A/N 10/28/12 - Well, here we are at Act 10, finally. Get out your insulin syrettes because you may need them.

Thanks to my betas, my gorgeous ninja accountant wife, somedeepmystery, and BDaddyDL for once again (attempting) to keep me in line and offering such good advice, even though I may not have listened to all of it.

I don't own Chuck

Chuck Versus the Lost Years

Act 10 - Reawakenings

- I -

Something felt different. It might have been the bed. The mattress felt softer, more supportive. He felt rested. Lighter. Almost like he was floating on air. But he knew he'd been sleeping a while. He wondered how long. The room was softly lit, the light spilling through two multi-paned windows with gauze curtains and soft colored drapes. He stared up at a white coved ceiling. This place was familiar but also new to him. He knew he'd been here before.

Then he heard the sounds. A television set? What was that soft beeping sound? And he heard the gentle sound of someone's regular breathing. He turned his head to his left and saw the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on, and it was so joyously familiar. She looked like an angel lying there by him; right where he knew she always belonged. Even with the electrodes circling her head she looked calm and at peace. There was a small pendant hanging around her neck that he couldn't recall ever seeing before. He watched her eyes dance under her eyelids. She must be dreaming, and he wondered what it might be about.

Chuck pushed himself up onto his elbow and watched her. When he rose up he felt something slide across his chest, and looking down under his Browncoat t-shirt he discovered he was wearing a pendant around his neck just like hers. There was an I.V. stand next to the bed and several pieces of monitoring equipment, mostly the standard hospital fare, but there was also a portable EEG with a graphic display.

He nerded-out on the technology as he studied it and watched the displays change. When he moved closer to her and placed a soft kiss on her lips and stroked her blonde hair and cheek the soft beeping increased its pace and the EEG's graphic display subtly changed. It made him smile knowing he could affect her that way when she wasn't even awake. He felt a strange connection when he touched her.

He gave Sarah, the love of his life, another gentle kiss and rolled carefully out of bed testing his balance as he swung his feet to the hardwood floor. Then he finally realized where he was. There was a pair of sweatpants draped across the arm of a chair, and he picked them up, letting them fall from his waist to the ground. They were certainly the right length so he pulled them on and walked into the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

As he finished toweling his face off he looked up in the mirror and saw his sister leaning against the door frame with a smile on her face. His own perplexed expression morphed into a smile in the mirror, and he turned to her, giving her a warm, silent hug.

Ellie kissed his cheek and stepped back slightly to look him in the eyes, raising a finger to her lips as she took his arm and led him from the room.

They walked quietly down the stairs into the living room where John Casey and Nikki Lawson were sitting on the sofa and the loveseat respectively, Casey with an American Rifleman magazine in his lap and Nikki tapping away on a notebook computer resting on the edge of the coffee table.

"Back among the living, I see," Casey grumbled quietly when he looked up at him. "How are you going to keep the world safe for democracy sleeping all day, Bartowski?"

A smile grew on Chuck's face. "Oversleeping isn't such a big deal when you surround yourself with the best, big guy." He watched Nikki smile and what looked like redness on Casey's cheeks at the comment, and it warmed him more. "How long have I been out?"

"About sixteen hours," Nikki softly replied after a glance at the clock display on her notebook. "How are you feeling, boss?"

"Rested. Like I've been hanging out on a beach for a month… without a single bite to eat. I'm starving."

"Mmhng. He's fine. Thinking of his stomach, as usual."

Ellie sidled up to Chuck and put her arm around him giving him a squeeze. "Then let's get you something to eat. Manoosh is in the kitchen making lunch. Why don't we go put in your order and talk for a minute? I'm sure you have some questions."

"Yes, I do. And the first is; how is Sarah?"

Ellie showed him a guarded smile. "We think she's going to be fine, little brother." She gave his hand a squeeze as she released him from her one-armed hug. "Follow me. I think Manoosh will want to talk about this, too."

They walked into the kitchen to find Dr. Depak wearing an apron, alternating between making sandwiches and animatedly gesturing at a TV on the wall as he watched a basketball game. "Hey, you're awake. I'll bet you're hungry. Can I make you a sandwich? I've also got some broccoli cheese soup cooking on the stove."

"What, no nachos?" asked Chuck with a rueful smile.

"Ha! You are feeling better. Maybe I'll make some nachos later. How is the head? Any headache?"

"No. Oddly enough, no headache at all. Not at all like all the other downloads. In fact, I feel great. My head almost feels weightless."

"That's because we removed your brain." Manoosh laughed raucously as Chuck's eyes went wide. "No, really, I'm very gratified to hear you tell me that. It means we've accomplished our goals. This is the best possible news, Chuck."

Chuck looked back and forth from Manoosh to his sister and the elephant taking up the rest of the space in the room. "What does that mean for Sarah? Is she going to be okay?"

The two doctors exchanged a pensive look that made the hair stand up on his neck. "We don't know for sure," Ellie muttered, looking briefly at her feet before meeting his anxious gaze. "Sarah's scans look good, and her vitals are normal, but we won't really know much more until she wakes up. Her brain was subjected to major trauma. Clinically speaking, these sorts of things can be very unpredictable."

Ellie looked at her brother with pain in her eyes but pressed on with the positive attitude that had always been one of her hallmarks. "Chuck; your response to the download is the only thing we have to go on right now. That alone is reason for optimism. We need to be patient."

Chuck's face turned somber, as his eyes met those of his sister and Manoosh. "How much longer do you think she'll be out?"

"We don't know that either, Chuck," replied Manoosh. "We had her mildly sedated until just a few hours ago. The effects of the drugs should be about out of her system by now. We'll have to wait and see, but it shouldn't be long based on what we're seeing on her EEG."

"Well, in that case I'm going to go stay with her. I don't want her to wake up and find herself alone."

"That's fine, little brother. Why don't you go ahead and go back upstairs, I'll bring you something to eat."

Chuck gave his sister a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, El. Why don't you make it three sandwiches, Doc," he said, smiling at Manoosh, "I'll bet Sarah will be starving too."

"That's the spirit, Chuck."

- II -

What a beautiful dream; the warm white sand under her and the sound of the crashing surf. Alone on an expansive beach, palm trees and crystal blue water, and white puffy clouds fed by a cool onshore breeze. It was a feeling of complete peace. But something was missing. Chuck. Her Chuck. Where had he gone? Why would he miss out on something this tranquil and sublime? She deeply sighed as she thought of him.

Memories floated by her like brightly colored balloons on the wind: a broken phone, a young ballerina, a fountain in a courtyard, and unspoken feelings buried deep, wanting to be given flight. So much longing and so much time wasted, and the fear that he would be taken away from her; all the while hiding behind a facade of strength. She was so hopelessly in love with him, her adorable nerd with the heart of a hero.

