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: When I posted the prologue and chapters 1-3, I made a mistake in describing this story in the summary. I got confused about the term "Alternate Universe." In an Alternate Universe story, you're taking the characters and putting them in a different place, time and/or setting, such as ninjaVanish's superb "Chuck vs the Frontier," which has our favorite characters in a wild west-type setting in the late 1800s (if you're not reading that story or any of his other stories, I would strongly encourage you to do so; he's GREAT!). My story, "Chuck vs the Jill Ride," is NOT an Alternate Universe story. It's the same "Chuck" universe but just taking our favorite couple in a different adventure/direction during the second season of the TV series. My apologies about the mislabeling and any confusion it caused. I have corrected this mistake and taken out the "A/U" reference in the description and previous chapters.
ANOTHER NOTE: A "Thank you!" to Tricia22 and mxpw for their ideas for the confrontations in this chapter. But it has been some time since I discussed this story with them, so I wonder if they even remember suggesting these scenes. No matter. I remember and I'm grateful. So once again, thank you to Tricia22 and mxpw.
CHAPTER 4 – T-SHIRTS & BEDS
Sarah discovered, not surprisingly, that the clothes Chuck bought not only were the right sizes and would be comfortable but were also tasteful and nice looking. Once again, she found herself amazed with Chuck. Not many guys can pick out clothes that fit and look good on their girl friend, she thought. She looked over at Jill who was also going through the bags that Chuck had handed her. The clothes for Jill were also good choices. And Jill seemed happy.
"Chuck, these are nice. Thank you so much!" she said.
"Yes Chuck, thank you," Sarah piped in.
Chuck bowed his head to each woman. "Glad you like them," he said. He then glanced at his watch. "Well, we had better get changed or whatever and get on the road. I'm assuming that we don't want to stay in one place for very long."
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They left town about 30 minutes later. Sarah directed that they stay away from the interstates and other major highways, and drive instead on the older, less traveled roads that took them through small towns. She also decided that she couldn't steal any more cars. So when they found a used car lot in one town, they bought a car that they could keep and stay in. They drove the two cars out of that town and ditched the stolen one in another town to hopefully create a false trail.
And then they continued traveling, going one way and then another, not following a pattern that would indicate to anyone where they might be going. They took turns driving and only stopped to get some food or for a bathroom break. Throughout all of that, Sarah found her thoughts occupied with Jill's declaration that she wanted to get back together with Chuck. That bothered her. It bothered her a lot and worried her more than she would ever admit to herself, much less to anyone else.
And it didn't help when she saw how Chuck and Jill acted toward one another as the trio traveled in the car. The two talked like old friends and that made Sarah feel like an outsider. Chuck made several attempts to include her in the conversation. But the subjects that Chuck and Jill talked about were alien to Sarah – sci fi, fantasy, old computer games played in college, novels and stories they had read, TV shows and movies they had seen. It especially worried her at how normal the two looked, as she bitterly remembered how Chuck used that word when he broke up with her before Jill came back into his life that time. Normal, she thought with both fear and anger as she looked at Chuck talking with Jill.
That evening, after traveling all day, they were ready to stop and call it a night. As Sarah pulled the car into a small motel they found, she announced that she also needed to check her email.
"Is that a good idea? Can't that be traced?" Jill asked.
"If I was checking Sarah Walker's email, yes. But I'm not checking that account. I'm checking an email account that I set up a long time under a false name just so that Casey could contact me in circumstances like these," Sarah explained. "Hopefully, he and Beckman have gotten a clearer picture of what's going on and have fixed things."
"So there might be all-clear and we can go home?" Chuck inquired.
Sarah smiled at him. "Nothing I'd like better. So I need to check."
Chuck and Sarah got out of the car to get a room. An older woman standing at the front desk greeted them warmly. She was friendly and polite as Chuck and Sarah registered and paid for the room. As she handed them the keys, Sarah asked about access to a computer for checking email.
