A/N: This was one of the most difficult and emotionally draining 11,000 plus words I have ever written in the decades that I've been writing stories. I put every last ounce of myself into it and came out of it feeling wrung-out but I think it was worth it. This has been a long time coming...so I hope you all feel like it was worth it, too. Thanks so much for reading this story. It means a lot to me that some of you are still here.

Disclaimer: I don't own CHUCK or its characters.

Last time: The Inquisitor's henchpeople rained down on the Coalition's march, setting up a horrific riot between the marchers, the patrolmen, and the cult members. Sarah saved both Devon's and Ellie's lives, before an explosion knocked her unconscious.

The second explosion sounded worse than the first, and he still hadn't been able to find Ellie. His knuckles were raw from how many jaws he'd cracked them into just trying to defend himself. "Ellie!" he called out, whipping around to look for his sister.

"Chuck!"

He whipped around again, following his brother-in-law's voice.

Someone yelled behind him and there was a loud crack of a gun going off. He flinched and watched as a patrolman crumpled to the ground, his arm still raised with a gun of his own. When he looked up, he saw Casey standing there.

"You're welcome," he growled with a smirk, blowing the smoke at the end of his gun.

Chuck didn't have time for the bounty hunter's hubris, so he turned back to his brother-in-law and saw that he was on his knees, Ellie kneeling next to him. Devon was waving for him.

He just had to get everyone out. He'd find Sarah and get them out.

As he staggered over the unconscious and maybe even dead bodies, Chuck went into his pocket and grabbed his steamcycle key. "Casey, take my steamcycle back to the shop! Keep it safe from looters! Protect Morgan!"

He pitched the key to his confused assistant but didn't pay the man anymore mind once he saw him catch it, instead racing to his family's side.

"You're all right! Oh thank God!" Ellie gasped out, climbing to her feet and launching herself at him. He caught her with a wince, but held on tight, squeezing her, breathing out in relief.

And then he opened his eyes again and looked down. "Sarah!"

He pulled away from Ellie and fell to his knees next to the unconscious young woman his brother-in-law was watching over.

"She's alive. She'll be all right. But we need to get her out of here," Devon reassured him, and his heart that had stopped began to beat again.

"Is it all right if I lift her?" he asked, his hands stopping just over her arms.

"I checked. Nothing's broken. She might have a concussion, though, so be careful."

Chuck carefully slid his arms under Sarah's body and lifted her, cradling her against his chest. He was too worried to take note of the way Ellie slid her fingers around the younger woman's wrist, squeezing, thumb stroking her skin there comfortingly. "Let's go."

The three of them rushed away from the stage, down an alley at the side of City Hall, leaving the coalition, the march, the patrol, everything behind.

A carriage was idle across the street, abandoned, and Chuck went straight towards it. "Chuck. We can't just—"

"Get us home, Devon. Now," he commanded.

Devon didn't say another word, instead helping Chuck clamber up into the carriage with Sarah in his embrace so that he could sit with her propped up next to him, his arms still around her, keeping her safe as Ellie leapt in behind him and barked a, "Go now!" at her husband.

They were off just a few moments later, bumping down the street, racing through Los Angeles in the direction of their home.

Chuck turned to regard Sarah, gently tucking a few strands of hair with some of her blood caked in it away from the wound on her forehead.

"Ellie…"

His sister closed the distance from the seat she'd taken up and knelt on the floor of the carriage, grabbing the sleeve of her dress and tearing it, getting rid of the abrasive lace before reaching up to tenderly dab at the wound. "The blood is already drying. It isn't deep. She'll be all right. But Devon is right, she may have a concussion."

"What happened to her?" he asked. "Did you see?"

"That second explosion under the stage. She—" She huffed, her brow furrowing, eyes filling with unshed tears. She blinked them away and shook her head. "She saved me. I didn't see the explosives on the scaffolding but she must have. She pushed me to safety and tried to run, but when it went off, she was still close enough…"

Her green eyes drifted down Sarah's still unconscious figure and then she hissed, tossing the bloodied cloth away and carefully grabbing at Sarah's left arm. For the first time, Chuck saw the red stripe and tear in the upper arm of Sarah's sleeve, and the wound beneath it.

"It's a piece of the scaffolding," his sister said, tearing at the sleeve.

"Oh God…" Chuck swallowed thickly, his voice shaking, ashamed for having to look away. Perhaps it wouldn't have been quite so terrible, quite so hard to look at, if it wasn't her. If the piece of wood wasn't buried in her arm. If it was anyone else but Sarah Walker…

"It isn't deep, and it isn't a large piece. But I'm not taking it out until I have my bag with me."

"Should we go to the hospital?"

"Nmmpph…"

Sarah moved in his arms, rolling her head to the side, wrinkling her brow in pain.

"Careful," Ellie breathed, cupping Sarah's jaw. "Careful, sweetheart. Open your eyes slowly."

She did, groaning a bit. "No hospital," she muttered. "Please."

"We're going straight back to the house," Chuck reassured her, relieved beyond all measure to see her blue eyes open and alert.

"Yes, if that lunkhead would drive faster," Ellie groused.

And then those blue eyes swept up to meet Chuck's and he felt the gravity of everything weighing on him in that moment. What she'd said to him before he left her behind to save his sister. She hadn't known his sister was coming around the corner this morning. She'd kissed him. There was no ulterior motive. She wasn't protecting a cover, she wasn't selling a relationship to his sister. She hadn't known Ellie would be there, interrupting them. She'd been just as surprised by his sister's appearance as he'd been.

"I'm all right," she breathed, and he felt her hand on his thigh, her fingers digging in, as though she was looking for reassurance or comfort without really knowing she was doing it.

He knew his sister was here, protecting the wound on Sarah's arm as best she could without her medical bag. And still, he slid his hand down to Sarah's side and squeezed, whispering, "I know. We're taking care of you anyway."

Her fingers squeezed tighter.

"Do you feel pain in your arm?" Ellie asked her.

Sarah nodded. "Oh, there's pain. Definitely."

"That's good. Means it missed any important nerves. You're going to be all right."

Sarah just nodded again and turned her face into Chuck's shoulder, her eyes slipping shut.

"Chuck," his sister whispered. "Make sure she doesn't fall back asleep. In case of the concussion."

He reached up to stroke her face. "Stay awake, Sarah. We need you here with us."

"I'm awake," she muttered, opening her eyes. "I know concussion protocol."

"Good girl," Ellie said, putting a hand on Sarah's knee and squeezing. She stayed there for the rest of the tumultuous ride through the streets, shoved uncomfortably on the floor of the carriage between the two seats, until Devon's voice drifted into the cab.

"Whoooa, girl, whoooaaaa!"

Chuck felt the carriage grind to a halt, then. Devon was at the door to the cab a moment later, tearing it open as Ellie scrambled for it. He moved to the side for her to leap out to the gravel below, and then he reached in for Chuck to gently nudge Sarah towards his brother-in-law.