She had given her own heart to him so long ago, and through all the waiting, all the trials and tribulations of the last five years, he had always been there for her. Chuck had always come back for her. He never gave up. Well, there were those three brunettes...why was it always brunettes? And there was a terrible memory of her own mistakes with a dark-haired robot of a man who had manipulated and betrayed her.

But they all faded to insignificance when she thought of what she and Chuck had accomplished and gained when they were together. The two of them had literally gone to the ends of the earth to save each other, and they would do so again and again.

Then all of the sudden he was there next to her wearing a pair of board shorts, his faded Browncoat t-shirt, and a soft smile on his face; his eyes sparkling with mirth. He leaned over her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips as he caressed her hair and cheek, and it made her tingle all over. He lay there next to her propped up on his elbow, his hand gently stroking her arm, just gazing at her with this indescribable look of love in his eyes.

She wanted to tell him to take his shirt off and get some sun so she could admire his lean body. But he then leaned over to give her another kiss, and stood up and walked away down the beach looking back at her with that smile on his face…that smile. She knew he'd be back, and another sigh passed her lips as she lay there on her back soaking up the warm sun on her bare skin.

He was back. He sat down next to her with a plate of sandwiches and a large glass of tea. He just sat there on the sand munching on a sandwich with that smile on his face between bites…that smile again. It made her shiver from head to toe. She felt her stomach growl ferociously. God, she was hungry. But her hunger held a double-meaning. She was also hungry for him. She wanted to devour him, right then and there, on that secluded sandy beach. The thought consumed her. Her longing for Chuck pulled her toward him like a powerful magnet.

And she awoke looking at him. Blinking, she reached out for him, and his sweet voice split the silence. "Hey beautiful," he said with that smile and an unmistakable look of love and hope in his hazel eyes. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? I brought you something to eat if you feel up to it."

He looked at her a little confused when the first words that passed her lips were a soft laugh, and it made her smile. "I'm starving. But first things first. C'mere, you."

Chuck quickly got up from his seat and sat on the edge of the bed and she pulled him to her, reaching up to tug him down to her lips for a warm and tender kiss, her hand weaving through the hair on the back of his head. It was everything she remembered. It was electric. She felt it to her very core. "I missed you. I missed you so very much," she murmured as their lips finally parted.

He just beamed that huge smile back at her, and then something suddenly ignited in his eyes; a flash of realization. They were back. Those lost years that held so much inexpressible meaning to them were back. He could see it. Wrapping his arms around her, Chuck enveloped her in one of his sisters trademarked bone-crushing hugs as he kissed her neck. And time suddenly lost all context as they held each other. He kissed her again, their lips passionately locked. Sarah could hear a heart monitor racing in the background, and she gaily laughed inwardly to herself when she realized it was hers.

She gazed yearningly at him again as they finally parted, stroking his cheek with her hand. "I love you. I've loved you since that first day I walked into the Buy More. You stole my heart from me when you told a young girl that real ballerinas are tall."

- III -

"What's that sound?" Manoosh asked when he walked into the living room from the kitchen with a couple of iced teas in his hands.

Ellie cast him a little smirk and shared a knowing look with Nikki. "We think Sarah might be awake."

Casey just made a disgusted grunt.

"She's awake? That's great news! Come on, Ellie we should go check on her," the Doctor said as he started to head for the staircase.

"Stop!" Ellie and Nikki exclaimed in a loud, unified whisper.

"Listen, you idiot," Casey acerbically growled. "Ugh, my ears."

Nikki looked at Casey with amusement as Manoosh turned back to them and his eyes went wide with surprise. "Oh…. Oh! Oh-my-gosh. Probably not a good time to go up there yet, is it?" he said, breaking into a broad smile.

"Ya think?" retorted the Colonel. "I'm going out in the backyard. I've had enough of listening to that for one lifetime."

Manoosh set the iced teas hurriedly on the table and shot an embarrassed glance at the two women who were trying to choke back a laugh. "Um... Here are your teas, ladies. I think I'll join Casey in the yard."

"Hng. Then bring the Scotch with you, Doc. Unless you've got something better in your black bag."

A while later the noise subsided. And after giving them a little longer just to be sure, Ellie walked cautiously up the stairs and tapped on the partially open door with her fingertips.

"Come on in, Ellie; we're decent," came Sarah's pleasantly blissful voice from the room.

Ellie stepped into the room to see Chuck and Sarah sitting up in the bed with the plate of sandwiches bridging their laps. Happy smiles filled their faces as they ate.

"I hope you don't mind; I went ahead and removed my I.V. It was sort of getting in the way," Sarah said with a touch of mirth in her voice. Chuck was just sitting there quietly, chewing his sandwich with a silly grin and a growing blush.

"No, no, that's quite alright. I understand," Chuck's sister answered with a stifled giggle. "I guess you're feeling okay? No headache?"

"I had a little one when I woke up. But then I took a couple of Chucks, and now it's all gone," Sarah said, with a broad grin.

She laughed at the look Chuck gave her. "Sarah, please; it's my sister," he laughed embarrassedly back.

Ellie looked at her feet for a moment trying to fight the laughter, "I'm a firm believer in holistic remedies if they work. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Sarah." She couldn't contain her curiosity. "Anything else to report?"

"Other than the fact that multiple orgas—"

"Sarah, please!"

"—seem to be much easier?"

"Not what I meant," Ellie answered, with a stunned giggle and a red face, "But that's good to hear too, I guess."

Sarah braced herself. "My memories are back."

An ear-splitting squeal rattled the windows and Ellie flew onto the bed crushing Sarah with a hug as the remaining sandwich pieces and the plate went flying across the bed. "Oh, Sarah, I'm so happy for you!" Ellie sang into her ear before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Chuck watched his sister and Sarah with a look on his face like everything was now right with the world. The tumult of the last few days vaporized in an instant. Finally, Ellie let Sarah go and sat up next to her on the edge of the bed. "So, how are you coping with the sudden return of all those memories?"

Sarah was wearing a beaming smile, but a very slight undercurrent of distress was showing in her eyes. "It's a bit overwhelming, Ellie. Many of them are very vivid, a few of them not so good. It's almost like they've been enhanced, but maybe that's just because they're so new to me…again." Her expression turned contemplative. "I'm going to need a little time to think about some of them. But I'm so very happy to have all of them back," she added, with a broad smile on her face again.

"Take your time Sarah, don't rush it. If you need anyone to talk to, we're all here for you," Ellie said sympathetically.

"Oh, we will talk about it. Count on it. There is so much I only want to discuss with my sister."

