I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

About last chapter. I get that some of you have this thing about Sarah. It's not really protectiveness. It's almost an obsessive thing. I've dealt with it ever sense I started trying to write stories that depict Chuck and Sarah as legitimate adults.

But I'm truly disheartened that so many would misunderstand her so completely and then judge her so harshly. She wasn't being a hypocrite. She wasn't pushing Chuck to do wild things. In fact she recognized that was because of her hang ups and she promised to stop. She told Chuck in no uncertain terms that he was all she'd ever need. But she is also never going to be June Cleaver (if you're under 50, Google her). That's what some of you seem to want. I have no interest in writing her that way. Not only is it boring, I think it would be a disservice to the character.

My Sarah understands that she fiercely loves Chuck… almost obsessively. She feels inadequate in expressing that to him. So she told him that she would do anything it took to make him happy. Is that wrong somehow? If he truly needed to see her with the Shetland Pony, she'd do it. Of course that's hyperbole. But in the next breath she promised to let him know if he ever asked for anything again that gave her pause. Sharing him with another woman is one of those things. And she knows Chuck well enough to know that is now off forever the table.

She did express that she enjoyed the scene in the plane with Laura. It's probably something that most married couples would never do. Yes, there was sex. Yes, there was a third person involved. Yes, that third person was naked and added to the erotic atmosphere. But neither Chuck nor Sarah actually ever touched her. Was it so wrong for Sarah to remember that as a good, sexy time with her husband and hold out the possibility of something like it happening again? I sure don't think so.

Having said all that, Sarah faced the reality of their new lifestyle. And she could do some things. She could demand that they move. She could get all possessive every time Chuck saw a bare breast and make them constantly tense and miserable. She could insist that they stay locked up in their room every night. Or she could lighten up a little, go with the flow, set reasonable boundaries, and enjoy the ride. Before Chuck came back, she would have probably eventually made one of those other choices. Now, she chose the latter. Devon, Ellie, Steven, Joan, Morgan, Alex, and to a lesser extent, Joey and Josh are going to have a similar decision to make.

I like the Sarah of this story. I feel for her. I certainly don't judge or dislike her.

Content warning: If you've read this arc, you know that spies using sex is a pretty big theme. If that bothers you, you probably should have stopped reading about 50 chapters ago. But that is going to happen here. It won't be Sarah (learned my lesson on that one). It won't even technically be a spy.

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.

Spy vs Spouse

x-x-x-x-x

It was the shortest hour of Sarah's life. Since it was likely to be her last chance for a while, she spent most of it simply snuggled into him, making sure she remembered how good he felt. But soon enough the hour was over. "Last night you said that you were sent to capture me," she finally said. "What did you mean?"

Chuck just looked at her for a long time. "They said I was heartbroken," he finally said sadly. "It was affecting my work. So if I brought you back, they would make sure Agent Walker was motivated to keep me happy."

That got Sarah laughing again. "Wow," she said. "I really like the sound of that. Talk about a dream job. Why didn't I defect to Fulcrum a long time ago? So, Agent Carmichael… um, Daddy, how do you like it?"

"Very funny," Chuck said. "They aren't kidding."

"Neither am I," Sarah insisted. "That's what we should do. I told Carmichael last night that he wouldn't have to capture me. I meant it. We'll go and I'll convince them that I'm willing to keep my mouth shut and be your obedient sex toy, keeping a perpetual smile on your face for them, as long as I can be guarantied to be with you. They will buy that. Once Agent Carmichael and Agent Walker are inside, we'll figure out a way to take them down."

Chuck shook his head firmly. "That would probably work," he said. "Except for one thing. They would be skeptical. Agent Walker would be required to be obedient to more than Carmichael. Quinn especially wants a shot at you. He calls you the reward for being an Intersect. He would make it a point to force you to prove your commitment. You're sort of an obsession with him. I've already heard all the graphic locker room bravado about the various positions he would love to put you in."

The smile never left Sarah's face. "Maybe," she said. "I'm counting on it. It's my most effective weapon, remember? But we do have one major thing going for us. They have to be a little careful. The whole reason they're doing this is because they know that Agent Carmichael is in love with Agent Walker. They know that you're going to be a little protective of me. So if anything like that does happen, they are going to hide it from you, do most of it behind your back. I'll be able to use that."