She went of her own volition and let Devon help her out, carefully, and as soon as she was out of the way, Chuck hopped down beside them.

"Devon, get Sarah inside to the couch. Get my medical bag."

"Darling, I'm also a doctor. I can handle this, thank you."

She just glared and he widened his eyes, gulping and nodding, helping Sarah hobble inside.

Chuck took a step to follow but found Ellie's hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He gave her a look.

"You need to get rid of this carriage. Drop it off somewhere, just…anywhere that isn't here."

"But Sar—"

"We'll take care of her, Chuck. I promise."

He knew they would. He knew Sarah was more than safe with his sister. But it physically hurt to walk away when he could see how heavily she was leaning on Devon as he unlocked the door and helped he inside. She'd saved his sister's life. She'd saved his life, and now his sister's life, and…

Chuck willed himself not to think about what Sarah had said about their kiss that had occurred in the side yard this morning. That wasn't important at the moment. Sarah probably had a concussion, she had a piece of wood sticking out of her arm, and who knew how many bruises and cuts she had besides that?

He just needed to know she was okay.

"Chuck…Listen. She's going to be fine." Ellie cupped his face and forced him to look at her. "But we need to make sure she stays that way, that we all stay that way, by getting that carriage out of here. Please. She'll still be here when you get back."

Chuck nodded and then shut the cab door of the carriage, leaping up into the driver's seat. Without sparing Ellie another glance, he took off.

}o{

"—not exaggerating, Devon. I don't even know where they came from, but all of a sudden, she had them in her hand and threw them. She hit one of them in the neck. It was like she…Well, I don't know. Like she'd already had them."

"A lot of people had weapons, El," Devon's voice drifted into her semi-conscious mind, his voice soft, almost a whisper. "And you told me yourself, Sarah's informed you about keeping knives on her person before."

"It's the way she took them out and threw them, Devon. With deadly accuracy," Ellie murmured, her voice just as hushed as her husband's. "Do you remember that circus you took me to when we were first courting? There was a man throwing knives at the person tied to the wooden board. She threw them like that. Like she was specifically trained."

"Didn't you say she grew up on a farm?"

"Devon, please. On what farm do you need to throw knives like that?"

"Perhaps her family is pacifist? Anti-firearm? And they hunted with knives? Maybe she herself was in the circus. Honestly, love, what are you getting at?"

"I'm not getting at anything. It was just…unexpected, that's all."

There was a long pause in the conversation, then. Sarah didn't budge, keeping her eyes shut, her breathing even, in spite of the pain in her arm and in her head.

"Should she be asleep right now?"

"We checked and there weren't any signs of a concussion… That bruise and cut on her head just looked bad." Devon paused. "I feel responsible. She got that sign smashed over her head because she was helping me."

"Yes, well…that arm of hers, and probably a good array of the bruises on her that we can't see, are from that explosion she saved me from. So I think we're even there. We both owe her." Ellie sighed. "What in the hell was that, Devon? I saw sisters in our buttons, our sashes, attacking other civilians, men who looked like allies attacking other allies."

"They weren't allies, and they weren't your sisters. That's the only explanation I can think of. Everyone who went to those meetings knew that violence was prohibited. They were specifically told that interacting with protestors against the cause would only harm the validity of the movement. Those were infiltrators."

"I don't usually like your conspiracy theories, but this one…might be sound. But infiltrators from where?" Ellie asked, and Sarah's chest ached at the misery in Chuck's sister's voice. "Why would anyone do this?"

Because the world was full of terrible people, Sarah wanted to say. But she couldn't simply sit up and tell Ellie everything she knew.

And she must not have a concussion, because she remembered exactly what had happened, including the feeling of being pressed up against Chuck in the carriage ride, his arms around her, making her feel safe, like she would be all right, even as her head ached and her arm felt like…well, like there was a piece of wood skewering it.

The men with the dynamite had talked about the Inquisitor. Bryce hadn't been lying. It hadn't been some fever dream he'd told Marta when he stayed with the Ruiz family over a month ago. The Inquisitor was real. These people were working to dismantle society, and they'd chosen the Los Angeles suffragist march to continue their mission today. She needed to talk to Chuck.

Where was Chuck?

Where did he go?

"I don't know, but one of them was killed by a patrolman right in front of me and before she died, she mumbled some…quote from the Bible. And then I was called a jezebel by another woman, one of the fake suffragettes. I hit her damn face as hard as I could after that." Sarah had to work extra hard to keep from showing her amusement, still pretending to be asleep. "A jezebel! Me! A married woman. And what business is it of hers if I am a jezebel? Money is money."

She thought Chuck's sister was inadvertently trying to break her, honestly.

"Bible quotes?" Devon asked, not seeming bothered by what his wife had just said, as though she spoke like that all the time. These people were truly something else. "Come to think of it, they said things about a God or…some Inquisition business. I was too busy trying to keep from being shot to really think on it at the time, but now I'm…" His voice drifted off.

"What's going on, Devon?"

"I don't know, El. But something's not right out there. More than usual."

There was a slight pause, and then Ellie murmured, "Casey."

"What?"

"John Casey. Everything that happened afterward was so… And I forgot about him until right now."

"Chuck's Buy More assistant?"

"He came to me before everything started, a few minutes before the first explosion. He told me the patrol was sent in large numbers to the march because they meant to instigate trouble, start a riot, and then the local officials could discredit the coalition and the march as a bunch of rebel-rousing trouble-makers. My words, not his."

Sarah smiled inwardly, a warmth spreading through her chest. After the diatribe Casey had given her about not being the 'altruistic toy boy', her words had sunk in, and his conscience had won the day. He'd tried to stop the rally after all.

"How did he know that?" Devon asked.

"He said he had friends within their ranks who'd confirmed it to him, probably boasting like common idiots, and he came to me immediately to warn me, to get me to stop the rally. He wanted us to pull back and regroup, do it again some other time. I have to admit, I thought he was downright mad. Though he's never truly shown himself to be mad…grouchy, perhaps? But not mad." She huffed. "He was right, though. I should have listened. Though that explosion might've happened anyway. It was already too late."

"But Ellie, it wasn't just the patrolmen. Those…Bible people who wore the sashes and the buttons, who pretended to be for our cause. There were a lot of them. And…I saw them kill patrolmen, and vice versa. This wasn't just the government trying to discredit our movement," Devon reasoned.

"No, I know. I don't know who they were. But they were bloodthirsty. I saw it in their faces. They had their own cause. Bloodshed, maybe. I don't know. Casey knew about the patrol, though, so he might also know who those people are. We need to talk to him. We need to get to the bottom of this, or I might go mad."

It was then that Sarah heard the sound of a key in the front door, the opening creak, and the thump and crack of it shutting, the lock being slid into place again.

"Chuck?" Ellie rasped.

She heard his footsteps come into the room.

"She still asleep?" he asked, first thing.

"Yes. Chuck, Devon and I have been talking about what happened today. And we don't know what in the hell is going on or who those damn people pretending to be suffragists were, but there's something that's not right. And we think your assistant might have answers. Do you know where he is?"

