I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

A word to the wise. There will be plenty of fluffy moments. But this story is going to start off very dark, darker than anything I've ever done, and stay there for a while. Hopefully the story will be tense and exciting. Things will look bad for a while. If you can't enjoy that sort of edgy story, there is not a thing in the world wrong with that. But please stop reading. Sending me cowardly anonymous reviews isn't going to do any good. As always, I promise only happy endings.

Having said all that, I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything.

The God Complex

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah finally broke down and got dressed for their nightly family dinner, or as Chuck was beginning to call it 'lobster fest'… reluctantly.

"It's hard to imagine growing tired of lobster," Chuck sighed as they walked to the compound. "Maybe you could mention to Chef that you also like the occasional other main entrée. How about a nice prime rib? He's French, right? Maybe some chateaubriand."

"Hey," Sarah playfully protested. "Don't you know that much red meat is bad for your heart? Lobster is much healthier. Ask Devon. You'll get a longer explanation than you were really looking for."

"Perhaps," Chuck agreed. "The health argument almost works. Until you drown it in drawn butter like you do. I'm thinking that negates any health advantage. Ask Devon about that and suffer through the long explanation."

"I like drawn butter," Sarah pouted, again much like a five year old. "Besides, go find your own chef who worships you. Then you can dictate the menu. The fact of the matter is that I really don't want to hear it. I've forgotten how much I hate wearing a bra. And all because you don't want Morgan ogling the covered outline image of my nipples? It seems like you're asking for too much of a sacrifice. Eating some brilliantly prepared lobster based creation is probably a small price to pay."

"It's just for a little while," Chuck said soothingly. "Let's face it. He's going to see a lot more skin every place he looks than he's used to. Without a bra that shirt leaves little to the imagination. We don't want him to explode or anything the first week. Let's give him some time to get accustomed."

"Now see," Sarah said, looping her arm through his affectionately as they walked. "It's nice that you're looking out for your friend. But I say get it over with. Jump into the deep end of the pool and sink or swim. Rip that bandage off and take your pain all at once. Say the word and I'll get him alone before dinner, flash him, let him look for a few minutes, maybe spend his one time allowed quick feel, and we can banish the bras back to the bottom drawer where they belong. Trust me, all of the girls would be grateful."

"He gets a one time quick feel?" Chuck asked laughing in faux concern. "I don't remember that in the negotiations."

"I thought you knew about this," Sarah said her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Devon told me that you were on board, that it was your idea. He explained to me that we were going to be living together, not a lot of clothes were going to be worn, and that could lead to a lot of unhealthy tension. So each man would spend five minutes of mutual exploration with each woman, just to say they had done it once. Hell, even Josh and Casey were there to back him up."

Sarah paused for a moment. "I got hustled, didn't I?" she sighed. "That explains some things. Devon maybe took more advantage than he originally explained. He kinda stayed there longer than what you'd technically call a one time feel, especially after he has me naked. I would tell you that I was starting to worry it might be getting out of hand… but that would be a lie. Since I thought that you approved, I actually didn't mind all that much. I was starting to imagine what it would feel like if… well, you know. But he clearly miscalculated. Our time ran out just before I climbed on him. Casey was pounding on the door for his turn. The look of disappointment on his face… he was hard as a rock. The man has some big soft hands. And that doctor training sure didn't hurt. Ellie is sure lucky."

That turned Chuck's faux concern into genuine concern. "You mean Devon actually…" he started. Then he trailed off as he noticed the look Sarah was flashing him. "Very funny," he said. "You're going to pay for that."

"You're too easy," Sarah teased. She squeezed his arm affectionately while they walked, ignoring his threat while making absolutely no attempt to keep the smirk from her face. "When have I been out of your sight long enough for anything like that to have happened?"

Indeed, Chuck's face was already taking on a red hue. "You are going to pay," he muttered. "What has gotten into you lately? Is sex all you think about?"

"Pretty much," Sarah admitted cheerfully. "Now days I find that my mind pretty much leaps to the sexual side of any situation. For example, walking down this pier it just occurred to me that we have never had sex here. How exciting would it be if you grabbed me and used the Intersect to repeatedly ravage me right here in the full light of day?"

Sarah smiled at the look on his face. "At first I thought my obsessing about sex was just me over compensating up for the last ten years," she continued. "But it lasted far too long to be just that. It now looks like it's a lifetime thing. So I worried about it for a while. I never want you to feel like sex is the only thing we have going. I understand that you're not a machine. I love every second I'm with you, not just when we're having sex. But having said that, I eventually decided that my obsession was a good thing."

That got Chuck grinning.

