This is not an original story. In fact it is one of my first. It was written at the beginning of season 2. The story was inspired by a series of discussions between BrickRoad and me talking through different storyline ideas. She wanted me to go in a totally different direction. The more she tried to talk me out of it, the more ideas she unwittingly gave me. Did I mention that she is as bad at talking me into things as I am her? Anyway if you like the story, thank her for the inspiration.

Warning: There is some adult content in this. Nothing major but please use discretion. I still don't own Chuck.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It only takes a second – and it really, really makes a difference. That's probably more important than ever now that the series has ended. If you want to keep the Chuck fandom alive and continue to read about these characters, you really need to think about rewarding the people whose hard work make that possible.

My friend Natty did the beta on the original chapter. This was a happy story until she made all of those changes (just kidding). Fair warning, this starts out a little rough from a Charah point of view. Don't worry. I promise no shippers were actually harmed in the making of this story.

The New Girlfriend

x-x-x-x-x

When Sarah arrived at Casey's for the morning briefing the woman she assumed was Becky Ivan was already there. Sarah had to admit to herself that she was very attractive, if that was your type. Unfortunately, it was exactly Chuck's type. Becky was tall, almost as tall as Sarah, and slender. She had dark auburn hair that was just past shoulder length. She had obviously picked out an outfit that accentuated her hazel eyes. She had a very fair complexion. Before she had even been introduced, Sarah could feel the dislike building inside her like the feeling after eating a bad taco.

Sarah kept the neutral expression on her face as Casey uneasily introduced them. She could sure stand to gain a few pounds. And how is she going to pass as a Nerd Herd employee? She looks more like she should be opening a suitcase on a game show than an agent.

But Becky was clearly trying to make a good first impression on her new assignment. "Agent Walker," she said with a smile as she stuck her hand out. "It's an honor to finally meet you. You're very famous."

Sarah couldn't muster up much enthusiasm, but she wasn't overtly hostile either. "Thanks," she said as she took Becky's hand and firmly shook it. "It's nice to meet you too. Welcome to the team."

"What can you tell me about the mark?" Becky asked eagerly.

Sarah made very little effort to hide her displeasure. "Well," she said briskly. "First off, he is an asset, not a mark. We call him Chuck."

If Becky felt chastised, she didn't show it. "Okay," she said without changing her tone. "What can you tell me about Chuck?"

That was a dangerous question for Sarah Walker. Because there were tons of things she could tell her. She could tell her how the smile involuntarily came to her face whenever he walked into the room, how he was the first man who had her questioning her choices in life, how she couldn't picture her future without him in it, how she could see her children in his brown eyes. "Chuck is the nicest guy that you're ever going to meet," she finally settled for softly. "His friends and family mean everything to him. Once you're in his inner circle, he is fiercely loyal. He is incredibly generous with his time and emotions. I've never seen him put on any sort of air. There is simply nothing fake about him. With Chuck, what you see is what you get."

Becky just nodded with a grin. "This sounds like it is going to be easy," she said. "What are his favorite things to do?"

"Well," Sarah said thoughtfully. "He loves playing video games. I would say that is his main recreation. He loves music. He also likes to watch science fiction movies. And of course he loves computers. He hopes to become a software developer someday."

"Man," Becky said with a huge sigh. "He sounds like a total geek. Does he like to do anything normal?"

Suddenly, Sarah's tepid dislike turned far more intense. "He prefers nerd," Sarah said, a little more harshly than she had intended. "And he might be a nerd, but he is the sweetest nerd in the world. In fact, he is the sweetest person I've ever met. If he considers you a friend, there is nothing he wouldn't do for you. I guess he likes to walk on the beach. You would consider that normal, right?"

Becky was obviously taken aback by the intensity of Sarah's reply, but even more by the fire that was in her eyes. "Okay," she said cautiously. "What about in bed? What does he like in that department? Does he like to be the aggressor? Something else? Any quirks?"

Of course Sarah knew what Chuck would be like in bed. She knew it exactly. He would be incredibly generous and loving. After all, she imagined it almost every night. But she was growing rapidly tired of this conversation. "Agent Ivan," she said with a derisive laugh. "If I knew the answer to those questions, you wouldn't be here, would you? I'm afraid you're on your own in that area. I'm sure it won't take you long to find out for yourself."

