A/N –I published this story as a one shot several years ago. I've decided to add one more chapter to recognize this November. It is an important month in history. It is the 75thanniversary of the Battle of Tarawa and a hundred years ago the First World War ended. Four years of slaughter was finally over and the world drew a breath.

In 1939 the slaughter began anew.

Thank you michaelfmx for editing this story and making it better.

Chapter 2

Same evening at Casey's Apartment

Chuck was feeling distinctly light-headed.

The second shot of the silky smooth Johnnie Walker had done him in. To be fair to Chuck, there were other mitigating factors that were making him drowsy.

The last hour had been incredibly intense. He also hadn't helped his cause by not eating any food since breakfast.

Sarah noticed Chuck's eye lids drooping.

"Chuck, I think you need to have an early night. We'll talk in the morning…..go home to bed."

Chuck couldn't believe how tired he was. He willingly got up and ambled off across the courtyard with a half-smile on his face.

{o}

When the door to Casey's apartment closed, Sarah and Casey sat at the table for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

Sarah finally looked up. In a formal tone she said, "You do realize that you're compromised when it comes to Chuck, Major?"

Casey laughed. This time there was no mistake…it was a laugh. "Me, compromised? My God the pots calling the kettle black."

Sarah was about to protest. But Casey waved a finger at her and stopped her words before they could fully form in her mouth.

He grabbed his laptop and called up a special file of surveillance footage that had never made it to the NSA.

He spun the lap top around. "Take a look at yourself in action, Agent Walker."

The video files varied in length from two or three seconds up to almost forty seconds. As she looked at the video clips she realized that they perfectly captured a woman who was captivated by a certain, lanky brown-eyed, curly haired nerd.

Sarah quickly grasped the significance of what she was seeing. "You've been editing your reports to the General."

"Damn right I have. I don't need nor want your ass to be reassigned." He leaned back in his chair and stretched. "I'm having too much fun on this mission."

He caught Sarah's look of mild surprise. "We work well together…all of us, including the moron, as a team." He stared at Sarah. She was pondering this latest revelation from her partner.

"Walker, you've got to be more careful with him when in public, more discreet."

Sarah leaned back in her chair. "Noted."

She sat there, lightly drumming her fingers on the table top. She turned to Casey.

"Tonight I need you to kill the surveillance around the 'Morgan' door and in Chuck's room …from say 12:01am to 6.59am….okay?"

Casey groaned.

The whiskey had made him mellow. "Hell, why not. I'll get a good night's sleep and I won't have to listen to the moron's tossing and turning. I won't miss some of his fantasy dreams."

Sarah's tone was formal. "I only want to talk with him, Casey."

He snorted. "Shit. Listen, Walker….I'm not sure if you were paying attention to what just happened here tonight….…but the game and the rules have subtly changed…"

Casey stood up. A clear signal that he wanted some privacy. Sarah stood up a second later.

They looked at each other, Casey broke the silence. "Walker, do your job as my partner…..be very discreet, don't tell me anything. I don't want to know what might be going on between the two of you. I won't ask any questions. If I don't know anything…. I won't be lying to the General."

{o}

12.35 am Chuck's Room

He was having another dream about Sarah Walker. It was so real.

Chuck smiled in his sleep, my God this was a great dream. He could smell the lavender from her shampoo; there was the smallest hint of a perfume she regularly used. In the dream his thumb brushed against her silk negligee. Then he heard her voice, a whisper, a summons.

"Chuck…."

Her warm hand touched his bare arm, he wanted to sigh…..he did sigh. His only thought was, 'what a great fricking dream.'

He felt himself slowly surfacing from his dream. He sighed again…..so sorry that it was ending.

He lazily opened his left eye and angled his head to the left to look at the time on his clock radio….. Sarah Walker was lying in bed beside him!

His brain froze for a couple of seconds. Sleep vanished like tiny wisps of smoke in the wind. He was fully alert and painfully aware that Casey was listening.

If Casey was listening that meant the NSA and the tiny General were also listening. Shit.

