Thanks again for the beta tshadow. Hope you guys like it!
Chapter 7
The next few hours were the hardest of Sarah's life. That was rather impressive as she had been stabbed, shot, and tortured at different times over the years. Yet this was the most agonizing time she could ever remember. No matter what pain she was in or how bleak her survival may have looked, it would not matter because she was doing it for her county. She had not been afraid of death, if done for the greater good However; this was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She was in no danger, yet her life was being threatened. Not her physical life, but the life that she now believed that she was meant to have with Chuck. He had brought joy to her life. Genuine joy, not the short-lived rushes that she would feel while on a death defying mission. When she learned to care about Chuck, she had learned to love her life again. Now, like so many times in her past, just when she felt it was safe to trust in her feelings, safe to love again, it was being taken away again. The only thing that hurt more than knowing that she may never have that life was that the man that taught her that it was possible may be out of her life for good. As she sat there thinking of Chuck any residual anger she felt towards him for the way he had acted that day faded into nothing.
After ending his phone call with the General, Casey had been keeping an eye on Walker. He had heard her conversation with Ellie, and saw the light fade from her eyes as the realization of the seriousness of the situation set in. He knew that is was a matter of time before she would succumb to the emotions that were boiling beneath the surface. He too had been fighting his own emotional battle while sitting in the cold white waiting room. He had known that Chuck was growing on him for some time. He was like a damn fungus that you could not get rid of, he thought. But it was not until today that he realized that he had no desire to get rid of the fungus, no matter how annoying it could be at times. He would have felt like more of a failure for becoming attached to an asset if it weren't for the people with whom he was sharing the room. Just by looking around this room you could see the kind of man that Chuck is.
In one corner of the room you have his sister Ellie crying on her fiancé Devon's shoulder, They are two of the finest young doctors in LA, and probably the only two people in the room that even come close to Chuck's intellectual level. Chuck and Ellie had an amazing bond. They only had each other through most of their lives. Thought Ellie had taken care of Chuck through many of the years that she could have been out being young, she showed no resentment towards him. In fact it was the exact opposite. In Ellie you could see love for a good brother who cared more for his family than anyone Casey had ever met, something that he was sure Chuck had learned from her.
Lying on a bench not too far away was Morgan and Anna. Casey had seen Morgan, Chuck's best friend for going on 2 decades, as somewhat of a leech in the beginning. He now sees him as a lazy, good for nothing slacker that rides his friend's coattails, but he is also a loyal friend. He reflects the same loyalty that Chuck possesses. Chuck has been a loyal friend and leader to a crew of people far inferior to him at a job well beneath him. Yet he has never acted as if he was better than anyone of them or entitled to anything more than they are. Chuck has shown this loyalty to Casey and Sarah as well. Despite the fact that Casey had never given him reason, he has gone out of his way to befriend him. He even tried to help him with Ilsa, for no other reason than Casey was his friend. This brought a chuckle to Casey. As far as Sarah goes, Chuck's loyalty had no end. Even after repeatedly being rejected, he would run blindly into harm's way in order to keep her safe. Of course, that usually meant that she had to save him from danger, but you have to give him some credit.
Casey looked over at Sarah. Sarah may be the best example of how Chuck can affect people. Sarah Walker is a world class spy, maybe even the best there is, and even she didn't stand a chance. She has had to get close to hundreds of men in her past, but none have ever gotten to her the way Chuck has. She had fought it with every thing she had, her training, her orders, her professionalism, hell even the lead-lined brick wall she had built around her heart couldn't keep Chuck out. The goofy bastard won her over long before either of them knew what was going on. And even though Casey loved to harass her about it, he knew it was just a matter of time before they ended up together. Casey was still looking at Sarah when her strength broke under the weight of her emotions. He wanted to be there for his partner but he didn't know how. He knew that he was not good at this. He never had a reason to be. He normally would have been long gone by now, or half a bottle deep in scotch if it were any other mission, but it was not any other mission. There was no denying that.
All the training in the world could not prepare Sarah for the rush of emotions she was feeling. She felt anger, a rage like she had never felt before, for the man that had done this to Chuck. She wished that Chuck had not shot him, for that death was much quicker that he had deserved. She felt hatred towards Bryce and both agencies that were responsible for dragging such a wonderful human being into their dark world. She felt fear, a fear like none she had ever known; a fear of losing the single greatest thing to ever happen to her. Finally she felt complete and total love. The kind of love that she had heard people talk about, yet was never convinced that it even really existed. It was a love that she never knew she was capable of, let alone having someone reciprocate. Sarah began to quietly sob, the emotions overwhelming her. The defenses she had erected around her emotions tumbling down.
Casey walked over to Sarah and put his hand on her shoulder. She had been sobbing for a few minutes before Casey decided to come over. She tried to compose her self before looking up Casey, though she could not stop the tears completely. She was really only able to slow the tears long enough to make eye contact with Casey, and began breaking down again. Casey merely pulled her into him and held her close, her tears dampening his shirt. "He is going to make it you know…Kid's to damn stubborn not to." Casey said into the top of Sarah's head. She simply nodded in response.
