Chapter 4
A/N: The first two chapters have been pretty Sarah centric. This chapter works best if its Chuck centric, at least for a little while. Apparently I’m funnier than I think according to some of you. More fluff, more Charah, more Chuck being a little scared to share his feelings and Sarah being so open it’s scary, and dag nab it, more fun. I present to you chapter 3, Lady Feelings
A/N 2: I need to straighten the record out on something that I left a little unclear. Hannah, Lou, Cole et al, might be in the story, but they will have no romantic relationships with Chuck or Sarah…EVAH in this. NEVA EVAH. On with the show.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Chuck, but I do own a black pair of Chucks
Chuck moved around his house, quickly, with purpose, but also full of song. He sang Good Morning, Good Day from She Loves Me to Clara, watching the close to one-year old smile at him. Last night had been a little rough with teething, but the bigger problem was that Sarah…his friend, with possibilities of more(?) was looking for Piranha. He needed to talk to her this morning. He wanted to talk to her this morning, but what would she say to him. He had the chance last night, at the fountain, to tell the truth, and he didn’t. She had told him every dirty secret about herself, and he didn’t. It wasn’t that he was trying to keep it a secret, it was just part of another life that he really didn’t admit existed anymore.
He had never stolen any real money, moving a penny from one account to another isn’t really stealing, but Casey, boy Casey would think it was. If they found out…they couldn’t, but somehow he had to tell Sarah. He loaded Clara in her carseat as he thought about his next move, and kind of went on autopilot as all parents do with little sleep as he drove to preschool. As he pulled in, he noticed Emma driving Molly this morning, not Sarah. Part of him was happy, part of him was not…not at all.
Chuck closed his eyes for a second. It was time for him to be serious. What did a beautiful, caring, smart, funny, former CIA agent with a heart of gold want with him? The answer was obvious, nothing. Absolutely nothing. He needed to tell Sarah the truth for the sake of Clara. She would find another way, because he had to keep Clara safe. But how does she keep Molly safe? That thought ate at his brain. A hand hit the window, and Chuck jumped, screamed, hit the horn, scaring Molly who was outside, made Clara cry, and all the other children around cry as well. All the parents were giving Chuck a dirty look. Molly had got over her fright, and was pointing and laughing at Chuck. Chuck wanted to be upset, but Molly refused to let him be with her laughter. He opened the car door, and made monster hands at her.
“If I didn’t have to get Clara, you would so get it,” he said in his best monster voice. Molly laughed at him.
“Molly,” Emma scolded. “You can’t scare him like that.”
“He was napping and I was waking him up so he wouldn’t be late,” Molly answered. Chuck looked at the little girl, who smiled back at him.
“Well, I am awake,” Chuck admitted. Emma laughed as the four headed in. “Is Sarah okay?”
“Yes, she told me to apologize and she’d call you later,” Emma said grinning. “She had a good time last night.” She paused as if deciding to tell him, and then made up her mind. “I think she wished you had stayed later.”
“Clara was teething,” Chuck explained.
“Oh, dear. Did you get any sleep?” Chuck moved his hand back and forth to say a little. “Do we need to cancel tonight?”
“I think I’ll be fine,” Chuck said. “The first night is usually the worst. Will Sarah be able to make it?”
“She should, although I don’t know. All I know is something about a virus called Jeffery.” Chuck stopped short.
“Are you sure it’s not Jeffster?” Emma snapped her fingers.
“That’s it!”
“Who’s going to work on it?” Chuck asked, remembering how this monster was created by Jeff and Lester who decided to take all viruses they could find and combine them together. It never should have worked, but it was Jeffster, so when something wasn’t supposed to work it did. Emma shrugged.
“I guess her regular IT guy, not that he appears to be that good,” she said, trying not to let the grin grow on her face. “I suppose fixing a computer would be a step down for a video game creator.” Chuck couldn’t help but grin at Emma.
“You have no shame, do you?”
“Nope, you two get along great, just like Molly and I thought you would.”
“When is Clara’s birthday?” Molly asked.
“It’s next Friday,” Chuck replied. “She’ll be one.”
“Good,” Molly said.
“Do you want to get her a present, Honey?” Emma asked. Molly looked perturbed at the question.
