A new week, so that means a new chapter. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. Your comments mean a lot to me and I appreciate every single one of them.

I see there are a lot of stories being posted lately, I hope to be able to get reading some of them soon, hopefully later today, I'm kind of excited about that.

I am dedicating this chapter to Thereisanother, hope your recovery is going well and hope this brightens your day.

Chapter 7

Chuck's eyes fluttered open as the first signs of daylight came streaming through the blinds. Half asleep, he managed to glance at the clock on the night stand, it was just after 7. Chuck yawned and rested his head back against his pillow. He was about to roll over onto his side when he realized something was weighing down on him. His attention turned to his right and he was greeted with probably one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. Sarah Walker lying sound asleep next to him. Her head rested on his arm, her blonde tresses splayed over his arm and partially on his chest.

Chuck froze, it was an awkward position for them to be in, he didn't want to wake her and embarrass her, especially after everything that had happened last night. He finally felt like they had made some leeway with their relationship and he would hate to see Sarah revert back.

Chuck laid back against his pillow and recalled the conversation they had had before finally drifting off to sleep.

"Sarah, will you….will you go on a date with me?"

"What?" she looked at him like he had grown a second head. , "Chuck you know we can't." She sat upright in the bed. Chuck followed suit.

"Why?" He turned to face her; he reached for her hands and held them in his as he gazed into her deep blue eyes. "Sarah, you're not my handler anymore. All I'm asking for is one REAL date."

"Chuck, we're on the run, we can't exactly be out roaming around town on a date."

"Okay…okay, I get that, but Sarah, what if this is it? You know, I mean what if the CIA finds us? I could be headed to an underground bunker indefinitely and you…you could be facing a life in prison."

Sarah broke eye contact with him and looked down at their hands. She couldn't argue with that. The truth was, if the CIA caught them, then their lives as they knew it would be over.

"Would it be that terrible? One real date with me?" he continued.

She looked back up at him with a sympathetic look on her face. "Of course not." She replied.

He laced his fingers with hers and gave her hands a squeeze. "Then say yes."

Sarah hesitated before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Okay." She gave in.

A smile spread across Chuck's face. "Really?" his face lit up.

Sarah looked back up at him and met his eyes with hers. "Really." She replied. A smile formed on her own face.

"It's a date then?" He asked.

Sarah nodded, "It's a date."

Chuck just smiled in response. He was absolutely giddy.

"But how's this going to work Chuck? Like I said, we can't be parading around town any more than we need to."

"Just leave it to me okay?" he pleaded with his eyes and she could feel herself falling deeper and deeper under his spell. He always had a way of talking her into things. He had such innocence about him; she found it extremely difficult to deny him anything.

"Okay."

The two sat silently, lost in the moment with one another. It truly was a turning point in their relationship with one another.

"We should get some sleep. Morning comes quickly." She said releasing his hands. She reverted back to her side of the bed and settled in under the covers again.

"Yeah." Chuck replied as he did the same.

"Goodnight Sarah."

"Goodnight Chuck."

Chuck reached for the bedside lamp and turned it off, leaving them lying there in the dark. The two settled into the bed. Chuck laid there with the hugest grin plastered on his face, with one single thought running rampant through his mind. 'She said yes.'

Chuck's thoughts were interrupted when he felt Sarah's body shift. She was still very much asleep as she moved in closer to him. Her arm draped over him, her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck as her leg rubbed sensually against his inner thigh.

Chuck's breath caught in his throat. He was caught completely off guard and he didn't know what to do. More than anything he wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her in tighter, but he couldn't do that to her. She was sleeping after all. She had no idea what she was doing.

Chuck laid there frozen for the next few minutes while Sarah continued to caress him in her sleep. He swallowed hard. God she felt so good. Chuck began to sweat as he felt his body responding to her. He had to stop this. But how?

Before he had a chance to think the question through, the alarm clock on the night stand went off. He had totally forgotten that Sarah had set it before they went to bed last night. Chuck turned slightly onto his side to shut it off. He felt Sarah who was clinging to him pretty tightly, shift her weight once again.

Sarah opened her eyes to the incessant ringing of the alarm clock. She noticed her extremely close proximity to Chuck and just exactly where her body was in regards to his and immediately retreated back to her side of the bed. Chuck rolled to his side facing away from her. His body was still reacting to her and it was something he would rather she didn't see.

