A/N: Admittedly, I feel like a bit of a slacker. No, I didn't finish my CMM Challenge piece before season 3, but I DID finish it before season 4. Barely. Heh, so this is how Anna's S2 ends, in my mind. It of course leads right into season 3, and what I have planned for her when I eventually get to writing that AU. Hope you guys enjoy this, and as always, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

That's the only thought running through Anna's mind, which is weird, because she doesn't even like Al Pacino. Well, okay, Scent of a Woman was good. And Scarface. Oh, and she loved Donnie Brasco. But Godfather III? Not so much. Godfather II, of course, but not III.

Anyway, that's irrelevant. The important thing is, one month after she left Burbank, one month after Ellie's failed wedding (though Jeff and Lester were kind of hilarious at that one) and the subsequent second wedding on the beach which was beautiful, one month after she thought she was completely done with strange and dangerous situations, one month after her normal life with Morgan in Hawaii was supposed to begin, things went awry.

Anna woke up early, like she always did. Morgan liked to sleep in, as his chef classes didn't start until around noon, but Anna liked to get up, do a little Tai Chi, eat breakfast, occasionally go for a run, all that stuff. Morning was her "me" time.

Only, one month to the day after she left Burbank, she had an unexpected visitor waiting on her doorstep when she returned from her run. A man she thought she'd never see again. John Casey. Anna immediately went into defensive mode.

"John, what are you doing here?"

"Wu," he said in greeting. "I've been sent here—okay, first, there are some things you need to know."

Like the fact that you're a spy, Chuck's a spy, Sarah's probably a spy? She didn't say that. "Well tell me," she said instead.

"I'm not who you think I am," Casey begins. Yeah, understatement of the century, only he actually was who Anna thought he was now. "I work for the National Security Agency, and I've been sent here to speak with you about—"

"I told them I wasn't interested anymore, John." She puts an extra emphasis on his name. She's not sure exactly why.

"See, that' the thing. Many of the people you know—"

"You mean Chuck and Sarah?" Anna cut him off. Hell, if all the cards were being put on the table, why shouldn't she show her hand?

And she almost missed Casey's reaction, it was so subtle, but she could see surprise in his eyes for just a moment. He recovered quickly, however.

"Well, yeah, and that's why I'm here," he said. "Wu, Anna, look, unless you come to work for us, I can't give you any specifics, but your country needs you. Bartowski needs you."

Chuck? Why would Chuck need her? "Why would Chuck need me?" Wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Again, no specifics, but basically, in a few months, Chuck's going to be heading out into the field on his own."

"Well, he's a spy, right? That's what spies do," Anna said, shrugging.

"It's not that simple," Casey said, and it sounded like he was trying to suppress a laugh. "The moro—Chuck, I mean, he's not a typical spy."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Anna asked.

"No specifics, remember," Casey said. "But the long and short of it is, Chuck's going to be going out when he finishes some training, and when he does, he's going to need someone to watch his back. He's going to need a partner her can trust. And you know Bartowski. I would help if that partner was someone he knew. That's where you come in."

She tried to ignore what he was telling her. She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. Tried to hell herself that she didn't care. Only, as Casey continued to speak, Anna started getting these visions in her head. Her and Chuck, jet-setting across the world, doing good, stopping bad guys, making love to burn off the excess energy. Dammit, what a time for her crush to rear its ugly head. But the thought of doing that—all of that was just so enticing, so thrilling, so sexy. But there was one thing:

"What about Sarah? Why isn't she Chuck's partner?"

Casey sighed. "I don't know what Walker's problem is. It's supposed to be her gig. She's the one we thought would take that role, but a week ago, she came into work and flatly said she didn't want the job anymore. She wants to do other stuff. Said she was through with working with Bartowski. And that's why we need you."

"So I'm Plan B?"

"More of less," Casey said. At least he wasn't sugar-coating anything.

"I don't know how I feel about being the back-up plan," Anna said.

"Listen, I don't have time for your lady feelings to recover," Casey said gruffly, "but your country needs you. So what are you gonna do? Sit here and waste away with Grimes, or go out and make a difference?"

She really wanted to stay with Morgan. She did. Only, she couldn't keep her heart from wanting more for herself.

"What about Morgan?" she asked, and she couldn't believe she was actually considering the offer.

"He'll be fine," Casey said. "I mean, damn, it's not like you'll have to disappear from his life entirely. You'll be with Bartowski, and I'm sure the moron will come to visit his moron friend as much as he can."

"So if I take this…"

"When you take this," Casey said. Suddenly, he was looking all smug. It almost made Anna want to punch that smug look right off his face. "I know you're gonna accept, Wu. The question is when?"

Anna sighed then. "Fine, yeah, I'm going to take it. What do I have to do?"

"For the time being? Just sit still. Bartowski still has another month at least before he's done his training. After that, you'll have to re-certify on some weapons, but other than that, you should be good to go. We'll contact you when we're ready for you."

"And then?"

"And then, you go serve your country," Casey said.

And that was it. No goodbye, no thank you. He just walked away. He came, turned Anna's world upside down, and just left. Dammit to hell! Just when she thought she was out, they pulled her back in.

A/N: And I'm done! Yay! I DO plan on doing this Anna S3 AU at some point, I truly do. When, I don't know, but for now, I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading. You guys are awesome. Peace.