Chuck vs. The Begining
Summary: What was the deal with that video at the end of the pilot? Was that really Sarah? Ellie asks the question, and what goes from there.
AN: So, this is my first attempt at Chuck fanfic, and I hope that it doesn't inhale profusely, let me know if it does. At the moment this will remain a one shot, and I hope it doesn't suck, because I did this when I couldn't concentrate on my research proposal topic approval paper.
Right, one last thing: I don't own Chuck, if I did, Bryce would be dead and Chuck and Sarah would be together.
oOoOo
"Sarah, I've got a question for you." Ellie walks in to the living room from the kitchen and hands her a glass of wine before taking her seat on a chair.
"Shoot." Sarah adjusts herself, making herself comfortable with her feet in Chuck's lap.
"On your first game night, you mentioned a sister – what does she do? Where is she?"
"That was two questions, Ellie." Chuck intervenes to give Sarah a few moments to create a lie.
"She, um, she died, four years ago." Sarah looks down at her lap, fiddling with the stem of her glass of wine, expecting the pity that's coming.
"I'm so sorry, what happened to her?"
"She worked for the CIA," Chuck's head snaps up at that. "She worked counter terrorism and intelligence at Gitmo and died during a revolt of the prisoners there."
"Gitmo?" The confusion shows on Ellie's face.
"Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It's the base where suspected terrorists are held for questioning until their guilt or innocence is determined. She was an extremely qualified interrogator and she was helping out when one interrogator was down with the flu. He gave her false information that put her in the middle of the group yard when the revolt began. She was found with several stab wounds and died from internal bleeding."
"I am so sorry, Sarah. Now I feel just horrible for asking you about her."
"There's no way that you could have known about it."
"Do you have any other siblings?"
"Yes, one older brother and sister. They're 11 years older than Laura and I."
"Eleven years? Who was the mistake?"
"Laura and I were. Our parents were told that they couldn't have any more kids, but one day, she figured out that what she thought was stress was actually a pregnancy."
"So you and Laura are twins?"
"Identical right down to the freckle pattern on our shoulder." Chuck gets a far off look to his face, remembering the flash that he had in the Buy More right after he found out the truth about Sarah, and quickly changes the subject.
"Well, now, this is getting depressing, hey, have you two set a date yet?" Chuck brings up the wedding, knowing that will distract his sister enough to get her attention off of Sarah.
"Yes, we both have time off in late April, so we're thinking about then-" Chuck tunes out his sister and turns his attention to Sarah. She's not paying much attention either, staring into the depths of her wine distractedly.
By now Chuck has learned to read Sarah when she tells a lie for her cover. He studies her, looking for all the tell-tale signs and finds nothing. With a start, he realizes that some – if not all – of what she just said was true. Silently he reaches over and takes one of her hands in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She doesn't even look up, which lets him know how much the recall of those memories cost her.
oOoOo
"Chuck, what are we doing here? This isn't my apartment." Sarah looks up, expecting to see the front of her building, instead she's greeted with the front of a restaurant she knows is near the beach.
"Come on," Chuck takes her hand and leads her to the beach, stopping at the edge to remove his shoes, she does the same and holds them in her hand. Chuck takes her free hand and leads her onto the beach where they walk in silence for a few minutes. Finally he breaks the silence.
"That was true, wasn't it? The story about your sister?"
"Yeah."
"But was it all of it?"
"Why do you ask?" Sarah turns to him with the look that Chuck has come to recognize as her interrogation look. Chuck immediately tries to figure out a way to backtrack, though quickly recognizes the futility of the action.
"Okay, so right after we met, I flashed on that ring you always used to wear – the one you wore on your middle finger with the big blue stone – and I saw the footage from a security camera of – what I thought was – you taking out these big guys with guns before shooting out the camera. And now I'm starting to wonder if maybe that was your sister." Chuck finishes his rant looking over at Sarah, who has moved her gaze down to the sand. Dropping her shoes, she follows their path to sit down. Chuck quickly follows and waits quietly for her to speak.
"It probably was. I didn't know until after she died, but she was rogue. The revolt that she died in was planned, and not by the prisoners. She was sent down there with the hope that she would die in the mayhem."
"Why? Who would do something like that?"
"Director Graham."
"What?"
"He and my father are old friends. He planned it so that my family wouldn't be disgraced by Laura's actions. My father found out after the fact what Graham did, and they haven't spoken civilly since. And I only found out the truth through my older sister."
"She's CIA also, I take it."
"Yeah. She was recruited for intelligence, but she refused to give up law school, so she went through and took a job in the legal department."
"Let me guess, your brother is CIA also."
"No. He's a war correspondent. We see him maybe once every five years."
"And how much of this is true?"
"All of it is, Chuck." Sarah looks up at him before adjusting her position so that she's sitting between his legs and is able to lean back against his chest.
Chuck hesitates for a moment before tentatively wrapping his arms around Sarah's body. He relaxes when she places her hands on top of his and lets her weight rest fully in his arms.
"When all this is over, I'd like to meet them."
"Why?"
"I'd like to let them know what an amazing woman they raised."
Though he can't see it, Sarah is smiling at his comment. "I'd like you to meet them also," She speaks so softly, he almost misses it.
The pair sits there, staring out at the moonlight on the water thinking over what just happened. Truths were spoken, and steps were made towards a potential future together. A first step in saying what they wanted to say.