Chuck Versus Season One

A/N: Sorry this took so long to upload, it took quite a while to write. Hope readers enjoy it.

Oh and I don't own Chuck.

Chapter 2

''So…you want to talk about it?''

Chuck paused the game and turned to Morgan.

''Not really, but I guess it's one of those things where you kind of have to…''

Morgan just nodded, took a sip of grape soda and waited for Chuck to go on.

''Why would he do it Morgan? We were best friends…we looked out for each other. I mean I thought that, even if I were doing drugs, which I'm not, you know…he'd have my back. And he was sleeping with Jill! All this time I thought he was my friend and he's been…plotting against me? I don't even know. My whole life is over Morgan…''

''No Chuck, it's not. Look at you man! You have your whole life ahead of you. I mean, sure, you were kicked out of Stanford, your girlfriend cheated on you with your best friend. And yes, he betrayed you…'' Chuck's face fell as Morgan laid out his situation in front of him.

''Morgan, I know what happened. You don't have to list it…in so much detail at least''

Morgan nodded and picked up the remote, changing from the video game to TV. Maybe he'd hurt his feelings…

''Hey Morgan, I didn't mean I don't wanna talk to you, I mean…I'm just'' he sighed ''It's kind of a sore topic right now man''

Morgan nodded at him. ''I know, you need your space''

''Morgan, this isn't an episode of friends, and we aren't Ross and Rachel''

''Yeah, I always thought of us as the Joey and Chandler type…apart from, your not incredibly sarcastic and I'm not an actor''

Chuck laughed. Morgan was cheering him up slightly. He lay back on his bed and watched as Morgan flicked through the channels. He turned it onto the news and dropped the remote onto the bed again.

''Hah, look at that old dude in uniform. Imagine me wearing that, It would be so cool…''

Chuck could only hear Morgan faintly as he zoned out and flashed. He saw a picture of an airplane, documents, the General, a stage, the American flag…

''He's already here he landed last night''

Morgan stopped babbling. ''What'd you say Chuck?''

Chuck shook his head and looked at Morgan. ''No one...uh, I mean nothing!''

Morgan gave him a look and then changed the channel. ''Are you sure this whole getting kicked out of Stanford thing isn't messing with your head?''

Was it? No, he'd just flashed again.

''Chuck, buddy, you with me dude?''

''Yeah! Yeah, sorry, just kind of zoned out there'' he laughed nervously ''I'm gonna go to the bathroom now'' he stated.

Morgan looked at him awkwardly for a second before nodding slowly, then he returned to flicking through the channels.

''And your going home'' Chuck said as he got up.

''Is it that time?''

''It's that time''

Morgan got up and left his can of grape soda on the bedside table.

''Alright buddy, catch you later''

''Peddle safe!''


Oh crap my head. I'm gonna kill Bryce Larkin as soon as I get my hands around his stupid little neck-

''Major?''

Casey tried to open his eyes, but the light blinded him and he swiftly shut them again. He heard footsteps around him, two people. He listened as one of them left the room and the other stood still. He opened his eyes again, and strained to keep them open, getting used to the light. He heard someone call his rank again. He glanced around to see a female doctor writing down on a notepad.

''Hello Casey, how are you feeling?''

He groaned and she smiled.

''You have to stop coming in here so often, you know I do have other agent's to look after''

He smirked slightly. ''Yeah, but you would miss me too much. What's the verdict doc?''

Her smile wavered. ''Well, you broke 2 ribs and broke a few fingers on your right hand. Your ribs caused some internal bleeding but I stitched that up and as long as you don't pull the stitches then that should be fine. It was a pretty bad breakage Casey, they penetrated your skin and you were bleeding inside and out…''

Her face was stoic. She wasn't usually like that…

''What aren't you telling me?''

''I can't say Casey…Beckman's waiting till you wake up to talk to you, which is round about now. I have to go get her''

Casey hesitated then nodded, trying to sit up slightly.

''Hey, I didn't say you could move''

Why was she always so pushy?

''Sorry miss, didn't realize it was against the law'' he scoffed.

''Shut up and sit there while I get the General'' she huffed and walked out of the room.

He sat up anyway. His ribs didn't hurt that much and his head wasn't as painful as it had been when he'd first woken up. He tried to remember what happened. Bryce Larkin, he had been there. Where was there? The secure facility… he was protecting something…

He sighed in frustration and the General walked in, closing the door behind her.

