Chapter 2: Lost Protectors & Betrayed Friends

Sarah was exhausted. She had been awake for nearly four days. As per her training, she had taken small naps whenever she had a free moment, but the logistics of arranging Chuck's transfer to a private hospital south of Los Angeles had been difficult.

She was awaiting a conference call from her superiors so that she could communicate their status after the train-wreck that was The Institute. Sarah's hands trembled just thinking about the failed mission.

She felt cursed. Ellie Bartowski had pushed Sarah's fragile psyche to the limit. Sarah knew that it would have been so much easier to deal with her, if she had been allowed some semblance of rest. But the blond agent had been given no respite. Sarah had been forced to introduce the young doctor to the brutal nature of her business. It was met by seething hatred by one Ellie Bartowski.

It had all gone so wrong.

Sarah knew that the she was responsible for the young doctor's attitude. But Sarah had been frantic when Ellie had closed the Panic Room door on her. It was the culmination of all the attempts made that day to separate her from Chuck. She had stopped thinking like an agent, and to her dismay, she had simply lost it. She had pounded on the Panic Room door in a frenzy. Sarah guiltily realized that she had momentarily lost her sanity. In that moment, she had been capable of anything. She was undoubtedly aware that Ellie Bartowski had watched her meltdown through the surveillance feeds in the Panic Room.

Eventually, Sarah's sanity had returned. It had come blazing back when she received a telephone call from Director Graham. It was like cold water had been thrown on her, and a life jacket had been thrown out to her in the sea of events that had catapulted her out of control.

Unfortunately, that control was severely tested almost immediately. She had reported her success in retrieving Chuck, but was forced to admit that Ellie had barricaded her brother and herself inside The Panic Room.

Graham had been shocked. He was alarmed by Ellie's appearance in Monterey, her knowledge of the events that had unfolded, and most importantly, the obvious distrust she felt to warrant barricading herself in The Panic Room. However, the director had lost too much that day to allow a single doctor to trifle with their mission. Graham immediately ordered Sarah to take all necessary measures to gain control of The Intersect.

It had devastated Sarah. It amounted to a termination order with prejudice. It came at a time when she felt like she was in an emotional and physical freefall. Her body had not totally recovered from her near electrocution and her emotions were raggedly on public display.

She needed Chuck more than she had ever needed anyone. She needed to feel him and touch him. Sarah needed to know he was still alive and she could ground herself with the knowledge that he was still with her. She needed confirmation that "they" were still possible.

However, Ellie Bartowski stopped all that.

The doctor kept Sarah at bay. More importantly, Ellie kept Sarah, the agent, from doing her job. The agent's emotions were on edge and her training threatened to kick in, without restraint. Sarah remembered that she had considered Ellie her friend, and that Chuck loved his sister without bounds.

Sarah struggled to balance these conflicting elements within her.

Sarah stared quietly at the door. She knew how to open it, but struggled at the brutality of the act. Finally, the Agent spoke.

"Ellie, I know that you can hear me. You need to listen to me. No one else needs to get hurt. No one else needs to get involved in this." Sarah chided herself. It sounded like she was almost pleading. She forced herself to focus.

Ellie sat at the control panel of the surveillance system inside the Panic Room. She heard what Sarah said, but she was confused. No one else was going to get hurt. Bill Tanner was already dead, and her brother was in the Panic Room with her. The very room that Sarah had said was nearly impenetrable.

Ellie furled her eyebrows in concern. She was in control. But she didn't like the icy calm that had overtaken the blond spy. It was ominous and Ellie felt a chill slide down her body.

Sarah had turned to ice. Looking up at the surveillance camera, she willed Ellie to see her resolve.

"You need to open the door Ellie. I neither have the time, nor am I in the mood for games. This is serious business. You are not prepared to fight me. I promise you that I am sworn to protect Chuck. I will not harm him. But I will not allow you to keep me from him."

