A/N: Any doubts I had on whether this would be liked were dispelled with the response I got. Thank you for all the reviews, PMs, follows & favorites. I really do appreciate them all. The comments on the Chuck FanFiction Facebook group too.
Thanks to Captainrick944 for the beta again. In addition to lots of corrections, he also pointed out my first version of this chapter was far too close to canon, and, after reading through it, I had to agree. So, quite a bit was completely rewritten.
Last chapter, both Chuck and Sarah downloaded the Intersect along with some code inserted by his dad. That insert was to help his son use what he'd received, giving the ability to read minds. Both of them got this and additionally formed a mind link between each other. That chapter was an AU rewrite of the pilot episode. The chapters will mostly be based on individual episodes. This one introduces Zarnow…
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Chapter 2: Zarnow
Stephen Bartowski was frustrated. Very frustrated.
His son had not yet replaced his computer, so he had no way to observe the conversations between him and that CIA woman.
He had observed Chuck at the Buy More, but that gave no indication of new skills or abilities or what she was thinking.
He just hoped for a link back at his son's bedroom soon.
Having a woman sleeping with him overnight was a strange experience in itself. That hadn't happened for over five years. During the night, he'd woken occasionally and felt her back pressing against his, which, although it felt great, was also a reminder that his life had changed considerably.
Now, it was nearly 5 am, and he felt wide awake. He lay there thinking about what was going to happen today. They'd find out if the CIA and NSA would accept him staying out of a bunker and whether Sarah would be allowed to stay, as his cover girlfriend.
The latter felt just as important as the former, in some ways more so. The mental connection they had was something amazing. Losing that would be as bad as being taken away from his family and friends; it was special. As he thought more, he knew Sarah was also special, to him at least.
That last thought, along with her back against his, made him wish he could roll over and put his arms around her, taking in her wonderful scent.
'Don't! It's bad enough being bombarded with your thoughts. I don't need you wrapped around me, too.' Sarah's thoughts assaulted his brain. She didn't seem as angry as she 'sounded' though. Then, a grumpy thought came across, 'I need more sleep!'
He grinned. 'I love this connection we have, Sarah.'
He almost felt the smile behind her thoughts. 'I'm sure I will too, when we can get you to dial it back a bit, Chuck.'
He rolled over to face her back. She was wearing one of his t-shirts, so it wasn't inappropriate for him to gaze upon her.
She chuckled. 'Your gallantry is endearing, Chuck.'
'Ellie brought me up that way,' he thought.
'She did well.' Sarah considered it for a second. 'I'm just not used to it.'
Chuck saw her thoughts of men eyeing her up and down wherever she went. His distaste for it matching hers. 'Thant's horrible, Sarah.'
She rolled over to face him. 'It's what most men are like, Chuck. You're an exception.' She gazed into his chestnut-colored eyes. And thought, '… in more ways than just this link.' She didn't even try to hide the fact that she liked that about him.
Looking at those ocean-blue eyes so close to him took his breath away. She was absolutely gorgeous, but it was her eyes that drew him in the most.
Sarah pushed those thoughts aside. 'We will have to convince everyone that we are boyfriend/girlfriend, assuming Graham accepts that, Chuck, but it won't be real. You know that, don't you?' His disappointment on 'hearing' that hit her hard, and she winced. 'I'm sorry, Chuck. I think a real relationship would be too much for me. I need this to be professional.'
Her hands were up near her face, and he reached for them. She didn't resist. He held her gaze and thought, 'Maybe I can teach you there's more to life than a job.'
She smiled. 'Maybe you can, but not yet, Chuck.' She knew she shouldn't but thought, 'Maybe at some point my inhibitions will let that happen, huh?'
He leaned toward her, and she was worried that he was going to kiss her lips. She wasn't sure she could resist if he did, but instead, he kissed the tip of her nose. 'I'll bide my time, Sarah.'
Just that simple contact was endearing. She managed to keep the following thoughts to herself, 'I am so screwed! I'm falling for this guy and not just because of our mind link.'
She was now fully awake, so all hope of additional sleep was gone. She decided she should go back to her hotel and collect more clothes to bring back here. That brought thoughts of her conversation with Graham last night. She hadn't shared this with Chuck until now because she had pushed the thoughts back. Now was the time.
'Chuck, I talked to Graham last night,' she started.
'That was when you sat in your car before coming in?' he asked. She nodded. No need for thought to communicate that. 'Did he agree to me staying here?'
She nodded again. 'For now, at least. He also agreed with our cover relationship, for now. He will be discussing it with General Beckman, though, so things might change.'
Chuck gripped her hands tightly. 'Don't leave me, Sarah.'
She could tell that his desperation was driven by a mixture of fear for the unknown and a yearning for her. She gulped. The latter was incredibly strong, considering what he knew of her past.
Chuck wouldn't be able to say this verbally, but this link released his normal inhibitions. They were pointless when she could read his mind. 'Ok, I admit it. I've fallen for you, big time.'
'Chuck, you hardly know me,' she started.
'I know you better than I know anyone, Sarah. I know you didn't choose to do the things you did.'
That touched a nerve. 'But I did, Chuck. I chose to follow orders.'
'And if you hadn't?' he asked.
She reluctantly admitted, 'I would have been targeted myself.'
He smiled kindly at her. 'Not much of a choice then, was it?'
She acknowledged that then thought, 'You could do so much better than to be with someone like me, Chuck.'
He snorted, then thought, 'I really couldn't, Sarah. I don't feel worthy of being with you, but if you would have me, I'd be the happiest man on Earth.'
She gasped at his thoughts. He really did think that. There was really no reply she could make to it. 'I have to go and get my things to bring back here.'
He nodded, already knowing why.
She climbed out of bed. She needed to dress to leave. He was looking her way, but at that thought, he instantly turned the other way.
'Thanks, Chuck,' she thought. She quickly stripped off the t-short and shorts she'd borrowed and got ready to pull on her clothes from the night before. She chuckled at his thoughts as she undressed and decided to tease him. 'Maybe you should look, see how close your imagination is.'
His thoughts stopped, and she almost laughed out loud, knowing she'd shut his brain down.
She quickly slipped out of the window, thinking, 'This window must be fixed, Chuck.'
'What if you need a quick escape routine in the future?' he questioned.
As she walked away, she acknowledged to herself that he was right.
She had packed her clothes into her case. She didn't have much. Her weapons needed consideration, though. She already knew Chuck enough that taking them all in would not be acceptable, at least not initially, so some would have to remain in the trunk of her car.
She lay on her bed and decided she should check in with Director Graham and see if there had been any developments.
