A/N: Big Charah chapter! Thanks go to GladiusGrim for helping me out big time! I hope you all like it and don't forget to review!
Disclaimer:I don't own Chuck.
August 20, 2009
Glendale, California
Bartowski Home
6:34 pm
Chuck lay face-down on his bed, his head shoved into the pillow. For the past week, he was either in this exact position, or playing video games about three feet from where he was now. The only reason he exited his 'man cave' was to eat or use the bathroom; but only when absolutely necessary. Several times during the week, he was going to visit Sarah again, but he managed to talk himself out of it every time. The thought of seeing her body looking so dead and fragile made him devastated.
For the first few days of his retreat, his parents would take turns coming into his hideout to see how he was doing. With little or no response from the subject of their attention, they gave up. He knew he was fine, and didn't need anyone checking up on him. In no way was he in a state of depression, so any suicide attempts were out of the question. He wasn't sick either, which meant he didn't need to see a doctor. Chuck didn't have to worry about any friends worrying, because he didn't have any. After he went to see Sarah at the hospital, things became much clearer. His life was becoming somewhat pointless. At least being a government agent, they knew they were saving lives. However, in Chuck's case, he was just a lonely test subject for his father. No lives were being saved and not much progress being made. This conclusion drew Chuck into desolation.
For the first time in several days, a loud ringing broke the silence that was so present in Chuck's room. His head popped up as he thought of where it could be coming from. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and started digging through the night-stand drawer. Hand clasping a small, square object, he pulled it out and stared questioningly at it. He was holding a burn phone; Sarah Walker being the only other person who knew the number. Of course, this could just be a wrong number, or one of those telemarketers. Or it could be Sarah.
Chuck put the phone to his ear and said hesitantly, "Hello?"
"Hey Chuck." He could practically hear the smile in her voice, which forced a giant grin onto his own face. "Can you pick me up? I'm at the hospital. I'll explain why later."
"Really? I mean, of course. I'll be there in ten." He hung up the phone and jumped from his bed. In a sprint to his bathroom, he splashed water on his face and wet his hair. Grabbing a comb, he shoved it through his brown curls while simultaneously brushing his teeth. He lifted his arm and smelled his own odor, cringing at the stench emanating from his body. He grabbed his deodorant hoping to give himself the 'fresh, manly' scent. Dashing back to his room, he sniffed a black shirt he found lying on the floor. Immediately, he drew back and threw it back onto the floor. In the closet, a single clean shirt hung. Clutching the red shirt, he threw it over his head and pulled on a pair of dark jeans. Back to the bathroom, he sprayed on too much body spray to eliminate the smell of too many shower-less days. His head snapped back and forth from his plain, black sneaker to his black and white Converse. After a few moments of deliberating, he went with his gut and pulled on the Chuck Taylor's. He hurried down the hallway and clasped onto his keys and snatched his jacket on his way out the door.
Chuck's foot rarely came off the gas all the way to the hospital. He didn't completely understand why he was so excited to see Sarah. Actually, that was a lie, because he knew exactly why he was racing to the hospital. Because this beautiful woman, with lush blonde hair, and blue eyes the color of topaz wanted to see him. Out of all the people that she could have pick her up from the hospital, she chose the goofy, brown haired, crook. If she was stupid enough to make that decision, then he was dumb enough to go and pick her up.
Pulling into the parking lot, Chuck began to question himself and if he should actually do this. Second guessing his decisions was a commonality with him. Instead of making the logical choice like usual, Chuck went with what his intuition was telling him: he got out of his car and went to see Sarah.
Sarah sat on the edge of her bed, analyzing her choices. On one hand she could call Casey and ask him for a ride back to her hotel. This would mean that she would return to her old life. It would be different, but not by much. Bryce wouldn't be a part of their team, which would make them one member short. But, overall, her life would be the same. On the other hand, she could call Chuck and take a break. Take some time off from all of the missions and assignments. Go somewhere the government wouldn't be able to find them. She kept telling herself that if she took a vacation, she would come back, but she really wasn't sure if that would be the case. More than anything, she just needed a change from her life. In this moment of her life, Chuck was her key to change.
