Author's note: This has uber levels of angst. Be warned--all you angst haters out there! Thanks Sharp for Beta-ing. All new errors are my own!

Chapter 6: Apologies & Goodbyes

Casey crouched near the elevator door and checked his ammunition in his Desert Eagle for the hundredth time. Casey and his charges were cornered in a small elevator room on the roof of the hospital. Casey would periodically open the reinforced steel fire door a crack and peer out before he would have to pull back as a barrage of bullets would pelt the door violently.

'Where the hell is Walker?' thought Casey, as he took a few wild shots through the crack in the door to keep the gunmen at bay. His volley was greeted by another barrage of bullets that impacted the door with an almost a deafening ferocity. It caused Casey's ears to ring. He grunted in surprise when Casey noticed that the fire door had started to deform due to the impact of numerous rounds of high powered ammunition against it. Almost numbly, the NSA agent realized that sooner or later, the door would fail.

Dejectedly, Casey looked behind him at his charges. Chuck was laying unconscious on the gurney and Ellie was curled up on the floor with her hands over her head. The doctor was either trying to dampen the ear popping sound of the bullets hitting the steel door or she trying to convince herself that she wasn't really knee deep in another spy world gun fight. In either case, she was failing.

Casey grunted as he checked his firearm. Even with the extra ammunition that he had packed; his supply was running low due to his periodic exchange of gunfire with the Fulcrum agents on the roof. He couldn't hold their position forever. They needed to move, but their options were limited. He glanced at the empty elevator carriage.

He was tempted to use the elevator. He had turned off the elevator and now stood open, as if it was beckoning their return.

Casey sighed. He had stopped the elevator more as a means of keeping people from entering the roof than using it as an exit. He knew it was a death trap. Fulcrum agents were bound to be waiting for them if they tried to use the elevator to escape.

They were truly trapped. Both Casey and Walker had known that the roof was the most vulnerable point of their escape plan. Casey and his charges were required to traverse an open rooftop from the elevator lobby to the far corner of the building, where they had secured a private helicopter for their use in an emergency. It hadn't taken too much effort. It was amazing what sprinkling of a little money among hospital administrators could provide.

The helicopter was their only escape. But without Sarah to provide cover across the open expanse of the rooftop, the helicopter might as well have been in another country. The trio would never make it across the roof alive.

Sarah knew she was close to collapse. She had met two Fulcrum agents in the stairwell. She had taken them out, but had done it more with surprise than any skill on her part. Her body felt heavy and her vision was darkening. Her side felt like it was on fire and she felt light headed. But she couldn't let herself stop. Chuck needed her.

Casey was down to his last clip. He was about to have his charges retreat to the elevator for a final stand when he saw the stairwell door behind the armed men open. He prayed that it was Walker and not the gunmen's reinforcements. Casey held his breath as he listened to the pattern of the gunfire and type of weapon being used.

He heard two rapid shots from a Glock 23 and then there was a pause in the gunfire. Casey had to believe that Walker had taken out two of the agents. With little more than faith to guide him, Casey sprang through the fire door and rolled to his right. His shots were wild, but it got the attention of the two remaining Fulcrum agents. This would allow Walker to take a money shot.

He heard a gunshot and saw in his peripheral vision that the third agent went down. With a burst of satisfaction that his partner had his back, Casey dove to his right. In mid-air, Casey fired at the fourth gunman.

Casey smiled as he watched the fourth man collapse to the ground just as his shoulder hit the roof hard. He grunted in pain, but it didn't lessen his happiness at coming out on top in yet another round of gunplay. However, Casey's satisfaction was short-lived. As he stood up, he looked over at Walker who was still on the ground in a firing position.

Casey's smile faded as he watched Sarah struggle to turn over. Her shirt was stained a deep red and her features had taken on a ghostly white appearance. With a quickening pulse, Casey jogged over to Sarah. His stomach clenched when he saw the amount of blood on the ground and on her shirt.

Working to keep a neutral voice, Casey asked, "How bad is it?"

