Hello there. This is another one of those chapters that everyone has probably waited to see. Chuck and Sarah are on the run and Fulcrum has his father. I originally thought this chapter would be one of the chapters that followed show canon the most, but there were actually a lot of elements I had to make...and at least one that I hope you appreciated. There is one significant item that was taken out, but that will be covered at a later point. And there are a few changes to be had throughout.

I hope to have the next chapter out a bit sooner, but I can't make any guarantees. I'm doing spot job assignments here and there, one of which is hosting a trivia night at a local bar a couple of times per week. Then I drive on the weekends to make money. Still, beats the hell out of making no money at all, right?

Let me know how this chapter in particular went for you. There were definitely a few scenes that were a challenge to translate into the written word (I'm sure you know of at least one), and I really hope I did a good job with it.

As always, the parts from the show are the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions. I still don't make a dime off of this, so could you compensate me by reviewing? Please?

Thanks and enjoy!

Starbright Drive-In – Barstow, CA
April 13, 2016
11:00 AM PDT

Chuck and Sarah drove through the night. They ditched her Porsche before sunrise, finding an older-model Dodge in a used car lot that Sarah hotwired, and continued towards the map coordinates on Jimmy's smartphone that he copied from Cole Barker's data. But all they saw in front of them was an abandoned drive-in theater. If the coordinates were really for a Fulcrum facility to begin with. They didn't know why Stephen Bartowski had those coordinates, and they obviously couldn't ask him now since he was in the hands of Fulcrum.

"Are you sure these are the coordinates?" Chuck asked.

"As sure as I can be," Sarah replied. "The computers at that café we found weren't exactly state-of-the-art. I can't use Jimmy's smartphone or tablet; the CIA could trace them."

Chuck looked around. He saw the torn movie screens and dilapidated concession stand. "Well, it doesn't exactly look like a Fulcrum compound, does it?"

"Maybe we got the coordinates wrong. Or maybe they didn't mean anything."

Chuck looked at the ground. "No, wait. They must have just moved my father. These beer cans are fresh, there's still ash on the cigarette butts…"

"Could have been kids having a party."

Chuck sighed in frustration. "Great, now we have to go back and start all over again."

"Chuck, we're AWOL. It's why we ditched the car and drove only at night. If we go back, I go to jail, and you go to a padded cell with 24-hour surveillance for the rest of your life."

Sarah paced back and forth. "There is no going back. We have only one chance. We have to hope Casey, Carina, and Jimmy understood why I did this and help us. If Beckman doesn't throw them in jail anyway."

Chuck knelt down and looked at the pack of cigarettes in front of him. "This is my fault. I never should have gone to Roark Instruments," he said quietly. "I thought I was keeping all of you safe. I didn't want you risking your lives over a stupid hunch. And now…"

"No, stop." Sarah walked over to him and knelt down as well. "Going after Fulcrum alone wasn't smart, but this isn't your fault. If it wasn't for you, Fulcrum would have taken over the government by now. I mean, I meet you one day, and the very next day you stopped a hotel from being blown up. You saved your sister's life, got Carina to be more open, survived a number of Jimmy's crazy stunts, and helped Casey rescue his old girlfriend. And what you've done for me…"

She gently brushed Chuck's windswept hair out of his eyes. "I'd follow one of your hunches over one of Beckman's orders every single time. And I guarantee Casey, Carina, and Jimmy would do the same."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll make this work. We'll find your father and we'll stop Fulcrum. Somehow, we'll make this right. And you'll be the reason why."

Chuck turned towards Sarah and gave her a gentle smile. It was amazing how that look of confidence never wavered from her. It was little wonder why she was the government's best spy: she always had such confidence in herself and in her friends. And she had confidence in him. Through all the girlish screams, the missions, the things all of them had to do to survive and stay after Fulcrum, she always trusted him and made sure he could trust her. There were a lot of things he wished didn't happen over the last seven months. But getting to know Sarah made up for all of them and more. So much more.

He looked at the ground again, throwing a pebble at the pack of cigarettes. Sarah stood up and checked her watch, pushing a button on it. Neither of them saw that the pack of cigarettes contained a hidden camera.

~/^\~

One hundred feet below the drive-in, Stephen Bartowski gazed sentimentally at the image of Chuck and Sarah on the monitor in front of him. Since he didn't see the other members of the team, he had to assume the two went off on their own. But the whole idea behind the abandoned drive-in as a cover was that satellite recon never gave it a second thought.

"Don't give up, Charles," he said quietly as he looked at the pair.

"Cute couple."

Stephen turned around in surprise to see Ted Roark.

"You must be proud, your son dating Sarah Walker? Very pretty, I must say. I don't think much of her acting, but I wouldn't hold that against her. If I was going to hold anything against her, I'd prefer it to be…well, me."

"If anything happens to them…"

"What are you going to do? You going to…you going to kill me? You going to beat me to a pulp? I'm sure you can come up with something more creative than that."

Stephen looked at the ground. "No, you had it right. I'll kill you!"

Stephen lunged for Roark, who stepped back and watched as the chains attached to Stephen's ankles stopped him.

"Uh-oh! Forgot about that. I'm sorry. I'll tell you what. As long as the new Intersect is operational by tomorrow night, your son will be fine."

"Hold on, there's still a ton of diagnostics to run, simulations…I can't guarantee I can finish it by then."

"Well then, I can't guarantee your son's safety. Or his girlfriend's and her co-stars'. Or Ellie's and Devon's. Just something to think about."

Roark walked out of the room.

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 13, 2016
2:00 PM PDT

"What the hell happened?!"

Beckman had never been more upset in her life, and this mission had already tried her patience repeatedly. Casey, Carina, and Jimmy were not exactly enjoying being on the receiving end of Beckman's wrath.

"Walker took us by surprise, General," Casey replied. "We never suspected she would disobey orders."

"I am sending teams after them. They are to bring back Bartowski and Walker…dead or alive."