As she scrolled through her contact list, she found Bryce Larkin. Without thinking, she opened up her photos and looked at ones from two years ago. Cabo, 2005. The two of them looked like they were in love. She knew that wasn't really the case, and he certainly hadn't acted like it, but she had felt something back then. She imagined what it would be like to have a mental connection with Bryce as she did now with Chuck. The thought made her shudder. Spy thoughts would not be good to receive, and she was sure she would have seen no love for her whatsoever, just recognition of her abilities and, probably, lust for her body.
Chuck was so different. She felt completely comfortable sharing superficial thoughts with him, and she really liked that he appreciated her, all of her, not just her appearance. There was a hint of lust, but it wasn't the dominant thought when he looked at her. He genuinely wanted to be with her, not just wanted sex with her. She was sure that sex would be good with him, but it wasn't appropriate. At least, not right now.
She went back to her contact list and found Graham.
"Good morning, Agent Walker."
"Good morning, Sir. Any decisions yet?"
He stated that he wasn't happy about having to work with the NSA on this but had agreed on a plan with his counterpart. "Your cover will be, as you suggested, his girlfriend, so you can stay at his place with him overnight." He paused. "Are you sure you are ok with that?"
Sarah knew she was going to have challenges with Chuck's desire for her and her own feelings for him but replied, "Yes, Sir, I can handle him."
"There's another apartment in the complex. Beckman has acquired that and is setting Major Casey up there. You'll have a neighbor. He will also set up surveillance in the complex."
"He won't need to place any in the apartment," she quickly replied.
"And what if you're not there?" Graham asked.
She conceded that point. "If he does, I will want to be able to switch it off. I don't want him spying on me."
"Discuss it with him," Graham advised. "He'll get a job in the Buy More during the day."
"Me too?" she inquired.
"No. Your daytime will be free of close contact. You'll be covering external surveillance from across the road."
"As what, Sir?"
He chuckled, which had an evil edge to it. "You'll be selling hot dogs."
Ellie and Devon were still fast asleep when Chuck finally surfaced, so he got out without having to talk to them.
Apart from applying for the Assistant Manager job, the morning at the Buy More started in exactly the same way as every morning there. Stupidity from Jeff and Lester, aggressive 'management' from Harry Tang and Morgan thinking he was better than he really was and making it all so much worse.
What was very different was being bombarded with everyone's thoughts. However, Chuck found that if you concentrated on not hearing anything, that works, but it would be something to do all the time.
Then Chuck saw the new green shirt and had to look twice. Casey was standing there glaring at him. Surprisingly, Chuck flashed. He wasn't sure why he hadn't flashed on seeing Casey the night before. Maybe the stress of the situation affected it?
The flash showed records of Casey joining the NSA from the Marines but there was no information about his actual time in the Marines. There was then a series of images of assassinations Casey had carried out, and a lot of blood. All this matched what Sarah had told Chuck about the man, but it was still unsettling to see the images.
Chuck was about to walk over to him when he felt Sarah's mind brush against his. He turned, and she was walking through the store in a blue dress, heading in his direction, looking stunning, of course. He watched her walk past him, unable to tear his eyes away. 'Hi, Chuck,' she thought. He could feel her amusement at him.
'Hi, Sarah,' he replied. 'Casey's here, in sales!'
'His new cover job,' she replied. 'Better than mine,' she grumbled.
He was going to ask what that was, when he noticed her ring, which caused a flash. A flash of her being attacked by two men, but wrestling the gun off one and killing them both with it, then walking up to the street cam, facing it and shooting it.
He hated seeing the killing but was so glad she survived the attack. His respect for her increased.
Sarah had stopped when he started to flash, pretending to examine items in front of her, and she 'saw' it all. She hated that he had to witness that and vowed to go through her things and dispose of anything she'd worn on previous missions. She stopped looking at the items before her and walked on.
Casey walked up to him. "I'm not happy to have to do this!" he snarled.
"Hey, I've had to work here for five years now!" Chuck replied.
"Moron!" Casey grunted and walked away.
When Chuck turned back, Sarah was gone. He'd have to try to talk with her later.
Casey caused a problem early afternoon. Chuck had to run to catch up with him when he took off after a shoplifter. Had it been anyone else, Chuck would probably have left him to his own devices, but not Casey. Chuck only just managed to stop the big guy from planting one on the poor thief.
As Morgan turned up and guided Casey and his charge back to the Buy More, Chuck looked up and saw something amazing outside the Wienerlicious. A pair of long, shapely legs. As his eyes trailed up those legs to the woman with blonde pigtails, she turned. "Sarah!" he gasped.
He walked to her. "Your cover job is here?"
She smiled at him and nodded. "First set of eyes sizing me up that I haven't objected to," she commented as she walked back into the food shop. He sensed her distaste.
He hastened to follow. When he got in there, he said, "You have to work… here?"
Through a tight smile, she said, "Yes. I do."
"Why?" he asked.
"Surveillance," she replied. "I can monitor the Buy More and parking lot from here while you work." He looked sympathetically at her. "It's just a cover," she pointed out. However, her thoughts raged at what a crappy job she thought it was.
"Sorry," he said. "You making gourmet wieners isn't exactly the reason why you joined the CIA, and Casey isn't a natural-born appliance salesman. And the whole kinda government-secrets-locked-in-my-brain thing, that's not really a boon for national security. I wish there was a way to get it out." 'Without losing the connection I have with you, that is.'
She smiled at that added thought. 'I'd miss that, too,' she admitted. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "There is somebody who can help. He's coming tonight. I'll take you to him at 8:00 after I move in. We'll tell your sister it's another romantic date night,"
"You're moving in?" Everything else she said and thought faded into insignificance.
She leaned across the counter and gave him a peck on the lips. "Yes, boyfriend." She added the thought, 'We need to appear to be boyfriend/girlfriend, Chuck, so we need to kiss in front of people.'
'I'm not good at PDA,' he informed her.
'We'll practice over here but will have to do it over there, too,' she replied. He looked shocked. She 'saw' his thought. 'Kissing, not… it.'
"Oh," he said out loud. Then he realized what she'd said, "Who is the guy that's coming?" He hadn't gotten that from her thoughts.
"I don't know yet. They'll send me his details later."
He turned to leave, "See you before 8:00, then."
"Yup."
It was just as she was about to leave work to drive to Chuck's that a delivery was made to the Wienerlicious. She took the large envelope and put it under her arm. Picking up her phone, she called Graham. "I only just received the documents on who's coming tonight, Sir. Is he on his way?"
"He is indeed," he replied.
"Has the general told Casey, or should I?"
"He's been informed and will be receiving the doctor. You need to get Bartowski set up and ready for him."
"I will, Sir," she responded.
