A/N: All of Sensei in one chapter. This is all about Casey, Charah not so much, although there were a few choice moments. I always thought it was weird that Devon's parents were meeting Chuck in this episode...they never crossed paths before? Sarah having to deal with them alone...plus Ellie's breakdown...needed some attention, I thought. I'm very excited to get past this episode, however. Things get better (and more fun to write!) after this point.

It wasn't long into that Thanksgiving dinner, however, that I realized Chuck was putting up a front. He was in pain, smiling for his sister and Devon and Morgan…but there was something behind his eyes, behind his smile. This time, he had ended it with Jill, for obvious reasons. Turning the tables on her should have offered him the closure I had originally talked to him about when we were convincing him to go on that first date with Jill at the beginning of November. In a way, I know it did, but at the same time, it didn't.

Jill had been the first girl Chuck had ever loved…and the first girl to break his heart. The first cut is the deepest, the first break the most damaging. The questions, the self-doubt she had left in her wake had kept Chuck perpetually foundering in life, lacking confidence and the ability to move on. This current episode had finally given him the opportunity to reject her, tell her straight up she wasn't what he wanted…probably the nicest way any person could tell another that she wasn't good enough for them.

She most certainly wasn't.

Not that I ever, for one moment, thought that I was either. I need to make that abundantly clear.

I know all that helped him, but it also created a deeper doubt in him than he had before he knew Jill was Fulcrum. She had admitted on a polygraph that her emotions for Chuck at the beginning were real; I know his were. But how real could they have been…when she lied to him for years, placing her ambition above her feelings for him and their future?

I couldn't reconcile it all with what I knew. He questioned it all. Jill's feelings, his feelings, his ability to read people, his naivety and gullibility. He sank to a new low, only this time, he couldn't confide in his sister or Morgan like he had when he had come home from Stanford. All of that pain was turned inward. It broke my heart to watch him, almost making me forget how much all of that had hurt me too.

Ellie pulled me aside after dinner, while everyone else–Chuck, Morgan, Devon, Jeff and Lester–went to watch television while waiting for dessert. In the kitchen, she peppered me with questions. What was going on with us? Were we still together?

Was Chuck ok?

A very loaded question. One I know in the past, Ellie had always been able to just ask Chuck, and he would share with her. His spy life had interfered with that closeness he had always had with his sister, though Ellie just took it as a sign that Chuck had matured. She could tell something was very wrong…but thought asking me about it was best. I didn't know how to answer her. Chuck wasn't ok.

I think I sort of generalized, mentioning Jill in a way that told Ellie Chuck and I were still together, and we had been together all along, but a new revelation about the past had made him question things he thought he knew. Ellie knew better than to grill me, respecting that whatever it was, we wanted to keep it between ourselves. We were ok…but Chuck wasn't.

Ellie was…concerned, but trusted that as long as he had me, he would be ok…eventually.

Dear Lord, how I wished that was true. I would have done anything, given anything, to make his pain go away.

Chuck was like that for another week and a half. Distracted, sullen, wounded…and hiding it from his sister and his friends was making it harder, more exhausting than just dealing with grief.

No one died…but death isn't the only thing that can cause grieving. Chuck was grieving for his lost love, his ruined life, and his tainted memories…just as much as he would have been grieving over a death of a loved one. Loss was still loss.

I believe in a way, death is easier to cope with. It sounds strange, but death has an absolute finality to it. An inevitability to it. With death there was no choice involved, no decision to end the relationship. Perhaps that hurt worst of all–knowing the pain was not inevitable…and still, unavoidable.

Casey and I tried to go easy on him during that time. Me more so than Casey, as you could imagine. Chuck's "lady feelings," as Casey called them, were the last thing Casey ever wanted to hear anything about. Casey did give Chuck a wide berth. He did, however, remain his snarky self, ribbing Chuck at every opportunity.

That is, until Casey's former mentor, Ty Bennett, turned Fulcrum. Casey, Mr. Emotional Control…lost control. Casey was lucky that he was in his late 40s and this was the first time he had ever felt so betrayed. It wouldn't be the last, unfortunately, but this was the first. And he had no coping skills, no way to manage that enormous pain that couldn't be buried.

It started when Beckman called us for a meeting in Castle. She had intel that someone was trying to infiltrate the GLA, an aerospace engineering firm that subcontracted top secret missions for the NSA. Her orders were for Casey and I to take Chuck to their facility to see if he flashed on anything.