"DEAD or alive?" Carina asked in shock.

"The safety of the Intersect is no longer my main concern."

"General, wait. Sarah went rogue to protect Chuck, not to commit treason. She may have turned on us but we can bring Chuck and her back alive. We owe them that much. Otherwise you waste a lot of resources and manpower on trying to catch your best spy. We know how she thinks. We're your best chance at finding them."

Beckman was silent for a moment. "You have twenty-four hours to bring them back. If you fail, every single agent available will have orders to kill the two of them. And you as well."

Jimmy shook his head. "Boy, you really know how to send someone out with a great attitude, boss."

Beckman growled briefly and terminated the link.

Casey, Carina, and Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief.

"OK, that's done," Carina said. "What now?"

Casey checked his smartphone. "Nothing right now."

Jimmy watched him type something on it. He shook his head.

"Snowball, meet Hell. Let's see how well you do."

Unknown Location
April 13, 2016
10:00 PM PDT

Chuck opened the door and let Sarah enter the motel room first. The room looked as depressing as they felt. Each of them carried a small bag of supplies they bought at a roadside stop, the only one they could find with no surveillance cameras. They knew they had to stay off the grid, so everything they needed had to be paid for with cash, just like the motel room in which they stood. Of course, CIA agents were trained to be ready for such a scenario from the first day, so Sarah had a decent stash of money saved up. But the money would only last for so long.

"So, um, as you can see, just the one bed," Chuck said dejectedly. "A little presumptuous, I guess. Should I have asked for separate rooms?"

"No, it's fine," Sarah replied. "As long as we're on the lam, I can't let you out of my sight."

She checked her watch, pushing a few buttons on it. She then grabbed a few items out of her bag and gestured towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

"I'm…going to assume that whole 'out of sight' thing doesn't really apply now."

She smiled and went into the bathroom.

"Right," Chuck said to himself, as if the situation wasn't awkward enough.

He took a few items out of his bag and took off his clothes, leaving him in his t-shirt and boxers. He grabbed the blankets on one side of the bed and slid into it. He then grabbed the remote and turned on the TV as he heard the shower start.

~/^\~

Outside Chuck's and Sarah's motel room, a pair of men kept watch from inside their car.

"I'm at the motel a mile south of the base," one of them said into their phone. "They just checked in. You want us to kill them?"

"No, no. I may need them for leverage," Ted Roark replied from his bunk inside Fulcrum's facility underneath the drive-in theater. "When the tests are complete, then we'll kill all of them. Just for fun, let's make Steve watch. Hmm, what would be the best order to kill them? Maybe start with the other actors, then Dr. Surfer Boy, the little bearded twerp, then Blondie, then we get to the family. Make it nice and painful. Am I being a little high-maintenance? I'm not going overboard, am I?"

"Not at all. Consider it done."

~/^\~

Chuck sat quietly in the bed watching the TV. Not surprisingly, he couldn't find anything on the television to calm him. Even a good game of Halo with Morgan wouldn't shake how he was feeling right now. Two nights ago, he thought he would get the Intersect out of his head. Then he could finally relax. No more secrets, no more lying to Ellie, Devon, and Morgan, and maybe he could even put his family back together. Then they would celebrate Ellie and Devon getting married and he would spend the night slow-dancing with Sarah.

But now he was on the run. It was the only option he had. The government was going to put him in a cell for the rest of his life, if not kill him outright. And Sarah had thrown away everything she had worked so hard to accomplish in order to stop that. He still couldn't believe it. She turned her back on the government…and even her best friends…to save him. He didn't know what to feel about that right now.

And Sarah emerging from the bathroom in a tight t-shirt and tiny panties didn't help clear his head. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Chuck glanced down at the bed. He felt the awkward moment coming as Sarah approached the bed and pulled out the band keeping her hair up.

"Uh…I'll, uh, I'll sleep on the floor," he said, getting out of the bed.

"No, it's OK," Sarah replied gently as she pulled the covers back on her side of the small bed and got in. Chuck carefully slid back into the bed, and she glanced over at him. She wondered if he felt as nervous as she did. And whether it was because of being on the lam or something else. For her, it was both.

"Why are you doing this?" Chuck asked her.

"Because the floor is gross, and I'm not going to make you sleep on it."

"No, I mean why are you here? Why are you risking everything that you worked so hard for?"

She turned towards him. "Because, after everything that you've done for this country, you deserve to find your father. To get the Intersect out of your head and to have a chance at a normal life."

"What about the others?"

Sarah could feel herself tense up. "I…I hope they forgive me one day. I hope they understand I had to protect you."

"Thank you," Chuck said shyly.

"You don't have to thank me," Sarah replied with a caring smile. "It's my job to protect you."

"What about when it's not your job?"

Sarah stared at him for a long moment. She had spent so much time worrying about protecting Chuck, working with the team, and stopping Fulcrum, she never gave any thought as to what would happen once it was over. She originally thought she'd go on to her next assignment with Casey, Carina, and Jimmy, but now she was a traitor who turned her back on them. What if they still managed to find Chuck's father and get the Intersect out of him? What then? She didn't have the answer. But she knew somehow, some way, it would involve the person in front of her right now.

The smile on her face slowly faded. "One mission at a time, Chuck."

She reached behind her to turn off the light on the nightstand. She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Chuck watched her for a few moments, discovering her peaceful look gave him a feeling of serenity inside. And he wondered if there would indeed be another mission after this one.

Starbright Drive-In – Barstow, CA
April 14, 2016
8:15 AM PDT

"This is it?"

Carina looked around at the abandoned drive-in with considerable incredulity. "Are you sure you got the coordinates right, Jimmy?"

"These are them," he replied. "I checked it a half-dozen times. These are the coordinates that were in Cole's data."

Casey used a heat scanner to look over the area. "Not picking up anything hot enough to be a supercomputer. No bodies, either. Maybe they're underground out of the scanner's range."

