A/N: So this has NOT been forgotten. Someone told me the other day I have 9 ongoing (10 if you count that little diddy and I SC are working on called Rewrite….BTW, the next three chapters of that will come out within 10 days of each other and they are gonna be GOLD. Pinky swear) This one is kinda on the backburner, but I always finish a story (You hear the CATS! I'm gonna finish you). This one is gonna be insane, so please, make sure and prepare yourself.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
The morning after the confession in the suite
"So, we're gonna do this?" Anna asked. Chuck looked unsure. "I'm sorry, I asked a question when I meant to say, we're gonna do this."
"Anna has spoken," Morgan told Chuck. "Now, what do we need to do?"
"Stop the yacht," Chuck told them. "But, my team is off the case."
"No, Chuckster, your team has just joined the case," Morgan said. "So, stop the yacht." Morgan tapped his bottom lip with his forefinger. "My guess is Sarah was on that yacht to get intel."
"That's correct," Chuck replied. "We somehow have to make sure that yacht doesn't leave the port."
"We need an EMP," Morgan said.
"Buddy, listen, where are we gonna find an EMP?" Chuck said gently.
"Jeff says he has one, but he can never reveal how he acquired it," Anna told him, looking up from her phone.
Chuck blinked. "Okkkaaaay," he said.
"And, I can smuggle it onto the yacht," Anna told Chuck.
"Wait, how are you gonna-"
"Are you saying I'm not as hot as Sarah?" Anna asked.
"Babe, what I think Chuck was thinking was that if he didn't like Sarah doing what she did, then he really wouldn't like you doing what you'll have to do," Morgan said.
"I'm not going in a bikini, although, she looked amazing in it," Anna said. Chuck looked away as Morgan grimaced at Anna. "All I have to do is get onto the yacht. I'll tell them that we've had complaints on Lester, and I have to check his work, wearing my good uniform."
"Your… 'good' uniform?" Chuck asked.
"The really tight one," Morgan replied, shrugging. "It's kind of amazing.
"I see," Chuck replied. "Then what?"
"Well, we'll need a distraction," Morgan told him. He and Anna shared a look.
Chuck felt his heart sink.
}o{
Chuck watched Anna get on the yacht easily, Lon helping her up the gangplank and then following behind her. Chuck had a queasy feeling in his stomach, but Anna told him she'd gladly do it. It didn't make Chuck feel any better.
It was at that moment he heard a synthesizer began to play, a guitar, and what sounded like a cat orgy. Chuck turned to see Jeffster make their public debut. Anyone within 100 yards was putting their fingers in their ears.
Men were pouring off Lon's yacht, making their way toward Jeffster, and Chuck lowered his head, starting for the yacht. He entered the yacht, when he was stopped by Kirk.
"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked, a skeptical look on his face.
"Chuck Bartowski, nerd herd supervisor," Chuck told him. "I've had a lot of complaints about one of my employees, and the records show he was on this yacht a few days ago."
"He was fine," Lon said.
"He wasn't objectifying or ogling any women?" Chuck asked.
Lon chuckled, and leaned in. "You know how women get on these yachts. Besides, they like it." Chuck swallowed to keep the bile out of his mouth, and slowly flexed his hand to not punch Lon in the jaw.
"Fine, may I see what they worked on?" Chuck asked.
"It's in there, but why are you here? One of your girls is here, already," Lon told him.
Chuck kept his cool, but he was close to exploding. "Anna is one of our best, but corporate requires double verification for firing purposes."
"It's always something with those guys, isn't it?" Lon said, and he started heading away when he paused. "Are you sure I don't know you? You look like a guy I saw the other night at a party. He had a beautiful girl friend." Lon had a smarmy look on his face.
"You think that kind of woman would date a guy that works at the nerd herd?" Chuck asked, not hiding the hurt in his voice.
"Yeah, you're right," Lon told him, as Chuck headed into the other room.
"What are you doing?" he asked, when he saw Anna.
"The EMP doesn't work," Anna told him. "Jeff is gonna be pissed." She pulled something out of her bag and turned to Chuck, a smile on her face. "But I have this," she said, pulling a pin from the grenade in her hand.
"What the hell?" Lon yelled, startling her as he looked into the room. Anna dropped the pin, her eyes going wide. Chuck shoved her out the far door, knocking the grenade from her hand. He was nearly out the door when it exploded, his body covering hers, taking the brunt of the blast, as it knocked him to the floor.
}o{
Earlier that morning, Echo Park
Casey was humming to himself, getting ready. Last night had been quiet. After Walker had ripped Bartowski a new ass, he had pouted and gone to his room. The last time Casey had checked on Bartowski, he was peacefully snoring in his bed. Casey stopped and backed up, looking at the monitor. There was Bartowski, still in bed. They were supposed to leave in five minutes. Casey got a bad feeling… not a lady-feeling, but a bad feeling.
He shot out the door, and stopped in front of Chuck's window. He gulped, seeing the bed empty. He pulled out his cellphone and prayed that his worst nightmare had come true, because at this point, that was the best-case scenario.
"Walker!" Casey snapped into the phone. "Please tell me you have Bartowski with you. I don't care what you two did or the position, or how many times, just tell me he's there."
"What the hell are you talking about Casey?" Sarah asked, confused. "He's not with me." There was silence. "Shit, the marina," she said softly. Casey bolted to his car, hanging up the phone as he ran.
}o{
The two pulled up at the same time. They looked to be in pain as they heard the music, if it could be called that, coming from the pier. They ran toward the yacht, not noticing the pair of eyes and accompanying beard watching them. "Anna, do it now," he said into the walkie talkie. Less than a minute later there was an explosion, shocking everyone. "I thought you said it was a flash-bang grenade!" Morgan hissed at Jeff.
