A/N: Last chapter retold S3E9, where the team foiled an attempt by the Ring to get access to the intel in Castle, but in the process Morgan found the base and discovered his friend was involved, along with a CIA agent and one from the NSA; all people he knew.
This chapter is the retelling of S3E10, "Chuck versus the Tic Tac"
Still mostly positive reviews. If you left one, I thank you.
Thanks, again, to my pre-reader, JohnnyRayChandlett, for all his help on this.
Disclaimer: No ownership of Chuck is implied.
Prove Yourself
Chapter 16 – Coburn
After a day of excitement with the Ring getting into Castle and Chuck being captured in there with Morgan, today, they would take a day off from missions and from the Buy More and just chill out together.
This morning, when her slumbering boyfriend woke they would have to get up and talk about feelings and actions, once again. She had made mistakes yesterday, as had he. They hadn't talked about it, last night. Morgan coming around had been important for the two friends to bond after Chuck had been lying to Morgan for so long, and it also gave Sarah a chance to get back into Morgan's good books after the revelations about her. She had been worried that Morgan would treat her differently, but that wasn't the case; the little guy seemed to like her even more. She suspects he now views her as mix of one of his superheroes (Wonder Woman, was it?) and a female James Bond.
Lying here with her head resting on her lover's chest, she now felt content again. His chest rising and falling as he breathed and his heart beating were both part of what made her content, reminding her how her life had changed. She loved both, things that she never would have expected.
She had never slept like this before. Bryce had been 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' and then sleeping facing away from each other, then rising immediately for a new day. That had suited her as well. Sex with Bryce, she now realizes, had just been a release after missions, nothing more. She wasn't ashamed of it, because she hadn't known any better, but she was incredibly happy she had found meaning in her life now.
It was so different with Chuck; it was an expression of their love for each other and something she could never get enough of wherever they were and whatever they had been doing. It was intoxicating, addictive.
It wasn't just that Chuck was such an amazing lover, although he was, but it was her feelings for him and his feeling for her, too. She had, quite obviously, never been in love before. Now she was so deeply in love with Chuck, it was almost frightening.
She realizes now, that being in love with him was a large part of with his rejection in Prague had hurt so much. Yes, rejection and betrayal played into her fears and insecurities, but the loss of the person she loved so much had torn her apart; both her heart and mind had been shattered by that loss.
Now she had him back in her life and in such a wonderful way, she was almost overwhelmed with her feelings and affection for this man beneath her.
When he had mentioned 'forever' it should have panicked her, but hadn't. It had made her think about what it would be like without him. She couldn't imagine that being anything but feeling like death with half of her ripped from the other half. Soulmates torn apart. So, yes, forever was what she wanted too. Whatever happened with this damned Intersect, she would never leave Chuck Bartowski. He was her forever.
His breathing changes, so she knows he is awakening. He doesn't move, knowing that he loved waking finding he on him. On the occasions that she got up first, he had been scared she had left him, so if she did get up, she made sure to make enough noise in the kitchen or lounge, that he knew she was still there, but she loved his reaction to her lying on top of him, so preferred to stay like this.
"Morning, beautiful!" his voice rumbles through his chest as much as reaches her exposed ear.
"Morning, my love," she replies, happily.
The rumble and his words continue. "You know I love you lying on me like this, but I still miss looking into your gorgeous eyes."
She pushes herself up and looks adoringly into his beautiful chocolate eyes. "Love your eyes, too, Chuck." She beams at him.
"And your wonderful smile. I love you so much, Sarah," he almost chokes with the emotion.
She pulls herself up his body, intending to kiss him. "Is that all I am to you, Chuck? Eyes, lips and teeth?" she teases.
Before their lips meet, he replies, "OH, so much more than that. I worship your whole body, especially naked like this."
She had intended it to be a gentle brushing of lips, but those words get to her, so she smashes her lips to his in a passionate kiss. A kiss which leads to so much more passionate expression of their love for each other.
She knows she should teasingly call him out on his quip about her whole body, but, what he is doing to her now is the sort of worship that makes her totally okay with his sentiments.
They've just finished a very late breakfast and she's pulled him over to sit on the couch.
He smiles at her. "Another 'we need to talk' session?"
She puts on a serious face. "We do need to talk, Mr. Bartowski." She can't hold that expression for long and bursts out laughing.
Thankfully, he knew her well now and wasn't fooled by the expression one bit and had already started to pull her to him, even before she starting laughing.
After a loving kiss, she pushes away from him. "We do need to talk, though."
He smiles. "Okay, Sarah." He takes on a serious expression and says in a gravelly voice, "Start talking, Agent Walker."
That causes them both to laugh, as well. Then she clears her throat and does start talking. "Chuck, yesterday I really messed up."
He starts to interrupt. "No, yo-"
She cuts him off. "I did, Chuck. I tried to protect your feelings when I realized Devon was the target and sent you away. That was totally stupid, but it was worse than that. I sent you into danger!"
She huffs at herself. "I'm supposed to protect you, Chuck, not endanger you!" she says, angrily.
He holds his hands up. "Woah!"
She shakes her head, places her hand on his cheek and speaks softly, "I'm not angry at you, Chuck. It's me. I hate that I did exactly the opposite of what I am supposed to do."
