A/N: Winter-blues got to me in a rather nasty way, so I didn't particularly feel like writing for a while. Understandable… right? Right? Anyway, after that, real life kicked me in the face so that stacked up yet another few weeks where I couldn't write. Luckily, I managed to scrape the words together during the free time I had. So let's get this show on the road.

I want to thank my tireless beta, ShinyJayne20 for her continued efforts in keeping me somewhat sane and grounded. This chapter isn't beta'd by her, so any mistakes are my own! More thanks go out to people who favorite and review this story. Please continue doing so. It makes writing all the more fun.

Before I forget, please remember that in this story, canon is still three years away. Sarah appears more open because well… she's younger and she hasn't yet grown completely desensitized by the spy world. And even with those extra three years in canon, Chuck managed to smash through her walls in twenty four hours.

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck Bartowski nor do I own Sarah Walker. Although I have a feeling that if I did own them, they wouldn't listen to my commands anyway. Not even Beckman could get them to listen and she's a hell of a lot scarier than I am, so my chances don't look great.

The Good Samaritan, Chapter 5
The Reuniting

Arrival hall, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
15:20

Sarah held a frilly piece of carton up with Ellie Bartowski's name scribbled on it. She wondered what kind of a person Ellie would be. Somehow, Sarah figured that she wouldn't be that different to Chuck. The thought of him caused her to silently ponder the past couple of days. A nagging voice in the back of her head told her that she was falling in too deep. She should cut all ties and do the job that she had been put on this earth for.

A larger part of her brain brutally willed the voice into submission before locking it in a cage and throwing away the key.

Compartmentalizing had always been one of Sarah's strong suits. It helped her get through the lonely nights. The nightmares were a different story, but Sarah found that if she tried hard, she could forget them too, for the time being. Of course, it didn't help that Chuck seemed to circumvent all of her barriers and get her to admit to things that were better left unspoken for. She had no intention of talking about her nightmare but he made her open up… want to open up. It was dangerous, exhilarating, scary and freeing all at the same time. She had been shot at by more people than she cared to count, sharp objects had been flung her way with frightening precision and terrorists had been fixated by her body, their minds completely blank, save for the blonde bombshell in front of them. She had them completely wrapped around her finger. And yet, it was when she talked to Chuck, letting go of the self imposed boundaries, that Sarah Walker felt most alive.

Chuck Bartowski with his smiles and his quips validated her existence.

But the confrontations with him so far had taught her one thing. She had always told herself that if she kept repeating the lie, she would eventually start believing it. And she had chanted to herself, time and again, that she had no blame in the death of her target in Paris. That the order had been justified by the CIA and that it would be reason enough. She had no reason to feel guilty and she didn't feel guilty and she had no guilt to work through.

And yet, she felt guilty.

It had helped somewhat by relaying her fears to Chuck and he had in fact managed to cheer her up… make her feel better. So the diagnosis stuck. A dose of Chuck Bartowski, apply when needed. She would have to figure out dosages later. Now it was time to give the man some quality time with his family.

She couldn't help but watch the mass of people standing around her, brimming with excitement over seeing their loved ones return. Along with it brought a pang of sadness. She remembered the times when she had returned after a long mission and she stepped out of the arrival hall, her suitcase in tow. Her eyes would roam over the crowd and she could just imagine that somewhere in the cluster of bodies someone would be standing there, happy to see her.

There never was.

She shook herself from the thoughts, not having any interest in revisiting the somber moods that would often accompany the thought of being alone. God, either I need a mission or I need Chuck. Whatever comes first.

Sarah did not wait very well.

Of course, it was around that time that she realized that she wouldn't get a new mission any time soon. Her little stunt outside of the hospital the other day had seen to that. So that's how Sarah found herself passing the time by watching the slew of people emerging from the baggage claims, holding a frilly piece of carton. How the mighty had fallen.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, instinctively filing away faces along with the quirks and habits that went along with them, as the people brushed past her; not giving her the time of day. Her eyes strayed over a pretty brunette with beautiful eyes. They were however, filled with worry. She saw the woman scanning the crowd, before locking eyes with Sarah. Her gaze strayed downward and recognition flickered in her features. She walked over and Sarah knew. This was the illustrious Ellie Bartowski.

