A/N: I know it's been a while but I promised you guys a full length chapter so here it is. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think! Your comments really give me motivation to write. Like last time, not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I promise it'll be good! As always, thanks to uplink2 for his kind words and suggestions on how to improve this chapter, the small things really do seem to make a difference. Unfortunately nothing has changed since last time and I still don't own Chuck lol. Anyways, until next time!

April 2nd, 2010

Small Winery outside of Rome

6:10 P.M.

"Morgan! Buddy!"

Chuck and Casey had both bolted from the van and were inside the room where Morgan had just been shot within 30 seconds.

Chuck fell to his knees next to Morgan and began shaking him furiously.

"Ouf. That hurt a lot more than you said it would Casey." Morgan let out a couple coughs and shook his head. "It was nothing like the movies."

"How would you know what they feel in the movies numbnuts?"

"They get shot and then bam! Two seconds later they're up and fighting again."

Morgan began unbuttoning his shirt only to reveal a grey bulletproof vest, which now had two freshly made holes.

Chuck flashed Morgan his typical 'Chuck' smile and let out a big sigh of relief. Of course he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Morgan gave his best friend a small nudge and let out a big grin of his own.

"Told you I wouldn't let you down buddy. And plus, now we know Casey likes me. The bulletproof vest was his idea."

Casey, who was wiping the room clean, just grumbled and kept tidying up.

"Just didn't want to clean up your blood. I've got better things to do."

"Come on big guy, we know the Morgan charm has worked its way into that cold heart of yours."

"I'll be in the van, too many lady feelings in here." Casey just kept grumbling as he left the winery.

Though he wouldn't admit it, Chuck and Morgan both knew that Casey cared.

Morgan latched his own arm onto Chuck's as he got pulled up. He quickly dusted himself off and started to take off the vest. "The jolly green giant over there didn't tell me how heavy these things were."

There was a small thud as Morgan dropped the vest on the table and took a seat.

"Great job buddy, I knew you'd pull through."

"I know this is important to you Chuck, I wouldn't let you down. I've got your back and you've got mine! What're best friends for? Don't worry, we're gonna get Sarah back, it's only a matter of time."

Considering the success of this mission, Chuck really wanted to believe that, but he also had to remain realistic. So far, he had let his feelings get in the way, leaving him distracted and absentminded. If there was any time to focus, it was now. Like Morgan said, it was only a matter of time until Sarah was safe and he just needed to concentrate until then.

*BZZ*

"You ladies wanna keep talking all day? Or can we get a move on and report back to Beckman?"

*BZZ*

April 2nd, 2010

Old warehouse near Rome (Exact location unknown)

5:14 P.M.

When Sarah woke up, she found herself tied to a wooden chair with rope; thankfully she was at least prepared for this type of situation. She started fidgeting with her hands, trying to locate her ring that had a small blade in it.

"Looking for this?" Shaw appeared in front of Sarah and held up a small gold ring with an emerald stone. "Thought you might try and do something stupid like escape."

"I'm done playing your stupid games Shaw!" Sarah knew that she would never do anything to allow Chuck and his family to come to harm, but each day being held captive was getting harder and harder.

"Don't worry; it'll all be over soon." Shaw pulled out his pistol and aimed it right between Sarah's eyes; there was a small click as he released the safety. He let out a laugh and continued on. "But not yet. I still need you."

With another click, Shaw holstered his gun and continued talking.

Sarah wasn't paying attention to what he was saying though. She started looking around, trying to get an idea of where she was. It was a large room with cement floors and walls and aside from her chair, the only other objects in the room were boxes, all stacked on top of each other. She suspected that she was in a warehouse of some kind, but there were so few windows, it was almost impossible for her to figure out where she was.

"Glad we're clear. See you in a bit Ms. Walker." Shaw's words brought Sarah back down to earth but by the time she had focused clearly, he was already heading towards the door.

April 2nd, 2010

Villa in Rome

7:18 P.M.