There was a long beat, and then Chuck's quiet voice: "My assistant? John Casey? What would he know?"

"He warned me before the rally. He told me to call it off. He said the patrol were planning something to cause a riot and discredit the suffragists. If he knew about that, he probably knows who those people were."

Chuck didn't say anything for at least a minute. "…Casey told you that?"

At least she wasn't the only one who'd misjudged their grumpy bounty hunter. She could hear the surprise in Chuck's tone.

"Yes. Did you know he has friends in law enforcement? Considering the trouble you've had with patrol ever since you were practically a boy, I didn't think you'd want someone like that to be working for you."

"He's a good man, Ellie," Chuck said quickly. And in a voice that wouldn't harbor any sort of argument.

"I'm sure he is, Chuck. And I wasn't insinuating otherwise. The fact that he tried to stop that rally is evidence of that. I just want to know how much you know."

Chuck didn't answer his sister, instead walking around to the couch and kneeling down at Sarah's side. She felt the warmth of his hand before he even touched her face, tucking some of her hair away from the wound at her hairline that still stung like mad.

"Should she be sleeping? I'm sure you checked for concussion…"

"She's all right, Chuck. We gave her a ginger and turmeric compound to ease the pain when I stitched up her arm and she fell right asleep."

"I'd say she passed out," Devon chimed in. "Ladies don't typically enjoy watching needles pierce their own skin."

Sarah could practically feel the daggers Ellie must have thrown her husband right then. "Oh, and men do? You're married to a nurse, dear, and I've watched needles pierce many a skin."

"Devon, perhaps, er…"

"Yes, I think there might be something I need to do in the kitchen."

"Make some tea while you're there, Big Mouth," Ellie whispered.

Chuck's hand was still in her hair, so comforting that she ached for more of his touch. And it was then that she decided to open her eyes. Or try. It didn't feel great.

"Sorry," Chuck murmured. "We woke you up."

Her head hurt a little worse now that her eyes were open, the afternoon light streaming in through the curtains. "No, it's…fine. Bright, though."

She watched as Ellie hurried over to pull the curtains shut, making the room dark enough that she could fully open her eyes without shooting pain. "Is that better?" Ellie asked.

"Much. Thank you."

"How are you feeling?" Chuck got nudged to the side and his sister ignored the annoyed look she received for it, feeling Sarah's head with a cool hand, careful not to disturb the wound at her hairline. "You took quite a knock, there. And the, um, arm."

"It hurts but I'll survive."

"Would you like ginger tea? That might settle some of the pain."

Sarah didn't want to nod, in case it further exacerbated the headache, so she murmured a quiet, "Mmm. Thank you."

Ellie smiled and stood up, moving away from the couch and joining her husband in the kitchen.

"Chuck, Ellie's asking questions," she said quietly, now that they were alone. He tilted his head in confusion. "I was eavesdropping, pretending to be asleep, and you weren't here. W-Wait, where were you?"

"I went up to my rooms to bathe. I—There was blood. Er, mostly yours." He swallowed hard. "And this too." He held up the hand he must have bandaged himself, as she knew Ellie's bandage work was a lot neater than that.

Sarah blinked and scooted up against the cushions a bit so that she wasn't lying quite so flat, Chuck rushing to help her, his touch tender and careful. "Oh. I'm…sorry. About the blood."

"Don't be. Somebody had to get you out of that place. I'd do it again a thousand times. Even if I have to scrub my nice crisp white shirt extra hard to get that blood out. Anyway," he said with a shrug, "not all of it was yours. Some of it was mine."

She frowned. "You all right?"

"Just cuts and bruises." He pointed to one that was already darkening on the left side of his jaw. She'd thought it was just a shadow. "But what'd you mean about Ellie asking questions?"

"About me," she said, reaching up with her right hand to gently prod at the small bandage they'd put over her cut and wincing as it stung a bit. "Before that explosion that took me out, your sister saw me attack the men who set it…with my knives."

"What do you mean?"

"My throwing knives." She winced again, feeling a twinge in her arm as she moved it. She looked down and saw the stained bandage wrapped around her arm where Ellie had apparently had to stitch her wound shut. Devon was wrong about the needle being what made her faint. It was the pain. As much pain as she'd gone through in her life, both physical and otherwise, it never got easier to withstand, and the pain in her arm had been bad, in spite of the ginger and whatever else they'd given her to help.

"Oh." His eyes widened. "Oh. Ellie saw you use your throwing knives. Did…Did they…?"

"Oh, they're both dead. Definitely."

"And she saw it."

"Yes. I didn't see her there until after. And that was when I realized how close she was standing to the dynamite they put on the scaffolding. So I ran to her and threw her out of the way. I tried to get out, but I couldn't get away in time…" She pointed to her arm. She could feel quite a few bruises, too, and her knees felt raw, her elbows. She looked down at her hands and saw that there were bandages there, too. She'd probably skinned them when she landed after the explosion.

Chuck was thoughtful as she looked up at him again, his jaw clenched, and then he sighed and shook his head. "Sarah, I don't want to do this."

She blinked. "What? Don't want to do what?"

"I don't want to keep lying." She felt dread go through her at that and it must've shown on her face because he moved to sit on the edge of the couch, even closer, leaning over her a bit, lowering his voice. "Sarah, we haven't told my family about the Intersect yet to keep them safe." She bit her lip. "All right, well…That was my reasoning, at least. I didn't want anything happening to them because of this…because they knew about it. But not knowing the truth about my situation didn't help them at all today. They were still in danger. Because the danger is now coming from something that has nothing to do with this." He pointed to his temple. "At the very least, they need to know the truth about that. They should know what we know."

His brown eyes were swirling, his voice quivering a bit. She found herself getting lost in them, in the passion she heard in his voice.

And that was how she managed to miss Ellie coming back into the room with a tray of food and tea. Not until after Chuck said, "We need to tell them about me."

Chuck followed her stricken gaze and she saw him freeze, his body tense.

Oh, this wasn't going to end well. Not at all. The dread came on in full force.

Ellie had stopped, staring hard. "…Tell us what about you?"

}o{

"I am horrible with blood. Yeeeeah." Chuck sent his sister a grin over his shoulder. "I've kept it a secret for a while, but now the cat is out of the bag, as it were."

"I've always known that about you. You fainted when your first tooth fell out and you tasted blood."

Chuck blushed, spinning to look at Sarah. She was part annoyed with him for the lie, he could tell, and part amused by Ellie's response, one eyebrow raised, biting the inside of her cheek. "That's…not true," he breathed, lamely.

"Chuck, what in the hell is going on? I'm serious. You two speaking in hushed voices, your assistant John knowing something bad was going to happen at the march…" Ellie hustled over to the coffee table and set the tray down.

Chuck had a bad feeling the moment he saw her starting to pour the tea. Her movements were rapid, clumsy, her hands shaking. Now that everything had settled somewhat, she was starting to really think about everything that had just happened. The adrenaline was gone, they were seemingly locked up at home, safe. For now. Who knew how long that might last?

