A/N 5/1/12 – Thanks to uplink2 for providing beta services on this chapter. It was very much appreciated. One of the things uplink2 noticed, and a few other astute readers will probably also see, was a slight break from canon re: S5E12. I don't know if it could be called a complete retcon because there was a loss of continuity at the beginning of that episode carried forward after the episode title credits so a certain degree of license could be justified in this case. See if you can spot what we're talking about.
I don't own Chuck.
Chuck Versus the Lost Years
Act 5 - Homecoming
- I -
When they walked through the front door of Casa Bartowski the first thing they saw was Devon sitting on the couch with his slumbering daughter wrapped in his strong arms.
"Chuck, Sarah! It's so good to see you...the both of you, together...awesome," Devon said it with hushed excitement as his daughter stirred a little in his lap, and he started to get up to greet them.
"No-no-no-no-no, it's okay, don't get up. Let's not disturb Clara." Chuck walked around the couch behind him and clasped Devon's raised hand as his other hand gave his shoulder a squeeze. "It's good to see you, too, Devon. How is Chicago?"
"It's good, bro. Never a dull moment. Every day is a welcome challenge. But, honestly? We've really missed you guys and the good times we've had here a lot." He looked back and forth from Chuck to Sarah, who was still near the door with a look of intense discomfort and worry showing on her face, her fingertips just barely visibly trembling at her sides. "However," he continued, "it looks like those good times may roll again, because our life looks like it has suddenly become a tale of two cities. How awesome is that?"
Ever perceptive Devon gazed at Sarah, sensing the source of her discomfort. He fixed his intense but empathetic gaze on her like he wanted her undivided attention. "Sarah, please come in and sit down, we don't want you to be uncomfortable in your own home. We forgave you a long time ago."
Sarah blanched from his statement, and as she stood there, she realized what another one of the big reasons had been that made her originally run from Chuck, and how very reluctant she had been to face this moment. Even now, she was fighting an overwhelming urge to run out the door. "How can you forgive me for what I did, Devon? I could have killed Ellie." She suddenly tensed even more as she stared at the baby in Devon's arms. "I could have left your daughter without her mother."
Chuck watched the exchange and started to speak when his brother-in-law gave him a look that said 'don't' as he held up his hand. Chuck sat on the back of the couch and held his tongue.
Then, showing Sarah an understanding smile even as his eyes showed her some sadness, Devon nodded and said, "Yeah, Sarah, there's no denying what you did was pretty bad, but you certainly can't take all the blame for what happened. In fact, speaking as a medical professional who now knows all the facts about your case, I don't see how you can take much of any of the blame, so stop trying to shoulder all of it, okay?"
"How can you say that Devon? The choice to hold your wife hostage was mine alone, I made it." Sarah clenched her hands into fists and then wove her fingers together in front of her in an attempt to quell their shaking.
"Sarah, you really need to talk to Ellie. But, just know this: I've seen the medical data from your case, and I understand there is now even more compelling information about what you were subjected to. I forgive you for what you did, Sarah. Please, accept that from me, and then try to forgive yourself. As far as we're concerned you'll always be our sister, and that will never change… not ever. So chill out Sis, you're among family." It was a moment of insightful awesomeness that only Captain Awesome, Devon Woodcomb could ever pull off so graciously.
Devon reached around and patted the back of Chuck's hand as he cocked his head toward Sarah, casting a glance toward her that wordlessly said, Now, get over there Bro!
Chuck lurched to his feet and walked around the couch to wrap his arm around Sarah and give her a hug while he calmed her hands with his other hand. He couldn't remember ever seeing his cool, collected Sarah this agitated. It was now his turn to give her the steady support she needed. Sarah started to relax a bit as she looked with sad worry at Devon, but as she gazed into his eyes, the acceptance she saw showing in them caused a sense of relief to slowly start washing over her.
She knew she had done some terrible things, made some awful misjudgments, and failed to see the people she should have trusted when they were standing right in front of her.
Yet it seemed Chuck's family almost refused to believe any of it had ever happened, could ever happen, or that she was even capable of any of the things she had actually done. It was an unsettling contradiction to her. But Devon had laid it all on the line the minute they had walked through the door by telling her to put her own discomfort to rest.
Chuck truly had an amazing family.
Sarah had an intense desire to know these people again, and she could feel that desire galvanizing her resolve, in spite of her intense feelings of guilt.
"Thank you, Devon, I'm very sorry for what happened." It was all she could muster at the moment as she walked around the couch with Chuck and placed her hand on Devon's shoulder and he placed his hand over hers with a warm smile on his face.
"Put it behind you, Sarah, we have," said Captain Awesome.
Chuck looked from Sarah to Devon, and a look of appreciation grew on his face as he thought of the significance of what his brother-in-law had said so spontaneously and unbidden. He squeezed Devon's shoulder again to thank him. Then it occurred to him, "Where is Ellie, Devon?"
"Chuck!" Ellie came charging down the hallway from the bathroom. And she almost bowled her brother over with an intense bear hug that conveyed an uncommon love and longing amplified by unwanted absence. "I've missed you so much, little brother! It just felt so wrong leaving you the way we did."
"I missed you too, Sis." They relished the embrace for a moment before the world reconvened around them. They pried themselves from each other, and Ellie became aware of a withdrawn and nervous Sarah staring at her from a cautious distance. She gazed at Sarah with an expression of love and of forgiveness that emotionally rocked Sarah and pulled her toward Ellie like a moth to a flame. Ellie stepped to her and took a hold of Sarah's hands and looked into her eyes.
"Sarah…" It was all she said, her eyes brimming over, and she gathered her up in an embrace that spoke volumes.
Sarah was overwhelmed. She couldn't believe this was the same person she had held a gun on and whose life she had threatened only six weeks ago. How could Ellie do this? There had to be so much history between them hiding right beneath the surface that she couldn't see. Ellie's embrace elicited an emotional response that poured from her like a spring in the desert. It was beautiful, it was miraculous, it was life sustaining, and it was just there; and it left her wondering how this fountain of cool water could just spring forth from the parched land of her recent existence.
Her soul drank heavily from the unexpected oasis she found herself in. And not a word had been spoken. How could I even have thought of walking away from this? What has Nicholas Quinn stolen from me? I want it back! Her self-control evaporated, and she started to shake in Ellie's arms.
It only made Ellie hold her more tightly. "I'm so happy to see you, Sarah. I can't tell you how much I hoped you would be here. The thought that I might lose my sister was becoming unbearable."
Ellie's tight hug was calming her, and she didn't know why. And as it did, Sarah found herself holding her sister-in-law more tightly too. A part of her wanted to run, but the part of her that heard and held on securely to the word 'sister', won her over unconditionally. She wanted to say something, but the words simply wouldn't come.
