CHUCK VS. THE CAMPAIGN
DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."
SUMMARY: After what happened in Chuck's attempt to have a normal relationship with Jill, his ex from college who turned out to be a Fulcrum agent, General Beckman orders Chuck and Sarah to maintain their boy friend-girl friend cover relationship on much stronger levels, meaning live together and give all appearances of a happy, loving couple to ward off any troublesome normal girls coming after Chuck. Sarah decides to take advantage of the situation to make Chuck hers.
NOTE: If you are looking for adventure and suspense, you won't find it in this story. This is all character, romance, and fluff, fluff, and more FLUFF!
PART 9 – A Quiet Evening
The alarm came on and Chuck rose from bed immediately and shut it off. He sat on the side of the bed and stretched. He started to get up to go shower but then stopped and leaned back toward Sarah. "Don't forget that I'm driving Ellie and Devon to the airport this morning. They're taking off for three days for some medical conference," he said.
"And don't you forget -- we have that mission later today," Sarah reminded him.
"I haven't forgotten. I get off at the BuyMore at 3pm today. So work shouldn't interfere at all," he replied.
She reached up and patted him on the head. "Good boy," she said. "Do you want me to go with you to the airport?"
"Not necessary. I got it under control," he replied. He got up to leave, and then once again stopped and turned back toward Sarah. "Oh, you could probably have their room and bed while they're gone. It probably isn't necessary to maintain the cover here during that time." Then he left to shower.
Sarah almost gasped in shock. And for a brief moment, she felt a touch of panic. She didn't want to sleep in a different bed, to be away from Chuck.
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The mission turned out to be a bust. In that nothing happened, no one showed up at the location, and there was nothing to do. Sarah, Chuck, and Casey went back to Casey's apartment to confer with General Beckman who was just as puzzled as they were and even angry. She was unable to resolve anything so she just told the agents that she would have to check and get back to them. She then requested a private meeting with Sarah and Casey, so Chuck went back home.
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About 30 minutes later, Sarah walked back to the apartment, tired and with very sore feet. In spite of how badly she felt, she thought about getting some take-out from some place and having a quiet dinner with Chuck at the apartment. It would be nice, she thought, it would be nice if she and Chuck could have one quiet normal evening. She was so frustrated with how her plans to do normal dating things with Chuck had been foiled or ruined. So far, every attempt had gone wrong or been disasters. If a mission hadn't interfered, then something happened to one of them like illness or injury and ruined it all. Is this what it was like for Chuck those past times he tried to arrange a regular date with me? she wondered.
And another part that bothered and concerned her – did Chuck notice that these attempts at normal dating stuff had failed? Were they convincing him all the more that he wouldn't be able to get a normal relationship with her? Were they hurting her chances with him? She didn't know if she could take another rejection or stand by and watch him date another woman.
She walked up to the door and tried to open it. Locked. Good, she thought, Chuck was finally listening. When she had moved in, she had noticed that Chuck and Ellie tended to leave the door unlocked while there during the day and sometimes during the early evening. Sarah had talked to Chuck about this, saying that it could be dangerous and not just because of the intersect that he had in his head. He agreed to change on that. And it looked like it was finally sinking in.
She inserted her key into the deadbolt lock, the key Chuck had given her a few days after they had started the live-in arrangement. He had just handed it to her silently, not saying anything as he did. Sarah wondered if the moment would have been more significant, more meaningful for a real, normal couple.
She sighed as she thought about how often she had been thinking about real and normal relationships and couples in the past few weeks. She unlocked the door and entered the apartment hoping that Chuck would be willing to go get some take-out as she didn't have the energy. She just wanted to relax this evening.
A delicious aroma overwhelmed her. She stared at the kitchen. Chuck was in there pulling a tray out of the oven. She also saw a pot brewing something on top of the stove. "Just in time! Dinner's ready!" Chuck announced.
Sarah was stunned. "Chuck?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"Dinner?" she said with surprise.
