A/N: Sorry for the lengthy delay. The initial draft of the chapter had a pretty significant flaw... basically, it kind of sucked. Fortunately, my insightful betas, KathGrangerPotter and sgafan360, both called me on it, so it's been modified to the hopefully less-crappy version you'll find below.

My policy, in regard to NBC, which was adopted at an early stage of the existence of that network, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its shows. Like, say, Chuck or the Office.


Chapter 3: Affectation

"So what did you think?"

Sarah hesitated. The movie had been Chuck's choice, so she was a little reluctant to criticize it too harshly. She glanced up at him and was surprised to find a knowing smile on his face.

"Because I thought it kind of sucked," Chuck continued.

Sighing in relief, Sarah willingly agreed.

"So does someone else get to pick next time?" Jim asked.

"Well, it'd be someone else's turn anyway," Chuck replied.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure simply passing the choice off to the next person is a severe enough punishment," Pam observed. "I think maybe Chuck goes on movie picking probation for a while."

"Normally I'd complain, but honestly, after that waste of two hours, it seems like a fair punishment," Chuck admitted ruefully.

"Seriously, Sarah, how did a guy who picks such horrible entertainment manage to snag you?" Jim teased.

"Hmm…" Sarah mused. "Smart, funny, good-looking and sweet on the one hand… questionable taste in movies on the other. It is a tough call."

"Hey! You usually like my choices," Chuck objected.

Sarah grinned. "That's true – this one may have just been an aberration. I guess I'll stick with you for a little longer, then."

Chuck slipped his hand into Sarah's, and their linked fingers swung back and forth lazily as they emerged from the theater. Suddenly, Chuck stopped. Sarah's momentum kept her moving, but Chuck's grip on her hand swung her around to face him. She giggled softly.

"Chuck, what are you…" She cut off her sentence with a gasp as Chuck went down to one knee and smiled adorably up at her.

"Sarah, I…" He paused, as though looking for the right words. "I have to tie my shoe."

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Sarah rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. Pam took advantage of her position just in front of Jim and elbowed him in the stomach. "You told him to do that, didn't you?"

Hunching over slightly to absorb the blow, Jim wrapped his arms around Pam's waist and pulled her back toward him. "Wait for it," he murmured huskily, eliciting a shiver from his fiancée.

Sarah made it about a step and a half before realizing that Chuck's fingers were still laced through hers. She turned back intending to ask him to teach her how he tied his shoes with one hand, and found herself staring at a diamond ring.

"Sarah, will you marry me?" Chuck looked up to gauge her response. Her eyes were the size of car headlights. She didn't say anything.

Chuck stood back up and embraced her. He carefully turned so that Jim and Pam couldn't see either of their faces.

"Chuck, there are people here," Sarah murmured.

"And?"

"And you realize that means I have to say yes to preserve our cover, right?" she whispered.

"The thought did occur to me," Chuck answered simply.

She sighed. "Give me the ring."

"Sarah…"

"Give me the damn ring. We have to sell it for the cover, right?" Sarah practically spat the word "cover."

"Are you…"

"We'll talk about it later. Trust me." As they broke off their hug, Sarah plastered on a brilliant fake smile and leaned up for a quick kiss. She then slid on the ring and ran toward Pam for a hug. Jim walked over to Chuck and offered a handshake.

"Congrats, man."

"Yeah. Thanks for your help setting up the date," Chuck replied. He managed a strained smile. For the cover.


The drive back to Chuck and Sarah's apartment had been awkward, passing predominantly in silence. Sarah hadn't been kidding about maintaining the cover – she'd given every appearance of bliss, but in reality, her hand hung limply in Chuck's, and her head leaned against the back seat millimeters away from actual contact with his shoulder. The couples had agreed to meet at Jim and Pam's for a celebratory dessert later in the evening as Chuck and Sarah left the car. As soon as the other couple was gone, Sarah had disappeared into the building. Chuck's attempts to catch up had been futile until he reached the living room, where Sarah sat on the couch with a scowl.

"Sarah, I'm sorry, all right?" he said pleadingly.

"What are you sorry about, Chuck?" she snapped back.

"I'm sorry for… proposing. I shouldn't have pushed you. If you're not ready…"

Sarah snorted derisively. "You have no idea why I'm mad, do you?"

Chuck looked guilty, hesitating before saying, "I guess not."

"Chuck, we had a cover relationship for two years. We spent time together for the cover, for two years. And I was pretty happy with that. But you, you were always pushing to make things real. So when we got the opportunity, I decided to try it your way. And you know what? You were absolutely right. Being with you the past few months has been amazing, far better than what we had before."

