A/N: Thanks for reviews of the last chapter. I got a great guest review that made me chuckle, starting with, "Not the worst chapter of the story."

This fairly long chapter will include events from "Chuck versus The Truth."

Healing

Chapter 22: Drugged

Sarah and Chuck awoke together, almost as if their body clocks were synchronized.

She climbed out of bed and walked around to his side, reaching out her hand.

Chuck guessed what she had in mind and happily took her hand and let her help him up.

She led him into the bathroom and into the shower.

They started by washing each other. She moaned as he washed her hair, it felt so sensual. They stayed under the jets of water for some time after that.

Breakfast was rushed.

General Beckman started the morning briefing, "There are a number of changes planned for this team."

Sarah tensed and suspected that at least Chuck would, too.

Graham spoke quickly, looking at the two CIA employees, "It's nothing bad. We're not splitting you up. We're making alterations to the environment. We felt it necessary after the near detection in the Buy More."

Sarah thought that made sense. He continued, "It means that we'll be closing the Wienerlicious. You're all getting a vacation as part of that." Three jaws dropped.

The general outlined the plans. The government would be converting the Wienerlicious into a yogurt shop and building a new base of operations beneath there. The work would start in June and finish in September. There must be a lot to do.

Chuck grinned at his girlfriend. "Looks like you'll never get the chance to burn sausages again."

"Nor will Tracey," she replied.

Beckman said, "Tracey will be retained in the same role as currently."

Graham expanded on the reasons for this. "I mentioned the concerns over the Buy More. That particularly pertains to meetings there, but it's more than that. I wasn't impressed with the handling of that Fulcrum agent, Delgado, and Casey having to hold Laszlo at his apartment recently was just ridiculous. So, we wanted a more secure place to lock up enemy personnel. They will be collected from there. It will also have a weapons room, firing range, gym, interrogation room with one-way glass observation, a room dedicated to the servers that support the monitors and satellite links, multiple detention cells, and 'safe' rooms.

"As the general mentioned. its main entrance will be in the Orange Orange, your new yogurt shop, but an escape tunnel will also lead directly to the Buy More across the street."

"It sounds impressive. It also sounds like the team will stay together, even after the new Intersect is in use," Sarah said.

Graham gave her a slightly annoyed look. "I've already told you that we think Chuck is the only reliable Intersect user. That's not going to change, but his analytical skills are also essential. You're stuck with each other." Sarah could sense his amusement about Chuck and herself. "Your vacation month will be during the three summer months, but…" She held her breath for something bad. "Sarah, both you and Casey need to complete your recertification in that period, too. And, Chuck, you'll have some formal analyst training to do."

"So, Chuck can be in DC at the same time as me?" Sarah immediately asked.

Graham chuckled. "Joined at the hip?"

Both of them blushed. "We can't," she quietly said. That was currently true, but hopefully wouldn't be by June.

Graham nodded. "Sorry about that quip. Can you get any help?"

"I'll see if Dr. Freyman has any contacts," she replied. He didn't need to know that she'd been receiving help for some time.

"Do that," he replied and quickly changed the topic, obviously uncomfortable with that one. He took in Casey as well as the two CIA agents as he said, "Find out when you can arrange the recertification and analyst training, then book your time off accordingly."

The director looked at Sarah and Chuck standing next to each other. "Now you two can get away together. Have a think about where you'd like to go for a month."

Sarah was shocked. "A month?"

"I think you've accumulated enough time off, don't you?"

She'd only taken a week with Bryce in Cabo in all her time with the Company.

He looked at Chuck, and then Casey. "We'll smooth it over with Buy More."

"You need to decide what you're going to do, as well, major," Bekman said. "And you'll obviously have to coordinate so that the Intersect isn't alone in the Buy More."

Sarah inwardly groaned at the general calling Chuck that, but she was right.

"Will do," both agents responded.

The woman on the screen added, "You can't go too far, though, in case we have to call you back for anything urgent." That put a dampener on it. Still, a vacation with Chuck sounded like a dream to Sarah.

"Does it have to be a continuous period?" Chuck asked.

"No, just four weeks' time away," Graham responded.

