Nik's Notes: This wil have to do ya for a while. Jim's back in hospital and I'm spending all my free time there. Sorry. Thanks for all the well-wishes.

Nicole F Barnes

A Slip of the Tongue Chapter 26

Amy Cain was very careful what she said and did around David in the days following the bombing and with good reason. He was a damned bear!

"Amy, how much longer do I have to stay in this damned bed and when are they going to get these damned patches off? I can't see and I feel so damned useless. I have to be led around like a damned blind man. This sucks supremely."

She hopped up beside him on the bed. She knew exactly how he felt – helpless and that made him afraid although he'd never admit it in a hundred years.

"David, it's just for a few more days. You'll get your stitches out and the bandages off and you'll be able to walk around and see what happened for yourself. Now, listen up while I read the next intel daily entry."

She was patient with him. He was not. She'd caught him trying to cut the bandages off his eyes more than once and the doctor had threatened him with restraints if he did it again. He just smirked and told the doctor to kiss his ass.

The only bright spot was when Casey and his new partner, Selena Vargas, came to visit. She was not the typical CIA agent. She was…real. While Casey and his old partner, Sarah Walker, caught up and then finally had briefed one another through the Carmichael period and he relented and called her 'Amy', Selena was pestering David for intel on her partner that wasn't found in any briefing books or files.

"So, David, you and Blondie are married for real and for the cover? Cool. How'd you manage that trick? Apparently Big John the Eternal Bachelor even vetoed a 'cover marriage'. So, tell me, David, how do I go about getting married to the big blockhead for the cover? It would make things so much easier to live with."

"Well, first you date and then he asks you to marry him, oh, and he'll probably never admit it but he's a virgin! Probably the last one in the NSA except for…never mind."

"I'm serious here, David. That tiny apartment and that stupid pool car and cable TV – those are not what I call partnership benefits. He lives all the way across town and if he calls one of his famous 'team briefings', it takes me a hour to get there if traffic is bad."

"Team briefings? Wait a minute. I thought Amy and I were the other two team members and we haven't had any meetings. At least none that I've been included in. Amy disappears sometimes so at least she's in the loop."

"You two aren't included. He says he has 'new information' or some other stupid thing that can't be handled over the phone so we meet at a restaurant or at his apartment. I'm serious, David. The man covers everything in infinite detail but then has a 'briefing' on some stupid little change."

"How often?" He had a wild haired idea. Could it be that obvious?

"Like almost every damned night since we met. I'm telling you, David, the man – "

"Those are 'Casey dates'. Man, the guy must have been recruited out of Junior High School. He's so socially challenged. Look, he likes you. He wants to spend time with you and he's too stupid or shy or both to just say 'Hey, want to spend time together? Maybe have dinner?' Think about it."

"So he has me drive across town to spend time with him? That's so lame it has to be true."

"I just realized how lame that sounded once I said it. You're just going to have to live with it. Suck it up and be an agent. Can't help you, Selena. He's just being Casey."

"Well, I think you might be on to something, Agent Cain, and I'm going to pursue your line of reasoning and discover if your discarded hypothesis might not be correct."

Chuck thought about the woman he'd mentally discarded as a 'lightweight' and reconsidered.

"Where did you go to school, Selena? That sounded very articulate for a CIA agent. No offense but it did."

She laughed and stopped herself from hugging her new team member. 'I have to remember his distaste for PDAs except for those from his 'wife'.'

"I joined the Army MPs after high school and then I went to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for pre-law and then Vanderbilt for law school. Not the dumbassed Latina everyone expects, right?" She wasn't offended, she was used to people writing her off as 'boobs and bad accent'. She wanted to be an FBI agent but the CIA offered her a deal she couldn't refuse – and after several years in the field offices, here she was – Team Intersect.

"Well, I'll hold off judging the boobs until I can see but the accent is not that noticeable except for the sibilant 'esses'. I grew up in L.A. and I learned fast not to judge intelligence by an accent."

'No wonder Amy insisted on a married cover. This guy is not to be believed. I don't think I've ever been complimented and teased in the same sentence.'

"I'll let you know what I discover, David. So, when are they going to spring you and let you check out my hooters? You must be bored to tears. I got some books-on-iPod if you're interested. Might help fill the time. They're in the car so getting them's no big deal. You do have an iPod, don't you?"

"Yeah, someplace at the house in a box probably. I'll get Amy to pick me up one and then I can download from yours. That's a nice thing to think of, Selena. Thanks. Uh-oh, I hear the clatter of cloven hooves. Better make yourself scarce. Here comes Assistant Director Franklin to grill me on some esoteric facets of the intersect."

