A/N: Thank you aardvark for the proverbial kick in the rear. I've been really unmotivated lately and i really needed someone to steer me back on track. i was feeling pretty guilty writing this with the current direction of the show, but now i say 'meh, too bad'. so thanks for that.

i purposely avoided posting on valentines day cause i didn't have anything fluffy to contribute. hope you like it =)

Chapter 7:

"Jill's escaped."

Two simple words. Three if you counted the contraction. And yet the handful of syllables that fell from Bryce's mouth was enough to cause Sarah's entire world to come crashing down.

Adrenaline was a survival mechanism; evolutionary foresight to fight or flight. When exploited correctly it could mean the difference between pushing daisies or picking them. But Sarah had left that world for too long, and now as the adrenaline flooded her system she no longer remembered how to control it.

She stared at Bryce, feeling her chest constrict. No air. There was no air in the room.

"Sarah!" he cried, shaking her. "Did you hear me?"

Hear him? He had whispered it in the loud crowd of people and it had sounded like a scream. Even if she were deaf she would have found a way to hear it.

Sarah snapped out of her stupor and slapped him—hard.

"You couldn't tell me this two days ago?" she demanded, red hot fury burning through her veins. This was a disaster. Her hands fumbled for the phone. She needed to call Chuck this instant.

Bryce clutched the side of his face and used his other hand to drag her out of the restaurant, plowing through the crowd like a bulldozer before they made a bigger scene.

"You weren't exactly in a talkative mood," he growled. Sarah glared but couldn't find anything to say to defend herself. Maybe she had been a little quick with the kitchen knife.

"He's not picking up," she said. No matter how hard she punched in the numbers or stared at the screen, nothing she did on her end was going to help Chuck. "What do we do?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Bryce said. "I have the situation under control. I just thought you should know, as a courtesy."

"A courtesy?" she repeated, wondering if Bryce would like a symmetrical mark on his other cheek. She hid her clenched fists inside her coat pocket and feigned a smile for the passersby on the street, but Bryce knew he was a straw short from breaking the proverbial camel's back.

"You came to tell me that one of their most dangerous agents has just escaped from her holding facility…as a courtesy?" Sarah fought to control her temper but deep down, she secretly hoped the irrational side of her would win.

"Chuck is the first person Jill would try to contact. You know that."

Bryce knew very well, which was why he had no excuses. "I told you I had it under control," he reminded tersely. "I wasn't obligated to contact you at all but I had to see how things were."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. Why? Why did he need to see?

"How could you wait?" she demanded. "She knows about Chuck. She knew he was the Intersect!"

Bryce grabbed her by her coat lapels, nearly lifting her off the ground. "Calm down, Sarah," he hissed, the words like hot steam on her neck. "Or do you want to tell everyone on this block our secret?"

Sarah looked sideways and realized they were drawing too much attention. The wrong kind of attention. She nodded to Bryce and restrained herself, going so far as to kiss him discreetly on the lips like any girlfriend would after amending a quarrel with her boyfriend.

The touch of his lips burned against hers, searing her like a brand. She wiped the surface hastily with the back of her hand, ashamed of her behavior. She was acting like a novice; losing her temper, acting out of line, and screaming things she shouldn't.

Get a grip of yourself. You're an embarrassment. The reprimand was enough to make Sarah flush with shame.

"As long as Chuck knows nothing, he's safe," Bryce said. "I'll get people to watch you."

"You should have gotten them to watch two days ago," she snarled back. Sarah shook her head, glaring at him with annoyance. "You were supposed to make sure she never saw the light of day." Sick of this conversation, she reached for her phone again.

"Chuck's fine, you're overreacting," he said. "He called you five minutes ago, didn't he?"

Five minutes is a long time, Sarah thought as she reached Chuck's voicemail for what felt like the umpteenth time. She ended the call and stared at the phone's background. Chuck's happy smile stared back.

Tracing her thumb over his picture, she realized she couldn't ever lose that. It had been years since she'd seen herself as anything but a loving wife, but now she felt the calling of her prior role, and she knew she would do anything to keep him safe.

Drastic times called for drastic means.

"What are you doing?" Bryce asked. He leaned over Sarah's shoulder as she punched a series of numbers into her phone.

