I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it.

The Fatal Weakness

x-x-x-x-x

"I knew this was too good to be true."

Joan couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him as she heard the resigned heartbreak in his voice. After all, that was a pretty big bubble she was asking him to burst. They had just finished breakfast in the common dining room. It was the first time anyone had seen Morgan or Ellie in the past day. Luckily they got a heads up so that Alex could take Devon a little room service. Given Alex's current mood that probably meant more than just some eggs.

It was probably best that neither Alex nor Devon witnessed the scene in the dining room anyway. That might have started something unfortunate. Ellie was clearly making a point. Her displays of affection directed at her new guy bordered on inappropriate. It was a struggle getting him alone for a second to set up this brief meeting. After breakfast was mercifully over Joan was able to finally ask Morgan for his advice on a video game. Ellie went back to his room to wait.

"Sweetie," Joan said as comfortingly as she could. "We're just trying to get her through this with as little damage as possible. I'm sure that's what you want too."

Morgan paused for a beat longer than Joan expected. "Of course," he finally sighed.

"Morgan," Joan said firmly, taking full measure of his pause. "If there's a problem, now is the time to tell me."

Morgan just sat there silently for a long moment clearly struggling with how much to say. "I love her," he finally said. His voice was so soft that Joan had to strain to hear him.

Joan fought to keep the disappointment from her face. This was horrible news… perhaps not totally unexpected… but still horrible. This situation had just gotten a lot more complicated. "I know," she said. "We all love her. We're all trying to look out for her. I'm sorry to have to push this in your face… but what you've seen for the past couple of days is not Ellie… it's the Intersect taking over. If we don't fix this, she is going to deteriorate. Who knows what that will look like? I'm sure that you want to do the right thing… for Ellie."

Morgan exploded. "How do you know what's the right thing?" he asked hotly. "From where I'm sitting it sounds like you're doing a lot of guessing. Is it really so fucking hard to believe that someone like Ellie Bartowski would genuinely want to be with me?"

This time Joan couldn't keep from noticeably wincing. This was far worse than she feared. "Of course not," she said softly. "Morgan, I'm sorry if that's how you are interpreting me. And maybe you're right. There's no way to know for sure. So maybe I am guessing. But I do think I am the most qualified person in the entire world to make that guess. We need your help. Please just help us protect her while we figure it out. It's vital that we don't challenge her in any way. The last thing we want is to add any more guilt to what her mind is already supplying. You're the key to that. So whatever she comes up with, we're going to have to smile and accept… almost no matter how wild it is." Joan paused to smile. "Admit it," she said warmly. "As assignments go, this one isn't all that bad."

If Joan was trying to lighten the mood, she failed miserably. Morgan wasn't in the mood for any teasing. "I guess," he sighed. "She's been doing a lot of coke. It makes her wild."

"Coke?" Joan asked in horror. "Cocaine? Where did Ellie get cocaine?"

"Carina gave it to her," Morgan said sadly. "She thought it was safe with her."

Joan took a big sigh of relief. It was hard to spin Ellie using cocaine as good news, but at least she hadn't gone into San Juan looking for drugs… not yet anyway. That would make her easy prey to the subculture that supplied those things. "It is absolutely critical that she not leave the island," Joan said firmly. "This is the only place where we can control the agenda and protect her. I get that this is a lot to ask. Laura and Carina are standing by to help. Maybe you could suggest that to Ellie."

Morgan sat in thought. Ellie wanted to run away together. Just disappear and never look back. He could have it. He could have it all with this amazing woman. And who was to say what the right thing was? Didn't Ellie get a vote? She was happy. Who was Joan to decide how she lived her life? She just admitted that she was guessing. "We've already had that discussion," he said sadly. "Ellie told me that Laura and Joey will be easy to get in bed with us. It's Sarah that will be the challenge. She's pretty obsessed with making that happen. She says that she knows Sarah's weakness. She said that she wasn't sure how easy you would be. She never mentioned Carina. Maybe she thought that with Carina, easy was assumed."

Joan forced the smile to her face at his cheap shot directed at Carina. People constantly misunderstood her best friend. They all thought of her as using her amazing looks to get by in life… a slut always looking for the next opportunity to spread her legs. And truthfully she encouraged that thinking. She wanted people to underestimate her. She hid her other assets behind that, sometimes admittedly tiresome, badass tough girl act. Of course it was obvious to anyone that she was uncommonly beautiful. What was less obvious… what you had to earn the privilege of her allowing you to get to know her to learn was that she was so much more… brilliant… dedicated… fearless… tough as nails… loving… fiercely loyal. Dr. Joan Bartowski had a closet full of lifetime accomplishments. But high on that list, almost as high as being Mrs. Steven Bartowski, was that she was Carina Miller's best friend. When you were in trouble there was no one better to have by your side. And right now, Ellie Bartowski was in big trouble.

"You'd better get back," Joan said. "She shouldn't ever be alone for too long. Morgan, we need for you to step up and do the right thing here. We're counting on you."

As soon as Morgan left Joan buried her face in her hands. This was a problem they just didn't need.

"He's going to run with her."

Joan was so occupied with trying to figure this out that she didn't hear her husband walk up. "It's very possible," she said with a deep sigh. "That's the last thing that can happen."

"Let's get the girls over here."

x-x-x-x-x

"How on earth did Ellie get cocaine?" Laura asked hotly. She turned to Carina. "What did you say to her anyway that has her going so nuts? What could possibly be going on in that red-headed pea brain?"

