A steady repeating sound kept time as he became aware of his body. First of all, his head hurt, ached in a way that made everything else feel foggy. Once Chuck got past his aching head, he realized he was laying on something firm and hard but not cold. He was able to move his hand and feel the texture of the surface. Sheets. He was lying in bed, but not a very comfortable one. That explained why it felt like there was something laying over him. A blanket probably. Slowly the muscles of his legs announced their presence and he twitched his toes before realizing his eyes were closed.

Opening his eyes almost overwhelmed him as his mind was assaulted with an abundance of information and bright lights. The ceiling that hung over him was an off white colour cut into rectangles. The beeping sound was coming from a machine to his left. Every beep almost felt like a reminder of how bad his head hurt. Looking to his left, Chuck saw that it had a black screen with coloured lines on it, but the rest of it was off white like the ceiling.

Looking down, Chuck realized he was actually attached to the beeping machine on his other side. There were needles in his arm. His instant conclusion was that he was in a hospital though he couldn't at all remember why.

Judging by the fact that his head was still pounding like a million tiny men had taken a hammer to the inside of his skull, Chuck suspected he was here because he got hurt. The coloured lines on the beeping machine were going up and down with his heartbeat. There was a small blank television in the corner and the weather outside was cloudy and overcast. There really wasn't anything else to see in the room.

He didn't have long to collect his thoughts and guess at what to do next, before someone walked into the room.

"Ah, you're awake," the friendly nurse said. At least Chuck guessed she was a nurse as she was in light blue scrubs and holding a clipboard.

"Um yeah. Hi," Chuck said, feeling like he wasn't quite awake enough for social interactions.

"I'll go tell her," the lady said.

Chuck assumed she meant that his girlfriend was here waiting for him to wake up, either that or his family. She'd said 'her' which would mean his mother or sister. Chuck hoped it was his girlfriend, though. He felt sure somehow that seeing Jill's face would make him feel better.

Moving around a little in the bed, he tried to get a sense of what hurt while he waited to see whichever 'her' the nurse had gone to tell. His head hurt for sure but there was some soreness in other parts of his body too, his ribs and leg mostly.

When the nurse returned she asked him to wiggle his toes and count to ten and other such silly things he assumed were routine when someone was in a hospital. He asked the nurse what had happened and she told him he'd been in a car accident but she was too busy taking his vitals to give him any details.

It wasn't long after the nurse left that two people Chuck recognized arrived. His mother, Mary, looked just like she always did, with her long brown hair. Chuck knew if she didn't dye it, that hair would be peppered with gray. His sister, Ellie had the same colour hair as him, brown, but somehow she wore it better. She was also clearly on shift as she had on her work scrubs.

"Hi," Chuck said with an awkward wave which hurt so he put his arm back down.

"It's so wonderful to see you," his mother beamed. Though Mary was smiling, she looked like she'd been crying recently. His mom never cried. He must be really badly hurt.

"What exactly happened?" Chuck asked. "The nurse just told me I was in a car accident."

"You hit your head pretty badly," his mother explained in that fake calm voice parents used when they didn't want to alarm their children. "And, well, you've been asleep for the better part of two weeks."

"Two weeks!" Chuck exclaimed. "But what about Stanford? My exams are next week?" He realized what he said only after he said it. "Or I guess they were last week. This is a lot to wrap my head around."

He waited for someone to explain but no one spoke. Instead, they were all just looking at him. His head hurt, his bed was very likely the least comfortable thing he'd ever had the displeasure to lay on and now it sounded like he'd failed all his exams by not showing up! This was a disaster!

"Really guys," Chuck groaned. "Stop gawking and tell me what's going on!"

"You were on your way home from work," Ellie said. "And some idiot ran a red light and went right into you."

"Ouch," Chuck cringed. He was glad he couldn't remember that. It sounded like it sucked, but it did explain his injuries.

"How did you guys get here so fast?" Chuck asked next. "Please tell me you haven't been waiting here all this time!"

"I was on shift anyway, but Sarah texted us," Ellie said. "She's been here a lot."

Wait, Ellie had a shift here? But she was still finishing med school. Maybe it was an advanced placement or something. That would explain why Ellie was on a first name basis with the nurses. Chuck had to assume Sarah was the nurse's name which made sense as working in a hospital would mean being there a lot.

"I was asleep," Chuck reminded him. "You have lives."

