CHUCK VS THE NEW PARTNER

"That's some really good morphine"

Don't Panic! Don't Panic! This is not the end of the world, I have just updated thats all. Admitadly a little odd I've updated so soon but hey I figured you lovely people would appreciate it.

This one is a whoppah 8000 words on the story alone and not my incessant ranting. Longest chapter yet and I strongly suggest you take breaks periodically to avoid blood clots or the homicidal tendencies that usually develop due to over exposure to my writing. Not everyone is freakishly immune like JT, the loon must have been drinking heavily to make it through every chapter in a day.

Oooh oooh before I forget I just want to thank everyone for the reviews last time they were soo awesome and I'm glad it was well received, so many of you wanted to know about Casey lol. Also I'm really glad to see some new readers over the last couple of chapters and I'm really looking forward to hearing what you think about this one.

Enjoy or not! I wont be concious to the world for a while its 3:00, its been a long day and I'm strongly considering sleeping until season 5 comes out. GOODNIGHT XD

Sarah POV

CIA Medical Station

He looked peaceful Sarah thought.

Chuck was asleep on the hospital bed in front of her dead to the world around him, she doubted even gunfire would wake him at this point. They'd been at the hospital for about day and he'd spent about half of that in surgery. She hadn't left his side and didn't plan to, she'd even skipped a meeting with the Director & General deciding to leave it to Casey to debrief them on what happened at that warehouse.

She was sure whatever he was telling them didn't really put her in a favourable light but she couldn't find it in herself to care right now, besides no matter what he said to their superiors he wouldn't outright sell her out Casey just wasn't that kind of guy.

Chuck stirred a little in his sleep and Sarah shuffled herself closer to him gripping at his hand with both her own just wishing he could open those warm eyes for her even once. He didn't though, Chuck moved around a little more before he let out a sigh and seemed to continue with his rest. Ignoring the pang of disappointed that he wasn't waking up she decided to focus more on the positive, the doctors assured her that he would definitely wake up and that his body just needed time to recuperate after its ordeal.

The information didn't really comfort her as much as she hoped but there was nothing more she could do, she got Chuck back, levelled a Fulcrum facility and blew up a murdering drug dealer. She liked to think that was a pretty good accomplishment for one day, but now that she was losing the energy the rushing adrenalin had given her she was dead on her feet. Sarah hadn't slept since the whole thing had began and she knew she still had more work to do, she had to be there for Chuck when he woke up.

Still as she watched him sleep she started to count the soft breathing, watched his bandaged chest rise up and down in a steady rhythm. She started to feel like she was being pulled into some kind of peaceful trance.

Sarah was as close to his bed as the crappy hospital chair would allow but as she continued to watch him she still found herself getting closer and closer to Chuck. Some distant part of her brain that seemed to escape the fog of Chuck, told her that she must have gotten out of the chair and for some crazy reason was crawling onto his hospital bed. She didn't care.

Ignoring the sane part of her mind the only thing Sarah took from the knowledge that she was climbing into his bed was she had to be careful not to aggravate his injuries whilst she did so.

It took a few minutes with her being so careful but eventually she was laying down next to her partner, her head resting on his shoulder tucked into the crook of his neck. She was laying on his uninjured shoulder but his bullet wound was on her side and she was frustrated that she couldn't wrap herself around him more fully without causing him unnecessary pain. Ever since she had found out the extent of his injuries she had been trying to avoid thinking about them.

She knew about the gunshot wound already, but he had intense bruising around his ribs and especially on his shoulder. That same shoulder had a jagged knife wound that they believed was designed to inflict maximum pain on the victim. The doctor had recited the list of his wounds to her like so, like Chuck wasn't even a person but just a name on his clipboard.

She understood that he was probably used to seeing these sort of things or that it could have been some kind of defence mechanism to avoid getting to personal with his patients, and it was that understanding that stopped her from breaking his nose.

If she had been quicker in getting back to the substation, or getting the team together then perhaps Chuck wouldn't have had to go through so much pain. Those kind of thoughts swam through her mind whenever she thought of the long list of injuries he suffered, and it was exactly the reason why she didn't want to think of them.

Since Sarah couldn't wrap herself around him she held tighter onto the hand that was now laying still between both their bodies. Getting comfortable on the bed and looking up from her position on his shoulder she was barely aware of how strange this situation must be considering they weren't even together, and they were usually fighting 80% of the time. All she cared about was that soothing warmth that travelled between the two when they were touching each other.

