DISCLAIMER: I don't own Chuck.

"His name is Chuck. Bartowski. Okay? Maybe he's listed under Charles Bartowski. Can you please just look it up for me Ma'am?" Leaning his elbows on the desk, hands clasped in front of his face, he was begging the receptionist to help him. So much information lay at her finger tips, so easily accessed; why did she insist on tormenting him, holding her power over his head?

She sniffed, and pushed her glasses up her nose. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm not at liberty to release that information yet."

"Yet? Yet! So Chuck is here! Oh no no no. Oh man, oh this is bad!" Morgan grabbed his hair and started shaking his head.

"Okay, sir, I really shouldn't be telling you this, but there is a patient in the ICU called Chuck Bartowski-" Morgan fell to his knees, his arms falling limply to his side. His fists were still clenched tight.

"OH WHY GOD, WHY?" He cursed the heavens. "Oh god, I'm hyperventilating!" Putting a hand on his throat, he started trying to take deep breaths. His lungs felt empty. "I NEED! A BAG!" He weezed, as he reached out for the receptionist.

She stared at him over the desk, stunned by his sudden fit.

"Morgan! What are you doing here?" Someone grabbed him under his arm, and pulled him to his feet.

"Ellie?" He coughed, suddenly catching his breath. Straightening himself, he gently brushed her hand away, and looked her up and down. She looked like hell. Her hair was ruffled and some parts were sticking out at odd ends, her clothes had wrinkles and folds that she would usually not be caught dead with, and her eyes were bloodshot, tear stains standing out on her pale face.

"Oh Ellie you look terrible…" She smiled meekly and accepted Morgan's hug. "Hug it out, Ellie. Hug it out," he muttered as he rubbed circles on her back. And then he remembered how angry he was with her.

"Hey whoa, no, wait a sec!" He flung his arms wide, and waited for Ellie to step back. He wasn't going to push her away; he wasn't a monster.

"Wha-what?" She pulled away and looked at his face.

"Aren't you wondering why I'm here? Aren't you wondering how I found out my best friend was in hospital?" The questions he had been bursting to ask came spilling out of his mouth. "Cause it wasn't you! You didn't think I was important enough to share this information with!" Ellie looked speechless; her hands, which she had removed from Morgan early into his rant, were shaking. He tried to ignore them. "You said you'd call Alex back when you knew more. Alex, not me, Chuck's life-long friend! You DIDN'T call her back! WELL GEE! I THINK STANDING IN A HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM IS MORE, don't you?" Tears were pooling in Ellie's eye. He hated himself. He really did. But he had to say it. He had to say more.

"Ellie! I found out about a car crash on the 5, through my car radio! I came here on a god-damn whim, after turning on the radio at the right time!" He shook his finger at her.. "You owe me, at the least, an explanation!" He exhaled loudly.

Ellie bit her lip. "I'm-I'm so sorry Morgan, I should've-" The small man flung himself at Ellie.

"No Ellie, I am so sorry! I'm not mad! I'm just an emotional wreck right now, with work, the kids, and now Chuck? How is one man supposed to deal with all this without his best friend-"

"Morgan-"

"-to help him through it! Could Han Solo do it without Luke? Could Batman do it without his Robin. I'm Batman in this scenario, 'cause Robin couldn't do squat without Batman, so it's really not a question."

"Morgan. Chuck's okay. He's asleep. But you can go in and see him later."

"Wha.." He mouth fell open. "LATER! I'M SEEING HIM NOW!" With that, Morgan took off at a sprint towards the Emergency ward.

Something, or rather someone was pressing themselves into his left side. There was also a comfortable weight on his shoulder. Inhaling, a flowery, coconut smell filled his nose. The situation was all too familiar and reminded him of home. He woke up like this every morning. If only they could be in their own bed.

Chuck blinked his sleepy eyes open. He didn't remember falling asleep. Sarah had just finished telling him about how she had punched an emergency responder for flirting with her. His gut twisted painfully with jealousy at the thought. He really wanted to punch him too. He also remembered that Ellie had popped in. Sleep must have claimed him soon after that.

Wondering what time it was, Chuck tried to check his watch. Tried. Sarah was pressing his arm into him, sandwiched between their bodies. She clung to him so tightly; he had little movement from it. Her hand twitched atop his gown, clenching, unclenching, and then clenching again, the fabric. Her other hand was buried into his own, the one belonging to his trapped arm. He smiled. Who cared what time it was, he was with Sarah, and he could never have enough time with Sarah. What good would it do to count the minutes. He placed his free hand atop the pretty one on his chest, and it stopped twitching.

Settling into the bed, waiting for sleep to once again claim him, he let his mind wander. A doctor had yet to see him. He knew he had been beaten up, but he also knew something terrible had happened after he had flashed. It had been excruciating. He remembered the exploding pain from his brain, the constricting chest pain. Suffice to say, it hadn't been pleasant. He hoped he'd get some answers from the doctor. Although it was silly of him to expect good answers to his questions from a doctor who had no idea there was a computer in his brain.

