I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

Since the last chapter ended with something of a cliffhanger, I wanted to post this one ASAP. So if this is a little shorter than usual, that's why.

Look, I know where I left things is an opportunity for a huge angst fest. If you're looking for angst or a triangle crisis, I'm sorry (I'm not really that sorry, it just seemed the thing to say), this story might not be for you. It most definitely isn't going to be that. I don't write those kinds of stories… mostly because I don't like to read them. This, like all of my stuff, is a love story – a story of friendship… of family. It is a story about heroes, the sacrifices they sometimes are forced to make, and the realization that going forward maybe some priorities need to be adjusted. You'll find out where this is headed very soon.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It only takes a second – and it really, really makes a difference. That's probably more important than ever now that the series has ended. If you want to keep the Chuck fandom alive and continue to read about these characters, you really need to think about rewarding the people whose hard work make that possible.

Two Doctors and One Enforcer

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck stood up and looked around the room. "Where are we?" he asked.

Jill smiled and reached out to cup his cheek lovingly in a clear attempt to reassure him. "It's a long story," she said. "One that we really don't have time for right now. I promise to tell you everything as soon as we're safe. Look, baby, I know that you're scared and confused. They gave you some drugs to make you forget some things. You're going to have to trust me. I love you. You know that I would never do anything to hurt you."

"I do trust you," Chuck said. "Absolutely. Of course I do. Why don't you tell me the short version? Who is 'They' anyway?" He paused and nodded his head towards Casey who was still unconscious. "And who is this guy? He must be our friend if he's captured too."

Jill looked around anxiously. "'They' are the CIA," she said. "As it turns out, your roommate was a spy. I'm not sure who this guy is. Right now I'd say that he is not our problem."

"Bryce Larkin from Connecticut is a spy?" Chuck asked skeptically.

"I said that he was a spy," Jill said sadly. "I'm afraid that he's dead."

"Bryce is dead?" Chuck asked in alarm. "What happened?"

Jill's expression got even more frantic. "Baby, please. We really don't have time for this right now," she said. "I'm so sorry you had to hear such horrible news like that. I promise that I'll tell you every single thing. For right now, his partner killed him. I don't know all the details myself. But apparently she is some super evil bitch who has gone rogue. We're going to have to get out of here before she comes back and kills us. We're going to have to deal with her sometime soon."

"Right," Chuck said sarcastically. "And just how are you and I going to deal with some bad-ass CIA Agent? This sounds like something out of a bad science fiction movie." Chuck took a step and stumbled. "I'm still a little woozy."

"I know," Jill said as she stepped up and gave him a short peck on the lips. "Baby, you've been through a lot in the past few days. I've been worried sick. Why don't you rest here for a minute and I'll go make sure that we're clear. I'll be right back."

"Fighting against the CIA," Chuck said dejectedly. "What chance do we have? We might as well wait here for her to come back and finish us. Do we even know her name?"

"We have assets," Jill said with something of a smile. "In fact we have the advantage. That's why she is going to be so desperate to find you. I'm afraid that's the part that is going to take some time to explain. We're going to use their own invention against them. As it turns out I now have a very powerful fiancé. Once you learn how to use your new power, she'll be no match for you."

"We do know her name. It is Sarah Walker."

x-x-x-x-x

"Well, Ellie," Sarah said. They were finally in their hotel room in Baltimore - the hotel where the AMA convention was already underway. "It's time. You know that this is against my better judgment."

"Duly noted," Ellie said, with a tad more edge than she really intended. "Sarah, I get that you're worried… about Chuck and about me. I absolutely get that. I'm not wild about the situation either. But saying it every five minutes isn't helping. I'm a big girl. We're in this situation… together. Look, I get that I'm not a CIA Agent, not even close. In fact, and no offense here, there are parts of being a CIA Agent that would probably horrify me. But until Chuck is safe, I'm simply going to set that aside. You need to understand something. There is very little that I wouldn't do to keep him safe. So I have no choice. He needs us, the two women in the whole world who love him. You're going to have to start thinking of me as your partner. Let's get on with it."

