Chapter 7

Sarah was frantic as she ran through the OR doors and down the hallway. She went from room to room entering any and every unlocked door looking for Chuck, though Casey had been able to keep her from interrupting two surgeries that were currently underway. Finally becoming frustrated she stopped a nurse and asked her, "Where is Chuck Bartowski's…" She could not finish. She could bring herself to ask where his body was. Casey jumped in for her. "Where can we find Chuck Bartowski's body?"

The nurse, though taken aback, told them that Chuck had been in a room at the end of the hall around the corner. "His body should still be in that room."

Sarah ran to the room pushing the door open violently. There appeared to only be one bed in the room, though it was sectioned off from the rest of the room by a curtain. She walked over and placed her hand on the curtain hesitating for a moment before pulling the curtain to the side. She felt a wave of relief hit her as she peered at the empty bed. "He isn't here," she turned and told Casey with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Casey had heard the change in Sarah's tone and it pained him. He knew that she was in denial at the moment and that she was merely setting herself up for a bigger let down later. "Sarah, they may have moved his body to the morgue."

"No John. Something about this whole situation is not kosher. I know it."

"Sarah, I don't want it to be true any more than you do but Chuck is…"

"Don't say it…I know that I have no really proof to believe so, but I know that Chuck is alive. This is more than me just not wanting him to be gone. There is something else going on here. Think about it. Everyone kept saying that Chuck was going to be fine. The tests that they were performing were just precautionary. Then the doctor taking care of him kicks everyone that knows him out, and suddenly he is dead. Maybe this Dr. Williams worked for Masterson and now they have Chuck. What better cover for taking him than everyone thinking he is dead."

Casey had to admit that Sarah was not acting emotionally, and she seemed to be thinking fairly clearly. It was possible that Masterson could get some men into the hospital, and it would be a good plan to take Chuck. Casey was starting to feel some hope himself, but decided that even if there was a chance that Chuck was alive he did not want to get Sarah's hopes any further than she already had. "Alright, I will go check the morgue. You go talk to the nurse to make sure she gave us the right room. Then go talk to the guy that came with Dr. Williams. I will meet you in the waiting room on this floor no matter what we find."

Sarah knew that he had meant whether or not Chuck's body was in the morgue. "Okay, I will meet you there either way."

Sarah had found nurse who had directed her to the room where Chuck had been. She spoke to the woman for a few minutes confirming that Chuck Bartowski, tall thin crazy hair with life threatening brain condition, was in fact in the room she had just checked. The nurse knew for sure as it was rather unusual. The doctor that was in the room was not someone she had ever seen before, and he had refused to let anyone from the staff into the room. This further fueled Sarah's suspicions. She thanked the lady and proceeded back out to the waiting room.

Sarah was surprised at the scene in the waiting room. Ellie and Devon were sitting face to face with Ellie shining a small light into Devon's eyes. Patty was sitting in a chair near by holding an ice pack on her head. "What happened out here?" Sarah asked.

"We are not really sure." Ellie answered tears still rolling down her cheeks. "The guy that told us about Chuck took off when you went into the OR. He shoved Patty down and went running for the elevator. Devon tackled him to find out what was going on, but someone hit him in the back of the head helping the man get away. Devon was completely out for a minute or so." The confusion on Ellie's face only grew as she saw Sarah smile slightly.

Sarah didn't take the time to explain as she pulled out her cell phone and called Casey. He had just reached the morgue. "This is Casey," he said as he answered his phone. Sarah on the other end of the line explained what Ellie had just told her. "Wait a second the nurse guy took off. Devon tackled him, but someone knocked him out. Well Walker, It looks like something is going on here. I don't know what yet, but we are damn sure going to find out." With a renewed energy Casey shoved the door to the morgue open revealing a large room containing a few metal tables and a few bodies, as well as a man lying on the floor groaning as he rubbed his head. Casey ran over to him and helped the man to his feet. "What happened here?" Casey asked the man.

"Some guys jumped me. I think they were here for one of the bodies." The man's voice was a little groggy.

"Let me guess, Chuck Bartowski."

"Yeah how did you know that?" The man looked at Casey shocked.

"Lucky guess. What makes you think they were after his body?"

"Well they came in and asked for it." The man scoffed. "I told them that I had not received it yet. Just then the door opened and in walks a doctor and a male nurse that I have never met. They seemed to know the other two guys that were here." The man stopped and looked at Casey who made a hand gesture for the man to continue with his story. "Well, they tried to feed me some line about the body being donated to science and it being imperative that they take the body as soon as possible. I told them that I needed to see the proper paperwork before I could let them leave with a body. The doctor actually had the paperwork so I was about to let the go but then the strangest thing happened."