She tried to open her mouth, but before she could, the woman barreled into her midsection and clung to her. She felt the wetness of tears dropping on the fabric of her shirt, slowly soaking the material. Awkwardly, she started patting the woman on her back, not really that great with consoling grieving women. Idly, she wondered if it was really grieving if the person they were grieving about was alive but decided that she didn't really care either way. A loud sob emanated from the brunette and Sarah looked positively panicked.

It got worse when a bearded man joined in the fun. He too started wailing, although his cries were a little more pronounced. While Ellie had yet to say anything, the bearded man kept repeating how grateful he was for saving his 'life-mate'. By the way he reverently spoke about Chuck, she figured this was the 'Morgan' he was so fond of.

The party was complete when a tall, broad shouldered blond man exclaimed, "Group hug, awesome!" and hugged her as well.

"Help," she squeaked as she was enveloped by three people, two of which were leaking bodily fluids on her. Silently she was cursing. She wore her nice clothes today. Now they could get a one way trip to the washer.

The little yelp seemed to pull Ellie out of her daze and she shooed the impromptu group hug away from Sarah. When everyone was a safe distance away, her arms once again flew toward her neck and Sarah found herself being pulled into the mother of all bear hugs. She collided with Ellie at a pace that was fast enough to knock the wind out of her, but the 'oof' that emanated from her throat didn't deter the woman in her effort to literally hug Sarah to death.

"Thank you," she heard Ellie whisper. "Thank you for saving him."

"You're… welcome?" she awkwardly replied, not really sure what the proper etiquette was for being thanked. The CIA had always taken the cloak in cloak-and-dagger to heart and Sarah couldn't remember a time when she had been thanked for her services. As a matter of fact, she couldn't quite remember ever being thanked for everything… unless you counted a paycheck as a thank you.

Ellie stepped back from Sarah and her eyes shone with gratitude and unshed tears. Those eyes displayed the same honest emotions that Chuck's had. It was interesting to see how open and vulnerable these people were, simply by their eyes. Ellie wiped away the brimming tears with the back of her hand and sniffled a bit. "Sorry about that. Usually I have a lot more self control when it comes to these kinds of things."

"Don't mention it." She looked at the group in front of her. "So uh… this is a lot more than I was expecting."

"That's my fault," Ellie shrugged apologetically. "Devon was planned, sorry about not telling you that. But this one…" She pointed to Morgan with a vaguely horrified expression, "wasn't." She trailed off, muttering something about how the little rat could be quite eloquent when he wanted to be.

Morgan hadn't moved an inch since being shoved back and his eyes were glazed over. Devon, the blond haired jock, gave him a light shove which seemed to snap him out of his daze. He moved over and grabbed Sarah's hand, before kneeling before her. "What is he doing?" she whispered to Ellie.

"Morgan!" Ellie shouted in a voice that didn't fit the gentle frame that had been on display.

"What? Can't I greet an angel in proper fashion?" Sarah snickered softly as she was reminded of Chuck's words just a few days earlier.

"You're embarrassing her. Get up." She grabbed Morgan's earlobe and hauled him along with the bag away from Sarah who was left with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. Devon walked up to her and held up his two hands.

"Saved my GF's baby bro's life! That's awesome."

"Uh…" Sarah said, somewhat confused by the jock and his phrasing. Still, she got the gist of what he wanted to happen and meekly returned the high five that the man was obviously craving. Luckily, she was let off the hook as he grabbed his bag and frog marched after Ellie who had obviously taken control of the situation.

She caught up with them in front of the terminal and looked apologetically. "Uh, I only have a two-seater, so I think it's best if we order a cab. And since I'm guessing that you'd like to stay with Devon…"

"Say no more," Ellie replied, already whistling over a cab. She was clearly an assertive woman; that was for sure. "Where should we head him?"

"Uh, he's lying in Washington Hospital Center, but don't you…" She was cut off as Ellie relayed the hospital to the driver, who nodded. "Shouldn't I at least pay for the fare?"

Ellie looked at her like she had grown a second head. "You saved my baby brother. You've done more than enough." She nodded to the driver who took off, leaving Sarah and Morgan in their wake.

"So uh… We didn't get a proper introduction. Hi, I'm Morgan Grimes."

"Chuck's best friend, I know."

Morgan beamed. "He talked about me?"

