AN: Ok, it's done with. I feel like I got lost in the middle of this story(and maybe here in the epilogue), but I'm happy with the final piece. Future long stories will either be planned out properly or completed before posting. Thanks for reading.
Epilogue
To my utter amazement, the aftermath of our plane crash went much smoother than I expected. Casey and I got Chuck to the research facility safely. After days of tests and procedures, Chuck was Intersect free. He experienced horrible headaches, which lead him to take more of his painkillers than I would have recommended. That meant the first leg of the car ride from Oregon to Los Angeles was insanely boring. I spent it glancing back at his sleeping form whenever I thought Casey wasn't paying attention.
We shared a room, during a layover in the Fresno area. My drugged companion made several illicit passes at me. Using immense restraint, I laughed, got him in bed, and snuggled up next to his warm frame. His moaning woke me the next morning. I was aghast to realize that my body had put pressure on his injuries. My profuse apologies were more than enough to appease Chuck, but my conscience was a bit harder to pacify.
Chuck insisted on remaining cognizant for the rest of our journey, which led to rousing adaptations of the classic car games. Eager to partake in something so normal, I managed to spot twenty different license plates from my vantage point in the front seat. Okay, I actually identified thirty-five, but I figured that Chuck should win things once and a while.
Ever the charmer, Chuck managed to corral Casey into playing the alphabet game. Well, he participated until Chuck made him say the words butterfly and emu. I stayed in until the end and put my powers of memorization to use. Basically, I slaughtered Chuck.
Arriving in LA, it was decided that Chuck would stay with me until his visible injuries had healed. We did not want to tip off his very astute sister. The two of us took naps, while Casey went home to check his surveillance equipment and set up a meeting with Director Graham and General Beckman.
Once the BuyMore had closed, we snuck into the home theater room. It turned out that the guys who were after us were Fulcrum. The man I left alive was one of their leaders. That meant that our fearless superiors were as grateful as their unchanging demeanors would allow. Chuck was thanked for his assistance over the preceding months. He was told to check his bank account the following day, which caused him some confusion, but I knew the meaning. It looked like he was finally getting that paycheck about which he always complained.
Casey was informed that he would remain in LA indefinitely to watch over Chuck and go on the occasional mission. He gave his usual dissatisfied grunt, but I could tell that he wasn't as opposed to the idea as he wanted people to believe. The hardened NSA agent was about ready to give up the good fight.
My heart sunk a bit when I was briefed about my next assignment. I was ordered to report to DC the next week, before continuing on to Europe for a month long stint. Involuntarily, my mouth opened to interject, to protest, but something stopped me from doing it. Chuck's disappointment was tangible.
We waited until we got back to my hotel room for the fireworks to start. Chuck was furious. He accused me of leading him on, of lying. Shocked, I sat on the bed. I tried to explain to him that my job was important to me. I wasn't ready to give up my career. He explained that he wasn't upset that I was leaving. He was furious at my utter lack of reaction in the home theater room.
The sound of his exit nearly broke me.
I wasn't sure where he went, but Casey said that he was safe, so I let him steam. The night before I was due to leave for DC, he appeared in my doorway. I had rehearsed an apology over and over in my head, but nothing seemed adequate when confronted with his pained eyes. He saved me the trouble by wrapping my body in his strong arms. Even though it wasn't how he imagined our relationship starting, he forgave me for going and promised to wait. Despite his words, I could tell that he was still hurting. The fact that he didn't want to stay the night wreaked havoc on my frame of mind, as I set off on my next assignment.
The Europe mission ended up taking two months. It was horrible. Thanks to Casey, I was able to talk to Chuck a few times. He apologized for his behavior the week before I left, promising to make it up to me. When I boarded the plane to return to the States, an irrational fear overtook me. I somehow analyzed my way to the belief that Chuck had moved on with some other woman. My mind cited the phrases he used, the tone of his voice, and things I heard in the background.
It was all delusional, however, because the man gave me the most mind-blowing kiss when I arrived at LAX. We even drew applause from the patrons, which caused me a rare moment of embarrassment. My apartment had been cleaned out by the CIA and relinquished to the hotel's owners, so Chuck took me back to his place. We used the 'Morgan Door' to avoid time consuming conversations with Awesome and Ellie. Instead, we laid down on his bed and dozed. When I woke up, he was staring at me intently. He then proceeded to breathe out those three words that I have so much trouble confronting. I wasn't ready to say them, but I gave him the most meaningful kiss that I could muster.
I found out the next day that I'd be heading to Africa in two weeks. With our condensed time frame, Chuck took a few vacation days. He insisted on showing me the sites, however, most of the time was spent lip locked. I only remember a few of the museums and one rather romantic dinner. We had sex for the first time on my final evening in his bedroom. It was beautiful, but bittersweet.
That pattern repeated itself for eighteen months, of which Chuck and I spent about twelve weeks together. It became increasingly difficult to extract myself from his embrace and hop on a plane. Chuck even broke up with me after a particularly long trip overseas. We managed to patch things up, but that feeling of despair stuck with me.
My last excursion put me in South America, infiltrating a counterfeiting ring. Two-thirds of the way through, I received a worried call from Casey informing me that Chuck had been in a severe car accident. Beside myself with worry, I called Director Graham for extraction. He denied my request, ordering me to finish the mission. My sense of commitment compelled me to complete my work. The minute I took down my target, I was on the phone with the airlines getting a red eye for Los Angeles. My next call was to my superiors. I was through playing the CIA's game. It didn't have the hold on me that was there two years prior. Chuck had become the most important aspect of my life.
Upon landing, Casey informed me that Chuck had been released from the hospital and was home recuperating. I gave a cab driver 200 and told him to get me to my destination like his life depended on it. As I knocked on Chuck's door, I realized that my hands were shaking slightly. I'd gone face to face with terrorists, but the thought of a serious commitment still scared me.
The door opened and I saw my very weak looking boyfriend precariously balanced on crutches. Shock was evident on his face. I normally called him when I arrived in town, but it hadn't even occurred to me when I landed. Instead of using words to express my feelings, I enveloped him in a fierce hug. He stumbled a bit, but it was his hiss that broke through my haze of euphoria at seeing him alive and in relatively good health. In response, I uttered those three little words that had haunted me my entire life. I repeated them over and over. His smile was amazing and I knew that I was finally home.
Casey decided to retire and I took over his duties as Chuck's protector. My superiors weren't happy with the relationship, but I used my skills of persuasion to convince them that it was the best possible outcome. I went on missions every so often and was required to put in time training new recruit classes.
Having heard good things about him from a certain super secret agent, one of the CIA's contractors hired Chuck as a software security analyst. He got a nice pay upgrade and we moved into our own place. Ellie and Awesome were expanding their family. We didn't want to cramp their style, as Chuck put it. Things were hard, but we made them work. I was sort of glad that, once upon a time, our plane crashed in the middle of nowhere.