The woman frowned. "I'm afraid none of the rooms have internet access nor computers. We're just a small motel and we can't afford to put computers in every room. We're hoping some day to set up a business center type area with a computer for guests here in the lobby. But we just can't afford that either yet. Usually, I let guests use my computer in the back room here. And I'd be happy to let you use it right now but it has been giving us a lot of problems today," she said with shake of her head.
"Problems? What kind of problems?" Chuck asked.
"Oh, the PC Security keeps battling viruses on it," the woman explained. "Every time we try to do something, this screen pops up saying that we have viruses and to click here or something like that to clean them up. We do that and then it just happens all over again."
"Did you say PC Security? Kind of a light blue colored logo?" Chuck asked.
"Why yes."
Chuck shook his head. "That's not taking care of your viruses; that is the virus. I can fix that. Would you like me to take a look?"
"Do you know anything about computers?"
Sarah smiled. "He's the best," she said.
"Right back here young man," the older woman said with a sweep of her arm. Chuck went into the back room, sat down in front of the computer, moved the mouse and then started typing.
"Sweetie!" Sarah called. Chuck turned his head to look at her. "I'm going to move the car and unload. I'll be right back," Sarah said.
"Do you need some help?" he asked.
"No, no, you fix that and I'll be back to check our email. OK?"
"OK."
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"So Chuck is fixing the motel's computer?" Jill asked as she and Sarah walked from the motel room to the office.
"Yes. And then I can check email," Sarah replied. They walked into the office, went to the front desk and looked into the back room. Both Sarah and Jill stared in surprise.
Chuck was there at the computer like Sarah had left him. But he wasn't alone. He was with a woman. And it wasn't the older woman who had checked them in. Instead, it was a 20-ish, shapely brunette standing beside him as he typed on the keyboard. And while she stood there, she leaned close to him.
Brunettes! It's always brunettes! Sarah fumed. She had to stop herself from expressing that out loud. And then much to her surprise, Jill let out a similar rant.
"Dammit, another brunette," she muttered angrily.
Sarah glanced at Jill in shock. Had other brunettes come after Chuck even while he was in a relationship with one? she wondered. As she and Jill moved around the front desk and toward the back room, they could hear what the girl was saying.
"I'm impressed Chuck. You fixed this computer in nothing flat. Soooooo…what do you do when you're not visiting motels and fixing computers?"
"Well…I fix computers."
"You do a good job. How about I take you out to dinner as a reward for fixing this one?"
Sarah had heard enough. And she could guess that Jill had too judging by the way she was glaring at the scene. "Hi sweetie!" Sarah called.
Chuck instantly turned his head. As did the brunette. "Hey! I got the computer fixed. So you can check email whenever you're ready," he said to Sarah.
"I'm ready now," Sarah declared and strode forward to the desk and planted herself close to Chuck's side. She glared at the brunette, who backed off. And when she tried to move to Chuck's other side, Jill supplanted her and also gave her a lethal glare.
The girl could take a hint. "Well, I need to go. Nice meeting you Chuck and thanks for fixing the computer."
Chuck turned his head to her departing form. "Nice meeting you. And you're welcome. And be sure to tell your aunt that the problems are gone and things should work fine on it." He started to turn back to the computer but stopped when he found Sarah on his right side and Jill on his left and both glaring at him.
"Okkkkkaaaayyyyy…I'll just leave the computer to you and…and I'll just leave the computer to you," he said as he got up from the chair. He tried to move past Sarah but she blocked his path. He turned the other way but Jill blocked that route.
"Dinner?" Sarah asked with a frosty look.
"Planning an evening without me Chuck?" Jill asked with a frown. Sarah glared at Jill angrily. Me? she thought.
Chuck looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"That girl asked you out to dinner Chuck," Sarah noted with a trace of venom in her voice.
"She did? When?"
"Just now, right when we walked in," Jill growled.
"Oh…well…I didn't notice…and I wouldn't have gone out with her…I…." He stopped and then looked at Sarah. "Didn't you want to check the email?" He tried to step around Sarah and this time, she allowed him to.
She moved forward and sat at the chair. Then she typed in the website.
"You're sure that this isn't traceable?" Jill asked.