Sarah was immediately embarrassed, she wasn't exactly sure what had just happened but she had a feeling it was something that shouldn't have. Her only hope was that Chuck had been asleep too and didn't realize just how close she was to him.

"Chuck?" she finally spoke.

Chuck sat up on his side of the bed, stretched his arms and faked a big yawn.

"Ahhhh, morning Sarah." He replied with his back to her.

"Was I…was I laying on you Chuck?"

"What?...No…I..I don't know….I was sleeping…you know what, I'm gonna jump in the shower."

Before she had a chance to respond. Chuck jumped up from the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom, keeping his back to her the whole time.

Sarah collapsed back against her pillow and sighed heavily in frustration. Something had clearly happened that Chuck wasn't saying.

"Damn it!"


"Stop wasting my time and call me when you have some actual news!" Graham yelled into the phone before slamming it down on his desk in frustration. Graham reached for his desk drawer and pulled out the small flask. He unscrewed the cap and took a large swig of its contents before tossing it back in his desk drawer.

Taking a deep breath he massaged his temples with his fingers as he closed his eyes trying to rid himself of the massive headache that had been plaguing him since yesterday. The pounding on his office door pulled him back to reality.

"Come in." he called out.

A young man popped his head through the door.

"What is it Abrams?"

The man stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.

"Tell me you have some news?" Graham spoke up.

"Sorry Director, nothing yet. We have no leads. It's like he just vanished."

"Someone is helping him. There's no way an untrained civilian could outsmart the CIA."

"Well perhaps the intersect is helping him along the way."

Graham shot him a dirty look.

"Director we have our best operatives on it, they are bound to find him."

Graham shook his head. "No! Find Walker, she's our best. She will find him."

"But sir are you sure you want her in on this? I mean if she digs around enough, she's bound to discover things surely you don't want her to know about."

"She's the best I have. I need her on this. It's a chance I'm willing to take."

"Yes sir, I'll track her down." Abrams turned and made his way towards the door.

"Oh and Abrams, what is the word on Dr. Mansfield?"

"I spoke with him earlier, He's on route now. He should be arriving later this afternoon."

"Let me know the second he arrives."

"Yes sir." Abrams said as he made his way out the door and closed it securely behind him.

Graham slumped over, resting his elbows on his desk and went back to rubbing his temples.


It was going on a good forty minutes since Chuck's impromptu exit for the bathroom. Sarah sat crossed leg on the bed eating a bowl of cereal. She had the spoon midway to her mouth when Chuck walked out of the bathroom and she froze. He had been in such a hurry to get away from her that he forgot to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom with him.

He quickly made his way across the room over to the bag of clothes sitting on the nearby chair. Sarah's mouth dropped as she took in the sight before her. Nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Water still dripping down his surprisingly muscular back. He really had been working out, that much was clear.

She was caught completely off guard. The attraction she was feeling for him at that very moment was undeniable.

"Sorry." He apologized for his appearance, his back still to her. "I forgot my clothes."

It took a moment for Sarah to find any words. "That's…okay." she managed to get out just as he turned to make eye contact with her. She eyed him up and down, just taking him in. Chuck made his way back into the bathroom and closed the door. Sarah sat there for a moment completely dumbfounded by what just happened and her reaction to it. She was feeling things inside that she hadn't felt for Chuck before. An attraction that she had never felt for anyone before.


Graham stood up from behind his desk to greet Dr. Mansfield as Abrams escorted him into his office. He reached across the desk to shake his hand. "Dr. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Is there a problem with the intersect? Have there been some complications?" The doctor asked before taking a seat.

"That will be all Abrams." Graham said to the agent and watched him leave before sitting back down in his own chair and turning his attention back to the doctor.

"Dr. Mansfield, the intersect is gone."

"What? What do you mean? The subject isn't flashing anymore?"

"No Dr. I mean our subject has disappeared. The CIA no longer has him in custody. He left the bunker yesterday with a few of my agents. The agents were shot with tranquilizer darts and our subject is missing."

"Oh dear."

"Should I be worried doc?"