"And I thank you for sparing me that anguish, Sarah. I would have reacted just like Casey was saying." His soothing voice, calms her a bit, just like it always does, and she knew it always would.
"I also broke my promise to you, doing that. I kept something from you. From now on, Chuck, I don't ever want to keep things from you, nor you me. Or tell each other lies, either. We are partners in all aspects of our work and life; from now I'd like it to be 'no secrets, no lies.' What do you think?"
He looks like he agrees.
He answers with so much warmth in his voice, "God, yes. No secrets, Sarah, and definitely no lies."
She is so happy with his reaction and leans over to kiss him. He obviously wants to deepen the kiss, but she pulls back. "So, I'm going to start with something about me," she tells him.
He leans back as well. "Okay…"
"You already know my middle name, Chuck." He starts to protest and she stops him. "Remember, no lies, Chuck. I know you heard me tell you in my apartment, even though I said it so quietly."
He looks embarrassed. "Yeah, I heard. Lisa."
"She smiles. "That's right. Lisa. Well, I'm going to tell you my first name, as well. It's something we are trained as spy to keep hidden, as it gives someone power over you. The training becomes an indoctrination, part of you, so that it is very hard to actually tell anyone. Same with the rest of your birthname. That's why it was so hard to tell you any of it."
"God, Sarah. And I kept pushing. I'm so sorry," he says, with a pained expression.
She grabs his hand and squeezes gently. "You didn't know, Chuck. You just wanted to know me better and thought that would be an easy thing to tell."
She takes a deep breath. "My name was Samantha Lisa. My mom called me Sam."
"Thank you, Sam," he says, almost breathlessly.
"No, don't call me that. I'm Sarah now. I have been for thirteen years and Sarah is who met you and loves you, which makes it the most important name to me. It's who I am." She tightens her grip on his hand. "Your Sarah."
H pulls her to him and she doesn't stop the kiss this time.
Breathlessly, they separate and she rests her head on his chest. "I love you, Chuck Bartowski."
"I love you, too, Sarah Walker," he says in a voice full of conviction again.
After a few minutes in silent happiness, she pushes away and looks at him again. "I have a lot of secrets, Chuck. It'll take me a while to get the courage to tell you them all. I know I can trust you with them, but some are very dark and I'm terrified you might not want to be with the person that did those things, so I don't want to overwhelm you and send you running."
'Nothing could make me feel like that, Sarah," he says while brushing her hair away from her face.
"Well, I don't want to risk it. Small doses, Chuck, small doses."
He grins at that, "Slowly poisoning me, huh?"
She swats his arm. "It might make you sick of me, Chuck, so joking about poison is not funny."
His face changes. He looks totally serious and places his hands either side of her face. "Nothing could ever make me sick of you, Sarah. Lovesick, maybe, but not sick."
She smiles. "You are good at saying things to make me happy, Chuck."
"Good, but they're all true, Sarah." He then pulls her to him for another kiss.
It is a few minutes before either speak again.
She pulls away. "We also need to talk about actions, Chuck."
He visibly gulps. "You're thinking about me going into Castle with Morgan."
"Yes, but my actions too," she replies. "We both did things that we shouldn't. I sent you away and you acted like a spy and went into a dangerous situation. Neither of those things should have happened without talking to each other."
He just looks at her for a few seconds, obviously trying to decide how to reply. "I agree you should have talked to me before sending me away, but going was the right thing to do, it led to me saving Castle, so I am not upset, but would have liked to decide to go myself."
She is a bit surprised. "Would you have gone, if you knew Devon and Ellie were at risk?"
He grunts. "Well. Maybe not."
"She folds her arms. "I think 'definitely not'. You would've tried to save them."
His shoulders slump down. "Okay. I would have wanted to be involved."
Sarah raises one eyebrow. "And not go into 'save Ellie' mode?"
He blushes. "Okay, you got me. You were right to do what you did."
She shakes her head. "No, I wasn't. I should have told you and then persuaded you that Casey and I could save them. We're the agent, not you. Keeping you out of the loop was wrong. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted, Sarah."
She relaxes a bit, then thinks about what he did. "Instead of trying to save your sister and brother-in-law, you tried to save Castle! That was stupid, Chuck, and scared me to death."
His face is now losing the pink color. "I know it looks that way, Sarah, but that's not quite how it happened."
She grips his hand and implores him to say more. "Tell me, Chuck and we can think of how it could've been better."
"Morgan had heard them say they were going to blow up the base under the Buy More. I said we had to evacuate the store, but by then the staff, including Big Mike had barricaded themselves in. We didn't have time to persuade them to leave. I wasn't just saving Castle, but the Buy More staff as well, Sarah."
She hung her head. "I didn't know that."
"And Morgan wanted to save them. He went first, just after I called you to let you know. I had to go with him."
Sarah couldn't argue with that, apart from, "Couldn't you control him, keep him out of there?"
He shrugs. "Morgan's hard to control, Sarah."
She has to get him to understand. "You are going to HAVE to control him now, Chuck. His life, your life, Ellie and Devon's lives, even Casey's and my life, are all dependent on that, Chuck."
He gulps. "I hadn't thought about that, Sarah."
