CHUCK VS. THE BAD & ABNORMAL & HORRIBLE LIFE

SUMMARY: Once again, Chuck wakes up into that normal life he craves so much and it includes a loving wife and daughter and a home. But that life is anything but normal. Sequel to "Chuck Vs. The Good & Normal & Wonderful Life."

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."

NOTE: Please review! I love to see your comments!

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CHAPTER 4 – Found and Lost

Sarah climbed through the Morgan door of Chuck's room. She stood still for a moment after entering, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. It was after midnight and Chuck was probably asleep, like everyone else in the apartment. But Sarah didn't care. She wanted to be with Chuck and she wanted to be with Chuck now.

I hope I haven't pushed you away too far Chuck, Sarah thought, because I want this. I want this more than anything. And I hope you still do.

Eyes now adjusted to the dark, she moved forward to the bed where Chuck slept and climbed onto it. Chuck rolled over toward her and sat up.

"Hey you! Nice to have you—SARAH!" He looked shocked. He continued to look shocked as he sputtered words.

"What are…how did you get in…why, why are…what are you doing…."

"Chuck, don't look so shocked. It's just me. Or were you expecting Morgan?" she teased. She reached up with one hand to stroke his hair and face. Then it was her turn to look shocked as he recoiled at her touch.

"Chuck? Chuck what's wrong?" she questioned. It was like he was scared of her, she thought.

A voice boomed from behind her.

"What's wrong is that you're trespassing Sarah. You're trespassing on my property."

Sarah turned. At the foot of the bed stood Jill with her arms crossed and a smug, confident look on her face. Sarah turned back to Chuck.

"What's going on? What is SHE doing here," she angrily demanded. Chuck said nothing. He ignored her and instead looked at Jill. To Sarah's astonishment, he didn't just look at Jill, he looked adoringly and lovingly at Jill.

"CHUCK!" she yelled, trying to get his attention.

Chuck didn't even give her a glance. His attention was totally and completely focused on Jill He got out of bed and walked to Jill with his eyes on her the entire way. As he approached, Jill spread her arms to welcome him.

"CHUCK! NO!" Sarah yelled again. But her words had no effect. Chuck didn't listen nor look her way. He moved right into Jill's arms. Sarah watched in horror as Chuck smiled at Jill and snuggled into her as if he was the happiest man alive. Sarah tried to get off the bed and stop him but she couldn't move. Jill's face turned toward Sarah.

"Chuck is now mine Sarah. He is all mine, completely and totally," she sneered.

Sarah struggled to move. Nothing worked. She couldn't move her arms or legs. She couldn't even blink or speak.

"Chuck is mine!" Jill repeated.

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Sarah's head shot up from her bed. As her eyes darted back in forth, searching her room, she reached under the pillow for her gun and jerked it out. The second she did, she realized that what just happened was a nightmare, that it wasn't real.

She let out a gasp, set the gun down and buried her face in her hands. With that, she realized that her face and hair were drenched with sweat.

"Dammit," she muttered.

This was a new one, she thought. Sure, she had nightmares before. They sometimes came with the job. And sure, she had dreams about Chuck before. Ever since she met the guy. Some of them had even made her blush when she thought about them. But this was the first time that she had a nightmare about Chuck. It was unnerving.

"Damn Jill, damn Jill to hell," she swore.

She looked at the clock, the clock that Chuck had given to her at one Christmas. 1:13 am. Not anywhere close to time to get up. It was going to be hard to get back to sleep tonight after that nightmare. In fact, the only way she'd get back to sleep tonight would be if….

"If what?" she asked out loud. But she knew the answer before she asked the question. If Chuck were here. That would be the only way – if Chuck were here to snuggle up against, to hold her, and to comfort her. But he wasn't here. Nor was he at his home. He had been taken, taken by that bitch.

"Damn Jill, damn her to hell," she swore again.

Sarah threw aside the covers and got out of the bed. She started pacing. And not for the first time since Chuck was taken, she thought about how much she missed him. What is it going to take to find him? What is it going to take to get him back? To get him far, far, far away from that bitch? she thought.

She looked at the clock. 1:15 am. It was going to be a long night.

