Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. Never have, and I never will.

A/N: Okay, so it's time for another College Years chapter. It's been awhile I guess since my last update, but hopefully everyone is still on board. So the end of the last chapter promised some dreams, and that's just what you'll get, haha. I hope it's enjoyable. This chapter is still a little heavy, but fear not. It leads to some comedic situations. I just have to set those up first. Big ups to MXPW for some awesome insight into this chapter, as well as everything I write, pretty much. You're the best, buddy. Okay, that's all for now, I guess. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review. Thanks!

What Dreams May Come

Sarah's Dream

Sarah sat in the parked car looking across the street at a house that looked all too familiar. There was a group of agents that appeared to be making an extraction, or maybe an arrest. For the life of her, she didn't know what she was doing there. Then suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. It was her house. Those agents were arresting her father. Sarah checked the mirror and sure enough, she was no longer Sarah Walker, the drop-dead gorgeous blonde that the CIA had constructed; she was the awkward, frizzy haired teenager Jenny Burton.

Jenny gasped. She was living the worst day of her life all over again. She watched her father be loaded into the back of a car, and just as she had four years prior, she ran. She ran towards two destinations. The first was easy. She had to retrieve the emergency stash her father had hidden in the forest near their home. The second destination was more difficult, more abstract.

She knew she had to get away, and she had the funds to do just that. But where would she go? What would she do? Her father was her life, and now he would be leaving her all alone. How would she survive on her own? Would she have to start over? Could she?

Then, like an Ark Angel, Agent Langston Graham swooped into her life. He offered an opportunity to start over. He offered her a chance to set things right. And Jenny took the offer. She was now Sarah Walker.

Suddenly, Sarah was transported to another place. This setting wasn't familiar at all. From what she could tell, it was the inside of a detention facility. Looking around, her suspicions were confirmed.

Sarah heard the clanking of metal dragging the concrete floor, and looked up to see a prisoner advancing towards her. The man's legs and arms were shackled, but his face was obscured by the light shining in through the only window in the dark room. Then when he sat down in the chair across from her, Sarah knew exactly who the prisoner was. It was her father.

"Dad?" Sarah gasped.

"Hey, sweetheart. It's good to see you again."

Sarah shot up from her chair and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"I've missed you so much, dad," Sarah exclaimed.

"I've missed you too, baby girl. You've been taking care of yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've been doing some really good things. I'm graduating from college soon. You'll never guess where I went."

"Where?" Jack asked, an amused smile on his face.

"I went to Harvard!" Sarah answered.

"Like the real Harvard? Damn, I guess your old man didn't screw you up so bad after all," he said with a laugh.

"No, daddy, you did good. I was on the Dean's List every semester. It was hard, but I made it through."

"So I guess you won't have to live a life of pulling cons, then. You can do anything you want," her father said, a sad smile on his face. "So, have you decided what it is that you want?"

"Um – I have, but we don't have to talk about that," Sarah answered. She wasn't about to out herself to her father as a CIA agent.

"Darling, this is your dream. You can tell me anything you want, no worries."

Sarah suddenly took stock of her situation. Her father was right. This was most certainly a dream. She was both relieved and disappointed in that revelation. It opened the door for her to be more honest with her father, but she regretted that she wasn't really speaking with him.

"Okay, dad. I'm working for the CIA. I love it. They're the reason I got to go to Harvard, and now that I'm done, I have a promising career that's going to let me travel the world, and really make a difference," Sarah said proudly.

"Okay, that's what your job is, but what do you want from life?" Jack asked.

"What do you mean? I want to be an agent; I want to be the best agent. I want to protect the sovereignty of the nation, and stuff."

"And that's all you want?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"What else would I want?" Sarah asked confused.

"What about that boy?"

"What boy?" Sarah asked.

"The one right next to you," Jack answered. And as soon as Sarah turned her head, to her surprise, Chuck was sitting right next to her. He wasn't saying anything, but he was wearing that big, beautiful smile that Sarah had seen from him before, but not often enough. It was his real smile.

"Chuck?" Sarah asked, seemingly surprised. "What makes you think I want Chuck? And what do you think I want from him?"

"You're not fooling me," Jack supplies flippantly.

"I'm not trying to fool you. Chuck is a part of my assignment. And he's the key to advancing my career. That's all," Sarah says, sticking her chin out defiantly.