That talk Chuck owed her could either result in the single greatest moment of her life, or it could cause irreparable pain and embarrassment to their working relationship. She slowly fell asleep but just before she felt the world close of Sarah could have sworn he felt something squeeze her hand.

Casey POV

Damn Walker and damn Bartowski. All he asked was an abundance of gun play and as limited paperwork as humanly possible, he didn't think that was too much to ask. Yet any time he met with either of those two things quickly started to go down the crapper. He'd just spent that last two hours talking to superiors who didn't care how things were done or why, only if something went wrong and who they could use as a scapegoat if it did.

Of course if he'd had some help then it wouldn't have all come down to him, but no he was left to explain not only his own actions during that op but also Walker's. Even knowing he did nothing wrong it was always difficult to explain your actions during the mission when your no longer being effected by the heat of the moment. Still Casey prided himself on being professional and efficient, Walker's actions was another thing all together.

Graham's wild card enforcer had always been unpredictable but it was more to do with how she could operate outside the box in a moments notice, she was the best for a reason. What he saw at that warehouse was something else all together, what he saw was Sarah let out of whatever mental cage she had been kept in all this time.

It wasn't easy to explain her actions after she had separated from the group when she got inside, but he figured a fair amount of lying was ok since he really didn't know too much of what she got up too. In fact what he did know he decided to lie about too, for example her little personal time with Fulcrum's Chris Johnson and decided to leave it at he was killed in the explosion. Beckman had asked if he could confirm that he perished in the blast, it was difficult to explain that Walker had tied him to the bomb so he told them that he was in such close proximity to the blast that escape was near impossible and he was likely vaporized.

Thankfully they seemed ok with the results of the mission and didn't dig too much, especially after he revealed the hardrive filled with information on Fulcrum.

He wasn't wrong about Beckman wanting to incarcerate the Fulcrum scientist when she found out about him, but surprisingly Graham pushed to have Paul placed into witness protection. He seemed to believe the guy was too low in Fulcrum's hierarchy that they wouldn't even bother trying to find him.

After a while Casey watched as Beckman finally gave up on Paul clearly not caring enough to continue the conversation any longer, if he had to guess he figured that Graham was used to Chuck's near fanatical obsession with saving lives and had picked up a few bad habits from him.

After that there wasn't much more to talk about and he was excused with a promise that there would be a team meeting once Chuck was awake and aware enough to be briefed on new events.

So now with his superiors fully debriefed Casey decided he would go visit Bartowski and see if he was awake, of course this meant that he would be visiting Walker too since she was guaranteed to be there. She had damn near thrown a fit whenever anyone had tried to get her out of the hospital room.

Travelling down the hospital ward for a few more minutes in his calm military stride it wasn't long before Casey stopped just before Chuck's private room. Looking in through the small window built into the door, Casey honestly considered turning around and forgetting he had ever met those two. Still he swallowed the bile that threatened to escape his throat and pushed the door open loud enough to announce his presence.

There they were, Walker had somehow gotten herself onto Chuck's hospital bed and wrapped herself pretty sung around him. What was worse was Chuck was awake and looking down at her in a way that just made him sick, this coupled with him brushing Sarah's hair our of her closed eyes only made him want to puke more.

"Ugh something really is wrong with you Bartowski" At the mention of his real name, Chuck seemed to panic a little and looked down at Sarah again worried that she might have heard him.

"Jeez Casey could you say that any louder, I don't think people in the morgue heard you."

"Ah keep your panties on kid, if Walker knew I was here witnessing this I'd probably be joining them in the morgue. Relax she's out cold." Chuck visibly relaxed knowing Sarah wouldn't over hear them and went straight back to making googly eyes at her.

"I'm surprised your so concerned with Walker hearing your name considering the way your looking at her right now." Casey laughed a little inside but it seems Chuck was promptly ignoring him.

"Casey were not...like that." Casey didn't think the kid could hide the disappointment in his voice if he tried, and considering he was a trained spy that was saying something. So he didn't say anything he just growled, they'd known each other too long for Bartowski to give him this kinda bullshit.

"Alright! Alright, but I wasn't lying were really not like that. Truth is I don't know what we are and that's a problem"

"What happened to Carmichael Chuck? I thought he didn't get involved with his partners, anyone connected to the spy world actually."