She thought about what she could do to get back to sleep. The answer came to her so quickly that she stopped pacing in surprise. Could she do that? Dare she do that? What would Ellie and Devon think? What would Casey think? Screw it, she thought and walked over to the closet to get some clothes to change into.

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After a speedy drive to Chuck's apartment, Sarah parked and then walked through the courtyard, where the Morgan door, the window to Chuck's apartment was. She made no effort to avoid or hide her entrance from Casey's surveillance cameras. She simply walked up to the window and let herself in.

Once inside the room, Sarah felt better. Everything in the room spoke, smelled, and felt like Chuck. She looked at the empty bed. How she wished Chuck was there. She couldn't wait to get him back and start looking for their own place. She climbed onto the bed, lay down, and quickly fell asleep.

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At one of park's sub-stations, ranger Linda Wiley kept thinking about Chuck. The thought that something was wrong with the guy kept nagging at her after seeing and talking with him yesterday afternoon. Linda wasn't sure what could be wrong but the way he acted just bothered her. The guy feels sick and his wife won't take him to a doctor? she asked herself. It had bothered her all of last night and now as she came into work this morning, it still bothered her. But she wasn't sure what she could do, if anything.

She sat down at her desk, logged onto the computer to check her email. Her email's in-box was filled with dozens of new messages including the morning reports and the daily barrage of alerts, bulletins, inquiries and junk. She sighed as she clicked on the first new message.

One alert, three spams, five inquiries, and eight questions later, Linda clicked on the next message. It was a new alert about a missing child. She scrolled down in the message to look at the photo of the kid. And then she nearly fell out of her chair.

It was a photo of Victoria, Chuck's daughter.

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"Walker!"

Sarah opened her eyes and found Casey leaning in through the Morgan door. Sarah felt a little confused but then remembered where she was. She raised herself up and discovered that a blanket had been placed over her. Ellie, Sarah thought. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to discover that it was almost 10 am.

She looked at Casey and offered no explanation as to what she was doing in Chuck's room. Much to her surprise, Casey didn't make any sarcastic remarks. His face looked unemotional as he told her why he awakened her.

"Come on and get in gear. We've just gotten a sighting of the kid, that little girl that you think Jill kidnapped along with Bartowksi."

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Whatever doubts park ranger Linda Wiley had about whether or not Chuck was in trouble or that something was wrong had been quickly erased after she had called in the sighting of that missing girl that was supposedly Chuck's daughter. But the doubts got replaced with puzzlement.

Once she had called the phone number listed on the alert, Linda had been prepared to gather some other park rangers together and go get that child immediately. But she was told firmly by the person she talked to that she, and any other rangers, should not engage in any rescue attempts of the missing child and not even engage in any contact at all. All the authorities wanted them to do was to immediately lock the park down – no one enters and no one leaves – and wait as federal authorities would be there soon.

Just over an hour later, helicopters appeared and flew over the park. Then seconds later, a whole slew of cars came into the park. One of which stopped at the office and two black suits stepped out, and came inside. They flashed federal IDs and announced that the park should remain in lock down until further notice.

What is going on? Linda wondered.

Now she knew for sure now that Chuck and that little girl were in some sort of trouble or danger. But this sure looked like something a lot bigger than a missing child case. Did they send an army to handle this? Linda wondered.

She and the other rangers in the office were kept in the dark as to what was going on. They weren't asked to help, they were told to remain in the office. About 30 minutes later, another car pulled up to the office and a woman in a black suit got out of the car. After conferring with the two agents standing outside, the woman came into the office.

"Linda Wiley?" the woman asked upon entering.

"Right here," Linda said with a wave of her hand.

"I'm NSA agent Marla Sanderson," the woman said while she held up an ID. "In a little while, two other federal agents will be meeting with you. Please help them in any way that you can. Don't hesitate to tell them any and all details, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Any detail could be the most important detail. They'll be with you shortly. Please stay inside and wait for them," Agent Sanderson said.

And with that, she marched away.

The NSA? What is going on? Linda wondered again.

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About 45 minutes later, Linda spotted another car drive up to the office. She looked out the window and saw two people getting out of the car. One was a man. He was dressed in plainclothes, large, muscular, and his face showed no expression at all. He looks like military, Linda thought. She looked at the second person. It was a woman, a blonde woman also dressed in plain clothes. Linda wasn't sure what to make of her.

