Title: A Pressing Engagement
Disclaimer: I don't own "Chuck." NBC does - and it's too tame for my tastes.
Characters: Chuck/Sarah
Spoilers: 4x13, "Chuck vs the Push Mix"
Summary: Sarah finally comes home. A tag to "Chuck vs the Push Mix."
-CHUCK ME MONDAYS-
Chuck didn't ask the way he'd planned; the way he'd practiced in the mirror. He didn't give a speech. He'd given it already, anyways, and the last time - the last three times - something stopped him, so he got straight to the point before a ninja dropped from the ventilation ducts and started throwing stars and punches, or an elephant or truck or Casey showed up to distract their attention, or his phone beeped with a message from Beckman calling them to Castle, or before his brother-in-law came to tell them that he had a niece.
Sarah didn't answer the way she'd practiced, with a big, reassuring, happy smile. Because when he opened the ring box, her breath caught and she couldn't remember what she practiced. Chuck lowered himself to one knee in front of her and she sat up straight, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself, but her heart kept racing.
"Sarah, marry me."
She meant to say yes. She really did. But she heard those words and saw that look on his face, earnest and pure and loving and desperate, and she couldn't make herself speak. She threw herself into his arms and pressed her lips to his.
He kissed her back, grateful and so in love. Finally, she pulled away with a silly smile on her face. He grinned back stupidly. "So, that's a yes, then?"
She laughed in exhilaration. "God, yes, Chuck. Yes." He laughed with her and pulled the ring from the box. He slipped it on her finger and they stared at it together for a second. Then their eyes met again and she was so happy she started crying. He wiped away the tears, just a step away from them himself. She kissed him again and he held her tightly. He deepened the kiss and she responded with enthusiasm, actually pushing him over onto his back right there in the corridor. She settled herself on top of him and kissed him with deep, wet attention. The tiles were cold beneath his back, but Sarah was warm and soft above him. She took her time, paying attention to every part of his mouth, sinking her fingers into his hair.
She pulled back after a few minutes and smiled brilliantly at him. She kissed him again with less intensity than the first time. He thought about where they were: lying on the floor of a hospital hallway waiting for his niece to be born with a floor buffer humming down the hall and the occasional page for Doctor Schwartz or Fedak piping through the loud speakers. He laughed with joy around their kiss and she couldn't help but join him. Soon they were laughing wildly, rolling around on the floor, sharing tickles and kisses and giggles and chuckles and happiness.
Finally, they settled down, but didn't get up off the floor. Chuck placed a hand behind his head to cushion it from the unforgiving tile floor as Sarah draped herself half on top of him with her head on his chest. He wrapped his spare arm around her waist, tracing his fingertips over her hip on top of her clothing. She stroked his chest gently.
That was how Captain Awesome found them an hour or so later, dozing contentedly on the floor. He stopped and stared at them in confusion for a moment, but then Chuck opened his eyes and greeted his brother-in-law with a casual, "Hey." Sarah blinked at the sound of Chuck's voice and then looked up at Devon, too.
"Uh, hey, bro," Devon responded, putting aside the weirdness. Chuck was pretty weird anyway, and this actually ranked fairly low on the scale of bizarre. "Come see Clara. She's totally awesome. Like, the awesomest. Outstanding-fantastic-awesome."
Chuck and Sarah smiled in response to Devon's enthusiasm and sat up. Chuck helped Sarah to her feet. They linked hands and followed Devon down the hall toward the nursery, listening to his excited chattering all the way.
-CHUCK ME MONDAYS-
They were delayed in making it back to their apartment by much cooing and ooh-ing and aaah-ing over baby Clara. Chuck utilized his stealth training (he may or may not have triggered a Flash for the occasion) to borrow a black Sharpie from a nurses' station. He stole the name tag attached to Clara's bassinet and scribbled out "Woodcombe." He replaced it with a blocky "Awesome," which normally would have made Ellie roll her eyes, but just made her laugh today. His sister looked beautiful and exhausted, and his mother looked like she did when they were children, except older and with more crow's feet, but with tender eyes that rested on her daughter and granddaughter. Chuck couldn't stop smiling.
This might be the best day ever.
Before they headed out of the hospital, Sarah took a few moment to sit quietly next to Casey for a bit as Alex puttered around the room, setting up the beginnings of a new bonsai tree and listening to Morgan keep the conversation going. She wanted to hold his hand or tell him that she was sorry and that he was her best friend, but he's Casey and she's Sarah, and that was never going to happen, to be honest.
