Disclaimer: If you own Chuck, please renew the show, or I'll be forced to write drivel just to keep myself entertained! I beseech you! Please don't cancel Chuck! Oh, and if you couldn't tell. I don't own Chuck.

"Chuck, come on, wake up. Don't do this to me. I need you to wake up—please?"

Someone was begging him to wake up. No, Sarah was begging him to wake up. "Sarah?" Chuck opened his eyes to see a very dirty and frazzled looking Sarah with tear tracks on her face. The tears were long gone, but the evidence they left behind was obvious

"Oh, thank, God." Sarah let out a long breath. "Chuck, are you hit?"

"What?" Chuck asked.

Sarah's hands began searching under his shirt for signs of trauma, when she hit the sore spot in his ribs, Chuck let out a sharp gasp. "What? What is it?" she demanded.

"Nothing, it's just before, when they were trying to get information out of me, they kicked me a couple of times." Sarah's face turned as dark as he had ever seen it. She glanced at the body laying a couple of feet away from Chuck. "Oh, my…is he dead?"

"Yes." Sarah looked distinctly like she regretted that he was dead, because she wanted to kill him again.

"Are you sure, should we call an ambulance or something?"

"No, no need, I made sure he was dead." Chuck noticed that along with the two bright crimsons stains on the man's shirt he was also sporting a bullet hole to the middle of his forehead. Chuck was suddenly sure he was going to be sick. He turned over and retched on the ground. His ribs felt like they were on fire.

He felt Sarah put a hand on the back of his neck. When he was done heaving the burger that Casey had brought him earlier, Sarah led him away from the body.

"What else did they do to you?" Sarah asked. It was her most business like voice. The girl…the girl he fawned over and longed for, seemed very far away.

"They, uh, they tasered me…"

"What did you tell them?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing, I just told them that I worked at the Buy More and that they had the wrong guy."

"They tortured you and you said nothing?" Sarah asked skeptically. "You didn't talk about the…" Sarah lowered her voice. "the Intersect."

Chuck shook his head, but found that doing that hurt to much so he stopped. "No, who'd believe me anyway?"

"It's important, Chuck, you didn't say anything?"

"No."

Sarah sat down beside him and took his hand. "Good work." The woman he knew as Agent Walker seemed to melt beside him and what was left behind was just Sarah. She wasn't talking, she was just staring at the ground.

"Sarah, I think there's a ship. It might be full of girls."

"I know." Sarah nodded not looking up. She pointed distractedly to the comm unit in her ear. They've got the ship, they're securing it now."

"Who?" Chuck asked. "Sarah, what happened? Where's Casey?"

"The office building was an ambush. As soon as we stepped inside they started shooting. Casey got hit. I managed to drag him back to a defensible position. Damn that man is heavy."

"Is he okay?" Chuck asked.

"Other than the bullet hole in his stomach, he's fine, perhaps little grumpier than usual."

"That doesn't seem possible. Is he going to be okay?"

"His prognosis was good. The last I heard, he was in surgery to remove the bullet. Anyway he managed to cover me long enough for us to get the upper hand, but by the time we'd taken the office, they'd already run off with you. We found documents about the shipment in the office, but not the slip number."

"How did you find me?" Chuck asked.

"Your watch," Sarah replied. "I swear to God, if you ever take that thing off to hide from me again, I'm stapling it to your forehead. The only reason we found you in time was the watch. Beckman ordered an FBI strike team to take the pier. They were just getting ready to move when the spotter said he saw you being taken away by one of the hostiles. I've never run so fast in all my life." The flat monotone voice that Sarah had been telling her story in broke. "I almost didn't make it," she squeaked.

Chuck put an arm around her and surprisingly she crashed into him and clutched him. She hit his ribs again causing Chuck to gasp once more. She lowered her hand so that it was on his hip and she rested against him. It may have been five minutes, maybe ten, Chuck wasn't sure. The ground was uncomfortable, he knew that. "We need to get you to the medic," Sarah finally said.

"I'm fine," Chuck answered, but Sarah pulled away from and the look of her face told him clearly they weren't staging a debate. He was going to see the medic.

"Come on, let's get you back to the command post."