Agent Sanderson came in with the pair and escorted them straight to Linda. Agent Sanderson didn't make any introductions. Instead, she asked Linda to cooperate fully with these two people and answer any questions they had. Then agent Sanderson asked if there was a private room for this. Linda led the pair into the small conference room, shut the door and they all sat down.

Linda looked at the man and woman. They didn't introduce themselves nor did their faces show any emotion. The man asked the first question.

"We understand that you were the one who spotted this missing girl, Cindy, and called it in?"

Linda nodded.

"Did you see this man with Cindy?" he asked while holding up a photo of Chuck.

She nodded again. "Yeah, that's Chuck, her father. Well, he said he was her father."

"Can you please go over the whole thing from the start to finish, from when you first spotted the them. And please don't leave out any details, anything, no matter how insignificant you think it may be," he said.

Linda told the whole story, beginning with how she had met Chuck and his daughter when she had come upon the playground that they were at, how she had talked with Chuck and how she thought something was wrong or strange.

"What do you mean strange?" the man asked.

"Well, Chuck was acting like he was weak or not all there, like he was tired or not up to full strength," she replied.

"Was he hurt or injured?" the blonde woman asked.

Those were the first words that the woman had said since coming here, Linda realized. And she thought that she detected concern or something else in her tone.

"He moved around very slowly. I asked him if he was OK or if something wrong and he said that he had been in an accident and that he hadn't completely recovered yet and that he was still weak. I thought that was kind of funny because I couldn't see any bruises or scratches or anything like that on him. So I immediately suspected that he was doing drugs or something like that. But then I realized that wasn't it," Linda said.

"How did you know that?" the man asked.

"He didn't seem like the type … he was nice, he … there's no way he could …." Linda paused. She wasn't sure how to explain the instincts or feelings that she had about Chuck, how she couldn't even imagine someone like him doing drugs or anything like that. And she wasn't sure what these two federal agents would say or think if she said something like that about a guy that she had just met, that she didn't really even know. To heck with it, she thought and just blurted out what was on her mind.

"I know I had just met him and talked with him for only a little while. But I could tell right away that he wasn't the type to do drugs or anything like that. He's a nice guy. I could tell that right away. If there hadn't been a wedding ring on his finger, I probably would have asked him out to lunch or dinner or something like that," she said.

If Linda hadn't been looking directly at the woman at that time, she would have missed it. But right after she mentioned the possibility of asking Chuck out, Linda saw the woman's eyes narrow and blaze for just a second. But almost immediately, those eyes reverted back to an unemotional expression.

What the? Linda thought. Did I say something wrong?

"Your instincts are correct. Chuck does not do drugs or anything like that," she said.

The man glared at the woman for a second. "OK, what happened next?"

"We just talked and then he had to go back to the cabin and that was it. But when I left, I just kept thinking that something was wrong. And then when I checked my email, there was that alert for the young girl who was missing," Linda said.

The woman then pulled out another photo and handed it to Linda. Linda stared at a brunette woman in the picture. She didn't recognize the woman and looked up at the pair.

"Did you see this woman with the child or with Chuck?" the woman asked.

"I'm not sure. I only saw Chuck's wife from a distance so I don't know if this was her or not," Linda replied. She had been looking at the woman while talking and could have sworn that the blonde agent flinched at the words "Chuck's wife." But she said nothing and took back the photo. Linda looked at her and then at the man. They don't seem very happy, she noticed. "Are Chuck and Cindy going to be OK?" Linda asked.

Neither one immediately answered. They glanced at each other. Then the woman spoke.

"We don't know. Both Chuck and the young girl were gone by the time we got to the cabin."

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"What is it with Bartowski and brunettes?" Casey muttered as he put the car in gear and sped away from the park ranger office.

"What?" Sarah replied, a little surprised at Casey's remark.

"Brunettes! Brunettes!" Casey said. "Come on Walker! You can't tell me that you haven't seen it." He glared at her for a second but Sarah willed her expression not to do or betray anything. Realizing that she wasn't going to respond, Casey continued.