But finally, Chuck met Sarah's eyes over the heads of his mother, sister, and niece, and they smiled and each other, and it was time to go home. They begged off, promising to return in the morning with Danishes and Starbucks coffee. Sarah's Porsche was still in storage and Chuck didn't figure the chopper was still around to drop them off in Echo Park, so they took a cab home. The ride wasn't too long, and honestly, Chuck was too preoccupied with Sarah to notice how long it took to make it from the hospital to their building or how recklessly the cabbie was driving.
She rested her head against his shoulder during the ride home. Their fingers twisted around each others'. He breathed in the smell of her hair and listened to the sound of her gentle breathing and felt her warmth against him.
Really, probably the best day ever.
They got home without incident -despite the cabbie's driving - and strolled to the door of their apartment. Morgan had made himself scarce - thank God - so the second Chuck had the door unlocked, Sarah was suddenly on him. She pulled him over the threshold roughly as she kissed him passionately. He managed to kick the door shut behind him before she yanked him to the couch and down on top her with her hands firm on his hips.
He chuckled at her antics, but got distracted by her tongue on his and her fingers pulling at his shirt. He took the cue to slip his hands under her shirt and feel the soft contours of her abdomen. His legs were hanging awkwardly off the side of the couch, which was pretty uncomfortable, but Sarah was beneath him again - finally - and he would have undergone acupuncture performed by Morgan if it meant he got to keep kissing her.
He'd almost drowned in the warmth of her body when he pulled back to gaze down at her for a minute. The sight of her, breathing heavily, eyes hazy, made him smile briefly and then stare thoughtfully at her.
"What?" she asked, cocking her head at him, blonde hair all over the red couch cushions, creating a pretty contrast.
He hauled himself off of her with difficulty and held out a hand to her. "I missed you. Come to bed with me?"
She smiled up at him, emotions unfettered for the first time in far too long. Chuck did that to her; he set her free. There was no one here that she needed to guard herself from. She took his hand and rose from the couch. He nuzzled at her neck as they made their way to their room. Sarah bent her head back to give him better access. Sarah pulled away when they entered the bedroom, flicking on the lamp so that they'd be able to see one another. Light illuminated the blue sheets and brown bedspread and reflected off the Tron poster on the wall and Sarah's goldfish bowl, kept now lovingly next to Chuck's computer. In the closet, all of her clothes remained untouched.
He closed the door behind them just in case Morgan decided to make an appearance. She was already taking off her shirt when he turned back around. His feet carried him to her as if she were magnetic. He wrapped his arms around her as her shirt hit the floor. "I love you," he reminded her seriously.
She smiled at him and tangled her fingers in his hair. "I love you, too."
He kissed her again at her insistence, her fingers tugging his head down to hers. He took the opportunity to unbutton her jeans and slip his hands underneath her underwear, stroking the soft skin over her hip bones. She gave a little moan and pressed herself more firmly against him.
He stumbled back toward the bed until he fell on it with a thump and she landed on top of him. Her giggles disrupted their kiss and she raised herself above him. She stroked his face and kissed his nose. "God, I missed this."
Chuck grinned crookedly in that way that had always set her heart thumping. "Me too." He pressed deliberate kisses across her chest near her collarbone. She held him to her.
"Hey, Chuck."
"Mmmm?" he responded.
"Guess what?" she asked playfully.
He laid his head back to meet her eyes. "What?"
She wiggled the fingers of her left hand in front of him. "We're engaged."
He laughed and rolled her beneath him. "We certainly are. Finally."
"You did take your time, didn't you?" she asked with a grin as her fingers started working on the buttons of his shirt.
"Hey," he defended himself in mock outrage. "It wasn't my fault. I kept getting foiled."
"Foiled?" she questioned. He sat up so she could push his shirt off and moved his hands back to her pants.
"The restaurant," he started to list. "Twice in France. And then in the cell-"
She kissed him sweetly in apology. "Sorry about that one. I just didn't want to have to tell you I was going after you asked." She kicked off her high heels and shimmied out of her pants. His hands helped push them down.
He looked down at her in awe, taking in the contrast of her lacy purple underwear with her pale skin. Her chest lifted and lowered with deep breaths. Her golden hair splayed across the bedspread. "God, you're so beautiful," he breathed.