Sarah shrugged. They both knew the answer. She ignored his inquiry and asked, "How are Chuck and Ellie?"

Casey ignored Sarah's show of bravado and went down on his knee to inspect her wound. He couldn't see it underneath the bandages, but he knew it was bad by the amount of blood loss.

"What the hell happened, Walker? Your injury wasn't bleeding like this in Chuck's room?" barked Casey with worry.

Sarah's face contorted. "It's my fault. I was too close to the room when I blew it…I fell and I think I tore something."

Seeing her slackened face, Casey looked up over at the elevator lobby and yelled urgently, "Ellie, get out here now!"

"Ellie?" inquired Chuck weakly. He wasn't sure where he was, but his body felt so heavy and tired. He wanted to go to sleep, but something was wrong. He forced himself to listen carefully. He heard his sister crying. "Ellie, is that you?"

Ellie heard her brother's voice and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She quickly stood up and went to her brother's side. "You're awake! Chuck, I was so worried about you."

Looking at her brother, Ellie noticed that he seemed to have a difficulty focusing upon her. She moved her hands in front of Chuck's face and he reached out and tried to touch her hands.

"Everything is fuzzy Ellie. I can barely see your hand move. What's wrong with me?" asked Chuck as his voice elevated in pitch.

Chuck reached out his hand in a desperate attempt to anchor himself. He could see the outline of his sister but he couldn't make out the details of her face as she stood next to his gurney.

Sensing his distress, Ellie grabbed his hand and tried her best to calm him.

"Chuck, it's okay. You've had a head injury. These symptoms are normal. You need to calm down. You can't let yourself get upset. Last time you had a seizure."

Chuck nodded and tried his best to follow his sister's directions. Ellie quickly ran through a series of simple neurological tests on him. After she finished she tried to be encouraging.

"Chuck, you're speech has improved and your motor skills seem unaffected. That's good. I'm sure your sight will get better too."

Seeing his unbelieving face, Ellie started to run her hands through his hair and continued to put a positive spin on his condition.

After several attempts, Chuck finally acquiesced. But he still felt the need to ask her one last time, "Are you sure?"

Ellie smiled at her brother and patted his forehead. "Of course, I'm a doctor aren't I?"

Chuck responded by giving her a bright smile. His smile was bittersweet.

Privately, Ellie was much less confident of Chuck's condition. She was relieved that his speech had improved, but his loss of eyesight was very troubling. A new symptom, in this type of a situation was not a good sign. She sighed as she regarded her brother. She needed to protect him. As such, she needed to find out what was happening with their body guards.

"Let me see what's keeping Casey," remarked Ellie as she released Chuck's hand.

"Don't go Ellie," replied Chuck, who was suddenly fearful to be alone and unable to see. He tightened his hold on her hand.

"It's okay. I won't go far Chuck. I'll stay within shouting distance."

Ellie was extracting her hand from Chuck's grasp when they both heard Casey's urgent voice. Startled by the anxiety in the NSA agent's voice, Chuck released his sister's hand and Ellie hurried to the door.

Casey watched as the young doctor poked her head out of the door cautiously. She immediately saw Casey kneeling near Sarah.

Looking at Casey's face, Ellie knew immediately that Sarah was injured much more seriously than the gunshot wound she had received in the hallway.

The young doctor felt a myriad of emotions as she looked at Sarah's prone body. The blond agent had saved her life on more than one occasion. But any appreciation that she might have had for the agent, was marred by the anger she felt towards Sarah for the threats against the ones she loved.

She turned to her brother and carefully explained, "I need to go talk to Casey. You're safe here. It will only take a minute."

"No, please Ellie don't go. I'm afraid," repeated Chuck with more force.

Ellie went up to her brother and stroked his forehead. She was torn. Her brother needed her, but Sarah was seriously hurt. She knew Chuck would want her to go if he knew of Sarah's condition. But she couldn't tell him. She had promised herself that she wouldn't upset him again.

"Chuck, Sarah needs my help with something. I have to go."