Sarah noted that it had dropped from a whole month to just four weeks, but didn't comment.

After the call ended, Casey headed out, seeing how his partners were looking at each other.

Chuck had so much excitement in his eyes. Once Casey had gone, he picked her up and swung her around as he spun on the spot. She never giggled, but she found herself doing so.

The two men briefly joined Sarah in her office during the lunch period finding out about the DC activities. Sarah needed a week for her recertification and could do that at any time. Casey was the same.

Chuck's training was more time constrained and was for a two week period. He arranged for that to be the June session, so Sarah and Casey booked their recertification at the same time. Hers was in Langley whereas his was in Fort Meade. He left the two of them after that.

Sarah smiled. "We'll stay in my old apartment in DC."

She knew she'd have to clean and dust, as well as refurbish, but was excited. By then, she expected them to be a real, real couple, so even the time in DC would involve coupling in the true sense.

Chuck seemed to see her cogs turning. "You think we will by then?"

She was sure. "I'm thinking that it'll be a long time before that."

If they weren't at work, they'd probably be stripping off now.

That evening the two of them discussed the vacation time.

"You seemed interested in splitting it up," she said.

"I was thinking about Comic-Con in San Diego."

She tensed. She didn't know much about it but imagined lots of people crammed tightly together. One of her worst nightmares.

Chuck saw her reaction and his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through properly."

She felt awful and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I'm making huge progress with you, but I still can't face being close to other people. I doubt I could avoid contact there."

"Only by wearing a costume that covers you completely."

She raised her brows. "It's fancy dress?"

"Not compulsory, but some people do it all the time they're there."

"Any that would provide full cover?" she asked. "My Invisible Girl outfit left my head and neck exposed."

He didn't think for long. "Cat Woman," he said.

They dived onto the internet to search for Cat Woman costumes and found one that only had the lower face and eyes uncovered. She had no idea who the woman was, but couldn't resist saying, "Purrr-fect!"

Chuck had reacted strongly when he saw the costume on the model. She was slim, just like Sarah. "God, you'll look so sexy in that! I'll want to rip it off of you, and so will most men there."

She frowned, suddenly nervous. "Is this a good idea, then?"

He laughed. "People aren't like that there. Besides, the majority of men there would be too scared of approaching you. Besides, I'll get a Batman costume that'll pad me out, hide my face and make me look menacing. No one will approach the two of us."

She wasn't so keen on his body being hidden like that, but she wanted him to enjoy going there.

His eyes dimmed. "Problem is that I doubt I'll be able to get tickets. It was probably fully booked last year."

She stopped him. "The CIA can arrange to get us in. Same for hotel accommodation."

He virtually pounced on her, kissing her furiously.

Later that evening, they arranged their other vacation time.

They'd have two weeks in a cabin deep in a forest in Arizona. They would be hiking in that forest. The nearest urban area was Hunter's Creek a few miles away. Chuck had suggested this, and she knew it was with her in mind.

She thought he'd probably prefer a beach vacation, so she suggested finding a remote one that would just be for the two of them. The thought of wearing a bikini would've horrified her before all this time with her nerd, but now, as long as no one else was there, it sounded good, especially if they were also able to swim. She'd always loved swimming before that awful torture, after which she could only do it in a wetsuit.

Chuck's skills at searches soon found the ideal beach location, but they'd have to go to Hawaii. She was ok with that, so they decided they'd go there.

They couldn't just book either of those vacation locations, though. They'd have to run it past Graham, who'd get them checked out, but it felt good to have made choices.

Sarah spent next to no time in the bathroom before heading to bed. Both of them were thinking of costumes and bikinis, and definitely bedtime in the summer.

Two days later, Sarah really wasn't sure why she was visiting Dr. Dreyfus.

Director Graham now knew about her relationship with Chuck Bartowski and that it wasn't affecting her performance. In fact, he thought that the team was performing very well, and that included the NSA agent, Major John Casey.

They really were a great team.

So, what purpose was there in her meeting with the doctor?

His receptionist received a call and then directed her to go in.

Dreyfus sat with his fingers arched together and watched her walk in and sit opposite him. No pen, no notepad. He said nothing.