Sarah didn't have a chance to read the folder immediately on return to the apartment because she was enveloped by Eleanor Bartowski's arms almost as soon as the apartment door opened.
"Thank you," Ellie said. Sarah could read her mind, obviously, and the relief this woman felt over Chuck getting a girlfriend was almost overwhelming. It made Sarah feel terrible that it wasn't a real relationship.
"Thanks, Ellie. I was staying in a hotel which I really didn't have the money for. When Chuck suggested I move in, I wasn't sure because this all seemed so fast, but he persuaded me." It was the story she and Chuck had prepared earlier.
"I'm just so glad you're here," Ellie replied. Her thoughts tempered that with how Sarah smelt.
That made Sarah feel better about saying, "Chuck and I are going out this evening around 8:00. Do you if I just go and take a shower? I stink of hotdogs."
"Please do," Ellie responded, glad that she didn't have to suggest it. Then she realized what Sarah had said. "You cook hotdogs?"
"It's a temporary job until I find something better. I only just moved over here from DC," Sarah replied, deliberately putting on a look of distaste.
Ellie instantly formed the impression Sarah was leading her. "Boyfriend trouble?"
"Yes, that's why Chuck is such a breath of fresh air," she replied with a wistful smile.
Ellie smirked, "Well, you get in that shower to keep the air fresh."
Sarah chuckled, picked up her things, and took them to Chuck's bedroom.
In seconds, she was in the bathroom and taking that shower.
Chuck arrived home exhausted from the day. Nothing unusual about that, really, but his day had started earlier than normal. He knew that days from now on would start the same way, either feeling Sarah's back pressed against his or gazing at her beautiful features on the pillow next to his.
"Hi, El," he called to his sister as he walked passed the kitchen.
He suddenly had his sister appear in front of him, looking extremely excited. "She's here!" Ellie declared.
Chuck had seen Sarah's Porsche as he walked in, so he knew that already, but he still grinned, feeling just as excited. "I know."
"She's getting ready for your date," Ellie told him. He almost frowned but read Ellie's mind and thought, 'Leaving at 8:00. Ahh, so not really a date.' Then, reality took hold, 'No dates with Sarah Walker will be real.'
However, he nodded. "I better get ready too."
Ellie looked serious as she said, "I'd normally help you choose what to wear, but can't as she's here. Choose wisely."
He laughed. "I don't think my clothes will make her run away."
Ellie looked doubtful as he walked to his bedroom.
The room was empty, but the bathroom door was shut, so he presumed Sarah was in there. Her case was in the corner of the room, with an envelope on the top. He wouldn't look at it without her permission, but he was curious. He opened his wardrobe to choose what to wear.
The bedroom door opened, and he turned around, already sensing Sarah's presence. His jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Oh! You're back," she said, looking surprised.
She was just wrapped in a towel with her bare arms, legs and feet on show.
'Perfect,' he thought without any consideration.
She smiled. 'Thank you, Chuck. I'm not, but it's nice of you to think that.'
He turned away and continued his search for things to wear but couldn't decide, so he grabbed some underwear and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Once he was out, she knelt down, opened her case, and pulled out a black top and skirt, along with some underwear. She placed all these on the bed. She had a separate bag with shoes and opened that to select the scandals to wear; those she dropped on the floor next to the bed. She quickly closed her case and walked back to the bed to get dressed.
She dropped the towel and slipped on the clothes. As an agent, she was used to quick changes, so she had no worries about being naked when he returned.
He was quick, however, when she sensed him outside the door. 'Decent?' he thought.
'Come in, Chuck,' she thought back. She looked around as he walked in. He was just wearing a t-shirt and boxers. As she had at night, she thought his legs looked good. She deliberately let him 'hear' that.
He didn't notice because he was looking at her. Not much more was covered than before, but this seemed more appropriate. She had yet to fully dry her hair and had nothing on her feet but still looked stunning, just in a different way.
'You'll have to stop thinking about me that way, Chuck. It'll go to my head,' she jokingly thought at him.
'Rubbish. You know you're beautiful. I've seen your thoughts that this is "part of the CIA package."' She couldn't help thinking of her transformation. He gasped, but she could see he still found her attractive before that had started.
She put those thoughts to one side and walked to his wardrobe. She pointed at a shirt and a pair of trousers. "Those will do." She hadn't fully closed off her mind, so he 'heard' her think he would look good in them.
Chuck stopped moving forward and crossed his arms. He looked her in the eyes. 'This is going to be really hard for me, Sarah. I am falling for you, and you thinking positive things about me just makes everything feel so real.'
She walked to him and placed her hands on his forearms. She kept a straight face as she thought, 'I'll try to only think negative thoughts, then, Chuck.'
He frowned. 'You know what I mean.'
'Sorry,' Sarah replied. 'I will try not to be attracted to you in any way. This is weird for me too, Chuck. Can you try not to be so gushing? That's a bit overwhelming.'
He nodded and turned to get the clothes and put them on.
She quickly towel-dried her hair and ran her fingers through it, thinking. 'That'll have to do.'
She was surprised by his thoughts. 'Can you warn me before you do that? It's too sexy for me to see.'
She grinned and nodded. 'Point taken.'
She then picked up the envelope. 'This is going to be about the man who'll be waiting for us.'
Chuck sat beside her as she pulled a folder out and opened it. Inside the cover were three photos of the man. The front sheet of paper had his name, Jonas Zarnow, amongst the words 'classified' and 'top secret.'
Both of them flashed. This was Sarah's first, and it surprised her how much it hurt. Afterward, she asked, 'Do your flashes always hurt, Chuck?'
'Yeah, a bit. It's not pleasant, for sure,' he replied.
Sarah thought, 'I got that he's an NSA scientist and has been involved in many highly classified projects.'
'Details of those projects are hidden from the Intersect,' Chuck observed. 'To use a Star Wars expression, I've got a bad feeling about this.'
Sarah did not know the Star Wars reference but agreed. 'Me too.'
She turned the page over, and they read something more encouraging. He worked on the encoding process for the intersect, the computer that Bryce destroyed.
Chuck found that interesting, but not totally reassuring. 'I still don't trust him, Sarah. I don't know why, though.'
'Me too,' she repeated.
She phoned Casey. "There's something off about the doctor," she told him.
"Because he's NSA?" he growled, sounding pissed off.
"No. There's too little detail in the folder about him. I don't trust him."
Casey grunted again and admitted, "Nor me."
"I don't think he should see Chuck," she said.
"Chuck, is it? Cozy."
"I'm serious, Casey," she snapped.
Casey conceded her point, "Ok. I agree. You hide Bartowski in the Home Theater room and we'll keep the doctor outside."
"Good," she replied and hung up.
'He won't see you for the tests,' she informed Chuck, but he'd already 'heard' her think that.