A firm knock on the door broke the cathartic silence.
Chuck shook himself free from the sight of Sarah and Ellie and collected himself as he strode to the door and answered it.
"Station Chief Bartowski?"
Chuck's brows lifted as he nodded. "That's me...the real me."
"Operative Anthony Carmichael, Sir. The Woodcomb's apartment is ready for them, Sir. A meal has been prepared for all of you, as well, and it's waiting for you on the table over there, compliments of General Beckman." He handed Chuck three sets of keys and a business card. "If you need anything else, please call this number, Sir. It's my secure cell line."
Chuck pulled his jaw up off the floor. His name is Carmichael? And he knows my real name. "Thank you, Officer Carmichael...thank you very much."
"Have a good evening, Sir." Anthony Carmichael spun on his heel to leave, but turned back. "Oh, and Sir? If you find yourself in need of a good logistics specialist, please give that card to Ms. Lawson?"
"Absolutely. Consider it done."
"Thank you, Sir. Good night."
Chuck turned back to everyone else in the room, and could see what had to be his own expression mirrored on all the other faces there. He smiled sheepishly. "Is anyone hungry? It sounds like the Woodcomb's have invited us over for dinner."
- II -
Dinner in the Woodcomb's new/old apartment was decidelly pleasant. Anthony Carmichael's crew had prepared a sumptuous cassoulet, prepared in the classic French tradition with rich pork sausage and goose. Served with a country salad, sautéed butternut squash and a plate of bread and cheeses, it was complimented by two excellent bottles of Bordeaux - each tagged with a personal sentiment from Diane Beckman. As they sat around the table enjoying the splendid meal and chatting about Chicago, they couldn't help but look around at the rest of the room they were in.
The apartment was a sight to behold. Family photos and paintings adorned the walls and the tabletops of furnishings that perfectly matched the Spanish architecture of the apartment. Not a single detail had been left out, from the cookware in the stocked kitchen to the linens in the upstairs cabinets and the luxurious towels hanging in the bathrooms. The whole experience the scene created was a lot to take in.
What the Company crew had accomplished in a few hours in this apartment reminded Chuck of the transformation that had been done to a house in the suburbs that he and Sarah had very briefly shared during a mission three years ago. He wanted to share that memory with her, but now he couldn't. Conversation was so difficult when he had to constantly be on guard about bringing up anything from their past. Ellie and Devon's new life in Chicago seemed to be the safest topic of conversation at the moment.
When dinner was done, Chuck got up to help his sister in the kitchen while Sarah and Captain Awesome exchanged small talk at the dining table. Looking over Devon's shoulder, Sarah watched Chuck and Ellie talking in hushed tones about something that by their expressions appeared to be very important. She suspected it was probably about her. Excusing herself to Ellie's husband as she picked up their dinner plates, Devon reached out and gave her hand a squeeze and smiled supportively at her before she walked into the kitchen.
Sarah placed the dinner plates on the counter and schooled her features as she turned to them. "Chuck, can I have a word with Ellie for a minute?"
Chuck and Ellie exchanged a knowing look and he circumspectly smiled and nodded to Sarah as he stroked her arm with his hand, sliding it down her forearm, and giving her own hand a gentle squeeze before leaving the kitchen. She felt a now familiar tingle from his touch, something she'd only experienced with him, and it both exhilarated and frightened her at the same time. She turned her small smile of mixed emotions to Ellie, who looked at her questioningly.
Her eyes said she was trying to find her voice, and then quietly the words came. "Ellie, I can't tell you how sorry I am about how I threatened you. I just don't know how I could have been so completely duped to believe that you or Chuck could be the people that Quinn made you. I should have known better than to blindly accept the story I was given. I should have realized something was wrong. I exercised terrible judgment and blinded myself to the truth when it was right there in front of me...I just don't know how I could...I..."
Ellie raised her hand and placed one finger on Sarah's lips as she looked sympathetically into her eyes. "Not another word Sarah. You need to stop blaming yourself for that. You were subjected to some of the worst kind of torture and brainwashing a person could ever have inflicted on them. Believe me, Sarah, I don't blame you at all for what happened."
"Ellie, I was trained to resist torture and conditioning… I shouldn't have-"
"Stop. Sarah, I'm a doctor of neurology, remember? No amount of resistance training could have prepared you for what was done to you using the Intersect in your brain. You need to let go of that notion right now. I need you to focus on getting better. No would haves, could haves, or should haves, okay?"
Sarah nodded back with misty eyes.
"Sarah, we don't need to be talking about this right now. We're going to be talking about a lot of these things tomorrow at the clinic. While we're conducting functional MRI scans and EEG tests, I'm going to be asking you some very hard questions and asking you to try to remember memories you've forgotten. I'm also going to be recounting some things you don't remember, and showing you some videos, pictures, and objects that are memory associative. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Her mouth pulling into a tight line, Sarah resignedly nodded again.
"I've probably said too much already. I need to have you rested and clearheaded when you arrive tomorrow, so you should go home and get some sleep." She showed Sarah a comforting smile. "We love you Sarah, and we're going to fix this."
Ellie reached for her sister-in-law and gave her a tight hug. After a long moment, she released Sarah from her embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow. Go home and cuddle up with your husband…Doctor's orders."
Sarah brightened at the thought of Ellie's prescription and gave in with a "Yes, Doctor."
Later, Ellie and Devon lay in their bed staring at the ceiling pondering what fates had brought them here again with their baby daughter who was slumbering just down the hall, in a nursery that could only be described as marvelous. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure they would feel at home in their old apartment and it made Ellie wonder just how long they would be staying here, not that she minded one bit. She just wished the circumstances of their being here could have been different.
"What have we gotten ourselves into, Devon?"
"I don't know, babe, but it's definitely time to be awesome…for Chuck and Sarah."
- III -
Chuck and Sarah were also laying in their bed staring at the ceiling as they replayed the last few day's events in their minds. If they could have seen how closely their memories and hopes matched without even talking about it, the picture of the shared dreams they were painting would have astounded them.
Sarah turned to Chuck with a look of newly rediscovered admiration. "You have a remarkable family."
Rolling partially onto his side, Chuck locked his eyes on hers, those deep, ocean blue eyes he loved so much, and his hand sought hers under the covers. "We have a remarkable family. You'll always have us as your family, Sarah, no matter what happens. You've earned that right by being the good person that we know you are, the heart and soul of you that can't be changed by anything."
With a watery smile Sarah placed her hand on Chuck's chest and pushed him onto his back as she rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel her eyes brimming over even as she reveled in the sensation of touching him. Why did I run from this? Absentmindedly her hand beneath the covers played with the ring on Chuck's left hand as she thought of what had happened right here in this bed only this morning. It made her skin feel hot just thinking about it.
