A/N: Special thanks to my beta uplink2.

Wanted to say thank you to another guest reviewer; Olivia. Glad you like my story. Also wanted to apologize for all the cliffhangers and the slow updates recently…Well not so much for the cliffhangers lol. I know when I read other Chuck stories, a week and some change can seem like a lifetime, but when writing, it feels like it's not enough time. I'm trying, but life, you know?

I don't own Chuck or anything for that matter. No money being made here.

Words in italics are characters thoughts. Watch the dates and locations cause I tend to jump around a lot.

…...

Chapter 11

May 2010

Los Angeles

Casa Bartowski/Grimes

Ellie got to the door and opened it without looking through the spyhole. Once she realized who was standing before her, she gasped as her eyes widened in shock. But as fast as the shock came, it was gone all that much quicker as anger boiled through the beautiful brunette.

"YOU!"

Before Sarah realized what was happening, which was quite a testament to Ellie; a burning sensation appeared on her left cheek. The red mark contrasted her pale, flawless skin dramatically.

Sarah was surprised at the power of the slap as she rubbed the side of her face.

"OK…I deserved that, but I came here to…"

Ellie damn sure didn't want to hear anything this treacherous woman had to say to her. She cocked back her hand to deliver another slap when her sweet, caring brother's voice halted her efforts.

"Ellie stop!"

She turned to see her baby brother a couple feet from her, thankful that he couldn't see the horrible woman who was still standing outside. All she knew was that she had to get rid of this unwanted intruder before her brother's guest arrived.

"Chuck sweetie, go into the kitchen and open that bottle of wine we brought over before your guest arrives."

Chuck knew Sarah was the one at the door, and even though he felt lucky that he had an amazing sister who would slap a deadly spy…even if she didn't know it yet…and who would try to protect him from more heartache by getting rid of said heartbreaker; he couldn't help the disappointment and anger he felt towards her at the moment. Chuck technically didn't see Ellie slap Sarah, since Sarah was out of view, but he saw Ellie swing her right hand, and more importantly, he heard it.

He couldn't believe his loving sister would resort to physical violence. I guess it was a testament to how protective Ellie was when it came to Chuck. He knew yelling at his sister at the moment would only make matters worse, so Chuck quickly stomped on his anger in order to keep the peace. Even though he was angry, and as much as he loved his protective sister, he was still kind of afraid of Ellie going all Mama Bear on Sarah. No matter how deadly Sarah could be there was no surviving the full onslaught of the mother of all mothers that is, Eleanor Faye Woodcomb.

"El…Sarah is my guest." Chuck tried giving his sister a smile, but it just came out as a sheepish grimace.

Ellie was dumbfounded. She just stood rooted to the ground, hand on the open door, staring at Chuck with wide eyes that had a mixture of anger, confusion, hurt, and…yup, more anger.

"Ellie, please, just let Sarah in and we can talk about this whole…confusing situation."

The furious brunette released a breath as she walked up to her brother, not even throwing a glance at the blonde who was still outside.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do" she said as she stuck her finger into his chest. Ellie then brushed past him and sat next to her awesome husband at the dining table.

Ellie wasn't mad at Chuck, well she was a little. How could he be so stupid to let this woman back into his life? She had always loved Sarah, but the minute she walked out on Chuck, Sarah was dead to her. Quite frankly, Ellie felt Sarah was no better than Jill. I mean both of them made Chuck fall head over heels, and then betrayed him. What was worse was the fact that Chuck loved Sarah 100x more than that brunette skank.

She never understood why Sarah left in the first place. The way she would always catch Sarah looking at her brother left no doubt in her mind that Sarah loved Chuck. But here they were.

Sarah leaving hurt Ellie too, to be honest. True, her little brother was definitely the one who had it worse, but Ellie felt like Sarah was practically her sister. She even made her a damn bridesmaid! Sarah left…right after the fucking wedding…without even saying a word to her. Ellie had to find out from her poor idiot brother that the love of his life had left to be with her ex, and Ellie would be left, yet again, to pick up the pieces.

Ellie never saw Chuck moping around like he did after the whole Jill debacle which surprised her a great deal. In fact, Chuck had actually made significant strides in making his life better, so in that aspect, she was proud of her brother and thankful in a way for what Sarah did. But in the end, no one messes with Eleanor Faye Woodcomb's baby cub. That's what it all boiled down too. Ellie had raised Chuck since he was a little boy, and she definitely felt more like a mother figure to Chuck than an actual sister. Ellie was hurt, yes, but more importantly, it was Chuck's feelings that mattered most. And no matter how Chuck looked on the outside, Ellie knew that Sarah leaving tore her baby brother up inside.

