Thanks everyone for the great feedback. This is my first Chuck fanfic, so feedback is greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Discailmer: I own nothing!
"It's Hard to Say Goodbye"
Chapter 2
Sarah and Casey read through Casey's latest research while they awaited Dr. Haz's arrival. Chuck sat off to the corner lost in his thoughts. When she thought Casey wasn't looking Sarah would steal glances of Chuck and wonder what was going through his head. She knew he was nervous about his meeting with Dr. Haz, but she couldn't help but feel there was something more that was weighing heavily on his mind.
Casey's phone rang, bringing Sarah back to reality. "Yeah?' he answered. He was always so cordial. "Okay, I'll meet you out front." Casey hung up. "Looks like our guy is here. Two of Beckman's men are escorting him in. His ETA is five minutes. I'm gonna meet him outside. Keep an eye on the surveillance. If something seems off, get Bartowski out of here."
"Got it." Sarah moved to the monitors and typed in some codes causing the screens to zoom in. She watched Casey on the monitor as he stood outside of the Orange Orange. Chuck joined her in watching as a black Escalade pulled up and three men jumped out. Casey greeted them and engaged in conversation before allowing them to enter castle.
"You think these guys are legit?" Chuck asked, pulling Sarah's attention away from the monitor in front of her.
"Huh?….Yeah…. I mean I hope so." Sarah could sense Chuck's nerves kicking in. "You're worried?" it was really more of a statement than a question.
"I can't help but think we're inviting danger in Sarah." Chuck looked at her with pleading eyes.
"We have back up in place should anything go wrong. But it won't Chuck, not this time. We're prepared for anything."
Her attention turned back to the monitors. She watched as Casey usher the men inside. Sarah brought Chuck to the Castle's small bunker in the back that housed two cots, an exam table and an assortment of medical supplies.
"Wait here, I'll go get Dr. Haz." Sarah turned for the door, but Chuck stopped her.
"Sarah?"
"Yeah Chuck?"
"Wish me luck?"
Sarah smiled at the man before her. She leaned in and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Good luck." She said before making her exit.
Chuck paced the room as he waited for Sarah to return with the doctor. He looked up at the monitor and saw her greet the doctor out in the corridor. Sarah, Casey and the doctor seemed to be deep in conversation for what seemed like forever. Chuck turned away from the monitors. It was giving him headache. He was deep in thought once again when he heard the bunker door open. In walked Dr. Haz followed closely by Sarah. Chuck turned to the monitors and saw Casey sitting down with Beckman's men about to engage in what looked like a game of Poker. Great Chuck thought. Here I am about to get my brain examined and my handler is playing games.
"Ah you must be Agent Carmichael? I'm Dr. Haz." the doctor said extending his hand to Chuck.
"Doctor." Chuck said extending his own hand.
"I understand you suffered some head trauma last night?"
"It was nothing, I think everyone is overreacting a little." Chuck replied. Sarah shot daggers at him.
"Well apparently it was serious enough that General Beckman wanted me to get out here right a way to check you out, so why don't you let me be the judge of that. Shall we?" The doctor motioned for Chuck to take a seat on the exam table.
Chuck sat down hesitantly. The doctor began his exam with some basic questions. Chuck's answers mirrored those that Sarah had rehearsed with him for the past two hours. The same answers she had given the doctor when she met with him in the corridor. The doctor proceeded to do some vision tests using different lights. He then hooked up some monitors to Chuck's head to get a read on recent brain wave activity. Chuck's brain wave activity was off the charts. "Interesting." the doctor stated as he wrote down some notes.
"What is it doctor?" Sarah questioned, concern in her voice.
"Agent Carmichael seems to have had …how do I explain this….a major boost in brain wave activity within the past 24 hours. Now what caused that I can't say. If it caused him any permanent damage I can't determine yet, I'll need to do some more tests."
"What kind of tests?" Sarah prodded.
