Just Out of Reach AKA Avocados

A/N: There’s some really HEAVY writing going on. That’s not what this is. This is a fic of discovery of two people and what each actually means to the other. Yes, someone thinks they’re helping, but…here’s the thing. These two….they always find each other. They do. At least that’s what I believe.

Someone once asked me why Chuck characters were so complicated. (Great, we’ve made Ellie’s eye twitch) I replied that all Chuck characters were actually quite simple in their thoughts/beliefs. It’s what they DID about things that were complicated. (I could write a two hundred page dissertation on THAT!) Did Bryce love Chuck and Sarah? I think yes. Now, did he also think he, and let me borrow Greg’s TM and pay him money, Bryce Knows Best TM. He always did what HE thought was best. That part is simple. His belief on WHAT was best…..good Lord…..(Maybe a three hundred page dissertation now that I really think about it) What’s that? Shut up about dissertations and do the typity, typity? *Sigh* Finnnneeeeee

Disclaimer: I don’t own Chuck.

Then. Somewhere, highly classified,….I think….

“That seems stalkerish,” the voice behind her said. She turned and smiled at the very attractive, very put together, and very deadly woman. (Mark Twain once said to each time you write very to replace it with damn and then throw out all the damns. In Carina’s case she wishes you’d leave in the damns. IE damn attractive, damn put together, and damn deadly woman.)

“I told him I’m in charge of security,” Zondra replied, swiveling back to the monitor to watch Bryce. She turned up the sound on the feed, and they both heard the music playing.

If I could find assurance

To leave you behind

I know my better half would fade

And all my doubts

Is a staircase for you

Opened out of this maze

The first step is the one you believe in

The second one might be profound

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

I'll follow you down

While we're passing through space

I don't care if we fall from grace

I'll follow you down

“He okay?” Carina asked, a second of worry crossing her face, and then leaving. But, it was Carina, so Zondra wasn’t sure if it was worry about Bryce, or worry that this assignment might affect her plans for the evening.

“I think that fool went and fell in love with two people,” Zondra said, handing Carina a file without even looking at her. Carina took it, and glanced at it. “Are we journaling now?” Carina asked, an eyebrow raised, but never looking up from the file, reading.

“It’s my therapist,” Zondra said, slightly annoyed. Carina lifted her head, an amused smile on her face. “And by therapist it’s…it’s…”

“You found an internet doctor?” Carina asked.

“It’s not like THAT!” Zondra insisted.

“Orrrr, it’s exactly like that,” Carina observed going back to the file. Zondra fumed while Carina read. Whatever the reason for the journaling, Carina had to admit this was quite insightful. Zondra had put down every observation she had on Bryce, and had come to the following conclusions.

Bryce was a mess. Carina nodded, knowing Zondra was right. Zondra also believed he had two people in his life that he had loved, and the fear of what he was a part of had led him to push both of them away to protect them.

“Jesus, the idiot’s in love,” Carina muttered.

“With two people,” Zondra pointed out, never watching Bryce work out, the song he was listening to on repeat.

You can have the money and the world

The angels and the pearls

Even trademark the color blue

Just like the tower we never built

In the shadow of all the guilt

When the other hand was pointed at you

Yeah, the first step is the one you believe in

And the second one might be profound

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

I'll follow you down while we're passing through space

I don't care if we fall from grace

I'll follow you down to where forever lies

Without a doubt, I'm on your side

There's nowhere else that I would rather be

I'm not about to compromise

Give you up to say goodbye

I'll guide you through the deep

I'll keep you close to me

“He’s trying to protect them,” Carina continued.

“Page seven, with a diagram in the index,” Zondra said. Carina looked at Zondra, flipped to page seven, and then to the index. She looked up to speak. “Not. A. Damn. Word.” Zondra said stressing each word. Carina pressed her lips together, blew out her cheeks, lifted her eyebrows, and turned the document sideways to get a better look at the diagram. “I like the color coordination.”

“Thanks,” Zondra said. “Sarah just feels like a blue and the other guy…he feels like a brown.” She blew out a breath. “Obviously Bryce is a bright yellow because he thinks the world orbits around him.”

“He’s more conceited than I am,” Carina muttered. “Wait, what’s this ‘wildcard’ in red?” She looked up. “Sarah’s the wildcard.”“Page twelve,” Zondra said, smiling, never looking back at Carina. She watched Bryce stand, and look right at the camera as he sung the chorus one last time.

