A/N Checking my reviews for the last chapter was really awesome! I didn't know there were that many people reading my story. It officially made my life :o) Anyway, this chapter (and the next) pretty much explain everything up to this point. Let me know if it makes sense or not, because if it doesn't, I'll try and clear up the confusion in the next chapter. Thanks to agentchuckles for the joke at the beginning of the story! I'll update again before the week is over. Enjoy!

RECAP: Beckman rubbed a hand over her eyes. "The past year has been… difficult, to say the least, for the CIA. We had several breaches of security, many agents turn rogue, and far too many civilians were killed because of a project that we let get out of hand. When I first sent you off to learn to be a spy, I needed more agents like Sarah and Casey. Now…"

She stopped, trying to decide if she should continue or not. Deciding she should, she asked, "Do you know anything about the PGMA program?"

Chuck started to shake his head no, but then said, "Wait. Isn't there a President Gloria Mcapagal Arroyo? Or is that an ex-president?"

The General dramatically rolled her eyes. "Haha, Chuck. The PGMA program stands for Photo Graphic Memory Analysis. It was run by Mr. Professor Whickman and his student at the local university until the professor was murdered.

Sarah couldn't help but release an impatient sigh. She had heard all of this already, and she desperately needed to use the restroom.

"I apologize, Agent Walker, for having to re-brief you. I'm not too sure what all Chuck knows since little was known about the PGMA program when the 2.0 was downloaded."

Chuck balked. "She knows about this already?"

"He was my last assignment, "she said, quietly.

"Oh, right. Your asset and… partner," he said the last word bitterly, "were captured. "Is that how you were shot?"

"That's a good question, Chuck. I am very interested to find out how you ended up in Burbank when the last signal we picked up from you was at the university, Sarah."

Sarah softly cleared her throat and began, "I'm sure that Agent Parker told you we had a breach in our security measures?"

"He did. He said that when he found Alex she was with one of our agents who had obviously turned Rogue."

"Right, well, Alex was called to Professor Whickman's office and…"

"Wait. Can we stop and rewind really fast?" Chuck interjected. "Unless it's classified and I shouldn't be in the room, I'd really appreciate if I knew what was going on."

"I keep forgetting I haven't told you yet," Sarah apologized. "Permission to speak freely, General?"

"Permission granted."

"It's sort of a long story, so I'll just stick to the major details. My partner for the past several months was Agent Aaron Parker." Seeing Chuck's face, she quickly clarified, "We didn't have the slightest romantic interest in each other; it was strictly professional." Chuck still looked at her like he didn't believe her.

Ignoring his pointed look, she continued, "Alex McHugh is.. Well, she's Casey's daughter."

Chuck's eyes all but popped out of his head. "Casey has a.." he stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

Between the General and Sarah, they were able to tell Chuck about how Casey had faked his death without knowing his fiancé was pregnant. The story was inconceivable to Chuck, but it explained why Casey had been in Burbank every now and again.

"Professor Whickman and Alex began working on the PGMA program during her junior year in college. As you can imagine, she is incredibly brilliant," the General said. "

"I bet," Chuck mumbled.

Smiling slightly, at Chuck's response, Sarah continued, "The two of them worked on the PGMA program for quite some time with no results, but before too long, they created something that worked. They had no idea what they had invented."

She paused. "Several weeks after they released their findings to the public, Professor Whickman was found murdered in his office."

Sarah took over, "We didn't tell anyone that he had been murdered, which was a mistake because Alex had no way of knowing she was in danger. We thought we had the campus security under control. Had we of known that she had injected herself with the drug.." Sarah stopped, unsure how to finish.

"I was serving lunch in the cafeteria, and Parker was, I'm assuming, cleaning somewhere close by me. Alex had just filled her tray when her phone rang. She answered it, and got up hurriedly to leave.

One minute I'm stirring the spaghetti sauce, and the next the sprinklers are going off in the cafeteria."