"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to start, Chuck." She stares at him for a few seconds, to emphasize the importance of her words, then holds her arms open to him and softly says, "And I will help in any way I can, my love."
He lifts his arms and moves into her, wrapping his around her, with her head on his chest. They hug like that for a couple of minutes.
"Chuck?" Sarah quietly asks, without moving.
"Hmm?"
In a very subdued voice, she continues, still with her head on his chest, "With the Intersect 2.0, you don't need my protection anymore, do you?"
He's silent for a while, then says, "I still need your guidance and help deciding what to do, Sarah, but no, probably not the protection."
"You're also doing a lot of things that a spy would be expected to do." She pushes away from him to ask the next question while looking at him. "Do you want to be a spy, Chuck?"
He shakes his head. "I won't kill anyone, Sarah."
"What if you didn't have to do the Red Test? Would you, then?" she questions.
He sits and thinks for a couple of minutes. "No, I don't think so. I prefer how we've been doing things, with you and Casey being the spies and me supporting. I'll help if I can, but let you do the hard work."
She grins. "I don't think what you do is easy, either."
He grins back at her. "Maybe not, but that's just using my brain, not my non-existent muscles!"
"Hey!" She slaps his arm. "They're not like that anymore! You're insulting my analyst boyfriend!"
He rubs his arm, but still smiles. "Thank you, Sarah. You ground me; you make me feel better than I think I should. You make me so much stronger."
She hugs him again. "I know. You do the same to me, Chuck. Part of why I love you."
"I love you too, Sarah." He hugs her tighter to him.
That evening, Chuck has gone out to see his sister and brother-in-law for a chat. He didn't want Sarah to go as well, thinking Devon might still have a problem after seeing her at the hotel. She decided to have a long soak in the bath, something she hasn't done for a long, long time.
She has gotten out and dried herself and is now in one of Chuck's t-shirts and a pair of shorts. She is just settling down on the couch with a glass of red wine, when Chuck comes in, looking perturbed.
"What's up, Chuck?" she asks.
"Sarah, I've just sent Morg packing. He was spying on Casey and an older guy in Casey's apartment."
She shakes her head. "Ohh, that's not a good idea."
Chuck continues talking as if she hasn't said anything. "Morg said he thought Casey was getting a mission; on his own. I said we only get missions together, given to us by Beckman."
Swirling her wine in the glass, she comments, "Well, that's not exactly true, is it? Beckman was giving us one without Casey recently."
He still ignores her and continues to ramble. "When Casey's door opened, the older guy said to Casey, 'Pleasure working with you again, old friend.' So, it does sound like Casey has one without us."
She calmly says, "Don't worry about it, Chuck. You're letting Morgan's thoughts into your head."
The general starts the briefing the next morning. "Good morning, team. Your task this week is a Trace Cell Mission."
Chuck interrupts her, "Uh, excuse me, a Trace Cell?"
Sarah replies, "It means spy-proofing our own security."
Beckman continues, "The CIA's most valuable assets are held in a subterranean vault at our Los Angeles facility. You'll need to break through 15 levels of security to get there."
Casey asks, "Is it just us, General."
"Yes, Colonel." She looks at all three of them. "You have your orders. Good luck." She leans forward and the screen clears.
"She's not giving us much, is she?" Chuck complains.
Sarah grips his hand, before he spirals. "We will work with what we've gotten, Chuck, so, please, stay focused. We are up against the best security in the world tonight."
Casey starts to turn away, but says, "Our own."
Chuck looks at him, then back to Sarah, with a mixture of fear and uncertainty in his expression.
She squeezes his hand. "Don't freak out, Chuck. We can do this."
They have started at the facility and have gotten through Level 1 and up the stair. Casey is ahead and walked through. Sarah points to the door at the end of the corridor. "That's the door to level two."
Chuck smirks, "A hallway. Well, seems easy enough." He goes to walk forward, but Casey and Sarah both hold him back.
Casey pulls a coin out of his pocket and flips it down the corridor, triggering darts to cross it, all the way down.
When Chuck manages to close his mouth after the resulting shock, he says, eloquently, "Oh."
Casey comments, "This is where you flash."
Sarah grips Chuck's hand and leans up to him, stating, "Just relax, Chuck, you've got time. Nobody's banging down on the door."
He flashes then moves forward, somersaulting his way down, just like he had at the vault all those days ago.
He gets to the other side and presses the door release and Sarah watches the door open behind him.
He calls to them, "Mission accomplished."
As she walks forward, she replies, "Pace yourself, Chuck, we've got fourteen more levels." She realizes she is using her controlled spy voice, so when she reaches Chuck, she stands on tip toes and kisses his cheek.
Casey grunts, disapprovingly. Sarah smiles at that. Casey would probably almost relish 14 more levels of danger, but 14 more levels of 'lady feelings' he'd feel would be almost life-threatening.
As Casey leads them through the door from Level 15, they all are feeling tired and achy. Sarah rubs her neck, trying to ease the muscles there.
Casey comments, "That was manageable."
Sarah walks over to the control panel and opens the door.
As he walks forward, Casey points at Sarah. "Now, Walker, watch the door." He continues through the door.
She's a bit pissed at that, but nods and let's Chuck passed. The door closes behind him.
