And my tradition of holiday stories continues. Contrary to popular belief (mainly mine), I do actually go out for New Year's Eve. Two of my favorite moments occurred on New Year's Eve. In 1999, I partied on Division Street in Chicago, which is a very popular area to be any night of the week, let alone a night like this. I even started the countdown on the street. Two years later, I was determined to celebrate New Year's just to prove 19 bastards couldn't keep this country down. Those were my best New Year's Eve memories. I've had good ones and bad ones just like anybody, I guess, but those two will always stick out in my mind.

I don't know what will happen tonight, but hopefully it'll be fun. In the meantime, enjoy this little one-shot story of Chuck and Sarah on New Year's Eve. Have fun tonight, stay safe, and I hope you have a great 2011. (and leave reviews, please?)

Hollywood, California
December 31, 2010
11:45 PM

When he thought about it, Top 40 and hip-hop music really weren't his style. Give him a good indie band any day of the week. But tonight wasn't about the music; it was about letting loose. After everything that happened during 2010, he knew he needed this night, and he suspected Sarah needed it, too.

Besides, he finally learned some dance moves and he was one step closer to being as good as Sarah on the dance floor. But only one step.

Chuck and Sarah were enjoying themselves at a club as they counted down to 2011. It felt good to get out and have fun since things had been so crazy lately. They needed this after his mother disappeared again. He was still not happy she returned to Volkoff, but there was little choice right now. At the very least, Sarah had never been happier to be with Chuck. After the roller coaster of emotions and peril both of them went through…finally admitting they loved each other, defeating The Ring, and the search for his mother…this was a night both of them had every intention of enjoying.

The fact he was the envy of every guy near them as Sarah danced close to him in a tight blouse and miniskirt didn't hurt, either.

"You're getting better at this," she shouted in his ear over the din.

Chuck smiled. "I've been practicing. I figured after everything that happened this year, we weren't going to spend a quiet evening at home."

"By the way, are you…?" Sarah asked as she pointed at Chuck's moving feet and then her head.

"This is all me, sweetie," Chuck beamed. "I wanted to learn the old-fashioned way. I figured you would appreciate that."

Sarah gave him a kiss. "Very amazing of you. But you do realize I actually took dance classes with the CIA, right? I mean, it's a very important skill to have to blend in. So technically, I have an advantage over you."

"I had always assumed all of this came to you naturally. It certainly looks that way."

She grinned. "Chuck, you really have to stop thinking of me as some superwoman from another planet. I'm nothing special. I just do my job."

He gave her his biggest scoff of disbelief. "Yeah, tell the people in Thailand that. See how far that gets you."

Sarah pulled him to the side of the dance floor and wrapped her arms around his neck. "OK, I've done a lot of things in my life. I can't deny it. But none of those things matter now. I'm finally at a point in my life where I'm happy. And that's because of you. This is where I want to be."

They shared a loving kiss while the dance floor started to get more crowded as midnight approached. They looked at the crowd as the atmosphere became more and more electrified.

At one corner of the club just off the dance floor, a man stood with a briefcase in one hand and a drink in the other. He looked around as if trying to spot someone. Chuck began to have a flash.

"No, no, no, no. Not here. Not tonight," Chuck said in complete desperation.

Sarah studied him and realized he had a flash. "Who is it?"

Chuck gestured to the man. "That's Rahim el-Faisal. He's the #7 man on Interpol's most wanted list. Why would he be here?"

"We better find out," Sarah replied. It wasn't what Chuck wanted to hear.

"Come on, Sarah. We can't have one night off from this? He's only #7 on that list. Maybe he was just doing insider trading." Sarah gave him a glare. "OK, fine. But this better only take nine minutes. I haven't kissed anybody at midnight in almost ten years."

Chuck and Sarah quietly made their way through the crowd to el-Faisal. They followed him as el-Faisal walked quietly behind the stage. They slipped behind a stage riser to observe el-Faisal meet with another person.

"Do we call for backup?" Chuck asked.

"I already pressed the emergency callout on my phone. But it will take at least ten minutes, and that's if they don't hit traffic. It's all up to us."

"My five least-favorite words," Chuck replied in a state of fright. "I don't suppose you brought a gun?"

Sarah gestured to her outfit. "Where would I hide one? Besides, we had to go through metal detectors to get in." She opened her purse and ripped open the lining. A knife was hidden inside. She quickly assembled it. Chuck was shocked.

