Okay, I realize it has been a long wait, but this is my longest chapter yet! 23 pages. I hope you are all still interested. Please let me know what you think. Your reviews and feedback are what keep me writing. Enjoy.
Chapter 13
Sarah and Dan moved Chuck to the bunker in the back of Castle where all the medical supplies were kept and laid him down on the exam table.
"Careful." Agent McKinley instructed as they eased him down. "He's been shot and he has several broken ribs from a previous attack."
"How did this Happen? Who are you?" Sarah questioned.
"I was escorting Agent Carmichael back from the CIA training facility in DC. We were attacked in the air. Chuck took a bullet. The plane had been sabotaged and was going to crash we had to jump…. you must be Sarah."
"Lieutenant Walker." She corrected him. "And you are?" It was obvious she had her guard up. Sarah turned her attention to Chuck and immediately went to work examining his wounds.
Casey stared at McKinley taking in his features, but it was his eyes that really seemed to call out to him.
"Sorry about that." He extended his hand to Sarah. "Agent Dan McKinley, CIA. I've been working closely with Chuck during his training the past few months." Casey gasped and Dan turned his attention to him. Casey appeared to be glaring at him now. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Dan said extending his hand to Casey.
Casey approached him, circling him as he stared him down. He looked as though he was about to pounce on him.
"I guess you don't recognize me.?" Casey shot back at him, causing Sarah to turn her attention away from Chuck and back to the other two men in the room. Casey looked angry, beyond angry.
"Casey, what is it?" Sarah stepped in.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Dan asked, obviously confused by Casey's behavior.
"I guess you don't recognize me. Course I can't say I blame you, it has been quite some time now. My name is Colonel John Casey with the NSA. YOUR SON!!!"
Sarah's mouth dropped as she watched the interaction between the two. McKinley looked at Casey in disbelief. He hadn't seen his son John in well over 20 years. In fact the last time he saw him, he was a young boy and Dan was being called away on a mission. A mission that would inevitably destroy his marriage and his family as he knew it.
"Johnny?" Dan's hand came up to cover his mouth and a tear began to form in the corner of his eye. "Is it really you?" Dan took a step towards Casey who backed away in response.
"Stop! Don't come any closer." Casey ordered, one hand resting on his gun, ready to remove it from its holster.
"John…" Dan tried to plead.
"You can call me Colonel." Casey responded.
"Look I know you're angry with me, it's been so long.."
"26 years 7months and 84 days to be exact, but who's keeping track."
"John please.."
"Colonel! You don't get to address me by my first name. You gave up that right a long time ago."
"Alright guys, that's enough." Sarah said stepping between the two. "Your reunion here is going to have to wait. We need to deal with Chuck right now. He needs a doctor."
McKinley turned his attention back to Chuck.
"I wanted to take him to a hospital, but he refused medical treatment, he was afraid the ring would find him. He said the only ones he could trust were his handlers back home. Chuck said to have you call his brother in-law. That he's a doctor."
"Great we'll handle things from here. You're dismissed Agent McKinley." Casey interjected.
"What?" Sarah asked in shock. "Casey?"
"You delivered our asset, I think maybe you should leave now." Casey glared at him.
"Casey! Enough! He's not leaving. We need information and he knows where our base is. He's not leaving. Go call Devon. Get him here." Sarah ordered her partner. "Now Casey!"
Casey left the room and Sarah immediately turned her attention back to Chuck.
"Are you with the ring?" She asked Dan as she worked on removing Chuck's sweatshirt, revealing the blood soaked bandages. Dan moved to assist her.
"No." he replied, not surprised by her question. "He's lost a lot of blood Lieutenant, He's going to need a transfusion. Not to mention he's incredibly dehydrated. All we've had in the past two days were a couple of bottled waters."
Sarah moved to a nearby cabinet and retrieved a bag of IV fluids and an IV kit.
"I haven't done one of these in years, I could use some help."
Sarah went to work looking for a vein in Chuck's arm. The CIA trained it's agents for medical emergencies. They were taught how to place an IV, dress wounds, control bleeding, set a broken bone. Sarah had even removed a bullet or two before, but that was different. It wasn't Chuck she was working on. fortunately for them Castle was well equipped with medical supplies and equipment that from the looks of it would be coming in quite handy right about now.
