CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #1: Welcome back everybody, all of you have been waiting anxiously for this chapter so I won't keep you waiting for long. To be honest, this story has changed so much since I posted chapter one that it almost necessitates a rewrite of the first two chapters. I'm not going to do that because I just don't have the desire to do so. I'm going to finish this one for all of you wonderful people, but that will likely be the end of my efforts where Numb is concerned. I've written 80% of chapter nine, so i've got only one more to finish after that, then it'll be done.

CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #2: No beta readers were harmed in the making of this fanfic. Enjoy!

Numb

A Story by
CharmingCharles2896

Chapter Seven:
In Church

The hours that followed the events in the penthouse had been the longest of Chuck Bartowski's life. He'd just watched the love of his life die; the light of his life, gone. Chuck was adrift on a sea of despair, unable to regain his calm. General Beckman, bless her heart, had tried valiantly to hold out hope, but they knew the score. Sarah was dead, as was Volkoff more than likely; meaning the entire mission was a failure. A part of Chuck didn't know what he was going to do. Without Sarah, his life had so much less meaning. They'd been so close to having it all, so close to finally getting the happily ever after. He wished they had just a little more time, a few minutes, anything he could get.

There's no worry, you see? We have all the time in the world.

Never had a movie so accurately encompassed what he was feeling. For the last several hours, he'd retreated to one of the holding cells that had a bed in it. He just needed to be alone with his grief for a little while, before he had to face the rest of his life alone. Was life even worth living without her? For three days he'd had it all; the love of his life loving him, and he her. The numbness hadn't set in yet; no, Chuck wanted to feel this. Chuck wanted this feeling burned into his brain forever. He had no idea what he was going to tell his family. Was it a drive by shooting on the way home? Copy On Her Majesty's Secret Service? It would certainly help convey his anguish.

The sound of footsteps in the hall told him that the General had likely come to make sure he hadn't hung himself. As the footsteps came to a stop, Chuck looked to his left, seeing the General standing there, regret in her eyes.

"All three of them are gone, Major Casey, Volkoff, Sarah… no bodies found. They combed the entire building, but found nothing… they're gone." As she watched Chuck, she hated this for him. Chuck's vacant nod was all he could muster, as he sat up. Sitting down next to him, her hand gave his knee a gentle squeeze.

"I am so sorry, Chuck, truly," she said with more emotion in her voice than Chuck had ever heard. Hearing the emotion in her voice almost made it worse, made everything feel that much more real. The perpetually unflappable Brigadier General Diane Beckman was herself extremely upset by the events that had transpired the night before.

"I put Sarah in that situation, so blame rests squarely on my shoulders," the General said honestly, Chuck only nodding in response.

"It's okay, really," he began in a broken voice. "She's finally free," Chuck said as his composure failed and the tears fell once more. The General said nothing as Chuck crumpled next to her. What could she say to make this not the worst day of his life? Rising to her feet, the General left the room, knowing she had work to finish. The team was dead and arrangements had to be made. Chuck's security had never been more important and General Beckman wasn't losing anyone else, not again. Knowing that the love of Chuck's life was gone, made her feel that much worse. This was a loss that would affect her for a while, but it would linger over that poor bastard for the rest of his damn life. As she returned to the main conference room, she heard an unfamiliar mariachi tune, playing on repeat. Looking around, she found a cellphone, likely Chuck's. Looking at the screen, she saw the name Casey. In a flash, the knot in her chest lurched. Picking up the phone, General Beckman hit the button to answer the call.

"Casey?" she answered only to get silence.

There was a long pause before an unfamiliar British voice replied, "This is Barker, I have them." Barker had them, who was them?

"Agent Barker?" she replied in a hurried tone.

"Some Russians tried to grab Volkoff. Major Casey called me as backup earlier yesterday. They got to us first, before grabbing Volkoff and Agent Walker." General Beckman's heart constricted, was it even possible? Was there hope after all?

"Are they?" the General said in a small voice, unable to finish.

