Chuck vs A New Day

by WillieGarvin

A/U story. What if Chuck and Sarah were a couple from the very beginning? How would that change the evolution of the stories? Here's my take on answering those questions. This story is, internally, broken up into arcs which (sort of, mostly) conform to episodes of the show. There's a rough table of contents on my profile page. Reading them in order is suggested.

49. Chapter 49

A/N: Imagination is everything here, but not for a moment do I imagine that I own Chuck.

A/N2: Words set off between brackets are translations into English from the original Klingon.

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The Verrazano Bridge connects New York's boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn and for almost twenty years was the world's longest suspension bridge. The Brooklyn end of the bridge comes down near the US Army base of Fort Hamilton, home to, among other things, the Brooklyn Veterans Hospital. Underneath the Veteran's Hospital, about ten levels down, is the secret CIA medical facility where they took Bryce Larkin.

While waiting for a video conference with Directors Graham and Beckman to commence, Sarah and Amy were chatting quietly on one side of the conference room. Longshore, Casey and Chuck were chatting on the other side.

Amy was as excited and enthusiastic as usual, but, in contrast, Sarah was even more subdued than usual. Sarah's thoughts and feelings were very much in turmoil and her mind was awash in questions. Her rogue ex-partner was in custody. She couldn't even list all the questions she had for him. Why had he gone rogue? Where did his loyalty really lie? Why had he sent the Intersect to Chuck? Why had he blown it up afterwards? How was he alive? Where had he been? The questions went on and on.

But Sarah's feelings were also a mess. First and foremost, she now fully recognized that everyone had been right all along. She was in love with Chuck and she had told him so. And, of equal importance, she had told herself so. It made her happier than she had ever been. She wanted to skip around the room laughing and declaring it to the world. She wanted to go over there and hold his hands and stare at him. Just stare, probably with a goofy smile on her face. She would have expected to be frightened by this revelation, but she was not. Not even a little bit. Her father's voice in her head had been silenced.

But, as happy as she was, Bryce's reappearance was a damper on her joy. She was shocked and amazed that he was alive. Sure, she was happy about it. She had liked him, hell, she more than liked him, she once thought she had had real feelings for him. She now knew that she had been wrong about those feelings, but at the time that had not been the case. She was also incredibly angry at him, both for going rogue, but also for his treatment of Chuck. Getting Chuck expelled from Stanford and more recently for sending him the Intersect. Those feelings merged with fear for Bryce. She knew that as a rogue spy he might very well be handled by Graham swiftly and without mercy. Such treatment might be deserved, but would sadden her. She had cried at his funeral once already and didn't look forward to doing it again.

Amy said, "You certainly get lucky with partners, Sarah. Larkin is really cute."

"He went rogue and blew up a government facility, Amy. I did not get lucky."

"And then you get Chuck," Amy continued as if Sarah hadn't spoken. "A total superstar and super cute too."

Sarah said, "Forget Chuck, Amy. He's mine."

"I got it. You got dibs. That's just fine..." Amy caught sight of Sarah's face and her words dried up in her throat. She suddenly felt as if someone had poured cold water down the center of her back. All thoughts of flirting with Chuck evaporated. Once she had coaxed her throat to open up again, she said, "Right. I got it. He's yours. That's what I said. And that's great. I didn't expect it, is all. That's not the kind of thing you went in for in the old days. But it's great, though. Good for you," Amy said sincerely.

"You're right. It's not the kind of thing I used to do, but I'm doing it now," said Sarah. She was tempted to tell Amy that she still wasn't into that kind of thing, at least not the way Amy and Carina were. This wasn't "that kind of thing." This was entirely different. Chuck was the one. The one. She was tempted to tell Amy, but thought better of it. She didn't want to get into that here and now, and maybe not with Amy at all. Carina she could talk to about it, but maybe not Amy. Once maybe Zondra too, but not anymore.

"I got it. Maybe I'll take an interest in your other partner then. He's a hunk, if you like the quiet, uber-macho type." She had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes and her voice.

"Have at it, Amy. He's a good man," said Sarah with a smile.

There was a tone and the video conference began. The five agents arranged themselves before the screen.

Beckman and Graham came on together. "Good evening," said Graham. "Please report."

