Chapter 16: Altered Lives

Somewhere in Chuck's unconscious mind, he heard Sarah's cries. His mind had finally succumbed to the damage it had sustained. It had started its retreat to the painless ethers of nothingness. It had simply shutdown.

Science called the condition a profound state of unconsciousness. Others simply called it a coma. It Chuck's case, it was the beginning of the end. The damage was severe.

But as his mind retreated, what remained of whatever the intangible thing that made Chuck what he was listened.

It heard Sarah's cries. It felt her clutch his collar. It recognized her desperation. It spurred what was left of Chuck to fight. He didn't have it in him to deny her anything.

He returned for her.

-o-

Chuck awoke to Sarah on his chest. He was confused and felt disconnected to his surroundings. But the warmth of her body called to him.

His head felt like it was on fire, and the noises she made near his ear caused his head to throb even worse. But she held him and he knew that it was good. He didn't understand where they were, or why he felt so bad. But knew he belonged with Sarah.

Her head was buried in his neck. He pursed his lips when he became aware that she was crying. It tortured him to see her upset. He needed to soothe her. With effort, he forced his shaking hands to rub small circles on her back.

He wanted to tell her to stop crying, but he couldn't put the words together. Frustrated, he mumbled, "Okay."

He momentarily became alarmed at his inability to articulate what he felt. Something was wrong. But seeing Sarah's desperate sobs, he ignored his fears. He wouldn't think about himself. She needed him more.

So overwhelmed by her emotions, Sarah had not recognized that Chuck had regained consciousness or that he was rubbing her back. However, when he spoke, she quickly pulled back and gazed into his haggard face with her heart pounding.

"Chuck…," wailed Sarah. She scanned his features, taking in his glassy eyes and slackened face. He was awake but clearly not himself. Her eyes grew wide and tears threatened to flow as she started to comprehend his altered state.

Seeing her growing discomfort, Chuck knew that she was about to bawl over his condition. He worked hard to give her a half smile and softly whispered, "Sarah, no cry."

Sarah's lip trembled. Chuck was so obviously hurt, but trying to make her feel better. It made her heart hurt. It was so Chuck.

She returned his smile between tears, but her attempt at smiling quickly evaporated and she fell back on to him. She quietly whimpered, "I thought I lost you." She clutched his collar and sobbed.

She cried for several minutes on his chest. Finally, her tears ebbed and they laid together, taking comfort in finally being together.

Wiping the tears from her face, Sarah looked up into Chuck's eyes and asked, "Have I told you recently, how much I love you?"

Their eyes locked. Sarah wanted to say so much more. But she refrained, when Chuck tightened his hold around her waist. She watched as Chuck struggled to speak.

"No told me before," slurred Chuck, quietly. He tried to smile but could only hold it briefly.

Sarah's heart bled. She recognized that Chuck had suffered some type of neurological trauma at the hands of Dr. Lindermann. She tried to stay positive and not show him how upset she really was. He was trying to be strong for her…and she was going to be strong for him. She focused on the positive.

"Well I do. But you scared me," replied Sarah, as she hugged him tighter for emphasis.

Chuck was silent for a moment as he processed her words. Finally Chuck asked, "Happened?"

Sarah was briefly puzzled by his words. Chuck recognizing her questioning face, he quickly added, "Jumbled head. Hurts."

Chuck eyes grew wide as he recognized his inability to connect words into sentences. Sensing his alarm, she quickly tried to soothe him.

"It's okay, Chuck. The treatment at the Institute messed with your head. You are showing symptoms of a bad concussion." She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Everything will be okay. I promise." Sarah placed her forehead against his and looked him in the eyes. She asked him earnestly, "You trust me?"

Chuck nodded and Sarah released the breath that she was holding. She needed him to believe that he was going to be okay. She wouldn't let either of them think any other way.

Suddenly Chuck started to clutch at her and she looked up into his eyes in concern. His eyes looked frightened and he blurted out, "Ellie?"

Sarah recognized that Chuck was concerned for Ellie's safety. Sarah responded quickly.

"She is still at the Institute."

Chuck immediately tried to sit up, but flopped over helplessly as his head swam at the sudden movement. He called out Ellie's name again.

Sarah caught him and laid him back down. "You don't want to move fast. Your head has been hurt," explained Sarah. But Chuck wouldn't settle down. She grabbed his chin and made him look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Ellie."

Sarah sighed. "She's at the Institute with Casey. They are in a reinforced military grade Panic Room. Fulcrum would need a tank to get in there. They'll be okay."

Chuck shook his head stubbornly. But the jarring of his head back and forth, made him nauseous. He pushed himself on his side and began to dry heave.

Sarah rubbed his back, in an effort to soothe him. "Chuck, we need to get you medical attention."

Chuck looked up and glared at her. Sarah grimaced. She recognized that Chuck wanted to retrieve his sister from the Institute. In fact, she did too. But her first priority was Chuck. She had to maintain his safety as his handler, and more importantly, for herself.

Sarah recognized that something intangible had changed in her, while she was in the treatment room. She didn't have time to think about it now. But she felt it and she promised herself that she would think about it later. For now, she had to focus on the task at hand.

