Fic: Chuck vs. The Yellow Brick Road 1/1 Chuck/Awesome
Title: Chuck vs. The Yellow Brick Road. Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck. Characters: Chuck, Awesome, Ellie, Casey, and Bryce. Words: 5440 Prompt: Chuck wakes up engaged to Awesome, no one finds this strange. Fandom: Chuck Pairing: Chuck/Awesome, Mentioned Ellie/Awesome. Rating: Adult TimeLine: Post Season 2 Finale. Warnings: Language, Sexual Situations, Violence, Little OOC. Summary: It's not a house, but when it lands on Chuck, he's still sent to a far away and colorful land. Author's Note: This is not a crack fic. ______________________________________
His head hurt. Not in that good way that meant he was still alive. No, this was definitely a bad kinda pain. In fact, Chuck was pretty sure he was dying.
Well, not really.
Reality was a lot more unpleasant. The lingering effects of being drugged hadn't quite worn off. "Stupid Russian smugglers." None of this would have been happening if Casey hadn't decided he was ready to go it solo. "Stupid Kung Fu programming."
Whose bright idea had it been to enhance the Intersect with the ability to suddenly become Bruce Lee? Chuck would have tracked the jerk down and kicked his ass. Except, that probably would mean kicking his dad's ass. Though, that idea still held merit.
He rolled his eyes. This caused his vision to swim and he staggered against the customer service counter. Barely managing to catch himself on the counter top, he groaned in pain.
Chuck knew he looked like a strung-out, drug zombie. The reflection from the men's room mirror hadn't lied. His eyes were blood shot and, when he could get them open, at half mast. Shoulders hunched, he couldn't find the strength to straighten up to his full height.
He was definitely not a model Buy More employee today. As far as he was concerned, the store and its policy of cheery sales reps could go find a nice secret prison to rot in. There were a few that he could name off the top of his Intersect infested head. He was actually getting used to doing that too.
Realization that he had chosen this life made him sigh. It wasn't like he had had a choice, though, not really. If only he hadn't blown all his back pay on that wedding... Chuck sighed.
Ellie and Awesome were on their honey moon now. It had been worth seeing her happy. Still, it would have been nice to have had a nest egg while he searched for a new job. One that wasn't trying to kill him.
Chuck glared over his shoulder at the manager's office. Big Mike was going to work him until he broke. No one quit under his leadership and then came back asking for their job. He had to be made an example of.
Just thinking about it made his head hurt again. Putting an arm over his face, he placed it down on the counter top. If only he could block out the rest of the world for just a couple more hours then he could get over this.
"Look out!"
Head shooting up, Chuck barely had time to groan as his vision swam. Then something heavy slammed in to him from behind. It happened so fast that he hadn't time to brace himself. With a grunt, he was flattened over the counter by the large mass. The force of the impact drove his ribs in to the hard wood and he felt something snap.
Pain shot through Chuck's body. It radiated out from his chest and quickly escalated until his eyes were wet with tears. The pounding in his ears drowned out all noise. That didn't matter, though. Even if he could have heard, he couldn't have responded. His lungs were on fire and refused to work.
The world seemed to slow down as he lay there. Every square inch of him throbbed in time with his heart beat. Mouth open, he tried to breathe. All he managed to do was gape helplessly.
It was only when the spots began to form in his eyes that Chuck formed a coherent thought. Casey was seriously going to kill someone for this. For some reason that comforted him as the world suddenly lost all sensation to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
His head hurt. Rolling over, Chuck tried to bury his head in the pillows and covers. He groaned when this refused to ease the pain. He couldn't understand why this never worked. The bed was comforting and soft, it should have worked at least by transitive properties.
Of course, theory was not reality. Groaning, he laid on his back. Well, he tried to lay on his back. Someone had beat him to that spot in the bed, a very masculine someone at that. His heart started to speed up. He felt the tensing of arm muscles under his shoulder blade.
Sighing, Chuck eased himself back on to his side very carefully so as not to awaken his bedmate. If he had fallen asleep in Casey's bed again he was so dead. The man had promised it after the last time to waking up with Super-Chuck on his thigh.
Chuck shuddered as his face started to burn. Yeah, it was best not to think about that, or even acknowledge it had ever happened.