“Granny, she’s my sister, I have to throw her a birthday party,” she said as she reached up to carry Clara. Chuck looked at Emma, who shrugged. Molly begin to give Chuck the stinkeye. Chuck gave Clara to Molly, who gently carried her to the baby room. Mrs. Wood smiled at the beginnings of the blended family.
“I have no chance against her, do I?” Chuck asked.
“Sarah asked me the same thing this morning,” Emma said as she looked at Chuck. “She likes you, a lot, and I think she wants you to be her father.” Chuck looked at Emma and gulped.
}o{
Chuck sat in his office, the lights off, his eyes closed, listening to Here I go Again by Whitesnake on repeat. Morgan came down the hall, heard the music, prayed for the best, yet feared the worst, stuck his head in, and groaned.
“No, Chuck, no, no, no,” he said protesting.
“Buddy,” Chuck began.
“It’s not Clara’s birthday, it’s not Devon’s or Ellie’s. It’s not their anniversary, so what is it? What have I forgot that we need to get you through, because you CANNOT do this. You promised!”
“Buddy,” Chuck began again.
“I can hold down the fort, I can keep the games going, but, Chuck, you cannot sink and spiral like this!”
“Buddy, I met someone,” Chuck said softly. Morgan stood up straight. A smile came across his face.
“That’s great! No, really, Chuck, that’s fantastic! What’s her name?”
“Sarah Walker.”
“You know, that’s funny, the lady Alex works for name is Sarah Walker, and dude, no offense to your woman, do you know who she looks like?”
“Vicky Vale,” Chuck replied, knowing they were firmly on the Morgan train, next stop Insanityville.
“That’s right! How did you know?” Chuck looked at him from between his hands. Morgan’s eyes got wide. “DUDE! You are dating Vicky Vale.”
“Dating is strong,” Chuck began.
“No, this is good. This is really good!” Chuck had to get control of this, and soon.
“Buddy, do you really know what Casey does or used to do?”
“Oh, yeah. He used to work for the NSA, and killed a lot of people, but you can’t tell anyone.” Chuck looked at him, not for sure if he was impressed with his friend or certain he was crazy. “He told me in specific, graphic details of many of his kills. I didn’t kiss Alex for a week.”
“If Casey said he could hunt someone down, do you believe him?”
“Absolutely, whoever John Casey decides to find, is as good as found.” Chuck groaned and banged his head against the desk. “Who are they looking for, Chuck? I figured that part out, I’m getting better at this.”
“Piranha,” Chuck answered, his forehead slowly bouncing off the desk.
“Huh, funny, it sounded like you said Piranha,” Morgan said, looking a little concerned.
“I did.” Morgan was quiet for several seconds.
“Should I go empty out petty cash so you and Clara can run?”
“There’s only $38 in there.”
“I used it to get pizza the other day,” Morgan answered. “Why do they want Piranha?”
“They need a computer expert for their company.”
“I’ve got $47 in quarters at my apartment.”
“I can’t take Clara on the run for the rest of my life. Certainly not with just $85.”
“Maybe you should break up with her.”
“Would that really make a difference?”
“No.”
“Plus, she’s got this daughter, Molly. She’s great Morgan, I don’t want to hurt her, and I don’t want to hurt Sarah. Her heart…it’s so big and there’s so much love there. I think I’m the first guy she’s trusted in a long time, and I can’t hurt her. I can’t let her down.” Chuck gave a big bump to his head on the last one. “Plus, they’ve been infected by Jeffster.”
“They’re going to need a topical cream for that. Antibiotics aren’t enough.”
“The computer virus, Morgan.”
“Oh, that’s better. Who have they got working on it?”
“Their IT guy.”
“SKIP?” Chuck raised his head.
“From Buy More?” Morgan nodded. Chuck banged his head on the table one more time. “Chuck, your lady, she is in distress. You know what you have to do.” Chuck sighed. Morgan was right. Chuck stood up, Morgan got his coat, and slipped it on his arms without a word. As Chuck turned, Morgan grabbed his arms, and looked him right in the eye. “Remember, when everything’s down, remember.”
“Don’t Stop Believin’?” Morgan clapped his hands on Chuck’s arms.
