A/N: Don't own Chuck. Read A/N at end the end of the chapter.

Chapter 7 – Brown Hair and the Green-Eyed Monster

Sarah saw the internal feed monitor activate when Chuck entered Castle. She watches him open the package, and observes his activities from the secure room. She decides to go to him.

Entering the briefing room, she sees him searching the security feeds around the plaza parking lot.

There it is: a non-descript black SUV. That is so cliché. There was a driver and a passenger. The passenger made the drop.

He switches the feed to the exterior of the apartment complex at Echo Park.

There it is! The same SUV parked on the side of the road. They were not following Sarah; it just turned out she was the one who appeared first and they identified her.

They were looking for members of the old team. CIA moles and turncoats knew where they lived and had known for a while now. Why had they never moved? Home was not a place but the people. He needed to share a song with Sarah. Not now, Sarah has been threatened.

She is quietly watching over his shoulder. Suddenly, he sees a reflection in the computer screen of someone over his shoulder. The Intersect flashes, he grabs a pen as a weapon, and whirls around. He is about to attack when he sees that it is Sarah.

Dropping the pen, he takes a step forward, and pulls her into a hug before she can react.

"You're safe. You're here. Of course you are, I knew that."

He takes a step back and holds her at arm's length. He has tears of joy in his eyes. She can tell he was worried, and her look says she wants to know why.

"Why would I not be safe?" She tilts her head as she looks up into his face.

"This."

He hands her the note. She reads it and thinks she must be off her game to not notice a tail.

Feelings! She had been concentrating on her growing feelings for Chuck and got distracted. That is how spies get killed.

She knew from what people told her, her videos, and the fact she is married, this must have been a problem at one time. Even her veiled reports, and careful conversations she had just read about in their first five missions told her she knew why she wanted him to stay in the vehicle: to protect herself as much as him. She already knew she was jealous of Carina.

How did they find the balance?

"Sarah? Sarah? Hello, what were you thinking?"

"That I got distracted by my feelings and that is why spies are not supposed to have them…"

Chuck thinks: here we go again, one step forward, two steps back. Are we really going to play this game again? It took two and half years last time.

"…and I'm sure that caused mission problems, and us problems, so how did we get past it?"

"Easy. You stopped acting like you were an emotionless robot, and I became a spy."

She suddenly sees Chuck between rail cars, gun in hand, and a dead mole on the ground. A red test!

Why did he hesitate three times to kill Quinn? Why, did…

Casey yells while coming down the stairs into Castle.

"Bartowski, why did you call us in?"

"Morning Chuck, got a kiss for your sister-in-law?" Carina says with a chuckle while watching Sarah.

"Uh, what? Oh, right your cover!" Chuck is watching Sarah as well.

"Bartowski! What is so important, did you flash on something?"

Casey is annoyed. He planned on spending the day with Alex setting up his new apartment. He decided he needed a little help after last night's courtyard drama.

"General Beckman has been captured!"

He points to the website feed as Sarah hands Casey the note.

That is when Chuck notices. She is wearing her wedding rings!

Casey reads the note, and hands it to Carina. He then turns to Sarah.

"We can take it from here Carmichael. Don't you have some other work to perform and complete?"

Chuck answered. "What are you talking about, this is a team mission."

Casey grunts. "Not you Bartowski, the other Agent Carmichael."

Chuck turns to Sarah as she blushes, "I chose Carmichael as my cover name, rather than going by previous cover name of Walker, to prove to you my commitment."

Chuck thinks ok; maybe it is two steps forward, and only one step back.

He smiles.

"Enough with the feelings! Carina call her aide and find out what hotel she is registered in; then give the name to Bartowski (Chuck). Bartowski, search video feeds after we know the name of the hotel. Bartowski (Sarah) you need to go back to your mission." Casey instantly takes charge. "I am going to make sure our weapons are ready and Chuck's toy guns are still operational."

Sarah stands her ground.