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

I'll follow you down

While we're passing through space

I don't care if we fall from grace

I'll follow you

If I could find assurance

To leave you behind

I know my better half would fade

I'll follow you down

“Why?” Carina asked, looking up at the monitor and Zondra watching it.

“Page sixteen, second half, the bullet points,” Zondra replied, still not looking at her.

Carina flipped and read for a second. Concern showed on her face. “Okay, what-”

“Page twenty-three, paragraph four,” Zondra said.

“You cannot know what I was going to ask,” Carina muttered, flipping to the page. She read silently for a minute. “Well, son-of-a-bitch,” she said, looking up at Zondra, as Zondra spun to her slowly in her chair, a knowing smile on her face. “That’s my two options.”

“Help us clean this up,” Zondra began.

“And that would be a lot of actual work,” Carina pointed out.“Or,” Zondra said, a grin on her face.

A wicked smile began to grown on Carina’s face. “Does he know?” Carina asked, nodding toward Bryce.

“The who? No,” Zondra said, shaking her head. “But does he know we need someone we can trust? Yes.”“And you can trust…me?” Carina asked, shocked.

“God, no,” Zondra said, shaking her head.

“I should be hurt by that,” Carina began.

“And yet, you’re not,” Zondra replied.

“I’m really not,” Carina agreed, shaking her head, looking back at the file. She pulled the file close, as if to make sure she saw what she thought she saw. “They get paid THAT??? That’s….that’s almost what I make and I get shot at.”

“And you might have more legal authority,” Zondra added. “The last section is pictures and mini-dossiers of the male agents and those that are somewhat…lecherous….”

An evil grin crossed Carina’s face. “Do they need to be broken?”

“It would probably hurt their ego,” Zondra replied, an evil grin on her face.

“How do we know I’d get the job?” Carina asked. Zondra didn’t say anything, she turned half-way in the chair, grabbed another file and handed it to her. Carina picked it up and leafed through it. “This is a job offer.”

“What can I say, it’s snoresville,” Zondra replied. “They need a capable agent, and if that someone wasn’t a man…”

“Sausage fest over there, huh?” Carina asked. “So, it’s boring.”“It’s safe, which…” Zondra trailed off.

“You worried about me?” Carina asked.

“God, no,” Zondra scoffed. Carina didn’t say anything. “I mean, I know you, you can handle yourself, but….” Zondra was silent for a moment. “This thing runs deep.”

“Yeah,” Carina said, nodding, being serious, which made Zondra’s blood run cold. “You know I don’t mind danger, in fact, some could say I go out of my way to find danger.”

“Some,” Zondra said, barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes.

“But, it’s usually for a good reason, at least one I can justify,” Carina continued, reopening the file Zondra gave her.

“You can’t justify this,” Zondra said, leaving no room for discussion.

Carina shook her head. “No,” she said. “In fact,” she said, and sighed. “It seems like a witch hunt just because I was associated with her.”

“It could be,” Zondra agreed.

“Are you safe?” Carina asked. Zondra stared at her. “Z.”

“Yes,” Zondra replied. “This has you rattled.”Carina scoffed. “No,” she said. She looked at the monitor of Bryce, but she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking into nothingness. “Yes,” she said softly.

“Me too,” Zondra agreed. Carina locked eyes with her. “And I know you think I’m in more danger because of who I’m working with, but…my eyes are open. We have information now.”

“We do,” Carina said. “One problem with this whole thing,” she began. She stopped talking when she saw the grin on Zondra’s face. Zondra slowly spun, picked up another folder and handed it to Carina. Carina opened it, read, and began to laugh. “You’re not as thorough as I thought you were.”

“Oh, I’m not?” Zondra asked, slowly spinning again, picking up one last folder, and handing it to Carina.

Carina opened it, and grinned. She picked up a photo and held it out, admiring it. “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny,” she said. Zondra shuddered.

}o{

Now

He was sitting outside, the bonfire having burnt down to nothing, a slight warmth coming off of it. There had been what looked like the remains of a porch near where the bonfire pit had been built, and he was sitting there, his legs dangling off the side, looking up at the sky, and trying to put together everything that had happened. His brain wasn’t working right. He couldn’t help but grin about why his brain wasn’t working right.

It wasn’t the sex. That had been….wow. It was…the connection. The connection with someone else that…that cared. He and Jill…..they had never had…that. The touches…the trust….Sarah Walker….a woman who….Chuck shook his head. The trust he had of hers….he couldn’t ruin it.

