A/N: Sorry for the delay. Life and research on this fic. I am not a Neurologist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so…if I'm wrong on some of this, I'm sorry.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
"Casey, what's going on?" Chuck asked the next afternoon, as John entered the room.
The ward had been quiet all day, and what few nurses Chuck had seen were running up and down the hallways.
"Huge bus crash, lots of injuries," Casey said, shaking his head. "Your sister," Casey paused, not sure what to say next.
"Doctors Zondra and Sarah?" Chuck offered.
"Sure," Casey said, rolling his eyes. "Are all down there. Lots of head injuries."
"Jesus," Chuck breathed.
"Yeah, it's bad, but you are getting discharged here in a few. We've had to change some things up from the plan," Casey explained.
"The plan?" Chuck asked, an eyebrow raised.
}o{
Casey stopped the wheelchair in front of the SUV and the door opened. Molly emerged from the vehicle. "Hey," she said softly, helping him stand, then hugging him.
"Hey, yourself," Chuck said squeezing her tight. It was then he saw who was driving. "Okay, you can't see me in the hospital, but now you're going to drive me? For the love of God, if we get in a wreck, I'll never see you again."
Bryce sighed. He was grinning, and knew he deserved the ribbing his friend was giving him. "I know," he began.
"Hey, I'm joking," Chuck told him. "Thanks for this."
"You're welcome," came the warm voice from the back.
"See, you are in love with me, and now you're stalking me," Chuck said to Carina, who was beaming at Chuck.
"Since you have a brain injury, I'm gonna let you have that one. But once you're cleared, I will return to slapping the stupid out of you," Carina told him. Bryce looked over at Chuck, who shrugged.
"What? She said that's how she helped keep me smart," Chuck told Bryce, who's eyes widened.
"It wasn't sexual, Bryce," Carina said, laughing. "I'd just pop him on the shoulder when he said something stupid. He didn't need dumb thoughts in that big ole brain of his."
"So, what Bryce is learning is Carina doesn't do that to my brother because if you knock all the dumb out of him, there will be nothing left," Molly said, getting in the back beside Carina.
Casey shut Chuck's door once he was in. "And, with that, I will get in my car and follow," Casey told them. He walked off, with Chuck giggling.
"I needed this, guys, thank you," he said softly. "This feels right."
"It's been weird without you, Curls," Carina told him, and then looked at his head. "And it's weird without your curls."
"You leave my curls out of this, missy," Chuck told her. "You have your own man now, to run your fingers through his hair."
"Just not too hard," Molly told Carina. "You don't want to knock all the dumb out of him."
"I hate you," Bryce said. Molly just beamed at Bryce as he looked at her in the rearview mirror.
"I know," Molly said sweetly.
Things felt right to Chuck for the first time in a long time.
}o{
As they neared his house, a thought occurred to Chuck. "This is going to sound strange, but Jeff and Lester… they are still part of the art department and are making the Jeffster comic book, right?"
"Yep," Bryce replied. "That was genius by those two, and it made Henry so happy." Bryce chuckled. "Also, a sound business move, to make the person who invested seed money in you happy. His likeness as evil Alexi Volkoff, and having Jeff and Lester write and draw the comic… genius, Chuck."
"What if he were to be the main bad guy in an open world game?" Chuck asked. Bryce glanced over at him. "Before you say anything, I can still write out stories."
"You have an idea?"
"I have a hell of an idea, but I might need to get some permissions from people to do this," Chuck admitted.
"From your dream?" Bryce asked. Chuck nodded. "Do you think it would help you deal with things?" Chuck shrugged. Bryce looked up at the rearview mirror, and saw two pairs of eyes lock with him.
}o{
"Oh for the love of God," Casey growled, after arguing with Morgan and Alex. "I'm just staying the night, it's not a big deal. I don't need to use the guest room."
"You're not sleeping on Chuck's couch," Alex told him. "Besides, he usually sleeps on it," she added in a low voice.