His thoughts were instantly derailed when that strong arm slid around his waist. He was pulled back against a well muscled torso. That was when he felt it and froze. Eyes popping open, Chuck forced himself to remain calm. Apparently the large man behind him, very large man, was happy to see him.
Soft lips pressed against the base of his skull. Chuck shuddered softly. He was considering just how to get out of this with his spine in one piece when the hand slid down from his waist towards his boxers. Well, where his boxers should have been.
"Oh, god." He was pretty certain he was going to burst in to flames at any moment. His entire body was flaming with embarrassment now.
Moving from Chuck's skull to the back of his neck, the soft lips began to kiss a trail up towards his cheek. "Babe, last night you were..."
"Awesome," Chuck managed to choke out?
"Mmm. Exactly." Snickering, Devon nipped at the skin under Chuck's ear.
The prickle of teeth over his skin set Chuck's already speeding heart to rocket fuel. This gave him the strength to break whatever weird hold that had been over him. He shot out from under the covers and off the edge of the bed.
Falling to the floor, he automatically rolled in to it so that he came up facing Devon in a crouch. He had one fist supporting him on the floor and the other up to block. Chuck paused to frown for a moment. That hadn't been what he planned on doing. Damn Kung Fu programming!
Sitting up in bed, Devon smiled at Chuck with an eyebrow raised. "Whoa, you've been working it in those classes." His eyes trailed over the other's flesh. What he saw made his grin turn a little more devious. "Gotta say, I'm impressed."
"Oh god." Panic made Chuck's mouth dry. Swallowing, he glanced down at his own body. Adrenalin had caused his cock to grow half-hard. His eyes bugged a little as he dropped the free hand to cover his crotch.
Chuck's mind began to whirl. He glanced about for anything to cover his nakedness and found only the dark blue bedding within reach. It was very familiar, but not completely, blue bedding. Then it hit him. He was in Ellie and Awesome's room. That was their bed.
He had been naked in bed with Captain Awesome.
Feeling his face burn like it was on fire, Chuck wobbled a little. "Oh, I think I'm going to be..." He never finished as his legs gave out and the floor came rushing up to his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~
There was something cold and wet on his forehead. Frowning, Chuck opened one eye slowly to look. It was a rag, one from their bathroom. He recognized the colorful stripes in the faded yellow. That was one of the few he had left over from Stanford.
Movement off to his right made him open both eyes. Much to his relief this time he had awakened to Ellie. They were on the couch, and she was sitting on the edge to give him room.
Ellie's face was twisted in her worried expression. There was nothing out of the ordinary there. She traced a finger over his cheek. "Welcome back. You gave us a little scare."
He just grinned at her. Chuck was too happy to see that she wasn't killing him for him to think of anything else. Of course, that was short lived.
Appearing over Ellie's shoulder, Devon watched Chuck with concern evident in his paled features. "You're awake." He held a phone to his ear by one hand. Pulling it away, he smiled with relief. "You have no idea how good it is to see that."
"Yeah. I am. Awake. Yay me!" Feeling his face flushing, Chuck forced himself to look his sister in the eye. It was last thing he wanted to do considering how he had awoken before, but it had to be done. "Just a little hysteria, nothing to be alarmed about." Much to his surprise there was none of the anger he expected.
Ellie caressed his cheek. Her fingers tangled in the hair at his temple out of a nervous habit. "I was so worried when Devon called me. I thought something really bad had happened."
"Nope." Chuck shook his head quickly. "I'm fine. Nothing wrong." He considered pushing her away so he could sit up. But, considering her track record, he wouldn't get very far. "What did I miss while I was out?"
For a moment all either of the other two did was just stare at him.
It was Ellie that broke the stalemate first. Snorting, she put a hand to her face. She had to look away, masking what sounded like a sob with a cough. "Excuse me." Pushing herself off the couch, she stood up.
Devon stood back to give her room. They shared a look of concern as he patted her on the shoulder.
This gave Chuck a moment of confusion. He couldn't figure out why the man didn't just hug her. They were married after all, even if they weren't, it didn't really matter.
The look only lasted a second. Ellie barely had time to acknowledge it with a pat on his arm before Devon was turning back to Chuck. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Chuck didn't respond right away as he was distracted by his sister.
Even though he was no longer looking at her, Ellie was still watching Devon. Her hand lingered in the air where she had patted his arm.
"Yeah, fine." Alarm bells went off in Chuck's head. Something was seriously wrong with all of this.