Sarah sighed, while drawing a hand through her hair. She didn't exactly have the time to make it look like normal and she was sure that strands were sticking out, giving her a rumpled look. Still, looking rumpled so far was higher on her list than spending time with Morgan Grimes, if Chuck's stories were any indication. "Yeah, he did." She knew way more about Morgan than she wanted to. "Let's go," she said as she took his bag and slung it over her shoulder, walking over to the parking section with Morgan on her heels.

Downtown Washington
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
15:51

Sarah Walker was not a person who liked to listen to the radio.

Morgan Grimes however, was.

It had started roughly five minutes after leaving the airport. Morgan, after complimenting her car, had suddenly gone completely mute and started fiddling with his thumbs. "Is everything okay?" she asked as he made yet another vague gesture, moving his hand in the general direction of the dashboard, only to immediately pull it back like it was on fire.

"Yeah… I'm good," he replied. "Would you… would you mind if we listened to the radio?"

"Actually, I like the radio off while I drive." The moment the words had left her lips, she wanted to smack herself. Why couldn't she just let him listen? Now she could either totally ignore the bearded man which would reflect rather poorly on her, or she would have to engage in actual conversation with him. Something which, given the stories that she had been told, would be a gargantuan task to complete.

Sarah wasn't too big on actual small talk, except if it was for a mission. Seeing as how that was not the case, the words seemed to slip past her. She could think up an amazing lie on the spot, neatly interwoven with reality, which would have bad guys eating out of the palm of her hand. Now… silence.

How the hell did Chuck make it look so easy?

"So… Morgan. What hobbies do you have?" It was a Hail Mary and she knew it, but if she kept him talking then she wouldn't have to. Besides, what was she going to talk about? The latest happenings in the world of espionage? Or maybe the ominous signs of an economic collapse in the near future? It was better for Morgan to do the talking and for Sarah to be silent. She was good at that.

Morgan looked pensive, a hand stroking through his beard as he thought of a suitable reply. Finally, he responded, "Video games."

Oh God. "Really, and what video games would that be?"

The question spurred Morgan on a ten minute tangent about Spartans, the Covenant, someone named Cortana, a Master Chief and halos. She had no clue what any of those words meant in coherence to one another, but she was glad that at least the silence was filled, even though she had tuned most of it out. She would ask Chuck what the gibberish meant later.

Belatedly, she realized that the silence had once again returned, save for the engine that was humming below her. When she glanced over, she saw Morgan looking at her with big eyes, trying to spur her on. Little did he know that the big pleading eyes didn't work for anyone that had tried them on her. Save Chuck of course. She willed the voice to be quiet, something which she had found herself doing repeatedly the past few days.

When it became obvious that Sarah wasn't going to budge, Morgan decided to go on the verbal offense. "So what is it that you do? Despite saving my best friend's life, of course."

She almost rolled her eyes. It was no big deal, but apparently it was to these people. She knew that Chuck was special, knew it from the moment she had laid eyes on him. But apparently, other people thought so as well. Still, she had no desire to be rude, so she presented him with the usual cover story. "I work in accounting."

"Really?" he said, his eyebrows climbing towards his forehead. "I didn't think women would make good accountants."

"What can I say," Sarah shrugged. "I'm good with numbers." She had already devised sixty-two ways to fatally wound the bearded gnome, as she had labeled him in her mind, in the Porsche alone. She had seventy-eight ways to just make him suffer. If he left the car, all bets were off and the possibilities would skyrocket.

She peered out of the window and saw the hospital looming up ahead of them. Oh thank God, back to my sanctuary. It was weird, referring to a person as a sanctuary, but it most definitely fit in this case. He would shield her from all the future awkward chats with Morgan. It wasn't that she disliked him… per se. He just didn't have that sparkling conversation skill that Chuck had. The one that made you want to open up. Grimly, she thought that, had it been Morgan who had been lying there, bleeding on the ground, she would save him and then be on the next plane to Poland for a good old fashioned mission. "Oh look," she said; her tone faux-pleasant. "We're here."

Morgan looked up and nodded. "Wow that went fast."

Sarah nodded. "It sure did." She didn't bother suppressing the eye-roll this time.

Entrance, Washington Hospital Center
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
16:08

Devon and Ellie stood in front of the door, waiting for Sarah and Morgan to join them. Devon whistled as he saw the car that belonged to Sarah. "Sweet wheels. You must have a killer job."