After a few moments, she couldn't continue in silence. "Do you think these sessions need to continue?"

"Do you?"

She inwardly groaned. It was going to be one of those sessions. "No," she replied, hitting it back into his ball court.

"Why?"

Yes, one of those sessions. "The director now knows about Chuck and I, and has no problems with it. That has removed the tension."

"And you think that was why we were having these sessions?"

She thought back to the start. She wasn't in a relationship with Chuck then. She sighed. "No. It was because the director was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle a non-assassination assignment. Long-term interaction with others."

"And?"

She did groan this time. "Well, I think I've proved I can cope."

"With Chuck," he stared. "How about with others?"

"Well, I haven't wanted to kill anyone. Not cpCasey, not Tracey, who are the ones I interact with the most."

"And you still wear those?" He pointed at her gloves.

"Part of my coping mechanism. I shouldn't have to remove them," she challenged.

"But what if you had to?"

"Why would I have to?" she pushed back.

He sighed this time. "Sarah, what if you were taken and someone removed your gloves?"

She tensed. That would be the least of her problems, but he was correct. It would trigger a panic attack. "I doubt that removing my gloves would be a priority," she flatly stated.

He rolled his eyes. "You're missing the point. Physical contact with anyone but Chuck Bartowski would still cause problems."

"So, I haven't wanted to. You want me to keep coming to see you until I do?"

"I want you to try taking your gloves off and shaking hands with someone other than Chuck."

She saw no point in this.

"You know that I can't discharge you until it's more than just Chuck that yo7 can touch."

That got to her. Not because she hated these sessions, because she didn't even dread them anymore, but getting a clean bill of health was desirable.

"I'll do that with his sister."

She thought he'd say that wasn't good enough, but he responded, "it's a start." That obviously was better but still meant she'd have to do more.

"I understand you'll be taking some leave." Unsure of where he was heading with this, she reluctantly acknowledged that. "What will you do?"

She stated the obvious, "Chuck and I will vacation together."

"Doing what?"

"Hiking and time on a beach."

"Why do I think that no one else will be on that beach?"

She sighed. "It's time for us both to relax, not worry about other people."

"Wherever you go, I want you to go out for a meal without wearing your gloves."

Just the thought of that was tightening a knot in her stomach.

"And before that, go out for a meal with his sister and fiancé. Without gloves."

Her heart was beating very fast as she left his office.

The following week, Sarah followed the doctor's instructions and took her boyfriend on a double date with Ellie and Devon.

None of them had been to the Kyoto Sushi restaurant before, so this would be new for all of them.

The ever vigilant motherly sister was the one to comment. "Sarah, you're not wearing gloves."
Sarah was completely honest. "I've been told to try to wean myself off of wearing them. Tonight's my first attempt."

Ellie smiled. "We're honored. How d'you feel?"

"I've been wearing them virtually all the time for months. I feel naked without them."

Devon made a show of looking down. "Definitely not."

He got a slap on his arm from his fiancée. "Devon!"

"Thanks, Devon," Sarah said with a smile. "That's reassuring."

The male doctor laughed.

Chuck hadn't been paying attention to the conversation. He was placing an order. "Oh, and also, a crab hand-roll for the lady. Light wasabi, but like light-light." Sarah smiled her thanks at him.

Devon said, "Didn't realize how much you knew about sushi, Chuckster."

Chuck grinned. "And I know what Sarah likes!"

Ellie answered, "That's not in question, Little brother."

Sarah was pretty sure they didn't know, but smiled and said, "You sure do. Thanks for the order, Chuck."

Chuck looked lovingly at her. "You're welcome, Sarah."

Devon looked sadly at them. "Any progress?"

Sarah had discussed this with Chuck and he'd agreed. "He was the first to get my gloves off." Devon gasped, and she realized how that had been taken. Chuck was blushing, but she grinned and forged ahead. "And other items of clothing."

That got a response from both of the other two. Devon reached across his fiancée and fist pumped Sarah, while Ellie said, "I'm glad for you both, but no more details please."

Chuck was looking at Sarah's hand. "You fist bumped with Devon."