Longshore, the senior agent for the New York team, began. He had briefed Graham many times, but this was the first time he was briefing Beckman as well. "Good evening, Directors. When Agent Walker's team obtained the name of the ship transporting the package, we were unable to get the ship stopped and boarded at sea. As a fallback, as you know, we closed this section of the Port down. Once they arrived, Agents Walker and Carmicheal approached Demetrios and his men in an attempt to learn the number and location of the relevant container. Unfortunately, Stavros Demetrios from Los Angeles arrived unexpectedly and blew their covers. While being held at gunpoint, Carmicheal turned Yari Demetrios. I just have to say that it was a masterful job and Carmicheal's reputation is clearly very well deserved." Chuck looked a little embarrassed at that, but Casey and Sarah looked like proud parents. "Before Yari could identify the package a third party, presumably his customer, intervened and shot him. He died, but not before giving Carmichael the information to identify and locate the package. Carmicheal and Walker got to the package as the timer ran out. It was not a bomb or weapon. It was some kind of human transport case bringing rogue CIA agent Bryce Larkin, previously believed deceased, back to the United States. Larkin is now here in the CIA medical facility in Brooklyn undergoing examination. He has not yet regained consciousness."

"What was the timer for?" asked Graham.

"It was to measure the oxygen levels inside the case. When the O2 reaches a critical level the case opens to the outside air," said Longshore. "We expect whoever was going to come to pick up Larkin would have had an ambulance or similar vehicle in which to transport him from there. Had we known what to look for we might have spotted it."

"What about Demetrios' men?" asked Beckman.

"His son Stavros has disappeared. We are looking for him and confident we will apprehend him shortly. One of his men is dead and another wounded. The wounded man is being treated here. The others are in custody."

Chuck raised his hand. Graham said, "Yes, Chuck?"

"Apprehended for what? Stavros didn't do anything wrong, Sir. We don't even know that he knew what his dad was up to. If anything, he helped us with his dad and his dad's men."

"All good points, Chuck. But don't you think we ought to talk to him to make sure?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I just don't think he deserves to be treated like a bad guy," said Chuck.

"Ok," said Graham. "Noted. We'll make sure he isn't. Agents Longshore and Turner, thank you for your handling of this matter. This Larkin business had turned the mission on its head. Given the past histories, I'm going to let Agent Walker and her team take it from here. You are both dismissed with our thanks."

"Very well, Sir," said Longshore. He shook hands with Casey, Sarah and Chuck and headed out.

Amy gave Sarah a hug and said, "Keep in touch, Sarah." She gave little waves to both Chuck and Casey and said, "Nice meeting you both. See you again soon, I hope."

Once they were gone, Beckman said, "First of all, superb job as usual. You not only found the name of the ship, you turned Yari Demtrios and from that learned the number and location of the container with the package. Now on to the resultant part of the mission. Longshore and Turner are not cleared for the Intersect, which is why they could not have anything to do with the Larkin interrogation. Given that aspect of the situation, we are going to ask your team to handle it."

"Makes sense, Ma'am. Have we heard anything about his reappearance? Any chatter?" asked Casey.

"No, Major. We knew a time sensitive package was coming in to New York. Our analyst's conclusion that it was a weapon of some kind is obviously incorrect. We do not know who was to meet it, but it appears likely that the security presence at the Port scared them off. We know that it left from the Port of Helsinki, but cannot trace it back further than that. Whatever we can get about this entire situation will have to come from Larkin himself."

Graham said, "All three of you have history with Larkin. Two of you very significant histories. Will you be able to conduct an interrogation effectively without those histories clouding your judgment? Chuck, before you say it, I know full well you have no training in interrogation techniques and I have factored that into my question."

All three of them agreed that they could effectively interrogate Larkin.

"Very well, then. Good luck, Team."

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Larkin was still unconscious and there was nothing to be done but wait for him to wake. Chuck and Sarah lay in the small bed in an empty room in the hospital, trying to sleep. Both were fully dressed, in case they had to get moving quickly.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him, her head laying on his arm.

"I'm thinking that the most wonderful, brilliant, beautiful, talented, kind woman in the whole world is laying in my arms and...and ...this part I really can't believe, I'm so insanely lucky that this woman, the most wonderful in the whole wide world, she loves me. And I can't quite believe how I got this lucky. I'm waiting to be pinched awake."