"I'm an accountant."

Devon raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Didn't know they earned enough to afford a Porsche."

Sarah shrugged. "I'm good with numbers. I make it work."

The jock obviously had more questions, but Sarah had no interest in indulging him. She picked up the pace and headed straight for the revolving doors. She was just about to enter when the one face she didn't want to see with Ellie and her entourage close by, came walking out. Dr. Spencer. The doctor to whom she had introduced herself as 'the girlfriend'. She looked for an escape route, anything to avoid the awkwardness that was sure to settle in once he…

"Ah, Miss Walker. I take it, this is Mr. Bartowski's family? I must say, it's nice to see such a devoted girlfriend."

"Ah yes, well, what can I say," she shrugged, hoping to God that the blush that she felt creeping up from her toes wasn't too visible. But who was she kidding? She could've doubled as a traffic light right at that moment in time.

"You'd be surprised by how many so called girlfriends and boyfriends don't bother after the first twenty-four hours, after they know that the other person is going to make it."

Ellie stepped in. "We're all very grateful to know that my brother has someone such as her by his side." Her tone was pleasant… friendly. Not a single trace of her being shocked which, given the fact that the jock was now standing with his mouth firmly open, was not a small feat. "And I want to personally thank you for taking care of him as well."

"You're very welcome, ma'am." The doctor walked on and out of sight. Sarah's eyes were firmly locked on him, not having the stones to look to her side. She sneaked a few surreptitious glances and saw a shocked Devon, a Morgan who had been nailed to the floor, and Ellie who still looked the same.

"Let's go inside," she pleasantly suggested. This wasn't at all like the intense woman that Chuck had told her about.

They walked inside, Sarah's head slightly hung in shame. She knew the lie could come back to bite her in the ass, but she had hoped that if it would happen, it would be Chuck who found out. Not his sister. At least with Chuck she could hopefully make a joke about it (Chuck refused to believe she wasn't funny) and pass it off. With Ellie… well, it was hard to joke about things like that with siblings.

"Look, Ellie, I…"

Ellie turned around so fast, Sarah was scared she might've gotten whiplash. But the smile was still on her face. "Are you his girlfriend?"

"No, but I…"

Ellie's face fell for a second, but the smile was back on her face within an instant. "If you're going to try and apologize, it's not at all necessary. Look Sarah, you saved my baby-brother. For that alone I am eternally grateful. If you felt like you needed to tell a doctor you were his girlfriend, I'm sure you had your reasons. Besides, you stayed by his bed the entire time."

The sound had been extremely soft, but Sarah's ears had picked up the 'aww' from Ellie's throat anyway. "Well, you're right," she said, her voice defiant, even though she had been given no reason to actually be defiant. "They wouldn't let me stay in his room so I told them I was with him." In a softer voice, she added, "I didn't want him to be alone when he woke up."

The booming "Aww, that's awesome," caught her off guard.

"As eloquent as my boyfriend may be, he's right. That was pretty awesome of you, Sarah."

"Seriously, it was," Morgan acquiesced. The little man had been pretty quiet ever since meeting up with Ellie and Devon again. Sarah got the idea that the bearded man wasn't too happy with Devon being there.

"Right then… I'm glad that's cleared up." She resumed her walk to the room, the rest hot on her heels.

She heard the soles of someone's shoes increase in pace and before she knew it, Ellie was walking next to her. Seeing that the awkwardness had been placated, Sarah felt a bit more confident. Her stride became longer and she started walking in a straighter posture as opposed to the slouched version of her that had been on display. She didn't think that Chuck had lied to her when he described his sister, but she was a lot less intense than she had imagined. Ellie was nice, well mannered and she seemed to be pleasant to be around. It was probably the Bartowski trait.

"If there's any way I can ever repay you, please let me know," Ellie admitted. "Us Bartowski's, we don't forget it when someone does something like this for us. So please, if you ever need anything, feel free to call."

Sarah nodded and they rounded the corner that led to Chuck's room. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face.

Recovery room, Washington Hospital Center
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
16:15

"Before we go in, just know that he's fine."

"I've seen a few stabbings, Sarah. Bound to happen if you work in a hospital."

Sarah nodded and pushed open the door. "Chuck, you've got company."

