I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.
Okay, so I'm going to give this a shot. My idea is to take the episodes one at a time and retell them with the switch being Chuck and Sarah are secretly together and doing what it takes to hide it from Beckman and (for now anyway) Casey.
Some of these will be fairly short. I'm not going to retell the entire episode. I'm assuming you're already familiar with the episode. You can re-watch it on your own, lol. I'm only going to reference things that explain what we saw differently. My goal is that not much will change from what we saw on the screen. We'll just see what happened from a new perspective.
Not that it matters but sometimes I wonder what the writers were thinking. I mean seriously. I watched the rooftop scene to prepare for this chapter. There is a line in that scene where Sarah is in hand to hand combat with Lizzy, the Fulcrum Agent. She is risking her life trying to save his… and maybe keep him from an underground bucker. His impassioned encouragement to her? Be careful with Devon's ring. Really writers? Did you really want to make Chuck sound that callous? It's almost as bad as the 'I used to be in love' line from the finale.
I'm doing this without a net. If this idea crashes and burns, I'll stop and slink off in embarrassed silence, lol.
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.
Chuck vs The Marlin
x-x-x-x-x
Sarah stood on the rooftop, as close to panic as she ever allowed herself. She actually reached behind her for her gun as she pleaded with Agent Longshore to hold off the transfer. And when she was convinced that wasn't going to happen, at least allow her to talk to him.
It was beyond surreal. Agent Sarah Walker was about to pull her weapon on a fellow agent, one who was doing nothing other than faithfully following his legitimate orders. This was getting crazy. The very thought was treasonous. Was she really going to shoot him? That would be pretty drastic. It would make both of them instant fugitives. It would mean grabbing Chuck and running. And she hadn't had a chance to develop her plan yet. Running without a well thought out plan would be beyond desperate. Their odds of escape would not be good, in fact they approached zero. And even if they could avoid getting caught, they would have to do some pretty distasteful things.
Thankfully Agent Longshore backed down before things got to that point. "One minute," he said, holding up a single finger for emphasis. "One minute."
By the time she got to Chuck, he was clearly scared. "I'm not ready, Sarah," he said. "I'm not ready to disappear."
She knew that it was her job to be strong. That was their deal. On missions she'd be the strong one and at home he would be. But she knew if she tried to say too much she would just break down. How was that being strong for him? "I know," was all she could say.
"I need you to talk to Ellie," Chuck said. "And to Morgan and my friends. And… and tell em… I don't know, if I'm supposed to be dead just say something that will make it okay… that will make them feel alright. Just make sure that they know how much I love them. You can do that, right? Of course you can. You're Sarah. You can do anything."
Sarah couldn't keep the tears from falling. That was her Chuck. He was looking out for his loved ones. All she could do was to give him a half smile. It was as much as she could manage.
"And hey," Chuck continued. "There's a silver lining to this too, you know? Cause we're not working together any more. And that means we can go on a real date." He grabbed both of her hands lovingly. "Now maybe we can finally be open about how we really feel."
Now Sarah really couldn't keep the tears from falling. That was her Chuck. That was her guy at his amazing best. He was setting aside his own fear to look out for her. Why should she be surprised in any way? She felt so guilty that she hadn't had time to make plans for them to run. She had spent entirely too much time in bed lately. So for now, Chuck was probably safer underground. But she locked eyes with him and made damned sure he could see her resolve. "Chuck," she said. "Save you later."
She really didn't know exactly what that meant herself. Breaking him out of a secure CIA facility would be a challenge. Graham could maybe help. At the very least he could get her in to see him. She'd call him as soon as Chuck was gone.
But things never got to that point. Instead this was the time where all hell broke loose for a while. Longshore was no longer the enemy. In fact he was dead. And this Fulcrum Agent had the strategic position and all the weapons. It would be a fight to the death. But she was actually relieved. At least now Agent Walker was back in her element.
"I have two guns," Lizzy taunted as she had Chuck trapped. "What do you have?"
Sarah stayed in her hidden position ready to pounce. Did Fulcrum really hit all of their agents with a stupid stick? Okay, she maybe had some guns. But didn't she realize how foolish it was to mess with Sarah Walker, especially given her current mood? Sarah measured her leap to land in the middle of Lizzy's chest. After all, it was a large target.
"He has me."
x-x-x-x-x
Finally they were back where they belonged. Sarah had quickly grown accustomed to wearing one of Chuck's t-shirts to bed on nights when Chuck was over. It maybe wasn't as sexy as a negligee. But there was some wisdom in saving the negligees for special occasions. And the t-shirt could just as quickly hit the floor. "Ellie looked so happy," she said.
Chuck didn't answer for a long moment. "She was," he finally said. "She's going to ask you to be a bridesmaid." Then he was silent for a long moment. "I wish things were different. You should have been in there. It was a family moment, one that's never going to happen again. I'm sorry that you got cheated out of it."
