Chapter 2: Diagnosis

Chuck and Sarah had told Ellie that they didn't mind flying to Chicago and seeing her there. But Ellie insisted on flying back to Burbank, pointing out that Sarah should be resting instead of traveling halfway across the country. Her husband Devon (aka Captain Awesome) and their daughter Clara came with her, to support the family and spend some time with Chuck and Sarah.

Meanwhile, Sarah was brought to Westside Medical, where Ellie, as soon as she arrived from Chicago, would treat Sarah. In the meantime, the doctors at the hospital in Burbank began running tests on Sarah (PET, EEG, etc.). Ellie arrived in Burbank within 8 hours after Sarah was admitted, and immediately began studying the results of the tests the doctors had run. Although it was not a typical case of diagnosing and treating, she would do her best to figure out how to restore Sarah's memories.

While Ellie was busy studying the test results, Devon took his one-year old daughter into the room to visit her Uncle Chuck and Aunt Sarah.

"Hi Chuck, hey Sarah." he said as he entered the room.

"Hey, Awesome." Chuck responded as he waved at his brother-in-law. "Thank you so much for coming with Ellie."

"No problem at all, man. After all, I think Ellie needs us here, even though she won't admit it. Plus, that way this little one can visit her uncle and aunt."

At that point, Chuck took his niece into his arms and started playing with her, which gave Devon and Sarah a chance to talk.

"I'm sorry about taking your wife hostage." Sarah told Devon. Sarah remembered taking Ellie hostage, and Chuck had told her that this was Ellie's husband and their daughter.

"Don't worry about it Sarah." Captain Awesome replied. "You didn't know any better at that time. You just thought you were doing your job. And no one got hurt in the end." After all, Devon knew Sarah. Sure, his wife had been in danger thanks to Sarah, but he also realized that the Sarah who had taken his wife hostage was not the same as the one who sat talking to him now.

At that point, Devon looked at Chuck playing with Clara, and asked Sarah "do you want to hold her?"

Sarah looked shocked by Devon's question, but Chuck put Clara in Sarah's arms, and she held the little girl and looked deep into her eyes.

"Hi, sweet girl." Sarah said gently. "She's adorable." she told Awesome as she continued to hold the baby.

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome." he replied. "She gets that from her Mom. Don't you, sweet-heart?" he said, looking at his daughter. After a couple more minutes of holding her, Sarah passed baby Clara back to Devon.

"Alright, guys." Devon told them. "I'm going to go take Clara back to the hotel so she can get some sleep. And Sarah, I know you need the rest. Just let us know if you need anything, alright?"

"Sounds good." Chuck replied. "Thanks Awesome." As Devon left the room, with Clara, Sarah looked at Chuck with a sad expression on her face.

"Chuck…." Sarah spoke slowly. "Who were those people?"

Chuck responded gently, but with a somewhat surprised expression on his face. "That is Ellie's husband and their daughter."

"I know that…I just don't remember them at all. I feel like I just met them for the first time. I don't even know their names."

"Hey, it's ok." Chuck told her gently as he took her hand. "Don't worry about that. Their names are Devon and Clara, but that's not important right now. What matters is that you're ok."

Before Chuck could continue encouraging his wife, Ellie walked into the room.

"Hi, Ellie." Chuck told her with a solemn look on his face. He was happy to see his sister, but he also knew how serious this conversation with her could be.

"Hi Chuck. Hey Sarah." she responded warmly, as always. "Sarah, I've been studying your lab results, but before I try to explain the problem, I would like to talk to you about what exactly you remember."

"Alright." Sarah said in a nervous tone. She than began to explain the memories that had been coming back to her over the past few days; the Irene Demova virus, the way the Wienerlicious should be arranged, the beach, Ellie, and most importantly, how much she loved Chuck.

As soon as Sarah stopped talking, Ellie looked at the two of them and did her best to explain the conclusions she had reached. "Ok, guys. First of all, Sarah, you do need to know that your brain did suffer damage according to the tests we have run. That isn't surprising, and the brain has been known to heal itself. The problem is, having a supercomputer destroying your brain is not a usual source of damage."

