CHUCK VERSUS THE BURN NOTICE

CHAPTER 12

Aftermath

Sarah woke when the car stopped at Michael's loft. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and shook herself. There was a split second of panic when she didn't recognize her surroundings but then remembered where she was. She was a little chagrined. She was a trained agent. It wasn't like her to fall asleep like that. Especially not around people she didn't know and trust, like Chuck or Ellie or even Casey.

Sam turned around from the front seat and said, "Are you all right, Sarah? You've had a rough couple of days."

"I'll be fine," Sarah said. "Are we back at Michael's?" She just wanted to see Chuck. Nothing else seemed to matter.

"Yep," Sam said. "And I'm hungry. I hope Mikey's got something in the fridge."

They got out of the car and Sarah immediately winced when she stepped onto her ankle. She had forgotten her injury jumping out of the window. While running on adrenaline, it didn't hurt. Now that it has stiffened up and she was over her adrenaline high, it hurt like hell.

"Here, Sarah," Sam said. "Let me help you."

"I'm all right," Sarah protested, but Sam put her arm around his neck and put his arm around her waist and helped her up the stairs.

The door to the loft was open. Casey had picked the lock. When the door opened, Chuck sprang to his feet and ran to the door. "Oh my God, Sarah, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Chuck," she responded. But she didn't protest when Chuck took her from Sam and helped her over to sit on the bed.

"Are you all right, Chuck?" she asked.

"I'm a little freaked out," Chuck whispered. "Casey hasn't said a single word to me since we left that house. Once we got back here, he took a chair opposite me and just stares at me with this really creepy look on his face."

Sarah stifled a smile. Casey knew that the best way to get to Chuck wasn't to yell at him. It was to make him wait to be chewed out. The anticipation was actually worse than the yelling. "You don't think he'd really hurt me, do you?" Chuck asked. "Don't let him hurt me, Sarah."

The corner of Sarah's mouth twitched a little, but then she reminded herself that Chuck could have gotten himself killed. "I may hurt you myself," she said. "What the hell were you thinking, Chuck? I thought you were supposed to stay here at the loft? What the hell were you doing at that house?"

The door opened and Michael came in, but Sarah did not allow herself to be distracted. She looked back at Chuck with a fierce expression.

"We lost you Sarah," Chuck said, his voice shaking. "I mean, we found the GPS tracker and your clothes. I was so worried. I didn't know what happened to you. So I came up with a plan. I was the only one Obregon hadn't seen, so Michael would give me to him to hold as a hostage."

Sarah turned and glared at Casey. "And you went along with this?"

A growl started low in Casey's throat and grew louder.

"It wasn't Casey's fault!" Chuck said quickly. "I knew he wouldn't go along with it so I had Sam hit him over the back of the head."

Casey jumped to his feet. "Sam?" He turned and glared at Sam Axe. "You told me it was Fiona!"

Now Fiona was on her feet. "You told him what?" Fiona shouted at Sam.

"Now, look, I can explain," Sam said, holding out both hands and backing slowly away. "But first I think I'll go get us breakfast." He turned and bolted out the door.

Sarah was not to be deterred. She turned back to Chuck. "Do you have any idea of the danger you put yourself in? Chuck, you can't do that. You're the int… You're too valuable."

"But I had to save you, Sarah," Chuck said.

"Chuck," Sarah said in a low, steely voice. "It is my job to protect you, not the other way around. You do not put yourself in danger on my account. No matter what the situation. Do you understand me?"

Chuck just looked at her.

"Do you understand me?" she asked, more forcefully.

Chuck slowly nodded. "I understand," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Promise me you will never do anything like that again," she said.

"No," Chuck said, so softly that she wasn't sure she heard him.

"What?" she asked.

"No," Chuck said, louder. "I can't promise that. Not if you're in danger. Or even Casey. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Not if I could help."

"Chuck," Sarah said exasperated. "Don't you understand? We can't lose you."

Chuck couldn't look her in the face. He looked down at the floor. "And I can't lose you," he said.

