A/N: Thanking my reviewers for being so kind :-) More plot, another wild west couterpart, and a little pairing fun this chapter!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

"You can just put those right there in the corner" said the blonde and beautiful Western-style Sarah, as Chuck followed her into the room she'd be renting, her cases in his hands.

He had expected them to be light, after all the lady had been carrying them as if they were nothing at all. Chuck was now finding that Sarah must indeed be as strong in this alternate world as she was in the real one, capable of carrying what felt like bags full of concrete without even flinching.

She had introduced herself as Sarah Walker, that pleased Chuck at least to know he could call her by the same name, though a part of him had almost hoped she might reveal her real name in this odd world.

"Thank you, Sheriff" she said with a kind smile as she unpinned her hat and put it down on the night stand, "I'm very grateful" she assured him.

"You're very welcome, Sarah... Miss Walker" he corrected himself when he realised what he'd done.

They didn't know each other here, not as they did in the real world. Back in the frontier days he was living in right now, you didn't use first names so fast, not unless you were invited to.

"That's alright, Sheriff, you can call me Sarah if you prefer" she told him easily, making eyes at Chuck in such a way as to make him wonder exactly what was going on here, "but I'll feel silly calling you just Sheriff..." she said, waiting for him to fill in a name for her.

"Charles Carmichael" he told her, in suave spy style as he took her hand and kissed it.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Charles" she smiled, trying out the name on him and looking as if she liked it.

Chuck felt almost giddy when she looked at him that way. In the real world, as he was choosing to call it in his head, things had gotten so complicated between him and Sarah. Here they had only just met and she was smiling at him like she really, really liked him. Of course Chuck wasn't as oblivious as he had been that first day of meeting Sarah in the Burbank BuyMore. He knew that people would pretend to like you, to be your friend, or even more than friend, to get you just exactly where they wanted you. He'd seen Sarah do it and he was wary of being played here too, especially when he was essentially alone and lacking in back-up.

"I should be going" he said, quickly releasing her hand when he realised he was still holding it and backing up towards the door.

He misjudged his exit, his back clanging against the cabinet by the door, before he manage to move over and get out, closing the door behind him. Once on the other side, Chuck let out a breath he barely knew he'd been holding. This place was just crazy. Now Sarah was here and as beautiful as ever, though apparently not at all badass like she was in the real world. She seemed like any normal attractive young woman of the time, using her wits and feminine wiles to get by, though honestly, Chuck wouldn't be too surprised if he found out later that the was a lot more to her than that.

Heading back down the stairs to the bar, Chuck found himself being watched by a few more pairs of eyes than he would've liked. He assumed that the men were just jealous, after all, he hadn't seen too many women in this town yet, and none as pretty as Sarah. He'd just been alone with her, in a bedroom, for a whole five minutes. Could be some of these cowboys just dreamed their whole life of getting even that far with a woman. A cocky smile was soon on the new Sheriff's face as he headed back to the bar, slammed his hand down on the surface and ordered another shot of whiskey, clearly forgetting how the last one had made him feel!

"I'm just sayin' maybe we oughta warn the guy" said a voice further down the bar that Chuck couldn't miss, and he turned his head to see Lester trying to get Jeff to be quiet at all costs.

"Are they talking about me?" said Chuck, trying not to look as nervous as he felt as he turned to Casey and asked the question, "Are they...? Should I be warned about something?"

"Nah, something and nothing" Casey assured him with a shake of his head as he polished up a few glasses behind the bar, something Chuck had watched him do a hundred times before when the NSA Agent had played barman on many a mission, "The Indians, up in the hills" he said with a tilt of his head in the right direction, "They've been making some threats and such on Nerdsville" he admitted, "but it never comes to anything"

"Okay" nodded Chuck, staring down at the shot of whiskey in his hand, "Well, that's good" he said thoughtfully, suddenly wondering why he had this drink and realising he'd ordered it in a real moment of madness, "Um, so the Indians" he went on after a moments pause, "They didn't... Bryce Larkin, he wasn't...?"