"Okay, Ellie," Sarah said with a sigh. "I guess you're right. I'll stop. We have no choice. But you also need to understand something. You just said that there was very little you wouldn't do to keep him safe. There is absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do to keep him safe. So I'll treat you like a partner. But that doesn't mean that we don't have to be careful. We can't help Chuck if we get captured ourselves. I'm hoping that this jerk won't make the connection between Chuck and you. You don't have the same last name. But we don't know that for sure. I'll be listening to your every word on comm. If things get even the slightest bit tense, I'm coming in with guns blazing. The second you hear any shots, immediately fall flat on the floor and don't get up until I come and get you. I'd love to have a little chat with this creep. Try and get him someplace where we can grab him without being seen. Maybe make up some interesting doctor thing."

"Maybe," Ellie said with something of a grin. "But I think that I might have better success if I make up some interesting flirty girly thing."

Ellie laughed out loud at Sarah's stunned look. "Why do you think that I stopped coming to these conventions anyway?" she asked. "I hate to be the one to tell you this. But CIA Agents didn't invent the concept of sex. Although I suspect this is also true of other professions, a fair amount of doctors historically come to conventions as an excuse to get out of town and cheat on their wives. And since the men outnumber the women here about four to one, it practically guaranties that any female between the age of 18 and 90 is going to be hit on incessantly. I learned the hard way. If you innocently act even a little friendly they are all over you."

Ellie's grin took a decidedly evil turn. "Besides, being a little flirty is a good way to get a man's attention," she said. "That's what we're going for, right? Come on, Sarah. Are you really this naive? A beautiful girl like you? I'm surprised that you don't know that."

As tense as the situation was, Sarah couldn't help the grin that came over her face. Just like her brother, Ellie could pretty much always make her laugh. "Very funny," she said. "You're a regular comedian. Maybe after this is over we can go to Vegas for a weekend and you can try your hand at some stand up."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Jill stepped out of the room she fished out her cell phone.

Dr. Berkshire answered on the first ring. "What is your status?" he asked. "Did it work?"

"Just like we planned," Jill replied smugly. "I told you. Chuck Bartowski is nothing but amazingly loyal. Now that he thinks we're engaged, he would do anything to protect me. And that's even before any sex. Give me tonight and I'll have turned him into a lovesick puppy that would walk through hell to bring me a glass of water. He'll be begging Mr. Volkoff to think of creative ways for him to help the cause. Once he realizes that Sarah Walker is a threat to me, he'll make it his life's work to deal with her. All I'll have to do is stand aside and watch while The Intersect ends her… as slowly and as painfully as possible."

Berkshire paused for a long moment. "Is the sex really necessary?" he asked softly.

Jill laughed into the phone. "Come on, Clyde," she said. "This isn't the time or place for jealousy. We're too close to the brass ring to allow anything to trip us up now. Besides we've talked all about this. You know that it is absolutely necessary. I'll have him eating out of my hand… among other places."

"You sound like you're looking forward to it," Berkshire said sadly.

"Maybe a little," Jill admitted in a teasing tone. "The man had an amazing skill. And that was before The Intersect. I imagine he could really get me going now. Maybe after Volkoff delivers us our private island, we can get him to give you some lessons. You have to admit. You're a little orally challenged."

Jill looked at the silent phone for a long moment. "Come on, sweetie," she finally said. "You know that I'm just teasing you a little. I love you. Besides, I most definitely owe that Sarah Walker bitch as much pain as I can possibly deliver. You're helping me. Trust me. Once we're on our private island drinking rum all day, you can invent some really wild ways for me to show my gratitude. I'll make you forget that Chuck Bartowski even exists."

Berkshire finally found his smile. "It seems only fair," he said. "After all, you're making him forget that Chuck Bartowski even exists."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah stood on the opposite side of the convention hall, watching as Ellie approached Clyde Berkshire. The hotel worker uniform that she had bribed her way into allowed her to blend right in with the crowd milling about so that she had no concern of him spotting her. Ellie was certainly right about the horny doctors. Apparently hotel workers were a favorite target. Maybe it was just blondes. Or maybe Ellie was again right and she was simply a female between the age of 18 and 90. Whichever, she had already been hit on twice in the last ten minutes.

Suddenly she saw Berkshire talking to a man. The blue suit was classic agent mission uniform. This could be the break that they needed. So she spoke into her watch. "Ellie," she said. "Abort your contact. I think that I have another plan. Meet me in the room in five."