"Hell if I know Casey she's just...different." He looked down at her one last time before his eyes settled back to Casey, " She's important, and I don't know how or why, she just is. Considering I tried my damn hardest to stop it the fact that I still feel these things for her its scaring me Casey."

"So what are you going to do about it? Considering what she did to get you back, I doubt she's gonna let you keep things stagnant like they are. She's going to make sure things change, one way or another."

"I know I know, I promised her we would talk and were going to. Still I cant help but wish I could put it off for just a little longer" Looking down at her again Bartowski seemed to release a defeated sigh before looking back at him with that stupid grin on his face, " How are you and Ilsa doing? I haven't spoken to either of you since you travelled over to France"

"Didn't work out kid" Casey didn't really want to get into it and hoped that a quick answer would stop Bartowski from his usual prying ways.

"What do you mean it didn't work out! You pined over her death for years" Chuck was giving him a harsh whisper and he wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about tearing his stitches or waking up the blonde who was currently using his chest as a pillow.

"Listen Bartowski, first things first I don't pine for anybody got me, ever! Secondly...I appreciate what you did for us I really do, if it wasn't for you I'd still think she was dead and we wouldn't have even had the chance to try. We gave things a go we did and even though we work as a couple, she loves the job too much to quit and I don't know if I agree with that." He could see the shock in Chuck's eyes from his admission and he could already feel the migraine from the barrage of questions.

"Well um odd I figure you'd be a military man for life Casey, I would've thought that her being so dedicated to her job would only appeal to you."

"It did...does appeal to me. Listen kid your right I only know the military and I plan to serve as long as I can, but that doesn't mean I intend to be a field agent forever. You need to know when to quit and to be honest I don't think she does."

This time it was Casey who looked toward Sarah before he started speaking again, "This job will get to you and I'm not talking just about the nightmares. It will take who you are and it will rip you apart until there's nothing left but a shell, and that's if you come home from a mission in the first place." Standing up Casey began walking to the door, "You cant be in a relationship with someone doing this, sure it will work for a while but eventually they stop being who you fell in love with in the first place."

"Don't worry kid, your smarter than that you'll know when to quit. And your also smart enough never to tell anyone that I said those things" Casey's hand was on the door and pulling it open before Chuck could even open that thing he called a mouth, "By the way Carmichael we have a debriefing, wake up Walker and I'll meet you both in the conference room in twenty"

Chuck POV

If Chuck was being completely honest with himself that was one of the weirdest experiences of his entire adult life.

Sure he and Casey had gone on a fair few joint mission together and they'd certainly gotten closer since he accidentally helped him find his dead lover Ilsa, but if you had asked him a week ago if he thought he would ever be having that kind of conversation with Major John Casey well he...he;d have to call you as crazy as Johnson was.

Thinking of Johnson Chuck was curious to find out what happened to him and the Fulcrum facility he was detained at. All he could remember after escaping and gaining control of the facility, was he'd led Casey's team to himself using the door controls and watched on the monitor as Johnson finally managed to override the door to the medical bay only to come face to face with Sarah Walker when he did, that was just bad timing on his part.

Chuck didn't have time to find out what she did with him as Casey's team was already at the control room door. After that things got a little fuzzy until he woke up to a soft weight pushing down on his chest.

To say he was surprised to find Sarah sleeping on him was a little more than a understatement. He'd had more than his fair share of dreams about them sharing this position together, minus the stitches of course. Those he was reminded of when he tried to pull her that little bit closer, and her arm came in contact with the bullet wound at his side.

After a intense session of whispering curses to thin air, he settled for staring down on his very own vision of heaven. Sarah was wearing not a lick of make up and the bags under her eyes gave away her exhaustion, and yet she was beautiful. He wanted her but when he thought of bringing more of the spy element to his family it made him doubt. Because if he decided to date Sarah Walker that's exactly what he would be doing, having one spy connected to their lives was bad enough but two spies would make them walking targets.

Still every time he squeezed her hand and she instinctively squeezed back in her sleep he couldn't help but smile and think that the risk was worth it, almost non existent. Hell no one had ever found out his real name let alone that he had a family. Dating Sarah didn't mean they had to be at risk, it meant they had to be more careful and that he would have to ingrain in Sarah exactly how big a risk he was taking, and how much she meant to him if he was taking that risk in the first place.

When Casey walked in and talked about quitting, for a brief moment he honestly thought about himself and Sarah away from a life of lies, death and deceit. Still that was only if she wasn't like Ilsa, he knew how dedicated she was to her career.

