A few days had passed since Chuck woke up and much to the relief of his family and team there were no issues with his recovery. He'd been transferred to the rehab ward shortly after his sister had left and, again, had his own room not too far from the therapy room. His time was spent in and out of physical therapy during the day and then his nights were filled with Sarah. Initially, it was only supposed to be once a day, to allow him to sufficiently recover from the workout he got in his sessions, however by his second day, he had insisted on having at least two sessions a day stating that he was eager to be up and walking around if not dancing by the time his sister got married.

He wasn't sure what the look was he'd gotten from Lauren, the therapist who had been assigned to him, but he assumed it was that she was unsure that he'd be able to meet that goal in the two or three months he had left. Chuck was bound and determined to exceed her expectations, had already done so by learning how to transfer safely by the end of his first session. Of course, he'd had good reason to want to master the skill quickly, since he had looked up the potential affects stemming from long-term catheter use and wished to avoid any of the less desirable outcomes if at all possible. That's not to say there wasn't pain involved, but he could handle it if it meant a lower risk of ill effects. At least Sarah was sympathetic to his cause and made sure the nurses gave him the pain relievers he'd sorely needed, no pun intended.

He was looking forward to this afternoon's physical therapy session for a couple reasons, first of all, Lauren had promised to let him try the bars to attempt to stand and hopefully take his first shaky steps in a while. Secondly, after his therapy session was over, Ellie and their dad would be coming by to uninstall the intersect. The second reason was a little bittersweet, as removing the Intersect meant that any of the faulty programing would be removed from his head, but also removing the Intersect meant removing his reason to work for the NSA and CIA. Being able to upload the newest version of the Intersect would then be his incentive to successfully rehab and return to active duty.

Sarah showed up, as she usually did, just before Lauren was scheduled to pick him up for physical therapy. He loved that she wanted to be there and cheer him on in his afternoon sessions as he fought to regain his strength and mobility. The pride on both Sarah's and Lauren's faces when he was able to stand and take his first tentative steps using the parallel bars motivated him to push forward and take a few more steps before giving in and slumping down to sit back in his wheelchair. Who knew walking a meager four feet would have his legs wobbly and shaking and him sweating from exertion? He was a mess, but was proud of the progress he was making, much of it thanks to his 'bullheaded stubbornness' as his physical therapist liked to call it.

When his session was finished, Sarah pushed him back to his room and helped him change out of his sweaty clothes so that he was ready for when Ellie and his dad arrived, which they did around four in the afternoon. The removal procedure only took about fifteen minutes and he had remarked that his head felt relatively lighter after all was said and done. However, he also felt like something was missing, like an old friend who inexplicably disappeared.

Stephen assured him that this was normal and would eventually pass. The four of them sat in Chuck's room talking for a bit before Chuck rose the question that had been nagging him since he woke up.

"Hey sis," He looked toward his sister, "I've seen you, Dad, Sarah, Casey, even Morgan has swung by to teach me upkeep on the whiskers, but I've yet to see Awesome come by. Is he just busy with surgery or something?"

Ellie shifted awkwardly before answering him, "I honestly don't know," She shrugged, "He moved out a couple weeks before Christmas and I haven't seen him since."

"What happened?"

"He wasn't who he said he was," Ellie shrugged, "I know you kinda remembered Mom coming by, but do you remember what else was revealed during her visit?"

"No, it's still really hazy," Chuck shook his head, "A lot of stuff that went on around me or was told to me when I was under is a bit like looking through smoked glass. I can make out vague things, but nothing is exactly clear or able to be seen at all."

"His real name was Dimitri Mikhailov, according to Mom, he was a low-level associate of Alexi Volkoff," Ellie explained, "Apparently, he got roped in because his brother and father worked for Volkoff. Mom knew it wasn't the right place for him, knew his aspirations to become a doctor, so she sent him here to attend medical school. The only catch was that he had to keep an eye on us. He wasn't supposed to let things get as far as they did. Mom was pretty pissed that he'd pushed the relationship past friendship. To be honest, we shouldn't have ever let it go as far as it did."

"I'm sorry, Elle," Chuck reached out and squeezed his sister's hand.

"It's okay, I made my peace with it," Ellie admitted, "Neither of us loved the other the way a spouse should, we really only got engaged because we'd been together for so long it just seemed like the right thing to do. In the end, he was good to me, to us, and I'll always love him for that, but we both deserve better than the other was able to give. I wish him well and hope he does find someone as awesome as he is someday."

"So long as you're happy with the decision," Chuck nodded, "If you ever need or want to talk about it, you know I'm more than happy to listen to just about anything. I just don't want to hear anything, however loosely connected, to your sex life. No brother should ever know that kind of stuff about his sister."

Ellie scrunched up her nose, "Ew, that could have gone without saying. Same goes the other way, as much as I love you and Sarah, if and when you are recovered enough and ready to take that step, I don't need or want to know, or hear for that matter, anything about it."

Sarah and Chuck blushed at her statement.