"Sarah, honey, I know how tough things were for you growing up. I wasn't always a great father, and you never knew what it was like to have a real family. But you've seen something in this boy. You can deny it 'til you're blue in the face, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation. Remember who you're talking to. I can read people, darling, even you. It's my only real talent," he says wistfully.

"So," Sarah begins guardedly. "What is it that you think I want from Chuck?"

"S'hard to say. Well, it's really not, I guess. You see something you want that he can give you. Something you've never had. What is it I always told you about the things that you want?" Jack asked.

"If I want something, I have to be prepared to take it?" It was more a recitation of one of her father's many lines than a question.

"That's it. So are you going to take it?" he asked.

"I don't know how," Sarah admitted. "What do I do?"

"This is your dream, Sarah. I can't tell you anything you don't know. I'll just say this. You want this boy, right?" Sarah nodded shyly in reply. She couldn't lie to her dad, even in her dreams. "If you want it, you have to make it happen, darling."

Sarah awoke with a start. She quickly looked around to find herself in Chuck's apartment, on Chuck's couch, sleeping next to Chuck. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she was happy that she'd done so in her current position: next to Chuck with his arm draped around her. Very carefully, as not to wake her sleeping-buddy, she burrowed deeper into his embrace. Her dad, or more accurately her dad in her dream, was right. If she wanted this to happen, and she now admitted to herself that she did, she would have to make it happen. She wouldn't let Chuck get away. She wouldn't let another man that she cared about leave her without her having a say.

Orion's greatest creation

The Intersect Cube. It was Stephen Bartowski's greatest creation, and somehow, Fulcrum had gotten their hands on it. Orion wasn't sure just how that had happened, but he was grateful. It was, after all, the key to his plan working out for everyone involved. Well, everyone except for Fulcrum.

While the rogue faction knew that this device was powerful, and that it could do things that no other Intersect computer in the past was capable of, they were too small-minded to grasp the full implications of the power it held. They were too focused on the fringe benefits – allowing anyone to upload the Intersect – to fully understand what could be done with the cube. Under the right direction – and Stephen knew that he was that direction – the Intersect cube could allow for multiple thought processes to be put to use. Not only would a person who housed the information be able to recall intel from the Intersect database, but they could actually gain skills and abilities through the source programming, if the programmer were so inclined to include such things.

But that wasn't Stephen's intentions. He could give a damn about allowing an untrained agent the abilities of the top spies in the game. He was much more interested in the upload reversal abilities of his creation. The life of his son might well rest on those very abilities.

So when Stephen was brought to a secret room on the campus of his old nemesis, Ted Roark's software company to finish up the work on the cube, he immediately began source programming that could remove whatever horrors had no doubt been uploaded into Charles's head. The true genius in the plan was that no one in Fulcrum, or hell, no one in the world for that matter, would know what Orion was truly planning.

When he was finished with the source programming, he would steal the cube back, he'd contact the two young confidants he'd met with in Washington, and he'd set out on a mission to get Charles free of the infernal Intersect, forever. CIA be damned. That organization had destroyed Stephen's life, and the lives of his family enough as it was. He wouldn't allow another generation of Bartowskis to have their future torn away by those bastards.

For now, however, Charles was safe. Stephen knew that Langston had no doubt set that little blonde girl as his son's protection, and from what he'd seen back in Mexico, the girl had a thing for his son. She'd give her life to protect him. That was a good thing. Orion could give a damn about the life of that young agent, but Charles would need someone to have his back until the plan could come to fruition. When it did, that Agent Walker would no longer be of use, and Stephen would gladly discard her in order to keep his son safe, and free of the perils of the covert world.

Chuck's dream

Chuck suddenly found himself in a dark alley in a strange town. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, or even where there was. All he knew is that he was running from something, from someone.

"Chuck!" cried a feminine voice from the other end of the alley.

He turned to look at the source of the call and standing in the shadows of a building was Sarah Walker. Her blonde hair flowed freely around her face. She was dressed in a black t-shirt, and form fitting jeans. She looked stunning, just as she always seemed to.

"Chuck," she repeated. "You need to come with me. I'll protect you."