Chuck's reluctance for another mission came across to Beckman during the briefing. He was a little sullen, but Beckman never would have paid any attention to his emotional state. She asked Chuck if there was a problem. I answered for him and told her we had it under control, before Chuck started spilling his heart out to Beckman…who most certainly did not want to hear about Chuck's sad affairs.

Casey was a little extra…unsympathetic, which made it worse, as always. I had to tell Casey to back off. I also tried to tell Chuck that a new mission could help get his mind off of Jill and all of his jumbled feelings. He seemed to agree with me, giving me a tight grin before he went back to the Buy More.

We went on the mission later that afternoon. Casey and I infiltrated the building in disguise while Chuck monitored the surveillance from the van. We thought, considering his fragile state of mind, a potentially dangerous situation should be avoided at all costs. He was there to flash, if possible, and he didn't need to be inside the facility to do so.

Casey and I were in different sections of the lab when I heard the sirens start to sound. I ran into the nearest room. I heard glass shattering and the sounds of a chase, plus Casey shouting into the mic for Chuck to seal the exit doors.

Chuck didn't seal them in time…partially because he was being too emotional, letting Casey's sharp tone get under his skin. I winced at Chuck's tone; normally, it took more than that to distract Chuck. Not sealing them in time, however, meant he not only let the thief get out…but he trapped Casey in and thwarted Casey's attempt to follow.

I ran in the direction of the doors Casey had just shouted for Chuck to seal. I saw the thief run across my line of sight. I fired, but missed. The person was exceptionally fast and agile. I followed him into another lab, carefully advancing with my gun poised to shoot. I didn't see anyone in the room. A few workers were hiding behind a wall, but they pointed back out into the room.

I turned…and took two boots to my face, swinging from the ceiling. I crashed full-bodied into a rack of glassware. I went down with the entire shelf and everything on it.

The workers who had been hiding came out once the thief had gone and helped me up. I was very lucky I wasn't hurt, considering I had landed on a pile of broken glass. I looked for Casey, but he wasn't in the building any longer. And he wasn't responding on coms. It took me another five minutes before I found Casey.

He was outside, in front of the building. He was pacing, growling like a caged wild animal. At first, I thought he was angry at Chuck…but the reaction didn't seem to fit with the circumstances. Chuck may have irritated Casey with his incompetence or his sensitivity…but Casey was absolutely murderous. I couldn't think of a time when I'd seen him angrier.

I asked him if he got a look at the thief. At the same time, Chuck came running up from the street, having not stayed in the van…of course. He had flashed on the thief…which was actually what Beckman had sent us there to find out.

Casey said he knew the thief–that the thief was his former sensei.

The explosivity of Casey's anger made sense. Betrayal. Now all three of us had experienced that…just to varying degrees. Casey was completely silent the rest of the way back to Castle. He told me to, and I quote, "Go serve some frozen yogurt" while he reported to Beckman. I let that go, telling myself Casey's mental state was not good. I think that was Chuck having rubbed off on me; I couldn't pinpoint the moment when I had started to care about how John Casey felt.

I didn't hear anything until the next morning, when Beckman called us to Castle again to elaborate on what Casey had informed her about the day before.

The rogue agent was Ty Bennett.

He was a legend, talked about in whispers at the Farm. Sam was the one who had first told me about him. Bennett was NSA, not CIA, but he was a master martial arts expert, the best there was. The CIA subcontracted out to him, especially to train Black Ops, things of that nature. I had never met anyone who actually trained with him. But, apparently, Casey was his pupil.

Beckman went after the personal angle with Casey. So weird, but so Beckman. First me and my high school classmates, then Chuck and his ex-girlfriend, and now Casey and his sensei. Anything to get the job done…I swear, that was Beckman's motto. Or at least, it used to be, before she went soft…or, rather, Chuck made her soft.

Anyway, Casey asked Beckman why no one informed him about Bennett going Fulcrum. She said he had been recruiting former students for Fulcrum.

Casey was unnecessarily harsh and rude to Chuck; Chuck was overly sensitive. Bad combo.

They got into a snippy argument while Beckman was watching. I had to verbally break it up, which was a new one for me.