"It's not just you," Chuck sighed. "Roark wants me to see if I could bring back Ellie. He's positively obsessed with her… actually more than Quinn with you. I just warned dad about it. We're going to have to be extra careful to protect her. I heard all about it in sickening detail. Roark wants to break her. Then after she's broken, he wants to send Orion the pictures of his daughter's graphic degradation performing various sex acts. It's sick."

"It's how these guys think," Sarah said. "Chuck, sweetie, yeah I know how you feel about Ellie. Me too. We'll do everything we possibly can to protect her. But it's their predictable weakness… one we simply have to exploit. Maybe it's how I could get close enough to Roark to kill him when the time comes."

"Will you be serious?" Chuck asked in exasperation. "I'm not putting you in that position. They all want a shot at you too. It would be Quinn, then Roark, then Bowles, then who knows? Besides, you're retired."

"You forgot Carmichael," Sarah said still smiling. "He's an Intersect, you know. That makes him really valuable to them. They aren't going to do anything to upset him. I'm not completely sure, but I think watching his wife being passed around to a rotation of people to fuck might just do that. You're wrong about me being retired. I'm only retired as a CIA Agent. I'm not doing this for the CIA. In fact, that group of retards can collectively go straight to hell. I'm doing this for my husband who has become my very life, for my new family, for the future one we're going to create together someday. I'll never be retired from that job."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "Okay, let's talk about the sex," she said. "It's possible… for both of us. I know that's bothering you. You wouldn't be my Chuck if it didn't bother you. We need to get it on the table. Mission sex isn't really sex. It is something else. It certainly doesn't count as cheating. We've pretty much come full circle on this. Remember in Vegas, the huge fight we had? Me arguing that I should go to Peter West's hotel room and fuck him into submission to gain their trust?"

"Of course," Chuck said. "I agree it's not cheating. But it's still uncomfortable. We decided against it then. What's changed?"

"Tons of things have changed," Sarah said. "If you remember Laura took my place. So we still gained their trust. I'm afraid that's not an option this time. But, sweetie, something a lot bigger has changed… us. You and I, we've grown so much closer together since then. We're now so strong that nothing as ultimately meaningless as some lurid sex acts on a mission could possibly hurt us. You know that. You feel it as much as I do. We made the right decision last time. But this is the right decision this time. And it's true that I'd need to know for sure that you are on board to pull it off. But the honest truth is, it wouldn't even bother me now. I'd always be thinking of how I was going to make them suffer before I killed them."

Sarah paused to gauge his reaction. "But there is an even bigger reason," she continued. "With Peter West, we had a choice. Here we really don't. You just said that I'm an obsession with them. So ask yourself, sweetie. What is Jenifer Bowles going to do when she is co-emperor of the entire world and you being an Intersect is far less important to her? How long will it take before she decides that having me delivered to her and making me submit to her a few hundred times in the most humiliating way possible would be a little fun? The same with Roark and Ellie. Talk about predictable. We'd be defenseless. At least this way we're doing it for a good reason and controlling the agenda. And yes, they might eventually make me fuck someone who is not you. It's even more likely that to sell this you will have to fuck someone who is not me. I think we both get that it is a definite possibility. We need to accept it as a given. But they can never make us make love with anybody. They can never take away anything that we've given to each other. They can never make me stop loving you with all of my heart."

Chuck sat in thought for a long moment. "Okay," he finally sighed. "I can probably get possessive and keep them away from you for a while, at least until they make me go on a mission. That's probably when they would move on you. They promised me a long break, so we can buy a few weeks. If our time runs out, we'll think of something else."

Chuck stoked his chin in thought. "There's only one way this works," he finally said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to get me into their command center where Roark is. That's where they are controlling the nukes. I have no idea where that is exactly or how to shut it down. We'd have to find the other one and shut it down at pretty much the same time. We'd also have to coordinate an outside attack somehow to keep it shut down. The Intersect is going to have to do some quick learning. But I guess it's our best shot. We really don't have time to talk about it. If we're going to do this, they are expecting me back right about now. We have to get moving."

