A/N: Chuck does not belong to me or any characters affiliated.
This is my first fanfiction story because I decided to be more proactive. I'm very new at this so please make any suggestions when you review. I'm rather horrible at showing rather than telling, so I decided to keep my first story simple and short as to try out this whole process before diving headlong into it. Also, I'm trying to work on my plot development skills although I do have some prompts swirling around in my mind. Any errors are mine and mine alone. Thanks for reading this new writers' work! :)
Charles Carmichael always kept his cool. Always.
Or at least that's what they told him.
It was his first mission without them. And things had gone wrong so terribly fast. After he flashed on the suspected Russian drug ring leader, Ivan Vasiliev, Charles had ignored the pleas, direct orders, and the reprimanding of a certain Sarah Walker, and tailed the bastard.
And from zero to sixty, he had followed, been caught, and was strapped to a chair in an office that smelled faintly of whisky and cigars. Not good. Sooo not good.
If he was supposed to be Charles Charmichael, why was he sweating?
Vasiliev stood with his three henchmen and waved about his hands. "Tell me again! Who do you work for?"
Charles fired off the first thing that came to mind; "I have no idea what you're talking about… I…I was just looking for the bathroom."
A grunt came on through his earpiece. "You moron. Special Agent Carmichael couldn't think of a better reason? You better find a way out of this because we're not supposed to interfere on this mission. Beckman's orders, but we were supposed to keep you on a tight leash!"
A second, softer voice came through.
"You better get out and back here before you get hurt. So I can hurt you for going off protocol. You were supposed to go in, flash, and get out. I can't believe you didn't listen to me again! Anything else goes south and I will personally extract you."
A pause.
"Because you're my asset." Casey raised his eyebrow. Sarah winced, "…Our asset."
Charles tried not to be too distracted as words came and attempted to assess the situation as a special agent would. He hoped that Sarah would come soon. He was on the brink of abandoning ship and leaving the reins to Bartowski. The civilian.
Meanwhile, Vasiliev conferred with some unknown contact on the phone and returned to the task at hand. He proceeded to amplify the tense situation by revealing a knife in his coat. A very sharp looking knife.
Charles gulped. With this latest turn of events, he fled, and he made Bartowski return from his shortened slumber.
Bastard.
The knife glinted in the yellow brightness of the room.
He froze up. He couldn't do it. He didn't have the ability to escape. Chuck Bartowski wasn't cut out for this mission. Chuck Bartowski didn't do anything without his handlers. He was the coward.
Vasiliev took the knife and held it against his throat.
"I'll ask you once again. Who do you work for? Answer me or I'll bring your little friends into this. We have them surrounded."
Chuck Bartowski realized that this mission had morphed from a solo-mission to a full team involvement. He didn't know what to do. He just hoped that Sarah and Casey had found a way out of their situation. But he was panicking. Why couldn't he be more like Carmichael? Smooth, suave, always cool. He had to call him back. And he tried the only way he knew how.
"Look, I was just lost, and the room had a Twilight Zone-y vibe to it and I didn't want to pass up a chance to experience the paranormal and get sucked into some alternate universe and last Christm—"
Vasiliev impatiently tapped his foot and pointed his knife back at Chuck; "Shut up! I don't care about what you think. And for not answering my question and for making me waste my time, we'll have to dispose of this situation soon. Won't we? Don't worry though…I'm sure they'll," he waved to his men, "make this process very painful."
Chuck flinched at the threats, shut his eyes tight, and hoped that Sarah was thinking of him.
But suddenly, a large crash through the window brought Chuck out of his reverie, and he snapped his head in the direction. Two black blurs rolled on the floor and in three shots, the very large henchmen became very large weights.
Vasiliev couldn't register how quickly the situation had turned against his favor; "I thought I had you taken care of! Impossible! My men are the best that Russia has to offer. "
Casey smirked and waved to his body; "Nobody's better than this." He trained his gun on the drug dealer, knocked him out with the butt of his gun, and tied him up. "Gonna take him to the detention facility. You can deal with that bum."
Sarah nodded and ran to Chuck.
"Chuck! Are you okay? You're in big trouble…Why were you so stupid? Beckman's going to be all over us. The only reason she let you do this was because of your inspirational 'Charles Carmichael never fails' speech!"
She was shaking and looked as if she was going to cry.
Chuck had never seen her so distraught.
"Look, I'm sorry okay? I just got caught up in the moment…"
"Caught up in the moment?!?? You're never going on any mission without me from now on okay?"
Chuck stepped forward to snake his arms around her back. He pulled her in and held her close. He whispered in her ear, "That bastard, Carmichael, left me halfway through the mission. But Chuck Bartowski…Chuck Bartowski is here to stay. Girlish screams and all. I'm never leaving you okay?"
Sarah pulled back from his embrace and looked up to his face. "I never cared for that Carmichael anyway. He likes his martinis shaken and stirred…."
Chuck flashed that Bartowski grin and hugged her again. "Will you promise me that you'll give ole Chuck Bartowski a chance, now that Carmichael is gone?"
Sarah tentatively looked into those hazel eyes and looked as if she was going to open up…"Chuck, I never cared about Carmichael. It was Chuck Bartowski who helped steal a terrorist's diamond, it was Chuck Bartowski who reunited a sister with her brother, it was Chuck Bartowski who risked his own life for his sister's… it was Chuck Bartowski who forgave me after I shot Mauser….It's always been you."
Chuck reached his hand up to her cheek, "Sarah…"
She turned away, but this time he put both his hands on her face. He leaned in and when their lips met, it was as if a fog cleared from both their minds. The kiss was so forbidden, but they knew they couldn't deny what they felt today. Out of the many kisses they had shared before, this one was sweet, desperate, and passionate all at once. All of their emotions exploded and couldn't be stopped.
And while they reassured each other of their feelings, Chuck couldn't help but think what an ass Carmichael was for passing up an opportunity to kiss the most beautiful woman on the planet.
But now he knew that he didn't need Carmichael to get her. She fell in love with Chuck Bartowski, and to her, he was the coolest of them all.