"Alive," Barker said first, making General Beckman release a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "She's with Major Casey and I; they tranqed her. Major Casey is mostly fine, he'll mend. Volkoff is pretty beat up. Apparently, they wanted the location of the weapon. I guess he gave it to them." In one singular moment, Diane Beckman felt relief unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her life. the last several hours had been a harsh lesson, one she wouldn't soon forget. Part of her wished that monster, Volkoff, hadn't survived. Beckman was too happy to pursue such thoughts to their final conclusion.

"Where are you right now, Agent Barker?" she asked as she took off for Chuck's location.

"MI-6 safehouse in Altadena, we'll meet you at Castle."

"No, the Crown Prince cannot know about Castle. We'll come to you, send me the address, we can be there within the hour."

"Roger that," Agent Barker said before hanging up. As the call ended, Beckman arrived at Chuck's cell. Rounding the corner, she saw him sitting there, just as she'd left him.

"She's alive," the General said out of breath. Chuck's head shot up, shock in his eyes. "Apparently Major Casey called Agent Barker for backup earlier yesterday and the two of them were jumped by some Russians. The Russians nabbed Volkoff and tranqed Sarah, taking her as well. From what I gathered, Barker and Casey went after them and rescued them both, safe and sound." Chuck's shaking hand flew to his mouth in a flash, relief washing over him in a flood of tears.

"Thank God," he said to himself, obviously a little overcome by the stress and anguish of the last eleven or so hours. In a flash, Chuck's posture changed. Rising to his feet, Chuck had a look in his eyes, a determination.

"Let's go," he said, walking past her. As she followed him into the conference room, she saw him looking for something.

"Where's my phone?" looking down at her hand, she saw the phone in question.

"Barker must have used Casey's phone, because he called you." Chuck looked over at the General, who's hand was extended towards him, his phone resting within her grasp. With the first smile he'd cracked all day, Chuck took the phone back, stashing it in his pocket. Just then the phone dinged, an incoming text.

"That will be Barker with the address to his safehouse," Beckman said as Chuck pulled out his phone once again and read the text. The General watched as Chuck flashed.

"Nice place, Her Majesty has taste." The General just shook her head amusedly and walked past him.

"Come on, we'll take my car," she said as she climbed the stairs.

"I thought you high ranking D.C. types all had a driver," Chuck asked as he followed her.

"I am not here, officially at least," Beckman began as the two of them ascended the stairs. "Brigadier General Diane Beckman is officially reviewing intelligence data at Fort Brag this weekend."

The drive to the safehouse was the longest drive of Chuck's life. He wanted to be there, to see her for himself, safe and sound. When he'd thought she was dead, he'd seriously contemplated going on, if it was even worth it. To hear that she was alive after such a low point? Chuck would never take another moment with Sarah for granted, he would cherish every moment he had with her for as long as he had her. For General Beckman, the relief she was presently feeling couldn't be described with words. Thinking back to the night before, there had been a moment where everything seemed to be going to plan, only for the worst to happen. The entire ordeal had been humbling. All the signs had said that last night was a mistake, but she'd pressed on, a decision that courted disaster. Last night proved rather definitively that resting on the proven orthodoxy wasn't always the best course of action. More than that, not having the complete picture was a fatal disadvantage. She'd placed too much stock in the legend of Sarah Walker; neglecting the actual person behind the legend. No matter what happened from here, she owed this team a massive apology. It would be a humiliating debrief when this was all over, she was sure.

Looking over at Chuck, she saw a man completely revitalized. The light in his eyes, his posture and body language all gave off the impression of man with a new lease on life. It was now clearer than ever that even if Beckman was able to convince Agent Walker to stay with the CIA, Chuck and Sarah were a package deal. Those two were so in love it was almost sickening. To keep two such people apart would be a crime against humanity. She could see how nervous he was, anxious to see that his love was indeed okay. With a small smile, Beckman reached over and gave his hand a comforting touch.