"Yeah, it was," Jeff replied. "When you pull the pin and throw it, it makes a big flash with the explosion and a big bang." Jeff looked at Morgan like he was stupid.
"What have I done?" Morgan said softly.
}o{
Sarah found Chuck in seconds. She heard someone being punched and a body hitting the ground. "Chuck," she said, wincing at the sight of his shirt, torn to pieces. She looked for shrapnel wounds, but didn't see any.
"Is he okay?" she heard Anna ask, a look of horror on her face.
"He should be," Casey said, walking in. "All the shrapnel is buried in the wood all around, my guess is the concussion of the blast and heat is what hurt him." Sarah gently turned him over. "That lump on his head is probably why he's out." He looked over at Anna. "Why are you here?"
"Checking up on Lester's work. He's been getting a lot of complaints, and HR says we need two other Nerd Herders to verify their work before we can fire them," Anna said.
"Get out of here," Casey said.
"What about you?" Anna asked.
"I have some medic training from my time in the National Guard," Casey told her. "Walker here has some as well. We'll take care of him." Anna nodded and scurried away.
"Our cover is gonna need some serious work," Sarah said, looking at Casey.
"-'arah," Chuck moaned. "Lon… bad… guy."
"I know, Chuck, I know," she said. "Why were you here?"
"Stop him, my fault," he muttered. "Sorry."
"It's okay, we're gonna get you to the hospital," Sarah told him. She gave Casey a look, and he shook his head. She was done. She had to be reassigned. There was no getting around it, she had put Chuck in danger.
}o{
She walked into his room after the briefing with Beckman and Graham. She had nearly told Casey to do it by himself, but he convinced her she had to attend the briefing. What in the hell was she supposed to do? She had to live with Chuck now. She had to live with him, feeling the way she did, him feeling the way he did, and they couldn't do a damn thing about it.
"Hey, Sarah," she heard Ellie say, jerking her head up. "He's gonna be okay."
"I can't do this without him, Ellie," she said softly. "I can't."
"Listen," Ellie began.
"Ellie, I will do anything to protect him, you know that, right?"
"I do," Ellie replied. Sarah stood up and threw he arms around Ellie. She began to sob into Ellie's shoulder. Ellie, shocked, wrapped her arms around Sarah, and held her as she cried.
}o{
"What the hell are you idiots doing?!" Big Mike yelled at the group in the movie room that had gathered after hours.
"We're here for Chuck," Morgan said.
"Oh," Big Mike replied. "Well, don't make a mess," he said, and with that, he left.
Morgan stood in front of everyone. "You all understand that today was just the first step of many for our brother?" Morgan asked the group. There were nods and murmurs of agreement. "You understand that once we start down this pathway, that no one can back out."
"Wait, I'm not so sure," Lester began.
"Can it, Lester," Anna barked.
"I am all in," Lester said.
"We are Chuck's family, and we have to take care of our own. Are you with me?" Morgan asked. Everyone looked around at each other. "Are you with me?"
"Don't make me hurt you all," Anna growled. The room erupted in agreement.
"Skip, hit it," Morgan said. Skip typed into a keyboard, and the big screen came on, and there, in front of them, sat a surprised Diane Beckman.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked.
"We?" Morgan asked, looking around. "We are your saviors."
"You are all about to go to jail, or worse," Beckman said, reaching for the disconnect button.
"We know who Chuck Bartowski is, and that he's the Intersect," Morgan said. Beckman's hand froze. "And before you hit that button, you should know that we do have something to share with the world, should we disappear."
"If you know who Chuck is, you know that I must get rid of you," Beckman said.
"General, ma'am," Morgan said. "May I point something out? You have the perfect group here to help you hide Chuck Bartowski. If Jeff ever said Chuck had a computer in his brain, do you think anyone would believe him?"
"You must be stupid," Beckman said. "You just pointed out your only leverage is what you know, and you as a source are unbelievable."
"I never said that was our leverage," Morgan replied. "Our leverage is pictures of you that were on your phone." Beckman stared at Morgan. "That, while tasteful, were of a certain… shall we say…"
"You phone sexted Roan Montgomery, and we know it," Anna said. "And may I say, I hope to have that same confidence when I am your age."
Beckman swallowed. "Who has the images?"
"Only I have seen them," Anna said. "But the others know how to send them out and there is a timer if one of us doesn't check, in that will automatically send them out." Beckman grimaced. "General, you know me, you know my parents. I will contain things here. I promise. We just ask one thing; a chance."
"A chance for what?" Beckman asked.
"A chance for Chuck and Sarah," Anna replied. Beckman grinned. "What?" Beckman glanced at everyone in the room. "Clear the room!" Anna barked. Everyone left but Morgan. Anna gave him a look.
"Oh, you meant me as well," Morgan said, leaving. Anna walked over and locked the door.
"Anna, I can never condone what Agent Walker and the asset might do," Beckman began.
"Chuck," Anna said.
"I know what his name is," Beckman replied. "And an agent-asset relationship cannot be condoned."
"But what about Chuck and Sarah?" Anna asked. Beckman grinned. "Then it's simple, I'm the only one who suspects the truth." Beckman nodded. "You stay out of it."
"What's your goal?" Beckman asked.
"For Sarah to admit she's in love with Chuck," Anna told her. "That's it. If she'll admit it, they can figure everything else out."
"You promise you never reveal a word of this to anyone?" Beckman asked. Anna nodded. "Then good luck. And do try and keep the shenanigans down to a minimum."
"General… I'm not a miracle worker," Anna said. Beckman cut the feed. "Time to get to work," she chirped, as she spun and headed out of the theater room.
A/N: Oh God….what have I done? Do we still like it?