A/N: I see I didn't respond to the reviews of the last chapter. Sorry about that because I do really appreciate them. On top of that, it's been nearly three months since that was published, so you may need to re-read the first three chapters to remember this story before reading this chapter. I hope you feel it's worth it.

Thanks to Captainrick944 who beta'd this for me again.

So, in this gentle romance, Chuck is back at work and Sarah starts her physiotherapy…


Shot
Chapter 4: Therapy


Sarah had spent the morning fretting. Chuck really wanted to help her by taking her to the hospital for her first physiotherapy appointment. She knew it was stupid for him to do that, and felt she should have turned him down more forcefully. Now she needed to do that by phone.

Three times she'd picked up her phone to make that call only to put the phone down again. She'd told herself that disturbing him at work was not a good idea, but that didn't really cut it.

After that third time, she sat and analyzed the situation she'd gotten herself in.

She was new to this real relationship concept and really didn't want to blow it before it had even started. She was sure that most guys would brush it off if she adamantly refused the lift. They'd either just turn up and demand she go with them or accept her wishes. Chuck, however, was a more sensitive guy. She really didn't want to hurt his feelings or, worse, make him feel unwanted or even not needed in her life. That certainly wasn't the case. Chuck made her happy. He made her feel wanted, something she had only felt when her skills were essential on a mission. Thinking back, they didn't 'want' her as much as 'needed' her.

As she sat there thinking it through, she realized she both wanted and needed Chuck Bartowski. Not physically, yet. She did dream about that, but it was more of an emotional desire. She'd never felt that before, and it was a bit unnerving. In the past, she'd always been able to shut down thoughts of anything but the current mission. She never really experienced emotions other than sadness when a partner died. She certainly had never 'wanted' someone and looked forward to seeing them as she did Chuck.

For a moment, she wondered if it was just gratitude for everything he'd done for her but she pushed that thought aside. She was very grateful to both Chuck and his sister but knew she could have managed without that help, and even if the apartment had not worked out, she would still want to see Chuck.

For a while, she daydreamed about him, something she had never done about anyone before other than perhaps her mom. She thought of his unruly hair that just cried out to her fingers. His soulful eyes that just drew her in. His height, six inches taller than her, so she would need to lean up to kiss him even in heels. And those lips that excited her like none had ever before.

Yes, he had faults, but none as bad as hers. His worst was his lack of self-confidence, something that hopefully she could help him with. She knew she was a beautiful woman since the CIA remodeled her, at least. Having her on his arm would hopefully give him confidence.

Thinking about him made her miss him. This was the longest they'd been apart since he arrived in her hospital room. That was ridiculous, of course. Yes, they were going to be a couple, but there was no way she could spend all her time with him. She'd stifle him.

Maybe that was what all relationships were like. Happy time together interspersed with time apart, missing each other.

This actually firmed up what she was going to do. Being honest with herself, she didn't want to turn him down. She looked forward to seeing him and having him take her to her appointment. God, that makes me seem pathetic, but I really do want to see him!


Chuck had a rather hectic morning. He'd arrived early to see his boss and made the request for flexibility. Chuck was over the moon when he was told that as long as he did the hours, he could split the day up as he wished. That was unless a big project came up that needed the whole team to be working together.

Chuck worked until 12:30 before leaving to pick up Sarah. He called her on the way to let her know when he'd likely arrive.

"I'll come down and wait for you," she told him, and sounded happy.

When she ended the call, Chuck wondered if her happiness was because the physiotherapy would help her get back to normal or if she was as excited to see him as he was to see her. He knew that sounded ridiculous. They'd seen each other last night, but every minute with her fired up his senses.

As he slowed to a stop in front of Maison 23, Sarah walked to the car. He jumped out and ran around to open the door for her.

Sarah smiled and gave him a quick kiss before climbing in, saying, "Always the gentleman, Chuck." It was one of his many endearing qualities, she thought. He bent to help her in with her bad leg, but she waved him away. "I need to do things myself, or I'll never get better."

Once he was back in the driver's seat, he set off and told her what he thought was good news. "Until a project comes up that needs me working with others, I can take you and stay with you each day, Sarah, As long as I work the hours, of course."

Sarah thought about that for a while before saying anything. "It's very kind of you, Chuck, but still a big imposition."

He looked at her and smiled. "Sarah, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

She knew that was true. He'd already done so much more than she could have imagined.