She searched thoroughly through her bag and grabbed the burn phone that Chuck had given her. She called the only number in the contacts list. When he said 'Hello', she couldn't stop the bright smile from forming on her face. "Hey Chuck."
Sarah asked him if he would pick her up from the hospital, and without even asking why, he said yes. If she asked anyone else, they would have questioned it somehow, but not Chuck. After he hung up the phone, she fell backwards onto the uncomfortable hospital bed. Happiness flooded over her. She wasn't completely sure why, because she had so many reasons not to be happy right now; a few weeks ago she was shot by her partner and former boyfriend, her life had become unexciting, and she was falling in lo- and she really liked a criminal. But Chuck was coming to see her and take her to where ever they wanted to go; so what did she have to be sad about?
Sarah slowly got up and walked towards the waiting room, careful not to further injure her aching stomach in the process. She looked hopefully out the window, looking at every place and every face to find Chuck walking towards the doors. Unfortunately, so far there wasn't a tall, brown haired man walking her way. Looking at her watch, she noticed that only two minutes had gone by since she'd called him. Sighing, she opted to take a seat and wait patiently...well impatiently for Chuck to show up.
Sitting down in a chair with old, tattered cushions, Sarah tapped her fingers against the hard, wooden armrest. Her foot impatiently drummed against the ugly, gray carpet. Her mind raced with all of the different situations that could happen. Chuck might not show up at all, she'd be left here waiting for hours, hoping that he would show up and tell her that he got caught in traffic. Or when he stepped out of his car, a team of agents would appear and tackle him down. Maybe, when he opened the doors and saw her sitting there, he would turn around and walk away. Scenario after scenario flipped through her head until she couldn't handle the negative mindset she had obtained.
She buried her face in her hands, wondering why she called Chuck in the first place. There wasn't any way that they could leave this hospital with chaos erupting. The chair next to hers squeaked as someone sat on it's shabby cushions.
"You don't seem happy to see me." A voice said with humor laced through every word. Sarah lifted her head cautiously from her hands, expecting the voice to be a figment of her imagination.
It wasn't.
A smile grew on her face as all of her doubts were promptly erased from her thoughts. Chuck was wearing sunglasses that shielded his warm, brown eyes and it looked like he was distracted by something. It was almost as if he didn't want to be seen next to her. All of the sudden, an ache filled her stomach, and this time it wasn't from her wound. Instead of expressing that hurt to him, she stored it away deep inside her like she often did.
Chuck started whispering without looking at her. "You're going to have to leave here first and wait at the left corner of the hospital where their is a blind-spot from cameras. I'll go to the security room and loop a few minutes of footage so no one will know I was in here. Then I'll leave through the back door and meet with up with you."
Relief flooded over Sarah fast and hard, she would have fallen over if she wasn't already sitting down. He was acting so distant because he didn't want anyone to think they were in there together. If anyone from her team got hold of the security footage or anyone witnesses saying that she was in contact with Chuck, then she'd be burned before she could even blink. He was protecting her, which made her heart want to melt. Her expertise at keeping a solid facial expression helped greatly in this situation. She kept her face in the neutral position as it had been since she sat down, and she made the smallest of nods to let Chuck know she understood. Nonchalantly, Sarah got up and walked out the door.
Chuck waited several moments before standing and going towards the security room. Luckily, he knew exactly where he need to go because of the last time he had come to visit Sarah. The door was locked and needed a key-card to get in. Instead of trying to hack into the locking system, he strode down the hallway until he caught sight of a hospital administrator. He slowed his pace and lightly bumped into her. "I'm so sorry." He said while making eye contact to divert her attention from his other hand that was stealing her key-card. Chuck advanced down the corridor until he reached a corner. Waiting there until the administrator was out of sight, he raced back down the way he came towards the security room. He slipped the card into the slot and a small clicking noise sounded. Looking around, he found no one watching him as he slipped into the small, dark room.
