AN: Sorry again for the delay. I'm going to try to get back on top of things now. Thank you to everyone who has left a review, and to everyone who's favorited or alerted either me as an author or this story.

Thing that might be good to know for this chapter: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls came out on May 22, 2008. Yes I think Chuck would have seen it the first time. But I certainly would take advantage of having the homage to 1950's Science Fiction on a movie screen again.

The last normally scheduled AP test in 2008 was on May 16.

According to "In 2004 [Zondra] was incarcerated in a Siberian prison camp. Upon her escape, in 2005, the grizzled prison guards were "deeply relieved.""

Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or . I also do not own Indiana Jones, Star Wars or Firefly.

Chuck versus The Background

December 2004

Sarah had seen dead bodies before. She had seen her friends create those dead bodies before. But somehow, walking into that room, filled with so much blood and brains, spilled by one friend and spilling out of another had been different. She had never seen one of her friends look so close to death before. She had taken one look at Nate, bloody, broken, and covered in gore, and at the body Chuck had killed to save him, and she had barely been able to stop herself from throwing up. She had, eventually, been able to swallow the gorge down in order to help Chuck drag out Nate.

But she couldn't help but think, what type of Agent gets sick like that? As they pulled Nate up and began to move towards the door, a far worse thought crept in and took over her mind. Would she have been able to create that mess, if she had been the one that found Nate? Could she had pulled that trigger if she were in Chuck's place? And if she couldn't. If she couldn't it would be Nate's brains splattered across that wall along with his blood. And what if it was Chuck? If Chuck was the one with the gun pointed to his head. What if she couldn't do it? What if she hesitated? She'd have killed Chuck just as surely as the man that pulled the trigger. She couldn't speak to Chuck as they made their way to the car, or the rendezvous sight. She could barely look at him.

When she made it back to Washington, Graham had seemed to sense what was going on. Maybe he had his doubts about her too, but didn't want to give up just yet on a recruit he'd already invested so much in. When he asked if she would be willing to be reassigned to the Secret Service for the rest of the year, she had agreed. She needed some time to think. Some time where doing so wouldn't be putting Chuck in danger. Secret Service might carry guns, but during election years they were more likely to take a bullet than shoot one. At least that's what she rationalized.

She hadn't talked to Chuck or Nate since she got on that plane back to Washington. Which was why she was slightly shocked when Nate called her.

"Nate. What's going on?" She asked, trying to hide her shock.

"I transferred to Opt Tech, after the, well after I got out of the hospital." He started.

"I know." She couldn't help but be a bit saddened when she heard. She wasn't the only one that had begun to doubt themselves that day, apparently.

"I'm working out of Langley now. I heard something. I'd been hearing rumors, but yesterday I heard something more definitive. I thought you needed to know." Her first thought was that something happened to Chuck. Oh God, please don't let anything have happened to Chuck.

"It's Zondra." He told her. She hated herself a little for feeling so relieved. "She was captured. The rumor is that Graham doesn't want to risk sending a team after her."

"Thank you." She told him. The wheels in her mind were already beginning to turn. "And Nate, if anyone asks, this conversation never happened." She added.

"What conversation?"

XXX

"No Sarah." She stared at Graham across the desk, her fist clenching at his words. "Zondra is in a Russian prison camp. I'm not risking an international incident by sending a team after one Agent. I'm sorry." He looked up, then, pausing. Studying her, before speaking again.

"If I were to send an Agent to Siberia to free Zondra, the operation would have to be off the books. And it couldn't be just to get Zondra. The warden in the prison where Zondra is being housed, he was one of the reasons Zondra went undercover in the first place. If the risk were taken by an agent to go to that prison, it would have to be a red operation. The warden would need to be taken care of. And any guard who could recognize his killer as an American." He stared, measuring her again. "Would you be able to do that Sarah?"

Everything in her was in doubt. But if she told him that he wouldn't send her. He wouldn't send anybody. So she told him yes.