"It's a site with free email accounts. Anyone can establish one. Casey and I secretly established these a while ago so that we could get messages to one another if a situation like this ever arose."
"And you're sure Casey will go to some place safe to use this email?" Jill asked.
"Absolutely," Sarah replied.
She looked at the in-box on the screen. No new messages. Nothing. The in-box was empty.
Sarah sighed as she logged off the email account and closed the web browser.
"What is it?" Chuck asked. "There was nothing there."
"That's the whole point. Nothing was there. Which means that we still have to stay off grid," Sarah said.
"What?" Chuck asked.
"Casey will send an email when it's all clear or safe to come home. And that's the only message he will send to that account. So an empty in-box means things still aren't good or cleared up."
Chuck didn't say anything. Neither did Jill. But their sad faces spoke volumes.
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Sarah understood completely how they felt. She didn't feel very happy herself. What is going on? Sarah thought. Why is this happening? Were the CIA and the NSA in a fight over what to do with Chuck? It was frustrating not knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything about it.
They arrived at their room. Sarah pulled out the key, unlocked the door and they all entered. She shut and locked the door and then checked to make sure that the drapes completely covered the window, preventing anyone from seeing inside the room.
"Well I don't know about the two of you, but I'm exhausted and I'm going to sleep. A moving car isn't exactly an ideal place to rest," Jill announced. She sat on the edge of one bed and removed her shoes. Then she looked up at Chuck. "Did you get any sleepwear, something that we could sleep in?" she asked him.
Chuck had been staring off to one side and at first didn't answer. "What? Oh…yes…I got us each some large T-shirts," he said pointing at one bag on the floor. Jill grabbed the bag and reached inside. A smile formed on her face as she pulled out a large Stanford University T-shirt. The smile stayed on her face as she went from looking at the shirt to looking at Chuck.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Uhh…sure," Chuck replied.
Rage formed in Sarah's mind. Stanford was hers! She had always used Chuck's Stanford T-shirt to sleep in when she stayed over at his apartment. The brunette bitch had stolen her shirt.
Jill stood up, holding the T-shirt, then grabbed toothbrush and toothpaste from a bag and went into the bathroom. She closed the door.
Chuck then reached into the bag, pulled out another T-shirt and held it out to Sarah.
"I got this one for you. I hope it's OK," he said.
Sarah took the shirt. It was a bright blue color. She unfolded it and looked at the front. A smile formed on her face as she read the words on the T-shirt: "C.I.A. – Classy, Intelligent, Attractive."
"Is that OK?" he asked hesitantly.
She looked up and smiled brightly at him. "It's perfect," she replied.
"Good!" he said with a smile. "You can take the bathroom when Jill is done and then I'll go…OK?"
She nodded. Then she noticed him frowning as he turned his head and looked at the room's two full-size beds. What's wrong? she wondered.
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Jill barely gave Sarah a glance as she pulled down the covers and adjusted the pillows on one bed. Chuck was in the bathroom while Jill was at one bed and Sarah the other. Sarah wore her C.I.A. T-shirt and if Jill noticed the words, she made no comment. The brunette crawled under the covers in her bed and appeared to be ready to sleep. Sarah pulled down the covers on her bed and then sat on it to wait for Chuck.
A few minutes later, Chuck emerged from the bathroom in a T-shirt and his boxers. Sarah grinned at the Superman logo on the shirt.
Then she noticed that he looked uncomfortable or concerned. He stood between the two full-size beds, looking from one to the other. Then he moved forward.
"OK then…if I could just borrow a few things, I'll…." He trailed off as he reached for one pillow on Sarah's bed, took it and then started to remove a blanket off the top of Jill's bed.
What is he doing? Sarah wondered. Then it hit her. He was going to sleep on the floor. But why? He's going to sleep with me…isn't he? she thought.
"Chuck! It's OK, you can sleep here," Jill offered as she scooted over to make room for him on the bed and patted the space.
"Chuck!" Sarah said. Make one move toward her bed and I'll…. She didn't finish that thought as she wasn't exactly sure what she would do. But there was no way that he was getting into Jill's bed.