"I need to hear you say it," Sarah said. "We hope not, we're going to try hard to avoid it, but it's worst case that you're going to be watching me screw other people, maybe even literally right in front of you. You might even have to be the one who gives me the order. I might be watching you fuck other people in front of me. I can separate mission stuff from our marriage. So I'm on board with that. I need you to tell me that you can separate it, that you're also totally on board. That's the only way I can do this. You're going to have to sell to them that you're still Agent Carmichael. Any of nice guy, Chuck Bartowski leaking out isn't going to fool them. You're going to have to make a big macho show of flaunting your power off a little and proving you can demand things from me in front of them. Now that I think about it, that actually might be a little fun. I can make it a game as long as I know that you're on board."

"I'm on board," Chuck said. "I have to tell you, I've played better games. I don't have to like it, do I?"

Sarah pressed her lips to his. "No, sweetie," she said. "Of course not."

"But I'll bet I can make you like some of it… a little anyway."

x-x-x-x-x

The rest of the family was gathered in the common room waiting for Chuck and Sarah. So it was fairly obvious that they would be all over them as soon as they appeared. Joey stepped up to Chuck, threw her arms around his neck, and clung to him emotionally.

"We can't stay long," Chuck said as he rubbed Joey's back affectionately. "We're going back. Agent Carmichael has captured Agent Walker. We're going to get inside and take them down."

The room erupted in raucous protest. "The hell you are," Casey said. "We figured you two pinheads would think of something like that. It's not the kind of thing that I can live with."

"We have a plan," Sarah insisted. "Look guys, our minds are made up. We have to end them. It's the only way."

Joey released her hold on Chuck and took a step back. Then she un-expectantly launched a kick directly into his shin. Intersect or no, it hurt like hell. Suddenly all thoughts of any plan were momentarily forgotten as he started jumping on his one good leg trying to rub the injury. "Why would you do that to me?" he cried. He turned to Sarah. "I thought that you said nobody was mad at me."

In spite of the tense situation, that got a smile. "I forgot about Joey," Sarah said. "She's mad that you wanted a threesome and didn't pick her."

Joey's nostrils were still flared in anger. "That discussion is most definitely not over," she growled. "What's wrong with me anyway? You know that I have self esteem issues. But that's for another time." She paused for a moment to gather herself. "You don't have a plan," she finally snorted. "You have an idea… a concept maybe. At best you can cause them some damage… and never come back. Do you have a clue in that pea brain what we've gone through for the past two weeks? What has happened to the brilliant Chuck Bartowski and his badass wife, the best field agent who ever lived, that has your heads so far up your respective ass? You retire for a couple of months and suddenly you start thinking like civilians? Having Sarah go and fuck Fulcrum leadership into submission while you maybe come up with a plan… that's not a plan."

Chuck was finally able to rub enough blood into his shin to stand on his hurt leg. "What would you suggest?" he asked hotly as he continued to rub where Joey had kicked him. "We're not crazy about this either. But the clock is ticking. And they no longer call themselves Fulcrum. It's The Ring."

"I hate to break this to you, Mr. Almost-God-Intersect," Laura said sarcastically. "But you're not the only smart person here. Maybe you're not even the smartest. We know about The Ring. Joan has an actual plan to get the Intersect inside both of their command centers with enough time to figure out how to shut it down. We've been talking about it while you two were… well it disgusts me to say it out loud. The whole family is on board. Maybe just before running off and committing suicide you two could spare her ten minutes and have her tell you about it."

"It actually has a chance."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck sat silently listening to the details of the plan. "No way," he finally said flatly. "Come on, Joan. That's crazy. Ellie's not a spy. She's not trained for any of this. I can maybe protect Sarah. I won't be able to protect Ellie. She will be totally defenseless. You can't use her like that. Can't it be someone else?"

"You really haven't listened to a single word Joan has said, have you?" Laura asked sadly. "For one thing, Joan is not 'using' anyone. Ellie went to Joan and suggested it. You know damn well it has to be her. She is Orion's daughter. She is the one who Roark wants to break. She's the only one who has a real chance to get close enough to him for this to work."

"But," Chuck protested. "Getting close to him means…"

"Fucking him?" Laura finished his statement. "Of course it does. Bowles too. She's going to have to convince them that she's broken… that she's willing to do whatever they ask to save herself. If my guess is right, she'd have to get real close, within about three inches or so. Those world domination guys always have tiny dicks. It's predictable… an overcompensation thing."

