Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, okay, it's stopped being as funny as I thought.

A/N: Okay, on with the story… Zoe's out cold, and I agree. Things will be soo much easier now things are out in the open!

Zoe Taylor

Whilst I was out cold, I had a dream.

I was in a warehouse. There was a man lying on the floor, he had a bullet wound. I ran towards him, it was Orion.

"Orion? No, no, no. Who did this to you?" All the memories I shared with him flashed before my eyes. I remembered the first time I met him. I was trying to thieve something from a corner shop, it was a desperate time, but he stopped me. Telling me to come with him. I did, I was a vulnerable kid who had nowhere to go. It was a stupid mistake when I think about it, but I don't regret it, it has made me who I am today.

"Lauren? I'm so sorry for putting the intersect in you. I never thought it would ever work. You were a vulnerable kid. I shouldn't have taken advantage of that. You have to believe me. But you have shown the best skills and I am proud of the agent you have become. And I couldn't have asked for a better apprentice. You certainly proved yourself to me." He squeezed my hand.

"No, not you." I shook his body. "You were the best mentor. It is because of you that I became the agent I am today."

"Tell Chuck and Ellie that I love them, that I love my children more than anything in the world." I watched his eyes slowly close.

No, my trainer, helper, my mentor, he was Chuck and Ellie's father. I cannot believe it. He's gone. He's dead. No, not him. Why him?

I woke up in the back of a van on the floor.

"No!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "No, not you. Why? Why would you do that?!" I saw Shaw standing outside the opened back door. Anger raged within and I lunged at him. Swiftly, he grabbed the collar of my shirt, sending me scattering across the pavement. "Why would you kill him? He was the best mentor I could ever have, and you murdered him like the cold killer you are!" He pulled me to my feet again, his grip digging into my shoulder.

"Now, now SparrowHawk, let's not be too hasty. You'll prove useful to me." He threw me into the front seat of the car.

"How do you know about the SparrowHawk?" I asked boldly.

"Your whole file is in the intersect. Up here." He pointed at his temple. "It's a very interesting thing you know. I never thought there was so much to you. Do you think your team know? About the SparrowHawk?"

"Let me join you. I need in. I have information that would prove very useful to you. Come on Shaw. I can get you in on the underground weapons exchange going on. You can't deny it. You know I wouldn't lie. Now take these god damn cuffs off me." Shaw glared at me. "Remember Rio? Our mission that I betrayed you for the title of Ensign. Well- I'm surprised that you did the same to the CIA. We're actually quite alike, you and I."

After being lolled into a false security, he undid the cuffs. He was falling into my slight trap. "That was just what I was thinking," he murmured.

The car stopped. I squinted my eyes at him, he was up to something and I had to know what.

"So what's the plan?"

"We go see the others. Time to take care of them. Take this." Shaw handed me a gun and I tucked it in the waistband of my trousers. I followed him, leaving out the other side of the car. Deep inside, I started panicking. I had just one foot on the ground when I noticed a missile tearing towards the black van. I ran towards the back of the van and when the explosion went off. It's okay Baby Casey Taylor. I was thrown backwards, rolling across the road. My ears ringing. I extended my hand out to the upturn van, crawling on my side. Every ounce of strength leaving my body, until my eyes closed, my body went limp.

"John." I gasped.

I opened my eyes and Casey was carrying me. One of my arms snaked around his neck. "John, I'm so glad you're alright." Over his shoulder I looked at my hand. My engagement ring. It was gone. I thought about where it could be.

And it then it hit me.

Shaw took it off my finger when he took the handcuffs off. This was his insurance. He wanted to have something over me. But I was going to take it back.

Filled with rage, I accompanied the others to the base of the Ring, I didn't change my clothes at all. I could easily get back in Shaw's good books. Inside, I separated myself from Chuck and Sarah who were kitted out in convincing disguises. Shaw could trust me, for the moment. I watched Shaw leave the stage. Along with some other operatives, important operatives.

I followed him to his room.

"Shaw."

"Ah, Miss Taylor. I knew you would find a way to us." He opened the door for me and when I stepped inside he grabbed my hair, throwing me across the room. "You see, I'm not some gullible idiot. I know why you're here."

"I am not gullible either. I never said you were. But I am someone who cares for the people closest to her. Which is why I will take back what is mine." I was about to reach inside his pocket and take my engagement ring when he gripped my wrist, twisting it violently, pushing me down into a chair. "No!" I gasped, a hand cautiously over my stomach. I screamed as Chuck came into the room and saw me. He didn't realise Shaw as he delivered a swift kick to Chuck's gut. Chuck doubled over. "Chuck, no!" I watched helplessly, feebly trying to lift myself onto the chair as Shaw grabbed Chuck, throwing him into the window. I pushed off the chair and tore across the room and pulled at Shaw, trying to pull him away from the window. I pulled out the gun Shaw had given me earlier. And then I heard more glass breaking. Shaw had disappeared out of the window. I struggled to get up again. My stomach was aching, pain coursing through my body. It's going to be okay. Please be okay. I can't lose you. I won't lose the chance of having a family. Sarah came in to help me with Chuck and carry him to the car, back to the Castle.