If Ellie was at all nervous, she sure didn't show it. "Okay," she said calmly. "See you in a few."

Sarah waited until what was clearly an agent finished talking and followed him into the hallway. Ellie was certainly right about the flirting. Not that Sarah needed the lesson. But once they were alone a single smile stopped him in his tracks, just like it would most men. She knew that she could play the 'poor working girl trying to snag a rich doctor' role and have him in her room in a few scant minutes. Unfortunately for the agent in question, Sarah wasn't in a flirting mood today. And it was definitely something that she didn't want to have to explain to Chuck anyway. That happened far too often as it was. So she went with Plan B. She stuck her gun into his side. "Do you like that kidney?" she growled.

"If you want to keep it, I'd suggest that you come with me."

x-x-x-x-x

When Ellie got to the room, Sarah was waiting for her in the hall.

"Ellie," she said. "You want me to treat you like a partner? Fine. I'm going to treat you like a partner. Here's the deal. I'm going to do whatever it takes to find Chuck in the shortest amount of time with absolutely nothing off the table. The guy in that room knows where he is. That means I'm going to have to get creative in making him talk. The thing is, I'm very good at this. My nickname used to be 'The Enforcer'. If watching The Enforcer in action is going to make you at all squeamish, it's probably better if you wait out here."

If Sarah expected any reaction from Ellie, it certainly wasn't the grin that was all over her face. "Sex?" she asked in anticipation.

In spite of the incredibly tense situation, Sarah couldn't keep in the laugh. It came out pretty wet. Her new partner was clearly taking her job as the calming influence seriously. "Would you please stop with the sex stuff?" she asked in faux annoyance. "Spies actually have other weapons besides sex."

"So," Ellie said skeptically as soon as she could stop laughing. "You're telling me that spies don't ever use sex?"

"I'm not saying that," Sarah said playfully. "Of course spies are taught to use sex. In fact some use it far too often. For me, it always would have been a last resort. And that was before being with Chuck took it totally off the table. I'm just saying that we have other skills as well. I seriously think that you've watched one too many James Bond movies. You're starting to sound just like Carina. I'm so worried about you."

"You owe me some stories," Ellie said. "And don't forget, best friend rules most definitely apply to this discussion. I'll need every lurid detail. But that can wait for a calmer time. So what are you going to do to his guy? Beat him up? Break his fingers?"

"Maybe," Sarah said thoughtfully. "If he makes me. I'll be more likely to cut a few of them off. I'm going to play that one by ear."

"You know, there might be another way," Ellie said. "I'm guessing that spies are trained to hold out against torture for as long as possible. So it's going to take some time to actually inflict enough pain to get him to talk. What if we scared him? That might be faster."

"Spies don't scare easily," Sarah said. "Whatever we do has to be credible."

"Don't worry," Ellie said. "I know just what to do. I've treated enough patients to know what really scares a man. Let me be the good cop for a while. It might work."

"It might," Sarah reluctantly agreed. "I'll give you a few minutes. But then we do things my way, agreed?"

"They have my brother," Ellie said sadly. "Agreed."

x-x-x-x-x

"You're bluffing," the agent said smugly. He was cuffed to a plain chair in the middle of the room. "You're not going to cut off any fingers. It would be against the rules. We both know it."

Ellie stepped between the agent and Sarah. "You're actually right," she said with a smile. "My partner here was just kidding about the fingers. That's messy and never really all that effective. It's simply not her style. But you're totally wrong about the reason."

Ellie paused a moment to judge his reaction. "The man that we're looking for," she continued. "He is her fiancé. He's my brother. So if you think that anything as minor as some silly interrogation rules are going to stop her… well, that would a serious miscalculation on your part."

Ellie turned to Sarah. "Please don't do this," she pleaded. "At least give him a chance. A big, strong, good looking man like this. It would be such a shame."

Sarah wasn't sure where Ellie was going, so she played it straight. "I guess that's up to him," she said.

The agent finally spoke. "What's up to me?" he asked.

Ellie sighed. "Do you know what a eunuch is?"

The agent simply shook his head.

