A/N: I'll be honest here. This chapter? Probably could've or should've been included in the last chapter. Maybe. I don't know. But it was important that it was separate from the next chapter, in any case. This one is kind of fluffy, in a really messed up way. Which is, I think, the only way I can do fluff. No, seriously, look at my catalogue. The fluffiest stories I have contain the following things: Chuck and Sarah hooking up while under the influence of alcohol, Chuck's "ghost" rescuing Sarah from self-loathing, Morgan telling Sarah that she should be with Chuck (Morgan!), and Sarah and Chuck on dates with Shaw and Hannah respectively. So, yeah, straight fluff isn't really in my wheelhouse. This chapter is about as close as I come.

Zerectica: Poor Anna is right! She was just trying to be a friend, and it came back to bite her. Anna is certainly a sympathetic character right now. But I love her too much to let her suffer too long, haha.

KryptonitePoison: Maybe next time? Heh, you called it.

TioPaco: Glad you like the story, and even happier that you understood Sarah's motivation. As we saw as recently as Chuck vs. The Baby, Sarah is prone to flights of seemingly irrational behavior when she sets her mind to something. That's what I'm trying to convey here.

P.J. Murphy: Oh yeah, I feel bad for Anna, too. But I went to the Frea O'Scanlin school of torturing the characters I love, haha. But I don't know how little Sarah has to fear in this instance. Remember, this story is set before the 49B, so it stands to reason that her feelings getting would cause an unfavorable outcome for her.

Devangel6: Heh, well all of that will be addressed in future chapters. It's more complicated than you imagine, I'm willing to bet. But simple is boring, right?

Chapter 13: Who Loves Ya?

Sarah knew she was on a ticking clock the second she stepped out of the Buy More. While the tranquilizer she'd used on Anna was intended to last a full twelve hours, Sarah had been trained to be resistant to the effects of such drugs. That training involved being put under over and over again, until her body built up a tolerance. And while she didn't really understand how Anna's magic worked, she was pretty sure it didn't change the chemical makeup of her body. That meant Anna would probably come-to in six hours, at the most, without any aid.

And even if Anna didn't wake up on her own, it was already 2 AM, and Casey would no doubt be in Castle to check on the prisoner by 8. That gave Sarah less than six hours to complete her mission.

Her first stop was her hotel. If she was going to get everything done, she needed to be able to get around, and quick. And she did take a certain thrill in being back behind the wheel of her beloved Porsche.

She had to adjust the position of the seat when she got in. That in-and-of-itself was a little odd. No one ever drove her car but her. Ever. In fact, Sarah couldn't remember the last time she'd had to adjust the seat. Maybe never. But once she was on the highway, she felt right back at home in her car.

Her next stop was Echo Park. She had to see Chuck. Had to let him know that she was telling the truth, that she was Sarah. And that in a matter of hours, they would be free to be together.

She pulled up outside the apartment complex, and sat in the dark contemplating how she should talk to him. She'd already screwed with the cameras once, and Casey was no doubt on high alert to keep it from happening again. He was probably still awake, watching the surveillance in fact.

She could risk sneaking into Chuck's room. She could probably reach him, and have a brief discussion before Casey was alerted. But then when she fled, he'd pursue her, and that would add a level of difficulty her task that she wasn't prepared to face. Not to mention she didn't want to be rushed when she talked to Chuck.

No, the best way, she decided, was to call Chuck and have him meet her.

Sarah stared at the two phones she had in her possession. A call from Anna's phone would no doubt draw unwelcome suspicion. Especially if Casey was watching the feeds, as she suspected he was.

So she pulled up the contact list on her own phone, and selected Chuck's name.

If Casey saw that it was Sarah—whom he perceived to be the real Sarah calling, he'd probably ignore it. He probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash when Chuck left his room to meet with her. It wasn't uncommon for her to pull Chuck aside for a private conversation after a mission. Especially one with high emotional impact. Casey generally wrote such meetings off to the two of them "discussing their lady feelings."

Chuck answered on the third ring.

"'Ello," he said groggily.

"Chuck," she said, "it's Sarah."

"Sar—"

"Don't say anything," she demanded. "I know it sounds like Anna. And in a way, it kind of is. At least her body. But, dammit, this is really complicated. I'm sorry about that, but I want to explain everything to you. But I can't do it while Casey is watching."

