A/N: Like always, a big thanks to Gladius Grim for always helping me out in my story.

This time around I thought I'd mix things up a little bit, so I have a little competition for anyone that's up for it. I have a quote in the last chapter I wrote (chapter 6) from one of my favorite movies. Who ever can find that quote and points it out as a review or in a private message, I will give a prize. As much as I would love to give the winner an imaginary pat on the back as there prize, I'm pretty sure none of you are really up for that. Instead, I will let the winner (if there is more than one winner, then both will win the prize) review and read my chapter before I put it on the site. You will get to do what my pal Gladius Grim does and give suggestions, opinions, what ever you want. The trick to the whole thing is that the movie is rather uncommon and a lot of people probably wont catch it. If, say, more than 3 people turn in the right answer than I'll pick the first two or three people who got it right. I was always one for some friendly competition so I thought I would spice things up a little. I will give one hint as to where the quote is...it is somewhere in the dialogue.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and enjoy the chapter. Oh, and I don't own Chuck.


July 29, 2009

Glendale, California

Sarah's Car

6:30 pm


Chuck and Sarah were driving in her car towards Sarah's apartment to put Chuck's sprained ankle in a brace. She shouldn't have been that cruel to his ankle, but in her eyes, at the time it was well deserved. He, on the other hand, didn't think so.

After their minor make-out session in the park, there was no turning back. Forgetting that it happened would be an impossible task that neither of them was going to attempt to accomplish. Sarah wasn't sure how she would be able to keep meeting with Chuck without getting caught, but she was willing to try as long as he was. She needed this one stable figure in her life; in reality, she knew he was far from stable, but in her eyes he was a diamond. Rock solid, yet beautiful.

Sarah's left hand was on the steering wheel and her right lying on the middle compartment. Chuck's fingers were intertwined with hers as he rubbed his thumb along the backside of her hand. It was such an innocent act that she had been deprived of ever since Bryce had gotten the Intersect. Thinking back however, Sarah realized that Bryce had never been one for small intimacies or innocent acts. He usually liked to skip the foreplay and jump right to the end, which left Sarah disappointed that another person in her life only wanted her for her looks, or the fact that she was the only person around. The Intersect didn't change Bryce's personality drastically; all it did was enhance his traits ten-fold. He had always been a self-absorbed person; she just hadn't wanted to see it before. Now it seemed as if lately Bryce was trying to rewind their whole relationship and re-write it, but he was not going to succeed in this little game he's playing. Because in the end it was another game for him to get what he wanted from her, but damn it she wanted something from a relationship and she knew it wasn't him. These thoughts of Bryce made Sarah strangely uncomfortable and she slid her hand away from Chuck's and gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Chuck noticed the tension that suddenly had formed in her body. He wasn't sure if confronting it was the right thing to do, or to just let the issue be. Not sure what he had done wrong, he decided to go for broke and bring it up.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Chuck asked curiously.

She didn't answer for a few moments. Finally, she said, "Nothing."

He looked at her almost incredulously, unable to believe that she thinks he is that dense. He sighed, "I'm not sure what you've had to deal with before, but I'm not as dumb as you're implying. There's obviously something wrong." He paused, and then continued in a gentler tone. "You can tell me, but if you don't want to, just tell me that. Don't just put it off as 'nothing'; thinking I'm just going to ignore the fact that something is bothering you."

Sarah gave a half laugh. "Wow, you basically just proved yourself as Bryce's polar opposite."

Confused, Chuck said, "I'm not following you."

"You manage to be the kindest guy I have ever met. It's the smallest things you do that make you so…great. You probably don't even notice..." She trailed off.

He smiled, completely flattered by her comment. Trying to turn his body more towards her, Chuck tweaked his ankle and let out a small yelp. Sarah's head shot towards him as she asked, "Are you okay?"

Nodding, Chuck said, "It seems every time we have met, you end up having to repair me in one way or another. Now, you're the cause of the damage." He gave a big grin, and she giggled.

"That reminds me, we have to go to the store and get a brace for your ankle."

"Mmm." He mumbled, his mind taking him back to his childhood.

"Ow! Oww! Ellie!" Chuck yelled in excruciating pain.

Ellie looked down at her little brother and straightened out his leg. His response to this was a scream she thought would break the sound barrier. Their mother ran out of the house asking what in the world was wrong. When she saw Chuck on the ground yelling bloody-murder, she raced towards the swing that he was lying under.

"Ellie! Ellie, what did you do?" Mary Bartowski demanded.