"Chuck, I'm sorry I pulled back from you so hard. I was so angry and confused, I shouldn't have taken it out on you the way I did."
He kissed the top of her head, "Sweetheart, you've been through a lot. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult the last couple of months have been for you. Don't start second guessing yourself about it. Just let it be. Tomorrow is a new day."
It's hardly ever about him; it's always about everyone else. No wonder I fell so hard for him. She thought about the last six weeks and realized that as tough as it had been for her it must have been absolutely excruciating for Chuck, knowing all of the things they'd been through, what they shared, how much she could see he loved her, and then facing the possibility that he might lose it all because she had walked away. Not having any memories of their life together had made it very easy for her to run away, but knowing everything they had together, and watching her leave, it had to have been heartbreaking for Chuck.
It was like he was reading her mind, "Don't worry about me, Sarah, what's done is done, and you're home, and I couldn't be happier that you're here."
Sarah snuggled in closer to him and lifted her head to give him a soft kiss, before settling her head on his shoulder again and idly letting her fingers stroke the hair on his chest in soft circles.
She thought about what tomorrow might hold. "Chuck, someone obviously thinks Ellie and Devon are very important. Do you think Ellie's team will be able to help me?"
"Honey, Ellie has been working on the Intersect project for Diane since she arrived in Chicago. Before that she was researching it on her own using the data our dad gave her. She's been working to expand and improve my dad's work from the perspective of a neurologist, and Diane has assembled an extraordinary team to assist her. She told me her ultimate goal is to create an Intersect the way my dad originally conceived it, a pure teaching tool that ultimately reduces and eliminates the need to flash, because the knowledge would become permanent. To answer your question, yes, I think Ellie and her team will be able to help you. I have tremendous faith in my sister; she's a Bartowski."
Sarah smiled, inquisitively studying him, this man who had so much faith, somehow knowing she played a part in it. "How are they gonna do it, Chuck? How can they rebuild the Intersect? It sounded like the technology and the programming was completely unrecoverable after you uploaded version 3 at the concert hall."
"Sarah, a lot of very gifted people are working on this. My dad was the source of it, and he wisely passed a lot of it on to Ellie. And we also recovered a lot of valuable Intersect technology from Quinn's safehouse. Right now the focus of the effort is to help you. Anything is achievable when the right talent is assembled. We know this is true from our own experience. We've seen it first hand. The hardware part shouldn't be too difficult to duplicate, or even improve, and Ellie has asked me to get involved with some of the software engineering and coding. You might have to spend a few boring days watching me work at a computer terminal in Castle," he warned.
She pondered what he said, and nodded, thinking time spent watching Chuck work at a computer was a lot better than what she had been doing until very recently. "What exactly are we going to be doing at the clinic tomorrow?"
"As far as I know, tests; lots and lots of tests for the both of us." He reached over and brushed some of her hair from her face, and let his hand trail down her cheek as his thumb caressed her jaw line and then down her neck. "Trust me Sarah, we're all going to do our part to help you fix this... including you."
She looked up into his eyes. "Okay. That makes perfect sense. But why are they doing tests on you?"
"Ellie wants me to provide baseline datasets from the version 3 Intersect I currently have. She thinks the way my brain and version 3 interact might hold some valuable insight into what can be done to help correct what the Ring intersect and Quinn's suppression techniques have done to you. The data will also be used for the Iv4 project."
"Will you be there for my testing?"
"Of course, that is, if Ellie will let me." He settled his head into his pillow, "I'll be with you every second I can, honey. I'm not going anywhere."
"Neither am I, Chuck. I'm beginning to wonder why I ever left at all."
That is music to my ears, baby, he thought as they both drifted off to sleep.
- IV -
They spent most of the next morning at the JPL annex research clinic, taking turns getting contrast injections and spending time in either an MRI machine or a PET scanner. While some of the tests were being conducted they were listening to Ellie reading material from a script or asking them questions, reading memory associative prompts to each other, or watching visual prompts in the form of pictures or videos.
One of the videos was of their wedding and Sarah flashed twice while watching it, once during the ceremony, and once when a picture was shown of her and Chuck kissing in the back seat of the limousine. So Morgan took that picture, thought Sarah, smiling to herself in spite of the pain.
Chuck was there when they happened and was greatly distressed by what he saw. He was having flashbacks to the videos he had seen in Quinn's safehouse. The second time it happened he emotionally exclaimed, "Ellie! Is this really necessary? This can't be good for her."
"Chuck, we have to do this," Ellie answered sympathetically, "We have to see how her brain is physically reacting to the stimulus and the flashes, there is really no other way to do it."
A visibly tiring Sarah put her hand on her husbands arm. "It's okay, Chuck. I trust Ellie…I'm alright. Besides, I remembered something that was worth the pain just to experience it."
"Sarah, how can any memory be worth what I'm seeing happen to you?"
"It was us, Chuck, we were rehearsing our wedding vows in the dining room." She smiled weakly. "I had a doily on my head for a veil. It was worth it."
He returned a smile to Sarah filled with a mixture of elation and worry as he took her hand and squeezed it. "Oh, Sarah… I love you so much…" he said, his voice trailing off, like he was concerned he'd let his tongue slip into dangerous territory.
She smiled back at him reassuringly, trying to let him know it was okay for him to say it. I'm getting there, Chuck.
A restrained smile graced Ellie's face as she listened to their exchange and, checking Sarah's vital signs on the monitor, she gave Sarah's other hand a squeeze. "Sarah, you should probably take a break. We'll let Chuck be the Guinea pig for a while." Ellie and Chuck helped her sit up, and then guided her to a large recliner chair in the corner of the room.
"Now, little brother, we're going to spend some time triggering skill-set flashes from you. I'm going to intentionally try to evoke them in a rapid-fire manner to see how your brain reacts to them cumulatively. You're probably not going to like this much, but I need you to roll with it, okay?"
"Throw whatever you want at me, for as long as you want," Chuck answered, with determination, after casting another worried look at Sarah.
Sarah knew he was trying to keep her from overdoing it, that was fairly obvious. But now the anxiety was shifting from Chuck worrying about her, to her worrying about Chuck. She sat in the chair, fighting a pounding headache, watching, and wondering how she had so rapidly gotten to this place with him.
This went on for the rest of the morning. Sarah had three more 'mini' flashes, twice during a question and answer session about mission debriefings, and once when Ellie was telling her a story about her bachelorette party. Sarah was starting to look quite disoriented. Chuck could see, that even as Ellie was maintaining a level of clinical detachment, she was starting to show a little worry for the both of them in her eyes.
Ellie was studying the output from the latest PET scans and was starting to burn the data to a DVD when she turned to Chuck and Sarah. "I think it's time we took a lunch break. We'll be concentrating on EEG's this afternoon." She assessed her two tired looking patients with a critical eye. "I'm sorry to run the both of you through the wringer like this, but I'm trying to get the most useful data I can for our hardware specialists before our appointment with Leo Dreyfus tomorrow."