Sarah pulled Chuck up and slung his arm over her shoulders. He didn't really need her help to walk, but his input on his current medical condition didn't seem to be of great concern to her. Apparently, the medic was the only one Sarah trusted to give an opinion on how Chuck was feeling. They slowly made their way back to the command post and Sarah sat Chuck down in a chair. The medic was not currently available, as there were gunshot wounds and he was prepping agents for transport. Chuck assured Sarah, that he was fine and they could go, but she was insistent that they wait until the medic arrived.

The medic did finally arrive and he looked Chuck over. He poked at Chuck's ribs. Then flashed a light in his yes. "You, my friend, have a concussion," the medic told him.

"I do?"

"It looks that way. Have you had any nausea or dizziness?"

"He threw up a little while ago," Sarah told the medic. She turned towards Chuck. "You didn't tell me they'd hit you in the head."

"I told you they hit me," Chuck said defensively.

"You have a concussion!"

"I see you're in good hands," the medic gave a small laugh. "You should take some Advil and get some rest. You'll need to wake him up every two hours or so, to check his pupil dilatation, vision, see if he has headaches. He may continue to have light sensitivity, don't aggravate it. The medic opened his kit and retrieved a pack. He bent it until it made a snapping noise and then he shook it. "This where they hit you?" he asked moving his forefinger across the spot where they had clocked him to knock him out.

Chuck winced. "Yeah,"

"Well keep this on it, two minutes on, five minutes off, until you can get home and put some ice on it. It will help keep the swelling down at least until you go to sleep, then just put a cold compress on your head. I want you to go to see your doctor tomorrow and he'll probably want to give you a CT scan and an X-Ray on your ribs. No strenuous activities for at least forty eight hours, unless your doctor advises differently," he ordered. The medic wished them both a good night and headed off to find the next patient.

"Come on," Sarah coaxed. "Let's go home."

"My place or yours?" Chuck asked.

"We'll start at mine until we can get cleaned up and then I'll take you home. I'm afraid we're a little too worse for wear to go back to Casa Bartowski."

"Yeah, you look like hell," Chuck agreed.

"Thanks, you look pretty terrible yourself."

***

"Come on, Chuck, into the shower," Sarah ordered when they got back to her apartment.

"I don't have anything to change into," Chuck objected. "I'll just end up wearing these same dingy golf clothes home." Sarah shook her head and went to her dresser. She reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out his Professional nerds do it for money t-shirt, a pair of jeans and even a pair of his underwear. "Hey, where did those come from?"

"Your room."

"You stole my clothes?"

"Chuck," Sarah said in exasperation. "We've been cover dating for a year and a half. It's a matter of normalcy for you to have some stuff at my apartment. Just like I leave stuff around your apartment. I don't do it, just because it's convenient, but because it sells us as a real couple."

"But Ellie's never been over here…"

"No, but when you unexpectedly spend the night at my place, you shouldn't go home in the same clothes you left in, because it would be normal for you to have a change of clothes here. Now get in the shower."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No," Sarah let a long slow sigh. "I'm just…" Sarah looked at him warily. "It was just a long day. You're hurt and I'm worried about you. I need to find out about Casey. I have to come up with a cover for why you didn't come back yesterday and I could just really use a long hot bath."

"Oh…sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Sarah took a step closer to him and ran a hand over his the side of his face. "You were great today. You know…other than the not telling me about getting conked on the head. Days like today are just really hard." Chuck put his arm around Sarah and hugged her. Sarah hugged him back without hesitation.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah"

"Thanks for rescuing me."

"You don't have to thank me for that. That's actually my job."

"True, but if it was anybody else's job, I'd be dead now. You saved me and you saved me because you're you."

"Because I'm me?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, you're amazing and special and you actually care what happens to me. Nobody else would have been invested enough to put in the effort to save me."

"You make me being compromised sound like a good thing," Sarah said sourly.

"Look if you caring about me means you're compromised, then it is a good thing. Tonight, there wasn't one second for you to spare, if you'd have thought twice about charging in after me… You don't make it. You saved my life tonight. It was just oneof many times. One time you hesitated…did you hesitate tonight?"

"No."

