A/N: Last chapter retold S3E15, where the role models were far from that and Chuck and Sarah showed how a couple could really work well together.
This chapter is the retelling of S3E16, "Chuck Versus the Tooth."
Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter. It is so gratifying that people like this story and take the time to let me know.
Thanks also go to JohnnyRayChandlett for reading through this offering excellent suggestions on how to improve it.
Disclaimer: I can't claim any ownership of Chuck, but maybe some nightmares.
Prove Yourself
Chapter 22 – Nightmares
Sarah dreams of her mom trying to fend off three men bursting into her home, one had slapped her and she'd fallen to the floor, in her entrance way. The other two had leapt over her prone body and were running into the house, searching. The first man leaned down to her hissing, "Where's the baby, bitch?" Her mom said, "What baby?" and had been kicked for that, crying out in pain. Sarah gasps and wakes up crying.
She suddenly has arms wrapped around her and a body pressed against her back. She starts to struggle to get away from the intruder. Then the person speaks, "Sarah, baby, you were having a nightmare. It's alright, I'm here for you." Chuck kisses her neck. The body against her back, suddenly friend and not foe, gives the warmth of safety, and the lips on her skin soothe the memory of the dreadful dream and bring her back to reality.
She relaxes into the loving arms of her fiancé. It was obviously a nightmare. Her sister would no longer be a baby, she'd be three years old by now, but she knows her mom would do anything to protect her, as she would have done Sarah.
Sarah twists around and hugs Chuck. "It was just a nightmare, Chuck. I'm sorry I woke you."
"Would talking about it help?"
She feels better just hearing his caring voice. Lying there, with her head against his bare chest, with their arms around each other, she feels protected from nightmares again. "In the morning. Try to get some more sleep, my love."
"You will probably have forgotten it by then, Sarah. Best to talk now."
She isn't going to forget about this nightmare. One she's had on and off for years now. She kisses his chest. "No. Sleep first, talk later." She rolls back over, but presses her back into him. "Please hold me, though."
She drifts off again, with his arm around her.
Waking cocooned in warm, naked Chuck was wonderful. Her feet tangled with his and parts of him pressed against her making her want to forget all about talking. The sunlight creeping in around the curtains indicate that they have slept longer than she planned.
She gently lifts his arm, extricates her feet and slides out of bed. He doesn't wake. She looks down at her sleeping lover. Her body is telling her to leap back into bed, wake him and make love to him, but her brain needs to get things clear for the discussion.
She quickly puts on a vest and panties, mindful of the encounter with Morgan the day before, she leaves the bedroom and pads through to the kitchen.
After making coffee, she sits down on the couch thinking about the terrible time a few years earlier. She is still amazed that she achieved what she did. She also knows it changed her perspective. It started her disillusionment with the CIA. Her time here, with this wonderful man, has increased that. The recent trip to DC completed it. She wants out, but won't until Chuck can leave the NSA. There is no way she will let him continue without her. She also wants to ensure her mom and sister will be safe.
She still has a lot to do before her new life can really begin, Sarah realizes. But she never shied away from tough tasks.
As she sits there musing, she hears Chuck getting up and staggering through to the bathroom.
She walks over to the kitchen and makes him a coffee, topping hers up as she does so.
She looks over at him as he saunters in. "Hi there, sleepyhead."
He chuckles. "How's my nightmare girl?"
She knows he doesn't mean it how it sounds, but can't help herself. Putting on a shocked and hurt expression, she replies, "Are you calling me a nightmare?"
He is obviously getting used to her teases, smirks and comments, "In your dreams."
That's quite good, she thinks. "Seriously, I wanted to talk about this anyway, but the nightmare strengthened that need."
He sits next to her and places a hand on her knee. "I'm all ears, Sarah."
She snorts. "Thankfully not, but I do want you to listen, though."
"I am going to tell you about my last mission before I came here, Chuck. It changed my views on, well, everything really. It is my biggest secret and my most violent actions, so please just listen. Then, I want us to discuss what we, together, can do about the results of what I did." She places a hand on his knee this time. "I need that amazing brain of yours, Chuck."
He looks pleased. He points a finger at his forehead, squinting his eyes to look up and looks funny, and although she doesn't feel like laughing, it makes her decision to share with him just a little bit easier.
"After Bryce went rogue, I wanted to go solo, but I don't think Graham fully trusted me, so I was sent to Hungary with a handler, I thought to assess me. It was actually because of my skills, which this agent wanted to use. His name was Kieran Ryker."
She pauses while Chuck flashes on the name. "He has a 'burn notice' against him. He's rogue, too?"
She nods. "Yes, he is and that's because of this mission. I still don't know how much Graham knew about the mission, but at least he supported me when I returned and then sent me here, to you."
After taking a deep breath, she continues, "Ryker told me the mission was to secure a package from a mansion in Budapest that had been taken by terrorists after killing the rich couple that lived there. He wouldn't tell me what the package was, just that I would know it when I saw it. That should have triggered my suspicions. I was just still reeling from what Bryce had done, I guess. I also didn't do any research on the couple, which I would always do normally. So, I just followed his instructions and snuck into the mansion."
She pauses for a few seconds. "There were at least ten men that I could see in the room to my left and maybe almost as many to the right. Ryker had told me the package would be in one of the rooms upstairs, so I quietly crept up there. As I went, Ryker told me through the earpiece that I should take the room to the right at the top of the stairs. What I found there was not what I could have imagined and not something I had any idea how to handle."