Waiting is boring, but she controls her heartbeat and relaxes. She's been a spy for a long time and knows how to be patient. Spying is a waiting game, after all.
It's not long before the door opens and she can walk through. Casey has his back to her, but Chuck, facing him, swallows and looks at her with an expressionless face.
She walks up next to Casey as he looks down to his bag, putting something in it. She asks, "Everything okay?"
Casey looks up at Chuck, who says, "Yeah."
She can tell a lie instantly. It's like a gut punch. We said no lies, Chuck!
She nods and turns to leave in front of them. I will find out later!
They've just gotten home and Sarah has just managed to get changed. She wants to talk to Chuck, but doesn't get the chance before she hears a knock at the apartment door, then Chuck opening it. It could be anybody, damn it!
She rushes out of the bedroom reaching for the gun behind her back, but stops when she hears Devon's voice. "Chuck, hey. I need you to do me a solid, bro. I need you to help Ellie commit to Doctors Without Borders."
Sarah relaxes and just leans on the door frame, listening to the conversation.
Chuck answers, "What? I-I... I thought that she did."
Devon replies, "Yeah, well, so did I, but I think it all hit her today that it meant leaving LA and leaving you. Now, she's gonna come to you and I need you to back me up on this, bro."
There's more knocking on the door. Devon states, "That's probably her now."
Chuck says, "Okay." Then he opens the door again.
Sarah now hears Chuck's sister. "Is Devon here?"
He must have muttered something, because Ellie then says, "Chuck, I got it."
He says, "You... you got 'it'? What is it?" He pauses then says, "What is this?" Another pause, then, "Ellie, Ellie, this is amazing. Oh, my God. Neurology fellowship at USC? You've wanted this since you were in Middle School."
Sarah can't keep away on hearing this and walks through. Neither sibling hears her.
Ellie is looking excited. "I know, I know." Then her expression changes. "But what do I do? Doctors Without Borders is the only thing that Devon has been excited about in weeks."
Sarah has joined them by this time and places her hand on Ellie's arm, while Chuck receives a text and reads it. He quickly puts his phone back in his pocket and looks up at his sister. "Yeah, well, you know, sometimes your dream job isn't always what you expect it to be."
Sarah nods. How right you are, Chuck. How right you are.
She had received her text from Casey after Chuck had received his, which was odd. It had simply said.
Castle. Now!
Thankfully, Ellie had left and Devon shortly afterwards.
"Must be Beckman," she had said to Chuck and pulled him out of the apartment and to her car.
Chuck had been preoccupied by Ellie's situation, so she hadn't been able to talk to him as they had driven back to Castle.
The urgency had made her focus on driving as fast as she could, so she didn't disturb his thoughts.
The three of them are now facing the screen and a very upset General Beckman, who says, "Unfortunately, your mission at the CIA facility was a day too late. The vault had already been compromised and a new drug called Laudanol was stolen. Military scientists were able to create a prototype pill that could suppress emotions in battlefield soldiers, make them stronger, faster, fearless."
Chuck sat up. "Wait a minute, no fear? Could that help me flash?"
Sarah turns to him. "Well, maybe, but then you wouldn't feel anything, Chuck."
He replies with a gleam in his eye, "Right, but I could work... perfectly."
Sarah didn't like the sound of that. You're perfect now, my love. She doesn't say anything, however.
The general replies, "We'll never know unless we get it back. We think this might have been an inside job. Only a handful of our people knew the Laudanol was being kept in box 092407."
Chuck grins and waves his finger at the general. "Oh, yes. I get it now, you're good. You are good, General. You guys, you are good, very good. This is a test, right?"
Casey growls at him, "Bartowski."
Sarah thinks Casey looks menacingly. Yes, Chuck shouldn't talk to the general like that, but why that expression?
Chuck rambles on. "First there was turning an asset, now this time it's, 'Chuck, will you betray your country or will you turn in your friend and partner, John Casey, for stealing the pill? I'll play ball, okay? Guilty. He did it."
Sarah's mouth had been hanging open throughout that speech. That must have been why Chuck was behaving strangely earlier.
The general leans forward, "Are you positive you saw Colonel Casey take the pill, Mr. Bartowski?"
Chuck looks at Casey, who has a stony look on his face.
Chuck immediately says, "Yeah." Then he looks at Casey, rubs his lips and replies, "No? No. No, I would... I would actually not use the word 'positive.' It was very poorly lit in that, um... I... I'm wrong half the time."
As he says this, Sarah is looking at her gun on the table in front of her, wondering if she could get to that before Casey pulls his own out.
The general takes off her glasses and asks, "So... Colonel Casey? Would you care to respond?"
As Casey turns to the general, Sarah again looks at her gun but does not pick it up.
It's Casey, she thinks. Whatever he did, we are partners.
Chuck then goes into one of his fast spirals. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second. Let's just all take a breath here, okay? John Casey is one of the most loyal spies out there. He would never do anything to jeopardize the CIA. Casey, tell them!"
Casey looks at the general for a few seconds, then quietly says, "With all due respect, General, I will exercise my right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."
Chuck can't seem to shut up. "What are you doing?"
The general simply says, "Agent Walker, please relieve the colonel of his weapon."
