A/N: Last chapter, Sarah took Chuck to visit Emma and Molly. It all went well.

Thanks again for all the great reviews. Reading them is such a pleasure.

And thanks again to LetsGoRed for being my beta for this work. Each chapter is so much better after I make the changes he suggests.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. If I did happy Charah would have happened so much earlier in the show.

Life After Death

Chapter 7 - Problems

Sarah's apartment, 3 weeks later

After spending every night in her bed, they'd decided they should have a night apart. She shook her head, laughing to herself at that. They had been inseparable.

He'd left that afternoon, and now she'd felt really lonely! She'd spent years alone as an agent, now one night without him and she felt like this!

Her phone rang, bringing her out of that train of thought. She saw it was from Chuck. She grinned. He obviously felt the same! "Hi, Chuck. Lonely?"

There was silence for a while and she wondered if he'd dropped his phone. Then she heard his breathing. "Chuck?"

She could hardly hear him when he replied. "Attacked…"

She tensed, "Where are you?"

"House…" Then silence.

She grabbed her pistol, knives and keys, then dashed out of the apartment.

Chuck's house, twenty minutes later

Sarah saw the black van on the drive.

She parked on the road out of sight of the house and crept closer.

All her spy instincts were in full force. Even though she had her pistol and knives, she had realized on the way over that now she was no longer an agent, so brandishing a weapon, even her knives, could get her arrested. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she knew she had to just use non-lethal force. She had left the weapons in her car. Her body would be the weapon used here.

Now, looking into the front window, she could see two men gathering up Chuck's music and home theater equipment. The back of the van was open and she could see his laptop and a server already there.

The front door was closed. They'd presumably gone in that way, but were using the back door to bring things out.

She used the key Chuck had given her to open the front door and quietly crept in.

Upstairs, she could hear one set of footsteps, so someone was up there too.

Chuck was lying on the floor further down the hall away from the stairs. He had a knife wound in his right arm near his shoulder and a slash across his chest. He was bleeding from both and looking very pale. He was tied up with a gag in his mouth. His cell phone was a crushed mess on the floor beside him. He looked at her and was obviously panicking, whether for himself or her, she didn't know.

She smiled at him, hoping it looked reassuring.

She crept up the stairs, intent on taking out the single person first. She could hear drawers being pulled out of cabinets and thrown on the floor from the room at the back of the house. She crept closer. Looking in, she saw the room was a mess. A short man was facing away from her, continuing the mess creation. Electronic items lay on the bed, next to a black bag, obviously to carry things out.

It took only seconds for Sarah to quietly creep up behind him, one chop to his neck and he started to slump down. She caught him and lowered him to the bed, then tied his wrists and ankles with clip ties from her belt.

One down, two to go.

She was part way down the stairs when both started out of the front room, discussing what else they would take. The first spotted her and called out. Chuck started to get up to intercept and was roughly pushed away. Falling backwards, the back of his head hit the door frame to the kitchen. Sarah heard the loud crack, but had to push that to the back of her mind. She had two enemies attacking her and would be no good to Chuck if she didn't deal with them quickly.

They rushed to the stairs only to be met with her heels hitting their chests. She dropped to the floor, just beyond the stairs. Both went down, but got up to face her again.

Chuck lay fading in and out of consciousness, but it looked like she just jumped in the air and with one swift twist, kicked both in the head with her right foot.

He was sinking into unconsciousness when he felt her cool hand on his face.

The last hour had been a blur.

After knocking the men out and tying them up, an automatic response. She remembered that loud crack. When she saw Chuck, in a pool of blood, her first thought was that he was dead. She knew he meant a lot to her, but the overwhelming sense of loss made her drop to her knees. For a minute she couldn't get up as the tears poured out and pooled in front of her. She finally managed to crawl to him.

She gasped, "Oh God! You're alive!" She wrapped her arms around him, kissing every part of his face. Then she realized that she needed help. Unlike in the CIA, nobody would be coming without her reaching out.

She'd called the police after the ambulance service. They berated her over the phone, both for tackling the three men on her own and for not calling them first. She had no time for them. Chuck was unconscious in her arms. The ambulance service was more important.

Her first thought had been to take him herself, but she knew that in the real world, following the normal process was important. She didn't want the questioning on why she was bringing in an unconscious shot victim.

Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quickly. They checked him and told her they thought it wasn't serious, but he needed to go to the hospital in Los Angeles. She knew she had to hand over the three men to the police, who still hadn't arrived, damn them, so she couldn't go with him. She felt like her heart was being ripped out watching the ambulance door close and him being taken from her.

The police arrived a couple of minutes later, but it took thirty minutes to explain what had happened, who Chuck was, who she was and her past employment, and for them to take the men and leave. They said they would talk to Chuck the next day, assuming he regained consciousness.

Finally, she was able to lock up and head to the hospital.

Westside Hospital

She was getting really pissed at the officious hospital staff.

"If you're not family, we can't tell you where he is." That from the main reception. She'd brushed passed them and went to the emergency room, the most likely location. "If you're not family, you can't go in."

