I hope this chapter is to everyone's liking. Thank you for all the reviews so far. I never thought a story could get so many reviews so quickly. I may have found your weak spots, muhahahaha… It has even beat out my other story that I devoted way more time on than this one.

I do not own Chuck. Poor, poor me.

/

Sarah calls Chuck on the special phones that Stephen made for them. "Come on pickup," Sarah wills Chuck to pick up. She finally hears a click.

"Sarah? What's up?" Chuck says cheerily. She can tell this is the high point of his day by his voice.

"Hey Chuck. Did you ever have problems with the Intersect?"

"No," Chuck drawls in confusion. "Just a few headaches. Why?"

"Bryce has been acting odd lately. Every time he flashes, he cringes in a great deal of pain."

"Really? That has never happened to me before."

"That's what I'm worried about. The painful episodes are getting longer with each flash," Sarah says worriedly. "Bryce has become more short-tempered and he keeps denying anything is wrong."

"Bryce always did have an ego. What do you want me to do about it?" Chuck asks hopefully. He would do anything for a friend like Bryce.

"Well, Beckman doesn't know yet and I don't think he wants her to. I was hoping your dad might know something that could help."

"He did build the original after all," Chuck laughs. "I'll ask him. So, how has your day been so far?"

"Pretty normal. I have a briefing in a little while. How about your day?"

"Just work really," Chuck responds with a shrug.

"Sounds good. I have to go for the briefing. So can you ask your dad?"

"Oh yea; definitely," Chuck answers with no hesitation. "Goodbye Sarah. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll call you after the briefing," she smiles as she hangs up the phone. She never thought she would enjoy hearing or saying those words so much.

/

Chuck hangs up the phone and before he even puts it down, he calls his dad. After a couple rings, Stephen answers the phone. "Hey son."

"Hi dad. How are you?" Chuck always enjoys talking to his dad.

"I'm fine Charles. Just doing some work," Stephen answers cryptically.

"Cool, I think there is a problem with the Intersect."

"What?" Stephen almost yells in the phone. "Don't tell me you uploaded it again! I worked my ass off—"

"No, no, Dad. I don't have the Intersect," Chuck quickly informs Stephen. Chuck hears a sigh of relief. "It is Bryce. The 2.0 is messing with his head."

"What do you mean son?" Stephen asks worriedly and curiously.

"Sarah told me that he has painful episodes after every flash. She said that he is more short-tempered and egotistic than usual."

"Hmm…" Stephen ponders. "I may know what is happening."

/

Sarah and Bryce are sitting in the briefing room when Beckman's face appears on the screen. "General," Sarah nods.

"Walker, Larkin. With the help of Colonel Casey, we have set up a meeting with a Ring courier, Javier Cruz," Beckman stops when she sees Bryce flash.

Bryce's eyelids flutter as he sees several files on this Javier Cruz person. Bryce comes out of the flash with pain and anguish on his face as he holds his head and clenches his teeth to not scream. He squeezes his eyelids shut to help with containing the pain as he hears a 'nails on a chalkboard' sound and images of the flash appear over his vision in brief flashes.

"Are you alright Agent Larkin?" Beckman asks while Sarah just watches him with pain building inside her. She hates to see a friend in pain.

"I'm, I'm fine," Bryce barely gets out with a groan. He clears his throat. "Cruz is not just a courier. He's an assassin."

"What? We have no records of that," Beckman raises her voice.

"Well, it's in the Intersect," Bryce supplies.

"Fine, we need to capture Cruz. I want you both to meet him in Los Angeles for the meeting. Colonel Casey will be there as backup."

Sarah tenses after hearing where they are headed. She stifles a giant smile as she thinks about seeing Chuck for the first time in about half a year. She breathes out slowly to calm her excitement. "I look forward to working with Colonel Casey again," Sarah says.

"When do we ship out?" Bryce asks.

"Tomorrow night at 1700 hours," Beckman answers. She was skeptical about letting Sarah back to Los Angeles knowing the bond she and Chuck formed, but Casey recommended her for the mission. "That is all agents." Beckman disappears from the screen.

"I need to go," Sarah stands up.