"Well Agent Walker, the best way for me to determine the brunt of the damage, if any, would be to insert these." the doctor pulled two thin wire like devices from his bag. "What I do is I insert these through the skull and directly in the nerves. The other ends will be hooked up to this monitor. I will then adjust the pressure waves accordingly and it will help determine the effect if any, the head trauma may have caused Agent Carmichael." Chuck's mouth dropped.
"Doctor, is that really necessary? I mean, can't we just monitor him and watch for any further symptoms of head trauma?" Sarah questioned.
"Sure, you could do that. But lots of times with head trauma, when you start to see these symptoms it's already too late to do anything. It's up to you Agent Carmichael how you want to proceed."
Chuck couldn't make eye contact with Sarah at that very moment. He knew what she was going to say. "Will it be painful doctor?" was all Chuck could say.
"Yes it will be , but it won't last for long." the doctor replied.
"Okay, lets get this over with." Chuck conceded.
"Lay back and we'll get started." Dr. Haz instructed as he went about gathering his instruments.
Sarah rushed to Chuck's side. "Chuck, you don't have to do this."
"Sarah it'll be fine, like the doctor said, you have to be careful with head traumas, it could be too late when symptoms finally show up. I have to trust Beckman here." Sarah just nodded, she knew she wasn't going to talk him out it. "Sarah?"
"Yeah?"
"Hold my hand?" He reached for her hand and without hesitation she accepted his into her own and moved closer to him.
"Okay Agent Carmichael, I need you to remain completely still while I insert the wires. I'm going to apply some restraints to prevent any movement." the doctor went to work restraining Chuck. His body was tied down to the table tightly. Chuck gave Sarah's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Okay agent Carmichael, remain very still I'm about to start." the doctor moved in closely to insert the wires. Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand tighter and tighter as the wires were inserted. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, the tears welled in Sarah's eyes. She couldn't bear seeing Chuck in such pain. Once the wires were inserted, Chuck's grasp on Sarah eased up.
"Okay Agent Carmichael, I'm going to start the pressure waves, you may feel nothing, you may feel some pain. I'll be tracking the results on the monitor." the doctor moved closer to the monitor to start the tests. Sarah took the opportunity to move closer to Chuck, she wanted him to know that she was with him every step of the way.
The doctor began sending the pressure waves. Chuck laid silently, there seemed to be no effect on him. A few minutes later the doctor increased the intensity of the pressure waves. He continued to do this every few minutes. It wasn't until nearly twenty minutes into the procedure that Chuck started to appear uncomfortable. Sarah whispered soothing words in his ear as the doctor documented his findings. Dr. Haz continued to increase the pressure waves. Chuck was growing more and more uneasy, he groaned a few times through gritted teeth. Sarah could swear she saw a tear roll down his cheek, or was it that her vision was clouded from her own tears that were falling.
"I think we should stop!" she pleaded with the doctor. "He's had enough.
"Agent Walker the test isn't complete yet, I assure you he is fine." The doctor replied before increasing the intensity of the waves once again. The doctor went about recording his finding as the test continued. Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand as tight as he could he was obviously in a lot of pain. She leaned in an placed a kiss on his cheek in an attempt to try to take his mind off some of the pain he was feeling it that was at all possible. Again the doctor increased the intensity of the waves again. Chuck Groaned loudly in pain. His body convulsed under the tight restraints. Sarah gasped when she saw the blood dripping from his ears.
"Stop!!….Stop the test now, that's an order!" Sarah exclaimed jumping to her feet. The doctor turned off the machine and immediately turned his attention to his patient. Chuck's body went limp and he seemed to release a sigh of relief that the torture had stopped. "Just remain still Agent Carmichael. I need to remove the wires and give you a thorough exam."
The doctor went to work removing the wires from Chuck's head. He examined Chuck and found him to be perfectly fine. The bleeding from Chuck's ears had stopped and he appeared to be resting comfortably. "Agent Carmichael, I'm going to remove the restraints but want you to remain lying still. Do you understand?"