Unable to stand those depressive thought any longer he figured maybe he should bite the proverbial bullet and wake her up for that talk he owed her. He also thought that since he was taking a risk, he might as well try something else in case it was the last time he ever allowed himself the opportunity.

Leaning closer Chuck placed the softest of kisses on her pouted lips and watched with a smile as she tried to lean into him from her position on his shoulder. Chuck contained his mirth at watching her trying to find him in her sleep, "Sarah...Sarah wake up c'mon"

Her nose scrunched up adorably and her eyes quickly followed as they tried to look around the hospital room for the noise. Looking down at her he was pleasantly surprised to see her so out of it, most spies never let themselves relax enough to get in this state.

Her lips spread into a sweet smile as her eyes finally landed on him through her sleepy haze, although much to Chuck's chagrin it didn't last long. After a minute or so of staring at each other Sarah seemed to realise that that for Chuck to be looking down at her it would mean that he was awake. She lifted her head from his shoulder with a snap and reversed their position so that she was was the one hovering over him, in doing so she placed her hand on his injured shoulder and he let out a yelp of pain.

Sarah clearly in nurse mode was looking down at him trying to find the source of his pain, "Chuck! Chuck what's wrong, where does it hurt? I'll get the doctor!"

"Sarah my shoulder, your hand!" His voice came at much more weak and winy than he was comfortable with but in all fairness he had just survived torture.

Sarah realised her mistake and pulled her hand away from his shoulder as quick as she possibly could and settled from fidgeting with her nails while she waited for him to relax from the sudden surge of pain. As he started to calm down Chuck looked towards her face and his heart broke a little at the guilty expression she carried, she honestly looked like she had just committed treason.

"Sarah its fine, I'm okay now" He fought the urge to laugh a little at the stunned look on her face as if he had just read her mind. It occurred to Chuck that ever since he had woken up and found Sarah, he'd paid attention to every single look and expression she made. Not that he didn't always it was just odd to find himself so focused on a person.

"Chuck I'm so sorry its all my fault, not just the shoulder but all of it. If I'd been faster then maybe you wouldn't have been so injured, hell I shouldn't have left you there in the first place. We are partners and I just abandoned you.

"Sarah you didn't abandon me, I told you to leave. If you'd stayed we both would have been captured, and Fulcrum could torture me all they wanted but I couldn't have watched them torture you along with me. You made the right call"

Sarah let out a uncharacteristic sniffle before she moved a little closer to him, pushed Chuck down a bit and rested her head back at its original position, "Do you mind?"

"Uh no no its ok, you look tired" He found it a little strange she was being so openly touchy with him. He knew he woke up in this position but judging Sarah's personality she probably thought she would wake before him and he wouldn't even have known she'd been there.

"Chuck we need to talk" Chuck swallowed harshly at that, he knew it was that time and he was prepared for it but he couldn't help but be nervous, so much so that he shifted a little as he prepared himself mentally.

Still he couldn't get very far with Sarah gripping so harshly onto his body, and he found himself coming to the conclusion that even if she was tired the main reason for her lying down next to him was so that she could restrict his movement. Chuck thought it a little unfair she thought he might flake out on his promise, but he figured given his performance the last couple of days before the mission, dodging her at every turn her precautions were fair enough.

"Yea I promised we would...Although I'll admit I'm at a bit of a loss as to where we start" The full body grip she had on him seemed to lessen a little but as if she was reconsidering she tightened up again, but this time it was more like she was snuggling into his shoulder, "Me too Chuck me too"

Here goes nothing...

"Sarah its funny how being tortured by a madman can kinda put things into perspective for you so I'll try my best to get straight to the point. I care for you I do, more than a partner should. There's something about you that lets you get right under my skin in a way no one else can, you irritate and excite me more than anyone I know." He couldn't see her face at the moment but he figured by the way Sarah's grip tightened on the hospital gown and her silence that he should keep going.

"But Sarah there are things I need to protect. A few years ago I would have dived at whatever this is between us, but I've seen what's out there in the dark and I need to be cautious. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I need to be able to trust you, always" Chuck knew he could trust her to cover his back, hell she had proven that by finding him in that Fulcrum facility. However it wasn't just him, he'd need her to cover his families backs too. He didn't know if that would be something she would be willing to carry.