"Something I promised myself I would never do," she said. An application appeared on the screen, the device chirping as it scrolled through a list of possible coordinates.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, raising his brows.

Sarah didn't respond.

"When did you—" he stopped. "How did you…" Bryce laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

Sarah clenched her fists together and reminded herself to take a deep breath. She wasn't proud of herself either.

Finally her cell beeped twice, a red box crossed on the mapped coordinates. The both of them stared as the map expanded, giving the target's exact location.

Instead of the relief she'd been expecting, Sarah felt like the air had been knocked out of her for the second time today. She swallowed nervously as she looked at Bryce. She didn't recognize the address but it was close—far closer than say, Chuck's office.

_

Bryce told her they could take his car but Sarah was already running on foot, covering the distance as rapidly as her inappropriate footwear would allow. She swore under her breath, hating herself for letting her guard down. She should have interrogated Bryce that evening instead of letting her emotions run rampant. She should have thought of Chuck's safety before her own insecurity. What did it matter now if Bryce had come to ruffle some feathers? Who cared if he wanted to rub his exciting life in her face?

"Sarah!" she heard Bryce yell behind her but the voice was muffled and dull. Everything in her surroundings was a blur. Nothing mattered now, except Chuck.

I love you. That's what he'd said. Like he knew something was going to happen. Something terrible. Sarah suppressed a cry, focusing all her strength on closing the distance that separated them. She didn't know what burned more, her oxygen starved lungs or the fear of him living, thinking she didn't feel the same way.

_

Sarah double-checked the GPS as they ran into the parkade. Why would Chuck park his car here? It wasn't close to anywhere familiar, his or hers.

"You sure about this?" Bryce asked, keeping pace with her.

Sarah checked her phone again. "Yeah," she said, scanning the rows of shiny metal hoods for her husband. She kept expecting to see his tall figure peak out from between the parked vehicles but there was no one here.

"There's another four levels, can't the monitor narrow it down?"

Sarah shot Bryce an annoyed look but he was right. The map couldn't be expanded any further.

"We should split up," she said, climbing to the next level. Bryce followed at her heels, seemingly unable to comprehend the concept.

"You're being paranoid," he accused. "So he parks his car in a different place today. Did you ever think parking might be full in his part of town? Maybe he needed to run an errand. So what?"

Sarah shook her head adamantly. "Something's wrong," she said. Bryce looked at her, his brows raised in question. He didn't believe a word of it.

"I just know," she said. If she told Bryce that sometimes Chuck and her were so in-sync they could sense each other's thoughts from miles away, would he believe her? Would he believe that Chuck knew exactly what she craved before she even realized it, or that she knew when Chuck needed a night off with Morgan before the idea even crossed his mind?

Sarah knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chuck wouldn't be here unless something was wrong. Beyond that, her abilities failed her.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you want us to split up?" Bryce asked. The second floor was clear and they moved onto the third.

An undeniably sly smile appeared on his face. "'Cause you know what I think? I think you're afraid Chuck will catch the two of us together."

Sarah said nothing. She pulled out her beloved gun from the hidden compartment in her purse and cocked the weapon as a warning.

Bryce raised his hands in the air. "Okay," he muttered under his breath. "You win."

As they opened the door to the third floor, Sarah thought she saw a flicker of life.

"Chuck?" she called out, hiding the gun behind her back. She ran forwards, trying to catch a better glimpse of the man at the end of the building. His stature matched, his build similar, and even the clothes seemed familiar to her. She couldn't be sure though.

"Chuck?" she cried again, willing the man to turn around. Her heart began to race as her heels clicked against the concrete. Look at me!

"Chuck!"

The man swiveled around, finally hearing her call. She saw his mop of brown hair first, then his eyes alit with recognition, and lastly the lips she had claimed so many times before slowly form into a hesitant smile.

"Sarah?" he asked, his thick brows furrowing together in confusion.

"Chuck." Sarah allowed herself a sigh of relief. Chuck was okay. Chuck was safe.

Her joy was short-lived however. As Chuck turned, his tall stature revealed the shade of a woman hiding in his shadows.

The brunette stepped forwards, putting a possessive hand around her husband's arm.

Jill.

muwhahaha...any thoughts?