A/N: Review thanks to those that left them. Glad that some are still reading and enjoying this AU story.

Thanks to MicroGirl1225 for checking this. It was so full of typos that she ended up beta'ing it rather than just the pre-read I'd requested. Sorry and thanks, my friend.

Continuing Chuck's time at Casey's home...

Far Distant Chuck

Chapter 7

Casey's daughter, Alex, had taken a liking to the new person in their house. It shouldn't have been surprising as they were closer in age, but it was an unexpected distraction for Chuck.

However, the first morning after he returned with his datapad, Chuck was pleased that she was so interested. He walked into the main building for breakfast and heard her quizzing her dad. "So, you saw this woman that Chuck's infatuated with?"

Chuck halted out of sight and listened in. He hadn't stated he was infatuated with Sarah Walker, but the teenager wasn't wrong, so there was no point walking in and arguing about it.

"I did," Casey replied. As brief as ever.

Alex groaned. "Come on, dad. What's she like?"

"You can see her picture online," he replied.

"Daddd!" she groaned. "Formal photos are harsh. Is she beautiful?"

"I suppose," he replied.

"Did you find her attractive?"

Chuck thought this was a trap question, but Casey handled it well. "I'm only attracted to your mother."

"Aww! You old romantic!"

"Less of the old," he snapped, but didn't really sound annoyed.

Then Alex said something that got Chuck's interest again, "I want to know how she behaved and responded to Chuck."

Casey was silent for a moment. "I'm not an expert on relationships." That got a snort from Kathleen who was obviously in there with them. "But, I think she was interested in him, but tried to hide it under her professional demeanor."

Chuck couldn't stop the grin that formed.

"Do you think she'll come here for him?" Alex asked. Chuck was very interested in Casey's response to this.

"Why would she give up a successful career for a civilian like him?"

Chuck heard the punch, presumably on Casey's arm. "Don't be so dismissive!" Kathleen growled. "You gave up yours for me."

Casey just grunted.

Chuck decided he couldn't stand out here anymore, and walked into the kitchen. "Good morning."

The other three greeted him and acted as if surprised to see him. He wasn't sure if that was actually true.

The conversation shifted to what Casey expected of Chuck.

"Although we're being paid to keep you, I don't want you just hiding here, doing nothing," Casey started. "I want you to learn to defend yourself."

Chuck reacted stronger than he would've expected. "I am not learning to kill!"

Casey glared at him. "I said defend!"

"Just tell him your plan," Kathleen said, clearly exasperated at how the two men seemed to just fire each other up.

Casey grunted. "Hand-to-hand combat. Each morning, you'll rise at seven and meet me in the courtyard for an hour of training before you shower."

Chuck held back the gasp and comment about his need to eat before he'd be able to do anything.

"I'll be out most days, but will try to get back before dinner for another hour with you in the courtyard."

Chuck just stared at the man. Two hours of probably intense exercise every day. It sounded a lot, and certainly more than he'd ever done. However, it would take his mind off Sarah Walker.

"Okay," he said. "Can I do my own work in between?"

"Is that college work?" Kathleen asked.

Chuck nodded. "That and finding my sister."

"No contacting anyone," Casey snapped.

That would be a problem. He'd wanted to track down his mother's family and talk to them. He'd have to do that without Casey knowing.

"I will have to contact my tutors at college," he pointed out.

Casey growled, then tried to call himself. "Tell me your specific tutors and I'll vet them. The college already knows your details are not to be shared with other students."

Chuck snorted. "No one ever contacted me when I lived at home, so why should they now?"

Casey grunted and asked, "Tutor names?"

Chuck reluctantly told him; Casey walked out.

"You seem to be skilled at provoking my dad," Alex commented.

Chuck looked at her in surprise. "Isn't he like that with everyone?"

"No."

"He's frustrated about having you imposed on us," Kathleen explained.

"Not my choice," Chuck grumbled.

"So, you blame dad?"

Chuck looked at Alex. He hadn't thought he was but maybe she was right. He sighed. "I better tell you what happened while I was away."

"Does dad know?"

"No."

"Then we wait until he rejoins us," Alex said.

Chuck smiled and looked at her mother. "Is she taking control?"