He could here some quiet whispers into his neck but he couldn't really make out what she was saying to him. He shifted onto his side despite the pain so that they were laying down next to each other and he stared into her face that had moments ago been hidden from him. He needed to be able to look at her while they did this, he needed to know that ever word was spoken with truth and conviction.

He reached out to her with his hand and curled the hair that covered the remaining portions of her face that he couldn't quite see, " Go on Sarah"

"Chuck I have an idea of what your talking about and I still want you. I don't get it either. I avoid this kind of thing normally. But this isn't normal what we have between us, its all consuming and all I find myself thinking about is you" She gripped onto his hand that was retreating from her face and clutched it in between both of hers" I know its going to interfere with our missions, but it already is this stupid tension barley hidden between us. We already feel these emotions Chuck at this point things will only get better if we actually embrace them. I'm hardly being subtle I know but like you said straight to the point. I want to have more than this professional relationship with you and I want more than an agents casual sex."

Despite the way she had been acting since he'd woken up it was still shocking to see her being so frank about this. Ignoring what he himself said he figured they would be dodging around the point of this conversation for awhile before they made any real progress. But here she was, despite the very real fear on her face she was embracing what could very well be something great and something dangerous, It was awe-inspiring really.

"Sarah you know when you think your gonna die and your whole life is supposed to flash in front of you. That didn't exactly happen for me yesterday in fact mostly it was just a list that I saw, a list of stuff I haven't done or haven't had a chance to say. So today, today I want to start crossing stuff of my list. And this is the first thing I promised myself I would do." They were already passed this point but taking a deep breath Chuck prepared to put himself out there.

"I just cant do this anymore. The longer we go, the longer we try to fool people into believing were a real couple, the person I end up fooling the most...is me. And I don't want to have to fool myself any longer, I want you too. I want to take you out to a nice restaurant, I want to be able to hold your hand in public, kiss you, and I want to do it simply because I can without any ticking time bombs or bad guys with guns."

Chuck was breathing heavy after his little impromptu speech and if he was completely honest he didn't have a clue if it was because of the emotional exhaustion or because his stitches made it hard to breath and he had been talking much too fast. Almost afraid to look at Sarah and gauge her reaction he settled for looking over her shoulder at an interesting spot on the wall.

"That was..."

"Let me take you out on a date sometime!" At the sound of her voice the Bartowski panic mode kicked in and his mouth opened once again and all he could think was, 'Trained spy my ass! Shut up stupid!'

For the first time since he had started speaking he looked Sarah in the eye and was pleased to see a hesitant smile on her lips and he hoped he could take that as a sign that things were going well.

"Like a real date?"

"Yea" He probably couldn't have said any more if he wanted to, the panic had finally reached his throat and he honestly didn't think he could talk around them. At least this way he couldn't talk himself into trouble anymore.

"Ok"

He honestly didn't think he was hearing her right, she had confessed to caring about him, she'd rescued him from certain death and still it was damn right unbelievable that Sarah freaking Walker was agreeing to a date with him.

"Really?" He promised himself this was the last time he'd ask her to confirm the whole thing, but he just couldn't rule out this was all a wonderful and yet cruel effect of some really powerful morphine.

"Mmmhhmm...Oh of course there is just one condition Chuck." Condition? There were conditions to getting a date?

"Condition?" He didn't bother to hide his confusion.

"Yep" Sarah was shifting herself once again and softly moved Chuck at the same time and repositioned him so that he was on his back and she was hovering over him on her hands and knees

"Um and that is?"

"Hold still" Then she descended to his mouth. Using her tongue to pry open his lips she began to ravish his mouth in earnest. He wasn't exactly stopping her in his surprise and by the time his brain had caught onto what was going on, his body was already a willing participant and kissing Sarah back with equal fire.

He began to nibble on her bottom lip lightly with his teeth earning a throaty growl from her when he did. Early on in their partnership he had noticed she would capture that lip in between her own teeth whenever she was stuck on a problem, he figured it was some kind of nervous habit she had developed as a child and had never quite been able to break.

When he was still objective and not so involved with Sarah he could remember thinking that whoever her boyfriend was, he probably wouldn't be able to resist confirming like Chuck how soft that lip actually was. Of course at the time he never thought he would be the one doing this with her, or that he would enjoy it so much when he did.

