Chapter 7
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I don't own Chuck, too much work. I don't own Google either. That would be so cool.
(A/N:) Sorry for the long delay, I've been stuck working a lot of double shifts the last few weeks and been very busy.
This is a work in progress and I hope to get better as it goes along.
Enigmamdw has done the beta on this and offered much helpful advice, critical punctuation and great suggestions. He is AWESOME!! Anyone who likes this story it is because of his great work and anyone who doesn't it's my fault entirely. Thanks for reading.
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2 Days Prior, Part 2.
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Chuck could hear the firefight from the van, the firing of automatic weapons and the single shots of pistols. He had complete video of the outside but only limited video of the inside from the cameras each agent wore. Chuck couldn't really tell who was shooting at whom. He wished he knew if Sarah was alright; if she were hurt he would rush in and throw himself into the fray.
It was supposed to be a quick operation, go in arrest the terrorists and then see if Chuck could flash on anything inside the warehouse. It had all gone to hell evidenced by the prolonged battle raging inside.
Chuck wrestled with himself. Go see if he could help or stay in the van. That was the question always. He wanted to help. Something told him to move but he kept seeing Sarah's eyes pleading for him to stay safe.
Another burst of automatic gunfire brought Chuck out of his thoughts and he threw open the door and started to run to the warehouse. Sarah needed him. As he ran to the warehouse a side door obscured by shrubs opened and Captain Liapis ran out keeping to the shadows. Chuck ran after him trying to be quiet. Liapis must have heard him and was waiting around the next corner. A 2 by 4 to the stomach and he fell to his knees out of breath followed by another blow to the back of the head. Chuck fell bonelessly to the pavement. A couple of kicks to his head and ribs later and Liapis melted into the shadows leaving Chuck bleeding and unconscious.
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The battle inside the warehouse had started well when Sarah and Casey's teams had entered but when they started to round up the terrorists several men had stepped out of a back room and began shooting at them. Sarah wasn't hit but two members of her team were, not fatally but enough that they weren't going to be of any help. The people inside had access to a lot of guns, apparently. Sarah's team was pinned down behind crates while the terrorists strafed them with gunfire. Occasionally they would stick their guns out and fire back.
Sarah wondered if Casey and his team had fared better and were coming to their aid. She couldn't see him. They couldn't wait them out as they had all the ammo they would need for a small war. She fired several shots again but pulled back as more gunfire hit the side of the crate sending small slivers of wood into her cheek. She screamed into her mike asking Casey for his status.
"Walker, where the hell did those men come from? I have one wounded and we're not in a position to help you right now. We got some bad Intel; I'm going to shove my foot up someone's ass for that. I can't get a call out for back up. We're going to have to get this done ourselves." Casey yelled into his mike while firing a couple bursts toward the terrorists.
"Casey, we're pinned down with two wounded." Sarah yelled back.
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Chuck woke up feeling disoriented. He felt around until his finger found a warm wetness and screeched after touching the back of his head. He pulled his fingers back and they were stained with blood. There was blood running in his eye from a wound yet discovered at his temple. When he tried to sit up his ribs screamed in pain. Using the wall to help him stand he almost passed out again. When he heard the conversation between Casey and Sarah he panicked thinking what could happen. He wiped his face with his sleeve and ran to the door.
Several scenarios flashed in his brain. If Liapis was able to escape using the side door he might be able to gain access without anyone seeing him. Chuck ran to the door and opened it cautiously peering inside through the small crack. An open crate blocked any view he needed to see the situation inside. To the right toward the back of the building there were a set of stairs leading to a cat walk of sorts for the overhead crane. He pulled the door open enough to slide through and crawled up to the crate.
Getting to his feet he slowly peered over the crate and found he couldn't see anything due to all the shipping containers. As Chuck ducked his head back down he spied the contents of open crate revealing several guns, ammo and hand grenades, realizing then that they were out numbered and out gunned with no reinforcements coming. Chuck made up his mind on what to do. He should've run to the van and tried to call in another team but that would take time; something Sarah might not have.