Chuck smiled tentatively. "I feel the same way."

"I know you do. Which is why I can't believe you thought it'd be a good idea to bring back the cover!"

The smile quickly disappeared. "Sarah… it doesn't have to be just for the cover."

She laughed bitterly. "That sounds familiar. Probably because it's the same crap line I fed you for far too long. So let me put this as plainly as possible, Chuck. I don't want a proposal that's not 'just' for the cover. I don't want anything about our relationship to be even remotely associated with the idea of cover, ever again. But since you seem to disagree, you're getting Cover Sarah for a while." She stalked angrily into the bedroom.

"Sarah, wait!" Chuck cried plaintively.

"Cover Sarah is taking a nap, Chuck. She'll need plenty of energy for all the fake smiling she has scheduled for tonight."

Chuck sighed, knowing there was nothing more he could do for the moment. Resigned to his fate, he headed for his "office," the room where they stashed his Orion gear. It was also where he received the Daily Intersect Report, a practice Beckman had introduced with the new download. It was a compilation of various surveillance photos and briefings that Chuck was to go over in hopes of a flash. The report for this particular day was relatively short, so Chuck decided to finish it up before attending what seemed certain to be the least enjoyable celebratory gathering of his life.

"Huh," he muttered. "We'd gotten quite a bit of good stuff from that Detroit team. That's too bad." He sighed as he realized that three people had died, and his immediate reaction had been regret for the loss of the intelligence they'd provided. Chuck shook his head. Beckman was having way too much influence on him.

Turning the page, he found a brief report out of Atlanta. "Now what on Earth could have spurred them to declare that team unreliable? They've been flawless." He furrowed his brow and pulled out a notebook. Something didn't quite seem right.


"So Chuck and Sarah are engaged." Pam cringed slightly at her own comment, but stating the obvious was often a good way to start a conversation.

"Yeah. Hard to imagine they just met two days ago," Jim replied with a laugh. "They seem really good together."

"Yeah…"

"You don't think so?" he queried.

"I'm not sure," she answered hesitantly. "I mean, they fooled us into thinking they didn't know each other pretty easily."

"Yeah, but they couldn't have pulled that off without really knowing each other very well."

"I guess."

Jim studied his fiancée carefully. "There's something else you're not saying."

Pam conceded. "Okay, they had that long hug after he proposed."

"I can see how you'd find that suspicious," he teased.

She shot him an irritated look. "I happened to glance at one of the Coming Soon posters in the middle of that, and saw their reflections. It looked like they were whispering back and forth. And Sarah looked mad."

"You could see all that in the poster for the Transformers sequel?"

"It was the next Harry Potter, I think… and I saw enough of it. Plus, it's not just the conversation they had," she continued. "They didn't say two words on the drive back – Sarah took a nap. Not exactly what you'd expect from someone who's excited about her engagement. I certainly didn't sleep for a while after you proposed."

"Well you had to survive the trip back to New York," Jim countered. Pam glared at him. "She has had a lot going on lately, with the move and the new job. Maybe she was tired."

Pam blew past his rationalization. "And who plans a proposal in a movie theater parking lot? I mean, I know you did it at a gas station, but that was spontaneous, and the romance came from the fact that we were living two hours apart at the time. They're together every day – he couldn't find a more intimate location?"

"What makes you think it wasn't spontaneous?" Jim challenged.

"You knew it was coming," Pam pointed out.

Jim winced. "Admittedly, that's a little weird. But I'm not totally convinced."

"Don't believe me? Let's watch them tonight."

He shrugged resignedly. "Fine."


Chuck had expected the quiet drive to Jim and Pam's house. He had not expected Sarah's first words since chewing him out to be a quietly muttered, "That house has tinted windows."

"What?" He was a little nervous about further irritating her, but Sarah's apparently irrelevant comment screamed for clarification.

"I knew something bothered me about the house next to Jim and Pam's when we were over here the other day," she explained in a surprisingly placid voice. "The windows are tinted. Someone in there is a little paranoid."

Chuck looked over at the house in question. A few seconds later, he replied in a shaky voice. "The glass isn't just tinted – it's bulletproof."

"What?" Sarah demanded. "How did you recognize bulletproof glass?"

"I didn't," Chuck stammered. "It's labeled in the blueprints."

Sarah's face took on a concerned look. "Chuck, did you flash on that house?"

"On the address, yeah. Aside from the secured windows, it also has a ton of cameras monitoring the outside, along with IR sensors."

"That's an awful lot of security. Any idea what it's for?"

He nodded. "The guy who lives there, his name is Robert Grich. He's a Fulcrum Elder."