A/N: I got asked how do I write the Molly verse and this. The answer…very carefully. We're getting serious now. Ch. 4, Infected.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, Terminator, or Norse Mythology, but if they reboot the Thor movie franchise, I'm campaigning for Yvonne to play her…

Six days before Valkyrie faces off against a T-800

They went to dinner in the dining car. They were almost alone, except for one gentleman who was sitting at the table beside them, smoking a cigar. Except for him, the car was empty. After a few minutes of Valkyrie fanning the smoke away from Molly, she stood up.

"Let's move to the other end, so Molly won't get smoke in her face," Sarah said. Casey gave her a stunned look, Chuck a proud one. She didn't say it hateful, or spiteful, and if anything she was trying to give the other diner the space he needed to enjoy his dinner the way he wanted to. Unfortunately he didn't see it that way.

"You should control your woman," the diner said to Chuck. Casey was still slackjawed from Valkyrie worried about Molly, and Valkyrie just turned to look at Chuck. Chuck grinned. He knew she would do what he said, because it was cover. Valkyrie always did what the mission called for. Chuck turned to the other diner.

"I don't understand you," Chuck said softly, but firmly. "We are simply moving to let you enjoy your dinner and cigar, but you want to take offense. But as bad as that is, what's even worse is you think I should 'control my woman'. Why in God's name would I ever want to control such a wonderful person?" Casey groaned to himself this was going to go bad. He turned to Valkyrie, but there was a look in her eye that Casey had never seen before, well, not for a person. For some of the nicest weapons, sure. It was desire, even if Valkyrie didn't know it yet.

"A wife's place is to do what her husband tells her," the man said standing. Chuck moved in front of him.

"Here's a little tip," Chuck said. "Just because we live in a hellhole doesn't mean we have to act like the devil. Let people be, make their own choices, and the rewards…they might surprise you." Chuck nodded at the diner, turned to go back to table the other three were now occupying, and was caught mid-stride by the blonde warrior. Her lips crashed into his. He knew this was cover, that she was protecting him after what he just said, but part of him, it so hoped it was more. She let him deepen the kiss, and he did. Casey's mouth dropped, and it was all he could do not to drop Molly. The other diner stood there in shock. They broke the kiss, and Valkyrie ran her hand down Chuck's face and winked at him. Chuck forced his brain to reboot, turned to the other diner and simply said, "See."

"Chuck me," Casey muttered.

}o{

That evening found Chuck, Valkyrie, and Molly in their room. Chuck kept glancing at Valkyrie but wouldn't say anything. After the fourth glance Chuck thought she couldn't see, she spoke, wanting to move things along.

"Just ask it," Sarah said. "Things can't get more uncomfortable." Chuck stared at her, and began to laugh. She turned to look at him, and she couldn't help but smile at his infectious laugh.

"I don't think things are all that uncomfortable," Chuck said, shrugging. Sarah gave him a look, but couldn't help grinning. "I seem to remember a few days ago you said you didn't know how to do this, and now Casey is trying to figure out how to tell you not to be too nurturing." She gave him a look, and Chuck couldn't help but grin.

"See, what did I tell you, Mama Bear," he said. She said nothing, but she kept the amused lock on her face while messing with Molly. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry about earlier, putting you in that position where you had to kiss me." Sarah stopped what she was doing, and slowly turned to him. He was looking down, ashamed. "You told me you trusted me, and I put you in a bad spot."

"You put me in a terrible spot, Chuck," Sarah said softly, Chuck never raising his head. "You treated me like a person, and not property." Chuck blinked. "You treated me with respect and as a person, and not as something or someone to satisfy your every whim." Chuck raised his head slowly, and saw Sarah standing there watching him, the amused look still on her face. "I trusted you, and you did not break that trust. What I chose to do, I did to protect both of us, and it was a choice I gladly made." Chuck nodded, swallowed, and then spoke softly.