"Listen…" Sarah started.

"No, Sarah. Handcuff me to the back seat of the car. Put me in a bunker. I don't care… I mean, I do care. I care too much. You can't ask me to stop being who I am, Sarah. Neither you nor Casey. I would have thought you would have learned that by now."

Casey frowned and looked down at Chuck. "Look, Moron, you're going to end up in a padded…."

Sarah stood, wincing as she did, and put a hand on Casey's chest. "Casey, this isn't the time or the place to be discussing this. We can talk more about it when we get home."

Casey looked around at Michael and Fiona looking at them while trying to look like they were not looking at them. "Damn right we will," Casey relented.

"I'm going to go change," Sarah said. She felt dirty and incredibly tired. She needed a shower, some of her own clothes, and to get rid of these damn braces.

"Let me help you," Fiona said, and helped Sarah upstairs.

"This isn't over, Carmichael," Casey said.

###

After stepping out of the shower, Sarah looked at herself in the mirror. "Why does it always have to be a busted lip?" she asked to no one in particular. Body bruises were so much easier to hide. She covered it up with makeup the best she could, but she knew there would be no hiding this from Ellie. At least the braces were gone and her hair was back to its normal blonde. The inside of her lip was still lacerated from where the thug in the kitchen had hit her. Another reason she really hated braces... besides the bad memories they bought back of high school.

Fiona had laid out her clothes for her. She dressed and then plopped down in the chair. What was she going to do about Chuck? It had obviously gone too far. She had always worried that she was compromised by the feelings she tried to deny for Chuck. For some reason it never occurred to her that he could be compromised as well and that that could put him in danger. Did he really feel that strongly for her? Of course, he had said that he would do it for Casey, too, and part of her really believed that. It was just like Chuck to think of others before himself.

But dammit, he was the Intersect. He couldn't think like that anymore. And yet…

That attitude, that selflessness, that concern for others. All of that is precisely what made him Chuck. All of that and so much more. If they took all that away, he wouldn't be Chuck anymore. He wouldn't be the man that she… No. She couldn't go there. Not even in the privacy of her own mind. She was an agent. He was an asset. It was her job to protect him. She had to convince him not to risk himself for her or anyone else. He was too valuable. He was the Intersect. Beyond that, he was infinitely valuable because he was Chuck. The world needed Chuck and those like him. She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck. She had known this vacation was going to be complicated, but she never foresaw complications like these.

The sound of the door opening and then slamming shut downstairs snapped her out of her reverie. "I'll talk to Chuck when we get home," she vowed to herself in a barely audible whisper.

She hobbled down the stairs to see Sam and Carina. Sam had several bags of food and he was trying to keep Carina between himself and both Casey and Fiona. Sarah's stomach rumbled at the smell of the food. How long had it been since she had eaten?

Chuck saw her coming down the stairs and ran over to help her. That merited a raised eyebrow from Carina.

At least the fear of imminent death from Casey and a dressing down from Sarah seemed to have pushed thoughts of what happened to Obregon from Chuck's mind. Sarah really did want to protect him from the more unseemly aspects of Spy World, but that was getting harder and harder the longer Operation Bartowski lasted.

They all piled around the food and launched into an impromptu feast. Carina managed to nab a seat next to Chuck. Sarah quickly grabbed the seat on the other side. At least Fiona was sticking close to Michael after his brush with death.

After Fiona stood to start clearing away the trash and leftovers, prompting the ever-helpful Chuck to spring to his feet to assist, the room got very quiet.

Carina finally stood and said, "Well, I have a ton of paperwork to do. And a few kudos to collect. After all, Obregon wasn't a big operator, but I took him down all by myself. That should be worth a gold star in my official file."

The others stood. Carina went to each one in turn. "Casey," she said, "sorry I didn't get to see the four-leaf clovers this time." Casey merely growled.

She stopped before Fiona and gave her a hug. Sarah was surprised to see that the two had bonded so quickly. They must have recognized kindred spirits in each other.