Sarah seemed to loose most of the strength in her extremities as she was starting to lay over him, keeping herself up just enough so that she wouldn't aggravate his injuries. It seems that right now she did not want to be interrupted by a visit from the doctor. Personally he thought someone was definitely going to turn up, in his haze he was sure he could hear the heart monitor he was attached too, going wild in the background. It sounded like he was going to have a heart attack.

This kiss was full of passion & lust, it burned his lips, skin and heart. It was like they had been lovers for years who had been separated and only just reunited, still remembering exactly what drove the other insane. Because that's exactly what she was doing to him, he couldn't explain it but she just seemed to know exactly how he would respond to the gentle touches she would lay on him.

Although it was like she couldn't be satisfied with just his lack of control and enjoyed bringing new reactions from him, anything from a groan to his hands tightening so much that he would bruise her hips. The hips that right now he was right now clutching onto for dear life.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed together, attached by the lips and drowning in the sensations of each other but eventually they had to break apart and take in the sterilised air of the hospital.

Chuck's lungs were burning and looking at Sarah he wasn't surprised to see her smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Casey would have a field day if he knew that Sarah had pretty much just taken advantage of him.

Thinking of Casey he was reminded that they had a debriefing to go to, and as much as he wanted to stay in bed with Sarah forever they really had to get going. Chuck was sure they had already taken much too long for the Major's liking already.

Sound idea in theory but it seems Sarah wasn't quite done with him as she moved in to capture his lips a second time. Reluctantly he placed his hands on her shoulder and had just enough force in his good arm to keep Sarah in place. Opening her eyes she looked at him in confusion, and then with the most adorable pout that he just wanted to kiss from her face, "Your breaking my condition Chuck, this better be good."

"Good um no... Important yes. Sarah, Casey came in while you were sleeping" Chuck was expecting Sarah to show embarrassment knowing that Casey would have seen her sleeping on his bed, but apparently she was eager for him to get to the point so that she could continue where she left of, "He wants us to meet him in the conference room for a debriefing" It grew eerily quiet the moment the words left his lips and the only sounds in the room came from the medical equipment monitoring Chuck's condition.

Without a word Sarah had closed her eyes and stopped all movement, he wasn't really sure what she was doing but just before the silence became unbearable and he was about to ask her what she was doing, she seemed to snap out of it and began to climb of the bed, "Ok Chuck wait here and I'll go grab some sweats and a shirt you can wear rather than that hospital gown." And with that Sarah was out of the room like a rocket.

That seemed a little too easy in his opinion but Chuck thought it best not to look a gift horse in the mouth and started to climb of the bed himself and up into a sitting position on its edge.

After a while Sarah walked back into the room with a bundle in her arms, he wasn't sure why she frowned when she saw him sitting up on the bed but she quickly got rid of it and placed the clothes on the bed next to him.

Sarah held on to his hands and pulled him of the hospital bed with a quick tug, he was a little wobbly on his feet at first and Sarah had to help keep him steady. He sent her a smile of thanks and waited for her to leave the room so that he could get ready, but after a minute Sarah was still not showing signs of moving and also looked a little confused as to what they were waiting for.

"Soooo I'm going to get changed now" Sarah nodded her head and gestured to the clothes laying next to him in a pile on the bed, "Go ahead, they should fit fine.

"Um...in privacy maybe."

Sarah rolled her eyes at his statement, " Don't be a baby Chuck, with those injuries your going to have a hard time getting changed by yourself and I'm here to help, I don't want you injuring yourself because your being stubborn. I need you in fighting shape as soon as possible." She finished with a saucy wink, and Chuck was forced to swallow and hope to whatever deity was blessing him with Sarah Walker's presence that he wasn't drooling like an idiot.

"Still I think I can managed to put on some sweats by myself" Sarah didn't seem to agree as she picked up a black shirt from the pile and let it drop between their feet on the floor.

"Alright if you don't need my help after all you shouldn't have any problem picking that up, clumsy me always dropping things." Chuck gave her the stink eye already feeling the ache that would erupt in his side if he even attempted to get that low.

He figured if it had to be done then he best just get on with it and started to undo his medical gown at the back, whilst Sarah already anticipating his surrender was picking the shirt back up from the ground.

To Sarah's credit she was completely professional whilst she was helping him change into the black shirt and grey sweats. Chuck had never been really been embarrassed by his body, even before he put on the muscle from the spy training still it was a little disconcerting to have his...What? Girlfriend? See him naked before they had even had their first real date.