A soft beep sounded, and she turned back to the control console. Pulling the freshly burned DVD from the open tray, she then handed it to an assistant. "See to it that Dr. Depak gets this immediately, Ann."
At the mention of the name Chuck abruptly pushed his mind out from underneath the foggy headache he was experiencing. Depak? "Doctor Depak? Manoosh Depak?"
Sarah perked up in her chair. Why do I know that name? She had another small flash and scrunched her eyes shut.
"Damn it," Ellie exclaimed when she saw it - a lost data point. She shook her head, and then swiftly swung her gaze back to her brother. "You know Manoosh Depak?"
Chuck and Sarah exchanged very uncomfortable looks between them. "Manoosh was my first CIA assigned asset," he said with a grim nod. "I had to burn him and have him placed into protective custody about three years ago after he tried to sell Intersect technology on the open arms market. It was an awful experience…for all of us."
"Oh, Chuck..." Ellie slowly shook her head and placed her palm on her brow, clearly disturbed by the revelation. Just when she was getting used to the idea of working for the DNI and her brother's occupation, he had to go and drop something like this on her again. "Dr. Depak is here in Burbank, working on a governor for Sarah's Intersect at the research lab in Castle. This data is for him, so he can optimize the governor for Sarah's Intersect and brain physiology."
"Does Manoosh know who he is making the governor for?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, he knows all about your current problem and has the highest level of project clearances. He's also very involved with the Iv4 project. Should we be concerned?"
Chuck looked at her with an expression of resurfacing pain from the old memory. "I don't know, El. Has he ever mentioned any of this to you?"
"No."
"Well, General Beckman and the DNI definitely know about it." Chuck appeared lost in thought for a few seconds. "I'm a little torqued that Diane didn't at least mention it to you."
"What do you think we should do?"
Sarah spoke up, "We'll see him tomorrow and see if we can figure this out on our own before we get anyone else involved. There may be much more to it than meets the eye."
Chuck's eyes traveled back to Ellie as a question abruptly entered his mind. "Manoosh has his doctorate now?" he inquired. "When I had him placed in protective custody he was a second year MIT dropout. A lot of positive things have obviously happened to him in the last three years. He was a genius three years ago. It sounds to me like he didn't sit on his butt feeling sorry for himself for getting burned. I'm not sure if I'd have done as well."
Sarah looked at Chuck with a sudden and wide-eyed realization of what he was saying, and stifled a moan, the pain showing on her face. I was on a rooftop heliport pleading for Chuck not to be thrown into a bunker… I was going to draw my weapon on another CIA officer! Longshore! Chuck almost went to a bunker!
Ellie turned to her, alarm stark in her eyes. "Sarah, if you start to have multiple flashes you need to tell me about it right away."
"I'm okay...Ellie. It wasn't too bad," she blurted, trying to cover up her sudden and increasing disorientation yet another time. "However, the memory…" ...Chuck. The relived distress of that time and the way she remembered what she felt - what she now powerfully recognized - were etched all over her face. I've been in love with Chuck this long? No, probably longer.
- V -
Edgar Sloan stared out of the ceiling to floor window of his upper floor Century City office. He was mad as hell, and he was starting to get impatient as he thought about the botched operation at Quinn's base the day before. They had come so close to getting the Intersect hardware and destroying the remaining evidence that could link them to Quinn. He wondered how the NSA could have found out about it and wrecked his group's op before they were able to complete it.
If only he had been able to get Wired to spill the location an hour earlier; then he wouldn't have to be asking himself these questions and maybe they could have killed some very important people as an added bonus. He shook his head in disgust and turned back to his computer workstation on his desk.
Two of his remaining four deep cover operatives in the CIA had been activated this morning, but as yet they had not heard a word from either of them. One of them was at Langley, and the other here in L.A. He would give them until sometime tomorrow before he gave any more thought to activating the last two agents.
The door to his office opened and a large man dressed in black entered carrying some files in his hand. He placed them on Sloan's desk. "Surveillance photos and the dossiers of the four persons of interest at Quinn's base yesterday. Three of them are fairly well known, the fourth not so much."
Sloan picked them up and shuffled through the files and opened Sarah Walkers first when he saw her picture attached to the front of it. "I definitely know this bitch; she tried to kill Quinn and me on his jet last month. I also had a run-in with her years ago. What more do we know about Agent Walker?"
"She has a long and very colorful history as a field operative - colorful, as in black ink. She was one of Langston Graham's enforcers for several years. A trained assassin. Very tough. Extremely dangerous. Seems she'd been working a protective detail for several years partnered with an NSA agent, code word compartmented up the wazoo. Not a lot of additional info available, except that the asset they were protecting was very important and living somewhere here in the Los Angeles area. She is now unaffiliated and married to the man in one of the other files, a Charles Carmichael. He's former CIA, and owns a private computer security firm here in Pasadena, Carmichael Industries. His real name is Chuck Bartowski "
"Hmm, where have I heard that name before?" And then he looked up as the light bulb went on, "He's Stephen Bartowski's son isn't he?" He tossed Walkers file on the desk and looked at the one on Carmichael.
The man in black smiled tightly. "Yes, Stephen Bartowski is his father. Roark Instruments hired him just before the shit hit the fan. My department did the background check on him. He's a genius just like his father, and a Stanford grad. The file you have there is appended with additional information from his background check at Roark. Stephen Bartowski's son was also in Barstow. I know this because I was there too. I barely got out in one piece. Apparently, so did he."
Something else was tickling Sloan's memory about Chuck Bartowski, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked up from the file to his associate. "See what else you can find about this man's current activities and ask our agent at Langley if she can provide any additional info. I want to know if Chuck Bartowski has anything to do with the Intersect Project or what his involvement may have been in Barstow."
The man in black nodded. "One of the other two files are of one of Carmichael's employees; a Nikki Lawson. And the other is JPL Annex Station Chief, Vincent Oddo. Oddo is CIA, and Lawson is NSA. Oddo is fairly well known, but there is very little info about Lawson."
Sloan rifled Nikki Lawson's file, "Damn, you're not kidding, this woman is a ghost. Curious. You're sure she's NSA?"
"Positive. A Special Collections operative, purported to be one of their best. And that's not all. One of our teams tried to tail her and Carmichael and his wife after they left Quinn's base yesterday. She was driving the car, and she shook them off rather effortlessly about five minutes after they left."
Sloan looked up at his associate obviously angry to hear about another operational failure. "Find out where Carmichael's business is located and set up surveillance on it, and make damn sure the team doesn't get detected again. Tell our man here in L.A. we need him to dig around for any info that can be found about what's going on at the JPL Annex. Also, see if you can find any additional information about this Ms. Lawson."