"This vein looks like it might be a good one." Dan pointed one out to Sarah who after a few minutes of poking around on Chuck's arm, stuck him with the needle. She hit the vein right away, but a few minutes later the vein collapsed. Due to Chuck's severe dehydration his veins continued to collapse every time Sarah got the needle adjusted. Sarah managed to finally get a vein that didn't collapse but it was a small one and she had her doubts as to how long it might actually hold up. Devon would have to put in a central line when he got there.
Chuck's skin was hot to the touch, he appeared extremely uncomfortable and weak. Sarah took his temperature with an ear thermometer. She gasped when she read 103.9. Sarah removed Chuck's pants and shoes, leaving him in only his boxers. She covered him up to his waist with a thin white sheet. She wet a wash cloth and immediately went to work trying to bring Chuck's temperature down. She wiped gently at his forehead, his cheeks, the back of his neck.
"Tell me what happened?" she asked McKinley who was cleaning an open cut on his own arm.
"Two of Beckman's agents boarded the plane just before we took off. This one guy, Hansen, he'd been working pretty close with Chuck since he came to us a few months ago. They didn't get along very well. They were always butting heads. He's the one responsible for all the broken ribs. He nearly beat Chuck to death earlier in the week during a torture interrogation session. I had to shut down the operation before he killed him.""How could Beckman let this go on?" Sarah was dumbfounded over what she was hearing.
"Chuck's training has been nothing but extraordinary to say the least. His skills are so advanced, his training was extensive. It was intense and grueling to put it mildly. That boy there has accomplished more in his training than most agents will ever see in their lifetime."
Sarah looked at Chuck as she continued to dab at his forehead. She stroked his cheek with her free hand and he seemed to settle down to her touch. She always knew that Chuck would accomplish great things, she just hoped it would be with her.
"So Hansen was with the ring?" She asked Dan.
"Looks like it." Dan replied. "Like I was saying, Hansen and this other agent, Miller I believe was the name, boarded just before take off. They said Beckman wanted them to assist with the transfer to ensure Chuck's safety. A few hours into the flight, Miller disappears into the cockpit, shortly after we hear a gunshot. I go to investigate and get knocked out. Hansen then goes after Chuck, and shoots Miller. When I came to, the plane was going down. We struggled, Chuck took a bullet and Hansen was knocked out. Chuck tried to gain control of the plane, but the controls were jammed, we had no other choice than to jump. After, we managed to make our way on foot to the highway and hitch hiked to a small town. Chuck was refusing medical treatment so I snuck into a hospital and got some medical supplies for his wounds. I stole a couple of cars and we made our way to Burbank. Chuck had me sneak into his apartment to get that arm contraption that he was fooling around with so he could shut down the security cameras from outside your base here. He doesn't know if Beckman can be trusted and didn't want to be spotted by the surveillance cameras."
"So the two bodies in the wreckage, they must have been Hansen and Miller. Beckman told us you two and the pilot were the only ones on the plane, either she was lying or she didn't know about Hansen and Miller boarding. Everyone thinks you and Chuck are dead."
Dan was surprised to hear this. "Then we can't let them know otherwise." He said taking a few steps towards Sarah.
"What?" She questioned.
"We have to stay dead. It might be the perfect way to draw out the ring. Their guard will be down."
"That might just work. If no one knows you two survived…" Sarah contemplated the idea and you could see the wheels turning in her head. She immediately went to work devising a new plan. "You must be incredibly hungry and thirsty. There's a small fridge in the next room there, go help yourself."
"Thank you Lieutenant, I think I might just do that." Dan hobbled out of the room, leaving Sarah alone with Chuck who she could now give her full attention to.
Sarah leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Please be okay." she whispered in his ear.
"Something is happening over there. My bugs from that yogurt shop are out." Haz roared into his phone.
"No it's not just a malfunction. Something or someone must have jammed the signals."
"I don't care what you're doing right now. Get over there and check things out. Let me know what you find." Haz hung up his phone abruptly before the person on the other end even had a chance to respond.
General Beckman was just about finished reading the last page of the latest report from one of her teams operating in Belize when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Frustrated she threw down the file.
"What is it?" She called out.
The agent opened the door and entered slowly.
"General, we have reason to believe the Burbank facility has been compromised." He informed her.
"Why do you say that?' She asked intrigued by his statement.
"Well General, our equipment indicated that surveillance there has been down for nearly 20 minutes now."
"It could just be a power outage." Beckman suggested. "Has anyone tried to communicate with the team?"