"Ellie, I promise you, we'll be discrete," Sarah assured her friend, "We'll rent a room or plan it for when you're at work or elsewhere."

"That's all I ask," Ellie nodded then noticed her father's uncomfortable look, "Oh, come on Dad, I'm in my mid 30's and Chuck is nearly 30 himself, you didn't expect us to be virgins, did you?"

"Well... I... no, I guess not," Stephen stammered, "I just didn't expect you to speak about it so openly."

"That might be partly Dimitri's influence," Ellie admitted, "He was very open, probably more than he should have been, about sex and sex-related topics. I also encouraged Chuck to come to me if he had any questions about sex and girls. While we were never explicit in our conversations, I made sure he understood the basics and where he could find more information without resorting to porn for obvious reasons."

"Basically, came down to communication and consent when it came to intimacy," Chuck explained, "Although the 'masturbation is a normal, natural, method of self-soothing' conversation was more than a little awkward."

Sarah and Ellie snickered.

"It's true," Ellie insisted, "On both counts, it's completely normal, and it was a very awkward conversation to have with him."

"Because I was twelve!" Chuck insisted.

"And I was doing your laundry by then," Ellie gave him a pointed look.

"But Dad was still around," He protested.

"If you think our little talk was awkward, imagine how uncomfortable it would have been for me to tell Dad what I thought you were doing behind closed doors." Ellie offered.

"Fair," Chuck admitted.

"Can we please for the sake of my sanity change the subject?" Stephen begged, "Here's one, it's nearly time for dinner, should we go see what the cafeteria has on offer?"

"Okay, okay, we give," Ellie laughed, "I actually have plans, and have to go soon, but I'll walk with you down to the cafeteria on my way out."

Neither of the men noticed the knowing look Sarah gave to Ellie as they stood to head toward the door. When they got to the cafeteria, Ellie stayed with them while they ordered and paid for their food so that they could use her employee discount before heading out. Her brother thanked her for coming by and gave her a hug and Stephen did the same. When it was finally Sarah's turn, she whispered in Ellie's ear what outfit she'd recommend if the older woman was ready to give her beau the shock and awe treatment. Ellie giggled at the suggestion and, with one last wave to her family, headed out the door, hopeful anticipation for the night ahead thrilling through her.

After dinner was finished, Stephen bid his Chuck and Sarah good night, promising to come for a visit in a few days. A round of hugs was shared between the older man and the young couple and Stephen ambled off to the lot where his old jeep was parked to head back to his Encino home.

Sarah and Chuck exchanged small talk on the way back to Chuck's room, while Sarah pushed his chair back to the ward that would be his home until he was cleared to return to the condo he shared with his sister.

"Babe, I know you're anxious to get back home," Sarah soothed when Chuck began to grumble about being stuck at the hospital. "I personally can't wait until we are able to go home."

"'We?'" Chuck's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, we," Sarah confirmed, "Ellie invited me to move in a couple weeks after you were shot because she was concerned that I wasn't getting enough sleep."

"So, you're living with Ellie now?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, just waiting to fully move in until you come home," She shrugged, "Didn't want to completely take over your room without your input on how to make it ours."

"So, I went from single but having a cover girlfriend, to having an actual girlfriend, to living together with her all in the span of about a week?" He challenged.

"Well, to be fair the decision was made a month ago or so," Sarah hedged as she set the breaks so that he could transfer to his bed, "Are you really complaining?"

"No, just making sure I understand everything that is going on," Chuck smiled up at her as he quickly made the transfer and got situated in his bed, "Although, we probably should be looking for our own place somewhat soon. That is if bringing Molly home is still the plan."

"Yes, that's still the plan," Sarah hesitantly agreed, "You'd really be okay with that?"

"Of course, I'd be okay with it," Chuck scoffed, "She's your daughter you literally went through Hell to save her."

"There's still the Ryker issue to consider," She pointed out.

"I know," Chuck nodded, "I have a few ideas about how to deal with him, but they'll have to wait until we get home."

"What do you have planned?" She asked.

"Well, you see, I have a particular set of skills," Chuck teased, then looked a little uncomfortable, "Have you ever heard of a hacker called Piranha?"

Sarah looked over at him and he bounced his eyes suggestively at her in one of the most unsubtle ways known to man. Her eyes widened as she understood the implications, "Oh my God, he's you?"

"Yeah, I'm the Piranha," Chuck nodded.

"That actually explains a lot," Sarah huffed, "Especially how about how Ellie reacted when we told her about our real jobs."

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked.

"Well, in the course of explaining how you came to work for us, she asked me to explain to her what an 'asset' is." Sarah explained, "She let something slip that made it seem like we conscripted you due to illegal activities. Now I know it was because she thought we found out about your hacking. Oh man, Casey and Beckman are going to be so pissed when they find out. Do you know how long the NSA has been trying to track Piranha to conscript them?"

"Somewhere in the ballpark of the ten or so years since my Piranha alias first became active?" He guestimated.

"Something like that," She nodded, "I know I heard scuttlebutt about them looking for you when I was at the farm, training, at sixteen."