He should have been surprised as two hands slid over his shoulders and clasped to each other over his chest. He should have been surprised as the two legs….two…BARE…legs…slid by each of his and he felt her press her chest against his back, and her lips stopped right by his ear.“You okay?” he heard her ask quietly. He couldn’t stop the grin as she gently planted a kiss near his ear, and just stayed there. He didn’t want to be that guy, but in that moment….God, he couldn’t help how content he felt. How…loved. How….connected to her he was.

“Yeah,” he said, putting his right hand over her hand. “Just…my mind….it’s been blown.”

“Yeah?” she replied. He heard the smugness in her voice, and he found he loved her more for it.

He was going to have to get used to that word. Maybe not use it. Probably shouldn’t. It was too soon. Everything said it was too soon. You couldn’t know.

But he did.

God, did he.

And he knew somewhere, someone would say, it was the sex.

It wasn’t.

That…that was fantastic and amazing. It was her.

Sarah. Freaking. Walker. It was her and the person she was. It was the looks she gave, the joy on her face as she teased him. And god, last night had she teased him….and then she DIDN’T tease him. It had been the lead up with the beds. The jokes. The…belonging. He belonged to her. He was willing to get “property of Sarah Walker” stamped on his head and he wasn’t even ashamed of how that sounded.

“So, not to change the subject, but that looks like my shirt,” Chuck said.

“Yeah, guess you lost two shirts tonight,” she said softly. He felt the grin in her voice.

“First you destroy one, and then you take one?” he asked her, his hand running back and forth on her arm.“Destroy is strong,” Sarah told him.

“I guess I could try and sew the buttons back on,” Chuck admitted.

“Well, I may have ripped one of the sleeves as well,” Sarah told him.

“Again, worth it,” Chuck told her.

“And, it’s not like you can’t get this one back,” Sarah informed him.

“I can’t even see any of it on you but the sleeve, but I’m sure it looks better on you than me,” he told her.“Oh, well, I guess there goes that plan.” He couldn’t help but turn to her, a questioning look on his face. She started to speak when they both heard it. A snore. From the main house. “Jesus,” she said shaking her head.

“Yeah, but you know what, I’m not gonna complain,” he told her.

“Yeah?” she asked, a shy smile on her face.

“Yeah,” he said. “In fact, I’m going to be a little sad when my bed gets here.”

“Why?” Sarah asked. In that moment, it was almost like a halo formed over her head.

“It is ridiculous that you look angelic right now, because what happened earlier….” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“Well, I thought the devil was a fallen angel,” she replied.

His mouth dropped, and she couldn’t stop the giggle if she tried. She kissed his cheek softly again. “Woman,” he said in a low voice, and the giggles began again.

“You’re gonna be all you about all of this, aren’t you?”

“I like that you framed it in the form of a question, but it was really a statement of fact,” he admitted.

“I was trying to give you an out,” she said.

“Why, we both know if I said no, it would be a lie,” he told her. She squeezed him and pressed his arm against hers. “Sarah-”

“Okay, I’m going to get this out there, because….because someone once told me I wasn’t good at this part and I need to prove them wrong…for me.”

“You don’t have to,” Chuck told her. “I don’t need you to.”

“I know you don’t,” Sarah said. “I do.”

“Okay,” Chuck replied.

“You can sleep in whatever bed you want, just know, I’m going to be there with you,” she began.

“God, that’s hot,” he muttered.

She grinned. “We’re together, Chuck.” She took a deep breath. “Exclusive.”

“Yes, absolutely exclusive,” he said, trying not to let out a sigh of relief.

“You totally were wondering.”

“I was,” he admitted. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, but he could tell she wasn’t trying to be mean. It was…it was almost like, “God, he’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot.” If Chuck had to admit to himself, it was almost like the look Zendaya gave Tom Holland during their Lip Sync Battle when he preformed Umbrella.

“Now, for the part you need to really hear,” she began.

“I kinda really needed to hear the other part,” he argued. She gave him a look. “Right, shutting up.”

“I love you.”

Something in him broke. Not in a bad way. But a wall, or something in him that he had tried to seal up his heart with broke in half. In fact, broke was the wrong word. Something in him was obliterated. It was dust. Everything that had been held back, and he was quite surprised that there was anything because of the way he constantly was, was now free.

“I thought at first it was the idea of you when Bryce told me,” she continued. “I thought it was just because I felt sorry for you and what he did to you.”