"Hey, what do I look like, chopped liver?" asked Chuck with a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

Sarah looked back at her husband mischievously, rolling her eyes. "Oh, we're going to have plenty to talk about too, buster. And don't think it's all going to be wine and gardenias."

"Uh, oh." Chuck's face went pale.

"Yeah, uh-oh is right. You've got some splainin' to do." Sarah's expression became more serious. "And I think I've got some explaining to do too."

"It's water under the bridge, sweetie, you don't have to go there if you don't want to."

"No, I think we need to, Chuck. I need to. It will help me deal with all of this."

Ellie placed her hand on her sister's arm. "Take it slow, Sarah. Don't try to do all the heavy lifting at once. Try to maintain your balance, okay?"

"Okay, Ellie. I understand. Balance. I've had more than one sensei say that to me over the years," Sarah answered with a pondering smile.

"Well, I'm glad you're at least willing to listen to my sister and your sensei," Chuck quipped.

"Very funny, you goof," Sarah answered, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "Memories or not, I'll always listen to you, sweetheart." She looked into his brown eyes affectionately. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Not even possible."

"Okay you two, it's time you shared this charming banter," Ellie enjoined with a laugh. "How do you feel about coming downstairs? There are people waiting to see both of you. We'll be getting dinner started in a bit, so get cleaned up and come on down."

"Yeah, okay. Though, a quick shower sounds really good, first." Sarah looked at her husband from the corner of her eye with a devilish grin. "How about it, sweetie? Care to join me and try out our new shower?"

Chuck answered her with a broad smile, and a vigorous nod of his head.

"Quick, huh?" Ellie said with a snicker as she got up and walked toward the door. "Don't take all afternoon."

- IV -

When they came down the stairs Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand tightly when she looked into the living room, taking in the furnishings and the friends, old and new, who were sitting in them. The scene looked casual and serene, except that Casey's Sig Sauer and one of Nikki's suppressed STI pistols were laying on the coffee table, placing a punctuation mark on the gravity of the moment. They all looked at her and Chuck with smiles on their faces, even John Casey, and he was the first to speak. "How is my favorite partner doing? Are you feeling like your old self again?" he asked quietly, almost shyly.

Sarah looked at him and smiled affectionately. She wanted to rush over to him and hug him, and it took all of her will power not to. For some mystifying reason, of the many returned memories she was experiencing, her memories of John were some of the most endearing. They had been through so much together, with the one person who meant the absolute world to her. In his own strange and very obscure way, Casey had been supportive of what had happened to Chuck and her, almost from the very beginning.

Looking back now through the lens of almost perfect hindsight her returned memories had created, she realized John had been impacted by the stigma of Prague as well. There were his subtle probing questions, the biting remarks, or a simple hard look about her choices and intransigence after the breakup, a breakup that should never have happened. In his own way, Casey had done much to get her to see what she and Chuck were doing to each other and had helped to get her and the love of her life back together, even after she had lost her memories. She owed him so much.

But he had his own way of doing things. He held the world and his relationships within it at arms length. It took her years to realize he did it to protect himself. Someday when they were alone she was going to ambush John Casey and give him that big hug he so richly deserved, even if he didn't want it. "I'll try to ignore the fact that you used the word 'old' in that question," she said, with a sly grin.

"I was never known for my tact with the ladies. Hnmg, just ask Roan Montgomery."

"Yeah, well, you seem to be getting better at that. Where's Gertrude?"

Casey's hidden grin grew a bit wider. "She's helping to secure the place where you and Chuck were being held and taking care of some business at her office. We'll see her in a couple of days. Right now opsec requires that she and others stay away. We instituted a communications blackout before we brought you and Chuck here from Castle."

"That makes sense," said Sarah looking at the four good friends sitting around the coffee table. "I'm sorry she couldn't be here with you."

"It'll only be for a few more days. I'll survive," he answered with surety.

"Speaking of here," said Chuck, his gaze taking in the room before settling on his friends. "Our house, as a safe house? How did you pull that one off?"

Sarah squeezed his hand. "It was my idea, but you'll have to ask Nikki how she did it so quickly. I thought it would take weeks to complete the deal."

"Hard cash always makes things go smoother," Nikki said with a thin smile. "The house is actually still in escrow, which may be an additional advantage from a security standpoint right now. There are no records on file at the assessor's office yet."

Chuck looked at Nikki inquisitively, "Can't they still find us by purchase records?"

"Not likely, Sarah chose a pretty obscure name for the deed. We created a whole new identity for it."

"Oh, really?" Chuck raised an eyebrow, "And what name was that?" He shifted his gaze from Nikki to Sarah, who was now looking at the floor with a troubled expression on her face. "Sarah, what's the matter?"

Averting her gaze, Sarah slowly tugged him around the couch to the passage between the living room and the dining room. Holding his hand in hers, their fingertips interwoven, she placed them on the carving of their names on the frame and traced their fingers over every scratch in the wood, finally looking up at Chuck pensively, and with misty eyes, before turning to see four very curious friends and family watching them. "C'mon, we need to talk," she said softly to him as she pulled him from the room toward the back door.

"I wonder what that was about?" Manoosh asked after they heard the door to the backyard close.

"One can only imagine," Ellie speculatively replied. "It must be a little overwhelming for Sarah right now."

"I think I know," Nikki said softly like she was a little worried she might be betraying a confidence. "Sarah told me the name we picked for the deed was hers."

"Hnm. Oh boy…" Casey muttered under his breath.

"Then they may be out there a while," Ellie said thoughtfully, starting to get up from the couch. "Why don't we get dinner started, Manoosh?"

"I thought we were grilling steaks tonight? That's Casey's specialty, you know. He doesn't even allow me near the grill."

"The Beastmaster is on the back patio, no way am I going out there," Casey said with stark finality.

"Big, tough, John Casey," Nikki chuckled, "I suppose dinner will have to wait a bit then."

Casey's grunt was one of resignation. "How about a drink then? Can I pour one for anybody?"

- V -

Sarah led Chuck out into the backyard and quickly surveyed the surroundings. She walked briskly to a new oak glider that was sitting on a small red brick pad under an oak tree at the edge of the lawn. "Sarah, I think I know what this is about," Chuck said as she sat on the bench and patted the seat.

"Sit with me, Chuck. I'm not ignoring this; not any longer."

"Sarah, it doesn't matter, you know you'll always be Sarah to me, it really is water under the bridge. You're-"

"No," she interrupted brusquely, "It's dirt swept under the rug, and we need to finally talk about it." She shook her head, looking off into the yard. "Dammit, Chuck, just shut up for once and let me say what I have to say. God, when I think about how much easier all those conversations around the fountain would have been if you'd only let me say my piece; so much heartache could have been avoided."