"Well, hopefully it is. I've broiled some boneless chicken, I've got some rice going. And I made some salads." At the word "salads," he nodded toward the dining room table. Sarah looked. The table was set with dinnerware, some bowls of salad, jars of salad dressing, and glasses of water and wine.
"Have a seat and I'll bring it in," he said.
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The dinner was wonderful. Chuck served boneless chicken breasts on rice beds along with the salads. The chicken was tender and delicious and Sarah, who was starving, filled herself up. The whole meal was pleasant, fun, and enjoyable. Just the sort of dinner that she had wanted to arrange for the two of them.
"I didn't know what a spectacular chef you are," Sarah noted as she beamed at Chuck.
"Broiling chicken in the oven and steaming rice hardly qualifies as a chef," Chuck replied.
"It was delicious. I loved it. Thank you."
He bowed his head. "Well, I could see that the whole bad day had caught with you after we finished this mission and I was hoping that I could do something to make it a little easier for you."
"You did. Thank you again."
He stood up and gathered up the plates. She started to lend a hand but he stopped her.
"Let me take of this. Why don't you go relax on the couch."
"Chuck, you did all of the cooking. Let me do the cleanup," she protested.
"No, you go relax. You said earlier that your feet were killing you and I can easily see how tired you are. So go to the couch and relax. Besides, it's not much cleanup. Just rinsing off some dishes and putting them in the dishwater. Go ahead and prop your feet up for a while," he urged.
She did. He put up the leftovers and took care of the dirty dishes as she relaxed on the couch. Then he walked past her to the bathroom down the hall. He returned a few minutes later with two wash clothes.
Just as she was about to ask him about the wash clothes, he took her legs in hand and pulled her feet into his lap as he sat down on the other end of the couch. Sarah, when she had complained earlier about her feet hurting, had already abandoned her shoes and socks. He wiped one bare foot with a wet wash cloth. Then he dried it with the other cloth. He did the same for her other foot.
Then, he took hold of one foot with both hands and started massaging it. As his hands tenderly and softly rubbed, Sarah found herself slowly letting out a breath. Then she had to concentrate in order to keep breathing. Her heart beat a little faster and it felt a little bit hotter in the room.
She watched his hands rubbing that foot and felt the pain lessening. Chuck's foot massage was pleasurable and lot of other things as well, she thought.
"Is this OK?" he asked.
Sarah found it difficult to talk, so she nodded. He switched to her other foot and did just as pleasurable and thorough a job with it. He stopped and then asked, "Better?" She nodded again, still having trouble speaking. He got up from the couch and wandered back to the bathroom to toss the wash clothes in the laundry hamper. Sarah suddenly discovered that she could move and reached behind and rubbed her neck a little. Then she was surprised to feel Chuck's hands on her shoulders, massaging them.
He massaged her shoulders and neck and her back. He alternated between all three areas, his fingers working on the tension and aches, doing wonderfully to relieve both. Sarah sighed. He was really good at this, she thought. He stood over the edge of the couch massaging her and then moved onto the couch and positioned himself directly behind her. He continued the massage for a while and then his hands stopped at her shoulders and held them.
"Better?" he asked.
"Much," she replied.
They stayed that way for a while and then Chuck broke the silence. "Don't forget, you can have Ellie and Devon's bed," he said.
She stiffened a little. She hadn't forgotten. But she hoped that he had. "It's OK. It's not necessary," she said.
"Well, since Ellie and Devon are gone, we don't have to keep the cover going. So why don't you sleep in their bed."
Because I want to sleep with you, I don't want to be separated from you, she thought. But instead, she said out loud, in as casual a tone as possible: "That's OK. Besides they may come back suddenly and if they see me in their bed, it could blow the cover. So we should probably keep things as they are."
"They'll be gone for three days and I have to pick them up when they arrive. So they won't make a surprise entrance. Take their bed," Chuck said.
