Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

A/N: Okay, so in my opinion, no one character gets shat on more in Chuck fic than Devon. I mean, the guy is awesome. It's right in his name. So I set out for a nice little treat for the Captain. This is what follows. Charah shipper be warned. This isn't the fic for you. Oh, and if there are any Devon/Ellie shippers, same goes for you. Oh, and no promises, but there may be an epilogue to this one-shot at some point. We'll see. I hope you enjoy it, and please review. Thanks!

Finding Normal

Overhand left. Right hook. Side kick. Front kick. Side kick.

Sarah wailed away at the punching bag. She'd been in Castle's gym for at least two hours trying to work out her frustrations, and still, even imagining the bag was Chuck's face, it wasn't working.

All she had wanted was to be normal. She wanted a normal life, with a normal boyfriend, maybe one day a normal engagement and a normal wedding, and hopefully at some point, normal children. But every day since Chuck decided to upload that God forsaken Intersect, since he decided to become a real spy, her dreams of "normal" drifted further and further away.

He was supposed to be her ticket out of the CIA and out of the covert life. He was supposed to be her ticket to a white picket fence, lazy Sunday mornings lying in bed cuddling. He was supposed to be her ticket away from the life she'd grown to loathe and to the life she'd always wanted, even if she'd never admitted it.

Just thinking about all she'd lost made her even angrier. Her kicks and punches on the inanimate object became even more fierce. Her hands, even through the padded gloves, were beginning to ache. Just then, saw the monitor to her right light up. Someone was in the store. With one final, malicious blow to the punching bag accompanied by a primal scream, Sarah quickly began trying to get herself fixed up enough to face her customer.

She slipped out of her track pants and into her white Capri pants. She threw on her orange tank-top over her sports bra and pulled on her Orange Orange hoodie. Rushing up the steps of Castle, she haphazardly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and prepared to enter the freezer. She knew the sweat she'd worked up down in the gym would leave her smelling a little less than stellar, but if it offended whoever the asshole who decided frozen yogurt at nine-thirty in the morning was, she could live with that.

Sarah stepped out of the freezer, and was greeted with the sight of…

"Oh, Devon. It's just you," she said, relaxing considerably. She was still a little out of breath from her flight back into the store proper.

Devon didn't meet her gaze, and Sarah could tell that something was wrong. His face was red, his shoulders slumped, and if she didn't know any better, she'd swear he'd been crying. "I didn't know who else to come to," he said softly. "I mean, I can't talk to any of my friends about this stuff. And it's Chuck's sister, so she's off limits. And John. Well, I think talking to a wall would be more productive."

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to discern from his body language and voice and facial expression just what had Chuck's (damn him!) brother in-law so upset. He said he couldn't talk about it with friends, so it probably had something to do with spy stuff. Was he in trouble?

Devon didn't answer right out, instead reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tissue. As he unfolded the tissue, he revealed a ring. A very familiar ring. Sarah could never forget that particular piece of jewelry. Not after the morning long dumpster dive she'd once partaken in to retrieve it.

"Is that…?" she asked.

"My great grandmother's ring. The one I gave to Ellie," Devon answered, his voice thick with emotion.

"Devon?"

"It's over. Ellie left me," he said, still not looking up from the floor.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, the concern she felt for the man showing in her voice. She might have hated Chuck at the moment, but Chuck, Ellie, and Devon were still people that she cared about.

"It's this damn spy," Devon started out loudly, bitterly. Realizing he was in public, he lowered his voice. "It's this spy stuff. Keeping secrets. It's just, since I started knowing what you guys do, it's been tearing us apart," he finished in a whisper, but the bitterness was still clear in his speech. Devon sighed. "I don't see how you guys do it, Sarah."

Sarah chuckled mirthlessly. "We don't," she said simply. Then added, "At least we don't do what you're talking about."

"But you and Chuck –"

"Chuck and I are not together," Sarah said forcefully.

"But you seem so happy together," Devon said, his sadness from before seeming to leave him momentarily in favor of concern.

"Well," Sarah said, "we're not. I mean, I'm not, anyway."

"Why not?" Devon pushed.

Why not? Maybe because Chuck wasn't what he claimed to be. He wasn't normal. He wasn't the man that would lead her away from the shitty life of a spy. Not that she'd tell Devon all of that. Sarah sighed. "Come," she said plainly, beginning to walk back towards the freezer.

"Where are we going?" Devon asked, beginning to follow her.

"Casey keeps some booze stowed away in Castle. Figure you could use a drink," she said shrugging her shoulders and not breaking stride. Truth was, she didn't really know what to say to him. She knew all too well what the life of lying and spying could do to a relationship, to a family.

Since all of the Intersect shit started, she'd lost her first love; she'd met a guy that she thought was everything she could ever want in a man, they'd been so close to finally starting something real that could last forever, but he turned out to be just another spy when he uploaded that goddamn Intersect 2.0; oh, and she hadn't gotten laid in over two years. Yeah, she knew how fucked up the covert life was. And while she didn't want to talk about it herself, it might actually help to hear Devon pour out his sorrows. Misery does love company after all, she reminded herself.

Sarah led Devon down into Castle, telling him to have a seat at the center table. She went and got two glasses from the kitchen, and opened Casey's "secret" compartment to produce a nice full bottle of Glenviet Single Malt. She didn't actually plan to drink herself, but if Devon's wailing and gnashing of teeth got to be too much, she just might have a sniff.

She returned to the table and poured Devon a nice tall glass, which he immediately started drinking.

