Well I finally finished chapter 7,I hope everyone enjoys it. I didn't get very much feedback with the last chapter, so I wasn't sure if maybe people were losing interest in the story. If that's the case perhaps I will discontinue the story. Let me know if there is still interest. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7

Sarah stared at the computer screen before her. Her eyes glazed over. She glanced up at the clock on the wall to see that is was well after 4:00am. She had been at this all night long. She took one last look at the computer screen. 'Search results: No matches found' it read. Releasing a heavy sigh, she closed down her laptop and stood up to stretch. Her eyes burned, her vision was blurred and she was utterly exhausted. She flipped off the light switch and hopped into her bed. She had a briefing with her recruits at 0900 and she was hoping to get at least a couple of hours of sleep in.

Sarah couldn't remember the last time she actually got more than an hour or two of sleep at one time. Actually that's not true, she knew exactly when it was. It was nearly three weeks ago. She woke up on the beach in the arms of one Chuck Bartowski. How she longed for those arms now. She would give anything to just catch a glimpse of the man or to just talk to him on the phone even if it was for a minute, just to know he was okay. She worried about him. General Beckman had assured her that Chuck was safe where he was, in fact she said it was probably the safest place for him after Sarah and Casey found the bugs planted at the castle.

For the past three weeks Sarah, Casey and the new recruits have been searching everywhere for Dr. Haz and his men, but despite every lead they got, they came up empty handed.

Casey was however, able to track down Agent Thompson, the second agent that had accompanied Dr. Haz on his visit to see Chuck at the castle three weeks ago. Casey brought him in for questioning and some minor torture, but he wasn't talking. Two of the new recruits were instructed to bring him to a top secret facility where he would undergo further questioning and if necessary, more torture until he talks. Sarah didn't have any doubts in her mind that he would talk eventually, everyone talked. The only question was when. Hopefully that time would come soon, before anyone had a chance to get to Chuck.

Sarah closed her eyes as thoughts of Chuck entered her head once again. She could see his face clear as day, that goofy grin of his smiling at her. How she missed him. How she needed him.

Chuck lay in his bunker staring up at the ceiling. He glanced at the clock resting on his night stand. Only half an hour until he commenced another day of intense training. At least he seemed to be becoming immune to the pain. The first week or so, he seemed to be in constant pain as he struggled through full days of intense workouts, sparring sessions, exams, and torture to just name a few. Chuck turned his attention back to his nightstand, the shiny object caught his eye and he reached for it, taking it into his hands. He ran his fingers over it's smooth surface all the while holding on to it for dear life. He thought back to the day he had given it to her. "It's good luck." he told her as he placed the charm bracelet around her slender wrist, caressing her smooth skin in the process. Chuck smiled when he thought back to his arrival at the training facility and how surprised he was when Beckman's men had found the piece of jewelry in his pocket during their search. No doubt a message from Sarah. It was her lucky charm and she wanted to share that luck with him. Much to his surprise, Beckman had allowed him to keep it along with the picture frame that also resided on his night stand. It was one of the only things he had in the small bunker, aside from a few clothing items and his clock. A large monitor hung from the wall, allowing for direct communication with the General and a security camera near the ceiling that recorded his every move.

Chuck brought the good luck charm to his lips and kissed it before dangling it off the top corner of the picture frame on his night stand, taking a moment to stare at Sarah's smiling face in the picture. It was even a real picture, not like the last picture he had of them. The one the CIA had printed up. There were genuine smiles on their faces. Sarah leaned into him, his arm draped around her pulling her in closer. They looked like a truly happy couple. A nice, normal, happy couple. Everything Chuck had always wanted was starting back at him in that photo. But it was more than a photo to him. It was a promise. A promise of a life waiting for him when he returned home. And for Chuck that day couldn't come soon enough.

Chuck glanced at his clock. It was nearly time for his wake-up call. Deciding he would beat them to the punch, Chuck sat up and flung his legs over the side of the bed, bringing his feet to rest securely in the floor. Chuck yawned as he stretched his arms high above his head and then behind his back. Just as he was about to stand up a sharp pain in his head caused him to fall back to the bed. He grabbed his head with both hands as he writhed in pain. He screamed out in agony as the pressure in his head continued to build. It was only seconds before Chuck was joined in his room by physicians and a whole crew of medical personnel who quickly went to work on him. Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck could make out one of the doctors pulling out a syringe. He felt a small jab in his arm. His vision blurred, he felt a small sense of relief from the pain and then...nothing.