"Congratulations gentlemen, the mission was a success and the tracker has gone live. We've already started intercepting communications going in and out of the Ring director's personal line. The moment we get something solid, we'll be en route. So until then, stay alert and be prepared to move out at any moment."

"Hey GB, any chance I could catch a couple of ZZZs before we head out? Getting shot in the chest is pretty tiring." Morgan rubbed the spot on his chest where he had been shot and let out a smile towards General Beckman.

She seemed to be getting more and more infuriated by the second.

"Mr. Grimes, as to why I ever let you be a part of this team is still a surprise. But no. You may not 'catch a couple of ZZZs'."

"Aw come on GB! Just a quick nap! Oh yeah, I was wondering, are repair expenses covered? 'Cause uh, there may or may not be a hole in the wall upstairs. Funny story actually-"

A small growl was let out. Chuck turned to Casey, but was surprised to find out that this time, it was coming from General Beckman.

"You're walking on very thin ice Mr. Grimes." By now, her voice was raised and it was clear that Morgan had been successful in irritating General Beckman, considering she was generally a very calm and patient woman.

Casey turned to Morgan and gave him a hard nudge where he had been shot. "Can it moron!"

"They charge an arm and a leg for repairs here Casey! I already checked and considering I'm doing a service for the CIA, they should cover repair costs. A BuyMore salary doesn't buy caviar if you know what I mean."

General Beckman shot Morgan one last icy look and broke the connection.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" Casey was once again muttering to himself as he walked off. Probably heading towards the armory to polish his guns. Ironically enough, anything to do with guns were the one thing that calmed him down.

"Hey Chuck, you've been awfully quiet lately. What's up? Thinking about Sarah?"

It's true, while all of the banter had been going on between Casey, General Beckman, and Morgan, Chuck had been typing away on his laptop.

"Oh no buddy. Just trying to do some spy work. I can't help but think we missed something at the party."

"What do you mean Chuck?"

"Like some security footage or something like that. Anything that's gonna help us find Shaw. Emotionally, that guy is swiss cheese. Who knows what he's doing to Sarah." Chuck looked sadly at his screen. "She said that he was going to hurt Ellie and Devon if she didn't help him. It's my entire fault Morgan. I should never have let him take her away at the party."

"Yeah buddy, about that, uh Casey told me about your fainting spells. I saw the cam footage from the kitchen at the party. What happened dude? You just… collapsed."

"I don't know Morgan. But that's not important right now. What's important is finding Sarah."

"What do you mean it's not important? Of course it is! This is your health buddy, Have you gotten it checked out?"

"Ellie ran some scans back in California, but came up with nothing. I'm just thankful she was too busy packing to keep bugging me about it."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner Chuck? I thought we were best friends. You have to tell General Beckman. It's not safe for you to be out in the field like this. You've been lucky! What if you had collapsed and Shaw had taken you? Huh? What then?"

Thinking back, Chuck had only seen Morgan genuinely mad once in their entire friendship. Even though there was a significant height difference, he still felt intimated as his best friend berated him for keeping this a secret.

"Morgan, I know you're worried, but I've got it all under control. Don't worry. Once Sarah is safe and sound, I'll get checked out, I promise."

"Not good enough Chuck. I'm sorry buddy, but I don't ever have to want to tell Ellie that something happened to you. I couldn't live with myself if I just let you endanger yourself." Morgan started heading toward the big screen and begun contacting General Beckman.

"Morgan! No!" Chuck eyelids fluttered and several images flashed in front of him. He charged full speed at Morgan and tackled him to the ground before he could establish a connection with the General.

"Chuck! What the hell?"

"I can't let you tell Beckman. She'll bench me for sure. Please Morgan. I'm begging you; we're so close to finding Sarah, just keep this a secret a little while longer."

Considering the fact that Chuck had Morgan in a choke hold, it didn't seem like Morgan had a choice.

"Fine." Morgan managed to cough out the one word before Chuck released him. He let out several more coughs as he rubbed his neck.

