Ok. My second fanfic here. I don't own Chuck. Reviews are very welcome. Enjoy!

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Sarah dropped Chuck's hand immediately, and he put both of his arms behind his head. Beckman's eyes flicked from one to the other, but neither betrayed the intimacy of the moment right before her entrance. Right behind General Beckman was John Casey, who despite himself, seemed to grin, just a little bit, at the sight of Chuck.

Sarah stood at Chuck's bedside and prepared herself to speak, but Beckman beat her to it.

"Agent Walker, Chuck seems perfectly capable of listening to a debriefing to me. Save the speech." Sarah looked down sheepishly as Casey walked over to join her. They stood side by side as Beckman stood at the foot of Chuck's bed.

"Mr. Bartowski. Your father and the doctors tell me you're in the midst of a charmed recovery. The operation went completely as planned and as far as we know, you are no longer the Intersect." Chuck grinned hugely as Beckman continued. "And now, we have to consider the issue of your future. Obviously, you still have extreme amounts of knowledge about the inner workings of some of the most top-secret government organizations.

"We decided though," Chuck interrupted, "that a…termination…isn't necessary, right? That's not the plan, is it?"

"Bartowski, if we were going to have you terminated, you wouldn't have made it out of the OR." At this, Chuck gulped audibly, and Sarah had to fight to contain her emotions. Even Casey shifted uncomfortably at this barely veiled threat. "However, you are correct. Great opposition from your handlers has persuaded my superiors that you've acted in the government's best interests for so long that you merit a free life. No matter what path you choose, however, you will have to sign a gag order." Chuck nodded fervently at this one condition to his freedom.

"We do have a choice to offer you. Agent Walker, Major Casey, pay attention- this affects you too. Chuck, you and your handlers are the most informed people associated with the government about the rogue agency FULCRUM. You have fought them for a year and your handlers have proved capable of dealing with the FULCRUM threat. Therefore, we'd like to offer you a choice. Either you can go completely free with a gag order, back to your normal life, and your handlers will be reassigned to new missions," Chuck's eyes flickered in a very noticeable motion to Sarah, "Or, you can be trained as a professional agent by the CIA. We will put you in an intensive agent certification program, and at the end of it, if you survive, you will have full agent status. You, Major Casey, and Agent Walker will be a team focused on seeking out FULCRUM and taking them down, with assistance from any reserves the combined forces of the government can help you with."

As Beckman explained the details of the offer, three jaws dropped in shock. When she was done, Casey grunted noncommittally, Sarah's expression was cold and unreadable, and Chuck's jaw was hanging down to the floor. His eyes were wide open and it seemed he was short of breath.

Beckman looked around at the room, filled with an air of surprise.

"I'm returning to Washington tomorrow. You will have two days to decide what you want to do. At that time, you can call me from Castle. Thank you, Mr. Bartowski, Agent Walker, Major." At this, Beckman stalked from the room and Casey turned to grunt.

"Jeez, Bartowski, pick your jaw up off the floor. I'm sure you'll want to discuss your lady feelings about this, Bartowski. We'll talk in Castle later when you're released." With this Casey stalked from the room. Sarah turned to look at Chuck with a completely stony face. Chuck looked up at her in shock, and was about to speak, before Ellie, dressed in her scrubs, sprinted into the room.

"CHUCK! They just told me you woke up! How are you feeling? The…the thingy…is it gone?! Are you my brother? Do you remember everything?!" Sarah looked with a smile in her eyes from Ellie to Chuck and murmured that she would leave them alone for now.

"Ellie, I'm completely fine, I feel fantastic. It's gone, and I remember everything. And of course I'm still your brother!" Ellie ran to Chuck's bed and hugged him fiercely. "Speaking of feeling fine, Ellie, can you pull your strings here and get me released today?" Chuck saw the immediate "No" etched all over Ellie's face before she even began to speak, and cut her off. "Ellie, you've got to trust me. I feel fantastic. But I need to get up, and move around, and get a feel for my life again. Please."

Ellie hesitated, but saw the truth in her brother's eyes.

"Okay, Chuck. I'll get them to sign your forms now. You'll let me drive you home?"

"Of course, sis. I can't wait to be home!"