"You should look at the bright side," Sarah teased. "Thanks totally to you my sex life is so great that I'm always looking for the next opportunity. And the fact is that no matter what fantasy my mind comes up with, I only actually ever have sex with you. I don't see that ever changing. You have to admit that you get some benefit from my erotic visions. I'd say roll with it."

"So," Chuck said sadly. "You admit that you have fantasies about other men?"

"Maybe," Sarah said. "I'm not sure it's fantasy to sometimes pretend that it's Casey or Josh giving me the high hard one when we're fucking, is it? I'd call that a grey area."

She saw his devastated look. "Chuck, I was just teasing you," Sarah said laughing. "Come on. You have to know that. You're worried that I think about Casey when we're fucking? Really? My dance card is pretty full."

"Okay," Chuck said.

"I love your reaction," Sarah finally said. "It proves to me that you're still a little jealous. I like that you're a little jealous. Not only is it cute, it tells me that you're not taking me for granted. I'm sorry if you took me seriously and put an unpleasant thought in your head. For the record, you always have me so on fire that I lack the mental capacity to think about anything."

Sarah paused for a moment and got her grin back. "Perhaps you're not thinking this through to its logical conclusion," she teased. "I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. It's so unlike you. This reciprocal arrangement, were we to actually formalize it, would also mean that you get five minutes feeling up Carina, Alex, Joey, Laura, and… well, Ellie if you choose. Let me know how that works out for you with Ellie."

Chuck's face was quickly even redder at her so overt teasing.

"You are so going to pay."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were sitting in Steven and Joan's cottage. Joan had intercepted them before they were fully into the compound. One thing that had surely happened over the past couple of months… Joan no longer feared Sarah. She had honestly assimilated into the group of spies maybe even better than Ellie. She and Carina were inseparable. None of that was a surprise. The surprise was that Laura was also sitting there.

There was another thing that was clear. Of the three Bartowski girls currently on the island, Joan was the one who objected to getting dressed the most. She was constantly plainly tugging at her top trying to get comfortable. She turned to Sarah. "Can you believe we used to wear these torture devices every single day?" she grumbled.

"I know," Sarah said in a show of fraternal solidarity. "It's only for a little while."

"Come on," Joan sighed. "I mean she seems like a nice girl and everything. But Carina, hurry up and get her naked already."

"Maybe we should get started," Steven suggested gently. "Joan got a call from Diane Beckman today."

Well that got Sarah's attention in a hurry. "Really?" she asked. "That sure didn't take long. What does she want?"

"She didn't exactly say," Joan said. "Just that she wants to come here and talk to Chuck and Laura. I assume she realized that wouldn't happen without also including you. She asked for permission to land. She'll be here within the hour."

"This clearly has something to do with Jennifer Bowles," Laura said. "Why else would she only want Chuck and me?"

"It's very possible," Steven replied. "But it's really impossible to say."

"She wants them for a mission of some kind," Sarah growled. "Over my dead body."

"Or," Chuck teased. "She wants Laura again for… umm… some other reason. Maybe they're trying to tempt Bowles into making a deal of some kind. Prison can get pretty lonely. And the way I hear it, she trained our Laura here to developed some impressive oral skills. It'd be a shame to allow them to atrophy."

"Very funny," Laura growled. "Need I remind you that I was in that position because I was taking your wife's place? Maybe she would now have skills at risk of atrophy. That's happening again over my dead body. And if I remember right, she was hoping to get some first hand knowledge of Agent Carmichael's similar skills."

"I doubt that our skills are very similar," Chuck teased. "Your enthusiasm counts for a little. But it's simply a matter of my experience being too much to overcome. Sarah, back me up here."

That got Steven grinning. "I thought that might be your reactions," he said, ignoring their faux bickering. "But there is something that Beckman could do for us. Please hear me out for a second."

Sarah knew that when he put it that way, she didn't have much choice except to at least pretend to listen. "Okay," she said. "I'll listen. But I don't see Chuck going on any mission. We're retired. We've done our part and then some. It's somebody else's fight."

"Agreed," Steven said. "I doubt that even Diane Beckman would have the gall to ask Chuck or Laura to go on any covert mission, especially one that involved danger of any sort. But she does have a bargaining chip. She is a position to deliver Bryce to us."

"Great," Chuck groaned. "Bryce… my favorite topic. Why do we want Bryce Larkin's pretty boy act here in paradise?"

"Come on, Chuck," Laura said, making no effort to find that she was getting revenge for his earlier teasing. "Being a deep cover spy can get pretty lonely." She indicated Sarah with a flip of her head. "By all accounts you've created a sexual dynamo here. General speculation is that you're soon not going to be able to keep up with her. Surely you can give poor starving Bryce a loaf of bread every once in a while, right?"

"Very funny yourself," Chuck replied. "Over my dead body."

