A/N: Another update finished on time. Luckily, I didn't melt at the keyboard in this heat we've been having here, lol. Besides, I couldn't keep you long without a new chapter to read, not with the way you've been supporting me with your reviews and comments. Sadly, since it's unlikely to have the next chapter written by Friday, you'll have to wait until Monday for it, since I'll be out of town over the weekend, and in charge of a polling station for the elections. But I can promise to have the next one ready by this time on Monday. For now, enjoy Chapter 12!
Sarah finished her shower and, since Chuck was unlikely to have talcum powder in his bathroom, which she confirmed by looking inside the medicine cabinet, sneaked on a bit of his aftershave lotion. Then, she carefully peeked through the door. She didn't want him to see the surprise she had in store for him prematurely. After tiptoeing swaddled in a big fluffy towel to the bedroom (his, not the guest room), she quickly changed into a clean pair of cotton panties (she made a note to ask Chuck where these came from) and one of his crisp white dress shirts. And she left about half the buttons undone.
Chuck gave Sarah a few minutes to get ready for bed, and then he took a quick shower. He also shaved. In his experience, women might find the five o'clock shadow attractive, but they sure don't appreciate male stubble rubbing against their soft skin. He also noticed that she hadn't made a mess in the bathroom. After all, she'd never struck him as a sloppy girl.
After the morning's events, Chuck was most likely to find Sarah waiting for him in his room. But no amount of foreknowledge could have prepared him for what he saw the second he stepped through the door. The covers had been pulled back and Sarah was sexily reclining on the bed, in her minimal attire, looking at him through half-lidded eyes.
"About time you got here. I was beginning to get cold," she said huskily. "Plus, I think we have some unfinished business from this morning. I really hate to leave things unfinished, Chuck."
For a few seconds, he stood rooted in place before his brain caught up with the signals his eyes and ears were receiving and relaying to it. The catching up done, it shifted into high gear and activated the Good Old Bartowski Charm mode. "You know, you're absolutely right, Sarah. Leaving things unfinished is something I don't like doing either. It's just not proper." He moved to the bed and sat down on it, looking straight into her eyes. "But there is something you need to know before we go any further… I love you, Sarah. It's not a simple infatuation, because I got to know you rather well over the last few weeks and I can definitely say that you are the woman I've been waiting for my entire life. You're not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. Feel free to stop me if you think I'm shooting my mouth off, but I really love you. You are a great person, and you make me want to be better myself every day. One more time, because it feels so good to say it, I love you, Sarah Walker."
"I love you too, Chuck. I fell for you after Hartley introduced us and before we found out about the burglary at my place. My only regret in this is that I didn't get the chance to tell you before. And I wasted plenty of good opportunities."
"Really? Because I kind of feel the same way."
Her laughter was music to his ears. "Shut up and kiss me."
He leaned down and captured her lips with his. She took advantage of his move to pull him down closer to her. Needless to say, their sleepwear was soon in an untidy heap on the floor, or thrown over his desk, computer and chair, while they consummated their relationship.
The morning found them fast asleep, exhausted by their nocturnal activities, cuddled together. Their bodies fit perfectly to each other, as if they were purposely made that way. At some point, she shifted in her sleep, pressing herself even closer on him and one of her elbows poked him in the ribs, waking him up. He didn't move, and stayed still, holding her and watching her with pure love in his eyes.
"Chuck?" She was finally awake.
"Good morning, beautiful."
"I don't want to get up."
"Me neither," he admitted and they kissed lightly. "But you know we'll have to… eventually."
"I know," she pouted. "Right now, my limbs are not obeying my brain. I'm like a puppet with the strings cut."
"If it will make you feel better, I'm not much better off either. Last night was pretty wild."
"You just made the first understatement of the day. What time is it?"
"Let me see…It's ten thirty."
"What?" She almost shot upright, but then she remembered that she wasn't scheduled to work either with Professor Einerson or at the studio. "Good thing I don't have any filming, rehearsals or sessions with Magnus for today. What about you?"
"I can work just as well from home." As if on cue, his phone rang. "Excuse me." He picked it up and spoke in hushed tones. "It was Morgan," he told her later. "He wanted to know if I'll be coming in at the office. I told him I have other pressing engagements."
Their stomachs growled in unison. "Well, breakfast is the first one," she laughed and bounded naked out of bed, looking around the room for her panties and shirt. "It's my turn to cook."
"I'm not keeping score."
"But I want to." She first went to the bathroom and then to the kitchen, leaving him to get dressed at leisure.