"Casey, I am a good spy and I can give input and provide cover. Plus Beckman said she was the only one willing to take a chance on me."

Escorting her down the hallway, "No, you will observe and give intelligence reports from your research area. How were you followed here?"

"I was thinking about Chuck, and did not notice anyone." She decides to answer honestly.

"Exactly. I am not saying you are not a good spy. No one is saying that. Beckman wants you back operational, but you must relearn to balance your emotions. We can't make a mistake here. For your benefit, and Chuck's, play this out this way for now."

"But…"

"Look, if things go south, or I feel it is in the best interest of the mission, I will make the command decision to activate you for the field. For now learn what you can about how your husband works from the reports and the observations."

"So that is what this is about? Putting Chuck and me back together as a team?"

"I think Beckman wants you together as more than a team. Heck, we all do. So why risk that? For once where Chuck is concerned, follow orders."

"Fine! But if anything goes wrong…"

"I will call you. Now get to recording our planning session, and then review more of our old mission files. You are the best spy I know, and I want my partner back, so get busy!"

"Ok, John."

"Oh, and Sarah, if you tell anyone I just shared all this with you, I will kill you."

She smiles and hugs him. He looks a little uncomfortable, but hugs her back. They both turn and head back to work.

-o-

"General Beckman's office. This line is unsecured. Major Mallock speaking. How may I help you?"

"Major, I saw a man walking with a condor over his shoulder, and I need to speak with the officer in charge."

"Roger, ma'am. Hold one." Mallock hits a few buttons. "Line is secure."

"This Agent Miller. I need to speak with the OIC, now."

"That's me."

"Major, this is Agent Miller. General Beckman has been captured. What was the location of her last check-in, where was she staying here, and what was first on her morning agenda?"

"Agent Miller are you sure the general has been captured."

"Yes, we are watching a live feed on a website. She appears unconscious and unharmed at this point."

"She is staying at the Grand Ambassador, and the last check-in of her security detail was arrival to the hotel last night."

"Chuck, the Grand Ambassador," she calls over her shoulder. "Thank you Major."

"Major, from this point forward, Agent Sarah Carmichael will provide updates concerning General Beckman. Miller out."

"Where in the world is SSG Klaus?" The Major yells at the nearest lieutenant.

"Sir, she has not reported. She is AWOL (absent without leave)."

"Get the military police over to her residence."

Little did they realize that the Syndicate had tied up a loose end as soon as Klaus drank her last cup of morning coffee.

-o-

Casey is entering the briefing room as Chuck begins to tap into the security feeds surrounding the hotel. Carina is calling the hotel to see if the front desk saw the general enter the hotel last night. They need to know if Chuck needs to shift his focus to the inside of the hotel.

"Chuck, outside only for now." She calls over as she hangs up the phone.

"Got her. Watch."

The team stops and reviews the snatch and grab. Chuck pauses the video and zooms in on the driver. "I know her!"

"What, who is she?" Carina asks as Casey leans in for a better looks.

"If it is, who I think it is, her name is Kayla Hart. Casey, she lived in the apartment above mine. She moved out a few months after Bryce sent the Intersect."

"How well did you know her?" Carina asks a bit suggestively.

Casey does not miss a beat, pulling up a file on Kayla, "Are you telling me you were tempted to play house with another naughty brunette besides the meat smuggling deli girl and Jill Roberts?"

-o-

Sarah is hot. She had just finished the file on Lou the deli girl who almost stole her Chuck away, and now the mention of Jill has her searching the database.

Sure enough here is another file about a brunette with plans for her Chuck. Did she just call him that? Her Chuck. Well that is who is.

She thinks, "Am I jealous? No I'm … protective."

She then turns up the volume on the video feed to listen in better.

-o-

"No… Well, yes… No. Its that we dated a few times in the past."

Chuck starts to explain. If he had been closer to the restricted area he might have heard what sounds like a female version of a Casey grunt.

