A/N: I really want to thank everyone so much for all their reviews.

I am not going to give away the story, but for those questioning certain story lines, just don't worry about any of that stuff, trust me I think you will be pleased, especially if you are a Charah shipper.

Big thanks to Gladius who has been a tremendous help to me through these stories of mine. If you think it is bad now, you should see them before he betas.

I don't own Google, askjeeves, Yahoo, Chuck, and anything else in this story. I do own Xbox, call of duty, and World of Warcraft however.

I also do not own www(dot)intersect30(dot)com but if you want to check out what Chuck's search program design would look like, this is the website I based my description off of.

Chapter 2 – Little More

It had been day one, and mission Enduring Friendship had just began its planning phase. Chuck was about to run to the Large Mart to pick up office supplies, sticky notes, push pins, markers, string, etc… everything he would need for his mission plans. But as Ellie was about to head to work, she handed him her scrap book bag and sure enough, everything he needed was right in there.

He was now sitting in his gaming chair, Xbox controller in hand, Call of Duty already loaded and running. However, he was not doing any gaming. To the surveillance cameras, it would look like every other day; nerd playing video games. In reality though, he was deep in thought, analyzing everything he would need to implement his plan. After all, he was the human Intersect, might as well put all that analytical skill to use.

He smiled to himself thinking how one brother-sister conversation could turn the worst night of his life into something that gave him hope. Something that gave him an inner drive that he had not felt in quite a long time. He was still a little disappointed by the fact that this mission did not entail a more intimate relationship with Sarah in the beginning; but having another best friend as loyal and dedicated as Morgan would be a huge plus. But as great of a friend Morgan was, he wanted so much more with Sarah. Where Morgan was the protector of Chuck's conscious, he hoped one day Sarah would be the protector of his heart and soul. After all, there was no one better at protecting him then Sarah Walker.

He pondered what this friendship would mean over all. It would be at least a real relationship. Being best friends counted after all as a relationship didn't it? The more he thought about what it would mean, the more he realized how much he wanted this; he wanted something real with Sarah. It surprised him how excited he was getting. He thought it might be a hard sell to his heart to convince himself that Sarah and he would be just friends. But as he sat here, he realized this could be great, it was already better then bad. However, it all hinged on whether he could pull this plan off. Obviously what was happening before just was not working out. Whether they had feelings for each other or not, those feelings were apparently not strong enough to do something about it yet. Well it was time he did do something about it and hopefully, eventually, Sarah's feelings for him would become strong enough that she would do something about it.

He had Ellie and Devon in his corner already and that was huge. Especially with the knowledge that Ellie already knew exactly what was going on, well mostly at least. He just needed to figure out who else was needed in this plan.

Morgan would have to be brought in as special operative. Chuck knew he would not be able to pull off a dual friendship if Morgan was not on board. Morgan was having a hard enough time giving him up to the cover relationship, but if he knew he had to share Chuck with Sarah strictly as just friends, that might spell trouble. Morgan has already shown the propensity to not back down from Sarah when it comes to who knows Chuck best, so he didn't need more confrontations like they always seem to have on game night. He would not tell Morgan about his spy life, but Morgan would provide vital intel when it came to what made Chuck such a good friend. This could prove very useful with trying to build a special friendship with Sarah.

Chuck swallowed hard at the next operative. NSA Agent, Major John Casey. For this to work, truly work, Casey had to be on board. If he could convince Casey that he just wanted to be friends with Sarah, and the benefits of moving from love sick cover boyfriend, to honest caring friend could benefit the team, then Casey might come aboard. He had already been working on something for Casey for about two weeks now, and if by some miracle, he hears back soon, that would just help the plan.

But even the scary and formidable John Casey could not match up to the next person that Chuck would need to have on his side. However this one would take some time. If there was someone even scarier and more hard ass then the Major, it was this person. She was the one that held all the cards, if the miracle could happen, and she came on board, then the possibilities were endless. But how in the world do you befriend a person that you have only seen behind a monitor. This was what perplexed him the most. How could he win over the cold hearted bitch, a.k.a. General Beckman?

Chuck thoughts were interrupted by one of his favorite songs playing in the background on his iPod stereo. It was Huey Lewis and the News, do you believe in love. ROAN! Chuck practically fell out of his seat. If anyone knew how to get through to General Beckman's softer side, it was his good friend Roan Montgomery. Oh man, this mission might just work out after all.

