CHAPTER 16

Chuck watched the tactical team rush into Berth Nineteen and swiftly raised his hands until he saw Casey and Sarah with them. It was hard to miss Sarah keeping her distance from him, leaving Casey to have him escorted back to his car where he was to go straight to Ellie's. With a final glance to Sarah he frowned at her pointedly not looking at him, giving Casey a solemn nod before he left.

While the team worked on the bomb, Casey pulled Sarah aside. "Something happen?"

"I told you it just didn't go off."

"I mean with Bartowski," Casey said rolling his eyes.

Sarah schooled her features and shook her head. "We thought we were going to die. Things got heated and we said some stuff. I put a gun on him to try and get him to leave but he wouldn't."

A somber smile touched Casey's lips as he gave a grunt. "I guess he really doesn't leave people behind."

Sarah let the start of a frown slip past her but regained her composure. "I might have gotten frustrated and… yelled at him."

"That would explain the kid's face," Casey said nodding. He didn't like them treating him like a child or dog and with the way things were between them reverting back to that would probably hurt, so that could be why he looked a bit disappointed and forlorn. Or… "You sure that's all?"

Sarah saw him try to search her face for a crack, but she wasn't letting any show. "He's probably just shaken by the whole thing."

His disappointment showed briefly before Casey shook his head and grunted. "I'm sure that's it."

After Casey's comment in the van outside Stavros' club, she couldn't give him an inch to think she'd compromised herself. She didn't like that she'd proven him right, and there was damn sure no way she was going to let him know it. But all of that got more twisted when they watched the Human transport container open.

Chuck spent his drive back and the rest of his night plotting his breakup with Lou. Much like he'd broken up his fake relationship with Sarah to try with Lou, he was going to have to break up with her to try something real with Sarah. It was probably going to take time, but he hadn't lied when he said she was worth it. Now that he knew it wasn't completely one sided he had to try.

For maybe one second halfway through the night he wondered if it might have been some kind of pity kiss, but there was no way that was possible. He'd had a pity kiss and they were nothing like that. That was an honest to god world ender, it just happened to happen when they thought their world was about to end. It was the kind of kiss that made it clear that things had changed and would never really go back to how they were. They couldn't. No matter what they did or tried it had happened and there was the world before and the world after, and they were firmly in the after.

Thanks to some Casey interference making her think he was an undercover FDA agent, the breakup with Lou was fairly easy. The loss of Lou's as a lunch option hurt, but it was worth it.

While Chuck had felt pretty good about it all, that started to sink when another day passed without seeing Casey or Sarah. He'd even gone full Casey and spent half his time at Ellie's peeking through the shades whenever he heard someone in the courtyard.

The day before Thanksgiving Chuck had lost his cool and taken to sneaking around the store to avoid Harry Tang and leave her messages, but never got an answer. He wasn't sure he ever hated the Buy More as much as he did then. For a time it had felt like a life preserver keeping him afloat, but now it felt like an anchor keeping him from whatever was keeping two of the four people who mattered most in his life.

When Harry Tang and Big Mike gathered the Nerd Herd and told them they would be handling training for Black Friday Chuck asked, "Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so wouldn't we, as a store, be closed?"

"Duty calls, Bartowski," Tang said with a snide smile as Mike nodded.

"You got a key. Work it out."

As they started to leave Chuck shook his head. "Not happening."

Mike tilted his head while Harry crossed his arms and grinned, clearly relishing a confrontation of any sort with Chuck. "What was that, Bartowski?"

Behind him Jeff pulled his head back, reeling in shock as Chuck stepped forward while Lester gave an approving, amused nod and Anna frowned. "Chuckles, are-"

"I'm not giving up time with my family to work unpaid hours," Chuck said firmly.

"Watch it, Bartowski," warned Harry. "Keep that tone and you won't be working any day."

"Then fire me," Chuck said apathetically meeting Harry's narrowed eyes, "but don't be surprised when my lawyers show up and you cost the Buy More twenty years salary."

"Hold on," Big Mike said stepping forward, "there's no need for that now. Now come on, Bartowski. Be a team player."

"I am," Chuck said nodding, though Mike's smile faded when he concluded, "Team Chuck. And Team Chuck already knows about Pineapple-"the word made everyone tense a bit "-and how to handle a crowd, so Team Chuck is going to spend a day with his sister and-" Chuck's lips curved into a grin seeing Sarah enter the store, "-people that matter most to him."