XXX

She spent the flight over going over equipment and plan over and over again, the butterflies in her stomach expanding to monstrous proportions. But when she got there, when she saw how the prisoners were treated. That he was enjoying it. When she realized that somewhere in the grimy labyrinth under his control was the woman who taught her how to play quarters, and held her hair back in the aftermath, she ended up having no trouble pulling the trigger. And she only hesitated a second with both of the guards that found her.

Making her way quietly down the corridors, she was glad for that moment of hesitation when she heard a sound behind her and turned.

"Took you long enough." A strained smile pulled at her lips. Zondra stood there apparently having used the distraction Sarah had caused to organize her own escape. She was thinner, dirtier and perhaps a little worn around the edges but relatively healthy and whole. Sarah's emotions already on edge, and she found her body propelling herself towards her friend, and giving her a one arm hug. Zondra, even as prickly as she generally was, accepted the embrace. She even relaxed into it, for a moment at least before she self-consciously pulled away. "How about we wait on the heartfelt reunion until after we finish the escape?" Sarah gave her a slightly embarrassed nod.

"Right."

May 16, 2008

"And then we fought our way out, hotwired a truck and drove to the pick-up location. It wasn't until we were back in Washington that everything really sunk in." Sarah said, turning towards her boyfriend, studying his reaction. They were lying on their bed in Echo Park, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. He had sucked in his lips the way he did when he was thinking of something, but didn't quite know how to say it. "What?" She asked.

"It's just, I'm sort of relieved that I can trace why your Red Test was different to something I did, rather than some random change." He said, still thinking. "But I wonder what really happened with Eve. Why Graham didn't have someone else go after her?"

"Maybe he did. It's not as if the Agency hasn't used car crashes as a cover for deaths before." She pointed out.

"No. In the other timeline Graham used Eve's death as a way to focus on Shaw and mould him into a weapon against the Ring. Can you honestly say he wouldn't have done that here, if he could have?" As much as she wanted to defend her mentor, she knew the answer.

"No." She shook her head. They lay there, cuddled up a moment, before she ventured to ask the question that was on her mind. "Would it be hypocritical, after all the times I've said I'm not the other Sarah, if I asked what happened to Zondra in the other timeline?"

"That doesn't make you a hypocrite, Sarah. That makes you a friend." He told her with a slight smile. "I'm sorry, but I don't really know. You didn't know Nate and you were on the outs with Zondra by 2004, but She seemed healthy and happy, or at least as happy as Zondra can be, the one time I met her. I didn't really get a chance to talk to her much. I'm pretty sure she didn't think I was good enough for you, and I spent most of the time trying to prove her wrong and failing horribly." Sarah couldn't help let out a chuckle.

"Chuck, Carina and I are Zondra's best friends. No girl thinks her best friend's boyfriend deserves her. At least not any girl I've known."

"What? Really?" Chuck asked. He actually sounded surprised.

"Focus, Chuck. Please." She reminded him.

"Right. Anyway. I really only focused on the part of her file that involved you and her time with the CAT Squad. But there was one line that stuck out, about the guards being deeply relieved upon her escape from a Siberian prison camp." Sarah couldn't help but give off an amused snort.

"That's sounds like Zondra."

"I could try to flash on her. Get more details?" Chuck offered. As much as a part of her wanted to tell him yes, she realized where taking that step might lead.

"No." She told him, snuggling up closer to his chest. They lay there a moment, soaking each other in. Despite herself, she couldn't help but think of her other self. Her other choices. Finally she tilted her head up slightly, so she could look into Chuck's eyes. "Thank you, Chuck."

"For offering to flash. It's not exactly a big deal." He said.

"No. Chuck. Thank you, for making me better." He turned his head down, slightly looking at her a moment, incredulously.

"I don't think I can really take credit for that. You are pretty amazing all on your own." She couldn't help but smile. Pushing herself up, pulled Chuck into a kiss, slow and tender. When she pulled away, she threw her leg over his, so she was straddling him. He looked up at her.

"Sarah," he said, slightly surprised.

"Chuck, shut up." She told him, she reached down and pulled her shirt over her head. Then leaned down again to pull him into another deep kiss.