There were others that might need to be brought in, namely Carina since she currently was the only one that he knew of that was close friends with Sarah. He just hoped Carina wasn't as competitive as Morgan was when it came to the 'Best Friend' title. But that would be something he would deal with later. It was time to initiate the surveillance loop and began his new mission template on the back of his Tron poster.

He gave a yawn and stood up and stretched as he knew the cameras were watching him. He then got up to his computer and initiated surveillance loop #1. This was the one showing him leave his computer to lay on his bed and read a comic. Okay, ten minutes, go.

Chuck wasted little time as he put together the pieces to his mission plan. His favorite picture of Sarah, the one he currently used on his iPhone, was in the center of the blank poster sheet covering his former plan. He wrote the words Enduring Friendship at the top and then Sarah Walker above her picture. He then posted the pictures of the operatives he would need to employ. John Casey, Morgan Grimes, General Beckman, Ellie Bartowski, and Carina Miller, and even Bryce Larkin. Okay, Bryce's photo had a drawn in fake mustache and very large glasses with horns coming out of his head, but hey, it was still the photo of his one time best friend. It wasn't even him that did it. This was a photo Ellie had gotten a hold of. Lastly, all paths led to the last photo he glued on. It was a photo he recently acquired and it was a photo of a future he hoped would happen. This photo would represent the end goal. He smiled as he looked at how beautiful Sarah looked in white. Well okay, Sarah looked beautiful in anything, but this picture just seemed to fit her perfectly.

. . .

The ten minutes were up and Chuck had filled in most all of the personal information along with mission objectives for each operative. He quickly hung the poster back up, grabbed his comic, and laid on the bed pretending to read. Of course inside the comic, were more mission details. The specs he was reading now as he lay silently in his bed was an implementation code design for his search algorithm. He had actually created the initial design in college before he got kicked out and then left it to gather dust. After all, it was originally written in Visual Basic. However lately, he had decided as a side project to convert the code over to Java and continue to design and build upon it. Having the resources of Castle was a big help as he was able to use the information there to enhance his program even more.

He was always fascinated with Google, Yahoo, AskJeeves, and other search engines that he thought it would be cool to do something way more advanced then those search engines. Almost like Google on steroids and with a mind of its own. He designed the Interface of his program to look like the intersect room he saw on a Castle computer in one of the encrypted files. All Chuck had to do was type in a code phrase he wanted to search on and the computer would display random images just like a flash. Then the information would be displayed in logical patterns all over the screen that only he could tell what they meant. Any other person would just think they were random images. However to Chuck, they were sources of intel that he could gather vital information from. He at least was able to apply something from the class he got kicked out of in college. Not at the level of the Intersect, but for him it was a big step towards that. He paused thinking of how cool it would be to meet the man who created the Intersect. He could learn so much from him. Who knows, maybe eventually he will look into finding out more information on this guy.

So first order of business, gather as much information as possible about CIA/NSA rules and regulations on their agents. He needed this ammo to be able to properly form a defense when it was needed. He would also use this information to understand better how Sarah and Casey's thought processes worked. Chuck would then collect as much information as he could on Carina, Bryce, and General Beckman. As crazy as it sounded, he did not want to gather personal information on his two handlers. It might help in the short run, but he did not want to cheat on becoming their friend. He would use the personal information he was already able to gather from months of working with them. He determined everything should take him a couple days. Then it would be time to have the dreaded conversation with Sarah about their new "mission". On one hand he was so not looking forward to that, but on the other, it would be somewhat of a relief. A relief to both of them hopefully.

That just left the next two full days and how he could fool the top spies in the world, to allow the time needed to gather all this information. Luckily, living with two doctors would help in that department. Ellie had already agreed to talk to Sarah about Chuck having the all-contagious flu bug. This would allow Chuck to hopefully play the Surveillance Loop #3 which was just of him in bed, over and over. That should keep Casey off his back at least until the first step of the mission objective was completed. He knew though he had to be very careful with looping surveillance. Casey was to good and he might have to think of other ways to distract Casey from paying to close attention. Chuck laughed; maybe it was time for another conversation with Morgan concerning what kind of sandwich to bring on an secluded island.

This is going to work Chuck thought with a smile, this is definitely going to work. Chuck got out of bed and went to his computer. He already had it angled right so that the cameras could not get a good view. Plus dimming the brightness and hiring the resolution, thanks to his high end video card, it would be almost impossible to see the smaller graphics. He logged into his World of Warcraft account in windowed mode and then executed his WOW bot. At least this way the government would see the activity on his online account and not question anything. He minimized his screen, initiated his ghosting firewall, and then began his search. Criteria, CIA agent protocols, rules and regulations. He hit the button as his computer screen began displaying images as if it was flashing. Then the computer displayed all the information in the form of the Intersect Room and Chuck was already processing the data at an incredible rate. This might go a lot faster then he thought.