Dropping into the chair in front of the desktop filled with monitors, he started punching in some keys. He was able to quickly loop the footage from several minutes before with the time he was there. He checked all of the other cameras, just in case he missed any spots, but he had gotten them all. Now if he could get out of the hospital without being caught, it would be as if he had never been there. Chuck snuck out of the small room without being seen. It took him several minutes to get to the back of the hospital and to the locked service door. Using the card, he unlocked the door and dropped the key card on a nearby table. He surreptitiously left the hospital moving quickly and purposefully and ran to the left corner of the building, not wanting Sarah to have to wait any longer than necessary.
Wanting to surprise her, Chuck snuck up behind her, careful not to make a noise. Sarah didn't move a muscle as he approached her, which proved to him that she hadn't noticed him. About a foot away from her, he stuck his arm out to grab her shoulder, when her hand snapped out like a snake. It clasped his wrist and she was about to flip him when he went on the defensive.
Kung-fu symbols flashed through Chuck's brain. Rather than using his flash, like he commonly did, he attempted to fight it off. Sarah just had to have a bullet removed, which would mean anything the Intersect had in-store for her would just cause more damage. This was the first time that he has ever fought something he flashed on, and it caused immediate pain to course through his brain. Chuck's hands clutched his head as he collapsed on the ground. Every muscle in his body was pulsing from the adrenaline rushing through his body. One neural implant in his brain was trying to take control of all of his reflexes, and it took all of his strength and will-power to refrain from hurting Sarah.
She stood there motionless, in complete surprise. She hadn't touched his head, and her hand wasn't able to even twist his arm before he crumbled to the ground. Finally, sense pounded against her consciousness and she dropped to her knees, ignoring the ripping agony in her torso. "Chuck! Chuck? Come on, not now. Don't do this now." Sarah knew that Chuck was bound to come with some baggage, but this was definitely unexpected. It was almost identical to what she had seen happen to Bryce. The last thing she wanted was Chuck having the same problems as Bryce; she wasn't ready for another man to shoot her anytime soon. While watching him convulse and hating herself because she didn't know how to help him, Sarah felt a tear slide down her cheek. Usually, she would immediately wipe it off and pretend that it never escaped onto her face, but this time she allowed herself to show emotion, to feel for someone without having to hide it.
Finally, his hands fell to his sides and body went limp. Sarah knelt next to Chuck's unmoving body. Her hand shot up to his neck to check for a pulse and she sighed in relief when she found he was alive. Looking around, she still found no one near them, but Sarah didn't want to take the chance of someone walking by and discovering them there. She grabbed Chuck under his arms and started dragging him towards the barrier of bushes. Because of her current physical state, it took her much longer than it should have to get him to the other side of the bushes. When she finally got him to the other side of the thick brush, they were lying in what looks like a previously knocked down building. Fortunately, no one was near by, as Sarah allowed herself to break down emotionally while curling up next to Chuck, crying. Unusual behavior as it was for Sarah especially in public, but after all of the events that happened today and over the last few weeks finally tore through her self-control.. After drowning herself completely in self-pity, she sat with one arm holding herself up while the other hand ran through her hair. She used the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks and eyes then carefully lifted up the front of her shirt. She inspected her bullet wound, hoping that she hadn't caused any additional damage. Luckily, no stitches broke and besides the utter agony she will be in later, she should be fine.