Molly glanced at Carina. "What?" Carina asked. "Don't look at me, when I was here we… ohhhh." She turned to Chuck. "Did I ruin it for you?"
"What? No," Chuck told her. "It's just when I'm here alone… I sleep on the couch a lot. The house is big and… I don't know…"
"Is that why I was a DEA agent in your dream, curls?" Carina teased. "Did I make you feel safe?"
"Listen, the last thing I felt in bed with you was safe," Chuck retorted, then turned red as he realized he was in front of everyone. "Uh, sorry-"
"Hey, you know I can take what you dish out," Carina told him.
"That's what she said," Molly muttered, making everyone laugh. "Okay, so now that we've made everyone feel awkward, why do you sleep on the couch?"
"When I'm here alone, I work a lot at night, with my laptop there on the table," Chuck said with a shrug. "I watch TV, play games, whatever, and just go to sleep here."
"Probably best to not interrupt his routine," Casey said. Everyone turned to him. "Just my opinion."
"No, what are you thinking, Big Guy?" Carina asked. Chuck began to laugh. "What?"
"Nothing," Chuck said, chuckling. He felt all eyes on him. "In my dream, you and him had, uh… a relationship, of sorts."
Carina didn't say anything, instead just checked out Casey.
"I can see it," Bryce said. Carina gave him a look. "What? Am I wrong?"
"No," Carina replied. "I'm just… surprised."
"Maybe I learned some things from my last relationship," Bryce offered.
"Huh… I'd have lost that bet," Molly muttered. Bryce gave her a look, and she held up her hands.
"You can't be using your laptop," Morgan told Chuck.
"Oh, I'm not," Chuck said. He walked over to his bag, and pulled out his notebook. "I'm going to do it old school."
Morgan plucked it out of his hand and began to flip through it, stopping on a page. He turned it sideways. "Did Chuck draw dirty pictures?" Alex teased Chuck.
"No, this appears to be… a store," Morgan said, looking up at Chuck.
"It's… an idea I'm having," Chuck admitted, carefully scratching the back of his head, making sure his hand was away from the scar of the incision.
"Well, if you're gonna talk shop," Carina began.
"No, wait, this actually… this might affect you," Chuck admitted.
"Okay," Carina said. "Let's sit, because…"
"Is this a good idea?" Molly blurted out. "This has to do with the dream."
"It does," Chuck agreed. "But maybe it will help me even better separate reality from the dream."
"Okay," Morgan said, clapping his hands together. "Everyone sit. You too, John. You're a part of this."
"Oh, goody," he groused, but sat down.
Morgan looked around the room. "Okay, go ahead, buddy."
"Think any of your big open-world RPG games," Chuck began. "First, you create a character. It can be male or female."
"Wait, how does that work if you pick a female?" Bryce asked, sitting forward, interested. "Doesn't that affect what you dreamed? I mean, you're a man… at least, you were in the dream, right?"
"Well, that's the thing, yes," Chuck told Bryce. "But you don't have to experience it the way I did." Chuck grabbed the notebook, and flipped a few pages ahead, where he had some very rough drawings. "So, after you pick who you are, you then have to pick your sexuality."
"Is there a very setting?" Carina asked, grinning.
"No," Chuck told her, laughing. She smiled at him.
"So, this game is for everyone," Carina said, nodding.
"Yes," Chuck replied. "My thing is, I think you should be able to pick any of the six agents to be your handler. Now, that doesn't mean that's who you get to be with. There are decision points in the story."
"Like there are with any RPGs," Morgan said, nodding. "I like this."
"Would any of these agents be against a same-sex relationship?" Casey asked. Chuck looked up at Casey. "Some people are just straight."
"Like in Dragon Age, Inquisition," Morgan said, snapping his fingers. "If you're a man, and pick one of the straight male characters to romance, all it does is make the NPC character nervous. And he doesn't return your advances. In fact, he carefully, and nervously, rebuffs you." Casey began to laugh. "You're thinking of your character in the dream?"
"I am," Casey admitted, shrugging. "I would think the way he seemed to be in the dream, he might not be one to enjoy male company."