Ellie so wanted to give Walker a piece of her mind, but she would let Chuck explain what the hell was going on. It was his life, and she needed to respect that.

Chuck walked over to the front door and looked at his nervous...girlfriend? They haven't technically labeled anything, but if Sarah could get through tonight, yeah they would definitely be a couple. Tonight wasn't going to fix all their problems, but he considered it an important step.

"Are you ok?" Chuck asked with worry evident in his tone.

He brought his right hand up to caress her pinkish cheek.

Sarah nuzzled her face against Chuck's soft hand. She let out a contented sigh as she nodded her head.

"Yeah…I guess my leaving hurt a lot more people than I realized."

Chuck's eyes dropped as he retracted his hand and slightly gave a nod as realization hit him.

I'm such an idiot. Ellie must have been hurt when she basically lost a sister in Sarah.

The moment Sarah lost contact with his hand she felt the loss of his warmth and love. How Chuck touching her with just his hand elicited so much, she had no idea, but she realized a long time ago to not question these types of things. Chuck was amazing, and that's all she needed to know.

He raised his head back up slightly to meet Sarah's eyes, but she was basically looking to the floor.

"Come on Sarah."

"Uh…maybe…"

A smile grew on his face. "Is the great Sarah Walker afraid of my sister?"

"Are you telling me you aren't?" She said with a lift of her eyebrow.

Chuck turned his head and looked at the three members of his family seated at the dining table, more specifically his sister.

"Good point"

He grabbed her hand as he pulled her inside. They walked over to where everybody was and just stood there awkwardly.

Devon gave the two of them a small smile; Morgan had a weird half scowl half smile going, and Ellie, well Ellie refused to look their direction.

Chuck decided to help Sarah out by getting things started.

"So…"

Ellie held up a hand, still not looking in their direction, more because of Sarah than Chuck.

"Chuck, I made this wonderful dinner for your guest...'before I knew who it was' she mumbled under her breath…So can we just sit here and eat first, because I have a feeling I might lose my appetite at whatever you two have to say."

Chuck looked to Sarah and shrugged, and an idea hit him. ALCOHOL!

"That's a great idea sis…Who isn't happier after eating one of your WONDERFUL meals! So… can I get you some wine El…Maybe a bottle or two?"

Dinner didn't fly by. It limped by, in tension filled silence. When all the food and dishes were put away, Ellie just took her glass of wine and proceeded to the living room couch…still silent.

Surprisingly the glass Ellie held in her hands was only her second one. Apparently, she didn't want to over indulge herself so that she could keep a level head when hearing the explanation of the beautiful blonde that caused so much pain for the Bartowski family, and her idiot brother.

That didn't stop everyone else from drinking. It actually encouraged the rest of the group. Captain Awesome had a few because he never had seen Ellie this quiet, and it was seriously freaking him out. Morgan had a few because, well he just wanted to. Chuck and Sarah both had enough to prepare them for the talk, but not enough to go overboard.

With Ellie, Devon, and Morgan all seated on the couch and Chuck and Sarah standing in front of them, Chuck got the ball rolling.

"Alright, so I guess you guys are all upset and must be wondering why Sarah is here exactly…I'll let her explain, but please just give her a break."

Chuck was standing to the left of Sarah and he could tell that she was nervous, so he took a hold of her left hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

Sarah felt Chuck grab her hand and she felt at peace the moment his hand slightly constricted hers.

"I'm here because…well because of Chuck. I made a stupid mistake, one that I don't intend to make again, when I left, and I came back hoping your brother would find it in his wonderful heart to forgive me and take me back."

Morgan spoke up. "So you're saying you've realized what a loser your ex was and now you want to come crawling back to my main man here?"

Chuck glared at his bearded buddy. "Morgan!"

"What, I'm just trying to clear up what she's saying."

Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand in an effort to tell him that 'it was ok'.

Chuck sighed. He didn't like where this seemed to be heading.

"Look guys. Sarah and I have had a long talk about everything. She explained to me why she left and I've forgiven her for what she's done. We're together and I hope you guys can support us."