Sarah gasped and looked at her hand too. "Oh my god! I did that without thinking."

Ellie reached out her hand. Sarah looked at it and tentatively wrapped her hand around it. No pain, no bad sensations either. Ellie squeezed her hand on Sarah's.

Sarah beamed at her, and pulled the brunette into a hug. "Thanks, Ellie," she whispered in her ear.

Ellie pulled back. "Sarah, you do realize that our necks touched, don't you?"

Sarah knew the conversation shifted to other things, but was just so happy that afterward, she had no idea what had been discussed or what the food had been like, either.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Ellie pulled Devon to her and kissed him. Chuck looked questioningly at Sarah who nodded, so he kissed her, too.

When they pulled apart, Sarah saw that Ellie was clutching her hands together and stifling a squeal. "This is so wonderful!"

Devon smiled and said, "Well, you guys wait here, while I get the car." He'd driven them there and had parked around the corner.

While they waited for him to return, there was a disturbance along the sidewalk. A man was staggering along, bumping into people, causing them to cry out. Just before he reached the three of them, he collapsed onto the ground.

Ellie immediately rushed to him. He was only just conscious. "Can you hear me? What is your name?" she asked, but got no response.

Sarah looked up from them, wondering if someone had done this to him? What if they were still nearby? She spotted a man hanging back. Others were obviously looking concerned for the man, but this guy seemed to be more interested in what Ellie might find out . Then, Sarah noticed that he was recording the event. She knew there were people who did that for ghoulish reasons, but her senses told her this was different.

She was about to mention it to Chuck, but an ambulance arrived and Ellie was talking loudly to the men as they loaded the man onto a trolley. "Shallow respiration, thready pulse." She pulled the man's wallet from his pocket and thrust it at her brother. "Chuck, check... Check for a medical ID."

Chuck was still in a daze over what was happening and just held the wallet, doing nothing with it.

The odd man was moving closer and Sarah was ready to stop him, although she didn't know what she'd do then.

Chuck suddenly looked up and shouted, "That's my sister saving that man. That's E-" Sarah stamped her heel on Chuck's foot to shut him up. "Ouch," he cried and looked at Sarah in shock.

"Sorry," she said loudly, as if it had been an accident. She leaned in and whispered, "Zip it. Bad guy." Chuck looked shocked as well as in pain. "Do what your sister asked," Sarah hissed at him.

He opened the wallet and found the man's driving license. Sarah saw that he flashed, but at least he didn't say what about. He thrust the wallet and the driving license to his sister who was now sitting in the ambulance beside the man. The doors shut and the ambulance pulled away before the two standing there could say anything.

When Sarah turned to look, the odd man had drifted off.

Chuck grabbed his phone and called Ellie, but she obviously had her phone switched off. He recorded a message that only Sarah could hear, stating details of a Mason Whitney, adding, "Be careful, Ellie, he's not a good guy!"

When Devon arrived, Sarah explained what had happened and he drove them home before setting off for the hospital.

Sarah told Chuck, who was nursing his foot, "Whitney was drugged and a man was following him. If you'd shouted Ellie's name, you may have put her in danger."

"Mason Whitney is in the Intersect," he said."

"Hence why you flashed," she replied.

He carried on, "He works for the U.S. Department of Energy at Berkeley with a Q Security Clearance, whatever that means. He's on some top secret project that involves the CIA called Sanctuary. It has something to do with nuclear bombs."

"We need to call this in," she replied.

"Let me find out more about Mason Whitney first," Chuck said, grabbing his laptop.

He spent the next twenty minutes hacking and then looked up. "All I could find out is that Mason is a programmer. Whatever that project is, he's involved in creating it and must know a lot about it."

Sarah sat back. "So, maybe the other guy has his secrets and wants him dead," she pondered. "Definitely need to call this in."

Chuck's eyes suddenly widened. "Shit! If Ellie's with Mason, and that guy goes after him, she could be in danger."

"Not at the hospital, Chuck. Too many other people about." She stood up to head over to Casey's.

"I'm going to try to contact Ellie or Devon," he said.