"Thank you for that. Chuck bent down and kissed her upper lip gently. It was like setting off a bomb. Sarah grabbed his head and pulled him closer locking them together. His hands pressed into her back pulling her closer, locking them together in a struggle to find light in the darkness. Then Sarah's hands gripped his hair and pulled him back breaking their bond and forcing them apart. She pulled so tightly it was painful. She shook her head.

"Chuck, I want too, but we can't. We can't and even if we could, you have a concussion, so we couldn't. Please go take a shower."

"Sarah, I…"

"Please," Sarah begged.

"Okay."

Chuck stepped into the bathroom. His head swirling even more now than after when he'd been on the docks. How could she push him away? Now even after this, she still pushed. He felt so connected to her that even now, that even here naked in her shower, he felt like there was a piece of her here with him. But maybe she just bugged her bathroom, who knew?

Chuck stood and washed away the day, sand from the golf course, sweat from the stake out, blood from his hair where he'd been struck and vomit? Oh, God, he'd kissed Sarah after he vomited and he hadn't even brushed his teeth yet. No wonder she pushed him away. Chuck shook his head. The cut in his hairline stung a bit as he washed his hair, but he finally started to feel clean again. He also washed away some of the terror he'd felt and his hands finally stopped shaking from the taser.

When he stepped out of the shower he eyed him self critically. He had a nasty bruise on his ribs and at some point he'd picked up a bit of a black eye. He still didn't look very good. Chuck brushed his teeth with the tooth brush he'd actually intentionally left at Sarah's, before he put on his clothes and headed back out into Sarah's room.

"I'm trying to get information on an Agent John Casey. Yes, I'm his partner, no not that kind of partner. Yes, I know I'm not family… Please I…" Sarah sighed. "Okay, I'll stop by in the morning. Thank you." Sarah hung up the phone. "Casey is stable, that's all they'll tell me, stupid HIPPA. Feeling better?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks."

"That's good, why don't you lie down for a bit and rest. I still need to finish constructing our cover and then I'll grab a shower before we head back. I'll try and be quiet."

"I'm not sure it matters, I don't think I could sleep. You want some help?"

"Chuck you have a brain injury and you've been bruised and tasered. I'll take care of this, just lie down for a bit."

One minute he was laying on his side watching Sarah work. He thought she was on the phone with the police or something and the next she was shaking him.

"Chuck, you have to wake up."

"I fell asleep?"

"A couple of hours ago," Sarah nodded. Sure enough she was clean and changed into new clothes her makeup was done and she was holding some of it in her hand. "Let me see your eyes." Sarah looked directly into his eyes and he looked straight back at her beautiful blue eyes. She looked amazing, but tired. "How many fingers do you see?" She asked.

"Two."

"Your pupils still aren't dilated quite the same. We are definitely getting you in for a CT scan later."

"Sounds fun, I haven't had one of those in a few months."

Sarah smiled. "You do have a very handsome brain. Now, I'm going to see if I can hide that shiner."

"What…makeup?"

"Don't worry, I'm good at this," Sarah assured him. "It's just a little concealer, you'll be fine."

"I don't know…"

"Shhh." Sarah admonished. She dabbed some liquid under his eye and then used a sponge on it. After a minute she looked him over critically. "Well we definitely don't have the same skin tone, but I think you'll pass for human."

"Just please don't let Casey or Morgan or oh, jeez, Awesome find out about this."

Sarah ran a her fingers through his hair momentarily. "Don't worry, you're beauty secrets are safe with me." She helped him up. "Let's take you home."

***

"I hope they're still asleep," Chuck whispered.

"That would be easier," Sarah nodded. "But I took care of our cover, you're going to have to cancel on Devon today, so it had to be something good."

"That sucks." Chuck frowned.

"Captain Awesome beginning to grow on you?" Sarah asked.

"No… no, I mean, he's a good guy. He really loves my sister and he's going to be my brother-in-law soon. Even if I'm not 'awesome' enough to keep up with him and his brothers, it was nice of him to try and make me feel…brotherly. I mean he really did try."

"Yeah, that was really nice of him. Devon's a good man, your sister is very lucky."

"Ooh, a little jealous of Ellie are we?"

Sarah laughed just a bit. "No, I'll definitely leave the Captain for Ellie. Not my type, even if he is a good guy."