Ellie looked at the couple standing before her and she liked what she saw. But she was fooled before.

"How do you know she won't leave like last time?"

Chuck didn't know how to answer. His eyes started darting left and right as a small sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. Even his palm, the one that was entangled with Sarah's, was starting to get moist.

That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? There was no doubt how he felt about her, but a small part of his heart was held back in fear of that loaded question. He was certain that he wouldn't be able to survive being left by Sarah a second time. It wasn't like Chuck was intentionally holding back, but the situation was what it was.

He knew it shouldn't have mattered what anybody thought besides him, but he knew his sister was just looking out for him. And besides, no matter how horrifying the question was, it was important none-the-less.

Sarah could see Chuck squirming. She felt absolutely disgusted with herself at the moment. It was suppose to be her job making things right with everyone, but here Chuck was, fighting for them instead.

Sarah smiled.

Chuck was fighting for them even if he still didn't trust her enough with his whole heart. She knew the trust issues that were still lingering, but apparently it didn't matter to her Chuck. She couldn't help but fall even deeper in love with her nerd. Could that even be possible? Apparently.

Sarah still hadn't actually voiced the fact that she loved Chuck Bartowski, mainly because of her stupid insecurities, but if Chuck was willing to put aside some petty differences, why couldn't she? She loved him, so she should tell the whole damn world! At the very least, tell every damn brunette.

"He should know because I love your brother Ellie. I'm in love with Charles Irving Bartowski."

Chuck's head snapped surprisingly without causing whiplash. He knew and understood why Sarah hadn't said those words to him, so you could understand the shock he felt when she uttered those beautiful words while actually sounding like she meant them.

He stared at Sarah with wide eyes conveying hope, love, surprise, and a small amount of relief.

Sarah thought Chuck looked so damn adorable the way he was starring at her. She just nodded her head 'yes' to answer the question that his eyes were asking.

Ellie sat amazed. On the one hand, they looked soooo FUCKING cute together she could squeal for days, but on the other, Sarah just announced she loved her brother…what else was new? Did she not really love him before?

"OK…you love Chuck, everyone knows that. That still doesn't answer my question of how sure he can be that you won't leave."

Chuck never took his gaze away from Sarah as he spoke to his sister.

"El, I have some things I need to tell you guys that will explain everything…It's time you knew the whole truth."

Sarah was a little worried what truths exactly Chuck was planning on revealing.

"Chuck…"

"It's ok Sarah I cleared it with Beckman a long time ago. I was just waiting for the right moment. It's time they knew everything."

Sarah wasn't completely sure it was the right thing to do, but she trusted Chuck. And if it got Ellie on the path to forgiving her quicker, then that would be just fine with her. She was tired of the lies almost as much as Chuck.

She nodded her support.

Morgan was on the edge of his seat waiting for this big secret to be revealed. Awesome already knew some slight details about Chuck being a spy, so he was a little worried how Ellie might react when she finds out about her husband keeping it from her. Ellie was just confused and slightly hurt that Chuck was keeping some type of secret from her.

Chuck looked back to the group.

"Well…I guess I should start back at when I was still at Stanford. You see, Bryce…"

There was a knock on the door.

Chuck held up a finger. "Hold that thought."

He walked to the door and peered through the spyhole to see a fiery redhead and a beautiful brunette.

Chuck opened the door. "What are you guys doing here?"

Carina popped her head in to look at Sarah.

"Figured blondie would be a crying mess right now. No way I'm going to miss that."

Sarah glared at the redhead.

Tiffany just shook her head in amusement.

"We're here for support if you need it."

Chuck hugged each of the ladies and ushered them inside.

"Perfect timing, I'm just about to tell a little story."

Carina plopped down next to Morgan, who instantly tensed being in such close proximity to this gorgeous supermodel.

"What story is that Chucky?"

"A story about a nerd and his beautiful blonde guardian angel."

Tiffany relaxed on the recliner closest to the door.

"This nerd sounds hot."

Sarah lightly growled which caused Ellie, Carina, and Tiffany to chuckle.

Chuck also let out a small laugh, but it was more of a nervous one.

"Anyways, like I was saying…Back at Stanford…"

Another knock came.

Chuck sighed. "You have got to be kidding me."

Chuck again went to the door and peered through the spyhole. He was shocked at who the person on the other side of the door was.

He opened it. "Casey?"