{* * *}

Sarah had just got off the phone with Ellie and if she wasn't feeling bad enough about the way she treated Chuck, then him having the flu made her feel even worse. Originally she was not concerned as it is common practice for all agents to constantly be caught up on their immunizations. But Ellie had been very specific that this was a rare strain of influenza. Sure enough when Sarah checked her shot records, this strain was not accounted for. So now she would not be able to see Chuck for at least two days or until the antibiotics kicked in. A small part of her felt relieved that she would not have to face him, but her inner Ellie wanted to be the one to take care of him.

So that meant her and Casey would be flying solo for a few days. While Casey was a great partner, it was not the same without Chuck along. Chuck was the balance and they both needed him whether Casey ever admitted it or not. Without him, they were just spies, and Sarah really did not like that. It just felt different without Chuck around. She would at least try to call him maybe tomorrow just to see how he is doing.

{* * *}

{Two Days Later}

Chuck was sitting at his computer, he was smiling from ear to ear as he finally received a response from the individual he had been trying to contact for the past few weeks. He was still amazed at how fast his search program could retrieve the data he needed. The possibilities were endless for what this program could do. For now, its sole purpose was to help in implementing his plan, Enduring Friendship.

He was so excited when he finished reading the email. Oh man this is going to be so epic Chuck thought. Chuck was never one for getting into politics or even caring about the political views of others. This however was something he did care about and it was because of someone very close to him. Oh yeah, Major John Casey was going to be in for a big surprise.

Chuck quickly sent a reply back as he shut down his computer. It was still dark out and Chuck was waiting for Sarah to come pick him up. Chuck knew how grumpy she could be when she did not get her rest, but he really wanted to talk to her this morning. And he wanted to meet with her at their beach. He had been rehearsing what he would say but he was still nervous about it and not quite sure if he would remember everything. He recalled an old college professor of his, one of his programming classes. He would always preach the KISS philosophy. Keep It Simple Stupid. Of course he meant the code, but it might just help in this instance to. He was tired of complicated, he just wanted simple.

As he waited he looked to his computer knowing that his research was now complete. He had also been able to get contact information for Roan Montgomery and Carina Miller. That would come in handy later. For now though, it was time to face the enigma known as Sarah Walker.

. . .

Sarah and Chuck were sitting at their spot on the beach and in almost the same time of the morning where they originally sat so many months ago. Chuck was somber then and he was somber now. However, where Sarah had asked him to trust her then, it was Chuck that was going to need Sarah to trust him now.

"Sarah, first of all, thanks for agreeing to meet with me here. I know you probably had a million other things you would rather be doing."

Meet? Did he really say meet like this is some briefing? Sarah was taken back by that. She was a little uncomfortable about why he wanted her here. She was glad he had made such a quick recovery from his sickness but she knew this "meeting" probably had something to do with the other night. Of course now she would have to break his heart once again. Protocol is such a bitch. "Well, you know how I like my sleep. But I wanted to make sure you were feeling better." She tried to play it off but she feels her attempt at humor was just a vain attempt.

"Well there is something I wanted to talk to you about." Chuck in actuality was not that nervous. It's amazing the confidence you can have when you actually have a plan.

Sarah knew what was coming and she hated to break his heart. He was going to want more from her. He was going to ask her to be something she just could not be right now.

"Sarah, I have been through quite a bit in my life. From my mom leaving me and Ellie, to my dad abandoning us, from my best friend stabbing me in the back, getting kicked out of college, losing the girl I thought was the one, and then being thrown into this world of lies and deception. The fates have not looked kindly upon me so I get it Sarah. I really want you to know I understand how you feel. For you to even let me think I might have had a chance is a credit to how thoughtful you are as a person. But it's a tale as old as time, a guy like me could never be with a girl like you. And now I think I am finally okay with that."

What the hell is he talking about? Oh my God he can not be thinking this. Please Chuck don't think that.

"Sarah you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Really you are." Chuck emphasized this by placing his hand over hers. "I have been so selfish though. I have all along wanted you as a real girlfriend when I never stopped to think what it was doing to you. I was too selfish to see the sacrifices you would have to make. And not just the sacrifices for your job. I mean next to Bryce, I am a step down you know."

