Sarah vs covers, lies and ticking time bombs
A/N: I don't own Chuck nor am I responsible for the angst in this episode. Just sayin'.
Chapter 9
Sarah awoke with an all too familiar knot in her gut. The kind that always warned her when there was trouble lurking. It saved her life on many a mission. Only now, she wasn't exactly on a mission. She wasn't in some foreign country trying to quell a revolution with any type of kitchen utensil. In fact, she was in one of her favorite places. In bed. More specifically in bed in Chuck's arms. That's what made it even more ominous. Chuck sighed contently against the back of her neck, but that did little to comfort her. She laced her fingers through his residing against her stomach and pulled herself tighter into his embrace. That didn't help either.
"Good morning," he breathed against her ear, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.
"Morning," she replied, turning her head and attempting to smile. She must have failed miserably as she was met with a concerned frown.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
Sarah briefly considered lying and telling him everything was fine, but he'd see right through that. And telling him the truth would sound silly. She's a spy. She shouldn't let a bad feeling freak her out. Yet, she couldn't shake it, so she turned all the way around to face him. Chuck propped his head up on one elbow, his other arm still securely around her waist. Sarah brought her hand up and ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheek. Her eyes searched his face, as if committing every feature to memory. Another shiver ran through her, but this time it wasn't a pleasant one. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Instead of responding to his question, she decided to tell him something else. Not to distract him, or manipulate him, but purely because she needed to.
"I love you."
It came out in a whisper, partly because saying the words were unfamiliar and partly due to the nagging feeling that she might not get the chance to say it again. She had no idea where the thought had come from, but it scared her.
Judging by the look on Chuck's face she had surprised him, but his shock was quickly replaced by a big Bartowski grin. He leaned forward and captured her lips in a slow, sweet kiss. Then he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you too."
Sarah tilted her chin upwards to meet his lips again and pulled him down on top of her. She pushed her anxiety aside to concentrate on the feel of his comforting weight pressing her deeper into the mattress. Her hands fisted his curls as she deepened the kiss, tracing his lips with her tongue before entering his mouth, seeking out his. Chuck responded eagerly. His hands already found their way under her shirt, his fingers tracing a path from her hips to her waist and back. The need for air couldn't be denied any longer and they pulled apart slightly. Before Sarah could move in for another kiss, Chuck pushed himself up onto his elbows, just out of her reach.
"I never thought I'd say this," he spoke in between gasps of breath, "but we need to stop."
"I know," Sarah sighed in resignation. They had to work the early shift and if they both showed up late, they ran the risk of blowing their cover under the cover. And with that thought, Sarah's earlier unease returned.
"But," Chuck responded, rolling over onto his back and taking her with him, "we have ten more minutes to cuddle. Which is enough time for you to tell me what's on your mind." She should have known he was not going to let it go. Sarah nestled her head under his chin to avoid eye contact. His arm around her shoulders tightened. For a brief moment she just reveled in the feeling of being held.
"Chuck, I need you to promise me something." She managed to keep her voice even.
"Anything."
"Be extra careful today. Stay close to Casey and keep your eyes open for anything that looks suspicious."
"Sarah, you're freaking me out. What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on. Just…just promise me."
Chuck placed a kiss in her hair. "Okay. I promise." She tightened her hold on him, hoping that for once, he'll do as he was told.
Sarah recited the compulsory German greeting as she handed the unsuspecting customer a sample of her cooking. Her fake smile faltered when the woman left and Casey entered, looking worried.
"We have a problem." That was the last thing she wanted to hear today. For a second she wondered if Chuck kept his word.
"What do you mean?"
"Chuck found that in the BuyMore." She immediately grabbed the object Casey placed on the counter and examined it. Neither of them bugged the store.
"We have a problem."
The briefing confirmed Sarah's fear. The listening device belonged to Fulcrum. If they didn't know who and what he was by now, they were very close. Graham and Beckman gave them 48 hours to identify the enemy operative. If they failed, Chuck would be thrown in a bunker. His life as a civilian would be over. Their secret relationship would be over. Sarah was determined to complete the mission. If she didn't, she would face the toughest decision she'd ever had to make. Sarah the girlfriend would take him and run, but Sarah the spy knew that it would be the worst course of action. Running from the CIA was one thing. Trying to keep Chuck safe from the enemy all on her own was a whole different ballgame. As much as she hated to admit it, being in a bunker was the best for him. The safest. But it was still unthinkable. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't fail.
Casey secured a warehouse while Sarah oversaw the CIA team moving the entire contents of the BuyMore. She made sure they were thorough. They went over every inch of the merchandise. Twenty four hours later they've managed to locate twenty nine bugs, but no receiver. Casey brought Chuck in to see if he flashed on anything that could give them a clue as to where it was hidden. Sarah was trying to be nonchalant about Chuck's reaction as to who was really behind the BuyMore "robbery". She didn't want to let on just how serious the situation was, given that they still had time, but Casey forced her hand. All she wanted to do was reassure Chuck that she'd do whatever it took to keep him with his family and with her, but with all the agents around, she had to act professional. Casey already brought up her lady feelings once in the past five minutes. Chuck took the news better than she expected. She suspected it was because he trusted her, which only fueled her determination.
They caught a break when the surveillance revealed that the receiver was hidden in Big Mike's marlin. The only problem was that the CIA was not in possession of the fish as Jeff and Lester had stolen it before the BuyMore was cleaned out. Chuck and Casey went back to the store to try and find it while Sarah stayed behind to phone Beckman with an update.
"We're pursuing the receiver. We've got the location and it shouldn't be long before recovery."
"Stay with the receiver. In the meantime, we've decided to extract Chuck." Sarah felt the world stop. There it was, the reason she'd been feeling antsy for the past day and a half. She was not going to lose Chuck to some enemy organization, but to her own.
"What? But we don't know he's in danger."
"There's a change the identity of the Intersect has been compromised. We have to err on the side of caution."
"But you promised we had 48 hours." She knew it was futile to even try and argue. The CIA and NSA operated under their own set of rules. And keeping promises to agents wasn't exactly high on their list of priorities.
"You know the game, Agent Walker. The order has gone out. Chuck is coming in."
Sarah pushed the disconnect button a little harder than necessary. This was not supposed to happen, but if she was complete honest, she should have expected it. She did know the game, but Chuck had changed the rules. One thing was for certain though, she was not about to give him up without a fight.
A/N: I know this chapter was short, but that seemed like the appropriate place to end it. The next chapter will most likely be the last, ending this story with season 1 of canon (with a couple of AU scenes thrown in). Carrying it into season 2 would get too angsty with the break-up and Jill and Cole (though it is still one of my favorite seasons). For now I want to focus on Inconvenient Truths and try and keep up with season 4 in 'The wedding gift'. By the way, are we having a 'non-Chuck day' next week?
