Chapter 4

The sunshine was streaming into the room and there was a soft breeze that ruffled the curtains at the window. Zac was,as usual, a little disoriented. He tended to wake up slowly, and was not always ready to hop out of bed in the morning. But today, something was different. He felt a warmth next to him and his arms were around a body that was snuggling up to him. He smiled to himself and tighten his grip and pulled the body closer to him. He started to drift off again and then, he heard the sound of someone in the kitchen. Who was in his kitchen? He was apt to let friends spend the night, but usually it was on the weekends.

The body next to him started to stir and he felt the head move slightly. It had been resting on his chest and he had snuggled his head in the hair of the person in bed with him. The scent was of gardenia's. He inhaled the scent and sighed. Opening his eyes, he saw the blond hair of the woman he had in his arms and...froze. Oh my god...he was sleeping with Yvonne...how had she gotten here? Why had she come? Then it dawned on him. He wasn't home...he was still in this reality. It was Sarah in his arms. Slowly, so he wouldn't wake her, he withdrew his arms and gently got out of bed. She moaned a bit, but then grabbed the pillow he had used and snuggled back down. He watched her for a moment and then quietly left the bedroom. He went into the bathroom to relieve himself then went into the kitchen to find Casey just pouring himself a cup of coffee. Casey turned and said

"Bout time you got up sleeping beauty. I know Walker likes to sleep in, but you are usually up at the crack of dawn."

Zac looked at him and sighed as he said

"Look, I'm not Chuck, and I know Casey is written to always say these things to Chuck, but I'd appreciate it if you'd stop. I'm just a guy who has somehow been put into a situation that's already difficult...it would help if we could stop the insults."

He took his hand and ran his fingers through his rumpled hair making it even more rumpled. Casey looked at the young man and after a moment he said softly

"Sorry...you're right..."

He then took another mug and filled it with the hot coffee and set it down in front of Zac and said more gruffly

"You tell Walker I said I was sorry and I'll skin you alive!"

Zac looked at him a moment with wide eyes and then he just burst out laughing. It was so what the pretend Casey would have said it was uncanny. Casey narrowed his eyes and said

"What's so funny?"

Zac tried to control his laughter, but it was hard. Finally he said

"It's just what I'd expect 'my' Casey to say on the show, that all."

He began to chuckle again and he noticed that Casey was trying hard not to smile, but he failed. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Zac took the mug and took a sip of the coffee. Casey did likewise and then said

"So..kid..tell me about this TV show you're on..."

For the next half hour, Zac talked about the show, about the cast and crew and how lucky he felt to have gotten the part of Chuck, and how it had changed his life. He also spoke of his 'nerd machine' website and the things he hoped to accomplish. Casey had to admit, the kid seemed to have his head on straight. He wasn't like the whinny liberal Hollywood crowd..he seemed genuinely to be a nice guy. He really wasn't that different from Chuck.

Sarah walked out to find Zac and Casey talking. Casey seemed to be getting along with him better and she smiled. Maybe the NSA agent had decided to try and make it easier on the young man. She hoped so. She was beginning to like him a lot and even though she was in love with Chuck, she liked Zac a lot. He had so much of Chuck in him. As she walked in, Casey spied her and said

"Finally decided to join the living again eh Walker?"

She just gave him a look and without thinking she walked over to Zac and gave him a kiss on his cheek. He started to blush and Casey snorted, but she ignored it and said

"Good morning Zac, did you sleep well?"

"Uh...yeah...um...great."

She looked at Casey and said

"Did you happen to go to the market to get anything for breakfast?"

She opened the refrigerator and saw eggs, bread, and some potatoes. There was also a bottle of Orange juice that was only three quarters full and some butter and a half empty jar of strawberry jam, Chuck's favorite. She looked at her partner and he said with a shrug

"I went to the market just across the courtyard."

Which meant he had taken the stuff from their apartment. She rolled her eyes at him and just got the potatoes out. She was an excellent cook, and Chuck loved her breakfast special. She hoped Zac would too. She shooed Casey and Zac out so she could cook and as they went to the couch and continued their conversation, she began peeling the potatoes. She just hoped Casey had some spices in this kitchen.

Breakfast was over and empty plates decorated the table. Both Zac and Casey had enjoyed her breakfast special and Sarah was satisfied. She loved cooking for Chuck and he always complimented her on how much he loved it. Now Zac said

"Wow, Sarah, that was awesome. You are a fantastic cook!"

She smiled at him and blushed a bit. Casey nodded and for once seemed to agree with the nerd. Then he had to remind himself it wasn't their nerd. Zac had explained that everyone was 'nerdy' about something in there life and that was why he had started his nerd machine website. Casey had to admit, Walker really knew her way around the kitchen. That Chuck was one lucky kid.