It didn't help that while yes Sarah was acting like a complete professional as she helped him pull on the clothes, but a few times she would 'accidentally' take a squeeze of his ass instead of gripping onto the band of the sweats. The first time he genuinely believed it to be an accident and left it at that, but after the 3rd time he couldn't help but suspect it wasn't an accident anymore. For a crazy moment he thought he might ask her, but he figured out quickly that she would deny it or admit it and either way she most likely would have no intentions of stopping.

After a few close calls getting changed Chuck was finally looking somewhat respectable, not exactly mission briefing respectable but he figured it had to be better than having his naked butt visible to anyone who walked behind him.

Checking himself over for a few moments and moving his arm trapped in the white cast he hadn't noticed Sarah pulling a wheelchair from the back of the room and bringing it over to him. Noticing her presence next to him he turned his head and saw for the first time the wheelchair sitting in front of her and he didn't need his genius level intellect to know what she wanted.

"Oh I'm so not getting in that thing"

"I think you'll find you are Chuck" She seemed to be pleasant at the moment, most likely still happy from their recent confessions to each other, but he could quickly see her frustration building in reaction to how stubborn he had been so far.

"Sarah I'm fine its mostly just my shoulder and side, I can walk fine. Besides normally I'd jump at the chance to sit in that chair, pull off a few wheely stunts or whatever but since I figured we got stuff to do and you'll be the one watching over me your probably not going to let me do any of the good stuff. All in all I don't want the chair."

"I should warn you that I used up my nice approach when you were being stubborn about the clothes, so now if you don't get that butt of yours in this chair and let me take care of you" Maybe it was the drugs still making their way through his system and he was just hallucinating but he could have sworn he noticed her knuckles go white from her grip on the wheelchair. "Well lets just say you'll see my not so nice approach."

"Don't underestimate what I'll do to keep you healthy and safe."

He didn't want to push his luck but he really didn't want to be wheeled into a room with Casey and his superiors, the big man would definitely make fun of him for being a baby.

"...3!" 3? 3 What?

"...2!" Shit! Chair! Chair!

Faster than a man with his wounds should have, Chuck had quickly placed himself in the chair before Sarah and kept his mouth shut while he did it. He hadn't been on the receiving end of her icy glare for a while and to be honest he never really wanted to be again. Seemingly content at Chuck's obedience she readjusted her grip on the chair before wheeling him out of the hospital room and down the corridor towards the conference room.

It didn't take long really not a lot stood between Sarah Walker and where she wanted to go, personally he was just glad she didn't try to use him as a battering ram.

Walking up to the door she turned Chuck around briefly so that she could activate the retina id lock, hearing a distinctive click he was then slowly wheeled into the room backwards. When Sarah turned him around Chuck was met with a smirking Casey, no surprise there. A gentle smile from Director Graham and finally there was that oh so typical scowl on the dear General Diane Beckman's face, it was probably military issue.

He'd first met the General about a year into his service as a CIA field agent and at the time he was still struggling with the concept of being respectable and not cracking jokes, in short being a stick in the mud and if he was honest he was still struggling with that concept a little.

So as a consequence Chuck and Beckman had not gotten of to a very good start, it seems she didn't really have the same appreciation as Graham when it came to his way of spying.

To this day she regularly threatened to have him removed from active field service and he regularly did his best to be a thorn in her side. Normally he was not one who enjoyed being hated or actively trying to piss someone off but he almost thought of it like a game when it came to the General. Besides no matter how much she disliked him no one, not even her could argue with the results he produced.

"Casey, Director Graham..." Chuck nodded to each of them in turn before facing the General on the monitor, "...Wicked witch of the west"

He could hear Sarah's eyes pretty much bug out of her head at his insubordination. He'd forgotten that she wasn't really used to seeing him act like this in front of their superiors. Casey and Beckman simultaneously let out a low growl but the Director simply smiled slyly already used to it. Chuck had long suspected that it was a secret pleasure of Graham's to watch him and Beckman go at it, so long as he didn't suffer any of the backlash that is.

"Agent Walker...Carmichael" He didn't miss that she hadn't referred to him as agent, but he'd long grown used to that. Chuck was well aware that she didn't see him as a real agent but more like a performing monkey, and to be honest he was ok with that, "Glad to see you finally decided to join us" It had slipped his mind; how subtle she could be when it came to that sarcasm of hers.

"Your welcome I wouldn't miss this for the world...Ma'am" Well two could play that game, and the best part was he could blame it on the morphine. Not that anyone would believe him but hey not like they could call him out on it.