Carina walked along the ground where the beer cans and cigarettes were. "Chuck and Sarah checked this, too. You can see the print of Chuck's Converse shoes."

"I'll look inside the concession stand," Jimmy replied. "Maybe there's something in there that will give us a clue."

Casey's smartphone began to beep. He looked at what was on it. "Belay that, Slade."

Carina and Jimmy went to Casey to see what was on his smartphone. They then took off for Casey's car.

~/^\~

Ted Roark watched Casey, Carina, and Jimmy walk around the outside of the drive-in. Fulcrum had provided him with their entire files. There was a reason why they were the best team of spies in the government, and he wasn't going to chance it.

He went to the phone on his desk. "Send teams to the motel," he said. "We have to grab his son before Walker's team can. Bring those two back here; kill the other three."

Unknown Location
April 14, 2016
8:00 AM PDT

Chuck and Sarah lay asleep in the bed. Unlike last night, when they slept with a bit of distance from one another, now they were spooned together. Chuck's arm was draped over Sarah and she snuggled inside of his frame. Her hand drifted lazily across his, gently caressing his fingers. Still not awake, his fingers gently spread apart, and she interlaced her fingers with his. She drew his hand closer to her body, holding it to her as she felt the comfort from it, the feel of safety, the feel of home. A home she never knew or even knew could exist. She never felt like this in her entire life. It was both frightening and exhilarating.

Chuck slowly stirred in the bed as he felt Sarah's hand caressing his. He took in her scent; the same springtime scent she always had since the first day they met. It was never overpowering, but you knew it was there. It felt like…it felt like taking a tour of Heaven with an angel. Given her cascading blonde hair, cerulean eyes, and supermodel frame, angel would be a very apt description for Sarah…if angels could also throw knives with deadly accuracy and beat the hell out of guys twice their size while doing some amazing acrobatics.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, amazed they were this close, this intimate. She turned in the bed, opening her eyes, and saw him looking at her. They stared at each other for a long, long moment.

Their lips crashed together as they fell into a blazing kiss.

Everything disappeared from Sarah's mind. The missions, the cons, the abuse in high school, the fear of never getting what she wanted because of who she was. All of it was gone as she grabbed the back of Chuck's head and kissed him with an unbridled passion, the feeling that simmered a few moments ago now a raging inferno. She pulled herself up as Chuck hung on to her. He held her tightly, kissing her with reckless abandon as the moment in his life so many could only dream of was upon him. The heat and electricity the two generated threatened to set the entire motel on fire.

Chuck paused for a moment as Sarah lay back on the bed breathing heavily. She looked up at him, and she saw something in those puppy-dog brown eyes she had never seen before: pure, unadulterated joy. Gone was the fear, the self-doubt, all of the things that undeniably held him back for so long. And the smile on his face…she had seen him smile so many times, and she always felt it warm her inside. That crazy optimism, his unflappable loyalty to her and the team. But the smile he bore now was Cupid's arrow, and he hit the target dead-on.

He grabbed her faced and kissed her again, and her whirlwind of feelings spiraled in exponential speed. Her legs wrapped around him under the bed. She wanted him and right now. She never wanted to make love to anyone more in her life, not even Bryce.

Chuck sensed this, too. Mostly because he never wanted to make love to anyone more in his life, either. "Don't move," he panted as he extricated himself from under the bed. "Don't move."

"OK," Sarah said breathlessly.

"Don't move. Don't breathe, don't move." Chuck got out of the bed and hopped towards the bathroom. "Stay there. Stay there, stay."

Chuck grabbed his pants and pulled out his wallet. He searched inside for the condom that was there but only came up with a small slip of paper.

IOU One Condom. Your pal, Morgan.

Chuck was livid. He wasn't surprised Morgan would interrupt a romantic moment; it was just in his nature. But this one?! ?!

"I'm going to kill you, Morgan," Chuck growled, crumpling the note.

He quickly put on his pants and exited the bathroom, running for the door. "Hang on," he said breathlessly, unable to believe he was in the middle of a serious Morgan-induced case of coitus interruptus. "I need to…"

"Hurry," she panted.

Chuck bolted out of the motel room and ran for the lobby, hoping they either sold condoms or could tell him where to buy some. A hand reached out and grabbed him, slamming him against a vending machine. Chuck found himself face-to-face with two rather intimidating individuals.

"Mr. Roark would like to talk to you," the man who grabbed him said. "Now let's get your girlfriend."

The second man trained a gun on him as the three walked back to Chuck's and Sarah's motel room. The first man held onto Chuck as he opened the door. All three entered to find no sign of Sarah. They heard the shower running. The man with the gun approached the bathroom. He pushed open the door and stepped towards the bathtub. He threw open the curtain.

A large two-by-four slammed into the side of his head, knocking him out cold. The man who held Chuck rushed to the bathroom, but Sarah leaped in through the window, sending an elbow to his face. The man tried to throw a punch, but she ducked to the side and brought her knee up into the man's stomach. The man doubled-over, and Sarah finished him off with a hard smash between his shoulder blades.

She picked up the gun on the floor and ran towards the door, grabbing Chuck in the process. "Let's go!" she shouted.

Chuck and Sarah ran for their car, but a large vehicle bounded up the driveway to block them in. A half-dozen Fulcrum agents exited and pointed their guns at them.

"Get out of the car," one of the agents ordered.

Chuck and Sarah exited the car with their hands up. One of the men took the gun Sarah had while another motioned them to enter the SUV.

A quick series of beeps came from Sarah's watch. She glanced around and spotted something in the distance. She nodded.

A single beep came from her watch. Then a second. On the third beep, she grabbed Chuck and tackled him to the ground, making sure he shut his eyes. A projectile landed in the middle of the cars and exploded, blinding all of the agents as a flash grenade went off. They staggered about as Casey threw his launcher back into his car and drove towards them.

