Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, still funny!

A/N: Hi uplink2, thanks for the review, hopefully I've added a little more to the background, :D enjoy

Zoe Taylor

It had been a while since I got the intersect 2.0 in me. I hadn't seen Chuck or Sarah in a long time now. I had only really seen Casey, and that was only because I had been working on an extended project with him mainly situated in the base, packing it up.

One day, Casey walked up the stairs and returned with a worse for wear Chuck Bartowski. I almost dropped the box I was carrying, I was in that much shock. I carried on packing as Chuck tried to sneak his way back into the old Team Bartowski, trying to get information from us.

"Get out of here Chuck." I squeezed Casey's arm before he would pummel the hell out of Chuck. "Are you ready to go to El Bucho tonight?"

"The blue dress?" I winked at him which made him laugh before he carried on packing up some stuff.

"I'll go on Chuck patrol," I replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh come on Casey, he's a little puppy dog. He'll do whatever it takes to get Sarah back, wouldn't you if you had the chance?" I knew what I wanted the answer, I had known for a long time.

"Of course, but I wouldn't let emotions get the better of me. I don't want to let emotions cloud my judgement."

"Oh, okay." Admittedly, it wasn't the answer I was looking for but I picked out the blue dress from the wardrobe. I tried zipping it up but couldn't quite squirm my arm back to reach the zip. "John?" I called out. He stood outside the door. "Well don't just stand there, come on in. I need your help."

"What is it?"

"Zip me up for crying out loud." I laughed. Like I asked, he zipped the dress up slowly. "See, what was so bad about that?" I turned around, smiling at him. "What?" I asked.

"Just, seeing you wearing that dress, it brings back memories." My hand reached for his cheek, stroking it gently.

"But I never forgot the memories John, you were and are the first man I have ever loved." I snaked my arms around him and squeezed him tightly. It was true, there was no one else other than him. "I never forgot my past life. The life I had with you."

"And neither did I."

"I'm sorry that things ended the way that they did. I had to for your own good. But I will not tell you why. It's best to leave that under wraps."

"Whatever you say, Zoe." Casey gently let go of me. He may appear to be a strong, tough and aggressive man but from what I remembered when he was Alex, he still had a gentle and loving side to him.

That night I walked into the back of El Bucho and sat at the bar, watching the door and checking over my shoulder to see Sarah and then back at Casey.

"Lemon has entered," I whispered to my watch.

Casey started to stride across towards Chuck but a man beckoned him over for a drink. It was down to me. I stepped away from the bar and stopped Chuck in his path.

"No Chuck."

"Says who?"

"Says me. Come on Chuck." I pulled Chuck away towards dance floor but it was going to be harder than that. "Where are you going?" I pulled him back. "Let's dance." But he pushed me away in the crowds. He was going to blow Sarah's cover if he wasn't careful. With one last attempt I yanked his arm back. Chuck stumbled back and almost fell into me. Instead, his lips connected with mine. For a second, he kissed me, but we pulled away. He looked at me with a puzzled expression. I gently slapped his face so not to draw too much attention. "Don't you dare blow the cover of everything we've worked towards. We've worked too hard on this." I watched as Chuck walked back towards Sarah. There was a clap as he received slap number two of the night. Ouch, this was not his night.

We went back to a store room.

"I'm sorry guys, I didn't want to screw things up. I mucked things up in Prague, I want to be a spy."

"Chuck," I murmured quietly, I left the room and went back into the bar. "Back to normal?"

"Back with the plan. Keep an eye out for Chuck."

I sat back at the bar. "Casey, Casey!" I snapped looking at the stage.

"He's going to be blow the whole opp," Casey replied in sudden realisation.

"Give him a chance, the intersect will kick in soon, I promise." Like I said, it kicked in, I grinned. Chuck was being quite the musician.

"Why is he mouthing assassin over and over again?"

"How should I know?"

"And those faces?"

"That is just, Lemon."

"True." I snaked through the bar, maybe my intersect could bust a move like Chuck's. I watched Sarah take to the dance floor. That caused a short problem, a little hiccup in his playing. Suddenly Chuck threw himself off the stage. "Jesus." The song of gun clicks startled me. I grabbed Chuck, pulling him off of Sarah. "Hey there, let's get out of here."

"There's an assassin, he was going to kill you."

"Where? Where is he?" Sarah snapped. "Half the club is undercover."

"And we're been busting our asses off to get it right, now, we're screwed." Casey was about to lunge forwards when I walked towards him and dragged him away.

"Come on, let's go home," I mumbled. At the car, he suddenly kicked out at the door. "Hey!"

"I can't stand it."

"Come on, I'm sure he didn't mean to muck it up."