"How did the metal detectors not find that?"

"They inspect the contents of a purse, Chuck. They never think to x-ray the purse itself," she whispered with a smile. "Come on."

Chuck and Sarah quietly slipped around the stage riser and moved closer to el-Faisal and the person he was meeting.

"You have my money?" that person asked el-Faisal, who opened up the briefcase to show it full of cash.

"Do you have the procedures for mixing the chemicals, Dr. Roehner?" el-Faisal retorted. Roehner nodded and handed el-Faisal an envelope. El-Faisal took the envelope as he handed the briefcase to one of Roehner's men.

"Everything you need is in there," Roehner said. "Ordinarily I'd tell you to be at least twenty miles away before setting that off, but you Taliban guys really don't have problems with dying, do you."

"The CIA has been looking for Roehner for six months," Sarah whispered. "He used to work for us but disappeared."

Everybody turned as a roar went up from the crowd following the announcement there was five minutes left until midnight. One of Roehner's men saw a curtain off the end of the stage move.

"Someone is here," he growled as he pulled out his gun. He aimed and fired at the curtain, the screaming from the crowd outside muffling the sound of the shot. He quietly approached the curtain as the others stood a couple of steps behind him.

A boot swung up to connect with the man's face. He fell to the ground.

Sarah came out from the other side of the curtain behind everybody. She slashed at the hands of two of the men, forcing them to drop their guns. Chuck came out from underneath the curtains as el-Faisal and Roehner ran in opposite directions. One of the men landed a kick at Sarah, and her knife was sent flying away. She went on the attack, landing a roundhouse kick at one of the men and throwing a hook at another. Chuck executed a butterfly kick to take another man out and turned to block a punch from the man behind him. He drove a palm strike into that man to knock him down. Sarah threw an elbow at the man who tried to attack her and kicked hard into the back of his knee to send him down. She knocked him out with a hard jab at close range while Chuck sent a spinning kick at the last man to take him out. They quickly looked around.

"You get the envelope. I'll go after Roehner," Sarah ordered.

Chuck took off in the direction el-Faisal went while Sarah bounded down the stairwell to the stage exit of the club. She spotted Roehner and gave chase. Roehner was ten steps away from his car. Sarah spotted a partygoer on the street with a bottle of champagne. She quickly grabbed the bottle and whipped it at Roehner. It hit him in the back of the leg and tripped him to the ground. Sarah quickly closed the distance and grabbed the briefcase. Roehner tried to get up, but Sarah slammed the briefcase across his face. He went down as Los Angeles Police cars drove up to the scene.

"Detain him," Sarah ordered while showing the cops her identification. "We've got one more inside."

El-Faisal ran through the crowd as the excitement was at a fever pitch for the final minute of 2010. Chuck weaved his way through the crowd to catch him. El-Faisal was ten feet from the exit when Sarah and a half-dozen L.A.P.D. officers ran at him. He quickly turned back through the crowd, running away from Chuck in the process. Chuck paused and looked at the scene. He had one more flash.

"TEN…NINE…EIGHT…"

Chuck ran to a chair on his side, stepped on it, pushed off the table in front of it, and flew through the air. El-Faisal bounced off of a partygoer and turned right to avoid an oncoming officer.

"SEVEN…SIX…"

He tackled el-Faisal to the ground. Everybody turned in shock to see what happened. They stared at Chuck as Sarah joined him and pulled him to his feet. Chuck looked at the crowd.

He smiled. "FIVE! FOUR!" The crowd joined him in the countdown. "THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR"

Streamers and confetti flew through the air as the crowd cheered. Everybody began to hug and kiss each other as Auld Lang Syne played throughout the club. Chuck and Sarah turned to each other and started to laugh.

"Is eight minutes and fifty-five seconds acceptable, Chuck?"

Chuck grabbed her and kissed her hard. "That's a crazy way to start 2011."

"Maybe," she replied as she gazed into his eyes. "But we're starting it together, right?"

Chuck nodded and smiled. "That we are. Too bad we'll spend most of that time filling out paperwork."

Sarah pulled his face to her and kissed him again. "But at least I got my New Year's kiss, too. It's been five years for me."

"Believe me. It was worth the wait coming from you."

Sarah smiled. "I agree."

They held each other and kissed in the middle of the dance floor as the crowd celebrated 2011 around them.