''Major'' Beckman nodded curtly.

''General'' he nodded back.

''We have an important matter to discuss, regarding the Intersect''

The Intersect…you have got to be kidding me. I uploaded it!

''We think Bryce was just trying to destroy the Intersect, but in the midst of your fight it was accidentally activated. Once the upload was complete, the entire room went through a power surge, destroying the Intersect and all of its data. There are now two Intersects; you and who we believe to be a civilian''

He slowly nodded, processing the information.

''You said a civilian has another Intersect? He knows all of the Governments secrets?''

He noticed the General purse her lips.

''Yes, his name is Charles Irving Bartowski. He left Stanford yesterday, just before Larkin.'' Casey grimaced at the name of his former partner. She ignored it and continued. ''While I realize the upload was by accident, I am glad that you have the Intersect, Major. You are the NSA's top agent, which means we have an advantage over the CIA. After 9/11 we were told to play nice, share our Intel. The Intersect was how we did it. Now it belongs to the NSA. But if we don't get Bartowski, the CIA will find him and he will become one of their assets. If both sides have an Intersect, we are on even ground. And that's not how I operate. We need to get to Chuck Bartowski before the CIA gets their hands on him.''

Casey listened intently throughout her speech and winced internally at the thought of him 'belonging to the NSA'. He cleared the thought from his head and repeated what he had always said; anything for his country.

''You wont be discharged until 3 days won't be out in the field for a while . Get yourself fixed and ready Casey, I need to see what the Intersect can do. You will be tested on images and we will monitor your flashes. '' She nodded, and then looked him straight in the eye. ''And Casey; this is completely classified. Tell no one.'' With that she walked from the room

So there were 2 Intersects. He cringed at the thought of a civilian having all of the Government's secrets in their head. He tried to put off thinking about how the Intersect being in his head would affect his life. His life now belonged to the NSA, not that it hadn't before. But now that he was an Intersect, it seemed to make it final. His thoughts were interrupted when his favourite doctor walked in again. He glared at her.

''3 days? Really?''

She smirked. ''I look after my patients Casey. And yes, I'll be looking after you for 3 days. And don't bother working out or running around when your out either. Rest.''

He growled as she walked from the room, smirk still set in place.


''Agent Walker'' Graham nodded at her.

''Sir'' she nodded back.

He sighed and sat down behind his desk, motioning her to do the same with the chair behind her. She sat down and waited for him to speak.

''NSA have got the Intersect''

''What, since when? It was a shared piece of Intel, an agent was supposed to be selected-''

''It was an accident. A rogue agent broke in, tried to destroy it; it was uploaded in the process''

''The rogue agent has the Intersect?''

''No…Sarah the rogue agent was Bryce Larkin''

''Bryce? No, Bryce would never go rogue, he'd never betray his country. Graham he was my partner, he wouldn't do this!''

He wouldn't do this, no chance. Destroying the Intersect?

''NSA have got footage of him, trust me Sarah, it's him. Bryce is rogue''

She shook her head, trying to accept it. She thought briefly that the NSA might lie, but that wasn't how they worked. Besides, what would lying to the CIA do?

''If Bryce didn't upload the Intersect then who did?'' she asked.

Graham went from looking weary to angry.

''A god damn NSA agent, and they won't say who. We don't even have a clue since they didn't show us the footage''

Sarah scowled. So much for shared Intel…

''But we do know the identity of the civilian Intersect'' he smirked.

''Does he pose as a threat?''

''From what we know, Charles Bartowski just got caught up in Larkin's mess. When the first Intersect was destroyed, someone tried to send it to him. Bartowski was the one that got it''

''So what do we do?''

''NSA has their Intersect, now lets get ours''


''Welcome to Burbank Buymore...'' Lester looked at Chuck's new nametag ''Charles. This is Jeff, and I'm Lester''

Well, people in Burbank didn't seem that bad after all. Maybe a job here was going to okay. He watched as Jeff spoke.

''We'll be seeing you'' He walked backwards, his eyes not leaving Chuck's until he pulled Lester around the corner towards the employee lounge.

Okay, taking that sentiment back.

''Hey Buddy, how's your first day going?''