She smiled happily at his attention and made quick work of his belt and the button on his jeans. He rolled off her and sat on the side of the bed to pull off his Chucks and socks and shove his pants and underwear down. She pressed herself against his naked back as he worked and pressed kisses to his shoulders. When his pants were on the ground, she crawled around to straddle his lap. She kissed the sensitive spots on his neck and rocked herself against him insistently. He groaned. He unhook her bra and she released him long enough to shed it and then kissed him. She pressed her chest against his and he mumbled something unintelligible into her mouth.
"Chuck, now," she murmured.
He grunted in disagreement and peeled her off him. He laid her back against the pillows. "Not yet," he denied her, and she huffed in frustration.
"Why the hell not?" she growled at him, annoyed that he wasn't complying with what she wanted.
He smiled. "Because you've been gone too long and I'm grateful you're here and you're marrying me and I want to show you." He tugged her panties off and took a moment to sweep his eyes over her body.
Sarah wasn't feeling particularly patient, though. "You better get this show on the road, Chuck, or you're going to have a very disgruntled CIA agent in your bed," she groused.
He laughed and lowered himself on top of her. He kissed her wherever he felt like it, starting with her mouth and moving to her neck, breastbone, breasts - where he took his time until she was panting - down her flat stomach - where he dipped his tongue into her bellybutton to hear her laugh at the light tickle - across her thighs, and finally to her center. She gasped and moaned at his attentions, and eventually started muttering nonsense, which told him she was close. He didn't rush, though her rocking hips encouraged him to do so. Instead, he was slow, steady, and patient, driving her closer to the edge and finally pushing her over with a final flick of his tongue. She gave a final gasp and said his name, and he could only think how glad he was that she was home. And so he drove her to the top one more time, even though she released a surprised, "Chuck!" as his tongue started moving again.
Finally, she tugged him back up with her fingers buried in his hair. "Thank you," she murmured as she kissed him, regardless of the taste of herself on his lips.
He laughed. "How polite, Agent Walker. You're very welcome," he said with a chuckle. "It was my pleasure."
"No," she said as she shook her head. "Thank you for being Chuck. And thank you for loving me."
He sobered and stroked her cheek tenderly. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Sarah," he responded on a whisper, "how could I not?"
She rolled over so that she straddled his hips and said, "No more waiting."
"Yeah," he agreed, his voice and breathing ragged.
She sank down on top of him, and they both closed their eyes as he filled and she surrounded and they were finally, finally together again.
Sarah was never as patient as Chuck. She waited only a second before she started moving, rocking, feeling him inside her. Her hands rested on his ribs, steadying herself. His hands clutched her ass, guiding her, anticipating her next move. Her head tilted back as she moved, her blonde hair flowing. He raised his knees so she could rest against them as she moved.
Too soon, it seemed, she was falling over the edge again. He wasn't far behind her. The sight of her rotating hips and swaying breasts coupled with how tight and hot she was around him and he followed her.
She collapsed on top of him, their bodies a little sticky from sweat and their chests still heaving with the exertion of their lovemaking.
It was a while before she gathered the strength to roll off of him. She rested beside him and linked her fingers with his. He pulled her hand over to kiss it quickly. She turned her head towards him and met warm chocolate eyes smiling at her. "I'm glad you're home and that you're the future Mrs. Bartowski."
"Me too," she grinned. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and stayed there for a bit. He dropped his head down to smell her hair and wrapped his arm loosely around her. Then, he felt wetness against his skin. His head straightened up in a snap.
"You're crying! What's wrong?"
She sniffled and moved her face away from his shoulder. "I'm okay. It's just a delayed reaction. All the stress of the mission and being away from you, and then suddenly being home and Casey is okay and you asked me to marry you and Clara being born-"
"It's been a big day. I get it." He smiled and kissed the top of her head in that way he did and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
She smiled at him. "You always get it."
"No more tears tonight?"
"No."
He squeezed her in a brief hug and then nudged her until she rolled over and he could spoon behind her. She sighed in happiness. He smiled into her hair and let all of his muscles relax. Soon, he could hear her breathing become steady and rhythmic as she fell asleep.
Casey was going to be fine and he was connecting with his daughter. Alexei Volkoff was in prison and his mother was back and safe for the first time in 20 years. Baby Clara and Ellie were healthy. Sarah was home, in their bed, in his arms, and she was going to marry him.
Yes, definitely the best day ever.
-end-