Chuck swallowed loudly and then settled a little stiffly onto the bench. "Sarah, I don't need to know who you were because I know who you are. If this is about the name on the deed you can put it to re-"

"Chuck, please!" Sarah grabbed his hand and held it tight while she looked into his eyes. "Just zip it, and listen!"

His eyes went wide as he raised his other hand to his pursed lips and pulled his thumb and forefinger from one corner of his mouth to the other. It broke the tension a bit, and Sarah couldn't help but smile at his gesture.

"Chuck, you're a wonderful talker…but sometimes you're a lousy communicator. We both are. For years, you tried to get me to reveal some of my secretive past, and I resisted. Then when I finally wanted to share it with you, you didn't want to let me…when I really needed to, so badly. I don't talk, Chuck, you know that. And when I finally want to, you always interrupt me with one of your rambling speeches. I love you, honey, but please let me say this."

Chuck nodded solemnly and started to rock the glider looking at their hands clasped in his lap.

Sarah squeezed his hand to get him to look up at her. "I realize now that asking you to run away with me was wrong. I should never have asked you to make that choice, not when it meant giving up almost everything that was real in your life, especially your family and friends, our family and friends. What we had was real, what we have is real. But it wasn't enough. Not when it meant both of us had to give up almost our whole world to do it. It wouldn't have worked."

"But, Chuck, sweetheart, why didn't you state your case on that train platform in Prague? Why did you just shove those tickets in my hand and walk away with barely a word? You had to have known what a huge step that was for me to take, how much it would devastate me when you did that. It broke my heart, Chuck. I was like a boat without its rudder…I still loved you…and when you started seeing Hannah…I was looking for anything that would give me back that stability…anything at all."

"I felt like I had lost you, Chuck…that I'd changed you and lost you to another woman...one who was normal...and it didn't make sense. 'Cause I wanted that...normal. That's why I told him. But it felt hollow and meaningless…because he was meaningless, a placeholder who couldn't give me what you were giving Hannah. I didn't even give him my whole name."

Sarah sighed. "The name on the deed is Samantha Lisa Zales. Zales is my mother's name. She and dad were never married, so it's my proper last name. Sam is just shorthand for Samantha."

She watched a smile slowly grow on Chuck's face. "Zales. Like the jewelers? That's Polish, huh?" He softly, and nervously chuckled when she gave him a little nod. "It fits. You and your Mom and Molly are such sparkling diamonds in my life," he said, smiling sheepishly.

Sarah smiled a little sadly at his attempted joke. "Chuck, why didn't you tell me you knew about them?"

Chuck sighed loudly as he ran his hand over his face. "I don't know, Sarah. I was so overwhelmed by what had happened to you…and then when you left me on the beach that night…I was such a mess. I should have told you to go see your mother; it might have helped a lot. You're right, I am a lousy communicator," he added with sad frustration in his voice. "Sometimes all I do is ramble without thinking."

Sarah gazed at the ground in front of her wistfully as they rocked slowly back and forth in the glider, its motion keeping time like a metronome. She knew her husband was a thoughtful man, that he placed others before himself. But she also now remembered, where she was concerned, his brain sometimes locked up on him; left him deaf, dumb, and blind. The thought that she had that effect on him warmed her heart.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Chuck said rhetorically with sadness on his face. "I made so many stupid assumptions about how you felt, about what I thought you wanted for yourself, for me, for us, and what I thought I needed to do to have you in my life. I was such an idiot at Nadrazi station. It was probably the one time where everything was on the line and I knew it…and I ran. I should have gotten on that train with you. At least it would have given us an opportunity to sort it all out. I'm so sorry, Sarah."

Her eyes came up to meet his. They looked almost exactly like they did on that train platform in Prague, and it sent a shiver through him.

"You know, I thought we were done after I failed my spy training and you shut me out," he continued. "Sarah, you pushed me away so hard. I was just as lost and crushed as you were. Hannah was such a huge mistake; everything about it, especially the way I left her. I was such a jerk. I didn't think I deserved anyone or anything after that…nothing except the goal I had set for myself. Somehow, I lost sight of a big part of the reason I was doing it...you."

"And...I was just trying to get out of your way when you started seeing...him…I didn't want to, but… And after the whole red test debacle, and having you drop it on me the way you did, and then refusing my calls…I thought you'd never see me the same way again. I have changed, Sarah. I know that. But deep down I'm still the same guy... Even if I'd justifiably killed Perry in self-defense it wouldn't have changed who I was. I'll always be that guy, babe. I never understood how you could think anything different."

"Sarah, I know I must have said it a million times...but I've since come to realize I don't need normal...I need you." Chuck's face fell into his hands, and he began to almost imperceptibly shake. "I was doing it all so I could be with you, doing what I thought we were meant to do, what I knew you were meant to do. It was the only way I thought we could be together."

Sarah turned to him, taking Chuck up in a tight embrace, and whispered into his ear, "I know, Chuck. We both screwed up, sweetheart. I should never have stopped supporting you once you were on that path, not when you've always supported me, and loved me, despite some of the dreadful things you know I've done. You could see the real me through all of that…garbage."

"I applied a terrible double standard to you, Chuck; and it was wrong…so terribly wrong. I almost ended up dead because of it, and I don't think you've ever stopped letting your guard down about how you thought I would perceive you, even after what happened on that bridge in Paris. You need to know that I'll always trust you to do what is right and true, always; just the way you've always trusted me. We can't have a marriage… and a family, without that."

Chuck looked up at his wife, reached up, and brushed her hair behind her ear with his fingertips, and took her face in his hands. The kiss was tender, filled with love, caring, and unspoken forgiveness. As they slowly separated and gazed into each others glistening eyes an expression of realization grew on Chuck's face as Sarah smiled radiantly at him.

He broke into a broad smile. "A family?"

"I'm not using any birth control, sweetie, and I don't plan on starting."

- VI -

Ellie looked out the kitchen window at the two lovebirds kissing in the swinging glider with a big smile on her face. Nikki Lawson strode up next to her with a slight limp and giggled under her breath. "It looks like the glider was a good idea. Maybe I should get one for my own backyard. Of course, there's that little problem of finding the right guy to share it with," she concluded with a small sigh.

Ellie laughed back. "I really don't think you'll have a problem with that if you put your mind to it. Devon and I can help if you want. We know lots of smart and good looking doctors."

"I'm probably going to have to find one with a high security clearance, Ellie. Do you know any like that?"

"A few. You know, I'm highly placed in a clandestine government organization, myself," she answered with a smile.

"Ha. You don't have to remind me. Speaking of which; when are you, and me, and Dr. Depak finally going to sit down to discuss that? I'm guessing it's safe to assume you're ready for me now."

