Chapter 14
I don’t own Chuck
“You two okay?” Casey asked, as they sat in the diner.
“I’m good, are you, Chuck?” Sarah asked, turning to the man sitting beside her.
“Yeah,” Chuck replied, slowly stirring his soup with a spoon. “We should tell him.” Sarah looked over at Chuck and nodded. It was three days after the ice machine episode. Casey had returned, and told them that he had a plan.
His contact had wanted to meet them here, away from Pueblo, away from the Air Force Base. Sarah wasn’t crazy about it, but Casey told her the second they were done, they’d pitch Chuck in the car and take off. The part Sarah really didn’t like was the meeting was one on one.
“We’ve been going through Sarah’s assignments under Graham to see if we can find anyone who didn’t deserve their punishment,” Chuck told Casey.
Casey looked from Chuck to Sarah. Sarah nodded. “And?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“So far, nothing,” Chuck told Casey. “We’ve done five a day.”
“How many are there to go?” Casey asked. Chuck glanced at Sarah. “Jesus,” he muttered.
“We’ve only done her early career,” Chuck told Casey. Chuck paused, but Casey figured it out.
“And you suspect that as you move through her career, you’re going to find some killed that didn’t need to be,” Casey finished for him. “That makes a lot of sense, early on was testing her.”
“See if I can do the job,” Sarah told Casey. Casey nodded. “We won’t bore you with the feelings part of the process.”
“Good,” Casey replied. “Besides, that’s the moron’s specialty.”
“He does help me with my feelings,” Sarah admitted. She looked over at him and smiled. Chuck returned the smile.
}o{
The morning of the ice machine incident
“Is that really what you’re concerned about?” Sarah asked him, raising an eyebrow at him. Chuck pressed his lips together, not sure how to answer. “You need to cool off?”
“Yup!” Chuck answered his voice going up an octave.
Her hand right hand landed on his right shoulder and she slowly ran it up his neck, cupping it, his eyes fluttering. “Something have you…hot….and bothered…Chuck?” she asked, emphasizing the “k”.
“What are you doing?” he asked softly, staring into her eyes. “I mean, I know what you’re going…I think. What I’m asking is, why? Because of me? Because of what you feel, because of-”
“I told you, I’m not your handler, I’m not-”
“I’m asking you are you doing this because you care for me or is it…” Chuck trailed off. “Is this a distraction?” he asked softly.
She studied him a second, a grin growing on her face. “Yes, you are a distraction,” she told him. He nodded, a sad look on his face. “Those curls,” she said, rubbing her hand through them. “Your caring about me.” His eyes widened. “Chuck, this is about me and you. I get it, we’re stuck together, things are a little intense, and if I’m being too forward-”
“Nonononono,” he rushed out. “I-I…Sarah, it’s kinda hard for someone like me to believe that someone as amazing as you could be interested in me…well…for me.”
“It’s hard for me to believe someone as amazing as you could be interested in someone like me,” Sarah admitted. “But, you don’t seem to be the kind to lie, so I have to believe you, the question is do you believe me?”
Chuck reached out, and gently cupped her face with his right hand. “I do,” he told her softly. “And, I’m here for you, I just don’t want you to think I expect anything.”
“Expect something?” Sarah said, laughing. “Chuck, listen, no. I would never think that about you. Do you think I would do this with someone who ‘expected’ it?”
“No, not normally, but…you’ve been very emotionally vulnerable around me,” Chuck replied.
“I have,” Sarah said softly. She pulled him in and kissed him on the lips. His large hands slid down to her waist, pulling her close. He realized how she was still dressed. How she had gotten out of bed, with no thought to her own safety and personal comfort, to come find him.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured as he pulled away. She gave him a confused look. “About leaving earlier.”
“Don’t let it happen again,” she told him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Because I don’t want to have to punish you.”
“And what does that mean?” Chuck asked.
“No idea, words just keep blurting out of my mouth when I’m around you, Chuck Bartowski,” she admitted. She began to back away, holding his hand, pulling him toward the bed. “Now, I was all comfy in the bed, before you left.”
“Seems I should make it up to you,” Chuck told her.
“Oh, think you can?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.
}o{
Hours later
“Okay, you made it up to me,” she said, cuddled against his naked body.
}o{
“So what’s our contacts name?” Sarah asked.
“Simon Roth,” Casey said. Chuck sat there, waiting for a flash, but there was nothing. “His father was Peter Roth.” Still nothing. Casey sighed. “Oh, he has a brother, Michael Roth.” Chuck shook his head.
“I guess you have to meet him and then we go from there,” Casey told Chuck. “Walker, you stay all over him until the meet, just in case.”
“No problem,” Sarah told Casey. Chuck tried not to choke on the soup he had been sipping as Casey had made that comment.