When Sarah returned, Chuck hadn't been able to get a hold of either of the doctors, and looked stressed. "What if that guy turns up and just starts shooting people there, starting with Mason and Ellie?"

"He wouldn't be able to get a gun into the hospital, would he?" she reasoned with him. "Anyway, Casey has called the General and I called the director. Neither were impressed with being called at around 3am in DC, but both are now worried. Neither knew about that project, but the director is going to find out for our call in the morning."

That didn't ease his stress. "I know El often has her phone off at the hospital, but I'm really, really worried about her. I must have tried ringing over ten times."

Sarah took hold of his hand. "Call the hospital switchboard and see if anything has happened," she suggested.

Chuck obviously hadn't thought to do that, but did then, putting the phone on speaker. He was told that everything was normal for the time of day. He sighed as he put the phone down.

An hour later, they saw Devon and Ellie arrive at their apartment. They rushed over just before Devon shut the door. Chuck ran to his sister. "Ellie! Oh, my god, you're okay. You're fine." Then he must've realized how he must sound. "Of course, you're fine…. What happened?"

Ellie sighed. "We tried everything. Nothing worked. I think he was poisoned or had an allergic reaction or something."

Chuck and Sarah avoided looking at each other.

Ellie looked exhausted, so it was no surprise when she said, "I'm going to bed. Good night, guys."

Devon followed her, "Night, guys."

Chuck and Sarah both said, " Good night," and they headed home.

As they climbed into bed, Chuck said, "When I watched that ambulance drive off with Ellie inside with that sweaty nuclear spy freak, I felt I had put Ellie's life in danger. This whole spy life is catching up on us."

Sarah took hold of his arms. "No, Chuck, that guy was sick with or without the Intersect in your head. And spy world or no, Ellie helped that guy because that is what she is trained to do."

"Yeah, I guess so."

The morning briefing was focused on the events from the night before.

Beckman spoke first, looking at Chuck, "You were correct in identifying Mason Whitney. The; subject had nuclear Intel."

Graham added, "As Chuck identified, Whitney was a programmer for the top-secret project, code name: 'Sanctuary.' Whitney recently disappeared, along with the Sanctuary data stored on a computer chip."

Sarah guessed it would be something like this "So, whoever has the chip essentially has a skeleton key to access our nuclear facilities?"

Graham nodded. "Precisely, Sarah. In the wrong hands, this is potentially catastrophic."

Beckman stated, "The three of you need to go to the morgue. Search the body for the missing codes. Maybe there's a chance he still has them on him."

Graham looked at Chuck and added, "And get your sister to provide the toxicology report on what caused Whitney's death."

When the call ended, Chuck said, "I'll leave a note for Ellie to call me when she wakes up."

"I'll make the arrangements for us to go to the morgue," Casey said.

"Can't wait," Chuck sarcastically responded.

The morgue was just like any other. Sarah held onto Chuck's hand, knowing he'd have trouble being there. He babbled, "Okay, this is just a storage room. They just happen to store people here, people who are no longer breathing and who are refrigerated."

Casey grunted.

Chuck looked at the body that Casey had pulled out. "Good lord, the man is naked!"

Casey nodded. "Appears rigor mortis has set in, too."

Sarah smiled at his sense of humor, but pulled Chuck with her to examine the man's head.

Casey stabbed a needle into the man to get some blood, which caused Chuck to dry heave. "Wouldn't have needed this if your sister had provided the toxicology report," Casey said. He turned to Sarah. "Find anything?"

Sarah shook her head. "Nothing yet. No codes." Then she spotted something behind the man's ear. "Hang on a second. What's this?" She peeled off a small skin colored plaster. On the underside was a device. She looked up and mouthed, "Bug."

In the meantime, Casey had run the blood sample through what looked like a mass spectrometer, and was looking at the results of the blood analysis. "The poison was a toxic derivative of pentothal. Initially, the subject becomes uncontrollably truthful. After it accumulates in the occipital lobe, the victim suffers from unconsciousness and eventually... Death."

Chuck looked at him incredulously. "You got all that from just analyzing the blood sample?"

Casey grunted. "From the results plus information that I already know, with some speculation."