There is something extraordinarily sexy about a woman making breakfast for her man, barefoot and wearing only her underwear and one of his shirts, as he found when he finally rejoined her in the kitchen.
"Coffee's almost ready," she informed him. "Just keep an eye on it and pour me some when it's done. You know how I take it." She finished chopping some herbs and vegetables for the omelets she was making and threw the knife at a cutting board hanging from a hook on the wall under the cupboards by the sink.
Chuck was most definitely impressed. "Where did you learn to do that? Training for the movie you did after Steel Furies and before Warrior Angels? What was its name again?"
"The Omaha Project," she replied. "In concept it was a cross between Three Days of the Condor and the Bourne series with a bit of Supreme Sanction thrown in. I played the government assassin who joined forces with her mark after discovering that her superior was corrupt and was trying to cover up his own indiscretions."
"I know about the plot," he informed her, mock-indignantly. "I do have internet and follow a lot of sites about movies."
"Apologies if I offended you," she said solemnly, but then they couldn't keep up the act and started laughing. "To answer your original question, no," she continued after the laughter died down. "My Dad taught me and Carina how to use knives. His own dad had taught him the same skills. Grandpa was a Ranger and his knife skills saved his life more than once in combat. It's kind of a family tradition."
"So, if you decide to have kids one day, you'll pass the skills on to them, too."
"Maybe," she replied. "Now try this." She served him his omelet. "It's my Mom's recipe."
"Careful, Sarah. One day you may wake up and discover you've turned into a normal everyday girl."
"Shut up and eat your breakfast," she laughed. "Besides, in the unlikely event that what you said actually happens, I'll just blame you for it."
"I take it back. Don't ever change. Always be you. The amazing actress and even better woman I fell in love with."
"That's my Nerd. Now, tell me, how is your omelet? I confess I'm a little rusty in the kitchen. With work and all, I don't get to cook much."
"Frankly, I think Ellie is going to ask you for the recipe, if she ever tastes this. It's heavenly."
"I'm flattered."
"You should be. The Eleanator is a homemaker extraordinaire."
"Eleanator?" Sarah echoed. "Don't you mean Eleanatrix?"
"Semantics," he shrugged.
"Why did you give your sister a nickname inspired by the Terminator anyway?"
"Because she has several operating modes and can switch between them at will. There is her Big Sister mode, for starters. This one tends to blame me for everything."
"I saw it surface yesterday," Sarah nodded.
"Yep. Then there is the Doctor Bartowski mode; pretty straightforward, unless it has to deal with family and friends. Then she gets all super-attentive. After that, you have her Ellie-the-normal-girl mode. This one is the easiest to get along with. And finally, there is her Martha Stewart mode, upped to super freaked out Martha Stewart mode every time Devon's parents come to visit. The moment she hears about your omelet, she will default into Martha Stewart mode."
Sarah suddenly looked up. "Do I hear a phone ringing somewhere?"
"It must be yours. The ring tone doesn't sound like mine."
"Yeah, but where is it?" She followed the sound to the coffee table in the living room. The phone was underneath a gaming magazine. "Hello? … Hi… No, this is not a bad time… Let me write this down…" She grabbed the notepad and pen Chuck tossed her and scribbled on the top page. "Got it, thanks. I'll call them, and you, as soon as I can arrange something. See you around."
"Good news?" Chuck asked guardedly.
"Work news," she replied. "My agent said something about the commentaries remaining to be done for The Omaha Project. Some were done while on breaks from filming, but the director got it in his head to do an extra about the bloopers. The guy is a huge Jackie Chan fan."
"Did you have many bloopers in the course of the filming?"
"I had my share. The most serious was when my descender jammed in the stop position while I was going down the side of a disused grain elevator. It was windy and I got battered around a bit against the side of the building, until they could get another line to me. I got off lightly, with only a few bruises and a very mildly sprained wrist."
The conversation shifted to non-work related subjects while they were finishing their breakfast. Later, they did the washing up together, Chuck cleaning the dishes and Sarah drying them with a clean rag before stacking them in the cupboards. Sarah finally went to get dressed while Chuck fired up his top of the line computer system in the study and logged in to the Orion corporate network. She found him there, looking over his emails.
"Any good news?"
"I'm looking," he replied. "Be advised, this might get boring for you."
"Naw, you've seen me at work. Now it's my turn. In any case, you have an excellent library. I could get one of your books or comics to read."
"Graphic novels," he corrected. They are not just comic books, they are graphic novels."
"I stand corrected. Fortunately, graphic novels aside, we have similar tastes in literature. I too have the complete works of Temperance Brennan and Richard Castle."