Reaching in he pulled out two pistols and several magazines before ducking back behind the crate. He had considered throwing some grenades but that would be indiscriminate; he didn't want any of the good guys getting hurt and he definitely didn't want to kill anybody.
When he started shooting they would change their angle of fire and concentrate on him. It might be enough of a distraction that Casey and Sarah could gain the upper hand. If he moved fast he could get back out the door before he ended up dead; he so wanted to keep that from happening.
He slowly made his way up the stairs onto the cat walk to where he could see most of the warehouse floor but only from the rear of the building. He saw Sarah and her team pinned down behind crates. He couldn't see Casey or his team but he had figured out where he was by the sporadic gunfire they returned.
It had only been thirty seconds since entering the door and his thoughts and his plan had taken him by surprise. Loading magazines into both guns and checking the action on each; something he had seen Casey and Sarah do a hundred times. Who knew it would come in handy? He took another look around. Someone had screwed up big time. He had only seen the two cell leaders, their bodyguards and Liapis entering the warehouse but looking around he counted twelve men. With Liapis escaping that meant there were eight men already here. Had this been a trap? Had someone tipped them off? Had Liapis left to bring more men and outflank them? Each new question brought about more questions. He needed to help them end this now before anyone else got here.
With a gun in each hand he decided to just fire in the air toward the terrorists and then run back down the stairs and out the door. He knew Sarah would be angry but if he did it this way and got out of harms way she might not be that pissed. He decided to fire toward the three men that held the automatic weapons hiding by the container grabbing everyone's attention.
His hands began to tremble as he levered the safeties off. Looking over the railing again he saw someone sneaking around behind a crate that would ultimately give him a clear shot at Sarah's back. His life would end there.
Sarah, NO? Chuck screamed in his head.
Chuck flashed with a gasp, pain forcing him to close his eyes. When his head cleared a second later his eyes were dark and his mind went blank. The Intersect took over, he fired his first shots. He shot the man sneaking up behind Sarah first, putting three bullets in his torso and another through his head for good measure. He then turned to the next three hitting what he aimed at, in their shoulders knocking their weapons from their hands before moving onto the next two by the crate. Again the same results, without even thinking he moved onto the others taking each in their shoulders or the hands holding the weapons.
When Chuck next blinked eleven men were down. One not moving and the rest incapacitated to a degree. A dark smile came to his face, he had taken them out and they never got a chance to turn a weapon on him.
"Get your asses out there before they decide to get back up. All combatants are down but not dead so be careful." Chuck yelled in a cold voice while continuing to keep his guns at the ready in case someone got up before they were cuffed.
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Casey, Sarah and the rest of the tactical team carefully looked out from behind their cover to determine the situation before running out blindly into a bullet. The sight that greeted them was ten men down writhing in pain.
Running out they managed to zip tie each and every terrorist before they managed to pick up their weapons again. They had just turned to see who their savior was when again shots were fired. Chuck had swiveled his aim after seeing a flash of movement and fired twice putting two shots into the final terrorist's head knocking him back to land on the cement floor before he could fire. The assault rifle he had been about to use on the tactical team falling to the floor unfired.
When Casey and Sarah looked up to see who had fired the shots all they could see was a shadow on the cat walk behind the large light panels. Chuck slowly walked down the stairs and out onto the warehouse floor. When they saw it was Chuck with a strange look on his face and a gun in each hand. Both their jaws hit the floor when they saw it was Chuck.
Sarah saw the blood on Chuck's face and rushed to him. He didn't look right holding a gun; he looked even less right holding two guns.
She slowed her pace when she looked into his eyes; they were dark black, devoid of life and his face seemed so impassive for someone who had just shot twelve people.
"Chuck? Chuck? Are you Ok?" Sarah asked hesitantly.
Chuck stared at her coldly and informed her that Liapis had escaped. He apologized for his mistake.