"Relax, Chuck, she's alive; it's going to be okay," she said with a hint of a smile. Chuck smiled back; a nervous smile filled with tension. Finally, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes to recenter himself.

"I just…" he didn't even know what to say. How was he supposed to handle losing her and getting her back in the span of hours? "I didn't know I could feel like that, thinking she was gone. It all feels like a bad dream that I want to wake up from." With a shake of his head, he looked back out the passenger's window. Beckman could do nothing but nod and refocus on the drive ahead. As their car turned left onto a sunny, suburban street, it was the strangest feeling. His life had been nothing but turmoil for the last several days, and yet none of it felt real. This street was so calm, so serene; a far cry from his world over the last eleven hours. At present, it was a little past eight in the morning in sunny California.

When the safehouse came into view, Chuck's breath caught in his throat. He could see a number of cars already parked out front, their plates telling the Intersect that they belonged to the Prince's security team. Barker must have called the Rusovian consulate. Somehow the press hadn't heard about this, which was good, but who knows how long that would last. Pulling up to a stop, Chuck rose from the car. As he walked to the front door, his feet felt like they were stuck in concrete. His heart was beating almost out of his chest as he got to the door. The house itself was large, upscale to say the least. The safehouse was two stories, with at least three bedrooms from the looks of it. Knocking on the door, Chuck's heart was racing, his entire being anxious to get in there and get to Sarah.

The door opened to reveal a massive Rusovian man, the same one that Chuck had seen molest Sarah hours ago. Chuck's blood boiled as memories of this man's hands on the woman he loved, flashed through his head.

"Who are you?" the man asked in broken English.

"NSA, step aside before I have you arrested for sexual assault, Mr. Kozlov," Chuck growled, walking past the burly Rusovian. General Beckman flashed her credentials as she followed Chuck inside. The first thing Chuck heard after walking in was the sound of Rusovians conversing. Looking to his right, Chuck saw the Rusovians sitting in a den area, Yevgeni Volkoff holding an ice pack to his bloodied face. Both of his eyes were swollen and bruised, his nose was broken, while his lip was split open, having bled all over him. Seeing the man sitting there, Chuck couldn't help the memories that now haunted his mind. This man had hurt the woman he loved, almost raped her, and he was just sitting there like it didn't matter. With a clenched fist, Chuck stepped towards Yevgeni, only for Beckman to grab him by the wrist.

Looking back with fury in his eyes, Chuck saw the General, saw the look in her eyes. "It isn't worth it; he'll get his, I promise," she said with an equal fire in her eyes. Looking towards Yevgeni once again, Chuck nodded. Moving on from the Rusovians, Chuck heard a pair of men, one English, one American. Following the voices, Chuck made his way to the living room where he found Cole Barker and John Casey in matching combat gear, talking about soccer, or football as Cole was calling it. The two of them stopped in their tracks as they noticed Chuck.

Neither of them said a word before Chuck's ghostly voice filled the room. "Where is she?" The nerves in his eyes told both men that the man they knew as Chuck Bartowski, was beyond the limit, over the edge.

"Up the stairs at the end of the hall, in the master bedroom." Chuck didn't say a word to Barker, he merely turned to leave.

"Bartowski," Casey called. Chuck looked back towards the man he considered his friend. "Her part in all of this is finished; but the job isn't done," Chuck had a seriousness in his eyes that Casey had seldom seen in the man.

"Don't worry, Casey, I've got her," Chuck said before turning to leave. Walking through the doorway into the hall, Chuck stopped and turned back towards Casey. "If you need either of us, you know where to find us." Casey and Cole merely nodded, but Beckman turned and spoke over her left shoulder.

"No," the General said to Chuck. "We'll make do without you, she's your only priority." Chuck saw the shocked looks on Casey and Cole's faces behind the General in reaction to her words. Chuck nodded toward the General and left to find the woman he loved.

