Summary: How will Sarah cope with what happened between Chuck and Jill? Is what happened between Chuck and Jill all that meets the eye? Will someone be pissed at Casey? What's going on with the Ellie situation? All this and more in Ch. 9: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. The owners of Chuck are in the Intersect. They're also known to the public as NBC.

A/N: Some great reviews for chapter 10. I really like when you guys let me know how you feel about what's going on with the characters, and you certainly didn't disappoint. I think for those of you who were concerned about Casey's actions, you'll see Chuck address that very thing in this chapter. I think you'll start to understand why Chuck did what he did. It may make you hate him less. It may make you hate him more. I don't know. If I was a mind reader, I would be a hell of a lot richer (and who knows, maybe I wouldn't need that disclaimer anymore with that type of money!) I proofread this chapter all on my own, so it may be a mess. If so, 1,000 apologies. I wanted to go ahead and get it out so I could take a nap so, I got a little ahead of sending it to anyone. My bad. Anywho, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and by the way, big props to cville for being the first to point out that all the chapters are named for Nirvana songs (or songs famously covered by Nirvana such as this one). Others of you may have noticed, but you didn't say anything did you? Huh? That's what I thought.


Don't Freak Out: Okay shippers, you're going to start to freak out early in this chapter. Don't. All is not what it seems. Some of our characters actually can control their hormones.

Now, without further ado, I present Bryce and Jill vs Chuck and Sarah chapter 11: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?


Castle Base, Below the Orange Orange

They'd shared a bed almost every night for the better part of six months. Something about her just felt different last night. It was as if she were troubled by something. Bryce would have to ask her about it when she woke up. Hey, you're getting better at this relationship stuff.

As he lay holding Jill and softly running his fingers through her hair –as though the small action could assuage whatever burden was causing her fitful rest- Bryce heard a familiar buzzing coming from the table beside the twin cots they'd pulled together to make one large bed. He leaned over and kissed Jill gently on the temple. "Be right back," he assured her sleeping form.

Reaching over to identify the early morning caller, he was greeted by the visage of his former partner splayed across his iPhone. Heaving a deep sigh, he stood up and accepted the call.

"Larkin secure."

"Bryce…" Sarah was clearly very emotional about something. "Oh, this is Sarah secure." Although she'd tried to still sound professional, something was clearly bothering her.

"Sarah, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Bryce looked over to make sure he hadn't awoken Jill. He had not.

"No! I'm not alright!" The rage was evident in her voice. It was conflicted with something else. Sadness maybe? "It's Chuck…" She let her voice trail off.

"Chuck?" Bryce was really concerned now. "Sarah, what happened to Chuck? Is he alright?" If Sarah was this emotional, something terrible had to have happened. Bryce battled with himself to keep thoughts of the worst from his mind.

"He's fine." Sarah sniffled into the phone. "He just…he…" Sarah couldn't seem to voice what was bothering her. "Could you meet me in the alley behind the shop in five minutes? I really need someone to talk to." She paused briefly thinking about the complete ramifications of what had occurred. "You probably need to hear what happened anyway."

"Sure Sarah. I'll see you in five." Bryce closed the call, no closer to understanding what was going on than when the phone call began. He slipped into some clothes he had in his bag at the foot of the cot. Turning to Jill, he knew he needed to tell her where he was going. Taking a piece of paper from the pad beside the cot, he scribbled a quick note.

Jill,

Stepped out for a few minutes. Be back before long.

-B

Slipping out the back exit to Castle, Bryce saw the black Porsche 911 pull up in front of him. Not waiting on a cue, he opened the passenger door and got in, closing the door behind him. He turned to face a clearly distraught Agent Sarah Walker. Deciding he should give her a minute to get together whatever it was she needed to say, Bryce didn't speak.

Sarah exited the parking lot and headed back towards the highway. Getting on the 5, she quickly accelerated, weaving in and out of traffic. She still, however, had yet to utter a single word. As silence permeated the car, Bryce finally felt the urge to break the quiet discomfort. "Sarah, what's going on?"

Looking over at Bryce -her eyes still red and cheeks stained with tears- Sarah breathed a hardy sigh and began making her way towards the right lane to exit the freeway. Pulling off the 5 and into a service station just past the off ramp, Sarah parked the car. Cutting the engine, she still gripped the steering wheel tightly. She stared down at the floorboards even as she began to speak.

"Casey sent me a video from last night. It was…" Sarah broke down again. Unable to finish explaining, she pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up the video file. Shoving the phone towards Bryce, she was able to choke out a simple instruction. "Look!"

Chuck and Sarah's Apartment

Chuck really didn't want to see Casey right now. It was going to take every ounce of strength he had not to swing at his former handler. Without Casey though, Chuck was without transportation. He didn't have to work at the Buy More today, but there would certainly be things from the previous night's bust that he would need to go over in Castle. He also held out hope of getting to talk with Sarah about what had happened between Jill and him.