The man in black nodded again. "Yes, sir."
"That will be all for now, Allen."
The man in black, Allen Preston, turned and left the room as Edgar Sloan tossed the remaining files onto his desk and turned to look out the window again.
- VI -
The tests were finally completed at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Sarah looked exhausted, and Ellie had given her some rather strong pain meds and a mild sedative when they were done. Ellie pulled Chuck aside and walked with him across the room to the control console so she could have a private word with him.
Chuck didn't look a whole lot better than Sarah. Partially, Ellie surmised, from the tests she had run on him, and the rest an empathetic reaction to watching Sarah throughout the long and difficult day. That was her brother Chuck.
Sarah was watching them while she rested in the recliner again.
"Chuck, you need to keep a very close eye on Sarah tonight." Ellie handed him a bottle of meds. "If she shows any sign of some kind of adverse reaction I want you to give her one of these and call me immediately."
Chuck looked at the bottle label. More worry was creeping onto his face.
"It's a strong, fast acting sedative, Chuck. It should suppress the Intersect if it starts to cause any problems for her. Keep it handy. But, try not to worry, it's only a precaution."
"Do you think what we subjected her to today was worth it, El?" he hoarsely whispered, the emotion coloring his voice.
"I hope so, little brother. I saw some intriguing things on the monitors during the tests, but it'll take a couple of days to analyze all of it and cross check and correlate the data with the Iv4 team's and dad's databases. Try to be patient, okay?"
Chuck nodded back, his lips drawn tight and exhaustion showing in his eyes.
Ellie gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, I almost forgot. I talked to Dr. Depak while we were taking the break on the EEG's this afternoon. He says he got the data he needed, and he'll have a working governor ready for Sarah in the morning. He mentioned something about an all-nighter to get it done. He wanted me to tell you not to worry, and that he was looking forward to seeing you and Sarah tomorrow."
"So he knows that we're aware he's on the team?"
"Yes, he seemed excited about talking to you; rather happy about it actually."
Chuck answered Ellie with a silent look of puzzlement.
"I don't know what to say, Chuck. Maybe some good came out of what you had to do to Manoosh. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. You don't need this on your mind too."
"It's alright, Ellie. I'm too tired to worry about it now anyway."
Ellie smiled back at him apologetically. "I want you to go home and order a large veggie pizza for you and Sarah. And I want you to eat the whole thing... and drink a lot of water. And drink a couple of cups of decaf green tea also before you go to bed. That's my prescription for tonight."
Chuck grinned back at her with mirth in his eyes. "I like your idea of medicine, but you left out the beer."
"Lots of carbs, it'll help you recharge your batteries and get a good nights sleep. But sorry, no alcohol for Sarah, so none for you either." She hugged him again. "Now go home, I'll check on you later."
- VII -
The pizza box on the coffee table was almost empty. It turned out to be fairly easy to carry out Ellie's 'prescription' because they'd both found themselves to be starving by the time the pizza delivery came to their door. Now with the pizza almost consumed they were wrapped up in each other watching an episode of 'Lost' on the TV.
Sarah burped and let out a short laugh. "I'm feeling so much better."
Chuck shot her an amused look. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat that much pizza in one sitting." Glancing at the last piece in the box, he said, "Flip a coin for the last slice?"
She rolled her eyes back at him and puffed out her cheeks. "I think four slices is plenty, thank you very much…but if there's any ice cream in the freezer…" She gave him a very exaggerated tight-lipped smile.
"Hi-yo, O.K. I'll see what we can do about that after I'm done with this," he said as he reached for the last slice.
"You have a hollow leg."
"You're one to talk."
"Having your brain scanned all day long works up quite an appetite." She leaned over to give him a quick kiss and then stole a bite off the pizza slice he was holding in his hand.
"Hey! My, you're a sneaky one."
"It's goes with the job," she quipped.
Chuck smiled at her as he chewed. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
He swallowed loudly, his smile turning gradually up into a grin. "Did Ellie put you up to that?"
"No, she told me I should do this." Sarah leaned in again and gave him a very passionate kiss holding his face in her hands as he waved the pizza around trying to decide what to do with it. She finally released him from the lip lock.
"Really!" He looked at her wide-eyed. "My sister told you to do that?"
"Doctors orders."
"It's totally believable." He took another bite.
"Finish that so I can have my ice cream."
He took another huge bite as he got up from the couch and started to the kitchen. "Yes ma'am. Your wish is my command."
Opening the freezer door with his free hand, Chuck mumbled around a mouthful of pizza, "Rocky Road or Mint Chip?"
"Why don't you scoop up a bowl of each and we'll share."
"That sounds like some sticky fun."
"MmHmm, yes, it does, doesn't it?" Whoa. Sarah's tone sounded very smoky, sultry, and suggestive.
"Just give me two seconds." Chuck filled the bowls in record time and turned to take them to the living room, and stopped abruptly in his tracks. Sarah was right there in front of him in the kitchen. And the smolderingly sexy look in her eyes was utterly intimidating. She held out her open hand at about shoulder height, and he placed the bowl of Rocky Road in it. Cradling the bowl where it was, she placed her other hand on his chest. Sarah's fingertips then ran down his chest and across his abdomen, before she finally lifted her hand away just below the belt line as she gracefully brought it up to take the spoon from her bowl and grin at him.
"Oh...my…" He watched her take a spoonful of the Rocky Road and take a bite of it in a way that made almost all the blood in his body rush to his head…and one other place. His mouth fell open.
Sarah took advantage of his open mouth and placed a spoon full of ice cream in it. She looked at him very suggestively and asked, "Do I get to have a bite of yours, Chuck?"
Chuck's brain locked up and he almost dropped his bowl, but he recovered and found enough presence of mind to dip the spoon and give her a bite. She did it to him again as she held his hand and helped him guide the spoon into her mouth and slowly pulled the ice cream off of it, licking the bottom of the spoon with the tip of her tongue as he pulled it away. Oh…my…God. He stopped breathing.
"Why don't we take this to the bedroom, sweetie," Sarah intoned in a way that made his eyes glaze over as she stroked his thigh with her free hand.
"You want to eat ice cream...in...the...bedroom?" Oh…my…"O.K."
Eleanor Woodcomb leaned over to pick up her phone off of the coffee table when the text notification beeped. Curious. It was from Sarah. That hadn't happened in a long time. She pulled up the message, and as she read it the look on her face caught Devon's attention and he leaned over and peeked at it too.
Don't come a-knockin, the house is a-rockin'.
Ellie started to quietly giggle as Devon exclaimed with a snort, "Alright, Sarah. You're back on the bike saddle."
"Sshhh, you," Ellie admonished, "You're going to wake the baby."