Chuck looked desperately at Morgan.

''Fine! Fine, yeah. Ehm, Morgan, is Jeff always like… that''

''Always'' he nodded.

''Awesome''

''No way! He has you saying it too?''

''What?''

''Dude! Your saying 'Awesome' now, the captain has totally got you speaking his language''

''The English language maybe?'' he scoffed.

''Oh c'mon Chuck, Awesome's great, and Ellie's happy right?''

''Yeah but, right now my life is falling apart Morgan. I've gone from Stanford to Buymore. My girlfriend Jill to no girlfriend at all and maybe the worst, a possibility of doing something with my life, to no possibility of doing something with my life. And all Devon does, is walk around saying Awesome and generally being Awesome. I can't help it if it annoys me slightly''

''Yeah I guess your right. Sorry dude''

''Do you have to say dude?''

''Sorry''

Chuck smiled; he'd missed the silly little talks he had with Morgan.

''Holy smokes, Chuck…Vicki Vale…''

Chuck started to tap the nerd herd desk as he sang. ''Vicki Vale, Vicki Vicki Vale, Vickidy Vickidy, Vicki Vale-''

He stopped mid-song as he saw the extremely hot blonde female approaching the desk.

''Hi'' she smiled.

Morgan spoke up, which made Chuck cringe internally.

''I'm Morgan by the way, and this is Chuck''

''Wow, I didn't know parents still called their kids Morgan and Chuck''

''Well, people just call me Chuck. My actual name is Charles. Charles Irving. Bartowski. Charles Irving Bartowski…'' he managed to get his name into one sentence.

What are you doing? Speak like a normal human being!

''Uh, do you need help with something? I mean it's my first day here. First hour actually so, you'd be my first customer'' he smiled.

''Yeah, I'm here about this actually'' she smiled back.

She passed him a cell phone. He looked it over, Intelcell…

''Yeah sure, I think this model has a screw at the back that tends to come loose''

He grabbed a small screwdriver from his pocket and tightened the screw in the back.

''Give a few turns and should be good as new'' he passed the phone back. ''No problem''

She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. He was still pretty beaten up about Jill; I mean how could he not be? It only happened 2 days ago; but this woman was like a Goddess. She looked around his age too.

He just broke up with Jill and he already had eyes on another girl. Was he really that pathetic?

''So this is your first day?''

He was about to answer when Morgan butt in.

''For Chuck yes, I mean, he's incredibly inexperienced. However, I myself have been here for years now…''

''Cause, that's a good thing''

Chuck laughed, really laughed. Morgan smiled and backed off.

''Okay, good point. Rejection noted. Goodbye extremely hot girl. See you later dude''

''What did I say about the word 'Dude'?''

''Sorry'' he called back from the isle he was retreating to.

He turned back to Sarah who was writing something down on a Buymore card.

''I'm really sorry Chuck, but I have to go. Here's my number.'' She handed the card to him and smiled. ''Call me''

He watched her walk out of the store then glanced down at the Buymore card. The name 'Sarah' was written down, with her mobile number below it. He jumped when Morgan made his presence known right beside him.

''Amazing, she left you her number? Dude, you are so in!''

''Morgan…''


This was beyond unbelievable. One more day in this stupid bed; he was fine! His favourite Doctor came back in to check on him, but he made sure to glare at her.

''Oh c'mon Johnny, are you still grumpy about those 3 days?''

''Am I Grumpy? Hell no, that's an understatement; I'm pissed!''

She snorted.

''C'mon Karen, I have fractured ribs that are healing fine, and a couple of broken fingers that barely even hurt. And you rack me up in this stupid bed for 3 days?''

''It's Beckman's orders, and you forgot to mention that you have internal stitching. You ain't leaving here. Suck it up''

He growled at her, which only made her laugh even more, but he knew why Beckman was keeping him here, really. The Intersect might have damaged his brain somehow, but he was pretty sure that the headache he'd received was gone. He just hadn't been ready for all that information at once.

''I can put the TV on if you want''

He'd been wanting the TV on all day…he was so bored.

''Fine'' he tried to say nonchalantly.

He noticed her smile, damn, she saw right through him. Must be the pain meds he was on…

She walked over and gave him the remote. He took it with his left hand and started flicking through the channels. Boring…boring…boring…boring…might come back to it…boring…cartoons. He put the remote down and watched.