He looked up and the look on his face was that of a child coming down the stairs on the 25th of December, greeted by a beautiful tree with its ornaments reflecting the light, with dozens of presents underneath. She had to suppress a smile as Ellie reverently walked past Sarah, sat down next to him and brushing a curl from his head. Devon and Morgan stood in the doorway, patiently waiting for their chance. Sarah leaned against the wall, crossing her arms and being content to know that she played a part in making Chuck look happy.

"Hi Ellie." The next thing Sarah knew, Ellie flew up and threw herself at Chuck, hugging him tight and sobbing in his chest. He lifted up his hand and softly stroked her back. "Ssshh, I'm okay Ellie. Really, I am."

"I know," she replied after a while, still refusing to release her brother.

"Would you uh… I don't know if the way you're holding me is good for my stitches."

"I'm a doctor, I know what they can and can't take. You're fine," was her muffled reply. Sarah stifled a laugh as Chuck slumped back and allowed Ellie to hold him for a while longer. She witnessed the sibling's interaction with a pang of jealousy, thinking back to her own sister whom she hadn't spoken to ever since her dad took her from her family.

She had no intention of opening up old wounds, but seeing the brother and sister so in their element caused Sarah to long for the normality once again. Being with the CIA had given her a purpose once more, taught her to compartmentalize the continuous letdowns but no amount of compartmentalizing had ever helped when she reflected at just how pathetic her life truly was.

"Are you okay?" she heard Chuck's voice ask her.

She realized she had completely zoned out of what was happening. When she focused back on the scene, Morgan and Devon had joined Ellie and all sat across the bed, looking at her. Chuck's gaze bored into hers and she swallowed hard, before putting on a fake smile ,the one she had saved for seduction missions that went into that territory although she hadn't yet had to use it, and nodding. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

The answer appeased everyone but Chuck, who shot her a knowing look that seemed to say, 'We'll talk about this later.' She had no idea how he could read her so well after just a few days, but she sure as hell wasn't going to talk about this. He made you want to open up, sure. But some things were off limits. Even for someone as inquisitive as Charles Irving Bartowski.

Fine, so she may have spent more than a fleeting glance at his personal file over at the receptionist desk, and knew a lot more about him than was healthy for a 24 year old woman, even one who was a spy.

She walked over and joined the group, settling herself on the bed that stood next to Chuck's. Ellie had taken the chair next to Chuck's pillow, the same chair in which Sarah had nestled herself to keep watch. In a way, it was almost poetic. The passing of the torch from one protector to another, signified by the chair that was closest to him. Next to Ellie was Devon who was holding her hand and next to him was Morgan. He was telling them about the crazy antics of Jeff and Lester, two of Chuck's co-workers who were in Sarah's eyes ready for an asylum.

He had just steered the story into one about how Jeff had managed to slip alcohol in the eggnog, which had led to the rules of Christmas, (One: Jeff doesn't touch the eggnog. That was all) when he suddenly stopped and glanced over at Sarah. His head bobbed towards the other side of his bed, inviting her to move over and sit next to him. Sarah thought about it for a moment, before deciding that yes, she would like to sit next him.

She walked over and put herself in the chair. It was an interesting set up. She looked directly in the eyes of the people that probably meant the most to Chuck and she saw the gratitude first hand. She didn't have to look at a news report to see the smiling faces, glad that their loved ones were returned safe to their families. She didn't have to listen to Graham drone on about how she had made the world a safer place. It made her feel good and accepted. She liked being accepted. It was a testament to how well her cover was holding up.

But how much of all this is truly a cover?

She didn't dignify her thoughts with a response.

Shrinks would have a ball if they ever found out that she often held verbal sparring matches between two sets of her thoughts.

The story that Chuck was telling drew to a close, but before the awkwardness could settle in, he suggested that they play a board game. "It helps unwind," he added. The suggestion gained appreciative murmurs of Ellie, who appeared to be just as fond of board games as her brother was, and Morgan who seemed to love everything that Chuck suggested. Devon acquiesced, although Sarah suspected this was more on the principle of his girlfriend playing and Sarah had no intention of spoiling the fun. The game that they chose was Monopoly, something Sarah hadn't played in quite some time. The last time she had played a game of Monopoly was back when she was still a little girl and her family was still together. Still happy. But all that was in the past now and she willed herself to focus on the game. Focusing on different things helped her forget. Helped her to think that it was all just a crazy concoction of her mind. That the memories to her family, cuddled up on the couch were just hallucinations of a damaged mind. It helped her compartmentalize.