“How do you know it wasn’t?” Chuck asked softly.

“Because what I felt before I met you…it had nothing on what I felt afterwards,” she told him. “You stood in front of your coworkers and you said, ‘I met two people who life…life hasn’t been the best to either, has it?”And I see them trying. I see them trying something that is clearly out of their wheelhouse…and yet…isn’t.’”

“I did say that, didn’t I,” Chuck admitted.

“Chuck…you saw me,” Sarah said, tears in her eyes. “You saw…me. Not Agent Sarah Walker. Not the girl who helped her dad con people. But you saw the scared woman, TRYING, and God, that’s the best we’re doing, trying…and it…it’s a mess….” She trailed off, and moved her hand, cupping his cheek. “And you wanted to be a part of it,” she said softly.

“Because…because you inspired me,” Chuck told her.“I already told you I loved you, what more do you want?” she asked, a grin on her face.

“You need to know something,” he began.

“Don’t say something because you think you’re supposed to.”

“Sarah, I’ve been sitting out here telling myself to be cool because I’m not supposed to be able to fall in love this fast,” Chuck told her. A shy smile crossed her face with that. “Sarah Walker,” he said softly. “I love you.”

She smiled as she stared into his eyes. “Say it again. Please.”

“Sarah Walker,” he said, the smile consuming his whole face. “I love you.”

“You know, it’s not fair,” Sarah told him. “I had this whole plan of coming out here wearing your tee shirt, telling you that you should take it back and then just have on…”

“Oh God,” he croaked out.

“But then, you, you sexy nerd, you had to go and say that you love me, and now I’m the one who feels like I’ve been swept off my feet,” she finished.

“I think you need to know that if that’s all it takes, you might be swept often by me,” Chuck told her.

“Sweep away, Chuck,” she told him.

They sat there, eyes locked. “I trust you, don’t blow this,” she said softly.

“I’m going to make mistakes,” he told her.

“We both are, but as long as we’re honest and don’t cheat-”

“I’ve been cheated on and cheating sucks, and that’s not who I am, and-”

She kissed him to shut him up. When she pulled away she looked him straight in the eye. “I have too you know.”

“Yeah, I know, and…I won’t,” he promised.

“Good,” she told him. She looked up at the sky. “Look up there.” He turned his head. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she told him softly. He started to look back at her, when he felt her lips against his neck. “You made yourself vulnerable to me.”

“Jokes on you,” he said, trying to keep his thoughts coherent, as she trailed kisses on his neck. “I’ve been vulnerable to you since I met you.”

She moved so quickly he was startled, but suddenly she was on his lap his face cupped in her hands. “I promise you, Chuck, I’ll do everything not to let you be hurt again.”

“I know,” he said softly. She stared into his eyes and he got lost. “You don’t have to protect me.”

“It’s who I am,” she said, shrugging.

“Hot,” he somehow managed to get out. She grinned at him. “And I also see you have been vulnerable with me.”

The look on her face changed to one of…was it shame? “I know I haven’t been like-”

“Stop,” he said gently. “It’s not a contest, and here’s the thing, you let me in. You let me in, here,” he said as he gently laid his hand where her heart actually was and not where Jeff thought it was. “That’s all anyone can ask.”

“So, I might need you to do something,” she said to him, a grin on her face.

“Yeah?”

“I might need you to, say….a few days after the bed gets delivered from the store, to go back, and shake the salesman hand,” she told him, and then she laughed.

“Oh, I’m going in and hugging him,” Chuck told her. She held onto his shoulders as she laughed.

“Let’s go to bed,” she said softly, looking up at him after the laughter had ceased. “I need to be snuggled.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he told her.“And if you do a good job I’ll give you back your tee shirt,” she continued.

“Is that directly from where it…” he stopped. The smile on her face told him the answer. “I gotta say, he was the biggest dumbass in the world, but I might owe him.”

“Maybe,” Sarah said. “Or maybe we’d find each other anyway.”

“I like that,” Chuck admitted. She stood, and Chuck found himself staring at her bare legs, his brain frying in real time.

“I would apologize for doing things like that to you, but I really enjoy it,” she told him.

“It’s fine,” he got out in a hoarse voice. She laughed, helped him up, and the two headed inside.

A/N: Today’s music was provided by Shinedown. The song is called I’ll Follow You. What’s that? What about Carina and Casey? Guess we’ll find out soon. Next time, family dinner, Burton/Walker/whateverthehellnameJackisusingthistime. Come on back.