Sarah walks around the table with the understanding that had developed over more than two years of having each other's back and asks him point-blank, "John, you want to tell me what's going on?"
There is stubborn despair in his eyes, but also a morsel of respect when he realizes that she is unarmed and offers him her trust. She can see that he will not betray that trust.
With a nod in his eyes indicating that he means no harm, he slowly pulls his gun out and pointing the barrel down, away from Sarah, places it on the table.
No one speaks. Sarah shoves the gun to the side, not even picking it up.
"I'm sorry, you know, protocol..." she says, curious and, she has to admit, a bit confused about him.
Casey grunts without menace, turns around and puts his arms behind his back. Sarah handcuffs him but spares him the humiliation of gripping his arm and marching him away. She makes a gesture meaning, 'after you'.
Casey grunts again, and this time it is clear that it is gratitude over being treated as honorably as possible, under the circumstances. He steps into the cell she points to, slowly but tensed up. As he sits down, they exchange a glance that assures them their mutual respect, and without letting out the sigh that it is in her chest, her face turns emotionless as she presses the button to close the cell.
Sarah is with the SWAT team who are searching Casey's apartment. She spots that his Bonzi has been knocked over. She walks over towards the man next to it. "Hey, show some respect. This guy was one of the best that we had."
The man replies, "Sorry, ma'am. Still no sign of the Laudanol."
Chuck walks in and pulls Sarah away from everyone else. "Sarah. I just flashed. Casey is being played. His old commanding officer's a guy named James Keller. High up in special ops. He's the guy who turned Casey's former sensei, because now he's a member of the Ring."
She is shocked. "What?"
He continues, "Casey doesn't know anything. We got to talk to him and tell him who this Keller guy really is."
She grips his arm. "We can't. Casey committed treason. And he's still refusing to talk. They're moving him to a black site in Thailand... Outside of US torture jurisdictions."
He looks determined. "When? Tomorrow morning. Okay, then we've got to break him out before then and clear his name."
She replies, "If we do this, and if we get caught, we're gonna be tried for treason, and you're gonna lose everything . We will never get to be together again, Chuck. Is that what you want?"
Part of her wants him to say 'no, I want to be with you,' but deep down she wants him to say, 'yes, for Casey.'
He simply states, "It's Casey, Sarah."
She smiles at him. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Sarah got a definite feeling of déjà vu as she opened the door into the corridor. They stand next to each other looking down the same corridor. She comments, "He's in a holding cell on level 15."
Chuck mutters, "Now all we have to do is just break through the security we just spy-proofed."
She looks at him and replies, in a slightly raised tone, "Well, it's only been 24 hours. I'd be surprised if they fixed anything."
He looks back at his girlfriend, saying, "All right then. Time to save the day." He flashes and starts to somersault down the corridor.
Sarah notices that no bullets start flying, but before she can say anything, Chuck smack face first into a clear screen that they hadn't seen. He slides down that screen.
Sarah rushes to him as he rises, groaning. She reaches for his arm. "Chuck, are you okay?"
He just replies, "Well, that wasn't there before."
An alarm goes off and the lights flash red. She looks behind her, but no one is coming yet. She looks back at Chuck to tell him to move, but hears the lift door behind them open.
One small agent walks over to the console on the wall and swipes a card, while to larger men point rifles at them. The alarm stops and the lights go back to normal. He says, "Alert the general. We've captured two infiltrators." He turns to Chuck and Sarah. "I see you've encountered my new security measures."
Sarah immediately can see a solution to their problem. She smiles at the man and starts to clap. "Well done. Well done." She looks at Chuck while continuing to clap.
Chuck obviously guesses what she is doing. He doesn't clap, but says, "Yeah, really excellent work."
Sarah continues, "You deserve a medal for adjusting all these security measures so quickly."
Chuck furthers their ruse by lifting his cell phone to his ear and starts talking into it. "Yes, General Beckman, the spy-proofing is excellent. Who to thank?"
He looks enquiringly at the man in front of them, who responds, "Uh, Fitzroy. Stanley Fitzroy. It means "son of the king"."
Chuck nods and continues talking into the cell. "Did you get that, General? Fitzroy? Son of the king..." He comments to those with him, "She knew that as well. That's incredible." Continuing with the cell, "Yeah, okay, great." He appears to hang up and puts it back in his pocket.
Chuck holds out his hand. "Uh, my name is Charles Carmichael." They shake hands.
"And this is my partner Sarah Walker." Sarah shakes Fitzroy's hand as well.
The man looks stunned. Sarah is so proud of Chuck's quick action and his totally believable lie.
Fitzroy wakes the other men away, saying, "Uh, we're secure." Turning back to Chuck and Sarah, he apologizes. "Please forgive the intrusion and condescending tone. I wasn't informed that you two were coming. But then that must have been the point." He waves at the clear panel. "Um, do you like what I did on this level?"
Sarah smiles at him. "Very impressive."
Chuck does the same. "Very. In fact, uh, I think we'd both love to see what you've done with level 15."
He looks at Sarah for confirmation, and she nods and looks at Fitzroy again, simply uttering, "Mm-hmm."