Kathleen grinned. "Well, she is her father's daughter."

He chuckled. "And who takes control between them."

Kathleen burst into laughter. "You'll see."

Chuck looked at Alex and saw her grinning.

A few minutes later, Casey walked back in and looked at the three of them, obviously wondering at the silence.

"Chuck's going to tell us what happened out there," Alex stated.

"Oh no! We don't have clearance!" Casey retorted.

His daughter looked at him. "You'll both understand each other better," she said. Chuck noticed her fists at her hips. "This is happening, dad. You can't protect him otherwise."

"She's right," Kathleen said, quietly.

Casey sighed and sat down.

Chuck told them about The Force encounters. All of them.

The two women looked shocked as he finished describing how the Intersect overrode his aversion to killing when he asked it to and how that affected him when he undid it.

Casey looked impressed, but hid that when Kathleen looked his way.

"So, it's increased your desire to avoid killing," Kathleen said softly.

Chuck nodded. "Hence your reaction to my husband earlier." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Chuck nodded again.

Casey sighed. "I didn't-"

Chuck didn't let him finish. "I know."

"So, it's still affecting you." Kathleen again just stated a fact.

"I'm burying the thought as best I can," Chuck replied. That brought thoughts forward. He smiled wistfully. "Sarah taught me that."

"Do you have nightmares?" Alex asked.

Fond thoughts rushed into his head. "She helped me with that, too."

"She made a big impact on you," the young girl said.

Chuck looked at her and spoke honestly, "I miss her so much."

"And you destroyed the thing?" Casey said.

Chuck wasn't sure how he'd react if he knew it was with them. The older man looked like the whole concept was distasteful as it was described, but what Chuck had done with it seemed to impress the soldier in him.

"It's no longer a problem," he replied. "Neither the Republic nor The Force can use it."

Casey seemed to accept that, but Kathleen looked oddly at their protectee.

Casey had done what he deemed necessary to 'vet' the tutors that Chuck had mentioned. All were cleared as far as the older man was concerned.

Chuck had to wonder what would've changed that. Then he also wondered how he'd complete his education if that had happened.

He received emails from each tutor with work to complete. He groaned. There was quite a lot.

He got started immediately. Sooner started, sooner finished.

He was so engrossed in it that he didn't notice the tap on his bedroom door and Kathleen had to open it to get his attention.

"Lunch?" she asked.

He looked at the time. Two in the afternoon. "Please. I probably should break anyway," he said as he rose from his chair.

They sat together with the soup she heated in front of them.

Kathleen looked like she was trying not to ask him something. He was sure she was going to reveal her doubts about the destruction of the Intersect. He braced himself.

She finally gave in. "You're obviously besotted with Sarah. Do you think you'll ever see her again?"

That he hadn't expected from her. He put his spoon in the bowl of soup and looked at her.

"Leaving her was the hardest thing that I've ever done. I think that if I wasn't being escorted away, I'd be clinging to her as if my life depended on it."

She took all that in and gazed at him sympathetically. "And does it?"

He'd not really considered that. He knew his heart was with Sarah Walker, even if she didn't know it. He was sure that no one else could ever replace her. Of course, she was his first crush, so he may be wrong, but he doubted it.

However, was his life dependent on being with her?

"I don't know," he finally responded. "But there's a void in my life that she fills, and I'm burying it so that I can function."

Her hand appeared on his wrist. "I know what that's like. I felt it when John went off to war."

Chuck looked at her for a moment. "Sarah's in the fight against The Force, but it's not war yet. I suspect you had it worse."

She nodded. "But then he came back to me."

Chuck didn't consume any more soup after that. Would Sarah come back to him? Would she even consider him worth coming back to?

Her look of sadness suggested she missed him, but was she just sorry he was trapped here?

What would attract an amazing person like her to him?

Or was it him she was thinking of at all? Was she worried about the Intersect he had with him and whether that was safe?

"I'm sorry I brought it up?" Kathleen said before she took the two bowls away.

Chuck just sat and thought about the blonde of his dreams. At least he did until Casey called to him for his first session in the courtyard, which was grueling, as he'd expected.