Hesitantly, Chuck began to answer her siren's call. Her voice was so melodic, her appearance angelic in nature. How could he doubt her? But somehow he did. Somehow he knew that she was there for something else, something more sinister than helping him. But still he was walking towards her.

Just as Chuck reached the end of the alleyway, Sarah reached her hand out to him. She bit down on her bottom lip in that adorable way she did sometimes when she felt shy…or when she was pretending to be shy. Chuck could never tell which it was with her. He reached out his own hand, but just before their hands touched, Chuck felt something pull him from behind.

Chuck turned around sharply to see what, or who, had grabbed him, and there stood Jill. Jill's face was a picture of panic and worry.

"You can't trust her, Chuck. Please?" Jill begged.

"What? Why not?" Chuck asked.

"There's not enough time!" Jill exclaimed. "I'll explain it later, but you need to come with me."

Chuck looked back and forth between the two women. Both had expressions of concern on their faces. He didn't know who he should go with. He'd known Jill longer, to be sure, but she'd already lied to him so much. He loved her, he thought, but what was really her game plan? What did she want with him? Was she after the secrets in his head? For some reason, Chuck didn't think so.

Then, looking at Sarah, he noticed that her expression seemed somehow less sincere than Jill's. Sarah looked concerned, to be sure, but then, what did Chuck really know about Sarah? She hadn't told him one true thing about her yet. Everything with her seemed to be a lie, or a cover, or an outright refusal to talk about her past.

It was the classic situation of the devil you know, against the devil you don't know. Which should he choose?

"I don't know! I don't want to choose," Chuck cried out honestly.

"Apathy is death, Chuck," Sarah said coldly. She then produced a gun, from somewhere, and aimed it directly at Chuck's head. He swallowed nervously as he waited for the blonde to open fire.

But before any shots could be fired, Chuck felt his arm being pulled again from behind. Jill yanked him behind her as she began to flee. Chuck had no option but to follow her, or be dragged to the ground.

Chuck and Jill ran as fast as they could, but no matter how fast they ran, Sarah seemed to be gaining ground behind them, despite the fact that the CIA agent wasn't even running. She was walking deliberately, but matched every hurried step Chuck and Jill made, the pursuer with her gun still at the ready.

Then they reached the end of the alley. A seemingly endless brick wall was in front of them, and they had nowhere else to run. Chuck and Jill turned to face their attacker, only to see the gun in her hand discharge. Chuck ducked away, hiding his eyes from the shot he knew was coming for him. But he felt no pain. Instead, Chuck felt the woman beside him crumple to the ground.

"Jill?" Chuck asked worriedly. "Jill, are you alright?"

"No," Jill said weakly. "I have to go, Chuck. But you have to run. You can't trust her. She's only here to manipulate you. Please, don't trust her. I love you," Jill said, her voice barely above a whisper at that point.

"I love you, too, Jill," Chuck said, tears now streaming down his face, as he felt the woman in his arms pass away within his embrace.

"You killed her!" Chuck roared, directing a murderous glare towards the blonde woman.

"You need to come with me, Chuck," Sarah said, ignoring his accusation. Her gun was still out, and seemed ready to fire if he disobeyed her.

"I can't leave her! I love her!" Chuck said, his voice still full of emotion.

"So be it," Sarah said mechanically. She lifted her gun once more and pointed the barrel at Chuck's head. He saw her finger start to tighten around the trigger, and he closed his eyes. He heard another shot fired, and then, there was nothing.

Chuck shot awake, sweating heavily, his breathing labored. He took in his surroundings. He was in his new apartment. On his couch. And snuggled against his side was…the monster from his nightmare. She looked so peaceful, so innocent lying is his arms. But if Jill from his dream was right, it was all part of the plan. It was all a part of manipulating him to her will. Was Jill right? Was his dream right? He was careful not to stir anymore than necessary. He didn't want to wake the sleeping assassin. His situation was something he'd have to think about, but not yet. Not now. For now, he just needed to find a way to survive.

A/N: Alright folks, that's all for now. Like I said, this one was still a little heavy, but now, Sarah wants Chuck and is prepared to do whatever she can to get him. Chuck is terrified of what Sarah really is, and what she may do. They both suck at communication, of course, so I'm sure you can guess at just what is ahead of our two heroes. Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and I really look forward to your feedback. You guys are awesome. Peace.