"No General, we thought we should consult with you first."
"Consult with me first? Until you have some news to share I don't want to see you. Go try to contact them. If you can't get through call one of the L.A field agents on Walker's team and get them over there to check things out."
"Yes General." the agent made his way to the door and didn't hesitate to make his exit as quickly as possible.
Chuck's eyes fluttered open and he became restless.
"Chuck? Chuck you're okay." Sarah tried her best to soothe him.
"I...can't..." He whimpered.
"Shhh...Relax Chuck...You need to stay calm, try not to move too much." Sarah instructed.
Chuck turned his attention to Sarah, his eyes met hers and he seemed to relax. Chuck's hand moved up to stroke Sarah's long blonde locks. "An angel....am...I...dead?" he managed to get out.
"Chuck! No, you're not dead. You're going to be just fine."
Chuck's hand moved down Sarah's hair and came in contact with her cheek.
"Beautiful...angel.." He said before falling unconscious again.
"Chuck." Sarah sighed. She moved over to the sink and wet the washcloth that was now completely dry. She quickly made her way back to her patient and continued her work on him.
"Casey I don't know why you couldn't just tell me over the phone what's going on. Is it Sarah. Is something wrong with...?" Devon stopped dead in his tracks as he and Casey entered the barracks. His mouth dropped when he saw an unconscious, bleeding Chuck laid out on the table with a tearful, completely drained Sarah attending to him.
"Devon...You have to help him." She pleaded. "Please."
Devon quickly went into doctor mode and made his way over to Chuck, Casey followed.
"Where's McKinley?" Casey asked.
"He's in the other room, getting something to eat." Sarah replied.
"You let him out of your sight? Are you crazy? We can't trust him!" Casey exclaimed.
"Casey, relax! It's fine he's on our side, we can trust him, besides we don't have a choice right now."
"Sarah what the hell happened?" Devin asked as he went to work examining his brother in law.
"Devon, he was shot a couple of days ago. He also has several broken ribs. He's severely dehydrated and running an incredibly high fever."
Devon's mouth dropped as he took in what Sarah was saying. "Guys! He has to go to the hospital! What the hell is he doing here?"
"Devon, he can't go to the hospital." Devon gave Sarah a questioning look so she felt she had to elaborate for him. "Look, he's in danger. There are some very, very bad people after him. Right now, they think he's dead. Chuck specifically asked for you to treat him. He can trust you...We can trust you."
"He needs surgery Sarah...he needs a blood transfusion, test need to be run...I...how can I do that here?"
"Devon, we can get you whatever you need. Please...just...hurry…Save him."
Chuck groaned in pain as Devon examined him further. His eyes shot open again.
"Chuck? Chuck it's Devon."
"Mmm…..mom…"
"Chuck, you've been shot." Devon tried to talk to him again.
"Mom…can I…go…to…" he started again.
"Chuck?"
"Morgan's house….after school….to…play….Zelda?"
"He's delirious." Devon replied." He has no idea where he is or what's happening.
Agent McKinley entered from the other room,, Sarah couldn't help but notice he seemed to have a little more color now that he had something to eat. Casey shot him a look.
"How's he doing lieutenant?" McKinley asked as he approached Chuck.
"Dan!" Chuck called out to him. His eyes opened once again.
Dan made his way over to Chuck. "I'm here Chuck."
"Dan!" Chuck reached out for him, grabbing hold how his shirt he pulled him closer. "Promise me…You'll find her..find Sarah…tell her…I…loved..her."
"Chuck, you can tell her yourself. Sarah's right here with you." Dan replied.
Sarah's eyes welled up with tears as she looked on.
"Don't tell Ellie….I lied…to her."
"Chuck you need to relax." Devon instructed. "Do you have any sedatives here?" He asked Sarah.
Sarah made her way to a nearby cupboard. She searched through the variety of medications housed in it. Grabbing three she made her way back over to Devon to show him her findings.
"Is this all you have?" he asked.
Sarah nodded in response.
Devon sighed. "I guess it'll have to do." Devon grabbed one of the vials from Sarah and a syringe. He immediately went to work administering the medication to Chuck, who after a few minutes seemed to relax.
"Sarah what about anesthesia? I don't suppose you have any of that here do you?"
"No. But we can get some."
"How long will it take?" He questioned.
"It would probably be a few hours."
"Sarah he doesn't have that long."