For the next two months, Chuck spent most of his time in his room, working on his datapad, the two sessions with Casey being the exception. His college term had ended after the first month, and the assignment during the break period had been easy to complete quickly.

Consequently, he shifted his focus to his various searches and investigations, at least when his mind didn't spiral into thoughts about the woman he'd accompanied to that far-off planet.

He'd decided to start his first search for his sister by tracking down his mother's Gunter family. Now he knew their name, that hadn't been too difficult.

So, he was staring at the details of Jake and Magyar Gunter, Mary's parents.

He wanted to contact them, but of course that wasn't possible while Casey was forbidding him from communicating with anyone but his tutors. Chuck knew he was right, but that didn't make the frustration go away. However, being caught by The Force was terrifying enough to make him obey. At least for now.

Being unable to progress with his search for his sister, Chuck decided to review his uncle's files.

Even though it still made him feel sick to think about the horrific deaths he'd caused on that planet, he found his need to understand what he'd unleashed made him start with the manual for that gun.

It didn't take him long to discover what the weapon did. He didn't understand the technical terms used, or the biological ones associated with them, but he pieced together a high-level view.

The ray attacked the torso of living creatures in its path by finding the heart in some way. That pulsing organ was to be eradicated. However, it wasn't just the heart it removed. The whole body around it just vanished, as did the extremities within just over a two foot range. That was why the head disappeared and part of the arms and legs.

Chuck thought this was a truly evil weapon, and the horrifying thing was that it was now in the possession of the Republican guard. They would have teams of scientists and engineers working hard to replicate it. He knew that the enemy, The Force, were the ones it would be used on initially, but eventually they would get ahold of one and replicate it, too.

Chuck couldn't face reading anymore about this. So, he watched a fictional datavid to take his mind off of what he'd learned.

That night, it all came back to him in a nightmare. He was holding the gun, just as he had in his uncle's base, but this time he was out in the open on a completely different planet, one he didn't recognize.

A sound occurred to his left and he swung around. He saw the beautiful woman of his dreams, but he was still pressing on the trigger and her torso, head and inner limbs disappeared.

He woke up screaming. He'd just killed Sarah Walker!

He gradually became aware of someone hammering on his door, and he staggered over to open it.

Alex took one look at him and yelled, "MOM!"

It wasn't long before he had both women sitting beside him on his bed and Casey standing in front of them all, glaring at him. The older man had made a quick check of their house and found no intruders, which wasn't surprising considering the security. "What?" he snapped at Chuck.

Chuck had calmed down and realized what he'd seen wasn't real. "A nightmare," he muttered.

Casey threw his hands up in the air and stormed out.

Kathleen was holding his left hand and Alex his right. The mother kindly squeezed the hand she had in hers. "It must've been a bad one."

He looked at her and just said, "I killed her."

She wrapped her other arm around him and pulled him into a hug. "But you didn't. She's safe." She obviously guessed he meant Sarah Walker.

He appreciated the comfort, but thought about how long it had been since he last spoke to the captain. "I don't know that," he miserably muttered.

She hugged him tighter. "We can find out."

"I can't contact her," he moaned. He knew he was being pathetic, but he missed her so much.

"You can't, but John can when he's away from here."

He pulled away and stared at her. "Would he?"

She smiled. "He will because I'll insist." She stood up to leave.

"Thank you," Chuck said, feeling that was inadequate.

"Do you want some company for a while?" Alex asked.

Chuck looked at her. She was still holding his hand and the look of concern on her face was powerful.

"No, but thanks for the offer. And thanks for your help, too. I appreciate it."

She nodded and left with her mother.

Chuck lay back down, vowing not to read about weapons again. Certainly not that one..

The following morning, Chuck was woken by a hammering on his bedroom door. "What?" he croaked out groggily.

"Dad's back and he has news."

Hearing Alex's message woke him completely. He looked at the time, surprised that he'd slept until nine. "Coming," he called out.

He was dressed and down the stairs far quicker than he ever did.

As he rushed down, Chuck remembered that Casey normally had him training in the courtyard each morning at seven, but that had obviously been skipped for the day.

Casey saw him appear in the kitchen and immediately stated, "Captain Walker is alive and healthy." He didn't just pause, that seemed to be all he was going to say.