Karen raised her eyebrows at him. ''Your watching cartoons?''

''What? It's not like there's anything else on'' he lied.

''Sure sure''


Chuck sat on his bed the next day, freaked out.

Why did I just…know, that this General guy was already here…it made no sense! He knew it had to do with that email, and Bryce was connected to it all. But he didn't want to think about Bryce right now, and quickly thought about something else.

What if what Morgan had said last night was true. What if the whole Stanford thing was messing with his head? He grimaced. That wasn't something he wanted to happen. But he was pretty sure he was sane…everything he did was normal. Hell, the Buymore had made him forget about the 'flash' and only when he got home did he remember it. Was it really that important?

He glanced as the news came on the TV again, and saw the hotel the General was going to present his speech. His eyes flickered slightly as he flashed again.

Blueprints of the hotel, wires, a ticking clock, a bomb, more blueprints, the General beside the hotel… Chuck could hardly keep up with all the images, but somehow he did He shook his head and stared at the TV with a blank expression before leaping from his bed and heading for the brand new Nerd Herder he'd been given. He spurted some excuse about going to see Morgan to Devon and Ellie who were sitting on the couch and then launched himself out the door, running through the courtyard.

Was it really that important? Hell yes it was important!


Why was so much crap on the TV? He sighed almost contentedly. Tomorrow morning, he'd be out of here. He'd be back to saving the country. He smiled at that then turned his attention back to the news. Then his eyes glazed over as he flashed for the first time.

He saw images of blueprints of the hotel he'd just seen on the news, and then a timer, with wires, a bomb, and more blueprints of the hotel, a picture of the General who was standing outside the very same hotel.

Then he noticed the pain the flash had caused him. God, that was painful. Sharp sticks of pain were interrupting the dull aching, throbbing pain already residing in his head. He clutched at his head as he tried not to pass out. He couldn't pass out, not now, not knowing what he knew…

He shook his head, his vision was slightly blurry, but his thoughts were clear. He struggled to push the covers off him and get out of bed, the pain in his head still making him unsteady. He knew he had clothes sitting in his bag ready for tomorrow. He walked over to the other side of the room trying to ignore the protests of his ribs. He rifled through the bag and found a plain white t-shirt, black cargo trousers and his usual black trainers. He changed quickly and chucked his hospital clothes onto his bed. He stopped for a moment to absorb the pain he was in, and then rifled through the bag again for his Sig Sauer. He grabbed it, stuffed it in his waistband and set off out the door.

He knew he would be recognized immediately. Not just because he looked extremely rough as he half ran half stumbled along the corridor, with a grimace of pain on his face, but also because Karen was standing right at the reception by the doors.

Oh hell. I'm going to have to run for it; with broken ribs, a blinding headache and blurry vision. Perfect.

He walked swiftly towards the doors and Karen looked up at him.

''Casey, what are you-''

''Not now'' he said back, stopping in front of her slightly before carrying on hurrying towards the door.

''John!'' she stepped forward to stop him, but he jumped out the way, his ribs burning, and ran towards the door.

The last thing he heard her yell was for someone to call Beckman.


Chuck was just about to get into the Nerd Herder when he heard someone call his name. He turned around to see Sarah running towards him.

''Where are you going?'' she … demanded?

''Where am I going? Where am I going? I think a better question is what you are doing here, asking me where I'm going!'' he yelled. What the hell was she doing here?

Sarah looked stunned for a minute before coming closer, and asked him again.

''Where Chuck!''

What the hell, was she crazy? Was she stalking him? His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sting to his left cheek. Did she just slap him in the face?

''Did you just slap me in the face?''

''Yes I did, and I'll do it again if you don't tell me why your rushing out of your house at 7pm in slacks looking very determined to go somewhere. Are you running?''

Was I running? What the hell was she on about? He didn't have time for this…

''Look, I'm busy…I'm a busy guy. And a busy guy can rush out of his house at 7pm wearing slack-'' another slap cut off his sentence. That was it.

''I don't have time for this you crazy woman! I'm trying to save the life of an army General who may or may not be dead already because a Serbian demolition's expert has planted a bomb disguised as food in a silver platter in the middle of the room he's going to go up on stage on! So if you don't mind, I need to get in my car!'' he yelled at her.