She stops again. Chuck is leaning towards her, obviously eager to hear what she found. "A baby lay in a cot and looked up at me, reaching up. I instantly knew this was 'the package' and I needed to save the child from the terrorists. I stood there stunned for a while, not knowing what to do with a baby. I have never been near one, let alone handled one. Then Ryker growled saying, 'Bring me the package, quickly.' I asked if he knew what it was and he said, 'Yes, stop stalling. I need it now.' My instincts kicked in then. This baby was the one who would inherit the wealth of the dead couple downstairs. I knew he didn't want it for any CIA mission, but for himself."
Chuck can't stop himself. "So, what did you do?"
She smiles at his eagerness. "I knew then that I needed to save the baby, not just from the terrorists, but from Ryker too. I scanned the room and found a baby harness. I put that on and picked up the baby and put it in it."
"It?"
"I told you I knew nothing about babies. I didn't know if this was a boy or a girl. I found out later, it was a girl." She smiles at the thought. She still doesn't know about babies, but somewhere in her heart is the wish to find out about them, with Chuck. "I rushed out of the room and almost into the clutches of two men walking across from another room. I instinctively shot them both. Having the baby in the harness, in front of me, meant both hands were free. I picked up the semi-automatic rifles both had dropped and headed down the stairs. The noise of the shots had alerted the men downstairs and they started pouring into the hall. As I ran down the stairs, I opened fire and basically mowed them down, on both sides. By the time I reached the bottom, they were all dead. I knew I couldn't go out the front, as Ryker would be waiting for me there, so I ran to the back of the mansion and left that way."
Chuck looks stunned. "How- how many?"
She kept a level gaze. "I found out afterwards that there were twenty terrorists and two civilians found in that place."
He gulps, but does not give the slightest impression that anything about his feelings for her changes. Sarah thinks he probably is stronger than she expected and feels a touch of pride welling up.
"I had to get away, and ran to a dive of a hotel I knew, where they would take cash with no questions."
She shivers, thinking about the following two days back then. "Thankfully, before I left I had remembered seeing a bag in the bedroom, so ran back up the stairs. It was full of things I would need from disposable nappies and wipes to a tin of powdered milk. Bottles and teats were on the surface so I added them to the bag and ran. I picked up a burner phone on the way to the hotel, as I worried that Ryker would be able to track my phone, which I left in the mansion. By the time I got into the room, the baby was screaming. I had no idea what to do, so I assumed the baby wanted milk. I had difficulty concentrating, as I read the instructions on the tin. As the bottle warmed in the jug I filled with water I had boiled in the kettle, I tackled my next challenge. That was when I found out she was a girl. I had never seen so much sludgy black shit in my life. How did such a small thing produce that much?"
Despite the gory tale, Chuck only grinned and, for a moment, had a far-away look in his eyes. Could it be that he is thinking of a day in the future when we will have to deal with the products of our own 'small thing'?
"After cleaning and feeding, I assumed the noise would stop, but I was wrong. I needed help. I rang the only person I could think of. I just hoped my mom still lived where she had twenty years earlier and still had the same phone. The likelihood was pretty slim, but I got lucky; she answered.
"She started crying as soon as I said, 'Mom?' I told her I had a crying baby and needed her help. Once she calmed down, I very briefly explained my job, what I had been doing for the twenty years since I left and about the baby. She was wonderful, first telling me to burp the little girl, then how to sooth her with a nursery rhyme, one I remembered from my childhood. It worked. Once I lay the sleeping child down in the middle of the bed, I had to arrange to get away, back to the States. I knew a few key contacts in Hungary and secured a new passport and documentation and then flights to get back."
She almost feels something like dry humor as she continues. "That Journey was hell on Earth. Babies don't like flying. Period. None would hurt me or the little girl, but I made more enemies on that series of flights than I had in the previous ten years in the CIA."
"When I arrived back, I picked up a hire car and drove to my mom's, checking for tails all the way. I had had to buy a car seat at the airport, as well. Anyway, my mom was brilliant again. From our talk, she knew I couldn't stay. I had to keep them safe from Ryker, so I left that baby girl with my mom, to bring her up as she would have brought me up. In a loving home."
She stopped talking. She hadn't talked so much for a while. It was exhausting.
Chuck finally got to talk. "I can see why you say that's a major secret. You must worry about them a lot. So, your nightmare was about them?"
He knew her so well, both the worrying and what woke her last night. She quietly said, "Yes."
"So how can I help?" God, I love this man so much!
"I have to find and kill Ryker and any men he has too. I need my brilliant fiancé to help me come up with a plan of how to do that."
He grins. "Brilliant fiancé, huh?"
She leans up and stares at him. "Yes, brilliant."
His cheeks change color. "Thank you, Sarah."
She smirks and teases him. "So, what's the plan, Einstein?"
She expects him to get flustered as he couldn't have come up with anything that quickly.
He looks at her with confidence. "I'll find him."
"Chuck, the CIA burn notice should have found him, but hasn't. How are you going to?"
"I can do things the CIA can't," he replies, modest but confident.
She stares at him for a while. "I know you are great with technology, Chuck, but this is probably too much for you. Please don't get my hopes up, when you probably can't deliver."
He kisses her. "Tracking his movements might take a while, but I will find him, Sarah." Then he swallows. "I have a secret I need to share with you, too."
She looks at him puzzled.
"Sarah. When I was at Stanford, I got bored and would use my skills to ... go places that I shouldn't."
She is puzzled by this. "How do you mean?"
"Gain access to secrets behind firewalls."
She isn't surprised. "So, you hacked?"
He nods. "I never did any damage. I just got past all the security measures, to prove I could, then got out again."
Sarah starts to feel uncomfortable. This sounds familiar. "A hacker. How often?"
He grins. "Regularly. I became well known."
Her heart is in her throat. "By."
He quietly replies, "Your agency and the NSA, at least."
She is sure now, but still has to ask. "What name?"
He looks her in the eyes. "The Piranha."