"No, no, it's not necessary," Sarah said. She wanted to stop this conversation, change the subject, get his mind off of this topic. Thinking quickly, she used the only weapon she had at the moment – herself. She reached up and grabbed each of his hands and pulled them down and around her so that his arms wrapped and held her. She placed her hands on his and then leaned back into him and his arms. She placed her head and hair against the side of his face hoping that her nearness, softness and perfume would get him to think about other things. Then she tried to change the conversation subject. She attempted to sound casual as she remarked "That chicken that you made was really good. It had a really nice taste to it. Did you do something to it before you cooked it?"
It took him a moment to reply. She noticed that he had stayed very still as she got closer to him and positioned herself right up against him. She even heard him gulp a few times as she did her maneuvering and posturing. But he didn't pull away the slightest from her. Eventually he answered her question.
"One of the simplest and easiest things to do when cooking boneless chicken – marinate it in Italian dressing."
"It was good," she noted. And it had been. This whole evening was turning out exactly the way she had wanted an evening with Chuck for some time – alone together, quiet, no missions or interruptions, good food, pleasant conversation, relaxation, and just being with each other.
She sighed. It was perfect, just perfect, she thought.
They stayed that way for a long time, both content to relax next to each other on the couch and talk about anything and everything. She was pleased that he didn't bring up the separate sleeping arrangements again. The evening passed pleasantly and eventually, Sarah grew drowsy. Her eyelids got heavier and heavier and she found herself leaning more and more against Chuck, using him as a cushion.
And then she fell asleep. She had felt so relaxed and comfortable that she didn't know when it happened. She just knew that one minute she was on the couch and in Chuck's arms and then the next minute she was in bed. She lifted up her head and quickly scanned the room, checking to see if she was in their bedroom or Ellie and Devon's room. The familiar wall art, furniture and other things revealed that she was in their room. She let out a sigh of relief. Chuck had not put her in Ellie and Devon's bedroom. But then she realized that she was alone. He was not there. Had he moved into Ellie and Devon's room? she wondered. The bedroom door was ajar and she could see light still on in the living room.
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It was late but Chuck stayed up, sitting on the living room couch and reading, trying to settle down. For some reason, after the mission, dinner, and talking with Sarah, his mind was still racing and he felt restless. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep. So after putting Sarah to bed, he came back out to the living room to try to get his mind to settle down enough to where he could sleep.
He thought about playing some video games but was afraid the noise would wake up Sarah. He could mute the sound but the games weren't as much fun to play on silent mode. So he eventually got a book he had been reading this week and hoped that would help him calm down. He was stretched out on the couch reading and he didn't notice when Sarah walked up to the couch. She touched his shoulder.
"Are you coming to bed?" she asked.
"I'm not really tired yet so I'm going to stay up for a while," he said with a nod toward the paperback he held in front of him.
"Why don't you come to bed and read it there?" she suggested.
"I don't want to bother you while you're sleeping."
"It won't bother me. You can use that reading lamp by the bed."
Chuck looked up at her with concern. He studied her face. She looked tired but otherwise seemed fine as far as he could tell. Still, he asked if she was OK, if something was wrong.
"Just come to bed … OK?" she replied after a long silence.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" he asked. And after she didn't answer, he said "I'll be there in a little while, I want to read some more."
Sarah didn't reply nor did her face register any reaction as she stood for a few moments looking at him. Then she turned and went back to the bedroom.
What was that all about? Chuck wondered. Why did Sarah want him to come to bed?
He added it to his ever expanding list of confusing Sarah actions. This mental list had started since she moved in with him as mandated by Beckman to strengthen the boy friend-girl friend cover. His list consisted of things that Sarah did that made him wonder if there was a possibility that this cover meant something more to Sarah. He kept telling himself that these actions and things meant nothing. They were just coincidences or stuff that Sarah did to strengthen the cover. But as time went on and the list kept getting bigger and bigger, Chuck found himself thinking more and more about how Sarah was acting toward him.
First, there were all of the little things that she had done to the room like straightening out a few clothes drawers, the top of his desk, his book shelves, and his closet. At first, he attributed some of her actions to making room for her things or strengthening the cover. But then he wondered about it all. The top of the desk? How exactly was straightening up the top of his desk part of the cover?