That got Ellie grinning. "What's the matter, little brother?" she asked. "You don't think I'm up for this? I may not be Sarah… but who is? You don't think I can be sexy? Maybe this isn't the perfect time for this discussion. I hate to have to tell you this here like this. But I'm… well… Chuck, I'm not a virgin."

That got most of the room laughing. "Very funny," Chuck replied. "You're also not a spy."

Ellie's grin didn't fade. "Neither are you," she said. "I'm just a Bartowski just like you. Circumstances beyond our control forced you to quickly become a spy. Well, it's the same with me. You think you're the only one with responsibilities here? They are threatening my family the same as they are yours. Unless we stop them, it's my fiancé, my brother, my family… my future in their crosshairs. And this will work. Even you'd have to admit that Joan's plan makes more sense than most of the wild reckless things you come up with. It will hit then where they least expect it and end them once and for all. I'm not doing anything here that most of the ladies in this room haven't done many times. Surely you know me well enough to know that you're wasting your breath trying to talk me out of this."

Chuck had to admit that was a good point. So he changed tactics. He turned to Devon specifically, but he was clearly addressing the room. "And you're okay with this?" he asked sarcastically. "Your fiancé is going to be fucking… well who knows how many? All of you are okay with this?"

Devon was the one to respond. "It's not my first choice," he said. "I'm pretty sure that this is no one's first choice. Not really because of the sex. Ultimately that's meaningless. I'm actually very worried. But my concern is far more because it's dangerous. These are ruthless people we're talking about. The thing is I'm convinced that doing nothing and allowing them to rule the world is even more dangerous. This is our best shot. So yes, Chuck. Ellie knows that I'm 100% on board. In fact, I'm very proud of her."

"Ellie won't be alone," Joey said. "Laura, Carina, and I will be there. We'll protect her as much as we possibly can. And the guys will have their own dangerous assignments while we're gone."

Finding himself quickly out of arguments, Chuck turned to Sarah expectantly. She didn't answer his unasked question. Instead she turned to Ellie. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "There is only one way to do this. Listening to Laura brag about her lurid sex filled missions is not the same being on one. And maybe Laura hasn't ever told you the different between a light bulb and a spy… you can unscrew a light bulb. Once you do this, it can't ever be undone. Ellie, these are not reasonable people. Once this starts, you're committed. And this isn't simply sleeping with someone. They get off on control. They are going to search for your limit and then are going to push you hard over it. Fuck toys don't get to choose what they want to do next. They don't get to say 'That's disgusting. I'd rather not do that.' In fact saying something like that would guarantee it happening all the more."

Ellie's grin wasn't toothy. But it was determined. As was her answer. "We're wasting time."

Sarah turned to Joan. "This all depends on you being right about the Intersect," she said. "Are you positive?"

"Absolutely," Joan replied. "The current Intersect was designed around the Bartowski brain using Steven as the model. It might work in other people but not nearly as well."

"I'm not sure about that," Chuck protested. "I've seen him in action. Quinn is a lot bigger than I am. He was a trained agent before the Intersect. He has a big advantage."

"If you faced him it wouldn't be close," Joan insisted. "Trust me."

"I trust you," Sarah said. "But maybe we should test that."

"We really don't have time," Joan protested. "I'm right about this."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Sweetie, I'm not doubting you. But we can test this quickly. That wouldn't hurt, right? And I have an idea that actually appeals to me. Two birds, one stone. I love the idea of that efficiency."

"Leave this to me."

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce came storming into the gym where Chuck and Sarah were standing. "You wanted to see me?" he asked. "Why? Your husband is back."

"We have to get Chuck ready to face Quinn," Sarah said. "I want you to fight him to be able to evaluate where he's at."

Bryce's smirk was plain. "Do you think you have a chance?" he asked.

Chuck just shrugged.

"We're not sure," Sarah said. "That's what we need to find out. We need your full effort. That's why I came up with a way to make sure we get a valid test. The winner gets a prize."

"Okay," Bryce said. "I'll bite. What is the prize?"

