Chapter 1

A/N : This is another A/U fic. This is a fairly small one. Will end sooner. I have some of it written already. I know I am bad at updating my already published stories. Sorry. I swear I am working on them too. I am just a little better at starting newer ones. Not kidding, I have more than ten different stories outlines written. I will update as soon as I can.
So, this story is one of those cannon re-imagined ones, where the pilot is a little different, because some of the events didn't take place like in cannon. Or some events other than cannon took place. Anyways you get the point. Enjoy.

Oh disclaimer, yeah I don't own chuck. Uh-uh. No.

BuyMore Burbank, CA

Sarah walker walked into the BuyMore and scanned it once, there were the typical people who were looking around, not really interested in buying anything.
There were the sales staff looking to get them to buy something.
Then there was the nerd herd desk. And talking on the phone was her mark Charles Bartowski.

He was cuter than his picture on the file showed. He had brown curls, tamer than in the picture, and brown eyes, that had looked innocent and deep even in the picture, looked even more so as she walked towards him.
He was unaware of her though another sales employee who was about five feet tall had already spotted her, and was trying to make his friend aware.
He looked up and smiled at her, and thought she had seen the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. He looked cute, and perhaps the CIA was wrong about him. Whatever building was blown up near DC had nothing to do with one Charles Bartowski living in Burbank, California and working as a nerd herd supervisor in the buy more.

"How can I help you.." he says as he looks up into deep blue eyes and a very pretty face.
"Sarah" she replies.
"Sarah. Nice name" he says and smiles
She smiles back and says "I am here about this" producing from her back another phone that wasn't working.
"Ah. Yes, the Intellicell. This is actually a very quick fix. There is a screw here in the back that tends to work loose. Just a couple of quick turns and this should be good as new"
"Wow. You geeks are good"
"Nerds actually" Morgan interjected.
"Yes, I can see the nerd herd" she replies, while smiling.
Chuck just smiled at her.
"So, what do I owe for the repair" she asks.
"Well, this was just a quick fix, so, this time it's on the house" chuck replies.
"Really?" she asks.
"Yeah really"

Just then, another customer walked up to the nerd herd with his daughter in tow. He said "Excuse me, I have an emergency. I don't know what I did wrong. I shot the entire recital, but now it won't play back"
"Of course, let me take a quick look" says chuck accepting the camcorder.
"There's no tape in here" chuck says when he finds it empty.
"But.. it's digital"
"Right, but you still need digital tape"
"Oh my god, her mother will kill me" the father says frantic.
"Morgan, can I have the wall? And splice the A/V and set the audio from the recital please?"
"Sure chuck. It's yours" morgan replies and walks off towards the wall.

He turns to sarah and says "I'm so sorry. Please excuse me" and walks away from the nerd herd desk, and the beautiful woman there, towards the wall of TV's as well.

He sets it up with morgan and leaning down on his knee in front of the girl and asks "What's your name?"
"Bethany" she replies.
"Okay, Bethany. Now Morgan and I have set up your music, all you have to do is dance, so your dad can capture it in the camera"
"But I'm usually at the back"
"Why is that sweetie"
"Because my teacher says I'm too tall"
"You want to know a secret? Real ballerinas are tall" he tells her and sends her to the spot in front of the TV's.

And then he starts the audio and watches as Bethany dances and it was captured in video.
After the father thanks him profusely and leaves he turns to head back towards the nerd herd desk when harry tang steps in his way "Do you know how much time you wasted? Do you know what fifteen minutes means in buy more dollars?" he asks
"Harry, I didn't realise we had our own currency. But what I did made that customer a permanent one in case he wants to buy or get something else repaired. And as for others, no one was looking at those HDTV's before but those two people are now. So yes, harry I know what fifteen minutes means in buy more dollars. Go make that sale"
Properly chastised harry scurried off to make the sale of the HDTV, and chuck turned back towards the nerd herd desk.

Sarah wasn't there however and he felt his spirits dip a little until morgan called "Dude, she left you her card man" and then said "Yes" while smiling wide.
Chuck just shook his head at morgan's antics and went to the desk.

When chuck got home he realised something was amiss and took a long look around. Noticing nothing immediately out of place, he checked the rest of his place. Nothing. he went to his computer and checked logs. Yes, someone had been at this computer, and had checked for something. He pulled up the security cam footage from the front door and saw a completely black clad figure break in to his apartment and go in.
He sighed.

He went to the bathroom and went to shower, and change. After doing so, he came back out and towelled off. He contemplated not calling, but he had to somehow get more information, at least that's what he told himself as he dialled sarah's number.
She picked up after three and a half rings, not too soon, not too late either.

"Hello" she said, her voice nice to hear even through the mic.
"Hey sarah. It's chuck, from the nerd herd"
"Hey chuck" she said a little more cheerfully.
"Uh.. I was wondering, if you were maybe free tomorrow night?"
"Sure"
"I was thinking we could have dinner tomorrow. That is if you're interested"
"Hmm.. How about seven thirty?"
"It's a date. If you give me your address I'll come pick you up?"
"Sure chuck. It's room 832 at the Maison 23"
"New in town huh?"
"Uh, yeah. Just came in a couple of days ago actually"
"Hmm, you'll like the town, even if the traffic is horrible"
"Let's see" she chuckled.
"Sure. So, I'll see you tomorrow sarah. Bye"
"Bye chuck"

He seems like a nice guy, and I didn't see anything incriminating in his house either, and he talks pretty confidently for a nerd she muses.
Oh well, I'll find out all about him at my date tomorrow.