She had been right. "God, Chuck! I was one of those that tried to track you, but you stopped before I could find you."
He looks away. "I stopped when my world crashed down around me in Stanford."
She grabs him. "They wanted you captured and put in a bunker with people like Manoosh, to do their bidding."
He smirks, "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
She doesn't want to think about that now. "So, you can use those skills to find Ryker, when no one else can?"
He confidently responds, "It may be only the Piranha that can find him, Sarah."
The possibility is so amazing. She might be able to put an end to this. "Chuck, you do know what I have to do, don't you?"
The look on his face is acceptance, even though he hates the idea of killing people, because he knows this is the right thing to do. The failure to keep Shaw incarcerated showed how little that worked with spies. Death was the only way to keep her loved ones safe.
She spelt it out anyway. "That's right, Chuck. I don't really think the CIA is still looking for him. I need to find and kill him and any men he has too."
After a boring day in their cover jobs, Chuck gets started in his search. He had mentioned in the morning that in Stanford he had needed a constant supply of white wine, to help him work, so she had popped out at lunchtime and bought some, but he said that might only be needed when on his own and to get him through the night, again, on his own.
So, she sits by him, with a hand on his leg, hoping the physical contact will give him the support he needs, because she can do nothing else to help.
She watches his fingers typing away in a blur and windows flashing on the screen in front of them, opening, filling and disappearing again, almost randomly.
"How can you read all this, Chuck?" she asks, completely in awe of what he is doing.
"Oh, I don't. Most are activities kicked off to perform tasks. Some spawn new tasks, but many complete and no longer need to run."
After a few more minutes, he stops typing and turns to her. "That's all I need to do for now, Sarah. Various routines will run now and I'll get a notification if he shows up."
She shakes her head. "Really?"
He gives her a mock look of disappointment. "Doubting me?"
She stares into those marvelous chocolate eyes. "It's magic, Chuck, I don't understand it. I don't doubt you, but incredulity is part of my training. Sorry."
He gets up and takes her hand. "Let's go for now. It might take days."
"Are you still within CIA systems?"
He nods. "Amongst others."
Sarah starts to worry. "Isn't that risky? Risk of detection?"
"Maybe, but the routines still in there are operating on their own. They will only connect with me to send notification, very briefly. Then I will go in to get the data. In and out quickly."
"Wow!"
He grins. "I can do some things you can't, Agent Walker."
She looks at him with a twinkle in her eyes and a mischievous smile. "Oh, you can do a number of things I can't, reaching places no one else can, and I expect you to do some of those tonight."
The next few days are nerve-wracking for Sarah, worrying that Chuck is wrong and the more recent security developments will be able to detect his routines and track them back to him. She should never have mentioned Ryker to him.
On top of that, even though she didn't get the nightmare about her mom again, Chuck had started getting them instead. Each night he had woken with a start and sat up muttering about her or his sister or Devon being attacked. Most commonly Devon, strangely.
There was no way of contacting Ellie or Devon, out in Africa, so there was no way to confirm they were okay, but Sarah pointed out that the nightmares about her were just that, nightmares, which helped him calm down and get to sleep again.
After four days, she got a text from Chuck while in the Orange, Orange.
Found
She quickly replies.
Great
The next message is no surprise for Sarah.
Checking for others
They had talked about this the previous evening. They needed to know who was with Ryker to know what they were up against. There was also no point removing him and leaving associates who would also cause problems. So, when back at their apartment, he would tap into the local cameras, something else he could do easily apparently, and see who Ryker meets. This would take a while as Ryker would be unlikely to meet daily.
That evening, that search is delayed. Sarah first has to reward he wonderful fiancé. A reward she gets as much pleasure from as him, so perhaps she should call it a celebration instead.
Sarah watches as Chuck, or the Piranha as she should call his alter ego, hooks into the traffic and other surveillance cameras in central Budapest. Yes, Ryker was back there.
Chuck set up routines to search for Ryker in the footage and then capture images of his surroundings. This will, as expected, take some time, so they will review the photos each night for the next two weeks. Sarah is not sure that that will be long enough, but it's a start.
They finish the evening, on the couch with Sarah channel surfing trying to find something relaxing to watch. Chuck is lying across the couch with his head resting on her lap. Both find this comforting.
She gives up. "It's official. There is absolutely nothing on TV."
He replies, "Yeah. Monday nights can be a bit of a wasteland."
She has ended up on the local news channel, where the presenter says, "President Jakaya Kuti of Zamibia arrived in Los Angeles today. On his agenda are diplomatic meetings and a performance of Beethoven tomorrow night by The LA City Symphony."
Chuck groans. "Sounds like Beckman."
Sarah has to agree, the woman does have the same voice and mannerisms.
She skips to the next channel, showing Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd in "Spies Like Us."
Chuck brightens a bit. "Hey. Jackpot!"
Sarah really doesn't want to watch this. "Oh, no, no, no. You've made me watch this before. This is ridiculous."
He looks up at her, grinning. "Sarah, please. You could learn a lot from spies like these."
She knows he is teasing her, but plays along. "Are you kidding me? Look at these people. They're breaking about seventeen different rules of protocol!"
He smiles at her, obviously knowing she's on to him. "Sweetheart, I'm not actually implying that you could learn anything about being a spy from Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd. I was just simply making a joke."
She smiles indulgently down at him. His gorgeous brown eyes are looking tired, but he is still the best thing to look at.
He obviously thinks the same. "I love you."
She places her palm on his cheek and strokes it. "And I love you too, Chuck Bartowski."
He dozes off while looking at her. She knows he isn't sleeping well, so lets him. She surfs through again and finds a film she did enjoy watching with him.
She looks down at him occasionally, noticing his eye lids flickering. He's probably dreaming. She hopes that it is a better dream than those he has been having overnight.