She nuzzled him, snuggled closer and said, "Nope. Not a dream. And I'm the lucky one. You are just so fantastic in every way. And I do love you. I love you. I love you. I can't get over saying it. I've never said it before to anyone and I want to say it to you all the time now. It's crazy. I'm feeling almost silly. I want to giggle. I never giggle, Chuck. Never. If it weren't for Bryce this would be the happiest time of my life."

"Yeah," said Chuck in a more subdued tone. "Yeah. Bryce. I mean, I'm happy he's alive. I didn't want him dead. And I know now that he only got me thrown out of school to protect me..."

"Bullshit," said Sarah. "He doesn't get any breaks from me on that ground. Not a one. He treated you like shit and caused you a massive injury. I don't care what his motivation was. I don't want to hear that his heart was in the right place."

"I understand." Chuck sighed a little, quietly. "I feel bad for him, though. Sort of sad, I guess. I mean I know what he did and all, but it's tough to see him like this. He and I were good friends for four years. It's like when we were at his funeral, you know? I knew he had done me wrong and betrayed you, betrayed the country, but I was still sad he was dead. But you want to know something funny? Want to bet he ends up coming out of this whole thing smelling like roses? It's what he does. I was always stumbling around, but not him. He's always so cool and handsome. It's like he's coated in teflon, that guy. No matter what he pulls he gets away with it. Decent grades without studying. Always gets the girl. President of the frat. The whole thing. I tell you..."

Sarah had tensed up. She put a hand on his chest and rolled on top of him, her hair cascading down to enclose both their faces. Looking him in the eye she said, "Stop. Back up. You said he always gets the girl. Look at me, Charles Irving Bartowski. Not. This. Time. Not. This. Time. You got the girl. You got me. Hook, line and sinker. I am yours. Never anyone else's and certainly not Bryce's. Put that thought right out of your mind. I am yours and you are mine. Period. My history with Bryce is just that, history. I'm glad for it, glad I had it, because it allows me to put things in perspective. Now, with you, I know what a good, healthy, loving relationship is. My past relationship with him will forever serve as a counterpoint for me. Ok, Buster? Got it?"

Chuck smiled and kissed her gently, "Yes, Ma'am. I got it. Thank you. I may need a refresher on that every once in a while, though. My insecurities with him run pretty deep, but thank you."

"Any time you feel insecure in comparison to him, just talk to any of the people who love you. We will set you straight. Even Casey."

"Casey?"

"Absolutely. Although he may also call you 'Moron,'" she said, grinning.

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The doctor stood with them in a small observation room and watched Bryce through the one-way glass. He was sitting somewhat slumped forward in a medical chair. His legs were velcro'ed down to the chair with a wide strap and his wrists velcro'ed together behind him around the back of the chair. He was dressed in an open backed hospital gown. To one side was a small medical tray with various implements awaiting a doctor's attention.

The doctor said, "Physically his recovery is remarkable. He's lost muscle mass and is still weak, but otherwise he's made a very successful recovery. He's been conscious for about two hours now and wants to talk to someone named Chuck Bartowski. That's all he will say."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Sarah.

The doctor left, closing the door behind him. "Ok, Bartowski. Time for your first interrogation. Should be fun. He's a rogue CIA trained assassin," said Casey.

"Thanks, Case. Nice thought," said Chuck, with a grimace.

"Showtime," said Casey, waving his hand towards the door to the examination room.

"We'll be right here, Chuck. Just get him to talk. He's your friend. You're good at that. Just be a friend, not a spy," said Sarah.

"Ok, thanks. Here goes." said Chuck.

Chuck walked into the spartan examination room and heard the door hiss close behind him. Bryce was still slumped forward in his chair, head down, longish hair partially obscuring his face. Chuck took up a position against the wall near the door, leaning back, long legs crossed at the ankles and arms crossed over his chest. It was not a posture that conveyed an impression of openness. He looked at Bryce without expression, silently.

Bryce twisted his head a little bit to the side and looked at Chuck out of the corner of his eye. "Who are you?" Chuck remained silent and expressionless. "Who are you? You're not Chuck. Who are you? What did you do with the real Chuck?"

Chuck stared at him a few moments more and then said, quietly, "You did this to yourself."