The words acted as a catalyst on Ellie. Bringing the hand to her chest, she curled it shut and cleared her throat. A smile for her brother was wane at best. "Good, I'm glad."
Kneeling down, Devon assumed the seat vacated by Ellie. This brought him dangerously close to Chuck as his thigh bumped the prostrate man's arm.
Feeling hysteria bubble up again, Chuck giggled nervously through clenched teeth. He tried to carefully draw his arms up to his chest. Unfortunately, his left hand was intercepted by Devon.
Devon brought the stolen appendage to his chest. He laid it flat over the left-center of his ribs. "Feel my heart? It's racing because I was so worried over you!"
And there it was. Proof. Chuck froze. Obviously he was still stuck in the nightmare. As it was, he could indeed feel the other man's heart beating under his palm. He could also sense the warmth and strength of the muscles, the rise and fall from breathing.
He snatched back his hand. "Yes. Yes, I can. It's beating all right." Chuck hoped that his voice didn't sound as strained as he felt. The quizzical expression on Devon's face, however, revealed the truth. For support he glanced to his sister.
There was no help coming as she had a matching surprised twist to her features. In fact, she even had a bonus down turn to her lips. She was upset.
That was never a good sign.
His mind came to a quick conclusion. They weren't going any where if he continued to act crazy in their eyes. It was definitely not a good situation. Swallowing, Chuck had a sneaking suspicion there was only way out of this if he wanted to allay their concerns.
So, he bit the bullet. With a shaking hand, he reached out. Chuck closed his eyes before his fingers reached Devon's skin. Laying his hand flat over well toned muscles, and they were definitely well toned, he patted the man gently. The moment his hand was taken in the other's, he exhaled softly.
Soft lips pressed against his knuckles and it took every ounce of his strength not to squeal like a little girl. He had to remember this was a dream. Awesome would never kiss him, never in a million years.
Ellie cleared her throat a second time. "Uh, I got to get back."
Whipping his head over to face his sister, Chuck opened his eyes. He most certainly did not see Devon smiling down at him out of the corner of his eye. Upon noticing his sister's pinking cheeks he felt his own skin start to burn. "Back?" It was the only thing his steel trap of a mind could produce.
"Yeah," she checked her watch, "I've got to get ready for work." Eyes wide, she tapped the face a couple times. "Shoot! CJ's probably awake."
After pulling Chuck's hand from his lips, Devon glanced over to Ellie. "Hey, don't stress yourself out. It's not good for your heart or your skin." He cocked his head a little to the side with a mischievous grin. "Besides, Casey can handle the little guy."
Lowering her wrist, she leveled Devon with a disbelieving stare. "Yeah, right. He can't change a dirty diaper without breaking out a Has-Mat suit." Waving her hand, she nearly sprinted for the door. "Don't ever scare me like that again, Chuck!"
Thoroughly confused, Chuck opened his mouth to ask her a question. The door slammed shut and she was gone before he got that far, though. A gentle tug on his hand drew his attention back to a far ho...thornier problem.
Grinning in a way that he knew made him look like a geek, Chuck shifted so he could fully see Devon. There was a tiny smile on the bigger man's face. Chuck knew that smile. It was just not something that had ever been directed at him before. A tremor ran through him. "Oh, crap."
~~~~~~~~~~
Standing in the kitchen, Chuck searched the fridge for something to drink. He wasn't interested in the orange juice or the sodas. It was a little early, but he definitely deserved something a little stronger than a pepsi. Not finding anything, he slammed it shut.
"Are you sure about this, Chuck?" Devon's voice held more than a hint of pleasure when he said the name. It was slightly muffled coming through the bathroom door.
Chuck looked over the counter towards the bathroom door with a grimace. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure about it. I'm just a little shaky is all." He swallowed with another grimace before continuing. "You just really wore me out last night." He shuddered at his own simpering tone.
"Yeah, we were pretty awesome." Turning on the tap, Devon began to hum to himself. He paused after a second. "Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat a couple of my protein bars."
"I'll do that." Chuck glanced back at the fridge. The fluids he wanted weren't it it. That was for the best, he supposed, since he had to think with a clear head.
He had to figure out what the hell was going on. That wasn't going to be easy. The last thing he could clearly remember had something to do with a Vegomatic and some Russian psycho. If Casey hadn't been threatening to kill him for getting caught, Chuck would have assumed it had been a dream.