"So, guesswork," Chuck said scornfully.

"Informed speculation," Casey corrected.

Sarah asked, "What would be the timeline on this thing?"

Casey frowned, and they all knew he had no real idea, just more speculation. "Can't say. It could be a couple hours; could be minutes, depending on the concentration."

"If the bad guy was following him, he couldn't have gotten the information he wanted from Mason," Chuck stated. "Or the microchip."

"That man must still be searching for it," Sarah concluded. She and Chuck looked at each other. "Ellie!" they both said, and ran out of the morgue to get back to Echo Park.

"Come on, Casey," Sarah called back to her partner.

When Chuck and Sarah burst into her apartment, Ellie looked up at them after taking a sip of her coffee. "What the hell, guys?"

"Ellie, have you had a visitor?" Chuck demanded.

Ellie frowned. "Only a weird police officer who asked strange questions about Mason Whitney."

Sarah sat beside her. "Weird? In what way?"

"He was asking if I'd taken anything from Mason. As if I would!"

Sarah was sure that it was the man she'd seen. This was just what she'd wanted to avoid. "Did he say how he got your address?" she asked.

Ellie frowned. "I didn't ask him. I gave it to the police at the hospital. He will have gotten it from them, won't he?"

"I guess," Sarah responded. She suspected he listened in when they took those details.

"Oh, and he had to take my photo. Even that was weird. He had to move my hair back behind my left ear, saying it was just a protocol required for the framing. I've never heard of such a thing. The pen he gave me to sign the Affidavit was weird, too."

Sarah quickly looked behind Ellie's ear and sure enough there was the same bug she had found on Whitney. She peeled it off.

"That is weird," Chuck stated in the silence. Sarah looked at him. He looked sick about what had happened, but obviously knew not to say anything with that bug in her hand.

Ellie looked at it in horror and was going to say something, but Sarah pressed a finger over her lips. She then grabbed a notepad and pen from the table and wrote, 'Bug behind your ear."

Ellie looked ready to ask questions, so Sarah grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the apartment. Chuck grabbed the keys for Ellie's car as they rushed out.

Sarah spotted Casey rushing into the courtyard and noticed Chuck stopping to tell him to look for the man.

Sarah didn't stop until she got to the car and bundled Ellie into the back and sat beside her. Just as she did that, there was a screeching of tires. A car was racing away. She looked out and saw Casey taking a note of the license plate and heard him mutter to Chuck, "I'll get a trace on that car."

Diving behind the wheel, Chuck set off.

After a while, Ellie couldn't seem to hold it in any longer. "What the hell was all that about?"

Sarah realized that she was going to say more than the doctor should know. "Ellie, I think you've been dosed with the same poison as Mason. It was probably sprayed from a pen. We need to get you to the hospital."

Ellie gawped at her. "And the bug?"

"That wasn't a policeman. He was the poisoner and he thinks you know something. He couldn't have been far away."

Ellie then asked the question Sarah was dreading. "How d'you know all this?"

Sarah looked up at Chuck in the rear-view mirror. He was obviously wondering what she was going to say.

Looking back at his sister, Sarah replied, "My father is with the police. I don't see him anymore, but I remember things." That wasn't a lie, just misdirection.

On the way, Ellie started babbling, which must be due to the poison. "I've known him since the day he was born obviously." She looked fondly at Chuck. "When people would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would always say the same Thing: 'big boy.' How cute is that?"

Sarah, sitting in the back, could just imagine it.

Ellie continued, "And now he is a big boy." She looked at Sarah. "And I can tell that he is, because he is with a big... big girl."

Sarah guessed that she meant her height, because her boobs weren't as big as Ellie's own.

Ellie looked back at her brother and ruffled his hair. "Chuck, you need a haircut. It's starting to make funny animal shapes."

Sarah grinned. She liked the description, but she also liked his hair that length.

Chuck pulled up at the hospital. Ellie was unsteady on her feet, so Chuck and Sarah guided her in.

When Casey found Sarah and Chuck in the hospital, he said, "Car was reported stolen. No joy there."

Chuck looked into the private room where his sister lay unconscious in bed, Devon sitting with her. "We've got to save her."