"I didn't think so. In the middle ages, they used them to guard the king's harem," Ellie explained in her best Professor Woodcomb voice. "You see, Bub, men without testicles can't be seduced. It's kinda physically impossible."

"You're bluffing," he said quickly.

"Look at her face," Ellie said sadly. "Tell me that you seriously think that she's bluffing."

The agent glanced over to Sarah who suddenly had one of her knives in her hand and was brandishing it menacingly.

"This is totally your call," Ellie said. "But please tell her something. I hate seeing this happen, especially to someone with so much to look forward to. It's not so much the pain. I mean she always makes sure that it's excruciating. That's sort of the point she's trying to make, right? But that's not the worst part. Unlike a finger, testicles can't be sewn back on. Imagine a lifetime of never having sex again. Most men don't want to continue living after that."

After a long, uncomfortable moment, Ellie turned to Sarah. "I tried my best," she said. "I guess that you were right. He's all yours. At least sterilize the knife before you cut him. That last guy got an infection. Not that it mattered all that much. He quickly lost his will to live anyway. I'll help you take his pants off."

"Okay," the agent finally blurted out. "You win. Please don't cut anything. I'll tell you what you want to know. There's nothing that you'll be able to do about it anyway."

Normally Sarah would have found some amusement in the way Ellie was clearly gloating. Not this time. In fact her face turned noticeably white as she listened to his tale of using the Intersect to take away the last ten years of Chuck's memories. "Oh my God," she finally whispered. "Ellie, he's never met me. He thinks that he's still with Jill. This is the worst thing that could have possibly happened. She'll be able to talk him into anything. Loyalty is his strongest attribute."

Sarah's eyes darted around the room in panic. "He'll still know you," she said. "Maybe you can explain things to him. Please, Ellie. Talk to him for me. At least give me a chance. Morgan… Morgan can help. He'll believe Morgan. Maybe…"

Ellie's heart broke as she watched the panic consume her. "Sarah," she interrupted firmly. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?"

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as they were in the hall, Ellie grabbed her hand. "There is no reason to panic," she said.

"No reason?" Sarah asked incredulously. "No reason? Chuck thinks he is with Jill Roberts. Who knows what she is doing to him right now? They are probably in bed. That means she now has control of an Intersect 2.0."

"No she doesn't," Ellie said softly. Responding to Sarah's confused look, Ellie continued. "What you're talking about would have been very possible a year ago," she said. "Dad and I identified the design flaw some time ago. I fixed it at the same time I eliminated the need for a governor. Even the CIA doesn't know this. There is no way they could have taken away his memories. That code is no longer inside of him. I'm absolutely positive of that."

Sarah was still confused. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would he…"

They both came to the same conclusion at the very same time.

"He's playing her," Sarah finally said. She slumped against the wall as she just allowed the relief to wash over her. "He's playing her."

"Don't worry," Ellie said. "When we find him, I'm kicking his ass. Why would he intentionally put us through that?"

Suddenly before Sarah could answer, her phone rang.

"That was Beckman," Sarah said as soon as the call ended. "She has very good news. Casey has escaped. He is on his way here to meet us. She verified what we just guessed. Chuck is just pretending to go along. Beckman says that Casey has a note from Chuck for me. We now have a new mission."

Ellie was still incensed. "I am so kicking his ass," she growled.

"No, Ellie," Sarah said with a huge grin. "Think about it. Chuck is a spy. He's doing the right thing. He's playing them to find out what their true objective is. He's doing this to protect us. The honest truth is that I've never been so proud of anybody in my whole life. I can't wait to be able to tell him." Now it was Sarah's grin that turned evil. "I might actually even use some of that sex stuff that you're trying to teach me about."

Ellie looked at her friend about ready to bounce off the ceiling. "You really are pathetic," she said in faux disgust. "I've never seen anybody so lovesick."

"I know," Sarah sighed. "Isn't it great?"

"It's more than great," Ellie agreed with her grin fully back in force. "But I'm still going to kick his ass. When Casey gets here, let me handle him. This spy stuff isn't nearly as hard as I once feared."

Sarah was now absolutely giddy as she allowed the relief to continue to consume her. "You're really growing as a spy," she said mockingly. "I'll give you that. At least you finally took sex off the table. I assume anyway, right?"

"Or should I warn Casey?"

x-x-x-x-x