"Did you talk to her?" Kathleen asked, prompting her husband for more information.

"Oh, yeah. She looked tired but unharmed."

"Did she say what she was doing, where she was?" Chuck asked.

Casey rolled his eyes. "No, she didn't. She probably isn't allowed to do that."

Chuck knew that, but had hoped. "Well, thanks for getting in touch with her, Casey."

The older man nodded and headed back out.

"So, you don't have to worry about her," Alex said. "No more nightmares."

"Nightmares are not based on reality, Alex," her mother said.

"I guess not." She looked at Chuck. "The offer is still there. If you want to talk at any time."

"Very kind," Chuck said, "But I'll be alright."

"Breakfast?" Kathleen asked. He obviously accepted.

Mid-afternoon that day, Chuck received notification that an unknown caller was trying to make a vidcall. Only his tutors were allowed to call and they wouldn't during the break period. No one else would be able to get through the security Casey had in place.

Curious, Chuck hacked into the security and allowed this through. Casey didn't know he could do that.

His eyes widened as the most beautiful vision appeared on the screen. "Sarah!" he gasped.

"You shouldn't just accept anyone's calls," Sarah growled, looking sternly at him.

He couldn't get concerned. He beamed at her, "It's wonderful to see you!"

Her serious face disappeared and she smiled. "Good to see you, too, Chuck. Been a while."

"Three months and four days," he replied.

She laughed. "Missing me?" she teased.

"So, so much," he admitted.

Maybe she hadn't expected such honesty and said nothing for a moment or two. Then, she replied in a quiet, soft tone, "I've missed you, too." That was such surprising news that he didn't know what to say. She grinned. "I've especially missed your jaw dropping and being looked at like that."

He closed his mouth as the blush colored his cheeks. "Why the call?" he asked.

"Casey conveyed your concerns about me."

Chuck gasped. "He did? That's not like him."

She nodded. "He did mutter about lady-feelings, though."

He chuckled before saying, "I'm not surprised. Feelings are not his thing."

"I did get that impression," she said with a smile.

Sarah looked so beautiful, but he could see she also looked tired, just like Casey had mentioned. "You're not getting enough sleep."

She burst out laughing. "I've missed you wanting to look after me, too."

He grinned. "Well, you don't."

"I shouldn't be calling you," she said. "But I decided I would anyway."

"You won't get in trouble, will you?"

She looked at him in a way that he wanted to think was fondness, but knew that was probably wishful thinking. "I'll be fine. You shouldn't have my contact details, but you have now. I suspect you're going to do investigations that you really shouldn't. If you do, and want to talk to me about them, message me. If I can respond, I will, but if there's a delay, don't think anything bad has happened. I'll get back to you when I can."

He thought about receiving calls from her. "I wouldn't be able to talk at night time. These walls are too thin."

That didn't generate the laugh or smile that he expected. She looked sad. "Casey mentioned you crying out in a nightmare."

Chuck wasn't going to tell her she was involved, but said, "I foolishly read the manual for that gun and the effect it had on living beings."

Sarah shuddered, obviously remembering. "That was foolish."

"I started thinking about the Republic replicating it and putting what they created into use. The Force would subsequently acquire one of them and do the same. Then-"

"Stop!" she halted his spiral, which reminded him how well she knew him. "I can see why you had nightmares," she said.

He changed the subject. "You know I might contact you, just to see your face."

Sarah visibly blushed. "Only call if there's some significant findings you want to discuss. I am not supposed to get personal calls."

"So, you are breaking rules!"

She sighed. "I am."

"We should end this call," he reluctantly exclaimed.

"Yeah." She looked as if it disappointed her, too. "It's been nice seeing and talking to you, Chuck."

He wished they could continue for a lot longer, but he didn't want her getting into trouble. "Same for me, Sarah. Thank you for calling."

She smiled and nodded. "Later," she said as she broke the connection.

As the display blanked, Chuck knew he'd replay that call over and over, as well as capturing images of her beautiful face.

Casey didn't come yelling at him about the security breach, so he couldn't have detected it. Chuck was obviously pleased not to get in trouble, but at the same time it highlighted that Casey's set up wasn't perfect.