Sarah fought back the tears that were trying their hardest to escape her eyes.
"Uggghh…" Chuck stirred on the table.
"Chuck, it's okay, just relax."
Chuck opened his eyes. "D…Dev..on?"
"Yeah Chuck it's me. Do you remember what happened?" Devon asked. Sarah, Casey and McKinley looked on from a short distance.
"I…I…was shot."
"Yeah Chuck. The thing is you need surgery to have the bullet removed. The problem is I don't have access to any anesthesia. I really have to strongly suggest that it is time for you to go to a hospital."
Chuck shook his head as much as he could.
"No…Cant…no..hospital….Devon….take out…the..bullet." Chuck grabbed hold of Devon's arm. "Please." He pleaded with him.
"Chuck, You do not want surgery without anesthesia."
"Devon!…Please…just …help me."
"Chuck…are you sure?"
"Do it." Before Chuck could say any more he fell unconscious once again.
Devon turned to the three others in the room with him.
"If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need some help."
Sarah stepped up. "Devon, you're not actually going to do this? Without anesthesia? He'll feel everything!"
"Sarah, I don't have a choice. Besides it's what Chuck wants. Without the surgery he's going to die. Look, don't worry, I'll give him plenty of sedatives and painkillers to prevent him from feeling too much. He needs this Sarah. I promise you, if there was any other way to do this I would."
After much hesitation, Sarah finally nodded in agreement and Devon quickly went to work gathering supplies.
Sarah, Casey and McKinley worked diligently on gathering supplies and turning the small barracks into an operating room, while Devon set Chuck up with a blood transfusion. Fortunately for them, castle was equipped with several units of type O blood should the need for it occur.
"I can't believe we're doing this." Sarah said as she finished sterilizing the tools Devon was going to be using to the extract the bullet from Chuck's abdomen.
"It'll be fine Walker, Devon knows what he's doing." Casey replied in hushed tones.
"It's not that. I know he's a good doctor, it's just, it doesn't seem right, it's…it's almost…inhumane."
"He's tough Sarah, He's going to get through this just fine."
"Alright Guys, looks like we're ready here. I'm going to need an assistant. Sarah, I don't think it should be you. I just think it'll be really hard for you."
Sarah nodded in agreement.
"I'll assist. I worked five years as a medic in the army." Dan piped in.
Devon nodded in agreement. "I can work with that. Any objections?" Devon directed the question to Sarah and Casey. Both of them shook their heads.
"Alright then, I'm going to have you two step out," Devon said to Casey and Sarah "and then we'll get started."
Casey made his way to the door. He stopped and waited for Sarah to join him. Sarah stopped next to Chuck on her way out. She lovingly stroked his cheek and tousled a few of his unruly curls to the side. Bending down she placed a lingering kiss on his lips. "forgive me." she whispered before joining Casey at the door. She looked back at him one last time before making her exit.
"So what are we going to do about security?" Casey asked once Sarah Joined him in the hallway. "Our surveillance has been down for nearly 40 minutes now. Someone is bound to take notice sooner or later." The two made their way out into the main corridor.
"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. We can't put it back up until Chuck is out of here and who knows how long that will be. I guess we can blame it on a power outage, but until our full surveillance is up and running again, we're going to need to at least turn on our outside security so we can keep track of any movement around the perimeter."
"I'll get on it."
"Thanks Casey."
Sarah sat down in one of the chairs that circled the conference table while Casey went to work on the computer. Sarah leaned back in the chair, just as she was about to try to relax, She jumped when she heard Chuck's screams come from the other room. She and Casey looked at each other and then turned their attention back to the muffled screams coming from the back barracks. The screams continued to come sporadically over the next fifteen minutes and this time Sarah couldn't hold back the tears. Casey tried his best to focus on his task at hand in hopes of drowning out the screams that echoed through castle. His main objective right now was to get their outside security cameras back up and running.
"There. We're up and running again." Casey stood up to stretch. Sarah turned her attention to the monitors following Casey's announcement.
"And it looks like we got some company." Casey said motioning to the monitor on the wall. They watched as agent Steven's made his way inside the orange orange and proceeded to the freezer.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Sarah questioned.
"I don't know but he can't know about our guests in the back."
"Don't worry I'll get rid of him." Sarah no sooner got the words out and Agent Steven's entered Castle joining Casey and Sarah in the main corridor.
"Stevens, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked as he made he descended the stairs.