"No," replied Becky with a smug smile that had Sarah imagining different creative ways to wipe it off. "It won't."

x-x-x-x-x

When Chuck's alarm clock went off at its appointed time, it found him feeling worse than he had ever felt in his life. He simply couldn't muster the energy required to reach up and turn it off. So it continued to buzz.

After about five minutes Ellie came bursting into the room. "Aren't you ever going to turn that damned thing off?" she exclaimed in clear annoyance. But then she noticed the look on Chuck's face. "What's wrong?" she asked in concern. "Are you sick?

"No," Chuck said with a huge sigh. "I'm not sick. I'm just down. Sarah and I broke up last night."

"No," Ellie said softly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry. Are you sure? What did she say?"

"She told me that she is still in love with her old boyfriend," Chuck said sadly.

"Maybe she'll change her mind," Ellie said as she patted Chuck's head softly. "Maybe she's just confused."

"I don't think so." Chuck said as he sat up and hugged Ellie. "She sounded pretty sure."

Ellie reached down and rubbed Chuck's back, like she always had when he needed to be comforted. "Love is a funny thing," she said with a sad smile. "Sometimes, just when things look darkest, things turn around. I really thought Sarah was the one."

"So did I, sis," Chuck said as he hugged Ellie tightly and buried his head in her shoulder.

"So did I."

x-x-x-x-x

When Chuck walked into the Buy More the first thing that he noticed was that there wasn't anyone at the Nerd Herd counter. As a matter of fact the only employees that Chuck could see at all were Morgan and Anna. They were standing by the washing machines and it looked like they were having something of a heated discussion. No surprise there, they often fought. As soon as Morgan spotted Chuck he came quickly over to him. Anna was just a step behind.

"Hey Chuck," Morgan said with his customary smile. "How's it going?"

"Hi Morgan," Chuck said slowly with a sigh. "Where is everyone?"

"Whoa, Chuck," said Morgan quickly. "What's wrong dude? You look like a bully just stole your lunch money."

Chuck was too tired to try and hide anything. And it was going to be impossible to hide anyway. "I guess everybody is going to find out sooner or later," he said sadly. "Sarah and I broke up last night."

"Dude," said Morgan with a smile. "Did you dump her again? That's like insane."

"Not this time, little buddy," Chuck said with a sad smile. "This time I was the dumpee."

"Man," said Morgan. "That sucks. So maybe you want to join all of the others."

"The others," Chuck asked as he looked around at the empty store. "Where is everyone?"

"They are surrounding the new girl," Anna piped up sarcastically for the first time. "Like vultures circling road kill."

"New girl?" Chuck questioned. "Since when is there a new girl?"

"Oh yeah," Morgan said excitedly. "We have a new employee in the Nerd Herd. She is in the back. Very, very hot."

As soon as Morgan saw the look on Anna's face, he visibly gulped.

"I mean if you're into that sort of thing," Morgan continued clearly trying for the miraculous save.

No such luck.

"Unbelievable," snorted Anna as she went stomping off with Morgan right behind her mumbling apologies as he chased her.

Just then Big Mike walked up. "Bartowski," he bellowed in his usual abrupt manner as he handed Chuck a call slip. "You have a service call. Take the new girl with you and show her the ropes. And for Pete's sake, keep those clowns away from her. We don't want her quitting the first day."

"You got it, Big Mike," Chuck said with a nod. "What is her name?"

"Becky something," Big Mike replied over his shoulder as he walked away towards his office. "Introduce yourself. Do I have to do everything around here?"

x-x-x-x-x

When Chuck walked to the back room, it was hard to not recognize the commotion. Becky was sitting at a table in the break room filling out some paperwork. Jeff, Lester, and the rest of the crew were 'helping' her.

Chuck could tell immediately what the Nerd Herd was up to. This new girl could be very attractive if she wanted to be. And currently, she clearly really didn't want to be. Her dark hair was pulled up into a bun. Her glasses looked like they were made in the eighties. Her new still wrinkled nerd herd outfit did nothing to show off her curves. Finally, the lack of any makeup also didn't help. But she couldn't hide those gorgeous hazel eyes.

"Ahh, tax forms," Lester said confidently as Chuck walked up. "I think that you'll want to claim zero dependants. That will maximize your refund. I assume that you don't have a husband?"

