A/N: Wow. I kind of suck at this following through thing. My bad. Thank you so much to all of you readers out there that kept reminding me to finish by reading and reviewing. I am so, so sorry it has taken me so long to post this chapter! Hopefully it is up to par with the rest of the story, I've re-read it about a million times and my beta (mugglecastlover31, you're my fav!) has looked over it. It's been so long since I started this story, I'm hoping I didn't lose track of any important facts/details. Please feel free to point out whatever you see. Any mistakes left are my own. I have the epilogue worked out, just need to finish up writing it. Hopefully will post it before the end of the year!
Without further ado, the ninth chapter.
Enjoy.
He gasped in a sharp breath as he woke suddenly. He had been dreaming, he thought, but he had instantly forgotten the dream upon waking. He hated when that happened. His heart was racing but his mind felt blurry. He opened his eyes and tried to make sense of what he saw. He was lying in a bed but it wasn't his own. There was a soft but piercing beep that kept time with his erratic heartbeats. To his right, slumped and sleeping in an uncomfortable looking chair was his older sister. If his whole body hadn't felt like a cement truck had backed over it, he would have lept up to hug her. Seeing her made him wonder where the other woman in his life could be. He experienced a jolt of panic as his brain called up the possibility that she had already been relocated and he would never see her again; never get to— He gasped again, trying to sit up. The heart rate monitor went crazy and Ellie bolted upright in her chair.
"Chuck? Chuck, calm down," she got up and gently pushed him back onto his pillows before pushing the button to call for the nurse. "It's all right Chuck, you're safe now. You're in the hospital."
Chuck had so many questions and thoughts and he was so happy to see his sister. There were so many emotions, it was wearing him out and he was worried he'd pass out again before he got the answers he needed.
"How are you feeling Chuck?" Ellie asked, fighting her own emotions and smoothing Chuck's curly hair.
Chuck wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want Ellie to freak out because he was in so much pain, but at the same time, he was in so much pain.
So instead he changed the subject.
"Sarah?" he managed to croak, making Ellie reach for the ice chips next to his bed.
"She went out for coffee," she replied, spooning some chips into a cup and handing it to Chuck. "She should be back soon." She smiled her patented Ellie smile, the one that was happy but sad, the one that said so much. Chuck worked on some ice chips to cover his overwhelming relief that Sarah hadn't disappeared completely.
"How long was I out?" he asked, feeling suddenly disoriented. Was it day or night? Ellie let out a breath and looked at her watch.
"It's been 37 hours since you got out of surgery," she said. "It's about three o' clock in the afternoon." She smiled and smoothed his hair again. There was a knock and Chuck's heart lurched thinking Sarah must be back.
Instead, a doctor poked his head around the door and then entered.
"Well good afternoon Mr. Bartowski, good to see you decided to join us." Chuck shivered slightly; an almost-memory working it's way around his mind.
"Chuck," he replied, "call me Chuck." The doctor smiled slightly and flipped open the chart he'd brought with him.
"All right. Well, Chuck, I'm Doctor Fisher and I've been treating you these last few days. I'm pleased to say everything is looking good and you can probably go home within the next couple of days," he stopped and looked up at Chuck. "Questions?"
Chuck stared at the doctor and suddenly flashed. With brown eyes and graying light brown hair, he was in his early sixties. He was an ex-army colonel and field medic, honorably discharged after the end of the Vietnam War. He had also done five years with an NSA intelligence team before retiring for a normal life. He still maintained a high security clearance for occasions such as this.
Chuck blinked and cleared his throat, trying to hide his transition from the Intersect back to the real world.
"No. No questions. Thank you doctor," he said, studying his IV line. The doctor stood still for a beat, unsure what to make of this man. But his orders were specific: make sure he lives, and don't ask him any extraneous questions. He was a soldier and he'd done his job. His work here was done.
He gave Ellie a warm smile because she was eying her brother suspiciously.
"All right then," Doctor Fisher said, breaking the silence. "Rest up Chuck, you'll be just fine." He reached out and shook Ellie's hand.
"Thank you Doctor Fisher," she said, fixing those intense hazel eyes on his. He had the distinct feeling that she knew that he knew more than he was letting on. He gave another tight smile and made his exit.