"It's nice to see you too lieutenant. Your security's down, I came to check things out. Make sure castle hasn't been compromised again." He said as he approached.
"Well as you can see Stevens we are perfectly fine. Just a minor power outage. Full surveillance should be up and running again within the hour."
"Well I can help do a sweep of castle or maybe I can help you get things up and running, I used to be pretty good with that sort of thing." He offered.
"That won't be necessary Stevens, we're all set here, but thanks for dropping by, you're dismissed." Sarah's tone was cold and unfeeling.
"Walker, I'm going to go check the back perimeter." Casey announced.
Sarah nodded and the two of them shared a knowing look.
Sarah turned to her computer screen her back facing Stevens, she pretended to work as she waited for him to make his exit.
"Are you sure I can't do anything here lieutenant?" He moved towards her slowly. Sarah stood from her chair to adjust the controls on the monitor above her head.
"Here, let me help you with that." Stevens reached up to adjust the controls. Placing his hand on top of hers, he let it linger there, then proceeded to caress his way down her arm he moved in closer to her so that her back was pressed against his chest. His hand made it's way slowly down her side. Sarah cringed under his touch.
"Lieutenant, I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I know I was out of line. I just…you get to me you know."
Stevens' hand slowly approached Sarah's thigh as he brought his other hand around her waist.
"Sarah, It's quite obvious to me how unhappy you've been these past few months. You're stressed out…tense. " He spoke seductively into her ear, his hot breath gave her goose bumps and not in a good way. "I think I can maybe… ease some of that tension for you." He rubbed his hand vigorously up and down her thigh making his way towards the inner part of her leg.
"Oh you do, do you?" she replied.
"Absolutely." He replied before he began placing kisses down her neck.
Sarah couldn't believe his gall. Without a second thought and before he knew what hit him, Sarah grabbed him by the wrist and in no time had him down on his knees, his arm twisted behind his back as he yelped in pain. "Oww Oww Oww."
"Stevens if you ever, ever lay a finger on me… if you ever so much as look at me in a way I don't like, I will end your life. Do I make myself clear?" She yanked harder on his arm to let him know she meant business.
"Oww Oww, yes, yes."
"Get out of here Stevens before I change my mind and end it right now." Sarah released his arm and he fell forward to the floor. Grabbing his arm he stood up and made his way for the door.
"Crazy bitch." She heard him mumble as he made his exit, just as Casey was reentering the room.
"What the hell was that about?" He asked her obviously confused by Stevens' behavior.
"Oh, I don't think Stevens will be bothering us for a while." She smirked. Sarah turned to give Casey her full attention. "Did you check on Chuck?"
"Yeah. Devon's just finishing up, said he should be out in fifteen minutes or so with an update."
"Casey, how did…how did he look?"
"He's a trooper Walker. The kid is tough."
Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah noticed some movement on the security camera and pointed it out to Casey. "Looks like we got another visitor." She said.
Casey looked up at the monitor to see Agent Erin Malloy enter the Orange Orange.
"Want me to cut her off before she gets down here?" Casey asked.
"It'd probably be a good idea." She replied.
Casey ascended the stair case, he punched in some numbers on the control panel to open the door. Sarah watched him leave and then turned her attention to the monitor and watched as he talked with Agent Malloy upstairs in the Orange Orange.
"Erin!..or…I mean…Agent Malloy….What are you doing here." Casey asked as he emerged from the freezer.
Erin smiled as soon as she saw him. Sarah watched the interaction between the two on the monitor. If she didn't know better she could have sworn she saw Casey grinning ear to ear as he engaged in what appeared to be playful banter with the female agent.
"Word is your security is down. Everything okay?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Yeah…yeah it's just a minor power outage. We have everything under control here."
Erin moved in closer to Casey "How are you John?" She asked placing her hand gently on his arm, causing a smile to form on Casey's face. It was short lived when Casey suddenly pulled his arm away, creating a sense of hurt and disappointment for Erin. Casey immediately felt bad being the cause of such feelings for her.
"What's the matter John?" She asked.
Casey glanced up at the surveillance camera up on the wall and then she understood.
"Are we being watched?" she asked.
"Most likely." he replied. "How about I walk you out to your car."
Erin turned toward the door and Casey guided her out to the parking lot. Reaching her car, she turned to face Casey.
"Sorry about that." he said. "Walker's inside, I just, I don't think it would be a good idea if she knew about us, at least not yet anyway…you understand?"