"No, Larry," said Becky with a smile. "I'm not married."

"Boyfriend?" asked Jeff.

"No," Becky said, her smile now becoming forced. "I just moved here."

"Guys," said Chuck loudly. "Let's give our new teammate some air, shall we? And I'm sure that we all have some work that could possibly be getting done?"

"Hi," Chuck said as he smiled and extended his hand. "My name is Chuck Bartowski. Welcome to the Nerd Herd."

"Thanks Chuck," said Becky with a beaming smile. "My name is Becky Ivan. It's nice to meet you."

"Unless you're really into those tax forms," Chuck said with a smile. "Big Mike asked me to take you on a call. Would you like to get out of here for a while?"

"Very much," Becky replied with a smile.

Becky took off her glasses as they walked outside. Chuck noticed right away that she was much prettier without them.

"Thank you," Becky said with a sigh as soon as they were safely in the Herder.

"For what?" Chuck asked curiously.

"For rescuing me from that pack," Becky said with a sigh of relief. "They are about as subtle as a car bomb. You're a life saver. Are they always like that?"

"Pretty much," Chuck said with a laugh. "Especially when you happen to be an attractive female. Or actually pretty much any female now that I think about it."

"Chuck," Becky said with a blushing smile. "Do you really think I'm attractive?"

"Of course," Chuck said with a sly smile. "But I'm very sorry that I said that. Please don't sue me."

"Why would I sue you?" replied Becky with a huge smile. "It's the nicest thing anyone has said to me since I moved out here."

"Where are you from?" Chuck asked.

"I'm originally from Dallas," Becky said with a huge sigh. "I moved here because my boyfriend got transferred. Of course, two weeks after I move here, the jerk dumps me. Apparently he discovered how easy L.A. girls are. So here I am, strange city, don't know a single person, and new job. I guess that makes me the most pathetic loser around."

"I see," said Chuck sadly. "A fellow dumpee. Welcome to the not so exclusive club."

"You too?" Becky asked in amazement. "What idiot would dump you?"

"Oh my goodness," Becky said as she blushed. "I can't believe that I just said that out loud. I'm so embarrassed. You must think that I'm a total dork."

"The proper term is nerd," Chuck said with a laugh. "Dork doesn't quite have the same ring to it. But it was nice of you to say. Thank you. To tell you the truth, it's a good thing for me to hear. I'm really still hung up on her. It's going to take a while."

Becky sat and tried to decide how hard to push. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I hope you don't think this is too forward but would you like to have dinner tonight? I mean, unless you have other plans."

"I don't know, Becky," Chuck said hesitantly. "I'm no where close to the point of being able to go on a date. I'm not sure when I will be."

"Please, Chuck," pleaded Becky. "It doesn't have to be like a date. Can't we just hang out? You're the first normal person I've met here. I'm lonely. I can't stand the thought of spending another night in my apartment all alone. Maybe you could show me the sights. I'd love to see the beach. I mean, you're alone. I'm alone. Please. I'm getting desperate. If you won't go with me, I'll have to go ask Larry when we get back."

"It's Lester," Chuck said with a laugh. "And that's no fair. I can't feel responsible for you going out with Lester. I guess I could show you around a little. I have to warn you though; I'm not going to be the happiest guy you've ever been out with."

Agent Ivan knew that she was on the fast path to completing the first phase of her assignment, a little rebound sex in her apartment tonight. "Thank you," she said as she put her hand over Chuck's on the console. "I'll do everything I can to make sure that you have a good time." This was almost too easy.

As Chuck looked for the address, Becky put her head against the passenger window and whispered to herself.

"You have no idea."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was thankful that her current mind-numbing shift was almost over. If there was a worse cover job on the entire planet, she sure didn't know what it could be. Serving up frozen yogurt to a steady line of teenaged boys who were spending their allowance for a chance to try and look down her shirt. She had to graduate at the top of her CIA Academy class for this?

Not that she really had anything to look forward to doing after work. Normally this would be the highlight of her day, a chance to spend some alone time with Chuck. But since she no longer had a cover relationship to worry about, she really had no excuse to not review those intelligence reports that she had been putting off.