Casey demanded that I slept while I had the chance. I fell asleep in order to regain whatever strength I had lost.

When I woke up, I looked at the surveillance which showed Chuck lying on the ground beside Sarah, and Shaw was there looming nearby. At the Buy More. A jerk on my stomach made me double over, clinging to the banister. It was like Baby Casey Taylor didn't want me to do anything.

"No!" I screeched, I bounded up the stairs and sneaked into the Buy More. I saw Shaw twirling around a piece of metal, my face twitched as I felt a flash coming on. Shaw wasn't going to win this time. This time it was personal.

It activated and I backflipped towards them kicking Shaw in the head. I felt in his pockets and took my engagement ring back quickly, I only hoped that Orion would be proud of my skills.

"Oh my gosh." I let out a great sigh of relief, staggering to the side, towards the Nerd Herd circle. I was panting heavily, pain coursing through my stomach, arms and legs.

I sat on the floor leaning against the Nerd Herd podium, my stomach aching. It's okay Baby Casey, it'll be okay. I started breathing heavily. Trying to breathe through the pain. I looked up, just in time to see Morgan drop the detonator. Everyone went extremely tense as the detonator dropped through the air.

"RUN!" I screamed, stumbling over the Buy More boxes.

Casey grabbed my hand and yanked it hard, pulling me out the store. When the explosion went off, he bundled me to the ground, covering me protectively.

"It's going to be okay. I promise." I heard him whisper in my ear.

After watching the Buy More burn, I buried my head into Casey's chest and felt completely safe in his arms, fiddling with my engagement ring behind his back. We went back to the apartment together, and then went to the Bartowski's.

"He may not have been a family man but family meant everything to him." I wiped my teary eyes as Chuck and Ellie spoke of their father.

There was a knock at the door. It was Alex, Casey's daughter. I smiled as I watched Casey hug his daughter for what might have been the first time.

I was at the toilet when I heard a familiar voice coming from Chuck's room, it was my mentor's voice. He was telling Chuck to go to his childhood home.

"Are you going to go there?" I whispered, pushing the door open slowly.

"I have to," he replied.

I slowly moved over to him, perching on the end of his bed with one knee up on the covers. I put a hand on Chuck's shoulder. "I'll always be here Chuck. If you ever need my help, I will be more than happy to give it to you," I murmured, hugging him. "Orion was a great man, I only wish I knew he was your father when he was my mentor. In my experiences, even though he was my mentor, he was far more like a father to me." Chuck smiled as I rubbed his shoulders. "He was proud of you, and Ellie. I swear it. He couldn't have been any more proud."

Some months later

I walked down the stairs of the Burbank Apartments, pressing a hidden button, a painting turned around and it revealed a map that was tracing Chuck's mother's steps. London, South Africa, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Greenland, France, Spain, Los Angeles. The search for her was getting difficult. I sat down and rubbed my growing tummy as I read a baby book.

After managing to pry myself off the armchair, I went over to Chuck and Morgan's apartment.

"Hey guys." I called out closing the door behind me. Chuck was busy in the fridge in no more than his pants. "Oh Chuck, no one needs to see that. Well, Sarah might want to. But I don't, at least not now." I laughed, placing my hands on my back.

"Well, I'd watch out for Morgan if I were you, he's on the rampage with his phone about the new craze, sexting."

"Did not need to know… How goes the job hunt?"

"It was fine, going to go check out the Buy More."

"Why?"

"Morgan's idea. Not mine."

"Well you can drive me there. Because I am in no condition to drive. And I'd like to see the new place." I could have driven myself there, but I didn't want to. With pregnancy, came laziness for me.

"Oh-kay. Come on then," Chuck groaned, putting an arm around me. "You don't know how lucky you and Casey are."

"Hey, don't be like that, it is just the joys of being pregnant Bartowski. And that is something you never get the privilege of experiencing." I followed him out to the car and he drove me to the Buy More. Instead of going into the Buy More, I went to the Castle. It was nice and quiet there. The door opened and in stepped Sarah and Casey. "Hey! I wasn't expecting you guys here till later."

"And it is nice to see you too Zoe." Casey raised his eyebrows at me.

"Hey, many months pregnant Casey, no thanks to you. So what do you expect?"

"You to be a little nicer." He smirked, pulling me a little closer. "How has it been without me?"