Casey never played a speaking role in his dreams.
Every time Chuck tried to remember something after that he drew a blank. It wasn't like him to fall unconscious with his nuts a few inches from being sliced in to Julienne Fries. He liked to think he had more self control than that. No, it had to be something else.
Drawing another blank made him growl. Of course, without a voice like Casey or even Captain Awesome's, he sounded more like a groan. Pathetic. Rolling his eyes, Chuck shook his head. "Great, now I'm even putting myself down."
"What was that, babe?" Coming out of the bathroom, Devon scrubbed a towel over the lower half of his face. His dress shirt hung open revealing the wifebeater he wore underneath. The tie around his neck was in the collar but limp.
Chuck absolutely did not notice any of these things. Especially not the way that one stray drop slid down the man's neck towards his supremely sculpted...Clearing his throat, he forced himself to meet Devon's gaze. "Nothing. Just, you know, clearing my throat." He tapped his Adam's Apple and cleared it again. "Had a hair."
The other man had a knowing smirk. Tossing the towel to Chuck, he allowed his eyes to travel over the man's body. "You know, I can call in sick too."
"No!" The word came out too fast for Chuck to even realize that it might be taken wrong. Grimacing, he forced a smile. "I'm not sure I can handle it, again, so soon. I'm really tired." His cheeks were on fire, a common occurrence it would seem. "Really."
This only increased Devon's smirk. Wiggling his eyebrows, he opened his arms. "All right, not today."
It was obvious what the man wanted. Chuck had caught Ellie and Devon doing it often enough. Biting back a whimper, he staggered his way over in to the man's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm going to die." Scrubbing the soap over his neck, Chuck tried to remove the mark. He had been trying to remove the hickey for the last ten minutes. All he succeeded in doing was making it larger. "When she comes to her senses, she is so going to kill me!"
His skin was raw and the soap was burning it, but he had to try. He never should have let Awesome kiss him. What the hell had he been thinking? The man never knew what was appropriate when it came to anything!
Growling as he rinsed the most recent soap film away, he checked his neck in the bathroom mirror. Chuck froze. The mark was still there, but the red patch had also tripled in size. Licking his lips, he reached a tentative hand up to touch his neck.
It was a little sore on the surface from his scrubbing. The hickey, however, tingled when he touched it. Closing his eyes, he ran his pruned fingers over the mark. Pleasure radiated out from it.
His eyes popped open as he realized what he was doing. Removing his hand, he dropped the soap and rag in his other hand. He very carefully backed away from the sink and headed for the door. Turning out the light he whimpered.
~~~~~~~~~
Unlocking the bedroom door to his room, Chuck frowned. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this before. It was obvious after all. If he wanted to know what was really going on, he had to start with his computer.
Once the lock snapped open, he pushed it in. A little relief flooded him when it swung open. That lasted all of two seconds. He could only stand there and stare, stunned.
There was nothing in the bedroom. Well, that wasn't technically true. A bed was against one wall and so was some of the furniture, but none of it his. The desk, the night stand, his dresser, all of it was gone. The tv on the wall was a flat screen and it had a small receiver under it, other wise it was a blank room.
He didn't bother even stepping in to the room. His posters were gone. The game consoles he had every where, them too. Even his beloved computer was gone.
The place had been cleaned out.
Chuck felt the hysteria from earlier make a quick resurgence. "What is going on?" His nervous giggle filled the room. "I think I'm actually losing my mind."
Reaching out with a slack arm, he grasped the door handle and shut it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
His main source of information now gone, Chuck had to resort to plan C. Plan B had been his wrist watch. Of course, whoever had taken his computer had switched out that with an ordinary watch. Well, it wasn't ordinary, it had GPS and a dozen other nifty features. Still, it wasn't his spy one.
These people, as he was now calling them, had been thorough to this point. Still, there was one thing they could not change. One resource of his would never go quietly in to the night. That is, unless he was trying to sneak up on someone and break their necks.
Chuck was some what relieved that the courtyard still looked the same. Everything was where it should be, right down to that old fashioned fountain in the center. Even the plants looked the same. So, obviously, something had to be the same.
Sneaking across the stones, well, he was walking softly, since sneaking implied he was trying to hide his presence. He didn't want to hide his presence, so much as not announce it to the world. Not yet. There was something he needed to confirm before he went nuts.
