A/N: Hi, folks, I've reuploaded this chapter as mxpw was kind enough to proof read and catch the grammar gremlins and spelling mistakes. I don't own Chuck.

Chapter 1

"Morgan," Chuck warned and stopped in his tracks. He turned to face his friend. "I said no." He folded his arms over his chest to show just how serious he was. Chuck couldn't believe they had to go through this every time. Then again, this was Morgan, so he didn't know why he was surprised.

"But, Chuck," he whined, "Daddy needs his fix. What is Morgan night without fireworks?"

"A safe, fun evening of videogames and sizzling shrimp and no one losing a limb." Morgan pouted, but Chuck stood his ground. "Besides, think of the poor dogs that get scared to death every time…" The rest of Chuck's sentence was lost in a loud bang. Instinctively, both men spun towards the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" Morgan whispered wide-eyed. Before Chuck could respond, a tall figure dressed in oversized jeans and a striped hoody appeared out of an alley and sped past them. Bumping into Chuck, and without so much as an apology, he continued running. Chuck was about to yell at him, then spotted the gun he was trying to conceal under the too long sleeves and decided to forget it. Teaching a stranger some manners wasn't worth dying over. Morgan must have seen the gun too. "Should we call the cops?"

"I think so." Chuck watched the person disappear around the corner of a flower shop. Something about the way the man ran seemed familiar. He gave himself a mental shake. He was being paranoid. Maybe he should watch less spy movies with Awesome. Then he remembered the noise that startled them in the first place and looked back in the direction it had come from. It could have been a gunshot and if so, someone was probably on the receiving end of it.

Morgan had a point. They had to alert the police, but what if there was an innocent person lying in the alley bleeding to death? They could investigate themselves first, but there was always the possibility that the victim could be armed too and shoot at them, thinking it was the thugs who had returned. Chuck decided to play it safe. Pressing himself against the wall, he slowly made his way toward the alley. Morgan followed suit. When Chuck reached the opening, he signaled for Morgan to stay put. Crouching down, he peered around the building. He saw a blonde woman half-lying against a wall, her eyes closed. Morgan's head popped up above his, peeking around the corner.

"Oh my gosh, he shot Vicky Vale."

Ignoring Morgan's comment, Chuck rushed to the woman. He gently touched the glistening moisture on her leather jacket and pulled his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood.

"Morgan, call 911!" he ordered while checking for a pulse. His thumb brushed against something under the jacket collar and he noticed a little dart sticking out of her neck. Though neither Ellie nor Awesome covered this when teaching him first aid, his gut told him to pull it out. The moment he did, the woman gasped and opened her eyes. Chuck let out a relieved sigh.

"Hey there," he greeted softly. She was probably freaked out enough already and he didn't want to alarm her any further. She just stared at him with a stoic expression. For a second, he got lost in her blue eyes, but then her hand went up to her shoulder and drew his attention back to her wound. "Wait." He gently pushed her hand away and unzipped the jacket, revealing a bloodstain blossoming on her white blouse. Chuck closed his eyes momentarily and pushed down the wave of nausea that hit him. This was why Ellie was the doctor in the family. He couldn't stand the sight of blood, not to mention needles, but right now this woman needed him to be strong.

He pulled off his shirt and bundled it up before pressing it against her shoulder. She let out a hiss. "Sorry." He gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm just trying to stop the bleeding, okay?" She nodded slightly, clearly still under the influence of whatever was in that dart.

Morgan returned and knelt beside them. "The ambulance is on its way. Hi, Vicky," he greeted the now conscious woman. She half-raised an eyebrow and Chuck slid him a sideways glance.

"Why don't you go wait for it in the street, buddy? I've got this covered."

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing."