"Let's try to get you out of here first. We are in a deep ravine and it's going to be difficult to climb out. Let's decide on going back to the Institute after we get to the top," replied Sarah, neutrally. She didn't want to alarm him by revealing how intimidated she was by the idea of scrambling to the top with Chuck in his current condition.

He seemed mollified by her response and looked unaware of her trepidation. She hoped she was strong enough to save him. Taking a final look at the steep walls of the ravine, Sarah stood up.

She took in a steadying breath, and lifted Chuck to his feet.

Pacific Quest Behavioral Institute, Monterey, CA

Ellie finished her last stitch on Major Casey's torso. To her surprise, John Casey had survived the surgery. She had seen many patients die with injuries much less severe after being treated in a fully equipped hospital.

In contrast, John Casey had survived his life threatening injuries, while being treated with the most rudimentary of medical supplies. It amazed her. Ellie had no doubt that John Casey was a fighter.

Ellie sighed. How had her brother become entangled with such a fierce man? She shook her head in disbelief. Her brother wasn't a fighter like John Casey. How could she expect him to still be okay after what she had witnessed?

The thought ate at her. Ellie had a sudden need to stretch her legs. Standing up with difficulty after performing surgery on her knees, she walked to the Panic Room's communications panel. She used a switch to cycle through the different cameras that monitored the Institute's grounds.

Ellie stopped when she saw the man who had shot at her. He was on the Observation Deck attempting to rouse his partner. She snickered. She had given her first assailant enough narcotics to keep him knocked out for at least twelve hours. The gunman's efforts would be useless. She grimaced. At least it would keep the gunman busy.

She thought about Devon. He must be worried about her by now. She had left Los Angeles without leaving word. It was foolish. She realized that she had carelessly endangered her life. It would hurt him to know that she had endangered their future.

Ellie suspected the worst about Chuck. The experiments that she witnessed were just too terrible. The world of espionage was much too brutal. She couldn't help but think that she would never see Devon again.

Ellie sat down on the floor. She placed her head on her knees and cried.

Somewhere on The Old Road, Monterey, CA

Sarah was exhausted and her hands were cut and scraped from climbing along the steep ravine. Getting Chuck to the top of the ravine had required super human effort on her part, and more than a few prayers.

As it turned out, Chuck could not take direct sunlight and had to keep his eyes closed as they climbed the steep grade. It forced her to direct his every step. Even worse, his balance was off, and she had practically carried him up the incline.

However, through pure strength of will, Sarah had gotten Chuck up the ravine. Every muscle in her body was spent, but she had done it. She had gotten him to the road. She was just unsure what to do next.

Sarah laid Chuck down in the backseat of the patrol car and then sat in the driver's seat. She had to rest for a bit. It had been a difficult experience and it had scared her when Chuck had suddenly had a seizure half way up the incline. It had eventually passed, but it drove home the precarious condition that he was in.

She wanted to drive him to the closest hospital. However Fulcrum was still a concern and it was likely monitoring all the local hospitals. It was just too dangerous. Sarah decided to call Director Graham. She hoped that he could arrange for an aerial extraction.

Sarah's hopes were quickly dashed, when she realized that her cell phone had no signal on the twisty canyon road.

Chuck needed medical attention immediately and Sarah realized that Ellie was the closest medical doctor. Re-entering the Institute was also dangerous. But if Ellie treated Chuck, then Sarah wouldn't have to lie about what happened to him.

Sarah started the car and made a U-turn on the canyon road. She prayed that Fulcrum hadn't returned in force to the Institute.

"God, you are crying like a girl! Do you mind stopping? It's annoying me."

Ellie looked up in shock as she heard John Casey's icy remark. She gulped self-consciously. She was embarrassed that he witnessed her moment of weakness.

She stood up and wiped the tears from her face and walked over to John. Avoiding his eyes, she took his vitals. They were strong and steady.

"John, I can't believe that you are already awake after surgery. How do you feel?"

Casey felt terrible, but was relieved that Ellie had stopped crying and her demeanor had steadied. He hated to see women cry…especially good women, like Ellie Bartowski.

"I feel like my chest has a hole in it. How do you think I feel?" barked Casey.

Ellie laughed. "I can't believe that I'm happy to hear that my grumpy neighbor John, is back. That is…if your name really is John."

Her smile faltered at her own joke. Her attempt at humor had reminded her of how badly she had been deceived.

A sudden awkwardness fell between them. Casey watched her smile fade. He had watched her brother exhibit the same gesture numerous times. Casey knew what she was remembering all the lies that she had been told. It made him feel like a heel.

Casey needed to explain. "Ellie, I'm sorry if we abused your trust. But all our actions were based upon the need to protect your brother. I really can't say more. It's classified. But know that Walker and I were assigned to protect him."

Ellie scrutinized Casey for a moment. Her eyes flashed and Casey held his breath. He suddenly thought she was beautiful when she was angry…and she definitely was angry.

"You are a liar. Don't profess that you were here to protect my brother. Have you looked at his face? I can't believe you're trying to use that protection crap after you pulverized my brother's face."