A chill went through him at that thought.

Because it officially wasn't just him, Sarah, and Casey who were in danger. The whole world was in grave danger. And more importantly, that included his family. That included Ellie and Devon now.

Ellie spilled the tea down the side of one of the cups and onto the tray. She cursed, slamming the teapot down hard with a loud clatter. "It's over," she muttered, pressing her fingers to her lips, and crumpling down into a kneeling position behind the coffee table. "Everything I've worked for, years of work, years of talking to horrible people and sucking up to scum at City Hall, letting them walk all over me so that I could move the Coalition one step forward…one step at a time," she breathed, shaking her head. "It's finished now. It's ruined. All of it. Nobody will ever…never again…"

Chuck reflexively moved towards her, sliding a hand over her shoulder, making to hold her, but she stood up quickly and walked to the other side of the room, standing in front of the fireplace.

"No, no…" she said quickly, shaking her head again, a flash of determination in her face. But he could see it was almost manic. "There has to be a way to salvage it. That wasn't us. Those people weren't us. They weren't suffragists. They were…I don't know. I don't know what they were. What—Where'd they come from? Why'd they do this? People—People are dead. I don't—My friends, my colleagues…I don't know if they're—Are they all right? We-We left and I don't know…" She pushed her hands through her messy hair that had since fallen out of the coiffure she'd put it up in for the march. Her hat was gone, her blouse smudged, one of the sleeves torn off and sitting on the floor of the carriage he'd ditched a few miles away, covered in Sarah's blood…and her skirt was ripped.

Chuck turned to meet Devon's gaze. He'd never seen such a dark look on his brother-in-law's face. The gravity of all of this was occurring to him, as well, Chuck knew.

"No, don't. Don't look at each other like that. That Ellie's-gone-mad sympathetic look," Ellie said, pointing at Devon first, then at Chuck.

"Love, we aren't—"

She cut her husband off. "I'm perfectly sane. It's the world that's mad. I damn well followed all the rules. For once. I did everything above board. I did everything right. I spoke to the right people. I procured all the necessary paperwork. We hosted meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting to make sure something like this wouldn't happen. None of that matters. It doesn't matter. This happened anyway."

Chuck felt anger building in his chest as he watched his sister unravel. He couldn't save her from this. Whatever this was, this…insane coup that Bryce had stumbled upon. It was gaining ground. Today was proof of that.

"I put those people in danger. They came for me, to support me, us. Women everywhere. Because they believed in our cause. They went there thinking it would be safe. It was supposed to be safe. We were supposed to speak, march, pass out fliers and buttons, then go home." Tears were in her eyes then, but she just wiped at them before they could make it down her cheeks. "I came up with the idea of a march. I saw they did it in New York a few years ago and I thought we could do it. It was me. Nobody would've…"

"Ellie, that's—" Chuck started, standing up from the couch, but then he felt Sarah's hand wrap around his. He turned to look at her as she sat up groggily and shook her head, her eyes meeting his. And then she held her head a bit, gathered herself, and dropped her feet to the floor.

"Stop that," she said then, her blue eyes swinging over to his sister. Her voice was deeper, almost a little hard even. Or perhaps it was just adamant. Her eyes were hard, however. "Or I'll come over there and shake you until you do."

That…wasn't what he'd expected. And by the way Ellie blinked, it wasn't what she'd expected, either.

And when she made to stand up, he gathered himself and rushed to put his hand on her good shoulder, keeping her in place.

"Oh, no no. I might be spiraling," Ellie said quickly, crossing the room and forcing Sarah to sit back against the couch again. "But I'm still a medical professional and you better not get up from this couch without my permission…even if it is to shake me."

The two women shared a look with a smidgeon of humor in it and Sarah complied. But she didn't seem like she was done as she shifted her position against the back of the couch and winced, holding her arm with her right hand. "Ellie, you can't pile all the blame on your shoulders like this. You did everything you possibly could to prevent a riot, to prevent violence. All of you put so much into making sure this march was a safe and peaceful event. I saw. I went to a few of those meetings, remember?"

"Yes. You did." Ellie smiled a little, scooting the tray over on the coffee table and sitting in its place, folding her hands in her lap. "But if that march hadn't taken place, whatever it was that happened today—because I still don't know what happened—Well, everyone would still be all right. Alive. And the coalition wouldn't be a pile of ash at my feet, like it currently is." She sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek frustratedly.

"You are not to blame."

Chuck felt himself slowly sink onto the couch next to Sarah, his eyes not leaving her face as she met his sister's gaze steadily, her voice just as steady, strong… It was the same tone she'd used on him when he was starting to lose his grip, when the Intersect and Bryce and everything else started to hack at his sanity, at his calm.

"What if I am, Sarah?"

"You didn't interrupt your march with violence. You didn't set those explosives. You didn't bring those horrible, violent agitators in. They did all of that. It was not you. The only thing you're guilty of is caring enough about the plight of women, especially the generations that come after us, that you fought tooth and nail to build a platform for all women to use, to speak our minds, to make our voices heard. Ellie, you've worked for years to let women in this area know that they have voices. That they deserve to use them the way men have always been able to. You do more for people in one day—one hour even—than I've done in almost twenty-eight years of being alive. And I think it's safe to say it's the same for most people." She swallowed hard enough that Chuck heard it, but Lord help him, he was drowning.

He didn't know how Ellie was reacting to this because he refused to take his eyes off of the incredible woman sagging against the couch beside him. And in spite of the bandages, in spite of the bloodied blouse and torn skirt and disheveled blonde curls going every which way, the bruises on her face, the tiredness and pain he saw there, Sarah Walker was the strongest person he'd ever seen in his entire life. His heart was thumping madly in his chest as she continued.

"Ellie, you couldn't have stopped this. None of us could have. They targeted this march because it was going to make a difference, because it had power. You gave it power. You empowered us. It's not your fault it scared…whoever these people were enough that they sought to undermine it, stop it, destroy it."

"People died, Sarah. And they didn't have to."

"I know. But that wasn't because of something you did."

Ellie reached out and put her hand on Sarah's knee, squeezing gratefully and giving her a watery smile. "Thank you." She shook her head, a bit in awe then. "And thank you for saving my life. That especially."

"Oh. It…" Sarah seemed to almost pull back then, as though realizing how honest and candid she'd just been, and she blushed, seemingly shy as she shook her head carefully and brushed her actions away.

"I already approved of my brother's choice in you, even before I saw you two smashing your faces together…"

"YOU TWO WHAT?" Devon exclaimed.

"Oh, that was—" Sarah tried, wincing.

"Ellie, can you please—?" Chuck attempted.

"—but now that you risked your life to keep me safe, I'm not entirely sure I won't cast my brother off and take you on instead if he ever does something to hurt you." She sent a faux-severe look in his direction, a sparkle of amusement and teasing in her green eyes.