"But, I did force it a little more than it needed to be, and for that I'm sorry," he said. He started to look down again, but saw her grin.

"Forced, Chuck," she said, the grin growing. "I don't think you forced anything."

"Oh," he said.

"It was good for the cover," she said. Chuck nodded.

"The cover, a loving husband and wife in a world where there is no love," Chuck replied. Sarah bounced a shoulder, shrugging.

"Maybe we give others hope," she replied. Chuck grinned at her, and then held up a finger as he had a thought. He started digging through his things. She watched him, wondering what he was doing.

"Ah, here it is," he said, and handed her a watch. She looked at it.

"Interesting gift," she said as she took it, Chuck grinned. He took his right hand and flipped open the arm band around his left hand. Inside was a computer. "This and that watch were my father's," he explained. "Now, I can track the watch, and the watch can track this," he said, holding it up. "If we ever get separated, we can find each other." He paused, thought, and looked a little sheepish. "Okay, if I get lost, you can find me." Sarah couldn't help but smile.

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings, but the chances of me getting lost…" she trailed off, grinning at him.

"So if I wander off the wrong way, now you can find me," Chuck said. "I mean we are married, so if I run you can drag me back home." Sarah couldn't help herself. She took a step toward Chuck and adjusted his shirt collar.

"Thinking about running, Chuck?" she asked, popping the k on the end. Chuck gulped.

"Nope," he said in an octave too high.

"Good," she said looking him straight in the eye. "Because I can't protect you if I don't know where you are."

"The mission," he said, wheezing out the words. She stared at him.

"It's my most important one," she said softly. She laid a hand on his chest for a second, and then patted it. "Come on, it's time for bed." She walked into the bathroom to change. "Tomorrow we'll be in Bowling Green. We can get more supplies, sleep in a hotel where the bed is big enough for you, and be back on the train the next morning." She walked out, ready for bed, and noticed Chuck looked like he was a million miles away. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to promise me, if it comes down to a choice between me or Molly, save Molly," he said. She was silent for a long time.

"If there's no other way, okay," she said. "But, I'm always going to look for another way." He studied her for a moment, and nodded. She got into bed, grabbed his hand and put it on her hip.

"Just so we're clear," she began.

"I know," he said softly. She turned and looked at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked. He grinned, and closed his eyes. ""It wasn't like it was the worst thing in the world."

"I'm growing on you," he said softly.

"Like a wart," she replied.

"I'll take what I can get," he replied. In spite of herself, she laughed. After a few minutes, they both drifted off to sleep.

}o{

Valkyrie was dreaming. They weren't nightmares, oh no. She was dreaming of a certain lanky, tall, animal shaped hair, tech wiz with chocolate eyes. She now knew what Casey meant about chocolate and peanut butter. But she was bothered by the smell. The weird smell…no not weird, like something died. She woke, her eyes watering, and she nearly retched.

"What is that smell!" she yelled.

"Keep it down do you want to wake the entire train?" Chuck asked, working on Molly.

"What is going on?" she asked. Chuck just looked at her. "She did that?" Chuck nodded. "That's kind of impressive, and very frightening." Chuck had the diaper changed.

"I need to take this to be cleaned," he said.

"Nope," Sarah said opening a window. "Toss it." Chuck looked at her. "We can buy her a new one." Chuck shrugged, got ready to toss it, and then paused.

"We could put it in Casey's room," Chuck said. Sarah thought for a minute, grinned, and then shook her head.

"That's a war where there are no winners," she said, grinning. Chuck nodded and tossed it out the window. He shut the window, and turned, seeing Sarah fussing over Molly. Chuck grinned, shook his head, and got back in bed. Sarah gave him a look.

"I know, you know forty-three bazillion ways to kill me," Chuck said, as she slid in against him, allowing her to take his hand and place it on her hip again. Sarah knew she shouldn't, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.

"You know, several of those would be quite enjoyable ways to go," she said with a grin on her face.