"He's still not talking lieutenant. Perhaps we should just take him out, dispose of the body, he's no use to us and he's a waste of our time." Agent Steven's reported.

Sarah watched him intently on the monitor, she tried her best to look past him. She could see Agent Thompson tied securely to a chair. The man was beaten badly, blood poured from his lip, he was badly bruised and his breathing was labored.

"You'll do no such thing Stevens, I want answers from him, Keep him alive." she replied coldly.

"But lieutenant..."

"I said keep him alive and that is an order." on that note, Sarah ended the conference, switching the screen off. She had no desire to look at Agent Thompson in his current state. She knew far too well what it was like to be tortured like that and knowing that she had a hand in it was too much for her. What happened to the Sarah Walker who didn't feel things? The robot who could turn her emotions on and off as needed. Who was she kidding, she knew what happened to that girl. Chuck Bartowski happened.

"Any news?" Casey asked as he entered castle.

"What?…Oh….no..nothing yet." Sarah replied. "Thompson isn't talking."

"Perhaps he needs some more persuasion. I can pay him a visit if you want." Casey offered.

"Stevens is on it. We should be fine if he follows his orders. Thompson has to be close to cracking."

"What if he's not involved? It is a possibility you know."

"I know. I thought about that, but we can't risk it. If he knows something about Haz, or where we can find him…he's the only lead we have right now….we need him."

Casey grunted in agreement. Sarah was right. Three weeks of searching and Thompson was their only lead. Just as Casey was about to speak, the monitor came on and the two were greeted by General Beckman.

"Colonel Casey, Lieutenant Walker."

Sarah was still trying to get used to her new title. She found it awkward and empowering all at the same time.

"General. Do you have an update for us?" Sarah asked, turning her attention to the monitor.

" I should be asking you that Walker." Beckman replied.

"Well General, there have been no changes. Agent Stevens is still interrogating Agent Thompson. He has been unsuccessful thus far. Thompson isn't talking, but I am quite confident that it won't be much longer."

"I hope you're right Walker, It is imperative that we find Haz, the quicker the better." Beckman replied.

"General, is something wrong? Did something happen?" Sarah asked taking a step closer to the screen. She didn't like the way Beckman was acting and she had a feeling that there was something that she wasn't telling them.

"Is there a problem with the intersect?" Casey joined in in the questioning.

"General, is Chuck okay?" Sarah piped in again, when Beckman failed to answer right away.

"As of right now yes, he appears to be fine, but there has been some…developments, or should I say…complications."

"General, what do you mean complications?" Sarah was getting worried.

"Lieutenant, Agent Carmichael has been exhibiting certain….episodes." Beckman began.

"What do you mean episodes?" Casey piped in.

"What I mean is that Chuck is fine one minute and the next he's grabbing his head and falling to the floor in pain."

Sarah's mouth fell, she couldn't find any words. At that moment, all she could think about was Chuck in pain, and to make matters worse, he was alone.

"Well do you think that the intersect is corrupt or something, that's it's malfunctioning?" Casey asked, when Sarah failed to.

"No, I don't Colonel. I think that Dr. Haz did something to Chuck during his exam. What that is exactly I don't know. For the most part, Chuck has been doing well. He has only had a couple of these episodes, but every time he has one, it seems to intensify, lasting longer and appearing to be more painful than the last. Chuck has been examined by my team of medical personnel here on site and they have been unable to determine the cause of these episodes as of yet, but they are working around the clock to come up with some answers."

"General, how do we know this team of yours can be trusted?" Sarah asked, obviously quite upset by this point.

"Walker!" Casey responded.

"What? I think that it's a valid concern. Look at what happened with Haz. And need I remind you what happened the first time she sent a doctor to examine Chuck?"

"Lieutenant Walker, I understand your concerns." The General responded firmly. " I assure you my team here is nothing but the best. I trust them completely and so does Chuck."

Sarah took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "I'm sorry General, I was out of line. I'm just frustrated and I honestly don't know who to trust anymore… General, can we talk to him?"

"I don't think that that's a good idea right now Lieutenant." Beckman replied.

"General, We have been searching for Haz for nearly three weeks now. Our only lead has been Agent Thompson and he's not talking. Perhaps if we were able to speak with the intersect, he could give us some insight, maybe flash on something that will lead us to Haz." Casey pleaded.

