I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.
Sarah and Ellie at the Bar was just a one shot idea. But you know how much I love doing sequels. And it seems like there would have to be some fallout once Sarah sobers up and realizes that she just asked Chuck to propose to her and told him that she wanted to have his babies. That would be like trying to put out a bonfire by drowning it in gasoline, right? And there is a big issue on the show that I don't think that they adequately addressed.
The first story was meant to be silly. This story will be longer, be a little more serious, and maybe even start out a little sad. But don't worry. I only write happy endings.
And, no, I didn't offer this to Lucky47 as a scene for Family Matters (she had her chance, lol). To those many who suggested that I get her to hurry up with the next chapter, all I can say is, trust me, I'm trying my best. J
If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It only takes a second – and it really, really makes a difference. That's probably more important than ever now that the series has ended. If you want to keep the Chuck fandom alive and continue to read about these characters, you really need to think about rewarding the people whose hard work make that possible.
Best Friends
x-x-x-x-x
When Sarah could finally pry her eyes open enough to squint at the clock, all she could do was collapse back unto the bed face down and bury her head into the pillow in frustration. For one thing she never slept in this late. It was almost 10:00. Beckman was going to have a cow. They were supposed to be meeting in Castle with her, planning for the upcoming Berkshire mission in ten minutes.
Certainly Sarah had been hung over a few times before in her life as a super spy. It was something of an occupational hazard. But she probably had never felt quite like this. Her mouth felt like someone had scotch taped her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Her stomach was feeling more than a little queasy. But the worst thing was definitely her head. It felt like it might explode into a million pieces at any moment.
Finally she was able to gain enough consciousness to see the note on the nightstand next to the clock. She picked it up and forced her eyes to focus in order to read it.
There is aspirin and water here for you. I called Beckman and told her you were sick. She was very cool about it. She said to tell you to take the day off and that you could consider that an order. Casey and I are meeting with her at Castle as planned this morning to go over some surveillance. We'll probably go out this afternoon and scout out some stakeout positions. No big deal. I'll bring home something for dinner.
I just have to tell you, you were so cute last night.
Feel better.
I love you,
Chuck
Even as miserable as Sarah was feeling she couldn't keep the smile from tugging at the corners of her mouth. That note was pure Chuck. As many times as she had witnessed it, it still never failed to get that certain tingle in her gut. He was once again being all sweet looking out for her, her guy at his amazing best. And while Sarah wasn't a playing hooky type person, she had to admit – the idea of having a day off all to herself felt surprisingly nice, normal even. So she grabbed three of the aspirin that Chuck had left for her, washed them down with a swig of the bottle of water, and collapsed back on the bed fully intending to sleep until Chuck got home.
Needless to say, she didn't quite make it. Around noon the aspirin and sleep did their trick and Sarah started to feel much better. And once she took that long hot shower and finally got dressed, she quickly realized why she never played hooky.
She was bored out of her freaking mind.
Was this the normal life that Chuck… that everyone always raved on and on and on about? If so, then she was in big trouble. There was no way for Sarah Walker to live a 'normal' life if this is what it felt like. She wanted to blow her brains out on the very first day. In desperation she turned on the TV. That was hopeful. After all their cable system offered 138 channels… and there was not one freaking thing on any of them that she was even remotely interested in. She was seriously considering disobeying Beckman's faux order, going to Castle, and joining the guys on their scouting mission. She was saved from doing just that by the doorbell ringing. She gratefully went to answer it. Anything had to be better than this. Even better, it couldn't be Morgan. Morgan would never ring the bell. He would just walk in.
x-x-x-x-x
"Are you mad at me?"
Sarah looked at Ellie standing there in the entranceway showing absolutely no sign of remorse. In fact she was definitely fighting back a grin. The question was clearly rhetorical. So Sarah made no effort to hide her own grin as she moved aside to allow her friend access to the room. "Furious," she replied in a teasing tone. "Would you like some tea? Or are we drinking something stronger? I don't think we have any tequila in the house. Maybe some vodka."
Ellie laughed out loud. "I think we'll settle for some tea," she said. "Maybe we'll save the tequila for the next time we go out and get wild."
Sarah joined her laugh. "No offense," she said as she moved to put on the teakettle. "But the next time we go out together, I'm ordering white wine."
That got them laughing even harder. "No offense taken," Ellie said when she could stop laughing enough to speak. "You do realize that enough white wine will eventually get you to the same spot?"
"I do realize that," Sarah said, still laughing. "Next time I'm pacing myself. Maybe I'll be the one carrying you home for once."
"Maybe," Ellie said. "Next time let's go to a little nicer place. Maybe we could go out and have some fun. How about we go to a club and go dancing? Chuck says that you're an amazing dancer. And that's something that Chuck and Devon would never want to do."
"I'd love to go dancing," Sarah sighed. "I love to dance. Before I met Chuck, it was probably my favorite thing in the world. But it's probably not a good idea."
Ellie's surprise showed on her face. "Why?" she asked.
"I know what would happen," Sarah said sadly. "The second you and I walked into a club, there would be a line of men sending us drinks and using that as an excuse to come over and ask us to dance."
"Okay," Ellie said hesitantly. "You're probably right. So what? What's wrong with that?"
"Chuck is insecure enough already," Sarah said sadly. "He is still pretty jealous. I'm really hoping that we can get past that soon. All he needs is to hear you telling him the details of hordes of men hitting on me at a club."