"Chuck don't you dare say that…" Sarah could let some things go but never that. Never would she ever allow Chuck to think he was a step down for her. If he only knew he was the biggest leap upward for her.

"Sarah, please just let me finish. Either way, whether you admit it or not, I just am not the guy for you right now. Whatever the reason. So after the other night, I had to do something. Whether you intended to or not, that hurt me real bad when you did not want to just hang out at the cul de sac. At first I was angry, but then I realized that wasn't fair to you. I am sorry that I misinterpreted your actions while we stayed in that house. It is not fair to you to have to watch everything you do around me because to me, I feel it is holding you back from being the real you. I don't want you to walk on egg shells around me wondering if I am going to take something the wrong way. It has to end now."

And there it is. All her stupid emotional walls have just blocked out the one great thing she ever had going for her. The one future that she thought she would always have. Chuck had broken up with her before but she knew she could get him back. Now she knew this was it. The conviction in his eyes told her that he had enough.

"So what I want to present to you is a new mission for just us."

"A mission Chuck?" Okay, now what is going on in that head of his? Could this be a good thing or were they just heading for more heartache.

"Sarah, I may be confused on a lot of things. I definitely am confused about relationships and especially on how the heart of one Sarah Walker works. But there is one thing I am sure about. I don't want to lose you. I understand we'll never be boyfriend and girlfriend. Just wrong place wrong time. I get it. But Sarah if I ever lost you, I couldn't go on. It would be equivalent to losing Ellie or Morgan. That's how important you are to me." Chuck took a breath. His throat was actually getting a little dry with all the talking.

Sarah was just staring at him as it took all she had not to run her hand through his hair. Her heart and mind were so conflicted. A part of her was expecting the worst and it still might come, but just something about what Chuck was talking about made her want to listen more. All her attention was on Chuck.

"The mistake I made back when you were under the truth serum, which by the way. I know you are immune to it. Well I do now anyway." Sarah shot him a look. Chuck just raised his hands in surrender. "I am not as dumb as Casey thinks you know. Anyway, I asked the wrong question. Your response was based on the idea of a future with you and I as boyfriend and girlfriend. I think it is quite obvious from your actions even since we first met that you do care about me. I knew when you were ready to shoot Longshore that you would always want to protect me. And that was just the beginning. When you thought I died, well a few times actually, I never once thought your reaction was fake. So here I sit with the most wonderful woman in the world who cares about me, and will always protect me, but yet will never "Be" be with me. Quite a quandary don't you think?"

"Chuck, can I say something please?"

"Almost done, I promise. So my question Sarah Walker is, do you care enough about me to want to always be there for me just not with me?"

"Excuse me Chuck?" Sarah looked at him like he had grown three heads.

"No lies, no secrets, I just want to know the truth. Do you care enough to always want to be there for me just not with me? Or in other words, do you love me, just not in love with me?"

Now how the hell am I supposed to answer this? Sarah felt damned either way.

"Please Sarah, just give me this one truth and I promise you things will be better. I might even actually listen to you when you say stay in the car. I just need to know." Chuck was pleading with her to be honest with him.

Sarah could not deny the look in his eyes. "Chuck I want you in my life." Sarah was back to staring out at the Ocean. That was more then even she wanted to say. It was more then she thought she was even capable of saying. But for this one moment, Chuck needed to have all the truth she could give.

"Thank you Sarah. Now there is just one thing left to do…"

{* * *}

Sarah sat in her normal spot as of late. Legs crossed, on her bed, favorite photo in hand. She smiled as she looked at Chuck. There really was no one like him in the world. She could say she was not good at relationships but she was no fool either. She knew how Chuck felt about her; I think everyone knew how Chuck felt. But yet here this man was giving up everything for her. He was willing to put his own wants and desires away just so he could have her in his life. He didn't want to be just friends; he wanted to be best friends. BFF's as he put it. She laughed thinking of just how cute he was when he said that.

If she really had to admit to herself, she was a little disappointed. But then the logical side of her brain knew really that was the only way to coexist. If they kept down this road of cover boyfriend and girlfriend, then there would be just more hurt and pain. At least this way they stood a chance at something real. They would not have to hide friendship. She just worried would it be enough for Chuck? Oh hell, would it be enough for her? Either way, promises were made, hands were shook, and she would be damned if she was not going to give it her all. This was a new mission after all, and Sarah Walker never fails a mission.

