A/N: To recap, Chuck Bartowski received an e-card from his friend Bryce, either giving him a seizure, or disoreinting him until he fell down, making Chuck hit
his head and causing him to have seizures. Chuck remained in a coma the next five days in which he dreamed the series Chuck. Now Chuck has awakened and is trying to figure out what is real.
TLDR: Dreams are wild man. Thanks for all the love, this one will go slow, but we'll get there, pinky swear.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
"I'm going to put this badly, but, I'm gonna try to say this and hope it makes sense," Chuck began. Sarah nodded. "My whole relationship with Carina was what I thought it should be, not what it actually was. I convinced myself there was more there than what was really there. We were great, we had fun, we just weren't…"
"You weren't in love, but you thought you should be," Sarah said gently. Chuck nodded. "Chuck, you're not the first person to go through that."
"I know, I know," Chuck agreed. "But, here's the thing, the past five days…it's been five years in my head, and you and I had gotten…" he trailed off, a bit of blush spreading up his neck.
"Close?" Sarah offered, grinning.
"Yeah," he said softly. "Very close." He paused. "Sarah, you were my rock in all of that, and…and as confusing as things are in my head right now, unloading all of this to you…telling you…I'm just afraid it would make me more confused, and not understand what is reality."
"I see," Sarah said, squeezing his hand. "Well, Chuck Bartowski, I think there are a few things we should talk about, and get in the open." Chuck couldn't help himself, he began to chuckle, and then it turned into a full on laugh. "What?"
"See, in my dream, you were very closed off, not because you were trying to be mean, not that you were trying to hurt me…you just were in a position that you couldn't share things…your entire life, and you became a woman of few words." Sarah was silent. "But…" Chuck shook his head.
"But what?" she asked softly.
"You told me," Chuck said with a shrug. He was looking down at his hands folded in his lap on the bed. She wasn't completely understanding, and that's when it happened. He looked up at her, and locked eyes with her. In all her time with Bryce, she didn't know if anyone had ever looked at her like that…with love. "Your actions," he said softly, as a tear ran down his face. "They told me, and in that place, well, like in real life, I couldn't believe someone as wonderful as you…." He trailed off.
"We were very close," Sarah said not asked.
"You were my rock," he repeated. "And I have to remember that was there and this is here. You are my doctor."
Sarah started to speak when the door opened. "Director, General," Chuck blurted out. Graham and Beckman gave him weird looks. "Sorry, I've just been trying to say random words that pop into my head and see if I know the meaning."
"Mr. Bartowski, how are you?" Beckman asked, looking at his chart.
"I'm pretty good considering," Chuck replied. "And no matter what nonsense my mother threatened you with, I will not be suing, and if she does…well, we will do everything we can to make sure she won't."
Sarah gave Beckman and Graham a look as the older two seemed to be a little uncomfortable. "Mr. Bartowski, are you saying my care is adequate?" Sarah asked.
"No, Dr. Walker," Chuck replied. Sarah turned to him. "My sister wouldn't let you within one hundred miles of me if she didn't think you were the absolute best." Sarah smiled at Chuck and he felt his heart lurch in him. That was his smile, the one she gave him. He felt both amazing, and in pain, at the same time.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "So, no one will be dismissing you from the hospital tonight." She gave a pointed look at Beckman and Graham. "And you and I will begin our talks tomorrow about how we go forward, not just with your physical and mental recovery, but with your life as well." Chuck felt his mouth go dry. "I know what you do for a living and how you might be concerned how all of this will affect it. We will talk…about everything." The look she gave him he knew from his Sarah. It meant they would talk…about EVERYTHING. "Good night, Mr. Bartowski."
"Chuck, please, Dr. Walker," Chuck told her.
"Okay, but only if you call me Sarah," she told him.
"Okay….Sarah." It felt so right coming off of his tongue. She gave him a smile and left. She gathered her things and headed toward her car. She needed to go home and think. There were things he had said…implied…
"Hey, hot stuff, how about you and I go get a cup of coffee." Sarah turned at the voice and smiled. She hadn't even noticed the car beside her.
"Molly, normally I'd say yes, but I need to-"
"Get in the car, Sarah," Molly told her. Sarah just stood there. "We need to talk about your man."
"I don't have a man, Molly," Sarah reminded her.
Molly leaned forward, grinning. "Chuck." Molly watched Sarah fight to not move a muscle over his name. "We need to talk about some things he has told me..." Molly trailed off. "There are things I know Sarah, that you can't treat him without knowing. Consider it…need to know." Molly smirked at that. Sarah had no idea why. She also had no idea why she was in the car beside Molly. That wasn't true, she did. She just really shouldn't…right?"
}o{
Sarah sat there, somewhat stunned, but also thinking. "I rode with him in the ambulance," Sarah said to Molly. Molly had told her everything Chuck had told Molly, and now Sarah was trying to process it. "I told him I was going to help him. That I was going to do everything I could to save him. I told him to trust me." Sarah looked away.
"What is it, Sarah?" Molly asked.
"Ellie," Sarah snorted. "I…I…" She took a breath and continued. "Ellie kept telling me about him, and how great he is. Molly, she built him up so much, and you know what I did, instead of coming to his birthday party, I stayed at work."
"There was an emergency," Molly reminded her.