That was why he quickly found himself outside what should have been Casey's apartment livingroom. There was no telling who would be living there now. So, he was going to do a little snooping around before he decided to knock on the door.
He had to push his way through a couple bushes to reach the window. More than once he bit his lip when a stray needle poked in places it had no right to be. Eventually, though, he made it to the window. Bracing himself, he faced the glass.
For a change he felt relief. It was exactly as Casey had it. The screens, the furniture, everything was right where it should have been.
Well....
There were other things besides Casey's furniture and appliances. There were clothes, women's clothes. He was pretty sure that over in the corner, that was a playpen. A kid's sneakers were at the foot of the couch. If Casey was living there, he had company.
The loud click of a trigger being cocked behind him nearly made Chuck shit himself. As it was, he froze for a moment, then slowly raised his hands. He softly cleared his throat. "Uh... Please don't shoot me."
"Give me one good reason." It was a very familiar angry rumble.
"Um...it will upset your boss?" Closing his eyes, Chuck silently prayed that despite all the changes, General Beckman was Casey's boss.
Casey snorted. "Oh, I don't think they'll care one way or another." He pressed the barrel of the silencer against the back of Chuck's head. "Try again."
"General Beckman might surprise..." was all he got out before the gun was slammed hard against the back of his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~
His head hurt. Groaning, Chuck tried to figure out why it hurt this time. That was when he felt pain in other places. His wrists, shoulders, and ankles to be specific. He instantly deduced from this that he had been knocked out and tied up.
Then the memory came back to him. Clenching his eyes shut, he groaned even louder. "Casey!"
"Keep quiet!" Coming up behind the other man, Casey smacked him in the back of the head. "What's taking so long?"
Confused, Chuck opened an eye to see who the big man was talking too. Much to his surprise, there was a familiar brunette in a chair in front of him. All he could see of the man was his back, but that was more than enough. "Bryce?"
Pausing mid typing, the man glanced over his shoulder. His blue eyes stared at Chuck in shock. "He knows our names."
"That just means we'll have to dispose of him." Stomping up to the shorter man, Casey smacked him on the shoulder. "Now find out who this geek is so we can get to the fun part!"
That last part made Chuck sit up straight in his chair. Well, as much as his bonds would let him. He tried to ease the restraints on his wrists. "Uh, guys. It's me. Chuck."
The sound of typing stopped a second time. Looking over his shoulder, Bryce frowned at Chuck. "Chuck, Chuck?"
Relief crashed through him. Chuck nodded emphatically at his old friend. "There's only one. Chuck Bartowski."
"Great, the brother in law." Turning to face Chuck for the first time, Casey scowled at him. His expression stated he clearly did not believe Chuck. He raised a hand that had a gun in it for emphasis. "Keep searching the database, Larkin."
That sent a chill through Chuck's body. He tried to grin at them, it failed. "It's me, guys. Chuck. I'm the Intersect." Then he found two guns suddenly pointed in his face. "Oh, I'm really getting sick of that."
Face set in a serious expression, Casey glared down the barrel at the bound man. "Now, care to say that again?"
"Which part?" Chuck swallowed. Flexing his wrists, he found they were a little looser than before. "I don't think I can remember what I was saying."
The computer beeped, distracting all three men.
Shifting to face it, Bryce put his gun back under his shirt. He quickly activated the search results. "I don't believe it." He looked up at Casey. "It's him." Bryce then turned to Chuck. "He's Ellie's brother."
"This little twerp is Doctor Bartowski?" Casey narrowed his eyes. He raised the gun a little as his fingers twitched on the handle. With a growl, he lowered it and looked away. "Damn it! I was hoping to shoot him."
Shock over the words as they registered in his head caused Chuck's heart to start pounding. He felt his muscles tense and the world started to tilt a little.
Smiling a little, Bryce stood up. "Still." He crossed his arms as he assumed a relaxed pose next to Casey. "That doesn't explain how he knew about the Intersect or us."
This caused Casey to glare at the shorter man. After a quick shake of Bryce's head, he faced Chuck again. "Well? Care to explain that one?"
Having been quiet through all of this, Chuck half grinned at them. He took a calming breath and centered himself. Then, he raised one hand to waive at them.
The slight smile on Bryce face fell. He had time to uncross his arms before he was sent flying across the living room.