But he could still see the hurt, the debilitating realization that her whole adult life's work was a burning pile of rubble, in her. The weight of what she'd just witnessed, the death and destruction, was in the way she was holding herself, deep in her eyes. It hurt him more than anything else ever had.

Chuck didn't want to put Sarah on the spot now that his sister had mentioned that kiss, a kiss he and Sarah hadn't addressed since that moment at City Hall, before he'd run into danger, not sure if he'd survive the day…when she'd admitted that Ellie wasn't why she'd kissed him. She had wanted to kiss him like that. Oh God…

The way she'd twisted he fists in his shirt like she couldn't get enough, like she wanted so much more. How she'd touched him, pressed her whole body against his.

She'd wanted it. And it had nothing to do with a cover, and everything to do with her…and him. And God, he needed to slow down. He couldn't do this now. She was hurt. Ellie was spiraling. All of that, them, it was secondary to the well-being of the two most important people in his life.

"Ellie, I—"

The eyes of everyone in the room were on Sarah then, and she swallowed thickly, tucking some of her hair that still had some dried blood crusted in it away from her face with her good hand, looking a bit unsure, uncomfortable.

"I know everything that happened today, what we all witnessed, lived through, it's all terrifying. We don't know what's next. You don't know what's next for the coalition, the movement. And what's going to happen with this city? How-How are City Hall and the state going to handle this? Everything is frightening, confusing… But what I did today to keep you safe isn't…What I mean to say is, I'm not going to let you get hurt. Ever. I'm keeping Chuck safe. And I'm keeping you safe. And-And you as well, Devon." She cast a glance up at the blond doctor who still stood a few feet away, in the middle of the room, his medical bag in hand.

Sarah ducked her head, then, sinking further into the couch, looking even more tired, run down, even as the strength in her hadn't ebbed a bit. And not for the first time, he was hit by the realization that he belonged to her. It was the only thing he was sure of currently. The only thing he could cling to. No matter what that kiss meant for them, what it meant to her…he belonged to her, mind body and soul.

"Sarah, that—I don't know what to say. That means so much to me," his sister said, squeezing Sarah's knee. "I'll do my best to protect you, as well. We both will." Sarah's cheeks went pink and Chuck felt his insides turn to mush at the sight. "But I also don't…I don't understand. You just said you're keeping Chuck safe, that you'll keep Devon and I safe. I admittedly don't know much about you. You moved here from a rural area, you said. And I know you work at the Aviator's Timepiece as a waitress. And it isn't that I'm discounting your ability to protect him as a woman or anything—me, of all people," she scoffed and shook her head, "It's just that you say it in a way that makes me think you've always been protecting my brother. As if, I don't know, as if that's been a part of your…relationship. Before today." She winced. "I hope I don't sound ungrateful or critical. You saved my life."

"And mine," Devon cut in. "You saved my life, as well."

They all turned to look at him and he closed the distance, standing behind Ellie where she sat on the coffee table and dropping his hands on her shoulders.

"Did she?" Ellie asked, looking up at him. Then she turned to look at Sarah, sliding her hand up over her husband's on her shoulder. "Did you?"

"Yes, she did," Devon answered. "I had one of them brandishing a weapon at me and I thought I'd breathed my last breath, honest to God. But she came in out of nowhere and knocked 'em out cold. Then like…like she'd done it before, she took another one out with an umbrella I found to use as a makeshift weapon earlier. She didn't even hafta look," he said, breathless. "You didn't even look, Sarah. How did you…? I mean, and what Ellie told me about the knives…"

Ellie turned back, her green eyes flicking back and forth between them. "What's going on? And after everything you went through today, everything you did, I hate to seem…I-I hate to ask…But…Who are you, Sarah Walker?"

Chuck immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He knew he should've expected this would happen at some point.

Not like this.

He'd wanted to just tell Ellie himself, not be forced to because an evil religious cult attacked her march for women's rights.

Sarah lowered her gaze to her lap, and then her eyes swept up to meet his. He saw resignation, and a lot of sadness. He thought perhaps it said a lot about how tired and in pain she must be that she didn't hide the sadness from him, at least.

He wanted to hold her.

He wanted to send his sister and her husband out of the room for a few minutes so that he could hold this woman in his arms and tell her everything would be all right, even though he wasn't certain it would be all right.

Instead, he put his hands through his hair that he'd just spent time scrubbing to rid of the soot and dirt from the march. He'd felt so much better, stepping out of his tub, knowing that Sarah was downstairs being watched over by his family, her blood washed away from his hands and arms, the uneasy, sick feeling he'd had after witnessing the Inquisitor's followers and what they were capable of in person ebbed a little, at least.

That nearly good feeling was gone now.

"Ellie? Devon? I have quite a bit to say to you." He didn't take his eyes from Sarah's. He was trying to will her to understand that he had to do this. He knew she didn't want Ellie and Devon to know. And yes, it might put them in danger, but they were already in danger. And perhaps if they knew…perhaps all of the reading Ellie had done about the brain and how it works, the research she'd done on her own between shifts at the hospital…perhaps she might be able to help. But the most important thing was that he wouldn't have to lie to them anymore.

About any of it.

Why did Sarah look so crushingly sad, though?

He shook his head a little and turned his gaze to his sister and his brother-in-law. They stared at him expectantly, and with no small amount of trepidation—Ellie, especially.

"I saw Bryce again. A few months ago, now."

Ellie sat up straight and blinked. "Bryce Larkin…?"

"The same."

"I thought he was dead. Or something like that." When Chuck gave his sister a look, she shrugged. "I had no basis for it, really. He just stopped corresponding when he left to join the Royal Air Force, and I figured it was…Well, that something had happened to him."

"He's alive. Or at least, I hope he is still." He cleared his throat. "He came to my shop."

"Bryce was in Los Angeles and you didn't tell me?"

"You just have to let me tell it all. It won't make much sense as it is, so please don't interrupt and make it worse. I couldn't tell you because his visit was quick, very quick, and it…Well, I think it's forever changed my life, its trajectory and…" He swallowed thickly.

"What?" his sister asked quietly.

"Bryce was in the Royal Air Force, but he was recruited from there into the Imperial Espionage League." He figured it was best to tell her everything and allow her to ask questions after. She would have many questions. Just as he did. And he still hadn't entirely come to grips with everything these past few months.

"Espionage?" Ellie asked.

"Your old friend from the orphanage?" her husband asked then, moving to sit on the table next to her and frowning deeply. "He's…a spy?"