Bryce looked up, slightly startled. It was his turn to stare at Chuck silently. After a while, Chuck repeated, "'You did this to yourself.' Those were the last words you spoke to me before today. I don't know if you remember them, but I do. I was taking the last of my shit out of our room. You were playing pool downstairs with the guys. I asked you why you did what you did. Why you framed me for cheating and got me thrown out of school. And that's what you said. 'You did this to yourself.'" Chuck's voice was not angry or accusatory. It sounded sad.

Bryce held Chuck's gaze for a few more moments and then looked down and away. They stayed that way in silence for almost a minute.

Finally, Bryce said, "Hi, Chuck."

"Hi, Bryce. They say you want to talk to me."

They were quiet for a while longer. "Did you get my email?" asked Bryce finally.

"Jeez, Bryce. I get a lot of emails. Can you be more specific?" said Chuck. He wanted to get information from Bryce, not give it.

Bryce looked at him hard. Chuck did his best to keep his face neutral, his gaze steady. Bryce sighed and shook his head. "Chuck, come closer." He jerked his head to the side, indicating that he wanted Chuck closer.

"Naw. I'm sort of good here. Thanks."

"Chuck, they're listening," said Bryce with a little desperation in his voice.

"Yup. They sure are," Chuck said, nodding his head.

Bryce studied him for a few more moments, but Chuck didn't move. If the extended silences were making Chuck uncomfortable, he was hiding it well. Finally, Bryce said, "qaStaHvIS tlhIngan yIjatlh." [Talk in Klingon.]

Chuck wanted to smile, but withstood the temptation. "Oh, come on. You're kidding me, right?"

"Qo'" [No]

Chuck rolled his eyes and said, "Ok. qaStaH nuq SoH?" [Ok. What happened to you?]

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In the observation room, "What the hell?" asked Casey.

Sarah was frowning severely. "I don't know."

"Is that a code?" asked Casey.

"No... It's a language," said Sarah. Clearly, she was uncomfortable with the development.

"Which one?" he asked.

"I have no idea," said Sarah, both baffled and a little annoyed. How could there be a language that was totally unknown to her, for God's sake? She'd have sworn she could at least identify every known language. What the hell?

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"jIHvaD lughaj, Chuck" [They had me, Chuck.]

"chaH? laH latlh … cryptic? pong HInob? vay'?" [They? Could you be any more ...cryptic? Give me a name? Something?]

Clearly stressed, Bryce looked around the room like he was cornered. More time passed. "chaH Qob." [They are dangerous.]

Chuck shrugged. "Qob jup vIghaj." [I have some dangerous friends.]

They stopped talking for a little while. Bryce was frustrated by the way the conversation was going, but Chuck was in no hurry to move it along. As far as Chuck was concerned, time was on his side.

Bryce said, "vay' pagh 'e' vIvoq." [I can't trust anyone.]

"Bryce, jIHvaD DaH nobvam vay'?" [Bryce, does anyone include me?]

Bryce looked at Chuck hard. His eyes shifted to the mirror and then back to Chuck. Chuck nodded once, hoping to convey that Bryce could trust the people on the other side of the mirror.

"Tommy Delgado," said Bryce finally.

Chuck flashed. His eyes went out of focus and began to twitch. His facial muscles spasmed. A plane. Dead bodies. A bloody knife. A security brief entitled Fulcrum. A CIA info sheet with Fulcrum agents, all but Delgado redacted. Chuck said, "Fulcrum." He glanced over his shoulder at the mirror.

Bryce's eyes went wide. "You did it. You have the intel. You can access it...Holy shit. Is it always that fast?" Bryce began to smile with excitement. "I was right. I knew it. I knew you could do it. Yes." The last said triumphantly, as if accompanied by a fist pump.

"Tell me more, Bryce. Tell me about Fulcrum." Chuck was excited himself. He knew that the discovery of Fulcrum was a major step forward for them. He came off the wall and moved up to Bryce in his excitement. "Tell me about Fulcrum, Bryce. Are they the ones who had you? Did they save your life?"

As he came within arm's length of Bryce, Bryce said, "Sorry, Chuck," but he didn't sound too sorry. He snapped the velcro binding at his wrists and grabbed Chuck's shoulder with his left hand. With his right hand he grabbed the long-needled hypo from the side table and raised the point of the needle towards Chuck's neck. "Untie me or I'll kill you," he ordered in a harsh bark. His eyes turned to look at the door, braced for the heavies to come through and try to stop him.