Casey was a little harder to fell. The mistake he had made when he tied Chuck's feet to the chair was tying them individually to the chair.
Chuck leaned the chair back. Breaking the legs, he kicked out and jammed his foot in Casey's crotch at the same time. When the big man bent forward, he slammed his other freed foot in to his cheek.
Sent flying in to the couch, Casey didn't move to get up.
That was when Chuck realized what he had done. Hands drawn back in preparation to defend himself, he looked down at the two men. Neither one of them was a threat to him now. "Chuck Lee, one; Bryce and Casey, zero."
His own words caused Chuck to frown. "Chuck Lee?" He wobbled a little as something made his head hurt. It was getting hard to breathe. When he reached up to orient himself he couldn't quite touch his head. "What's going..."
~~~~~~~~~~
The world was a blaze of white. Chuck wasn't sure what he was seeing, all he knew was that it hurt his eyes to be open. Tears quickly filled them as he tried to blink them.
His entire body ached, but it was very distant. There was so much pain he wanted to scream. Yet, he couldn't even find the strength to focus.
He was vaguely aware of someone holding his hand. It was so far away that he couldn't be sure of the size of the hand or that it was even a hand. He just assumed it was.
"Chuck." It sounded familiar. The voice was distorted in his ears. That might have had something to do with the pain in his head. "Can you hear me?"
He wanted to say yes. Yet, he lacked the ability to open his mouth, let alone speak.
"If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." So it was a hand. Whoever it was asking was holding his hand.
Chuck tried to squeeze the hand. His body refused to work. Tears formed in his eyes for a different reason this time. That someone reached up to brush them away. Chuck knew because he felt the hand on his cheek.
"You're probably wondering what happened." The voice was patient and gentle. "There was an accident, you were hurt badly."
That was obvious. He wanted to say it, but his voice didn't want to work either.
It was okay, the voice chuckled. "I know, I know." The hand was back to his cheek. "I'm going to try something. It might hurt for a second or two, that's all. I promise."
Chuck didn't like the sound of that. But, he couldn't protest as his lips still refused to move. Suddenly, the light was gone as something was placed over his face. Bright lights flashed in front of his eyes. More pain flared in his head.
This time, Chuck was certain he made a noise.
The hand on his cheek gently stroked his skin. "It's okay now. You can go back to sleep."
Yes, he wanted to agree with them. Whoever they were, they were very smart.
~~~~~~~~
His head no longer hurt. It was a noise that woke him this time. Blinking awake, Chuck tried to figure out what he had heard. The world around him was dark and the only illumination came from the clock on the bedside table. He was back in the bedroom. Once again Chuck could tell there was someone warm in the bed behind him.
A familiar snort preluded some mumbling.
Chuck shook his head. He was back in bed with Devon. That meant he was dreaming again. Oddly, he found he didn't mind it so much this time. He still couldn't remember what had happened, but some how, he knew he was better off not knowing. It was definitely a strange feeling.
"Chuck." It was a voice. The noise that had awakened him was someone calling his name.
Careful not to disturb the man behind him, Chuck crawled out of the bed. This time, at least, he was wearing his boxers; even if they were riding up in his crack. Thankfully his mind had left him that much dignity. As he tugged them down back in to place, he padded for the bedroom door.
Light flooded in to the room the moment he opened it. Blinded, Chuck put up a hand to block his vision. When his eyes cleared, he frowned at the living room.
It was lit up like daylight out there, yet was clearly in the wee hours of the morning in the bedroom. Chuck glanced back at the bed and found Devon sleeping undisturbed. He paused to admire the form for a moment before turning back to the doorway.
"Come on out here. We need to talk." Twisting on the couch, Stephen smiled sadly at his son. "It's kind of important."
Chuck hesitated for a moment. He had the feeling that he already knew what this was about. It didn't register with him on a conscious level, but he knew. So, he asked a different question. "How are you here?"
Stephen glanced about for a moment before looking back at Chuck. "He's not. I'm a data file. This is just how you're perceiving me, well, it."
His stomach sank. The hand on the door started to shake. Gripping it tight, Chuck closed his eyes. "Am I going to die?"
The Stephen sighed. "That's up to you." He patted the couch cushion beside him. "Stephen uploaded me in to your memory to help you. Where you go from here is entirely up to you."
Sighing, Chuck took a step in to the lit up living room. "How bad is it?" The door remained open behind him.
THE END.................................................