AN: Well, I just suck. I know... The last two weeks of school were absolute hell, and I was getting home at 9:30 every night. So, no time (at all) during the day. Then Friday was our last day before Winter Break and I didn't even go because I'm pretty sure I have mono and have absolutely no energy to do anything. Which is why I'm glad I had already written this chapter and one other so... here it is. Late, but here none the less.

Thanks: To everyone one out there who has read then story, and a bigger thanks to those who have reviewed. I'm very pleased to hear that you guys are enjoying it! Hope you continue to do so!

Warning: Unbeta'd. The mistakes are my own. And again, I repeat that updates will not be consistant. The next one could come as early as tomorrow, or it could be another week.

So, in the event that I post after Christmas, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Chapter III

The first thing Sarah became aware of was the smell of linoleum and an attempt to cover up the unbearable stench of all things sterile with a disgustingly sweet scent. It was a hospital, of this she was sure but why was she there...?

Chuck!

Sarah's eyes flew open and she nearly jumped off the waiting room couch she had fallen asleep on. Her heart was racing as the image of Chuck sprawled out on the cold pavement in a pool of his own blood filled her mind.

"Whoa, Sarah! Take a chill pill," someone sighed off to the side of her. She turned frantically and saw Chuck's best friend Morgan sitting in a chair beside her couch. He looked tired and terrified at the same time and she wondered how long he had been there. It was odd seeing him so lifeless; in fact, he was usually bouncing off the walls with energy and to see him being the opposite of himself only served to remind Sarah just how off things were with Chuck injured.

"Morgan," Sarah said quickly. "Have you heard anything? How long have you been here?"

"For about three hours and yes, he's out of surgery. Has been for about an hour or so," Morgan replied somberly. "Apparently it went well but he's not out of the woods yet. Something about a fever, I don't know."

Sarah nodded as she looked around the room and was surprised when she didn't see anyone else.

"Ellie's been in there the whole time," Morgan said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "And Awesome went back to the house to grab some clothes and stuff. It's just you and me now."

A line such as that from Morgan would usually be crawling with creepiness, but not this time. However, Sarah found herself wanting that side of him back. She didn't know what to say; Morgan had known Chuck much longer than she had and she knew they were close.

"You know, there's something I still don't understand," Morgan said, his tone still much darker than anything that should have been coming from his mouth. "Why would they attack him? I mean, there's no way Chuck would keep his wallet and keys if they were demanding it, especially since you were there. He would do almost anything if he thought it would make them leave, right? So, obviously he would have handed them over, right?"

Sarah bit her lip, slightly nervous at where this was going, but nodded her head.

"So if they had what they wanted, then why would they need to attack him too?"

Sarah shook her head at this one. "I don't know, Morgan. I guess… I guess some people get a thrill out of hurting others."

"Well, you were – you know, there when it happened, weren't you?" Sarah nodded again. "Did it look like they were having fun attacking him?"

Sarah felt her stomach clench, knowing that every bit of what she was about to say would be made-up and she hated lying to people, especially about matters such as this.

"Morgan… I don't know. I'm sorry, it's just… everything's a blur now and I remember them coming up to us and demanding the wallet and Chuck gave it to them, but they…," then something perfect sprang into Sarah's head. "They started to come after me… And Chuck tried to stop them and they attacked…," Sarah said, trailing off. "I'm sorry, Morgan. If it wasn't for me…"

"No," Morgan said, cutting her off as she had hoped. "You shouldn't be sorry. I would have done the same if it were me and Anna, you know."

Sarah nodded and smiled, realizing that he had accepted her story. It still didn't feel right lying to him, but he couldn't know the truth. None of them could, and that was that. After that, Morgan remained unnaturally silent for a while, but Sarah could tell that there was something he wanted to say.

"So," he started quietly, his eyes locked on something to the left of Sarah. "Uh, how bad was it? I mean, I know about the surgery and stuff, but… was he in a lot of, like, pain? That's a stupid question," he said quickly before Sarah could answer. "He was beaten to a pulp, of course he was in pain."

Sarah watched this completely different said of Morgan and had no idea how to react. It was his own version of being distressed, but Sarah didn't know how to help him.