Chuck opened the door the apartment to find Captain Awesome sitting on the couch. "Morning, Devon."

"Ah the prodigal Bro returns."

"Devon… I'm sorry about yesterday I just got tied up and I couldn't…"

"Funny thing," Devon interrupted. "The boys and I stopped by the Buy More yesterday afternoon to see when you might be free, turns out they didn't call you in. Abandoning your bros to hang out with the girl friend, Chuck? Never awesome."

"I…I…I…" Chuck stuttered.

"They did actually," Sarah said from beside him. "John Casey called him to deal with an irate customer, who'd had a bad install. They were trying to keep it quiet, they didn't want it get back to management. With Emmett gone, Buy More corporate has been really keeping a close eye on the Burbank branch and Chuck didn't want Casey to get fired."

"Then why didn't you meet up with us?" Devon asked Chuck. "We called your cell."

"That is my fault," Sarah admitted. "Sort of." Ellie had walked in and was standing in front of the kitchen watching the interaction. "The Orange Orange was robbed at gun point yesterday." Ellie gasped. "Chuck was kind enough to spend the entire evening just hanging out to make me feel safer."

"Oh, my, God!" Ellie gasped. "What…how…" Ellie rushed forward and hugged Sarah. "Are you okay?"

"I'm doing better. I think the story was supposed to be in the paper," Sarah pointed to the unopened paper sitting on the coffee table.

Devon picked up the paper and started leafing through it. Ellie whacked Chuck on the arm. "Why didn't you call me?"

"It wasn't his fault…" Sarah started.

"You aren't off the hook either," Ellie cut Sarah off angrily. "When something like that happens in this family, you call and let the rest of us know. My, God, what if something had happened to you, would I have had to read about that in the paper?" Ellie asked indignantly. Sarah opened her mouth to speak again, but Ellie cut her off viciously. "You've been in this family long enough to know better. I'm a doctor, when there are emergencies, you are supposed to call me. I care about you, I care about what happens to both of you. I cannot believe I'm just hearing about this now."

"Here it is," Devon announced. He proceeded to read the story to the rest of the group. Chuck just got more and more surprised. Sarah had done all this? Just to protect their cover?

"I'm sorry," Sarah finally said. "I was really shaken up, I wasn't thinking clearly…"

Ellie whirled on Chuck. "And what's your excuse?"

"Ellie, we're sorry, it was a really tough day."

"That's why you're supposed to depend on your family."

Chuck sighed. "I'm really sorry, El. Devon, you too, I should have called."

Devon came and smacked him on the back. "Well at least it sounds like you're a genuine hero…" he started explained before Sarah jumped in.

"He is actually. Chuck's a very big hero. Whenever I need him, he's always there for me." Sarah beamed at him proudly.

"Awesome. Well luckily you made it back in time for today. One more day of adventure with the bros!"

"Actually, Devon," Sarah cut in before Chuck could answer. "I'm still pretty shaken up, I'd really like Chuck to stay with me today… I know it's silly, it just helps having him with me."

"I'm sure Ellie would be willing to stay… OW!" Devon cried. Ellie had just hit Devon as hard as he'd ever seen his sister hit anyone. She really wasn't prone to violence.

"Of course Chuck will stay with you, we all will," Ellie corrected.

"Thanks," Sarah smiled. "But I don't think that's really necessary. I know Devon has plans with his brothers and you probably have to work. Neither of us slept very well last night, I was just hoping we could settle down for a nice long nap."

"Sure," Ellie nodded. She stepped forward to give Sarah a hug. "I hope you're okay. You know the hospital has counselors that help people deal with grief or traumatic events, I can give you one of their names if you need to talk to someone."

"Thanks, Ellie, I'll let you know."

Chuck and Sarah had a very quiet and somewhat subdued breakfast. Chuck was a little afraid to talk after all the lies Sarah had just told. How she kept everything straight he wasn't sure. Plus somehow she'd gotten her lie into the paper. That must have taken some serious work.

When true to Sarah's word they settled down for a nap. Sarah was lying much closer than she normally did when they slept together. "You know you can only sleep for two hours then I have to wake you up and check you again."

"That sounds restful."

"I'm sorry, but concussions can be dangerous."