"That's sweet," Ellie said. "I'm happy that you're so protective of him. But why do you think that I would tell him anything?"
"You're his sister," Sarah said. "I get that you're protective of him as well."
Ellie lost most of her smile, but the twinkle in her eyes was still plain. "Let me explain something to you," she said. "I'll use small words and speak really slowly to make sure that you understand. Best friends know every detail about each other. They don't make any effort to hide how they truly feel. They tell each other things that they would never tell anyone else, not even their husband. Because they know that their best friend would understand when a husband wouldn't. They look out for each other. They trust each other. So when I tell you about the wild incredibly hot dream I had the other night starring the new intern, I trust you that it will never get back to Devon. Similarly you can trust me that the things you tell me will never make it back to Chuck."
"But you're his sister," Sarah protested.
"But you're my best friend," Ellie said firmly. "That trumps my brother in all sorts of ways. Oh, I agree there's a limit to that. If you told me that you were going to cheat on him, I'd try and talk you out of it until I was blue in the face. It might threaten our friendship. I might even demand that you tell him. But I expect that you would have pretty much the same reaction if I told you that I was going to cheat on Devon."
"I'd never cheat on Chuck," Sarah said, maybe a little harsher than she intended. "Never ever. Even thinking about it, even saying the words out loud makes me mad. That would destroy the nicest, most wonderful man in the world. If I was going to kill him, I'd at least be merciful and use a gun. If anyone ever came close to hurting him like that, I'd hunt them down and tear them apart with my bare hands."
Ellie smiled at the intensity of Sarah's righteous indignation rant. It was today's reminder of how lovesick she truly was. "I know," she said. "Just like I would never cheat on Devon. That's why we can be best friends."
Sarah's epiphany hit suddenly. This was nice. It was more than nice. Her relationship with Chuck was a first for her. But this was a close second… and just as unexpected. She found herself overwhelmed with the idea of having exactly what Ellie was describing. "I'd like that," she finally said. "You're going to have to help me a little. Maybe keep using the small words. This is a first for me. But I'd like it… a lot."
That got the return of Ellie's grin. "Me too," she said. "So it's settled. When we go on girl's night out to the club, drink a few free drinks, and maybe dance with a guy or two, it's between us. How about Thursday? I have the night off."
Responding to Sarah's distressed look, Ellie continued. "Come on, Sarah," she said with a dismissive laugh. "Dancing is pretty innocent fun. There is nothing wrong with you dancing with a man at a club, is there? As long as we firmly set their expectations. Chuck wouldn't have a problem with that just like Devon wouldn't, especially with us being together and having each other's back. In fact, you should calmly tell him all about it. His looking into your eyes and seeing that it meant nothing would be therapeutic for him. Besides, we'll both have our wedding rings to waive in any prospective suitor's face."
Sarah's face showed her confusion. "I'm not so sure that you're right," she said slowly. "Chuck is pretty jealous. I've sometimes hurt him in the past without meaning to. I'm trying to be very sensitive to that. Besides, I don't have a wedding ring."
"I'm very sure," Ellie said with her grin still in full force. "He may have been insecure in the past. I think you're going to find that he isn't nearly as insecure or jealous as you thought. You really helped him last night. And maybe you don't have a wedding ring yet. And you won't have it by Thursday. I guess you'll just have to settle for waiving around your engagement ring. I expect you'll have one by then. Hell, I'll bet a week's salary that you have one by this time tomorrow."
Again responding to Sarah's confused look, Ellie grinned even brighter. "You don't remember do you?" she asked. "You asked Chuck to propose to you last night."
"What?" Sarah asked in alarm.
"It was right after you told him that you wanted to have his babies and just before you asked him to take you to bed and ravage you," Ellie teased. "I'm not exactly sure what you meant by that but I am definitely going to use my new 'best friend' status to find out. So Thursday plan on describing in detail what ravage means to you."
Ellie paused for a moment to laugh. "You were going to go find your handcuffs," she continued. "What's up with that? I never saw Chuck as the ravaging type. I honestly don't think that it happened last night. You were pretty drunk. But I can almost guarantee that he has already been to the jewelers. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so big."
Sarah did the very last thing that Ellie expected. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh no," she sighed. "That's the worst thing that could have happened."
Suddenly Ellie's grin… and her giddy mood disappeared. "Why is that the worst thing?" she asked. "You love him, don't you?"
Sarah just stared at her sadly. "I do love him," she finally said. "It's not that. Come on, Ellie. You know that when people are drinking they say things that they don't mean."
Ellie's response was gentle but firm. "No they don't," she said. "When people are drinking they say the things that they are too afraid of saying when they're sober. Sarah Walker, do I really have to give you the best friend speech again? Talk to me."
Sarah paused for a long moment. "I'm not ready," she finally said. "I know what I sound like. But this has nothing to do with me loving Chuck. The honest truth is that I never thought that I could possibly feel this strongly for a man. I can't imagine my life without him."
"Okay," Ellie said. "So what's the real issue here?"
"You really want the best friend truth?" Sarah asked. "Okay, here it is. I don't trust him. I know damn well how awful that sounds. I'm not proud of feeling this way. I wish I could stop. I hope to get over it… soon. But the fact of the matter is that I don't fully trust him."
Ellie paused for a long moment. "Okay, sweetie," she finally said. "Talk to me. This is Chuck. Why don't you trust him?"
Sarah's smile was sad, but it was a smile.
"What has Chuck told you about what happened in Prague?"
x-x-x-x-x