He realized that he probably sounded crazier than she did right now.

She looked at him and blinked a few times before snatching the car keys from his hand and getting in the drivers seat.

''Get in Chuck''

He stared at her, but she turned around and gave him a glare. He ran to the other side of the car and leapt in.

He was about to talk before she cut him off.

''My name is Sarah Walker; I'm a CIA agent working to protect you from other agencies, mainly the NSA. Chuck, did you get that from a flash?''

Chuck just stared at her and nodded slowly.

''Good, now tell me where the General is''


Casey dodged his way through the small amount of cars in the black SUV. If he were any normal person, he would probably be in a jail cell by now. He was under the effect of painkillers; he was in an unstable condition to drive due to head trauma and he was ignoring at least 5 traffic laws that he could think of. But he knew that if any cop tried to stop him, he'd shove his badge in their face and they'd back off immediately.

The hospital was only 5 minutes from the hotel. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there. A bomb was sitting somewhere in the room, he had to find it, if it hadn't gone off already (although he was sure he would have heard it on the radio if it had) and then defuse it if he could. He had no idea if he could evacuate the place in time, depending on what the timer was.

He cursed as floored it.

The tires squealed as he turned into the hotel parking lot, and leapt out of the car, leaving it open and running in the middle of the lot. He ran through crowds of people and through the doors. He remembered the blueprints of the hotel from the flash and set off, running around the fountain. He tugged at the door. It wouldn't open. Damn it! There was two ways he could go to get in from the side doors, left or right. He made a split second decision and went left; it didn't really matter either way.

He ignored the burning sensation around his ribs, and tried to ignore the constant throbbing in his head. He nearly knocked over a waiter but sped past him and rounded the corner. He threw the door open and stopped, searching the room with his eyes. The General was on stage, half way through his speech. Rounded tables littered the room with at least 9 or 10 people sitting at each one. All of them had their attention focused on the General. Various waiters were standing along the outskirts of the room. While this information helped him, it wasn't what he really wanted to know. He searched again and saw it; right in the middle of the room.

He began to dance around tables and run towards it.


Sarah leapt out of the car as soon as she pulled the hand break and ran around to Chuck's side. She grabbed his hand and half dragged him from the car. Only half because he was already getting out himself and knew they were at the hotel. She had quickly filled him in on the current situation. He knew he was an Intersect. He knew that there was another Intersect that belonged to the NSA and they were after him. She had told him that it held, basically, all of the Government's secrets. He had paled slightly at that.

They both ran through the doors and Chuck now grabbed Sarah's hand as he ran them both through the fountain to get to the main doors. He certainly took 'The quickest way' literally...

He pulled on the handle, but nothing happened. Sarah shoved him out the way and pulled a clip from her pocket. In a few seconds, the lock on the door was undone and they both slipped in.

Easy as cake, now all we need to do is find a bomb and defuse it. As if anything was that simple.

In the midst of her thoughts, she didn't notice Chuck take off from beside her. She looked around searching for him. What she saw made her mouth gape open as she watched the scene in front of her.

Three people were making their way from the far sides of the room towards the centre, very quickly.

A burly man from the left was dodging tables, his focus clearly on what was most likely the bomb in the middle of the room. On her right hand side, a waiter was also running, but he was focusing on Chuck and the other man. Chuck was just running full pelt towards the bomb.

She cringed as Chuck and the burly man collided, heads smacking together as they collapsed backwards onto the floor. They both yelped out, but only a few heads turned in their direction before focusing back on the General. The waiter suddenly appeared in front of them.

She watched as he subtly pulled a gun out and aimed it at the man struggling to get up by Chuck. As they looked up at the man standing before them, they both took on a distant look as their eyes fluttered slightly.


There it is! He didn't think about taking Sarah's hand this time, he just ran towards the centre of the room. That was the bomb, he was sure of it. It looked just like the image in his flash. If it wasn't, he didn't know where it was. He was nearly there…just another few steps.

Then he collided with what felt like a brick wall.

He yelped and fell backwards, cussing as his head smacked into somebody else's. Sonofabitch that hurt! He heard another yelp at the same time as his.

He felt the floor meet his back and then squinted through his eyes to see someone towering above him. Someone towering above him with a gun...