Reluctantly picking up his phone, Chuck called Casey.

"Bartowski, what do you want?"

"Casey, Sarah took off without me. I can't get in touch with her. I kind of need a ride." Chuck spoke with a deliberate, albeit defeated tone.

"What, you don't have your own car?" Despondent Chuck will walk right into this one.

"Casey, you know I still have to drive the Herder." Chuck actually sounded even more depressed now if it was possible.

"Guess what they say it true then. Cheaters never prosper!" Chuck heard Casey laughing hysterically at his own joke. He pulled the phone away from his ear and gave the NSA agent time to finish his laugh at Chuck's expense.

"Alright Casey, you had your laugh. Will you come get me now?"

"Huh, hell no. That's why they make public transportation moron. You can probably get a bus schedule online or something." And with that, Casey disconnected the call.

Damn Casey and his stupid…What the hell is his problem lately anyway? Snarky has always been a part of the Casey package, but vindictive and cruel is a whole new addition.

Chuck found a bus schedule, but would have to wait over an hour to catch the next route headed towards the Buy More Plaza. Instead, he decided the fare for a cab would be worth not having the long wait. Forty-five minutes later, he stepped out of the cab outside the Orange Orange. Paying the driver, he proceeded towards Castle. John Casey had some explaining to do.

Service Station Parking Lot, Inside Sarah's Car

"Well, I guess we don't really know if they did anything." Bryce was troubled by what he had seen. He didn't know really if he had any right to be upset with Jill. While they were certainly moving towards…something, they hadn't really discussed any type of monogamy. Besides that, they were spies. This is the type of thing people in their line of work did. Maybe he should remind Sarah of that. "And even if they did do anything, does it matter? When you and I were together, we both took lovers outside of our relationship."

"This is different Bryce and you know it! You and I were never in love. I never felt about you how I feel about Chuck. And while we're on the subject; you never looked at me the way I've seen you look at Jill since the two of you have been here." Sarah buried her head on the steering wheel. "Chuck was supposed to be different. He wasn't supposed to be like everyone else in this business. What we have is supposed to be special." Sarah began crying again.

"I mean, come on Sarah, it's not like you guys are married or anything." Bryce was doing his best to comfort his former partner. Comforting was not one of his strong suits.

Looking up at Bryce and trying to stifle her sobs, Sarah began her reply. "We've talked about it. We'd planned to one day…when we get out of this."

"What, get married?!" Bryce was stunned by this admission. "So you two are engaged?"

Sarah thought about what Bryce had asked. "Well, in principle I suppose I would say yes. There is not a standing arrangement or anything. We've talked about both wanting that one day when we both leave this job. When we can behave like a married couple."

"Even married couples cheat Sarah." Was that the right thing to say at this point?

"Maybe so, Bryce," Sarah said softly. "But if I get married. If I marry Chuck then I will take it very seriously. The vows that I would share with him would mean more to me than to some people."

"Why?" Bryce couldn't understand how someone who had used sex as a tool to complete a job many times over could view matrimony in the way Sarah seemed to.

"Because I never thought I'd want it. Because the only man that ever made me want that life…because I want to be faithful to Chuck. I always thought he'd be faithful to me." Sarah's eyes began to water again. Morbidly, she began to wonder if she could actually cry herself to death. Right now, it didn't seem like such a bad option.

"So you brought me out here for revenge?" Bryce hadn't intended to put a move on Sarah during his stay this time. That said, he certainly wasn't going to turn down his beautiful ex-lover. Jill had, at least almost, made a go at it with Chuck. It was only fair.

Leaning over towards Sarah, Bryce pulled her face towards his. Sarah instead pushed the other spy away. "No!" she shouted. "I really just brought you here because I needed someone to talk to. I thought you'd be upset about what happened too. Don't you care that Jill may have…been with Chuck last night? She at least probably kissed him!"

Bryce knew that deep down, he was a little miffed at what Jill had done, or almost done, or hell, he didn't know. The fact was that Chuck and Jill had a history. She had been such a breath of fresh air over the past six months, and he couldn't stand the thought of losing her. "No, you're right Sarah. I need to talk with Jill. I need to know what happened. I need to know if she's still invested in 'us'."

"Let's go to Castle." Sarah started the car back up. "I should at least watch the entire video. Maybe there are some answers on that tape."

Castle Base, Below the Orange Orange

Chuck marched down the stairs into Castle. He immediately spotted Casey and made a beeline in his direction.

"Good morning sunshine." Casey beamed with pride at how well his plan had worked. The only thing that could have made it better is if Bartowski was sporting a few bruises or a black eye. I'm actually surprised his manhood is still intact, Casey thought with a chuckle.