It's not until the end of the film that he wakes up and sits up, gasping.
She looks at his worried face and rests her hand on his cheek. "Did you have another bad dream?"
"It was, it was about Beethoven... and Zamibia..."
"Chuck, I'm worried about you. Every time you fall asleep, you have a horrible nightmare."
"But this one was trying to tell me something."
"Tell you what?"
Chuck jumps up. "I have to tell Casey and the general."
He rushes out of the door, heading to Casey's apartment.
Sarah can't believe this, but follows as she trusts Chuck's judgement.
"General, the Ring is going to try and kill the president of Zamibia at the Beethoven concert tomorrow night!" Chuck explains, with a sense of urgency.
Sarah curses the fact that he didn't talk to her first before rushing over a demanding Casey connects them and she still doesn't. Then the general appears, evidently straight from bed.
Casey snarls, obviously annoyed. "Tomorrow night? We could have done this in the morning? You know how dear my sleep is to me, Bartowski."
Chuck holds his hands out, palms up. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Casey and General. I-I know that it's very late, and you are obviously very..." He trails off as someone walks behind the general, in a dressing gown. "…busy. Um..." He raises his voice, "But the president of Zamibia is in danger."
The disheveled general asks, "Did you flash on something, Chuck?"
He hesitates slightly. "I... Mm... I know it because of my dream."
Beckman looks puzzled. "Your... Your dream?"
Sarah would hold her head in her hands if she wasn't facing the general.
He starts to ramble. "I've been having these very, very vivid dreams, okay? First, I saw the news report on Kuti, the president of Zamibia, but then in my dream, I saw Beethoven. And then Shaw was there, and he was delivering Zamibian food. And then he tried to kill everyone! So, obviously, the Zamibian president is going to be assassinated by the Ring at the Beethoven concert."
Casey looks at the screen and he is earnestly serious. "General, permission to slap Bartowski? He had a bad dream."
Sarah has to say something to diffuse the situation. "General, Chuck has been under a lot of stress lately with these dreams, and-"
Beckman cuts her off. "No, Walker. I think I understand the situation. And, to be honest, it makes perfect sense."
"Thank you," Chuck states, looking relieved. "Thank you, General. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. What are we going to do? What's our assignment?"
She replies, "Chuck, I'm assigning you to see an NSA therapist. These dreams you're having are getting in the way of your work, and our sleep."
Sarah wonders if this is her fault for pushing him to work on her side project and causing him to lose so much sleep for her.
He starts remonstrating. "No, no, no, no. This is crazy. A therapist? I don't need a therapist, okay? Therapists are for people who have real problems. I'm fine."
The general shakes her head and ends the call.
Sarah clasps his hand. "I'll be with you, Chuck."
"I'm sorry, Agent Walker. This first session is just for Mr. Bartowski. You can't come in." Dr. Dreyfus is insistent.
"And I don't trust you with him, so I come in and listen, or we leave… Doctor," she is not going to budge.
"I can have you escorted out of here," he replies, unfazed.
She squints her eyes at the doctor and says with that calm, low voice that Chuck knows is a dangerous sign, "Just to remind you... I'm Walker, Sarah Walker. I have killed to be at the side of my man and I won't hesitate to kill anyone who separates me from him."
He sighs. "Then leave. He won't recover, General Beckman will have you sent away and then what will you have achieved?"
She snarls at him. "Have you no integrity? You are willing to make a patient suffer, just because you want total control? Some doctor you are!"
Chuck decides to cut in at this point, because he sees Sarah's hand slipping behind where she usually keeps her gun. "I want her here, to hear everything. I won't remember what we discuss otherwise. Do you want me to be in the dark and worrying even more?"
Dreyfus looks up at the ceiling, then looks back at Sarah. "Very well, but you sit at the back and say nothing."
Sarah gives him her most charming smile, slipping her gun behind her, under her belt.
Chuck is directed to lie on the couch and Sarah sits at the back of the room, as directed.
Dr. Dreyfus sits down and sits in silence for a minute. Chuck starts fidgeting.
"Are you comfortable, Chuck?" the doctor asks.
That triggers a massive Chuck spiral, talking faster and faster. "No, no, not particularly. No. How does this work, exactly? I've only seen what you see in movies and stuff like that. Do you ask me questions? And I just answer? Or is it like a word association thing? So, you would, like, say "father" and- Actually, no, no, no. Give me another word."
Sarah has to hold a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
Dreyfus stops him with his first question. "Do you want to talk about your father, Chuck?"
Chuck stops and sits up. He stays silent for a few seconds, then starts rambling again. "This wasn't my idea, you know. So, no, I don't really want to talk about anything, to be perfectly honest. Despite your sparkling conversation skill. That was, that was a joke. I was just..."
Dreyfus is scribbling in his notebook. Sarah often wonders if anything is actually written or whether the paper scratching is just a scribble intended to unnerve the patient. If the latter, it works as Chuck talks again. "Just going to town on that pad, aren't you? Just a little joke. Okay, fine. I'll talk."
He lies back down. "Where do I start? Uh..." He looks back at Sarah. "Okay, well, my girlfriend, Sarah, and I moved in together. Best part of my life. We love each other and are now engaged. The ring hasn't arrived yet, but it's on its way. Nothing could be better in my life."
Sarah feels warm all over hearing him say this.
The doctor doesn't seem so interested. "Let's get to your dreams. It's my belief that they are a product of your subconscious interacting with the Intersect."
Sarah is surprised by that and so is Chuck, who sits up again. "Wait, what? How... You know about the Intersect?"