"It's fine John, I get it."
Casey reached out for her hands and took them into his."
"I'm sorry Erin." he moved in closer to her until her back was pressed up against the side of her car. Casey leaned in and placed a small kiss on her lips that left them both yearning for more. They no sooner parted lips and found themselves attached at the mouth once again. Casey moved in closer, pressing her body firmly against the car. His one hand clasped behind her neck as the other roamed freely over her cheek and through her hair. Eventually their need for air became too much and the two parted lips. Casey leaned his forehead against hers, their breath labored as they savored the sensation they were invoking in one another.
"John." her voice was raspy and she clung to him not wanting to let go. "Can you leave?" she asked, almost pleaded with him.
"I can't." the disappointment resonated in his voice. "It's probably going to be an all nighter for me."
"I want to be with you John."
"Soon Erin…I…think there may be a break in the case soon…I can feel it….and then, I'll take some time off. Maybe even a vacation, clear my head, we can get outta here for a while, just the two of us."
"Well it sounds wonderful." she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled into his arms.
"It will be. Do you know how long it's been since I've had a vacation?"
'Years I would imagine."
Casey grunted. "That's putting it mildly….Look I probably need to get back in there. Walker will be wondering what happened to me."
Erin nodded, she knew he was right. "Will I see you tomorrow?" She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.
"I'll call you." Casey opened her car door for her. Leaning in he placed another small kiss on her lips before helping her into her car. "Drive safely." he said.
"Bye John."
"Goodnight." he said before closing her door. He stood and watched her drive off before heading back into Castle.
Casey walked back in to find Sarah pacing the floor.
"Everything okay Walker?" he asked, shaking her from the trance she appeared to be in.
"Huh?…yeah…I just….I don't understand what's taking them so long." Sarah was on her last nerve. This was too much for her. The events of the past few days were really starting to take their toll on her.
"I'm sure they'll be out soon." he tried to sound reassuring.
"What did Malloy want?" Sarah asked stirring the conversation.
"What?….oh…umm….she heard the surveillance was down, she was just checking in, seeing if we needed anything. I let her know everything was okay and sent her on her way."
"Beckman must have dispatched the field agents. Made them check in. If that's the case, she is well aware back at head quarters what's going on here as far as our security being down. We need to act fast to get it back up and running as soon as possible."
"We need to move Chuck out as soon as possible." Casey replied.
"Where are we going to take him Casey? We need to set up a safe house for him and Dan."
Casey grunted at the mention of his father.
"We can't wait to set up a safe house, we need to move him tonight…soon."
"We're going to move him right after surgery?" She raised a brow as she stated the question.
Casey didn't need to respond to the question, the look on his face said it all.
"Casey, that is absurd. Chuck needs time to heal. It's not safe to move him that quickly."
"Sarah, it's not safe to keep him here. There's too many eyes and ears. We'll get a safe house set up but in the mean time we'll find him a safe place to stay. His apartment is out. There's too many surveillance cameras in the courtyard to get him in my place safely and quickly. He'll stay with you until the house is ready and then we'll move him."
Sarah sighed, she knew Casey was right. They had to get Chuck out of there quickly. She had to admit though, the thought of Chuck staying at her place with her where she could keep a watchful eye on him put her mind at ease a little. "Fine…but we're only moving him if Devon says he is stable enough to do so."
As if on cue, Devon and Agent McKinley emerged from the back room.
"Devon?" Sarah approached him.
"He's okay." Devon responded, not even waiting for Sarah to ask the question he knew was coming. "I had no idea how tough Chuck is. I've never seen anything like it. He's unconscious right now, but he should be fine."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief before tackling Devon with a huge hug. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.
"Devon, we need to move Chuck out of here tonight. As soon as possible. How long before we can get the kid on his feet and out of here?" Casey interjected.
Sarah and Devon broke their hug.
"You want to move him tonight?" Devon asked.
"It's not safe for him here." Casey replied.
"Devon, we have no choice. Is he stable enough to move?" Sarah asked.
"He needs time to rest. I'll check on him in a half hour or so and let you know if he's stable enough."
Casey nodded and gave one of his grunts in response and went back to his computer.
"So, he did good huh?" Sarah turned her attention back to Devon.
Devon smiled. "He did great Sarah. Do you want to see him?"
Sarah smiled. "Yeah." she said and Devon led her to the back room.