There was another mission to intercept the sale of the missile guidance system Bennett had stolen. Casey piped up and said he thought Chuck was a liability and he needed to sit it out. I'm not really sure why…but Beckman agreed with Casey. She ordered Chuck off the mission.

Chuck got upset, I'm sure feeling belittled by Casey. Casey was nasty, basically saying we didn't need the Intersect. He knew damn well that we did. I don't know what shocked me more…that Casey was letting his emotions get in the way…or that he even had any to begin with.

Casey and I started to get ready for the mission and Chuck went to work at the Buy More. Chuck didn't even look back at me, just walked away, dejected. I decided I was going to talk to Chuck before we left.

I told him I wanted to make sure he was ok. That I thought Casey was out of line and that there was no way Chuck would have been a liability. I explained to Chuck that Casey felt betrayed…knowing of all people, in all situations, Chuck could relate to that, considering what had just happened with Jill. I asked Chuck to cut Casey some slack. Normally, Chuck would have done that anyway. But he was hurting too, and I wanted to make him aware of the need for it. Of course, Chuck was sympathetic.

We left for our stake out in Simi Valley.

Casey was grumbling the entire time, telling me what a waste of time this was, that Bennett would never show. I told him to just call Chuck to see if he flashed. He did do it, but he was short and snappish to Chuck.

Chuck hung up on him.

I didn't know that for sure until years later. At the time, Chuck told Casey the call was dropped, that he called back right away. Turns out, Chuck called back because he realized his pettiness could have gotten both of us hurt or killed. Chuck didn't flash on the photos.

The buyer showed up. Casey and I ran to the car, guns drawn. What happened? Bennett sent a messenger with a bomb in his car. Casey and I just barely got the driver to safety before the bomb exploded.

Casey called it in; the cleaners showed up pretty quickly and we were driving away in Casey's car about an hour later.

Chuck called Casey while we were driving. I heard Casey ask Chuck if Bennett was at the Buy More. I don't know what Chuck said, but Casey got very heated with Chuck, telling him to stay put…that he was no match for Bennett.

Chuck was going after Ty Bennett?! What the hell was he thinking?

I started freaking out, trying very hard to not lose it in front of Casey. The phone apparently went dead, because Casey told me Bennett had Chuck and that he was probably already dead.

I very angrily told Casey to shut up and drive. I started tracking Chuck via his watch.

We traced it to the parking garage at the Large Mart. His exact location wasn't available, but we knew we were close.

We ended up in front of Bennett in his car, Casey revving the Crown Vic like he was about to drag race. Bennett, across from us, did the same. I asked Casey what he was doing.

"The Vic can take the hit."

A head on collision? Really? He wasn't just not thinking clearly. He was insane.

The signal triangulated suddenly, telling me that Chuck was straight in front of us. Chuck was in Bennett's car, and from the otherwise empty state of the vehicle…in Bennett's trunk. I told Casey, but it was like he never heard me.

I lost it. I started screaming for Casey to stop, that Chuck was in the car and if he rammed Bennett's car, he was going to kill Chuck. Casey had his foot to the floor, tires squealing. I kept screaming for Casey to stop…but I didn't think he was listening.

The most fearful I had been yet for Chuck's life…and it was because of Casey. Casey. Damn it, were we back on the roof again? After all this time, I thought Casey had, I don't know, warmed to us, or at least the situation, just a little. At this moment, I thought it was his lack of emotions causing this, when in actuality it was the break in that perpetual control that I was finally witnessing for the first time.

It was a frightening thing to see. When Beckman had sent Casey after Chuck once Bryce sent him the Intersect–Casey was a burnout. Graham knew it, maybe even Beckman did. But at one point, he had been the NSA's best agent. Ruthless, cold…what I saw now when I looked over at him in panic…just as he swerved away from ramming Bennett's car head on at the last second.

Bennett crashed, then took off on foot. Casey ran after Bennett. I ran to make sure Chuck was ok, popping the trunk open.

Chuck was fine, maybe a little embarrassed. I was surprised at how out of breath I was; I had literally run at breakneck speed to make sure he was ok, a leftover surge of adrenaline after I thought I was going to watch Casey kill him.

While I was too winded to assist, Bennett got away from Casey.

When we went back to report to Beckman, she was not pleased that he was able to elude us again. She was just fact-finding, but when she found out Casey almost killed Chuck, she was not amused. I spoke up in support of Casey, not wanting to make matters worse.