He walked past them, patting Mike's shoulder, leaving them staring as he made his way to Sarah. "I don't…" She grabbed him, pulling him aside into an aisle. "I don't want to play Beckman here, but if you don't start answering my calls then super secret spy resource Chuck Bartowski does kind of go to waste."

"Did you flash on something?"

"No. No, I was… I was calling about other stuff. You didn't happen to listen to my messages?"

"Chuck, we have to talk."

Feeling a flicker of panic start he spoke quickly. "No. Wait. Can I say something first?"

"No. Chuck-"

"It's the kiss, right?" He cut her off with a nervous smile. "It is. It's got to be the kiss. First of all, I know that the moment was very life-or-death-ish. And, normally, I would run from a situation on the other hand. You, on the other hand… You, um, you… you kissed me, which was just… But the thing-the thing is that I'd like to talk about, is I'd like to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner, but we need a cover for that, so really, what I'm trying to ask is, uh… Are we back together?"

"Chuck. Bryce is alive." Her words drained the light from Chuck's face, leaving it to crumble as he felt his insides do the same.

Wow. The Bartowski curse really didn't pull punches. Thank god Ellie was pretty much destined to become a Woodcomb, hopefully that would keep it from affecting her kids and let it die out with him because at this rate there was going to be lucky if he died alone in a sewer. The flicker of hope he'd clung to since their lips parted quenched, Pandora's box closed and sealed like the casket Bryce couldn't stay in. He really was Superman, wasn't he?

The car ride was silent, Sarah either focused on driving or lost in her own thoughts while Chuck wasn't sure he could speak. He could barely breath thanks to the knot in his throat, but it shrunk the longer he stared out the window. By the time they arrived at the CIA facility it had faded, leaving a sink hole in his stomach and an iron poker stuck through his chest. He felt skewered as he stepped in front of the window to the stark white room where Bryce was bound to a chair.

"Sarah, you told me Bryce was dead. I read his obituary. We went to his funeral," he said turning to her and Casey. "How is this possible?"

"We don't know, Chuck," she said facing the window with her arms crossed. "He won't walk to our people."

"Not even you?"

The quiet sympathy in his voice made her turn to look at him just as Casey spoke and Chuck turned to look at him. "He hasn't seen either of us."

"Why?"

Turning to Chuck she said, "Because he asked for you."

"We want to know what happened to him. We think he'll talk to you."

"Wait a minute. Hold on a second," Chuck turned his back to the window to look back and forth to the agents. "Well… You want me to go in there and ask him what exactly? Just so we're on the same page." He mockingly said, "Hey Bryce, why did you send me the Intersect? Why did you choose my life ruin? Again." With a scoff he asked, "How exactly do I start that conversation."

"Just talk to him, okay? Be a friend, you're good at that."

Looking into her eyes Chuck found that for the first time he found the prospect of being a friend almost repulsive. Not Bryce's friend but hers, because with Bryce alive it seemed inevitable that the best Chuck could ever hope to be to her was a friend and it hurt. But he didn't have much choice.

With a breath he walked past her to the door, Casey following behind and putting a hand on his shoulder as he peered through a slit in the door. "Remember he's rogue CIA, trained assassin…" The door opened and he whispered in his ear, "So be careful."

Turning to him Chuck gave a sarcastic, "Thanks." It earned him a soft grunt before he entered and the door slid shut, sealing him into a room with the one person Chuck hoped to never see again. At least with Joe Chill Chuck hoped to see him so he could get him arrested or much worse in his darker moments. Even Jill he'd had moments where he either considered getting back with her or, again in those dark moments, imagined himself having a live he could rub in her face while she begged to have him back.

"Who are you?" Bryce asked, keeping his head hanging forward.

"It's me… Chuck."

That made Bryce raise his head and look to him, brow sunken, jaw square as ever, hair perfect even though he was basically a prisoner. What chance did Chuck ever have against this guy? "I don't believe you. What did you do with the real Chuck?"

"Are… are you for real?" Chuck shook his head and scoffed. "What do you think I'm a Life-Model Decoy or a clone or something? While this is getting weird enough I'd almost believe it was the Twilight Zone it's not, and no matter how much I try, I'm still Chuck."

