Okay... I don't know if anyone's still interested in this story but I just thought I post this since I did promise a few people that I would give them another chapter :) If you have been waiting for it then all I can say is I'm sincerely sorry for the long delay. I've been super busy and will be until after the new year. And honestly, 'Beautiful Mess' hasn't been the easiest piece to write. Shocking right? I've actually written two chapters which I've decided to scrap because suffice it to say, they were bad ;D But luckily I have the always reliable and awesome Fated Love as my beta reader. Seriously, the girl can do no wrong IMO. She has literally transformed this mediocre chapter into something worth reading. Really, all the interesting lines here are hers. I'll take no credit for it whatsoever. And the not so interesting ones; well they're mine. What can I say? I'm still learning.
So hope you guys enjoy this. Who knows, I might pluck those two chapters from my hall of shame and (yikes!) actually publish them one day.
Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of saying the same thing over and over again but I don't own Chuck. So please... don't sue.
Chuck squirmed in his seat as he felt the Director's gaze upon him. He never liked being called to the Director's office. Director Andrews had the tendency to make him feel uncomfortable just with his presence alone. The room itself seemed to have a life of its own, he thought. Even the glare from the mid-day sun streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling glass window didn't help make the Director's room feel less austere.
"I'm sorry, Sir... Could you repeat that?"
"I believe you heard me the first time around, Agent Carmichael." Director Andrews leaned back in his chair.
Chuck stared in consternation at the figure in front of him. His heart was pounding in his ears, the blood rushing to his head punching him with a bout of nausea, sending his thoughts careening wildly at the order he just received.
Director Andrews sat behind his desk; studying the curly haired agent with his steely grey eyes. He seemed to be in no great hurry to speak. He just waited in stony silence, cutting an imposing figure behind the massive mahogany desk.
Chuck took a deep breath and cast a level gaze at the director. "I'm working well with my partner here. Our success rate speaks for itself. I don't understand why we are not allowed to complete this new mission ourselves... Sir."
The director nodded grimly, leaning forward and placed his palms flat on the desk. "I am aware of your impressive record with Agent Miller but I also know that she was never once involved in missions that had to do with the Ring. I need the best people for this operation and since this is a joint NSA/CIA mission, we need to assemble a team who are already familiar with that organisation. I believe you know how they work seeing that you have had encounters with them, haven't you?"
"I have," he responded feebly.
"So I believe there shouldn't be a problem then?"
"No, Sir. It shouldn't." He contemplated for a moment before he added, "And Agent Miller? What about her?"
Chuck watched the director cracked a half-smile as if he was expecting the question before he began to speak, "That's up to her."
Chuck frowned a little before he collected himself. "I want her on my team as well. I need someone I can trust."
"Like I said, it's up to her. But you are expected to accept this mission regardless. That's an order, Agent Carmichael. You leave in three days time. That will be all."
Although shrinking with defeat inside, Chuck refused to show his displeasure. "Yes, Sir."
Chuck stood sharply and strode towards the door, closing it silently behind him without looking back. Only then did he let his shoulders slump forward, scowling as he made his way out of the Director's waiting room.
There was only one person that he wanted to see now – his partner.
Quickening his retreat as far away from the Director as possible, Chuck headed towards the lower levels to the cafeteria where the general hubbub was at the maximum. In his haste, Chuck hardly paid any attention to his surroundings, lost in thought. He realised a moment too late the brunette appearing around the corner as he reached the junction; resulting in an epic collision that sent loose paper flying.
Chuck immediately bent down, recovering the documents and files littered around him while apologising profusely.
She laughed. "It's my fault, really. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." She accepted a haphazard stack of paper from him and stood up. "Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry, Agent Carmichael?"
"Rachel, hi!" he smiled. "Call me, Chuck. I've told you a million times." He shuffled the remaining papers into a more orderly fashion before adding them to her load. "You'd think that hanging around all these super cool spies for three years would hone my James Bond espionage skills. I guess not,"
Rachel giggled, her green eyes twinkling behind the rectangular frame of her glasses. "You're not like most of the other agents here. That's a good thing, in our opinion."
"Our?"
"The analysts. When you were around more often, you'd sit with us during lunch while Agent Miller tagged along. I don't think she looked all that comfortable for the most part." Rachel grinned.
"It's nothing personal. We just completely lost her when one of you started talking about Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise."
"She said that?"
"No," he paused with a knowing wink. "I could tell from the vacant expression on her face. But speaking of Agent Miller, have you seen her anywhere?"
She nodded, and Chuck watched her bite her lip while she tried to remember. Rachel would have been exactly the type of girl he'd be attracted to; an intelligent petite brunette who didn't seem aware of her own attractiveness.
"Chuck?"
"Huh? Oh right... you were saying? Sorry." He looked at her sheepishly. "I have a lot on my mind right now."
"That's okay. I said I saw Agent Miller ten minutes ago entering the break room. I think she's still in there." Rachel shifted the files weight awkwardly in her hands, backing away slowly. "Chuck, it's great seeing you again. I'm sorry but I've got to get these to the Director's office. See you later- I'll make the rest of the gang to avoid talking about Star Trek the next time you guys sit with us."