Morgan proved to be surprisingly adept at bargaining and had the luck of the dice on his side. Sarah quietly repeated Ellie's sentiment. "The guy can be quite eloquent." Sarah had learned a lot from her new companionship over the past few days, ranging from Chuck and his ability to be amazingly caring, sweet and an all out nice guy despite the trials and tribulations that he had to overcome, as well as the fact that his sister was just as nice and caring. There was one thing that Sarah learned however, that she didn't want to know.

Morgan Grimes was a horrible winner.

Recovery room, Washington Hospital Center
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
18:32

Burgers… lots and lots of burgers. Wrappers were strewn around over the bed, some cluttering the nightstand next to Chuck, but most of it landed on Sarah's bed. The sound of laughter permeated from the room, coupled with the occasional wince from Chuck. He had refused more morphine on the basis that 'he didn't want to be high on meds when his sister rolled around'. Slowly but surely though, his eyes started to droop, which given the fact that the man had been sleeping for quite some time throughout the past few days, was quite remarkable.

He yawned and Ellie eyed him with the certainty that being a doctor would undoubtedly give you. "If you're tired, you should get some sleep little brother."

"So soon?" he said, sounding every bit like a pouting ten year old that had just been imposed a bedtime. "I only just woke up."

"Sorry bro," Devon said, and it sounded like he actually was a bit sorry. "Your sister is right. You have to listen to your body and if your body is telling you to go to sleep, then you should."

"Fine," he grumbled. "I promise to tell you guys about what happened, tomorrow, okay?" He grabbed a few of the wrappers and handed them to Ellie who nodded at him, while Sarah got up and started cleaning up her bed. She grabbed the wrappers that Ellie handed her and threw them in the trashcan. She glanced around the room and saw that Chuck had burrowed himself into the bed while Morgan, Devon and Ellie all wished him a good night and headed outside. Before Ellie passed through the door however, she beckoned Sarah who followed.

As they walked along the hallways, Ellie started talking. "First off, Sarah, I want you to know that we're all incredibly grateful for what you've done for my brother. Me especially, if I could, I'd kiss you."

"Okay… you don't have to thank me, but thank you."

"However, you shouldn't feel obliged to be here. We're here now and we'd have no problem taking over the burden from you. You could return to your own life and not spend it sitting with someone you barely know."

The words came as a slap. It was as much of a dismissal as she had ever heard. Sure, Ellie hadn't exactly said, 'we want you gone' but she had heard the words spoken often enough. Graham loved dismissing his agents like that. She swallowed hard when she realized that despite being pretty much relieved from her position, she had no inclination of actually vacating that spot. But he was her sister. What could she do?

She took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. I guess I should… I guess I should pack my bag then."

Ellie nodded. "Okay, we'll be in the cafeteria if you need us."

Sarah held up her posture so that the older woman couldn't see how wounded she felt at the words spoken to her. She would have to go back to her old routine. Wake up, go to the gym, watch crappy TV, eat crappy food, go to bed. Rinse and repeat. Her life would be empty, except for when she would go on a mission of course. She sighed and started patting her pants, looking for her phone so she could report back to duty. She'd spin some sort of lie about why she was back so fast and hope that he wouldn't question it. What would Langston Graham think if his star agent had taken time off to tend to the needs of a stranger who had been stabbed? He'd probably give her a lecture on how she had chosen the greater good and that was more important than individuals. She'd heard the story often enough to pretty much dream it.

She reached the door and silently slid it open. Chuck was lying on his back, his hands folded beneath his head, just staring at the roof tiles. When he heard her soles hitting the floor, he turned his head towards her. "Hey. You can't tell me you're going to bed now as well? That'd be crazy." He softly laughed and Sarah felt her spirit lift, only to crash down back to the ground as she realized what she came here to do.

"No… I'm leaving."

"What?" he cried out, and she feared he would sit up so fast that his stitches would pop. Luckily, he had the sense of self-preservation to stay in a supine position. Still, the question hung in the air.

"I'm… leaving," she choked out in response. Why was this so damn hard?

"Why?"

"Because your sister is right. I don't belong here."

