Your Lips on Mine P7/7
Ellie Woodcomb had been awake for hours. It was 8:00 am in California but 10:00 am in her body and she had already had breakfast, worked out, showered, checked in with Devon and played 6 rounds of Candy Crush, so she decided to cross the courtyard and check in on Chuck and Sarah.
She began by tapping lightly on the door and listening, she was a member of a highly trained spy family after all, and hearing nothing she used her key to enter the apartment. She figured she could start breakfast and coax them up with fresh coffee and French toast.
The first thing she noticed was the smell of wine and then she saw the overturned table and broken glass. Her heart rate increased, remembering the cold look in Sarah's eyes when she held a gun on her. She shook that image from her head, Sarah was fine she had seen it herself yesterday, she was coming back, she was Chuck's Sarah again.
Ellie moved quietly towards the bedroom, the door opened just a crack, enough for her to see a lot of Sarah's bare back and disheveled hair draped over Chuck. Sarah's head rose cautiously, one eye open. She visibly relaxed when she saw it was Ellie. Sarah raised a finger to indicate she would be up in a minute and Ellie retreated.
Sarah extricated herself from the bed and Chuck snuffled and rolled over still asleep. Sarah slipped on a pair of yoga pants and a tee shirt and padded out to the kitchen.
"Morning," Sarah smiled as she noticed Ellie standing straight with her arms crossed.
"What happened?" Ellie asked.
"What do you mean?" Sarah's guard was back up.
Ellie pointed through the open kitchen to the mess on the living room floor.
"Did you guys have another fight?" Ellie was nearly shaking.
"No no no, Ellie, no," Sarah shook her head and tried to reassure her sister-in-law.
"Why are we all up so early?" Chuck interrupted the tension as he shuffled in scratching his head.
"Are you OK?" Ellie asked.
"Other than waking up way too early, I am fine," he smiled.
Sarah left the kitchen and grabbed the broom and dustpan, Chuck noticed she seemed to know where they were without asking. She moved to the living room and began cleaning up the glass.
"What's going on?" Chuck sensed the sudden frigidness between the women that were so close just the day before.
"I came in and saw the table and the glass, I thought something bad happened," Ellie sagged.
"I told you we should have cleaned this up last night," Sarah laughed mirthlessly.
"Oh Ell, no, nothing bad happened. We were, umm, well, I was carrying Sarah…"
"To bed, he was carrying me to bed," Sarah interjected.
"We were kind of distracted and we knocked the table over on our way…."
"To bed, we were going to bed," Sarah reiterated.
Ellie just dropped her head.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," she said contritely.
"No, it's my fault, I should have been a grown up and cleaned up the mess last night," Chuck said as he went to help Sarah.
"Chuck, you are the last person at fault here. I knocked the table over…" Sarah assured him.
"Because I was clumsily carrying you to bed," he said as he reached to cup her cheek.
"It wasn't clumsy, it was incredibly hot," she forgot all about Ellie and kissed Chuck hard.
Chuck wrapped his arms around Sarah and as she tried to reciprocate the broom crashed to the floor breaking the spell. Sarah leaned back, their lips the last of them to separate.
"Good morning," Chuck smiled.
Sarah just huffed a laugh.
"Ellie, I am sorry if we scared you and I know it is going to take some time to get over what I did to you, but I promise you I am not going to hurt, owww," she said as she brushed the glass into the dustpan a sliver cut her thumb.
Sarah looked down at the drop of bright red blood on the tip of her thumb, Chuck blanched for a second and Ellie went to the bathroom to find a band aid. The red of the blood reminded Sarah of a coat she had once, the perfect shade of red.
"You saved me," Sarah said softly.
"It's just a little blood, Ellie will fix it," Chuck replied confused by the need for saving.
"On a bridge, I was going to die and you saved me," the weight of the emotion that came with that memory buckled Sarah's knees.
Chuck caught her before she landed in the swept up glass and brought her to the kitchen.
"Chuck, say something, is this not a real memory?" Sarah asked as Chuck ran the faucet and rinsed Sarah's thumb.
"It's real and it's a big one," Chuck said with pain etched on his face.
"Tell me," she forced him to look in her eyes.
"For spies you have crappy first aid supplies," Ellie announced as she came out with an old tube of Neosporin and some oddly shaped band aids.
The look in Chuck's eyes said everything 'later when we're alone' and Sarah nodded.
"Casey always had the medical stuff," Chuck explained.
"It doesn't look deep," Ellie already had Sarah's hand in hers inspecting the cut, but Sarah was still looking at Chuck.
"Thanks Ellie," Sarah tore her eyes from her husband.
"I'm sorry Sarah, I jump to conclusions, I am a worrier," Ellie babbled and it was so much like Chuck that Sarah felt this unending affection.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," was all Sarah could get out before Ellie had finished applying the first aid and had wrapped Sarah up tight in a hug.
By the time the two women stopped hugging Chuck was finished cleaning up the glass, he tied up the trash bag with the glass and indicated he was going to take it out, leaving them alone for a minute.
