Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck or any of its wonderful characters, but I think I'm going to like playing in this sandbox.

AN: Hello beautiful Chuck people! I'm not new to fanfiction, but I thought "new fandom, fresh start" and that's what's brought me here to you, an author with no stories. I love alt pairings. Like L-O-V-E them. So you'll probably never see any Chuck/Sarah out of me. What's the fun in that? Canon kind of has the market cornered there. I like to mix and match, and I'll probably do that through a bunch of one-shots. That's what I've done in the past, in other fandoms, anyway. I was inspired to write this by the little sexting experiment in the first episode of the fourth season. I've been looking for a reason to hop on the Chuck bandwagon (writing-wise) and Morgan gave me that reason. Go Morgan! The title, is taken from a C.S. Lewis quote ("Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."), and I wish I could say it has some deep meaning, but not so much. It's just a random quote I chose that relates to regret. So there you have it. Again, first shot in this fandom, and I'd be interested in hearing any feedback you might have. Cheers!

There are Better Things Ahead

Chuck kissed her and drove away with his dad in that raggedy old jeep, and her mind started working.

Bryce left, then died, then came back, then left, then came back, then he died again. Now Chuck was leaving.

But when Bryce left, she had the job. Always the job. But now? Not so much. The job was gone. Well, the job as she knew it was gone. The government as she knew it was gone, and she was one of the few that could help bring it back. And who was she left with? Casey, her long time partner. Duty, honor, country Casey. Only, now Casey had family too, so that fit somewhere in the equation. And she was left with Morgan.

Morgan. Chuck's best friend, fiercely loyal, and surprisingly brave, if a bit bumbling at times. Well, most times. That's how she defined him. But then, there was a time when Chuck was defined as Bryce's former roommate and best friend, a nerd with a heart of gold. Not a spy, but brave, in an awkward bumbling way. But over time, he changed his definition to something she loved. Would Morgan change, too? Everyone said she fell for the guys she worked with. Did that mean she was destined to fall for Morgan?

And it's not like Morgan had someone else, either. He'd turned Anna away. Said good riddance, and good for him. And Morgan was attracted to her. Their little run-in in the kitchen over orange juice proved that.

She almost laughed. Almost. Except it kind of made sense. Horrible, scary sense. But she didn't have time to think about it much, because she got arrested, and she clocked Shaw, and Chuck was back, and they were all on their way to their deaths, until Morgan saved them. Morgan saved the day. Who'd of thunk it? Her respect for Morgan went up, especially when he helped them destroy the Ring.

But her earlier thoughts? The ones where she had a momentary crush on Morgan? Or maybe not a crush. Maybe she was resigning herself to a new romantic partner, and Morgan was at least loyal. But yeah, whatever it was? She never forgot it. She just kind of moved it to the back of her mind, because that's where it was safe.

Because Chuck was back, and he was her boyfriend, and she loved him, and he loved her, and Morgan was his friend. Their friend.

And then Chuck quit being a spy, but she kept her job. And she was away from Chuck for so, so long. And then she got a message from Chuck one day on her cell. And it was goofy and silly, and ridiculous. Only, it kind of turned her on. Damn, long periods of time without sex were not good for her.

Then she came back, and thought, hey, maybe this is the answer to our problems, but Chuck laughed it off and said it was Morgan's doing. Morgan again. How is it that Morgan knew better what she wanted than Chuck?

Then she was captured. Well, to be fair, Casey was captured too. They were both captured, and she sent Chuck a text. Only, it had a crazy photo she snapped during a momentary lapse in judgment on an airplane (she totally blamed the altitude) attached, and he thought she was sexting him. She was just trying to get help.

And it was gross and disturbing, but kind of hot. You know, if she wasn't in immediate danger of death.

Then she thought Chuck was dead. And she thought Morgan was dead. And it also disturbed her that she was just as sad about the latter. But turns out they weren't dead. And they saved the day again. They. Not just Chuck, but Morgan. They were both her heroes.

Then once they were safely back on US soil, she found out that, yeah, that sexting? That was Morgan too. And she started to worry, because she kept those texts, and they got her hot, even though she knew they were from Morgan. Chuck reaped the rewards, of course. She would read the messages, from Morgan, and then she'd have hot, dirty, incredible sex with Chuck. He never asked what got her motor running, and she was grateful, because it would be hella awkward to let him know that she was kind of into his friend in that way.

Then Chuck got injured on a mission. Not "omigod, he's totally gonna die" injured or anything. Not even major injured. He got a high ankle sprain trying to be cute as he jumped out the van. He'd be fine in a week or so, but in the mean time, he couldn't put weight on it, and the mission had to continue, and she needed a cover husband, and let's face it, Casey couldn't sell that cover if his life depended on it, so yeah, they decided to use Morgan.

And they were supposed to be on their second honeymoon, and the bad guys were watching as they lounged by the pool, and Morgan couldn't defend himself, so she was constantly by his side, and to sell the cover, she had to kiss him. So she did. She kissed him. And just a chaste peck on the lips probably would've been sufficient, but for whatever reason, she couldn't stop herself, so she deepened the little peck. Just a little at first. She let her lips linger on his. But she still couldn't stop. She dove in.

She ran her hand through his messy hair (she really missed Chuck's hair being longer), and his beard tickled her so deliciously, and when she ran her tongue along his bottom lip, he swallowed hard, but his mouth opened to her, and he didn't respond so much as just take it. At first at least, but she didn't give up, and he joined in, eventually. And his tongue felt so terrific inside her mouth.

Carina said Morgan (well, actually she said "Martin" but whatever) was a good lay. If he screwed like he kissed, she would have to concede that, yeah, that was probably true. And judging by his sexting skills, Morgan was a freak, too. God, that's the one thing Chuck couldn't give her. Oh, he was fine in the bedroom. More than adequate. But she missed being a bit on the perverse side. Chuck always erred on the side of prudish. She was a sex goddess, and she couldn't spread her proverbial wings with Chuck. But with Morgan? They'd probably have a lot of fun together.

The dirty thoughts were getting to her, and from the bulge in his swimming trunks, she could tell something was getting to Morgan, too. Probably her hand that had at some point began rubbing his crotch. Yeah, that made sense.

But he managed to pull away first. Shit, was she that hard-up? That a geek like Morgan could back away from her quicker than she could from him?

"We're clear," he said.

And she nodded. He was right. They were in the clear. Time to come back to reality. But God. That kiss. That bulge. A part of her mind thought "to be continued" and the other parts of her mind had a hard time arguing against that.

Fin