"You!" Chuck was clearly not in the mood for games. "First of all, I do not blame you for Sarah being pissed off at me. I screwed up really bad. I made a stupid mistake. What almost happened here last night was a terrible error in judgment." Chuck was finished beating up on himself for now. He would likely give Sarah much more of his self deprecation, but Casey wouldn't receive another ounce. It was now time to turn on the Casey lambasting.

"But what you did…You intentionally hurt Sarah. You broke guy code. I could let that slide because I did screw up, but it's not all you did. You have been riding us for months now. You have taken every opportunity to cause friction between her and me. You have no regard for others, and you have no regard for the team!"

Chuck was pacing back and forth as he spoke. His eyes, however, never left those of John Casey. "Are you this pissed off that you're the only one who's not getting some? Is that why you try to shit on everyone else's parade? Perhaps then, if you didn't act like such a dick to everyone, you could remedy that problem."

He knew he should be angry at the tongue lashing he'd just received from his former asset, but Casey was struck by something else in Chuck's speech. He'd admitted his mistake, but the self pity that had accompanied nearly everything he'd done since the incident was gone. Gone too was the posturing he had made commonplace in nearly everything he'd said since deciding to become an agent. Casey realized that he was being chewed out by the old Chuck Bartowski. Then in spite of himself, John Casey smiled. It's good to see you again moron.


Ellie and Awesome's House

Devon was worried about what Ellie was going to do. She was not even close to finding out the truth about her brother and his cohorts, but he couldn't really tell her that. Knowing his wife, she would pursue what she believed to be the truth to some end. Would she try to force Chuck into counseling? Would she try to force Chuck and Sarah into couple's counseling? Would Ellie try to attack Sarah? All of these were real possibilities, Devon realized. The final of which scared him to no end.

Deciding that it may be best to head off any chance Ellie might surprise the couple with her "discovery" at the pass, Devon dialed Chuck. Sarah is probably much more dangerous when she's surprised. If I warn her ahead of time, she may be able to show restraint.

"Awesome! I didn't know you were back in town!"

"Hey dude. Listen, did Ellie get in contact with you?"

"Yeah, she did. She was acting really weird and…" Chuck looked around him before speaking again, now with a whisper. "She suspects something. We think she may have seen Bryce and Jill enter Castle a few days ago. She tried to bug the Orange Orange, and she threatened Sarah with bodily harm. We don't know what exactly she knows, or thinks she knows."

"Well, I can help you there." Devon was more than a little upset with Ellie's "spy work" but the fact that she had threatened a trained assassin petrified him. That said if he could let the team in on what was going on from Ellie's end, the situation may be easy to diffuse. "So Ellie overheard some chatter…no doubt Casey making some quip about you, Sarah, Bryce, and Jill having to stay together. Something about swinger's club or something."

Chuck recognized the joke his brother-in-law was referencing. Just one more example of John Casey being a pain in the ass. "I think I know what you're talking about. Go on."

"That's it man. She thinks Sarah's running a swinger's club out of the Orange Orange. She thought it was going on behind your back at first, but now she believes you to be involved as well. She still blames Sarah for getting you involved by the way."

"That's all?" Chuck couldn't believe his sister would actually think that. Then again, from an outsider's perspective, what exactly were you supposed to think?

"That's it. I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Thanks Awesome."

"Later Bro."

Castle Base, Below Orange Orange

"What was that about?" Chuck didn't want to be civil towards Casey just yet, but the team did need to be informed what his sister was up to.

"So apparently Ellie believes that what's really going on is Sarah is running a swinger's club out of the Orange Orange."

"She thinks what?" Jill entered the room with a look of shock and disgust on her face.

"Where's Bryce?" Chuck asked, not answering Jill's question.

Right on cue, the doors to Castle slid open to reveal Bryce…followed closely by Sarah Walker. The other three looked at the duo questionably.

"Looks like she wasn't too far off," Casey joked. Chuck shot Casey the harshest look he could muster. It was not the only hard stare the NSA agent received for his comment.

"Bryce, where have you been?" Jill was outraged. He had just run off with Walker? What about her? What about his friendship with Chuck. Maybe Bryce wasn't the man she thought he was. Maybe…wait…does he know about last night? That thought shook Jill to her core.

"I have been out. Sarah and I had some things we needed to discuss. You and I have some things we need to discuss as well, Jill." Bryce quickly descended the stairs into Castle's main room. He grabbed Jill's hand and pulled her towards the detention cell they were using as a makeshift bedroom.

"Hi Sarah." Chuck sounded as though the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. It made Sarah sad to see him like that, but she wasn't ready to forgive him. Not yet anyway.