May 21, 2008

Morgan knew he shouldn't be this happy. Chuck was his buddy, and he deserved his dream job. But he couldn't help but be excited to be able to work with his best friend all day again. Big Mike had been excited too. So excited he had actually offered Chuck the position of Nerd Herd Supervisor, which had to soften the blow somewhat, right? Judging by the line that had developed over the last few days the Buymorians weren't the only ones that were happy Chuck was back. It seemed like the more than a few Burbank residents had held off on bringing in their electronics until Chuck was back at the counter.

"What is his secret?" Morgan turned and looked towards Lester, who had snuck up behind him.

"I've narrowed it down: either mind controlling LSD or sorcery." Jeff said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Morgan asked, even more confused by the odder Herders than normal.

"Please, look out there." Lester said, gesturing toward the growing line. "Do you really think that many hot and medium hot girls just happen to need help with their computer this week? That bevy of beauties is here for a different kind of service altogether."

"Wasn't the fro yo girl enough?" Jeff added. Morgan looked back towards the crowd around the desk. Morgan guessed there might have been more girls than usual in the group, but he didn't think it was quite the parade of girls Jeff and Lester were making it out to be. Then again, having any human females in their vicinity was probably a marked increase for Jeff and Lester.

"First of all, guys, Chuck would never even think about cheating on Sarah. Second, think about it this way: if all the customers are here for Chuck, that means you two don't have to work. I bet no one would even notice if you slacked off the rest of the day." Morgan pointed out to his compatriots. Lester, put his finger to his mouth, contemplating Morgan's observation.

"That, is a good point my friend." He said, before giving Morgan an unwelcoming, and slightly weak, slap on the shoulder. "Jeff, we're going on an install. Grab your drinking pants." He said, before turning and hurrying towards the back of the store.

"Finally, I get to try my new drinking daywear." Jeff said with slightly manic glee before following his friend. Staring after them, Morgan hoped no one would be near where those two ended up today. And that they didn't come back smelling like a dumpster again.

XXX

Chuck let out a sigh as he looked over the sea of customers in front of him. Monday morning had started with the usual thin trickle of customers heading towards the Nerd Herd desk. Gradually over the last two days since Chuck was back that had swollen to swamp the desk. Jeff and Lester had disappeared hours ago, leaving Chuck to deal with the flood of customers himself.

After filing in the tag for his latest customer's phone, he looked up at the next in line. He closed his eyes to cover the flash. He knew he should expect this. With not only Fulcrum gone, but the Demitrios' gone there was bound to be some mercenary or opportunist would try to fill the vacuum before the Ring moved in. Chuck just sometimes wished they would go to Large Mart for their electronic needs.

XXX

Ellie's hands hovered over the keyboard a moment, before reaching out and grabbing the letter. Again. Over the last few weeks she had handled it so much, it had already become worn.

Ellie couldn't think of any explanation that would justify her mother abandoning her family all those years ago. Her Mother's letter hadn't even tried to give one. It only said that she had regretted leaving every day since. Ellie almost threw the thing away when she read that. But the letter wasn't only her Mothers, it was her Father's too. Why he would ever take her mother back was another thing Ellie couldn't conceive of, but apparently he had. And there was an e-mail address at the bottom where they could be reached.

A part of Ellie wanted to ignore the letter and pretend it never existed. She hadn't told Chuck about it yet. She didn't want to get his hopes up, if their parents let them down again. If she ignored it, no one would know. But somehow she always ended up sitting in front of her computer, fingers resting just above the keys, with no clue what to type. She wanted to yell at them. She wanted to have them wrap her up in a hug like she was a little girl and tell her everything would always be alright. More than anything she wanted to know. What was so important that they had to leave? Why did they contact her now of all times?

She read the letter over again. Silly, really since she had memorized it weeks ago. Each time she hoped that the answer to her questions would somehow magically appear between the lines, but there was nothing. She leaned back and took a breath, allowing her eyes to wander around the room. Her gaze settled on the picture of her and Chuck on his graduation day from Stanford. She had felt so proud of him. And been so scared. He had already told her that he would be leaving for Washington in a couple of weeks and unlike when he had graduated High School she couldn't take comfort in the assumption that he would be back in four years. He had come back though, eventually. Unlike their parents. Until now. She took one last glance at the room full of memories her parents had missed. And started to type.