"Very well then. I will have him conferenced in in ten minutes, but keep it short. Chuck still has a lot of training to do, I don't like to interrupt his schedule, I want him to stay focused."

"Of course General." Casey barely got out before the screen went blank.

"Uuhhh…I can't believe this is happening." Sarah began pacing the floor.

"Relax Walker, you need to stay focused if we're going to help Chuck."

"I know…I just…I never should have let Chuck go through with Haz's exam."

"It wasn't your decision Sarah. Chuck's a big boy. If he wants to do something, he's going to do it, you should know that by now." Casey replied. "We'll fix this Walker, we always do."

"Yeah."

"Devon, can you grab that last bag from the car?" Ellie asked as she entered their apartment, lugging her large suitcase through the door.

"Sure thing babe." he replied, before running back out to the car, leaving her with a kiss on the cheek.

Ellie smiled and plopped her bags down on the floor. She was thrilled to finally be home despite the fact that she just had the most fabulous honeymoon, she was ready to get back to the real world. Ellie was just about to sit herself down on the coach when Devin entered with the last of their bags.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… What are you doing?" He asked, catching her off guard.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I'm going to sit down, I'm tired." She replied.

"Not so fast Mrs. Woodcomb, we have some unfinished business to take care of here." Devin beckoned for her with his finger to approach him as he waited in the doorway.

Ellie sighed and approached him slowly, not sure what he had planned now. "Okay, Mr. Woodcomb, what is this business we have to take care of?" She asked.

"This." he said as he scooped her up in his arms and proceeded to carry her over the threshold. Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in meeting his lips with her own. Moments later they parted lips. Both of them wearing grins from ear to ear.

"So just how tired are you Mrs. Woodcomb? " Devin asked with a suggestive look.

"Devin, just because we're home doesn't mean the honeymoon is over." Ellie replied playfully.

"Mmm my sentiments exactly." Devin casually kicked the door shut behind them and proceeded to carry his bride to the bedroom.

It was the longest ten minutes of Sarah Walker's life as she waited for Chuck to appear on the monitor. Her stomach felt as if it contained thousands of butterflies. She was actually nervous. The thought of seeing Chuck thrilled her and terrified her all at once. How would he look? Was he okay? Was he the same Chuck that left her three weeks ago?

Just when she thought she couldn't take another minute of the waiting, his face appeared before her.

"Chuck!" she exclaimed.

Casey left his computer and joined Sarah at the monitor.

"Sarah!…Casey." He replied. His gaze fixated on Sarah. Talk about a sight for sore eyes.

"Chuck are you okay?" Sarah asked moving in even closer to the monitor. How she longed to be close to him even if it was only on a television screen.

'Yeah….I'm fine." He replied, mesmerized by the vision of one Sarah Walker before him. Sarah couldn't help but notice how tired and run down Chuck looked. He had several visible bruises from what she could see and she was only seeing him from the shoulders up.

"Chuck what's going on?" Casey piped in, hoping to get some answers before the two love birds lost all focus. "Beckman said there has been some complications with the new intersect you uploaded. You're having some side effects?"

"I've been having some side effects, but I don't think it's from the intersect." Chuck replied, his focus remaining on the blonde standing before him.

"If it's not from the intersect, what do you think is causing it?" Sarah asked.

"I'm not sure." Chuck replied. "But I think that Dr. Haz did something to me."

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Sarah shook her head, obviously upset. "This is all my fault."

"How is this your fault Sarah? You were the one that told me not to go through with Haz's testing. I should've listened to you. I've no one to blame but myself."

"Chuck have you had any flashes or anything regarding Haz or the Ring? We have not been very successful in tracking down him or his associates. The only person we have been able to bring in is an Agent Thompson and he's not talking." Before Casey could finish what he was saying, Chuck's eyes rolled back into his head at the mention of Agent Thompson's name. A series of images flashed before him as he flashed on the agent. Seconds later Chuck snapped out of his trance. "No." he said shaking his head. "Thompson's not involved with the ring. He's just a rookie agent, hoping to move up in the agency. He's not rogue."

"Damn it. He was all we had." Sarah appeared visibly upset.

"What about the men I took out the night of the wedding? Has the CIA or NSA been able to get anything out of them?" Chuck asked hopeful.