"The uploads aren't complete. We are only about 75% there. The special encoding in the video games combined with the hypno-therapy is keeping the 2.0 idle until the upgrade is complete. He's the first test subject who has even made it this far. There's no saying what kind of effects the 2.0 might have on him. And with him being out there… non-contained….there's no telling what might happen. So Director to answer your question, yes, you should be very concerned."

Graham sighed heavily. "That's what I was afraid of."


"A sporting goods store?" Chuck asked, as Sarah brought the car to a stop. She had told him they had to pick up a few things in town, but she never did say what. In fact neither of them had said too much to one another that morning after the awkwardness of how it started.

"We can't stay at the cabin much longer Chuck. We'll move out early in the morning. How are you at camping?" She turned to face him.

"Seriously?"

Sarah nodded.

"My dad used to take Ellie and I camping all the time."

"Good, because I've never camped before."

"What?" he sounded shocked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Chuck smiled. "And here I thought you've done it all."

"Hardly. So we need to pick out some camping gear, you're going to have to help me out."

"Okay, I can do that."

She reached around the backseat and rummaged through her bag again. "Here." She said pulling out a baseball cap and handing it to him. "Put this on and keep your head down. No eye contact with anyone."

Chuck looked back at her nervously. "Okay."

"It's just for precaution okay, don't be nervous."

He nodded in response.

"We'll be quick in here and then I want to run across the street and get a new phone so I can get in touch with Casey and then we'll pick up a few groceries for the road."

"And our date." Chuck chimed in.

"What?"

"Sarah I know I can't take you out to dinner, but the oven in the cabin is working and if it's our last night there…well I may not get another chance…WE may not get another chance. So I'd really like to make you dinner tonight."

"Chuck, you're talking like we're going to get caught. Don't you trust me to keep you safe?"

"What? Of course I trust you, more than anyone. I'm just…I've never done this on the run from the law thing before Sarah. I'm not good at any of this spy stuff."

"What are you talking about Chuck? You have the makings of a great spy."

"How so?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"Well for starters, you're incredibly smart, you're a real problem solver, you think on your feet. And you care about people Chuck. You see the good in people and people just relate to you. You're a good guy Chuck. One of the best."

Chuck smiled. She could see the hope return in his eyes.

"As far as dinner tonight…that sounds great." Again, how could she deny this man anything? She smiled. "Now come on, let's get this over with."

Sarah opened her door and stepped foot outside the car. Chuck was about to do the same when several random images flashed before him. Chuck shook his head when the images stopped. They only lasted a few seconds, but they were different than his normal flashes. None of what he saw seemed to make any sense to him. The images had no meaning like they usually did. For him it was very reminiscent of his first flash he ever had. And why was he flashing now. It usually took something to set it off, a name, an image, something. Chuck hadn't flashed in weeks, not since Longshore took him in, so why was he flashing now?

"Chuck you coming?" Sarah asked bending down and poking her head through the window.

"Huh? Oh right." Chuck opened his door and joined Sarah on the sidewalk.

"Come on." She said taking hold of his hand she dragged him towards the store.


"So what size tent are you two in the market for today?" the salesman asked the young couple.

"Oh well just your standard size tent. We're going on a camping trip up north and my boyfriend's old tent just isn't up to par anymore."

"Well, this model right here is the best 2 person tent on the market. Stands up to all the elements, real durable."

"Great, we'll take it." Sarah said right away. Chuck just looked down at the ground appearing to be uninterested.

"Excellent choice, I'll get this rung up for you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Umm…" Sarah hesitated looking around the store.

Chuck who was standing behind her leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh right. Sleeping bags. We're going to need a couple of them as well."

"Of course, right this way."

Chuck and Sarah picked out a couple of sleeping bags some other items that might come in handy. They were just finishing up their shopping and about to head up to the register when Sarah noticed the strange man eyeing them from the corner of the room. He seemed particularly interested in Chuck. She reached for Chuck's hands, catching him off guard and turned him around, pulling him into her. He gave her a questioning look.

"Bogey at my 3 o'clock."

"What?" Chuck was about to panic.

"Relax. Just look at me, don't turn around." Chuck did as she instructed.

Sarah peered around him to find the man still watching them intently. Sarah sighed heavily.

"Kiss me." She said, catching Chuck by surprise.

"Wh…what?"

"Just do it Chuck…now!" she instructed.

Chuck leaned in and grazed his lips against her cheek briefly before pulling away.

