Thank you once again everyone for your comments. I tried to do something different with this one. I wondered how Sarah was effected by the events in this episode. Like always thanks goes to Aoife and Naill for their help.

These events take place during Chuck vs. the Alma Mater

Redemption?

On the road

Casey had insisted that he drive and Sarah didn't want to argue, so she let him. Chuck, who talked all the way up to Stanford, had dozed off in the back seat. Sarah and Casey didn't talk much unless they were discussing a mission, and neither of them had shown the desire to talk once they started the trip back to Burbank.

That left Sarah with her thoughts, which were a jumbled mess. She had rolled down the window, chicken-winged her elbow so that it rested against the open window and stared at the passing scenery. She thought about the events that led them to Stanford, Chuck's alma mater.

One of Chuck's old professors had dropped off grid with a very important piece of intel that he had copied on to a disk. Then when Sarah, Casey, and Chuck went searching for him. he had given Chuck a set of numbers before he was shot by a foreign spy. Though the numbers didn't make sense at first, Chuck soon realized that they were for a library book, probably marking the spot where Bryce and the professor passed intel back and forth.

He figured it out. I don't know how but Chuck did it.She thought back to the conversation she had with him a few days after they first met. "So, Chuck, are you ready?" He was definitely ready. He is a hero. I asked him to be one and that is what he is. But he is not just a hero. He is so much more than that.

A gentle smile rolled across her face as she thought about their mission briefing. He is funny too. He always makes me laugh. The General Beckman comment and the way he tried to back track."That new high-def sure shows every wrinkle. What? Twinkle. Every twinkle in her eye. Eyes."

She felt sorry for him. He had a connection to that professor; an unhappy connection. She recalled how Chuck's body stiffened, and how the pain, hurt, and betrayal etched his voice. Despite all of that, he had been able to keep his cool at first. Then Beckman and Graham kept coming at him until he did the only thing he knew how to do. State the obvious, apologetically say no, and walk away.

Despite his personal feelings, he came with us anyway. This man does things that he has no desire to do, just to help. I don't know why he does them, but he does.

Sarah sighed, still staring out the window. Then when he is about to get answers from the professor about why he is in the Intersect, the professor is shot in the back. He can't catch a break.

She knew it would go against protocol but after what he had done, Sarah figured he deserved answers. More important to her was the idea that if she could find answers for him, then that could be a real gift from her to him. It would be something honest and true; something tangible instead of those moments of heartfelt emotion, followed by the inevitable side-stepping and back-tracking that would occur afterwards. When I find out, I will tell him.

(...)

They were only about half way back, which left Sarah dreading where her mind would go next. She didn't want to think about high school or college. She had told herself that some things were better left dead and buried, but this mission had stirred those feelings afresh.

She glanced over at Casey. He was stone faced and staring at the road. She didn't need to look behind her to know that Chuck was still sleeping. She remembered how the exhaustion would inevitably set in after a dangerous encounter or mission, and the adrenaline wore off during her CIA training. Training was different, however. At first they let her sleep. But then about half way through her first year, they started walking her up and training her to be able to function and operate effectively under different levels of exhaustion.

"You are to be combat ready at all times," they drilled into her. "Always be aware of your surroundings." "Never get comfortable." Trust no one." "Always have someone to cover your back."

This, however, was a controlled situation. Chuck was in the back resting and with Casey at the wheel, her thoughts turned back to the rest of the mission.

(...)

Stanford University

What greater way to preserve her cover as a girlfriend then to attend a game with Ellie and Awesome? She silently followed him around the campus, making sure to be within ear shot of Chuck in case he started talking to her. She paid Casey no attention as she figured he would find a use for himself, protecting Chuck however he figured was best.

As she walked with Chuck, she remembered what college was like. She had used that opportunity to make a fresh start, using the name Graham had suggested for her, Sarah Walker. Like getting a new identity with her dad, she kept Lisa as her middle name. She wanted a reminder of who she was, something to hold on to, for better or worse. She did not want to forget about her dad.

People were throwing footballs and frisbees around, kicking soccer balls back and forth, and shooting basketballs on the outdoor courts. Music was everywhere. In some spots she could hear two different sounds mixing and blurring together, as if they were competing for the same air space. The same air that smelled of grilled food and alcohol.

"This is really freakin' me out. It's like nothing has changed." Sarah sensed the nervousness in his voice and felt the tension.

"It's that good or bad?" Sarah asked, wanting to help Chuck through this painful memory.

"It's, uh...it's, you know-Yeah, it's-Yeah," he responded, still nervous.

Sarah caught a glimpse of Ellie with a huge smile on her face. She is really enjoying this.

"Woo! Go Bruins, huh?" Devon popped out from behind Ellie and quickly under handed a football into Chuck's gut.

