Author's Note: I have finally caught up on the stories I'm reading, and got back to a somewhat normal schedule. It's one day later than I'd hoped, but here's ch. 8:

-0-

Morgan

Chuck quickly threw out his arms and caught Morgan before he could hit the floor. He dragged him over to the couch and went to close the door. By the time he turned around and started walking back, Morgan was coming to. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and started to rise, he caught sight of Chuck once more: he promptly fainted again and fell off the couch right to the floor.

"Oooh..." Chuck cringed as he saw Morgan land hard on his head.

Everyone else came to the living room to see what was going on.

"Urgh... the other moron's here..." Casey turned around and went back to the dining room.

Sarah knew Chuck and Morgan would need to have a conversation so she joined Casey at the table.

"Chuck, why don't you go wait with the others; let me talk with Morgan first and then I'll call you in," Ellie spoke up.

"Uh... okay." He started to walk away.

Ellie knelt beside Morgan and waited.

He started to come to; he blinked his eyes and focused on Ellie. "Ellie! Thank god! I thought I was going crazy," he exclaimed.

"Morgan-"

He rambled on, "You opened the door but it wasn't you, it was Chuck, and then everything went black, and then I saw him again looking down on me from the door, and then- what am I doing on the floor?"

"Morgan." She commanded.

"And why does my head hurt?"

"Morgan!"

He stopped talking and looked at Ellie. "Come on, sit on the couch," she said as she pulled him up and sat him down. "Look at me and pay attention. You are not hallucinating. There are some things you need to know but I'm not the one who can tell you."

"Ellie?" Morgan was confused.

"Listen to me, when you thought you saw Chuck before, you weren't imagining things. He's here."

"What! Ellie we buried him!"

"Calm down, Morgan," she said grabbing him by the shoulders. "Calm down."

Morgan held his tongue.

"I'm sorry that you had to find out like this, but there's a story here you don't know. Are you ready to hear it?"

Morgan nodded tentatively.

"Okay. Prepare yourself, I'm going to send Chuck in here and you two can talk. Are you going to be okay?"

He nodded but still said nothing. He wasn't looking too good.

Ellie left and moments later Chuck walked back in. Morgan's eyes went wide. He jumped out of the couch and onto Chuck. He wrapped his arms and legs around him. "Chuck! You're alive!" He said through tears and a shaky voice.

"Hey buddy! Good to see you again, and not have you faint," Chuck answered.

Morgan broke off and got back to his feet. He looked at Chuck for a second, as if taking the sight of him in, then promptly decked him in the jaw without warning. "How could you let your best friend think you were dead for eight years?" He shouted.

"Ow! What the hell, Morgan?" Chuck was rubbing his aching jaw.

"What the hell?" Morgan repeated. "I mourned for you man! I didn't leave my house for three months! You were like a brother to me. Do you know how devastating it was to hear you were dead?" Tears were falling from Morgan's eyes. "I kept hoping it wasn't true, that they were wrong, until I finally accepted that you were gone! Now I find out you've been alive all this time? What do you expect?"

Chuck felt for his friend. It had been hard on him being away from his friends and family, but at least he knew they were still alive. He didn't think about how hard it would really be for Morgan thinking he had died. "Please, Morgan, let me explain."

"Explain what, Chuck? What could be explanation enough to justify faking your own death?"

"If you let me explain, you'll find out. Just give me a chance. Please?"

Morgan sunk down on the couch and nodded. He was looking to the ground and didn't make any move when Chuck sat down next to him.

"Okay," Chuck sighed. "Do you remember the night I turned twenty-six?"

Morgan nodded, eyes closed.

"Remember I got an e-mail from Bryce Larkin?"

Another nod.

"Well..."

-0-

Chuck went on to explain everything that had happened to him since getting the Intersect stuck in his head.

Slowly throughout Chuck's tale, Morgan became more and more enthralled. By the time Chuck finished talking, Morgan's eyes were wide in amazement and he was looking right at him.

"Chuck, dude, all of that seriously happened to you?"

"Yeah, man. Every bit."

"Holy crap, man. That's... that's... wow." He didn't have the words.

"Yeah..." Chuck replied in understanding, a small smile on his face.

"So, you and Sarah?"

"Just a cover, for the most part."

"So, then, you two never...?" Morgan trailed off.

Chuck was confused for a moment. "Dude!"

"Sorry, man, but c'mon: Sarah. I mean, that's harsh. You were with her for over a year and a half and nothing? That seems like torture to me." Of course, that's what Morgan focused on.

"Morgan, I am not talking about that with you," Chuck said, and then he quickly added, "but trust me, I know."

"Wow, Chuck. Bryce really had it in for you, didn't he?" Morgan said, shaking his head.