"Ellie, you have every reason to be skittish around me. The way I behaved, when Quinn brainwashed me, it haunts me, it makes me sick. The idea that I could ever be susceptible to such things again," Sarah just shook her head.
"Knowing that the Intersect that my dad created has now caused so much damage, it scares me. I'm a scientist, Sarah, but everything isn't always black & white. The Intersect has done a lot of good, but I feel like it is my job now to make sure it doesn't do any more harm."
"Who wants coffee?" Chuck asked when he returned and raised his own hand in reply.
"I was going to do that before I caused a scene," Ellie laughed.
"I got it, but if you want to cook breakfast I am sure neither of us will object," Chuck grinned.
***555***
As the 3 of them were sitting down to eat Sarah's cell phone rang indicating a call from Westside Medical Center.
"Sorry, I need to take this," she showed the screen to Ellie who nodded.
"Hello," Sarah said as she moved back to the bedroom.
"I hope she's OK," Chuck sighed.
"Me too."
"If anything did happen to her while she was gone," Chuck's face crumbled.
"You'll get her through whatever it is," Ellie assured him.
Chuck watched as Sarah returned, she had tied her hair up in a ponytail and coupled with her bare feet and the band aid on her thumb she looked so vulnerable. He realized she would kick his ass for thinking that and that made him smile.
"Everything is fine," she smiled back.
"Really?" Ellie asked.
"All the blood work, all the screenings are good. I am, apparently, very healthy."
"And not…." Chuck trailed off.
"Not pregnant, no," she shook her head.
Just like the last time Chuck was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. A part of him would have loved for something good to have come from that train ride that ended so horribly.
"Sarah, this is wonderful news," Ellie grinned.
"Of course just because there is no physical fall out doesn't mean nothing happened. The doctor encouraged me to see a psychologist," Sarah chuckled ironically.
"It's not a bad idea, all things considered. I can talk to Beckman, I am sure the CIA would let you see Dryfuss, he's a little fussy, but good and he understands the Intersect," Chuck mentioned.
Sarah just nodded and speared some French toast with her fork.
"I think I have done enough damage for one morning," Ellie grinned, "I am going to run over to Westside, as good as Castle is I need some more equipment to really analyze those scans, Sarah."
"OK, do you need me."
"No I think I got all I need yesterday. I'll call you guys later and we can discuss my findings over dinner?" Ellie offered.
"Sure, thanks Ell," Chuck stood and kissed his sister's cheek.
Once Ellie was gone and Sarah had cleared the breakfast dishes Chuck smiled.
"Can we go back to the part of the morning where we were naked in bed together?"
"Sure," Sarah agreed and pulled her tee shirt off over her head.
Chuck just stared at his topless wife.
"Had I gotten modest at some point?" Sarah suddenly felt silly.
"No, I always stare at you like that, sorry."
"Let's go to bed, you have a story to tell me."
Stripped down to pretty much naked, Chuck and Sarah climbed back into bed and curled around one another.
"This story is a big one Sarah, it starts long before what you remember on the bridge and it is both the end of part of us and the beginning of what we are now," Chuck hinted.
Sarah nodded against his chest to indicate he should continue.
"Once again the intersect messed up our plans, this was the day of Ellie's wedding…." Chuck began to tell the long story of his downloading the 2.0 and Prague and what led to Daniel Shaw. He had glossed over this on the beach, but now he went in to all the sordid details.
"I wanted a real life," Sarah remembered suddenly the moment on the platform in Prague.
"I know and I am so sorry I walked away that day, but if we had run then we never would have what we have now, we would have been alone and sure we would have been together, but the way it worked out we got to be together and still keep our life here," Chuck explained.
He went on to try and explain Hannah and Daniel and how they both knew the other still loved them, but there was so much hurt and anger.
"That brings us to…"
"The mint ice cream," Sarah remembered her first real solid memory.
"This is kind of like putting a really big jigsaw puzzle together," Chuck laughed.
"You and I both trusted Shaw, even Beckman did and if it wasn't for Morgan noticing Shaw was pulling his punches in the footage of his supposed take down of the Ring agents you might not be here right now," Chuck squeezed her a little tighter.
"I guess that makes up for the missing condom in Barstow," Sarah smiled.
"Yeah," Chuck laughed again, he didn't think telling this part of their story would have so many laughs.
Chuck got to the part on the bridge, the partial memory Sarah found earlier and explained it all, his terror and his sorrow when he had to end Shaw's life.
"I didn't actually kill Shaw, he would up surviving, but I thought I did and it made me sick, but there was no choice Sarah, I never would have made a different choice," he looked down at her on his chest, his own eyes full of tears and hers full of love.
"Shut up and kiss me," she whispered.
TBC…
A/N Thanks again for all the kind reviews, I am having fun with Chuck and Sarah. There may be a few days before the next post though as I am heading to the woods of Maine where I may or may not have time and WiFi, but I will continue this as soon as I can.