From behind the other side of the hotel, Carina and Jimmy charged in with automatic weapons, opening fire on everyone. Sarah crawled along the ground, pulling Chuck with her as some of the agents cleared their sight. They tried to go after Chuck and Sarah, but Carina and Jimmy were on top of them. Carina swung over the hood of one of the SUVs and landed a kick at the head of one agent while Jimmy jumped to the roof of Chuck's and Sarah's car, tackling two other agents to the ground and landing punches and kicks on both of them to keep them down. Another staggered towards Sarah and Chuck, but she leaped up and took him out with a spinning kick.

Casey drove down the road from his position two hundred yards away and pulled his Crown Vic up to the scene. He quickly got out of the car.

"Your Uber driver is here!" he shouted.

Carina went over to Chuck and Sarah. "Let's go!" she shouted, pulling them towards the back seat of Casey's car. Jimmy shot out the tires on the SUV and bounded for the passenger seat. Casey looked behind him to see two more SUVs heading in their direction. He quickly got in and floored it towards the wooden fence that ran parallel to the highway. He crashed through it at sixty miles per hour and threw the car hard to the left. The car fishtailed back and forth as Casey got it under control and sped down the highway back towards the drive-in. The two SUVs followed and began to close the gap.

Starbright Drive-In – Barstow, CA
April 14, 2016
9:30 AM PDT

Stephen Bartowski continued his work on the Intersect. His two guards decided to light a couple of cigars.

"You two mind taking that outside?" he demanded somewhat less than gently. "We're in a bomb shelter?"

The two men shook their heads in annoyance but walked away from Stephen. He checked one of the monitors. He then saw a blip on the highway heading back in their direction followed by what he knew were two Fulcrum SUVs.

"John Casey," he whispered to himself. They must have found Chuck and Sarah. He had to get a signal to them before they left to let them know he was there. He scanned the network Fulcrum was using and found a link to the electronic marquee outside the drive-in.

He quickly typed a message. "Look outside, Chuck," Stephen whispered as their vehicle got to within a mile of the drive-in. "Look out the window."

~/^\~

"Carina, my bag," Jimmy said.

Carina grabbed the bag on the floor in the back and passed it forward to Jimmy. He took out a large block of C-4 and attached a detonator to it. He handed the remote to Carina, rolled down his window, and opened the door, leaning out and using the window frame to hang on. He whipped the C-4 at the road behind them. The first SUV went over it.

"Now!" he shouted.

Carina hit a button on the remote and the C-4 exploded underneath the SUV, sending it flying through the air. It landed on its engine block and exploded. The other SUV skidded out of the way, barely missing the wreck, but continued to chase Casey's car.

"Unfortunately, I only brought one of those," Jimmy said as he got back in the car and closed the door.

The other SUV closed the distance. "Slade, glove box," Casey said.

Jimmy opened up the glove box and stared in shock. "At the risk of sounding like Awesome, that's awesome," he said.

"Prep it."

Jimmy punched a series of buttons. "Ready."

Casey threw the car hard to the left and slammed on the brakes. The car spun around as Casey threw it in reverse and gunned the engine.

"Fire," he ordered.

Jimmy pressed another button, and the headlights dropped down on the Crown Vic, revealing a missile behind them. It launched and hit the SUV dead-on, causing it to explode. Casey spun the car around again, shifted into drive, and they took off.

"Oh, my God…oh, my God…" Chuck was on the border of hyperventilation. Sarah held onto him tightly. "I can't believe it. How the hell did you do that?"

"Geez, how many miracles do you have to see from us?" Jimmy said with a grin. "You're getting more demanding than J-Lo."

"No, I mean Sarah took you by surprise and then you knew…" Chuck stopped and all of it clicked in. His mouth dropped open in shock. "You planned this! Sarah PRETENDED to betray you!"

"You didn't actually believe she could take me out with a single kick, did you?" Carina said with a chuckle.

"Hey, I did knock you out with a single kick once!" Sarah growled in protest.

"Oh, please. I was drunk off my ass during that fight. You could have breathed on me and I would have gone down. You know I can take you."

"Any day, bitch!" Sarah replied, although she was starting to crack up, so the threat didn't carry much weight.

"Imagine the pay-per-view dollars we could make on this," Jimmy said quietly to Casey, who grunted in agreement and semi-approval.

"Uh, back to the first thing!" Chuck was in no mood for the team's weird sense of humor. "I still don't get why…my father!"

Chuck pointed excitedly out the window as they passed the marquee for the Starbright Drive-In. "Tron, Tron, Tron! Tron, 12AM! A midnight showing of Tron? That was my dad's favorite movie! He must be there!"

Casey continued to drive past. "Case, what are you doing?" Chuck was upset. "We have to get my father!"

"Just the four of us half-armed and no way of even knowing how to get in there?" Casey replied. "We'd get our heads blown off. We need a solid plan to pull this off."

"We also have to let Beckman know," Jimmy added. "We had twenty-four hours to find you before we were all on the government's hit list. At least now that we know where your father is being held, we may have bought ourselves some time."

"But…" Chuck began.

"They're right, Chuck," Sarah replied gently. "We need a plan. And we need to be ready for anything. We barely got away from them just now. We can't just run right into their stronghold. We have to do this right. We'll get your father home."

Chuck looked at the ground and Sarah gently massaged his neck. She felt for Chuck wanting to get his father back, but Casey and Jimmy were right. They had been incredibly lucky so far. But luck always ran out. It was a constant in this business.

She hoped they had one more miracle left.

CIA Substation – Oxnard, CA
April 14, 2016
3:00 PM PDT

"So your decision to go rogue and betray your team was planned?"

Beckman wasn't even remotely as livid as she was 24 hours ago when she berated Sarah's team for letting her turn on them. She was shocked.

Casey nodded. "It was a gutsy play, but I knew Agent Walker could pull it off. By pretending she took the asset off the grid, it made them an irresistible target to Fulcrum. Because of her, we were able to keep Chuck safe, found Fulcrum's base of operations, and located Stephen Bartowski."