- VIII -
"There she is. She sure does come to work early." They watched from an office window across the street as a thunder gray Cadillac CTS-V pulled up to the roll up door of the basement parking garage and the door raised and lowered as the car drove through and never stopped moving.
"Were you able to scan the door opener frequency?"
"Negative, at least not a standard one. Whatever they're using is definitely not off the shelf hardware. And that door looks like it would withstand a hit from an RPG."
"Damn it," Allen Preston fumed, as he realized just what a challenge they were facing trying to surveil this building. Just the windows had proven to be impossible. They had gold reflective film and active tinting to prevent looking into them during daylight, ultrasonic glass shakers to foil laser eavesdropping, and night shutters. There were no wireless security camera feeds to tap into, and no apparent wired security cameras on the outside of the building to tap into either.
Visual and optical sonic remote surveillance just wasn't going to work, except to see who came and went. They would have to get a man inside to plant bugs at the minimum, but preferably an operative inside if they were going to find out what was going on in the Carmichael Industries offices.
Preston scanned the building with a thermal imager noting the apparent lack of a signature of any kind with a disgusted grunt. "What do we know about the building tenants?"
"Carmichael owns the building. His business occupies the upper two floors and the first floor is leased to a holding company that looks suspiciously like a federal government front. The first floor tenants appear to have at least ten people on the premises at all times, and there are two security people in the front entrance foyer at all times."
"Shit." Preston started gathering up the equipment he'd brought with him. "Watch who comes and goes, and be prepared to give me a full report when I check back this afternoon. And, Fredericks," He gave one of the two men in the room a hard look. "No screw-ups this time."
The man to whom he was talking gave him an expressionless nod of the head.
Nikki Lawson scanned the main area of the parking garage as she pulled her Cadillac into her designated spot across from the elevators and stairwell entrance. She noted that the secondary parking area's ten-by-twelve roll-up door was down and the regular eight cars of the CIA and NSA employees who worked the night shift were in their normal spaces. Her eyes fell briefly onto all of the security cameras as she strode to the elevator door and scanned her Carmichael Industries I.D. badge across the entrance pad.
Exiting the elevator on the second floor, she walked down a short hallway to the heavy secure entrance of a medium sized room with a lounge area. Two vestibules off of it were lined with an assortment of firearms and maintenance workstations. Walking purposefully into one of them, she reached under her black leather jacket and pulled a STI 2011 Tactical 3.0 .45 caliber handgun from her shoulder holster.
Nikki dropped the double column magazine and set it on the bench in front of her. She then racked the round out of the chamber into her hand and set it next to the magazine. With the push of a detent, and a quarter turn, the bayonet mounted custom compensator was removed from the end of the barrel, and a Gemtech Blackside suppressor she pulled from under her jacket replaced it.
After reloading the weapon she re-holstered it in condition one and walked through the side door onto the six stage range, and hung silhouette targets on five of the run-out frames fifteen feet from the shooters benches. Then she took up position at one of the center stations. She quickly programmed the target frames and, donning some ballistic shooter's glasses, readied herself at the station with her hands placed on the shooters bench in front of her. Her right hand punched the button on the bench and the targets started to run out away from her at different rates ranging from a fast walk to a sprint as several cameras on the range started to record the action and time the event.
Very swiftly, Nikki drew the weapon from her holster bringing it up in a modified isosceles stance, and swept the targets right to left as the gun made a rapid fire metallic double chunking sound and the bullets could be heard striking the bullet stop twenty-five yards downrange. After double-tapping the final target on the left she dropped the magazine from the gun and another was in it in a blur. She repeated the process as she swept the handgun left to right, and the targets started to return back to her as she was about a third of the way across them.
The last rounds had been fired and the gun was unloaded and resting on the bench in front of her and she punched the benchtop button once again to stop the timer long before the targets even came back to a halt in front of her. A satisfied smirk crossed her face as she looked at the targets, each with two rounds tightly grouped in the head and two, center of body mass. The timer displayed 8.7 seconds. Not her best, but respectable.
After another two sets, she decided to leave the targets as they were – to send a message, but for simple bragging rights too. Her short morning ritual complete, Nikki then left the range to clean her weapon and go upstairs to start her morning bug-sweep.
- IX -
What an amazing dream. Ice cream and toppings, and frenzied and erotic love making on the ice cream shop counter. His eyes popped open. What? Ice cream shop counter?! He took stock of the situation as he slowly awoke. He tried to move. His hand was stuck to her belly. Huh? He tried to move again. Everywhere, all he could feel was sweet stickiness. Then the memory hit him like an ice cream headache. Holy spumoni, we really did this. Talk about making new memories…
Sarah stirred. She could feel his warmth on her body. It was a very sticky warmth. She smiled. Wow, that was incredible! How could two people have so much fun with a bowl of ice cream?
Their eyes met. And they giggled at each other as their hands moved to special places and stuck to them.
"I don't remember anything like this ever happening on the train from Paris to Zurich," Sarah said with an impish and yet astonishingly beautiful smile on her face.
Chuck looked at her questioningly, "You remember that?"
"I dreamt about it a couple of weeks ago," she said, kissing him gently, as if to say good morning with her sticky lips.
Chucks eyes locked on hers, "It was real. It happened. It is one of the best memories of my life…and now it has a rival." He smiled back at her like she was the center of his universe.
"The dream sure felt real...I'm glad to hear it was." Sarah took his hand and sucked on his finger. "Mmmm, minty. Last night was plainly no dream either."
"I can't believe we slept like this."
"We didn't," Sarah reminded him with a breathy snicker, "...much."
The soft kiss she gave Chuck to remind him why quickly became more. "Hiyo," he murmured when she finally pulled her sweet tasting lips away.
"Yes...that describes it to a tee." Fixing her very soul on him through her blue eyes, Sarah sighed. "I love you, Chuck Bartowski. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Her husband nodded. "But it's still really wonderful to hear you say it," he said, his voice awash with tenderness as he wrapped himself around her like he was never going to let her go. He wondered if he was actually going to be able to let her go, because they were stuck like glue in several places.
Sarah giggled at the sensation. Sarah Walker...giggling? "After a night like last night I think it would only be natural to take a long hot shower together, Mr. Bartowski."
- X -
Dr. Leo Dreyfus studied the two people in front of him. Check that; he'd been here before. They were more than two. They were a couple again, it was that obvious, and he was a little shocked by what he was observing. This was a very good sign. The best. If Sarah Bartowski was going to beat the situation she was in it was going to take every advantage she could muster and he knew it.
He was very happy – in a clinical sense – to see what was happening between Sarah and Chuck Bartowski. But the sight also warmed him personally, because he knew how committed they were to each other before all of this. He wondered what could have happened to cause such a sudden change, and it occurred to him that there were several topics for discussion he could scratch off his plans for this session.