"Michael," Carina said next, holding out a hand to him, "I'll keep you in mind next time I'm in Miami."

"I wish you wouldn't," Michael said. "Besides, hopefully I'll be moving on soon."

"That would be a pity," Carina said.

She stopped in front of Sam and smiled in a way that made Sam start to sweat. "Well, Carina," he said. "Let's never do this again."

"Aw, Sam," Carina teased. "Don't be that way."

She turned to Sarah and Sarah gave her a hug. "Goodbye, Carina," Sarah said. "Thanks for all your help."

"Think nothing of it," Carina said. "Just remember, though, you and Johnny owe me one. One of these days I'll stop by to collect." She turned to face Chuck. "Unless you'd like Chuck here to work off the debt for you? You're in town for a couple more days, aren't you?"

"I, ah, don't think I've got the energy for what you have in mind, Carina," Chuck said.

Carina reached up and twirled her finger in one of the curls that hung over Chuck's ear. "Well, if you change your mind, my previous offer still stands."

"Still intimidated," Chuck said, leaning toward Sarah to avoid the playful finger.

Carina just smiled and turned to walk out the door. "Oh," she said to the entire group. "My boss agreed not to prosecute any of the girls and to grant them immunity in return for testifying. They'll get counseling and some help to get back to a normal life."

"A normal life," Chuck whispered, wistfully.

With that, Carina was gone. Somehow, the room seemed a lot emptier.

"We need to be going now, too, Chuck," Sarah said.

Sarah stepped over to Michael. "It was good to see you again, Michael."

"You, too… Amanda," Michael said. "I hope we haven't gotten you in trouble. I know I'm persona non grata at the Agency."

"About that," Sarah said. "I could…"

"No," Michael said. "The burn notice is my problem. I need to take care of it. My way."

"All right," Sarah said. Then she gave Michael a hug, earning sidelong glances from both Chuck and Fiona.

"Listen," Sam was saying to Casey. "No hard feeling about the whole… well, you know, huh?"

Casey smiled, but by no means could the smile be called 'warm.' "Let's just say I owe you one, Sam." Sam gulped, but Casey reached out to shake his hand. "It was good to see you again, Sam. Take care of yourself."

"You, too, Casey," Sam said. Then he leaned in and said quietly. "Take care of those two, huh? They're good people. Hell, she's the best partner you've ever had."

Casey glanced over at Sarah, who was hugging Fiona. "Yeah."

Fiona turned from Sarah to give Chuck a fierce hug. "I hope I get to see you again, Chuck," she said.

"I'm glad I got to know you, Fiona," Chuck said. "You're the nicest bank robber/gun runner I've ever known."

Fiona laughed. "Known a lot of them, have you?"

"You'd be surprised," Chuck said.

"No," Fiona said thoughtfully. "I don't think I would."

Chuck turned to shake Michael's hand. "Mr. Westen, thank you. You've taught me a lot."

Michael smiled. "You've taught me a lot, too, Mr. Carmichael. Take care of yourself, Chuck. You're a rare commodity in this business." He leaned in closer and said softly, "And take care of Sarah, too."

Chuck looked at Sarah and sighed. "I will. You take care of Fiona."

"I will," Michael said.

###

Chuck, Sarah and Casey drove back to the condo in silence. They all seemed just a little sad to be parting from Michael, Fiona and Sam.

Casey dropped them off in front of the condo. "What about Ellie and Awesome?" Sarah asked.

"Given your ankle, I think I'll risk it," Casey said.

Chuck helped Sarah out of the car and to the elevator, their bag on one arm and Sarah on the other.

Ellie and Devon were in the suite when they got back. The minute they walked in the door, Ellie took one look at Sarah and cried, "Oh my God, Sarah! What happened to you?"

"It was my fault," Chuck said. Ellie turned to glare at him. "Sarah was trying to get me to help set the sails and I pulled on the wrong line. The tiller, or spar, or whatever that thing is that swings around with the sail on it swung right into her and hit her in the mouth." He turned to Sarah, "You know I can't say enough how sorry I am."