Sarah turned to Chuck, smiled, and gave him a subtle wink as she moved in closer to him.

Devon then, bent down, picked up Ellie at the waist, flung her over one of his shoulders, and spun her around a few times. Ellie let loose a playful girlish yelp, "Devon, put me down! Put me down! Stop it!"

Sarah looked at them with pure amusement. A huge smile covered her face. She enjoyed these times with Chuck's family. Her life was so full of deceit, misdirection and lies. The honesty of these moments were filling in the void that her decision to go with her dad as a young child had created.

"You ladies ready to rock?" Devon asked them as he put Ellie back down to the ground.

"Yeah when you put it that way, maybe not," Chuck responded as Devon grabbed the football Chuck was holding, slapped his chest and took off running.

Just as Devon raced off, a couple of shirtless students walked by. One was wearing a huge yellow cowboy hat and was carrying a grill, while the other one had slung a bag of charcoal over his shoulders.

"Uh, you wanna meet us at the stadium?" Ellie asked them.

"Yeah. I'm gonna take Sarah for the Chuck Bartowski memorial tour."

Memorial tour? I guess this was a lot worse than I thought it was.

After Casey joined them, Chuck pointed toward the library and started to walk toward it. Sarah followed close behind him, but after several steps his paced slowed until he stopped completely. Something isn't right. It's okay, Chuck. I'm here.

Chuck just stared straight ahead, his lingering gaze revealed just how much this hurt. That prompted Sarah to ask why he had stopped.

Chuck told her that this place was somewhere that he had a lot of fun, but now it was just a reminder of the worst day of his life.

I understand, Chuck. I can never go back to...that place now. Not after what Bryce did to me.She didn't even allow herself to speak the place in her thoughts.

Chuck continued by telling her that hearing Ellie's voice when he told her he was coming home was a little too much to take in. Not to mention packing up this things and leaving, while Bryce just stood there and did nothing. At the mention of his name, Sarah looked away from Chuck and down at the ground. She paused for a moment when he stopped talking and thought about his words.

"Why do you think Bryce betrayed you?" Under different circumstances, her question might have been her way of trying to work through Bryce's betrayal of her as well as trying to help him. However she wasn't thinking about that now. All she wanted to do was to help Chuck though this rough part of the mission.

"I don't know. He's had four years to call and set the record straight. And now that he's gone..." Chuck paused and Sarah looked back up at him. He was still staring straight ahead looking at the library. "You know what? Forget it. Bryce has betrayed a lot of people, hasn't he?" Chuck turned and looked at Sarah momentarily, then started walking toward the library.

"Roger that," echoed Casey.

(...)

Back in the van

Sarah closed her eyes. It still hurt. Why did he have to bring up Bryce? Chuck didn't know it, but that one simple comment hit home. He didn't realize it, but it had stung her. Why do I still feel this way? I cared for him, yes. He was my partner, wasn't he? But partners don't betray each other, they have each other's backs.That idea strengthened her resolve. Chuck has the disk and he will want to watch the video of his interview. He will. He deserves to know.She smiled again. After all, he did save us.

(...)

The rest of the mission

Stanford University

They had made their way to the library and found the spot where the book was supposed to be. However the book itself wasn't there. But after a momentary feeling of deflation, Chuck figured out the book must have been used to mark the spot where the professor and Bryce could pass intel back and forth without anyone else knowing. He reached up to feel the underside of the top bookshelf and found a small hidden compartment. Inside, he found a disk. It was the intel Graham and Beckman had tasked the team to retrieve.

Their celebratory moment was short-lived as Sarah saw Magnus, the foreign spy, and his men at the other end of the bookcase. Sarah told Chuck to run out the back while she and Casey pursued the bad guys. That chase didn't last long as Sarah and Casey lost them around the second corner they turned.

Sarah knew she had to find Chuck and figured he went back to the Quad, the area Ellie and Devon were partying before the game.

It was Casey who found Chuck crawling on all fours. He lifted him to his feet before he elbowed one of the bad guys in the face as he approached from behind. With the bad buy knocked out on the ground, the three of them took off running. Sarah led them back into a building, twisting and turning down a few hallways, until she found one that wasn't locked. When they were all inside, Sarah poked her head out just enough to look both directions. Chuck and Casey did the same thing.

"We're safe for now," Sarah told the guys.

"I need to see what's on this disk," Chuck told his handlers walking towards a desktop computer.

Sarah turned and walked hurriedly over to him. "Hey, Chuck. That's top-secret."

"Yeah, well, so am I."

Sarah paused for a moment. Under different circumstances she would have smiled, probably even laughed playfully at his comment. But instead she just looked at him and let him finish talking.

"There could be answers on this disk about why I'm in the Intersect."