"Even Hell Hath No Fury?" Chuck asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"He said something in an interview about only hardcore Castle groupies having read that one."
"Then I guess I am a hardcore Castle groupie."
"I read it once. I'd bought it just after it came out. Speaking of our favorite authors, how come you didn't get cast for the part of Kathy Reichs? I admit, Cherie Redfern is good, but she's not the best choice for Bred in the Bone and the next film adaptations of Brennan's books. It's just not her style, you know. You, on the other hand, would have been ideal."
"Scheduling conflicts," she said. "I was doing Steel Furies followed by The Omaha Project and couldn't even consider applying for a part in Bred in the Bone, no matter how much I'd have loved to. But the studio did put out some feelers." The computer beeped. "Hey, you have a new email."
"The conversation is not over," he smiled and then read the email. "Huh. It's from Carina, about the case. Seems like the police were unable to trace the camera and they are asking for our help."
"Can you help them?"
"I don't know. They only recovered a partial serial number at the scene. We can't possibly trace the entire batch. These cameras are the cheapest we sell, too. And they are made in correspondingly large numbers. Your stalker could have easily bought one for cash at any decent spy shop or electronics store."
"I seriously doubt that he thought about using it in his drone himself. Do people in the RC modeling community use security cameras to get a pilot's eye view while flying their models?"
"Sarah, you are a genius!"
"Let's see if this pans out first," she cautioned him. But her hunch was right on the money. Chuck found several RC modeling forums on the internet where the capabilities of the cheap Orion cameras and their usefulness were being extolled.
"Damn, even modeling stores sell them now. I'll email Carina and let her know." His fingers flew over the keyboard, composing and sending a reply complete with links.
"OK. Hey Chuck, didn't you mention a Verbansky Corp. yesterday?"
"What about them?"
"Graham sent you an email about them."
"Ah, he hired them for increased security at the studio when you'll be around. I guess knowing their CEO helped."
"I never doubted it would." Her phone beeped with an incoming text message. She read it and chuckled. "Kathleen, my agent, forgot to tell me something earlier. She and her family are moving to a new apartment, so she's got a lot on her plate right now. She wants to know if I'd like to do a commercial for… the Buy More franchise."
"You should do it, time permitting. I still remember the commercial about the messy cheeseburger you did a few years back."
"Ah yes, I was still in Harvard and was just contemplating starting my acting career back then. And I needed the money for my summer vacation. Let me tell you, it was better than working at a Wienerlicious."
"You were a Wiener Girl?"
"And a Double O girl, too," she replied. "Serving frozen yogurt at an Orange Orange was way better. After all, I didn't smell like sausage at the end of the day. I'll text her back and tell her to go ahead and book me for the job. It will be a nice break from the more serious stuff."
"If the commercial gets filmed here, I know just the right place."
"You do?"
"It's the Burbank Buy More. I know it well."
"As I recall, you used to work summers there."
"Uh-huh. It's perfect. It has a better layout than the Beverly Hills branch and the staff are friendlier, too, unlike the snobs at the other, flashier, store."
"That won't be up to me, but I sure hope we'll be doing the filming at the Buy More Plaza, based on what you just said. By the way, I bought your game from them, back when I wanted to make up my mind about doing the movie or not."
"I'm lucky you did," he said and pulled her down for a quick kiss.
-o-
Daniel Shaw had just had the best news in what to him seemed ages. His boss had called and told him that he needed one executive to work on a contract with a film studio. And it just so happened to be the very same studio where they were filming Warrior Angels. When he accepted, he was instructed to report to the office first thing in the morning to get a security pass for the studio grounds. It was perfect. He'd have virtually unlimited access, day or night. Revenge would finally be his. And then, he'd make it even better by offing his wife. The woman was too damn independent for her own good. At times he questioned why he'd married her. But the answer was always simple and the same: her money. He'd inherit a fortune, get another one in insurance and off the bitch that had ignored him so pointedly.
-o-
That day Sarah learned another thing about Chuck: he liked to have his thinking juice on hand when working on software. Said thinking juice was a nice chardonnay. Seeing him repeatedly taking long swigs straight from the bottle while trying to fix a corrupted segment of code, she discreetly left him in the study and hightailed it to the kitchen. She needed to keep him fed, lest she end up with a drunken boyfriend. And she had just the perfect thing to feed him. While making breakfast, she'd noticed that he had several boxes of Hot Pockets in his cupboards, so she just popped a few in the microwave. These handy snacks had been a staple of her diet while she was in Harvard, too. She arranged them on a tray along with a can of soda for herself and took it to the study.