Leaning back on her elbow, Sarah observed Chuck's face. Using her free hand, she gently brushed the hair out of his face and wiped the moisture from his brow. She began tapping his cheeks lightly, then harder. When he still didn't wake, she moved to her knees and pulled her arm back. Quickly, she slapped her hand onto his right cheek and his head flew sideways. Chuck's eyes bolted open and his whole body tensed. His mind was alert and afraid when he woke in an unfamiliar place. A hand was placed gently on his cheek and his alarm quickly diminished. He sluggishly sat up and wrapped Sarah into his embrace. His arms were wound tightly around her when he heard a quiet groan escape her lips. He pulled back immediately and gazed at her apologetically.
"It's okay. I'm fine, just a little sore." Sarah smiled reassuringly.
Chuck lightly grabbed the bottom of Sarah's shirt and waited for permission to lift it and see her bullet wound. She put her hand over his and raised her shirt to show him the damage Bryce caused. Chuck's fingers traced gently around it, fingers barely brushing her skin. "We match." He said lightly, hoping to ease the tension. She gave a small laugh, but he could tell she wanted to talk about what happened and nothing he said was going to change that.
"Chuck. What happened to you? I understand you being secretive, I really do, but I need to know what's going on. You either trust me or you don't."
It was an obvious decision for him. Of course he trusted her. He was always known for trusting too easily, but his trust for Sarah was different. When she asked him to go to the hospital, he didn't second guess it. He never thought that she might betray him, which had to mean that he trusted her implicitly. However, she was still a CIA agent, and she would probably always be a spy at heart. Chuck had to decide if he would rather lose Sarah and stay safe, or have her and take the chance of being caught. Who was he trying to fool? It was Sarah, of course he would choose her.
"I ha-" Sarah cut him off before he could say anything too important.
"Let's go to the car first, then you can tell me."
"But I thought you wanted the truth?" Chuck asked, confused.
Sarah smiled and started to stand. "You trust me. I can wait until the car." She said simply and began walking towards the hospital parking lot. Chuck grinned and rose up as he watched her stride away with confidence he didn't have. He ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her on the top of the head. Picking her up carefully yet purposefully, he walked towards the car ignoring Sarah's mild protests to put her down. While she told him that he didn't have to carry her, she still burrowed deep into his chest. Chuck wished he could stay in this moment forever.
Shaw woke up on an uncomfortable cot in the middle of a dimly lit room. He turned his head to the side to see Jessica sleeping with her head on the edge of his cot. She was the only person in the room and all he could hear was her quiet and steady breathing. He tried to sit up, but his legs weren't cooperating. In a panic, he tried to wiggle his toes. When they were all able to move, he tried his feet. So far, everything was working correctly. He reluctantly attempted to move his legs; his left leg did as he wished, the right leg was restrained. He lifted up the blanket that covered his legs and found his right leg strapped into a huge metal contraption. Fear rushed through his veins as his brain began to panic. Shaw began to try and rip his leg out of the metal brace, which shook the whole cot.
Jessica was woken up by the rattling cot. Her head darted up as she watched Shaw yank on his severely broken leg. "Daniel! Daniel, stop! You're going through shock! Daniel!" She pushed down on his chest with both of her hands until he finally fell backwards and lay motionlessly.
"What have you done to me?" He asked with sadness and grief filling his voice.
Jessica gave him an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"What did you do?" He demanded.
"I didn't plan it, Daniel, I promise!"
"What the hell did you do to me!" Shaw was beginning to become furious with her avoiding the question.
"You don't remember what happened?" With an infuriated glare in return, she continued. "I made you help me break into a government facility where they hold some of their best equipment, but they already knew we were coming. The building was evacuated, all but one guard, and they set up a trap. I walked into a room and by stepping on a floor panel, it was supposed to lock me in the room, but instead it-..." Her voice shook and lips quivered. "...-your leg was trapped in the door. You took a step to follow me in, and it snapped shut on your leg. By the time I got the door open, you had lost so much blood. It soaked both sides of the door and you had passed out. I couldn't bring you to the hospital, we both would have been arrested. I-I had to think fast because agents probably would have been there soon. This was the only place I could think of bringing you."