Hearing Sarah's name suddenly made Chuck tense. He had been so caught up in his inability to see that he hadn't thought about her. But as he reached out mentally for her, something ominous made him shiver.

Alarmed, Chuck blurted out, "Is she hurt?"

Ellie was startled by his intuition. She didn't know what to say as she furled her brow. With more emotion in her voice than she would have liked, Ellie replied, "Honey…"

Her tone made Chuck's heart stop. He knew that voice. She had used it when their mother had left and when their father had died. It always meant something bad. Chuck suddenly couldn't breathe as his pulse pounded in his ears.

Chuck grabbed Ellie's wrist. "She is going to be okay?"

Ellie blanched at the intensity in Chuck's voice. "I'm sure she is. But I have to go check on her. Getting excited won't help Sarah and if she hears that you had another seizure because you couldn't remain calm, she will kick your butt. So stay here and try to stay calm, okay?"

Chuck nodded and told her to go. He knew by the tone of Ellie's voice that something was wrong. Chuck prayed that Sarah was all right.

Ellie took a last look at Chuck and told him that they would be right outside the door if he needed anything.

Casey was furious as he waited for Ellie. He knew the doctor had issues with Walker, but her slowness was bordering on ridiculousness. He felt the need to strangle the young doctor. Casey was about go to the elevator room and physically abscond the doctor when he saw her rush out of the elevator lobby door.

"What the hell took you so long?" bellowed Casey angrily.

Breathless from her jog across the roof, Ellie ignored Casey and quickly knelt down next to Sarah and began assessing her condition.

"Chuck woke up. I had to calm him down before I came out," replied the young doctor, as she grabbed Sarah's wrist and started to take her pulse.

Suddenly Sarah tried to get up. "Chuuuuck. I need to see him," slurred Sarah weakly.

Casey rolled his eyes in exasperation and grabbed Sarah's shoulders and pushed her down. "No you don't Walker. You're going to stay still while Ellie checks you out. You're in no shape to see Chuck."

A noise at the elevator door made Casey's attention shift and he started to reach for his gun.

The sight at the door made Casey yell, "Jesus Lord Christ!"

Both Ellie and Casey's jaws dropped as they saw Chuck standing precariously in the doorway of the elevator room. He was holding onto the wall in his hospital garb with one hand while shielding his eyes with the other.

Casey sprinted across the rooftop to Chuck, who looked like he was about to collapse at any moment. "God damn it Bartowski, what are you doing?"

"Sarah. Is she hurt?" asked Chuck, with his face contorted in pain at the brightness of the outdoor sun.

Casey was puzzled by Chuck's reaction to the light but ignored it as Chuck started to fall forward. The agent grabbed Chuck's torso to steady him.

Casey looked over at Ellie and Sarah. It was obvious that Sarah was wounded by the big red stain on her shirt. He didn't understand why Chuck didn't know that Walker was injured until he realized that Chuck was shielding his eyes with his hands.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Don't know. My eyes aren't working right. I can't see. The light makes my head hurt."

Casey pursed his lips. Everything was turning into a cluster. Ignoring Chuck's request to go to Sarah, he replied, "Let's get you to the helicopter. Then I'll go get Walker so you can see your girlfriend. You guys can talk once we're airborne," replied Casey cautiously.

Without waiting for a response, Casey grabbed Chuck's torso and dragged him to the helicopter and placed him in the backseat. He told him to stay and that he would return with Ellie and Sarah.

Ellie was finishing up her inspection of Sarah when Casey returned. He motioned that he wanted to talk to her privately. Once they were far enough away from Sarah, Casey asked, "What's her condition?"

Ellie looked grave. "She needs blood and surgery to repair her side. I'm assuming you want to leave. I don't think she can. She's going to bleed out if she doesn't get medical attention soon."

She eyed the unmoving men on the roof.

Casey grabbed her arm and shook it. "They're dead. Don't worry your pretty little head about them."

Ellie's face hardened. "I'm a doctor. I have a duty…."