Dreyfus puts his pen down and looks at Chuck. "I'm an NSA psychiatrist and previously used to be the same in the CIA. I know everything about you, Chuck. And as far as the Intersect goes, we've known for some time that it could spur a host of side effects."
That surprises both of the people facing him, stunning Chuck into silence.
Dreyfus continues, "The Intersect is extraordinarily powerful. It has the potential to... overwhelm your mind. With an end result akin to something much like... insanity."
Sarah gasps. No, no, no!
Chuck takes his legs off the couch and immediately rejects the idea. "Insanity? Doc, I'm not insane."
Sarah wants him to shut up and listen, but can't say anything.
"And you're not sure about that. So, it could just be that the Intersect is doing its thing while I'm sleeping. And if that's true, then President Kuti is in danger." Chuck is remonstrating again.
Dreyfus responds, "Slow down, Chuck."
Chuck doesn't take any notice and continues, "Something is going to happen at the concert tonight, okay? And if I'm there, we-we could stop it. And then I'm not crazy, right?"
Dreyfus shakes his head and says just what Sarah was expecting. " I'm sorry, Chuck, but I can't let you do that. Until further notice, I'm removing you from field duty." He closes his notebook with finality.
Chuck just sits there, stunned.
Dreyfus turns to Sarah. "Agent Walker, please escort Mr. Bartowski out of here."
Chuck is silent as Sarah drives him home, thinking.
She is thinking too. She would do anything for this man. She trusted him with her life, she had done so for some time now. She also knows he trusts her just as much. Now they are being told this damn Intersect may be damaging his mind, may even be eventually send him insane. There must be a way to prevent it and they have to find it. First, though, they need to talk about it and how he feels.
She leads him to their apartment and settles him on the couch, before getting a glass of water, which he takes and start sipping.
She sits by him and puts a hand on his knee, waiting for him to talk.
She watches him closely for five minutes or so. She can see he is thinking, probably overthinking, what the doctor said. She lifts his chin up to face her. "Chuck, you in there?"
His eyes focus for the first time since they arrived home. "Sorry. Thinking."
She kisses his lips gently. "Me too. Talk to me, Chuck."
He looks at her. "I'm good. Great, actually. Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." The smile is not real. They both know it.
She puts her palm on his cheek. "No lies, remember?"
The smile disappears. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm am having difficulty with this. I've been told I can't be on the team; the doctor says I'm going insane and everyone thinks I am too-"
"No, Chuck," she snaps at him, which stops his spiral. He looks at her in shock. "The doctor didn't say that, he said the Intersect could be overwhelming and make it seem like insanity. No one has said you are and I, your fiancé, definitely know you're not."
He blinks a few times, then a real smile forms on his lips. "Thank you, Sarah. What would I do without you?"
"Oh, you probably would go mad without me," she teases.
He grins. "Yeah, I'd go mad trying to find you." He pulls her to him and kisses her passionately.
When they pull apart, she says, "Chuck, tell me all about the nightmare, not just about that president."
He looks like he doesn't want to, so she grips his hands and stares into his eyes. "If you don't tell me everything, how can I help you?"
He swallows, then nods. "You're right, Sarah, but it will make you think I'm mad too."
She tightens her grip. "You remember our false assumptions, don't you?"
He is now trembling, but looks into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I do remember."
"Then talk, Mister." Her voice is demanding, but she knows the look in her eyes is full of love and encouragement.
He nods and starts, "It starts with the Zamibian President and the concert, but there was a lot more. I wake after falling asleep with my head in your lap. Such a wonderful place for my head to rest, Sarah." He looks lovingly at her.
She smiles, but says, "I know, but quit stalling."
He blushes. "In the dream, you tell me you love me and it's as if that is the first time you have told me."
She strokes his cheek. "I do love you; I've told you that quite a few times, Chuck."
That makes him smile. "I know, Sarah, but in this dream you hadn't. It felt wonderful, hearing it for the first time. Then I look outside and General Beckman is there, crashing cymbals together. I tell you to look outside, but as you turn images appear, almost like a flash; when they stop she has gone, but the doorbell rings.
"You say, 'Finally, I'm so hungry. . Isn't it great we found a place that delivers Zamibian food?' I am surprised and say, 'Zamibian food?'
"I get up and walk to the door. When I open it, Shaw is standing there, holding the food from Zamibian Express. He lifts it, saying, 'Hello, Chuck.' I pull out two guns and shoot him. I have flashes of when I shot him in Paris, but that was just one gun. I continue shooting, with both guns and he stumbles backwards into the fountain. He seems to sink lower and lower with bullet holes over his chest, while I stand watching in horror at what I have done."
She frowns. This last bit is like the nightmares she had after her Red Test. "So how did you piece that together as a threat to the president?"
"Shaw is an enemy posing as a trusted colleague, but is really a murderer waiting for the opportunity to strike." He looks at her imploringly. "The president going to the concert is the venue for the strike, by a trusted member of his retinue."
"Is this how you piece together facts from the Intersect?" she asks, unsure about the story.
"Yes," he replies, firmly.
"Then I believe it. However, the bit with Beckman and the Shaw in the fountain sound like nightmares. We don't know if they are being caused by the Intersect or not. Have you talked to your dad about the new Intersect?"
He looks embarrassed. "No. I didn't want him to know I had downloaded again."
"You need to talk to him about this. If this overwhelming is real, he might know how to overcome it."
He frowns, "Do you think the Intersect is doing this to me?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know about that, but I don't want it causing you problems. Preventative medicine, Chuck."
He nods. "That's fair. I'll call him, when I can."
She knows the signs. "That sounds like you stalling, Chuck. We will call him, together."
He reluctantly agrees. "But can we just have a coffee first?"
She switches on the television, "Relax here while I make it."
He starts flicking through the channels while she heads into the kitchen.