"Yes, Nikki, your profile is ready. Manoosh finished it when he completed the ones for Chuck and Sarah. But we've decided we'd better wait a bit and run some tests on them," she said, nodding toward the backyard. "Before we consider doing your Iv4 download. And although it's probably not relevant, we'd like you to let your leg injury heal a bit, too."

"You've got to be friggin' kiddin' me," said an incredulous gruff voice behind them.

Ellie and Nikki turned to see John Casey glaring at them from the doorway.

"Don't tell me you're actually considering doing that, Nikki." Casey's voice carried all the weight of a big brother severely chastising his sister for accepting a date with a known child abuser.

"It was the plan all along, John," she softly answered. "Chuck was supposed to act as my adviser through the whole process. Now, I guess, it will be both Chuck and Sarah."

"Hnmg…I'd kick your ass for this if I didn't trust Ellie implicitly," the big man said with resignation. Manoosh had walked up behind Casey during the exchange and was listening with interest and a little amusement. Casey turned and stared at him like he was the child abuser, making the doctor take a reflexive step back.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, John," Ellie appreciatively replied. "Nikki's been with the program since well before Devon and I moved to Chicago. She's the best candidate the project has seen since Chuck downloaded version one."

"It figures. I always knew there was much more to you than met the eye, Lawson. Damn, that Beckman is one crafty woman."

"She does have a habit of getting what she wants," acknowledged Nikki with a conciliatory smile. "I can deal with it."

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Casey walked over to the window and looked out over the women's shoulders. "Mmngh, I guess it's safe to light the grill now."

"It sure looks like it," Manoosh said with a cautious grin. "I'm starving. If you don't mind, Colonel, I'll go ahead and do that for you. It'll give me an opportunity to talk to them."

"Knock yourself out, Doc. I'll get the steaks and potatoes ready."

Chuck and Sarah looked up from their conjugal ministrations when the back door opened and Manoosh walked out onto the patio. As they watched him step up to the grill their gaze shifted to the kitchen window and the audience they had. Both of them instinctively waved as they rocked in the glider. Ellie and Nikki waved back, Casey just shook his head and showed them a very small smile, and walked out of view.

"Hey," Manoosh greeted as he stooped to light the grill burners; "How's it going out here, are you ready for some dinner?"

Chuck and Sarah exchanged a warm smile. "Yeah; we're both starving...again. Does Iv4 do something to the metabolism?" Chuck said with a sharp snerk.

Manoosh chuckled back at the question, thinking about their afternoon activities with a wry smile. "It can. Have either of you had a flash?"

The Intersect couple exchanged a quick look, and shook their heads. "Nope," responded Sarah with a thoughtful smile, "at least I don't think I have."

"Well, then it must've been something else you did," Manoosh said with a mischievous grin.

"Haha, very funny doc," retorted Sarah, as her husband turned beet red. "Honey, we really need to do something about getting some more privacy," she then muttered, turning to Chuck and broadly grinning upon seeing his embarrassed reaction.

"Excuse me?" asked Manoosh, with mock offense as he started to walk over to them. "The rest of us are all starving ourselves so you can have some privacy. Maybe you two could stop making goo-goo eyes at each other for a couple of minutes and help with dinner."

"Too many cooks spoil the broth, Doc. At least that's what Ellie's always told me. Though, I think she just thinks I'm a lousy cook and says that to keep me out of the kitchen," said Chuck with amusement. "I think I'll stay here and do what I do best."

"Gimme those lips, maestro," Sarah ordered with a giggle as she grabbed his face and laid one on him.

"Oh, Jeez, give me a break." Manoosh palmed his face and looked at his feet. "I came out here so I could have a word with both of you, and all you can do is painfully remind me how single I am?"

Chuck and Sarah abruptly stopped their osculation and looked at the doctor apologetically. "I'm sorry, Manoosh, I shouldn't have been so thoughtless," Sarah replied contritely, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

She was already trying to resolve an unexpected returned memory of using 'enhanced' interrogation techniques and manipulation through seduction on Manoosh in the past. She knew he probably remembered a few bits and pieces of it, in spite of the liberal use of twilight tranquilizers. Realizing how much he had to have consciously chosen to forgive her through the course of their new budding friendship didn't help matters any.

Manoosh looked back up, at first a little startled by their reaction. But a grin grew once again on his face. "It's okay, Sarah, I was only…halfway serious," he said with a short laugh. "Besides, I've been a slave to my work for the last three years. It's not like I've even made time for a date or anything like that. I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to that sort of thing, and I'm not much of a catch."

"Nonsense," retorted Sarah with a frown. "You have a lot to offer. You just need to find the right girl. She's out there somewhere, you know."

"Yeah, probably somewhere above ground," Manoosh, answered with a chuckle, drawing sympathetic smiles from Chuck and Sarah. "But I didn't come out here to talk about my lack of a love life. We need to talk about Iv4 some. I suppose you have noticed the pendants?"

"They're governors, aren't they?" Chuck asked, as he pulled his from beneath his shirt and looked at it. "It's a lot tinier."

"Yeah, we've managed to miniaturize them even more. We even have some made up as earrings for Sarah. I don't think the Iv4 program is going to really require them much, it's more of a precaution in case either of you find yourselves flashing multiple times in a very short period of time. We've dialed the attenuation signal back significantly. I still recommend you wear them, but you probably won't notice any discomfort if you don't have them on."

He looked at the two Intersects quizzically. "Have you experienced anything odd while wearing them?"

Chuck and Sarah exchanged a funny look with each other like they were conversing non-verbally before Chuck looked at Manoosh and spoke. "Not so much with these. But we had some pretty weird experiences with the old ones. We…we lost time. There was this very strange sort of connectivity between us like we were almost sharing each other's bodies and minds when we touched."

When Manoosh raised an eyebrow at them, Sarah shrugged, "It's kind of hard to explain."

"And you didn't tell us about this because…?"

"Because it was kind of cool. We liked it," Chuck admitted, as Sarah nodded with a slightly guilty look on her face.

"We meant to tell you. We were going to tell you and Ellie, but then things sort of went sorta pear-shaped before we could," Sarah said sheepishly.

"But it's not as pronounced now?"

"No," they both responded in chorus.

"But it's still happening."

They exchanged another look and turned back to him and nodded in unison.

"Hmmm..." Manoosh looked at them thoughtfully for a few seconds and then snickered. "My God, you are both so cute when you do that."

The Intersect's smiled back at him awkwardly. "Is this something to be worried about?" Sarah asked, biting her lip.

Manoosh studied the two of them for a few seconds again. "No, you can be adorable as much as you want," he said, and laughed at their matching expressions of mock reproach. "No, I don't think it's something to worry about. In fact, we kind of anticipated it. The governors are causing a harmonic effect between each other and your Intersects. Actually, probably your whole nervous systems. But I don't think it's harmful in and of itself. Though it may warrant some further study."