Beckman pulled Casey, and told us she was calling in another team. She said she knew Casey was too emotionally involved, that he wouldn't be able to remain objective, rather turn it into a vendetta. Beckman had never pulled me from a case before, and it stung, even if it was primarily Casey's doing.

Casey blamed Chuck. He actually said if it wasn't his mission to protect Chuck, he would have killed him. He said that as he grabbed a fistful of Chuck's shirt. I had to physically separate them, telling Chuck to just go back to work. I didn't think Casey would actually kill Chuck, at least not anymore, but I was worried about them coming to blows. Casey was that out of control.

Casey stayed in Castle with me, fuming about Beckman's decision. I told him I agreed with her, that Casey was too emotionally involved.

"This from the agent that can't keep her chocolate out of Bartowski's peanut butter."

That was a line from a commercial for peanut butter cups, from the 1980s. I knew that because I had spent a lot of time in front of the television when I was technically too young to be watching television.

He had started to irritate me. "Whatever my feelings may be for Chuck, I never knowingly endangered the asset. You let your anger toward Bennett cloud your judgment."

"You finally admit that you do have feelings for the nerd."

Did I? I thought quickly.

"No, all I will admit to is having feelings." I honestly was afraid of what he would do with an admission from me in his current state of mind, or possibly afterward. He was still running interference with Beckman about my…lack of professionalism at times. This could make everything worse.

"Twenty years in the business has taught me one sure thing–that people…people let you down in the end." So bitter. I wondered what had happened to him in his past that made him think so.

I could have agreed with that assessment, I thought, and I had only been in the business, as he called it, for ten. People had been letting me down my entire life. Hell, five years ago I could have been the one saying that to him.

But now…there was Chuck. Chuck had never, ever let me down, not the way Casey meant. And, sadly, I realized, neither had Casey…until just then.

"Well, it's nice to know where we stand." I glared, then walked away while he munched on his tuna he was eating straight out of the can.

Chuck was waiting in the Orange Orange when I made it upstairs. He was quick to ask about Casey, if he was mad. He regretted what he had said to Beckman, causing Casey any trouble. I told Chuck he was right. He agreed, but didn't gloat, instead sympathizing with Casey's pain and what he was going through.

"Chuck, you're so sweet," I nearly gushed, touching his hand before I even knew what I was doing. The sweetest thing I would ever know. He looked at me, that crooked little grin on his face, and my heart was liquid, sloshing around in my chest.

I pulled my hand away, probably too quickly, and changed the subject. I told Chuck apologizing to Casey was a waste of time because he was combat ready at all times, and his feelings were liabilities.

"Well, aren't you supposed to be combat ready at all times?"

Same crooked grin. More sloshing, until I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I tried to cover it, smirking at him, telling him I would meet him at his apartment that night for Ellie's wedding tasting. I also told him to leave Casey alone.

I breathed again when I was outside. One sentence and he had reduced me, top assassin for the CIA, to a real person, a normal girl. That was how he saw me, how he would always see me, though I didn't completely understand it here. Whatever he may have questioned, or been unsure about, he knew that I was compromised. That my feelings were liabilities…and yet, I would not ignore them the way Casey was.

That one line would play in my head at times, in all different circumstances, over the years, both when we were together and when we were apart. Yes, I was supposed to be combat ready. I used to be. But because of Chuck, I wasn't anymore. You need to be combat ready when everyday's a battle. When I was with Chuck, I could finally stop fighting… and just…be.

And how did that become a reality? When someone loves you enough, despite never being combat ready a day in his life, to take up the battle for you. Someone who learned how to make himself battle ready…so that I didn't have to be. He was fighting for me, with me, beside me…even when I gave up, even when I turned on him.

If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

I couldn't shake those unsettling thoughts for the rest of the day. I went back to my hotel room and got ready for food at Ellie's. I thought Chuck would have already been home from the Buy More, but he seemed to be running late. I called and he didn't answer.

I was assuming that Chuck actually listened to me and left Casey locked in Castle, so I wasn't worried. Outside of his spy life, his job at the Buy More could keep him, especially when he had to deal with employees like Jeff and Lester.