"There's always a damn emergency," Sarah said, shaking her head. "It's all I've done. I have poured myself into my work since Bryce and I broke up. I've done nothing but lived for work. One patient after another. I was saving people, or so I told myself. I was keeping busy…"
"For the greater good…" Molly said, realizing how Sarah's job in real life and in Chuck's dream mirrored each other. "Are you telling me that Chuck does know you?"
"I'm telling you the brain does weird things, that dreams are weird, and things are interpreted certain ways." Sarah paused and chuckled. "And sometimes, in a dream, a tree is just a damn tree." Molly laughed. "But during that ambulance ride I told him some things and…he heard them." Molly's eyes went wide.
"Molly, I told him that I was going to stay with him, all night. That I was going to be there. That he was going to have his life back, and we were going to help him."
"Okay, but what about that mess in Prague?" Molly asked.
"That could have been when his mom went over my head and Beckman and Graham let Dr Shaw come and work with Chuck," Sarah said softly. "Mary threatened them and they had no choice, luckily Ellie stopped that from happening." Sarah was quiet a second. "I bet when he was having the dream about me nearly shooting Mary and us having guns pointed at each other was when I told her off in his room."
"Okay, but what about Morgan?" Molly asked. "That crazy thing about the beard."
"Morgan came to see Chuck all the time, at night," Sarah told her. "One night, it was late, I walked by and saw him in there, and I might have flipped the intercom to listen." Molly laughed. "Morgan was talking about me and how that I really cared about him, and he thought I was in love with Chuck because of how much care I took."
"But you're not," Molly told her. "It's only because you blame yourself for not being there when Chuck had the episode, right?"
"You can't fall in love with someone you've never met," Sarah replied. "You can't fall in love seeing videos of someone and the things they do. You can't fall in love hearing the stories his sister tells about him."
"Oh, shit," Molly said softy, grinning madly.
Sarah ignored her and continued. "You can't fall in love with someone who's never really talked to you, but when he does, he tells you he trusts you, but he doesn't even know you."
"His brain knows you," Molly pointed out. Sarah let out a rough breath. "What are you going to do?"
"I want to be there for him," Sarah admitted.
"Because you're his doctor?" Molly asked. Sarah shook her head. "Because you feel guilty?" Sarah shook her head again. "Because you…have feelings for him?" Sarah didn't move her head for a moment and then she slowly nodded.
"Interesting," Molly said, grinning at Sarah. Sarah threw a wadded up piece of paper at her. "Okay, this all making sense, except for Morgan getting the Intersect-"
"That could be when Morgan told me to take his brain and transplant it into Chuck so he would survive, and I then reminded Morgan that what makes Chuck, Chuck, is in his head. His brain, his caring about people."
"That surprisingly makes sense," Molly admitted. "Okay, what about John Casey?"
"CASEY!" Sarah nearly yelled.
}o{
Back in Chuck's room, immediately after Sarah left
"So, one thing we had to do to pacify your mother is agree for her to hire someone to be there for you in case of emergency," Graham said, grimacing.
"I'll pay for it," Chuck told them. "That woman has got to quit."
"She means well," Beckman began, and then she stopped herself. "I am sorry Mr. Bartowski if at any time you thought that we thought of you as anything other than a patient. We were not trying to experiment on your brain."
"Was that dad?" Chuck asked, chuckling. "He really is a bit of a whackadoo to be a professor." Graham's eyes were watering from trying not to laugh. "Did he accuse you of trying to plant nanotechnology in my brain." Graham turned away. "Playing the hits I see. While I appreciate you two being here, I'm sure there are many other things you two need to take care of."
"We do," Beckman agreed. "But, we wanted to let you know that per the arrangement with Mary, we do have someone who has agreed to watch you. To make sure you can get around okay."
The door opened and Chuck shut his eyes as he saw the man.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Bartowski?" Graham asked.
"No, not at all," Chuck replied. "Is that the man who's going to watch over me?"
"Yes," Beckman said proudly. "Meet John Casey, EMT, he is one of our best."
"I don't know that taking away an EMT is the best idea," Chuck began.
"Actually you would be helping me," Casey said. "I'm experiencing a bit of…" he looked a little ashamed.
"Burnout," Beckman finished for him. "It's nothing to be ashamed of John. It happens to everyone."
"Well, if you think it's best, thank you Mr. Casey."
"It's just John," Casey replied.
"You sure, because…you kinda look like a Casey," Chuck replied. Graham snorted. "Everyone calls you Casey, don't they."
"They do," Casey admitted. "And, honestly, I'm use to it and prefer it, so…"
"Casey it is," Chuck said. "Again, I apologize Drs. Graham and Beckman."
"No need," Beckman said. "We'll be going," and with that they left.
The door shut, and Casey studied Chuck for a moment. "Go ahead, say whatever you want, because I have a feeling that you really aren't good at holding things in."
"For a smart guy, you're a damn moron," Casey told Chuck.
"God I've missed you," Chuck blurted out. Casey looked utterly confused.
A/N: For those wondering, no, this is not what I did as oneoreleven. The whole series is a dream. Thanks for reading and for the amazing reviews. You guys are absolutely amazing. Thank you.
Next time:
"I was trying to figure out who I am," Chuck said.
"You're trying to figure out who you are?" Casey repeated. He grunted.
"That's the, 'you don't even believe that,' grunt," Chuck said before he could stop himself. Casey gave him a look. "Am I right?"
"You are," Casey said.
Trust me, this is gonna be fun.