"But—"

"Chuck!" She said. "You can't speak right now. I know Casey is listening. Anyway, I want to tell you everything, but you need to come outside. I'm waiting in my car—the Porsche."

"But I—"

"Please Chuck," Sarah said, her voice growing desperate. "I know this is a lot to take in. But I really need to talk to you. I need to help you understand. But first, I need you to come talk to me."

Chuck didn't reply, and Sarah's desperation only grew.

"Chuck, please. I really need you to trust me."

The pause lasted a moment longer, and then she heard Chuck sigh.

"Fine," he said. "I really hope I'm not doing the wrong thing, trusting you."

He disconnected the call, and Sarah slid her phone back into her front pocket. Finally relaxing a little, she allowed her head to lull back against the seat.

It seemed like an eternity, even though it probably only took a couple of minutes before the passenger side door swung open. Sarah tensed, and held her breath. She had the meeting she'd asked for, but she honestly didn't know how she should start.

Fortunately, Chuck broke the ice for her.

"You know, if you're not the real Sarah, I'm pretty sure, wherever she is, she's going to kill you for driving her car," he said, climbing into the car and shutting the door behind him.

Sarah couldn't help but to chuckle a little.

"If I wasn't the real Sarah," she said sardonically, "do you really think I'd have to balls to even get in the driver's seat?"

Chuck seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "You know, you make a good point."

Sarah shrugged. "I do that sometimes," she said. "Like when I tell you to stay in the car."

"Hey, I—"

Sarah laughed again, and pressed a finger to Chuck's lips to quiet him.

"That's not what I'm here to discuss," she said.

It took a moment for the smile to fall from her face, but what she had to say was serious, and she needed to treat it as such.

"I wasn't lying," she said.

Chuck looked confused.

"In the courtyard," she clarified. "After I kissed you. I am Sarah. I don't know how it happened exactly. Except that, Anna knows some type of magic, and she made it happen."

"That's a little far-fetched," Chuck said.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?" she said. "You have a computer stuck in your head."

Once again, Chuck seemed to think over her words.

"Point," he said simply.

"Anyway, so whatever she did to make us change, Anna is convinced she can change us back. And she's going to do it, later today if I can't stop her."

"Stop her?" Chuck asked, confused. "Why would you stop her?"

Sarah heaved a deep sigh.

"Look, at first, I was really pissed off, and freaked out about all of this," she said. "The only thing I wanted was to get my body back, and to go back to the way things were."

"But now?" Chuck asked.

"Now," Sarah said, pausing. "Now, I'm starting to see another side to it."

"What side is that?"

"The side with you on it," Sarah said. "The side where you and I can go out on dates. Where I can kiss you, not for cover, but because I want to. Where I don't have to worry about reassignment just because I have feelings for you."

A silence fell between them, and Sarah started to fear what Chuck would say. She'd put everything out there. There was no going back, even if Chuck rejected her.

"So you weren't lying in the courtyard?" he asked.

The question threw Sarah a little. "No?" she answered. "I mean yes?" She paused and cleared her thoughts. "I mean I wasn't lying. It was all true."

"Even the part about you loving me?"

In the darkness, she didn't think Chuck could see the color drain from her skin. She wasn't even sure what her current face looked like when it was embarrassed. Anna Wu didn't seem to ever grow shy about anything. But Sarah Walker was not Anna Wu in any way other than body.

"Um," she said. "Yes," she said meekly. "Yes, it's true."

The expression on Chuck's face started with a crooked half-smile, but quickly grew into the biggest, shit-eating grin Sarah had ever seen.

"You love me," he said.

Sarah was sure he didn't intend to taunt her, but she was embarrassed. Expressing her feelings was not something that came naturally to her, no matter whose body she was in.

"Yeah? Well you love me, too," she said in an accusatory tone.

Chuck fell silent, and the smile that had lit his face disappeared. Sarah felt her heart drop into her stomach. He did love her, right? She wasn't doing all of this for nothing, was she? She knew he was attracted to her, but did he love the real her? The one he claimed to know months ago, over a shared cheeseburger, after her high school reunion fiasco?