Chuck looked at Jill and then at Sarah. And then Sarah could see the conflict going on inside his head. Chuck didn't want to hurt either woman's feelings. But she and Chuck had slept together in the same bed quite a few times. Yes, it was platonic. Yes, it was for the cover. But wouldn't he be comfortable with her? Wouldn't he be more comfortable with her instead of with Jill? Didn't he like her more than Jill? Didn't he trust her more than Jill? All of that raced through Sarah's mind as she looked at him.
She glanced over at Jill for a second and tried to push out the memories of Chuck and Jill having sex at his apartment that time they were back together. Then she looked back at Chuck. Yes, he and Jill had a relationship. But that was over. Surely he wouldn't even consider getting into Jill's bed…would he? Sarah pondered.
"It's OK…I'll sleep on the floor…I'll be fine," Chuck said quietly.
"Chuck! That's ridiculous!" Jill said. "There's plenty of room and you don't have to sleep on the floor."
"No, no, it's OK," he said as he put the blanket and pillow on the floor.
"CHUCK!" Sarah called. She started to get out of bed and reach for him.
He held up his hand, stopping Sarah. "No, it's OK…really," he said. And then he lay down on the floor.
Sarah stared down at him for a moment and then turned her head to give Jill an angry look but found that the brunette was already staring back with an equally malevolent expression. Sarah glanced again down at Chuck on the floor. He had his eyes closed and wasn't looking at anyone.
Sarah let out a sigh of frustration, reached over and shut off the light that was attached to the wall between the beds and then burrowed into the covers. God I hate that bitch! she thought.
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Sarah woke up and stretched. She glanced over at Jill's bed and was relieved to see that she was also alone. She had wondered if the brunette would try to get Chuck into her bed some time during the night. Sarah then leaned over the edge of the bed and looked at Chuck, curled on the floor between the two beds. He was asleep, fast asleep, she thought. She reached over and touched some of those Bartowski curls, relishing the feel of him. Then she frowned. Something was wrong. His head felt hot.
She immediately got out of the bed and crouched down beside him. "Chuck?" she said as she gently shook him. He did not respond. "Chuck!" she said again, this time louder.
A moan came from him. By this time, Jill was up and alert. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with Chuck?" she asked, concerned.
Sarah reached over and felt Chuck's forehead.
"Is something wrong with Chuck?" Jill repeated. She moved over to the side of the bed and started to move down to the floor by Chuck.
"No, no, nothing is wrong with Chuck!" Chuck said as he sat up. Both Sarah and Jill looked at him. He noticed Sarah's hand still on his face. He grasped it gently and moved it away.
"I'm fine, OK?" he insisted.
Sarah looked closely at him. He didn't look fine to her.
And Chuck noticed her look. "I'm fine," he insisted.
"Chuck, I don't think so. I think you have a fever," she said.
"No I don't. I'm fine," he said. He started to stand up.
"Chuck, let me check you over," Jill said. And she started toward him.
Sarah snorted. "Excuse me, are you a doctor?" she said.
Jill glared back at Sarah. "And I suppose seduction and assassination training makes you one?"
"I've had some medical and first aid training!" Sarah retorted.
"And I've had some pharmaceutical and first aid training," Jill snapped.
"And I've had enough of this!" Chuck interrupted. "I'm going to shower." And without so much of a glance at either woman, he got up and walked to the bathroom. Walked a bit unsteadily, Sarah noticed.
"Chuck, is that a good idea? You look…you might fall," Sarah warned.
"I'll be fine," he said as he shut the bathroom door.
Sarah eyed the bathroom door warily. She wasn't sure if he should be standing and showering. He definitely looked unsteady as he walked. If he got dizzy or weak during the shower, he could fall and….
"I don't know if that's good idea," Jill said interrupting Sarah's thoughts. "He didn't walk very well on the way to the bathroom."
"I noticed," Sarah said. She kept her eyes on the bathroom door, wondering if she should march into there and bring him out and get him to lie down on the bed. She looked down at the hand that had felt his forehead. She could still feel that searing heat from his fever.