Daniel had a blank stare on his face and he avoided looking at Jessica all-together. "Where are we?"
"A Fulcrum care facility." She said hesitantly, knowing it would just continue to anger him.
"Shit, shit! Get out! Leave me alone!"
"Daniel, please." Trying to calm him down, she placed her hand on his. Quickly, he whipped it off.
"Get the hell away from me!"
Instead of attempting to keep him calm, she did as he asked and left the room.
After she left the room, Shaw was able to try and remember that day. Jess had told him that his leg was clamped between a metal door and the wall. Right now, his leg was covered in a large white cast that went three-quarters of the way up his thigh. He ran his hands down the side of the cast, still choosing not to believe what had happened to him. On the inside of his thigh, he found a short message written with red permanent marker. It read, 'I'm so sorry. You'll be okay, you're a survivor. Love, Jess.' Tears formed in his eyes, not because of the message, but because it meant that this was all real. It made it all sink in. He might not ever be able to use his leg again. Even worse- there was blood. Most likely, scientists had already compared the blood from the door to every DNA sample they have on file. By now, they probably found a match: Agent Daniel Shaw. The CIA had become his whole life, now he's just going to be another person they are forced to arrest. He was no better than Bryce.
Daniel began to think about how he had ended up in a Fulcrum care center. First of all, why did Jessica help him in the first place? She could have just left him there to die. He would have been blamed for the breaking-and-entering and created less of a problem for her to deal with. Instead, she carried him out of a trapped government building, risking herself in the process. After that, she convinced a team of rogue spies to operate on him so he didn't die. Either he was an extremely valuable asset to her and Fulcrum, or she had grown to care for him. The former sounded more likely, but he wasn't sure what he could do for Fulcrum that any other CIA agent couldn't do. The fact of the situation, was that Fulcrum saved his life, which makes them better than the government has led on.
General Beckman's face appeared more stern and angry than usual as she scowled at Major John Casey.
"We have a problem, Major." Casey's eyes were fixed on the General as he waited for her to continue. "Agent Shaw has been missing for the past week. His blood was found at a secure, government building around the time he went missing. There have been no leads as to where he might be, or if anyone has seen him. Agent Walker checked out of the hospital today, but has failed to check back into Castle. She hasn't answered her phone and she isn't in her apartment. As of right now, you are the only active member of Team O Mellor. I need your help recruiting new agents for this team. Even if Agent Walker shows up, it wouldn't be wise to keep her on a team where her partner betrayed her. Files on the possible members of your team will be faxed to you. Understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am." After the screen flickered to black, Casey clenched his hands into fists. Almost as if by instinct, he walked towards the arsenal, like he always did when under any form of stress. He hated having to recruit new agents, because most of the time, they were amateurs. Walker, Shaw, and, Larkin had their faults, but they were good agents. He didn't respect the decision Beckman made towards getting rid of Walker. She could be unpredictable and occasionally had a temper, but she had a great shot, keen instincts, and excellent self-defense skills. She never felt the need to fill every silence with mindless chatter like Larkin always did. He was always the wild-card out of the four of them, which made him very unreliable. Shaw was another great agent, but his instincts weren't on the same level as Walker's. Shaw wasn't born to be a spy, but he did his best, which was often good enough. Now Casey had to start over and build trust with a new set of agents- with what happened with Bryce, trusting his partners would become much more difficult.
Sarah appeared extremely overwhelmed as she scrunched her brow, trying to organize her thoughts. "Let me get this right, you have an Intersect, but not the same one Bryce had. You have a newer version, the 2.0." Chuck nodded, she was right so far. Which surprised him, since he had thrown a lot at her all at once. "And your father is the creator of the Intersect. What happened to you is a bug in the program called..."
"Cascade Interface Failure." Chuck filled in.
"You tried to stop yourself from flashing which caused you to collapse. And the reason you broke into Castle was to get rid of all the Intersect 2.0 information so we wouldn't have the same problems you're having."