There were a few touch and go moments over the next few hours during a couple of which Chuck's heart had actually stopped. Though he was considered stabile upon arriving at the hospital his condition had continued to take a turn for the worse for quite some time. The doctors working on Chuck had explained that someone had given him a very large dose of Wild Side, complicated by the fact that Chuck seemed to be having a violent reaction to the drug as well. Fortunately, after about 4 hours his condition seemed to stabilize, though he still remained unconscious, at which time he was taken to a private room where everyone joined him.
Chuck's primary doctor had initially allowed the entire group to be in the room at the same time, though as time went on he had decided that only a few should stay at a time. The group had argued that no one was leaving until they were sure Chuck was okay. Again the doctors placated them until then morning had come and gone, and the following evening was rapidly approaching again. Besides quick bathroom breaks, only Casey had left to get food for everyone. Sarah never left Chuck's side, holding his hand the entire day. In the early evening hours the doctor pushed the group about leaving. It had apparently been one time to many for Ellie. At that moment she stood and walked over to the doctor as calm as could be, and asked to speak to him outside the room for a moment. As the door shut everyone turned to look at Devon when they heard him mutter, "Oh man that poor dude." A few seconds later you could hear a very loud and very animated Ellie assuring her fellow doctor that "Chuck was going to be surrounded by the people that care about him and there was not a damn thing he could do about it." She added that "the conversation was over and that she would feel very sorry for the next person that tries to separate her family, including her extended family." At this Casey chuckled and leaned in whispering to Sarah, "Maybe we should sign her up."
"Don't even think about it." Chuck said in a very strained voice. Sarah had had her head resting on his chest when Casey had said this. It was close enough to the slowly waking Chuck that he had heard him. "You guys only get one Bartowski for the greater good." Chuck's voice was slowing coming back with his last statement being loud enough that everyone in room realized he was awake. Devon ran into the hallway to get Ellie. Morgan jumped from his chair dumping Anna, who had been on his lap, on the floor. Casey put his hand on Sarah's shoulder, as she had not moved with her hand still in his. Once Anna had dragged Morgan, who was whining through his tears for Chuck to, "Never do that to him again," from around Chuck's neck, Chuck was able to look at Sarah. She was wearing the largest smile he had ever seen, with tears streaming down her face.
"You are so beautiful. I mean so far all the girl spies I have met have been beautiful, but none compare to you." Chuck said without any hesitation. Sarah's eyes were as large as saucers. Casey reacted first, "Wow Bartowski that fever must have you delirious. I'll bet those were some of the best dreams you've ever had. If you are going to be telling us about them, try to keep them pg."
The rest of the people in the room all laughed causing Sarah and Casey to relax a bit. While everyone was laughing and Morgan was ranting about Sarah the sexy super-spy, Casey leaned into Sarah again, "The drugs must not be completely out of his system."
After a few moments, Chuck's doctor came into the room and looked at Ellie. "It is nice that we can all see that Mr. Bartowski is doing better." It was obvious that he feared Ellie, but was hoping to finally get his way.
Ellie took the hint and understood that further tests would have to be done now that Chuck was awake. "Okay, let's go everyone. Let's let them do their jobs, which I know they are going to do very well." She said the last phrase through gritted teeth, making it clear that she would be keeping an eye on her brother's care. Everyone was leaving the room as Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand. She stayed asking the doctor for just a moment to talk to Chuck. The doctor agreed to give them 2 minutes only, then stepped outside and shut the door.
"I am so happy to see you are okay." Chuck said looking up at Sarah.
"I think you have that backwards. I am not the one that was in a coma." Sarah chuckled as she said so.
"No I was worried about you. Who would take care of you if I wasn't here?" Sarah began to break down again as Chuck said this. It was not the first time that he had impressed her by putting her first even when he was the one in danger. This may be one of the things about Chuck that she cared for the most. "Sarah I need to tell you something, something I should have said a long time ago. I lo…"
Chuck was interrupted by Sarah putting her finger over his lips. "Chuck I want to hear whatever it is you want to tell me, but I don't want you to be telling me things because of some drug. I think it would be better for us to talk later. I will go home and inform Washington of the situation, and be back soon."
Chuck was obviously disappointed thinking that he had just been rejected yet again. "You know you are awfully hard to read. I thought that this time you really did want to hear what I was saying, but then you…" This time he was interrupted by Sarah pressing her lips against his, catching Chuck off guard. Before he was able to become too involved in the kiss, she broke away.
"Chuck, if you are going to say what I think and hope you are, I want to hear it more than anything in the world. But, for the first time in my life I want to hear it and know that it means something. I don't want that moment to be tainted, okay?" She paused long enough for Chuck to nod. "I promise you that I have some things that I need to say to you as well." She smiled at Chuck who had maintained a large goofy smile on his face since they broke the kiss. "I will come back tomorrow morning. We can talk then." She leaned and kissed him deeply, and only broke the kiss when she heard the doctor clear his throat behind her.