"Well, did he get knocked out early on? 'Cause if he did then that would have helped some, wouldn't it? Or do you still feel when you're unconscious? You know, Chuck actually knocked me out once when we were in a game room. We were both racing to get to the Pac Man machine and he tripped me and my head went right into the basketball game. I don't remember anything after that…"

"Morgan," Sarah said, cutting him off as his words began to speed up. "I think… I think he lost consciousness moments into the fight and I don't think he felt most of it."

This was all a lie. Or maybe not, Sarah wasn't sure because she hadn't been there when he was beaten. In fact, she had only arrived after his attackers had left him for dead. But, it seemed to calm Morgan down, and that was a plus.

"That's good," Morgan said quietly. "And then they'll have him doped up to the gills, won't they? So he won't be feeling much at all…"

Sarah smiled. "That's the plan."

"I wish Ellie would hurry up," he said after another short time spent in silence.

"Morgan, that's her brother in there," Sarah reminded him softly. "Besides, it's two in the morning, way past normal visiting hours. I'm sure the only reason she's in there is because she works here and she's the only blood relative he has right now. You'll get your chance to see him."

But at the mention of actually seeing Chuck, Morgan practically froze. Sarah didn't understand the sudden look of… maybe not fear, as much as it was discomfort. She had assumed that Morgan would want to go into Chuck's room the very first chance he got, but this look said otherwise.

"What? No, no," he choked out. "I just want her to come out here and tell us if he's, you know, okay. I don't… I'm not actually going to, you know…"

Sarah frowned, completely bewildered as to why the idea of seeing Chuck had Morgan in such a mess.

"Morgan, what's the matter? Why don't you want to see Chuck?"

He fumbled a bit more at this question and was now sitting up and alert. "Well, I do, of course. But not when he's, you know, in pain and… I'm just not good with bedside manner, and then b-blood. Did I ever tell you that the sight of blood makes me faint? I mean, pass out?" he corrected himself with a nervous laugh.

"I'm sure they'll have all the blood cleaned up…"

"He'll have those white wrap things on and there's almost always blood seeping through and… Chuck knows. He knows that I can't do that stuff. I'm not good with hurt people, he knows that."

"Okay," Sarah said softly, realizing that this was a very uncomfortable subject for him. "Well, if you'd prefer to go home, I will call you the minute I know something."

"No," he replied as though he was appalled that she would suggest such a thing. "That's my friend in there. I will wait as long as I need to. And it's not like I'm not going to see him at all," he explained. "I will eventually… you know, once he has some time to heal and stuff."

Sarah nodded and let the subject drop. She had known people that simply couldn't bear to see loved ones hurting and sick. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to Sarah as she would rather be with the person as much as possible, but she was also aware of the sickening feeling she would get in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw someone she cared about in pain and injured. Maybe that feeling was too much or stronger for other people. It didn't mean they didn't care, because Morgan was obviously going to sit in the waiting room of the hospital until he was sure Chuck would be okay.

Sarah shrugged. To each his own. She stood up and briefly stretched out the kinks she had from sleeping on the hospital couch.

"I'm going to grab some coffee," she told Morgan. "You want me to get you anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks," he replied, then quickly added as she turned to walk away, "Actually, if you see any grape soda…"

"I'll get it for you."

"Thanks."

Sarah nodded and started off down the hallway to where she was pretty sure a refreshments room of sorts was located. As she turned a corner, she ran right into someone.

"Where have you been?" Casey growled.

"What?" Sarah said, regaining her composure. "What do you mean 'where have I been?' Where have you been?"

"Waiting around this damn hospital while you got your beauty sleep."

Sarah sighed. She still didn't know how she had managed to fall asleep with everything that was going on, but it had happened.

"I'm sorry, okay?" she sighed, pushing by him. "Do you have anything for me?"

"Of course I do," he replied, turning to follow her. "And the coffee is in that fourth door on your right."