Chuck stares at the ceiling, exhausted, and decides he will decide tomorrow, whichever way it goes.
And so dresses up in PJ's and promptly falls asleep, looking forward to the next day.

And so the next day in buy more is with an insistent morgan insisting he tell him about sarah, if he had called, and if he had not that he call her, along with some of the worst pickup lines that made him want to run away. Pretty much every word out of his mouth that day is was about sarah.
He finally shut him up with talk of the new game mass effect that was supposed to release in a couple months, then as soon as he could get away he said "I got to go home a little early today morgan. See you tomorrow bud" and ran out of there before he decided to follow him home.

Sarah is getting ready for the date in her room, by strapping on a soft Kevlar padding for her torso, makes up her hair, wearing a cute top and a nice pair of pants and finally tucks in her gun. She also calls in to update the director and tells him "I've arranged a dinner date with him tonight. I'll find out if he has anything hidden. But I don't know director he seems like a nice guy, not someone involved in this world"

"Nice guys aren't sent government secrets Sarah. Do not let your guard down around him" he replies.
She sighs and asks "What should I do if he runs?"
"Kill him" tells graham knowing he wouldn't run.

Right on time she hears two knocks and she looks through the peephole to find chuck standing there with a smile. She opens the door and he sucks in a breath and smiles at her and says "You look beautiful sarah" and he says it so genuinely that she just smiles at him.
"You don't look too bad yourself" she tells him.
"Thanks. Oh, these are for you" he says and hands her a bunch of flowers, which she accepts, and says "Why don't you come in?" and goes to find a water jug and puts the flowers in.

"Thank you for the flowers chuck" she says smiling.
He smiles and says "Ready to go?"
"Ready" she says smiling, picking up her purse.

He takes her to a nice Mexican restaurant, with cozy seats and tables and nice food.
A band is playing in the background but isn't too loud. The table itself is separated from others and farther from the band.
She talks with him more than she's ever talked on a dinner date with any mark.
He's quite charming and a little funny, and a more than honest person.

"So you went to Stanford?" she asks
"Ah, yes. I did attend Stanford"
"Then how come you're in the nerd herd, if you don't mind me asking" she asks sweetly.
He released a breath and smiled and said "Well my roommate planted test papers in my room, and.. got me thrown out" he says.
"Really? Oh my god that's awful" she says immediately. Sincerely feeling bad about it. She knew from the file that that roommate was Larkin.
"Yeah. Yeah" he says a little sadly.
She doesn't like sad chuck so she steers the conversation towards more happy topics.

"You call him captain awesome?" she asks laughing.
"Everything the guy does is awesome, rock climbing, diving out of an airplane, flossing" chuck replies.
She makes a mental note to investigate captain awesome, while laughing with chuck.
"You're pretty funny chuck" she says.
He just smiles at her.

"So, you moved here from..?" asks chuck.
"DC"
"Oh, nice. So, you moved here because of your job? Or to come back to west coast?"
"Do you often stereotype chuck?" sarah asks.
"No.. Just with tall beautiful blondes" he says with a smile.
She just chuckles "Cheeky"
"No, I just wanted to get away from DC. I was in a bad relationship, and, uh, I couldn't stay there any longer and wanted a fresh start"
"Hmm" he says sipping a little of his drink.
"What about you? What skeletons do you have in your closet?"
"Oh, plenty. I am a very bad guy" he says stretching very.
"You are?" she asked completely innocently.
"Uh-huh" he says still smiling.
"I don't know chuck. From where I'm sitting you don't seem all that bad" sarah says.
He laughs lightly and changes the subject again.

The server after a while comes and asks "Anything else I can get you sir? Ma'am?"
He looks at sarah and says "Uh, no thanks. Bill please"
He produces a bill and chuck just slips his credit card in and the server then swipes it and after the transaction is confirmed hands it back to chuck.

"Common, let's get out of here" says Chuck.
She gets up taking his offered arm and looping it through his walk out of there.

"So, what kind of music do you like?" asks chuck.
"Uh, I don't know most kinds?" she says.
"Hmm.. well I know a band that's playing nearby, and the place is nice. Shall we?"
"Sure" she smiles.

The club is a nice little hole in the wall, not too many guys in, and so she finds herself enjoying the music, sitting on a barstool beside chuck.
"Dance with me?" asks chuck with a hand outstretched.
She just giggles and takes his hand and goes on the dance floor.

She is dancing and having fun, thinking this is the most fun she's had when the night starts its journey downhill, like it happens when anything's too good. 'Nothing can be too good, if it seems, there's something you're missing' Why is she hearing her father of all people in her head now?
But he's not the problem, the problem are the couple hulking NSA guys headed straight for them.
And while she notices this, she also notices that chuck noticed them too.
He lets out a deep breath, "Want to get out of here?" he asks

She eyes him warily, but knowing there are NSA guys around, she just nods her head and taking his hand pulls him towards the back door. She is right behind him as he pushes the door open and steps outside into the alleyway and she steps out behind him only to duck the swinging arm that was not aimed at her and chuck had sidestepped. She proceeds to block the next swing when chuck trips him and elbows the back of his head to make him crash down on the ground, and sprints to the car knowing sarah is right behind him.

He jumps in the car and says "Get in"
She gets in the seat with a hand on her gun, and asks him "Who are you?"
He steps on it and asks "Bryce, is he dead?"

A/N : So, yeah. I've changed the cannon up a bit. And as you'll find out in the next chapter, things are a lot different.
The time for mass effect was correct by the way, the pilot episode of chuck released in Sept, '07 and mass effect released in November, '07.
So, this story along with the two others I'll update as regularly as I can. Promise.
Runs and ducks behind Ellie.

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