A/N: I'm sure you'll all be shocked to learn this, but I don't own Chuck! I know, right? I was surprised too. Life will do that to you sometimes.
This story accompanies the first chapter of my current serial, Chuck vs. Dunder Mifflin. So if anything about this is unclear, the answers are probably in that story.
Chuck vs. the Long-Dreaded Conversation
Eleanor Woodcomb was reclining on the couch. Well, not entirely on the couch; it was really more like 60% couch, 40% Devon. Her husband's presence definitely improved the comfortableness of any couch… or bed. Devon's thoughts seemed to be headed in the same direction as his wife's, because he picked that moment to elicit a quiet moan with a kiss to that special spot on her neck…
And of course there was a knock at the door. The grin that flickered across her face at her husband's muffled "not awesome" was quickly overpowered by her scowl at the interruption. She wrenched the door open to find her brother and his girlfriend standing outside.
"Chuck! Why are you knocking?" she inquired.
Sarah answered for him. "We didn't want to walk in on… anything." She shuddered slightly.
A contented smile settled briefly onto Ellie's face as she recalled the last time Chuck and Sarah had entered unannounced. "You know, the Morgan Door is still available." Her brother grinned unenthusiastically at her joke. "So… what's up?" she asked.
Every hint of a smile faded from Chuck's face, and he looked down at Sarah for reassurance before answering. "Ellie… we need to talk."
The elder Bartowski's big sister instincts kicked quickly into overdrive. The despairing looks her brother and his girlfriend worse forced her to regretfully eliminate the happy options of engagement and pregnancy. She considered the possibility that they'd broken up, but they were practically wrapped around each other – and besides, what couple announces a breakup together? As Ellie scrambled to imagine another possible topic for serious conversation, Devon stepped toward the door.
"Chuckster." His greeting was less excited than usual; he seemed to sense the same tone she did. "Is it a… situation?" Chuck nodded.
The fact that everyone else seemed to know exactly what was going on left Ellie more confused than ever, and that made her slightly irritable. "Situation?" she demanded, offsetting the word with air quotes. "What does that mean?"
Glancing at Devon, Chuck dodged. "We should sit down."
Ellie's objections were ignored as Devon guided her firmly into the living room and joined her on the love seat. Chuck and Sarah sat together in a chair that had been designed for one person – which Ellie found appropriate, considering how well things had been going between them lately.
Chuck looked to Sarah again and took a deep breath. "Ellie, I've been working with the government for the last two years."
The brunette furrowed her brow. "But you worked at the Buy More," she asserted.
"Yeah, this was sort of… unofficial work. Kind of a side job." He hesitated, then looked toward Sarah, who quickly picked him up.
"Ellie, I'm a CIA agent. Casey and I have been working with Chuck. We can't tell you much about the work, but we've stopped some very bad people from doing some very bad things."
Scrambling desperately for a response, Ellie said the first thing that came to mind. "Casey? You mean John Casey, from the Buy More?"
"Yeah." Chuck picked up the conversation again. "He's NSA."
Ellie nodded absently, as if that made everything clear. She fished for something else to say, but the worthwhile statements weren't biting.
"So what's the situation, Chuck?" Devon asked as he wrapped a comforting arm around his wife's shoulders. Ellie's memory gravitated toward the odd emphasis he'd used on "situation" earlier.
"Devon, did you know about this?" A nod. "Why didn't you…" Pausing to reevaluate the target of her anger, she turned immediately back to Chuck. "Why didn't YOU tell me?"
He cringed, and Sarah jumped back in. "It was for your protection, Ellie. You're safer if you don't know what's going on."
Ellie scoffed, then paused before answering. "That kinda begs the question, then… why are you telling me now?"
Another deep breath preceded Chuck's answer. "Sarah's cover was blown somehow."
"What does that mean? What, were there, like, assassins waiting for her in her hotel?" Ellie paused for an answer. She didn't get one. "Oh God. Seriously?" That drew a reluctant nod from the blonde… spy. That was going to take some getting used to. "What happened?"
Sarah seemed to debate between a few responses before smiling and settling on, "Chuck saved me."
Chuck turned bright red, and muttered something about it being nothing. Ellie opened her mouth, then shut it again. Refocusing, she managed to croak out a "How?"
Sarah's smile grew a little as she turned and fixed her gaze on Chuck. "He jumped off the roof."
"It's not as bad as it sounds, Ellie." That statement earned Chuck a swat on the shoulder.
"It's exactly as bad as it sounds. And it's not the first time he's done it." The couple turned to look at each other, and Sarah added, "You know, just because it's my job to get mad at you when you do stupid things like that… it doesn't mean I don't appreciate them."
Ellie perked up again. "So are you guys really…"
"Yes." "Sort of." The answers came out simultaneously, followed by Sarah's indignant "Sort of, Chuck?"
"Well, not the whole time," he amended quickly. "But now."
"When?" Ellie pressed.
"After the… wedding." Sarah's response was cautious enough that Ellie wondered what other benchmark had occurred along with the wedding. She didn't get the chance to inquire.
"So what happens when your cover is blown?" Devon asked.
Sarah answered. "Well, in this case, it means we get relocated."