"Me," Sarah said. "If you win, you get me for a week. I'll obey any command you give me… nothing off the table. All those kinky things you've always wanted from me? Those things you say that I owe you? Win and all of that plus any other sick thing you can think of is yours. If you lose, I owe you nothing and you never mention anything involving us… ever again."

Chuck registered a wordless protest.

Bryce took full measure of Chuck's demeanor. "I don't believe you," he laughed. "You're just messing with me."

Sarah turned to Chuck. "Sorry, sweetie," she said. "This is the only way we can be sure that you're both trying your very hardest." She turned to Bryce. "The second you get his submission, I'm your toy for the next week. Whatever water has passed under the bridge between us, you know that I would never go back on something like that." She pulled her shirt over her head. She slid her pants down and stepped out of them leaving her wearing only a pair of mostly invisible bikini briefs. "Do you believe me now?" she asked. "Winner gets my panties as a souvenir and my undivided attention for a week."

Bryce grinned as he checked out her virtually naked form for a long moment. He squared off on Chuck. "Sorry, buddy," he said. "I really don't want to hurt you. But your girl clearly wants you to lose."

Sarah's grin as she enjoyed her position of not so innocent bystander was genuine. She watched as Chuck reluctantly squared off to match Bryce.

Bryce plainly wanted to get this over with and claim his prize. The overhand right that came quicker than the eye could see was clearly designed to knock Chuck's head off his shoulders and end the fight with a single blow. To Chuck it looked as if it was in slow motion. He allowed it to come tantalizingly close before ducking under it. His counter punch straight left hand to the point of Bryce's nose wasn't intended to do any serious damage. But it was clearly painful.

Once Bryce regained his balance, his face showed his obvious surprise that his punch didn't land. But he was still confident. And the prize… Something had happened to change Sarah's mind. She had clearly set this up to save face. This was going to be an amazing week. So he ignored the blood flowing from his nose and threw a kick aimed at Chuck's left knee. Again Chuck allowed the kick to come close. But this time his lightning quick counter was much more serious. Bryce never saw the kick coming that landed directly under his diaphragm. If Chuck hadn't pulled back a little the blow would have been fatal. Instead, it just left Bryce standing there staggered as he helplessly struggled to breathe.

"Sarah told me all about what's been going on for the past two weeks," Chuck said as he watched Bryce helplessly trying to recover. "Let me make this perfectly clear." A spinning kick to the side of Bryce's knee sent him to the deck in a howling heap.

Chuck went to stand over his vanquished opponent. "I pulled those kicks back a bit," he said. "I just dislocated your knee. A couple of days in bed, a week or two of walking with a limp, and you'll be fine. But here is my official warning to you. You're nothing but a slime ball. If you ever… and I mean literally fucking ever… as much as make eye contact with my wife again, you'll be using a walker for the rest of your life. Do we understand each other?"

Naturally, Bryce had no way to respond. He was too busy groaning from the pain. When Chuck turned to Sarah, she was grinning from ear to ear. She was standing there with her panties in her hand holding them out to him. "According to the rules I just made up it looks like you've won these fair and square," she said. "I believe you also passed my test. It turns out that Joan was right."

That got Chuck laughing. "Lucky for her," he said as he accepted the winning trophy. "If you would have been forced to pay off and spend the next week on your knees in Bryce's bedroom I would have been obligated to go on a multi-nation killing spree."

That got them both laughing. "I know," she said. "And actually, you're about to go on a multi-nation killing spree anyway. I gotta admit. I never saw myself as a damsel in distress. In fact even suggesting that would be a sure fire way to start a fight with me. But seeing you beat down that jerk to defend my honor. Well, let's just say that I'm looking forward to you collecting your winnings."

Devon came in to look after Bryce, who was still in a heap on the floor moaning in pain. If he noticed that Sarah was naked, and how could he not have noticed, he didn't say anything.

Chuck just shook his head laughing at his wife calmly standing there grinning totally naked. "I think we've created a monster here with this tropical island lifestyle thing," he teased. "You're taking this lack of personal modesty concept to a whole new level. I'm really going to struggle ever getting you to wear clothes again, aren't I?"

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "They are inconvenient and uncomfortable," she said. "And you have to admit, we do actually live on a tropical island."

"Why do we need clothes?"

x-x-x-x-x