Sarah couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to him. What was he doing, trying in vain to get Jeff and Lester to do some work? She smiled to herself as she saw them in her mind. She had the overwhelming urge to go over there and talk to him. But what good would that do? All it would accomplish is making her want to throw herself into Chuck's arms. But she knew that she couldn't do that. Besides, Becky Ivan was currently working her seduction assignment. Sarah wasn't sure she could watch that happen. If she was half as good as Beckman said, Agent Ivan would have Chuck in bed tonight. Even the thought of it made her mood worse… and just when she thought she couldn't be any sadder. Sarah was so absorbed in thinking about it that she didn't even notice Ellie come in.

"Hi, Sarah," said Ellie.

It was a testament to how messed up she was that Ellie made her jump. Spies were trained to never show surprise. "Ellie," she said as she put her hand over her heart. "Oh my goodness, you scared me."

Ellie knew that there was more to this breakup story than met the eye. Sarah was a different sort of person, but there was one thing that Ellie could see plain as day. She loved Chuck. You could see it on her face whenever she looked at him. So Ellie made it a point of trying to become friends with her. And honestly that had gone a little slowly, especially at first. But lately they were starting to make some real progress. "I hear that you've had a bad day," she said with a reassuring smile.

Sarah just nodded. "I know that you're probably angry," she said sadly. "But please don't yell at me. I can't take that right now."

Ellie reached out and touched Sarah's arm. "Why on earth would I yell at you?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sarah asked. "Because I just crushed your brother."

"Sarah," Ellie said firmly. "I'm not really here to stick up for Chuck. He's a big boy. I'm here because I'm your friend. Do you want to talk?"

Sarah suddenly found that she did want to talk. Ellie was the closest thing that she ever had to a girlfriend. It was almost as sad losing that as it was losing Chuck. "I never meant to hurt him," she said softly. "I lo- umm like him very much. How is he doing? Does he hate me?"

Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "He's hurting today," she said. "There is no sense trying to deny that. But there's no way he could ever hate you. He loves you. Chuck will be all right. But right now I'm concerned about you. How are you doing?"

Sarah was touched by the sentiment. It was clear that they were becoming friends on their own, outside of Chuck. "It's tough," she admitted with her eyes growing a bit misty. "I feel like I lost my best friend and my family, not just my boyfriend."

"I hope you know that I'll always be your friend," Ellie said with a smile. "No matter what happens between you and Chuck, you didn't lose me. You know that, right?"

"Thanks," Sarah said with a nod and as much smile as she could manage. "That means a lot to me."

"So," Ellie said. "We're friends, right? We've established that. So this is coming from your friend and not Chuck's sister. Do you believe that?"

Sarah didn't know what Ellie was getting at. So she just nodded.

"What are you doing, Sarah?" Ellie asked softly. "Talk to me. I want you to be happy. I do. And if you can't be happy with Chuck then you should move on. The last thing I would want is for you to stay with Chuck if you weren't happy. But you can't tell me that you don't love him. I can see it in your eyes. Look at me and tell me that I'm wrong."

Sarah could no longer look into Ellie's eyes, so she turned away. "It's complicated," she said with a huge sigh. "We can't be together. I can't explain it. Please just trust me. We can't."

"What's complicated?" asked Ellie firmly. "You love him. You just had a perfect chance to deny it and you couldn't. And he loves you. We both know it."

This is exactly why spies shouldn't have friends. There were simply too many times when she couldn't tell her friend the truth. "It just is," Sarah said as she looked at Ellie again. "I'm afraid I can't explain it any more than that. You have to help me, Ellie. Please don't give Chuck any false hope. Promise me that?"

Ellie knew that Sarah had been pushed as far emotionally today as she could be without breaking. So she backed off. "I promise," she said as she stepped up and embraced her friend. "Don't worry. Whatever is meant to be will be. You believe that don't you?"

That was the best thing that Ellie could have possibly done… to let her know that she was still her friend when the things she was saying didn't make any sense. "Thanks Ellie," she said as she returned Ellie's embrace.

"You know that you can always talk to me?" Ellie said firmly as they continued to embrace. "Right?"

"I know," Sarah said. She was grateful for her friend. This had actually helped. "Please don't give Chuck any false hope. It's just going to make it harder for both of us."

"Don't worry," Ellie said with a smile as she broke the embrace and headed for the door. "I won't give him false hope."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Ellie's smile turned into a grin.

"I'm going to give him real hope."

x-x-x-x-x