"He's not awake, he's sedated, I don't expect it to last long though. I imagine he's going to be in quite a bit of pain. I'm going to give him something for that once he's conscious and I can determine his pain level." Devon opened the door to the barracks.
Sarah stopped in the doorway. She looked in to see the man she loved lying unconscious on the table. She had to admit his coloring did look much better and he didn't seem to be in much pain like he had been earlier.
Taking a deep breath, Sarah approached slowly. Devon closed the door after she entered to give her some privacy. She grabbed a nearby stool and pulled it up next to him and sat down. She took hold of his hand, bringing it up to her face, she rested her cheek against it momentarily before placing a gentle kiss on it.
"What the hell did you get yourself into here Sarah?" she asked herself.
She had fallen for him and she fell hard. How could she allow herself get so close to someone? How could she let herself be so vulnerable? These were not the actions of a super spy. Maybe it was time to get out before it was too late? Cut all ties while she still could. The pain she had suffered the past few days, hell the past few months during his absence, was like nothing she had ever experienced. If this is what it felt like to be in love, then Sarah couldn't help but wonder why anyone even bothered. How could anyone want this? She thought to herself. It shouldn't be this hard? Sarah toyed with the charm bracelet that adorned her wrist.
'It's good luck.' his words resonated in her head. She had to laugh. When was she going to get hers?
She sat deep in thought for a good 20 minutes before Devon and McKinley entered.
"Sarah?" Devon spoke softly. "Sarah?" he repeated louder when she failed to answer.
Sarah jumped as Devon caught her off guard.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Devon said. He made his way into the room, followed by Agent McKinley.
"No, it's fine." Sarah wiped at her eyes.
"Casey wanted me to get you. He said to tell you the General got through to him on his phone. You have a conference call in 10 minutes."
"Oh." Sarah looked surprised. "Umm…okay…" She stood from her stool and wiped at her eyes some more.
"Casey told us we should wait here until he comes to get us."
"Right. We'll come get you when it's over with." Sarah made her way out of the door. She met up with Casey in the conference room, where he was awaiting General Beckman's call.
"Casey what's going on?" She asked as she approached her partner.
"Beckman managed to get through on a secure signal, overriding the transmission that Chuck blocked. She's coming through on that signal any minute now for a conference call." Casey reported.
"Does she know anything?"
"I don't think so. I don't know, she didn't say much."
The monitor on the wall flickered. The image General Beckman was fuzzy and flashed in an out.
"Lieute..t Wa…er, Colonel Ca…y." the audio came through muffled, cutting in and out.
"General, you're cutting out." Sarah responded.
After a few minutes of Beckman's crew toying with the transmission signal, the audio began to come through much clearer, however the picture on the screen remained fuzzy.
"General, as far as we know it's merely a power outage. There seemed to be some sort of an electrical surge, nothing more than a mechanical failure, "within the control panel. We are expected to be up and running again completely within the hour." Sarah reported to her.
"And you are absolutely sure this was not an intentional attack on castle?" The General questioned the team.
"There are no signs of an attack or any indication that would lead us to believe that General." Casey spoke up.
The General continued to question the team on their current predicament. She also went over some last minute details of their mission tomorrow at the Governor's luncheon.
"Colonel Casey, I would like a few moments alone with Lieutenant Walker." Beckman announced.
Casey nodded and made his exit. Sarah watched as he made his way to the back of castle and headed towards Chuck's bunker.
"Agent Walker. I know you have been through a lot in the past 36 hours, I just wanted to make sure your head is clear. That you're capable of this mission tomorrow. You realize that at this point in the case, there's no room for mistakes. Everything must go as planned.""Yes General. I assure you, my head is clear."
The General nodded her head yet from what Sarah could make out of her image on the screen, she appeared doubtful.
"I want you prepared for tomorrow Burke." Haz spoke loudly into his phone.
"No, No, it should be easy. The girl will come to you. It'll be like taking candy from a baby."
"Let her do all the work. It won't be hard to get her alone. She'll go willingly."
"No, I'm uploading her picture to you right now." Haz replied looking at the image Sarah Walker on his computer screen.
"No, I want her alive. I'm going to have some fun torturing the Lieutenant."
"How's the pain Chuck?" Devon asked his brother-in-law, who was now completely awake.
"It's not too bad."
Devon, McKinley and Casey went on to explain to Chuck everything that had happened.