Cole watched the man known as Chuck Bartowski leave the room. In all of his life, he'd never encountered a man quite like him. To see someone so devoted to a single person, made him wonder about choices he'd made as a younger lad. Casey had told Cole all about Chuck after they'd arrived at the safehouse, finally having a moment to decompress a bit. What Cole had heard from Casey painted the picture of a childish, but heroic civilian, one who was holding his own in the very dangerous world of espionage. More than that, Casey's words told the story of a man devoted to Sarah Walker, a man who'd accepted things that most men just wouldn't be able to. According to Casey, it looked like Walker was done, finished as a spy, all because she'd fallen in love with the most unlikely of people. Part of Cole was rooting for them. It wasn't often that people in his line of work actually walked away and stayed away.

"It has been an interesting several hours," General Beckman said as she sat down in a chair with a huff. Casey merely nodded, the black eye and split lip all the evidence she needed to believe the story Barker gave her. Casey merely nodded.

"How did it go last night, before things went completely sideways?" Casey asked, without making eye contact.

"She was about ten seconds from being brutally raped when everything went south, so pretty fucking bad, Major." The General's blunt tone was one that oozed irritation and something else that Casey couldn't quite figure out.

Barker spoke next, clear concern in his tone. "How was he… after?" The General was certainly surprised by Agent Barker's concern for Chuck as she spoke.

The General spoke quickly, not even having to think of an answer to that question, "Practically suicidal. We watched her die; at least we thought so at the time." Casey just nodded, understanding exactly what his superior was saying.

"Volkoff gave the Russian's the information. They were long gone by the time we got there," Casey said, sitting up a little straighter. Beckman sat forward in her chair, now alert.

"Do we have that information?" she asked, now focused back on the nuclear weapon.

"Yes, he gave us the code," Barker said as he pointed towards a small piece of paper on a nearby table. "Volkoff couldn't stop himself from talking, telling us a lot. Apparently the Rusovian government has already arrested the men responsible for the sale on Rusovia's end. Volkoff's known associate General Buchov turned on the conspirators and gave them up. It is this information that my sources informed me of, hence sending me your way," Agent Barker said to circle all of this back to the start of this mess. The General grabbed the piece of paper and saw the code.

1HFI398MGK2965PQLWJ38690SJUL48721

Opening the email app on her phone, the General accessed the email that Volkoff had sent as part of the deal. Typing quickly, she entered the code and was granted access to a treasure trove of documents.

"Mother of God," the General muttered as she saw communications, bank records, freight manifests and so much more. "This is so much more than a nuclear terrorism plot," she muttered as familiar names began to appear. Looking up at Casey and Barker, she spoke in a tone filled with concern.

"This was a Fulcrum operation, to what end is unclear, but it's all here." Continuing her skimming of communications, one particular line of discussion grabbed her eye. "Allegedly, it's on a freighter inbound from China. The container is apparently lined with lead, hence our inability to detect it. These communications say that it's coming in as a container full of electronic parts from Roark Instruments, sometime after seven this evening." The level of detail from Volkoff's documents was highly suspicious, especially considering he was supposed to be an innocent bystander in all this. Maybe Yevgeni Volkoff needed a closer look from the NSA when this was over. Knowing it was time for action, General Beckman stood. The General dialed a number and walked out of earshot. Cole and Casey sat there in their chairs, watching the General speak quietly into her phone. The both of them was trying to grapple with the lengths that Fulcrum was willing to go to achieve their aims. Nuclear terrorism was another level of aggression, the kind of threat that could bring a country to its knees in an afternoon.

After hanging up, the General turned to the two men in the room and spoke. "Are you two in any shape for action right now?" Barker nodded affirmatively, while Casey stood up with much effort.

"We'll be ready, General," Casey said to Beckman, who simply nodded.

"Then I suggest you two get squared away, we've got a nuclear weapon to find," General Beckman said with steel in her voice, Casey and Barker both snapping into action.

~X~

Upstairs, Chuck was on a frantic quest to find his love once again, to see that she was okay. As he made it to the top of the stairway, he raced down the hall in a flash, his mind hyper focused on finding her.

