A/N: Our tale continues

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck


They slowly made their way out of the hospital room, him in his track pants, tee shirt, and signature Chucks. His mind reminded him of the times they had been in hospitals before, and he nearly faltered.

"You okay?" Sarah asked.

Chuck nodded, grateful it didn't hurt as much as it usually did. At least that was getting better. "I proposed to… her, in a hospital."

"I see," Sarah replied. "I knew that, but didn't put it all together."

"Damn it," he swore softly, mad at himself for doing it… again.

"Hey, you two," Chuck heard Zondra say. "Going out for a walk?"

"I was going to take him to sit outside, if you think that's all right," Sarah began, nerves in her voice.

"Dr. Walker… Sarah," Zondra began. "I wasn't fair to you-"

"No, it was me, I never thought-"

"You two could just both say I'm sorry and hug," Chuck offered. Both women turned to look at him. "Or, I could just stand here and be quiet."

"He is right," Sarah groused, opening her arms. Zondra gave her a hug, making Chuck grin at them. "Listen, I mean it… you're his doctor."

"Well, as his doctor, I want to wait one more night before releasing him," Zondra told Sarah. "I sent Casey home to get some sleep. Chuck's going to need Casey."

"I agree," Sarah said with a nod. "But where will he stay?" She turned to Chuck. "Your house is being renovated, right?"

"Uh, what day is it?" Chuck asked, trying to figure out how many more days until the work was done on his house.

"That's the other reason," Zondra told them. "Ellie is doing the final inspection of your house to make sure it satisfies her. You're not sleeping upstairs for a while."

Chuck laughed softly. "My guess is my mother never thought about any of that, right?" Zondra didn't say anything. "Okay, I stay here another night. But is it okay if I go sit outside with Sarah?"

"That's up to Sarah, she's off the clock," Zondra told him. Chuck gave Sarah a look, and she gave a shy shrug. "But if you do, you should probably hold her hand so that you have some support." With that, Zondra turned and walked off.

"That's not really true, is it?" Chuck called out after her. Zondra turned, never slowing, and shrugged. She spun back around and went through the door leading to the stairwell. Chuck felt his hand being held, and looked down, seeing Sarah's hand capture his. He looked back up at her. "Being cautious, huh?"

Sarah grinned at him. "You've hurt your head. I wouldn't want to lose you."

"I wouldn't want to lose you," he said softly, not thinking. He saw the look on her face, but didn't apologize. He was glad he didn't, as she gave him a warm smile in return.

}o{

"So, Devon has already talked to me and Ellie, and we all think it would be good if you slowed down your workouts a bit," Sarah said. The two were sitting on the bench, enjoying the late afternoon sun.

"Huh," Chuck said, chuckling. "So, in my dream I never worked out, and it used to irritate you."

"How so?" Sarah asked, turning toward him and pulling one leg under herself, propping her elbow on her knee.

"Well, when I had the Intersect 2.0, I would just flash and could do whatever," Chuck told her. "No training needed. But I did have to do some cardio, so my muscles wouldn't feel like I was about to die."

"Interesting," Sarah told him. "So, I was an agent… how much did I work out?" Chuck let out a low whistle. "Really?"

"Sarah, you were a certified badass. You were always training. There wasn't much you couldn't do. You fought half a country for me… hell, maybe all of it."

Sarah laughed. "God, so my dad's a con-artist, and I'm a ninja."

"Yeah," Chuck replied. He turned to her with a grin, but seemed to think better of whatever he was thinking.

"Tell me," she said, softly.

"So, I learned some defensive fighting from Carina," Chuck began. "And in the dream you taught me some. When I can do physical stuff again, I was gonna offer to teach you, if you'd like, but I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why's that?" Sarah asked.

"Well… you see…" Chuck cleared his throat, and looked away. "I just don't know that-"

"It led to you and Carina having sex, right?" Sarah asked. Chuck looked down. "You do know that's okay, right?"

"I mean, yes," Chuck replied. "But, I was so excited thinking I could show you something you didn't know, that, well, I forgot about what that led to. And then I was concerned that you would think I was trying to…" He cleared his throat. Sarah burst out laughing. "What?"

"Nothing," Sarah said, shaking her head. Chuck just gave her a look. "I mean, to watch you spiral like that… that was special, Chuck."

"Thanks," Chuck replied, shaking his head. She rubbed his nearest shoulder. "You know the hardest part about all of this?" Sarah shook her head. "I'm trying to move forward. But, I'm limited in what I can do, because if I do the wrong thing, I'll hurt myself or possibly make things worse."

"So, it's not so much that you need to work for money, but that you need to work to keep your mind occupied," Sarah said.

Chuck was silent for a moment. "I don't need the money," he said softly. "I don't know how to say that and not sound like some… jerk."

"I don't think you sound like a jerk," Sarah told him. "So, all you ever did at work was use the computer?"