"I keep telling you it was my fault," Sarah said to Chuck. "My sailing skills have obviously gotten rusty." She turned back to Ellie. "And then to top it all off, I landed wrong when I jumped from the boat to the dock to tie her up and hurt my ankle. Chuck wanted to take me to the emergency room, but it's just a sprain."

"I'll be the judge of that," Ellie said, switching automatically into doctor mode, but not before a quick, hopeful glance down at Sarah's left ring finger. Seeing nothing there, she suppressed a sigh and said. "Bring her over to the couch, Chuck."

Ellie expertly ministered to Sarah. She put ice on it, had Chuck get her some pillows to elevate it, and sent Devon out for an ace bandage and ibuprofen.

They sent out for dinner that night, and Ellie insisted on waiting on Sarah.

About ten o'clock, Sarah and Chuck were both yawning constantly. As soon as one stopped the other would start. "Guess you guys didn't get much sleep on the boat, huh Chuck," Devon said with a knowing smile.

"I am pretty tired, sweetie," Sarah said. Chuck leaned down and scooped Sarah up. "Chuck!" she cried. "Put me down. You're going to hurt yourself."

But Chuck ignored her and carried her to their room and laid her gently on the bed. He brought her a washcloth, some cold cream, and a small mirror to take off her makeup. Once the sounds from the living room died away, Sarah picked up the remote and turned on the television to call Casey.

"'Bout time you called," Casey said. "Beckman chewed my ass big time for not sticking to the reporting schedule. She says this is the last time she going to approve a vacation." Chuck groaned. "Anyway," Casey said. "You two lovebirds sleep tight. "

###

Ellie insisted that they spend Sunday simply relaxing so Sarah could keep off her ankle. Sarah convinced her that they could take it easy down by the pool, so they spent most of the day at the condo's swimming pool. Chuck was constantly by Sarah's side, seeing if she needed anything, fluffing the pillows under her ankle, moving the umbrella so that she was in shade. In fact, Sarah finally snapped and sent Chuck off to "find a comic shop or a video game store or something. Just leave me be!"

Dinner that night, their last in Miami, was Chinese takeout. It was Sarah's choice and she insisted that she was in the mood for sizzling shrimp.

Once again, they went to bed early.

###

The next morning, after breakfast, Chuck and Sarah were in their bedroom of the condo packing their suitcases. "Well, it certainly wasn't the vacation I was expecting," Chuck said as he folded his t-shirts.

"Nothing with you is ever what you expect, Chuck," Sarah teased.

Chuck stopped his packing and sat down on the bed. "Sarah, listen. There's something I've been meaning to say."

Sarah stopped and looked up at him, then sat down on the bed next to him.

"I know I was out of line earlier when you first told me that you worked with Michael Westen." Sarah looked down. She was still a little… disappointed… in Chuck for what he thought about her, but she had almost managed to forget it. "The thing is," Chuck continued, "I realize that Michael Westen was an idiot."

That took Sarah by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Chuck said. "He was in love with you and he didn't do anything about it."

"In love with me? Chuck, what makes you think Michael Westen was in love with me?"

Chuck took her hands in his and looked at her with those deep brown eyes that threatened to make her melt every time she looked into them. "Because, Sarah Walker, it's impossible to know you and not fall in love with you."

Sarah's breath caught in her throat. She looked down to catch her breath, then looked up at Chuck. "You know what, Chuck?" she said.

"What's that?"

"It wouldn't have mattered," she said. "You see, I've come to realize something. The Michael Westens, the Bryce Larkins, they're really not my type."

Chuck face slowly blossomed into a smile. "Really, Sarah? And what is your type?"

Just then, the door to their room burst open and Ellie stuck her head in. "Come on, you two. The car is downstairs. You're not finished packing yet?" She pushed Chuck out of the way and started putting his things in his suitcase. Sarah smiled, stood while still favoring her bad ankle, and finished packing.