"I love it," Bryce said. "I think mine would go both ways." Chuck just stared at him, and Bryce shrugged.
"So, say you have Sarah as your handler," Carina began.
"We can't use her name," Chuck said quickly.
"It's just for the purpose of this discussion," Carina said, and Chuck nodded. "What happens if you had slept with me?"
"That's a good question," Chuck replied. "It might affect the main character ever being in a relationship with Sarah."
"I am really liking this," Morgan said. "So, is the whole world available at once?"
"No," Chuck told him. "As you progress, more of the world becomes available. There are side quests that you don't have to participate in, but if you do, you get rewards. Like we could have a whole series of side-quests that are Jeffster related."
"Oh, God, that would be amazing!" Bryce exclaimed. "So, as you level up this Intersect, is that how you open up more of the world?"
"That's a great idea," Chuck said.
"Okay," Casey said gently. "It's his first day home." Everyone nodded and sat back. "Sorry to be the heavy, but he can't just come firing out of the gate."
"You never did with me," Carina said with a wink.
"Will you quit doing that in front of your boyfriend?" Chuck asked.
"When he begins to act right again, I will," Carina told him.
"I nearly killed Chuck," Bryce replied.
"No, you didn't," Chuck told Bryce. "You need to let it go. I already know what holding a grudge against a friend looks like."
"But didn't I deserve it?" Bryce asked. Chuck couldn't help but laugh, and that made Bryce grin. "Tomorrow, I'm hanging out with you all day, and yes, we will be working on this."
"I have the next day," Morgan told him.
"I'm the day after," Molly piped up.
"And what about you?" Chuck asked Carina.
"I don't trust myself to be in a room alone with you," Carina said dramatically, making everyone laugh.
"I'll get with Jeff, Lester, and Hartley, and see how they feel about being in the game," Morgan said.
"Good," Chuck replied, nodding, as he looked at his sketches and notes. "I get you all worrying, but I figure if I can use this to move on, and make us some money…" He shrugged.
"Dude, I want to play this game," Morgan told Chuck.
"Hell, I want to play this game," Carina said. "I'm totally picking me as the handler."
"Are you sure you're okay being in this?" Chuck asked.
"I'm not in it, that person you dreamed is," Carina said. "Just like you're not really in it, it's that person you dreamed of. That Chuck isn't you, Curls."
"I'm not Curls anymore, Rina," he replied.
"You're always Curls, the same way I'm always Rina, you dolt," she said, walking over and hugging him. "Come on," she told Bryce. "Go hug him."
Bryce got up, as did Chuck. Bryce looked a little unsure, but Chuck pulled him into a hug.
"I'm going to bed," Casey said, shaking his head and grinning at the group. "You need me, yell, or hit that button on your watch."
"Will do, thanks, Casey," Chuck said. Casey nodded, and headed down the hall. After ten minutes or so of hugs and goodbyes, Chuck found himself alone.
He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.
Hope everything's okay.
He hit send and laid the phone on the table. He hadn't expected a response, but picked it up quickly at the notification noise.
I'm okay, just a long hard day. No one died, which I'm thankful for. Sorry I didn't stop by, but I'm exhausted and have a shift in twelve hours. See you soon, Chuck.
Chuck typed quickly and hit send.
See you soon, Sarah.
A/N: I know, not a lot of Chuck and Sarah, but we had some "world-building" to do.
Next time:
Sarah backed away. She studied him a second, sat down beside him, and took his hand. "You scared the shit out of me, Chuck," she told him. "I just found you, you nerd." Chuck felt awful for scaring her. "I like you, Chuck, and I want a chance to get to know you. I can't do that if you're dead, or in another coma."
"Seemed to do a pretty good job last time I was in one," he quipped. "Sorry, sounded like a good ice breaker in my head."
He didn't stay in the car, did he? Why are you looking at me? You think I know? See you soon, hoped you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a review, I appreciate them all. Yes, even if it's as simple as, I like it. Take care friends.