Chuck had proposed that they set aside one day as "Best Friend" day. Didn't matter what day, all that mattered is they both had to do everything in their power to be there for one another for whatever they decided to do. Every week they would rotate who got to choose what activity. Also, they each had to pick a hobby that both loved and participate in it together. Each hobby would last a month and then they would switch to something else if they wanted. She could do this. She already knew what she would have him do and she had to smile a bit. He would probably never last a week let a lone a month.

And in return, he promised not to sulk, whine, or be jealous and she promised to be honest in their friendship. They even agreed in a while, that they would reevaluate their relationship and see if there could be something more. At least they were honest with each other in the beginning. They both agreed, no lies no secrets. It was that promise that their friendship would be built upon. Well, this was the hand that had been dealt, and this is what they would have to deal with. At least it was something, and she actually was starting to get excited. She even smirked a little thinking if Chuck thought he was the only one that could come up with a mission plan, he had another thing coming. She was already forming a mission plan of her own.

Sarah smiled thinking about how her emotions had changed within a two day span. But then again, it was Chuck, and with Chuck, you always had to expect the unexpected.

{* * *}

Chuck just lay in bed. He was really having a hard time sleeping. For a couple reasons, one, he really thought the talk with Sarah the other day had gone well. Secondly, the package he had been hoping would come was delivered today. He was contemplating waiting till morning but he was just too excited. He would do it now.

He quickly got out of bed, grabbed the package, and headed over to Casey's apartment.

"What do you want Moron?" Casey was standing in the doorway with a cigar and glass of Johnny Walker. He was dressed in his robes and was obviously getting ready for some late night surveillance.

"Could I just talk to you for five minutes? Please Casey this is important." Chuck was pleading with him.

Casey just stood there for a moment pondering if he really wanted to do this or not. He noticed something in Bartowski's hand but did not get a good look at what it was. "You got five minutes and then this door shuts. And this better not be about you and Walker playing tongue tag."

Well that was a new one Chuck thought. "Casey, I just wanted to let you know that I have given up trying to pursue Sarah. I know you don't care about my lady feelings so I will spare you the gory details. I really just want to be her friend because whether I show it or not, I really like having both you in my life."

"Okay numb nuts, this is getting really close to me pulling out a gun and putting myself out of this misery. Clean it up or Betsy and I will have a date."

Chuck sighed, man it just doesn't get easier with this guy. "I just wanted to let you know and if I could just ask a favor. If you could ease up on the boyfriend girlfriend jokes for a while. It is just going to be really hard for me and I am asking for your help."

Hard on you, Casey thought. What about compromised Walker? That skirt is probably worse off then moron here. "I will think about it. That it?"

"Just one more thing, I got this for you." Chuck brought out a package that he was holding behind his back. "Don't worry it's not a bomb. Its something I had been working on for a while now and I hope you like it." Chuck handed Casey the package and then walked towards his apartment.

Casey looked at the package and was seconds from just throwing it in the garbage. He decided against it and instead, headed back in his apartment and plopped down in his chair.

He began his surveillance and finally decided to just go ahead and open the package idiot gave him. Probably some kind of practical joke and that would give him a good reason to go plaster the nerd's ass all over the wall. Yeah this would be a good thing as he opened the package and unwrapped the tissue paper.

What he saw almost made him do something he hadn't done ever… gasp. He could only stare at what he held in his hands. Time had stopped as his brain finally caught up to what the nerd had given him. Here, in the hands of NSA Major John Casey was a presidential pin from Ronald Reagan's first term and also a signed photograph from his inauguration day. But that is not what made the heart swell of the man who was accused at times of having no heart. It was what was written on the back of that photo that caused Casey's eyes to burn. He recognized the writing instantly as that of President Reagan's wife, Nancy. It read:

Dear Major Casey,

My late husband and I are so proud of your dedication and service to this great nation. From the letter your good friend Charles Bartowski sent us, I can tell you are a great man and an even better friend. We are honored to have your continued support and once again, we thank you.

Nancy Reagan, loving wife of President Ronald Reagan.

Casey was speechless as he stared at one of the greatest gifts he had ever been given. Emotions were hitting him that he had never felt... ever. It was then he realized something. There were few things Casey was ever sure of. Death and Taxes being two and now one more. Charles Irving Bartowski was someone Casey would always consider a true friend and partner. Someone that he would give his life for. He would never tell the moron that, but it was true as the day was long. If the kid wanted a friendship with Walker, then by God he would do what he could to make it happen. Casey even smiled a bit. Maybe he would even do a little more.