Ellie almost chuckled at the blonde woman's arrogance. She was actually giving her an ultimatum. It was ludicrous. Ellie was safe behind several feet of reinforced concrete and hardened steel. She would have laughed outright, if not for the terrifyingly coldness in Sarah's voice.

"Okay Ellie. Don't say I didn't warn you," replied Sarah. She started to pace around the room. Sarah sighed in regret. She knew it was, 'Show Time'.

Sarah walked up to the camera and in exaggerated movements looked at her watch.

"What time is it? Wow! It's nearly midnight. Isn't Devon's shift ending?"

Sarah gave a chillingly feral grin into the camera.

"Oh I know. He usually doesn't leave for another half hour even though his shift has ended. He likes to check on his patients. From there he usually walks around the corner to that all night diner and grabs a small snack before he heads home."

Sarah feigned deep thought. "What agent do we have on him tonight, let me think. It would be a shame if something happened to him."

Sarah pulled out her telephone and brandished it before the camera. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion, but she smiled chillingly.

"It would take one call from this phone, and Devon would be dead. One call," remarked Sarah.

Sarah tilted her head. "But I'm not going to do that Ellie. Rest assured." Sarah smiled into the camera and said, "I'm going to have him picked up and brought here so that you can watch me hurt him."

Ellie's face went white. Her blue eyes filled with tears. She covered her mouth with her hands, as an anguished cry escaped her mouth. She fumbled with the control panel until she found the microphone. She keyed it on and screamed.

"You bitch! You leave him alone!" Tears washed down Ellie's face. Her hands trembled in fear. How could this be happening?

The young doctor stared at the monster in the monitor. Sarah stood completely calm. Her eyes stared directly into the camera. In that moment, Ellie had no doubt about Sarah's intent nor her resolve.

Ellie started to cry loudly. How could she choose between her brother and Devon. She knew she couldn't stay in the Panic Room forever. She just couldn't let Sarah near her brother.

It was primal. She knew the blond could take her brother away from her. Ellie had to protect him, even if he didn't want that protection.

But how could she let Sarah hurt Devon? He was the love of her life. She knew what Sarah was capable of. She had witnessed her brutality in the treatment room. Sobs wracked through Ellie. She turned on the microphone.

Ellie's voice cracked. "Sarah…no, please, no. Don't you have any morals?"

The blond agent heard the desperation in Ellie's voice. A large part of Sarah wanted to cry out and comfort Ellie. She wanted to tell Ellie that she could never hurt her or Devon.

But the Agent in Sarah was resolved. It willed Sarah to remain unmoved by Ellie's plea. She needed to gain control of Chuck and it was the only way.

The cool blond showed no emotion as she peered into the surveillance camera.

"Ellie, the organizations involved in this are powerful. You saw a large portion of California shut down in an attempt to capture Chuck. These organizations will stop at nothing to capture him. I do not have the luxury to debate morals with you. If it takes Devon screaming in agony for you to understand, then so be it. I will go to the extreme, to secure Chuck."

Both women held their breath.

"I am going to count to five. If you don't open this door, I will make the call." Sarah knew they were in a stand-off. She prayed that Ellie would blink.

Guttural noises started to escape from Ellie's throat and sobs wracked her body. Her eyes and nose ran profusely. She absently tried to wipe the moisture from her face. How could she choose?

Casey awoke to Ellie's cries of anguish. He did not open his eyes. Instead, he began to flex each of his limbs in an effort to ascertain his condition. He listened intently to the drama unfolding between the women.

Walker certainly must have been pushed to her limit to actually be threatening to torture Devon. He knew the situation must be grim. He felt sorry for her. Casey knew how Walker felt about the Bartowskis. This must be killing her. Hell, he only cared half as much about them as she did, and just listening to this was killing him. Casey wasn't sure he had enough balls to threaten Ellie in this manner. God the situation was a cluster.

Casey grimaced when he heard Walker begin the count. He had to stop the situation from escalating further. Taking a deep breath, he ignored the burning pain in his chest as he started to move. He stood up and stumbled towards the door.