Sarah phoned his sister, Ellie Woodcomb, seeking help, glad that Chuck had insisted on Sarah having the number. It had taken a little while to explain who she was and then why she was calling. Thankfully his sister and her husband, Devon, had worked here until they'd left for Chicago, so knew who to contact to get her through.

Now she was outside the room in which the doctors were treating him. A nurse had told her the doctors were nearly finished and she would soon be able to go in. She couldn't sit. If she did, she'd start crying again. She hadn't cried since she was seven! Now she was a blubbering mess, all because of this man!

She paced up and down.

The door opened and a doctor in his fifties came to talk to her. "Please sit down, so I can talk to you before you go in."

She sat and he sat next to her. "The head wound is not severe, but because he is still unconscious, we will keep him overnight and see what he's like in the morning."

"But he's going to be okay, isn't he?" she asked nervously.

"He should be. We'll see in the morning, like I said."

She nodded.

"The knife wounds have been treated. The chest wound was superficial, but has bled a lot. The arm wound much deeper, and also bled a lot, but both should heal eventually. He won't be able to use that arm for a while though."

"Can I see him?"

He nodded. "You can."

"Can I stay with him overnight?"

"Normally, no. But I think if he wakes, he probably will need a friendly face. The trauma from the attack will stay with him for some time, but the early interaction will help."

She knew about the trauma from the times she'd recovered from attacks. She'd never had anyone to be with her, but she would be there for Chuck.

When she entered the room, she rushed to him. She sat next to his bed on the side by his good arm. She took hold of his hand. It was cold, as was hers. She sat like that for hours, not wanting to go to sleep herself.

Westside Hospital, following morning

Sarah woke when a nurse came in to check on Chuck. She had her head on the side of the bed. Her hand was still holding his. Her back hurt from the position she'd been in.

Looking at her watch, she saw it was 6am.

Chuck was still unconscious.

The nurse noticed her anxious look. "He's doing fine. His pulse is fairly regular now. He may wake soon."

"Thank you." Sarah replied.

"You should get yourself something," the nurse started.

"I'm not leaving him." As the nurse nodded and left, Sarah thought, I'm not leaving him ever again!

Thirty minutes later, Chuck's eyes fluttered. Sarah sat up, waiting.

Chuck opened his eyes, but scrunched them shut again due to the brightness. In a croaky voice, he said, "Sarah?"

She tightened her grip on his hand. "I'm here, Chuck."

"Water…"

She reached for the jug and poured water into one of the cups and held it to his dry lips. He sipped then leaned back into his pillow.

The nurse came rushing back in. She briefly looked at Sarah, "I noticed a change on the monitors." Turning to Chuck, smiling, she said, "Welcome back, Mr Bartowski."

"Chuck," he said.

"Chuck." Turning to Sarah again, she said, before walking back out, "I'll call for the doctor."

While they waited, Sarah couldn't stop herself from getting up and kissing him gently. Tears were pouring down her face again.

"Hey. Don't cry." Chuck said.

"Of course, I'll cry, Chuck! You were stabbed AND knocked unconscious for ten hours!" She hadn't meant to raise her voice.

"I'm sorry."

Her look softened. "Until I know what happened, don't be sorry." She then gave him an exasperated look. "Of course, if you did anything stupid, you probably WILL be sorry, mister."

He chuckled.

They let him go after monitoring him for the morning and part of the afternoon.

They were both silent on the way back to his house. Both deep in thought.

Chuck's house

On arriving at his house, Sarah sat Chuck down on the sofa and went and got him a water.

They discussed what had happened that awful night.

Chuck had arrived at his house and found a van on his drive. Without thinking, he got out and walked to the van to ask why they were there.

The men had only just arrived and had thought the owner was away as no one had been there for days, while they'd watched the house. They were going to break in round the back, but, luck would have it, the keys arrived!

Chuck had been grabbed and threatened with a knife. He'd tried to resist and received the stab wound in his left arm to "encourage" him to open up.

On entering, he'd been hit over the head and knocked out. He hadn't mentioned that at the hospital.

When he'd woken, he'd managed to call Sarah, but had been spotted and the knife wound on his chest had resulted, along with the phone being snatched, dropped and stamped on.

Sarah told him never to challenge people like that and he'd agreed without hesitation. She then held him gently, rocking. He'd dozed off in her arms.

Her mind was playing through the events and how she could have prevented it. One idea came to mind and she thought about it while he slept.

He woke from a nightmare and she held and soothed him. This just firmed up her mind.

Chuck's house, 2 days later

She'd stayed with him overnight both nights since he left the hospital. He'd woken several times each night sweating. The nightmares were all about being stabbed.

During the first day he'd just sat quietly. No expression on his face, unless Sarah asked him something. Even then, he'd just answer and then continue to stare into space. She'd held him a lot and that did seem to help him.

On the second day, in the middle of the morning, he looked up at her and his expression was quite animated. She smiled, "Watcha thinking, Chuck?"

"You! You were amazing! My kick-ass guardian angel!"

He then got her to talk him through what she'd done on arriving that night.

"Awesome!"