"More dangerous than the leader of an Indonesian rebel faction?" Chuck asked mockingly.

"If I tell Ellie that you hit your head and have a concussion? Definitely."

"You wouldn't dare."

"If you don't cooperate today, I might just have to," Sarah replied. She laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes. Chuck studied the dark circles under her eyes that were showing underneath her makeup and the lines of worry at the corner. Sarah's eyes were always her most expressive feature even when they were closed. Chuck was still watching her a few minutes later when Sarah grumpily stated. "Go to sleep." Chuck smirked at her ability to see with her eyes closed and rested his head back.

It turned out that Chuck didn't need to wait two hours for Sarah to wake him up. He awoke not too long after falling asleep because his shirt was digging painfully into his neck. As he cleared the cobwebs he realized that his shirt was too tight because Sarah had it balled in her fist and clutched possessively.

It was sweet, really. One of the more possessive actions he'd seen his pseudo girlfriend take towards him. She seemed to be to be sleeping fitfully, but soundly as she didn't wake as Chuck slowly soothed her clenched fingers and removed her grasp from his t-shirt. This only seemed to make the unconscious Sarah more agitated so, he replaced it with hand, which she gripped tightly.

***

When she did wake Chuck up a little over an hour later, their hands were no longer linked. Chuck wasn't sure if Sarah had woken up holding his hand or not, if she'd found anything odd about their sleeping arrangement she didn't say anything. She checked Chuck's eyes again and then told him to go back to sleep. He succeeded for a short time, but all the interruptions eventually led him to lose his sleepiness. He was still tired, but further sleep eluded him. The next time Sarah woke and found him already awake she didn't look pleased.

"You're supposed to be sleeping."

"Sorry, I couldn't fall back asleep."

"So you just lay their and watched me the whole time?" she asked.

"Not the whole time, but most of it."

"What an entertaining show."

Chuck shrugged gently. "I liked it."

"Well, if you're done sleeping for the night, we should get you to the Doctor."

"It can wait a couple of hours, why don't you sleep a little more. You worked all night."

"I'll be fine, I've worked with less."

"But you don't have too, it's not an emergency."

"It is to me."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "It's just some bruised ribs and a bump on the head. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Oh really, and what if they damaged the Intersect, do you want me to tell General Beckman that instead of getting you examined as soon as I could, I decided to sleep in?"

Sarah stretched and checked her watch. "It's after ten already. We should get going. I want to check on Casey as well."

"Wow, momma bear Walker is in full force today."

Sarah gave him an angry scowl. "I'm worried, okay, Beckman's not going to like any of this. Who knows what she'll do. If Casey is going to be down for a long time she could break up the team. She could decide to put you in the bunker. I don't want that to happen, so yes, I'm a little edgy."

Chuck looked away from her in embarrassment. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Just give today the seriousness it deserves. We need to find out how badly injured you really are. Then we get to go have a discussion with Beckman, don't give her a reason to pull the plug on us, okay?"

Chuck sat up on the bed and winced as his ribs burned. Sarah frowned at him as he hunched over, but she didn't comment.

***

The doctor that examined Chuck didn't seem to think the concussion was that big of a deal. Chuck did get to spend some unpleasant time with the CT scan machine. It showed no major trauma to his brain. Sarah was instructed to make sure Chuck got some good rest and a list of other activities that were banned. Chuck was a little embarrassed by some of the items on the last half. The doctor was more concerned about Chuck's ribs. The doctor was afraid he may have torn some rib cartilage, but wasn't sure. He gave Chuck a prescription for pain medication and told him to use it if he needed it. If the pain continued for more than a week, Chuck was supposed to come back.

After he was done being prodded and scanned they went and found Casey's room. From his greeting he didn't appear to be all that pleased to see Chuck. "Oh, it's you."

"Hello, John," Chuck said cheerfully. His greeting was met by a scowl.

"How are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"I have a hole in my gut, how do you think I am?"

"Well you sound normal," Chuck offered.

"I see you kept the abacus from getting killed," Casey said to Sarah instead of answering Chuck.

"Can you two give it a rest for a day or two?" Sarah pleaded.

"Sure," Chuck nodded.