Ellie saw a movement in the corner of her eye. She yelped when she saw that John Casey was on his feet and heading towards the door. She jumped up and ran at him. Her life depended on stopping him.

The young doctor slammed her body against the agent from the side. He cried out in pain, but buffered her attack. Even in his weakened condition, she was no match for his bulk. His momentum propelled them towards the door.

When they reached it, he hit the mechanized switch that opened the door. He released his breath, as he heard the 'click' as the door locks released.

His burst of energy left him and he fell against the wall in exhaustion. His torso was on fire. He glanced down at himself and was surprised by the bandages on his torso. They were turning red at an alarmingly fast pace.

He remembered that he had a torn spleen. Looking up at Ellie he saw that she was looking at him in horror. She looked up and sputtered, "I must have broken your stitches, when I hit you."

John didn't remember anything about stitches. He felt light headed, but asked, "Stitches?"

Ellie gulped. "I repaired your spleen."

Their eyes met. He looked down taking in her trembling body. He saw the tears in her eyes and the underlying truth in them. When he had needed her, she had saved his life.

She had saved him even after he had threatened to kill her brother to keep The Intersect from falling into the wrong hands.

He pursed his lips as an altogether foreign feeling invaded his body. Recognizing his reaction, he closed his eyes and sighed. The situation was so incredibly fucked up.

They heard a clanging as the Panic Room door swung open with force. Both their heads swiveled as they looked towards the door.

The door was open.

Sarah mustered all the discipline that her training had ever instilled in her, to maintain control of her raging emotions. She knew that she had crossed a point of no return in her friendship with Ellie. She mourned its loss. She knew that their friendship would never recover from where she was about to go.

Sarah entered the Panic Room like an icy robot. Grimacing to herself, she realized that she felt like a very dangerous, icy robot.

When Ellie saw Sarah she was paralyzed with fear. She was more afraid of Sarah than when she was trapped underneath the desk on the Observation Deck.

Sarah focused her icy regard squarely on Ellie. She was like a predator hunting prey. Ellie felt primal terror course through her. Like a trapped animal, she felt the need to flee. She tripped backward in a haste to increase the space between her and the dangerous blond agent. The room sizzled with danger.

Casey was alarmed. He knew by Sarah's blank stare and icy demeanor that Walker was at her breaking point.

"Walker, get control of yourself," ordered Casey as the blood stain on his bandages started to look like a bull's-eye.

Casey saw that Sarah was in her most detached professional mode. She was distancing herself emotionally. It was if she was preparing herself for something distasteful.

He looked over at the young doctor and grunted in pain. Realization tore through him. Ellie was Walker's probable target.

The doctor had barricaded herself in The Panic Room. Their superiors would not have taken that lightly. Casey realized that Sarah was working a termination order. His breath caught. He felt the burn of acid in his stomach.

Casey tried to get Sarah's attention, but she never took her eyes off Ellie.

Casey bellowed, "Walker!" His booming voice startled Sarah out of her reverie. She looked at him questioningly.

"With prejudice, Sarah," Casey replied quietly. He saw the first trace of emotion filter across her face. The agents communicated silently with their eyes.

Sarah broke off her gaze and sighed. It was the first sound that she made since she entered the Panic Room. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

She began to absently trace her fingers along the wall. The movement helped her calm her riotous emotions.

Without looking at Ellie, Sarah asked, "How is Chuck?"

Ellie gulped. She wanted to answer sarcastically, but her inner-voice screamed at her to be careful.

In her most clinical voice, Ellie replied, "I've given him some anti-seizure medication and have him sedated. He needs to be taken to a hospital immediately."

Sarah continued to trace her hand against the wall, as she considered Ellie's words. Ellie noted that the blond agent looked so remote and cold. She didn't even act like she had heard a word that Ellie had said.

It unnerved the young doctor. Ellie noticed that Sarah avoided looking at Chuck. Ellie shook her head in puzzlement. Sarah had threatened to torture Devon to get to Chuck. She had brutally threatened ungodly acts to get what she wanted.