"I think so, but I don't really know. And since he's dead, I can't really ask him."

Morgan nodded. "There's one thing though."

"Hmmm?"

"Well, you didn't really have time to plan anything when Sarah told you about the bunker order, how did you manage to escape?"

"Oh, well, you're right, I didn't have time then, but I actually already had a plan in case something like that happened."

"Really? Sarah and Casey didn't catch you?"

"I was afraid they would, but I had help..."

-0-

Chuck's room

Echo Park, California

September 29, 2008

Chuck was stretched out on his bed, reading a comic, feeling sorry for himself. The last couple of days had seen a mixture of a new high and a new low for him. He finally had a real, non-cover date planned with Sarah, the new Intersect was coming online, freeing him from his conscription, and he couldn't wait to start his life anew. Then, it all came crashing down. The Beta Intersect had been blow up, along with Graham. He was again the only Intersect, meaning he wasn't going anywhere: he couldn't quit the Buy More. Most importantly, it meant that he and Sarah were back to Asset/Handler: square freakin' one. Worse, really, because he was finally getting somewhere with Sarah beyond the cover, but now she would probably close herself off again. They were so close tonight before Sarah came and told him the news. He let out a sigh...

His computer started beeping. When he looked over, the screen went white and the words Hello, Charles popped up on screen.

Chuck sat up quickly and went to his desk. Who is this? What do you want? He typed on his keyboard.

You're in danger Charles. Chuck got up and looked out his window, around the courtyard. He opened his room door and checked to see that everything was alright. He saw Ellie and Devon watching TV in the living room.

He got out his phone to dial Casey, the computer beeped again: Not from me Charles, from your handlers.

He dialed Casey but got nothing. He was heading out the window when there was yet another beep.

Chuck looked back to see what was written but instead the screen switched to a recording of Casey talking with Beckman:

"Major Casey, hope I'm not interrupting?" Started General Beckman.

"The new Intersect ready?" He asked as he walked front and center.

"We're minutes away."

"Which means?"

"Your order remains the same: Chuck Bartowski is to be eliminated."

Casey huffed out a breath.

"What was that, Casey?"

"Nothing, General," Casey responded. Beckman moved to end the video call until Casey spoke again, "It's just, Chuck's served his country with honor. Maybe he even has potential as an analyst for the organization."

"I unders-"

"Let me, General," Graham interrupted Beckman. "Major Casey, can you extract these secrets from Mr. Bartowski's head? Can you guarantee him safety from kidnapping? From torture?"

Casey shook his head. "No."

"Then it's clear: Chuck Bartowski has served his country with honor, now he'll die with honor to protect it." The screen in front of Casey went dark.

The video then switched to footage of Casey inside Chuck's apartment, with a gun drawn and aimed at him.

Chuck couldn't believe his eyes. He walked back to his desk and fell into his chair. He thought he'd heard something earlier but wrote it off as just hearing things.

Casey hesitated and then lowered his gun. A couple of seconds later he retreated out of the apartment.

No doubt he had over-heard Sarah break the news about the Intersect and Graham, Chuck figured. His mind was spinning. If Sarah had arrived a little later, he would be dead, by one of his protectors' hands. Chuck was starting to seriously freak out.

The screen went white again and new words appeared: Don't freak out.

"Don't freak out?" Chuck exclaimed, as he jumped out of his seat. "Great, now I'm yelling at my computer."

Charles, calm down. We have important things to talk about.

"You can hear me?"

Yes, now sit down. We don't have much time.

Chuck sat down. "They're watching me," he said.

Not right now. They're seeing a loop I prepared but it won't fool Casey for long.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

You don't.

But if it's any consolation: if I wanted to take you, I would have done it already without anyone knowing until it was too late.

You don't need to trust me. You just need to know you can't trust your handlers or anyone from the government.

They will kill you as soon they feel like it. You need to be prepared to run, Charles.

"What about Sarah? She wouldn't do something like that," he said nervously.

Are you sure about that? You know her record. Trust her and you die.

"What do I do then?" His mind was a mess. This day was turning out to be the worst of his life, and that was saying something.

Listen up, write it down if you need to, but burn the paper trail as soon as you've memorized it.

First and foremost: you have to act like you know nothing. It's imperative that you do. If anyone catches on, you're done.

Now...

-0-

"And, you actually trusted that guy?" Morgan asked surprised.

"That guy turned out to be my dad, but no," Chuck responded, "I didn't trust him. Thing is, I didn't have to. I never told him anything about my plan, just followed his instructions for keeping Sarah and Casey in the dark. Plus, after what I saw, I figured two things: he could take me any time he wanted, and two, I could trust the government about as much as I could trust him. A backup plan didn't seem like a bad idea."