Sarah had made some calls before saying, "We don't know that he used the same drug on Ellie as on Mason Whitney. CIA biochemists are looking for a compound that neutralizes the poison used on Ellie. They say something like a chelating agent, whatever that is. They basically want to create an antidote for Ellie."

Chuck looked at her and threw his hands up in the air. "There's no time! If it's the same poison as the dead guy, that means Ellie's only got a few hours left! Look, this is easy. All we've got to do is find the codes, and we get the bad guy to trade us for the antidote."

Casey was going to challenge that idea, but Sarah said, "We have this bug that we found on Ellie." She held up the clear soundproof box she'd put it in.

Casey responded, "Don't want the bad guy knowing we're onto him. We've got a team working on reversing the tracking signal."

Casey didn't see the look that passed between his partners or the nod Sarah gave Chuck. Chuck snatched the box from her, opened it and said into the bug, "Found the codes. Can't believe where Mason Whitney hid them. I'm going to keep them on the lady doctor until we can move them safely." He then closed up the box. Sarah took it back from him with a smile.

Casey looked at him almost approvingly. "Now the bad guy's going to come to us. Not bad, Bartowski, but this had better work."

Sarah suspected that Chuck would be sitting beside his sister in a new room, while she herself was pretending to be the doctor in the original bed. The room was still designated for Dr. Bartowski. She was wearing a brown wig.

She heard someone creep in and walk up behind her. When she felt the covers lifted off of her, she twirled around and grabbed the man's hand, twisting it behind his back.

Casey rushed in pointing a gun at the man who just smirked. He managed to hit Sarah to free himself and then leap across the bed and kick the gun out of Casey's hand. When he landed and stood up, Sarah had her gun pointing at him and Casey grabbed his other one. Both agents were shocked with how easily he had overcome them and gotten over there.

The man said, "Okay. I've got what you want." He lifted up a small vial containing a green liquid. "The antidote to save your doctor friend. Give it to her and she might live. Just trade me for the codes." He then raised a larger vial with a red liquid. "Or... I can poison all of you and force you to tell me where you've hidden my codes. And then you'll die, too, just like the doctor. Your choice."

Sarah noticed Chuck arrive behind the man. He snatched the green vial and ran off, presumably back to his sister,

Having lost his bargaining card, the man threw down the larger vial between Casey and Sarah. As the vial shattered on impact with the floor, the gas enveloped Sarah and Casey, who stood and choked on it, before springing into action.

Unfortunately, their delay made catching him difficult. They hadn't been able to bring their guns into the hospital, but Casey improvised. He grabbed a crutch from a patient and threw it. It hit the man who crumpled to the floor.

Sarah left Casey to deal with him, and walked to Ellie's new room to see her recovering with Chuck fussing over her. When he spotted her outside, he hurried out. "The antidote worked," he excitedly told her. "Do you have Payne in custody?"

"Payne?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah," Chuck replied. "Reardon Payne. Used to be an Olympic athlete until he injured his knee and had to retire. Now he's a poisoner who gets done what others can't, acquiring and selling hard-to-find items, like these nuclear codes."

"His Olympic past explains his agility, and how he overcame and eluded us," Sarah commented. She knew she couldn't hide the truth from him. "He's poisoned me. Casey, too."

Chuck stared at her. "WHAT!? We have to catch him!" He started running for the entrance and she had to follow.

Chuck was in such a panic that he wasn't totally in control as he ran. Consequently, he ran into Casey. They both tumbled to the floor. As Chuck stood up, Sarah saw that he was holding something that he'd picked up. He smiled at the two agents. "This thing's going to lead us right to him!"

They dashed out of the hospital and into Casey's car. "Are you ok to drive, Casey?" Chuck asked.

The NSA agent just grunted. "Tell me where to go, Bartowski."

Sarah was finding herself being more honest than normal in front of Casey. He was doing the same. Damn drug!

At least neither of them were showing any sign of other effects.

Sarah knelt down to open the entrance to the apartments they arrived at. She was the best at doing this, and commented so. Casey acknowledged that, but she knew it was the drug speaking.

