CHUCK VS. THE JILL RIDE

SUMMARY: Sarah and Jill must team up and work together in order to save and protect Chuck – which leads to some interesting conversations and confrontations. This story takes place some time in the second half of season two of "Chuck."

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."

NOTE: Please review! I love reading your comments!

CHAPTER 1 – WHEN A BAD PLAN GOES BAD

44 Hours Earlier

From the beginning, at the start, at the mere mention of the plan, Sarah Walker was against it. She thought it was a bad idea, too risky, and wrong. Completely, totally, absolutely wrong. Casey cited her "girly feelings" which she expected him to do.

And truthfully, if Sarah were to be honest with herself, there were some "girly feelings" involved here. But that was only a part of why she was against this plan and strongly objected to and opposed it. At least she convinced herself that was only a part – a small part – of her opposition. But "girly feelings" or not, there was still something about this plan that set Sarah's instincts on edge, that whispered to her that disaster was eminent with it.

It had all started when she and Casey were requested to meet in a video conference with General Beckman in the Castle headquarters underneath the Orange Orange. The general specified just the agents at this meeting, no Chuck or, as Beckman termed it, "No Intersect."

Once the general's face appeared on the screen, she told the pair about an assignment that would take place the next day. The Intersect would be escorted to a warehouse where he would meet with an informant who had "important and vital information" regarding Fulcrum operations.

Both Sarah and Casey were intrigued but they were also puzzled as to why Chuck was excluded from this meeting and said as much to the general. Who explained that this assignment had some factors that might personally affect the Intersect and she wanted Sarah and/or Casey to discuss those factors with the Intersect before the meeting in the warehouse took place.

"This source has stated that she would only talk to – only – Mr. Bartowski."

"She?" Sarah inquired.

The general nodded. "It is an individual whom Mr. Bartowski is familiar with, painfully familiar with I believe. And both of you." The general paused as Sarah and Casey looked inquiringly at each other.

"The source, the individual with the important information is Jill Roberts, Mr. Bartowski's ex-girl friend."

Sarah's jaw dropped. Jill? Jill was involved with this? The mere mention of Chuck's ex-girl friend brought about rage and anger. Sarah immediately objected.

"General, I do not think this is a good idea."

Beckman's responding stare asked for the CIA agent to elaborate.

"Jill cannot be trusted. Surely you're not thinking of letting her near Chuck. That is dangerous on many levels." Sarah heard a slight smirk from Casey. She shot a dirty look at him.

"I am well aware of the risks involved with this, Agent Walker. However, I am told that the benefits of what information we could obtain far outweigh any risks. We need—"

"Chuck doesn't have to be involved with this. We can go without him, talk to Jill by ourselves," Sarah pointed out.

"Unfortunately, Ms. Roberts is adamant on Mr. Bartowski's involvement. She will only give the information to Mr. Bartowski and only to Mr. Bartowski. Thus, his participation in this is vital."

"And that alone should tell you that something is not right here, General!" Sarah interrupted.

"Agent Walker! Your concerns are noted. And also, somewhat valid. I too do not like this situation. However, sources higher up than me are convinced that this information can be of great benefit to us." Beckman looked annoyed as she said that last part and both Sarah and Casey wondered if there was more to this than the general was saying.

But then, the military officer appeared in Beckman. "Thus, we're willing to deal with Ms. Roberts. And the decision has been made and this plan will go forward. I will be transmitting the details and you two are to prepare the Intersect for what must be done. That is an order!"

And before either agent could respond, the screen went blank.

Sarah turned toward Casey. "You of all people should know what a bad idea this is," she said.

"Walker, this isn't about your girly feelings."

"That has nothing to do with this," she fired back.

Casey shook his head in disbelief and smirked. "Yeah, right," he muttered. "Just like this has nothing to do with Jill Roberts being involved."

Sarah glared at the NSA agent. Her personal feelings had nothing to do with this, she thought. They didn't! This plan just felt wrong to her. And it had nothing to do with Jill being involved. It didn't, she kept insisting to herself.

Casey looked at Sarah with an amused expression. "Do you want to deliver the good news to Bartowski or should I?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The feeling that something was wrong about this whole thing nagged at Sarah even more after she talked with Chuck about the plan. Much to her surprise, he hardly had any reaction about meeting with Jill, his ex, again. And that bothered Sarah.

Months ago, when Chuck bumped into Jill at a conference and then had to date her to spy on her boss, he had not wanted to do that. Jill broke his heart, he said, and he didn't want to have her back in his life. But Jill did come back into his life, much to Sarah's dismay, and he started a relationship with her again. Then, Jill turned out to be a Fulcrum agent and Chuck realized he had once again been deceived by her.

And now he had to meet with the infamous ex again. Yet, Chuck didn't object nor complain. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then agreed to help with the plan.

"What?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"It sounds like this is important. So OK, I'll do it," he said.

Sarah couldn't believe it. No protests, no arguments, no hesitations. Something is not right here, she thought.

And she still had such thoughts the next day as she watched Chuck while they waited in the warehouse for the meeting to start. She, Casey and Chuck had arrived about a half-hour ago. There were already other NSA agents inside the warehouse as guards. They checked over the place and everything seemed secure. It all looked good. But Sarah still couldn't get rid of the bad feeling.