Second, she kept doing things to him like picking out the ties he should wear for his job at BuyMore and other, nicer clothes for him to wear on his day off. And just a few days ago, she had even suggested that they go shopping together for some new clothes for him. What did that have to do with the cover? And if she was doing these things for the cover, why was she doing them when they were alone in the room, not in front of Ellie and Devon or someone else? Chuck also noticed that she was also stroking and rubbing his hair a lot. This she also did frequently in private, away for other people's eyes. What was up with that?
And third, there was this whole sleeping thing. They had started out sleeping on their own sides of the bed the first night. But after that, he noticed that Sarah kept moving closer and closer to his side until she was practically cuddling with him. Whenever he woke up, she was plastered to him or pressed up against him. Not that he objected to that. She felt fantastic and he loved feeling her next to him. But this wasn't real, this was a cover … wasn't it?
And like just now, when she asked him if he was coming to bed. Why would she care if he came to bed? And earlier in the evening when he suggested that she sleep in Ellie and Devon's bed while they were gone, she rejected that idea. It was if she preferred to sleep with him. What was going on? He thought she might like to have her own bed and some privacy while Ellie and Devon were gone. No one was around to see the cover, so why maintain it?
When he added up all of the things on this list, for the briefest of moments, he actually thought that Sarah did indeed really had feelings for him. But could there be any sort of possibility that? Could she really love him? He shook his head trying to clear out such wishful thinking. It's just the cover, just the cover, just the cover, he repeated to himself.
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Later, Chuck noticed that he was getting drowsy and starting to re-read sentences. Time to call it quits, he thought. He marked his place in the book, got up and strolled to the bedroom. He quietly and slowly opened the door and stepped into the darkness. He looked at her in bed. He couldn't tell for sure if she was asleep or not. He put the book on the desk, took off his clothes except for his T-shirt and underwear and sat on the bed for a moment looking at her.
Chuck marveled at her beauty and once again wondered if a nerd like him had a chance at having a romantic relationship with a hot super-spy like her. Maybe I should contact Roan Montgomery and get some more seduction lessons from him, he thought. But that wouldn't really help. He didn't want to seduce Sarah, he wanted to LOVE Sarah.
And would she, could she love him? When it came to her personal life or even anything personal for the matter, she tended to put up walls. And his luck with past romantic attempts was abysmal. It seemed something always happened to prevent or ruin a date or moment with Sarah like the intersect flashing or Bryce returning. And how would the CIA and NSA react if he and Sarah became romantically involved? Would they reassign her and move her somewhere far, far away?
If only this was normal life instead of spi-fi, if only I hadn't gotten this intersect in my head, he thought.
But if he hadn't gotten the intersect in his head, he would have never met Sarah. A girl like Sarah interested in him in real life? It doesn't happen that way, he reminded himself. If he didn't have the intersect and she had come into the BuyMore needing her phone repaired like she did when they first met, he would have repaired her phone, thank you very much, and that would have been it. He never would have seen her again and if he had, she would have been with some guy like Bryce and she wouldn't have remembered him. She wouldn't have wanted to remember him for fear of what her date or friends would think of her talking to some nerd.
"Is something wrong?" Sarah asked.
She was awake and she had noticed him sitting there, staring at her.
"No," Chuck replied. "I was just a million miles away."
"Well come back here and come to bed," she suggested.
He slid under the covers and lay down on his back. Immediately, Sarah moved over, closer to him. She grasped his left arm, which lay at his side, with both of her hands and then she laid her head on his pillow close to his shoulder and head. A few minutes later, Sarah was soundly asleep.
What the heck? Chuck thought. He wanted to believe that there were feelings, strong loving, romantic feelings from Sarah that were at work here. But dare he get his hopes up? Sarah moved slightly and made some noises in her sleep. Chuck put his arm around her and she snuggled closer to him, against him and got quiet and relaxed.
It's just the cover, just the cover, just the cover, Chuck repeated to himself until he fell asleep.
END PART 9
Next: He's Baaaaaack!