Chuck's despondent tone as he said his own name made a frown crack Sarah's mask while Casey gave a barely audible somber grunt.

"Prove it. TLingan khol da-jatl-a?"

Chuck grimaced, nodding to the mirrored window behind him. "Oh, come on, they're watching us."

"Do it," Bryce implored quietly.

Chuck groaned, then shrugged. What did it matter if he embarrassed himself in front off her now. Shaking his head and sounding drained he said, "Khi-ja. Bi-piv-kha-low."

"What the hell?" Casey asked while Sarah frowned, at his defeated tone.

Bryce face softened, a relieved smile gracing his lips. "Your Klingon's a bit rusty, Chuck."

With a shrug Chuck said, "Yeah, I've been kind of busy lately… Ever since I got your email."

"You opened it, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Your computer?"

"Destroyed."

"So you're the only one."

"I don't get it, Bryce. Why did you do it?" When Bryce turned his head Chuck took a step to the side trying to get back into his line of sight. "Why'd you send me the Intersect? Then, why did you destroy it? And last up: How the hell are you still alive?"

Raising his gaze again Bryce answered, "It's complicated."

"When isn't it?" Chuck snorted bitterly before asking, "Who saved you?"

"They did."

"They saved you? Did they? Could you be any more cryptic? How about we just say they did a thing in a place to some people at a time because they did. Or, how about you be useful and give me a name, a place, anything."

Bryce was surprised by Chuck's biting tone, but waved his head and whispered, "Come here."

"Oh… Don't do that," Casey said crossing his arms as Chuck rolled his head, letting it slump forward as he stepped toward the chair.

"I'm sorry, Chuck." Bryce snapped the strap on his right arm, grabbed a syringe gun and pointed it at Chuck's neck. "Untie me!"

Chuck started to just step back, but Bryce pushed the needle against his throat before he even took the first step. Shooting a glare at him Chuck pressed his lips together and untied him from the chair. In a flash of movement Bryce was off the chair and grabbed Chuck, pulling him in front of him like a human shield while holding the needle to his jugular.

That was when the door slid open. "Bryce, No!" Sarah stepped in and drew her gun on them.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?" Confusion painted Bryce's face seeing her, then darkened as Casey stepped in after her. "Hello Casey. Care to try again?"

"Bryce let him go," Sarah said firmly, keeping her gun on them as Bryce guided himself and Chuck toward the door. He eyes shifted from him to Chuck and she found his brow sunken, his jaw set and eyes almost vacant as he stared ahead while moving with Bryce. It was unsettling seeing him look almost empty and cold as Bryce dragged him down the hall.

Seeing armed agents round the corner after as they did Sarah called out, "Stand down!" She and Casey followed as Bryce moved back toward the elevator. "Don't do this, Bryce. We're all on the same side here."

"What side is that?" asked Bryce.

"I've got a shot."

Casey's claim seemed to snap Chuck out of his haze. "Take it!"

Bryce glanced at Chuck, looking betrayed while Sarah frowned.

"Stop him! Shoot me through the shoulder and hit his heart if you have to!"

Casey grinned while Sarah said firmly, "Do not shoot him."

Chuck felt nauseous again. Even with Bryce holding a probably lethal dose of something to his neck she still wouldn't stop him? It drove the scorching poker deeper into his heart. Then he wondered if maybe she meant him, Chuck, but realized if she did then she most likely meant him, the asset. Couldn't risk a stray bullet putting the Intersect out of commission.

Inside the elevator at last, Bryce demanded, "The access code!" Pressing the needle against his skin Bryce yelled, "I'll kill him, Sarah!"

"Don't give it to him," Chuck yelled looking at Casey, his steady expression surprising both handlers. "You're one of the best snipers in the world. You can make the shot."

Casey's brow sank, clearly wondering how he knew that. His answer would wait as Sarah said, "Five-one-six-zero-two."

"Sarah?" Chuck said quietly, his firm expression crumbling to betrayal as he looked at her while Bryce swiftly typed in the code, causing the door to close.

Once the elevator music started Bryce patted his shoulder. "Wow, have to say I'm impressed Chuck. Didn't think you would tell him to take the shot." When Chuck turned to face him with a glare, Bryce smirked. "You knew I wouldn't do it, right?"

"No, I did not know that! How the hell would I know that, Bryce?"