"Where is she!?" his mind screamed, panic and worry consuming him. He made it to the master bedroom and opened the door to find a brunette woman sitting in a chair, watching over a very familiar blonde. Sarah had been redressed, or disrobed to be more accurate. From appearances, she'd also been cleaned up a bit, and was asleep in the bed, only her bare shoulder visible along with her arm. It looked like she was merely taking a nap, so peaceful. As Chuck saw her sleeping form, her body slowly rising and falling, his knees finally gave out. With relief washing over him, Chuck stumbled into the room, coming to a stop beside the bed. As he sank to his knees, he couldn't stop the tears, the stress of the last several hours finally getting to him. Seeing her outstretched hand, Chuck captured it within his own, feeling her soft skin against his own.

"Thank you, God," Chuck croaked as his mind continued to spiral out of control. "Thank you, God," Chuck continued to say on a loop, still overwhelmed.

"You must be the boyfriend that Cole was telling me about," came a petite English accent. Looking up, Chuck saw the woman, concern on her face. Chuck merely nodded as he got off of his knees and sat down on the bed.

"I thought I lost her," Chuck whispered as he looked back towards Sarah's face. Her face was so peaceful, almost angelic, it did much to calm his frayed nerves. Chuck knew he should be stronger than this, but it had all be so much lately. The up and down ride of his emotions was exhausting and he was ready for it to be over.

"She's going to have a couple of bruises on her arms for a few days and the cane marks on her left shoulder are going to look bad for a day or two, but she'll mend in no time," the woman said to Chuck, who peeled back the covers to reveal the marks on Sarah's body. The marks weren't nearly as bad as Chuck had expected, but they still made his heart ache in his chest.

Chuck looked to the woman. "What do I call you?" Chuck asked.

"Cassandra Musgraves, MI-6, everyone just calls me Cass." Chuck nodded at Cass and gave her as much of a smile as he could muster given the circumstances. "Given she's been out for a while, Cole and Major Casey think the dose of tranquilizer that she got must have been fairly large. She hasn't had any problems since they brought her in several hours ago, so she should be waking up in an hour or two." Chuck merely nodded to Cass.

"Thank you for looking after her, Cass, I'm grateful," Chuck said to the woman as he looked back over towards Sarah, studying her peaceful face. Seeing the love in this man's eyes, Cass stood from her chair.

"I can see that she's in good hands, so I'll leave you two alone," Cass said as she stepped back and made for the door. Chuck looked towards her and nodded thankfully. As the MI-6 agent left the room, Chuck couldn't help but wonder what Sarah was dreaming about, if she was dreaming of him. As he watched her slumber, Chuck couldn't help but think about how long it had been since he'd slept, almost twenty-four hours at this point. Seeing how peaceful Sarah looked, Chuck made the decision to join her. Shedding his jeans, he climbed under the covers, her hand in his. Being so close to her after almost losing her, had him emotional, but at the same time, was a tremendous relief. As the relief from the entire ordeal began to sooth the rough edges of Chuck's emotions, his composure that he'd so carefully crafted over the last hour, simply vanished like smoke in a light breeze. Holding Sarah close, Chuck let his emotions finally go, sniffling into her hair for long moments. Eventually, Chuck's breathing began to slow before sleep finally overtook him.

Out in the hallway, the woman who'd been tasked with watching the pretty blonde, couldn't help but empathize with the poor chap. She'd seen plenty of people pushed right to the edge of their composure and simply fall apart. The man clearly loved this blonde woman who she'd heard Cole call Walker. Seeing Agent Cole Barker walk in with a bloodied Rusovian royal, an unconscious prostitute, and a battered American man had been a strange site. Of course, once she'd been read in, all of it made slightly more sense. Regardless, it looked like everything was going to work out fine, so all's well that ends well as they say.