"He jumped from the swing and fell. It wasn't me, mom, I swear!" Ellie pleaded with her mother.

Mary got up and started running towards the house. She yelled to Ellie before opening the door. "I'm calling the doctor, don't touch his leg! I'll be right back."

Ellie knelt next to Chuck and allowed him to keep his death grip on her hand. "It's okay, Chuck. You'll be fine. When we go to the store, I'll buy you a lollipop. An-and mom will buy you a brace for your ankle. It's okay. It's okay." Ellie continued whispering this, more for her own sake than Chuck's.

"Are you okay? Chuck?" Sarah's voice broke him out of his flashback and he lightly shook his head.

"I-um, yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out a little." He said trying to cover for his trip to the past.

More concerned than before, she said, "Maybe your ankle is worse than I thought."

"No, it's fine. I just remembered something. It was when I injured my ankle as a kid. I was only about...-" He paused, remembering the details. "-eight years old. I jumped off the swing in my back yard and landed wrong. My sister, she kept saying, 'it's okay, it's okay' and I just kept screaming." He was talking more to himself now then he was to Sarah.

She lifted her hand off the steering wheel and squeezed Chuck's hand lightly, letting him know that everything, in fact, would be okay.


Casey and Shaw were lying on hospital beds inside of a government-owned care center. They were both recovering from the injuries received from the brutal torture at the hands of their captors.. Casey was asleep while Shaw was watching the extremely unappealing television that not even the prescribed drugs could make better. He had tried sleeping at several different times during the day, but couldn't manage it; instead he took out his cell phone that one of his friend's on-shift had slipped him when no one was looking. He dialed the first number in his speed dial; Sarah. It rang several times until a familiar voice answered.

"Hello"

"Hey, Sarah."

"Daniel? How are you doing?"

"Better. I'm bored as hell, though. I thought maybe you could come over and keep me company." Shaw said in a less than professional tone.

There was a pause on the line for a minute followed by Sarah saying, "I'm a little busy right now." The next thing out of her mouth wasn't a word, but something in between a moan and a purr.

He asked hesitantly, "You're not with Bryce, are you?"

"Hmm? No-pe." The second half of her word jumped up three octaves and then a giggle rang over the phone. "I reaaally have to go."

"Sarah? Sarah!" He said, but the line had already gone dead. "Great. This is just great." He threw the phone against the wall and it landed with a smash on the floor. Surprisingly, Casey didn't wake up; looks like a bear, sleeps like a bear. Shaw took his hand and pushed it through his hair. He had no idea who Sarah was with, but he knew that his chances to be with her just went down dramatically.

A young, attractive nurse entered the room with a clipboard. Shutting the door behind her, she walked towards Shaw's bed. "How are you feeling, Agent Shaw?" A smile formed on her face.

"I'm fine." He said without looking at her, a scowl on his face.

"That's good." She said as a pistol was held to his head, "If you make a sound, you're not going to be so fine." A mock pout formed on her face. "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

His whole body went stone still. She continued, "Now you are going to get in this wheel chair and cooperate with me, while I take you out to the parking lot. There, me and a few of my friends will put you in our van. We'll drive you to a nice cozy place. I promise." She winked at him.

"Why are you doing this?" Daniel asked flatly.

"Because you and you're friend over there-" She motioned to Casey, still sleeping. "-are working on the Intersect project. I made sure he had some drugs to help him sleep. We wouldn't want him causing a scene while you're leaving."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He played dumbstruck.

"Of course you do. You were the two agents trying to get the Equalizer. The same Equalizer that is used to build the Intersect computer.

"Who do you work for?" Shaw demanded.

"A nice little organization called Fulcrum. I'll tell you all about it once we reach out destination. Now let's get you into this wheel chair." She pulled the chair towards him and let him get in it while she stood at a distance with her gun pointed at his chest. He winced when a piercing pain shot through his midsection. Cringing at the immediate discomfort, he was hit upside the head with the cold metal of a gun. "Don't try to play anything funny with me!" She whispered in a harsh tone.

Shaw sat limply in the wheel chair waiting for her to push him out of the room. His previous inflicted injuries had caused him to become very weak and his tolerance level for withstanding pain drastically lower.

"Good boy." She said and smiled. Taking a large syringe out of her pocket, she stuck it in right above his collarbone. "'Night, Daniel." His kidnapper said pleasantly.