Chuck sighed, but it wasn't a defeated one. It sounded like a sigh that said, 'not this again'. "Where is she?"

"In the cafeteria."

"Could you please get her for me?"

"Uh… sure?" He hadn't said anything about her leaving, but if the tone of his voice was any indication, his sister was about to receive a massive reaming.

She opened the door, but as she stepped out, Chuck called her name.

"What is it?"

"I don't want you to go."

Someone you barely know. The words kept repeating in her mind, undoubtedly true. So why was it that when he confided that he didn't want her to go, it put her mind at ease? She didn't say anything. She didn't acknowledge it with anything. But her shoulders relaxed and the tension that she had felt from the moment that Ellie had told her that it would be better if she would go back to her own life was gone. She stepped out and softly closed the door, before walking to the cafeteria.

Ellie, Morgan and Devon sat around a table, discussing what they wanted to do. Sarah walked up to Ellie and cleared her throat. "Chuck wants to talk to you," she said, before sitting down in a vacant seat. Ellie looked at her entourage and nodded before walking out of the cafeteria, leaving Sarah alone with the two men. No one said a word as they all waited for Ellie to come back. Seconds turned into minutes and when she finally came back, she looked frazzled. "Could I speak to you for a moment?" she asked Sarah.

She nodded and walked with Ellie, in a scene eerily reminiscent of fifteen minutes earlier. Again, Ellie was the first to talk. "Chuck told me that you seemed hesitant to leave. Is that true?"

Sarah nodded, before she realized that Ellie was in front of her and couldn't see it. "Yes."

Ellie stopped so suddenly that Sarah almost ran into her. She turned and grabbed a hold of Sarah's hand. "Then why didn't you say so?"

"Wha?"

"Why would you leave if you don't want to?"

"Because you said that…"

"I said that you could go back if you wanted to. I never said that you should leave. If Chuck doesn't want you to leave and you don't want to leave, who are we to tell you that you can't stay?"

"But… I thought…" How could she be so wrong? The spy life had ingrained on her for years to read between the lines. And now, she realized that she had been going about it all wrong. Ellie was just like her brother. She spoke her mind. Sarah hadn't needed to look for any hidden meanings or different intonations. What Ellie and Chuck said, they truly meant without reservation. It was a character trait she had never before met and there was something inherently disarming about it. You always knew where you stood with them.

Ellie smiled. "Chuck made a good case with regards to you staying. I'm pretty sure that if he could, he would've used flowcharts and graphics to explain his point.

Sarah laughed. It wouldn't surprise her at all if he actually would use flowcharts to describe his reasoning for staying. He just seemed like the kind of person that would go to such lengths to get something he really wanted.

That was about the time that Sarah realized that he really wanted her to stay. She filed that little tidbit of information away in her brain. Maybe, when she would once again be feeling alone when this was all over, she could dig it back up and revel in the fuzzy feeling that it gave her.

They walked back to the table where Morgan and Devon were discussing something. What it was, Sarah had no idea. She thought she heard something about tucking, but the moment the two women rejoined the table, they both promptly shut up.

"Is everything okay, babe?"

"Is there something wrong with Chuck?" Morgan immediately asked.

Ellie laughed. "No, everything's fine. Just a little misunderstanding, that's all." She glanced down at her wrist before announcing her intention to retire to the hotel. They all stood and Sarah walked them to the front door. After making plans on when to meet up, they hailed a cab and disappeared from sight, leaving Sarah standing outside. The night proved cold and she hurried back inside. She looked at the clock and had to scoff when she was seriously considering calling it a night. But then again, getting emotional over things was tiring. And yet, it also served to validate her existence, just as Chuck was doing. Maybe she hadn't completely lost herself to the spy world just yet.

She smiled and walked back to Chuck's room on autopilot. As she opened the door, she noticed that Chuck was still awake. That was good. At least now she had something to do instead of immediately going to sleep.

She dove under the covers and shrugged out of her clothing, bar her bra and panties. She dropped the pile of clothing on the duffel bag. She figured she would have to go to back to her apartment soon and maybe do a workout. But she would discuss those things with Chuck first. She had no interest in once again feeling guilty for an entire session. One time was plenty enough.

"Sarah…"

"Yes, Chuck?"

"Why did you look so sad today?"

"What do you mean?"

