I don't own Chuck

He woke again, this time his room was empty. He heard sounds, and tried to focus his eyes on where it was coming from. The TV was on. It was an old Buffy episode and Sarah Michelle Gellar appeared to be in a psychiatric hospital. He didn't remember turning on the TV, but he didn't remember falling back asleep either. He pushed himself up in the bed, and found himself exhausted after doing so.

"Knock, knock," came a voice from the door. Chuck's eyes went wide. "Hey, sleepyhead, it's good to actually see you awake. I'm your CNA, Maria."

"Carina?" Chuck muttered. "Are you here to get me out?"

"Calm down, Curls," she said with a smile. "Like I said, it's Maria. You're not the first man to fall in love with me." Chuck blew out a breath. "Hey, just teasing. You and I have a lot of long talks, well, you listened as I talked." She gave him an amused look. "Someone had to keep you clean." Chuck's eyes went wide, making Maria laugh. "So, I've been trimming your beard, but do you want to shave it off…and I'm only talking about what's on your face." Chuck turned red again. Maria grinned victoriously. "Now here's the fun part, as…ah….intimate as we have been, they are slowly going to reintroduce you to solid foods, but your legs probably aren't working too well so…" she glanced over to a portable toilet that Chuck hadn't noticed before. Chuck dropped his head into his hands. "Hey," she said gently. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." Chuck looked up at her, horror on his face.

}o{

"How's the voice?" Rye asked him, pushing him down the hallway in a wheelchair sometime later.

"Better," Chuck replied, not feeling as much pain.

"Good, maybe tomorrow we can get the family together and you tell them what you have….experienced," Rye told him. "It's important for them to know where you're coming from as they try and help you adjust back to life." Rye was silent as they continued down the hall. "Chuck, you haven't asked about your girlfriend."

Chuck didn't answer, because he knew who his girlfriend was, Sarah. He wasn't sure what was going on here, but he was going to find her. "I don't remember having a girlfriend," Chuck finally replied. Rye made a non-committal sound. "BTW, is there a reason my TV is playing Buffy?"

"Oh, that," Rye said, chuckling. "Your sister told me how much you enjoyed the show and might have had a crush on Sarah Michelle Gellar." Chuck couldn't help but grin. "She told me that one of your favorite episodes was Normal Again. I had that episode playing on DVD on your TV hoping it might help bring you back."

"It's where Buffy accepts who she is and goes back willingly, and not like when she was ripped from heaven," Chuck explained.

"Interesting," Rye replied. "This Sarah you keep referring to, could it be the actress and your mind struggling with dealing with what happened to you seven years ago." Chuck was gobsmacked by that. "I take it from your silence you don't know."

"I don't," Chuck admitted softly.

"That's fine," Rye said as he pushed him into a room. "It's time to meet your physical therapist.

"Casey," Chuck muttered, seeing the man he knew as John Casey standing there. "Sorry," he said quickly. "That's obviously not your name."

"Oh, it is," Casey replied. "John Casey, but the question is how did you know?"

"Yes, that is the question isn't it?" Rye asked. Chuck had no idea how to answer.

}o{

"You know it's funny you called me Carina," Maria said to him later, helping him sponge down. Casey had worked muscles that hadn't been used in….apparently years. Chuck still wasn't sure what was going on. "I used to talk to you about how I always wanted to be a James Bond like spy, but not in the CIA or the NSA or MI-6 or anything like that."

"Ohhhh," Chuck moaned as she pushed down on a muscle on his back as she sponged him.

"Liked that, huh?" Maria said, grinning. "Johnny has been known to work out his sexual frustration on his patients, but I didn't tell you that."

"Would explain some things," Chuck replied. "You know I can wash myself."

"I know, but I like taking care of you, Chuckie," Carina told him. "I'll let you do your privates, and after today we'll work on you taking your own bath, but today…today you've been through it."

"Thank you…Maria," Chuck said gratefully.

"Oh, the Carina thing," she said, remembering her earlier train of thought. "So I wanted to be an agent. I wanted to stop the drug trade, and I wanted to have a cool name like Carina Miller, or Hansen…I flipped back and forth on them, but eventually I settled on Miller. But I wanted to be like James Bond in every way, you know."

"So you wanted to have sex with hot bad guys?" Chuck asked.

"Listen, don't you kink shame me," Maria teased.

"I'm not," Chuck insisted.

"I know you're not," Maria replied. "Okay, I'm going to step out in the hall….unless you want me to stay…." She grinned at him.

"No-no, I got this," Chuck insisted. Maria laughed as she walked outside. Chuck finished bathing himself, dried himself off, straightened up his gown and called for Maria. "So are you decent?"

"Yes," Chuck told her.

"Pity," Maria replied. She cleaned everything up and prepped for next time. She stopped in front of his bed. "I'm glad you're back in the real world with us Curls." She was silent for a moment. "Your family really missed you, and your friend, Bryce…he was here all the time."

"Why haven't they been by today then?" Chuck asked.

"Dr. Rye asked them to give you today to adjust to everything, to get used to being awake," Maria told him. "Now, tomorrow, we take out your IV, get you some real food and…well, you and I…we're going to become closer." Chuck groaned. "I'll be gentle," she told him. "Seriously, Chuckles, I'm glad you're awake. The world needs you." With that she left.

Chuck sighed. "Where are you Sarah? What in the hell is going on?"