"Ha!" he said loudly, which got him a glare. "Right, don't wake the baby." He lay there quietly a moment. "Can we put the next one in Casey's room?"

"I'll think about it," she said, grinning as she drifted off to sleep.

}o{

Now

Valkyrie ran to check on Chuck. He was moaning, and there was a knot rising up on his head.

"He took a lump in that fight," Casey said, watching him.

"It's more than that," she muttered, and felt his head. He was burning up. "Hogun, he's on fire."

"Ah, hell," Casey muttered. "That's all we need right now." He handed Molly to Valkyrie and started digging in his supply bag. He found the medicine and pulled it out. "This should help fight any infection." He crushed up some medicine, mixed it with some water, and lifted his head. Casey poured it down his throat, Chuck swallowed the concoction. Sarah handed Molly back to Casey and began to search Chuck for signs of infection. She found redness on his lower left arm where the computer was wrapped. She undid the straps and when she went to pull it off, she saw it. From his arms it was like…wiring ran from it to the computer. She checked the computer and it was still functioning. She tried to pull it off, the wiring went taut, and Chuck screamed. "This ain't good," Casey grumbled. He and Valkyrie shared a look. She put the computer back on his arm, stood up, and walked out of the shelter. She looked over the barren, blackened land. She watched the lighting play in the distance. She turned back to look at Chuck for a moment, then she sighed, and her shoulders fell.

"We have to split up," she said.

"Valkyrie, you know this is the wrong choice!" Casey yelled. "We have to take the baby, he's done for." She turned at him and stared, causing Casey to take a step back. "It's what he would want," he said softly. She nodded and then shrugged.

"Lucky for him, I don't always listen," she said.

"Valkyrie, it's suicide. Look come with me, get horses and supplies and come back. It will take five days," Casey pleaded.

"And if something finds him between now and then?" she asked.

"Valkyrie, he's infected," he hissed. She nodded.

"And I have a sword now, so I can cut off his forearm if I need to," she said, not blinking. Casey shook his head.

"You won't," he replied. Sarah looked away.

"If it's to save his life I will," she said.

"If it comes to it, I will," he said, softly. Valkyrie studied him for a moment and nodded.

"Go, get help, and supplies," she said. "I'll keep him safe." She took off the watch he gave her. "This has a beacon in it, that the computer can track. I don't know how far the signal goes, he never explained that much, but it will help you." Casey nodded. "Keep Molly safe," she said, and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead. Casey's mouth dropped. "Not a word, Hogun," she snarled.

"If he dies, our mission isn't over," Hogun said.

"If he dies, mine is," she retorted. Hogun shook his head, and in spite of himself he grinned.

"Three years I've never seen you like this," he said to her. She smiled.

"I never met anyone like him in three years," she said honestly. "Go," she choked out. Casey slung his bag over his shoulder and took off with the baby. She watched him go until he was a speck in the distance. A low groan turned her attention back to Chuck. She walked over to him and sat down beside him, pulling him in to fight the chill he was feeling. "You're going to live, I won't let you die."

"You should have gone with him," he muttered. She looked down at him, and stroked down his sweat slicked hair.

"I have my mission," she said.

"And the mission always comes first," he croaked out. She grabbed his face, making him look her in the eyes.

"The mission is you," she said intensely. "Keeping you safe is the mission." She paused for a second and softly added. "It's my mission."

"The governor won't like that," Chuck said, shutting his eyes.

"I'm in the middle of the wasteland, having just held off a T-800, if she don't like it, she can try and do something about it," Sarah said.

"You're so cute when you get possessive," Chuck said.

"Cute?" Sarah asked, a tone in her voice.

"I have a fever, you should ignore me," he said.

"Probably best," she said. Chuck grinned.

"You didn't deny it," Chuck said.

"Deny what?"

"That you get possessive," Chuck said, eyes shut, grin plastered on his face. She just stared at him for a long minute, and then bent down and kissed his forehead.