Fitzroy smiles, obviously pleased with the praise. "Well, let me show you. I'll give you the tour." He walks past them. He presses his hand high on the screen and a display lights up, where, after a few taps, he triggers the screen to raise.
Sarah looks at Chuck smiling. He is too. They've managed to not only avoid capture, but also were going to be lead where they want to go.
Sarah wants to kiss her boyfriend or at least hold his hand, but has to continue to play the cold agent. It was torture of a kind she hadn't known until now. Later, my love!
The tour was so boring. Looking at Chuck, Sarah can see even he'd had enough.
Fitzroy is still leading them. "So, that was 14. Here's level 15. I'm just so glad you're pleased with my new security measures." He turns to them, while still walking. "You know, I'm kind of your biggest fan."
They are both surprised. Chuck answers, "Really?"
Fitzroy continues, "Yeah, yeah, I read and file all of your mission reports. Remember when you reverse-engineered an antidote to that bioweapon and kissed Colonel Casey, only to realize later it was all for naught? That must've been exciting and scary at the same time, huh?"
They have now reached the door at the end of the corridor.
Chuck interrupts Fitzroy. "Can we just skip the details for now? We'll get into that later. Right now, I'm... I'm really interested in how you've secured this holding cell."
Fitzroy nods. "I'm the newest security measure. I have the only key card in the whole building." He pulls out a card from inside his jacket. "This card is the only thing that stands between the bad guys and the holding cell."
Just what we need.
Sarah explains to Fitzroy, slowly and clearly, "Stanley... We're gonna need that key card."
He responds, "But..." then he realizes what they are doing. "Oh. Oh, no. I'll swallow the key card if I have to."
They alarms starts and the lights flash red, just as they had fourteen floors below.
Fitzroy says, "Well, that's weird. If we're still out here, how is the alarm going off?"
Sarah looks at Chuck. "Somebody's coming. We don't have time for this."
Fitzroy asks, "Time for what?"
She grabs the card off of him and punches his face, knocking him to the floor.
"Was that absolutely necessary?" Chuck asks.
"Yes."
She swipes the card over the screen and the display changes to "DISARMED" The alarm stops and lights change.
Chuck taps on the screen and finds a set of images showing cells. He points to the first and taps on it. "There, look, Casey."
There is an explosion and the floor shakes. Both look at each other, worried.
Chuck says, "I really hope that wasn't me." Sarah shakes her head, grabs his hand and pulls him through to Casey's cell. She activates the door opening.
They're shocked at what they see. The wall the other side has been destroyed and parts of it are on Casey as he struggles to rise, looking blearily at Chuck and Sarah. Beyond the hole stand several men. One of them, Keller. says, "Don't take another step. We just want the Colonel."
Casey is still trying to steady himself. Chuck says to him, "Casey, you don't understand. Keller is not who you think he is. He's part of the Ring."
Keller says, "Let's go, John."
Casey looks behind him, then back at his partners, before turning again and walking through the hole, leaving Chuck and Sarah in shock.
They rush out of the building with Chuck saying, "I can't believe that Casey's a member of the Ring. What are we supposed to do now?"
Sarah quickly replies, "We just broke out of a CIA facility. We gotta get out of here first. Worry about finding the Ring later."
Chuck is in the lead as a car door is opened into his face. He falls to the ground and Sarah reaches for him, but a bag is pushed over her head and she is taken from behind by two sets of hands. She hears the same happening to Chuck.
The bag is lifted after she has been tied to a chair some time later. Chuck is undergoing the same treatment. They are obviously in Castle. Both chairs are turned and standing in front of them is General Diane Beckman, who has her arms folded. "When two of my agents and an analyst are arrested for treason in 24 hours, it reflects poorly on me."
Chuck immediately starts talking, "Look, General, Casey..."
She cuts him off. "You don't know John Casey. Not the way you think. His real name is Alex Coburn."
She turns and, using a remote control, brings up details on the screens behind her. "We've unsealed his file and this is what we've learned. Alex Coburn faked his death in Honduras in 1989, the same day that John Casey was recruited for NSA Black Ops by a Colonel James Keller."
Sarah is shocked, but says, "Keller must've recruited him again and this time for the Ring."
The general continues, "And it's crucial the Laudanol doesn't fall into their hands. The only reason you're not in federal prison right now is because I have a mission only you can accomplish. Find and capture Colonel John Casey. Dead or alive."
Sarah is speechless. Looking at Chuck, he is too. She grabs his hand and squeezes it. That obviously doesn't help at all, but at least it shows they are in this together. Fully.
Sarah and Chuck are pulling together the things they need. Even Chuck is loading bullets ready to use them. He comments, "Three years... three years of missions, training, I'm his friend. How can all of that have been a lie?"
She walks over to him. "I don't know, some people change. You move forward as a spy, and the line between what's right and wrong becomes more and more gray. You don't know what to believe in or... who to believe in."
She looks at him for several seconds, deciding whether to say more. "I thought you had changed." There. I've said it.
He looks at her. "What do you mean?"
She doesn't look away, but continues, "In Prague, I thought you wanted to be the perfect spy." He winces, but she doesn't stop. "That wasn't what you'd wanted before, so a changed Chuck. I also knew what you'd have to sacrifice to get there, which would change you even more. I didn't, don't want you to lose that guy that I met three years ago. Give up on the things that make you great."