He sighed in relief. 'No needles, then?'
Sarah didn't have to consider this. 'If he needs your blood, I can take it.'
Chuck instantly felt queasy.
She stroked his arm. 'I've done it before, Chuck. It wouldn't hurt.' She could see the problem, though. 'You have a phobia about blood?'
'Yeah, particularly my own,' he replied.
Sarah managed to close down all thoughts of what she'd done over the years, as well as what he would likely see going forward.
They walked through the Buy More.
Chuck smiled. "So. Here we are on our 'date' at the Buy More. Is this all part of the plan or a chance for me to clock in some overtime?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. She knew he used humor when nervous, but he needed to focus. He got that and sobered up. "This is where we agreed for him to meet you, Chuck, although he won't know."
"Are you sure he can do his tests without facing me?" he asked.
"He'll have to," she replied. To keep up the act, she said, "The doctor is our best shot at helping you. It's what you want, right? To get the secrets out of your head."
He thought, 'The secrets, yes, but the rest… you… not so.' He verbally replied, "Yeah. Yeah, of course."
Sarah held his gaze as she replied, with full honesty, 'I hope we don't lose our connection either.' She led Chuck into the room. She got him to sit down facing the monitor that was on and got him to put on the headphones. "We've rewired the Home Theater room for this test," Casey said as he stood in the doorway. "When the images start, just say what they are."
"That's it?" Chuck asked, surprised.
"I'm sure you'll find a way to screw it up," Casey growled. Then he responded to a message. "The doctor's here. I'll get him." He looked at Sarah. "Keep him calm." Then, he walked off.
'I'll be just outside, but I will need to get far enough away to not read your mind. I can't be seen flashing,' she told him.
'God, no!' he replied. '…as long as you don't leave.'
She placed a reassuring hand on his arm. 'I won't.' The warmth in that message made him feel so much better. She walked out and closed the door, the curtains closing behind her.
She saw Casey walk in with the doctor. She walked to them. "Agent Walker," the man said.
"Thank you for meeting us at a neutral site," she replied.
His thoughts were clear. He desperately wanted to find out whether the Intersect download was successful. "Let's begin," he replied.
Once they got him set up at the Nerd Herd desk, he commented, "I don't understand why I can't see my patient." Sarah could feel his frustration. His thought, 'I need to see who has it,' was confusing because he wasn't saying that.
"For your safety, we're keeping patient X's identity a secret," she replied. She was probably out of range for their mind link, but didn't want to take a chance. She made a mental note to work that range out with Chuck. She turned to Casey. "I'll keep an eye out to make sure we get no distractions."
Casey nodded, and she walked away, but not before thinking at Chuck, 'Good luck.'.
"Does patient X work here?" Zarnow asked.
Casey responded sarcastically, "Patient X, who knows all the Intersect secrets, works in a Buy More?"
"Ridiculous," Zarnow commented. "Of course." The doctor then spoke into the microphone. "After the tone, the test will begin."
Chuck ran through the test, responding as images appeared. Initially just random ones. However, when a rose appeared with a building behind it, he flashed and said, "Cardinal one is the top Moscow spy in the White House Office of... "
Another image appeared, and Chuck flashed again. "The plot to assassinate President Carter was orchestrated by..."
Then another image that caused a flash. "Northrop Davis voting computers have been approved by the DNC, RNC and CIA."
A further image and another flash, "Oceanic flight 815 was shot down by surface-to-air... "
This all continued, with images shifting between benign ones of animals and those that triggered flashes until a final image appeared. "Ok, well, that's just a picture of a turtle."
Zarnow stood back and looked at Casey. "Your patient is phenomenal." He shook his head. "We never imagined this."
Sarah had walked back to them. "What didn't you imagine?"
"One person seeing all the intersect images. All our secrets in one mind," he replied.
"Can you remove the secrets, doctor?" Casey asked.
Zarnow thought for a few moments. He replied, "Yes. I think I can." Sarah, however, knew what he actually thought. 'I need to get to him.'
'No chance,' she thought.
Casey led the doctor out of the building, and Sarah headed into the Home Theater room to get Chuck.
Sarah drove them home. She thought about that word, 'home.' She hadn't had a home for a long, long time.
Chuck had a headache from all the flashes but was otherwise fine. "I wish I could give you that home, Sarah." She gave him a look. "Sorry," he responded. "Too distracting?"
She nodded.
"So, I passed the test, and this doctor guy claims he can 'fix' me, huh?"
"Yeah, he said that, but his thoughts didn't match his words," she replied.
They sat in silence for the rest of the journey, each in their own thoughts, not interacting.
As they arrived and she turned the engine off, he said, "Well, as long as he doesn't try anything tomorrow night."
She read his mind. "Dinner with your sister and her boyfriend?"
"She wants to spend time getting to know my 'girlfriend,'" he stated. He added, "Spending time with the family would be kind of a big step if our relationship were remotely real." She felt his upset and knew he really wanted it to be real.
Then, his mind focused and he said, with some urgency, "If the doctor can remove it from my head, Sarah, you'll still have it." His worry for her, made her heart tighten. His following words got to her as well. "… and I guess you'll be taken away."
She hadn't thought about her still having it, but she had thought about leaving. She didn't want to focus on that right now, so pushed back those thoughts. "We'll see," she responded.
"You have to teach me how to do that with your thoughts, Sarah; hiding them. I wish I could do that."
She looked at him. "I learned a long time ago how to compartmentalize my thoughts. I had to in order to be able to cope with what I had to do."
Chuck felt her pain. "I wish I could have been there for you," he blurted out.
She placed her hand on his knee. "I'm glad you weren't, Chuck. Then, you would have seen far more horror than I think you could cope with." She quickly exited the car, not wanting to think or talk about this anymore.
The following morning, Sarah woke spooning Chuck; her body pressed against his back and an arm and leg across him. This was not supposed to happen. She carefully eased herself off of him and rolled back onto her side of the bed. She was also careful to keep her thoughts to herself, thoughts of how good it had felt to be like that with him. Chuck was still fast asleep, so he knew no better.
Sarah looked at the time. Time to get up, anyway. She tapped Chuck on his shoulder, and he started to stir. As he rolled over, she smiled at him. "Time to get up, sleepyhead."
He focused on her face. He said nothing, but his thought still appeared. 'Best way to wake up, ever.'
She shouldn't respond, but it was so adorable that she smiled that bit more. "Come on," she said and got out of bed to head to the bathroom. She felt his eyes on her as she walked away. 'Stop looking at my legs, Chuck!'
'Sorry,' he responded, looking away.
As she closed the bathroom door, she grinned. She liked him liking her legs.