Sarah walked closer, reached out and took the guns from his hands.
"It's over Chuck." Sarah said softly, trying to reassure him.
She moved closer and put her hand on his temple where the blood was still running down the side of his face.
"Chuck, it's me Sarah. Are you Ok?" She cooed moving her other hand to his cheek gently stroking it.
Chuck's eyes softened to brown and he smiled sadly at her reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "Are you Ok, Sarah? I was so worried."
"What happened, did you get them all?" Chuck asked with a dazed look in his eyes.
"Walker, get Chuck over here. We need to see if he flashes on any of these guys." Casey yelled.
"Give him a minute, Casey." Sarah called back over her shoulder in an irritated voice.
"Chuck, are you Ok? You're kind of scaring me right now." Sarah said quietly pulling back to look in his eyes.
"I don't know. I feel kind of funny. What happened?" Chuck asked again.
"Don't you remember?" Sarah said.
"The last thing I remember was one of them sneaking up behind you and I was so scared he was going to shoot you." Chuck said pulling her back into his arms.
How could he not remember shooting twelve people so easily? She silently hoped he would never remember. It would change him and she loved him the way he was. Her brain kept saying that. She hoped to be able to say it out loud to Chuck soon.
"Do you feel up to seeing if you flash on any of the bad guys?" Sarah asked in a more firm voice.
"I think I'm fine. Let's get this over with so we can get out of here." Chuck replied in a softer voice. "I feel kind of weird, like my brain is trying to tell me something. Like when you feel a sneeze coming and it just won't come. I think I'm trying to flash but it's stuck"
"Let it go Chuck, you're safe. That's all that matters." Sarah whispered in his ear.
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"Chuck, what the hell were you doing? I know you don't know the meaning of stay in the van but you better learn before I tear you a new one." Casey growled trying to hide the wonder he still felt for what Chuck had just done behind his narrowed eyes.
"I saw Liapis getting away and I thought I could stop him." Chuck said quietly while looking at the floor.
"Ok, we'll discuss this tomorrow but for now Chuck we're going to line up the prisoners and any possessions they had on them." Casey growled into Chuck's ear. "See if you flash on anything and if you throw up on my shoes I'll kill you, I swear to god."
The line up of prisoners and other paraphernalia took Chuck almost an hour to finish. He flashed several times and didn't throw up once. He just glazed out for a second and moved on.
Sarah watched him with interest. What had happened to him? This was not the Chuck she knew and loved. There it was again. She thought if he threw up while flashing he would be gone. Please let him be Ok.
Chuck walked over to Casey and Sarah to report his flashes. They were surprised by the solemn look on his face when he spoke.
"There will be another shipment coming in tomorrow night. This shipment was mostly small arms; the shipment tomorrow will have rocket launchers, stinger missiles and the components for dirty bombs." Chuck stated. "The really big stuff will be on the third ship."
"Liapis got away; they will be ready for a raid. You'll have to very careful." Chuck said looking in Sarah's direction.
"The second ship will dock at pier 12 and I'll set up the surveillance now. We don't need any more surprises and we better get better Intel, I don't need another night like tonight. I love a good gun fight but I don't like walking into an ambush. After I clean up this mess we'll brief the General on this new information. Walker, clean up his face and take him home. Let him get a good night sleep. We'll need to be on our toes tomorrow." Casey growled.
Casey still had questions he wanted answered about what Chuck had done. He was about to go into more detail and question him about it when a death glare from Sarah stopped him. He would find out tomorrow, that was for sure.
Sarah grabbed Chuck's arm and pulled him toward a chair ready to treat his wounds.
"Chuck, you need some sleep; you don't seem yourself right now." Sarah whispered in his ear.
At the touch of her warm hand his head lifted and his eyes locked on hers as she wiped the blood from his face.
"The cut on your temple has stopped bleeding already; only a band aid will be required but I think the stitches on the back of your head may need to be replaced." Sarah said in a quiet voice while her eyes took on a watery look.