He leaned forward and fiercely whispered. "The surveillance…Casey." His lips were right up against her right ear. Another whisper. "Why are you here, Sarah, is this about the cover?"

Sarah spoke in a normal voice. "Relax Chuck. Casey has agreed to turn off the surveillance until seven am."

She sat up in the bed with the pillow at her back. He sat up beside her. There was just enough ambient light that they could barely see each other's face.

Chuck rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hand. "Why the hell would Casey turn off the surveillance?" He angled his head towards the ceiling….."Good morning Casey!"

Sarah almost laughed out loud. "Chuck, trust me, there is no surveillance….it's just you and me.

"Chuck, we need to talk about what happened over at Casey's."

That made plenty of sense to Chuck. His two protectors had basically agreed to not follow instructions (if ever issued), to terminate the asset. In Casey's book, not following an order was tantamount to an act of treason. Chuck was still coming to terms with the pact that he had made with Casey.

Chuck leaned over and switched on his bedside light. He gulped.

My good God, Sarah was wearing the same purple negligee she wore the first time they 'fake' slept together.

Sarah smiled to herself, Chuck had noticed the negligee. Good.

"Chuck, you and I need to be extremely careful from now on with our cover relationship."

Chuck's face reflected a bit of confusion and disappointment. It sounded to Chuck like another Sarah talk about being professional was just about to begin.

He couldn't help himself, he let an angry breath escape from his clenched jaw. "Yeah, sure…..Sarah, I get it, I really do…our cover isn't real."

Sarah leaned over and kissed him.

Chuck's body knew instantly that this kiss was different from all the other cover kisses.

She didn't just brush her lips against his. No. This kiss had strong echoes of the 'Kiss'. The kiss when they both thought they were going to die.

He eagerly responded, his lips parted. Sarah's hands found the back of his neck. The room became very warm.

Sarah finally ended the kiss and took a breath. It took her a moment.

"…Uhmmm…..Chuck, the reason…..," she touched her lips. "….the reason we need to be extremely careful with our cover…is…..well…..underneath the cover…if you want…it's going to get very real."

Chuck's brain worked faster than 98% of the people on planet earth. Not tonight. His slowness might have to do with uneven blood distribution.

He repeated the words she'd just said like it was a puzzle. Finally, he got it. He smiled from ear to ear. "But you said…."

Her tone was frustrated, "Chuck, forget about what I've said in the past.

"I've fallen for you. My God, Casey knows it. I'm always afraid that Ellie sees right through me and well…I might as well admit it to myself."

Sarah, from the moment Casey had confessed that, 'the powers that be' had ordered him to terminate Chuck, had experienced an epiphany.

The realization that staggered her was that Chuck might've been killed. She would've lost him. She would once again be left alone, never ever having told him what she really felt for him.

What 'Team Bartowski' did was dangerous, sometimes almost reckless. Every time they went on a mission one of them, all of them might die.

Sarah made a decision. Later she would reflect that this moment was one of the most important moments of her life. She would grab onto whatever time she and Chuck might have together.

A real relationship under the cover. Not great, far from ideal, laden with risk. But they would somehow make it work.

Sarah turned towards Chuck. "Take a good look at this negligee Chuck."

He smiled at her. She saw his brown eyes widen, as he drank in the purple negligee as it clung to every curve on her body. "Chuck, what do you think is going on here tonight …or should I say this morning?"

Chuck's mouth hung open…. He was fumbling for the right words.

Sarah gave him a knowing smile. Her voice was now alluring and playful. "Chuck...turn off the light."

{o}

One Month and a Bit Later

November 10th, 2008

Hi,I'm Chuck and here are some things you may not know.

Agent Sarah Walker and I have continued our cover relationship for the benefit of all my friends, family and acquaintances. We work very hard at the cover relationship in order to gain General Beckman's praise. Praise that is not easily earned and seldom expressed by the tiny, never a hair out of place, General.

Casey, however,has informed both of us that the General is thus far happy with how the cover relationship is working out. And she is satisfied with the team's performance.