After a quick glance at the roof of the elevator Bryce turned to Chuck asking, "What's Sarah doing here?"

For a moment he almost answered 'She's my girlfriend so back off', as if that would stop him. Instead he answered flatly. "She's protecting me, okay. And so is Casey. We're the good guys." Bryce looked to the panel as Chuck took a breath to try and calm him and ease his right hand out of the ball it was in before his nails tore up his palm. "Look, you need to stop this right now, before someone gets hurt. It's not too late."

"Too soon."

"What?"

Bryce nodded toward the panel. "We're slowing down."

Realizing what was going to happen Chuck rolled his head. "Come on, we don't have to do the whole thing." He groaned as Bryce grabbed him and spun him around, pressing the needle back to his neck.

The doors opened and Bryce immediately started speaking. "You stop this elevator again…"

His voice trailed upon seeing an olive skinned man with facial scars standing alone on the other side of the door. "Bryce," he said lightly, stepping forward to ask, "Who's your friend?"

Chuck felt the familiar pull of a flash incoming and his mind was flooded with images of the man wiping off a knife amid bloodied corpses. He was a CIA agent linked to Fulcrum. Another one.

"You step back." Bryce said when Tommy stepped forward.

"Okay. I wouldn't want you to kill some random person." Tommy said apathetically, "I'd feel terrible."

"Tell your people that I'm gone."

"This is your chance, Bryce. This is me being reasonable. Let's go. Let's be friends again."

"We were never friends."

"Ouch," Tommy declared sarcastically. "Now my feelings are hurt. You're gonna run, aren't you?" The sarcasm had faded, replaced with amusement as he said, "Good."

Once the doors were closed Bryce released him again. Taking a second to steady himself Chuck asked, "Who was that?"

"Nobody," Bryce whispered, looking back to the ceiling.

Turning to Bryce Chuck asked with steel in his voice, "Do you know what Fulcrum is?"

Bryce's head snapped to Chuck, a glimpse of panic on his face. "Where did you hear that?"

Realizing Bryce might think he was a part of it, and it probably wasn't good if Fulcrum was linked to what he'd seen, Chuck tapped his temple as if it were obvious. "Intersect. I have these flashes."

Relief washed over Bryce as he stepped forward. "I was right. You can remember its intel." He held in a laugh, his curiosity demanding he at least ask, "Is it always that fast?"

"What is Fulcrum, Bryce? Are you involved with them?" Bryce hit a button on the panel and started to speak when Chuck asked, "Is Orion?"

Bryce's face fell. "How do you know that name?"

Well that told him a lot. After a brief debate within Chuck he decided Chuck didn't need to know or deserve to get any of the answers that mattered. "Morgan's killer was after him."

Bryce frowned, and Chuck almost believed he actually felt some sympathy for him, but then he said, "This is my stop."

Chuck backed to the door. "Who are they Bryce? How do you know Orion? How is he linked to me?"

"This is gonna sting a little," Bryce said before sticking the needle in his shoulder, making him yelp.

"Dick," Chuck said as the world started to go wavy around him.

Bryce grabbed Chuck's shoulders as his legs started to give up, meeting his eyes as they started to dilate. "Tell Sarah… It's hard to say goodbye."

Slumping against Bryce Chuck forced himself to say before passing out, "Fuck off."

"Chuck." He blinked back into consciousness and saw a beautiful Valkyrie had come to claim him now that he had died. "Hey, Chuck."

"Take me to Valhalla," he said dreamily, raising his hand and seeing three others surrounding it, at least until she stepped away and Casey took her place. With a groan he dropped his head back against the floor, letting the world slink back to a solid state again.

"Come on, soldier," Casey said pulling him off the ground, "on your feet."

"Wait," Chuck said wincing, "close off building."

Casey and Sarah shared a glance before the NSA agent asked, "Why?"

"Tommy Delgado. ID number four-one-seven-three-zero." Chuck groaned, holding his head. "I think he's bad. He's CIA and was here and talked to Bryce."

Sarah left the elevator pulling out her phone when Casey shot her a glance. "On it."

Casey caught Chuck when he went to take a step and stumbled into the hall. "Hold on, give it a second, Moron." One arm under Chuck's, he put his other hand to his chest, guiding Chuck to a wall so he could lean against it. Holding up a hand he asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Really mature."