"Let's get you home to bed, you need the rest." Sarah said taking Chuck's hand and leading him out to her car.
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Sarah was scared, she was also confused and a few other emotions she had always tried to hide behind her wall were surfacing along with the others. She didn't understand this new Chuck that had shot the twelve terrorists and then not remembered. Had the update somehow done something to him? How could he become so robotic?
She had to make Chuck understand he had to stay in the van. She would talk to him on the drive home and try to make him understand, if something happened to him it would be the end of her.
As soon as they were in the Porsche Sarah looked at Chuck with his downcast eyes and sad face. She just wanted to hold him if only to assure herself that he was Ok. The agent in her knew she had to make him understand the dangers. So with fire and fear in her eyes, she decided to go with the anger that was building up; it was the easier of the emotions. She didn't have to think about what she said only let it all out.
"Damn it Chuck. You could have been killed. How many times do I have to tell you to stay in the van? Do you have any idea what Beckman will do to you; she'll throw you in a bunker forever." She screamed.
This had to be done even if she hurt him right now. She was worried about the warehouse thing but she would wait until tomorrow to ask about that. Tonight she had to make sure he stayed in the van next time.
Beckman had told her to seduce him and use sex to keep him in the van but she didn't want to have sex with Chuck. She wanted to make love to him. She didn't want their first time to be from an order for controlling him.
Chuck flinched looking down during her verbal lashing. "I just thought I could help, Liapis was going to get away." Chuck said very quietly.
He still hasn't mentioned his shooting all twelve of the armed men. He seemed confused and if he didn't remember it she didn't want to remind him.
"He still got away and you almost got killed. He knows what you look like now. How could you be so stupid?" Sarah yelled, her anger boiling to the top.
"I'm sorry, Sarah." Chuck whispered cowering in the passenger seat of her Porsche.
The rest of the trip was made in silence. Chuck snuck a peek at Sarah as she drove the Porsche down the freeway toward Burbank. She held the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. She wouldn't even look at him.
"Sarah, I …" Chuck started.
"Don't even start Chuck; I don't want to hear it. Do you even think what it would do to me if something happened to you?" Sarah growled as she pulled up to the curb outside his apartment.
Chuck looked at Sarah and she still seemed very angry; she was still breathing deeply and her beautiful blue eyes were like ice when she did look at him. The hard look on her face scared him. He knew he should have stayed in the van but he only wanted to help.
Sarah wanted nothing more than to go in with him and hold him all night. She would put her head on his shoulder, her arm across his chest and feel his even breathing, proof that he was safe for now. She was alternately scared, angry, upset, very pissed off and very something she had never felt before. She let her mind wander for a minute and she recalled her thoughts at the warehouse. She knew she was in love with him. She'd never been in love before so it was confusing. She just knew tonight she wouldn't sleep well.
Sarah looked at him and told him in a cold voice, even colder than Casey's. "Go to bed and get some sleep; we have a briefing at eight tomorrow morning. I'll pick you up at seven-thirty, don't be late."
Chuck smiled timidly and reached for Sarah's hand but she pulled it back like his hand was on fire.
If she let him take her hand now she would pull him to her, kiss him and forgive him for all he that had happened tonight. She knew that would lead to her going in with him and she knew where that would lead. She didn't need Casey to hear it. It would have to wait until they had their own apartment. A cold shower would have to suffice tonight.
"Go to bed Chuck, we'll talk in the morning." She said in a softly.
Chuck got out of the car and walked to the apartment with his head down. He never looked back as she gunned her engine pulling away with a squeal of tires.
He walked into the courtyard closed his eyes and sat at the fountain; thoughts swirling in his head Was it only this afternoon they had sat here and she had said she cared for him?
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Sarah was heading home when her cell rang, when she answered Casey told her to get to Castle now for a debriefing. After a few sarcastic remarks concerning her and Chuck getting untangled and a caustic reply followed by several implied remarks of physical pain she pressed end and roared toward the Orange Orange.