I met Devon's parents, the Drs. Woodcomb. Woody and Honey. That was…interesting. At first, it gave me perfect insight to understand why Chuck calling Devon Captain Awesome was for real. They exude awesomeness…as Ellie would have said. They were intense, well meaning, but intense. Ellie was frazzled, a state I had almost never seen her in. Ellie was always so calm, so collected, in control. Devon's parents threatened Ellie's peace of mind.

Whether Chuck and my relationship was real, fake, or somewhere in between…that whole "meeting the family" dynamic was weird for us. Ellie was the only one who had to deal with in-laws in any real sense of the word. Chuck had just Ellie until we brought Chuck's mother back from Russia the same year we were married. I only interacted with Chuck's father twice, and then he was killed. Chuck only interacted with my father twice before we were married, and only a handful of times since in over ten years. Chuck never met my mother until after we were married, although of all of my children's grandparents, both biological and surrogate, my mother is most present.

Devon's mother, Honey, was a trip. She meant well–I know that. Devon is such a kind and caring person, a good husband and father, I can't imagine his life growing up was traumatic in any way. She was a doctor, and a doctor's wife, so she acted a certain way, maybe a little haughty, maybe sounding condescending even when she didn't mean to be. But she understood that Ellie was alone in the world, no parents, no real family…and she tried to fill some of that void, to be closer to Ellie than she would have been had Mary been there during that time.

Devon's father, Woody, was a sweet, caring man. He did think a little highly of himself, which is probably where Devon sort of got that, although Devon wasn't the least bit conceited, not like his father. He deferred to his wife, allowing her to rule the roost, it seemed. But they had three children and they were happily married for almost 30 years.

Honey hugged me when Ellie introduced me; it was awkward, but she said she hugged family. Ellie just smiled, like she didn't question it. I mean, I knew Chuck thought of me like that. I think that was the first time I started to think that Ellie maybe thought of me that way too. It was a bit daunting, as I reminded myself the entire premise of me as Chuck's girlfriend, her bridesmaid…was a complete lie that Ellie would probably hate me for once she found out the truth.

Ellie wanted to wait for Chuck, but Honey took control and started the tasting plan. She had already set the food on the table, different samples of the main course as well as the cake. They commented about Chuck's tardiness, how did I stand it, etc. I just smiled and nodded, going along with what they said. It didn't take long for Honey's…directness…to become overbearing.

She asked Ellie what her favorite cake was, and while Ellie was still chewing, told Ellie it didn't matter, and chose for her. I started to feel uncomfortable. Devon kept smiling; I don't know if he was just so used to his parents that he didn't notice Ellie…but, well, he didn't at first. She started pounding alcohol, overwhelmed by so many things being decided with her wishes as an afterthought. She was biting her tongue for Devon's sake, which was a loving kindness she paid her fiancé.

It finally took Devon's father offering to walk Ellie down the aisle that did it. Devon's face fell, as he finally realized his parents had overstepped. Ellie gulped the rest of her glass of wine. Then Ellie hit her breaking point. I didn't understand completely, but it was the mention of Chuck and Ellie's father that pushed her beyond her ability to deal. She apologized, acknowledged that she knew the Woodcombs were only trying to help, but she snapped, finally saying no, and stormed off to her bedroom. Devon followed her.

That left me alone at the table with Woody and Honey.

I had been trained first by a con artist, and then by the CIA, to be able to insinuate myself into any situation, handle any interpersonal interaction and manipulate it to my advantage. But those few minutes, sitting there after Ellie had rebuked their pushy assistance, were the most awkward of my life.

Woody asked me about my job at the Orange Orange. I sipped my wine and smiled, feeling like I wanted to just get the hell out of there as soon as I could. It was only then, after the intensity of those interactions, that I realized Chuck was really late. I had just begun to get genuinely worried when Chuck called.

Granted, he called Ellie, and Honey looked straight at Ellie's phone and asked me if she should answer it. How rude was that? I told her I would take it.

I went into the kitchen to talk to him. I asked him where he was.

He was frantic and not making sense. He told me Casey threatened his life, so he couldn't tell me where he was or what was going on. He said something stupid about me guessing. I lost my patience.

From the little he said, and my deductive reasoning aided by my experience with Chuck, I figured out Chuck was at the Orange Orange, that Casey had used him to get out and then locked Chuck in there, and went after Bennett alone. Chuck told me the address. I told him to stay out and hung up.