"Look I found her attractive, and I went out with her a few times, I gave her rides to different places, but it turns out she was using me to make her ex-boyfriend jealous."

Casey points to her file, "She was busted for driving under the influence five years ago, and is a known associate of some pretty low-life thugs."

"Look when I knew her, she had the driving thing, but other than that she seemed like a nice girl. Well except for that last day when she got me to give her a ride to her boyfriend's place near Chinatown. Truth told it upset me and that was the first time I had trouble flashing due to my emotions. It was the same time as the incident at the Bamboo Dragon."

"Johnny, I got her address off her driving records."

"Are you ready Bartowski?" Casey asks.

"Ready for what?"

"Infiltration and inducement. You leave here in the nerd herd vehicle, go over and pretend to have your service call addresses mixed up. Put the moves on her, and get her to confess where the general is being held, or at the least bring her back here. We will be in the van backing you up."

-o-

Oh no he's not!

Sarah is hotter now than she was earlier.

What is it with Chuck and brunettes?

She has Jill's file up; she has Lou's print out in front of her, and now this Kayla woman. She heads to the briefing room.

Storming in to the room, "Chuck, we need to talk."

"Sarah, we are planning a rescue mission for the general."

"I know what you are doing. Remember evaluate via direct video feeds? " She points to the security camera. "You are not going to flirt with an ex-girl friend."

"She was not a girlfriend, and it is no different than all the times you worked with Bryce, Cole, Daniel, or flirted with Peyman Alahi, Lon Kirk, Manoosh, or any of the other marks through the years."

"Yes it is! I was not married at the time."

"Ok, what about the time you pretended to be with Morgan and flirted with Bale? We were married then."

"It was my job!" She always held Chuck to a higher standard. She did not want him to lose his innocence.

"And now it is mine."

He did not like arguing with Sarah. He loves her and hates when they disagree. However, this time it pleases him to a certain degree. She is fighting for him.

"That's right Carmichael. This is his job, and observing without interference is yours. Miller escort her back to the research area." Casey is annoyed with his former partner.

-o-

As Carina walks Sarah out, Chuck and Casey notice a man walk into the room with Beckman. He throws a bucket of water on Beckman. Chuck flashes.

"His name is Jonathan Sands. He is CIA turned Fulcrum agent."

"Fulcrum, I thought we ended those guys?"

"Evidently he is a lot like Mr. Earle."

"What?"

"You know: missed the memo? You know? Batman Begins? Oh never mind."

"Hush, let's hear what he wants."

-o-

"Morning General." Sands say as he throws more water on Beckman.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who I am is not important, but who I work for is very important. A few of us defunct Fulcrum guys have joined forces under a new leader and we want the Intersect."

"Intersect? That is a rumor. There is no such device." Beckman tries to bluff.

"Don't play stupid, it is not fitting a woman of your age or position."

"Fine. It was destroyed by Nicholas Quinn." She isn't lying, he destroyed the computer based intersect.

"Don't hand me that. I was with Quinn when that idiot Bartowski shot down the helicopter, and my boss was on the plane when Walker failed to take down Quinn."

-o-

Casey growls at Chuck when he hears about the helicopter. Chuck's phone dings.

Sarah - Chuck, Edgar Winterborne was the only other person on the plane. I didn't recognize him then, but I am looking at a report that contains info about him and Jill. Really? You almost chose Jill?

Chuck - Thnx. I was dumb.

Oh boy, was I dumb. Chuck thinks to himself.

"Casey, it's Sarah. She says the name of the boss is Edgar Winterborne."

"The guy I should have shot on stage? See why tranqs are not the answer? Just say no to drugs, and feed them lead!"

Chuck just smiles a haha real funny non-smile.

-o-

"My boss will be here tonight, and when he arrives you will talk." Sands smiles at the general with a cold malice look on his face. "In the mean time, we are going to let your team continue to watch you break down, while they search aimlessly for you."