"Yeah, that basically covers it." He grinned, hoping she wouldn't walk away right now and tell her boss everything he just told her. Sarah just stared through the windshield, no emotions evident on her face. Chuck decided to start the car, just to make himself feel less vulnerable. After driving several miles without anything being spoken, Chuck broke the silence. "Please, just say something. I don't know what to do if you don't say something."
An audible swallow was made by Sarah as she gripped the door handle next to her. "A robber, I could have handled. A rogue spy, I could have handled. I prepared myself for something much different than you've just told me. I just need a few minutes, okay?"
"Take all the time you need." Chuck continued to drive in silence, unsure of exactly where he was going. At first he began driving in circles, but then he thought of a destination. Sarah needed some time to clear her head, sort her thoughts, so he was going to bring her to the place that always helped him clear his head. The drive there was quiet, but peaceful. Chuck felt a comfort with Sarah that he didn't feel with many other people. They were comfortable around each other without having to fill in silences with noise. Finally, they reached one of the places that made Chuck feel at home. The beach.
He parked and stepped out of the car. Dropping the keys in his pocket, he walked away without waiting for Sarah. If she wanted to come with him, she would, but he wasn't going to force her. He took in the sight of the golden sun setting over the wide expanse of ocean. A cool breeze was hitting his face and carrying away his doubts and worries. He sunk down into the sand and let all of his muscles form to the shape of the ground, relaxing him completely. Folding his hands behind his head to look at the sky, he heard the movement of sand behind him. A shoeless Sarah, walked up behind him and took a seat on the warm, soft sand. Her knees were tucked up under her chin, with her arms wrapped around her legs. She scooted towards Chuck, and laid her head on his shoulder. He pulled his arm around her and they watched the sun set in peace.
Shaw had been dazing in and out of sleep the whole day. When he woke up, he glanced around the room and saw Jessica slumped in a corner, sleeping, with her head leaning on her shoulder. He was starting to understand everything. She isn't evil, he thought as he watched an innocent-looking girl sleep in the corner of the room. If he hadn't lost his temper earlier, she would probably have her head lying on his bed, resting comfortably; instead she was on the hard floor, leaning against the cement wall. If he could get up without crying out in pain, he would walk over and lift her up into his arms. Since he couldn't, he just sat and stared. This was just another agent doing her job, much like himself.
Jessica's head rolled off of her shoulder and her eyes blinked open as if she felt someone looking at her. When she saw his un-angered face, she smiled lightly and rubbed her eyes to wake herself. Slowly, she pushed herself from the floor and walked towards the cot. "Hey."
Daniel smiled in response and asked for some water. While she was pouring him a glass, he said, "I forgot to thank you earlier. You didn't have to save me, but you did. I owe you."
She turned her head and gave him a surprised look. "You don't owe me anything."
"You saved my life, I think that counts for something."
After several moments of thinking, she said as she handed him a glass, "How about we call it even?"
Now it was Shaw's turn to give her a confused look until she continued, "Your mother, I ordered my men to stay away from her. Once you can get out of this bed, you're free to go."
"That's it? You're just going to let me go?"
She laughed at his reluctance, "What, are you going to miss me?" She asked sarcastically.
"No, I guess not. I'm just surprised.
"You were expecting me to kill you? Then I dispose of your body and all of my problems are gone?" When Shaw gave her a look that said he was thinking that exact thing, she shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't join Fulcrum because I wanted to kill people whenever I felt the need. I went rogue because the CIA...never mind. It doesn't matter."
"Just tell me, please?"
"Just drop it, okay?" She demanded as she trudged out of the door. Shaw knew that he must have hit a nerve. Whatever the VIA did to make her join Fulcrum must have been something that deeply hurt her. However, in his current state, Daniel wasn't about to ask questions and risk any more injuries.
A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Review please!