"Cass," came the voice of Cole Barker. Cass turned towards the stairs in time to see him. As he got to her, he peeked inside the cracked door, seeing the couple in bed together.

"We've got a bead on the weapon, so Major Casey and I are off to Fort MacArthur to link up with some people. Our Rusovian friends have taken off for the Rusovian consulate, so that just leaves those two," Cole said, pointing at Chuck and Sarah with his thumb.

"I'm just going to let them sleep, she's going to be out for at least another hour anyway, so it's not like they're going anywhere." Cole nodded, giving her a winning smile.

"Thanks, Cass, I owe you one." Cass nodded, moving a half step closer to him.

"Next time you're in town, you can pay me back with a visit, unless you're still scared." The challenge in her tone made Barker laugh, shaking his head.

"Naughty girl, what am I going to do with you?" he said with a wink as he turned on his heels to get going.

"You'd have to pay me a visit to find out," she called after him as he disappeared downstairs. Turning back towards the bedroom, Cass couldn't help but watch the couple sleep. When the blonde had come in, she'd been nearly stark naked except for some trashy boots and some fishnets. On top of that, the bruises and cane marks on her arms and back had shocked Cass. Cole had wrapped the poor thing in a long coat, but it didn't do much in the modesty department. Cass had volunteered to clean the girl up, doing so with only the slightest bit of help from that Major Casey. He'd been rather insistent about it, something about Barker having seen enough of Walker for a lifetime. Cass suspected there was history there with this woman, but Cass honestly didn't care enough to ask. Looking back at the two sleeping on the bed, she hoped they were fine going forward, because that man clearly adored her.

~X~

Out in the MI-6 owned Chevy Suburban that was parked in the garage of the safehouse, Cole Barker and John Casey sat in silence. The General had taken her own car, so the two spies were now alone. As Casey pulled the SUV out of the garage and into traffic, Cole couldn't help the thought that rang through his head.

"I cannot believe everyone bought that story about the Russians. My Russian is terrible." Casey merely shrugged.

"All that we needed to do was make Volkoff believe it. The masks, different clothes, not to mention the change of venue, all helped sell it. Couple all that with the Russian talk and he essentially sold it all for us." Casey's assessment of their sub-mission got only agreement from Barker. "I do hate that we didn't kick the door in five minutes sooner, Walker was really put through it before we got there," Casey said with a pained grimace. He couldn't help but feel relieved that he'd intervened this time, even if his timing had been suboptimal. His conscience was far clearer this time versus four months ago, even if he did feel bad for scaring Chuck so badly. Still, if the choice was eleven hours of terror or having to watch Walker be brutally raped and assaulted, the choice was pretty clear.

"I said I was sorry; lunch didn't agree with me with me last night," Cole said apologetically. That was the first and last time Cole Barker ever ate a Jack in the Box taco.

"It all worked out, so it's in the past," Casey grumbled, focusing on traffic.

"At least we got there before the worst of it happened," Cole said, as the car came to a stop at a red light. Casey just nodded, agreeing with the British spy.

"I didn't think getting Volkoff and Walker out of that building was going to be as complicated as it turned out to be," Casey grumbled as the light turned green and the suburban began to move once again.

"Like I said, I cannot believe this plan of yours worked," Cole replied, still disbelieving that they'd managed to pull this ruse off as well as they did.

"I just wish you pulled that punch a little bit. I said it had to look the part, not be the part!" Casey growled as his face continued to throb from Cole Barker's punches. If their story was going to pass muster, they needed to sell it, which meant getting hit in the face to look like they'd been jumped.

"Sorry, old chap, I had to sell it," Cole said with absolutely no remorse. Casey just shook his head as the two of them sped off into the distance.

CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #4: So it was a ruse! Casey made sure his conscience was clear and enlisted Cole's help to do it. How will all that has happened affect Sarah, Chuck, and the rest of our merry band of characters? Thankfully, the answers to this and so many more questions will be answered on Friday, July 21st in Chapter Eight: A Place to Hide.

Until Next Time :D