Chuck v. The Twilight Zone
Written by: truthseekr
Author's Note and Disclaimer: I do not own "Chuck," just a humble fan. Here's my first fan-fiction ever. I look forward to your comments and I hope that you enjoy this one possible take on "Christmas at the Bartowski's" in The Twilight Zone.
Chapter I--Sarah's Sleepless Night Alone
It was about an hour before sunrise. Sarah blinked deliberately but she was not asleep. She had not slept after pondering all night over the events from the day before. Although battered and bruised, she was not in much pain—her high tolerance for pain had helped the CIA-issued Oxycontin work its magic. But even the pain killers did not make her drowsy, not even now. There were no thoughts of the hostage stand-off at the Buy More, the beating she received from Lt. Mauser, or even her point blank take down of that bad man.
Christmas was not a holiday that she looked forward to. And although there was no outward expression to give any indication otherwise, something deep within her was smiling. She was thinking about Chuck. Her mind was full of him. How had he talked her out of her Christmas funk? That Bartowski charm had gotten the better of her and she had never saw it coming. Okay, deep down she wanted to be swept up and she had even rationalized, albeit fleetingly, what it would have been like to have 'one night of fun' with him. But she had pushed those feelings aside after the night by the fountain. As very capable as she was, it had been tough for her, this handler/friends thing. She did not even know why exactly but he had definitely gotten under her skin. But this was not a rash that needed to be scratched, it was more like a slow burn. What is she going to do about this, she thought?
Before her thoughts continued down a more pleasurable road, the alarm clock blared on the wall. 6:00am. Sarah reached under her pillow to grab the knife she kept there for life and death moments. She knew if she did not get that noise to stop, that that clock would definitely be singing its final screeching note. She simply was not ready to get up and get back to reality. As she reached under the pillow, the knife was momentarily caught on something on her wrist--the bracelet. Sarah smiled for a private moment but then reality hit. Sure, she had never been a morning person but this morning was very important for her and Chuck . . . and their COVER! Her eyes widened with a momentary thought of terror. What would happen if their cover was blown now? She could not even think straight about that ensuing possibility and the effect that it would have on her.
She looked up at the bracelet as she lingered her wrist over her head. She knew what a gift like this meant to Chuck, but she was not going to get lost in those thoughts right then. More importantly, she knew what this bracelet meant to Ellie. Family and friends above all things was the Bartowski way. But for their cover, no doubt Ellie and Devin were going to wonder why Chuck spent the night alone last night if she did not get herself up and over there before twilight.
As conflicted as she was within herself about him giving her this family heirloom, she could not have said "no." That would have hurt him. But what nagged at her was did she really want to say "no" in the first place? The answer to that question made her feel very uneasy and worse, vulnerable.
It had been rough night and she had started to feel the pain with each attempt to raise herself up out of bed. It was a good thing that the knife got caught on one of the charms on the bracelet. There was no way she was going to put the clock out of its misery that morning because her ribs simply would not let her throw through the pain. She gingerly lowered herself back down for a moment and let out a long slow breath. She was glad that after last night's briefing that General Beckman gave her and Casey the day off to heal. Poor Casey, she thought and then she smirked at the thought of Jeff and Lester looking for Casey's toe at the Buy More. Casey did not let getting shot slow him down though, he had been invaluable in helping her dispose of Lt. Mauser's body while she cleaned herself up. He had not asked many questions and Sarah was thankful for that. As much as she had learned to trust Casey over the past year and a half, she was not so sure that he would have kept her execution of this high up Fulcrum agent between them. When they had given their report to Beckman it was explained by Agent Walker that Mauser had attacked her and that she defended herself only to have to a life-or-death kill or be killed decision. She was thanked by Beckman for keeping the intersect safe while Beckman expressed concern for the health and safety of Team Barkowski's protectors. After Agent Casey's protestation that "bad guys don't take a holiday," General Beckman had ordered Casey and Walker to take Christmas off to recuperate.
Unfortunately, the family heirloom on her wrists had made other demands, demands which were in jeopardy the longer she laid there. Well, at least she would get to stay in her PJs she thought. Sarah eased herself out of bed and walked over to survey last night's damage. The beautiful blonde CIA Agent cracked a half smile as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Well, I guess I won't be seducing anyone today," she said out loud as she touched her still swollen bottom lip. She cursed Mauser for the cheap pistol whipping punch that caused those blood vessels to burst.
Not a bad night's work all-in-all though, she came out with all of her teeth, fingers, and toes. Too bad for Casey, he lost a toe to Ned but not before he nearly lost his fingers to the Buy More gift wrapping station. She chuckled.
Then she slowly lifted her top to reveal the source of her greatest pain--3 bruised ribs. "Well, at least those are out of sight." With that her eyes focused on the dark purple choke-hold hand marks on her neck. Now those were going to be a problem. She reassured herself that there was "No job to big for the CIA--that is the Cosmetics Intelligence Agency. That and some particularly unrevealing flannel pajamas with a high neck line."
After a quick shower and upon application of half a tube of some of her best "CIA" magic to her pouty lip, Agent Walker was on her way out the door flannel PJs and all. She remembered to grab the present wrapped in red with a green foil ribbon on it, even if she was having second thoughts about this gift in light of yesterday's events. Hair brush, toothbrush, and all of the essentials, went with her that was except for the cosmetic cover-up.