He was freaking out, but at least I knew he was safe. Or…at least that's what I thought. I know, I should have learned by this point, but, no, I still thought Chuck might actually listen to me.

The Woodcombs were outside taking a walk, so I snuck out of Ellie's apartment fairly easily. I told myself I would apologize to Ellie later, also telling myself she would have understood why I left after that scene.

I wasn't sure how long it had been in between Casey leaving Chuck alone and when Chuck called Ellie, so I didn't waste any time. I pulled my hair back and donned my jacket and I drove to the address Chuck had given me.

I found Casey just as he was about to breach Bennett's compound alone. I jumped him from behind. I was actually surprised that I was able to sneak up on him like that, but he was out of sorts. I held my knife to his throat, telling him he shouldn't have been there.

He told me if I wanted to stop him, I would have to kill him.

Two years ago, I wouldn't have even blinked. I wouldn't have cared. But Casey was my friend, he was my partner. Chuck influenced my thinking, but it was still true. I told him I wasn't going to let him go alone. And I meant it. Casey had saved my life more than once. I owed him. And while the mission was foolhardy and against orders, he thought he was doing the right thing. So I had to help him.

We were seriously outgunned, outmanned, but we were hoping for the element of surprise.

Which was completely ruined, because Chuck showed up in his Nerd Herder and was immediately captured, also alerting the entire compound to potential infiltration threats. We never had a chance. Instead we were all taken captive.

Another pause here to retrospectively examine the cause and effect. Had Chuck done what I asked, and stayed put in the Orange Orange, he would have been safe. It would have been extremely difficult to explain to his sister how he had ended up handcuffed to the counter in the Orange Orange. But he would have been ok.

Casey and I probably could have breached the compound and retrieved the stolen device. There could have been bloodshed, but with the help of a tactical unit, we would most likely have succeeded. Had Casey been himself.

But he wasn't. He was carrying out a personal vendetta and cared very little about anything other than bringing Bennett down. It had become a matter of honor with him. So I do actually think now, if Chuck hadn't shown up when he did, Casey would have been killed going after Bennett. My odds of survival would have been somewhere in between, maybe 50-50. As careless and foolish as Chuck's actions were, he saved Casey's life, twice if I think about it.

When we were brought into Bennett, Casey confronted him. I told Casey to be careful.

Bennett was ready to kill Casey where he stood. He would have done so, and then eliminated Chuck and me as a precaution. Casey's goading him actually made Bennett stop. Casey told him if he had honor, he didn't need to shoot Casey, that he could beat him in a fight.

They took Chuck and me away while they prepared to fight in the center of Bennett's dojo. All of his students started pounding the floor. The sound was deafening in the room. Casey bowed, respectfully, as a student would to his sensei.

Bennett, the turncoat that he became, sucker punched Casey mid-bow. Bennett continued to pummel Casey, beating him down at every opportunity. Chuck was worried. I knew Casey was outmatched. I was horrified to think Chuck and I were going to have to watch Casey being beaten to death.

After the second time Casey was knocked flat on his back, Chuck tore into him. He started criticizing Casey and his emotional issues. Chuck took it a step further, telling Casey he was scared to be cared about, to care about someone else. That deep down, Casey loved Chuck. I don't actually think Chuck was wrong here, to be honest, but what I didn't realize was that Chuck was intentionally trying to rile Casey up.

I told Chuck he was making Casey mad.

Chuck shushed me during that…because that was exactly what he was trying to do. Chuck had remembered my comment from before, that Casey had an angry center, not a calm one. Chuck put him back in touch with his angry center. And then Casey kicked Bennett's ass.

A tactical team showed up, right on schedule. I was not expecting that, I will say. Casey got all upset and asked who called Beckman.

Turns out it was Chuck; he had called her from the car on the way, explaining everything. I'm sure Beckman was angry, but we captured Bennett and retrieved the stolen device, and most times with Beckman, the end justifies the means.

She never brought the incident up again. Neither did Casey. But after that, something slight shifted inside Casey. He didn't want to believe the things Chuck had said; in fact it made him mad as hell to even contemplate it. It took a while for it to make sense to Casey…that the reason he did get so mad…was because it was true.

Casey loves Chuck. Like a friend, like a brother. I know Casey does, even though, all this time later, if he heard me say it, he would still growl…and potentially threaten violence, although he wouldn't mean it.

And Chuck would just smile…because he knows it's true.