"Chuck, I know this fake PDA is hard for you." She whispered in his ear, "But you're going to have to do better than that if anyone is going to buy us as a real couple."

Chuck glanced up and met her eyes with his. Without another thought, he swooped in and captured her lips with his, finally catching her off guard for a change. If Sarah Walker wanted a real honest to goodness kiss then that's exactly what she was going to get. His hand moved to her cheek, while the other slid slowly up her back. He moved his lips sensually over hers as he kissed her passionately savoring every second of it. When his need for air became too much, he finally pulled back. He moved his hand from her back to her other cheek, cupping her face in his hands as he rested his forehead against hers. Sarah struggled to catch her breath. Chuck pulled back a little more. Reaching out he brushed a few strands of hair from her face.

"That…that was…better." She managed to get the words out as he continued to stare deeply into her eyes. Sarah felt completely flushed. And was it hot in there? She felt like she was standing amidst an inferno. She took a step back trying to get her bearings. Finally recalling the purpose of the kiss, she glanced past Chuck. The man who had been watching them so intently had turned away in discouragement, realizing he didn't stand a chance with her.

Sarah breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"What?" Chuck asked, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"Looks like our bogey is nothing more than a gawker." She met his eyes once again. Those chocolate brown orbs were hypnotizing. The way he was looking at her. No one had ever looked at her like that before and it sent chills down her spine. Her eyes shifted to his lips. How she wanted to feel them once again. At that moment she found it incredibly hard to breathe.

"No harm done." He replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I got you two all rung up." The sales associate called to them from behind the counter, causing the two to finally break eye contact with one another.

"Come on Chuck, let's get our stuff and get out of here."

Chuck and Sarah finalized their purchases at the sporting goods store. Afterwards they made a quick stop so Sarah could get a new phone followed by a trip to the grocery store so they could get some more food to last them the week. And just before heading back to the cabin, Sarah made one last stop to fill the Civic up with gas.


"Abrams, any word from Walker yet?" Graham questioned the operative.

"Not yet Director, several calls were made but she hasn't checked in yet."

"Really? She's usually quick to call in unless she's in the field."

"I'll try her again sir."

"Give her another hour and call again. Have my field agents come back with anything yet?"

"No Director. It's like the intersect just vanished."

"Alright I want every available agent in the field, searching for him. We need to bring him in, sooner than later before it's too late."

"Yes Director."

"Oh and Abrams."

"Yes?"

"I want to know the second Walker calls in."

"Of course Director."

Graham watched Abrams make his exit. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes trying to ward off the onset of his latest headache.


Chuck and Sarah had been pretty quiet most of the day around one another. Both of them obsessing over their kiss earlier in the day. And what a kiss it was. Sarah was having a hard time concentrating on anything else when she was around him and she tried her best to not let it show, but was having serious doubts that she was at all successful. No one had ever kissed her like that before or least of all ever made her feel like that before. But it wasn't even a real kiss, who was she kidding. It was all for show. And what did she care anyway, it's not like they were really a couple. It was all a cover and she wasn't looking for a real relationship. They were playing a part. Granted Chuck's performance was Oscar worthy, that's all it was, a performance. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

Sarah watched him from across the room. He was working diligently in the little kitchenette, preparing them a meal he described as 'to die for.'

"Chuck I'm going to step outside, check the perimeter and see if I can get in contact with Casey on the new phone."

Chuck looked up at her. "Oh…yeah sure…take your time." He said before turning his attention back to his task at hand.

Sarah grabbed her phone and stepped outside.

Chuck looked back up when he heard the door close. That kiss earlier had really thrown him off. He needed to concentrate if he was going to get this dinner right. But how could he concentrate when all he could think about was the blonde 50 feet away from him, and my God that kiss. The taste of her lips, the feel of her body pressed up against his, those mesmerizing blue eyes gazing into his own. She was like a flower and he was the bee. The attraction he was feeling towards her was undeniable. If he wasn't entirely sure before, it was obvious to him now. He was completely and utterly in love with Sarah Walker.


Okay so I know I ended it before the date, but in all fairness I did give you some good Charah in this chapter. Hopefully it left you with something to look forward to. I hope you enjoyed it, I would love to hear your comments or any reviews you want to throw my way. As always thanks for reading.