"I know," Sarah said. "There will be other moments. Someday soon we'll be able to be open. For right now, I'm just grateful for what we do have."
They were in Sarah's newly discovered position, Chuck flat on his back with her on her side snuggled comfortably in the crook between his shoulder and neck. Sarah was amazed at how natural they already were. They could lay there silently without any need to speak to break the awkward silence. There was no awkward silence. In that way, it was like they had been a couple for years.
Finally Sarah couldn't keep it in any longer. "I let you down tonight," she said. "I'm so sorry."
Chuck heard the sadness in her voice and tried to keep it light. "Yeah," he said. "You could have found that ring a lot faster. That dumpster was pretty gross."
No sale.
"Come on, Chuck," Sarah said. "I'm being serious. They're getting closer. I wasn't prepared tonight. We were really lucky that we got out of it as easily as we did. I had no choice but to stand there and watch while Beckman ordered you hauled off to a bunker. Once she had you underground, it would have been a lot harder to get you out. That can't happen again. I've spent far too much time lately daydreaming about my life changing new sex life and not enough time doing my job. I'm sorry."
Chuck pulled her close. "This is something of a gray area," he said. "On missions you're in charge. In here, I'm in charge. So when we're in here talking about a mission, I'm not sure who is in charge."
"Chuck," Sarah said warningly.
"I'm not making fun of you," Chuck replied quickly. "But Sarah, listen to me for a second. You're being a little ridiculous. All you did tonight was kick the ass of an armed Fulcrum Agent all around that rooftop, then throw her off the rooftop and continue kicking her ass all around a dumpster. Thanks to you I'm not going to a bunker. And you're sorry? I don't get it."
Sarah didn't answer for a long time. She just snuggled. "I'm willing to fight them," she said softly.
Chuck smiled. "Who are you willing to fight?" he asked.
"Anybody I have to," Sarah said. "I'll fight Beckman. I'll fight Fulcrum. I'll fight them both together. The hell with it, bring them all on. Anybody who would try and take you away from me doesn't understand what they'll be facing. I'll fight the whole damn world if I have to."
Chuck's smile turned into a grin. "Wow," he said. "I'm starting to feel a little sorry for the whole damn world. They clearly don't understand the gravity of the predicament they find themselves in. The whole damn world against a pissed off Sarah Walker? They're hopelessly overmatched."
That finally got the laugh Chuck had been looking for.
"I let you down tonight," Sarah said. "Deny it all you want but that is simply a fact. I get that you're far too sweet to try and make me feel badly about it. But I let you down. So I got you a present to make it up to you. Sort of like the alarm clock that you got me. It might not be much but I hope you like it."
Sarah paused for a long moment to gather her courage before rising up and locking eyes with him. "I love you, Chuck," she said softly. "You deserve to hear that from me a lot more often. Before you, I'm not sure that I even believed in love. But I sure do now. It feels wonderful. So thank you for that. I'm not exactly sure about the future. Normal girl? Wife? Mother? Some of that stuff is still scary for me. I'd still appreciate some patience from you about it. But I am comfortable making you this promise. I can't imagine a future without you. So whatever happens, fifty or even a hundred years from now, just look to your right and you're going to see me standing there beside you."
Chuck took a moment to keep his voice from breaking. "Wow," he finally said. "That's the best present I've ever gotten. As long as that's true I can face anything. I hope you know that I can't see any future without you either. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or in the days ahead. All I can promise is that I'll love you for the rest of my life. I'm not a fighter. But I'll do anything you need while we're fighting the whole damn world together. You can count on me."
That completely changed the mood in the room and quickly enough their tongues were dancing. "Explain something to me," Sarah said playfully when the long kiss broke. "You're a breast man. That's already well documented. So why am I still wearing this t-shirt?"
Chuck got a little more serious. "You've had a long day," he said. "I want you to know that I'm here for you in all ways. I'm not expecting sex from you every single night that we spend in here."
Sarah looked at him like he had just spouted a third eye. "You're not?" she asked incredulously. "Are you kidding me? I think maybe you'd better start adjusting your expectations a little. I thought that I had made myself fairly clear on this point. Short fuse? Finish what you start? I mean, I'm not questioning your manhood or anything. Please don't punish me and make me beg. But is any of this discussion ringing a bell? You're in charge in here. I'm not going back on that. I'll follow whatever you decide. But just to get this on the table, I've been known to get a little cranky when I'm disappointed. Is that really what you want?"
That broke whatever tension still remained and got them both laughing helplessly.
"No ma'am," Chuck said as he reached for the hem of the t-shirt. Quickly Sarah raised her arms and it hit the floor.
"Who would want that?"
x-x-x-x-x