Chuck moved on to the investigation that probably interested Sarah. The Intersect.

He'd not looked at the helmet since he'd arrived, apart from finding somewhere to hide it. He wasn't going to get that out, though. He would just review the information his uncle had recorded. Volkoff, he reminded himself. The man wasn't actually his uncle.

As he read about the Intersect, he found that it wasn't just a learning tool. Yes, it could implant skills into the user's mind, but it could also provide facts and assist with correlation of data to draw conclusions. It acted as a search tool, mining the datanet. Surprisingly, it did this without needing an access point.

Chuck stopped reading and thought about that. If he'd used the Intersect, he wouldn't have needed to do all the searches he'd been doing, or interpret the results. The Intersect would do that for him. Marvelous though that seemed, he thought it would make the user lazy. He could imagine never taking the helmet off and his brain would almost be redundant. Atrophied, even. This made him realize prolonged usage was dangerous.

Chuck continued to read about the Intersect through the day. The skills and knowledge gained from it would be retained for a period of time. Volkoff hadn't tested how long before it would be lost, but in his use, he'd recorded that retention lasted at least four months.

However, there was another challenge. Humans only used about ten percent of the brain, so there was plenty of capacity for more, but the mind struggled with too much being at the forefront. Volkoff suffered severe headaches which increased the more he loaded into his head, and he decided to reverse the process for earlier downloads to ease the load and therefore the pain.

Volkoff had also started to work on a suppression tool, but never completed it. He did record the specification, though. Chuck wondered about developing that until he realized what he was thinking. He'd only need that if he was going to use the Intersect again. He had no plans for that.

Chuck took a break mid-afternoon to go down to the kitchen to get a drink and a bite to eat. He'd not had lunch. It reminded him that Kathleen, like Casey, had gone out. Otherwise, she would've chased him to take a lunch break.

On the way back to his room, he decided to watch the recording of Sarah's call before restarting his Intersect reading.

As he sat and watched the whole recording, it confirmed to him that what he was feeling must be love. How else could seeing and listening to someone affect him so?

"She loves you." The voice from behind startled him.

He must have been so distracted when he came back to his bedroom that he'd not shut and locked the door like he usually did. He vaguely remembered pushing it closed, though. Alex stood in the doorway looking at the now frozen image of Sarah over his shoulder. "And I can see why you love her. She's gorgeous," she added.

Chuck turned back, intending to close the recording down. "Alex," he hissed. "Your parents can't know about this."

She entered the room. "Leave it on," she said as she closed the door, even though no one else was in the house. "Was this from today?" He nodded. "So, you found a way through dad's security?"

He didn't want to say yes, but couldn't deny it. "Mmhm."

"You're right. Dad would go mad." She sat on the end of his bed, gazing at Sarah's face. "She's so beautiful."

He thought so, but had to know. "How much did you see?"

She blushed. "Most of it. I heard a woman's voice, so I was intrigued."

He thought about what Alex had first said. "She said she missed me, but love?"

"It was in her eyes, if not her words," Alex replied. She looked at him. "Have you told her that you love her?"

"N-no. I don't know if I even d-do," he fumbled out his reply.

She smiled. "I may only be fifteen, but even I can tell that you do." She looked back at the woman on the screen. "Sarah's feelings for you are just as strong. She's trying to hide it, even from you, probably believing that her job requires it, but she looks as heartbroken as you at being apart."

Chuck was going to refute that, but Alex then said something that stopped him. "She even risked getting in touch. That's a big deal."

He knew that, but still… Sarah in love with him?

"I hope your love brings you back together, like mom and dad's love did. You can't be just tragic lost loves."

His emotions were all over the place, and the thought of not meeting up with Sarah again made him speechless.

Alex got up and walked over. Although he was seated, she wasn't too tall and bent slightly to give him a hug. Just like the hug he'd received from her mom the night before, he needed this one.

Neither said anything else. She left him and he just sat thinking about that conversation and the subject so far away.

He was pretty sure Alex was right about him being in love, but Sarah?

He got no more reading done that day.

A/N: The last chapter and this one were totally from Chuck's perspective. The next will reintroduce Sarah's, as well.