And now, she had an unrestricted path to Chuck. But did she use it? Ellie huffed in disgust. No, not Sarah. The blond agent just stood there. She was even unwilling to look at her brother.

Ellie didn't understand Sarah. Not at all.

A painful grunt made the women look over at Casey. He fell to the floor as the pain in his torso had overtaken him. Sarah noted his white face and bloody bandages.

Ellie began to run towards Casey in concern. But Sarah grabbed Ellie's arm and swung her against the wall with force. Sarah slammed her arm against Ellie throat. Sarah applied just enough pressure to make it difficult for Ellie to breathe. The agent stared directly into the doctor's eyes.

"You will not move, unless I give you permission. You will not speak, unless I give you permission. You fight me and I will terminate you."

The blonde agent's eyes narrowed. "But before I do, I will make you watch me kill Devon painfully."

Ellie started to respond, but Sarah increased the pressure on her neck.

"I've already been given the order to terminate you, for your antics. You are alive at my discretion. You are useful to me now. Stop being useful and you are dead. Got it?"

The brunette nodded as a painful sob escaped her lips. She averted her eyes. She couldn't look at the woman, she once considered a friend.

After Sarah's confrontation with Ellie, everything seemed to blur. Sarah was ordered to go off-the-grid. Her superiors had been shocked at Fulcrum's level of infiltration into their respective organizations. Neither was confident that The Intersect could be kept safe in a governmental facility.

Sarah supposed that it was good news. Chuck wouldn't be placed in an underground bunker any time soon.

The blond agent arranged for a private medi-evac company with paramilitary affiliations to extract them from The Institute.

When they were about to leave, Ellie had begun to aggressively rant about rushing Chuck to the nearest hospital. Sarah had slapped Ellie in response. Sarah asked the doctor if she had been given permission to talk. Ellie's eyes widened in shock, but turned her head away in submission.

Sarah noted that pure hatred in Ellie's eyes as she looked away. It killed Sarah, but she needed absolute control over Ellie. The next few days were going to be unimaginably dangerous. There could be no mistakes.

Sarah wanted nothing more than to rush Chuck and Casey to the closest hospital. But the Fulcrum threat was too great. She was a lone agent without back-up. She couldn't protect her three charges at a local hospital. Fulcrum was sure to be monitoring hospital admissions.

They had to proceed to their final destination point. She could only hope that Ellie Bartowski's medical skills were good enough to keep Chuck and Casey alive until they reached their destination.

Their helicopter took them to a small airstrip about 100 miles away that supported the small agricultural community of Gustine. The airstrip was mostly used by local farmers for crop dusting. There were quite a few raised eyebrows as she arranged for a small Learjet to shuttle them away using the airstrip. She could only hope that the airstrip was so small, that Fulcrum would not notice their getaway.

From Gustine, they flew to Las Vegas where they arranged for a second helicopter to fly them to a secured hospital near San Diego.

Throughout their journey, Ellie followed Sarah's orders without fault. But Sarah could feel the hatred emanating from the doctor. It felled Sarah. She had forced Ellie into submission to save all their lives. But the cost was exorbitantly high. It tortured Sarah to think about the ugly and twisted connection that she now shared with the doctor.

Chuck never regained consciousness. Sarah supposed it was for the best. He needed time for his body and mind to recover. She would not allow herself to look at him. She knew that if she stared too long at his brown curly hair and lovable lips, she would truly break.

She had to be strong. Sarah was responsible for all their lives. She couldn't afford to breakdown in Chuck's arms. It didn't matter that she longed to hold him and confess the terrible things that she had done to protect them all.

The end destination was a private medical facility outside of Escondido. Sarah was wary, but the security at the hospital was top notch. She was also buoyed by the fact that Ellie Bartowski seemed impressed with the treatment provided at the facility. Sarah had no way of gauging the quality of treatment, so she watched Ellie's reactions for clues. She did not share her concerns with the doctor.

Both Chuck and Casey were assigned private rooms. Casey had improved and was close to being released. Unfortunately, Chuck's condition remained unchanged.