"Nah… they're not talking either. They've been moved to a lockdown facility. Looks like we're back at square one here." Casey grunted his annoyed and aggravated grunt.

"Chuck, have you flashed on anything else since the upload?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing major." Chuck replied. "Except…well…"

"Well what?" Casey questioned.

"Since I've been here, I keep having this flash. It's just an address. I don't know what it means."

"What's the address Chuck." Sarah grabbed a pen and her notebook off the table, ready to jot it down.

"9117 East Ventura Ave. It's a Los Angeles address." Sarah quickly wrote it down.

"Anything else Chuck?" She asked him.

"No. That's all I got. I wish I could be more help."

"Chuck you have been a big help, this is the most we've had to go on, in two weeks now. Could be nothing, but it could be something. Casey run a search on this, see what you can find." Sarah ripped the sheet of paper from her notebook and handed it to Casey.

"Sure." Casey turned his attention back to the monitor before leaving the room. "Thanks Bartowski….Err Carmichael I guess is what we're calling you now." And with that Casey left and Sarah and Chuck found themselves alone with one another.

After watching Casey leave, she turned her attention back to him. "You look tired." she noted.

"So do you." He replied.

"Yeah well, I haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Me either." He responded with that goofy grin of his that always made Sarah smile, even now.

"How are you really?" She asked him.

"I told you, I'm good. Despite the fact that I'm exhausted all the time, sore as hell and miss you like crazy, I'm doing pretty good. How about you?"

"I'm fine Chuck, just a little sleep deprived these days. Did Beckman tell you she promoted me to lieutenant?"

"What? No she didn't….Lieutenant Walker huh? I like the sound of that." Sarah Smiled.

"So Agent Carmichael, did they give you any idea of when you may be finished with your training and heading home?"

"I have no idea Sarah, no one has said anything about it. I just hope its soon."

"Me too." she replied. "I miss you Chuck." tears began to well in her eyes, but she held them back tightly, refusing to let them fall in front of him.

"I miss you too Sarah…..I miss you too." How he longed to pull her into his arms right now. To hold her close, take in her scent, press his lips firmly against hers, gaze into those deep blue eyes and get lost in them.

Sarah's eyes continued to fill with tears despite her attempt to hold them back and she couldn't help but think this was getting old real quick. How could one person shed so many tears? She didn't want him to see her like this, she didn't want him to know.

"Sarah?…Are you…crying?" Chuck was a little surprised.

"No." Sarah turned to dab at her eyes.

"Are you sure? Cuz you kinda look like you are." he responded.

"Fine Chuck, I'm, crying! Are you happy now?"

"Sarah, why would I be happy that you're crying? I hate seeing you upset. I wish…I just wish I was there. I want to hold you so bad right now."

His words made Sarah smile, despite the fact that she was heartbroken.

"There's that smile." Chuck smiled back. "I don't have much time Sarah. Beckman set up this conference to last exactly 10 minutes. Once my time is up it will automatically disconnect."

"Chuck have you been able to get a read on anyone there? Do you think anyone you've come in contact with may be involved with Haz or the ring?"

"I don't know Sarah. I haven't flashed on anyone."

"Sarah, I think this is about to cut out, before it does, I just want to tell you, I love you, and I will do anything it takes for me to get home to you as soon as possible.

"Chuck, I wanted to tell you something. I should have said it before you left, I just…" The tears began to fall again.

"Sarah what it is?" Chuck pleaded. This was not like her. He had never seen her so emotional before and he really didn't know what to make of it.

"I wanted to tell you in person, I didn't want to say it like this."

"Sarah just say it."

"Chuck, I just…want you to know. Chuck, I Lo.."

Before she could get another workout the screen went blank and the connection was lost.

"Love you." she finished about 2 seconds too late. "Nice Sarah, someday he might know."

She closed her eyes as the tears continued to fall and collapsed in the nearby chair to compose herself.

She could just kick herself for not telling him when he was still there. Had she told him then, she wouldn't be in the boat she was in now. These people they were dealing with were dangerous, there was no telling what tomorrow would bring for them, if they would even have a tomorrow. If anything ever happened to him and she didn't have that chance to say those words to him. The words he so desperately wanted to hear. The words that were so difficult for her to say, she would never forgive herself.

Well there you have it, Chapter 7. Would love to hear what you thought. Please let me know you are still interested in me continuing the story. Thanks.