Mistletoe Training
Having navigated the minefield of recent events, Chuck and Sarah used the Christmas...errr...Holiday party to reconnect. Their conversation stayed light, the dancing was often playful and there may have been a drink or two imbibed by the couple. Things were definitely looking up. However, Chuck couldn't shake the feeling that he was Wile E. Coyote and sometime soon a safe would drop on his head. It was with some trepidation that he followed along when Sarah grabbed his hand and dragged him to a quiet part of the store.
"Chuck, we have to talk," Sarah said, pinning him in place with her no-nonsense, blue-eyed gaze.
In his mind's eye, Chuck held up a little sign. 'Oh No!'. Crash! The safe was right on target.
He refocused to find Sarah snapping her fingers inches from his face. "Chuck, pay attention. This is important. Did you have too much to drink?"
Covering her hand, he brought it down. "No, I'm fine. I think your 'we need to talk' moment came a little sooner than I expected. I'd hoped it would come after the annual Jeff and Lester spin the bottle debacle." He grinned weakly.
A small smile graced her lips for a moment. "I can see how you wouldn't want to miss that," Sarah replied with a chuckle. Becoming more serious, she returned her full attention to Chuck. "I know things have been awkward between us. We need to fix that and soon. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. The Intersect, protecting you, this is all my mission and I believe in our team. We've done good work here and can do so much more. But, I can't do it alone. You need to be a part of this. My cover as your girlfriend is integral to our success. It lets me stay close to protect you, gives us reasons to be together when we go off on missions, it makes this all work and keeps you from a bunker. So, what was this let's dance crap when Jeff held up the mistletoe." She glared and tapped her foot, waiting for his response.
Unconsciously, Chuck glanced up to check for other falling objects. Clearing his throat, he started off with, "Well, you know me and PDA." When that did nothing to soften her expression, Chuck just rambled on nervously. "To be honest, I don't know what the right thing to do is. When Bryce left, I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. Then, your 'mistake I won't make again' speech was pretty definitive. I guess I just have no idea where we stand right now and was afraid of a misstep."
Sarah relented and relaxed her mood. "I can understand that. This is all still really new to you. And, I can admit that it had me confused for a while as well. Let me just say, I am committed to the job, the team and to making this work. We can make this work, Chuck. The first order of business is to repair our cover. We have a couple of weeks till Christmas. That means there will be mistletoe in many locations. Can you handle it, Chuck?" Sarah leaned in close, invading his personal space and dropping her voice to a huskier tone on the final words.
What Chuck saw in her eyes was not a complete match with the more businesslike words she'd used. He closed the distance until they were nose to nose. "If that's what we need to do, you can count on me." The moment was broken by raucous hoots and howls from the other party goers. "Ooh, that sounds like spin the bottle." Grabbing her hand, Chuck raced back to the party.
Over the following days, Chuck was quite surprised at just how often you encountered mistletoe. And in some of the oddest places. He went with it though and was quite happy to be the doting boyfriend at every opportunity. Although, he began to suspect that Sarah might have something to do with the sudden bounty of mistletoe in the Burbank area. Testing his theory, during one of their hello kisses he engaged in a little searching. In other words, he let his hands roam. Don't think badly of Chuck, it was for a good cause. He didn't find any of the suspected plant. However, he was complimented by Sarah for showing some initiative in firming up their cover. Neither one caring about the tiny detail that no one was around to see it.