Before she could think anything further, a yelp and crash occurred in the bathroom.
"CHUCK!" both women screamed. They both raced to the bathroom door. Sarah got there first and banged on the door. "Chuck! Are you all right?" she yelled.
"I'm…I'm OK…just give me a minute," Chuck replied. Sarah could hear him panting. He did not sound good.
"Chuck, I'm coming in," she said. She grasped the door knob.
"NO! NO! Not necessary! I'll be fine! Just give me a minute," he yelled.
"Chuck!"
"Just give me a minute!"
"One minute!" Sarah said. She let go of the door knob and stepped back a space. Jill stood there with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Sarah looked back at the clock on the small cabinet between the beds. One minute, she thought.
A groan came from the bathroom. Both Sarah and Jill's heads whipped toward the door. Even with it shut, they could easily hear Chuck breathing rapidly. This time Jill got to the door first. She knocked on it. "Chuck, I'm coming in," she declared.
"NO! NO! I'm fine, just give me a minute," Chuck begged.
"Chuck, you are not fine! I'm coming in," Jill said.
"Just wait a minute! Just wait!"
"Chuck, what is going on? Why don't you want me to come in and help you?"
Silence; not a word from the bathroom.
"Chuck?" Sarah inquired.
Another moment of silence.
"Chuck! Answer me right now or I'm coming in!" Jill ordered.
"OK, OK. I just need a moment to put on my clothes, OK? Can you let me have that? OK?"
"Oh Chuck! For crying out loud," Jill yelled. "We've both seen each other naked many times." She jerked open the door, stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Sarah's jaw dropped and she stood there, staring at the door in shock. Jill's statement had felt like a slap to the face. But it's not like that's news to you, she told herself. Jill and Chuck had been in a relationship, had been lovers in college. So of course they had seen each other's body. And they had gotten back together those months ago and there was that time in Chuck's apartment and the motel that they…. She didn't want to finish that thought. In spite of the fact that Chuck and Jill had been together and lovers twice in their lives, she did not – absolutely did not – want to think about that.
She glanced at the bathroom door and started pacing.
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A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Jill and Chuck emerged. Sarah glanced worriedly at him. He looked pale and weak and had to cling to Jill as she helped him walk over to the bed. Sarah immediately got on Chuck's other side and aided his movements.
Together, the two lay Chuck down on the bed as gently as they could and then pulled the covers over him. He huddled under the covers and shivered. Sarah sat down beside him and felt his forehead again. Jill immediately dashed to the other side of the bed and did her own inspection.
"We need to get him to a doctor," Jill declared.
"I know that!" Sarah snapped. "And I'll take him to one!" She stood up and glanced at the small drawer that was between the beds. She pulled open the top drawer and found a phone book in it. She grabbed it and opened it up looking for doctor listings.
"You're actually going to use a phone book?" Jill sneered.
"Do you see an iPhone, laptop or wireless connection anywhere?" Sarah snorted.
But then she saw the date on the book. It was several years old. "It's too old to be any good," Sarah said as she dumped it back in the drawer.
She thought for a moment as she glanced at Chuck. "I'll go ask that lady at the front desk if she knows a doctor or clinic anywhere near here and take Chuck there," Sarah said.
"You'll take him? Why should you take him to the doctor? I'll take him!"
"And just how are you going to do that?"
"It's not that hard Agent Walker," Jill said as she got up from the bed and strode over to Sarah and stepped into her space.
If you're trying to intimidate me, you're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than that, Sarah thought. "And what exactly will you tell the doctor about Chuck?" she said out loud.
"That he's sick," Jill replied sarcastically.
"I'm talking about Chuck's medical history. Chuck will be a new patient with whatever doctor or clinic we take him to and they'll need a medical history and other information. There will be a lot of forms to fill out for the doctor. And it will need to be accurate information," Sarah said.
Jill said nothing as Sarah continued.