“Go get her, Buddy.” Chuck took a deep breath and left the safety of Intersect Games. He found his way to Burton Industries, which was only a couple of blocks away. He parked his car, walked inside, and found Alex yelling at the computer.
“That only works with Morgan,” Chuck said to Alex. Alex looked up, saw Chuck, and ran around the desk to hug him.
“Tell me you’re here to fix our problems!”
“I thought you had a boyfriend, Alex,” Sarah’s voice came from the hallway. Alex smiled and saw her boss, and friend leaning against the doorframe, smiling at Chuck. “Chuck, miss me?” Chuck’s worries went away and he gave her his million watt smile.
“Yeah,” he said honestly. Oh, crap there goes my knees again! I’ve had guys give me these lines before, how did they never affect me? Maybe because he’s telling the truth? “But, as much as it is a joy to see you, I thought I might help you out.”
“How’s that?”
“I hear you’re using Skip as your IT guy.” Sarah nodded. Chuck sighed. “I can fix this in ten minutes.” Sarah stood up straight, smiling.
“You don’t have to impress me, Chuck. Skip says it will take hours.”
“I’m not trying to impress you, if I had I would have told you five minutes,” he said confidently. And, there goes my knees again, and my belly, this guy is going to be the death of me, and I haven’t even properly kissed him yet!
“Well, I guess there’s only one way to settle this,” Sarah said with a challenging look in her smile. “If you take 5 minutes or less, you win and you get to choose what the loser has to do, if it takes 5 minutes 1 second or more, I get to choose what the loser does.” Sarah stuck out her hand. Chuck nodded and shook. He started to remove his hand, when he realized he couldn’t. Sarah was staring at him, with the same challenging look. “Alex,” she said, still looking directly at him. “Would you mind baby-sitting Clara when Chuck loses so I can take him out on a date.”
“Sarah, if you wanted to ask me out, all you had to do is ask,” Chuck said. He thought he saw Sarah swallow.
“I’d be glad to, Sarah,” Alex said grinning.
“If I ask you out, you might do something silly like say no, this way, I know what I’m getting.”
“I don’t think you like to lose, Sarah.”
“Think?” she asked, and released his hand. Chuck, never releasing her gaze, cracked his knuckles, rolled his neck, and nodded toward her.
“Shall we?” he asked. Sarah led him, with Alex following close behind. Casey and Carina saw what was going on and followed them into the server room. Chuck saw Skip trying to stop the virus, but he was going about it all wrong. Skip looked up, saw Chuck, and jumped up out of the chair. “Thanks, Buddy.” Chuck sat down, and began to look over the code. Sarah came over with her phone and put it on stopwatch mode. She put 5 minutes on the clock.
“It’s not too late to back out,” she said, smirking. Chuck looked at her, and winked.
“You don’t want to know what you have to do when I win?”
“You can tell me if you want because there is no way it ever happens.” Chuck nodded. “3. 2. 1.” And with that, Chuck’s fingers started flying across the keyboard. Gone was the man who last night was down on himself, gone was the self-deprecating humor, gone was the man who had lost all his family. In front of her, with his fingers flying was the man who believed in himself, and heaven help her it was so sexy. Sarah swallowed, and had to look away. The timer clicked down and two minutes had passed. “Oh look, I’m gonna fix that patch in your security while I’m in here.” Skip tried to watch, but just couldn’t keep up. The time passed by, and Sarah had no idea how close he was.
“Forty-five seconds is all I’ll need,” he said. The time had 50 seconds on it. The time went down and Chuck appeared very confident. He snuck a glance at Sarah, and winked at her. She shook her head, smiling. She could get used to this Chuck. “Where are you,” he said, scouring for a batch of code.
“Ten seconds, Chuck,” she said, leaning right against his ear, her breath making him shiver.
“Found it,” he said, with four seconds to spare. He held his finger above the enter key and they both watched as the counter went to zero, and a -1 appeared on the screen. Chuck hit enter, looking her directly in the eye. Carina checked one of the nearby computers, it worked perfectly. “Guess you win, Sarah,” Chuck said. The look on Sarah’s face was indescribable.
“Why did you do that?” she asked softly.
“Because losing really didn’t sound like losing,” he said. “Six tonight?” he asked. She nodded. He got up, gave her a kiss on the cheek, nodded at Casey, gave Carina and Alex a quick hug, fist bumped Skip, and left.