"Both of you? Casey too? Where?"
"Yes, yes, and we don't know yet."
"Can we visit?" he persisted.
Chuck took over again. "That's the other thing, Devon. If they know who Sarah is, there's a very good chance they know who I am. And if they know who I am…"
"… they know who we are," Devon finished.
Chuck nodded. "You'll have to move too, for your own safety. Someone could use you to get to us otherwise."
"So you'll let us know when you find out where we're going?" Ellie asked.
Chuck's face crumpled. Sarah pulled him close and quietly said, "Ellie, we're not going to the same place. You and Devon will be separately placed in the Witness Protection Program."
"Oh." Ellie paused, searching for what should come next. "Fantastic. Let's sum up, shall we? My baby brother is a spy, who apparently makes a habit of doing stupid and dangerous things like leaping off of buildings. He has been lying to me about this for two years." She saw a tear forming in the eyes of the target of her mounting tirade, but pushed ahead. "Now, out of the blue, he comes clean, only to tell me that I'll never see him again, and that my new husband and I have to give up our life in Los Angeles and move to God-only-knows-where." Chuck dropped his head into his hands, and Sarah pulled him toward her in a futile comforting effort. Ellie snapped off a final "Did I leave anything out?" and stormed from the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her.
Ellie had spent ten minutes with her face buried angrily in her pillow when she heard a knock at the door.
"Go away, Chuck. I don't want to hear it."
"Ellie, if you don't open this door, I will break it down."
That wasn't Chuck. Grumbling under her breath, Ellie opened the door to find Sarah on the other side. The blonde stalked wordlessly into the room.
"Look, Sarah, I only let you in to avoid having to call a handyman. I'm not any more interested in talking to you than I am in talking to Chuck," Ellie groused.
Sarah stared out the window. "Shut the door." Ellie complied. "If you don't want to talk, that's fine. You can listen."
"And what are you going to say, Sarah?" Ellie scoffed. "Are you going to tell me to look on the bright side? That it's all going to be okay?"
Sarah spun abruptly around, and Ellie quailed slightly at the fire in the other woman's eyes. "No," she responded evenly. "I'm going to tell you to go to hell."
"What?" Ellie spluttered.
"You heard me."
"You know what? YOU go to hell! I'm not allowed to be upset that my family is being split up, that I'm being forced to leave my home?" Ellie demanded.
Sarah stared back calmly. "Of course you're allowed to be upset, Ellie. Personally, I'm crushed by the fact that we have to leave LA – it's about the closest thing to a home I've ever had. But what I cannot and will not permit you to do is take your frustrations out on Chuck. He's having a hard enough time with this as it is."
Ellie snorted. "So everyone has to tiptoe around for Chuck's benefit. It's like the world revolves around the guy."
Sarah lifted a reproachful eyebrow. "Ellie, out of all the people we'll have to deal with during this, you were the one I didn't think I'd have to convince of how important Chuck is." Ellie recoiled as though she'd been slapped. "But since that doesn't seem to be the case," Sarah continued, "then you leave me no choice but to violate an order from the Director of the NSA and explain some things to you.
"Remember our first date?" Sarah asked. Ellie easily recalled it to memory – it had been an abrupt shift from the depressing birthday party she'd thrown for her brother two days earlier. "We got involved in a car chase that night; I ended up driving his Herder down a very long flight of stairs. Then an assassin chased us up to the roof of a tall building. And finally, after all that, Chuck defused a bomb, saving the life of a key NATO official."
"Chuck knew how to defuse a bomb?" It was by no means a great question, but it was the best Ellie could manage.
"He downloaded a virus onto the laptop that controlled it – the thing practically melted." Sarah paused to think. "The day he got the Missile Command high score? The activation code to a missile satellite was stored in that game. Chuck got it to me just in time to shut the satellite down and prevent… maybe World War III. Something really bad, anyway."
Ellie thought back. "Wasn't that the day he got his diploma?"
"Yep. Stanford was good enough to award him 12 credits in Saving the Freakin' World," Sarah deadpanned. "Let's see, what else… Mother's Day from last year. Chuck didn't flake on your dinner. We were saving the life of the brother of a top Chinese spy that night. It got her to defect. I hear she's been very valuable since then."
Ellie sat heavily on the bed. "So all those times…"
"Every one," Sarah confirmed. "You weren't losing your brother, Ellie. The government was taking him from you. He was crushed every time he had to let you down, and he could never tell you the real reason."
"God," Ellie moaned, hiding her face behind her hands. "I can't even imagine."
"No, you can't," Sarah answered, a hard edge creeping into her voice. "Chuck… I've barely scratched the surface of what he's accomplished over the last two years. He's done more for this country than almost anyone I've met. And that little performance of yours out there devastated him. So let me make something clear." She leaned over and placed one hand on each side of Ellie's location, drawing the brunette's attention irresistibly toward her. "You are going to go out there and do whatever it takes to make this right. Because Chuck deserves at least that much. And because if you don't, you will answer to me."
Ellie nodded meekly. "Okay." Sarah stood abruptly and turned to leave the room, only to stop as Ellie hesitantly called after her. "Sarah? I'm sorry."
The voice that answered was disorientingly soft. "So am I."