"I'll catch you tomorrow, David. Don't get into too much trouble." She left just as Heather reached his room.

"Hey, Amy. David's bored but could you bring his iPod in tomorrow? I have some audio books he can listen to. It'll keep him from rewiring the controls on the bed to launch nuclear missiles or something worse."

"Yeah, I'll take care of it. Um, I'm Heather Franklin. Amy and I are sisters."

"No kidding? Twins? I'm a twin, too. I'll bet you have some 'substitution stories' to tell."

"Yeah, but not around David. He's traumatized enough by having us both around. He's good people though. Any is so damned lucky. Sometimes I hate her!" She was laughing so it wasn't truly 'hate'.

"Well, I have to go ask Major Casey to dinner since he's got issues with women. David's in a funk so watch your step. He's bored and feeling useless and he's liable to be cranky."

"I've seen him in worse moods. Go nail your Major and I'll go play substitute wife to my bro-in-law."

"Substitution night?" Selena and her sister had double-teamed guys before when one of them liked the guy and the other didn't.

"NO! I'd never do that to Amy where David was involved. It's the real deal with those two. We're talking marriage, kids, house, car, summer vacations, the whole nine yards."

"Well, let's hope they get their happy ending and we get ours. See ya around, Heather."

Heather took a deep breath and walked into David's room and laughed when she saw him trying to loosen the adhesive tape on his patch to see if he could see yet.

"You've been told not to do that, David. I was there when the doctor told you to quit fooling around."

"Amy! Damn I missed you today. How was your day?"

"Sorry, David. It's Heather. She's still making nice with some intel types. I'm sure she'll be by to say good night and tuck you in and make sure you're comfortable." She giggled at the mental image.

"Well, I missed you, too. How was your day?"

"I went to funerals all damned day. How the hell do you think my day was, David?" She didn't mean to sound so sharp with him. It could just as easily been his funeral she'd attended.

"Aw, shit, babe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"I know you didn't, but it's – it's hard. I knew those people. We worked together every day and someone killed them. Why? What's worth all those lives?"

"You know, Heather. Me and the intersect. They messed with the programs, set up an overload in the electrical system and let physics take care of the rest. It may not sound like much of a consolation but the fact that you're alive makes me very happy."

She sat on the edge of the bed and then leaned over and laid her head on his shoulder. "Do you mind, Dave? I just need a little human contact right now. My whole team…"

She started to cry softly and he wrapped his arms around her and that's how Amy found them. She stopped in the doorway and took in the tableau and started to say something bitchy when she heard her sister's quiet sobs and she backed out of the room to give her some privacy.

'He's just offering her comfort, that's all. Nothing more. She's not making a play for him. She learned her lesson with Bryce. It's just one person needing to connect with someone else. They've both been through a lot.'

It was her sister. She loved her sister. It was also her 'husband' and she definitely loved him. She wasn't jealous. It was more envy. She didn't want to intrude but she had packing to do and a plane to catch. The MI-6 mission was on again and she was excited to be going back to the field.

Heather sat up and wiped her face with her hands.

"I'm so sorry, David. I just needed a hug, I guess. Today was awful. Those families, those kids. I feel so guilty that I survived and they didn't. I should go. If Amy caught us, there'd be Hell to pay. She's very possessive in case you haven't already noticed."

"Heather, you're my family now. She understands that. She knows how I am. You worry too much about what other people think and too little about how you feel. My shoulder is always here for you. It was nice to hug someone. Amy's been running the dailies with me but I can tell she's preoccupied with something. I've become attuned to her moods. She's got something on her mind."

"That's sweet. I really do have to go. Sweet dreams, big brother." She kissed him on the cheek and left, feeling better than she had since the explosion. She walked out into the corridor and turned and ran right into her sister who was leaning against the wall in tears.

"Holly, he was just holding me while I cried. Today was a horrible day for me and – " She was stunned when her sister pulled her into a hug and nodded.

"I know. He gives the best hugs. I heard what you said about how you worried I'd 'catch you'. Then I heard you call him 'big brother' and it just made me feel so – "

"Yeah. He gets right down into your heart and fixes it as best he can, doesn't he? No wonder you're nuts about him. He's everything a woman could want and nothing like that – well, you know who I mean."

"Listen, I need a big favor. I have to go to London for a week and I was wondering if you could look after him while I'm gone? Just stop in and say 'Hi' every day. He won't be a happy camper when I tell him the mission's back on but orders are orders."

"What? He's supposed to get discharged the day after tomorrow and you're going to be in London? Couldn't it wait until he at least got home, Holly? I know you've got a job but he needs you. Suppose his eyes aren't totally healed yet – what then? He'll go nuts if he has to stay here."