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Sarah stormed into Castle for the briefing; her face such a dark mask of fury Casey decided not to comment. He might have pressed it a bit in the phone call. She would kill him if he made a snide remark about the geek now.
Sarah took a deep breath to calm down before asking. "Casey, we need to figure out what happened with Chuck tonight before we report it. Glaze over the details for now. This might be enough to put him in a bunker." She pleaded.
"Walker, I can't promise anything but if she doesn't ask I won't volunteer right now, but we will have to report it soon." Casey stated.
The General appeared on the LCD and demanded to know how the mission didn't net all the terrorists.
"Captain Liapis slipped out a side door while we were trying to round up the rest. Chuck flashed on some people and items in their possession. We now know that another ship will be offloading rocket launchers, stinger missiles and components for dirty bombs tomorrow. We have video surveillance already in place and we will be ready to move when they arrive for the transfer." Casey reported.
"Where is Mr. Bartowski? I expected him here to report on his flashes." Beckman demanded.
"I took him home, he wasn't feeling very well and we want him fresh for tomorrow." Sarah quickly added.
"Agents, I've seen the video already and know Chuck left the van again. This is very disturbing and if it continues he will be in a bunker before he can blink." Beckman stated while staring hard at them.
"He thought he could stop Liapis from escaping." Sarah explained trying to defend Chuck even though she was worried about his actions.
The briefing ended with Beckman telling them that at the briefing in the morning she would try to have more information.
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Sarah slammed her apartment door closed and threw her keys at the dish on the table. Chuck was such an idiot sometimes. She knew he only wanted to help but he wasn't trained for this kind of work and could get hurt. She loved that about him but at the same time she hated him for risking his life and the life they could have together. She didn't like where they had left the conversation, who was she kidding she meant, her verbal tirade tonight. She had screamed at him and he had shrunk down and accepted it. He had tried to make up with her but she had been so mad that she had just yelled at him more. He so infuriated her; she changed into her workout gear and attacked her punching bag with a vengeance. When she was done it was in tatters and she had worked up a lather but she was still tense. She thought a hot shower would work to calm her down a then she could try to sleep without thinking about the object of her desires. That brought a smile to her face. Sarah came out of the bathroom wearing boy boxers and one of Chuck's t-shirts that she had pilfered from a previous sleep over cover date.
She looked at her phone and thought about calling him but decided to wait till morning when she was in a better frame of mind.
Sarah's phone rang and she snapped it up hoping it was Chuck but instead saw the NSA Logo on the screen. "Walker secure." She said.
"Agent Walker, I thought I made myself clear this morning, I want you to do whatever you need to do and I mean anything to get Mr. Bartowski to stay in the van. You are the most successful team I have and it helps to have Mr. Bartowski mobile but as I said before if he can't be controlled he will be moved to a bunker. You are an agent trained in seduction; keeping a geek in line shouldn't be a problem. I am still working on the apartment but for now I think you should stay with him 24/7. You will move out of your hotel room immediately and stay with him until then." Beckman said in a cold voice we will discuss this in more detail later. "Good night."
Sarah was thrilled; she climbed into bed thinking about what Beckman had again told her. Do whatever is necessary. This had definite possibilities; if she were to move in with Chuck to keep him safe she would only be doing what she had been ordered to do. She would ask that the bugs be turned off so she could work the mark. That would be official story but not the truth. Her heart started to race as she thought of snuggling with Chuck every night and breathing in his scent instead of just his stolen t-shirt. She considered another shower; cold this time as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. She'd move in with him tomorrow. Ellie would be thrilled, not as much as Sarah would be but probably close.
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Chuck had showered and climbed into bed. He was still feeling confused. He had apologized several times but Sarah had continued her assault. She had looked at him and didn't seem to care that she was hurting him. The last straw was when he had reached for her hand for a little reassurance and she had rejected him. She had then told him to go to bed, her tone then had been softer and he had thought about reaching for her hand again but he didn't want to face another rejection. It was all an act, now he was sure.