"With much appreciation to my partner," Sarah replied. "This was Major Casey's idea. He came up with the plan for me to go rogue, developed the way we would communicate, and did a lot of the work when those Fulcrum teams came after us. The credit should go to him."

Carina and Jimmy nodded in agreement to what Sarah said. Beckman stared at all five of them. A tiny smile came across Beckman's face, which for her was the equivalent of an ear-to-ear grin.

"Then you should be congratulated for such a brilliant idea, Colonel Casey."

Casey stared in surprise. "Colonel?"

"Your service to the government over the past two decades has been nothing short of exemplary, but what you did here put it over the top. Congratulations, you have earned it."

Sarah and Carina looked over at Casey and smiled and Jimmy clapped him on the shoulder.

"However, the day isn't over yet," Beckman continued in a more somber mood. "We have our best thermal imaging satellite being moved into position over those coordinates in Barstow. They will analyze the area to determine the best way to level their facility. We have to destroy it before their Intersect computer is complete."

"Wait," Chuck said. "What about my father?"

Beckman shook her head sadly. "We can't wait, Chuck. If Fulcrum successfully uploads the Intersect into their agents, everything we've done over the last seven months will be for nothing and Fulcrum wins. Sarah, you and your team do whatever you can to bring him and the Intersect home, but that base must be destroyed. No matter what. Good luck."

Beckman terminated the link. "We'll start drawing up the plans," Casey said.

"Thanks," Sarah replied. Carina and Jimmy followed Casey out of the room, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone. Sarah couldn't miss the look on Chuck. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"This…" he replied, gesturing to her and then to the door where Casey, Carina, and Jimmy just exited. "Why did you do this? Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

Sarah looked at the ground. "Beckman wanted to put you in a padded cell; that part was true. And if all of us escaped together, all of us would be joining you in that cell. But by pretending to commit treason, I kept the heat off of everyone else. I knew those three could convince Beckman to let them find us. And by not telling you, maybe you could avoid being locked up or even executed. So, as far as Beckman was concerned, I kidnapped you."

"That's what I didn't want you to do!" Chuck protested. "That's why I went into RI alone! I don't want you throwing your life away for me. I don't care if it is your job to protect me. I don't want to see you get hurt!"

Sarah walked over to Chuck and looked into his eyes. "Even if it wasn't my job, I'd still do it."

Chuck stared at her, that look of confidence she exuded was now mixed with something even more. His hands grabbed the sides of her face and he pulled her to him in a fervent kiss. She grabbed the back of his head as the kiss became more and more intense. They couldn't get enough of each other as the world fell away from them, caught up in a tumult of tightly-held bodies, pressed, hungry lips, and tongues tangoing with one another. If the morning in the motel was an inferno, this was quickly becoming a nuclear blast.

It took a moment before they realized Carina was behind them, gently clearing her throat. Chuck and Sarah separated, although damned if they were going to feel embarrassed over what they just did, especially in front of the woman who really did go rogue in order to rescue Cole Barker.

"What is it?" Sarah asked, still trying to catch her breath.

"We're ready," Carina replied. "You'll love the plan. It has the perfect combination of John Casey firepower and Jimmy Slade cleverness."

"OK." Chuck walked into the other room. Sarah started walking in that direction but turned and put a finger in Carina's face.

"Do NOT…say a word," she ground out.

"Wasn't planning on it," Carina replied with a shrug. "I have no right to say anything."

Sarah nodded and continued to walk forward. Behind her back, Carina mouthed 'YEAH' and gave a couple of pelvic thrusts with a huge grin on her face.

Starbright Drive-In – Barstow, CA
April 14, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Ted Roark walked through the bunker to Stephen's desk. He decided to ditch his standard Jimmy Buffett wardrobe and wore an expensive suit. He knew this was a big night. He would be a major player in the new government, and he could get rid of his old college buddy at the same time.

"How's my favorite underachieving, reclusive, kidnapped scientist?" Roark asked.

Stephen gestured to the Intersect cube. "It's done. There's your Intersect."

"Oh, you're a dream."

Stephen unhooked the cube from the computer and placed it in a case. "There is…one request."

"Anything that won't inconvenience me is fine. I don't care."

"Leave my family alone. And leave Sarah's friends alone."

Roark was taken aback. "You say I'm not invited to the wedding?"

"How did you know…"

"I'm involved in a major conglomerate of bad guys. Few details escape me."

Roark took the case. "Stevie, this works, you have nothing to worry about." He then sniffed the air. "It's a little tart in here. I'll send down some air freshener."

Roark and his assistant left, leaving the two guards with Stephen. He turned back to his monitor and adjusted one of the cameras monitoring the outside. He then saw a black SUV with darkened windows drive up to an area behind the theater. Based on how low the body frame was to the tires, the vehicle must have been loaded with equipment.

He smiled. He knew it was them.

"Aces, Charles," he said softly. "Aces."

~/^\~

John Casey drove the SUV behind a large gathering of scrub brush and fencing behind the theater. The team exited the vehicle armed to the teeth. Casey brandished a pair of Sig Sauer P29s, and Sarah readied her Smith & Wesson. Jimmy strapped on a very large backpack and attached his tablet computer to a clip on his belt. Carina sheathed a pair of knives and checked her automatic weapons.

"Comm check," Sarah said.

"Ready," Casey, Carina, and Jimmy replied to verify they were working.

Chuck stuck his head out of the SUV. "What, what do I…" the four turned to him with extremely annoyed looks. "…I should just stay in the car."

The four of them nodded and Chuck dejectedly returned to the safety of the SUV.

The team slipped through the scrub brush and around the fence to the back of the concession stand. Carina snuck up behind the one guard there and tasered him unconscious. Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy entered while she kept watch outside. The three looked around for a way to access the bunker underneath.