"Shut up and go to sleep, Chuck," she said.

"Okay, Sarah," he said. She sat there, wondering if she had enough to save him.

}o{

Unknown compound, Heaven

"Odin, the readout is coming back, and it's not good," Frigga said out loud. "He is infected by the techno-virus." On the monitor, words appeared.

"How infected?" the words asked. Frigga punched a few buttons on the computer.

"He is currently three percent infected," Frigga answered. "That's strange, he should be further along."

"He's fighting," the words said.

"Has it been activated?" she asked.

"No," the words read. "He is fighting the infection, but it is weakening him. He needs to stop so it can work. I will have to talk to him."

"Be careful," Frigga said.

}o{

Wastelands, Chuck's brain

"What is it dad?" the young boy asked.

"It's a special program," the father answered. "It works like my wrist computer and watch. It's what I call a last line of defense. Don't mess with it," he said. He got up and walked away. The young boy stood there a minute looking at the screen that said, press Enter. He smiled, and pressed the button. There were many screens in front of him, and they all lit up with images. On the main screen, a progress bar showed the upload percentage. It reached 100, and the images stopped. The young boy feel backwards and landed on the carpet. The noise brought his father back. He saw what had happened and checked on his son. "Are you okay?" the father asked. The boy nodded and looked at his father. "Amazing," he muttered. "You're special, son, never forget that. Aces, Charles, Aces."

"I remember this," Chuck thought. "I thought dad would be so mad."

"Do you trust him," the voice asked beside him. Chuck looked to his right, and there was a computer image, but blurry.

"Of course I do," he said.

"Even though he brought the machines to earth," the image said.

"Who are you?" Chuck asked.

"I am Odin," he said. Chuck's jaw dropped. "If, and this is a huge if, you trust him, quit fighting the virus. You are special, and you'll find out once the techno-virus occupies five percent of your body."

"That's the craziest thing I ever heard," Chuck said. The image said nothing for a minute.

"Trust him," the voice said, and disappeared. Chuck took a deep breath, and forced himself to stop fighting the virus.

}o{

Wastelands, Sarah

Sarah watched Chuck toss and turn, his body covered with sweat, burning up. It was obvious he was losing the fight to the infection. She glanced at the sword. "Fight it, Chuck," she said softly.

}o{

Heaven

"The virus is spreading," Frigga said. "He's at four percent."

"At five, it should activate," the words said on the screen.

"Should!?" Frigga screamed. "What do you mean should!?"

"It was never tested," the words said on the screen. Frigga put her head in her hands.

"This is why I always have a headache," Frigga muttered. She looked at the monitor, and now five percent of Chuck's body was taken by the virus. "Time to find out what you're made of.

}o{

Wasteland

Sarah watched him struggle, and she took a deep breath, glancing at the sword.

"I'm sorry, Chuck, but I have to save you," she said softly. Suddenly he sat straight up and his eyes opened. His eye lids fluttered and his eyes moved like he was seeing a million pictures at once. Chuck screamed. A primal scream and Sarah flinched back, taken unawares. He took three deep breaths, and then turned away from them and retched everything out of his stomach. He heaved several times and nearly collapsed backwards, but Sarah grabbed him. His skin was cool to the touch. She looked at him, the fever eyes were gone. He looked down at the wrist computer, unstrapped it, and took it off. He sprang to his feet and looked at his arm as he held it up in front of him, no sign of the techno-virus.

"Chuck," Sarah said, amazed. "What happened?" Chuck put the wrist computer back on, his movements slowing. He looked at Sarah, his eyes glazing over.

"He told me I was special," he said as he fell backwards, crashing into the ground. Sarah looked at him and shook her head.

"Of course 'he' did," she said, sighing. "Of all the tech nerds left in the world…" she shook her head, walked over, kicked dirt over his retchings, and checked him out. The knot was still on his head, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. She knew a creek was only a few hundred feet away. "I'm Valkyrie, I'm not washing his clothes," she said out loud to no one. She sat there, thankful he was okay, as she stroked his hair.