He screamed internally, and then paused. He flashed on the mans face.

He saw Bombs, demolitions, the hotel, the blueprints, the General, the bomb in front of him and then the word; Albatross. That was it. The password to the computer was Albatross!

Now he just had the problem of the guy with a gun. He watched him smirk and raise his gun, but then his face went blank and he sank to the floor. Sarah appeared behind him as he fell to the ground, her arms raised in a defensive stance. She looked down at him and then pulled back the white cloth draping over the bomb. Chuck's eyes widened as he saw bricks of explosives with wires connected to each one and ultimately leading to the laptop that showed the timer.

30 seconds.

He leapt up to get to the computer, he had the password, but he collided with something again. God damn it! Who the hell was it now? He turned to see a rather broad shouldered man, who if he was honest looked absolutely dreadful, and in pain. He was looking at him too with a confused expression before he shoved him down and turned to the laptop.

Chuck fumed. He knew the password and this guy was going to blow it! He glanced at the timer.

23 seconds.

He scrambled back up and knelt beside the man and tried to get at the laptop. They both began to argue with each other as the General shouted for a break and everybody was quickly leaving the room at the sight of the bomb.

'I know what I'm doing-''

''Let me do my job you-''

''I know how to-''

''Just let me get-''

''Stop-''

''Will you-''

They both fought to get the keyboard.

12 seconds.

''ALBATROSS!'' they both yelled.

They looked at each other.

''Your the other Intersect'' they said simultaneously.

They stared at each other and Chuck flashed.

John Casey, NSA, Major, Dog Tags, File secured, Denied access.

He shook his head and glanced back at the computer.

7 seconds.

They both rushed to get the password typed in again and knocked each others hands out the way. Chuck heard the other man swear and push him out the way.

Chuck landed on his stomach, and then flipped around, his eyes closes, awaiting the explosion. Nothing happened.

He peaked through one eye and saw Sarah staring at him, wide eyed. Then he glanced at the laptop. 2 seconds were left on the timer as it sat frozen. He glanced around the room. A few guards were standing around with radios, obviously relaying the situation to someone. He looked at the man kneeling in front of the laptop. He was panting a lot and there was a circle of blood forming where his ribs where. He fell heavily against one of the tables and put his head in his hands.

He heard Sarah's voice next, and it was of pure shock.

''Alex?''


Casey didn't think he could take much more of this pain in his head. He'd fallen heavily against the table and his ribs were burning and throbbing with pain. He felt like the explosion had been transferred from the laptop to inside his head. He grasped his head with his hands and the pain subsided slightly. That was strange, it usually lasted longer. He sighed a little in relief at the slight piece of luck he had received.

''Alex?''

He knew that voice... He knew that name.

''Alex, is that you?''

His head was still way too painful for him to look at the bright lighting in the room so he just sat there with his face in his hands. He felt gentle hands touch his and then pull them slightly away. To his own surprise, he didn't object. The light reached his eyes and he winced, but then a face blocked it out. He did not expect to see her.

''Sam?''

She looked shocked, and then she looked concerned.

She laid a hand against his forehead and it felt extremely comforting. He closed his eyes for a second. Or was it longer than that?

Either way, next thing he knew he was in an ambulance, conscious; hadn't he just defused a bomb and sat down in the hotel? He heard the sirens screaming around him. He surmised he had passed out, just as he coughed. He tasted blood in his mouth. He heard someone say something in a high pitched voice. Was he that delirious on meds? Sharp pains shot through his torso and he knew that something was seriously wrong. He remembered the doctors 'verdict' as he replayed their conversation in his head.

'Well, you broke 2 ribs and broke a few fingers on your right hand. Your ribs caused some internal bleeding but I stitched that up and as long as you don't pull the stitches then you should be fine. It was a pretty bad breakage Casey, they penetrated your skin and you were bleeding inside and out…''

He'd pulled his stitches; inside and out. He jerked as another pain shot through his torso. He felt someone take his hand and stroke it gently. Who was that? Maybe the paramedic had a crush on him. Okay, he really was delirious.

He tried to open his eyes and look around. There was a flash of movement around him and he felt someone lift his head to put an oxygen mask on. There was a paramedic working frantically on him and he grimaced as they dug a needle into his arm. He felt the hold on his right hand tighten slightly. He looked over to see who it was.