"Do you know his medical history? Do you know what vaccinations he has received? Do you know what illnesses he has had? Do you know when he last had a broken bone? Do you know any of that?" Sarah asked.
"And I suppose you do?" Jill snarled.
"As a matter of fact yes, I do. I know Chuck's complete medical history – every childhood and adult ailment, injury and illness. So it would be best for me to take Chuck to the doctor."
Knowing that she was trumped on that point, Jill changed tactics, saying that they should all go together. The two argued more and kept at it. It might have gone on for a lot longer had not Sarah realized that Chuck had been silent throughout the conversation. He had not interjected nor interrupted them one time. That's not like Chuck, she thought as she looked toward the bed. Her eyes darted rapidly around the room. No Chuck! Jill noticing that Sarah was no longer paying any attention, stopped talking and looked at Sarah inquiringly
"Chuck?" Sarah called.
Jill looked all around the room. No Chuck!
Sarah turned on Jill. "Where's Chuck?" she demanded.
Jill said nothing. She looked in the bathroom. Empty.
Both heads turned toward the motel room door. Had Chuck left? The two women dashed out of the room. No sign of Chuck in any direction. They heard a door open. Three doors down, the owner, the older woman, walked out of a room, shut the door and walked toward the office. Sarah trotted over to her.
"Excuse me," Sarah called out.
The older woman stopped, turned and smiled when she saw Sarah. "Oh! Good morning! Are you sick too? Well, I guess you're not if you can run like that," she said.
"Am I sick too? Have you seen Chuck? Did Chuck come this way?" Sarah asked.
"Oh yes, that poor boy came over a little while ago and asked us if we knew a doctor or clinic that he could go visit," the woman replied.
"Us?" Sarah responded.
The woman nodded. "My niece and I. We know of an excellent clinic. So Marsha offered to drive him over right then and there."
"Marsha?" Sarah asked.
The woman nodded again. "Yes, Marsha, my niece. She took him over right away. She insisted. The poor boy…he was in no shape to drive. They should be back soon." The woman finished talking and walked away.
Brunettes! It's always brunettes! Sarah thought with annoyance.
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After finding out from the motel owner where the medical clinic was, Sarah and Jill got in the car and drove there. It turned out to be a small building about three miles from the motel. There were several cars in the lot and the place seemed to be open.
Sarah and Jill got out of the car and marched inside to a small waiting room with two people sitting in it and a receptionist at a desk near the front door who eyed both Sarah and Jill.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
Jill spoke up immediately. "Our, our…friend was brought here to see a doctor and we're looking for—"
She stopped when Sarah spotted the owner's niece, the brunette, sitting in a chair in the corner reading a magazine. Sarah dashed over to the woman and Jill followed.
"Where's Chuck?" Sarah demanded the second after she walked up to the woman.
Marsha glanced up from her magazine and appeared unconcerned. "Oh…hi! He's with the doctor. He's been in there for about 15 minutes so hopefully it won't be too much longer," she replied casually. By then, Jill had walked up and had heard what was going on.
Sarah sighed. "Look, you shouldn't have just run off with Chuck like that. I…well, I got worried and I didn't know what had happened. And I am perfectly capable of taking Chuck to the doctor on my own."
Marsha looked puzzled. "He was sick and he asked my aunt and me if we knew of a doctor. So I said I would take him. So I…what's the problem?"
"The problem is that we didn't know where he was. He was sick and then he disappeared and we didn't know what to think," Jill said. As her voice got louder, the other person in the waiting room looked at them, as did the receptionist.
"Excuse me!" the receptionist called out, "is there a problem?"
Before either Sarah, Jill or Marsha could reply, Chuck appeared in the waiting room.
Sarah spotted him first and dashed to him as she exclaimed "Chuck!" His appearance did not exactly calm her. He looked pale and weak and both his walking and posture looked shaky. She gripped one of his arms.
"Chuck! Are you all right?" she asked.
He looked at her with puzzlement. "Sarah? What are you…well, I know what you're doing here. You didn't like my taking off to the doctor on my own, did you?"