"As long as no needles are involved," Chuck said squeamishly.

"Ha! I don't think we'll need to use any needles. But since we're on the subject – testing and Intersects, not needles," he added, seeing Chuck's alarmed expression; "There is something I'd like you to do for me. It's sort of a test I devised when I designed the skillset database."

"What would that be?" Chuck curiously asked.

"Have either of you seen the animated feature film Tangled?"

"Umm, no," Sarah paused and pursed her lips. "We were going through a pretty rough period at that time," she said, her gaze falling to her feet as Chuck fidgeted a bit. "We weren't seeing each other much then, and life just sort of got in the way after that. We never got around to seeing it, but we've talked about it."

"Morgan never forgave me for that," said Chuck with a soft chuckle.

"Well, I'm surprised too. That is one movie I had a hard time picturing you not seeing. But it's even better that you haven't…yet."

"What are you getting at, Doc?" Sarah said inquisitively.

"I'd like you to sing the song 'I See the Light' to me," he said with a wry smile. "It's a duet."

"Sing a song? You're kidding. I don't sing, and I don't even know the words," Sarah said dubiously, raising an eyebrow.

Chuck's eyes glazed over for an instant that only a trained expert like Manoosh would have noticed, and then grew wide as he gaped at his wife. "Oh, yes you do," he said as he looked into her eyes. "Just think of Disney, and Tangled, and I See the Light, together." He smiled broadly when he saw the flash in her eyes and the grin growing on her face.

"Wow, that was strange," Sarah said with a hint of awe in her voice.

"Yeah, that was a bit different," Chuck agreed.

"So sing it," Manoosh challenged. "You can do it; belt it out."

"I don't know," Sarah said squeamishly this time.

"C'mon, don't be shy. As they say in those shoe ads – just do it," the doctor said with a wide grin.

Sarah exchanged another non-verbal look with Chuck, and swallowed loudly when he smiled at her expectantly and nodded.

Reluctantly, she started to hum and then began to sing. Softly at first, but on key, in time, and very beautifully, the words came from her.

"All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been"

She stopped abruptly and stared in shock at her beaming husband as her mouth fell open for a couple of seconds, and then she smiled as she gathered herself and continued.

"Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here suddenly I see
Standing here it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be"

"And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see you"

They hummed the refrain together, and Sarah's smile grew bigger when Chuck sang his part, and she marveled at the breathtaking sound of his voice.

"All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur
All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were
Now she's here suddenly I know
I'm where I'm meant to go…"

It was extraordinary the way they sang it without accompaniment. Like they could hear the music in their heads. When they sang the last of the lyrics together, gazing at each other, Manoosh clapped loudly, pulling their attention from one another. "WOW, I knew I picked the right song for that. That was terrific," he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"No, that was amazing!" said Ellie awestruck from the open back door as she started to clap. She and Nikki were standing there on the back porch with wonder written all over their faces. Casey stood in the doorway with a platter of steaks and potatoes in his hands apparently not knowing quite what to do with the moment. All he could manage was something between a grimace and a smile, but there was an unmistakable sparkle in his eyes.

Sarah turned to Chuck, and her hand came up to her mouth as the meaning of the words behind the lyrics hit her and she looked into her husband's eyes. She could see the impact they had on him too, and she launched herself at him in a tight hug as they rocked in rhythm, tangled up in each other on the glider. "That is not the last time you're going to sing to me, Mister Bartowski," she whispered into his ear before kissing him lovingly.

"Ugh. And I thought it was finally safe to come out here," Casey said, laconically, as he shook his head. "Call me when you're through with the lady feelings, okay?" And he turned and walked back into the house.

- VII -

"So how long is this little vacation going to last?" Sarah asked as she deftly cut a bite of her ribeye steak and savored it. "Oh, my, Casey, this is so good. Remind me to have you over to grill for us more often."

Casey grunted softly; the one that meant 'thanks'. "I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Call me anytime." His eyes narrowed slightly. "But the glider is off limits when the Beastmaster is lit," he warned.

"I think we can accommodate that request if it means a meal like this," Chuck quipped with the Bartowski smile. "But I second Sarah's question; what's next?"

Ellie and Manoosh shared a brief look and then gazed over at Nikki hesitantly.

"Do you have to talk about that now? Or are you going to insist on ruining my digestion," Casey growled in disgust.

"Huh?" Chuck looked up at the three of them and then to Sarah and Casey who were sitting next to each other.

Ellie cleared her throat. "You're right, John, we'll discuss that later; maybe over after dinner drinks. You can go clean your guns or something if you want while we're doing it."

"Roger that," said the big man.

"What is this about?" asked Sarah, looking guardedly around the table.

"I'm going to be an Intersect." Nikki exchanged a brief sharp look with Casey. "But we'll talk about it in depth later. I'm going to need your help," she said, looking at Chuck and Sarah's surprised faces.

"So you were the third profile," Chuck said with a spark of realization.

Nikki nodded, glancing cautiously at Casey. "Later."

"Okie, dokie," Chuck answered as he looked at his partners, noting the concerned look on the Colonel's face.

"We're also going to conduct a few tests on you and Sarah, to verify the viability and stability of the new Intersect, and to test your memory retention of skillset flashes," Manoosh said, looking thoughtfully at Chuck and Sarah. "I may ask you to sing that song again in a couple of days," he added with a grin.

"So we get to be guinea pigs for a few days." Sarah took another bite of her steak. "I think I can live with that if you keep feeding us like this."

"We're not going to work you too hard," Ellie said, smiling wryly. "Mostly, we want you and my brother to rest and heal a bit from the trauma you've been subjected to. And I'd really like to get home to see Devon and my daughter in a few days."

"Oh my gosh, Ellie. I'm so sorry," Chuck, exclaimed, "You must be worried sick over them. Maybe we could bring them here."

"Can't do that Chuck," Casey said with conviction, "It's too big of a security risk right now. Our Fulcrum friends are still running around loose. Besides, there's not enough room here anyway. Nikki and I are already sleeping on the couches. John Rogers and an NSA security team are watching over Devon and Clara."

"Casey's right, Chuck," Sarah agreed; "Bringing Devon and Clara here right now would only place all of us in greater jeopardy."

Chuck reluctantly nodded, lost in thought, and then looked at his NSA friend. "So some of them got away. You were the one who shot McKay and my restraints, weren't you?"

Casey nodded curtly back. "Most of them got away, Chuck, including Sloan and Preston and their science team. They used an access tunnel to a neighboring building where they had vehicles parked. And, yeah, I punched that SOB's ticket," he added with satisfaction.