She heard the rustling of the covers and she knew he was turning to face her. "With Ellie, when she hugged me. You kind of zoned out and got a really sad look on your face."

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She hoped that he would take it, but in the back of her head, she knew better.

"Talk to me, Sarah."

His patient tone, his honest inquiring… it served to anger her. "What the hell do you not get about 'don't worry about it'? Is it really that hard to grasp when you need to butt out."

Her outburst shut him up for a few seconds. "I didn't mean to…"

"I don't care what you did or didn't mean to. You need to learn when to take a hint, Chuck and this is one of those times." She didn't want to snap at him, but she knew that if he kept asking… kept prodding, that she would crack. And she would tell him about what was bugging her. And he would listen. And it scared the living daylights out of her.

She kept quiet and the only sound in the room, apart from the intermittent beeping from the ECG, was the labored breathing of Sarah, and Chuck's calm breathing. It had a slight hitch in it, proving that he was upset. Whether that was because she snapped at him, or because he felt bad, she didn't know.

She closed her eyes and tried to make herself fall asleep. But damn it, she felt bad for snapping at him. She was just about to open her mouth to apologize, when he spoke. "I'm sorry for pushing you. That was not my intention." His voice wasn't cold and bitter like she half-expected it to be. It was understanding and remorseful.

"No, look, I'm sorry. I overreacted. It's just that I don't feel comfortable sharing stuff like this. After all, we've only known each other for three days." She tried to play it off as a joke, but she knew that he understood what she was trying to say. Of course, it was rather obvious what she was trying to say. 'Back the hell away from my personal life.'

"Okay. Well, apology accepted."

"Yeah… so is yours."

Slowly, she felt her eyelids drooping and falling into a slumber. The night was dreamless.

Recovery room, Washington Hospital Center
Friday, December 17th, 2004
09:45

The nurse that woke them this time was a lot more nuanced about it than 'overly-ambitious-nurse' had been. Sarah was grateful. She couldn't believe that she had slept almost twelve hours, and yet she felt like she could fit in an extra couple of hours, no problem. Seeing as how she wasn't a morning person by nature and she had in fact brought her weapons, she was afraid of what the results could've been had it been the nurse from a few days before.

She brought in a tray of breakfast for Chuck, who once again gave his apple to her. She couldn't stop the grateful look that appeared on her face, or the smile that she got in return.

As she bit into the apple and was surprised by the quality, she couldn't help but think that the one thing she had been dying to know would finally be revealed. Chuck was going to tell how he got in the hospital.

It was morbid, she knew. But she just couldn't fathom why anyone would want to hurt someone like him. But today… today she would find out.

It was 10 AM when Ellie, Devon and Morgan walked into the room. She glanced from them to Chuck and noticed that his color slowly started returning. Sarah figured that it wouldn't be long until they started physical therapy to help him rebuild some of the lost muscles due to being demoted to bed rest. "Hey guys," he said in a cheerful tone.

"Morning, Chuck," Morgan said. He was always the first one to extend those kinds of colloquial greetings.

"Morning, little buddy," he responded as he chewed on the sandwich he hadn't fully devoured yet.

"Looking good, Chuckster," Devon complimented.

"Thanks Cap… Devon."

They all gathered their chairs and Ellie was weirdly quiet. Sarah slid up to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine… It's just a bit surreal to hear how my brother got stabbed of all things."

"Just remember, he's fine now."

"I know… I know. Thanks, though."

"No worries." Sarah didn't know what to say to her. She couldn't imagine how surreal it would've felt if her sister would tell her that she got stabbed. She just offered whatever solace she could and hoped that it was enough. Luckily for her, that seemed to be the case.

Chuck looked around at the people gathered around him. He then looked to Ellie and started talking.

"It all started when Big Mike called me into his office…"

A/N2: OH SNAP, Cliffhanger! I got to keep you guys coming back somehow! Please leave a review, even if it's just to tell me that you did (or didn't) enjoy this chapter. If you only understood how nice it is to receive them, you'd hand them out much more often! Let's try and reach a 100 reviews for this story by the time chapter 6 comes up! I promised it would be in time for Christmas and you people can help. How? Why, by reviewing of course. Reviews make me eager to write, and when I'm eager for something, I end up doing it fast! Yes, I'm very petty, thank you for asking!

Until next time.