"Oh hush," his sister chastised him. "We were worried."

"Okay, so since I'm awake now, does that mean I get to go home?" Chuck asked the nurse Sarah.

"Not my call," she replied. "I'll have to ask the doctor." And with that Sarah left.

"They wouldn't let me be your doctor," Ellie explained. "Something about a conflict of interest."

"No one answered my question earlier," Chuck continued. "What happened with my finals?"

"You're asking about your exams at Stanford?" his sister asked.

"Yeah, from what you've said it sounds like I slept through exam week!" Chuck said. "Did you tell them why I didn't show up? Will Stanford let me make them up?"

His mother and sister exchanged looks of concern before both turning back to him. Chuck felt sure this meant he'd failed all his courses and would have to start over. Maybe he could just use the head trauma excuse and they'd let him only retake just the exams. The idea of retaking the entire semester made his stomach sink.

"You aren't at Stanford anymore," his sister told him gently.

"You mean they kicked me out!" Chuck exclaimed, annoyed. "Just for being MIA for two weeks." It just wasn't possible! Chuck couldn't figure out what was going on. He wanted a real answer. It was very frustrating that his family wasn't providing them. If he'd had the energy, Chuck would have stood up to make a point.

"No, I mean you graduated from Stanford years ago," Ellie continued in a small voice.

Chuck did a double take here. He was very aware of his blinking for a moment as he tried to process what they were saying. It didn't make any sense. As far as he could remember, he'd just been in class yesterday. He could even picture the unfinished essay on his laptop. No, it wasn't possible, but then again the looks on his mother and sister's faces told him otherwise. A feeling of dread started to take hold in him. Chuck can feel his heart suddenly beating hard in his chest. They were scaring him.

"That can't be right," Chuck stated, suddenly very aware of his breathing. "I mean I know I'm almost done but I don't think they let you graduate without taking finals."

"You did graduate," his sister repeated. "Over five years ago."

Chuck just blinked again. They were making less and less sense even minute. Would they really play a practical joke on him at a time like this? No, but then why were they not making any sense?

Now acutely aware of his panicked breathing and focusing unnecessarily on how quiet the room was, Chuck tried to remain calm. From the sounds of it, he wouldn't have to take those exams and that was a good thing, right? Maybe they'd just gotten things a little mixed up and it turned out that he'd only just graduated. Yeah, that made a lot more sense. Five years was way too long to consider. He couldn't just forget five years. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding.

The silence was suddenly interrupted by a new person walking into the room. Chuck instantly expected it to be Jill, so when a different woman walked in, he found himself quite disappointed.

"I can't believe it," the new girl said, smiling as she looked at him. Chuck furrowed his brow. This made even less sense. Where was Jill? Had his girlfriend really not bothered to come and see him in the hospital?

"Took you long enough," his mother said, turning to the new arrival. "Did you park on Mars?"

"Ha ha," the girl said, tossing something to Mary. It took Chuck a moment to realize they were car keys. Since when did his mother give her keys to strangers? Was this girl some kind of car valet? No, that didn't fit with the way they were acting. It was like they were friends, but Chuck had never seen this woman before. It didn't make any sense.

And then all eyes were on him once again. Chuck wished they'd look somewhere else. He was feeling self-conscious enough as it was without their concerned gaze. He worked hard to control his breathing so he could ask the one question he really wanted to know the answer to.

"Does Jill know I'm awake?" Chuck asked. "She must have been worried too, right?"

Once again everyone in the room exchanged concerned looks with each other but failed to answer his question.

"Okay, you have to stop that," Chuck said. "You are totally wigging me out." He was failing now to keep his breathing under control. It was official. He was panicking.

"Where is Jill?" Chuck asked again, but this time breathlessly. His heart was racing. This whole situation was too much.

The new girl moved closer to his bed, her eyes locked on him. Her stare was a bit intense. It was the first time he'd really looked into her eyes. She was stunning, with blonde hair and a perfectly shaped face. Why was a woman like this looking at him like that? She clearly wasn't a nurse, so why did she need to be so close?

Chuck's heart was pounding in his ears. Everything was wrong, so wrong. It was like he'd woken up in a completely different world.

"You haven't spoken to me since I walked in," she said softly. "You've barely looked at me."