"Los Angeles, huh?" Bryce studies her body language.

"A mission's a mission. We better pack," Sarah tries her best to dumb down her happiness.

"Good idea," Bryce says as he watches her leave.

/

Sarah is already packed as she lives out of her suitcase so she has the rest of the night and tomorrow to prepare for her fated meeting with Chuck. Sarah picks up her phone and dials Chuck ecstatically. After only one ring, Chuck picks up.

"Oh, hey Sarah!" Chuck says happily. "I talked to my dad. He thinks he knows what's wrong, but there is a slight hiccup."

"What?" She asks curiously.

"My Dad needs to see Bryce in person. You guys need to come to L.A."

"That won't be a problem," Sarah stifles a huge grin growing on his face.

"What do you mean?" Chuck asks curiously. He has never heard her voice so cheery before.

"I'm going to L.A.!" She cheers ecstatically. She can just picture Chuck's jaw drop for a few seconds and then slowly form into the biggest smile in the world.

"What? Oh my god!" Chuck jumps up from his bed in pure excitement. "When?"

"Tomorrow night."

"I'm so happy right now!" Chuck cheers. "Are you going to come see us?"

"Do I have to?" Sarah teases.

"You promised," Chuck complains lightheartedly.

"I'm kidding. You don't know how badly I want to see you Chuck," Sarah smiles into the phone.

"So you're coming?" His voice is brimming with happiness.

"Yes, I'll be there tomorrow at around 7:30."

"This is the best news in the world!" Chuck shouts happily. Sarah giggles into the phone with a giant smile on her face. "I have to tell Ellie and Devon. Ellie can make dinner! I'll have her cook something special. Any requests?"

"Nope; surprise me," she answers with the same excitement as Chuck.

"I will. I love you so much Sarah. I can't wait to see you!"

"I can't wait either. I love you Chuck."

"Love you too," he smiles goofily as she hangs up the phone. Chuck drops the phone on his bed and runs into the other room where Ellie and Devon are sitting and watching TV.

"What was all that yelling?" Ellie asks as Chuck jumps on top of them; landing right on their laps. "Umph! Chuck! What are you doing?" Chuck has the biggest smile on his face as he pulls Ellie's forehead to his lips and kisses her excitedly. Chuck then happily grabs both sides of Devon's face and brings him in for a kiss, but Devon pulls his head back.

"Whoa, bro. Why are you so happy?" Devon asks.

"Are you on drugs?" Ellie tries to look into his eyes to see any signs of substance abuse.

"No, I'm just so happy! Sarah is coming tomorrow for dinner!" Chuck shouts with pure bliss. Ellie's eyes widen.

"Really?" Ellie smiles from ear to ear. "That's great!" Ellie pulls Chuck into a bear hug. After Chuck nears unconsciousness from the bone-crushing hug, Ellie starts to freak out happily. "Oh my god! What am I going to cook? What does Sarah like? This needs to be special! I can't wait!"

Chuck just smiles while sitting in her lap as she spits out hundreds of frantic questions. "Now look what you did," Devon smiles playfully at Chuck before turning to Ellie. "Ellie, babe, calm down. Everything is going to be fine."

/

Bryce and Sarah touch down in L.A. and go straight to their hotel. They are both staying in a two bedroom hotel room. Sarah opens her suitcase and grabs a dress and steps into the shower. Bryce leisurely surfs the channels on the TV when Sarah walks out wearing a beautiful blue dress that only covers one shoulder. Her face is lightly touched with makeup to soften her perfect skin and a little eye shadow. She wants to look very natural to Chuck and not a clown that is layered with makeup.

"Hot date tonight?" Bryce jokes.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Sarah teases. "I'm gonna go out."

"You're going to see him, huh?" Bryce's voice becomes humble. He knows exactly what she is doing. He was always able to tell that she wanted to be with Chuck from the first time he saw them together after being revived, he saw a connection that only grew with each subsequent meeting with them.

"Yes, I am," she drops her head in shame. "You're gonna tell Beckman, huh?"