When we're in the General's presence, Sarah is formal and a little distant from me. I also am more formal around Sarah….however, when we're by ourselves, usually at her apartment,we get to explore our real relationship.

Sarah was correct it,takes a hell of a lot more work to have a real relationship underneath a 'cover' relationship.

I see I'm getting sidetracked….I wanted to tell you about what happened last night.

{o}

It was Casey's day off.

Sarah was going to give me a ride back to her place, uhhh, to go over some intelligence data, if you know what I mean.

Instead,Casey had the SUV parked outside the Orange-Orange and told both of us to hop in. It soon became clear that we were heading down towards San Diego.

Sarah and I both asked Casey, 'Where are we going'. He grunted, " We're going to meet someone….humor me…no more questions."

That was it. He didn't volunteer any more information. This behaviour was weirder than normal for the big guy.

Two hours later we arrived in San Diego outside a tidy little bungalow. A white picket fence surrounded the front lawn. It was one of those houses they built back in the fifties.

Casey told us to wait outside. He mumbled something about needing to change. I kept thinking, change? Change into what? Why?

Sarah grabbed my hand and shrugged her shoulders. We were in the dark in more ways than one.

Five minutes later,Casey emerged from the SUV. To our surprise he was wearing his brown service 'A', Marine uniform. He put his hat on his head and squared his shoulders.

Finally,he opened up about why we were here.

"Chuck, remember when we talked about your grandfather, Sergeant Daniel Gunter. I told you that out of the twelve men in his squad,only three of them survived. Private Frank Herron passed away three years ago, he was eighty-four.

"This is the home of Corporal Tom Lipinski. He's the only man still alive from the entire rifle company your father served in. I called ahead, Mr. Lipinski wants to meet the grandson of Sergeant Daniel Gunter."

I froze in my tracks. Casey had to stop, turn around and walk back towards me. "Bartowski, this guy is eighty-six years old. Let's not keep him waiting…..geez."

Sarah linked her arm through mine and tugged me up the path towards the door.

The house had seen a lot of years of use…. but it appeared well taken care of.

Casey knocked on the door and removed his cover, sorry, I mean his uniform hat.

A gray-haired woman in a blue dress answered the door. She probably was once Sarah's height,but the decades had knocked off an inch or so from her thin frame. Her blue eyes conveyed the impression of someone who was intelligent and fully aware.

She looked at Casey, then Sarah and finally at me. "Major Casey, right on time. Welcome …please come in. My husband has a touch of the gout at the moment. He's in the lounge….. but is eager to meet you."

She looked at me and smiled. "He especially wants to meet you, Mr. Bartowski."

Tom Lipinski was sitting in a well-used recliner. He levered himself up out of the chair and stood up. He was a tall man. He shook Casey's hand, Sarah's and then mine. He held onto my hand for a long time before he let go.

Mrs. Lipinski had arranged the furniture and chairs so we could easily converse with each other.

Mr. and Mrs. Lipinski were adamant we call them by their first names, Tom and Joyce. I insisted they call me Chuck.

After Joyce had served us each a coffee and gave us a sliver of her homemade almond and coffe cake. Tom spoke up.

"Chuck, if I had any doubts that you were Daniel's grandson… they vanished when you walked into the room and I saw you." Beside his chair was a brown file folder.

He reached in and pulled out a black and white photo.

"Chuck, this is a picture of your grandfather, Daniel, Tom Herron and myself. It was taken on Tinian, just after we captured Saipan. I don't have any pictures of Tarawa…..there was no time for sight-seeing back then….."

His voice trailed away. I knew in that instant that Tom Lipinski had travelled back through the mists of time to Betio island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Everyone waited patiently as the seconds ticked by ...finally the old veteran came back to us. He smiled at his wife.

He cleared his throat. "I've pulled together a file of old photos and copies of the journal I kept during the war. I served with your grandfather, Daniel through the war. Tarawa, Tinian and finally Okinawa. He handed me the photo, have a look."

Sarah inched up beside me and looked closely at the photo. A tall, young man who looked a lot like me was staring back.