"What was that?" Casey asked.

"The damn dead guy moved. At first I wasn't sure that I really saw him move but then he moaned and moved again. That's when one of the guys hit me and that is all I remember."

Casey smiled as he thanked the man and left the room. He had thought about calling Walker to tell her the news but decided that he would rather see her face when he told her that Chuck was alive.

---

Chuck slowly started to wake as he stirred in his bed. He had been having the craziest dream. He was having fun on the beach, then he was nearly dead, then he was okay again, only to wake up dead in a morgue complete with toe tag. Whoa! That was nuts. Chuck's eyes had started to come into focus as he looked around. Chuck was lying in a hospital bed in an unfamiliar room. The room was white with no windows or decorations. "Where in the…"

"Good morning Mr. Bartowski." A voice interrupted Chuck thoughts. The voice came from a man sitting in a chair to Chuck's right.

Initially Chuck had started to freak at not knowing where he was, though he relaxed somewhat when he realized that the voice that had startled him had come from a familiar face.

"Good morning Director." Though Chuck was had slightly relaxed he remained quite confused. "Where are we? Where are Sarah and Casey?"

"We are in a safe government facility. When we found out that the cover of you at least one of your handlers had been compromised we decided that it was in your best interest to be brought here." The man replied calmly.

"Whose cover was compromised?"

"Agent Walker's cover is believed to have been compromised when she was captured," the director did not give any further explanation.

"Was Casey able to save her? I remember giving him an address to check out before I blacked out."

Graham looked displeased, "Yes, he was able to free both agent Walker and agent Larkin."

Chuck had noticed the lack of enthusiasm in the director's response. "That is a good thing. Isn't it?"

"Though we are pleased that they were able to escape, both agent Casey and agent Walker have failed to follow protocol as well as disobeyed orders over the past few days. There will be serious consequences for their actions, but that is no longer your concern." Graham's nostrils flared in anger as he spoke.

"What do you mean that it is no longer my concern?" The truth of the situation hit Chuck as if someone had kicked him squarely in the stomach. "Wait…No this can't be." Chuck frantically looked around his room once more. "So you finally got your wish then, chuck looked at the director. "I am in some kind of underground bunker, aren't I?"

"Agents Walker and Casey are no longer your handlers and are therefore no longer your concern. And as I have already said, it was in your best interest that we take you to a secure government facility. It just so happens that this particular facility is underground."

"So the answer would be yes then. Wouldn't it have just been easier to say yes?" Chuck's tone had risen as the initial shock of his situation had turned to anger.

"If you would like me to be more direct I will be happy to oblige you," Graham's temper also on the rise.

"Well that would be a first! You and the General have done nothing but jerk me around since day one even though I have always done whatever was asked of me. Oh and what thanks do I get? Let's see. I get to lie to everyone that I care about, constantly have my life hang in the balance, and have to sacrifice any chance at all of having a normal life. Oh and now the capper. I get to spend the rest of my life in a damn ant farm underground like one for your little pets." Chuck had sat completely up in his bed and would have stood had the wires and tubes attached to various parts of his body allowed him to do so.

As Chuck's anger grew to a boiling point an alarm started sounding on the monitor next to his bed, drawing both his and Graham's attention. A few short seconds later a nurse followed by doctor Williams came rushing into the room.

The nurse looked at the monitor, "His BP is dangerously high."

"I don't know what was going on in here but we need Mr. Bartowski to calm down immediately before one of the blood vessels in his head ruptures." Dr. Williams was looking at Graham as he spoke. "It may be best if you come back after he has a chance to cool down."

Graham did not speak as he turned and walked out the door, the scowl he was wearing never changing. As soon as the door shut Dr. Williams turned to Chuck, "I need you to take slow deep breaths for me, in through the nose out through the mouth." His voice was friendly and calming, but Chuck was not ready to be cooperative.

"It is not that easy to calm down when you just found out that you will never see anyone you care about ever again."

"I know this is difficult for you, and I don't blame you for being upset. However your health is in danger. I don't want to risk giving you another sedative after all you have been through. So please try." Again the doctor maintained a calm and friendly tone.

"I would rather not go back under myself. It seems like every time I go to sleep lately I wake up with things only getting worse." Chuck took a couple of deep breaths then continued, "First I wake up in the hospital with an aneurysm. Then I wake up in the morgue, very creepy by the way. And finally I wake up here. The next step may just be the depths of hell itself." Chuck continued with his breaths as he slowly calmed down.

"I would have to say that being here would be better than being in a morgue." The doctor smiled at Chuck.

Chuck looked at him with a very serious expression, "I would rather be dead."