"Moron…I just uh, need to borrow some milk."

Chuck smiled. He knew Casey was there to support his partners just as Carina and Tiffany were.

"Bartowski, if you don't stop smiling, Imma shoot you." Casey shoved Chuck out of the way and headed for the fridge. Greeting The Awesomes and ignoring the bearded gnome along the way.

Chuck positioned himself next to Sarah and started counting down.

"5…4…3…2…1" The second he hit 1 on the countdown, he pointed at the door.

Everyone gave him a puzzled look.

"Chuck, what are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Huh, oh nothing. I just figured there would be another knock…Anyways, like I was saying before…NOW!"

Chuck pointed at the door again. When no knock came, he just shrugged it off.

"So, when I went to Stanford…" His eyes darted back to the door.

Ellie was now becoming impatient. "Chuck!"

Chuck flinched. "Sorry. Anyways, like I said before, this all started back at Stanford with Bryce."

Chuck was flailing his arms around as he told bits and pieces of his story. He never divulged too much detail in certain missions, but other than that, he was basically an open book. Sarah had even brought her two cents in, explaining her motivations on why she did some of the things she did. Sarah never talked about her past, but she did explain the fears and insecurities she felt. She thought it would help everyone, more specifically Ellie, understand her better.

"I was like…and then Sarah was like…and it as like…Wow!"

Sometimes Chuck would get so excited about certain parts that he would ramble and not make a lick of sense, much to everyone's amusement.

Ellie probably was the only one not amused. Although she was engrossed in the story, she couldn't help but panic for her baby brother's safety.

Sarah was just as captivated by Chuck's story as everybody else was. She couldn't help but be fascinated with the way he told the story. It was entirely in Chuck's POV and not only did he explain everything pertaining to the government, sans mission details, Chuck also explained every detail involving her.

It seemed like Chuck wanted to both explain the situation to his sister while explaining any misgivings involving their situation.

When Sarah heard Chuck explain the whole 'Red dress/Salmon' incident, she wanted to go find Bryce and hit him in the face with a baseball bat. When Chuck later explained that it was Bryce who inspired the whole 'you'll never be normal' conversation, she was ready to stab Larkin with one of her favorite knives!

All-in-all, Chuck's story seemed to have gone well.

Morgan was bouncing in his seat like a small man child on a sugar rush, which basically he was.

Casey, who had 'somehow' migrated to standing behind the couch, had his arms crossed over his chest and had a scowl on his face. But behind that mask, was an impressed and satisfied Colonel.

Carina and Tiffany were just all smiles. Chuck had talked to the both of them about his past before, but never to this extent. And they would never admit this, but the two female agents were giddy after hearing the love story about the nerd and the blonde guardian angel.

Devon was both impressed and nervous. He kept sneaking glances at his wife as he waited for the inevitable blow up about him keeping secrets from her. Captain Awesome definitely wanted to tell Chuck how, well, awesome he thought his brother-in-law was, but he had to worry about his own ass for the moment.

Sarah was a mixed bag of emotions. Hearing how she basically tortured Chuck everyday for two years made her feel dejected. She wanted to badly make up for her wrongs by loving Chuck in every possible way. Sure, she would get pleasure out of some of those ways, but that's not what this was about dammit!

Chuck was waiting on pins and needles for his sister's reaction. She's sure taking her damn time with this! Yell at me! Hug me! Ht me! Do something! The waiting is killing me…

Ellie spoke. "So…for two years, you two have been pretending to be a couple…while Sarah has been trying to fool herself into believing she wasn't in love with my brother…said brother, who has at times been stupid enough to break up with Sarah, real or not."

Devon was shocked. Does she not care about all the secrets?

"Babe, that's all you want to know?" Devon had a hopeful tone to his voice.

Ellie turned to her husband. "Oh, don't get me wrong. We're definitely going to have a talk about how you kept the fact that my brother is a spy from your WIFE…In fact…" She glanced at everybody around her. "…we all are. But for now, yes."

Sarah nodded. "Yes Ellie"

Ellie had a contemplative look on her face. "And you didn't leave because you ran off with your ex, Bryce Larkin…" There was a bit of disdain in her voice when she said that name. "…but because you were scared. And now, you've realized how much you love my brother, and you're not going to abandon him again and are now ready to put him first above all else?"

Sarah didn't hesitate. "Yes"

"And Chuck, do you believe that?"