'Chuck, we need to understand the range of our new ability. Both for our mind link and for each of us being able to read people. We already know the latter is different between us, but what exactly is that range? If we know this, we can work out how best to use it.'
'Sounds like a good idea,' he replied.
Sarah smiled. He had thought, 'sounds like…' whereas there had been no sound at all. She wondered briefly if they might need a different language set.
The scientist in him kicked in. 'Ok, you sit here at the foot of the bed, and I will walk away, a foot at a time, and we will record whether we can link.'
'That sounds cumbersome to me,' Sarah said. 'Why not do it the other way, and you walk toward me until we can link? Then just record that distance.'
He tried to explain, 'It might be like hearing, though, with the "signal" for want of a better term, getting weaker as the distance increases.'
That could well be true, but they had a more pressing need. 'Maybe we check that at some time, for scientific reasons, but for now, we just need to know when it is strong and reliable.'
That was what they did. The result was different between them. Sarah could read Chuck up to ten feet away, but Chuck could reach fourteen feet. This was just reading. They repeated the experiment with 'thinking at' the other, broadcasting, in a way. In that way, each 'heard' the other a further five feet. 'That explains why I heard you having problems in Large Mart. You were broadcasting to me,' Sarah said.
Interestingly, for both of them, they found the 'strength' was not a gradual thing; either reading was possible, or it wasn't.
Testing reading of others could have been more difficult, but Ellie rose shortly after they had finished their earlier tests. She obviously had decided to cook breakfast for them and was soon cooking pancakes in the kitchen, so each approached her quietly and noted when they started 'hearing' her thoughts. They then had to estimate the distances. Once again, Chuck's range was greater. Nine feet for him and only six for Sarah.
Amazingly, Ellie heard neither of them, so they slipped back to the bedroom to compare notes.
Chuck wondered if Sarah was upset by these results, him seeming better at this than her. 'Not with the general use,' she told him. 'Less distractions. It's a shame about our link, particularly if I was trying to find you, but anything is still better than before.'
Sitting by him at the foot of the bed, she held his gaze. 'Chuck, we have to factor these ranges into whatever we do, going forward, or we won't have gained as much as we could. Might make the difference between life and death.'
He nodded but noted, 'There's still the Intersect.'
She acknowledged that. 'Yes, but those flashes are both painful and obvious to others. Not good for stealth.'
Breakfast with Ellie was strange for Sarah. She so rarely ate with others at that time, and reading her thoughts was somewhat distracting.
Ellie dropped a newspaper on the table in front of Chuck. Both he and Sarah saw the headline, 'Bank executive dies in Robbery,' with a picture of Bryce Larkin underneath it. "Did you see this?" Ellie asked. "Did you know that Bryce was dead?"
Chuck responded, "No. No, I didn't."
"Well, are you okay?" Ellie asked.
'About him being dead? No. About him causing Sarah to show up? Yes,' Chuck thought. Sarah placed a hand on his, sharing supportive thoughts.
"I don't know," he replied to his sister. "It's crazy. I, uh, I spent so much time hating him for getting me kicked out of Stanford, I don't really know how to feel, but it's hard to be mad at him now." His following thought, 'Because he brought the most wonderful woman into my life.'
Sarah wished he wouldn't gush so much, but because of the topic, she squeezed his hand. 'I'm still here,' she thought at him.
"I'm really sorry, Chuck," Ellie said.
Then, Sarah's phone rang in the bedroom, and she rushed to answer it. When she came back she was very pale. "I need to get to work. There's been a problem," she said. 'Zarnow's car is a wreck,' she thought at Chuck. 'I need to go and see.'
Chuck was surprised but nodded. "Hope everything's ok."
"You should go with her," Ellie said to him.
"No, that's really not necessary," Sarah responded and rushed to get ready and leave.
Sarah was looking at the wreckage of Zarnow's car. Casey was on the phone to Beckman. "I'm at the scene. No sign of Zarnow's body. Probably vaporized. I guess those secrets are staying in Bartowski's head…."
Sarah lifted a hub cap with her shoe. She spotted something underneath and picked it up to examine it. Before doing that, she got a clear thought from Casey, 'This must have been her,' which was probably what he was saying to Beckman.
She looked at the device and knew what it was. She walked to Casey and showed him. "I think someone is trying to implicate you, Casey."
He looked at it. "NSA incinerator. Special issue, designed to eliminate all biological traces." He looked up at her. "Not many of those around. You think I did it?"
"No, Casey, I don't, and you shouldn't think it was me either." She held his gaze.
"I'll find out if any of these have gone missing," he responded, taking the device from her.
"Okay, well, back to the cover jobs, I guess," she said. "I've got hot dogs to fry."
He nodded, "And I've got some toasters to sell."
As she walked away, she heard him call Beckman again. She couldn't stay, but as she got into her car she wondered what they both were saying. However, she needed to make sure Chuck was safe and not the next target.
Casey wasn't sure what to think after Walker had shown him the device. He'd originally thought it was something she had arranged to keep Bartowski for the CIA. Now he wasn't sure. However, when Beckman said, "Keep your eye on Agent Walker. And don't let Chuck out of your sight. He could be next," he agreed. That at least was true.
Sarah didn't get to Chuck before Casey, however, as she got a call from Graham and pulled over to talk with him about this problem. He said this sounded like an NSA job. "Keep close to Bartowski, Agent Walker. Don't want them trying to take him away."
"Sir, I don't think it was Casey." She explained what she'd found.
"Sounds exactly like something he would use," Graham pointed out.
"If it was, he would have found the device and hidden it away, not leave it like that. Feels like a setup."
Graham paused. "You may be right. That makes keeping Bartowski safe all the more important."
"Yes, sir." She stopped and watched as Casey drove passed her. Casey could do that while she investigated Zarnow further. She read the doctor's mind the evening before and knew where he was staying.
Chuck had to spend the morning 'training' the new member of staff. Casey took it all in, but his thoughts were on Zarnow. And Sarah. "Beckman says not to trust her."
Chuck had to stop himself from smiling at that. In all the world, there was no one he would trust more than Sarah Walker, not even his sister. Even though Sarah could hide some thoughts from him, if she tried hard, her feelings and attitude toward him were transparent to him.
"It's a good thing I have your apartment under surveillance," Casey told him. "I can keep an eye on her when she's with you."
'Oh God,' Chuck thought. 'She's not going to be happy about that.'
Sarah had found nothing in the hotel room Zarnow had been in. That made sense if he'd been leaving. It was frustrating, though. She headed back to the Wienerlicious.
After serving hot dogs for the next two hours, she was fed up and worried. Fed up because of all the boys eyeing her up and worried about what Zarnow's death meant for Chuck.