A table had been set up in the center of the warehouse and Chuck sat in front of it waiting. Since their arrival, he had spent most of the time sitting there. But now, he got up and stretched and walked around. Sarah studied him intently. He still didn't seem bothered by a meeting with Jill.

Sarah had not liked Jill even before she met the brunette. She still remembered shaking her head in disbelief and displeasure when she first read about the ex in Chuck's file when she had been assigned to protect him after he got the Intersect. She couldn't believe what Jill did to Chuck.

And then, after she got to know Chuck, her hatred for Jill increased more. And when Jill came back into his life, the brunette got a really special place in Sarah's hatred. She could still remember how much it hurt watching Chuck dating Jill and being so happy about it. But then it all turned dangerous when they discovered that Jill was a Fulcrum agent and she had to be arrested. And in the end Chuck captured Jill in the Nerd Herd vehicle and broke up with her at the same time. Sarah still recalled the joy and delight she felt when he did that. And that had been the end of it; no more Jill. Or so she thought.

Now here we are again, Sarah lamented.

Some other things she had found out earlier in the week regarding Jill, some things that she had wanted to confront Chuck about, compounded that ominous feeling. Sarah shook her head with disbelief as she gazed at Chuck sitting back down in the chair in front of the table, seeming quite calm as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back. What is going on? she asked herself. She walked over to him.

"Chuck," she said as she got near him. He turned his head to look up at her. "Are you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah…yeah…I'm fine," he said casually and turned his head back to the warehouse door.

Sarah reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "Chuck, look at me," she commanded. Once she had his attention, she spoke again. "What's going on?" she asked, studying him intently and looking for telltale signs of lying or something else.

"What do you mean?"

"Something is going on with you. I can tell. Now I want you to—"

She never got to finish the sentence as the warehouse door opened. Both Chuck and Sarah turned their heads to look. Through the door walked some guards escorting a handcuffed Jill. Sarah's grip on Chuck's shoulder tightened as she saw Jill's head turning in every direction, obviously searching for someone or something. The movement of her head stopped the second she spotted Chuck. Then a smile lit up her face. She said something to her guards and then started to walk forward. But one of the guards gripped her arm and stopped her.

Casey and another agent approached the group. They spoke. A few minutes later, all four escorted Jill toward the table in the center of the warehouse. And the whole time, her eyes never left Chuck.

"OK Chuck, it's time. You ready?" Sarah asked. She squeezed his shoulder to try to give him some reassurance. He sighed and then nodded. Together, they watched as Jill got closer to the table.

Seconds later, a deafening BOOM filled the warehouse. Debris, fire and smoke erupted from a side of a wall Instantly, Sarah grabbed Chuck and pushed him to the ground and covered him with her body, protecting him. Then she quickly scanned the area, trying to figure out what was going on as she pulled out her gun.

Where the explosion had occurred, the smoke cleared and there was now a large hole in the side of the wall. Dozens of some sort of objects flew through the hole and Sarah heard a series of popping noises. Then the warehouse started filling up with smoke. But it wasn't smoke.

Gas! she thought. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw men rushing through the hole wearing gas masks.

More popping noises occurred and more gas filled the warehouse. Chuck! Sarah thought. She had to get Chuck out of here. She looked around but could only see clouds of gas. It had become so thick, like a fog enveloping everyone and everything in the warehouse. Sarah couldn't see anyone. No sign of Casey or any other aid. She helped Chuck to his feet. He looked scared. She didn't blame him.

"Stick close to me," she ordered as she looped her arm through his.

The clouds of gas got thicker quickly and started causing effects. Both her and Chuck's eyes filled with tears, they coughed and they started to feel weak. An armed man in a gas mask burst through a cloud. Sarah swept her leg out and knocked him down. With him on the ground, she kicked him in the face. She reached down and tried to pull off his gas mask, intending to use it for herself. But she already felt weak from the gas and the fight exhausted her further. The room was spinning.

Chuck! she thought. She tried to look around her but the clouds were thick. No Chuck in sight. The room was spinning faster and she was gasping and coughing even more. Then things started to get dark and she could do nothing but fall. Her last thought before she blacked out was about Chuck.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sarah could feel herself regaining consciousness but she tried to remain still and keep her eyes closed. She listened to try to assess where she was. She could hear the hum of a car motor, the roll of tires along a road, the sound of other cars traveling alongside and nearby. Well, easy enough to figure out. I'm in a car, she realized. She kept her eyes closed and continued to pretend to be unconscious while she tried to find out more.

She could tell that she was sitting and that a seatbelt was on her. She didn't feel anything binding her hands, arms, legs or feet. She cautiously peaked with one eye for a few seconds. She was in the passenger side of the front seat. She could tell that her head was slightly turned toward the window. So her face was not facing the driver. She opened one eye again. She was in the van, the van that she and Casey used to drive Chuck to the rendezvous. Was Casey here? She decided to take a chance.

She opened both eyes and turned her head to the driver of the van. Who saw her right away and greeted her. "You're awake. Good!"

Sarah almost gasped in shock at seeing who the driver was. But instead, she uttered only one word.

"Jill!"

END CHAPTER 1

NOTE: OK, OK, I know, I know. I'm bad for not having this chapter pick up where the last chapter left off. But I really did need to tell how Chuck, Sarah and Jill got there first. Right? Right? Please review!