I don't own Chuck
"Come on, Moron, you have to try," Casey told him. "You can't leave here not able to walk." Chuck let go of the bars and crashed to the ground. Something was wrong, very wrong. That morning his father had shown up early, and took him over the grounds in his wheelchair. As they neared the exit to the hospital, Chuck swore the driveway out of the hospital looked a little brighter, a little more inviting.
"Once we get you out of here, we'll watch Tron," Stephen told him. "I'd bring it in, but Rye told me that I shouldn't. It should be a reward for you leaving."
"Leave?" Chuck asked. "You think I'm ready to leave?"
"Of course you are, it's time you come home and be with your family, and-and if you need someone that Maria girl has offered to work with us," Stephen told him.
"Where would I live, what would I do?" Chuck asked him.
"Live with us, and when you get your feet under you, we can see about completing your degree, or whatever you want to do, but son, it's time for you to live. Out there."
There was something out there. Chuck knew it, but he wasn't sure it was right.
"Moron!" Casey yelled, running over to him.
"Get back," Maria's voice said, rushing over to Chuck and pushing Casey away. "I've got him, you pushed him too hard."
"Come on, Chuckles," she said, helping him to his wheelchair. She walked over and snatched the electrical equipment from Casey. "I'll do this to his legs today, and I'll walk him around the hallways."
"Good, see that you do!" Casey snapped.
"We gotta get you out of here, Chuck, Maria said softly. "He's gonna push you too far. If you need someone I can help at your house."
"Everyone seems to be trying to get me out of here, asap," Chuck muttered.
"We just want you to be safe, to be cared for," Maria told him, pushing him back to his room. "We care about you Curls." Chuck sat there quietly, not sure what to do, but wondering if she was right.
}o{
The Belgian stood there, watching Chuck strapped to the chair. "Dr. Mueller? How is our patient progressing?"
"We're getting there," Mueller told the Belgian. "The program is running, he believes he is in a hospital, and his entire life is a dream. Once he leaves the grounds, his mind will open up and give us complete access to the Intersect."
"Good," the Belgian said, grinning. "Are we experiencing any problems?"
"I'm reading two very small anomalies," Dr. Mueller admitted. "I tried to isolate one earlier but it quickly disappeared. When I tried to isolate it, it did cause some stress to the subject. But in a program this large, dealing with his brain and the Intersect…"
"Are they causing any problems?" The Belgian asked.
"Not that I can see," Mueller replied.
"Carry on," The Belgian replied. He looked down at a report of a disturbance. "Probably best to leave those anomalies alone, we might need to hurry."
"This takes time, sir," Mueller insisted.
"Time may not be on our side."
"Understood."
}o{
It was nearly twilight when he heard the voice. "Chuck." He turned his head toward her. "Sorry about yesterday, I need to do some research, to understand exactly what you had been through."
"I see," Chuck said to her. "Please don't run away again."
"I may have to leave quickly, but it's not your fault if I do," Jenny assured him. "Would you like to take a stroll…or wheel about in your case?" There was a grin on her face, one that he knew oh so well.
"I'd love to," he told her.
"I'm not her," she stressed.
"And yet here you are," Chuck said with a shrug. She blew out a breath, chuckled, and helped him into the wheelchair. Chuck noticed that the TV was on the episode again.
"Big Sarah Michelle Gellar fan?" Jenny asked.
"Not as much as I am of another Sarah," Chuck admitted.
"Okay, so you're not going to lie to me."
"I've never been able to lie to you," Chuck told her. Jenny didn't say anything. She pushed his chair out of the room, down the hall, and outside. Chuck found it interesting he didn't see anyone else around like he did when Stephen took him out. "So what should I talk about?"
"Talk about whatever you want to," Jenny told him. "I'm just hear to listen."
"I miss her," Chuck said softly. "Before this all went pear shaped…God, Casey is rubbing off on me…my Casey, not-"
"I get it," Jenny told him. "I get it."
"We were having issues…no, that's not true, I was having issues. I'm not a spy."
"And that's why she's with you, because you're a spy?" Jenny asked.
"I…no, she said she would have a normal life with me, she said…" Chuck trailed off. "On the train, she was willing to leave the spy life with me, but…I had the Intersect."
"So you're left with one question," Jenny replied. "Do you stay here with your family, the family you always dreamed of, the family you always wanted?"
"Or?" Chuck asked, knowing what was coming.
"Do you go back, to a world that may or may not exist, to a woman, who wants to be a spy? To a woman who's adult life has been about being a spy, and you cannot be a spy with her."
"Would she even want me?" Chuck asked softly. Chuck looked up at her. "Would you?"
"I'm not her," Jenny told him.
"But you are, aren't you," Chuck insisted. "Because you're not them."
"What do you mean?"
"No one has seen you, no one is ever around when you're here." He was silent for a second, and looked around. "There's something else that I'm missing."
"Don't you mean someone else that you're missing?" Jenny asked.
"Huh?" Chuck replied. "What do you mean?"
"Chuck, who's missing?" Chuck sat there, confused, no idea who or what she was talking about.