"Thanks buddy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. But if the CIA doesn't cover that hole in the wall, you are. You owe me one!"

Chuck let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Of course buddy, anything you want. Now come on, let's go see if Casey needs any help. You know, the other day, I heard him talking so highly about you bud."

"Really Chuck? That's awesome. Hey Casey! Secret's out! I know you like me."

Morgan ran off ahead of Chuck towards the armory. This nightmare was going to be over soon; the life he had envisioned for him and Sarah was actually going to come true. Chuck smiled at the thought and headed in the same direction that his best friend had gone in.

March 28th, 2010

Viceroy Hotel (Santa Monica, CA)

5:35 P.M

Sarah entered her hotel room and threw herself on top of her bed. From the time she could remember, every decision she ever made had been clear. It may have been hard, but it was clear, up until today at least.

It was all Chuck's fault. Out of all the people to get the intersect, it had to be him. He wasn't the most handsome guy she'd ever met. Or even the brightest. But he was Chuck; dorky and charming at the same time.

She sighed loudly and kicked off her heels. Get a grip Sarah. You sound like a lovesick teenager.

Whatever she chose to do, there was no looking back. Looking back got you killed. Or worse, captured.

Sarah Walker was compromised and this time, there was no running away from it. She had to make a decision. Run away with Chuck, someone who she was crazy about, or go to D.C. with Shaw. All her years with the CIA would be thrown out the window if she ran away with Chuck, or as he was known to the CIA, the intersect. The long nights and countless bruises and scars would all be forgotten. She would have to start a new life, new identity, everything. That wasn't what scared her though. Living with her dad most of her life, she had been on the run. Going from Lisa to Jenny Burton from town to town.

Starting over isn't what scared the living daylights out of Sarah. It was Chuck. It was the closeness she felt with him. It was something she had never felt before.

The last time she let herself become close to somebody was Bryce. And when he died, or rather at his 'funeral', she was reminded of exactly why she had been closed off all these years. Or even when Chuck refused to run away with her in Prague. Scars and bruises were nothing compared to the emotional pain she felt when he said no.

Having emotions meant getting hurt. And Sarah wasn't deemed the 'ice queen' for no reason. That's what made her so good at her job, her ability to separate feelings and objectives. But now here she was, unable to focus on her job because she was compromised. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

With little effort, Sarah sat up and reached for her phone that was sitting on her night table. She pressed the small power button at the top and her iPhone lit up. A picture of her and Chuck filled the screen, Photoshop could really do anything.

With a small click she unlocked her phone and opened her messages.

Empty.

She started typing a new message but quickly deleted it all and went to her contacts. Names flew by as Sarah scrolled down, until she found Chuck's name.

Knowing Chuck, he was probably already at the airport, pacing back and forth throughout the terminals.

Sarah let out a small smile as she thought of him. She clicked his name on her phone and hesitated before pressing the call button. The moment she heard his voice, the decision would be clear. Right now, that was the only thing she was sure of.

She clicked the call button and held the phone to her ear.

Ring ring ring.

No answer.

Her finger was already reaching for the 'End Call' button when she heard his voice.

"Hi this is Chuck Bartowski…'s voicemail. I can't take your call right now so please leave a message. Unless it's Jeff or Lester. Then just hang up and don't call again."

And that was all she needed to hear. The sound of his voice made her startle and she quickly hung up. A wave of relief rushed over her, the decision was now clear.

Lunging off her bed, Sarah grabbed her suitcase and started filling it with every piece of clothing within arm's reach. A knock on the door interrupted her speedy packing.

As she opened the door, she was surprised to see who was standing there.

John Casey.

April 3rd, 2010

Villa in Rome

3:29 A.M.

It had been more than 4 hours since they last talked with General Beckman and the three men were starting to get restless. Chuck wondered how Ellie and Devon did their on-call shifts, waiting around was so boring and tiring.

Chuck had gone over all of the surveillance video 3 times, caught up on all his paperwork, and had even completed 3 Sudoku puzzles. Every minute he spent waiting around his mind kept going to the worst possibility. He could feel his legs falling asleep so Chuck pushed his chair back and stood up.