"There might be another way in," Casey said. "Maybe this isn't it."

Jimmy shook his head. "I'm picking up wireless bandwith in this room," he said, using his smartphone to scan the area. "Good stuff, too. Why set that up if the room isn't used?"

"Jimmy, look around slowly," Chuck said from the SUV.

Jimmy took a long look at the entire concession stand, making sure Chuck got a good view from the camera he was wearing. Chuck then smiled.

"Won't you gentlemen have a Pepsi?" he said.

Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy looked towards the soda fountain. Jimmy snickered and Casey growled in annoyance.

"Nerd overload," he spat.

"You and Chuck really need to stop hanging out together," Sarah said in equal irritation.

"What are you bitching at me for?" Jimmy asked in protest. "You the one who made out with the guy."

"How the hell did you know I kissed Chuck?"

"You just told me right now."

"Don't YOU start doing that!" Sarah hissed.

"Enough," Casey growled, walking over to the soda fountain, grabbing a cup, and pushing it under the Pepsi tap. Chuck was correct: a trap door slid open just to their right.

Sarah quickly walked behind Jimmy and opened his backpack, grabbing a smaller bag out of it. She then zipped it shut.

"You and Carina get moving," she told him before turning to Casey. "Let's go."

Jimmy exited the concession stand and went to Carina. They ran out to the grounds as Sarah and Casey climbed down the ladder.

~/^\~

Chuck watched the monitors and took the occasional look out of the window with binoculars. Jimmy and Carina were sneaking around the outside planting explosive devices while Sarah and Casey continued their descent. He then heard the sound of cars approaching the drive-in. He stepped out of the vehicle to see a line of fifty convertibles enter the drive-in. Each convertible had two black-suited agents sitting inside. There was little doubt they worked for Fulcrum. He observed them park in five rows of ten in front of one of the screens. All of the cars then lowered their convertible roofs.

Chuck stepped forward carefully to see a figure walk across the stage in front of the screen. It was Ted Roark.

"Welcome!" Roark announced. "I see you all found your way. Directions were good. You have all been carefully selected by Fulcrum to be the next generation of Intersect agents. More capable than any computer. More efficient than any spy in history."

He threw his fist into the air. "Welcome to the future! Can you dig it?"

Some of the cars honked their horns. "Whoah! That's not the response I was hoping for. Can you dig it?!" More cars honked their horns and applause started to fill the air. "YES! CAN YOU DIG IT?!"

Carina and Jimmy continued to sneak around the drive-in planting explosives. They heard Roark's speech.

"Fulcrum, come out to play…" Jimmy sang with a nasty grin. "Fulcrum, come out to play…"

Chuck stepped out from the bushes. "Oh, my God," he whispered. "He's going to use the Intersect to build an army."

He then heard the click of a gun behind him. "Don't move," Agent Diaz said.

~/^\~

Stephen watched on the monitor as Roark started a three-minute countdown. He was getting worried; he had no way of knowing where Chuck was or if the team was close.

He then looked behind the guards to see Sarah sneaking down the hallway.

"You fells have a cigar for me?" he asked the two guards.

"I thought you hated smoke," one of the guards replied.

"I figure if I'm going to die, I might as well see what all the fuss is about, huh?"

"All right." The guard turned and started to walk down the hallway. A boot nailed him across the face. Before he could react, Sarah clocked him with a forearm, putting him down. The other guard ran at Sarah, only to be slammed into the wall by Casey and taken out with an elbow that would easily get him a job as an NHL enforcer.

"Keys," Stephen said quickly. Sarah grabbed the keys from the agent she knocked out and tossed them to Stephen. He unlocked his leg shackles, and the three quickly exited.

"Miller and Slade are wiring this place to blow," Casey said as Sarah took several bricks of C-4 from her bag and placed them around the computers. "We have to get moving."

They ran down the hallway and climbed up the ladder to exit. Unfortunately, a group of guards with automatic weapons were waiting for them.

~/^\~

Ted Roark readied the laptop connected to both the Intersect cube and the projector. It was almost time to see if this would work. Agent Diaz led Chuck into the projection room.

"The prodigal son returns," Roark said. "Thanks for saving me the trouble of hunting you down."

"My pleasure," Chuck hissed.

"Move it," a voice called from the other direction. They turned to see Sarah, Casey, and Stephen climb up the stairs and enter the projection room with their captors' weapons trained on them.

"Great, the gang's all here. Well, two-thirds of it, anyway." He turned to the agents. "Find the redhead and Mr. One-Liner."

Several of the agents left to find Carina and Jimmy. "It's only fair that a son should see the results of his father's labor," Roark continued. "Of course, if this doesn't work, I'm afraid I have to go back to that bit where I kill everybody."

"What if it does work?" Chuck asked.

"If it does work? Well, same result, but you know, you should root for it. I mean, nobody likes a cynic. Let's get right to the countdown, shall we?"

Roark turned to the laptop and looked out the projection room at the image on the screen outside. "Five…four…three…I'm excited, huh?…two…one…"

He hit [ENTER] on the keyboard. "Casey, Sarah, shut your eyes!" Chuck shouted. They turned away while Chuck also closed his eyes. Outside, Carina and Jimmy turned away from the screen, but that only made it easier for the agents to capture them.

"Keep them closed!" Chuck warned as the images flashed on the screen. The agents in the convertibles stared at them, unable to turn away.

"Chuck, look…look at the screen," Stephen said softly.

"No, Dad, I don't want a refresh, OK?" Chuck replied quietly. "I just want this nightmare to be over."

"I know. That's why I made this for you. It's all for you. Trust me, son."

Chuck turned towards his father and carefully opened his eyes. He then turned his attention to the screen. He then froze as the images coming from the Intersect flooded his mind. He couldn't move as he saw hundreds…thousands of images.

The program shut off and Chuck passed out. His father caught him and held on to him.

"Wow," Roark said as he finally turned away from the screen. "What a rush. What a rush. I got to flash."