Chuck walked in. She smiled at him, but he could 'read' her concern. She started talking as the place was empty. "The doctor from last night- he was killed in an explosion soon after he left us."
"I know. Beckman has told Casey she thinks you did it."
Sarah was pleased he didn't think so. "Someone is trying to push a wedge between Casey and me. Divide us."
"Yeah. But you weren't that close before," he replied.
She poked him in the chest. "Not helpful, Chuck!"
"Sorry." He then remembered what Casey had said about the surveillance.
"Son of a bitch!" she grumbled. Then she looked at Chuck. 'If he's going to spy on us, you might get what you've been thinking about, just to upset him!'
He saw her thoughts and froze. 'Oh. My. God! Sex with you, just to shock him?'
'No, but making out in your bed,' she replied.
He shook his head. The thought was too overwhelming. He staggered to the door. "Don't forget the meal tonight." With that, he walked out in a bit of a daze.
Sarah was still pissed at Casey and worried about Chuck, but his reaction to her thoughts made her smile.
Casey was in a bad mood as Chuck tried to talk to him about Buy More policy. "What did Sarah tell you?" he asked. "I know you talked to her." Chuck looked at him, and he shrugged. "It's what I do for a living."
"That she doesn't believe it was you, even though an NSA incinerator was used." Chuck then held Casey's gaze. "It wasn't Sarah either. She was with me all night."
"Awake? That's a lot of sex, Bartowski," Casey responded, but Chuck 'saw' him acknowledge that it couldn't be Sarah.
"If only," Chuck honestly replied.
Casey smirked. "Be glad she doesn't kill you for those thoughts," he said and walked away.
Sarah asked Casey to come over to the Wienerlicious so they could discuss what to do.
He arrived, less suspicious of her than she expected. She guessed Chuck had talked him around better than she did herself.
"Casey, I've been trying to work out why anyone would kill Zarnow," she started. The CIA plot sprang to his mind, although not with her being involved. She shook her head. Beckman and Graham suspecting each other doesn't help us.
He narrowed his eyes. "Bartowski needs to keep his mouth shut!"
She started to get angry. "If we fight, whoever is behind this will succeed. We need to solve this. Together."
His mind acknowledged that. "What are your thoughts?" he asked.
He was pleased to have gotten him to this point. "I would have expected someone to capture rather than kill Zarnow. His knowledge of the Intersect would be valuable."
He thought about that and agreed. "So, you think he's still alive? That the wreck was to throw us off the scent?"
She nodded. "And that's worrying because he now knows the Intersect has been downloaded, and we have the person with it."
Casey tensed as he hadn't considered that. "I'll check traffic cams to see who's gone down that road last night." He rose and headed out. He did not go back to the Buy More.
Sarah called Chuck to come over and take the rest of the day off.
Chuck brought a laptop over. "Gonna use this until I have time to set up a new computer at home," he told her.
She explained her thoughts and what Casey was doing.
"Hope he's phoned in sick," Chuck commented.
"Chuck, this is serious," she said. 'You might be targeted,' she added.
He booted up the laptop and his fingers flew over the keyboard. 'What are you doing?' she asked. His mind was going so fast it was too hard to follow.
He thought at her, 'I'd already set this up to use. Now I'm going to check the traffic cams too.'
'Casey's going to do that,' she replied. 'And how do you know how to do that?' Then she remembered their previous discussion. 'Piranha, again?'
'Yep.'
She watched him at work. It was quite amazing. He soon had cam recordings running in windows. He 'talked' her through what he was doing. 'First, I need to see when Zarnow headed that way.' He'd already read her memory, so had the type and color of his car, along with the license number.
He soon found that car on one of the cams, leaving LA about half an hour after Zarnow left the Buy More. 'There!' He pointed at the window with the car. 'I could trace him back to see where he came from. Maybe I should have run this from him leaving the Buy More," he thought.
'No. See what happens from here,' she instructed him.
They watched that cam for a minute and saw a black SUV following it. 'Could be coincidence,' she thought, 'but I doubt it.' She saw where the camera was located. She'd seen it herself. 'That would be about fifteen minutes from the wreck. See if the car returns.'
The car returned just over thirty minutes later. She noted the license plate and was going to call Casey, but he stopped her. 'Let's see where it goes.'
They followed it through a series of camera recordings, and Chuck noted the hotel parking lot it entered. Two men climbed out of the car. The image quality was not great when he expanded it, but it certainly looked like one was Zarnow. It wasn't clear whether he was a prisoner or not.
Sarah called Casey. "Found him," Casey said as soon as he answered.
"Good," she said, glad that she didn't have to tell him what Chuck could do.
He gave her the details. She quickly changed gear and told Chuck to head back to work.
'Be careful,' he thought at her.
She paused and looked at him. She was still surprised at someone caring. She smiled and nodded before ushering him out and locking the door.
"Who's running the place while you are out?" he asked.
"Not my problem," she answered and rushed to her car.
It didn't take Casey and Sarah long to find out which room Zarnow and that man were in. They approached it cautiously.
When they got there, Sarah couldn't read minds, so she guessed they were too far away, probably near the window. They could hear faint voices, though. One was definitely Zarnow.
Casey undid the lock and they burst in, seeing Zarnow and two men on the far side. The men split and drew guns.
Sarah shot the one on her side, hitting him in the chest. The other guy was more successful, dodging Casey's shot. He shot back, hitting Casey's gun arm. Casey dropped the gun. Sarah twisted and shot that man too.
With both gunmen down, she turned to look for Zarnow, walking in the direction she last saw him go. Just as she got close enough to read his thoughts, he sprung up from behind a couch. His thought took Sarah by surprise, but confirmed he had not been a prisoner, 'Bitch!' He fired two tranquillizer darts from the gun in his hand, both hitting Sarah's chest. She blanked out, falling to the floor.
Casey was reaching for his gun when Zarnow shot him with a dart in his arm. "Good to see you again, Agent Casey," Zarnow said. Casey could feel the loss of sensation in that arm as he watched Zarnow drag Sarah out of the room.
He managed to call Chuck however, telling him where to come to find him.
When Chuck arrived, Casey was struggling to get up. He wasn't fit to drive but still conscious.
Chuck was in quite a state himself. Worrying about Sarah.
"He's gonna torture her until she tells him all about you," Casey stated. "Help me to your car. If we hurry, we can catch him."
Once in the driver's seat, Chuck asked, "All right, where are we going?" He asked because it wasn't clear in Casey's head.
Casey was now unclear. He wanted to find her but couldn't think how. 'Damn tranq,' he thought.
That was helpful. Chuck tried to get him to think. "If you were a bad guy, what would you do, fly Sarah out on a plane? Would you use a boat or what?"