XXX

"… Chatter suggests the sale will occur at the party. The schematics of the compound indicate there is a safe in the study. The weapons will most likely be stored there. Agents Walker and Bartowski will enter as guests, and find and collect the weapons before the buyer can. Major Casey, you will enter as staff and act as back-up. Good Luck." Beckman told them before signing off abruptly. Casey headed off, presumably to clock out from the Buymore, leaving her and Chuck alone in the backroom of the Orange Orange.

"Why do mad scientists always throw parties before selling their latest invention?" Chuck wondered aloud.

"Because that's the only time they'd get anyone to come?" She suggested. Chuck raised his eye brows then tilted his head slightly in agreement. He turned to her then with a smile.

"I've already signed out on an onsite install. Would you want to carpool back to the apartment to get ready for tonight."

"Of course." She said, slipping her hand into his. "I just have a couple of things to take care of on the way." The first thing was fairly easy. She stopped at the counter as they were leaving. "Do you think you could close tonight?"

"Sure. Now that the AP tests are over, most of my teachers aren't sure what to do with us. I have less homework right now than a third grader."

"Thanks." Sarah told her sincerely, before heading out. She had had her doubts about having Casey's daughter working with her at the Orange Orange. Mostly due to safety concerns, but, to a lesser extent, because she had feared a personality clash. While she had gotten along with Casey better than most CIA agents did during their previous encounters, she knew his reputation and she had worried that his daughter might take after him in some regards. While she could definitely see some of Casey in Alex, she had also proved to be remarkably mature and easy to get along with.

"Good luck." She heard Alex call after them as they walked out the door.

At the car, she let go of Chuck's hand, and circled around towards her side. Chuck chatted about some archaeology movie he wanted to see that weekend.

"I thought we were going to the apartment?" He said suddenly when she turned.

"I have to pick up my dress for tonight Chuck." He looked oddly confused. "You didn't think that all those gowns just magically appeared before a mission did you?" She joked.

"No. I mean, of course not. There was a wardrobe in Castle in the other timeline. I guess I hadn't really thought about it."

She turned into the parking lot and maneuvered through it until she found a parking spot relatively near the dry cleaners that acted as a front for the CIA's L.A. clothing warehouse. She pulled Chuck along behind her as she walked towards the store front. The semi-retired agent that ran the operation gave her a genuine smile when she walked in. She suspected most his Agency customers were only passing through or in need of a quick change while they were in town. He obviously liked having a customer he actually knew.

"Miss Walker. Here for a pick-up I assume?"

"Yes. I dropped off a cocktail dress a few days ago."

"I believe I remember the item. What color was it again?" It was a familiar script. Even though there was currently no civilian customers in the store, there was no sense in tempting fate. Sara slid her eyes over towards her boyfriends momentarily.

"Red." She said, with a small smirk.

"Of course. Let me just get it out of the back." As soon as he had left, Chuck leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"I'm confused. Is this an actual Dry Cleaners?"

"Is the Orange Orange a Yogurt Shop?"

"Oh." He said in understanding. At that moment the proprietor came back carrying a red dress on a hanger.

"You're already paid up. I just need you to sign here." He said, handing her the digital pad. After a quick signature, he handed her dress. "Now, is Mr. Bartowski here for a pick up as well?" Chuck's eyes bugged out.

"No. I'm fairly sure we've picked up all his suits already. Haven't we honey?" She said, turning towards him.

"Yes. All clean." He said. She bit her cheek to stop herself smiling at his obvious surprise.

"Well then, have a good night."

"You too." Sarah told him with a waive, before grabbing Chuck's hand and pulling him back towards the car. She couldn't help but find it amusing that the most mundane portion of their evening had Chuck so flummoxed.