"He has mucked up over six months of work."

"Come on Casey. It'll be alright. Now get in." I took the keys from his trouser pocket and drove the car home. "Casey, no matter what happens, it'll be alright."

"We'll be alright." Casey leant across the car and kissed me.

"Hey now, what's all that about?" I moved away. "Casey?"

"I think we should give it another go. As Zoe and John."

"Really?" I looked at him. "John." I tilted my head a little to the side and kissed him, it was exactly how I remembered kissing him, maybe better. "Why didn't we do this earlier?"

"Because you were too busy getting to know Lemon."

I slapped his chest playfully.

"Hey, it's true," he added.

"Shut up." I shut the car door abruptly.

"Since when did I let other people drive my car?" he asked, standing beside me, trying to intimidate me. Instead, I vaulted over the car's bonnet and opened the front door.

"Bye Casey, bye." I laughed about to shut the door but opening it at last minute. "Kidding."

"You surprise me."

"You, eh." I giggled. He didn't take the joke so well and he lunged forwards. A flash in my eyes showed me exactly what to do. "No!" I rolled over him.

"What the?" Casey whispered. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around him. He smirked a little sitting down in the armchair. I was starting to get reacquainted when Casey grabbed my legs and threw me up and over the armchair.

"Ow. What the-?" I peered around the sofa and realised why.

"Mr Casey? I hope I'm not disturbing anything? I must admit it is a surprise, I thought of you as more of a loner but everyone must have a social life. Is Lieutenant Taylor around?"

"She's out with, some, friends," Casey replied. I waited behind the sofa and waited until General Beckman disappeared. "Okay, that was a close one."

"Are we going to keep this, us, a secret?"

"For now. Until the time is right." Casey picked me up, took me up the stairs and dropped me on my bed. "Goodnight Zoe." He slowly closed the door and I didn't hear footsteps for a while, like he was waiting by my door for me to call him in.

The next morning, Casey woke me up holding his favourite, largest, I would say gun, but that would be an underestimation. I drove with him to the location.

"Shall I wait in the helicopter?" I joked, perched down beside gun. I noticed Chuck and Sarah on the roof. Chuck was using his belt as a zip wire when they crashed into another building. "Careful Casey, don't get too carried away." I waited until Casey was finished firing his toy before plucking Sarah and Chuck off the ground and into the helicopter. "He has been waiting a while to use that thing you know," I yelled over Casey's screeching. When we landed Sarah pulled me to one side.

"My, my. Look at you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're so smitten with him right now."

"What? No. Look at you anyway. You and Chuck still in a cover relationship?"

"Verging on the border. So who is the lucky guy?"

"No one you know." I smiled. "Sshh." I put a finger daintily on her lips. "Go do some spy work." I nudged her with the point of my elbow so that she would leave. "I'll see you back at the apartment Casey." I smiled. Soon, I was in bed. Warm and cosy, bed. Soon the door opened and closed again.

"Mind if I join you?"

"That's a little creepy, but I suppose."

"Zoe?"

"Yes John?"

"I love you Zoe Taylor. I never stopped thinking about you, about Lauren."

Yet I still woke up in my bed on my own.

"That is so Casey," I whispered.

When I got downstairs, it was time to go undercover, as Kalina's uncle's wife. I picked out pastel cream short dress with a cut out back with a beaded embellished waist. It was one of my many beautiful dresses. I like to pick the right ones for the right occasion. The majority of the day I spent clinging to Casey's arm. It was weird, playing the Auntie. It was only when Kalina put "Uncle Johnny" on the spot, that he took his arm from my gentle hold. I could tell in about thirty seconds that he was struggling to carry on the speech. There was a quiet beeping and many guys started to rush up the stairs.

"Sarah?" I whispered, tucking a bit of hair behind my ear.

"I've got to get Chuck out of there," Sarah mumbled.

"A toast. Your love is an inspiration to us all." Casey raised a glass and returned to my side.

"Aunt Lilly, a safe journey to you and Uncle Johnny." Kalina gently hugged me.

"I will make sure of it." Casey stripped off the moustache when we left the building. "I was really starting to enjoy that. I've been thinking. Maybe we should-, maybe I should find another assignment."

"No, you know that is not the answer."

He drove back to base and I watched Sarah try, and fail, to train Chuck to get flashing. They left when Chuck's buddy Morgan starting being an idiot. I left them to it, ready with a sniper upstairs just in case.

I have to say that the way everyone says flash or flashing made me think that Chuck was just stripping down to his underwear and literally flashing the others.

"Sarah, would you let me try with Chuck? I have an idea."

"You're welcome to."

"Okay Chuck, with me." I pulled him into the training room. I strapped some gloves on my hands. "This is going to be a problem. I need you to hit me."