He chuckled. "Or I could just give her a crash course on all Trek knowledge ." Chuck waved at her, "See you around!" The cafeteria was easy to find. It was the only room where there was a constant flow of people into the room, and not out.
Chuck spotted his partner almost immediately when he reached the break room. Carina's back faced him as she talked to a young intern. As if sensing his presence in the room, Carina turned around and her eyes met his.
The slight surprise on her face upon his sudden appearance lasted only a second before the expression eased into her familiar smirk. Chuck watched her excuse herself from her companion before she wound her way around tables to meet him; a coffee cup still in her grip. As she approached, Chuck schooled his expression but it was a liittle too late; his partner was already peering at him with a concern gaze.
"Hey," Chuck greeted her a little too brightly.
Her brow furrowed. Almost accusingly, she narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong? What did he say to you?"
Chuck snatched the coffee cup from her grasp. "Coffee, huh?" he remarked after taking a sip. "I remember someone telling me that coffee's only for boring and very serious people?"
"What- this?" Carina motioned to the cup. "That rookie agent brought it for me."
"Ahh, another one trying to impress you. Did he ask you out on a date yet?"
She raised an eyebrow, moving nearer to adjust his crooked tie. "Try to look a little professional, Agent Carmichael. Jealousy isn't pretty. You don't wear it well." Carina teased.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"You're such a doofus." She grabbed his hand, dragging him to an unoccupied table.
"But honestly, this is one bad coffee. Why did you even drink this? The new coffee joint two blocks from here serves an excellent cup of joe. They even make a mean cup of hot chocolate."
"Well I didn't want to disappoint him. He has a cute smile." Carina grinned. "Besides I got bored waiting for your meeting to end so his company was very much welcomed."
He made a face. "They could't resist flocking to you, could they?"
"So tell me, Agent Carmichael," Carina drawled. "Why am I stuck here sharing my coffee with you? We spend most of our time together already," she looked at him with a mischievous grin. "For some reason, you still seek me out even when I'm on my break. You just can't stay away from me, can you?"
"Can you?" Chuck asked jokingly. "If I hadn't turned up here within ten minutes of my meeting, you would have tracked me down with your Chuck-radar anyway."
"You mean stay away from your movies, X-box, your science fiction references and God knows what else? I think I would just about die without those in my life."
"So... does that mean you'd follow me anywhere? Even to … somewhere, say, like Burbank?"
"Where a yawn could yawn, huh?" Carina tilted her head and gazed at him knowingly; all traces of humour gone from her features. She crossed her arms across her chest. "So that's what Andrews wanted…"
He let his eyes say it all. Carina deflated just the tiniest fraction and shrugged sympathetically at him. She knew whom he was thinking about who was still based out of LA.. She forced a smile, "Should I bring my stun gun, or my clubbing dress?"
"You were so right." It was all Chuck could say.
Carina shrugged. "Andrews is transparent. It was obvious. I was worried about being right, for once. Look, where's that new coffee place you've been talking about again?"
"Why?"
"Because we're going there now," Carina said matter-of-factly.
"But we can't leave now." Chuck looked at her horrified. "I have to leave in three days and we still have to hand in that report from our last missio-" Her hand clamped over his mouth, effectively silencing him. "Chuck," she smiled sweetly, "When have I ever played by the rules?"
Chuck stared at her for a moment. "You're… you're completely serious," He held her hand away from his lips but he didn't let go of it.
Carina grinned slyly. "Chuck, screw the report. We'll take care of it later. Haven't I always got your back?"
" Uh… well that time in the Congo… you-"
"-Whatever Chuck." Carina cut in with supreme confidence, "You're not dead yet, that must mean I'm doing something right." She pulled him to the exit. "Trust me"
Chuck contained his grimace and followed obediently.
"See, that wasn't that difficult, was it?" Carina looked at him smugly after they exited the building. "Congratulations on your first act of rebellion." She paused, letting go of his hand. "You might want to wipe your palm. It's a bit moist." She shot him a mischievous look, "That wasn't that bad. Seriously, how would you cope without me?"
Chuck shot her a helpless look and slid his hands against his shirt to get rid of the evidence of his nervousness.
Carina was aready a few steps in front of him. Sensing he wasn't behind her, she turned around and lifted an eyebrow. "Any day now, Bartowski."
How would he cope without her? Chuck shook his head and caught up with Carina easily. "So... this is going to be a short coffee break, right? He waited for her response as he fell in steps with her. "Right?" Chuck tried again.
Carina only glanced at him for a moment and smirked.
Right.
Erm... just out of curiosity, I was wondering if you could answer these two questions for me. I'm not saying that it'll change my decision entirely since I've kind of mapped out the last two chapters already but I might tweaked them a little depending on your answers :)
1) Okay, anyone of you here still want Chuck to end up with Sarah after reading these four chapters?
2) And if your answer to no: 1 is 'No', then would you like Chuck and Carina to remain just as friends or probably something more?
And as always my dear readers, thank you so much for reading. Till next time :D