"I guess I can see that. It did come in handy," Morgan agreed. "So, you're like some kind of superhero or something now?"

"Not really, but I can defend myself... in any fighting style," Chuck grinned.

"That's so cool! Think I can get an Intersect?" He asked, hopeful.

"Sorry, Morgan. No can do."

"Come on! I want to kung-fu somebody! Maybe Lester..."

"Ha ha! Well, you could, but then you'd go crazy and die, so...still want it?"

"When you put it like that, no. But tell me it's not totally cool?" Morgan said smirking.

Chuck smiled, "Alright, it is. I may have even gotten a little over excited when I first got the fighting pack, my dad wasn't really all that happy with me."

"I knew it!" Morgan exclaimed. "And, you can't turn somebody into a ninja and expect them not to use those sweet moves. How did your dad not know that?"

"He's a little strict when it comes to this sort of thing," he offered.

They talked a little more, then headed to the dining room for dinner with the others.

-0-

Having Morgan there to lighten the mood made dinner go by relatively quick.

"Thank you for dinner, Ellie, it was delicious, good night," Casey said on his way out. Ellie smiled. "Goodnight, Devon." Devon nodded.

"Hey, Casey?" Chuck called out.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to be sticking around? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"I'm in no hurry to get anywhere, but let's get this talk over as soon as we can," Casey answered.

"Good, come by tomorrow afternoon. We'll talk then, I promise, it'll be quick. It is important, Casey."

Casey grunted. "Walker. Moron," he said looking at Morgan, and then closed the door behind him.

Sarah stood in front of Chuck. "Thank you for dinner, Ellie. Good night," she bid to both Ellie and Devon.

"Good night, Morgan."

"Bye, Sarah. It was good to see you again."

Chuck walked her to her car. "Well, um... I'd say today went well, considering..."

"I suppose."

"I know we have a lot to talk about, but today I remembered how I felt being around you. That's a good feeling, Sarah. I want more of it," Chuck said looking her in the eyes.

"I know what you mean. I've learned a lot about myself over the past eight years, I was forced to, but I have," she responded softly. "I'm ready to give things between us everything I've got, but I'm not going to rush into anything. I have to know we can actually build something here-what's so funny?" She asked when she saw his smile.

"You talking so freely, I like it. Very much," he said sincerely. "It's a nice change of pace."

"Yeah, well, I'm trying here. Not everyone gets this long a conversation; that should show you my commitment here."

"It really does, and I hope we can keep that going."

"Tomorrow night? My place?"

"Perfect. I'll bring some pizza."

"Actually, I think I'd rather just cook something," Sarah said casually.

Chuck was surprised, and his raised eyebrows showed it.

"It's not that big a deal, Chuck. I had to learn sometime, and I had a lot of time on my hands for a long while." She said with a touch of sadness.

"Will you tell me about it?"

"Tomorrow. Good night, Chuck," she said as she got into her car.

"Good night, Sarah." Chuck was a little disappointed that there was no hug, but another part of him was glad. He didn't know if he could take the contact without giving away his discomfort. If anyone would notice, it would be Sarah. He'd have to work on that, among other things.

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Chuck made his way back inside, where Morgan was waiting.

"So, how about some Halo, for old times' sake?" He asked as soon as Chuck stepped inside.

"Morgan, I don't have any of my old things."

"I do, my old Xbox's in my car, along with the rest of my stuff, I don't really use it anymore," he said. "All we have to do is set it up. I'm sure Ellie and Devon won't mind."

Chuck was unsure.

"C'mon, it'll be fun."

Video games weren't as appealing as they once had been to Chuck, but it would burn up some time. "Alright, let's do it. We'll have to keep it down, though. We don't want to wake Clara."

"Of course dude, be right back," Morgan said as he turned to go get his equipment out of his car.

Ellie came back to the living room. "Hey, Chuck, Devon and I are going to bed. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Morgan and I are just going to play some Xbox for a while."

"Seriously?" She asked disbelievingly.

"What?"

"Chuck, you-never mind. Have fun," she said shaking her head as she turned around and walked away.

Chuck shrugged and let himself fall onto the couch. He let out a satisfying groan as he stretched his limbs. Today had been exhausting and it was only the beginning. He was tired, but he was determined to kill some time. Hopefully Morgan was right and this would be fun and keep him awake.

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Author's Note: Okay two things: I had this chapter planned out but I got busy before I could write anything down, so I forgot what exactly it was I wanted. It took me a while to work it out again, though not quite the same. The other thing: I'm planning on two more arcs. The next one will deal with Chuck struggling to adjust, Alex, and if I can work it out, Orion and Frost. The last will be holiday themed chapters, and I know which one I'll be ending this story on. You can probably figure it out.