"I suppose." He feebly swung a fist which I ducked under, most of his following attacks I deflected.

"Use your strength. Analyse your opponent. Think about their weaknesses. Think about you surroundings," I prompted. Chuck waited, looking about, I gave him a moment. "Imagine you have to protect something, or someone, and the only way you can do it is to activate the inner intersect."

"Alright, let's try it." I used my own method and watched Chuck's face jerk a little. Bingo to the intersect. "Right." He started to use the surroundings, I managed to deflect most of them until he kicked me in the face.

"Ow!" I screeched. "Nice one Bartowski. Where did that come from? I think I need some ice on that." I stood up and hugged Chuck. "Don't worry about it, just use that method. Protection and the intersect is the only way."

"Thank you." I walked back to into Casey's apartment and opened the freezer door, picking out an ice pack. When I closed the freezer, Casey was standing there.

"Wow, Bartowski really did one on you there."

"I pushed him, that's all." Casey picked me up, tossing me over his shoulder. He carried me upstairs. "Ow, ow. Ow!" I squeaked.

"Don't be such a cry baby." Casey taunted. I bite him in the ear in a friendly way. He threw me onto the bed. "I don't play nicely now." He jumped onto me, kissing my lip and neck.

"Just like old times, eh?"

"I thought we said start fresh."

"You. Know what. I. Mean."

The next day was no break, Sarah and Chuck were going in to protect some guy from being killed. And then there was me and Casey on surveillance. I plucked the earpiece from Casey's ear.

"Are we serious? Us, I mean?" He tried to take back the earpiece but I held it from his reach. "Tell me."

"Try and stop me." He kissed my cheek. "Now can I have my earpiece?"

"Of course you can." I put it gently back in his ear and turned my attention back to the surveillance. "Oh, so now he does speeches? Walking target, don't you think?"

"I'm uploading you a passport, you might want to find this guy quick."

"Why is Chuck dancing like that?" I asked. "He flashed in dancing. That's incredible. What a dancer? I always liked a leading man. Maybe I could be a dancer like him."

"Assassin? HE was a political protestor!" Chuck snapped. "No, no the premier, he is in danger. Casey we need you in here." Casey looked at me with wide eyes.

"Well don't look at me. You stand a better chance at protection than I do." I quietly kissed his lips and let him go. And moments later I watched them take Casey out. "Casey," I whispered. "Chuck, Sarah, get to the Castle now."

In the Castle, I was panicky. I was jittery and couldn't keep still.

"For now, Colonel Casey can take care of himself." General Beckman demanded that we sit tight.

"But what if? What happens? Can we really?" My eyes connected with Sarah's and her mouth dropped open. I decided to change my expression and thinking. "No, we'll be fine." I rubbed my cheek where the boot mark was showing up.

I started up a search for possible locations that Casey could be being held at. Devon Woodcombe was able to get the three of us inside the complex the premier was staying in. I managed to follow his instructions with the medical terms he gave. I floored one of the men, smacking them across the face with their own gun.

"Come on, let's go save Casey." I heard a gunshot and came around a bend to see Casey with a gunshot in his leg. Chuck and I hauled him out of the room and into the room Devon was in. One of the men forced me, Chuck and Sarah to our knees to help Casey.

Then it hit me.

"Chuck, ignore what everyone else is saying." I placed my hands on either side of his face and his puppy dog eyes stared back at me. "Remember what worked well. Protect. Look at the wound." I tilted his head to Casey's leg. His head started to jerk a little. My intersect jerked after him and I agree with everything he said or did. He pulled out the bullet.

"What's that?"

"I need a blood transfusion. From someone with AB negative." I looked at Casey who squinted his eyes at me, forbidding me to say anything..

"Sorry buddy," I squeaked. Chuck put the mask over Casey's nose and mouth. "Let's get him back to the Castle now." And, let's just say Casey was far from pleased to find out that he had been the saviour. "Shut up Casey. Get over it." I smiled from across the table to him, but then the emotions hit me causing a tear to trickle down my face and onto the table.

"None of that stuff. I don't do emotional stuff," he whispered once Sarah and Chuck were out of earshot. "You have to be stronger than this."

"I thought I had lost you. And I don't think I could live with myself if something had happened to you."

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl: So as I come to the end of the chapter I noticed that Zoe's feelings are remerging but I don't think she would be ready to make the first move, maybe she thinks John should be the one to make the move. I feel that Zoe wants to make sure that John wants to relight the relationship she had with him in the past when she was Lauren and he was Alex. But what I want to leave you thinking is whether John Casey will step up and make the next move.

Reviews and comments please, even criticism is welcome.