbling around. John dropped beside her; the guards made to stop him, but Miles waved them off.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you Colonel?"

"She dies, Miles, and I swear to God, I'll kill you with my bare hands," he ground out, voice resonating with fury.

"No one's…gonna…kill 'im… 's my job."

Looking down, John saw Beth struggling to get up, her shirt starting to turn more maroon than black. Setting Beth's head in his lap, he started ripping away her shirt, revealing an ugly bullet wound in her left shoulder. He used part of her shirt to staunch the blood, while smoothing back her hair.

"What were you thinking, woman? Of all the times to lose that redheaded temper of yours…"

In the background, Beth could hear someone say, "He uploaded it" and she watched as John looked up with surprise and muttered, "Oh Chuck me." That...couldn't be good. She tried to shift so she could see what was going on, but John stopped her.

"Don't move—you'll irritate the wound."

"Think…it's…irritated 'nough."

His voice was gruff when he answered, "You think?"

She closed her eyes…it hurt. A lot. She wanted to sleep, but knew she couldn't. She heard quite the commotion, and managed to ask a mumbled, "What's goin' on?" to John. When he didn't answer, she forced herself to open her eyes, and watched in shock as Chuck, who to her knowledge had never taken one karate lesson, was whipping out all the best moves in the book. When the fight was over, Chuck was left standing in the middle of the room, looking at his hands in shock. She felt more than heard John's surprised grunt while Sarah, who was still standing, then took one step toward her cover boyfriend. "Chuck?"

Looking at his hands again, and then at the unconscious men around him, he finally looked towards the three agents.

"Guys, I know kung-fu."

Unable to fight it anymore, Beth muttered, "Holy hell" before passing out.

AC here, figured I'd take the bottom note since *Someone shot their character* so you may be a little bit upset at her right now (I know I am-and I've known this was coming for at least a month). Anyway, please review and let us know what you thought? It might motivate us to post the last chapter a bit sooner. ;)