"A little lonely. Chuck and Morgan have been doing their own thing. And the Baby is keeping me up quite a lot. And knowing that you are safe would really help. I'm just starting to move the stuff out of my old room, ready for Baby Casey. And there is still so much that I have still got to buy." I started to list of the things that I had yet to buy.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down, I can sort that stuff out, now stop worrying." He rubbed my cheek.

"But having a free house comes with its advantages. I can finally call in someone to clean the house, I can have a bath whenever I want and for as long as I want. Without being interrupted." I glared at Casey implying the times where my beautifully long baths would be interrupted to suit him.

"Haha, you know how to make me laugh." He said sarcastically. "But I have a debriefing now." John kissed my cheek. "I'll be thinking of you." I went back home and snuggled down in the bed. To be honest, it was a complete mess. I could tell John whatever I wanted, but I was stressed and a total mess. The shower's plumbing was broken. The fridge was empty. Stuff was everywhere, empty take out and cardboard boxes were piling up. I was trying to take care of everything but there was just too much to do.

I picked up my old treasure box and pulled down an extra flap to the box which held a document pack in it. I had come across the pack when I had confronted Shaw a while ago. I wanted to look inside and see what was inside of them. I broke the seal and tore into the document. It was a file. About Ethan. It was a series of photos, surveillance photos. After staring at them for a while, I put them back in the file, maybe in the morning I could use the Castle database to search for him.

Over the next week I had an even more stressful week.

I did manage to restock the fridge with Morgan's help.

And Sarah called in a plumber to fix the shower.

And not to mention Ellie came and gave me some extra stuff that Devon had bought which she had deemed unnecessary.

I was able to do all the relevant exercises and yoga sessions.

It was only when I tuned into the Castle feed that I heard little Heather saying that Sarah didn't want to have kids because she was a spy and the usual 'it's not who she is'.

And that got me thinking, I knew that one day, that one day I would want to kids. But did Casey? I mean, when he found out that Alex was his daughter, he was far from pleased. Until I encouraged him to make contact with her. Did Casey even want more kids? Did he even want this one right here?

I was asleep at one point and awoke with a start when Casey made a racket coming into the house. I stood at the top of the stairs and let out a huge breath.

"Casey. You're back, oh my gosh, what the heck happened?" I wiped my teary eyes.

"Long story, never mind me." He looked up the stairs, noticing my expression. "What's been upsetting you?"

"Nothing."

"I know when you are lying, how many times must I say that?"

"I, I heard Heather talking about Sarah not wanting to have kids because she was a spy and that it wasn't who she was. And then I started thinking, you aren't with me, you aren't engaged to me just because I'm pregnant with your child. Are you?" I walked down the stairs until we were at eye level. "Don't look at me like that, you have said that don't put roots down. Is this what you want? Do you really want this?" I held back the tears.

"You shouldn't have been listening."

"You don't want kids." I jumped, thinking this was his way of agreeing with Heather.

"No, that is not what I am saying. What I want to say is that I was shocked to find out you were pregnant, I didn't expect it but it gives me a second chance for fatherhood. I may not have been around for Alex's childhood and I know it must have been difficult for Kathleen. But you have to get one thing straight. I love you. I want to be with you. I can't wait to hold that baby, our baby in my arms. I always thought that, when we were together that we would get married. And to know that we have a family makes things even better for me."

"I know, I did to, after I left, I never let a day go when I didn't think about you. It wasn't helped when I found out the NSA had nabbed you, General Beckman didn't want me anywhere near you. She refused to let me see you. The only time I saw you was when you were on a mission in an old highway diner, I couldn't bring myself to go in. I watched you get beaten up, you beat up the other guy bad but it was not enough. You didn't finish the job. So I went and did it for you. General Beckman gave me the worst butt kicking lecture afterwards." I rested my forehead on his. "Just hearing Heather say all that stuff made me question everything."

"I know. It'll be okay. I promise."

"You promise? I will hold you to that. And the last scan I went to was fine, they told me that the early tumbles and knocks may have hurt her and she wouldn't be a hundred percent but I don't care what she looks like, I will still love her-"

"Her?" Casey looked up at me.

"Mmmhhmmm." I grinned. "Little baby girl." Admittedly I had wanted Casey to have a little boy first but it didn't matter to me anymore.

"Wow. This makes it so real." He leant backwards a little.

"What? And this here doesn't?" I pointed at my stomach, waving my hand around it. "Ooo." I arched my back. "I don't think I'll want to be a spy for a while now, I'll let Morgan take my seat."

"Don't say things like that."

"You know I don't mean it Casey."

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Hi! Hope you're actually enjoying this one, I think I'm starting to expose a nicer, less angry Casey, when I was writing this chapter I wanted to show Zoe in a more stressed, paranoid character as a result of her past