BAM!

The room's door swung open wide, hitting the wall. Morgan, flustered, and furious, stumbled inside. Chuck heard the shouts of the nurses coming from behind him.

"SIR! WHAT ARE YOU-"

"I'M VISITING MY DYING FRIEND! DON'T TRY AND STOP ME!" Morgan swiveled around to confront them. "I MEAN I WILL DROP YOU WITH A-" He made chopping motion with his hand. "HIYAH! IF YOU TRY…" he crumpled, unconscious onto the floor. Chuck had tried to stop Sarah, but she was much too fast for his incapacitated state. She stood over him, confusion clouding her face.

"Morgan? Did I just knock out Morgan?" She looked to Chuck for an explanation.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I-I think he was just coming for a visit, sweetie."

Sarah considered Morgan, lying on the ground, for few more minutes. The nurses were at this point, edging away from the scene.

She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, this has happened more than enough times, he should know by now not to surprise me." She closed the door. Placing her hands under his shoulders, she dragged Morgan into a chair.

Chuck wrapped his arm around her as she climbed back into his bed.

"I hate surprises."

BAM!

The room's door swung open wide, hitting the wall. Ellie stumbled in, trying to catch her breath. Chuck latched onto Sarah's shoulders, restraining her from knocking out Ellie out of instinct.

Sarah stopped trying to break Chuck's grasp, realizing who it was. "Ellie! What is-"

"Morgan!" She gasped. Chuck pointed at the prone figure in the chair.

"Oh good." She sighed. Chuck considered this a reasonable response. "Did he wake you?"

"No I was already awake." He squeezed Sarah's shoulders. "He woke someone though."

"Well that explains that." Ellie gestured to Morgan. "He found out about you, and insisted he had to see you. I told him you were asleep, but he wouldn't stop." She rested her hand on her knees. "He can run fast!"

Chuck chuckled and pulled Sarah back down into his arms. She didn't resist, and snuggled back into his side. "He's had lots of practice escaping." Ellie smiled at the couple and turned to leave. Worrying parental thoughts sprang to the forefront of his mind. "Hey Ell- do you think you could check in with Alex and the kids? And maybe tell her where Morgan is spending the night?" Ellie had informed him of Alex's babysitting duties during her last visit.

"Sure, Chuck. Now get some sleep you two." She glanced at Morgan. "Three."

It was just after nightfall when the van pulled to a stop outside the large house.

The house looked like it was out of a fairy tale. The white picket fence, the bright red door, the perfectly manicured garden and green lawn. He'd hardly describe it as low-key, what he usually found the retired government type holing themselves up in. What a shame it was that he was about to ruin their happy life. He pulled out his gun and clicked the safety off. He heard his idiot minions with him in the car, mirror his movements, readying their own weapons.

"So. My szourse szays that the C.I.A. wifey is vith him. Now I'm done trying to do dis quietly. Ve needs the, how you says it? Leevrage?"

The minion seated in the passenger's side, named Doug, he believed, grunted in response. "Leverage."

"Right, vhatever. Now I think we shoulds only hav to deal with szome midgets."

"And what if they left 'im with one of their government buddies?"

"Dhat's vhy ve hav guns. There's three kids. Two small, vun big. Ve vant all of them. Now les go." Hauf veiled the gun with his jacket and got out of the car. His followers did the same. After checking for nosey neighbors, the armed group trotted up the pathway. He rapped on the bright red door once.

A minute or two passed before it was cracked open. A small child's face looked up at the large bearded man. She called into the house, "Auntie Alex?" She tried to close the door, but Hauf's foot was already in the way. He easily forced the door open, the little girl pushed aside like a mouse.

She screeched in objection. "Hey! What are you-" Hauf roughly grabbed her around the arms and shoved her at Doug.

"Shut it up!" Doug wrapped his arms around her and slapped his hand over her mouth.

Hauf scanned his surroundings. They were in an entry way. Children's shoes littered the floor. He kicked them out of the way. He looked back at Doug. "Tie it up, and put it in tha van!" He directed another minion into the kitchen, and another into the living room. "The rest upstairs vith me."

He was halfway up the stairs, when a woman appeared at the top. He whipped out his gun and pointed at her face.

"Who? How did you-"

He leaped at her, and got a hold on her arm. She shrieked and tried to break his grasp. He threw his weight on top of her, putting his gun at her temple. She stopped squirming.

"Sorry you hads tha misfortune of knowings Bartowski, beautivul."

Author's Note:

I wouldn't say I'm winging this story, but I tend to change the plot from what I first imagined every time a write a chapter.

Tell me what you think.

J.R.