"Yes Doctor." Chuck replied weakly.
After the restraints were removed the doctor moved to the far end of the bunker where he could sit and go over his findings. Sarah moved in close to Chuck once again, She ran her hand though his hair, causing his eyes to dart open looking for her.
"Sarah." Her name came out soft, almost as a whisper.
"I'm right here. Are you okay?" she asked.
"I think so. That was really stupid,….maybe I shouldn't have let him do that." Chuck smiled that goofy smile of his. Sarah didn't laugh.
'It's not funny Chuck."
"I know. I'm sorry….Thank you for staying with me."
"There's no place else I would have been." She leaned in and brushed her lips gently against his.
The doctor approached them. "How are you feeling Agent Carmichael?"
"Better." Chuck replied.
"Do you want to sit up?" The doctor extended his hand to Chuck in an effort to assist him. Sarah grabbed Chuck's other arm and slowly the two of them brought Chuck to a sitting position. "Easy now, nice and slow." Dr. Haz instructed.
"Here, take these." the doctor handed Chuck a couple of pills for pain. Sarah grabbed a small paper cup by the sink and filled it with some water for chuck.
Chuck took the pills from the doctor, he tossed them in his mouth and chased them with the water that Sarah had waiting for him.
"Well agent Carmichael, I've been over the results numerous times and there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage at this time, however, I can't say for certain that there won't be any in the future. I'm still confused as to what could have caused this increase in brain wave activity that you exhibited, but overall, I would have to say you are in perfect health."
"Oh thank God." escaped Sarah's lips. Apparently louder than she had expected because both Chuck and the Doctor turned their attention to her.
Chuck smiled as her cheeks turned a nice shade of red from embarrassment.
"So now what doctor?" Chuck asked inquisitively.
"Well, I'm going to go over the results with General Beckman and I imagine be on my way. It was nice meeting you Agent Carmichael." He extended his hand to Chuck once again. Chuck shook his hand.
"You to doctor, perhaps next time we can do without the torture."
The doctor laughed. "Agreed, Agent Carmichael." and with that the doctor left to go give his report to Beckman.
Once the doctor was out of the room Chuck turned his attention to Sarah. "Hey, come here." he said as he stretched out his hands to her. She accepted them and he pulled her close. She now stood directly in front of him their hands clasped tightly.
" Are you sure you feel okay? Can I get you anything?" she asked.
"I'm fine Sarah, really. …There is something you could do for me though."
"Anything." she replied.
"Well, I was just thinking that maybe we could pick up where we left off with that kiss." Chuck flashed her a flirtatious smile.
Sarah smiled back. "Well, I guess if it will make you feel better." she replied bashfully. He made her feel things she never felt before and she loved every minute of it.
"Oh I think it will." he said seductively as he leaned in for a kiss. She met him half way and their lips danced briefly. It was soft, sensual, sweet and pure. As their lips parted, Chuck pulled her body closer. He wasn't ready to end contact with her just yet. Their foreheads rested against one another. "Sarah….I.." the door the bunker flew open.
"Agent Carmichael, Agent Walker, sorry for the interruption." Doctor Haz apologized. Sarah quickly pulled away from Chuck, he immediately felt the impact of her distance. Chuck's attention turned to the doctor.
"Doctor did you forget something?" Chuck asked.
"No Agent Carmichael. It's just. General Beckman would like to speak with you privately before your debriefing with your team. She asked me to have you turn on your monitor." Chuck looked at Sarah who seemed surprised by Beckman's request. "Thank you doctor." Chuck replied as he reached for the remote to the monitor that hung on the wall.
"Ill see the doctor out. Casey and I will wait for you for our debriefing." Sarah said as she ushered the doctor out of the door. Chuck nodded as he watched them leave. He turned his attention back to the monitor and hit the switch on the remote.