"I never thought it would end like this," he confessed right off. "I thought we would be together forever. We'd have kids, and a nice house in the suburbs. You know, the American Dream."

And that's all it took to make Sarah start drinking. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said, taking her first large, stinging pull, straight from the bottle.

For the next hour, Devon went on about all the hopes and dreams he'd had for him and Ellie. They were mostly the same dreams Sarah had for herself. Devon wanted "normal" just like she did. And the spy life had robbed him of that, just like it had robbed her of that life. It wasn't fair, at all, and she told him as much. That was really about as much as she contributed to the conversation, but Devon didn't seem to mind. Sarah admired that about him. Chuck would have been pushing her to say something. To tell him something.

Why couldn't she have met someone like Devon? He clearly wanted nothing to do with being a spy. He was a doctor, and he was happy with his normal profession. He also wasn't bad to look at.

"…so what am I supposed to do?" Devon asked, finished his diatribe.

"I'm sorry, wha-what?" Sarah asked, smiling sheepishly. She'd gotten too deep in her fantasies and had forgotten to listen. "I kind of zoned out there."

"I mean, I can't just start over, can I? Where am I going to find someone? And now that I know everything I know about you guys, how can I possibly be involved with anyone else?" he asked dejectedly.

Sarah looked at him sympathetically. How could she tell this man that was pouring his heart out to her that in fact he couldn't find anyone else? How could she tell him that because he was involved with this spy shit that he was doomed to a loveless life that would never approach normal? But something caused her not to answer negatively. Maybe it was the booze. "Maybe you just need someone that understands," she said softly. Realizing what he would think she meant, she flushed with embarrassment and took the last swig from the bottle.

"You mean a spy?" Devon asked skeptically.

"Why not?" Sarah asked without thinking. She was embarrassed by her words again and to take attention away from the blush that was rising to her cheeks, she got up to take Devon's empty glass away.

"I don't really know any spies," he explained.

"You know me!" Sarah snapped. Dammit! Why couldn't she shut her stupid mouth?

"Yeah, but. Wait. Are you saying…?"

Sarah didn't answer with words. Instead she pulled Devon's head to her and crushed her lips against his. She knew it was a mistake, but she needed this, and she knew he did too.

Devon was clearly in shock at first. He was stiff against her grasp, his lips not moving. Within seconds however, he started to return the kiss in kind and Sarah had to admit that he was a damn good kisser.

The glasses she'd been holding before fell to the floor. She was pretty sure they broke. She was also pretty sure that she didn't care. As the kiss continued, Sarah found herself sitting in Devon's lap, straddling him. Everything about what was happening was incredibly wrong, she knew intellectually, but somehow it felt right.

They wanted the same things from life. They wanted a real marriage, they wanted a family with kids, they wanted the American Dream. And by the urges she felt growing in her gut, and the growing bulge she felt when she ground her hips down into Devon's, they both wanted sex, like right now.

Sarah reached down and began to pull Devon's shirt from his pants. He looked a little surprised at first, but quickly he was lifting his arms to help her remove it. He then returned the favor, freeing her from her tank top and sports bra.

She began to tug at his belt buckle when she felt him grab her hands.

"Sarah," he breathed hoarsely. "I – I don't know if we should."

"I do," she said huskily. "And we should." She'd waited a long, long time to feel someone inside of her again, and dammit, she wasn't going to stop now.

Devon didn't argue anymore and freed his grasp on Sarah's wrists. She quickly removed his belt and stood him up so she could take off his pants. No sooner was Devon standing in front of her stark naked than he'd pushed her down on the table and started to pull at her Capris. Sarah lifted her hips so he could slide her pants off.

Devon settled between her legs, preparing to enter her, and just then, their eyes connected. The lust they shared was evident in their stare. But just before it went any further, Devon's head hung. He swallowed dryly.

"No!" Sarah demanded. "You're not backing out on me now."

"No, it's just – I don't have a condom," Devon said dejectedly.

Sarah heaved a sigh of relief. A smile spread across her face. "Look in the pocket of my pants," she said.

"You carry condoms around?" Devon asked.

"Yeah. There was an incident, and I was with someone, and I really wanted to, but we couldn't. Anyway, since it happened, I'm never unprepared now."

"Awesome," was all he said as he pulled the prophylactic from the pocket of Sarah's discarded pants. Devon tore open the package and rolled the condom down over his cock. He took a step forward and then Sarah felt him pressing against her entrance. She sucked in a breath as he pushed inside of her.

Sarah winced in pain as Devon penetrated her tight hole. He must have noticed, because he paused. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Sarah took a couple of long breaths. In through her mouth, out through her nose. "Yeah," she said weakly. "I'm fine." She smiled up at him and began to rock her hips just slightly, hoping it would encourage him to go forward. Oh, and it did.

Devon began to move in and out of her, slow at first, but as they continued his speed increased. Sarah moved her pelvis to match each one of his thrusts.

Their movements became more and more frantic. Sarah felt her walls begin to tighten around Devon's rock hard cock as he continued to saw into her. Her orgasm came fast and hard, and she screamed out a long wordless cry. And even as she was coming down from her own climax, she felt Devon stiffen above her. He buried himself to the hilt inside her velvety folds and came deep within her.

When he was spent, Devon pulled Sarah from the table, not removing himself from her. He sat back down in the chair and held her body tight against his. And in that moment, Sarah got just what she wanted. She was just a normal girl, being held by a normal guy. She never wanted it to end.

A/N: You guys are awesome. Peace.