He takes her shaking hand and says, "I'll always be that guy. Sarah, I love you."
She smiles, "I know and I'm so glad I was wrong, Chuck." She squeezes his hand back, then turns serious again. "We should probably focus on the Laudanol." He nods, while she continues, "So, the only reason that Keller would go to all that trouble to break Casey out would be if he still didn't have it."
Chuck obviously hadn't thought of that. His eyes brighten. "Which means if we get to it before Casey does, we've got a shot at catching him."
Sarah despondently replies, "Yeah, except there's nothing left in the apartment."
"What about the Buy More?"
She shakes her head. "No, Casey's smarter than that. He knows he would never get past those surveillance cameras undetected. He would have to use somebody."
She realizes Chuck is looking at a monitor behind her and turns as he speaks, "And that someone would have to be either desperate, stupid, or just plain willing to do anything to impress him."
They both watch Morgan, looking shifty.
Sarah looks back at Chuck and before they both rush out of Castle; she makes a different decision. "You get the Laudanol off of Morgan. I'll tell the general what's happening and try again to track Casey."
He smiles, "Trusting me with a mission?"
She smirks. "Trusting you with Morgan."
Chuck has brought the tablet back to Castle and they've locked it where Casey wouldn't look. With Sarah's spare underwear. Both had laughed at that, although Chuck had picked a few items out wanting to see her in them. She's just said, "Later."
She is sure Casey will be back at his apartment. Where else would he go? So, they were entering it from different ends.
Chuck has already gone in through the front door and she is now opening the back one.
Casey has his back to Sarah and is obviously point his gun at Chuck. Sarah tries to control her emotions. Panicking will not save her boyfriend.
Chuck has obviously spotted her, so shouldn't panic as much as normal. "Don't shoot."
Casey growls, "Give me the case and I won't have to."
Chuck starts one of his rambles. "I believed in you. I trusted you." He moves forward and Casey does the same pushing the barrel of his gun against Chuck's chest.
Chuck continues talking, "I know everything, Casey. I know everything, okay? I know that you used to be Alex Coburn. I know that you work for James Keller, and that you stole the Laudanol for the Ring. The only thing I don't know is why."
Chuck is calm, but Sarah is terrified for him. She gets ready to shoot her partner to save her lover. Arresting Casey, still treating him with the benefit of her doubt, was one thing. Deciding between Chuck and Casey another, and a very easy one.
Casey lowers his weapon, looks over his shoulder at her and then turns back to Chuck, saying, "Alex Coburn... I had a fiancée. Now she thinks I'm dead. And if I don't turn over the Laudanol to the Ring, they're gonna kill her."
Sarah lowers her weapon too. She would do the same for Chuck. How can she judge Casey now?
Casey has found photos and hands them to Chuck and Sarah who are sitting on the couch. "Her name's Kathleen McHugh. 20 years ago, she was the girl I was gonna marry. Love of my life." Chuck and Sarah look at each other, both looking at the person who is the love of their life. Casey continues, "But to be a spy and protect our country, I had to give up that life. And now she's going to die because of a decision I made."
Sarah shakes her head. "No, we're not gonna let that happen."
Casey ploughs on as if she had said nothing, "If I don't deliver the Laudanol to his location in the next hour, they're gonna kill her."
Chuck, full of enthusiasm, as always, "What are we waiting for? Let's go save her."
Sarah, however, knows that's not sufficient. Casey does too. "If I don't show at the meet, Keller will know something's wrong."
She turns to her boyfriend and places her arm around him. "Well, then Chuck will go to Kathleen's." She then whispers to Chuck, "You can do this Chuck, even if you're not a spy."
Chuck beams at her. "Sarah's right, I'll go. Look, just give me the address, I'll sneak her out of there, put her in a safe house. I will protect her, Casey, I promise."
Casey looks at him. "You could be charged with treason. Hell, you didn't even know I was Alex Coburn until today."
Chuck replies, "I don't care who you were. I know who you are. And you're not in this alone."
Sarah has had enough of this male bonding. "Keller still expects you at the meet. What are we going to do?"
Casey replies, "Let's go to a meeting."
Even though she had assured Chuck that he could handle things at Kathleen's house, Sarah is still worried about him. Tied to the underside of the car Casey is driving, she frets. He will be okay!
Casey pulls up and gets out of the car. "I'm alone, I'm unarmed. All I've got is this here Cuban. You mind?"
"Smoke it," another voice replies.
Casey lights up, as planned and Sarah hears something drop to the floor. Again, as expected.
She hears footsteps moving away from her, so Casey must be going with that man.
She slowly and carefully lowers herself to the ground. Once there she looks in the direction she heard the strip of matches drop. Five matches remain. She mutters to herself. "Five against one." She knows she can cope with odds like that.
She quietly pulls out a knife.
She sees one man walk near the car. A quick throw brings him to the floor and she shoots him while she slips out from under the car. Two more shots take out two more of the men. The last two she takes out with kicks and punches.
Looking around the unconscious or dead men, she realizes that it has been a while since she had done this. It felt both liberating and at the same time so very wrong. The cross between her training and Chuck's influence. She suppresses the thoughts and heads into the building.