As Chuck glanced over to his left, he saw Morgan sprawled all over the metal desk amidst papers and wrappers, fast asleep as a small pool of drool started to form next to his mouth. Casey didn't seem to be near so he made his way towards the armory.

Casey hadn't moved an inch since Chuck last saw him. Every gun in the armory practically sparkled and Chuck guessed that Casey was cleaning every gun for the second time around.

"Hey Casey!"

Without even looking up, Casey replied, cold and disconnected as usual. "Bartowski. Any word from Beckman?"

Chuck shook his head but then realized that Casey was so focused on his guns, he wouldn't have noticed anyways. "Nah. Morgan's out cold though."

Chuck stuffed his fists in his pockets and left the armory, heading to explore the rest of the villa. Just as he was about to leave Castle, a beep emitted from the large screen, a flustered General Beckman appeared on the monitor.

"Agent Bartowski, glad to see you're still up. I have news." General Beckman glanced over at Morgan and several more wrinkles appeared on her forehead. "Ah-em. Ah-em! AH-EM!"

Nothing from Morgan, granted, he could probably sleep through an atomic bomb. As Casey entered the room, he hit Morgan on the back of his head with a roll of papers. "Wake up Grimes. Mission time."

"No…No… Not Chewbacca… He's a collectible!" Morgan's head shot up in an instant as Casey hit him once more with the roll of papers. "General! I wasn't sleeping! I was just… just…"

General Beckman looked displeased but continued on with the briefing.

"We caught several emails indicating that the Ring director, along with the 7 elders, will be attending a small gathering tonight at 7:00 P.M."

"Any word about Shaw or Sarah? Are they going to be there?"

"Mr. Bartowski, I know you're impatient, but right now, this is our best lead on them so remember to stay focused. The 7 elders have never been altogether at once and this may be our only opportunity to identify and capture all 7 successfully. They are the heads of the Ring operation and if we take them down, we take down the organization. That means everyone needs to stay focused because we can't afford any screw ups. Is that clear?" An icy glare was shot in Morgan's direction as the General made herself clear.

With a quick salute, Morgan happily agreed and couldn't wait to get started.

"Of course General. But how are we going to identify the elders?"

"Although there is no explicit information in the intersect that identifies the elders, Chuck was able to flash on the ring that the elder at the party was wearing. We're hoping that this will be the case this time around as well. So Chuck, your focus is critical tonight. The entire mission's success depends on you."

"No pressure huh General?" Chuck let out a small laugh and swallowed hard.

"It's been a long night Gentlemen, get some rest and you'll be briefed in the afternoon."

April 3rd, 2010

Villa in Rome

12:00 P.M.

After a goodnight's rest, Chuck, Casey, and Morgan all gathered in front of the large monitor once more, awaiting General Beckman to answer their call.

Chuck couldn't help but think about tonight. All he needed to do was get through one more mission and then he would have Sarah back. Then he would be able to leave the spy life behind. Impatience overwhelmed him and he promised himself that he would try his hardest to stay focused tonight, for Sarah at least.

"Good afternoon. The details for tonight are simple. Mr. Bartowski, you will be posing as a Russian arms dealer and the colonel will be acting as your personal bodyguard. Since you are believed to be dead by the ring, you will be staying in the van Mr. Grimes."

"Aw come on! Can't I get a disguise or something?"

"Absolutely not! We are taking the highest of precautions with this mission. As I was saying, you will enter the party and try to quickly make your way through the crowd, ensuring you greet every person inside. The moment you flash on somebody or something, inform Colonel Casey and he will make note of it. It is extremely important that we don't act prematurely or else we may most likely lose the chance of capturing the elders. I cannot stress this enough gentlemen, be on your toes tonight!"

With a beep, the screen had once again gone black, leaving the three men standing by themselves.

"Can't believe you get to escort Chuck tonight, Casey. I'm so jealous. I'll be stuck in the van all night."