"Yes. A government spy. Before you ask, I didn't know. I didn't know even then when he came into the shop. But he brought…he brought a man with him. Well, not-not entirely a man. It-He…He was an automaton, but an incredibly human automaton. I didn't—I didn't get a chance to really inspect how-how they managed to create such a life-like android. To the point where I wouldn't have even known except that he was seemingly broken, stuttering, wearing down. Bryce asked me to fix him. He would come back the next day and see if I could make any progress. But as I was working on it overnight, I stumbled upon a-a cube of some sort that was implanted inside of it…him." Chuck lowered his gaze to his lap, remembering the sensation of holding it in his hands, the power and terror that shot through him before he lost consciousness. "I accidentally touched it, this glowing…thing that I'd never seen the likes of before. And the next thing I knew, Bryce was shaking me awake. I-I was in my cot in the workshop, no idea how I'd gotten there. I forgot about the cube and the weird currents I'd felt it shoot through me, the pain I'd felt before I dropped it and lost consciousness."

"Currents?" Devon asked. "Like…electric currents? Were you electrocuted?"

"No," Chuck murmured. He let out a long breath and then turned to face Sarah, meeting her blue eyes. She didn't reach out and touch him, or lay her hand over his, but he felt her support anyway, he felt the reassurance of her presence. And he turned back to his sister and brother-in-law.

"Ellie? Devon? That human-like automaton was housing what the royal intelligence agencies call the Intersect. When I held onto that cube that was stored in the automaton's head, everything inside of it was transferred…into me. Into my brain. I still haven't seen Bryce since, so I still don't know everything about this Intersect, or what's stored in it, or how it works even, but I know it is inside of me. Along with nearly every single bit of government intelligence, dossiers, secrets, information, anything that's been collected, most likely since this empire's founding one hundred and twenty years ago. It's all here." He pointed to his head. "I-I'm the Intersect. And I've been in hiding from the government since then."

He swallowed and slowly lifted his eyes to his sister's. She blinked, then frowned, and then a look of confusion swept over her face. "Chuck, I-I don't understand. You…You're a spy?"

"No, no. No. Not at all. I'm hiding from spies. Because I have their project, their-their database inside of my head now. They think Bryce stole the Intersect. And he's been leading them on a wild goose chase, away from me, since he found out that I, er, absorbed the Intersect that night."

"How?" Devon shook his head. "How is that—I'm confused."

"The government is after you?" Ellie asked, reaching over and clamping a hand on his wrist. He felt how cold and clammy her hand was, and he thought his were probably the same. "Spies from the…IEL?"

"And IBoMaD." Chuck cleared his throat at the startled look on her face. "Imperial Bureau of Machinery and Defense. They're after Bryce, technically. They think Bryce is the new Intersect."

"How—How does Bryce…?" Ellie grabbed her head with both hands. "Is this some kind of joke? Have you been reading those penny dreadfuls in the paper, and now you're trying to write one and you're testing it out on me? Because I have to say now is not the time, Charles Irving."

Maybe he'd skipped over too many things, or maybe he just had to explain again so they understood. But then he felt Sarah's hand on his arm, just a light touch, and he glanced over at her helplessly.

"Ellie, he's telling the truth. It isn't a story. It isn't made up. It's real. The IEL and IBoMaD had their scientists work together to create a safe place to store all of the royal government's materials—intelligence, highly sensitive information. Someplace safer than in a building, something physical. Something harder to break into. They created the Intersect. Agent Larkin was assigned to retrieve the prototype and bring it back to IEL headquarters, but when he saw it was malfunctioning, he foolishly brought it to Chuck's shop in the hopes he'd be able to fix it enough for him to travel back to his superiors with the automaton housing the Intersect fully functional."

"Why?" Ellie demanded. "Why in God's name did he think he should bring it here? What is wrong with him?"

Chuck shook his head. "I'm not sure he even knows how it works. He was supposed to retrieve it and bring it back." Though Chuck wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about a lot of things, because he still hadn't been able to talk to Bryce. Any amount of information on the Intersect had come from Sarah, who Bryce had spoken with. "He most likely didn't know the Intersect could be transferred just by touching that strange cube."

"It-It sounds like sorcery," Devon murmured, shaking his head numbly. "It does sound like one of those bad fantasy stories you read in the paper…"

"All right, well, I wouldn't say they're bad. They're—That's not the point. Right." Chuck cleared his throat at the look both Ellie and Devon gave him. "Bryce didn't even realize I had the Intersect until he got back to IEL headquarters."

"They discovered the Intersect had been transferred, that someone had taken it from the cube, they assumed it was stolen, and when Bryce disappeared, they assumed he stole it. He figured out it was Chuck who had absorbed the thing, and he decided to continue making them think it was him by running. They're probably still on his tail, looking for him. All the while not knowing he took the prototype to Chuck, that Chuck has the Intersect," Sarah explained.

"You…" Ellie let out a huff and pushed a hand through her messy hair. "You have all of the government's secrets in your head… That just doesn't seem…possible."

"I thought so, too," he admitted to his sister. "But it's hard to dispute my flashes."

"Your what?" Devon blinked. "Flash? Like a camera?"

Chuck shook his head. "I still don't know how it works. But when I hear or see something that triggers the Intersect, I call it a flash. I see the secrets it wants me to see, and I know what it wants me to know. A name in a newspaper, a piece of jewelry, a person's face or name…" He shrugged.

Ellie stood up and walked away from them, towards the fireplace. "This is so bizarre. It can't be real. Nothing like this could possibly exist." She spun on her heel to face them, looking almost crazed. "A database that can be transferred from an inanimate object to a human brain just by touch? A human brain even being able to handle one hundred and twenty years' worth of top secret intelligence from a government as massive and far-reaching as the United States Empire? I've read nearly every book written on the brain that exists, in multiple languages. No brain, no matter how great, could take that much into it and not just…fail. If this really happened to you…" She paused, her voice quivering. "How are you still alive, Chuck?"

"I…don't know," he admitted quietly. "I truly don't know."

"Are there physical side-effects. What happens during these…flashes?"

"I-I see seemingly innocuous images flit across my vision, like a-a slideshow almost. Documents. Words. Photographs from crime scenes or other pieces of evidence the intelligence agencies' scientists inputed into the Intersect. And when it's over, I just…I know." He licked his lips and shook his head slowly. "That's the only way I know how to explain it. It's too fast. Too intense. And I haven't been able to slow it down or control it enough to figure it out."

"Control?" Devon asked. "You mean you have no control over it?"

"More than in the beginning."

"And your head?" Ellie asked, coming to sit down again.

He could already feel Ellie's wrath even before he said it, but he had to tell her the truth, repercussions be damned. "I had a splitting headache for two whole days after Bryce left with the broken automaton he'd brought to me. And I felt heavy. Like something was…in my head. A heavy stone or a brick lodged in there."

"Headache?" Ellie swallowed thickly and looked away, squirming uncomfortably. "And you've flashed since then? Does it happen a lot?"

"Not too often. But it has happened more than a handful of times since then. Rather more than a handful of times." He didn't tell her about the skills, or the things that had happened to him in the Mexican jungle. How he'd beaten men to within an inch of their lives and had to be restrained more than once, he'd had so little control over himself. And how he'd lost consciousness for over an hour after.

"And you have headaches?"

"Sometimes. If it is a lot of information, I do have a headache. B-But it fades."