"Killed by the Indians?" asked Casey with an amused smirk, "No" he said definitely, allowing Chuck to breathe a sigh of relief for all of two seconds, until the barman turned around from replacing the glasses on the shelf and continued, "That was the outlaw been bird-dogging this town for years" he admitted with an evil kind of a grin that made Chuck's blood run cold.

The shot of whiskey he'd been contemplating and had almost completely decided not to drink was hastily thrown into his mouth then, burning a trail down his throat that had him coughing in a second.

"Outlaw?" he said, almost too quietly to be heard as he strained to form the words, "What outlaw?" he tried again after clearing his throat.

"They call him Ring" said Jeff as too many conversations came to an abrupt halt and the atmosphere in the saloon changed.

The piano player stopped mid-tune and it was only when the music ceased that Chuck really paid any mind to the fact it'd been there at all. He noticed now, looking over at the large man sat on the piano stool, his voice oddly familiar when he began to speak.

"Marcus Ring, that old devil" he said, turning as he stood up from his seat and giving Chuck the shock of his life, "You gonna be the new Sheriff of this town, boy, you gonna have to do something about that fella, make no mistake" said the man, an exact replica of Big Mike as he strode on over to the bar.

Casey already had a drink poured for the guy for which there appeared to be no charge for whatever reason. Mike picked up the glass without even looking at it, still staring at Chuck as he drank the liquor down.

"Name's Mike" he introduced himself a moment later, holding out a hand for Chuck to shake, "Folks round here just call me the The Boss Man, on account of me havin' been here longer than any other person livin'"

"Wow, that's quite a title" said Chuck with a nervous smile as he shook Mike's hand, "I'm Charles Carmichel" he told him, "Well, Sheriff Carmicheal" he corrected himself, realising that was probably the more proper way for him to be introducing himself right now, "So, are we expecting this outlaw guy to show up any time soon, or..."

"Comes and goes as he pleases, that one" Big Mike's double shrugged as he pulled himself onto the barstool beside Chuck's own with some effort, "Just hopin' the Doc gets back to town before he does. Reckon Ring's gonna be back here double-quick when he finds out Nerdsville got itself a new man of the law"

"Yes, sir" Casey nodded his agreement, "He's gonna wanna put you in a hole right next to Larkin where he reckons you belong" he said, not seeming hugely worried about that fact, quite the contrary Chuck supposed as he watched that wicked smile appear on the cowboy's face once again.

Swallowing hard, Chuck was determined to be brave and strong, after all, he was Sheriff here it was what he was supposed to do. Besides, if this was some kind of halluncation, which he was pretty sure it had to be, it wasn't like he could actually get hurt or die or anything, right?

"This can't be right" said Beckman as she read the paperwork before her on the desk, "How can you stop the tests at the lab? Agent Bartowski is in serious danger of dying" she pointed out, anger and frustration slipping into her tone as she stared up at the man pacing in front of her desk.

It wasn't that General Beckman wanted to have any kind of affection for the former Asset turned Special Agent. Chuck Bartowski had been quite the thorn in her side over the years, ever since the Intersect had been put into his head the first time around. The fact of the matter was that he was also a decent man and did not deserve to be put in this kind of danger. She would throw him into situations that were tough to get out of, after all that was his job, especially now as he was being put through his paces and fast becoming a fully fledged Agent in his own right. What Beckman was less comfortable with was the realisation that this latest tragedy to befall Agent Bartowski was another test itself, one for which there was no back-up plan, that neither Walker or Casey were privy to, and that she herself had little or no control over. She saw no real point to it other than causing pain, panic, and possible death in more than one quarter, and she was not about to stand for it.

"We have to get him a doctor" she said firmly, slamming her hand on the desk as she got to her feet, still only half the height of the young man before her.

"No, we don't" he said flatly, not even flinching as he stared down at her, apparently unmoved even as the unflappable Beckman began losing her cool.

"Agent Shaw..." she tried to say, but he held up a hand to silence her in an instant.

