Chuck braces himself after they inject the Pentothal into his vein, determined that this time, he's going to
fight it. Only instead of pelting him with questions, the bad guys slip into a routine straight out of Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade. Heidi leans forward, flashing her truly outstanding cleavage, and hoovers his
bottom lip between hers. Once upon a time Chuck would have called it a sexy kiss, but A) it's hard to find
anything sexy when he's tied back to back with his former nemesis/ex-best friend with no hope of escaping the
clutches of an evil offshoot of the CIA before they spill secrets that will both get them killed and lead to the
destruction of all that's good in the world; and B) he's kissed Sarah Walker.
"That's just a little something to relax you," Heidi says, looking every bit as pleased with herself as she had
that day in Buy More when they first met. "While we wait for the serum to work."
Chuck knows what's coming when Thug # 1 steps up, even before he says, "And here's a little something to loosen
you up." He's seen the movie countless times, after all. That still doesn't keep the blow from hurting like a
mother, or his ears from ringing like the time Morgan set all the alarm clocks in Buy More to go off at the same
time to get back at Tang, or his vision from wavering like the last time he managed to get in between Casey and
the target. The rebound against the back of Bryce's head stings even worse, sending a dull throb from the base
of his skull to the bottom of his neck.
By the time he blinks away the blurriness, they're alone in the room. No guards, no Heidi, nothing to do except
wait for the Pentothal to loosen their tongues.
"There's no fireplace," Bryce says, sounding as disgusted as Chuck feels.
"That's not the only thing they got wrong." Chuck giggles; the drug must be starting to work, because he can't
help but be amused by the situation. "We never slept with Heidi."
Bryce doesn't say anything.
"Oh, come on! That is so not fair!"
"Don't tell me you actually wanted to sleep with her." Bryce's fingers twist against his own, undoubtably
trying to free them with his mad spy skills. "I didn't want to sleep with her, but it's part of my job."
"No, not really," Chuck confesses, and yeah, the drug is definitely kicking in. "Although she's kind of got that
whole Lursa thing going for her."
"Really? Not B'Etor?"
"Yeah, maybe." Chuck mulls it over, playing compare and contrast between the two Klingon sisters and Heidi until
he suddenly remembers he had a point. "But you slept with her!"
"Um, yeah. Are you feeling okay, Chuck?" Bryce presses a finger against the pulse point of Chuck's left wrist.
"Having any trouble breathing?"
"I'm just saying, why do you always have to steal my women? Is it a competition thing, gotta always prove you're
better than dumb Chuck?" Chuck closes his mouth, but the words are out. The hurt is out, in the open, leaving
him lightheaded. "Tell me, Bryce."
"Okay, what?" Bryce shakes his head, which doesn't help the sore spot on Chuck's at all. "Where do I even
start with that? I've never stolen your women, Chuck. And I don't think you're dumb, and I've never tried to
show you up."
"Oh, come on! Never?"
Bryce giggles. Just like he used to when they stayed up all night studying for finals, getting slap happy on
Red Bulls and Cheetoes. Chuck wants to hit him, rubbing it in like that, but the only weapon at hand is his own
head, and while Casey would have done it in an instant, Chuck's not that macho. Or stupid.
"Okay, maybe once," Bryce says, choking out the words past the giggles. "But man, it was Shatner! Like you
weren't trying to impress the hell out of him, too!"
Chuck blinks. Rewinds the conversation. His anger drains away--he was having a hard time hanging onto it,
anyway, what with the easy peaceful feeling going on--and then a snort slips out. Followed by a giggle. Maybe
two. Then he and Bryce are both laughing, shoulders shaking and bumping. Bryce drops his head back, and Chuck
relaxes too, so that they're kind of pressed together, ear-to-ear.
"This is about Sarah, isn't it?" Bryce says quietly. "I wasn't trying to steal her from you, honest. It was
just, well..."
"Complicated." Chuck sighs. "Yeah, I get that."
"Good. Because I really don't want to lose my only friend in the world, Chuck." Bryce's wraps his fingers
around Chuck's wrist and gives him a quick squeeze.
Chuck nods. Carefully. "Yeah. Me, either. Except for the only part, because, you know, there's Morgan and
Ellie, and even Captain Awesome... And you probably don't want to hear about all my friends, do you?"
Bryce sighs. "I'm glad for you. Really."
"I never realized how good I have it, you know? I mean, until the Intersect, I was still stuck in the past.
The getting kicked out of Stanford thing, the whole being betrayed thing..." Chuck swallows, but the lump is
still there. "Why Jill, Bryce? I mean, I understand now why you did what you did with the fake tests, but did
you have to start dating Jill, too? And don't give me any crap about protecting your cover, because we both
know that's total b.s."
"You don't want to know the answer." Bryce's fingers are moving again, brushing up and down against Chuck's
wrists. Tickling.
"Bryce. Please."
Bryce's fingers still. "I knew that having her was the closest I'd ever come to having you."
"What?" Chuck knows the Pentothal has to be messing with his brain now, because there's no way he just heard
what he thought he heard. "You're kidding, right? Because it sounds like you meant--"
The door bangs open. Heidi and her goons march into the room, and that's when Bryce bursts into action. The
rope saws against Chuck's wrists as Bryce tears away, but he ignores the pain when he realizes he's free.
A second later, Heidi and the men are unconscious on the floor.
"Come on," Bryce says, gesturing with the hand that's not holding a gun. "Follow me."
It's not until later, when Sarah's gently holding an icepack to his head while less-than-gently debriefing him,
that Chuck remembers he never got to finish his question.
And when Sarah presses a kiss to his cheek, he finally realizes that he really wants to know Bryce's answer.