"Ok…" Chuck said slowly, as he held Sarah's hand. "Do you have any way to know how bad the damage is?"

"It's not good, Chuck," Ellie replied sadly, "but I don't have much to compare it to. Seeing as this is such a unique case, the only other information I can use as a comparison is Morgan, you, and the files we have from Agent X." She paused for a second, and then continued. "Chuck, you never sustained severe brain damage, so Morgan's case is best for comparison. He lost memories, but over a slower progression of time. He was unable to remember some things, but did remember things such as his friendship with Chuck after stimulation."

"Does that mean you think my memories will return?" Sarah asked hopefully?

Ellie sighed. "It's difficult to say…I would say at least some of them will return. After all, you have seen that happening already. As for all of them…to be honest, I'm not sure."

Sarah looked sad, but Chuck wasn't ready to give up. "So what's our next move, sis?" he asked. "I mean, there has to be something we can do, right?"

"First of all, we need to get that intersect out of her brain. We'll contact General Beckman so she can have it removed. Other than that, Chuck, I would say natural stimulation. From what I can tell, the memories that have come back are due to some sort of trigger, which makes sense because the Intersect always worked with a trigger. Also, a lot of them seem to come back when Sarah is doing something. That is probably because our brain stores procedural memories longer than it does facts. That means that memories of how to do things may come back more naturally than facts about your life. Chuck, you'll need to help Sarah by reminding her of things gently. Don't tell her everything, though, because we want things to come back on their own. And Sarah, be sure to not rush it. Sometimes you will go looking for these triggers, and that is ok, but many times they will just find you."

"Just like when Chuck was the Intersect." Sarah replied. "Sometimes he would be looking for a trigger, and other times a flash would come out of nowhere."

"Exactly. Again, the key is finding the triggers."

"Ellie," Chuck asked, "is there anyway one trigger could bring back everything?"

"I'm not sure…" she responded carefully. "The Intersect isn't designed that way, but since this was an altered version, anything is possible. However, it's a very slim possibility."

At this point, Chuck and Sarah both looked sad. Ellie couldn't help but try and comfort them.

"I know this isn't the easiest news to hear, but I know you two will be ok." Ellie told them. "I see the way you two love each other. Memories or not, that is not going to change, ok?" Ellie then got up, and she and Chuck hugged each other.

"Thanks, sis." Chuck said as he hugged his sister.

"Of course, Chuck. You know I'll always be there for you. That's what big sisters are for." She then hugged Sarah.

"I wish I could remember you better Ellie..." Sarah started, but Ellie interrupted.

"Sarah, don't think this changes anything between us. I think of you like a sister, and you are the best thing that could have possibly happened for Chuck. No matter what happens, I'll always feel that way."

"Thanks." Sarah replied quietly. "Hopefully I'll remember that you are like a sister to me too."

Ellie smiled at both of them. "I'll leave you alone. I'm going set up a removal of the Intersect for Sarah, and I'll drop by tomorrow to check on you two. Be sure to get some rest, both of you."

And with that, Ellie left. Chuck and Sarah talked for a bit, but eventually Sarah fell asleep. Chuck then curled up on the small couch in the hospital room and did his best to get a few hours of rest.

Meanwhile, Ellie scheduled General Beckman's visit to the hospital and drove back to the hotel. When she came in, Clara was asleep, but her husband Devon was sitting on the couch, clearly waiting for her to get home. As soon as she saw him, she walked to the couch, cuddled up with him, and started to cry into his shoulder.

After all, being a Doctor was never easy, and the job required her to be emotionally strong. But after several hours of being strong for Chuck and Sarah, she just couldn't do it anymore. So she wept at the thought of Sarah's memories never coming back, as her husband held her and his arms, reassured her, and listened to her to her cry. Not knowing what else to say, Devon simply told her, "I'm here for you." over and over again, until her sobs subsided and she finally fell asleep.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfiction I have posted, and I would love to know what you think of it. So please, please, please leave a review! I would really appreciate some compliments and/or constructive criticism (whichever you think is needed). Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to have another chapter posted soon.