XXX

"You get the weapon. I'll go help Casey." Sara told him quickly. He gave a nod, and hurried down the hallway leading to the study. Everything had been going well. They had gotten into the party without any problems. There had even been some good appetizers. They had begun making their way upstairs to the study. Then one of the weapon's potential buyers had realized that there were several other potential buyers at the party. And the gun play had started.

Chuck made his way into the room. He found the safe, in quite possibly the most clichéd spot possible, behind one of the prints and quickly flashed to get the combination. Opening the door he breathed a sigh of relief when the weapon was still safely tucked inside. He pulled it out, placing it on the floor so he could close the safe and replace the painting. Just as he reached back towards the boxy device, however, he heard the click of a gun cocking behind him.

"Please take your hands off my property and turn around." The gun's holder told him. Chuck slowly stood up and turned to find the device's creator was the one holding him at gun point. The CIA files on Edmund Noble indicated that he was a freelance weapons designer that had been selling his services to the highest bidder. The CIA had been closing in on him, until a year ago when he had fallen off the grid. The rumor was that he had had a breakdown after undergoing some kind of experimental procedure. While there had been chatter that some sort of weapons deal would be happening tonight, Chuck's flash on the man's assistant at the Buymore was the first time the Agency had realized he was the one selling the weapon in question.

Chuck straightened up and looked down, straight into the man's eyes, the scientist seemed to freeze. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he tilted his head slightly.

"Captain Carmichael?" Chuck froze. It was only momentary, quickly shaken off by the sudden sound of a silenced gun shot. Noble fell forwards, dead. One of the designer's former potential buyers emerged from the door way, walking into the room. The shooter glanced at the now dead scientist, then the open safe, and finally at Chuck and the device still sitting on the floor. He readjusted his aim towards Chuck and moved forwards. Chuck looked around, trying to calculate if he could reach the man before he shot, or if he would have to dive out the way and drag the device with him. It proved unnecessary.

The former Buyer stopped suddenly at the sound of heels running down the hallway. He turned slightly as they neared, only to be abruptly pistol whipped. The man fell down into an unconscious heap beside his victim, revealing Sarah.

"Is someone behind you?" Chuck couldn't help but ask. Sarah glanced back then turned to him slightly confused.

"No, why?"

"No reason." He said with a head shake. Then He grabbed the device and hurried towards her. "Let's get out of here."

XXX

"He called me Captain Carmichael."

"What?" Sarah turned, looking towards her boyfriend. They were laying in their bed, semi-entwined with each other. As the CIA scientist had yet to make head or tails out of the smorgasbord of parts that had formed Noble's weapon, the debriefing had been thankfully brief and they'd made it home in time to actually get a good night's sleep for once, among other things.

"Noble. He called me Captain Carmichael before he was shot. I've only been using the name Carmichael since I've been back in Burbank, and the only Captain I've ever pretended to be is Han Solo." She looked up at him, slightly confused. "My Halloween costume." He explained.

"Oh, Captain Tight Pants." She remembered. Chuck gave her a weird look, then opened his mouth as if to say something before closing it abruptly and shaking his head.

"Yeah. Him. But the point is, I've never been Captain Carmichael. And I've never seen the man before in my life. In either life."

"You did use your Carmichael alias last night. Maybe he heard you talking or had heard of Agent Carmichael and got confused?" Sarah suggested.

"Maybe." Chuck finally conceded. "But he seemed to recognize me."

"I don't know what to say Chuck. I don't understand how that could be unless he had run across him before. You have been part of the CIA for over eight years. Even you couldn't remember every criminal you've come into contact with during that time." She pointed out. "Plus, you nicknamed him a mad scientist for a reason. He might simply have gotten things mixed up in his head." Chuck let out a long breath.

"You're right. I suppose, I have to start being more careful when I use my Carmichael alias from now on." He said nestling a bit more beside her. Neither voiced another option.

If Chuck was becoming known as Carmichael, it wasn't an ideal situation. It would mean that their enemies could be closer to discovering Chuck's cover than was entirely comfortable. But at least it would be an explanation they could deal with.