Thankfully the Director decided to interfere before they could really get into it, already sensing that if he didn't they would get nothing done, " How are you feeling Agent Carmichael? I have the doctor's reports on your physical condition but do you believe you'll be able to return to active field duty?"

He figured this would come up at some point. It was pretty common when an agent was captured that they were to go through some kind of medical assessment both physical and mental. He was hurting but he knew in the long run it was superficial damage, some basic rehab for his shoulder and he would be back at his best in a month or two.

"Nothing painkillers and some hospital gello wont cure Sir"

"That's good Carmichael. We'll talk about the rest of your treatment in a few moments but first things first, I assumed you've been informed that this is now a joint operation between the CIA & NSA, and that Major John Casey here will be the new permanent member of your team.

"Yes Sir. Casey and I have worked with each other previously I have no problem with him joining the team."Chuck was more than aware that he didn't have a choice in the matter whether he agreed to it or not. Still he figured it might put Graham's mind at ease if he knew that Chuck wasn't going to cause any problems over it.

"Good. Now you'll be under going a preliminary two weeks of rehab as well as mental assessments over the course of a month, both will be increased if found necessary by your doctors so don't be difficult with this Charles." Chuck held back the deep sigh trying to escape, he knew it was coming but he did not feel like being poked and prodded for a month.

"At the same time we will also have you all move to the next location in the operation and once Agent Carmichael has been cleared for duty you shall all be taking part in missions once again.

"Where is the location? Europe? Asia?" Sarah spoke for the first times since they had entered the room together.

"No this time you'll be staying domestic, The information Major Casey retrieved during the rescue op..." General Beckman was interrupted from a well timed cough from the Director, "With assistance from Carmichael, the information we received points to multiple activities and agents stationed in America that we can now finally root out. You'll be flying out to Burbank, California in a few days."

"Burbank!" Chuck had almost pushed himself out of the chair in his shock.

"Yes Carmichael, Burbank. We believe you already have a cover there that we can take advantage of whilst you perform you mission."

"Cover! General that's my life! Director you swore to me that I wouldn't have to operate out of Burbank ever, you swore that they would never have to get involved." He didn't need to look to see the surprise on Casey and Sarah's faces. They probably had no idea why he was freaking out although he suspected they wouldn't be long in catching up.

"Suck it up Carmichael, this is a lot more important than you. Most of the information we have gathered points to heavy operations inside Burbank, someone needs to do it and your the ideal candidate. Not that I like it myself." Beckman again and her lack of concern with involving civilians in covert operations. This is one of the reasons Chuck had grown to be so at odds with the General, she had good intentions but she often didn't care what she had to do to fulfil them.

"I'm not letting them get involved in this, they were never supposed to find out what I do!"

"Charles they don't have to know. Go home pretend to be on vacation for the first couple of weeks until we decide how long operations will last in Burbank. If the mission takes longer than estimated we'll set up a semi permanent cover for you out their, new job something of the sort. Keep your cover intact, perform the missions with your team, and spend time with your family. I know its not ideal but it needs to be done.

Damn! If even Graham was pushing him for this, knowing full well his reservations with working so close to his family it could only mean they really did need him to do this.

This went against everything he had ever signed on for when he was recruited. Putting his own life at risk was one thing, but even before he truly understood the extent of danger out there in the real world, putting Ellie's life at risk was not acceptable.

The more he thought about it however the more he realised that if he agreed or not the General was going to send a team to Burbank. Wouldn't it be better if at least he was in the team and could watch out for his family. It was unlikely a random team would have an encounter with his sister if Chuck wasn't involved, but he still wasn't comfortable knowing they were conducting dangerous missions in such close proximity to her. He really had no choice in the matte.

"Be the spy you were trained to be Carmichael." Beckman's voice flooded his ears as he closed his eyes and nodded his head in acceptance and surrender.

Ugh my English was so bad in this chapter. I'm in such a rush I had to cut the ending because it was getting too big, so I didn't get to put in a lot of stuff I wanted to. Didn't get a lot of time to check over this before I'm posting it. In short even though I'm confident in the content I really think the writing had a long way to go this chapter.

But hey like I said I'm pretty sure I wrote some good stuff that you lot will enjoy. At least thats the plan.

So let me know what you think I truly cant wait to read and pluck at your thoughts...in the morning I will anyway.