Sarah's eyes took on a darker color, "I knew it couldn't have been a coincidence. I ran out after Alex, and I saw Agent Parker running after her, too. I remember feeling dizzy while I was running, and trying to get Parker's attention, but when I looked where he had just been, he was gone. The next thing I knew was I was waking up in the trunk of a car. I was bound, but other than that, unhurt."

Pausing for effect, she continued, "I didn't know what had happened to Alex or Parker, so I escaped from the trunk. Whoever it was that had me realized what I had done as soon as the trunk lid flew open, and they must have shot me while I was running. The pain from my shoulder made me stop. I tied a piece of my shirt around my arm to stop it from bleeding, and I tried to figure out where I was."

Smiling slightly, she said, "It didn't take me long to figure out I was still in California, only an hour away from Chuck's house. I jump-started the nearest car I could find and started to drive. I guess I made it here okay because the next thing I remember is waking up several minutes ago."

Chuck glanced out his window. There was a yellow sports-car parked in the middle of his fountain. "I should probably take care of that before Ellie gets home.." he thought to himself.

The General nodded her head, agreeing with what Sarah had said. "It fits with what Agent Parker said. He and Alex were both captured by the rogue agents, and were taken to a hidden facility. For several days I had no word on what had happened to the three of you, but Agent Parker managed to escape with Alex, and now they're in a secure government facility."

The General's expression turned grim, "We had to sedate Alex to bring her in.. Alex and Parker were split up during their captivity. She hasn't said a word since she was brought in. Her behavior reminds me of yours when you first came to the spy-training academy, Mr. Bartowski." They processed what had been said for a few moments.

"Why don't you have Casey talk to her? I'm sure she'd open up to him," Chuck suggested.

Sarah and Beckman shared a glance before responding to Chuck's idea.

"We let Colonel Casey know that his daughter was at the university, but no one has told him his daughter is now one of the most valuable assets our country has. Alex doesn't know that the Colonel is her father yet, either. We plan on telling the two of them soon."

Spent, Sarah lay back down on her pillows and closed her eyes. Opening them as fast as she had closed them, she announced, "I really have to use the restroom," and jumped out of Chuck's bed into the hallway.

Chuck rose to make sure Sarah was okay, but then changed his mind. Taking a deep breath, he said, "General, Sarah said something about a deal that you two had made."

The General's face instantly fell. "It was my hopes that by now you and Sarah would be fighting enemy spies, the typical, old-fashioned way by now. Seeing that you're not a typical spy, though, I'm afraid I'll have to alter my terms of agreement. If you and Sarah agree to the new mission that I have for both of you, I'll clear you to date for real. No more covers. No more lies, in your relationship at least."

"What was the original deal you made with Sarah?" Chuck asked, getting irritated that she wasn't giving him a straight answer.

"You should know, Chuck. It was in the letter I gave you in Prague," the General replied, starting to get annoyed.

"The only letter I got that night in Prague was a piece of blank paper that was supposed to be from Sarah," Chuck retorted, in a clipped, angry voice. "After being forced into a sedan, tranqed, and taken to a training facility against my will, you'd think the least you could do was to make sure you got the letter in the envelope."

Confusion colored Beckman's face. "Those were not my orders, Chuck. You were supposed to be briefed of the deal I had made with Sarah, and escorted to the facility." Realization dawned on her features. "That's why you wouldn't train at the facility… Chuck. Do you remember what the agent's name was that picked you up that night?"

"No, he didn't say, he just bullied me into the sedan," Chuck replied, all anger replaced with be-wilderness.

"I'll check the security tapes from that night, but.. Agent Carmichael, I think you encountered a new rogue agent. Any and all information you can remember about him will be critical."

Chuck's chest puffed out at the phrase Agent Carmichael, glad that he was reinstated, but immediately deflated. Did he really want to keep working for the agency that had made the past six months of his life a living hell?

"Did I hear you talking about a rogue agent?" Sarah asked, as she walked back into the room. She dropped onto the bed, exhausted, and tried to keep from stifling a yawn.

The general looked at Sarah knowingly. "You're tired, Agent Walker. We'll reschedule the rest of this brief for later."

"But what about our new mission?" Sarah asked, masking another yawn with her hand. "What about Alex? Her cover was compromised."