"We don't want his act here," Steven said, again ignoring Chuck and Laura's faux bickering. "Trust me son, none of us want that, me far less than the group average. But we are concerned."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I'll bite. Why are we concerned?"

"Bryce is still an Intersect," Joan said. "That makes him, present company excepted, the most powerful person in the world. We're growing more and more concerned that it might affect his personality. Psychology is not either of our professions, but based upon our computer modeling, we think there is a strong chance that he might develop a God Complex." She paused with a grin. "And don't say that we're too late," she said. "Carina already beat you to that barb."

"What exactly is a God Complex?" Sarah asked, clearly a little shaken by the entire topic.

"It's just like it sounds," Joan said. "When somebody like Bryce becomes as powerful as the Intersect makes him… well, he could come to think of himself as a God. He would come to believe that anything he wanted, he deserved. As an Intersect, he's in a position to take most anything he wants. Nobody could hope to fight him. We know that Bryce's main goal is to get laid. Any mortal who got in his way… well, they would suffer his wrath. There have already been a couple of unfortunate incidents of people getting in his way."

"I can see where this is going," Chuck said immediately. "He wants Sarah. Is she in danger?"

Joan reached out and touched Chuck's arm affectionately. "We don't think so," she said. "I mean even Bryce Larkin as a God has to realize by now that Sarah is off limits to him. She's made that abundantly clear. If he faced you, he would decidedly lose. He knows that."

"Sarah is probably the one that is safe," Steven added. "He might still feel that Joan or Ellie owe him something. But you have to admit, there is really no way of knowing for sure what he's capable of. We're all a lot safer if we just extract it."

"Beckman is going to allow you to take away her power weapon?" Laura asked. "That doesn't sound like her."

"We're not exactly going to ask," Steven said with a grin. "We're just going to ask her to deliver him to run some tests. It'll be done before she finds out. But once she listens to our reasons… He's already stolen a nuclear weapon. I think she'll reluctantly agree that it's better for everyone that we extracted it."

"You can extract the Intersect?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"We can't right now," Steven said. "But we've been working hard on it. That's why you've seen so little of us lately."

"Like that's the only reason," Laura teased, her grin on full power.

"Our current estimate is that we'll be able to safely extract it within a month or so," Joan said, again ignoring Laura's shot and the red that was currently rising up her neck. "When we're ready we'd like for Beckman to deliver him here. That's why we'd like you to bargain with her. Maybe if what she wants Chuck and Laura to do isn't too outrageous, we can make a deal."

"Are you going to extract the Intersect from me?" Chuck asked. "Do you think that I might develop a God Complex?"

That got the room laughing. "I'm sorry, Chuck," Joan said. "We're not laughing at you. Consider it a compliment. It's pretty unlikely that you would ever think of yourself as a God, isn't it? If you and Sarah decide that you want to extract it, we can do that. But the update we gave you last week was designed to relieve a lot of the strain on your brain. We think that you could safely keep the Intersect forever, as long as you wear the governor from time to time."

x-x-x-x-x

Normally the pure joy of flying this multi-million dollar amazing feat of engineering would have Sarah in a good mood, no matter what the circumstances.

Not today.

Chuck reached over from where he was sitting in the copilot's seat and grabbed her arm. "Would you relax?" he asked.

When Sarah turned to face him her gaze wasn't exactly angry… but it wasn't exactly relaxed either. "This is a mission," she said. "Need I have to remind you that I'm against this? We're retired. Besides how long have you known me? Have you ever seen me relax on a mission?"

Chuck knew that he had to tread lightly here. Agreeing to treat this as a mission was Sarah's demand to allow this in the first place. "Come on," he said. "Even you would have to admit that this is a fairly tame mission. We're just going to talk to her for a few minutes, find out what she knows and what she wants, and fly back home."

"You don't know me at all, do you?" Sarah asked rhetorically. "There is no such thing as a tame mission. I don't like the smell of this at all. We have to take this seriously and protect ourselves against any possible threat. Exactly how many times do I have to shout that at you before it finally penetrates that thick skull of yours? You don't respect the mission. You never have. Here, put this in your pocket."

"Okay," Chuck said. He took the recording device that was designed to look like an ink pen and put it in his pocket. "I'm not sure why you want to listen to what she has to say. But no matter, I promised you that I would take this seriously… and I will. Even you have to admit, we're probably not in any danger up here in the jet. I know what this is. You're upset at losing two different bets with me. Besides the teasing on the dock last night. Remember when I said that you're going to pay? You're sitting there all worried about what tasks I'm going to give you to pay off."