Later that morning, she had taken everything from the temporary apartment in Echo Park. She would move in with Chuck. That was the decision she'd made and Chuck hadn't put up any objection. "I wanted to ask you, but thought you'd want to retain your independence."

"Screw that!" she'd replied, "I am not leaving you alone again!"

As she brought her things in, she reflected their time together from first meeting to now, her moving in with him.

They'd been together now for nearly five weeks and their relationship was getting better and better. Sarah had never been in love before, but was sure that that was what this was.

Some might call this a whirlwind romance and that they were moving too fast, but she knew he was the one.

In two weeks, his sister would be coming to visit from Chicago. After Sarah's call, Ellie had berated him for keeping Sarah a secret. When he stated that she really was his girlfriend, the squeal Sarah heard must have hurt his ears and woken the whole neighborhood in Chicago. So, meeting Ellie and her family would be interesting.

The stories he'd told her about his sister had made her quite envious. She'd been an only child and had no siblings. To have someone like that would have been wonderful. If she had had a sister, maybe she would have stayed with her mom and sister and not gone on the cons with her dad. Her life would have been so different. All the terrible things she'd done, both with her dad and the CIA, would never have happened.

Wistfully thinking about this alternative path did, however, make her think about what it would have been like now. She'd probably have stayed local and never travelled far from home. Would that have been so bad? She'd travelled to many far-off places, but she'd never actually seen those places in a meaningful way, just done the missions. She'd probably have met someone and married and, possibly, had kids. But would she be as happy as she was with Chuck? Would she be as in love with that other person as she was with Chuck? She couldn't imagine that.

Hearing the door open, she looked up at the love of her life. No, she could never love anyone like she loved this wonderful man.

"So, you're here to stay." It wasn't a question, but felt a bit like one.

"Of course? Are you having second thoughts?" She was getting worried now.

"NO, but your case is still by the front door, so I started to get worried."

She smiled. They both had some insecurities that they needed to work on. "I'm here to stay," she said with finality. "You now have a live-in girlfriend, who has no intention of leaving. Ever!"

The huge grin on his face made her grin back. He moved forward and swept her off her feet, twirling her around while kissing her.

Her peal of laughter was music to his ears. "God, I love you, Sarah Walker."

This was the first time either had said that, but she had no hesitation replying, "And I love you, Chuck Bartowski, but be careful of your arm and chest."

Chuck and Sarah's house, a week later

Moving in with her clothes and personal effects had taken very little time. She'd accomplished that in half an hour that day, a week earlier. Moving in her weapons had been a bit harder.

"Why do you need all these guns and knives, Sarah?" He was shocked at the number of weapons, but also didn't like them in the house.

She sat him down and held his hands. "Chuck, I need to keep weapons available in case my past follows me. I've put away, or killed, so many, it's possible that someone may hunt me down."

He looked frightened, "So, are we in danger?"

She smiled, "Not with my weapons cache here."

In the end, they adapted his sofa to accommodate a storage unit built in which they could unlock if needed.

The gun under her pillow was the next crisis, but the same explanation applied, so he relented there too. That would slip under the mattress during the day.

So now, a week later, they were preparing for the Woodcomb visit.

Sarah had seen pictures of the beautiful brunette. It was easy to see the resemblance to her boyfriend. Ellie's husband, Devon, she already knew, was a very athletic looking man. Not the look Sarah would have associated with a heart surgeon, a leader in his field. The pictures of them together reminded Sarah of how she felt around Chuck. Obviously in love. Their daughter, Clara, was a happy looking 4-year-old and their son, Liam, a healthy 2-year-old. Together, they looked like the perfect family.

She hoped they would like her. She'd told him that she wasn't going to hide what she'd done until now, but would not share details. Would they accept her into their family?

She had no doubt that she wanted to be married to this amazing man. He hadn't shown anything to indicate he wouldn't want that, but they had never discussed it. She wasn't sure how much acceptance from Ellie, his surrogate mother, would affect his thought for the future.

She'd do everything she could to win Ellie's approval.

Chuck's old office, ten days later

Sitting at the desk she'd been using, Sarah looked at the screen in front of her. She'd been working up the business plan for six weeks now. She felt it was starting to come together.

Her next conversation with Chuck would be around finances. How much was everything going to cost and she would then help him decide where to seek money, unless he already had enough, as he'd suggested last week. She didn't believe that and thought he was not considering everything. She would work it through with him over the next week.

Part of future costs would include office space. He was planning to leave the current office to Morgan who would continue to run the old business. In fact, she was sitting at Morgan's desk at the moment, as he was away.

They still needed a marketing plan and to understand who to pitch it to first, but she would consider that next.

She pushed all these thoughts away. She needed to prepare for the Woodcomb visit in two days.

Chuck thought they could just go out for all meals, but she knew that was unrealistic, so wanted to be able to feed them at home. She had never cooked before, but that was because she had never had the opportunity to host. She was determined to try and bought a cookbook that was full of simple, but enticing recipes.

She just needed to get the ingredients on her way home and then follow the instructions. This will be easy, won't it?

A/N: So, Sarah has now moved in with Chuck and they are both happy together. Next chapter Ellie is visiting them.

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