"Chuck…" She scooted closer, putting her hands on either side of his face. "All of this has been happening to you and you said nothing." Hurt spilled over her face, but he saw anger, too. "Do you not understand how difficult it is for me to accept everything that you're telling me? Because there is no way the brother I know would ever keep something this important from his sister. There's no way."

He felt his face crumble in misery and he looked down at his lap again. Ellie took her hands from his jaw and he shook his head. "I was terrified for your safety."

"And what of Sarah's safety? You told her."

Silence spilled through the room, and it became oppressive, so oppressive. Until finally, a strong but quiet voice came from beside him.

"Actually…it was I who told him."

His sister froze, and she slowly turned to face Sarah, an unreadable look on her face. When he stole a quick glance at Sarah, he saw she'd slipped a mask over her features again. Her defense mechanism. What was she hiding? What didn't she want any of them to see there?

"You told him about the Intersect?"

Sarah nodded once, then shifted on the couch to sit up a bit straighter. He could see she was still in pain, even with the mask she was wearing. "And Chuck kept it from you, from both of you, because I told him it was the only way to ensure nothing bad would happen to you if any part of this went south."

Ellie huffed and raised her eyebrows. "Then I suppose I should ask again… Who are you, Sarah Walker?"

"It's obvious, El. She's a spy," Devon said, without his usual enthusiasm. Chuck could see he was rattled.

Sarah shook her head, and the mask slipped for just a moment. She shut her eyes, pressed her lips together hard. She took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. The sadness was there again.

"No, I'm not—I'm not a spy. I'm just the person Bryce chose to come to with all of this, because he knew I was the only person who would do what he told me to do."

"You're one of his…women?" Ellie asked. And then she winced as she said it, even while Chuck gave her a reprimanding look. "I shouldn't say that. I'm sorry. I'm…upset. And confused. And terrified. But Bryce has always had plenty of women. And it was too easy to jump to that…conclusion."

"No, I-I understand," Sarah said slowly. He had no idea what was going through her head at that moment. She had slept with him, but she wasn't "one of his women". It wasn't that simple, and yet it had been simple, impersonal. At least, that was how it sounded to him, once he'd pushed past the worst of the hurt and jealousy. "I don't belong to Bryce Larkin."

"You don't seem like the type of woman who'd belong to any man," Ellie murmured. Her green eyes flicked over to Chuck and he felt more hurt and shame spill through him. Had she figured out that all of this, the seemingly romantic relationship between him and Sarah, was just a ruse? Another lie? How would he explain this lie to her?

"I am not," the con woman said slowly. "The reason why he came to me is he had…a way to blackmail me. He knew I would comply with his wishes for fear he would…act on what he knows. About me." She squirmed, but her face betrayed nothing, and she held her chin a bit higher. "He employed me to go to his friend's side, to protect him from the powers that be. Keep him safe. While Bryce led the intelligence agencies as far away from Chuck as possible."

"Employed," Ellie enunciated. "You were paid to come to Los Angeles."

"I was."

}o{

"You've been protecting my brother all this time, then. Keeping him safe."

It had been a long time since she'd struggled this much with knowing what to say, and how to say it. She'd lied for a living for as long as she could remember. She had always known exactly what to say, when to say it, how to say it, to get exactly what she wanted. That wasn't the case this time, though. She felt like a hole was opening up beneath her, the floor crumbling away and the ground beneath that.

"Yes," she answered with a nod.

"So you're an agent. A spy. The knives I saw you throw with such incredible precision, what Devon saw you do to save him, that-that's because you work for intelligence." Ellie didn't seem to know what to say, either. She looked supremely uncomfortable, as though all of this was too overwhelming even for her, someone who'd seemingly already been through so much in her life before today.

"I'm not a spy," Sarah murmured again. "I don't work for intelligence. I don't—I don't work for anyone. Except for maybe Bryce now, I suppose you could say. But that's…complicated."

"Then who are you, Sarah? How do you know how to do all of those things?" Chuck's sister demanded. She was getting frustrated, Sarah could hear. Frustrated with the whole situation, but also, most likely, with Sarah. Of course she'd put the pieces together by now. She was the smartest person Sarah had ever met.

Sarah'd been hired to come here, and the relationship Ellie had thought was real, between her brother and the girl who moved to the city from the country…Well, she had to have figured out by now that it was a lie. It hurt worse than she thought it might. And she let herself wonder for just a moment how much worse it was feeling for Chuck right now.

"Ellie," he muttered, and then something in his jaw twitched as Sarah glanced at him, and a look of determination came over his handsome features. "Ellie, Sarah is here to keep me safe. And that's exactly what she's done. From the very beginning."

"I understand that, Chuck. But who is she?"

"It's complicated—"

"No! No, it isn't!" Ellie pulled away from her husband's grip and leaned forward to look right in Sarah's face. "Sarah, we're friends. Whoever you are, we've bonded over a lot of things. And I'm starting to think some of those things might have been lies…" That hurt terribly, and Sarah found it was hard to keep it off of her face. "…But it felt real. So even if you weren't telling me the truth these past few months, tell me the truth now. Please. It isn't complicated. It's simple. Just give me the truth."

Devon laid his hand on top of hers and squeezed it, and she accepted it this time, never once letting her gaze leave Sarah's.

"Ellie—"

Sarah put her hand on Chuck's arm and his voice halted, and she didn't break Ellie's gaze either. The other woman was imploring her with everything in her to tell the truth. There was still a thread of familiarity there, even if she also felt trepidation coming from her. And even though she was mostly sure the truth would mean the end of whatever bond they had shared—because truly, how did she ever think someone like her, someone who'd done what she had done over and over and over again, could ever deserve any of this?— Sarah wasn't going to disrespect Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb. Nor would she lie to her.

"The truth," she said in as sure of a voice as she could muster.

"Yes. Please, Sarah."

She pulled her hand from the reassuring warmth of Chuck's arm and tucked it into her lap, the bandage scratching against the backs of her fingers of her other hand unpleasantly as she folded them together best she could.

"Ellie, I'm not a spy. And I didn't just move here from the country to start a new life. A few years ago, Bryce Larkin was able to get important information from me about someone very important to me," she wouldn't lie, she wasn't going to lie anymore, "and when he came to me about Chuck, he threatened to expose me, and expose that person. He threatened action that would send both of us to prison, or worse."

"Prison?" Devon asked. "The hell he have on you and this…person?"

"Enough. See, I'm a con artist."

Sarah forced herself not to look away. She stared at Ellie first, then looked over at Devon, and back to Ellie. His jaw had dropped practically into his lap, but Ellie merely straightened her spin, pulled her shoulders back, and raised her chin.

"A wanted criminal. If anyone ever found out everything I've done, I'd most likely be hanged."

She thought she spotted a shiver go through the other woman.

"You're…a wanted criminal. And…Bryce…sent you of all people…to protect his best friend."

"Boggles the mind, doesn't it?" Chuck murmured. Sarah felt a bit of a sting at that. "But he was right to send her. Nobody else on this entire godforsaken Earth could have, or would have, done a better job than Sarah has." That put a bit of a proverbial salve on the sting.