Ellie grabbed a vial and a needle before Casey could react and jabbed it in his arm. A look of alarm spread across Casey's face.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that," snapped Ellie. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have risked my life to save your sorry ass."

She watched as Casey fell into a medicated sleep.

Satisfied that he was unconscious and resting, she sat down in front of the Panic Room Communications Panel. Weariness washed over her. She closed her eyes for a few moments and muttered, "I just didn't want to listen to your drivel."

The Pacific Quest Behavioral Institute, Monterey, CA

Sarah had pulled over the patrol car outside the entrance gate of the Institute. She had finally been able to contact Director Graham. He was relieved to hear that she had secured The Intersect. However, the Monterey area was still overwhelmed by Fulcrum agents and the intelligence agencies were having trouble differentiating between compromised and uncompromised resources.

Graham did not want to risk taking Chuck to a local hospital. He agreed that it was best to have Ellie Bartowski treat Chuck.

He promised to send an aerial extraction team as soon as possible. But it was going to take time to find uncompromised resources. Frustrated, Sarah held back a heated retort. Chuck needed a swift extraction and upsetting her boss wouldn't help the situation. Sarah could only shake her head at the lunacy of it all.

She really didn't care about Graham & Beckman's objectives anymore. This mission had altered her somehow. She only cared about Chuck. He was the love of her life and she would be damned, if she let her job stop them from being together.

She drove to the front doors of the Institute and helped Chuck out of the vehicle. He was conscious but was still having difficulty speaking and maintaining his balance. She noticed that he needed to lean on her even more heavily than before. She grimaced. He was getting worse. Alarmed, she dragged Chuck's limp body into the Institute.

-o-

Ellie was scanning through the surveillance cameras when she spotted Chuck and Sarah enter the Institute's front doors. Immediately she became concerned. Chuck looked like he was in terrible condition and Sarah looked overwhelmed with getting him through the door. Sarah would never recognize in time that there was a gunman in the building.

Ellie ran to the Panic Room door and released the lock. Not caring about the consequences, she ventured out of the secured room intent on saving her brother.

-o-

Sarah was concentrating on Chuck so intently; she did not see the gunman enter the lobby until he ordered her to stop walking. Startled, she looked up and saw a man pointing a gun directly at her.

Sarah was speechless. She couldn't pull her gun in time and she was suddenly at a loss for what to do. The gunman saw her confusion and smiled. He knew that she was trapped.

He cocked his gun and smirked. "I guess you lost."

Sarah blanched. She noticed that Chuck had squeezed her hand. She was just about to say her goodbye to Chuck, when Ellie entered the room. The gunman was momentarily distracted. It gave Sarah enough time to pull her gun and shoot.

The gunmen fell to the ground dead. Ellie watched in horror.

"You killed him in cold blood. You didn't even try to disarm him," accused Ellie, in shock.

Sarah sighed. "Ellie, he would have tried to shoot me and Chuck. Believe me… in the world of espionage, one doesn't have the luxury of being politically correct," replied Sarah.

The words tore into Ellie. She was momentary paralyzed by their brutality and their truthfulness. It truly was an awful world that her brother had fallen into.

"We don't have time for this. Help me get Chuck into the Panic Room. I brought him back here so that you could give him medical attention," remarked Sarah, urgently.

Mentioning Chuck's name spurred Ellie into action. She reached out and grabbed Chuck shoulder. The redistribution of his weight caught Sarah off guard. She lost her balance and she had to lay her gun down on the lobby counter, to keep from dropping Chuck.

Ellie apologized and looped an arm under one of Chuck's shoulders. Together, the women carried Chuck into the Panic Room. As they walked, Sarah described Chuck's symptoms.

"Has Chuck always had this much difficulty walking?" asked Ellie.

"No, he has been getting worse since he had the seizure," explained Sarah.

"I think that I'll administer some anti-seizure medication to Chuck. I found quite a bit of it stored here. I suspect that Lindermann must have seen similar symptoms with his other patients and used the medication to control the seizure and their resultant damage," remarked Ellie.

Sarah gulped. The seizure had worsened Chuck's condition. She hadn't considered that. She was relieved that she had delivered Chuck to Ellie. She knew that Ellie would provide the best medical attention possible under these trying conditions.

"Sounds good, Ellie. Let me get my gun out of the lobby and we will seal the Panic Room door closed until the extraction team arrives in few hours."

Ellie nodded her head and began a detailed examination of Chuck. She ignored Sarah as she left in search of her weapon.

Once Sarah had left the room, Ellie suddenly jumped up and ran to the Panic Room door. With considerable effort, she tugged the heavy door shut and initiated the mechanized lock.

With hard eyes, Ellie whispered, "I'm sorry Sarah. I can't afford to be politically correct either."

She walked over to her brother and sat down. She picked up a vial of anti-seizure medicine and prepared a needle. She plunged it into his arm. Satisfied that she had done everything that she could, she squeezed his hand and watched as the medication gently did its job. Chuck gently drifted off into a deep sleep.

She ignored the muffled knocking at the door.

-The End-

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Author's Note: Sorry, if the ending was a little shocking. Look for the sequel of the Brain Snatcher!Coming Soon!