"Sarah, have you been following your doctors orders?"
She returned a curious and slightly confused look, "I don't follow you, doctor. Do you mean have I been avoiding trying to remember things?"
"Well?"
"Aside from my tests, yes. Though I've discovered it's not something I seem to have a lot of control over. I meant to tell you this the other day, but our session ended before I could bring it up. I've also been experiencing memories manifested in the form of dreams. I didn't even make the connection until you mentioned the problems that Chuck had with Intersect related dreams."
Chuck perked up in his chair. He hardly even heard Sarah's reference to his dreams. Instead, all he could think about was her mentioning of her dream this morning. "The train trip from Paris to Zurich."
She looked at him and vibrantly smiled, "It was an amazing dream, Chuck, like I was living it; very lucid, vibrant, very lifelike...better than a memory. I wouldn't mind experiencing it again...not one bit." She gave his hand a squeeze and winked at him.
"Would you mind telling us more about that dream?" the psychiatrist asked.
Sarah almost choked, and she watched as Chuck's face cracked into a huge grin, "Sorry doctor, I'm not discussing that one with anyone but Chuck."
Chuck's round-eyed gaze moved from her to the doctor, "I remember how vivid my Intersect dreams were. At the time I experienced them they felt like reality, not a dream. That is until I analyzed them after I woke up and realized how surreal parts of them were." He looked quickly back to Sarah. "Not that I'm saying parts of your train trip dream were a fantasy, we'll have to compare notes about that."
The grin she shared back with him was undeniably provocative in its unspoken agreement. Yes, we will!
"Sooo, when you have these dreams do you experience any pain?" asked Dr. Dreyfus, squelching the vestiges of a smile.
"No, not when I'm having them. But a couple of times I woke up with what felt like a hangover."
The doctor quickly scribbled some notes on his pad. "When you think about your dreams after you wake up do you have any pain?"
"No, it's interesting that you ask that because the dreams feel like memories not something my mind conjured up, but they don't cause any pain when I think about them when I'm awake. Although when I first started to experience them I questioned whether they had any basis in reality, because when I experience memories when I'm awake they're always accompanied by an intense headache and a temporary loss of vision."
The doctor continued to make notes then asked, "Can you tell us about another one of your dreams?"
Sarah felt herself begin to flush as she thought about a couple of them. She hesitated. "I'm sorry, the personal and very emotional nature of many of them makes it difficult to talk about them."
Giving her hand a comforting squeeze this time, Chuck said, "It's okay, sweetie, you can tell us."
"Are you sure about that? Maybe if I sanitize them for the good Doctor's consumption."
"Um... erm..." Chuck gulped. "There's gotta be something you don't have to redact."
Her smile turned a little pensive as Sarah gazed at him and pursed her lips before sighing. "Okay. Well, there was one rated 'PG', where I believe we had our first real kiss. We were trying to diffuse a bomb, and we thought we were going to die. I kissed you. I remember thinking there was no way I was going to go to my grave without kissing you like that at least once. I thought maybe the dream was just a fabrication of my mind after seeing myself talk about it in my mission logs."
"But I realized later, when I thought about it, that it was a very real memory…that when I kissed you it was because I had fallen in love with you. I was so at odds with myself and Company protocol, and I pushed you away...I did that a lot...I had to," she said softly, looking at her hands, and then up into Chuck's eyes. "I'm sorry I kept doing that to you, Chuck. At the time I didn't quite understand what the emotion was I was feeling…now I do...but there was still so little I could do about it." She flushed as she said it, and gave the doctor a very embarrassed look, averting her gaze from him.
"It's okay," Chuck reassured her, confirming her reflection with the two simple words.
Dr. Dreyfus shared an understanding smile. "Can you tell us about one that you don't remember seeing in your mission logs?"
She thought about it for a minute. There were so many. But thinking about it now, Sarah realized that so many were also in her logs. It made her wonder if she was conjuring things up because of those video logs, or whether they were real memories. Then it hit her, and she broke into a grin...because of the ice cream.
"I remember one where Chuck was sitting on the floor in his underwear with a guitar, an empty carton of ice cream, and a bottle of scotch."
She let out a short snorting laugh and looked her husband in the eye. "You mentioned how you thought a half gallon of mint chip ice cream had sobered you up…then you told me about a question that had come to you in 'your drunken haze'… and you asked me if I loved you. I remember thinking all I could say was 'yes' and not actually say 'I love you'; how reluctant I was to face up to what I was really feeling and just say it."
"When I woke from the dream it made me think more about the game of denial I was playing with my emotions. But the dream seemed so surreal...like a complicated and tragic romantic comedy. It was a little hard to believe."
Chuck chuckled - even as he regarded her so lovingly - from listening to this admission from Sarah about that night, one he'd never heard from her before. "As surreal as all that sounds it actually happened just the way you described it. The guitar wasn't even a real guitar, it was a game guitar for the Guitar Hero video game." He then looked at the doctor and it was his turn to blush bright red.
The doctor seemed to ignore his embarrassment as he took more notes, but when he finally looked up from them, back at Chuck and Sarah, his eyes were glittering with amusement even as his face remained stoic. "Sarah, have you had many memory flashes since we spoke on Tuesday?"
"A few. They have a way of just blindsiding me when I least expect it, but none of them were as severe as some others had been before our first session. The worst one happened shortly after I left my appointment with you. I was upstairs with Nikki Lawson in the Ops Center."
"Was there any disorientation associated with it?"
"Yes, after the flash in the Ops Center I didn't know where I was for several minutes. It was like I'd lost my memory of the previous five or ten minutes before it happened. I also noticed that several times yesterday at the research clinic."
"Have you had any Intersect flashes?"
Sarah looked puzzled by the question. "I don't think so, but I don't have any memory of ever using the Intersect so I'm not entirely sure."
The intercom buzzed on the table next to Dr. Dreyfus. "Leo, Dr. Woodcomb is here."
Leo finished the note he was scribbling on his pad and reached to punch off the privacy button. "Thank you, Gayle. Please send her in."
Ellie walked into the office carrying a small black plastic case. "Doctor Dreyfus, it's very good to finally see you face-to-face," She said offering him her hand. "Thank you for letting me join you today. I hope these two are being cooperative?"
"As cooperative as a couple of trained spies can be," the doctor droned, smiling mildly as he shook Ellie's hand. "Actually, these are two of my best patients, Dr. Woodcomb. And if this session has been anything, it has been entertaining."
Sarah and Chuck exchanged incredulous looks.
The doctor took in Chuck and Sarah with his trademark stoic smile. "Relax, and let an old man enjoy the moment. I'm very optimistic about what the both of you have been saying." He looked back to Ellie. "I trust that you have brought the governor with you?"