I heard Sarah whisper under her breath. "So now I know what you'd look like in fatigues."

Joyce Lipinski took up their story. "I met Tom in Hawaii. What he forgot to say was that he was wounded…again on Okinawa."

Tom took up the narrative.

The way they handed off the story to each other…it was like an intricate dance. I suspected that they'd told this story many times over the years. The story of how they met.

"It was just a couple of pieces of shrapnel in my leg. Joyce was a navy nurse. A lieutenant. " He looked over at Casey.

"Back then the rules were that enlisted men and beautiful Navy Lieutenants could not, must not,fraternize."

Joyce laughed. "At first, I gave him the cold shoulder. But he was relentless. He kept making passes at me and trying to be charming."

She reached out and touched his hand. "He wore me down. Slipped around my defences. Totally outflanked me."

Sarah couldn't contain herself, she leaned forward. I could see she was drawn to Joyce. She exchanged a quick glance with me.

Tom continued. "We talked whenever we could. We had to be very careful. The Navy strictly enforced the divide between us…..no fraternization. One of the saddest days in my life was when I was transferred back to San Diego to a rehab hospital. I was mustered out in September, 1945."

Joyce graced Tom with a warm smile. "We wrote to each other. I was sent back to finish my enlistment in San Diego in January, 1946. Since Tom was no longer a Marine….we no longer had to hide our relationship. And the rest as they say ….is history."

The doorbell rang.

Joyce and Tom looked at each other with a puzzled look. They weren't expecting anyone.

It turned out that their son Jason and their daughter Karen were at the door with their families.

Tom and Joyce were thrilled to see them but surprised, the children and their families usually visited on the weekends.

The lounge was now crowded with another ten people, including two grandchildren.

I suddenly felt this air of expectancy in the room.

Joyce, although caught unaware, quickly recovered and did the introductions. It took five minutes to get all the names straight and people wedged into the lounge.

Sarah and I noted the little nod that was exchanged between Casey and Tom's son and daughter.

Casey stood up and cleared his throat. "Now that we're all here…..". That's when the lump started to form in my throat.

Tom's son Jason and Casey had obviously talked about what was going to happen. He went over to his dad and gently helped him stand up out of the recliner.

Casey spoke in his softest command voice. "Corporal Lipinski, Attention to Orders."

He pulled out a letter from inside his uniform jacket.

"I'm hereby instructed by the Secretary of the Navy to award Corporal Thomas Lipinski, the Silver Star for his actions on November 20, 1943 on the Island of Betio…."

The lump in my throat grew larger as Casey continued to read the letter from the Secretary of the Navy.

Casey described Tom Lipinski's actions on November 20th as he and his two remaining squad members, my grandfather and Frank Herron made it off the beaches. How they fought their way over the coral reefs.

Together the three men destroyed three bunkers to help open that part of the beach.

What shocked me was the ending of the letter.

The application for the award of the Silver Star to Tom Lipinski had been put forward by Major John Casey, USMC. The application had been endorsed by the commanding General of the Marine Corps and Brigadier General Dianne Beckman, NSA. Go figure.

Casey told me afterwards that he'd done a lot of research and had actually visited with Tom to go over what happened on November 20, 1943. He had no doubts that this award was merited.

After he pinned the medal on Tom,he got everybody's attention.

Casey insisted that the family gather around Tom and Joyce so we could take pictures. The family handed their cameras and smart phones to Sarah and me.

Shortly after the first flurry of photographs, Tom put up his hand and said. "Hold it…..wait a minute."

"Chuck, please stand beside me here. I think you need to be in some of these pictures…..after all,if it hadn't been for your grandfather Daniel, I wouldn't have made it through the war. This room, this house would be empty of people and memories."

As Sarah lined up her phone to take the picture, she actually said out loud... "The picture's a little blurry." A quick wipe of her eyes with her hand and she was able to capture the moment.

So, now you're up to date with Team Bartowski.

The End.

A/N- Thanks for reading this second chapter. I will mark the story complete.