"I mean, yeah," Chuck said with a shrug. "I had to code, and write stories, and-"

"Wait, when you say, write stories, do you mean into your game?" Sarah asked.

"No, like I had to come up with storylines, create dialog or ideas about what an area in the game should look like. A lot of what I did was basically taking notes," Chuck told her.

Sarah chuckled and shook her head. She looked around and saw someone. "Fred, could you stay with Chuck here for a moment? I'll be right back." She turned to Chuck, not able to stop her grin. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Yeah," Chuck replied, confused. Sarah got up and hurried off.

"Man, you're the one who had to have part of his skull cut out," Fred said, making Chuck turn to him. "How did that feel?"

"I was unconscious," Chuck told Fred.

"Yeah, probably best."

"Yeah," Chuck replied. He looked out at the sky, thinking about how crazy things were. Here he was, dating Sarah…scratch that, Doctor Sarah Walker. He thought about his sister, and Devon's crazy schedule, and realized he needed to get used to not seeing her sometimes for a few days because of work.

He couldn't stop the grin on his face. They were dating. He had woken up, thinking he was alone, and now he was dating Doctor Sarah Walker.

"I'm back," she said, a grin on her face. "Thanks, Fred." Fred nodded and walked off. "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem," Chuck told her. She pulled out a phone. "That's my phone."

"It is," Sarah told him. "Now, if you would be so kind to unlock it, I wanted to show you something." She handed him the phone, he unlocked it and handed it back to her. "See this icon? It records when you talk."

"I know how a phone works," he said, unable to stop the grin on his face. It made her giggle.

"Good, then you know you could talk into it, and put down some of those thoughts that you normally type out," Sarah explained.

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Chuck asked. She then pulled out a notebook and a pencil. "Really?"

"I'm just saying, some writers only write in a notebook," she said, in a teasing voice. "You can still do stuff, Chuck."

"Thank you," he told her sincerely. He took the notebook and stared at it. The bullet train surfaced in his memory, how he had drawn a house that she had described.

How he had drawn their family.

"You okay?" He lifted his head, and looked at her, seeing the concern. "Is this too much?" He shook his head quickly. "Chuck, what's wrong?"

"You and I… we… I drew something on paper, right before you lost your memory," Chuck explained. "It just felt real again for a moment."

"And that was when you lost me?" Sarah asked.

"No," Chuck said. "That was when I lost her." Sarah couldn't help but twist her lips to keep the smile off her face, making his smile grow. "What?"

"The mannerisms are uncanny," Chuck said with a shrug. He looked back at her. "Thank you, Sarah."

"For what?"

"Saving my life," Chuck replied. "Giving this insanity a chance. Staying after your shift ended to see me."

"All of it, is my pleasure," she told him.

"Listen, I'm not trying to run you off, but I have a sister and brother-in-law who are doctors. I know how crazy things can get, and sometimes you need rest whenever you can get it."

"I really don't want to leave," Sarah admitted.

"I really don't want you to leave," Chuck countered. He was silent for a moment. "I'm sort of scared to go home, if I'm honest."

"Who wouldn't be, after all you've been through." Chuck gave her a grateful smile. "And I'm not just saying that to try to make you feel better. It's the truth. Who wouldn't be?"

"Maybe in a day or two, when I get back to my house and can manage, would you like me to make you dinner?"

Sarah pulled back, grinning. "Chuck Bartowski, are you asking me out?"

"Yes, I am," Chuck told her. "Dr. Sarah Walker, would you go out with me?"

"Can you cook?"

"I can," Chuck assured her. "Ellie taught me, and you have to know how good a cook she is."

"I do," Sarah replied. "Yes, I'd love to, but make sure and cook enough for Casey."

She began to giggle at the look on his face, as it became obvious he had forgotten about Casey. "Yeah, I guess I should."

"Talk to you tomorrow?" she asked, standing.

"You're just going to leave me here?" he asked, a bit dramatically. She shook her head at him and laughed. She held out her hand, and he took it. He stood up beside her, their eyes locked. "I gotta say, I'm starting to really like spending time with you, Dr. Walker."

"I told you to call me, Sarah," Sarah told him. She grinned at him. "I mean, maybe there might come a point I'd like you to call me Dr. Walker, in certain situations…" she grinned and shrugged.

"Oh my God," he breathed, making her laugh.

"Question," she began, a devilish smile playing on her lips. "Did I like it when we were married, and you called me Agent Walker?"

"Oh no," Chuck replied. Sarah nodded, and he leaned down, his lips close to her ears. "Then it was Agent Bartowski, and you loved it." Sarah's eyes went wide, and she couldn't help but feel things shoot through her as he pulled back, a confident look on his face.

"I see," she said, trying to smooth her features. "Let's get you back to your room and into bed." Her eyes went wide. "I mean-"

Chuck burst out laughing, and she couldn't help but join him.


A/N: *squints* That's banter and flirting, isn't it?