Ellie held up the plastic case. "This is it." Opening the case, she removed a slightly oversize, but very elegant looking woman's gold watch. "It's Gucci," she grinned. She looked at Sarah questioningly. "Are you ready to try this?"
Sarah briefly examined the watch, and then the one she was already wearing.
"You can get rid of that one for the time being. I was instructed to tell you that this one also has a sixty channel agile frequency encrypted vox transceiver, and a synchronized frequency hopping GPS tracker beacon. It has a kinetic generator, but it will still have to be charged daily, especially if you use the transceiver or the tracker. It's a mod 6. The one you're wearing is a mod 4. We'll have a couple of backups for you in a few days."
"Wow, El, I'm impressed, your nerdspeak is getting quite good," Chuck quipped.
Ellie smirked at her brother while Sarah took off her old watch, and then Ellie reached over to wrap the new one around her wrist. As soon as the clasp connected Sarah could feel a tingle on her skin underneath the watch case that reverberated up her arm and poured through her entire body like fluid. When it reached her head it felt like someone had opened a pressure release valve in her skull, and she was overcome by an overwhelming sense of relief.
Chuck watched her reaction with relief of his own. He could see what was happening to his wife and knew exactly what she was experiencing because he had been there himself. "It's working, El. I can tell."
"Oh, good. I'm glad to hear it. Dr. Depak was extremely optimistic about it when I saw him this morning. He wanted me to tell you he's working on an updated version that he believes will be up to thirty percent more effective. He's asking for another five days to complete it."
Dr. Dreyfus was watching Sarah very closely and started to make notes again. "How are you doing, Sarah? Are you feeling anything that you would describe as uncomfortable?"
"I'm not sure doctor, it's definitely not uncomfortable. It's more like euphoric. This may take a bit to get used to," she replied.
"Don't worry, Babe. It should even out over the course of several hours. It does seem to have a narcotic effect when it first kicks in."
She grinned at Chuck. "I'm liking it so far," she giggled.
Dr. Dreyfus scribbled furiously on his notepad. "Sarah, I want you to take note of everything you're experiencing and log all of it. Have Chuck assist you if you think it will help. Everything you tell us about what is going on in your head will be crucial to how we decide to proceed from this point forward. Am I making myself clear?"
Sarah grasped the seriousness of his request and schooled her expression. "Yes, doctor, I understand. I know what is at stake here."
"Good. But don't let the gravity of the situation get to you. To borrow a 1960's euphemism from my generation, 'just go with the flow'. It'll help you stay grounded, and self-analyze more effectively. We'll all be meeting again in a couple of days to see where we are and decide how we are going to proceed. In the meantime, stay close to your husband and share everything with him. I can't over-stress how critical Chuck's analysis will influence the decisions we will have to make going forward."
"Above all else, I'll trust my family, Dr. Dreyfus." Sarah turned her gaze from Ellie to Chuck, with a stark realization of just how connected their lives had become. It suddenly dawned on her that beyond all that they once had, and were now rapidly regaining, they also shared a connection no other couple on the planet possessed...they both had the Intersect.
"Then I think we're done here for today," said Leo Dreyfus.
As they all started to rise from their seats Chuck placed his hand on Sarah's arm, "Sarah, I need to talk to Dr. Dreyfus, can you give me a couple of minutes?"
Sarah cast Chuck a curious look, and nodded as she reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. It was time to trust implicitly, and she knew it. She gave him a quick peck and walked out to the waiting room with Ellie to wait for him.
Before Sarah and Ellie had even left the room Leo Dreyfus began to speak. "I wanted a private word with you, too. How is the version 3 Intersect working out for you Chuck? Have you noticed any major differences between it and the previous version you had?"
Chuck stood there for a few seconds with his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets, "You know, Doc, I haven't really given it a lot of thought...but yeah, there do seem to be some big differences between them. I haven't flashed that much since the concert hall incident, so I hadn't given it much consideration until you just asked me. This whole thing with Sarah has completely preoccupied my mind the last several weeks. I haven't really thought about much else."
"That's fairly understandable, Chuck." Dreyfus looked him in the eye, with a perceptive nod of his head, "What Sarah went through has been very hard on the both of you. Your psychological profile predisposes you toward a probably unhealthy amount of empathy, especially in this particular circumstance because of the obvious emotional attachment you and Sarah share." He raised his hand to his chin thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes returned to Chuck questioningly. "Do you think the emotional turmoil of this event has caused your Intersect to be suppressed?"
"No, I don't think so, Doctor. If I want to flash on a particular Intersect skill set I can still do it relatively easily, easier than version two. I've also noticed that it happens much faster and less violently than it was with 2.0, and I retain the information longer. Sometimes it feels like I don't forget some of it at all."
Dreyfus raised an eyebrow. "So you're retaining some of it?"
"Yes, is that important?"
"Very. It's one of the key things your sister has been working on with Iv4. The brain scans we've been doing on you and Sarah may shed some more light on how that works. The team is currently building tomographic models towards that end. This is promising news. Chuck, I want you to spend some time thinking about just what differences you are seeing from this 'upgrade'. Also compare notes with Sarah, and watch her closely. The governor may start to un-suppress her Intersect. We need to know if she experiences a real flash, instead of one of these memory flashes she's been having."
"Okay Doc, I'll do that. Should I be concerned about it if Sarah has a flash? Could it be dangerous to her?"
"We don't know. It's interesting that she isn't experiencing any severe pain from her dreams. Apparently the suppression isn't strong on a subconscious level or cause any lasting damage. Chuck, that's why it's very important that you pay close attention to her if she does flash. Physical discomfort seems to be a very good indicator of possible damaging effects. Call Ellie or me immediately if you see anything that looks serious."
Chuck's mouth spread into a taught line as he nodded, "Okay, Doc, I'll keep an eye out for it. But, actually, there was something else I wanted to talk you about when I asked to see you privately."
"What is it, Chuck?"
Chuck pulled his hands that had been jammed in his pockets out and unfolded his right hand revealing Sarah's wedding bands that Nikki Lawson had palmed to him two nights before when she'd dropped Sarah and him off at his car. He held them out for Leo to see.
Leo stared at them, and a look of realization crossed his face as he grasped Chuck's hand, examining the rings. "I was wondering about those. What happened to them? It was very obvious to me that Sarah has been missing them. I was going to ask you if you knew what had happened to them."
"Quinn took them from her when he tortured her and suppressed her memories. I recovered these at his safehouse. The one she was wearing when she came home after Quinn suppressed her memories turned out to be a bugged replica."
"I see."
"Doctor… I want to give them back to her… is it safe to do it?"
The doctor looked away for a moment with a look of deep reflection on his face, then he looked back into his young patient's eyes and said, "My boy, I think the rewards far outweigh the risks."