She looked at the man who had become the center of her life in such a short space of time. Once again, Sarah was reminded that she wasn't used to this relationship stuff. Particularly balancing needs and wants. Her own and that of the other person.

She was still surprised at how much she wanted to spend time with Chuck. She only really had one previous relationship, if you could actually call it that. Neither she nor Bryce called it a relationship, after all. It had started as part of the missions, pretending to be a couple. A married couple, in fact. Then, at the end of one of those missions, they fell into bed together. It became the norm. Post-mission sex didn't mean a true relationship, though. However, she, at least, felt a growing fondness for Bryce and thought the reverse was true as well. Of course, she may have been wrong about that. However, even near the end, when she thought their relationship was becoming stronger, she never felt the need to be with him when they were apart.

Here, where she had only known Chuck for a few days and had never had sex with him, she felt this almost overwhelming need to be with him. A yearning, if you will. It was crazy! It was more than crazy, in fact. This new idea of Chuck's didn't seem to fit that, though.

She slipped back into planning mode, something she always did before missions, but hadn't expected to use in a relationship. She found herself sitting next to him, calculating the relative merits of different ways forward.

If he did as he suggested, each physio day, he'd pick her up like today. They'd be together as he drove her to the hospital. He'd come in and sit with her while she waited for her appointment, then she'd leave him for the therapy session, but rejoin him after it was over and possibly after a shower too. Then, he'd drive her home and leave her to go to work. Assuming he took his one-hour lunch break as part of this, he'd have at least three and a half hours to make up, probably more like four. That was four hours she wouldn't see him in the evening, probably the whole evening lost. And she'd only see him for, at most, ninety minutes during the day. The numbers didn't stack up.

She looked over at him sitting there, quite obviously feeling he'd achieved so much and proud of it. How could she tell him she didn't want that help? She didn't want to take that feeling of success from him, but he hadn't really thought this through. Or maybe he had and was so focused on helping her, making her visits as painless as possible, that he felt other factors were not relevant.

There was no way to discuss this without him realizing the implications didn't work for her. She'd have to be honest with him. She never wanted to lie again, and certainly not with Chuck. Maybe if she led him to come to the conclusions on his own rather than just telling him.

"How much time would you need to make up?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Haven't worked that out."

'Oh boy!' she thought.

So, she asked a series of questions so that he could work it out. She watched as realization dawned on him. By the end, he said, "Wow! I'd be away from work for four and a half to five hours. Even with a one-hour lunch break, that still a lot to make up." Chuck looked at the woman of his dreams. "By the time I left work, I'd have no time to see you in the evening.

As she'd been looking at his profile, she'd wanted to reach out and run her fingers through those curls of his. It had made her think about other things they could be doing when her body was up to it. She flushed at those thoughts, but it did draw an unbidden comment out of her. "You could always stay the night."

Chuck's hands suddenly gripped the steering wheel very tightly. Sarah realized what she'd done. "Sorry, Chuck. I shouldn't have said that."

He kept his eyes on the road for a few moments before replying. "The thought of sleeping with you, and I mean actually sleeping, sounds wonderful. However, it would be more time together but not together,"

Sarah liked the idea of sleeping together. She looked forward to when they could. However, she knew exactly what he meant. "Like you being at the hospital while I am receiving the physiotherapy?"

"Yeah," he replied. He was silent for a minute. "Sounds like me trying to help is not such a good idea."

He looked upset. and she wanted to bring that smile back. "Chuck, I still don't know when they'll want to see me, but if it's in the afternoon, and late enough, what if we did things differently?"

"Go on."

"You could still help by coming and picking me up. If you started work early and worked your hours, what time would you be able to leave?"

He quickly replied, "About four."

"So, you could get to the hospital to pick me up by five?"

He nodded. "Yeah, maybe earlier."

"So, if I am ready by then, you can pick me up and we can start our evening together from then."

As they were just arriving at the hospital, she hastened to say what she wanted to happen this time. "Chuck, today, drop me here, go back to work and then come and see me when you finish."

This wasn't what Chuck had planned, thinking he'd go in with her and have time with her, but he had to admit, she was right. He wanted to see her in the evening too. "Okay."

He stopped the car, and she was about to get out when he placed a hand on her left wrist. She turned to him, and he leaned across towards her. Then he cupped the side of her face, and gave her a tender kiss.

Sarah hadn't expected this, but kissed him back, enjoying it. As he pulled away, he said, "You are quite brilliant. You know that, don't you?".

She grinned. "Because I want to see you in the evenings?"