"Remember Lou, that sandwich maker that he dumped you for? Brunette! And Jill, the infamous ex and now kidnapper? Brunette! And this little brunette that we just spoke to. My God, she spends a few minutes with Bartowski and wants to adopt the geek. What is it with him and brunettes?"

Sarah frequently wondered that herself but didn't voice that out loud to Casey. She had suspected for some time that Chuck had some sort of fetish or thing about brunettes. Or they had a thing about him. Lou and Jill certainly confirmed that, she thought. And it always seemed whenever some girl eyed Chuck, it was always a brunette. Like that cheerleader at the restaurant a few months ago. Brunettes! It's always brunettes! Sarah thought disgustedly. She was brought out of her musings when Casey said something.

"What?" she asked when she realized she hadn't heard what he said.

"I said that I don't think you need to worry," Casey muttered.

"Worry about what?"

"What have we been talking about Walker? The brunettes, the brunettes. You don't need to worry about them. The geek is hooked on you," Casey said.

Where was all of this coming from? Did Casey know that she and Chuck had become lovers? He couldn't. She and Chuck had been careful. They had to be because she didn't want to take any chances on anyone separating them, keeping them apart. She decided to play dumb, not volunteer anything.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Come on. As I said, the geek is hooked on you and you are on him."

"Are you fact finding Casey? Are you trying to get a 49-B done on me?"

Casey glared at her. "Walker, you are my partner. And for the record, the best partner I've ever had. And I wouldn't rat on you for a 49-B or any reason."

Sarah thought that Casey sounded sincere. But she still wasn't going to take any chances and express any feelings she had about Chuck out loud. So she said nothing and looked away, gazing out the car window.

"You could do a lot worse than Bartowski you know," Casey said.

Sarah turned to look at Casey. His face was unreadable as he started straight ahead at the road while driving the car. What was going on? Where was this coming from? Once again Casey had actually sounded sincere. Did he actually think that about her and Chuck? she wondered. Still, she couldn't take any chances on asking him. She tried to change the subject.

"She said that Chuck acted weak. Could he be sick? Could Jill be doing something to him," she asked.

"My guess would be she's doing something to him. I found a bunch of pill bottles and medications in the cabin," Casey replied. "I made a list and emailed it to labs. No reply yet. But I recognized some of them. I think they're all tranquilizers and sleeping pills or stuff like that."

Sarah thought for a moment. If Jill had brainwashed Chuck…and she knew how Chuck had beaten the brainwashing during that time on the Fulcrum island…then the drugs may be for….

"Jill's drugging Chuck to try to keep him from resisting and beating the brainwashing like he did on the island," she declared.

Casey nodded. "It makes sense. That would keep him in a weakened state and maybe keep him brainwashed as her loving husband. And I think this confirms that Jill has a portable version of that brainwashing technology and that she used it on Bartowski and the kid."

"We were so close. We almost had Chuck back. Do we have any idea how Jill knew to get out of there before we got here? What alerted her? How did she know we were coming?" Sarah asked.

"Probably just spotting Chuck taking to a park ranger yesterday. Jill saw that, didn't want to take any chances and she flew the coop," Casey said. "We'll just have to keep searching and maybe someone will spot them or maybe Bartowski or someone else will come through for us."

Sarah cursed under her breath. So close. So close to having Chuck back. So close to being with him again. She cursed again.

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With her hands firmly on the steering wheel, Jill glanced to her right, at the passenger next to her. Chuck was out. His head leaned back against the seat as he slept. She glanced in the rearview mirror to check on Victoria in the child's seat in the back. She was slumped forward and, like Chuck, fast asleep.

When she saw that park ranger talking to Chuck yesterday, she knew something was up. And she knew that they had better move on. So she drugged their breakfast this morning. They would both be out for the rest of the day and evening. She had plenty of time, plenty of time. She could get to a new location, a house that she had chosen to hide away in a while ago, put some new memories into the two, hide the machinery and then start over.

Chuck started moving and muttering. Jill looked at him.

"Sarah," he moaned.

Jill cursed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. She shook her head and let out a breath. She had no doubts that Sarah Walker was at the park right now or would be soon looking for Chuck. The woman doesn't give up where Chuck is concerned, Jill thought. But then, neither do I, neither do I.

END CHAPTER 4