He quickly went to a folder filled with pictures and started leafing through them. He tried leafing through them again. "I'm not flashing. I'm not flashing! It's not working!"

"There must be some kind of a glitch," Stephen replied. "I'll have to take it back to the lab."

"No more labs! A deal is a deal! Your son is dead! Get him up!"

Some grunting and shouting was heard outside. A group of agents led Carina and Jimmy into the projection room.

"I'll start with these two first!" Roark yelled, pointing at Carina and Jimmy.

"Sir, they were planting explosives throughout the facility," one of the agents said

"Send a team out to retrieve all of them."

"We can't move them without setting them off." The man handed Roark what looked like a detonator. "But then, they can't set them off anymore, either."

Roark studied the detonator, and then he hit what looked like the switch to turn it off. "Guess this won't be doing you much good now."

Jimmy shrugged. "True, if that's how the detonator worked. Of course, there are other ways to set bombs off. Such as, the sound certain people might make when Casey bends over…"

Carina grinned and gave her most lascivious wolf whistle.

The detonator turned on, and explosions began to rock the entire area. Carina and Jimmy turned and knocked out the agents surrounding them. Sarah sent a roundhouse kick at the agent next to her as Casey head-butted another agent to the ground. Ted Roark ducked out of the projector room as Jimmy charged forward to grab the unconscious Chuck, hoisting him over his shoulder. Sarah and Carina took out the last two agents. Stephen grabbed the Intersect cube.

"Let's go!" Casey shouted, grabbing his guns and leading the charge out of the building.

The Fulcrum agents drove away in terror as Casey led everyone back to the SUV. Sarah got in the back of the SUV as Jimmy opened the opposite door and gently placed Chuck inside. Casey bounded for the driver's seat as Carina led Stephen into the passenger's seat. The SUV sped away into the night as explosions continued to decimate the drive-in.

Sarah rested Chuck's head in her lap. "Chuck, are you OK?"

Chuck blinked a few times and then bolted upward. It took him a moment to realize he was in the SUV.

"I feel…I feel different," he panted. "Lighter."

"It worked," Stephen replied, turning to him from the front seat.

"What worked?" Casey asked.

"This." Stephen held up the Intersect cube. "I programmed it to remove the Intersect from Chuck's head."

Chuck froze. He felt completely numb. "What do you mean removed?" Chuck whispered.

"The Intersect is out." Everyone stared at Stephen in absolute astonishment. "It's over. You're free, son."

Chuck stared ahead. No matter how many times his father's words echoed in his mind, he still couldn't believe it. The Intersect was finally out? No more lies, no more secrets? He could finally go home and let Ellie pester him about what he was doing and tell her exactly what it was? It was incredible.

A huge smile came across his face. Sarah kissed him on his cheek, and Jimmy grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"You did it, man," Jimmy said, giving him a hug.

"No," Chuck replied, the smile on his face threatening to wrap around his head. "WE did it."

He reached forward to grab Carina and to his right to grab Sarah. All of them stared at Casey, who grunted in aggravation. He then put his hand on top of everyone else's and Chuck grabbed the entire pile. Stephen's grin was as big as Chuck's.

Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 17, 2016
8:00 PM PDT

Ellie paced back and forth in the apartment. She hadn't heard from Chuck for several days, and she had no idea if her father would return. She was getting married in less than two weeks and this was exactly what she didn't need right now. She was already stressing out about the wedding; stressing out about her family was wearing her out quickly.

The door opened and Chuck entered. "Chuck, where have you been?" Ellie demanded as Devon entered the room

"I've uh…I was getting your wedding present," he replied shyly.

He turned back to the door to watch as Stephen entered the apartment.

"Dad?" Ellie stared in surprise. Devon was right; her father did come back. And Chuck brought him home. She went to him and the two embraced.

"Are you staying?" she asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Stephen replied as he held on to his daughter.

"You did great, Chuck," Devon said quietly to him. "You always come through when it counts."

Chuck smiled as he saw Ellie tear up at the reunion of their family. It was funny how neither Ellie nor Devon knew what had gone on over the last seven months. But at the end of it all, this was the day he wanted. To see his sister marry a wonderful person and for his father to give her away. And the longer he watched Ellie hug their father, the less he thought about the things that happened and thought more about the people who helped him through it.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
April 18, 2016
3:00 PM PDT

Chuck walked into the Buy More. After resting for several days, he finally decided to pay it a visit. Morgan was almost on the verge of tears when he last visited, having accidentally put Emmett Milbarge in charge of the store and demoting Big Mike to the floor, but he really couldn't handle dealing with helping Morgan with his father kidnapped. But now he had to see how Morgan was doing. After all, if they could get the Intersect out of his head and take apart Fulcrum, Morgan's problems couldn't be much worse.

He watched Morgan walk over to Big Mike. "Big Mike, in the old country, if a man did the honorable thing and he fell on his own sword, his family was looked after."

"That was a good break," Big Mike replied. "Real nice deal."

"Yeah. Will you look after my mother?"

"I will."

Morgan looked towards Jeff and Lester along with Big Mike. "Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure serving with you. If you retell the story, do me a favor and give me a better physique."

"What are you doing?" Emmett asked behind Morgan.

Morgan turned to him, removed his wireless headset, and slapped it into Emmett's hands.

"Morgan, out."

Morgan walked towards the Nerd Herd desk, stripping his Assistant Manager vest, tie, and shirt. He went to Anna. Everyone looked on in shock, especially Chuck.

"Anna Wu, will you come to Hawaii with me, where I will learn the ancient art of hibachi?"

"Morgan, I thought you'd never ask," she replied, leaping into his arms and kissing him hard. Morgan carried her towards the front door, stopping by Chuck.

"Morgan, what…what?" Chuck was completely floored. And he was fighting for his very life only a few days ago. "Uh, a little hot in here, buddy?"