Chuck turned and looked into Sarah's deep blue eyes.

Sarah fought with everyone just to talk to him. She had told him why and apologized for leaving. She was ready to quit if she wasn't going to be on the same team as him. She did what he asked and was now in his living room, trying to make things right with Ellie and Morgan…results still pending. Sarah told him she loved him! What more did he need?

Chuck looked back at his sister. "We still have some things to work through, but…yeah, I do."

Sarah took a small step forward. "Ellie, when I left, I quickly realized that I abandoned the best part of me back in Burbank. I didn't like who I was without Chuck, and I damn sure don't intend to ever become that person again. Before I met your amazing brother, I had always thought the job was the only thing I ever needed and the only thing that could ever make me happy. If not for Chuck, my life would have been empty with nothing to look forward to but the next mission. Not only did he save me from that existence, but he also brought each and every one of you guys into my life. He has my heart already, and yet I plan to give him so much more because of all the things he has given me. I need him. Without Chuck I am nothing."

Chuck was as shocked by her speech as he was when Sarah had told everybody that she loved him out loud. His eyes were quickly becoming glassy.

Ellie nodded her head and smiled. She believed Sarah too. Hearing the events of Chuck's life for the past couple of years and Sarah's explanations of where she was coming from when she did some of the things she did, really put into perspective how screwed up life could be; and how much the two people standing in front of her, loved each other.

"Alright. If you two can get past everything that has happened, then so can I. Sarah, you still have a lot of making up to do with everyone, but if you guys are happy, then…I'll support you guys."

Chuck ran to his big sister and pulled her into an 'Ellie hug'.

Morgan ran to Sarah and wrapped his arms around her.

Sarah was confused, and a little creeped out.

"Uh Morgan, what do you think you're doing?"

Morgan released Sarah and took a step back.

"I'm just happy…*sniff*…that I don't have to…*sniff*…stay mad at you…*sniff*… anymore." He wiped his nose with his shirt. "I've always known you were the one for my main man, and it killed me to actually think I was wrong."

Casey whimpered and all of a sudden, every set of eyes in the room were situated on him.

"'Humph'…I need to get back to Castle, thanks for the sugar." He started heading for the door.

Chuck smirked. "I thought you came by for milk. Also, you do know that you don't have anything in your hands right?"

Casey mumbled something about having the moron's neck in his hands under his breath as he exited the apartment.

Once the door closed behind the Colonel, Ellie looked at Chuck.

Sure, she may have accepted her little bother's relationship with Sarah, and she may have even understood why everyone lied to her, but that didn't mean they didn't need to be taught a lesson. Ellie would have her fun now, but at some point, she needed to get her brother alone to talk about the Intersect and this dangerous 'job' of his.

A mischievous smile graced Ellie's beautiful face. "So, was the fact that Carina and Tiffany couldn't keep their hands off of you all for cover also?"

Chuck eyes went wide in fear as Tiffany's went wide in embarrassment.

Carina started laughing her ass off, and the next thing she knew, she was tackled to the ground by a furious blonde Tasmanian devil.

May 2010

Somewhere in Russia

Shaw was driving his rental Tesla like a maniac down the highways trying to evade the waves of agents that were after him. This was the 3rd fucking base in a row that had been compromised within 24 hours of him arriving.

It didn't make any sense. He had himself checked and rechecked, so there was no way they were tracking him. He wasn't being tailed he was too good for that. And there was no way in hell it was all a coincidence. No, they knew where he was going somehow, and he had no idea how.

Daniel banged his fist into the steering wheel. There's only one place I can go where I'll be safe long enough to devise a new plan for Walker.

It didn't matter how pissed the Ring Elders and the Director were at him. It wasn't his fault that a team that operated like they were ghosts, broke into the Ring holding facility and assassinated the Intersect. They had taken Walker it seems, but he knew she was still alive, he could just feel it in his bones.

Besides, if the Ring still held a grudge, he had some leverage since he still had an inside source inside the government. He knew where the Intersect designs were specifically located, and he could dangle that enticing carrot in front of the Ring Elders for their continued support on his revenge on the woman who murdered his Evelyn.

All Shaw needed to do at the moment was to get to one of the Rings private airfields so he could hop a ride to the Ring Headquarters.

Ring headquarters here I come. Next stop…

A/N (2): Any and all reviews are appreciated.