"Meh. I'm a glorified secretary." Casey grumbled as usual whenever he was annoyed and made his way upstairs.

April 3rd, 2010

Old warehouse near Rome (Exact location unknown)

5:14 P.M.

"Good evening Ms. Walker. Have a good rest? Good. Tonight's a big night, especially for Mr. Chuck Bartowski. Tonight is when I'll finally be able to show the CIA that killing Evelyn was a huge mistake."

Shaw smiled evilly as he approached Sarah with a roll of silver duct tape. He juggled it in his hands, enjoying himself as he watched the former ice queen struggle out of nervousness. "Who would have thought that Sarah Walker got nervous. Having a boyfriend has made you soft."

Shaw got extremely close to Sarah's face as he whispered those last words.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon."

April 3rd, 2010

Mansion in Rome

7:00 P.M.

*BZZZ*

"Looking good Chuck! That costume department can really work wonders. You look exactly like that guy from Fiddler on the Roof. Or Gandalf. Kinda like both actually…"

"Hey Moron! Stay focused."

"Ok ok. Don't worry Casey, I won't let you guys down."

*BZZZ*

Chuck and Casey flashed their invitations to the guards at the door and quickly made their way into the party. Hundreds of the world's most vicious criminals filled the room.

Relieved that most of these criminals weren't in the intersect, Chuck confidently started making his way through the crowd. Otherwise, he would have probably blown his brain with the amount of flashes he'd be having right now.

Casey gave him a small nudge and nodded his head towards the right, where a small woman stood holding a glass of champagne. With a quick scan, Chuck noticed a ring on her finger and began to flash.

"Tracy Ling. Ring was made in Hong Kong." Chuck whispered to Casey as they both continued searching the floor for any other ring members.

Brrr. Brrrr.

Chuck could feel his phone vibrating against his leg and when he looked to see who it was, all it said was "Encrypted line". He flashed his phone's screen to Casey.

"Must be the General. Better answer it, 'Gandalf'." Casey let out a mocking laugh as they made their way to a quiet room.

"Shut up, at least I'm not a manservant."

"Grrr…"

Chuck let out a grin and answered his phone.

"Hello? General Beckman?"

"Close, but not quite. I've got something, or rather someone, you need, and her life, depends on your cooperation."

"Shaw! What the hell do you want?"

"I just want to talk Chuck. And so does your girlfriend."

"Chuck! Don't do what he says! I'm fine. Please, don't listen to him."

"She clearly misses you Chuck. You have 30 minutes to get to my location. If you're not here by then, the blonde dies. Get in your car and call me back, I'll give you directions over the line. Oh and one last thing, if you don't come alone, the blonde dies."

There was a click and the line went dead.

"Casey! That was Shaw! He has Sarah and he's going to kill her if I'm not there in 30 minutes. I have to go."

"What do you mean you have to go? We have a mission here Bartowski. And a damn important one at that. You can't just leave."

"He has Sarah, Casey!"

"Without you, we can't identify the elders Chuck. Who knows when they'll all be together in one place. You have a duty to your country-"

"No Casey! Sarah had a duty to her country, and right now they're doing nothing to save her. So it's up to me."

Casey grabbed Chuck by his shoulders and looked him square in the eye.

"If you leave, the mission fails and we lose what may be our only chance at taking down one of the biggest crime operations in the world."

"If I stay, Sarah dies Casey."

*BZZZ*

"Mr. Bartowski, you will be going nowhere. Your mission is to identify the elders and until that is complete, you're staying put. Is that clear?"

"But General Beckman! Shaw has Sarah and he's going to-"

"You have your orders. And if you disobey them, I will have no choice but to arrest you for treason. Are we clear?"

Chuck glanced at his watch. He had 28 minutes to get to Sarah or potentially lose her forever. But if he left, he'd spend the rest of his life on the run from the CIA.

Save the world, or save Sarah Walker, what the hell was Chuck Bartowski going to do?