"Heather, I have to go. I'm going to go in and say my good nights and then I have to pack and catch a plane. He understands that this is part of our jobs. He'll be fine. He's strong and independent and he'll have Selena and Casey and you checking up on him."

"Fine. Go. Be a super spy. God, you're so much like Bryce sometimes that I wonder if you care about the havoc you leave behind when you leave? I'll watch out for him. We still have some data retention tests to run so I'll keep him occupied for a while. Just remember that one of the funerals I went to today could have been his and I'll bet you a million bucks that you would still be getting on a damned plane!"

Amy turned away from her sister before she said or did something they'd both regret. She did care about him. She was concerned about him. She loved him more than anyone else on the planet. Sometimes she hated her job but orders were orders. Taking a deep breath, Amy walked into her husband's room to say goodbye.

"Hey, handsome, wanna fool around?"

'Heather just didn't understand. If one of those funerals she talked about had been David's, I'd have been on that damned plane in a heartbeat and praying that this mission I'd catch the Golden BB and rejoin him wherever we go after we die.'

"Amy! I've missed you! So, going to London after all? No big deal. The job calls and we go. Damn it! If you could have postponed it until after I'd gotten my eyes back I'd have used the 'good training line' with Beckman and gone with you."

"Let me make a call and see if Beckman can hold off the 'cousins across the pond'. What made you change your mind? What happed to the hapless asset who might get me killed?"

"I fell in love and don't want the wench cavorting with the 'Bond wannabees' in Merry Old England."

"Y – You fell in love? With me?"

"Jesus, dimbulb, with who else? Now, make the call and then let's see if I can remember all those naked parts. And Holly?"

"Yes, husband?" She was holding back tears.

"I fell in love with you the day we went to your folks. I guess since I love Holly, I just have to suck it up and play nice with Amy or Sarah or Lisa or Drusilla or Carol or any of your other future manifestations."

"Damn it, Chuck! You promised you wouldn't look at my file! You promised!"

"What can I say? I'm a spy now and secrets are such a delicious challenge."

NSA Medical Facility
FT Meade, MD

"Hold still, Agent Cain, or you'll lose an eye." The nurse was using bandage scissors to cut the gauze that secured the protective eye pads to his face.

"Now, Agent Cain, your eyes suffered from flash burns but it's been a week and between the ointments and the other medications, things should be looking better. Pun intended, Agent. Now the lights in the room are dim and your eyes are going to be very sensitive to the light but don't worry."

The last of the gauze was gone and the pads were removed and it felt wonderful to feel the cool air of the room against his closed eyelids.

"Open your eyes, Agent. I need to check your response to the light and then do an acuity exam."

Chuck opened his eyes just a bit and then scrunched them shut. "Oh, crap, that's bright!"

"Man up, moron. No pain, no gain." Casey could always be counted on to bring light into the darkness. Selena elbowed him viciously in the stomach. It was like hitting bricks.

"Be nice. It probably hurts like a bitch!" The one thing she didn't like about her partner was his constant carping at David. The 'man up, moron' comment was typical. He had no feelings for anyone but himself.

The doctor pushed David's head back and then put drops into each of his eyes. "That should help with the sensitivity. At least we know you can see light." He handed him wrap-around sunglasses and told him to check back in a week if he didn't have any problems in the meantime.

"OK, I'm free. Let's – "

"Not yet, David. You have a zillion little stitches to have removed. You look like a Raggedy Andy doll from the 30s." Selena would never admit it but Raggedy Ann & Andy were her constant sleep companions until she was 16.

A few minutes later he was seeing his face in a mirror held by the nurse. He looked older but the scars weren't really noticeable unless you were really close. He hadn't realized that he was getting older. He thought he was still 20 sometimes not almost – shit – THIRTY!

'Where did the time go? When did I get so damned old? I have in-laws and a wife and a career I never dreamed I'd have. Maybe getting old isn't all that bad.'

"OK, that's it. 26 in and 26 out. You're free to go and just remember to keep them clean and dry."

Amy looked at him carefully. He was still her Chuck, her Charles, her David. Scars didn't matter. He was healthy and she intended to see just how healthy he was.

"OK, babe, I'm ready to fly. I hope you packed the right stuff for me. Something other than those silk boxers you seem so taken with."

"David! We're not alone! Jesus, you can take the boy out of California, raise him and nurture him but you can't take the perv out of the man. Let's go. Your plane leaves in two hours and Beckman had to pull strings and give up favors to get you on the mission. We don't want to be late."

They flew to London together.

A/N: This ends Part 3 – The Age of Reason.