His voice caused her some concern as it sounded weak and lacked the usual Chuck spark. "Chuck!" Sarah muttered angrily as she gripped his arm tighter. She had almost shouted but realized where they were. They were already attracting attention.
"I know, I know. Don't ever do that again," Chuck sighed.
Sarah was about to chew him out but then Jill and Marsha appeared.
"Chuck, are you OK? What did the doctor say?" Jill asked.
All three waited for his answer. "There's a bug going around town and apparently I caught it. The doctor gave me a prescription to help with the pain and stuff. Other than that, he said to just rest and let the bug run its course which he said would be one or two days."
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Sarah paid the bill and they left. She and Jill got Chuck in their car. And after getting directions from Marsha for a pharmacy to fill the prescription, they went there, got the medicine and then headed back to the motel. Jill talked to Chuck for almost the whole way asking him about what the doctor said, how he felt and why he went off on his own without telling her or Sarah. Sarah said nothing as he replied that the arguing and fighting just got too much for him and he wanted to get away from it.
Once they got back to the motel, they put Chuck to bed, gave him his medicine and waited. After a moment he appeared to be asleep. Jill motioned for Sarah to step outside of the room. Sarah checked on Chuck first. He was definitely asleep. Satisfied that he was OK for now, she followed Jill outside.
Jill shut the door and then turned to the CIA agent.
"That turned out OK but it could have been a lot worse. We could have lost Chuck," she said.
"No argument there," Sarah replied.
"OK, so we can't let that happen again. It's too dangerous, too dangerous for Chuck."
"Still no argument," Sarah said.
Jill sighed. "OK then…you and I need to knock this, this…arguing off. Or if we have to, to argue, we need to not do it in front of Chuck."
Sarah said nothing. She just stood there with her arms crossed. When Jill realized that Sarah had no response, she continued.
"We have to think about Chuck. Our arguing caused him to run off on his own. So we either need to stop entirely or stop in front of Chuck." Jill waited again for some response from Sarah. Getting none, her face turned dark.
"Agent Walker, months ago back at that opera house, you told me that it was your job to protect Chuck. Is that still the case with you?"
"Protecting Chuck from anything – anything – will always be my concern!" Sarah said firmly and with a hateful look at Jill as she emphasized the word "anything."
"Fine! Then let's both protect Chuck by trying to rein in our arguing and not cause him to take off on his own again. OK?"
"Fine!" Sarah responded.
Jill glared at Sarah. "What's your problem here Agent Walker? I'm only concerned about Chuck. Why would you have a problem with that?"
"I'm just not used to you being concerned about protecting Chuck," Sarah replied. "Usually, you toy with his feelings and use him."
"How I toy with his feelings and use him? Maybe you should look in a mirror when you say that Agent Walker," Jill fired right back.
"What are you talking about?"
"You constantly give him signs and hope that he can have a relationship with you and then you push him away…just keep reeling him in and then throwing him back when he gets close."
Sarah glared angrily at Jill. "For one thing, just who do you think you are on giving me relationship advice – especially relationship advice on Chuck after the way you treated him? And for another thing, I'm his handler. I'm supposed to protect him and keep him alive and safe. And having a relationship with him could endanger him."
"THEN STOP IT!" Jill's eyes filled with fury as she spoke to the blonde CIA agent. "Stop giving him hope, break it off with him! If you're not going to ever act on your feelings for Chuck, then give him up, don't keep giving him hope and stringing him along. Break it off with him permanently and completely and let him move on and be with someone who wants to be with him. Have you done that? If you really, truly believe that there can never be anything between you and Chuck and won't act on your feelings, then stop it and let him move on. Did it ever occur to you that Chuck doesn't deserve to be treated that way? Did you ever truly think about what you're doing to him?"
Sarah didn't answer. She found it hard to face Jill's penetrating and forceful glare after hearing those words.