When she returns, he is watching a local news channel. Not very relaxing!
A female reporters voice says, "President Jakaya Kuti of Zamibia will be in town today. The tiny African nation seeks to improve its rocky diplomatic relations..."
"Okay, Chuck. That's not what I meant."
"But he's the president of Zamibia, and he's going to be at the symphony tonight. And the dream that I had made me think that... Made me know that he's in danger, Sarah. But Beckman sent me to that doctor, rather than believe me." He holds his head in his hands. "No one believes me."
"I believe in you, Chuck," she says, a bit disappointed that he doesn't seem to believe her.
He looks up at her, hopefully. "Sorry, Sarah. I know you have my back, but do you really think the Zamibian president Is in danger?"
She is totally honest with him. "I don't know, Chuck, but you do and I trust you."
He looks at her gratefully.
She makes a decision. "Fancy taking your fiancé to a show?"
He grins. "Fancy helping me buy a tux?"
She grins back. "Buy it, go out with you in it and get you out of it; all in the next twelve hours."
Walking to their seats with her arm through Chuck's, Sarah should be feeling happy to be here. They haven't been out like this for a long time and even then on missions, but this is an unofficial mission, which rather takes the edge off of it. What's worse, Chuck is completely distracted and not paying her any attention at all. She huffs. The sooner they get this Zamibian stuff over, the better.
"Hey, Sarah, that's Kuti up in the president's box there." She looks up and there he is. Chuck continues, "Our mission: to make sure nothing happens to him."
She looks at her fiancé. "We will need to get near him to do that, Chuck. Do you want to go up there straight away?"
He shakes his head. "I don't think it will be during the performance. We should go up before the intermission, though."
They find their seats and sit down. Sarah looks up at the president's box. The president is sitting with his wife on his left. The man on his right is watching them closely. He does look suspicious. Then she admonishes herself, making assumptions like that.
The performance starts and she settles back to watch and listen.
Part way through, she notices Chuck has slumped in his seat. He is fast asleep. She watches him. He really needs the sleep, so she won't wake him until a few minutes before the intermission.
Before she does that, he jerks and sits up, looking panicked again.
Sarah realizes he must have had another nightmare. She nudges him and nods her head towards the aisle. He nods and gets up so they can both move out.
When they get out into the atrium, she gets him to sit down. "Talk to me, Chuck."
In a hushed tone, he tells her, "Another nightmare, Sarah. You woke me asking why I was on the stage. I said, I wasn't, but then I suddenly was; no one was in there with me. Then Shaw appeared again, about eleven rows back from the stage, with a spotlight on him. He had two bloody stains on his shirt and said, 'You shot me, Chuck.' I looked down and I have a gun in my hand. I looked back up and he was gone. Then he appeared again, only two rows back this time. I asked what he was doing there, what he was trying to tell me? He replied, 'The dream isn't about me, Chuck. It's about a scientist, Dr. Kowambe,' and he pointed up to the president's box ant the man next to the president. I then see Kowambe standing behind Kuti, holding Kuti's head back as he places a long knife at his throat, while smiling down at me."
He takes her hands in his. "Kowambe. That's the guy who's going to kill Kuti! I've got to get up to the president's box!"
She grips his hands tighter and forces him to look at her. "We. We have got to get up there."
He looks shaken, but a tentative smile forms on his lips. "Thank you, Sarah."
They head to the stairs that will take them up there.
Sarah arrives first and is approached by one of the present's security team. She pulls out her badge. "Good evening. Routine CIA weapons sweep."
Kuti looks around. "What is the meaning of this?"
Chuck rushes forward pointing at Kowambe. "Listen, listen, the guy right there."
Kuti questions, "Dr. Kowambe?"
Chuck grabs the man's lapels, pulling him up. "Yeah, Dr. Kowambe."
Kowambe asks, "Mr. President, who is this person?"
Chuck turns him around and starts to frisk him.
Sarah feels this is going too far. "Okay, Chuck, just take it easy, please."
He replies, "I'm taking it easy. I'm taking it very, very easy."
Kuti stands, demanding, "Stop! This man is Africa's most respected scientist!"
Kowambe turns and grins at Chuck. "This is preposterous! You could have at least have had the pretty one frisk me."
Sarah needs to stop Chuck, but notices him flashing. "Chuck, this is wrong. You need to stop!"
He comes out of his flash and shouts, "I was wrong! It's not an assassination attempt! He had Ring intel in his mouth!" He hits Kowambe in the face and a tooth falls to the floor.
Chuck dives for the floor. "The tooth! Find the tooth!"
The president declares, "This man is clearly insane! Have this man arrested!" His men grab Chuck and start to pull him away, but Sarah notices he had picked up the tooth just before that.
He is dragged away, while Sarah looks on in horror. She rushes to him and he, quietly tells her, "There's hidden data in the tooth!"
She quickly dips her hand in his jacket pocket, retrieving the tooth.
She turns to the president and apologies for what has happened.
Later, she watches as Chuck is dragged into a restricted psychiatric unit, away from her and Casey, who has joined her.
The last thing she hears from him is a cry to her. "I'm not crazy! Sarah!"
On the ensuing conference call, General Beckman glares at Sarah. "Explain how it's possible that last night Chuck, aided by yourself, Agent Walker, managed to cause an international incident that the president of the United States himself had to apologize for. In Zamibian."
Casey mutters, "Tricky language. Lots of clicks and vowels."
Sarah ignores both comments, worried about her fiancé. "General, how is Chuck doing?"
Beckman signs. "At the moment, Dr. Dreyfus believes Chuck's condition is... worse than originally diagnosed."
Casey looks confused. "Originally diagnosed? I don't understand."