Chuck nodded grimly, yet approval showed in his eyes. He really did want to kill McKay with his bare hands, and he wasn't proud of it. "So we're certain they're still in the country? I flashed on a map of the Czech Republic in one of the offices in that building. They have a base somewhere near Hradec Kralove. I could probably pinpoint it on a map."

"Beckman's been watching the airports and all international flight plans. She hasn't seen anything to indicate our friends have left the country," Nikki said as she got up from the table. "But I'm going to let her know they need to concentrate the search on the Czech Republic." A few seconds later she was back, her notebook computer she'd fetched off of coffee table in hand.

Chuck watched Nikki limp back from the dining room, studying her thoughtfully. "Was anyone besides you injured, Nikki?" he asked as she sat back down at the dining table. "What you did in Castle was pretty amazing. You kept my sister and Manoosh from being captured, and I'm very grateful. Thank you for that. How is the rest of the team?"

Nikki allowed a small smile onto her face, and shrugged. "I was just doing what I had to do, Chuck." Her smile faded as she started to tap on the keyboard and she paused, looking soberly back up at Chuck and Sarah. "I failed to do what I set out to do; rescue all of you. We almost lost you. If it hadn't been for Morgan…I hate to think what might have happened to you and Sarah." She took a cleansing breath. "The rest of our team is fine, but some of the NSA agents and part of the JPL Annex rescue team were lost."

"Lost?" Chuck exchanged a bleak look with Sarah.

Nikki glanced at Casey. "Three agents at the Buy More, and ten more who were on the Blackhawk that was shot down...were killed," he said, his voice angry and low.

"They shot down a helicopter?" Chuck asked incredulously.

"Yes... two, with MANPADs. It could have been much worse," Nikki replied with a sigh. "We were very fortunate. The Buy More was almost demolished. Everyone else is fine. No other injuries except the Buy More employees who were caught in the initial gunfire when Castle was breached, and they're all going to make a full recovery." She glanced again at Casey and he stoically nodded.

"Chuck…Station Chief Oddo was on the helicopter."

"Oh, no..." Sarah reached over and took his hand.

"I'm sorry, boss. I know you liked him and that you had become friends."

Chuck just nodded grimly as he gripped Sarah's hand.

"We have to put an end to this," Casey said resolutely, "Once and for all."

"I think the General agrees," said Nikki, examining her notebook screen. "She wants us to be ready for a briefing at 0800 in the morning."

- VIII -

Chuck awoke to the sensation of a soft kiss on his collar bone, and a warm, slender, but very curvaceous and oh so naked body draped across him. Her blonde tresses tickled his ear and cheek. The gray-blue light of early dawn was softly illuminating the room through the window. And the memory of the night before, and what had started out as a moment of tender comforting that had transformed into a celebration of life was still fresh in his mind. "Mmmm, mornin', beautiful. How'd you sleep?"

Sarah lifted her head and smiled affectionately at him, pulling her hair to the side with a sweep of her hand. "Wonderful. How could I not, after what you did to me last night?"

"The feeling is mutual," he chuckled. "I wonder who's responsible for putting the illustrated Kama Sutra in the learning database?"

"I don't even want to ponder it," she answered with a giggle.

"That has got to be one of the strangest flashes I've ever had," Chuck muttered. He then tightened his arms around her and the fingertips of one hand caressed across the dimples on the small of her back, while the other brushed along the side of her breast.

"MmmHmmm…Ooohh, don't you start something you're not willing to finish, Mister Bartowski."

He quickly rolled her over onto her back and kissed her at the juncture of her shoulder and neck, relishing the shudder it elicited from her as Sarah tilted her head back, granting him better access with a soft moan. He kissed her repeatedly, moving up her neck to just below her ear. And then, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand, kissed her deeply before planting another brief one on her, softly biting her lower lip. "After last night it would probably be a very bad idea waking Casey up this way."

Sarah raised an eyebrow and smirked as she wrapped her legs around him. "Then I think it's time for Mr. Casey to go home to Gertrude, don't you?"

"That probably wouldn't go over very well either. I'm sure he's pretty conflicted, between his sense of duty and putting up with our noisy shenanigans."

"I can be quiet," Sarah said smugly, pulling his head down with her hands laced through his hair as she nuzzled his ear and nibbled on the lobe.

"Haha, yeah, sure you can," Chuck groaned skeptically, kissing her again on her neck as his hands wandered.

Squelching a moan, she reached across the bed, grabbed the spare pillow, and smacked him with it. "Are you suggesting I don't have any self-control?"

"Not where this is concerned," he said, running his fingertips over a particularly sensitive spot causing her to gasp. "I rest my case," he added, with a snicker and a lop-sided smile.

"Hummph!" Sarah reached down and returned the gesture, watching his eyes glaze over as he bit his lip to contain the sound. "You're really asking for it, buster," she giggled as she put more feeling into it and smiled lasciviously at his body's response.

"Enough," he exclaimed, taking a deep shuddering breath, "I surrender."

"Surrender, huh? Not an option, Mr. B...and who said you could stop," Sarah said as she released him and rolled out of bed. "I have an idea. We need some cover...a distraction...and I know just the thing. Come with me, my dear husband, let's go take a shower."

He just lay on the bed staring up at her for a long moment, standing there in all her glorious nakedness. She had thrown the covers off of him when she got up, and was doing the same to him as she bit her lower lip and her eyes traveled languidly over him.

Finally, Sarah shook her head and reached over and ran her hand seductively over a prominent part of him. "Tag, you're it," she laughed, running to the bathroom with Chuck hot on her heels.

- IX -

"Good, you're all there together," said the general, appearing larger than life on the large wall-mounted monitor in the downstairs office Dr. Depak was currently using as a bedroom. She looked at the couple standing in the middle of the group holding hands and smiled. "Chuck, Sarah, it's good to see that you're up and around, how are you feeling?"

They looked at each other doing that nonverbal communication thing before Sarah spoke, "My memory has returned, General, and we're both feeling quite good-"

"Huhm; too good," Casey grumbled half under his breath.

Sarah looked back at him with an expression somewhere between a scowl and a grin, while Chuck brought his hand to his forehead and blushed, staring at his feet. They were surrounded by stifled smiles.

"Did you really think the sound of the running shower was going to cover that up?" said the Colonel mockingly.

"That is way more information than I need, Colonel Casey," General Beckman scolded, trying very hard to look stern. "Then I take it that the version 4 download was a success, Doctor Woodcomb?"

Ellie cleared her throat trying to choke back a laugh. "Yes, it appears at this point to be an unqualified success, General. So far the Iv4 database also seems to be working better than we expected."

"You can say that again," Chuck muttered, into his hand, causing Sarah to grin up at him.