"This isn't your choice, General" he told her, with a coldness in his voice that was enough to make even Beckman shudder, "Chuck does this himself; no help, no doctors. It's the way it has to be"

"Well, if it ain't the famous Doctor Woodcombe" said Casey, wearing a smile that Chuck was certain to be fake, even if he wasn't sure why his fellow agents cowboy alter-ego should be at odds with the wild west version of Awesome, "Serve the good doctor would ya, Charlie" Casey instructed the faceless bartender to his left, right after he'd shaken hands with Devon.

"Hey, you must be the new Sheriff in town" said the facsimile of Captain Awesome, dressed in different clothes of course and carrying a doctors bag that he parked under the barstool when he sat own beside Chuck, "Good to meet you" he said with a grin as he shook the other man's hand a little too hard.

Fortunately, Chuck had been ready for the manoeuvre and hid the pain well as he pulled his arm away and stifled a wince. Seemed Devon was as built here as he was in the real world, but then that made sense. Just as soon he as he had a drink in his hand he was offering a kind of a toast to Chuck.

"Here's to you not needing my services for a good long while, Sheriff" he winked, and Chuck could only find a nervous laugh in response as he clinked his glass of whiskey against Devon's own and faked drinking down the shot for fear of getting very wasted before too long - he figured he was better off with a clear head in this place.

"So, you're the Doctor" he said pointlessly as Devon called for a refill from the barman, "and you have a nurse named Ellie?" he asked as casually as he could, mindful of arousing any kind of suspicion, but at the same time curious to know more about the role his sister had here, if she was not in fact his sister at all.

"Oh yeah, Ellie-Faye is... she's awe-inspiring" he smiled fondly as he thought of her, "Incredibly intelligent, y'know, for a woman" he said, at which Chuck choked just a little.

He could have argued about it, but the fact was, the wild west was pretty sexist, hence the fact Ellie was only a nurse and not the high-flying doctor she was back home.

"Hey, you okay, Sheriff?" Devon checked, as the other guy seemed to struggle a minute to catch his breath, "Maybe I should check you over?" he suggested, but Chuck shook his head and waved his arms to signal that no, he didn't need that.

"I'm fine" he croaked out eventually, clearing his throat one more time before speaking again, "Really, I am. I just need some air is all" he said, gesturing towards the saloon doors and exiting through them with a help of a pat on the back from Devon that was a little more forceful than he would have liked.

Out in the cool night air, Chuck did feel a little better, for all of a minute until he spotted Casey across the way. He had barely noticed the guy leave the bar, but come to think of it, it had been the barman, a guy they called Charlie, that had been pouring the shots for the past while. Casey was now at the door of a house across the street, knocking softly and looking around as if he was checking no-one was watching him.

Chuck ducked around the side of the building out of view, peering around the corner just in time to see the door be opened by a person unseen and Casey slip inside. Looking around and seeing that nobody else was in the area, Chuck ran across the dusty road to the row of buildings on the other side. If Casey was up to something of the no good variety then he needed to know about it, partly because he was meant to be the Sheriff here, but just as importantly because it might give him some clue as to how to get out of this crazy place!

With his back against the outer wall of the house Casey had just entered, Chuck slipped silently along, trying not to make a sound. When he came to the window, he carefully peering through a crack in the not-quite-closed shutters, and immediately wished he hadn't.

There was Casey, with his arms around a woman, his lips crushed to hers, kissing her like it was going out of style. Sure, it wasn't as if Chuck had never seen the guy in a clinch before, but it was as disturbing as it was sweet in a lot of ways.

Deciding this was not something he needed to be spying on, Chuck was about to turn away from the scene when the couple parted and he got his first good look at the woman's face.

"Oh my God!" he gasped at the realisation that the woman in Casey's arms was none other than Ellie's wild west counterpart, Nurse Ellie-Faye, "Oh, this is a bad place, a very bad place!" Chuck said to himself as he looked away, trying to scrub the image out of his brain as he hurried to the Sheriff's station to hide, wishing this world so very far away!

To Be Continued...