As they waited for the elevator, Chuck loudly said to Sarah, "God, you're so gorgeous!" She knew he wasn't drugged, just joining in.

She grinned. "Not as gorgeous as you," she replied. The drug helped her admit that.

Chuck then turned to his NSA partner. "Casey, your jaw was chiseled by Michelangelo himself."

Casey growled and replied, "You're not drugged, Moron, and it's not funny that we are."

Chuck then looked abashed. "Sorry," he said as they walked into the elevator.

Sarah grabbed his hand and made him look at her. "Don't ever apologize for complimenting me, though, Chuck."

Casey groaned.

When they got to Payne's apartment, Sarah knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" they heard Payne call out.

Casey shot the door and kicked it open. They rushed in and saw Payne walking down the stairs.

Sarah pointed her gun at Payne and shouted, "Freeze!" He stopped walking and put up his hands. She added, "My partner would rather shoot you in the face than let you get away."

Casey grunted his agreement.

"Where's the antidote?" she demanded of Payne.

He started down the stairs again. "Actually, I was just about to enjoy a little antidote myself. What kind of host would I be if I didn't offer you some as well?"

"You didn't breathe in any of the gas, so that's a lie," Casey said. He cocked the gun and closely monitored Payne's progress as he reached a table containing a number of small vials filled with orange liquid. Casey said, "Careful. I haven't killed anyone in a while. Getting a little trigger happy."

Payne carried three of the vials and handed one to each agent, holding onto one himself.

Sarah was about to open and knock it back, but Chuck stopped her. "No. Wait! Don't drink that!" She looked at him curiously, and he continued, "The antidote liquid was green, not orange."

Casey grunted. "Good point, Bartowski."

Payne nodded, smiled and then swiftly smacked Casey's gun out of his hand. That was probably due to the NSA agent's slower reflexes caused by the poison. Payne then flipped himself over several times, heading for the exit. When he landed the final time, Sarah didn't hesitate and shot him in his right knee. He cried out and fell to the floor.

Chuck looked at her in shock. He was obviously thinking the poison had made her more honest about who she was. "I couldn't let him get away, Chuck."

Casey looked at her. "Very unsportsmanlike, though…. I like it."

When they had Payne strapped down in a chair, unable to escape, he finally told them, "The antidote is in the cabinet, bottom right shelf. Key is in my pocket."

Sarah went and retrieved the vials with the green liquid. She handed one to Casey.

Just before they were going to take it, Chuck asked Casey. "Tell me the Beckman really given up the idea of putting me in a bunker. or killing me, even?"

Casey looked at him and firmly confirmed that that was the case.

Chuck turned to her and smiled. "I know you love me. I find it almost unbelievable a lot of the time, but I know it, so I don't need to ask."

She frowned. "I'm glad you didn't. It would hurt, feeling like you didn't believe me."

He looked like he wanted to kiss her, but she didn't want them upsetting Casey, so she knocked back her vial of antidote.

Once they were back at their apartment, and away from Casey, Sarah said, "Casey could've lied about Beckman."

"But he was under the truth drug," Chuck pointed out.

"All agents are trained to withstand pentothal. It isn't all that easy, but it's possible."

"I trust him," Chuck replied, and she guessed that she did, too.

The following morning, Sarah and Chuck had checked in on Ellie who was home with her fiancé. She was fine and thankfully asked no questions about what she'd witnessed.

Maybe the drug blanked Ellie's mind about some things, but Sarah wasn't going to complain.

When they got to Burbank, Graham and Beckman were soon facing their team.

Beckman said, "We're glad you all recovered. We received the codes and now our weapon sites are more secure than ever. Congratulations on a job well done."

Sarah noticed their recovery was mentioned first. She wondered if the general was mellowing.

"Yes, well done, team, on both those results," Graham chipped in. "And for and curing Chuck's sister."

Now that sounded more genuine, so Sarah thought she may have been wrong about the general. Who knew?

A/N: That covers the final episode I'm including from season 1. The next two chapters will occur during the seven-and-a-half month gap between the two seasons.

Don't keep it a secret, let me know your thoughts about this chapter.