Sarah didn't normally mind losing bets with Chuck. In fact she often proposed taking the long shot just to see what he would come up with. It was always pretty vanilla. Not that vanilla sex with Chuck wasn't great. It was fantastic. But she also wouldn't mind him pressing the envelope a little sometimes. Last night was different. She fully expected to win. She had some definite plans for the double dip winning tasks she was going to assign him. She even technically cheated a little when she overheard Carina and Joey taking about the plan to tag team Alex into peer pressure and alcohol induced toplessness. The news from Beckman put a damper on that whole night, including the conspiracy to corrupt Alex. It was simply another reason Sarah had come to loathe the General. In any event, Chuck teasing Sarah about sex was dropping the big one and they both knew it. Indeed, her smile wasn't exactly a toothy grin, but it was there. "You're all talk," she taunted.

"We're already members of the Mile High Club," Chuck said, stroking his chin in faux thought. "So there's nothing unusual there. But that was with the autopilot on. It probably doesn't count as flying. And you do appear to be challenging me here. So you've never landed the jet naked. That might be an exciting first."

Sarah glanced back into the cabin at Laura. She was softly snoring. Not that it was unusual in any way. Laura could sleep anywhere. They teased her about it constantly. It was one of those spy skills that often came in mighty handy. And he was right about the Mile High Club. In fact their first flight together after he presented her with the amazing gift of a private jet was perhaps their hottest sex ever. But Laura would surely wake when they landed. Was he really suggesting…

"You're the one who keeps bragging that you don't care who sees you naked," Chuck suggested playfully, ending her speculation. "Surely Laura isn't going to be an issue, right? A word to the wise. As part of my bet winnings I'm going to give you some tasks that you may want to complete before she wakes up… sort of an in flight checklist. Of course you may well decide that Laura needs a show. They're both good arguments… totally your call. I've always wondered why they call this a cockpit. Let's find out."

Okay, so Chuck Bartowski was a world class expert at getting Sarah to laugh, no matter how tense the situation. And that definitely did the trick. Besides the fact that the idea of Chuck suggesting something wild instantly had her motor revving. Maybe this wasn't all that wild by spy standards… yet anyway. But it was a good start.

And Laura could care less if she was naked. It did make some sense to get whatever tasks he was going to assign out of the way before she woke up. Again, Laura could care less if they had sex in front of her. She'd probably take notes and write a summary for the mission report. And Chuck would never suggest going that far anyway… would he? But Laura would surely use anything she witnessed here today to tease her unmercifully. Waking up and finding a nude Sarah landing the plane was already ammunition enough. Then she would tell Casey every detail, perhaps with a reenactment thrown in for good measure, and the teasing would be magnified tenfold. Who needs that?

So Sarah clicked on the autopilot, unfastened her seat belt and got out of her seat to stand and face him as she began to unbutton her blouse. "I have no idea why it's called a cockpit," she said as she allowed it to slide to the deck.

"Fair enough," Chuck said as he waived for her to continue.

"I do have a theory or two that I'd like to explore."

x-x-x-x-x

When they got to the hotel Laura was still shaking her head grinning at the scene that faced her when she woke. "You guys are out of control," she said, making to attempt to keep from laughing. "I mean, nobody has more respect for the beauty of pushing the outside of the sexual envelope than I do. But really, Chuck? You're bashful about these things. What has gotten into you?"

Laura's teasing fell on deaf ears. Whatever sexy playfulness Sarah was feeling in the jet was now long gone and she was fully back in tense mission mode. "I don't like this," she said, ignoring Laura's teasing. "Why does she insist to meet here at a hotel? Why would Beckman ever agree to it? Why not in prison? This just doesn't smell right."

"She's just pushing," Laura said, fully recognizing the Agent Walker zero tolerance for any foolishness when she felt uneasy about something. And she almost always had good reason. Her spy instincts were second to none. Laura had learned long ago to just shut up and follow her lead. "You know Bowles. This is her style. She is simply seeing how far they will go to make her happy. And if she's right, they are going to be willing to go quite far. They took her to England, remember? This is actually pretty tame."

"I wouldn't worry," Chuck said. "It may not be prison, but I'll bet that security is still pretty tight."

Indeed, Beckman was clearly taking no chances. There were multiple checkpoints before they even got close to the hotel. When they were finally allowed into the specified room, they were met by a bevy of armed guards who doubled checked their IDs, frisked them, and relieved them of their weapons.

"I'm not going in," Sarah protested. "So there's no reason to surrender my weapon. I'd like it back."

Sarah knew that something was seriously wrong the instant she saw Chuck flash on the leader. He had quickly disabled three men before he slumped to the floor. Sarah wasn't giving up without a fight. But without a weapon, it was pretty hopeless. She tried to throw a kick but it was too late. Sarah looked in horror as the dart stuck out of her chest. Laura was already unconscious on the floor. As darkness consumed her she could hear the leader's sinister laugh.

"That was too easy."

x-x-x-x-x