"That's you being crazy," he joked. "You're brilliant at working out the best thing to do."

"First of all, I'm not crazy, other than being crazy about you, Chuck, but the assessment of best courses of action is a skill I had to use a lot in my old job. Using it for something good in my life is new." That was all she needed to say but added, "Everything about my life is new now, but I am happy following my heart and trying to spend as much time as possible with you,"

He smiled lovingly at her. "You know, every time I see you, I fall for you a bit more."

Sarah loved hearing that but had to go, so she ended with a tease. "I should hope so, boyfriend." She gave him a peck on the lips and got out. "See you tonight sometime."

"Yeah. I'll let you know when," he replied.

He watched her walk away. Even with her bad knee, he still found watching her breathtaking. Her clothes weren't tight fitting, but her rear was still stunning to watch.


Sarah had forgotten how much she hated the first session of a physiotherapy course of treatment. This civilian version was easier than the CIA treatment, which aimed to get operatives back in the field as fast as possible, but this still hurt.

She shouldn't complain. The treatment would enable her to get full functionality back, but the thought of the planned visits three days a week for four weeks was still daunting. Then, she would be assessed again. If insufficiently recovered, they'd extend in two weekly blocks.

Having suffered the CIA rehabilitation in the past, Sarah was sure that she'd be better in less than the four weeks, but couldn't say that for sure.

So, a further eleven sessions, along with personal workouts in between.

She had to admit that her knee hurt on the way home, so the idea that Chuck would be doing that drive was both reassuring but also worrying. She knew he would take good care of her and help her as much as he could. That was the positive side. However, she also knew, like today, her mood would darken through the session, and she'd be as grumpy as she was with the taxi driver today. She was fairly confident that Chuck would brush it off, maybe even joke about it, but she didn't like the thought of taking it out on him, even unintentionally.

Somehow, she'd have to control herself. That made her smile. In her job, she'd always controlled herself. Sure, she had a temper, but apart from in interrogations, she never let it show. That seemed to be something else that had changed since leaving the agency. Maybe that was because she was finally in charge of her own destiny. Before, she'd always had orders and protocols to follow. Now, she had fewer constraints, in a way. She couldn't kill with impunity, nor could she drive as fast as she wanted, but she wasn't bound by the orders of others.

Now, she was totally responsible for her actions. And she was so out of her depth in this relationship. She was enjoying being in it but didn't really know how to behave sometimes. However, she did recognize that she didn't want to upset Chuck. Didn't want to be the grumpy, snappy individual that she had been with that poor taxi driver on the way to the hotel. She would need to be mindful of this. The last thing she wanted was to drive Chuck away. She found that just the thought of that happening was really upsetting.

She knew she really liked him and wanted him around, but this was more than that. This was almost desperation. She didn't just want him. She needed him. She'd never felt this way before. She'd never needed anyone. She was the independent agent. A loner who worked best on her own. She could work with others, but preferred working in isolation.

Now, she was becoming this needy, dependent woman. For a moment, she blamed that on her injuries. She was dependent because of them. That was certainly true in terms of transport needs. She needed others to help her get around, whether that was Chuck or a taxi driver. However, it didn't cover her need to have Chuck in her life. She knew in her heart that would not go away when her knee and shoulder were fully recovered. This wasn't a physical need, although there was an element of that too. No, this was an emotional need, something she'd never experienced before. It was a bit frightening, but because the object of that need, Chuck, exhibited it too, it was also thrilling. She was experiencing something new and exciting. She acknowledged that most people her age would have probably experienced this for the first time a lot earlier in their lives, but she didn't care. She was experiencing it now, and that was all that mattered. And it was all because she'd met the most adorable man.

She looked at her watch. 5:25. It was possible that Chuck might get here in an hour. She hadn't had a shower yet and needed one. She didn't want to smell sweaty when he arrived. So, she headed through into the bathroom to address that.


Chuck was standing outside her room again. He felt confident. The woman on the other side of this door wanted to be with him as his girlfriend. He never thought his life could ever feel as good as it did now. How he could have won the affection of the most beautiful woman in the world was beyond him. How she hadn't already been snapped up was a surprise before she had told him about her last job. That job probably explained a lot. It had totally consumed her attention, so she hadn't had time for relationships.

Now she was free from that life. He was so glad about that. If he'd met her back then, he was sure he would still have fallen for her, but she probably wouldn't even have noticed him. However, if she had, and they'd gotten together like they have now, he would have worried about her safety every time she left him for 'work.'