Beckman knows Sarah is aware, but explains to Casey, "The doctor believes the Intersect is overwhelming Chuck's brain. His mental deterioration may be... unavoidable."
Sarah doesn't believe it. "He flashed on Kowambe, General. It wasn't just his dreams!"
The general looks at her. "That's not the doctor's view."
"I was there, General. He definitely flashed. Kowambe has Ring intel in his tooth." She pulls the one she retrieved out of her pocket. "He thinks this is the tooth."
Beckman glares again. "Why didn't you mention this?"
Sarah glares back. "You didn't give me a chance, Ma'am."
"Get it analyzed. In the meantime, the doctor's orders stand. Chuck stays in that unit, undergoing treatment." She leans forward and ends the call.
Casey looks at her, sympathetically. "We'll go this afternoon. Nothing will make him feel better than seeing you."
He takes the tooth out of her hand. "In the meantime, let's get this analyzed."
Before they go to see Chuck, the results are about to appear.
Casey turns to her. "Look, Walker, I hope he's right, too, but don't be disappointed if Bartowski's..."
She snaps, "Stop it! He's going to be right."
The results appear on the screen.
ANALYSYS COMPLETE.
100% HUMAN TOOTH.
Casey mutters, "Nothing abnormal. Just a tooth."
Sarah is shocked. "Chuck was wrong."
As he turns away, he comments, "I'm sorry."
She stops him. "Chuck definitely flashed. That is always right. He was just wrong about this tooth. The data must be in another one."
He nods. "Maybe, but how do we find out?"
She looks at him. "I'll go see Chuck. You follow Kowambe, see where he goes, what he does."
Sarah watches Chuck being brought to her. He looks so sad. She wants to just whisk him away from all this, but knows that won't help. He sits at the table opposite her and grasps her hands.
"Sarah, that scientist? He's still out there, and he's working for the Ring. I'm sure of it." Then he looks down, miserable. "You need to get that evidence analyzed, but I can't find it."
She clenches his hands. "The tooth. I took it from you."
He brightens up. "It's Dr. Kowambe's tooth. And it's not real. It's fake. It contains Ring intel. Secrets, plans, something."
She feels awful to have to tell him the results. "Chuck, we got it analyzed."
He beams at her. "What did you find out?"
She looks him in the eye. "Chuck, we ran every test possible, and... I'm sorry. It's just a tooth."
He looks shell shocked. "Are you sure?"
She looks at him, unwaveringly. "Yeah, but even though you were wrong about that tooth, it doesn't mean anything. The important thing is to stay positive. Everything's going to be okay."
His shoulders slump. "I know. Thanks for trying."
She lifts his chin up. "I saw you flash. I know you saw he had intel in a tooth. It was just the wrong tooth, Chuck."
He nods, morosely.
She leans across the table, kisses him and whispers, "We'll find him and get to the truth, my love."
He looks at her forlornly, just before being led away. "Maybe."
Sarah sat feeling so sorry for him. After a few seconds, she shook herself out of this feeling of helplessness. She had to get him out of here and take down this Ring operative.
She stands and rushes out to her car.
She will brook no arguments or anything standing in her way.
Entering Dreyfus's waiting room, she storms up to the woman at the desk, who asks if she has an appointment.
"If you were any good at your job, you'd know I don't," Sarah states bluntly. "Is he in?"
The woman is shaken. "He can't see you…" She didn't say he wasn't there, though.
"Oh, he'll see me!" Sarah storms over to his office and barges in.
Dreyfus is at his desk. He looks up. "Let me guess. You're here because of Chuck."
She launches straight in with her demand. "We need him out of there."
He raises a brow. "Why? Because you care about him?"
"No!" she retorts. "Well, yes, I do, but that's not the reason, right now. We need his help to catch an enemy of the state."
The doctor shakes his head. "He needs treatment for his condition. You should cope without him."
"Doctor, we can't do this without him. Do you want me to tell everyone you aided an enemy of the state?" she challenges.
"Threats will get you nowhere, Agent Walker, but…" He looks towards his visitor's chair. "… as you are not the only one asking this…"
Casey looks around the high-backed chair and nods to her. "I found Kowambe with the president, but I don't trust him."
"I still think Chuck needs treatment, though," Dreyfus states as the three of them head out.
As they enter the psychiatric unit, they see no one is at the check-in desk. When they get closer, they see two bodies in the office behind it.
Sarah and Casey draw their guns, as Dreyfus leads the way.
They hear sounds coming from one of the side rooms. Opening the door slightly, she hears Kowambe's voice. "Why did you take my tooth? More to the point, why did you take the wrong tooth?"
Chuck replies, obviously trying to sound like it is a surprise, "What? Wha- the... the wrong tooth?"
He replies, "The data is in a tooth. I believe this is the fake one you are looking for." And she can see him tap on a tooth on the right side of his mouth.
Chuck starts rambling, as he always does when nervous. "I was, I was right. I was right. Well, I was, I-I was wrong, I was wrong. Clearly I was wrong, but I was right! This is great news! This is great news! That means I'm not crazy!"
Sarah loves him so much and hearing him happy about that is so good.
Kowambe replies, as he draws some liquid into a syringe, "Yes. It also means, as soon as you tell me where you got your information- and rest assured, you will tell me- you are going to die."
Chuck continues to ramble as Sarah checks the room for Kowambe's men. "No, that's not great news at all. That's a giant needle; bad, bad. Colored liquid even worse."
Sarah has spotted two men. She taps her gun and points to them to let Casey know what she has planned. He nods.
Kowambe comments, "Yes, it's one of my favorites. Tetraclydine, a designer psychotropic cocktail. In around ten minutes, you're going to be extremely forthcoming." He moves forward to inject Chuck, so Sarah slams the door open and shoots both the guards. Casey rushes in and holds his gun to Kowambe's head. "I wouldn't try that."