Casey snickered and lowered his middle finger. With a glance down the hall he saw Sarah stood at the end with her back to them and her phone to her ear. Meeting Chuck's eyes Casey said, "You know you surprised me today. Didn't think you'd be telling me to take the shot. Figured you'd be begging me not to shoot, not asking to take a bullet."

"I guess it shows how much I hate Bryce," he muttered, failing to not glance at Sarah, but managing to keep it to a fraction of a second.

However that was still enough for Casey to notice, glancing at her before frowning and pinning Chuck's gaze with his own. "Chuck. Did you flash on me?"

Chuck's brow knit as his head tilted. "What?"

"You said I was one of the best snipers and could make the shot. How did you know that?"

Chuck was tremendously proud of himself as he managed to not let his face bug out as he did internally, mentally yelling 'Oh fuck!' With a glance to Sarah to make sure she wasn't near, Chuck took a breath and told Casey, "A while ago."

His face darkened as Casey asked, "What was in it?"

With another glance toward Sarah he whispered, "Your real name."

Casey's eyes widened before anger filled his face and for a moment Chuck wondered if he was going to punch him if not shoot him.

"There's also something else you need to know, but not here," Chuck said quickly. "Something you don't know."

"What is it?"

"It'll hurt but it could be good," was all Chuck managed to say before he saw Sarah turned around, hanging up her phone. Before she was too close he let out a whispered, "Alone."

Casey gave a barely perceptible nod, his expression turning stoic as he turned to Sarah. "Anything?"

"Bryce and Delgado are gone. They're looking into Delgado." Sarah finally cast her gaze on Chuck, her face turning stern. "What were you thinking up there Chuck? 'Take the shot'?"

Chuck felt the bile burn his throat, but kept himself from saying anything harshly. Instead he shrugged. "At least I would've been limited to being an idiot for letting him grab me instead of letting him get away too."

Sarah shook her head. "He's a trained spy, Chuck. You-"

"I know," he said flatly. "I couldn't have done anything. I already know." He was nothing compared to the great super spy that is Bryce Larkin.

Sighing, Sarah shook her head. "Why don't we get you home?"

Chuck gave Casey a look, which surprised Sarah, but the NSA agent nodded and Chuck turned to her with a shrug before following her out to her car.

It was another quiet car ride, though Chuck didn't mind. It gave him time to cool off and try to push everything behind him. As they exited the car and started toward the apartment Chuck asked, "So what was that stuff he injected me with anyway? Is there any side effects I should know about?"

"It was just a sedative," Sarah assure as they entered the courtyard. "It wasn't a full dose. It'll be out of your system in hours."

"Thanks. I think I can handle it from here." Stopping at the fountain Chuck turned to Sarah. "So are you and Casey gonna go after Bryce?"

"No. Bryce is probably halfway around the world by now. It's someone else's job to find him."

At another time he might have liked how plainly she said that, seeming completely unaffected by it, but he knew her enough to know that was probably just an act. "Sarah, this is Bryce Larkin we're talking about here. Your old flame, my old nemesis. Are we really not going to do anything?"

"We each have our own assignment." Maybe it was the firm tone she used, but her words stung a bit more than he thought they probably should have.

"Right and I'm yours, so what… What does this mean… For us?"

"Nothing. You're protected."

"No. For us," Chuck said waving between them. "Our fake relationship-I mean you and Bryce were…" She went stone faced again. "You're really not making this easy." But then when did she ever? Spotting Ellie over her shoulder he quickly said, "Hey. Hey sis."

"Oh, hi."

"Hey." Sarah said as she came up to them.

"Hey, Sarah. It's good to see you."

"You, too."

"Are you coming to Thanksgiving?"

Sarah turned to him with an open mouthed smile declaring, "Of course."

A day earlier that might have made him ecstatic, but now all he felt was an odd sense of foreboding. It felt like he was standing in front of that not-a-bomb again and the countdown was set to end sometime during Thanksgiving. And he didn't think this time he'd be kissing in front of it.

AN:

At first I had Chuck quit the Buy More when they try to make him come in on Thanksgiving.

So even though I don't use him much beyond canon, I love Tommy Delgado. I think the actor does great reads on just about every line.

A lot of what's written here is straight from the show, but I thought the new additions and the shifts in perspective here versus canon were fun.