Chuck knew from his previous search on Doctor Waters that the only disgruntled former associates of his were nurses that he had found to be incompetent. He decided to use a different tact and search Doctor Stevens. This triggered a massive flash and a massive headache. One of the original creators of the Intersect and the chief programmer for it, Orion. He had disappeared and gone off grid after the CIA had tried to download it into several of their agents despite his objections with disastrous results, they had all died horribly. That was fifteen years ago and he couldn't find a current location but many references to him so he was sure he was still alive. If he could somehow find Orion, he might be able to remove the Intersect from his head. Finally with a plan of action he allowed himself to fall asleep.
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Sarah awoke in a sweat; her dream still fresh in her mind. Chuck's body lying on the warehouse floor; his lifeless eyes staring into oblivion. The thought brought a sharp pain to her chest.
She looked at the clock and saw it was only three-thirty but decided to move now and make sure he was safe. Chuck, I hope you're ready. I'm moving in now; I can't wait for tomorrow. She though before jumping up to take a quick shower and rush over to put her arms around him.
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When Sarah pulled up to the curb outside Chuck's apartment complex she speed dialed Casey waking him up and reminding him that she was outside and would be moving in with Chuck and she wanted surveillance shut off immediately.
Casey made a couple comments about him not wanting to hear what might happen that brought a blush to Sarah's face but he agreed.
When Sarah got close she could hear Chuck whimpering through the open Morgan door, it sounded like he was having a nightmare. She started to run when she heard his cries and sobs. Climbing through the window she started to call to Chuck. He was thrashing about as she put her hand on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he pushed her away with a scream of "Sarah, No." Sarah fell back and slammed into the wall and slid down to the floor after hitting her head. She shook her head and once again approached Chuck who still stared wild eyed without seeing.
"Chuck, Chuck. Wake up, I'm here. Let me help you." Sarah said trying to control his wildly flailing arms and legs. Finally deciding to straddle his legs and hold his arms down before he hurt himself or her.
"Chuck, Chuck? It's me Sarah, wake up. You're having a nightmare." She said softly into his ear.
Chuck began to settle down and his eyes started to tear up.
"Sarah, I thought he was going to kill you. I'm so sorry." Chuck whispered between sobs.
"It's Ok Chuck, I'm safe and so are you." Sarah said pulling him into a tight embrace. "I'm never going to let anything happen to you. I promise."
When Sarah got up off the bed Chuck looked at her with wide eyes.
"I'm not leaving Chuck; I just need to get out of these clothes. Mind if I borrow one of your t-shirts? She asked with a grin.
"Sure." Chuck mumbled as he rolled over on his side looking away from Sarah as she changed.
Chuck felt the covers being pulled back and her sliding into bed next to him.
"Chuck, look at me. I really need you to hold me right now." Sarah said softly.
Sarah put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him onto his back. She put one hand on his cheek pulling his face to hers and looked deep into his eyes. Swallowing a lump in her throat as she saw the sadness, fear and something else that escaped definition.
"Chuck, go to sleep, I'm here, hold me please." Sarah whispered.
Sarah placed a soft kiss on his cheek and laid her head on his shoulder and her arm on his chest. Chuck put his arms around her and pulled her close burying his face in her hair. Within minutes both were fast asleep.
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(A/N:). Hope you enjoy. If not let me know so I can get better.
Thanks to all the readers who left reviews and all who put alerts on it. I love you, not as much as I love Sarah but close, actually not even close but thanks.
I much prefer to read the great stories others write here, there are so many great writers here I feel very inferior but sometime I have an idea that will not leave my head. I wish I could pass it on and then read about it.
PS: Please read and review, I need to know if anyone is actually reading it or even likes it. I'm sure it would inspire me to update faster.