Kowambe lowers the syringe, but then stabs it in Casey's leg and elbows him in the face. Casey reels back.
Sarah lifts her gun to shoot Kowambe, but he knocks it from her hand. He swings at her head, but she ducks and kicks him in the stomach. He is tough though and swings at her again, but she blocks it and leaps, kicking his head. He falls to the ground, unconscious.
She rushes to Chuck to make sure he is alright. "Chuck."
She hears Dreyfus say, "Well, well. Looks like it's good we came."
Chuck smiles at her. "You came back for me."
She is so relieved that he is unhurt. She kisses him hard. "I'll always come back for you."
General Beckman looks contrite. "It seems you're owed an apology, Mr. Bartowski. You were right about Kowambe." Chuck looks down and reaches for Sarah's hand and they thread their fingers together. The general continues, taking no notice of that. "He was illegally harvesting human organs, experimenting with genetic manipulation and reengineering. He was scheduled to meet a Ring operative to sell this research."
Chuck smiles. "Well, that's fantastic." Then he looks over at Sarah and his smile drops. "I mean, not-not the organ harvesting stuff, obviously. That's... that's very, very sad." Sarah smiles at his rambling, she loves it. He brightens and asks, "So, does this mean I have a clean bill of health?"
Beckman nods. "It would seem that way, Chuck, but I can't actually clear you."
"Well, then who can?" he asks.
Chuck has insisted, once again, that Sarah accompany him to see Dr. Dreyfus. This time Chuck pulls two chairs up to his desk and she sits next to him.
Chuck starts this time. "So... what did we land on here? That, uh, my dreams have the potential to work in concert with my flashes?"
Dreyfus replies with a question, as is usual with such doctors, "Is that where you think we landed, Chuck?"
Chuck remonstrates with his hands. "Oh, come on, Doc. Level with us. Am I cleared for duty or not?"
Dreyfus replies, "You were right, Chuck. Your dreams were caused by the Intersect. I'm clearing you for duty."
Sarah smiles and Chuck mutters, "All right."
However, Dreyfus cryptically states, "But..."
Sarah is nervous about that and so is Chuck, who instantly says, "But? But what? Why is there a 'but'?"
The doctor continues, "But your dreams are also proof of stress the Intersect puts on your brain. And it is my belief that that stress will continue and intensify, likely leading to serious mental deterioration."
Sarah can't hold this in. "What does that mean exactly? Is he okay?"
"This is a new science." Dreyfus shakes his head. "Time will tell."
They are both silent as she drives them home.
Sarah's head is spinning. It feels like they have only just gotten their lives sorted out and then this comes along. I can't lose Chuck now!
As soon as they enter the apartment, she drags him to the couch. "Chuck, we have to call your dad. Now."
He nods, still in a daze, but he calls his dad and puts him on speakerphone.
His dad answers, almost straight away. "Chuck?"
Chuck launches straight into the difficult topic. "Hi, Dad, I need to talk to you about something."
"Sure, what?"
Sarah watches Chuck's hand clench the phone. "I downloaded a new version of the Intersect."
"You WHAT?" his dad shouts, making both of them wince.
Chuck rushes to explain. "Sorry, Dad, it was the only way to stay alive. Bryce had just been killed by Ring agents and I, and Sarah, would've been next."
"Ring agents?" his dad sounded confused.
"The Ring ran Fulcrum," Chuck explains, although Sarah isn't sure that's even necessary. "There were five of them."
His dad asks a different question. "When was this?"
Chuck swallowed hard. "A few months ago."
"So, why tell me now?" He sounds genuinely confused.
"I'm having nightmares and the agency psychiatrist thinks the Intersect is causing it. He thinks it could get worse." There was a silence. "Dad?"
His dad finally responds, "He could be right. I'll come and see you, Chuck. I have something that can help."
Chuck and Sarah beam at each other. Chuck says, "Thanks, Dad. Soon?"
The reply is quick. "In a few days."
Sarah is overjoyed. She kisses Chuck hard.
He pushes her away. "I want to check on the search, as well." He rushes to his laptop and she follows.
They review what has been found. The tension within her eases as they get a very clear picture. After a while, he grins at her. "This shows that all the men that were working with Ryker back then are still with him, so no strays to worry about."
"You wonderful, wonderful man!" She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another deep, lengthy kiss; a kiss that leads to the inevitable expression of love for each other.
By the time they get to bed that night, they are both exhausted, but jubilant. She feels they are getting close to taking out Ryker and his men. She will rope Casey into helping. They also have a way to stop the Intersect from damaging Chuck. Two wonderful results.
Sarah drifts off, with Chuck spooning behind her. She is so thankful that he is in her life; not just for the search, but for everything good in her life now.
Sarah wakes as Chuck suddenly sits up in bed, gasping again. She wraps her hand around his wrist. "Hey, what's wrong?"
He looks at her, panicked. "Shaw, again, only this time he wasn't bleeding. I commented on it and he said, 'That's right, Chuck, I'm not.' I asked what that meant and he said, 'It means I'm still alive.' Sarah, if he's still alive, he could come for you again!"
She is shocked, but after the last set of nightmares, she can't help believing that Shaw is still alive, somehow, and will come for them. So much for happy dreams.
A/N: So, that was an alternative take on S3E16.
My struggle with the episode was that, while Sarah was opening up more and more, and expressing her love for Chuck, he was keeping secrets from her and lying to her. Not only that, he was sharing with Morgan, instead of her! This wasn't the Chuck she fell for; he had been so open and honest previously, but now was a closed-off liar. Not good! So, in this chapter, where they kept to the "no secrets, no lies," he tells her everything.
Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter in a review.