On his way out, he passed Agent Sarah Walker, holding two steaming cups of coffee. He motioned her aside. Her eyes took on a concerned look.
"Mr. Bartowski is awake, and he's going to be fine, but his sister seems… suspicious," he explained quietly.
Sarah went from concerned girlfriend to agent and nodded curtly, neutralizing her facial expressions.
"Thank you Doctor Fisher, I'll handle it," she said. He gave a short nod and continued to the rest of his rounds.
Sarah took a deep breath and knocked on the door as best she could with her elbow before entering.
"You're awake," she breathed; so happy to see him she nearly forgot she had two scorching cups of coffee in her hands.
"Sarah," Chuck said, a slow smile spreading across his features. They stayed like that, smiling at each other for several moments before Ellie clued in.
"I'll just—" She strode toward Sarah and the door, taking one of the coffees as she went by. "I'm going to go call Devon. Back later," she finally said.
Neither Sarah nor Chuck acknowledged her departure.
There were several long seconds of silence after the door clicked shut. Both Sarah and Chuck simply took in each other's appearance. Sarah looked exhausted. Chuck guessed she hadn't gotten much sleep in the last few days. Chuck for his part looked…well like he'd been tortured. His normally cheery face was swollen and bruised. He had a bright white bandage on his forehead over his right eye. Sarah felt guilt wash over her.
"Don't do that," Chuck's voice broke the silence. Sarah blinked.
"Don't do what?"
"Don't blame yourself." She opened her mouth to protest. He held up a hand. "Forget it, I can see it written all over your face." She closed her mouth and he smiled. A full on, Chuck Bartowski, accidental secret agent smile. She pulled Ellie's now vacant chair closer to the bed and sat down. He reached out for her hand.
"This was not your fault Sarah. And I'm alive. If you'd found me earlier, it wouldn't have changed anything. You had nothing to do with the transport, so just forget about blaming yourself. Okay?"
She averted her eyes and nodded to the floor tiles. He squeezed her hand.
"Now, you wanna tell me who that psycho was?"
Sarah took in a deep breath.
"Are you sure you want all the details now? You must be exhausted," she countered, not really having the energy to explain the insane man's motivations.
Chuck mulled this over for a couple of moments. Part of him was dying to know the whole story, but part of him just wanted to put the whole thing behind him and move on.
"How about the Cliff's Notes version debrief?" he replied. Sarah smiled gently and brushed her thumb over the back of Chuck's hand.
"Let's see," she began, trying to organize her thoughts and the information so she could make the story go as efficiently as possible. "The man who kidnapped you, Iago as he called himself, was really a man named Thomas Donlon. He developed the concept for the Intersect project and oversaw the project as the device was being built. But a few years ago, once the Intersect project was fully operational, the government decided it was no longer in need of Donlon's services. So, to lower costs, they cut his and other higher ups' jobs, leaving just enough staff to maintain the Intersect," Sarah paused to make sure Chuck was following.
"Another postal, laid off, American worker. That figures," Chuck commented sarcastically.
"Anyway, Donlon somehow got wind of the layoffs and before his security clearance was revoked, he gleaned as much information from the Intersect project files as he could-"
"Including yours, mine, and Casey's names and whereabouts," Chuck supplied.
"Right," Sarah nodded. "The teams raiding his home and other known whereabouts have found evidence that he has been planning his revenge for years. He must have been watching us for weeks to know that you were being moved. But because our particular project is so top secret, he didn't have any idea that you actually had a working Intersect in your brain."
Chuck's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I don't get it then, why did he come after me? After us? For all he knew, we could have just been field agents gathering intel for the Intersect."
Sarah shook her head sadly.
"Well according to his personnel file, Donlon was always a little…off kilter. Being laid off may have just been the catalyst that caused him to finally lose it. He probably just picked the most top secret file he could get his hands on and figured doing damage to our team would suffice for his plan of revenge toward the government. We'll never really know I guess," she finished with a sigh, tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand.
Chuck was staring blankly at the door, trying to make sense of it all. Sarah sensed his agitation.
"Chuck, the man was crazy, but he's gone now. We never have to worry about him again," she supplied, rubbing his hand tenderly and gave him a reassuring smile.
Chuck gave a small smile in return.
"Of course, what you went through….that would shake anyone up," she said, leaning in closer. "I'm here for you," she kissed him softly, "always."
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