"Sorry about that," Chuck apologized once Morgan was gone. He noticed her trying to shift a little. Her current position looked rather uncomfortable. He contemplated helping her to lie down, but the ground was filthy and if she had an exit wound it would probably get infected. The same went for the wall she was propped up against. "Okay, listen," he started to explain as he moved to sit on the ground. "I'm not a perv or anything, but I'm going to try and make you more comfortable." Again she just nodded. Chuck helped her to sit upright and maneuvered in behind her. With his back against the wall, he pulled her to his chest, all the while keeping pressure on the wound. His arm was now at an awkward angle and his muscles started to ache. He switched, bringing his other arm around her shoulder, careful not to touch her chest. She leaned her head slightly against his shoulder. "Better?" he asked once they were settled.

"Yes, thank you," she spoke for the first time, still sounding somewhat dazed. Chuck checked his watch and wondered what was taking the EMTs so long. He didn't know much about gunshot wounds inflicted outside the realm of a videogame, and even though he was fairly certain that being shot in the shoulder wasn't life threatening, it still bled a lot, and given her labored breathing, it must be very painful. She leaned more heavily against him.

"What's your name?" he asked in an attempt to distract her.

"Sa…Sarah." Her voice sounded hoarse, probably another side effect from being drugged.

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah. Despite the circumstances." He couldn't see her face in their current position, so he had no idea if his distraction was working. He was bursting to ask her what happened, but had a feeling that now was not the time. Instead, he said the first thing that popped into his head, "So what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally facepalmed himself.

"Are you really trying to pick up a bleeding woman…?"

"Chuck," he supplied, relieved that she sounded more amused than insulted.

"Named after your shoes?" she asked, tilting her head in the direction of his Chuck Taylors that were planted on either side of her knees.

"Funny, but no, my great grandfather actually."

She turned her head to look at him. Up close, her eyes were so blue and clear he felt as though he could see all the way through to her soul. Her skin was pale and a few strands of hair that escaped her ponytail framed her face.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Chuck." The corners of her mouth lifted, but then her smile turned into a grimace.

Chuck was starting to get worried again. "How bad is it?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"I've had worse." Despite her trying to set him at ease, Chuck noticed Sarah biting her bottom lip. He ran his free hand up and down her arm comfortingly. Then he heard sirens in the distance.

"I think your ride's here." His words were confirmed when Morgan arrived minutes later with two paramedics in tow. Handing Sarah over to them, Chuck watched as they set to work, only glancing away when the IV was inserted. Once she was on the stretcher and being wheeled away, Chuck handed his car keys to Morgan.

"Take the Herder and come fetch me in the morning. And if Big Mike asks, it never happened."

Morgan shot him a questioning look. "Where are you going and how are you going to get there?"

"She can't go to the hospital on her own. I'll go with the ambulance, make sure she's okay and get a ride back with Ellie. Her shift ends at ten."

"Are you sure you wanna get involved, Chuck? There's something really bad going on here. Pretty girls like that don't get shot over nothing." Chuck knew that too, but for some inexplicable reason he couldn't bring himself to let her out of his sight just yet.

"I'm sure, Morgan." Chuck started jogging to the ambulance. "See you in the morning, buddy," he called over his shoulder before hopping into the back.

Sarah closed her eyes, grateful that the EMT was not the chatty type. The last thing she was in the mood for was answering questions. The pain medication had started to take effect and her shoulder wasn't throbbing anymore. At least the tranquilizer dart wore off somewhere between an unintentionally cheesy pickup line and learning the name of the stranger who took it upon himself to rescue her. She wasn't that badly hurt and backup was just a phone call away, but she couldn't risk it while Chuck was around. That would blow her cover. And speaking of blowing covers, she was going to kill Bryce Larkin the minute she was released from the hospital. The ambulance doors slammed shut, derailing Sarah's train of thought.

"Is she going to be okay?" she heard a familiar voice ask. Her eyes snapped open.

"Chuck?" she asked before the medic could respond, "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you get to the hospital safely." Sarah knew she should say something, but she was at a loss for words. So instead, she just stared into his eyes, touched by the concern she saw there.