"Chuck, I'm not ready to talk about this. I want to see the entirety of the surveillance from last night first. I want to know exactly what I'm mad about. Casey, pull that up for me." Sarah's tone was not full of rage as it had been earlier. That said it still left no room for argument. Casey not wanting to incur the wrath of his other partner this morning as well quickly did as Sarah had asked.

Bryce and Jill's Room

"So I want to know what happened. I've seen the video. Well, I've seen some of the video. How far did it go, and why did it happen." Bryce's tone was demanding, however, Jill was not about to back down just yet.

"What happened? What, you mean between Chuck and me? I'll tell you. But first, I want to know what the hell you were doing with that blond slut that made you leave me all alone in bed this morning!" That's right Jill, deflect, deflect, deflect, she thought to herself.

"Don't try to deflect this." Damn he got me. "Sarah was just getting me up to speed on what you and your ex-boyfriend were up to last night. Now! How far did it go? Why did you do it? Do you still want Chuck?"

Jill sighed. She would tell him everything. Maybe Bryce would understand. "We didn't even kiss. He was going to kiss me and we were interrupted by a transmission from Casey. As to why…" Jill suddenly appeared very interested in her shoes. "I was really jealous that she was out in the field with you and I was stuck watching on the monitor. I wanted to prove that I was still better than her." Even in pronoun form Jill's references to Sarah seemed toxic. "I played Chuck. I wanted to show her that he would still pick me over her." Jill's shoulders slumped as she finished her confession.

"You did it on purpose?! You intentionally took advantage of someone we both consider to be a friend, who you know to be in a questionable mental state? You jeopardize his happiness? Hell, you jeopardize whatever this is between us? For what Jill?!" Bryce was furious. She had not only put two operations at risk, but she had hurt two people that Bryce still cared about. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, she had hurt him too.

"Bryce, I'm so sorry. I don't…please forgive me! I woul-" She paused, going back over what Bryce had said. Had he made mention of there actually being something between the two of them? It would be the first time either of them had made such a suggestion to the other. "Wait, what do you mean "whatever this is between us" Bryce? Are you suggesting that we may be more than partners…more than lovers?"

"I don't know what we are Jill. I don't know what it is that I've been feeling towards you lately. Right now, I do know. Right now I'm pretty pissed off. We'll talk about this later." Bryce turned and walked out of the room angrily.

He wants to acknowledge that we are…something. I may have screwed that up. Dammit Jill, why do you have to do this to everyone you love?


Castle Main Room, Below Orange Orange

Chuck couldn't stand to watch again. Sarah would see everything now. She'd see him weak, needing reassurance from Jill. She'd see Jill say she still loves him. She'd see that the only thing that stopped him from kissing her was an interruption from Casey. Then Sarah would hate him forever. And she had every right to hate him. He had betrayed her. She'd trusted him, and he let her down. He'd ignored her feelings in favor of Jill. Again.

What Chuck didn't see was what Sarah's trained eye picked up from the video. She saw Jill plant a seed of doubt as to what may be happening between Sarah and Bryce. She saw Jill stroke that doubt. She saw Jill plant a seed of doubt about Sarah's very feelings for Chuck. Then she saw Jill assure him that whether or not his girlfriend loved him –something she said she couldn't tell for sure- that Jill would always love him.

Jill had played Chuck. That brunette skank played MY Chuck. "Chuck," Sarah beckoned him.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-"

"Chuck...shhh," Sarah tried to stop his panic.

"No, Sarah, let me say this. I don't know what's happened to me, but that person on that video is not me. The person who has been around here the last five months is not me. I have to find myself again Sarah. If you can ever come to forgive me…I could use your help. Nobody knows Chuck Bartowski better than Sarah Walker. Not even me." He gave Sarah a sad smile and turned to talk away to let her think on what to do next.

"Chuck wait!" Sarah called after her boyfriend. Just then Bryce strode through the main room of Castle…closely followed by a call of his own. "Bryce wait!" Jill appeared out of the hallway trailing after her partner.

Sarah's attention was immediately taken away from Chuck to the woman who'd just come into the room.

"You bitch!"

A/N: Cat fight! Or trained assassins who happen to be of the female persuasion fight! We'll go with whichever you prefer. Now the team knows Ellie's thoughts, so how will they react? Will Bryce forgive Jill? Fulcrum lead council Ken Adams is still on the loose. Will the team ever catch him? So many questions are yet to be answered.

Thank you again to all my readers. You guys have definitely made writing this story a pleasurable experience. I hope I continue to keep you entertained, and I hope you continue to give me awesome feedback. I've really appreciated the response I've gotten so far. Oh, and I'll give a plug in the A/N of chapter 12 to whoever can tell me where the name Ken Adams is from. I guess that about wraps it up. Until next time, you guys are great. Peace.