Consultations with several neurologists confirmed Ellie's initial assessment and treatment. Chuck was kept under heavy sedation to allow his brain to recover. Sarah silently thanked Ellie for her quick thinking at The Institute.

Sarah kept Ellie under house arrest. Ellie was forced to stay in a locked room, in the psych ward of the facility. Ellie was not allowed to talk to anyone. Sarah had frightened Ellie with the consequences. Ellie's only bright spot was that Sarah allowed Ellie to sit with Chuck frequently.

It calmed the young doctor. But Ellie was quite aware that she was, in effect a prisoner, and Sarah was her jailor.

Sarah grimaced and she tried to concentrate on the tele-conference she was about to attend with Graham and Beckman. She knew that it would not look good for her superiors to see her collapse from exhaustion. She rallied all the energy that she had left and absently ran her fingers through her unruly hair. The green light on top of the monitor lit up, as the teleconference started.

"Yes, Ma'am. The neurologists have reduced Chuck's medication. They think he will regain consciousness sometime today," explained Sarah, tiredly.

General Beckman looked down at her notes and then up at Agent Walker. The young woman looked ragged over the video conference terminal. Beckman sighed to herself. The last four days had been difficult on all of them.

Agent Walker had been on the front line for sometime, and field fatigue must be at play. She nodded absently to herself. The situation was not optimal, but they could not introduce any new agent to the mix. It was just too dangerous.

"Very good Agent Walker. The extra effort you've taken on this mission has been duly noted. Once Agent Casey is available, he can relieve you for some needed rest," remarked General Beckman.

Sarah grimaced and stood up straighter. She must be showing her exhaustion. With more conviction that she felt, Sarah replied, "Not a problem Ma'am. I can handle the situation." Sarah paused and then added, "But it will be good to have Agent Casey back."

"Yes, Agent Casey's return will level out the workload. No need for the heroics Walker. We know you've only received a few hours of sleep since you and your charges were extracted from The Institute," replied Director Graham.

"Yes, Agent Walker. It is unfortunate that you've been required to go to physical extremes to maintain protection for your charges. But we cannot risk assigning you backup. We cannot afford additional personnel knowing or even suspecting the identity of The Intersect. We want you to continue to use private resources for treatment of The Intersect until further notice."

"Understood, Ma'am."

"Agent Walker we are actually surprised by one item in your report," remarked General Beckman.

Sarah raised her eyebrows in question, but did not speak.

General Beckman pinched her lips in distaste. "It is the Ellie Bartowski situation."

Sarah left the teleconference room deep in thought. She absently noted a man standing in the corridor. Per her training, she tensed automatically as she assessed his threat.

She jumped when she recognized that it was Casey. She released the hand that she had placed upon her weapon and walked towards her partner.

"Have you finally sprung the coop?" asked Sarah, with a small smile.

Casey shrugged. "You look like shit, Walker. Have you slept at all?"

She shrugged and raised her eyebrows in defeat. "Sleep requires someone else to stand post."

Casey grimaced knowingly. Looking at the bags under Sarah's eyes, he gently asked, "Do you still have Ellie under lock and key?"

Sarah nodded sadly. She did not trust herself to speak.

Casey tensed his shoulders, lost in thought.

"Why don't you get yourself some sleep for few hours? God knows you need it."

Casey saw a sudden brightness in Sarah's eyes. She looked up at him pleadingly. She was asking him something.

He stared at her in puzzlement. Then realization hit him. "Walker, there is no hope for you."

He shook his head in disgust, but grunted his consent. "You got eight hours."

Sarah entered Chuck's room and went to his bed. This was the first time that she allowed herself to really look at him. He was so quiet. It was not at all like the Chuck Bartowski that she knew.

She ran her hands through his hair. A single tear fell down her cheek. She was just so tired.

She climbed into his bed and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She took deep breaths as her body relaxed. His smell calmed her. It reminded her that she was loved.

She wrapped herself around him and promptly fell into a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow would come soon enough.