Sam. It had been her, he hadn't been delirious then. Or maybe she wasn't really here. She was standing, leaning over him, concern written all over her face. Or was it confusion? He groaned as a racking cough came over him and he felt more blood in his mouth. The last thing he heard before he passed out was another high pitched squeal.


Sarah gasped as she saw the red patch forming on Alex's white t-shirt. She glanced back up at his face, he was unconscious. She heard Chuck speaking to her.

''Should I call an ambulance, Sarah?'' he asked.

She didn't answer, she just took the cloth that had been draped over the bomb and applied it to the wound. It wasn't bleeding that badly, but Alex was extremely white, it wasn't a good sign.

She heard Chuck's voice again, distantly, but she couldn't focus on it. Why was Alex here? She had her suspicions…she just didn't want them to be true.

She heard another deeper voice answer Chuck.

''We called ambulances as soon as we saw the bomb, for precautions, it should be here in 2 minutes''

Sarah felt slightly mollified at hearing this but it wasn't helping the colour that was draining from Alex.

''Tie him up'' she said pointing to the waiter ''and wait for a CIA extraction team. Don't let him our of your sight''

Turning her head to face Alex again she bit her lip, trying to think rationally. She needed to know what the tell the paramedics. If her suspicions were correct, his credentials would not be Alexander Coburn. She screamed internally. If they hadn't lost contact with each other for all these years, maybe she would know.

She felt his pockets and found a wallet. She was right. His 'name' was John Casey.

Then she found the badge. No; this was not happening; he couldn't be! His NSA badge glinted in the lights hanging from the ceiling and she cursed it as she stuck it in her back pocket. She reached around and lifted his t-shirt up, unsurprised to see a handgun there. She pulled it out the waistband and stuffed it in her own.

She went back to applying pressure to the wound. She didn't know how long she sat there, it felt like years; but really it was only minutes, until the paramedics got here. They immediately began working on 'John' and she supplied them with the information she knew from his wallet and what she knew from memory; his blood type was AB negative. She grimaced as they lifted the cloth and a large amount of blood was flowing from the wound. She had to go with him in the ambulance; she had to know he was okay.

She glanced at Chuck who looked horrified. You could only take one person into an ambulance. Tough, this one would have to take two. She couldn't leave Chuck, but she couldn't leave Alex either. As the paramedics rushed around Alex and made their way out to the ambulance with him lying on a gurney she ran after them, dragging Chuck with her.

They started to object as she climbed into the back of the ambulance with Chuck, but she flashed her CIA badge. They were extremely annoyed but let her and Chuck on. Chuck looked nearly as white as Alex. He sat as far away as he possibly could, eyes wide at the sight of blood.

She focused back on Alex and took his hand, stroking it gently. The sirens were blazing as the ambulance sped forwards. She glanced at the direction they were going, and then started to protest. She knew there was an NSA hospital not 10 minutes from here.

''Listen; there's an NSA hospital not 10 minutes from here in the other direction. Trust me, I've been to it once before''

The paramedics exchanged a glance before turning around and heading towards the hospital. She sighed. By the looks of him, he'd just come from that hospital in the first place. The paramedic in the front handed her a satellite GPS Sat Nav and told her to type in the address. She did so quickly, handed it back, and then turned back to Alex. He jerked slightly and she held his hand tighter. He coughed and she saw some blood coat his lips. She briefly heard Chuck start babbling in a high pitched voice.

''Oh my god! There's more blood! HE'S COUGHING UP BLOOD!''

She hadn't been this emotional in years, and yet here she was about to burst into tears, or at least rip Chuck's voice box out. She shook her head of thoughts and focused back on Alex. The paramedic put an oxygen mask on him and turned around to prepare a needle. He tapped it once before sinking it into Alex's arm. He jerked again and she held his hand tighter. Then his eyes fluttered open, he looked so tired. He looked at the paramedic for a moment and when she squeezed his hand he looked over at her.

She met his eyes for the first time and she couldn't help the tears that flowed down her cheeks. Their similar blue eyes met each others and she saw him smile slightly, before coughing again. More blood came up and Chuck squealed again. She pushed Alex back down as he lost consciousness and stroked his arm.

She hadn't seen him in years, and a lot had changed since then. That didn't matter. He was still her big brother.