"Alright; so the mood has improved at the Bartowski house," the General stated curtly. "Let's move on. Lieutenant Commander Lawson, I assume you've had an opportunity to consult with Chuck and Sarah about your decision to join the Intersect team?"

"Yes, ma'am. We talked about it a while last night. My decision to go forward hasn't changed; in fact, it is much stronger now."

"Very well. We'll plan on doing your download in one week's time. In the meantime keep consulting with Chuck and Sarah. I want you to go into this as informed as possible."

"General, we'll share everything with Nikki, but I do have one concern," said Chuck, glancing at his wife.

"And what is that, Chief Bartowski?"

"Well, ma'am; Nikki is a very important member of our team...and I…" he looked at Sarah again and she nodded with a small smile. "We don't want to lose her. We're going to resist giving her up to another permanent assignment…vigorously."

"Well, Chuck, I'm glad you all think so highly of Commander Lawson." Beckman pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I never intended to reassign her. I rather like the idea of keeping you all together, at least for the time being. Mutual support is important to this project right now and you are the one in the best position to provide it. At some point Nikki will have a partner, and you and Sarah will be providing support for that officer, as well."

Chuck carefully studied the general for several seconds. Knowing what he and Sarah were now experiencing together sharing the Intersect 'experience' he couldn't help but wonder if the General knew what that might possibly mean. He decided, then and there, he and Sarah were going to need to have a heart-to-heart talk with Nikki about that, but he suspected Nikki already knew from watching them. He glanced over at Nikki and she cast him a slight knowing smile. "Then, Diane, I hope you know how important it is that you give Nikki the final word on who that operative will be, because you might get much more than you bargained for…again."

Diane Beckman smiled, biting back a chuckle. "You've always been about as subtle as a nuclear weapon, Chuck. We'll make sure the Commander is involved every step of the way, but the NSA is not Match dot com, so don't expect us to factor that heavily into the equation."

By this time, Nikki Lawson was looking back and forth between the General and Chuck with her mouth agape. Her gaze then fell on Chuck's wife, and seeing Sarah's hand held next to her side, held flat, moving up and down, she schooled her expression. "Begging the General's pardon, but wasn't there another reason for you calling this meeting, ma'am?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from the current topic.

The General gave her a short wry smile before her expression turned more serious and her eyes narrowed. "Yes, there was, Commander. Based on Chuck's flash and recovered data from the offices in Century City; we believe we may now have actionable intelligence about the location of Fulcrum's main base of operations and their intentions. Their goals aren't much different than Ted Roark's were, but their plans for the Intersect agents they are creating appear to be very different. They make Roark look like a piker as far as bad guys go because it appears they're pursuing a method that turns their operatives into something akin to robots."

"From what our analysts have pieced together so far," she continued, "It looks they plan to assassinate several important eastern European leaders, in order to destabilize the region, and then create puppet governments in the power vacuum. At this point we don't know what their intentions are beyond that, but the prospects look bleak. They've aligned themselves with several very powerful European financiers, so we think their goals might be economic in nature...aimed at destabilizing the dollar. Our teams in the Czech republic are coordinating with the government there to try to find them, but as yet we only have a search area narrowed to a hundred square miles, or so. Chuck, I'm sending you our most recent data and I want you and Sarah to analyze it."

"General, is what you're requesting going to require heavy use of the Intersect?" Ellie said with a furrowed brow. "If so, I have reservations about them using it so soon in this manner. For all intents and purposes, Chuck and Sarah are still in recovery, and I'm reluctant to expose them to the strain, at least for a few more days."

"I understand your apprehension, Ellie, and we'll keep their workload light, but I have concerns that the intel we've managed to gather may be perishable so we have to act on it quickly."

"We can handle it, General," Chuck said confidently, glancing at his sister contritely. "This version of the Intersect is causing the least amount of strain I've experienced yet. I would, however, like to be the one doing the heavy lifting on this for the time being. Sarah has been through a lot, and she is the one with the most trauma to recover from, and the most to get used to right now."

"Chuck, I can do it; I'm feeling much better."

"Humn, Chuck's right, Wa- …Sarah," Casey said, looking at her and tapping the side of his head. "Let him do the hard work for once. Let yourself heal and learn how to use that thing."

"I'm not going to get in the middle of your family debate," General Beckman said, showing some cracks in her patience. "Right now we need to stop these people before they put their plan in motion. I want all of you ready to travel on a moment's notice if the need arises. We'll have a C-40 transport on standby at Edwards, just in case. Our analyst's will burst-transmit the relevant files to you when we're done here." She looked at Ellie and Manoosh attentively. "Ellie, I may need to have you and Manoosh return to Castle to assist the team in a couple of days, contingent on the Bartowski's further improvement, of course. I'd like you to get started on finalizing Nikki's download preparations and start on several more profiles."

"General is that wise with several Fulcrum agents still on the loose here? They tried to nab Ellie and Dr. Depak once already, along with Chuck and Sarah," Casey observed with a scowl. "If you have to have them at Castle, I'd like to be there to provide security."

"I assure you, Colonel Casey; we will provide very strong security for Manoosh and Ellie. I'm seeing to the selection of the agents myself. I want you here providing security for Chuck and Sarah with Lt. Commander Lawson. I don't want to have to replace either of you with someone else at the Bartowski residence right now. We'll arrange for the doctor's pickup sometime tomorrow."

Casey responded with his grunt of reluctant agreement.

"Well, at least we won't have to sleep on the couch for a while," said Nikki with a little smirk, winking at the Colonel.

"Then that's all for now," the General started to say, getting ready to end the briefing in her usual customarily curt way...

"Before we finish here, Diane, if I may," Chuck interrupted, heading her off. "I have a request. And you're probably going to think it's a rather large one."

Beckman fixed her eyes on Chuck with an annoyed look on her face. "What is it, Chuck? Are you pining for the good old days when I would dress you down in front of your colleagues during these briefings?" Beckman asked sarcastically with a glint in her eye.

"Nononono, I certainly don't want to go back those days where all I did was try your patience on a daily basis. I was just thinking that..." he cleared his throat, "If you're going to have Ellie and Manoosh go back to Castle, maybe you could arrange for them to at least have dinner with Devon and maybe let Ellie stay at home for a night... or two? She and Devon, and Clara haven't seen each other in days." He watched his sister return an appreciative look as the General considered his request with an uneasy look on her face.

"I would like to see my husband and daughter, Diane. It's been very hard being away from Clara," Ellie admitted with an almost inaudible sigh.

"Very well, Doctor, I'll arrange it. But security will be heavy," Diane said with reluctant exasperation. "Plan for another briefing at 1300 local tomorrow, team." And with that the screen went dark.