She bursts in, gun in hand, to see Casey strangling Keller. One twist and the man's neck breaks. Casey drops the lifeless body to the floor.
Casey swiftly turns to her. "They're already at the house."
They both rush out to the car.
Chuck calls them as they head back. "Guys, how far are you?"
Sarah replies, "Five minutes. Look, anything immediate, you're gonna have to handle yourself."
He replies, "Yeah, well, everything is immediate!"
"Chuck, you need to flash," she urges him.
With a note of panic in his voice, he replies, "I can't. There's too many of them."
Casey chips in, "Take the pill, Chuck."
Chuck asks, "What pill?"
She is shocked, "You gave him the pill?"
Casey ignores Sarah. "It's in your right pocket. The Laudanol was developed to calm emotions, eliminate fear. Chuck, it can make you the Intersect you were always supposed to be."
"No, Chuck, don't do it!" she cries, but he says nothing back.
She turns on Casey, "We don't know what that'll do to the Intersect in his head, Casey!"
He grunts. "Well, we're about to find out."
She calls out again, "Chuck," but still no reply.
"Drive faster, Casey. You know if he gets hurt, you will too."
He just grunts.
Even before Casey has stopped the car, Sarah leaps out and runs to the house. She bursts in and finds Chuck holding a man in the same way Casey had been holding Keller pushing him up against a doorframe. She shouts, "Chuck! Chuck, stop!"
With his left hand still around the man's neck and still squeezing, Chuck turns to her. He clearly does not recognize her.
He lets go of the man and starts advancing on Sarah with a cold look in his eyes. For the first time ever, she fears for her life. She knows this is the end and becomes calm. She's had a long life for an agent and she has also found love, something she never expected.
Then she thinks about Chuck Bartowski and how he will feel when the drug wears off and he has her death on his hands, literally. He'll hate himself. She tries again, almost pleading, "Chuck!"
Casey has also come in and shouts, just after her, "Bartowski!"
Somehow the two names together seem to penetrate the haze Chuck is in. He raises his hands and looks down at these weapons. Them he looks up at her again. "Oh, my God."
Her Chuck is back. She rushes over to him, wraps her arms around his neck, pulls him down and kisses him before hugging him tightly.
They turn to watch Casey gently place Kathleen on the couch, saying, "The authorities just arrived, Ms. McHugh."
A young woman steps into the room and seeing Kathleen, rushes around Casey to get to her. "Mom."
Kathleen embraces her daughter, "Alex."
Sarah looks at Chuck. Both realizing who this is. They look at Casey, while Alex asks her mom, "What's with the police cars outside?"
By this time, Kathleen is sitting up. "It's okay. Shh, it's okay. I'll be all right."
Casey starts to leave. Chuck calls to him. "Casey... Wait. You... you can't just..."
Casey grunt. "What's dead is dead. It's too late now."
General Beckman is standing on side of the table in Castle, facing the three of them on the other side. "Despite the success of the mission, Colonel Casey, you abused your privileged position and if you were anyone else, you would be right back in jail. But you are not just anyone. And I'm about to give you your second, second chance. Which is two more than most people get."
Casey looks at her and says, "Thank you, General."
She continues, "Second chance as a civilian."
Sarah had half expected this, but Chuck hadn't. "Um... But, uh-uh, General, Casey has given his entire life to this country. I mean, surely you can't just make him start over."
She replies, "He's done it once before. He shouldn't have a problem doing it again. For the final time, you are dismissed. Good luck, John."
She turns to Chuck and drops the analyst title, saying, "Mr. Bartowski... Please escort Mr. Casey off government property." She emphasizes the Mr.
Chuck leads him away.
The general turns to Sarah. "I want to commend you, Agent Walker, for your work with the Intersect. He now seems like a spy."
That gets Sarah angry. "He's not a spy. We agreed on that."
Beckman argues, "But with that pill, he is one."
Sarah controls her tone, but is very clear, "He wasn't even a person when I found him. He didn't even recognize me! He attacked me and would've killed me if Casey hadn't helped." She takes a deep breath. "That pill just made him an uncontrolled killing machine, General."
The general smiles. "That's what I thought you'd say, Sarah. I just wanted to see if your thought had changed."
Sarah never likes being tested like this, but quietly asks, "And what do you think, General?"
"I read your report, and that of our ex-Colonel. You were both clear and in agreement on that point. I trust your opinion, but do want you and…" She looks meaningfully at Sarah. "Your boyfriend to come to DC so some tests can be performed on him."
Sarah is about to protest, but Beckman holds up a hand. "Just to see if it has had any lasting effects. Not to give him any more pills."
That sounds sensible. "Very well, General."
"There are two empty seats on my flight back to DC. If you can be ready in an hour, you can join me."
Sarah acknowledges the offer. "Thank you, General. I'll talk to Chuck and let you know if we can be ready in time. He is helping Casey, right now."
Beckman nods. "If you don't join me. Get a flight tomorrow. He needs those tests and I want them done in DC."
A/N: So, a retelling of S3E10. Watching it again, I was really upset seeing Sarah arrive in DC and saying she was going to move there. Here, she has no intention of leaving Chuck and will want to stay in California.
I'd love to hear what you think of this, so please leave a review.