Casey immediately thought about what he would use. Chuck read it in his thoughts at the same time as Casey said it, "Chopper. Small airfield near the water. The closest I could find."
Chuck encouraged him, "Then do a satellite search using that touch screen and then maybe limit that to airfields that are within a certain range of us." He thought more. "Maybe limit that by whether there's activity on the ground?"
Casey grunted. "That's not bad."
Chuck kept quiet while Casey searched. Casey suddenly said, "found it. Port of Los Angeles. Floor it." Chuck did just that.
When they reached the port, they saw the helicopter and a man running from it to the nearby building, carrying a gun.
Casey turned to Chuck. "Okay. This is how this is gonna work. I'm gonna go over there, rescue Sarah, and capture Dr. Zarnow, shooting anybody who gets in my way. You're gonna stay here."
Chuck 'heard' Casey thinking, 'You'd just get in the way and risk everything.'
Chuck asked, although he already knew it, "So, in this plan, I basically do nothing?"
"Yep," Casey replied.
Casey got out and ran toward the building.
Chuck desperately tried to think what he could do for the woman who was so important to him. He had no intention of staying in the car. Suddenly, he saw Zarnow walk out of the building. Chuck took that as where she was being held and headed for that door.
Sarah was in handcuffs, and her ankles chained together. She was suspended from those handcuffs and had tape over her mouth. She couldn't release herself, but at least she had been left alone.
Then, the far door opened, and someone walked in. Chuck. 'WTF are you doing here?' she thought, but he was too far away to 'hear.'
Then he spotted her and rushed over. "Sarah, are you okay?"
'What are you doing here?' she thought at him. He wasn't 'listening' but trying to work out how to release her. 'Chuck, you have to get out of here.'
He focused then. 'No! I'm here to save you."
She replied, 'You shouldn't even be here; you're too valuable, and…' She realized that thinking she had this all under control was stupid. She clearly didn't. 'Just find me something to pick this lock.'
Chuck looked around and found the keys for the handcuffs and put them in one of her hands. Then, they heard a door opening.
'Go, go, go!' she thought at him, and he ran and hid.
Zarnow walked up to her. "The helicopter's ready, Agent Walker. This is your last chance. We're going to a special facility where they're going to torture you. Really torture, not this child's play. Or you could just tell me who is patient X."
Sarah was amazed at how someone so brilliant could be so stupid. He hadn't even removed the tape from her mouth. How did he expect her to tell him anything?
Zarnow then lifted his right hand, which held a gun containing a syringe with a long needle. "Something for the flight," he said, walking toward her.
"Oh, crap!" Chuck said, then realized he'd said it out loud and ran for the door.
Zarnow threw what he held, which just missed Chuck and embedded itself in the door.
Chuck turned. On seeing Zarnow in the flesh, he flashed a second time on him and blurted out, "I know your secret. You've been feeding American science to North Korea for years."
'Shit!' Sarah thought, having seen it as well through Chuck's thoughts, but was responding to the fact Chuck had let the cat out of the bag. She wondered why he'd flashed a second time on the man, and she hadn't.
Zarnow smiled at Chuck. "Ah, Patient X. To think that my secrets are in that head of yours. It's an honor, really. Of course, to hell with honor. I'm here for the impressive dollar figure the human intersect will fetch. Who will I offer you to first?" He shot at Chuck with the gun he'd picked up while Chuck had been rambling rather than escaping.
Chuck collapsed with a tranquilizer dart in his chest, gasping, "Sarah," and his thought full of worry for her.
Zarnow smirked at her. "Don't worry, Agent Walker. I'll take good care of him." Then he dragged Chuck out of that door.
Sarah struggled to release herself, and just managed it when Casey burst in. 'Too late for the party,' she thought. Of course, he wouldn't hear that.
As the two agents burst through the door, the helicopter took off.
Casey raised his gun, but Sarah stopped him. "No, Casey, don't shoot. They have Chuck." They watched the Intersect being taken away.
'Noo! Chuck!' she thought in anguish.
On the helicopter, Chuck came to. He'd just fainted at the thought of being shot, as the dart hadn't gotten through his pocket protector. He grabbed the tranq gun and shouted, "Don't move!"
Zarnow looked around. "You must be kidding!"
Chuck demanded, "I want you to land the helicopter right now."
Zarnow ignored him and reached for the gun. They struggled, and the gun went off, hitting the other man in the helicopter.
"You shot the pilot, you idiot!" Zarnow cried. The two remaining men fought and Zarnow hit his head on the bulkhead, knocking himself out.
The helicopter looked to be completely out of control to Sarah and Casey. Then she saw movement inside. "Oh, my god, Casey, I think Chuck's flying it."
Casey whipped out his phone and called Chuck. Once Chuck answered it, Casey shouted, "I told you to stay in the car!"
"Forget about the car, Casey! Tell me how to fly a helicopter," Chuck gasped out.
Casey started to explain, but was too technical. "All right, there's a collective in the cyclic control."
Chuck did not understand that at all. "What?!"
Casey tried to stay calm and keep his voice neutral. "One's the stick. One looks like an emergency brake. Grab 'em both."
"Okay, okay, I got it." But even though he grasped the controls, Chuck had no control. "This isn't working!"
"Push the stick just a bit forward while doing the same thing with the emergency brake," Casey replied. Chuck did, but the helicopter started to head downwards. "Pull up! Pull up! Pull up on the emergency brake! Level off. Level off!" Casey shouted.
Chuck was in full panic mode by this point. "I don't know how. I don't know how to level off!"
Casey growled, "Listen, moron, do you want to die?"
Chuck knew someone who could talk him through it. "Casey, put Sarah on the phone."
Sarah had come to the same conclusion. "Give me the phone, Casey," she demanded.
Casey thrust the phone into her hand. "Here!"
Sarah started talking, trying to calm Chuck down. "Okay... Chuck, you're going to be okay." Her voice, the voice he loved to listen to, started working almost immediately; he could feel the tension easing. "Now, I need you to focus. Uh, have you ever played any flying games before?"
"Flight simulators?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Flight simulators? Yeah, sure, I've done those, yeah."
"Okay, which ones?" she asked.
"Uh, Maverick of the Skies... uh, Stealth Fighter Elite... uh, Apache Chopper Patrol."
She had no idea what the others were, but the last one sounded promising. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Great. Okay, now remember that last one. I want you to pretend like you're playing that game, okay. You're just in your bedroom, you're playing a game, and none of this is real. It's just a game."
He repeated that back to her, "It's just a game. Okay, I can do this. I can play this game."
He started to get it under control, but not quickly enough, and was dropping toward the water. "Easy, Chuck, easy," she told him.
