A/N: Once again thank you all for the reviews. I know I'm a horrible person for ending with a cliffhanger like that then making you wait forever for a new chapter. Hopefully this will be worth the wait. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas/Holiday and have a Happy New Year!

Day 587 10:15 PM (Chuck)

They stood there for minutes just staring at each other. Chuck was stunned and even if he knew what to say he didn't think his voice would work. Sarah was standing mere feet from him. It was too much to take in.

The first thing he noticed was how tired she looked. There were dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders slumped in a way that made it seem like she was ready to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. As he studied her face closer, he could see the faint black and blue bruises hidden under her makeup. A sense of rage rushed through him that he hadn't quite experienced before. He wanted to make the person that hurt her pay. Not like he'd actually ever be able to find them or do anything. If someone was able to hurt Sarah Walker that badly, Chuck knew he didn't even have a shot. Then he met her eyes. They said so much with that one look. Hurt, longing, love, fear, relief. Chuck felt like he was back in the Buy More seeing her for the first time. She took his breath away then and she was doing it again now.

A smile began to form on her lips, one he was ready to return, and then disappeared as her eyes darted past him to something across the street. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. She stepped toward him, her eyes never leaving the spot behind him, and pushed him to the ground. Sarah shielded them both as the bullet passed where he was standing moments ago and shattered the sliding glass door. Out of nowhere, Sarah pulled her gun out and returned fire.

Chuck watched as his coworkers reacted to the gunfire. Some had fallen to the ground and covered their heads while others ran out of the main ballroom to somewhere safer. Sarah jumped back on top of him, protecting him from the next wave of bullets. He could feel her breath against his ear. Chuck never could seem to catch a break. The moment Sarah walked back into his life so did the chance of death at any moment. He started laughing. He had the worst luck. Sarah lifted her head to look at him incredulously, but it only made him laugh harder. She seemed to pick up on the joke and started to laugh with him. He missed that sound so much. A bullet whizzed past them and broke the flower pot next to them. They both fell silent and he could see Sarah scold herself for losing focus. Some things never change.

Day 587 10:15 PM (Sarah)

So many emotions hit her at once that Sarah didn't know what to do. She just stood there staring at him. It was a moment she never really thought would happen. He was even more handsome than she remembered. His hair was a little shorter, but still long and goofy enough to be Chuck. That was really the only recognizable difference she could see. Sarah was glad he hadn't changed much. She had changed enough for the both of them.

The look on Chuck's face made her want to melt. If she had any doubts that he loved her, that look would tell her the truth. She wanted to say something to him, but opted instead for a smile. Then something behind him shifted quickly and she reverted to spy mode. It was a sniper a floor above them across the street. Acting on impulse, she speared Chuck to the ground and shielded him. Their attacker shot at them again and Sarah returned fire. After getting a few shots off she fell back on top of Chuck. She felt his arms wrap around her instinctively protecting her head. She was supposed to be the one protecting him, but he always made sure to protect her. It was one of the things she loved most about him, even though it got them into trouble sometimes and made her job harder.

Out of nowhere he started laughing. Sarah lifted her head to meet his gaze. It only made him laugh harder. It was good to hear him laugh again. It was even better being near him. Of course, this had to happen during a gunfight. She laughed along with him at the irony of it all. A bullet flew past them and shattered a flower pot. Focus Walker. Get Chuck out of here, take care of the gunman, then there will plenty of time to get reacquainted. She got off a good shot and the man fell out of sight, but she wasn't sure if he was just dodging the bullet or if she'd hit him.

"He's Fulcrum," she heard Casey shout as he came up behind her. "He got away before the CIA came to rescue you and arrest the rest of them."

"Who is he?"

"They call him Agent X. Real name unknown. He seems to be one of their leaders."

"What else do we know about him," she asked her eyes never leaving the window.

"Not much. He's good at getting information out of people. I'd guess it was him who gave you those bruises."

Both Sarah and Chuck's heads snapped to look at Casey. "Take Chuck home. Make sure he's safe and figure out why Agent X is here. I'm going after him." She brushed past Casey without glancing back at Chuck. He would beg her not to go and she didn't have to willpower to say no to him. She was going to end this for good.