Casey grunted his agreement and Sarah briefed Casey on what happened after he'd been sent to hospital.

"Come on, you mean you didn't squeal that you were the Intersect the moment they started questioning you?" Casey asked.

"It's not like they'd even know what that is," Chuck shook his head. "I couldn't think of anything I could tell them that was going to keep them from killing me. So…" Chuck shrugged.

"Nice work," Casey acknowledged.

"So when are they letting you out of here?" Sarah asked.

"Doc wants to keep me for two days, but I'm not going to be cleared for missions for a while."

Sarah nodded slowly. "We'll talk to Beckman. Try and keep the team together."

"Don't be stupid, Bartowski needs real protection."

"I'll protect him until you're ready." Sarah stated.

"You're going to watch him all the time?" Casey asked skeptically.

"All the time," Sarah agreed.

"I knew you were soft on him," Casey grumbled. Sarah just sighed and shook her head. "Bartowski, can you give us a minute?" Casey asked.

Chuck agreed and walked out of the hospital room. However he waited just outside the door and he could still hear them talking.

"What's up?" Sarah asked.

"I wanted to…I wanted to thank you. You saved my life yesterday. You were pretty amazing."

"Just doing my job," Chuck heard Sarah reply.

"Look, I know I'm not the easiest person to work with, but you stuck your neck out for me, I was a goner for sure."

"You're my partner," Sarah replied.

"I know. Everyone always said you were the best, but I sort of didn't want to believe it…" Casey faltered. "Yesterday, you were the best I've ever seen." The compliment hung in the air. It seemed to weight the room down. "Take care of the kid. If I get reassigned," Casey started, but was cut off by Sarah.

"You won't."

"But if I do…"

"You won't."

"How do you know?" Casey asked in exasperation.

"Because ultimately Beckman needs Chuck and he'd go to bat to keep me on this mission and he'll do the same for you."

"I don't think he'll do that f…" Casey started and again Sarah cut him off.

"You two are so stupid. Can't you just admit that you like each other? What's the problem with the two of you? Chuck cares about you. He appreciates what you've done for him… Don't look at me like that, you like Chuck too." Chuck heard Casey grunt number 117, stop talking or I'll jump out that window, just so I don't have to listen. "Fine," Sarah huffed. "But he will and you know he will. We'll come see you tomorrow, I need to get Chuck home to rest at some point today, he's still pretty banged up."

Chuck moved away from the doorway so that Sarah couldn't tell that he'd been listening.

***

Sarah took Chuck back to the Castle so that they could report into Beckman. She said after that, they were going straight home. Chuck told her he needed to stop into the Buy More and get his schedule. Sarah did not look pleased but didn't object outright.

Chuck and Sarah stood in front of the monitor waiting for General Beckman to appear.

"Team Bartowski," the General said evenly when she popped on screen.

"Hello, General," they replied.

"I've read over your mission briefing Agent Walker… it appears the mission was ultimately a success. However, I'm very concerned about your report that the asset was captured by hostiles during your raid on the office building."

"It was a trap ma'am."

"Yes, I gathered. How was it that you became separated from the asset."

"Per your instructions, we raided the office building. Agent Casey and I deemed that the support vehicle would be the safest location for the asset."

"It seems you were incorrect," the General replied distastefully.

"With respect, there was no gun play at the vehicle. The asset was captured, but he could have easily been killed if he'd been with us in the office building."

"Yes. A disturbing turn of events certainly. What is the condition of the asset?"

"I'm fine," Chuck replied.

Sarah glanced at him. "He has a grade two concussion and severe bruising of the ribs. Possible neurological effects left over from being hit with a taser."

"Neurological effects?" Chuck muttered, but he quickly hushed when Sarah shot him a look.

"I see. This sounds serious," General Beckman mused.

"Well the asset reports that he's feeling better this morning, but I'm keeping him under close observation."

"Very well, Agent Walker. I don't have to express to you the importance of the asset's health. Please monitor him as closely as possible."

"I'm right here," Chuck interjected.

"Yes, speaking of the Intersect. Given agent Casey's condition and the recent lack of successful missions, I am considering moving the asset to a secured location where we can conduct more conclusive diagnostics."

"What?" Chuck sputtered.