"You were sixteen when you went to the farm?" Chuck's eyes widened.

"Technically, yes," Sarah shrugged, "I don't think Graham knew initially since when he conscripted me to avoid jail time, my alias was an 18-year-old high school senior. Dad and I moved around so much when I was a kid, I was homeschooled until I was 14, but by then I'd completed my coursework up to junior year. So, when dad created my Jenny Burton alias, he said I was 16 entering my junior year."

"So, you're actually two years younger than me?" Chuck looked at his girlfriend for verification.

"More like a year and a half, but yes," She nodded, "I was born in April of '83 and you're September of '81, but we've veered off topic here. The point was that the NSA has been looking for you for a long time and had no idea they'd had you working with them these last couple years."

"It's not like I've really hidden my abilities either," Chuck shrugged, "Granted I haven't overtly hacked… much… where they could see, but they had to have noticed that I have above average skills when it came to technology."

"I think they wrote it off to the fact you were a computer science major in college," Sarah admitted.

"You do realize that most hackers have, are working toward, or plan to major in computer science and/or technology-related programs in college, right?" Chuck asked, "Seriously, anytime you need to find a hacker, start at the universities, especially those near big tech hubs like San Francisco, LA, Seattle, Cambridge, Tokyo… you get the idea. Of course, I would never tell any of the agencies this, and clearly, the hackers they've already conscripted haven't either. Otherwise, the Bryce situation wouldn't have happened, I would have been conscripted by at least the end of my freshman year."

"Don't worry, I won't tell them either," Sarah assured him, "Although, you may want to clue Casey and Beckman in on it at some point."

"What about Graham?" Chuck asked.

"He died three months ago," Sarah informed him, "That was the one part about the mission I didn't tell you about. We got lucky after you got shot, the cypher was in your jacket pocket when you fell. You landed in just a way that it never fell out of your pocket, I was able to retrieve it before the medics took you away. We sent it off to Washington, but it was a Trojan horse. When they plugged it into the Intersect computer, the incendiary devices that were disguised within the hardware blew, taking out Graham and six other agents."

"I'm sorry," Chuck spoke softly, catching the curious look from Sarah, "I know he was your mentor and a father-ish figure to you after your dad was imprisoned."

"Graham was a bastard, plain and simple," Sarah shook her head, "He figured out my true age before I left for the farm, he turned me into a killer before I turned 18. His only redeeming quality was not allowing me to be trained in seduction until I was of legal age. Granted conscripting me to the CIA saved me from jail time, but he had his own agenda, and it certainly wasn't for my benefit."

"I'm still sorry," Chuck reached out and took her hand in his.

"Thanks," Sarah nodded.

"How about this? Once I'm cleared to actually go home, we figure out a way to clue Casey and Beckman in on my skills with the typety-typety," Chuck smiled at her.

"Speaking of the 'typety-typety,'" Sarah smirked, "What exactly is your plan with that and dealing with Ryker."

"Simple explanation is I track him down by way of my supreme hacking prowess," Chuck leaned forward and gave her a teasing grin, "After that, let you, or Casey – because you know Uncle Sugar Bear is going to want to be involved once we tell him what Ryker had planned to do – take it from there. I always imagined it would involve that catsuit you wore when you worked with the C.A.T. Squad and Casey up in a sniper's nest."

"I'm not wearing the catsuit, I can tell you that right now," Sarah arched an eyebrow at him, "I might model it for you in the privacy of our room, but that thing is never going to be seen in public ever again."

"I guess I can live with that," Chuck shrugged.

"You're gonna have to," Sarah stated definitively.

"I do have one question," Chuck lifted his right forefinger as if making a point, "When do I get to meet Molly?"

"Depends on how close Ryker is to finding her," Sarah admitted, "If he's far off the mark and can't get to her, as soon as you are allowed to go home. If he's getting close to find her, then it probably won't be until after Ryker has been dealt with."

"Neither of which we can figure out from here," Chuck sighed and laid back on his bed with a sigh, "To do what I want to do in order to track down Ryker, I need more than the generic, mid-range connection the hospital's wi-fi allows. I guess for now, we wait."

"I've been waiting for two years, Chuck," Sarah sighed, "I want her home with me, I never thought I'd be a mom, I guess I'm still technically not, but I want to be for that little girl."

"You will be," Chuck assured her, reaching out for her hand, and pulling her into the bed with him to snuggle her close, "And you're going to be a great mom. You know how I know? As much as you want her home with us now, I also know that you are willing to wait just a little longer until we are sure the threat to her life is over."

"You're gonna be a great dad, too," Sarah smiled softly, "Especially if you keep up these quasi-inspirational speeches."

"Well, you and Ellie are the only ones I've ever had to quasi-inspire," Chuck joked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "But I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask of you," Sarah admitted then began to giggle when Chuck began humming a piece from 'Phantom of the Opera,' "God, you are such a nerd!"

"Your nerd," Chuck smiled down at her.

"Yeah, you are," She agreed and let him pull her closer.