Day 587 10:30 PM (Chuck)

"Where's she going?" Chuck asked getting up to follow Sarah.

"Don't worry about her. We're leaving."

"No we're not."

The other man sighed loudly and grabbed Chuck by the arm. "If you follow her you'll just get her killed. She can't protect you and find Agent X at the same time."

"At least go help her. I'll be fine."

Casey opened Chuck's car door and threw him in the driver's seat. "For once will you just listen to me?"

Chuck nodded instantly. "Go straight home. Lock all the doors. Call General Beckman and tell her what's going on. She'll send the nearest Agent to look after you. Got it?"

"Got it."

Casey shut is door and took out his gun. "Thank you Casey."

"If you die, Walker is going to kill me," Casey said as he ran across the street to find Sarah. Chuck put his keys in the ignition and started the car. He would do exactly what Casey said. He had been out of the spy world for awhile and knew he wouldn't be much help anyway. There was a tap on his window and he looked up expecting to see Casey with more instructions, but instead he was staring at a masked man pointing a gun at him. The man opened the car door and hauled Chuck out.

"What's the problem sir?" Chuck asked pretending he didn't know who the other man was. No response came, but a moment later he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and everything turned black.

Day 588 1:10 AM (Sarah)

"Where is he?"

"Hell if I know. Bartowski never listens."

"Do you think Agent X got him?"

"Maybe. I don't know what they'd want with him though. He came here for you."

Sarah sat on Chuck's empty bed and put her head in her hands. The moment she walked through the front door she knew something was wrong. Neither Ellie nor Awesome were home and the house was too quiet. Why would Fulcrum capture Chuck when they didn't know he was the intersect? With little resources and agents left why was X bothering with her? Did he want revenge because she got away? If she were him she would have completely disappeared by now.

"What if he's not here for me?" Sarah asked jumping up from the bed. "Fulcrum knew we were in LA protecting something. They probably know Chuck is connected to Bryce. They're grasping at straws. Maybe X figures he can get something out of him."

"Why does he even care anymore? Almost all of Fulcrum is gone," Casey said from his lookout spot by Chuck's window.

"Whoever has the intersect has the secrets of the United States Government and that would give them a lot of power," came a voice from the doorway. "Agent X doesn't give a damn about Fulcrum anymore. Once he has the intersect he won't need them anyway."

"Bryce? What are you doing here?"

"I heard X got away. Figured he might come here. Guess I was right."

Bryce was one of the last people Sarah expected to see. She thought he was still deep undercover somewhere. He did always have a knack for showing up randomly.

"Do you have a plan Larkin or are you just giving me another opportunity to kill you?"

Bryce smiled, but ignored the second part of Casey's comment. "Not really. All I know is that X will do whatever he can to make Chuck talk. Chuck won't last long under torture and since he doesn't know where I am, he'll eventually tell X that he is the intersect. Our best option is to split up and try to find X before that happens."

Sarah hated the thought of Chuck being tortured. Bryce was right. Chuck would eventually break and give himself up. Then the whole world would be in trouble, not just her world. They didn't have enough time to scour the city. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Do you know of any hideouts Fulcrum had in the LA area?"

"A few. They move around a lot and never go to the same place twice. It helps keep them hidden."

"X isn't worried about staying hidden. He won't waste too much time with Chuck. He most likely went to the closest hideout he knew of."

"Bryce can you show us the closest hideout from Chuck's last location?" Sarah was beginning to form a plan.

"What are we going to do, Sarah? Go to them all one by one? There are hundreds. Plus what are we going to do when we get there? Break down the door and demand he gives Chuck back?"

In the blink of an eye Sarah drew her gun on Bryce. "No, we are going to give him exactly what he wants. You."

"Then what's going to happen once he figures out I'm not the intersect? He'll just go after Chuck again."

"He'll never find us."

Bryce sighed. "Sarah I know you won't shoot me. You might as well put the gun down."

Sarah took a step towards him. "I don't think you realize just how badly I want to get Chuck back."