"Chuck, you do love me, don't you?" she asked.

"I—"

It felt like someone was ripping her soul from her body. All along, she'd been operating under the assumption that Chuck felt the same way she did, and if all the obstacles in their way were removed, that they could be together.

"I do love you," he said.

Four words. That's all it took to bring her back from the brink. Those four words that let her breathe again.

"Although," Chuck said, and Sarah tensed again. "I never imagined saying that to Anna Wu."

"You're not saying it to Anna," Sarah said defensively. "You're saying it to me. Sarah."

"But you look like—"

"Do looks matter?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could. His answer could break her heart, but she had to know.

"No," he said. "Well, I mean, there's the whole initial attraction thing, but even that, Anna's a beautiful girl, so it's not like you're suddenly hideous or anything, but it's just, I came to know you as you, and now you're—"

"So you're not attracted to me anymore?"

Do. Not. Cry.

"Of course I am!" Chuck said. "My point is, I fell in love with you. Sarah Walker. Not the way you look, but the real you. The one you try to hide from the world, but that I see. The one who protects me, not just because it's her job, but because she really cares about me. I love you."

That was, without a doubt, the absolute best answer he could've given. If she wasn't already in love with him—which she obviously was, seeing as she was willing to sacrifice her very identity just to be with him, she would've fallen at that moment.

"I think you should kiss me now," she said.

Unlike "stay in the car," apparently "kiss me" was an order Chuck could follow. Sarah was grateful for that.

His lips were so soft, so sweet, moving against her own. There was nothing she wanted more, at that moment, than to take him back to his bedroom and finish what had been building since the first time she met Chuck Bartowski. But that would have to wait. There was still work to do.

"Chuck," she mumbled, as she regretfully pulled away from the kiss. "I have to go now. I have to—I can't give this up."

"I—but can't you—"

Chuck stopped and took a deep breath, no doubt to center himself. Sarah couldn't blame him. She was still a little lightheaded, herself.

"Why don't you just talk to Anna? Maybe she'll see—"

"I tried," Sarah said frankly. "She wouldn't listen to reason."

Silence washed over them again, and Sarah could see Chuck working out the hidden meaning behind her words in his head.

"Sarah, tell me you didn't hurt Anna."

"Umm, no, she's not hurt," Sarah said evasively.

"Wait," Chuck said in that "ah-ha" tone he got whenever he'd figured something out. Or flashed on something. Sarah was pretty sure it was the former, in this case. "How did you get out of Castle?"

"Don't be mad," Sarah said, taking Chuck's hands in hers and holding them firmly. As if she could quell any potential anger that may arise if she kept him bound to her. "I kind of tricked Anna into letting me out, and then I tranqued her."

"Sarah!"

"Please Chuck, I need you to understand," she said. "She was going to switch us back, and I don't want that. I want you. So I just did what I had to do."

"This isn't right," Chuck grumbled.

"It's not perfect," Sarah conceded. "And I'm sorry I had to knock Anna out. But she'll understand. At least I hope she will. I just—I'm tired of all the lying, and pretending I don't feel these things for you, and now I have a way to put that all behind me, to start a new life, and I can't give that up."

"Sarah—"

"Chuck, please," Sarah begged. "I need you to trust me. More than ever. I'm going to make this all work, but I can't do that if you don't trust me."

Chuck deflated.

"I do trust you," he said. "I always trust you."

"Good," Sarah said.

She leaned over and kissed Chuck's cheek.

"Now, get back inside before Casey starts to suspect something, and comes looking for you."

"This is all crazy," Chuck said, and he opened the door.

"I know," Sarah answered. "It is. But you believe me, right?"

"I don't know why," Chuck said. "But I've believed you all along."

"That's why I love you," Sarah said. "I promise, this will all be over soon."

Chuck climbed out of the car, and shut the door behind him. Sarah watched as he disappeared back into the courtyard. She only hoped she could keep her promise. But she would need the help of this Amy character. Her mission was only starting.

A/N: Once again, I must thank Michael66 for giving this a read-through. In the end, I decided not to go too dark, as this has always been more of a fun, humorous story. But still, it was good to kind of talk it out. And also, thanks for catching my errors. You're the man! And all of you readers are the men/women, too. You guys are awesome. Peace.