Turning to look at someone off camera Sands says "Put her in the cage."

Two men come on the screen and begin to loosen her bindings. She bites one of them. He slaps her hard and she slumps forward, picks up her head, and spits out blood.

They lead her off screen. After a few minutes the camera pans to a very small looking cage. It looks like a dog kennel. The general fills us every bit off space within the cage and she is spun to face the camera. Soon the room fills with the sound of women and children begging for people to stop hurting them.

-o-

Casey hangs his head and shakes it trying to erase old memories. He recognizes the softening technique being used on the general. It is an old school SERE tactic that drives a person inward to block out the constant barrage of audio torture.

Beckman will be on edge when Edgar arrives. They need Chuck to make contact with Kayla, yesterday!

Casey switches off the monitor as Carina reenters.

-o-

Sarah turns off the sound to the feed and angles the monitor away from her line of sight. She forces her emotions down and prepares herself to watch Chuck flirt with another woman.

Glancing at the clock, she realizes it is lunchtime, and her plan to tell Chuck she wants to at least live in the house with him is placed on hold. She feels as sad as the night she took off her wedding rings and prepared herself to chase Quinn.

She looks over the Jill files. In the end Chuck chose her, not Jill. Now what were some of the names he mentioned during their discussion? She rewinds the security footage.

"…it is no different than all the times you worked with Bryce, Cole, Daniel, or flirted with Peyman Alahi, Lon Kirk, Manoosh,…"

Ok, Bryce I know. Hmmm who should I start with next? Well let's go in order of mention. Obviously the first ones still bother Chuck.

Here we go Cole Barker. Oh my, he is handsome and would definitely fit my stereotype. Too bad Bryce ruined it for all spies, it was over long before he left, I just stayed in the relationship because I needed someone. Yes, deep down I needed someone to love me, not lust me. Spies don't fall in love, and that is why I needed Chuck. Chuck falls in love.

Sarah continues in thought while skimming the two missions that involved Cole Barker, the suave MI-6 agent. She notices a video and clicks play:

Sarah: "I guess I'm not the kind of girl who cheats on her cover boyfriend."

Cole: "Is that all he is a cover boyfriend?"

Sarah: "What do you mean?"

Cole: "I saw the way you looked at him when his life was in danger, been doing this a long time, Agent Walker. [sighs] Who would have thought it? Cole Barker loses the girl to Chuck Bartowski."

Sarah: "When you meet someone you care about it's just hard to walk away."

Cole: "I couldn't have said it better myself."

Sarah sets there a moment. Why did this man intimidate Chuck? Obviously he did not know about this conversation.

There is another video. She clicks play and sees Cole and Casey:

Cole: "Just doing my job, General. Actually Chuck, showed great courage on this mission. He got injured in the line of duty."

Casey: "He got clipped by a window sill. It's as pathetic as it sounds."

There is one more video. This one shows Chuck at the Orange Orange counter watching Sarah and Cole kiss before Cole walks away and Sarah bites her lip. Chuck's shoulders slump, he turns off the monitor as Casey walks into the scene, and Chuck walks away with his head down.

Bryce and Cole were cut from the same type of spy cloth and she was willing to bet that Daniel, whoever he is, was as well.

She sits down and for the next several hours as she reads the files on Daniel Shaw, his supposed death, his capture, his escape, and eventual recapture. Chuck beat him without the Intersect. The man who wanted to use Sarah to manipulate Chuck into becoming a weapon got beat by the spy he formed.

Chuck and her fought through some tough odds, and she was sure they could beat the odds again.

Sarah thinks to herself, If I can only keep him away from brunettes, or better yet brunettes away from him.

Speaking of brunettes, Carina radios in that they are heading out to make contact with Kayla Hart.

A/N: This site was used to develop the new character: wiki/Category:Characters. Since she was never fleshed out, I decided to take a few ideas kicked around and begin expanding those to fit my story.