}o{

Chuck woke up, wrapped in a blanket. He felt better than he had in a long time. He thought about how nice the blanket felt against his chest….his bare chest…where was his clothes. He sat up, lifted the covers, and put them down again quickly, a worried look on his face.

"See something you didn't expect?" Valkyrie asked, walking in. Chuck started to answer that question a few times, but each time he couldn't. Sarah though her face would burst trying to keep from laughing at him. "You clothes were soaked in sweat, and I figured they needed to be cleaned," she said, with a challenging look.

"I appreciate it," he choked out.

"I barely even wash my own clothes," she said. Chuck nodded. He realized others must do those chores for her.

"So I wash your clothes the next time," he said. She raised an eyebrow grinning. He began to blush. "Or whatever you think I should do to make it up to you," he said quickly. She dropped the clothes in front of him.

"They might be a bit damp," she said, stepping back, crossing her arms in front of her. He nodded.

"Uh, question," Chuck began, not sure how to ask it, but decided just to go with it. "How'd…how did…."

"I pulled them off of you," she said. "Nothing I've not seen before when having to help someone on the battlefield."

"Not mine you haven't," he muttered. She rolled her eyes.

"You were under the covers, I rolled you over, and pulled them off," she said. "At most, I might have seen your pale backside," she said grinning. Chuck couldn't help but laugh. "Be glad it was me, and not Casey. He'd be yelling about brain bleach." They both laughed over that one.

"Why not just get clean underclothes out of my bag and not worry about cleaning those?" he asked. Sarah grinned.

"I think they're in the bag that Casey took," she said. Chuck's face was a mixture of irritation and humor. "Now get dressed." He looked at her, she smiled, and turned.

"Really," he said.

"Yes, really, we need to get going and I'm not going to wander around outside while you primp," she retorted. "Maybe if I stand here, you'll hurry."

"Sarah," he said softly. "Thanks for saving me." Sarah sighed. She closed her eyes and thought about the last 24 hours. She forgot where she was. All she could think about was those chocolate eyes and how she was afraid she'd lose him. She turned not thinking.

"Chuck I'd do…OH MY GOD!" she yelled, remembering what he was doing, and she spun back around. "What are you doing?"

"It's called the Morgan," Chuck said in a strained voice. "It's a move my old friend created to protect himself from getting his in sensitive areas. It's surprisingly good at covering things up too."

"Not that good," Sarah muttered. "You know what, I'm going to give you that privacy, I apologize."

"You saved my life Sarah, I'm sorry," he said. She paused.

"Why?" she asked.

"I feel like you keep getting forced closer and closer to me," he said. She swallowed, and forced the words out.

"However close I'm getting to you is my decision," she said. "I'll be outside," and with that she left. Chuck stood there a minute thinking about what she said. He realized he was still naked and quickly got dressed.

Outside, Sarah leaned against the shelter, her hand covering her forehead. What was she doing? She was breaking every rule there was. Just for one civilian, that probably couldn't save them, but she was betting on him. Even if she couldn't she knew she'd be here. She knew she'd protect him…and she knew why, even if she couldn't admit it to herself.

}o{

Heaven

Frigga played back the recording of Valkyrie.

He is not yours to have. He is mine. And, I will destroy this entire hellhole if I have to, to protect him.

Words appeared on the monitor.

"It appears someone has freely decided to be his protector," the words said.

"It does," Frigga said, smiling. "Do you think she realizes what she has done?"

"Probably not, but do you think she cares? What is it you always say, you can't go too far for those you love," the words reminded her. Frigga smiled at the words on the screen. "He's Aces."

"That he is," Frigga agreed. "That he is."

A/N: …..Dreams, I mean….weird, right?….As for the techno-virus, it will be explained shortly. I hope you guys liked it, let me know. Take care, see you soon

DC