What he needed to do now was so much simpler. He needed to help her recover from being shot, however she needed it. He wanted to be with her as much as possible, which was just like anyone else did with a girlfriend, wasn't it? She seemed to want that too, which was wonderful.

He also was going to do his best to help her find a job.

He knocked on the door.

Sarah quickly opened the door. ""Wow! Were you standing there waiting for me to knock?" he teased.

Sarah hadn't been. She was standing but had quickly crossed the room. Maybe the physiotherapy was doing good already. She didn't say that, though. "Every minute apart is torture, Chuck." She had thought that slightly amusing in her head, but once the words left her lips, it just seemed needy.

Chuck could tell she wasn't being totally serious but felt there was an element of truth in it, so replied, "I feel the same, Sarah."

She was surprised at how serious he seemed about saying that. He was naturally a joker, but that felt real. There was only one way she could answer that right now. She held his face and kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, deepening the kiss. It was the first time either had opened their lips. Sarah knew it would be good, and it was. Her tongue tentatively brushed the tip of his, then more determinedly felt its way along the length of it.

She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, being careful not to exert any pressure on her knee. He dropped his hands to hold her bottom, which sent a thrill through her.

Chuck walked her into her room, kicking the door shut behind him. He hadn't expected a kiss or embrace like this. He was in heaven right now.

He carried her to the bed. He had no expectations that anything would happen there, but it was going to be more comfortable for her if he set her down there.

Sarah didn't want this kiss or embrace to end, but knew it had to. When he lowered her onto the bed, she suddenly felt this was too soon. Not for her mental state, she was absolutely ready for it, but she knew her shoulder and her knee would ruin the pleasure she expected.

However, she didn't have to say anything. He gently lay her on her back and pulled away. "I just thought this was the best place to set you down, Sarah. I wasn't going to…" he trailed off.

She looked into those expressive eyes of his. She could see desire wasn't lacking. He was just thinking of her physical needs. She had to let him know how she felt. "I hate my shoulder and my knee right now, Chuck."

That lovely smile appeared on his face. She wanted to kiss him again, but then he spoke.

Chuck was still thinking about the kiss and how she effectively enveloped him. He'd wanted to be with her all afternoon, but her greeting was even better than he could have expected. He knew he was a complete goner but surprised himself with what he blurted out, "I think I'm in love with you, Sarah."

That pushed all other thoughts out of her head. He loves me?

Chuck saw the surprise on her face and cursed himself for saying it, and guessed what she was thinking. They'd only known each other for three days. How could he fall in love with her so quickly?

Sarah thought about her feelings for Chuck. She'd never felt like this about anyone before. She knew she wanted him in her life and could imagine him being with her long-term. She wanted it, in fact. Did that make it love? They hardly knew each other. He certainly knew so little about her. She wasn't sure he would still feel this way about her when he did know. However, she did want him, so she needed to tell him.

"Chuck, I've never felt like this about anyone before. It's not just desire, I feel an emotional connection with you, but you don't know much about me. I… I want to tell you, but I'm afraid you'll not feel the same about me after that." She looked away. She felt emotional, something she had never been before meeting Chuck, but tears? She never cried.

"I have an idea about the life of a CIA agent, Sarah. I know it will have been hard for you."

Just the way he said it reminded her what type of man he was. He cared about her. She sat up and patted the bed beside her. He sat and faced her.

Four days ago, she would never have thought what she was about to do would ever happen. She had never told anyone about her past before joining the CIA. Langston Graham had known, but he was long gone. Now she was going to tell a man she'd only known for three days. It should feel wrong, but it didn't. She trusted him completely.

"I'm going tell you about my life before the CIA, as well as what I did when in it, Chuck. I've never told this to anyone, but you need to know if we are going to be in the sort of relationship I think you want."

The way she said that made him frown. She guessed what he was thinking, so she rushed forward. "I mean a long-term relationship, Chuck. I've never had one, but I just know I want one with you."

"Me too," he said around a huge grin.

She patted the back of his hand. "Hold that thought. You might reconsider after I've told you about my past."

He was about to argue, but she held up a finger, and he fell silent, waiting to hear what she had to say.

She took a deep breath before starting. This felt like make-or-break time. She really hoped she wasn't going to be brokenhearted at the end of it.


A/N: Stopping there. I know that's cruel, but I don't want this chapter to lengthen much further. Next chapter, Sarah tells all. It won't be such a long wait for it, though, as I have already started writing it.

Thoughts on this chapter?