Jill shook her head in disgust. "I didn't think so. You've criticized me for breaking up with Chuck and breaking his heart back in college. Fulcrum wouldn't allow me to continue my relationship with Chuck. But did I give him any false hope? Did I let him think that there still might be a chance? No, I did not! I broke it off with him completely. And you? The one time you did tell him that there couldn't be anything between the two of you, he broke up with you and tried to move on. And what did you do? You did what you could to sabotage his relationship with that girl. You just keep giving him hope that there could be something between the two of you and pushing him away."
Sarah turned toward Jill. "Maybe you should look in that mirror now."
"What?"
"What exactly did you do with Chuck when you got back together with him? Why exactly did you get back together with him Jill? Was it because you were in love with him or was it to use him? To help your status with Fulcrum?" Sarah said.
Jill's eyes blazed and then she opened her mouth and appeared to be about to shout something back. Then she stopped, let out an exasperated huff and shook her head. She turned to look at Sarah and smiled slightly. Sarah's guard immediately went up. The sight of Jill smiling at her seemed cause for concern.
Jill shook her head again. "Did it ever occur to you Agent Walker how alike you and I are?"
The statement floored Sarah. What was Jill talking about? she immediately thought.
"Think about it," Jill continued. "You and I really are very much alike."
"Now you're really getting insulting," Sarah snapped.
Jill chuckled. "You don't see it…or you don't want to see it Agent Walker?"
Sarah said nothing as the temptation to hit Jill raged inside of her. And it wasn't just because Sarah wanted to shut her up. She had plenty of reasons to want to hit Jill including her continuous use of "Agent Walker" which was really getting on Sarah's nerves.
"I'm serious, I really am. Just think about it," Jill mused as she stared off in another direction. "We both approach our jobs the same way – career and job above everything else. We both are similar in the things we do for the job. And…."
Jill paused and then turned her head to look directly at Sarah while she made her next point, as if to carefully watch the CIA agent's reaction to what she would say next.
"And we both are similar in how we manipulate and use Chuck to further our jobs."
Sarah immediately reacted toward Jill with fury. "What do you mean I use Chuck to further my job? I have never used Chuck for that," she raged.
"Your career hasn't taken an upswing? Things haven't gotten a lot better on the job? You haven't gotten more prime assignments and cases? You haven't gotten a lot more praise and attention from the top brass? All of that and more hasn't occurred since your job involved Chuck?" Jill listed. "And on the subject of Chuck…how often has he saved your life and your partner's life? How often has he saved other peoples' lives? How often have his actions and efforts contributed to a successful mission? But who gets the praise and the commendations? Does Chuck even get paid for what he does? Have you or your partner or your boss ever even thanked him for what he does?"
What Jill said hit Sarah hard. She tried to think of something to say, some form of denial or objection. But nothing came. She could only stare silently at the brunette as Jill's words sunk in. Jill couldn't be right. They thanked Chuck…didn't they? She thanked him…didn't she? She tried to think of when she did and came up empty. Could Jill be right? Did she and Casey actually use Chuck to further their careers? Such thoughts stung and hurt. She didn't use Chuck to further her career, did she? Not intentionally. Did she?
Jill stared at her silently the whole time, waiting for Sarah to answer. When no answer came, the brunette spoke again.
"And you condemn me for what I did to Chuck? What about what you are doing to Chuck?" she said.
Sarah still could only silently stand there, unable to come up with an answer. Then a thought struck Sarah. "How do you know all of this?" she asked.
Jill didn't answer her question. Instead, she announced that she wanted to check on Chuck and went back into the room. Sarah eventually followed. As she entered the room, she saw Jill sitting on the bed alongside Chuck and stroking his hair. Resentment and fury welled up in her but she said nothing and walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She leaned against the sink and held back a cry of rage and anger. Then she had to hold back from punching or kicking the counter or mirror. She did not want Jill to hear that. As she tried to calm down, she kept denying to herself that she used Chuck to help her career. But her mind couldn't stop thinking about Chuck and giving him his due. Had she thanked Chuck? Had Casey or General Beckman thanked Chuck or credited him with or praised him for everything he had done? She raised her head up and stared at the reflection of herself in the mirror. And then and there, Sarah thought that the face that she saw in the mirror didn't seem very pretty.
END CHAPTER 4