"No, Sarah," Bryce gets up and stands next to her as his voice is calm and truthful. "Chuck's my best friend. I already ruined his life enough times. I'm not gonna take away the only thing good to come out of messing up his life. I also like to see you happy and smiling, Sarah."

"Thank you Bryce," Sarah is shocked by his generosity. "I know you're having problems with that thing in your head. I'm gonna help you with it. I'm gonna find a cure," she says with pure conviction.

"Thank you," Bryce places his hand on her shoulder. "You know I hate having to ask for help. It makes me feel weak."

"You're not weak, Bryce. Everyone needs help once in a while in their life. I may not come home tonight so don't wait up."

"I understand. Tell him I said hi," Bryce smiles at her. She gives him a briefly friendly hug.

"I will. Goodnight Bryce. Call me if there are any changes to the plans." Sarah happily leaves the apartment to see the man she loves. She is totally surprised by Bryce being so consenting about her seeing Chuck.

/

Sarah walks into the courtyard of Chuck's Echo Park residence. So many memories flood her mind; good and bad.

Chuck saying that it if they were actually dating then this would be the part where he would be forced to kiss her, which in all honesty, she wanted him to kiss her so badly; watching Devon propose to Ellie from the window and seeing the happiness on their faces but the best of all when Chuck tells her she is family; toasting with Chuck for his Stanford degree and wishing to be with him while watching Morimoto's satellite burn in the stars; telling Chuck that he gets a break from all the spying only to join her on her mission with Casey with utter intrigue; taking Chuck's hand for the rehearsal dinner; etc.

The bad memories start to form, but she quickly shakes them off. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion. She gets to the door and brings her hand to knock, but then gets attacked by a wave of nervousness. She doesn't know what to say. She sits down by the fountain and fiddles with her thumbs as she thinks about everything.

Devon exits his car; relieved to be done with work. Ellie demanded he be home early for dinner with Sarah so he can shower and change. He checks his watch to see it is 7:24pm. He sighs because he knows he is late, but it isn't his fault that the last patient rejected the heart the first time. He shakes off the thoughts as he walks into the courtyard to see the back of a very attractive blonde in a dashing blue dress sitting on the fountain.

Devon walks closer and recognizes that it is Sarah. Sarah is too deep in her thoughts to hear Devon walking up to her. "Sarah?" Devon asks as he stands next to her. She looks up with surprise that turns to a smile instantly.

"Hey Devon," Sarah gets up and gives him a brief hug. "It's great to see you again."

"You too, but why aren't you inside? They're both waiting," he smiles at her. "I honestly don't know who is more excited between Ellie and Chuck," he jokes. Sarah laughs.

"I, I don't…" Sarah struggles to explain. "What do I say? What do I do? Do I shake Chuck's hand? Give him a hug? A Kiss?" Sarah babbles worriedly. "We've never really just kissed before without some complicated reason behind it."

"Sarah," Devon smiles as he places his hand on her shoulder, "calm down. It's alright to be a little nervous. I'm sure Chuck is just as nervous right now; pacing back and forth. As for how to greet him, the handshake may be a little offsetting if you care about him. You do, right?"

"I love him," Sarah answers quickly with a nod. She is enjoying the comforting advice that Devon is giving.

"Well, then a hug would be more like you are just friends who haven't seen each other in a while. But if you love him and he definitely loves you, I think a kiss would be the best," Devon suggests. Sarah smiles as she thinks about kissing Chuck.

"What about my job? Ellie doesn't know that I'm a spy and she is going to drill me about my new job and why I left Chuck like that. I don't know what to say."

"Let me worry about that. I'll tell Ellie to lay off with the questions and keep everything lighthearted," Devon grins at her. A smile starts to form on her face.

"Thanks Devon," Sarah smiles at him. "How has everything been since I left?"

"We'll talk about it when we get inside," Devon happily leads her to the door.

/

Not cool. I know. That is a mean cliffhanger. Maybe I should just cut straight to Sarah leaving in the next chapter. I'm only kidding, don't get too angry. Chuck and Sarah will be reuniting next chapter.

Please review because it makes my world go round. I hope that wasn't too cheesy, but in all seriousness, I love reviews.