"I'd say we should re-brief tomorrow, but I have meetings all over the Middle East for the week." She looked over at her calendar, scribbled something down, and said, "I'll see the two of you at 9 am sharp, one week from now," and the television screen went blank.

Chuck looked over at Sarah and saw that she was about ready to fall back asleep. Wanting to stick to Devon's instructions, though, he went to his dresser and grabbed some fresh gauze and two white pills for Sarah. Seeing her incomprehension, he explained, "I have to change your wrap. You might want to take these first, though, it will help the pain."

Sarah swallowed the pills dutifully and sat up, resting her head on the wall behind her. Chuck made quick work of the bandages, and Sarah was under the sheets in no time at all, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Chuck put his hand out to stroke her hair, but pulled it back almost as soon as he did. He still didn't know where she stood on her feelings for him, and if he was honest with himself, he didn't think that he could forgive her that easily. Broken hearts need time to heal.

It had been a long night, and Chuck was exhausted. Ellie and Devon wouldn't be home until later, so he had some time before he faced Momma Bear. He walked to his closet, found his sleeping bag, and unrolled it on the rug next to his bed. Moments after lying down, he, too, was asleep.

What seemed like minutes later, Chuck startled awake. He had been sleeping deeply, but he had heard something… He looked up to see Sarah tossing and turning, talking in her sleep.

"Please, no, not Jenn. Stop the car. Don't hit her.. No. No!" she screamed. Sarah sat straight up in bed. Awake now, she started to cry, attempting to muffle the sound with her pillow.

Jumping up, Chuck accidentally stubbed his funny bone on the head board. "Ow, not funny," he muttered, sitting next to Sarah. "Sarah," he said, "It was just a bad dream. " He began rubbing her back, trying to envelope her in a hug without bumping her arm.

Sarah continued crying for a few minutes, gradually coming to a stop. She cautiously leaned into Chuck's embrace. Hoping that the worst was over, Chuck offered, "Do you want to talk about it?" Sarah looked at Chuck, shook her head no, and the two sat quietly for a few minutes.

All of a sudden, she leaned over and started kissing Chuck. At first, Chuck was surprised, and instinctively tried to pull away, but Sarah was persistent and the kiss began to deepen. Having to stop for air, Chuck came to his senses and pushed Sarah away. She looked at him, hurt, and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you want this?"

"Of course I do!" Chuck said, a little louder than necessary. Wincing at his bluntness, he sighed, and continued in a more in-door-appropriate voice. "Sarah, you know how I feel about you. You just have to understand that for the past six months, I thought you ran away with someone else. At Prague, the agent said you were in love with someone else, and I thought… I didn't think I would ever see you again," he finished, lamely.

Comprehension dawned on Sarah's face. "The rogue agent," she stated. It soon turned to confusion and she asked, "Why would he say that? Chuck, I had everything planned to go off grid with you. I was willing to spend the rest of my life pretending to be whoever I had to be to keep you safe, to keep us together. How could you possibly think I would want to be with someone else?"

The couple stayed quiet for a few minutes. "I really do love you, Sarah. You know I do. I just.. can we take it slow for awhile? I need some time. Besides, you're not really Sarah as long as you're a brunette," he added.

Sarah sighed. "I understand. If I ever find the agent who messed this up for us, trust me, he's going to pay." A pause later, "Could we at least kiss? That wouldn't be that bad, would it?"

Blushing, Chuck said, "Sarah, what if they're listening? Isn't that a little.. awkward?"

"Only if you think about it," she replied. Seeing Chuck's blush deepen, she mumbled, "Fine, we'll take it slow." Feeling slightly rejected, she rolled as far away from Chuck as she could without bumping her arm.

Chuck started to get back into his sleeping bag when Sarah said, "At least sleep in your bed; you'll be wiped the rest of the day if you sleep on the floor." Hesitantly, Chuck agreed and settled in next to her, shyly taking her hand. Sarah felt her anger ebb almost immediately, and she gave his hand a light squeeze. Both of them comfortable again, they soon succumbed to their dreams.