Title: Sacrifice
Author: Cindy Ryan
Category: Angst, romance
Spoilers: All especially for Chuck vs the best friend
Notes: First Chuck fic. Couldn't resist after watching Chuck vs the best friend. :) This is AU after they rescue Morgan. Also in recent episodes there seems to be a hint of a friendship developing between Casey and Chuck or at least grudging respect and I'm using that as a springboard. :)
Summary: What if Chuck hadn't had as much time to get out of the car with the remote control?
Sarah Walker knew she'd see that fireball in her nightmares for the rest of her life. Despite all her training, despite everything she knew Sarah found herself running toward the nerd herder.
She heard Casey call after her, more than once.
She knew as he did there was no chance.
None at all.
But her heart that had for so long been Chuck's had to know. She had to check.
She had to be able to face his family knowing she had done everything to save him.
The heat and Casey's strong grip finally pulled Sarah back.
He pulled them back past the railroad tracks.
Back to the fire trucks that had just shown up.
Not caring about anything any longer Sarah collapsed in Casey's arms as he leaned back against one of the fire trucks.
Tears streamed down her face freely.
"We failed, Casey."Sarah whispered after several long minutes.
"I know."John replied tightly his voice thick and low his gaze still fixed on the burning car.
*********
Twenty minutes later a grim faced fire fighter approached Casey and Sarah. He was in his late forties with close cut brown hair and a mustache.
A patch along the right of chest of his jacket read Captain M. Hotchins.
Sarah brushed a hand across her face as she straightened fighting to compose herself. She met the Captain's green gaze.
"Captain, is."Sarah paused and cleared her throat as a lump of tears formed once more. "Did you find any....remains?"
Sarah knew she was grasping at straws. But the train had blocked their view for a few seconds. They hadn't been able to locate Chuck's signal but if he had been thrown
clear his watch and cell phone would've been damaged.
Hotchins shook his head sadly. "Major Casey stated your colleague was in the vechicle....in my thirty years I've never seen an explosion of that magnitude. I'm sorry, the heat would've wiped any trace of human remains."
Casey nodded. "We'd still like to take custody of the vehicle and have our techs look it over."
"We'll arrage a wrecker for you."
"Thank you, Captain"Casey stated,"But we have our own."
"Of course."Hotchins replied quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Sarah's gaze traveled back to the now smoldering hunk of severed metal that had once been the little car. She nodded to Hotchins before drifting toward the railroad tracks her arms folded across her chest.
"I'm sorry, Chuck."Sarah whispered. In her line of work friends were few and far between. Traveled too much to allow anybody close.
Chuck had been the first person she'd been able to rely on in a long time.
She already missed him and Sarah knew it was going to be hard to walk away from this one.
Very hard.
*******
Devon 'Awesome' Woodcomb stood in the doorway to his bedroom. He ran a hand through his blond hair worriedly as he watched his fiancé sleep.
It was well past midnight and he'd finally convinced her to take some sleeping pills.
Ellie was so exhausted Devon had been worried he'd have to admit her to the hospital.
He still couldn't believe the news they'd received earlier that day and he knew the woman he loved was still trying to wrap her mind around it.
He'd seen the shock settle in, the disbelief, the loss.
Devon moved to the bed and pulled the blanket up tighter around Ellie and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
He knew from being in medicine that life and fate were hardly fair.
He'd seen so many families destroyed by one twist of fate.
But for the Bartowskis it definitely wasn't fair.
Ellie and Chuck had been through so much and still managed to make good lives for themselves.
Chuck had finally finished Stanford, found Sarah…..only to be killed in a car accident?
Devon turned the lights off and crawled into bed next to Ellie pulling her sleeping form close.
As if that action alone would give her his strength.
It was a long time before Devon fell asleep.
*******
Being up with the sun was nothing unusual for John Casey. He was used to it. It'd long since become part of his life.
However this night had been a long one.
The techs had scoured over the car most of the night but the test results were still pending. Though the preliminary exams weren't giving anyone any hope.
Casey sighed as he sat by the front window of his rented apartment looking down at the Barktowskis.
They'd lost the Intersect and the higher ups had been furious.
Frankly John had been surprised that he still had his career.
Not that any of the said higher up's had remembered that the intersect was inside a human being.
A man named Chuck who had sacrificed himself to save his best friend.
A best friend who would never know of that heroism.
Through the hours of questions Casey had gone over the events a thousand times.
Hell a million.
He should've not let things get so out of hand.
But with Morgan in the mix it'd been a crapshoot gone to hell to start with.
He knew Chuck was…..had been bull headed and emotional.
Not good qualities for being a spy.
But as much as Casey hated to admit it Bartowski had gotten better at the spy thing.
Not so much at following orders, or rules or any other type of discipline that might keep them alive.
Still Chuck had his own flair. He'd balanced them out.
John smiled grimly as he watched the sunrise play across the courtyard below. He had Walker had always made a good team but they'd made an odd one. That was until this assignment with Bartowski had come along.
Chuck had made the trio into a team and much to Casey's chagrin a family.
Casey rubbed his eyes wearily as he glanced at the couch and Sarah's sleeping form. She'd been too tired to go back to her hotel.
Long assignments on one hand were good.
You got to know other agents, got to trust them
Or not.
Long assignments could also be very bad. You got too involved with your cover story.
Too caught up in the lies to know which way was up.
Stiffly John stood and shuffled across the living room picking up the blue blanket that had fallen off his partner and onto the floor. He spread it over the young blonde woman and stepped back.
John took in the dark circles under Sarah's eyes and the paleness of her skin.
He never made it a secret that he hadn't thought Walker was up to the strain of this assignment as it dragged on.
There'd been several times when procedure hadn't been followed.
Chances taken.
He had wondered if she was starting to break…..starting to feel something real for Bartowski.
Starting to believe her cover.
As soon as that car had exploded John had his answer.
He didn't know when Sarah and Chuck had crossed the preverbal line….or even if they'd admitted it to themselves.
Now Sarah would have to move on like they all would.
To another assignment, another cover.
Another name, another life.
Casey shook his head as he moved around the couch and into the small kitchen.
He activated the coffee machine before the timer had turned on for the day.
He opened the lid and poured in another scoop from the bag sitting nearby on the counter.
Casey had a feeling they were all going to need the strong stuff today.
*********
A dark haired man in his late twenties stumbled along a residential road. His right arm hung awkwardly at his side a gash on his forehead had long since stopped bleeding. He blinked against the all too bright morning sunlight as he struggled to remember.
Anything.
He couldn't remember anything past waking up by the railroad tracks under a pile of debris.
Not his name.
Not his job.
Notta.
The pain was making it difficult to do much of anything except put one foot in front of the other.
Not that he knew where he was going.
He knew his right arm was broken and the shoulder dislocated. His left ankle throbbed.
Pain.
Hospital.
The young man knew he should get to a phone or flag down a cop.
But he hadn't seen either.
Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he tried to blink them away. As he did dizziness returned full force causing him to stop by a group of palm trees.
Just as he stopped the world spun faster and the ground rushed up to meet him before the darkness closed in.