Casey interjected, "You have a duty to provide medical attention to us, not them. They'd sooner kill you than look at you. What I want to know is whether you're lying about Walker's condition."

Offended, Ellie replied heatedly, "Why would I lie about her condition?"

"Walker isn't your favorite person. It would be convenient way to get rid of her."

Ellie gasped. "I'm not like you people. I don't go around killing people. I would never lie about Sarah's condition to get rid of her."

Casey's eye's narrowed as he remarked sarcastically, "Yeah, tell me the thought never entered your mind."

Ellie swallowed guiltily. The thought had crossed her mind briefly. But she had rejected it almost immediately. Ellie knew she wasn't a killer, but her entry into the spy world certainly had shaken her understanding of what she was capable of.

Casey replied, "I'm not sure I believe you. But we can't leave her. She's in no condition to defend herself and besides…we owe her. We would never have made it out of the elevator room without her."

Ellie blanched. "She won't make it unless she gets blood. She can't come with us," refuted Ellie.

He pointed his finger at the dead men on the roof, "If we leave her, these guy's friends will find her and do whatever means necessary to use Walker to get to Chuck."

Ellie's eyes widened. "But what could they hope to get?"

Casey shrugged. "It wouldn't matter if there was anything to get. If we leave her, it might be more humane to…"

Ellie raised her hand to halt his explanation. She closed her eyes to calm herself before she spoke. "Just stop. I can't go there. Get her to the helicopter. At least there...she might have a chance."

Casey nodded and the doctor and the NSA agent turned to look at Sarah's prone body. Both were lost in their own thoughts as they regarded their impossible position.

Casey sighed. "Chuck will be with her in the helicopter. She'll like that."

Ellie was puzzled by Casey's comment, but before she could question him their conversation was interrupted by the noise of an incoming Medi-Evac helicopter. It was landing on the adjoining hospital roof.

Casey suddenly felt hope. He calculated how much time he had before more Fulcrum agents arrived. He realized that he didn't really have enough time to chase down the helicopter.

Resigned, he turned towards his partner to take her to the helicopter. But suddenly he realized that he just couldn't do it to her. Looking at Sarah, he decided that he would risk it all. He prayed that Sarah would do what was necessary if he didn't return.

"Can you get Sarah to the helicopter by yourself?"

Ellie nodded but was puzzled by Casey's question.

He pointed towards the incoming helicopter. "You think they have blood?"

Ellie returned to Sarah and told her the plan. The young doctor was flabbergasted when Sarah took the news stoically and then preceded to battle through her pain to stand up.

They doctor quickly grabbed Sarah's mid-section and helped the blond agent stand. Noticing Ellie's amazement, Sarah explained somewhat breathlessly, "I've been trained to ignore pain. It helps, but I can't do this for very long."

As they made their way to the helicopter, Sarah asked between labored breaths, "Is Chuck in the helicopter already?"

Ellie nodded and watched as Sarah's focus center upon the helicopter. The young doctor could feel the weakness in Sarah's body as she labored to take each step. Ellie thought that Sarah was about to collapse. However, looking at her face, Ellie saw that Sarah was steadfastly looking at the helicopter and whispering Chuck's name with each painful step. Sarah was willing herself to take each step in order to be closer to Chuck.

It felled Ellie. It was the first time since becoming aware of Sarah's governmental affiliation that the doctor actually thought that Sarah had feelings for Chuck. Ellie had assumed that Sarah's devotion to her brother was strictly professional in nature.

But as she watched Sarah struggle to get to Chuck, she realized that the woman was being driven by something more than her professionalism. With a stunning clarity, Ellie realized that in Sarah's last moments, the blond agent wanted to be with Chuck.

Casey's words finally made sense to Ellie. Sarah loved Chuck. It made her heart lurch. Ellie's eyes began to tear up as took in the tragedy playing out before her. She knew that Sarah would likely not make it off the helicopter alive.

As they approached the helicopter they heard Chuck ask, "Who's there? Sarah? Is that you?"