“Why are we not using him for our computer guy, Walker?” Carina asked.
“I offered, and he’s not comfortable now that he has Clara,” Sarah answered, but part of her wondered.
“You and Molly are safe,” Carina countered.
“Walker’s a trained agent,” Casey replied. “If someone comes after Bartowski, there’s nothing he can do.”
“No one would ever know it was him,” Skip said. Everyone turned toward him, they sometimes forgot Skip worked there. “It’s almost like he’s a hacker, he’s so good.”
“So he’s safe,” Carina said. Sarah shook her head. Carina grinned. “You could always move in with him and give 24 hour protection.” Sarah gave her a level look, but a grin fought her face, and won.
“What do you me almost like he’s a hacker,” Casey said. Skip shrugged.
“Just sometimes, when no one is paying attention to what he is doing, he can do things I’ve never even heard of, but when he realizes someone is watching, he just real good.”
“Thanks, Skip, you can go,” Casey said.
“But, this is my area,” Skip replied. Casey stared at him.
“Take the day off.”
“But, Sarah is my boss not you.”
“Skip, take the day off,” Sarah said. She didn’t like where this was going. Skip left, and Sarah turned toward Casey. “Be very careful what you’re about to say.” Casey shook his head.
“He probably knows Piranha or someone like him, and I think I scared Chuck last night,” Casey said. Sarah nodded. “Look, a lot of those geeks,” Sarah gave him a glare. “Nerds?” She nodded. “Wow, she’s already whipped,” he muttered. Sarah glared again. Casey ignored it and went on. “Are good on a computer. I’m not saying he knows a big name hacker, but with me going off last night like I was, what if he does? Maybe he could do what we need, but he’s got to be scared half to death after my rant.” Carina felt his forehead to see if he had malaria or if he was delirious. Casey swatted at her hand.
“Sarah, you should probably talk to him,” Carina said. Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Oh get off it. You brought us in, changed us, heart-warmed us, and now we have lady feelings. Before I used to just be out for fun, but now I want something as well…maybe someone to give me lady feelings and lady feelings,” Carina said with a wink. Sarah’s mouth dropped, and John grunted and grinned at Carina. Carina turned toward him.
“Johnny you promised you’d never grunt at me that way again.”
“And you promised you’d destroy that photo.” Sarah stuck her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes.
“NAHNAHNAHNAHNAH,” she started chanting. “I need brain bleach! I need it now!” Carina came over and hugged her.
“Go get lunch and go talk to him.”
“Sarah, he was in a real bad place a while back,” John said quietly. “He might have been serious last night, that little girl may have saved his life.” Sarah nodded and walked off.
“I still need brain bleach,” she yelled as she walked out the door. Carina turned toward John, and he sighed.
“I think I messed up,” he said. Carina grinned at him.
“Who are you and what have you done with John Casey?” Carina asked. Casey grunted, but his heart wasn’t in it. “Casey, are you implying-”
“I’m not implying he’s Piranha, but he’s probably a hacker. Look at the way he clammed up and left last night.” Carina nodded.
“He was worried what would happen if we didn’t find a computer expert,” Carina said. “What do we do if he is Piranha?”
“I don’t think it matters if he is or isn’t. It’s obvious Bartowski is a good man that will do what has to be done for his family, and he all but volunteered last night. Whatever pranks he pulled in the past, are in the past, and we all deserve second chances,” Casey said. “He and Walker deserve happiness.”
“You know, we could make sure they figure this thing out,” Carina offered.
“You know my boyfriend is Chuck’s best friend, Dad,” Alex said from the doorway they never heard open. John nodded and looked at Carina, who grinned. “Let’s go have lunch and talk this out,” she said, heading down the hallway.
“You know, Johnny,” Carina said softly. “I still have those cuffs, and you always were good at giving me lady feelings.” Casey grunted.
}o{
Sarah had heard for years about this deli in town that was supposed to be one of the absolute best, so she told Alex where she was headed, and took off. She wanted to stretch her legs, so she walked down to the Buy More Plaza…or was it the Large Mart Plaza…she could never be sure. In the past few years an Orange Orange and Weinerlicious had gone out of business there. If Sarah hadn’t known better she’d have thought both would have been a CIA cover. She saw the sign she was looking for and entered. As she scanned the list of sandwiches, she noticed one that caught her eye and made her smile. It was after the lunch rush, and the store was nearly empty. A woman, about her age, short, and a brunette watched her. She looked up in the direction Sarah was looking and grinned.