"General, I'm not sure that's a good idea. Chuck, doesn't handle changes to his environment very well. We don't know how the Intersect is affected by Chuck's surroundings. Putting him isolation might cause him to never flash again."

"Wait, you're discussing putting me in a bunker?"

"I do realize that it would put stress on the asset. But considering the current state of the team, I'm not sure of the viability of leaving the asset in place and replacing Agent Casey represents and undue security risk."

"Agent Casey is fine!" Chuck spouted.

"Excuse me?"

"We saw him earlier today, he'll be up and around in no time," Chuck reiterated.

"Agent Casey took a round to the soft tissue of the stomach. He's lost thirty five percent of his liver."

"What Chuck means, is that Agent Casey is already recovering and looking forward to returning to the mission. He asked me to express his desire to get back on the job as soon as possible."

General Beckman frowned. "Very well, Agent Walker, I'm leaving the asset in your hands. I understand it will be a inconvenience for you, but it's up to you to provide round the clock protection."

"I understand, General, I'll do what needs to be done."

"Your dedication to the mission won't be overlooked. Report back on the asset's condition in seventy two hours." The General blinked off the screen.

"Sorrrrrrrry to be such an inconvenience to you, Agent Walker."

"Chuck, don't be like that, I had to say it that way. If I said, 'Don't worry General, I always have a good time with Chuck's family. I'm looking forward to it!' You'd be headed for the bunker right now."

"So you actually want to keep me under twenty four hour surveillance?"

"Someone has to watch out for you."

"Sarah, I don't get this, is this because you have to, or because you want to?"

Sarah bit her lip. "Chuck… I can't answer that question."

"Why not, it seems simple enough to me."

"This is anything but simple. Any answer I give is either a lie or it just causes more trouble between us."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Chuck, you know I care about you. Isn't it enough to know that?" Sarah pleaded.

"No," Chuck shook his head. "Today, I want a real answer."

Sarah looked at him with her heart in her eyes. There were actual tears forming around the edges. "All right."

"All right? All right what?" Chuck asked.

"I'll tell you the real answer, but not today and not here."

"What?"

Sarah stepped forward and whispered. "When you're feeling better we'll go somewhere, less recorded and I'll tell you…but not here." Chuck was so stunned he didn't know what to say. "Let's get your schedule and go home."

***

Chuck dashed into the Buy More and grabbed his schedule. He didn't stick around other than to see what hours he was working. Thankfully, Morgan was off, so he only had to shrug off Jeff and Lester, before he could escape again.

Sarah was insistently tugging him towards her Porsche when Chuck caught sight of something gleaming out of the corner of his eye. "What is that?" he asked.

"I don't see anything…"

"I saw something, over there behind that Volvo." Chuck started walking towards it, until Sarah jogged in front of him and pushed him back. She gave him an angry look and he took a step back as she moved forward slowly, her hand straying to the weapon in her waistband.

"Oh, it's you…"

"Hello," said Emmett Milbarge popping up from behind the Volvo. He was stressed in his Buy More yellow and grays and looked like he was headed for work.

"Emmett…what are you doing here?" Chuck asked. "Didn't Big Mike fire you?"

Emmett's beady eyes trained in on Chuck. "Yes, Big Mike did make that judgment error and I intend to see that he corrects it."

"What?" Chuck asked.

"I'm on to you, Bartowski, I know you've got some little game working here and I intend to find out exactly what it is. Then Big Mike will fire you, hire me back and all will be right with the world once again."

"Look, Emmett, I'm sorry you got fired, but…"

"HA! Sorry! It was part of your plan all along. I was watching you too closely, wasn't I? I was getting too close to figuring you out, but I'll get you, Bartowski, your going to get exactly what's coming to you."

Sarah grabbed Emmett by the pinky finger and twisted sharply causing the spineless man to crash to his knees screaming in agony. "You stay away from him, do you hear me?" Sarah growled.

"Sarah, don't…don't hurt him," Chuck winced at sight of the cowering man.

"Aaaah, please, please…" Emmett begged.

"Do you understand me?" Sarah barked again.

"Yes," Emmett whimpered.

"And stay away from the Buy More," she said harshly as she released him. "Come on, Chuck, we're leaving."

***