The paramedic cleared his throat. "I'm done here, so if you want to…" He indicated to Chuck to trade places with him. Chuck seemed unsure of what to do, so with a small nod, Sarah let him know that it was okay. Once Chuck found his perch on the small bench next to her, Sarah noticed the questioning look from the paramedic. He must have found the situation really odd. Plus, she knew once she had been admitted to the hospital, the police would be informed. The hospital had an obligation to report all gunshot wounds that passed through their doors. She needed a cover story, and fast, and laying a little groundwork couldn't hurt.

"Not that I'm not grateful you're here, sweetie, but what about the car?" She took his hand and laced her fingers through his.

"Morgan's taking care of it," he answered without missing a beat, but Sarah could see the confusion in his eyes. Then it hit her that he was probably telling the truth. She briefly wondered if he possessed the ability to pull off a lie, but she had no choice. Time will tell. She gave him a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry I didn't wait for you where we agreed. I was just so anxious to see you…" she trailed off, hoping he would take her lead. Surprisingly, he did.

"It's okay, no harm done."

"Maybe not to you," she smirked, interjecting before he had the chance to overdo it. Again, Chuck didn't disappoint. He looked truly remorseful about what happened. She didn't dwell on the fact that that too might not be a lie.

"So what happened?" the EMT asked as he closed his kit.

"I was mugged," Sarah preempted when it looked like Chuck was about to answer. "Guy was an amateur though, a little trigger happy."

The paramedic's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "You're surprisingly calm for someone who's just been through that." The look Chuck gave her emphasized the point. Sarah berated herself. She should have acted more 'damsel in distress'; not just right now, but earlier in the alley too.

"I'm a Marine," she covered. "Did a tour in Iraq a couple of years ago." She groaned inwardly. No respectable soldier would let herself get mugged. It might have been a lie, but she still had her pride. "He took me by surprise," she added rather lamely.

Then Chuck stepped in to save her for the second time in less than an hour. "It's okay, honey, I'm just glad you're gonna be all right." His thumb brushed over the back of her hand. The action sent a tingling sensation up her arm, but before she had time to decipher it, the ambulance came to a halt.

Chuck had no choice but to stick close to Sarah as she was being wheeled down the hospital corridor. His hand was still firmly gripped in hers. He wasn't sure if it was part of the act she had put on in the ambulance or if she really needed him to be there. He was kind of rooting for the first option as the second included blood and needles and he'd already reached his quota of that for the day.

"What happened?" the attending physician asked the EMT as he joined them behind the curtain of one of the ER cubicles.

"She took a bullet to the shoulder, through and through. It missed the major arteries."

The doctor nodded, made a note in the chart he was carrying and handed it off to the nurse on his left. "Thanks, I've got it from here." Without a word, the EMT took off and Chuck felt relieved. The last thing he needed was for the guy to make a comment like, "Take better care of your girlfriend" or something. The grapevine at Westside Memorial was legendary and if word got to Ellie…

"Chuck, do you mind waiting outside?" the doctor asked as he moved closer to examine Sarah. She shot a look from the doctor to Chuck, her eyes asking the same question that had just popped into his head. It took Chuck a moment to realize that, as a colleague of Ellie and Devon, they had probably met at one of Ellie's parties. Chuck had always tried to stay in the background at those, not really comfortable mixing with his sister's friends. As a self-proclaimed nerd, he didn't really have that much in common with medical professionals. The doctor, Dr. Wilson according to his nametag, misread Chuck's hesitation. "I promise your girlfriend is in good hands." He nodded to their entwined fingers and smiled.

"Uhm, she's not…"

"It's okay, sweetie," Sarah interrupted, reluctantly letting go of his hand. "Let the doctor do his job and I'll be right here waiting when he's done." She gave him a small wink and Chuck suddenly wished he had listened to Morgan. This girl was trouble.