"Is this one of those helicopters that can turn into a boat?" he asked, seeing the water approaching. His panic rising again.
"No, it isn't," she replied but calmly said, "Just ease to the right and goose the brake… They designed the game exactly like the helicopter."
Her voice calmed and reassured him once again. "I got it. I got it. Almost there."
She nudged him a bit more. "A little more to the right."
She heard him muttering as he got closer. "Keeping right. Keeping right. Goosin' the brake. It's just a game. A big scary video game."
He finally touched down in front of them. "Oh, thank you, God! Oh, yes!" he cried. He staggered out of the helicopter, and rushed toward Sarah. Casey passed him as he went for Zarnow.
Chuck was almost dancing as he reached her. 'I made it, Sarah. You are wonderful. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You saved me!'
She knew her was right, and she knew he was going a bit crazy after that scare, but when he reached her, saying, "Thank you so much, Sarah," and then scooped her up, kissing her cheek, it took her by surprise.
"Put me down, you jerk," she cried, for Casey's sake, but she was overjoyed that he was back with them. 'I'm mad at you for risking yourself, but so, so glad you are safe.'
He put her down. And took a step back, having guessed what was now going to happen. 'Gonna have to ball me out?'
'You bet,' she replied.
Just as Casey was walking toward them, she started, "What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck ducked his head. "Chuck, the secrets that you know are incredibly important. You compromised everything coming here."
"And when you got out of the car," Casey added.
Sarah turned to the NSA agent. "I'll talk to you later!"
She turned back to Chuck and said, "You can't do things like this, Chuck!" 'And I mean that.'
He decided to play along and acted like the jerk Casey thought he was. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? We can't all be perfect like Bryce was for you!"
Sarah was surprised at him saying that but went with it. "Bryce betrayed everything that I believe in, and if you ever act like I think he was perfect, doubting me like that, then I will walk away. Mission over. We all go back to Washington. And you do not want that to happen, Chuck." She stormed off, apparently seething
"Way to go, Ace," Casey said. "Guess you might be sleeping on the couch tonight."
Sarah took Zarnow's car to get back to Echo Park, and Chuck went with Casey. However, she had to wait for him at the apartment door, not having a key yet. He grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to the fountain, but she resisted, as Casey was watching, "No, I want to go in and sleep this off."
He opened the door, and they walked through the apartment to his bedroom; their bedroom now.
'Casey thinks I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight,' he thought at her.
'Him seeing that would be good, but that wouldn't work for our cover,' she replied coolly.
He winced, hearing that it was just about the cover. Thinking of Casey's bugs, he said out loud, "I am so sorry, Sarah."
She hadn't yet gotten the ability to switch the surveillance off, so she responded, "Just let me sleep it off."
She was a bit upset about the barbed comment about Bryce, even if it was an act, but she was far more upset about how close she'd gotten to losing Chuck. The Intersect would be lost too, but she valued their link so much more than that.
However, he seemed upset too, but she needed them to discuss what he had done. 'You scared me so much, Chuck.'
'Sarah, you mean so much to me. I can't sit still when you are in danger.'
She looked at him and got him to sit at the foot of the bed. She took hold of his hands. 'That will be a problem, then. I have to protect you, Chuck. That means I will be in danger. That's always been the case with my job.'
'I hate that, Sarah,' he replied.
She squeezed his hands. 'I know you do, Chuck, but if you put yourself in danger for me, this won't work, and I will have to leave, whether of my own choosing or orders.'
He knew she was right. 'I don't want to lose you, Sarah,' he stated again.
'Then don't take risks for me.' she thought back. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Sleep on your side, and don't touch me," she said out loud.
'I've never touched you in bed!' he thought.
She smiled at him and replied, 'A true gentleman.' She then got up and headed for the bathroom.
When she was out of range, he thought, 'Sometimes I wish I wasn't.'
The next day included Bryce's funeral. Chuck broached the subject with Sarah very tentatively. 'I know he's a touchy subject, Sarah, and I am so sorry about what I said, but are you going?'
She sighed. 'And I am sorry I reacted as I did, Chuck.' She decided he needed to understand her feelings for Bryce. 'He's only a difficult subject because of what he did. You see him as my lover still, but that's not how I see him, Chuck. Not anymore. He is a very painful subject for me, having cast a shadow over me.'
Chuck was surprised at how much she had 'said.'
She smiled. 'I want to be very clear.' Then she considered that thought. She rarely talked, more often taking action to express her thoughts. 'I don't talk much, normally, but this is easier.'
He chuckled. 'I normally talk too much.' Then, he realized she hadn't answered his original question. 'So, are you going to his funeral?'
She was, but knew that in spite of everything, it would be rather hard.
'I'll be there for you,' he thought.
She really appreciated him caring. 'Thanks.'
Chuck went for Bryce's memory, as he felt he should, but also for Sarah. He stood well back and Sarah stood with him. 'You, okay?' he asked.
She was surprised at how this was affecting her. Bryce had abandoned her, betrayed his country, and hurt this wonderful man, twice, and yet she did feel sad at his loss. 'I'll be okay, Chuck. Thanks.'
Chuck added, 'If you want a shoulder to cry on, mine's available. Losing an ex is still hard.'
She appreciated his thoughtfulness. 'Thanks, Chuck, you're a good friend.'
He'd like to be more than that, as she knew, but he kept those thoughts at bay this time.
Sarah felt his mind close to her and guessed what he was thinking. Her mind was a jumble, so she turned to walk away. 'I just need some time to myself, Chuck.'
He just nodded and watched her walk away.
Once she was far enough, she let her thoughts go, thinking of what she had said to Chuck. 'I called him a good friend, and he is, but I've never had friends, real friends.' She still couldn't understand how he could want to be her friend when he knew all her dark secrets.
Then she thought about Bryce. 'Were we friends or just partners with benefits?' As she thought about that and compared Bryce to Chuck, she realized it was just the latter. She had wondered if they could come to love each other, but when he left, she realized it was never to be. A good time in bed occasionally did not equal love.
That brought her back to Chuck. He was close to telling her he loved her, she was sure. His mind was aswirl with such thoughts. 'Could I love him?' That was a possibility, especially with their mind link, especially with it, but not just because of it. She was already attracted to him before the download.
However, this working relationship of asset/handler didn't allow that to happen.
Maybe if he could get the Intersect out of his head, and ideally her too, then she might take that leap she'd been considering and leave the agency. Maybe.
With those thoughts, she left the cemetery and headed back to Echo Park. She did not feel like any form of work today. She knew, however, that she would think about the man with whom she shared that mind link. She smiled at that thought.
A/N: Somewhat different to "Chuck versus the Helicopter," but the ending was still the same.
Thoughts?