Now, Sarah stood to clear the table, and Zac stood to help her. Once they had the dirty dishes in the sink with soapy water, Sarah began washing them as Zac took the towel and dried. He had been trained early in life to help with all the chores at home, and even though he had two sisters, his mom had made sure he helped in the kitchen. He hadn't minded though. Casey stuck his head in the door as they finished and said

"General Beckman in thirty minutes...you two better get decent."

They were both still in their sleep clothes, and hadn't even showered yet, so Sarah quickly got her clothes and jumped into the shower, while Zac went into the bedroom to gather his clothes. Once she was out, he took his shower and got ready. After getting out he noticed that he had the beginnings of a beard and decided that he would let it go, after all, he wasn't filming today, and he kinda liked the look. He finished and came out of the bathroom and walked into the living room, where the monitor was set up and waiting. Sarah smiled and said

"You okay Zac?"

"Um... I'm kind of nervous talking to Beckman. What happens if she wants to throw me into an underground bunker?"

"Don't worry, Zac, we will find someway to stall the general."

Sarah was now standing next to him with her hand on his shoulder. He nodded but didn't look too convinced. Casey said

"Well, you're the actor...so act!"

Sarah and Casey talked for a few minutes, each trying to decide what to actually tell the general and how they were going to stall for time. After about five minutes, without a good plan, Zac said

"Why don't we just say...um...I kinda hit my head, and..."

They both looked at him and then Casey sort of nodded as he looked at Sarah.

"Could work, but we need to be firm, General Beckman is a..."

Just then the monitor came to life and the image of General Diane Beckman was on the screen. Zac took a breath to calm his nerves as she said

"Team...Report What is the condition of the asset?"

Sarah spoke up and said

"General, Chuck is fine...he's just tired that's all."

The general looked at the CIA agent and decided she was not being quite accurate. She turned to Casey and said

"Col, what is your assessment?"

Casey did something Sarah never thought she'd see him do. He shifted from one foot to the other and said

"General, the asset is fine, hit his head and he just needs a couple of days off to...recuperate?"

He ended the statement with a question which was not something Casey would usually do. The general narrowed her eyes and looked at Chuck.

"Mr Bartowski, how are you feeling?"

Zac gulped and then with the ease of an actor he pulled himself into character and said in his best Chuck voice

"I'm doing fine General...just got a little confused yesterday...hit my head during the mission, and well, been having trouble sleeping lately and..."

He trailed off as he saw the general eye both him and Sarah. She was quite for a moment and then seem to relax in her chair

"Team Bartowski...due to your excellent work yesterday, we were able to shut down a major drug cartel. Since Chuck seems to be having trouble...sleeping, I'm authorizing some time off for now, but, if anything comes up, I expect you ready to go. Understood?"

Both Casey and Sarah said

"Yes ma'am."

The general turned once again to Chuck and said

"And, Mr Bartowski..."

He looked at her on the screen as she continued

"I expect you to get your head looked at...no reason to take a chance of an injury.

"Yes ma'am...I will...You're right...no injury."

She reached towards the disconnect and did so before Chuck could finish his ramblings. There was silence for a moment and then Zac smiled and said

"Well, that went well don't you think?"

It was still dark when Chuck suddenly awoke in a bed that wasn't his. He still had his clothes on but he had evidently taken the suit jacket off as he saw it lying on the chair. Where was he? Where were Sarah and Casey? They had been on there way back to Castle to report in and now for some reason he was in bed and apparently it was night.

What had happened? He sat up to take in his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a large bedroom with very nice furniture. Across from the king sized bed he was in was a large entertainment center with a 60 inch flat screen TV. He also saw state of the art audio components and what seemed to be a game console...a gamer. On the walls were several movie posters and he saw a large framed picture of...him? He got up to look at the picture closer. It was him, but he didn't remember having it taken. He seemed to be standing in front of some type of large cathedral, grinning at the camera. He had on a pair of jeans and some type of hoodie that was black with tiny red strips running horizontally and a back pack. On his head he was wearing an LA Lakers ball cap. When had this been taken?

He moved around the room trying to find out where he was and who really lived here. He opened some of the drawers in the giant dresser and found underwear, socks, jeans and a lot of tee shirts. At least the person like to dress causally. He moved over to the other side of the bed and saw something on the night stand and he picked it up. It was a sort of book and on the front was neatly printed right in the middle of the page the word 'CHUCK' enclosed in a box and below that it said Episode 211 and below that it said 'Chuck versus Santa Claus' There were some notes at the bottom with copyright things for Warner Brothers Entertainment, and at the top left was who created and produced it and then on the upper right hand corner was a sticker with the name Zachary Levi. Who was this Zachary Levi? And how did they know about him? It looked like a script to a movie...no it said episode, so it must be a TV Show, but about someone named Chuck? It was so weird.