Chuck didn't reply. From what he could gather, she was his mother's friend, or maybe Ellie's friend as she seemed a bit young to be in his mother's circles. Why would it matter so much to her if he looked at her?

"Why won't anyone tell me where Jill is?" Chuck tried again. "And shouldn't Dad be here too? Or maybe when he gets off work? What time is it anyway?"

Once again, no one spoke. Chuck was starting to freak out for real. They just stood there looking at him instead of answering his questions! Then finally the girl he didn't know spoke in a small quiet voice.

"As far as I know, you haven't seen your ex-girlfriend since you guys broke up well over four years ago. Your father isn't coming because he died, Chuck. And it's almost nine o'clock in the morning."

Chuck couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it. Why in the world would Jill break up with him!? What had he done wrong? And his dad couldn't be gone. Chuck could remember perfectly the conversation they'd had just the other day about Chuck studying for finals. If he went home right now dad would be sitting in his favourite chair like he always was.

Who was this girl to tell him such lies? She didn't know him. His mother said it had just been two weeks he'd been asleep. Why then did it feel like Chuck's entire life had been turned upside down?

He looked to his mother for guidance and saw the truth of the stranger's words in her eyes. And then he was crying. All the panic and anxiety that had been building in him, burst out all at once into tears.

His father, gone. His girlfriend, gone. It felt like both his past and his future were in shambles. For as long as Chuck could remember, his father had been there to tell him exactly what he'd needed to hear when he'd needed to hear it. And what did his future look like without the woman he loved?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a touch on the arm. Chuck turned to see the blonde stranger reaching as if to hug him. Chuck didn't understand. She was beautiful for sure, stunning even, but who was she? And why was she looking at him like that?

"Why are you looking at Sarah like that?" his mother asked in a calm mothering voice. Chuck wanted to snap back at his mother. Ask her why she was all the way over there when he needed a hug. Chuck couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd cried in front of his mother and she hadn't tried to comfort him.

"What are you talking about?" Chuck snapped. "Sarah's the nurse who told you guys I woke up, right? She took my vitals and everything before you got here."

"Your nurse's name is Betty," the bad-news girl said. "I'm Sarah."

"So wait, you told them that I was awake?" Chuck asked. He could still feel the tears on his cheeks, but his panic had subsided enough for him to speak. Crying seemed to help release the emotions, though everything inside him still felt all twisted.

She nodded. "Why would you know before them?" he asked, perplexed.

"Sarah's been coming here every day," Mary explained. "She's slept in that chair more than once." His mother gestured to the uncomfortable looking hospital chair in the corner of the room under the TV.

"Why?" Chuck asked, perplexed. Assuming she'd respond, he turned to look at this Sarah girl and saw tears running down her face.

Slowly, Sarah held up her left hand. Wrapped around her ring finger was a shiny silver band with a moderately sized jewel embedded in it.

"Because we're engaged," she said.

If you read my mortal instruments stories this might seem familar to you. When I started writing for the Chuck fandom I realized how perfectly this story would convert to a chuck one! So here I do re-writing it for Chuck and Sarah. Hope you like it! Edited by Nevr

Sneak Peek Chapter 02

"Good morning Chuck," Sarah said. "Feel better?" Chuck nodded. Despite her declaration before he'd passed out, Chuck hadn't actually expected to see her when he wokenup.

"Um hi," he said. "I think so, yes."

"The nurse has been in a few times," Sarah explained. "She said if you felt better when you woke up you could try and eat something. Once you are eating they can take out the IV and then it won't be long before you can come home."

"Home right," Chuck said slowly. He wasn't exactly sure where that was anymore.

Chuck could remember perfectly the little apartment he'd had, just yesterday as far as he was concerned. One twin bed with a little makeshift kitchen and a small bathroom. He recalled the times Jill had slept over and they'd had to snuggle up together on the tiny bed. He hadn't planned to keep his tiny near campus apartment after school ended which meant it was quite certainly no longer his home. Chuck had always assumed that once he graduated from Stanford and started working he'd be able to afford a better place. Did that mean he had a better apartment now? He didn't even know where he lived. A part of him just wanted to wait in this hospital bed until Jill came for him or he could go home with his mom. Even if he knew it to be impossible the Jill option felt better, as going home with his mother would just make it more obvious that his father wasn't there.

"You have no clue where home is, do you?" Sarah asked.

"Nope, not a one," Chuck replied.