Morgan put Anna down and clutched his aching back. "It's a bit…chilly. But, you know, worth it."

"Is everything OK?"

"No, yeah. Yeah, dude. For the first time everything is…is fine. It's all over."

Chuck couldn't help but smile. "What about you?" Morgan asked him.

Chuck's smile grew even wider. "Same here, buddy. Same here."

Morgan hugged him and took Anna's hand, heading out of the store. All of the employees started clapping, led by Big Mike.

"You're free, Morgan! You're free!" Lester shouted.

Osteria Mozza – Los Angeles, CA
April 24, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Chuck looked over the entire rehearsal dinner. So many people laughing, enjoying themselves, and they would never know what he had been through in the last seven months. But Sarah was right. It didn't matter. The government knew what he did, and they were grateful to him and Sarah's team for defeating Fulcrum and recovering the Intersect. Life felt normal again.

Although looking over at the people who joined him in the limo, he couldn't say it was completely back to normal.

He had grown so close to Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy since meeting them, inviting them to Ellie's rehearsal dinner was automatic. Although Casey did need a little prodding, two words convinced him to RSVP: open bar. He watched as Carina and Jimmy talked with Ellie's and Devon's friends, even posing for pictures. They were reticent about attending, afraid the attention would be taken away from Ellie. But Ellie insisted they go, and they were in no position to argue.

He looked across the room at Sarah, who was talking with Ellie. It was amazing how well those two got along. He may have been the reason for them knowing each other, but he knew firsthand how hard it was for Sarah to open up to anybody outside of her team. And in such a short time, Ellie became as much of a sister to her as she was to him. He didn't know what was next, what he wanted to do. But it sure as hell wasn't returning to the Buy More, especially after seeing Morgan walk out like that. Maybe it was time to go back to Stanford, perhaps attend graduate school. He didn't know if he could afford to do it, but he had to believe the CIA had a bit of pull and would reinstate his Electrical Engineering bachelor's degree.

In the end, he didn't think it was important what he wanted to do next. But what was important was who would be there.

Sarah walked over to him, looking as beautiful as ever in a dress that matched the color of her sapphire eyes. He hoped she didn't mind the goofy smile on his face. Based on the way her eyes lit up at seeing him, he guessed she was OK with it.

"Hi," he said nervously.

"Hi," she replied.

"You…you look amazing," he said, gesturing at her.

"Chuck, you've said that at least a dozen times tonight."

"Well, it bears repeating. I mean, have you seen you?"

Sarah grinned. "OK, fair enough." She straightened his tie. "And you look very dapper."

She slid her hand down his chest as she finished. "So how does it feel?"

"It…feels great, actually. Like everything is finally real."

Sarah stepped closer to him. "It is real."

Chuck smiled, and Sarah held out her hand. Chuck gently closed his hand around her wrist and slid down to hold her hand. They looked over to see a few couples dancing to the music playing in the background. They walked over and put their arms around each other, dancing and enjoying themselves.

Unknown Location
April 24, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

A shaky hand held up a single thumb on a deserted road when they heard the truck approaching. They hoped the driver would stop. Spending all this time in the desert with no food or water was quickly becoming unbearable.

The truck stopped and the driver opened the passenger door. "Where you headed?" he asked.

"Burbank," Ted Roark replied, still in his suit from when his attempt at uploading the Intersect failed. "I have a wedding to go to."

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 25, 2016
10:00 AM PDT

Chuck walked into the hotel room. It looked like everyone was packed and ready to go. He knew this day was coming, but it still felt like a sad occasion, like the last day of summer camp.

"Good, you're here," Sarah replied. "Beckman's waiting for us."

Sarah initiated a videoconference with Beckman. "Once again, team, congratulations," she began. "Thanks to all of you, the Intersect is once again safely in the hands of the government, Fulcrum is defeated, and Stephen Bartowski has been rescued.

"Thank you, General," Sarah replied.

"Chuck, what are your plans for the future?"

"Well, I was going to get a good champagne buzz going on at my sister's wedding followed by what I hope is a lot of nice, extra-long slow dancing with my date," Chuck replied, looking over at Sarah with a grin.

Beckman was not amused. "Vocationally speaking?" Chuck asked. "Oh, that. No, nothing, nothing lined up just yet."

"Over the past seven months, you've shown more promise than just about any asset we have in our intelligence community, and we'd like you to continue to work with us. Your country is calling you, Mr. Bartowski."

Chuck looked back and forth. "Uh, well then I think my country might have the wrong number, 'cause I'm just Chuck Bartowski, not a hero."

Everybody looked over at Chuck, and what he just said did not sit well with any of them.

"Very well," Beckman replied. "Colonel Casey, you have shown amazing talent, intelligence, strategic skill, and bravery for over two decades in the service of your country. We need you to pass your considerable knowledge and wisdom on to our next generation of agents. I am transferring you to Langley. You'll be responsible for making sure we have the best spies anywhere in the world."

Casey was stunned. "Um, I was under the impression the team would be moving on to the next assignment. We'd start filming the new season of the show after Comic Con."

"That will not be happening, Colonel. I have decided to disband the team and cancel Jen Burton: Spy Girl. All of you will put your talents to use in other areas."

Now everybody was stunned, including Chuck. "You're breaking up your best team?"

"I have not come to this decision lightly, Mr. Bartowski. Agents Miller and Slade, you will be given new field assignments in a few weeks. For now, both of you are on vacation."

"And…and what about Sarah?"

"I am putting Agent Walker in charge of the new Intersect project."

"The NEW Intersect project?"

"We have been trying to build our Intersect since Fulcrum destroyed the old one, and thanks to your father creating the Intersect cube, it is now almost complete."

The door opened. "And this time, the Intersect goes in my head," the person entering said.

Everybody turned to the door. As if Beckman's announcement wasn't the anvil dropped on top of their heads already.

"Bryce?" Sarah asked in shock.

"Walker and Larkin. Together again," Bryce replied.