He opened the script and began to read. After a few pages, his eyes widened as he saw it was indeed about a 'nerd who worked for the Buy More who had accidentally downloaded the intersect into his brain and now was an asset whom Sarah Walker and John Casey guarded. It was too weird. It was about his life. How could they know about the intersect? Or about him and his friends? Was their cover blown? Had Fulcrum somehow found out that he was the intersect? No that was impossible. How come he'd never seen this show? And again he wondered how he'd gotten here, wherever here was. He put the script down and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It showed three am and he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now. He sighed and thought to himself that he needed to get a handle on the situation.

He saw that the alarm was set for three thirty and turned it off. Being a movie buff, he knew actors usually got up early as they needed to get to the studio early for makeup and such, but he wondered...could he pretend to be this actor? He did need to act as special agent Charles Carmichael, so he thought he could pull it off...at least till he could find and contact Sarah or Casey. Letting out a breath, he stood and went to the bathroom he had noticed and stopped dead in his tracks. It was bigger than the bathroom that he and Sarah shared in the apartment. This bathroom was awesome. It not only had a large sunken tub, but a large shower stall. There were warm fluffy towels and throw rugs on the floor. It was nice. He smiled and though that he could easily get use to this, but then he thought of his real life and knew he had to find a way home to Sarah.

He went back into the main room and took out some jeans, underwear, socks and a tee shirt that said NERD on the front. He took them all into the bathroom and after he had shed the suit he was wearing, he stepped into the shower and let the hot water flow down his tired body as he thought of what to do about his current situation. He really couldn't think straight at the moment. He was still tired from the mission. When he was done, he stepped out and dried off and dressed. He combed his hair and shaved and then he took the clothes he'd been wearing and folded them neatly. He sat on the bed and put his shoes on and then stood up and again looked at the large framed picture of the actor. He studied the picture for a few minutes and then sighed and said

"Well, if you're where I think you are, I hope Sarah and Casey will believe you and maybe find a way to switch us back... If not..."

He didn't want to think about that right now.

He opened the door to the room and went to check out the rest of the house. It looked like it had three bedrooms and a very large living room/family room. It had comfortable furniture and he noticed another large flat screen TV mounted on the wall in the family room with gaming equipment. There was a stack of games sitting next to the controller, and he picked up the top one...Call of Duty... This guy was certainly a game player, and Chuck knew that if they were friends, he'd have fun playing him on Call of Duty. The kitchen was off this room and he went in to check for anything to eat. He realized he hadn't eaten since yesterday just before they had left for their mission and he was hungry. He opened the refrigerator and saw it was plenty full with different items. He found a jug of orange juice and took it out. He looked through a couple of cabinets before he found the glasses and pour a glass and put the jug down on the counter. He didn't want to fix a big breakfast, so he looked around the room and noticed a platter with a glass cover over it that had several different muffins on it. He took a muffin and found a plate to put it on. Ellie always hated it when he spilled crumbs all over. He peeled off the paper cover and took a bite out of the muffin...ahhh blueberry with cinnamon topping. It was good. He sat on the stool at the counter and before he realized it, he had eaten three muffins and drank two glasses of juice. He kind of felt guilty for eating someone's food, but he was hungry, and if he was going to be here for a while, he'd just have to do what he could to survive. He sat there for a moment just thinking. How was he going to get home and back to Sarah? He missed her and even had to admit he missed Casey's grunts. He sighed and placed his head in his hand.

A bright light shined into the room and then faded. It was the headlights of a car. He immediately slipped into his spy mode and was on the alert. He looked out the window and saw a large limo pull up and stop. At first, he wished he had his tranq gun with him, but Casey had taken it after the mission. He thought he could find a knife or something, but couldn't see himself using knifes like Sarah. He again looked out the window at the limo in the drive. The driver had gotten out and now stood by the door of the car. It must be for the actor. He relaxed a little and walked to the door and opened it. The driver smiled at him and said

"Are you ready to go Mr. Levi?"

For a moment he didn't reply but then said

"Uh...yeah, let me just get my stuff."

He ducked back in and worriedly looked for a set of keys so he could lock up. He didn't want to leave the house unlocked. He walked to the small table by the door and saw a set of keys in the bowl on the table and next to the bowl was a script. He picked them up. He hoped the house key was among the keys on the key chain and that the script was the one they were working on. He saw the same LA Lakes hat next to the bowl and picked it up and put it on. He walked out of the house and after a couple of tries he found the right key to lock up. The driver was now holding the door open to the limo and he got in, nodding at the driver. Once he was settled, the driver got in and turned around and said

"How are you today Mr. Levi? Hope you got enough sleep last night."

Chuck looked at him and then looked around the car and noticed a name above the rear view mirror that said 'Jack'

"Uh yeah Jack, I did."

Chuck was pleased with himself that he had gotten this right so far and smiled. Maybe he'd be able to pull this off after all.

With a smile Jack turned around and smoothly pulled out of the drive to begin the trip to the studio, never knowing he was not driving his usual passenger.

TBC