Sarah rolled her eyes. For some reason, she was not in the mood for Casey's pissy attitude, which wasn't so much an attitude as it was his normal self. Either way, her nerves were not currently willing to put up with him. Of course, he was right about the coffee and she figured once she got some caffeine in her system, she'd be feeling a lot better.

"I checked his doctors and they are all clean as far as I know. I made sure to take his wallet and keys from his clothes so that our cover story won't be compromised. We can give them back later and say that the police found it intact."

Sarah nodded. So far, so good; all of it was holding up against what she had told Ellie and Morgan.

"And I've put surveillance in his room."

Sarah nearly spit out her coffee.

"You were in his room?"

Casey frowned and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah," he said as though it were a stupid question.

"How? He was in surgery and then Ellie's been in there ever since he got out. How did you get in there undetected?"

"I waited until she took a potty break and used some of my spy skills," he said condescendingly, still acting like it was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. "We've pulled much riskier stunts; I don't see what's got you all bent out of shape over this one."

"Is surveillance really necessary?"

This one just seemed to appall the agent. "What do you think? He's could be here for a week, give or take, and the Intersect is at his weakest point right now. A perfect time to strike."

"Chuck," Sarah corrected him, feeling that it was only civil to at least refer to him as a human being. "Well, how does he look?" Sarah asked quietly, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Like hell," Casey answered simply, letting her correction fall on deaf ears. "If that stupid heart monitor wasn't on with its incessant beeping, I'd probably guess the kid was dead."

Sarah winced, remembering how he looked when she had found him on the ground.

"From what I understand his chances are good," Sarah said, mostly for her own reassurance.

"Eh, he'll live," Casey agreed as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "The real question of life or death will come after he explains how the hell he got himself into that position. Speaking of which, the General accepted that the mission was a freak disaster in general, but they still want to know your side of the story and how the Intersect managed to separate from us. "

"I doubt he did it in purpose," she replied, irritated at how he made it sound like it was all Chuck's fault.

"I'm just saying, he was there one minute, gone the next, and the next thing we know, he's shot and beaten to a pulp. I wouldn't mind some answers myself."

Truth be told, Sarah wasn't sure exactly what went wrong either. They had brought Chuck in, never realizing it was anything but a simple glance over at the people in the room, but they had never intended to split up.

"Well, we'll figure it out later. Let's make sure he survives this first and worry about pointing a finger of blame next."

Casey snarled but let the subject drop. "I'll show you where I set up base."

Sarah frowned, suddenly interested in where Casey could have set up base in a hospital, but if anyone could do it, Casey could. She followed him further down the hall to an area that was far away from the waiting room and seemed to be oddly free of traffic. Towards the end of the hallway, there was a small door just was stuck in the wall, and Casey led her right to it. He took out a key and unlocked the padlock and opened the door.

It looked pretty much like every other base they would set up, complete with live camera feeds and headsets. Immediately, Sarah found her eyes attached to the live feed from Chuck's room. It wasn't very clear and the screen was small, but she could make out the very unconscious Chuck lying unnaturally still in his bed, while Ellie, equally unconscious, had her head lying near Chuck's and her hand was limply placed over his. She had managed to fall asleep, which pleased Sarah as the young doctor had already pulled a long shift.

Sarah looked closer at the small screen, and felt her stomach turn uneasily. Chuck was covered in gauze and had several machines hooked up to him. For some reason, the sight made Sarah sicker than she would have imagined. She had held vigil for many people in her life, but seeing Chuck like this was so much harder than any of them. It might have been due to the fact that for the past year, it had been her job to protect him. Whatever it was made her look away and feel weak at the knees.

"What's the matter, Walker?" Casey asked from behind her, making her jump.

"Nothing," Sarah said quickly. "I guess I'm still tired or something."

"Well wake the hell up. We've got a long couple of days ahead of us."

That she agreed with. She was about to leave when something occurred to her.

"You know he will eventually be moved to another room, right?" Sarah asked.

"Just another thing to worry about later," Casey replied, not looking up from the screen.

Sarah nodded and left.'

TBC...

EN: It's kind of an odd place to leave it but I originally wrote this as one big story so I was trying to split is as evenly as possible. Also, you know I couldn't leave out Morgan :) Until later...!