"Chuck, you should take a break and grab a bite to eat. I nuked us some Hot Pockets."
"I love you, Sarah," he said appreciatively.
"I love you too, so eat up. I don't want you sleeping off a thinking juice binge, not when we can do a whole lot of better things instead. Besides, when you're done, I want to rehearse my lines a couple more times. Are you game?"
"Like you need to ask. I'll be happy to help you."
Fortunately, fixing the glitch in his latest program proved to be easy, so they had time to rehearse Sarah's scene again and again. This time she had him help her move some furniture around to give her more room to move around as she didn't want to do just the lines, but the entire scene. Therefore, he was soon sitting in a chair, pretending to be Odin, remote in hand, waiting for Sarah/the Valkyrie to make her entrance in the 'throne room'. By the time they were done with the rehearsal, it was already four in the afternoon. Just then, Chuck noticed Devon hurrying to his and Ellie's apartment.
"Devon's back," he commented. "He must have had a half shift at the hospital today."
"He seems to be in a hurry. Maybe he has to go back," Sarah added her two cents. "Help me put everything back the way it was."
They had just completed the task when someone knocked on the door. It was Devon. "Hey Captain," Chuck greeted him. "What's the rush?"
"It's time," Devon said simply. "I need the little thing I gave you after I talked to you and your parents."
"I have it locked in the study safe."
"What are you guys talking about?" Sarah asked.
"Devon, I believe you haven't yet met Sarah. Sarah, this is Ellie's boyfriend Devon."
"Hi," she said sweetly. "Chuck has told me great things about you."
"And he's had nothing but praise for you," Devon said. "As for the reason I'm here, it's because I want something I gave Chuck for safekeeping."
"Before I left to meet you at Fort Irwin, Devon asked my parents and me for our permission to marry Ellie. And he entrusted me with his great-grandmother's ring. He's going to propose today, apparently," Chuck explained.
"Break a leg," Sarah wished Devon luck. Then she thought of something. "Can I please see the ring?"
"Certainly," Devon replied. Chuck went to the study to get it. He came back with it and handed it over. Devon opened the little box and showed the ring to Sarah. "I had to keep it away from Ellie after I got it from my safety deposit box. Ellie's a bloodhound when it comes to those things. Had I kept it in the apartment, no matter how well hidden, she'd have smelled diamond."
"It's beautiful," she said, admiring the way the diamond on it caught the light.
"It is," Chuck agreed. "I'm not sure Ellie will be able to lift her hand anymore, with that rock on her finger. Good luck, bro."
"Soon, we'll be using that word literally. Thanks guys, but I have to go. The dinner I ordered will be here soon."
"Where did you order it from?" Sarah asked, curious.
"From one of the best restaurants in town, which happens to be the only one making a perfect pecan pie, Ellie's favorite dessert."
"My Mom's restaurant makes a fantastic pecan pie. It's the Miller."
"The Miller is your Mom's restaurant? That's where I ordered from!"
"I'll let my Mom know. She'll be happy to learn her offerings paved the way to your proposal."
-o-
Chuck had cooked dinner for Sarah, which they thoroughly enjoyed. They were in the middle of watching one of her – and his – all time favorite movies when a loud piercing squeal was heard coming from the apartment next door.
"Devon must have popped the big Q," Chuck remarked.
"And she obviously said yes. Care to take a look to confirm?"
"What, spy? You?"
"Why not? I like Ellie and Devon a lot. And you're her brother. You need to be there for them."
"OK, let's go." They got to a window in time to watch as Devon slipped the ring on Ellie's finger and then kissed her. "She looks so happy," Chuck said.
"Yeah, she does. Don't you want to go in and congratulate her?"
"Sure. Are you coming?"
"No, it's a family time."
"They won't mind. Besides, you're my girlfriend now." He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her along. He knocked and waited for Ellie to answer. "Congratulations, sis," was the first thing he said before hugging her.
"I'm sure you'll be happy together," Sarah added.
"Thanks guys. I hope my, um, reaction to the proposal didn't interrupt anything."
"Oh no, we were just watching a movie."
Ellie noticed something. "Sarah, is that a hickey on your neck?"
"What?" Sarah asked, having been caught unawares. "Where?"
"It looks fresh, too. I assume that you and my brother are dating now."
"Yes," Sarah admitted. "Exclusively."
"Great news twice in one day," Ellie mused. "Come here you kids." She hugged them both enthusiastically.
Chuck and Sarah made some more small talk with the newly engaged couple before leaving them alone and going back to his apartment to watch the rest of the movie. Their mood was positively festive, and it helped make things more interesting in the bedroom later.