Mary Bartowski leaned against the door frame of her husband's office. He was studying the new toy he had received from his son; the Equalizer. Mary moved from her position at the door and went to the back of her husband's chair, placing her hands on his shoulders. Stephen's head turned towards his wife's face and he smiled. Taking off his glasses, he stood up from his chair and faced Mary. "Hey, hon." He said giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"Chuck's not home yet." She said apprehensively.

Closing the distance between himself and the mini-fridge, he yanked the door open and grabbed two bottles of beer. "Mmm, Charles hasn't been home a lot lately." He handed her a bottle and took a swig of his own.

"Do you think you could talk to him? He looks up to you, Stephen." Mary pleaded to her husband.

He almost choked on his drink. "Looks up to me? Mary, you have to be joking. He makes it a point to challenge me on most everything I say."

"That's because he's your son and you make it a point to ignore him except when you need him to go on another mission. Did you ever think that maybe he just wants a normal life?"

"Our son has never had a normal life, and wouldn't know what to do with it if he did."


Bryce woke up on his kitchen floor, clothes soaked through with sweat and head throbbing. Sighing, he got up slowly and headed towards his bathroom. He opened his medicine cabinet and dumped out seven aspirin tablets. Tossing them all in his mouth, he turned on the faucet and cupped his hands, getting water to help swallow the pills.

Going to his sofa, he plopped down and turned the television on. He wasn't listening to what was happening on the screen as much as he was using the noise to drown out everything else around him. His eyelids drooped shut and the Intersect as well as his mind temporarily shut down.


Shaw woke up in a small, dark room. He saw no sign of anyone else being in the room. The only sound was the constant ticking of a nearby clock. Attempting to move his arm, it was jarred backwards by a chain attached to his wrist. It was a familiar pair of cuffs that he often found himself putting on a variety of criminals. The cold, metal chair he was chained to was bolted to the floor. Finally shaking himself out of his hazy state, his eyes adjusted to the dark. A small camera was fastened to the farthest corner of the ceiling. Trying to work his way out of the handcuffs, he squirmed around in the chair. Eventually giving up, he slumped down with a look of defeat. His hair was slicked down with sweat and his shirt soaked through, proving just how bad his immune system had gotten since the incident. Neither Shaw nor Casey liked to think about the day they were captured; not only because it had caused them so much physical pain, but the fact that they were haunted by the images and pain some might say psychologically damaged but it was something neither man was willing to admit.

With a light shake of his head, Daniel tried to roll off the oncoming wave of nausea. Before his stomach could churn up his lunch, the door to the room opened, revealing the nurse from the hospital. She had taken off the scrubs and glasses; now wearing tight jeans, high black boots, a dark blue shirt, and a black leather jacket. Her hair was down, falling past her shoulders. This appearance was much more intimidating than her one at the hospital which frightened the already weakened agent even more.

"Hey, little Danny boy. Can I call you Danny?" As she walked closer a sinister scowl formed on her face. "I hear your mother calls you Danny. Would it make you feel more at home if we called you Danny here?"

Daniel became furious at the thought of her laying a hand on his mother. "What do you want from me?" He hissed.

"We did some research on you and your partner, Danny. When we saw you two were going to steal the Equalizer, we knew something went wrong. After a little work, our researchers found out that you and Agent Casey are part of a top secret government organized project. Team O Mellor is what they call you, but it doesn't get us any closer to what your team does. Not many government projects are as classified as yours. We just had to put the pieces together to find out that you two are working on the Intersect project. There are others working with you as well. It's only a matter of time before we find out who they are."

A low growl escaped from Shaw's throat. "Do your worst." He said with a sadistic gleam in his eye.

A light, almost cheerful laugh flitted from her lips. "That's where Fulcrum's going to do things a little differently.


Chuck and Sarah had now reached her hotel having already gotten his newly acquired ankle brace on. Helping him to get out of the car, Sarah supported Chuck as they walked slowly through the front door of the hotel. Inside the lobby, Sarah ignored the lobby attendant, but Chuck glanced over to find the same one he had encountered the last time he had been in this lobby. She looked back at him and saw that he was with Sarah. Giving him a wink in congratulations for getting his 'ex-girlfriend' back. He nodded politely at her with a slight smile, but continued limping towards the elevator.

Sarah had to make sure no one was in the elevator before she got in it with Chuck. One of his arms was slumped over her shoulder and the other was gripping the bar attached to the wall. Her head nuzzled into his shoulder and she was comfortable, for the first time, with someone other than herself. Sarah wasn't sure why she was bringing Chuck up to her hotel room. It would be dangerous taking him so close to Bryce. If he found out that she was in contact with him, and she didn't arrest him, she could be fired or actually worse. In her defense, she did try to arrest him. Once. It didn't work.