Chuck's left forearm blocked Bryce's wrist, pushing the needle away from his neck. For all his supposed weakness, Bryce was still stronger than Chuck and it wasn't easy to do.

Chuck said, "Sorry, Bryce." He sounded sad again, like he actually was sorry. Bryce noticed a stinging feeling in his belly. Bryce looked down as his right arm lost strength and was steadily pushed away from Chuck's neck. There was a trank dart sticking out of his belly and a trank gun in Chuck's right hand.

The door to the room burst open and Sarah and Casey came in with guns drawn. Looking at Sarah, Bryce said, in confusion, "Sarah? What are you..." He passed out, falling back into the chair. The hypo fell to the floor with a clatter.

Casey said, "See? No worries, Walker. I told you the kid had it covered."

Chuck put the trank gun back in the pancake holster at the small of his back. He bent to pick up the hypo from the floor and put it back on the table. He moved slowly, like he was tired. He still looked sad.

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Graham was on the video monitor. Beckman was not. "How did he free himself?"

"It seems he pried loose a lever on the medical chair he was sitting in and broke it. He then used a sharp edge from the break to partially saw through the velcro binding his wrists," said Casey, with a look that indicated professional admiration.

"Alright," said Graham. "What did he have to say before you put him down?"

"You'll have to ask Chuck, Sir. Chuck conducted the interrogation in a foreign language," said Casey with a smirk.

"A foreign language? Care to explain, Chuck?" asked Graham.

"Well, Bryce was concerned about who was listening to us talk. He didn't want them to understand. So, he insisted we speak in Klingon."

Sarah looked at him like he had grown a second head.

Graham said, "Klingon? You interrogated him in Klingon? KLINGON!?" Graham started to laugh, not a chuckle, but real belly shaking laughter that went on a while. As he calmed himself down, he said, shaking his head but still chuckling, "I love you guys. Fucking Klingon. Go on. What did he have to say?"

"He said 'they' had him." Chuck used air quotes for the word. "When I pressed him for a name he said Tommy Delgado," said Chuck.

"Oh, shit," said Graham, his humor evaporating. "Delgado...shit. This is worse than I thought. Go on."

"When he said the name I flashed on it and came up with the name Fulcrum. I think Fulcrum is the name of the cabal in the Intelligence Community that we've been circling. Zarnow. Mead. It matches something that Mead said to us just before he died. He said, 'the lever that moves this country to safety will turn on us.' That's a fulcrum. A lever turns on a fulcrum. I think that's the cabal that took Bryce and saved his life. I don't know why, how or where yet. And I don't know how, or even if, it's connected to his going rogue in March. Obviously, we'll have to continue this interrogation. He freed himself before he could answer any other questions and I had to trank him."

"Good work, as usual, Team. I agree. That makes sense. This is the first real lead we have on those assholes and now we have a couple of names. I'm going to have Larkin transferred overnight to a straight up detention facility. Doesn't sound like he needs the medical component where he is and the security is a higher level where he'll be going. I'm going to have to ask you three to stay in New York for the duration of the interrogation. We'll put you up at a safe house nearby.

"But tomorrow is Thanksgiving. My wife, Anna, and I would like to invite all three of you to share the day with us and our family at our home. We're just a few hours south on I-95." As he said the last part he was looking directly at Sarah. Something passed between them that neither Chuck nor Casey could quite put their fingers on.

Sarah said, "Thank you, Sir. That's a very kind invitation. I think, though, that to keep our covers intact, we should make the effort to return to Burbank for Thanksgiving with Chuck's sister. It would be quite odd for us to miss it. His friend Morgan and Morgan's new girlfriend will be there, so our absence would be notable."

Graham smiled. "I understand. Actually, I expected that answer. I've arranged for the Citation to be put at your disposal for the next few days. The crew will be just as happy, as they are LA based and will be able to be with their families tomorrow. You can all come back to New York on Friday and continue with Larkin. He'll be in serious lockdown by then. Safe flight and Happy Thanksgiving."

"Thank you, Sir. You too."

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A/N3: I'm lazy. Sorry. If there are any scholars of the Klingon language out there among the readers, you will no doubt notice that I made no effort to master Klingon and merely used an automated translation site I found online. Although, I do have The Klingon Dictionary on my bookshelf (as does Chuck).

A/N4: Thoughts? Concerns? Ideas? You know the drill. Always thrilled to hear from you.