"Devon, we really need to move him." Casey announced to the room.
"Chuck do you think you can sit up?" Devon asked.
"Yeah." he said.
"Nice and easy. Devon instructed. "Help me out here fellas." He said to Dan and Casey. Both men approached and assisted Chuck in sitting upright on the table.
"Aahhhh."
"You Okay?" Devon asked.
"Yeah….Where's Sarah?" Chuck asked taking a look around the room.
"She's on a conference call with the General. Casey announced.
"The General? Great, There's a few things I would like to say to the General." Chuck attempted to stand up from the table but Casey and Dan stopped him.
"Not so fast there Chuck." Dan said "You can't speak with the General right now."
"Why not?"
"Because she thinks you're dead." Casey interjected.
"What?….Dead?"
"The plane crash Chuck. Three bodies recovered. The pilot, Miller's and Hansen's. Miller and Hansen weren't supposed to be on that plane. Everyone thinks their bodies are ours. They think we're dead Chuck."
"And that's exactly what you're going to let them think." Casey piped in again. "This might work to our advantage in drawing out the ring."
"But how?" he asked
"Chuck I'm going to give you a shot of pain medication, it'll make you a little more comfortable for the move." Devon said squeezing his way between Casey and Chuck with the full syringe. Devon cleaned a spot on Chuck's upper arm with an alcohol pad and proceeded to insert the needle into his flesh to deliver it's contents.
"Walker and I have a mission tomorrow. A Governor's luncheon. There will be a ring operative in attendance. We have plans to get close to them, draw Haz out.
Chuck looked past Dan and Casey, turning his attention to the door when he heard it open. In walked an angel. Well maybe not an angel per say, but she was his angel. She was what kept him going, she was his saving grace. A smile came over his face. "Sarah."
The three men all turned their attention to Sarah who was making her way into the room.
"He's awake….and sitting up?" it was more of a statement than a question.
"We're getting ready to move him out Walker." Casey said. "We need to pull the car around and finish securing the perimeter. Finish getting him ready to move." Casey said as the three men made their exit.
Sarah approached the table where Chuck sat staring at her. Nothing but a pair of boxers on with a sheet over his lap. Sarah's gaze fell to the bandages that covered his abdomen.
"Okay…..well…how about we find you a shirt." She turned to move away from him. She was caught entirely off guard when he reached out and grabbed her hand with his and pulled her in close so that she stood directly in front him. Mere inches from his chest. Her body securely between his legs.
"Umm…..Hi." he said.
"Hi." was all she could say.
He moved his hand up to her face and brushed back a few strands of hair and tucked them behind her ear.
"That's it?" He asked confused by her behavior. "I haven't seen you in months and all I get is a hi?"
"I'm sorry." she replied.
Chuck leaned in and placed a small kiss on her lips. He pulled back when she failed to respond to him. Tears welled in her eyes and he wiped at them.
"What is it?" he asked.
She remained silent.
"Sarah, please. Why are you being so distant?"
"Chuck….I…" the tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Chucked pulled her in tightly. She collapsed against him and he held her. Her tears made their way down his bare chest.
"I..thought…I thought you were dead." She cried.
Chuck had to fight hard to hold back his own tears. He hated seeing Sarah so upset, but knowing he was the one that caused it was unbearable.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Sarah."
"It's not your fault…It's not your fault."
Chuck leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I hate seeing you so upset."
Sarah pulled away from him enough to look up at him with her tear stained face.
"I love you."
Chuck's face lit up as he heard the three words he had been longing to hear escape her lips. Then for a brief moment he thought perhaps he was dreaming, or maybe still delusional.
"What?" he asked hoping for some reassurance.
Sarah smiled. "I said, I love you….I've wanted to tell you for so long now….the moment you left…I wished I had said it….I just…I didn't know how."
"I love you too." he said before leaning in for another kiss. It was gentle, sensual, loving and it spoke volumes.
"Aahhem." Dan cleared his throat as he entered the room making his presence know.
"Chuck, I have some sweats for you to change into. The car is ready to go, so once you're dressed we're moving out. Dan handed Chuck the clothes.
"Thanks Dan, just give me a minute to change."
Dan nodded and walked out the door closing it behind him.
"Where am I a going anyways?" Chuck asked.
"Well, for tonight, you're coming home with me." she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
Chuck smiled. "There's no place else I'd rather be."
Hope you all enjoyed. I look forward to your feedback.