"Ellie, Bryce doesn't have very many allies, or people he can trust. So he used blackmail. He trusted me because he knew I'd do anything to keep…Well, he knew he could trust I'd protect myself and this person, and that I was smart enough to know Chuck's safety is what that all hinges on. Does that make sense?"

"No, it doesn't!" Ellie shook her head and shut her eyes. "I-I mean, it does. I understand it. But I don't understand what in bloody hell that complete idiot was playing at. Not just—Not just with you, Sarah, but all of it! He brought something that dangerous to our doorstep…Where was his need to protect you then, Chuck? When he brought a highly classified government prototype to you for you to fix, what did he think would happen?"

"My thoughts exactly," Sarah found herself murmuring. Ellie turned her gaze to her. She was at least heartened to see that there didn't see to be any fear there, at least not directed at her in particular. Was there distrust though? She couldn't tell.

"And now he tries to fix it by making himself a moving target while sending someone who could be seemingly dangerous in the direction of the person he's trying to keep safe, and I honestly think I could murder him right about now. I could murder him." Her voice sounded fierce, but brittle, all at once. Like she was just barely keeping it together. Sarah imagined her nurse training, and the emergencies she'd likely handled at her hospital had prepared her for dealing with overwhelming situations like this. But she thought even this might be too much for the skilled nurse.

"Again, my thoughts exactly," Sarah said, feeling a bit better now that she'd sat up for a few minutes. At least, physically. Emotionally, mentally, she felt frayed at the edges. And frayed in the middle too, frankly.

"Ellie, Sarah isn't dangerous—"

"I am," she interrupted him, looking at him solidly. "I am dangerous. I'm probably one of the most dangerous people you'll ever meet." She turned and looked at Ellie this time. "And that's why he sent me to protect Chuck. They have to go through me to get to him, and I'll be blunt, that just isn't going to happen."

"No sense in modesty in this situation, I suppose," Devon muttered.

"No," she said steadily, flicking her eyes over to him. "No sense in modesty. And I don't mean to scare you. Please, please don't be frightened, at least not of me. Because it's true, what you both saw out at City Hall today, with the knives and the umbrella?" She looked at both of them this time. "I can do a lot worse. I have done a lot worse. I've been ruthless at times. Violent. But I would never hurt Chuck, or either of you." She took a deep breath and unclenched her fists, realizing belatedly how much that was making her hands hurt. This time, though, she did drop her gaze to her lap. She didn't want to see the looks on the faces of Chuck's family. "You can hate me, despise me even, think I'm deplorable for the way I've lived my life. I understand it. I don't blame you for it. I've lived a lifetime of lies, and I myself told most of them. But if you could find it within yourselves to at least believe me this one time, and know beyond all doubt that I'm-I'm finally being sincere…I'm exactly who you would want to be here to protect Chuck, to protect you both. No matter what's out there, I'm not letting anything happen to any of you."

The room was silent and she felt the slow touch of Chuck's hand at her lower back, almost like a brace, a warm brace to keep her from just slumping over and crying. It had been a while since she'd let herself cry. She wanted to now. So badly. She was scared, she was heartbroken, she was feeling almost…bereft. Hopeless. She wouldn't quit where Chuck's safety was concerned. Never. But she was considering quitting the rest of it.

What was she thinking, imagining herself in this cozy little pocket of warmth that these three people provided? Being welcomed into it? After they knew the truth about her? And she hadn't even told them she was the Ice Queen. Not just a con artist or a criminal, but THE criminal. Someone who'd done it enough, and viciously enough, that she'd made a name for herself, a name that struck fear into people. And yes, the newspapers had done the most to make the Ice Queen into an almost household name, sensationalizing her crimes as though she was Satan itself. But that wasn't so easy to explain. And maybe she'd leave the Ice Queen out of the conversation altogether.

Ellie didn't respond to Sarah's plea, instead giving her head a little shake, letting out a harsh breath, and twisting her hands in her lap. "I need to—I need space, I think. That's what I need. To think. I need to think, and let this all…settle. This has all been maybe too much at once. The Inter-Inter…"

"Intersect," Devon provided numbly.

"That. Yes. And Bryce. And you, Sarah. You…I just need to maybe sit in my bathtub for a few minutes. And breathe. And get this dirt and…and blood off of me."

Everyone nodded as she slowly got to her feet and started walking out of the room. "Devon, I need you to—Come with me, please."

He nodded again and stood up, moving towards her almost as if he was in a trance, his brow furrowed, fear in his face.

Sarah felt out of place, as though she wasn't as welcome here as she once was, and what she wanted more than anything was to escape. Even from Chuck. She felt exposed, raw. Vulnerable. She felt tears coming on and she was trying hard not to let them escape.

And she wondered when she'd become so weak and sensitive. Or maybe she was always this weak and sensitive and she'd just never allowed herself to get this comfortable with people, to care this much about people, before she met these people.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

Chuck had leapt up to his feet and was cupping her elbow, but it wasn't his voice that had stopped her in her tracks. It was Ellie's.

She turned and looked over at the doorway that led into the hallway towards the washroom. Ellie was standing there with Devon at her side, giving Sarah a look.

Sarah wasn't sure how to answer that.

"If you don't want to stay on the couch, I understand that. But the furthest I'm letting you get out of my sight is if Chuck carries you up to use his tub, or to sleep in his bed. With those injuries, you should've gone to the hospital. But…I suppose I understand why you didn't want to now."

Sarah just swallowed and confirmed it with a slight nod.

"If you want to bathe, I will be up to help you," Ellie said then. "But you aren't leaving this property like that. I don't care what in the hell you did before Bryce blackmailed you into coming here. You understand me?"

Eyes wide, the con woman nodded. "Understood."

Chuck left Sarah's side then and marched up to his sister. "I know we just unloaded quite a bit and it's overwhelming, Ellie. But—"

"But what? I'm a medical professional. She is officially my patient." She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed, shifting her weight uncomfortably, but that strength and resolve was still there. Sarah wished she could be so strong. She wished she had Ellie's fortitude. "And I will tell you what to do, Sarah, because as dangerous as you might be, you assured me you mean me and my family no harm. I'm choosing to trust you on that. So you better damn well stay here, where I can make sure you heal properly." She softened significantly suddenly and put a hand on Chuck's chest, sliding it up to squeeze his shoulder. "I'm feeling…rough right now. I don't mean to snap. But please just…listen to me. Please. Both of you."

Neither Ellie, nor Devon, were running away from her, as strong and maybe even a little harsh as her words had just been towards the con woman. But she cared enough to make sure Sarah didn't further injure herself. And the younger woman would take that for now.

She nodded, trying to send Ellie a reassuring look. And then she watched the brunette turn on her heel and fold herself into Devon's side as they slipped around the corner and moved out of sight.

A/N: Okay, time to drink. (But first please review. Please please. Thank you!)

-SC