Technically, getting to know Chuck more could help her team. If he turned out to be something other than who he said he was, then she could turn him in. She would have then already figured out how he planned to build an Intersect, who he's working with, why he did it, and what his real name is. Actually, this is like Sarah running an independent op mused as she worked through her logic. Find out all the information she needed and then tell the General. So she could successfully arrest Chuck.

As much as Sarah wanted to believe this little fantasy, she couldn't and wouldn't. She could trick other people and treat them as marks, but not Chuck. He was too sincere, too...something. She didn't know what it was, but there is something about him that set him apart from everyone else in her life, that made him different. He's different. It wouldn't be right to trick him; she couldn't even if she tried.

Sarah's mind drifted to her last phone call with Shaw. She had always thought that Daniel was the one on her team that she could talk to. Obviously, all he wanted was some company- the kind that she wasn't interested in giving. She didn't mind so much now that she has a newer- albeit, more complicated- relationship. She wasn't heartbroken on the phone when she found out that Shaw was nothing other than, well, a man. She would have had an entirely different reaction if Chuck hadn't been so distracting. Necking with the man that is being hunted by her team, while talking to one of her partners on the phone probably wasn't the best of ideas, but it was a risk she was willing to take.

The elevator reached her floor with a ding and they staggered out. Taking out her room key, Sarah headed towards her door with Chuck using her shoulder as a crutch. Once they reached her door, Chuck whispered, "This is your room?"

She looked around in confusion, "Yes."

"You have got to be kidding me." He mumbled incredulously to himself.

Sarah looked at him as if he had two heads. "Chuck, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing." He said. "I'll tell you later." Chuck gave her a light push on the back to get her to go into the room.

Using the walls to keep himself upright, Chuck made his way towards the bed. Making his way over, he plopped down on the bed and used his arms to pull his body up to the pillows. Putting his arms behind his head, he relaxed.

Sarah went over to the bed and sat down next to him. "Just make yourself at home." She said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry. I am." He smirked with his eyes still closed.

She laughed and said, "I'm going to go to the store and get something to eat. Don't leave the room; I don't want Bryce to find you. If anyone knocks on the door, don't answer it and act like no one's home. Understand?"

"Yes, mom." He teased sardonically.

She got up from the bed and left him alone. Walking to her car, she imagined what she would be doing if Chuck hadn't come into her life. She supposed she'd be doing the same thing she did just about every day; go to work, come home, work out, shower, and then sleep. Her life was directed in a very monotonous path. Maybe Chuck had come into her life for a reason, to shake things up a bit. To make her feel like she means something, to help her enjoy her life, instead of just wasting all her time working. Being an agent is important to her and she knows that will never change, but other priorities have made their way to the surface. Not everything was about being the best spy, or stopping the most criminals. It's important for her to live her own life as well.

Sarah had gotten into her car and started to drive to the nearest grocery store. It would be difficult to find a way to do so, but she wanted Chuck in her life. To have someone to talk to. To spend non-work related time with. Someone to come home to or with. To cuddle next to while watching television. The opportunities caused her to smile as she drove.

Her phone ringing broke her free of her own thoughts. Finding her cell-phone in her purse, she found that it wasn't the source of the constant ringing. Still driving, she attempted to search throughout her car for the technology causing the high pitched jingling. Opening the glove box, she saw a small cell-phone. Sarah grabbed it cautiously and inspected it for a quick moment. Deciding to take her chances, she answered it with a hello.

The line was silent for a moment except for a loud crashing in the background.

"Hello?" She repeated, her voice rising.

"Sarah." A familiar, desperate voice whimpered.

"Chuck? Chuck! Are you okay?" Her body tensed as she heard his voice in pain.

"Sarah. Help me." His words filled her with dread.

And all too suddenly, the line went dead.


A/N: Dun-dun-dunnn. Ah, don't we all love cliff-hangers. Hope you guys enjoyed. Review and express your feelings to me :]. Remember, if you have some free time, go back to the last chapter and scan through. Find one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies. Since I'm not sure how many people read this second authors note, I will give another 'secret hint' ;]. The main actor/actress in the movie is dead. If anyone decides to answer do it in the form of... EX) Titanic. 'I'll never let go'. That isn't the real answer obviously, but the idea is plain and simple. Alright, thanks for playing! :D