Ellie greeted Chuck and opened the back door of the helicopter. Sarah reached out her hand to Chuck, but was startled when he didn't respond to her. Sarah turned to Ellie and gave her a questioning look.

"Chuck's having some difficulties seeing," replied Ellie guardedly. The young doctor watched as a fleeting look of sorrow crossed Sarah's face before it was chased away by a look of resolve.

Sarah ralling her strength, turned her attention to Chuck. "I'm here."

Casey returned to helicopter on a full out run. Fulcrum agents were entering the rooftop via the stairwell. He heard several shots hit the pavement behind him.

He turned and shot at several men awkwardly. He was carrying a small ice chest and large medical bag. He hid behind an air vent and motioned to Ellie to close the helicopter doors.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the corner and shot at the Fulcrum agents before he started towards the helicopter.

Bullets buzzed by him as he took the last few steps to the helicopter and climbed in. He threw the medical bag in the back and handed the ice chest to Ellie.

"This is going to be a hot take-off," yelled Casey as he quickly started up the helicopter engines from the pilot's seat.

There was a loud bang as the front windshield of the helicopter cracked from the impact of a bullet. Casey turned the helicopter sharply to the left and yelled, "Hold on everyone!"

Ellie and Chuck leaned over Sarah in an attempt to keep her stable as the helicopter veered widely in the air.

Chuck leaned in close to Sarah and squeezed her hand reassuringly as he listened to his sister work upon Sarah. He tried to ignore the dire nature of the situation and focus his attention on the sound of Sarah's voice.

Sarah watched him with sad eyes. "Chuck, I need to tell you what you mean to me."

Chuck smiled sadly. "You don't need to tell me now. We have the rest of our lives for you to remind me." He squeezed her hand to reassure her.

Sarah smiled wanly at Chuck. She attempted to reach out with her other hand to touch his hair. But her strength failed her and her arm fell listlessly to her side.

Chuck was unaware of her gesture, but Ellie saw it. The young doctor grimaced as she prepared a unit of blood for the blond agent.

Sarah sighed as she took in his face. "That's just it Chuck, I'm not sure how much time..."

Chuck interrupted Sarah. He was not willing to hear her say goodbye.

"Sarah you once told me to trust you and I always have. I'm holding you to that. You can't leave. Ellie is going to make everything alright. Tell her Ellie," implored Chuck as he looked around helplessly for his sister to respond.

"That's right Chuck. Sarah is just tired. This IV will help her. Here hold this bag up," commanded Ellie as she handed the unit of blood to Chuck. Ellie cleaned Sarah's arm with alcohol before she jabbed the blond agent with a needle.

Sarah turned her head and looked at Ellie for a moment. Weakly, Sarah offered, "I'm sorry about Devon. I wouldn't have done it."

Chuck didn't like the tone in Sarah's voice. "Don't go apologizing on us now Sarah. We don't want apologies, I want the big bad CIA agent to keep her promise," implored Chuck, as held Sarah's head in his lap.

Ellie's heart hurt as she listened to the couple. When she finished securing the IV, she turned and saw that Sarah was watching her. Ellie realized that Sarah was waiting for her to respond to her apology. Ellie did not like that Sarah was attempting to say her apologies and her goodbyes.

Ellie responded carefully, "What, you think you're going to make a weak little apology and then leave?"

Sarah shrugged weakly and tried to smile at Ellie's attempt at humor.

Ellie shook her head. "No Sarah, you can't think that way. I need you to keep fighting. Chuck needs you to keep fighting for a while longer. We can sort out that other business later…unless you are a quitter. If you are, then maybe my brother shouldn't have trusted you."

Sarah's eyes flared angrily. Sarah started to say something, but Ellie cut her off. "You're not the only one who can piss someone off in the name of doing their job. You have to keep fighting…do you hear me? Chuck will be lost with you."

Sarah nodded almost imperceptibly before she turned her head towards Chuck. She leaned her cheek against his hand and he began kissing the top of her head gently. With a lone tear falling down her cheek, Sarah weakly mumbled Chuck's name before she let darkness overtake her.