“It’s one of our best sellers,” she said.
“The Chuck, huh? That’s an interesting name for a sandwich,” Sarah said.
“It’s named after an interesting guy,” the sandwich maker replied. “Chuck Bartowski is one interesting man.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Tall, lanky, raising his niece-”
“His hair makes interesting animal shapes?” the sandwich maker cut in. “Hi,” she said extending her hand. “My name is Lou, let me make you a sandwich and you and I have a little talk.” Sarah raised an eyebrow and nodded.
“Sarah,” she replied. Sarah went and sat down, and Lou joined her a few minutes later.
“So you know, Alex and Morgan both called me today to tell me about you. We’re all Chuck’s friends. Alex called me to give me a heads-up after you said you were walking over here to have lunch today.”
“So is this where you sit me down and tell me if I hurt him, you’ll hurt me?”
“No, Alex assured me that’s not your style, what I have been voted to do though, is the person to tell you what you’re getting into. Chuck will eventually, but he has to mope, and doubt himself for a while before he can open up.” Sarah looked relieved.
“So he’s doubts himself that much around everybody?” Lou rolled her eyes, and Sarah laughed.
“Look, Jill did a number on him and then when his best friend was sleeping with her behind his back…well, things couldn’t get much worse, or so we thought,” Lou began. Sarah had a look on her face that said, “wellllll” “What?” Lou asked.
“The last guy I dated was Bryce Larkin, but that was over 5 years ago.” Lou’s mouth dropped.
“Really?”
“My job…”
“You’re former CIA,” she said. Sarah was not happy that she knew.
“Does everyone know?”
“Morgan does, so yes,” Lou replied, grinning. “Casey tried to scare him about Alex and told him he was NSA, so Morgan assumed you and Carina were as well.” Sarah dropped her head. “Don’t worry, Morgan doesn’t say anything out of his circle of trust…I don’t think.” Sarah shook her head and chuckled.
“Sometimes, back then, there was no one to trust, no one to understand what you went through.” Sarah looked away, it had made so much sense back then, now, it just seemed shallow, which she now realized that’s what it was.
“A port in the storm, as they say?” Lou asked. Sarah nodded.
“He’s the last guy I’ve even been on a date with, and that was five years ago,” Sarah said. Lou’s mouth dropped. “Seriously, raising a child and running a company; Time. Con. Suming.” Lou laughed. “Anyway.”
“Back to Chuck, I tried five years ago to date the guy, but he had no confidence. I name a sandwich after him, Sarah, and he still never asked me out. Sarah, if you want a relationship with his guy, you’re going to have to do a lot of the work. He’s broken, and then he was nearly whole, and then he lost his rock, Ellie. Sarah, I think he has survivor’s guilt. I’m no psychologist, but I think he believes he should have been the one to die.”
“Maybe he needs to see one,” Sarah offered. Lou snorted.
“We tried that, he refused to go back, said the doctor reminded him too much of the professor from Back to the Future,” Lou said, shaking her head. She looked at Sarah right in the eye.
“He needs a friend, someone who will love him for who he is, and see what’s inside,” she paused and grinned at her. “And, from what I’ve been told, you have passed most of the qualifications.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Most?” Sarah asked. Lou smiled.
“Morgan hasn’t signed off on you yet,” she replied. “Morgan considers himself Chuck’s heterosexual life partner, and has final say.”
“He does, does he?” Sarah smiled. “Maybe I need to meet Morgan.” Lou smiled.
“I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation,” Lou said. She turned serious. “He thinks everyone has abandoned him, and is certain he will never have happiness. I want him to be happy, but you have to know this is going to take some time.” Sarah nodded.
“Think I’ll head over and see a couple of nerds,” Sarah said smiling. Lou smiled, reached out, and shook her hand.
“Good luck, Sarah,” I’m pulling for you.
A/N: 2 things, Lou always got crapped on, and I never thought it was right. Sorry if you need brain bleach. You all have been wonderful, don’t know how quick the next one will come.