For the first time since she had been assigned to him, she didn't know what to say. She turned to Casey for help but he just nodded his head and stayed near the door, guarding the entrance. Chuck opened the CD Rom drive, put the disc in, and allowed the data to load. The screen came to life and displayed some sort of spread sheet complete with names, dates, file size, and file type.

"That's testing data," Sarah said out loud.

"And videotaped interviews. These are all just students." Chuck looked a little confused.

"Exactly. Students that were recruited into the CIA by Fleming. Ten year's worth. It's all their current information." Sarah knew immediately where this was heading.

Casey walked over and looked at the screen. "No wonder Magnus wanted it so badly. Foreign governments would pay a fortune for all that!"

"Look at this right next to 2002. Bryce Larkin. Bryce joined the CIA our junior year?" Sarah heard the mixed emotions spill out of Chuck's voice.

"That's enough. Now we know what he's after," Casey told them.

"No, no, no, wait, that's me. I'm in here too."

Sarah turned to Casey as she wondered, they tried to recruit him? But he doesn't remember that? How could he not remember?Sarah looked back to Chuck and told him not to click it.

"I never applied to be in the CIA."

Just as Chuck said those words, the door opened. Sarah turned her head and immediately heard the sound of gunfire and glass shattering. "Chuck, get down!" she yelled out.

The rush of adrenaline caused the next few minutes to blur together. What she could recall was Casey shooting a beaker, causing just enough of a distraction for Chuck to make it out of the room in one piece. Sarah and Casey continued to fire shots, but both were quickly running out of bullets. She ran through two complete mags and wasn't sure what she had left in the current one. When there was a momentary pause in the action, they checked their ammunition. Do or die time. I told Chuck I would protect. Let's see if Casey's up for it.

She asked him what he had left. He told her two rounds and Sarah lied to him. "I've got half a mag."

One of Magnus's men yelled out to them, "Drop your weapons and stand up. Put your hands where I can see them."

"I'm gonna go for it," Sarah told Casey. She turned and made eye contact with him. "You in?"

"You bet." He curled his lip, threw her a wink and added, "Hate long goodbyes."

The two spies quickly spun around as they stood up, guns pointed and ready to fire when they saw four armed students come running into the classroom.

"Actually, why don't you drop your weapons?" One of the female students said.

Casey looked up at the students, "Looks like someone called the cavalry."

"Good," Sarah told Casey and gave him a side long glance. "Because I only had one shot left."

Sarah felt Casey look at her and heard him blow out a sigh of relief. Sarah smiled a little on the inside. Looks I can trust him. I guess that means he is my new partner.

Chuck's bedroom

After the mission

Once Chuck had went home, Sarah dropped in at Casey's apartment to jot down the details of the mission while they were still fresh. When she was finished, she made her way over to Chuck's place, where Ellie let her in. She told Sarah that Chuck was in his bedroom.

Sarah stood at the entrance to his bedroom and watched as Chuck put the disc into the drive. She realized that he was completely oblivious to her presence. She waited until she heard the click and saw the screen come to life. "You didn't think we'd let you keep that, did you?"

"I need to know, Sarah."

He wants answers. I can let him have some of those."Okay, Chuck," she said and walked into his room. She stood next to him as together they watched the video file labelled Chuck Bartowski.

The file gave Chuck the answers he wanted and partially restored Bryce's reputation. Chuck leaned back in his chair and interpreted what he just saw. "Bryce framed me for cheating to save me."

Sarah took the disk and told Chuck that in order for him to be safe, no one could know about this intel. She left his room, closed the door behind her and slowly walked through his home. When she was alone in the hallway, the emotion that she had fought while watching the video found its way to the surface. Her eyes started to moisten with tiny drops of tears. Pain, hurt, confusion, denial, and a myriad of other emotions flooded over her. She needed to find somewhere to be alone.

The Beach

Sarah made it there just in time for sunset. She had come here to try to sort out the mess that she was. She decided that if it had helped Chuck on day one, it might help her now.

Chuck's words haunted her. "Bryce framed me to save me." Yes, Chuck, he did. But it ruined your friendship. The CIA don't really care about the assets, or what kind of people the agents turn into as long as they get the job done.

She stopped herself right there. She knew Bryce was an agent, but how could she not see what he really was? I cared for him too much. It must have blinded me to how he really was. Sure he saved Chuck, but at the cost of his friendship. Try as she may, she could not reconcile those two thoughts. I will never do that to Chuck. I will not turn into Bryce or Ryker.

Chuck is my guy now, not Bryce.

Sarah sat there in the sand and watched the sun set. It really was beautiful this time of day. The oranges, reds, and pinks of the sky made it easy for her to get lost in her thoughts. It made a perfect back drop for her as the waves rolled up on to the shore. She remained there for hours trying to work out a solution that would back her feel better.