Joan winced. Laura was worried sick about her best friend. That was natural. So maybe she wasn't being totally fair. Carina was fairly famous for not allowing anyone to get in her face and talk to her like that, even lethal superspies… maybe even especially lethal superspies. The potential for a brawl was very real. The flaring of Laura's nostrils was a dead giveaway that she was in a mood where she wouldn't mind taking a swing or two herself. Joan thought about trying to step between them. Then again, that would be pointless. What was she going to do if these two bad-asses wanted to dance?

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed. "I never thought in a million years she would use it," Carina said sadly. "She's the last person I would pick to use blow recreationally. When we busted that lowlife in Miami, I took a bag for testing. It seemed unusually potent for Caribbean cocaine, and that concerned me. With the mission with Volkoff and everything that was going on, I forgot that I had it. So I asked Ellie to keep it in her cabin for safekeeping. I honestly forgot that she had it. She came to me asking for the best way to seduce Morgan. I told her the truth. It wouldn't take much effort. But if she was going to go all in, then go all in. Don't put any limits on what he could ask for."

"It sounds like she took your advice to heart," Joey said, clearly trying in vain to break the tension.

Sarah was barely listening to them. She had her own problems. "Why is it always me?" she asked, to no one in particular with her face buried in her hands. "What am I possibly doing that gets all of these people constantly obsessing about getting me naked?"

It was actually Alex who answered. "You're joking, right?" she asked sarcastically. "Go stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself that question. It's the downside of being the most beautiful woman in the world."

Finally Joan smiled. "Alex is right," she said. "You are the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen. But it's more than that. I'm afraid it's more the vibe that you give off. You're a challenge to get in bed… that unattainable conquest. Nobody else here really is. That's a turn on… for the evil people of the world… but also for Morgan and Ellie. You're like nailing the homecoming queen."

"Okay, your highness," Joey said facetiously. "So what are we going to do about this? Ellie is in serious trouble."

That finally broke some of the tension in the room and they started laughing. "Morgan is in serious trouble too," Alex said. "I'm going to kill him."

Joan reached out and grabbed Alex's arm lovingly. "Morgan is not in love with her," she said. "It's the situation. What man wouldn't become infatuated with a beautiful woman who offers to make any sex fantasy he can think of come true? Alex, I'm not telling you what to do with Morgan relationship wise. That's for you to decide. But if you can see yourself with him, please don't hold this against him. That's not really fair."

Joan turned to Sarah. "Okay, your highness," she said. "It's time to put some cards on the table. Ellie claims to know your weakness. When are you going to tell us what she means?"

Joan was clearly teasing. But she was frankly surprised at how red Sarah's face instantly was.

"She must be talking about cocaine," Sarah finally said.

"Since when do you snort coke?" Carina asked sarcastically. "There is no way you could hide that from me."

"I never have snorted it," Sarah said. "But at the Academy they inject you with it. It's an exercise to get you used to dealing with the effects."

"Of course," Carina agreed. "We all have. It's a favorite tactic of the bad guys to get you high to see if you'll blow your cover… among other things. So what? How does that make it your weakness?"

"I loved it," Sarah said. "I mean I really, really loved it. I'd never felt anything like that before. It almost washed me out of the academy. My lab partner was…"

"It was Seth," Laura said. "That's where you hooked up with him, isn't it?"

"It wasn't Seth," Sarah said sadly. "It was Mark, his roommate. Needless to say I blew my cover… among other things. He had me dancing around the room naked inside of ten minutes. I was defenseless. If he had been a real mark, I'd be so dead. The sex was great… what I can remember anyway."

Carina was making no attempt to hide her smirk. "Better than Chuck?" she asked.

"Not even close," Sarah replied hotly. "I've told you this until I'm blue in the fucking face. No matter how hot recreational sex is, it pales compared to making love. Chuck is in a league of his own. It pisses me off when you dare suggest otherwise." Sarah realized how she sounded and took a calming breath. "I will admit that I was surprised at how different the sex was when you're high," she said. "It was good. But it had a steep price. I had to spend an entire weekend talking him out of reporting the true results of the exercise. I don't have to tell you how that went. Seth actually saved me from him. It's one of the key reasons I gave him a shot and we eventually hooked up."

"Why haven't I heard this story before?" Laura asked.

"Nobody knows," Sarah said. "I was too embarrassed. I've only told this story to Chuck…"

"And Ellie," Joan finished her statement.

"It scared me," Sarah said, ignoring Joan. "I haven't touched the stuff to this day. I knew what would happen."

Carina grinned. "So the mighty Sarah Walker actually has a weakness. Who'd have thunk it? All of those rich men always trying to get your panties in their trophy case… and there was a sure fire way. Would it work today?"

"No way," Sarah said firmly. "Not since Chuck. That's one of the million things he's saved me from. There is no way I'm willingly cheating on my soul mate no matter how high I am. I have zero doubt. But I still don't want to snort any coke. So what should I do? Ellie sent me a text asking me to come over. I have to go, don't I? She is going to try and get me high. She thinks that the results will be predictable. Can I refuse?"

"Of course you can refuse," Joan said. "You should probably go. It would be helpful. But it's perfectly okay to say you don't want to do something. Ellie can't expect for you to snort a line of coke and jump into bed with her and Morgan on her whim. She is looking to seduce you, work on you slowly. She knows that you're going to be a long term project. Here is what you can't do… add any guilt. If she does something in front of you that you recognize as self destructive, you can't try and talk her out of it. Don't worry. Surely you have a ton of experience gently resisting someone who is trying to get you naked. Just hold out until we can extract it. Then all of this will be over."

Sarah looked around the room anxiously. "I have to talk to Chuck," she said.

"That's not a good idea," Joan said quickly. "It would probably be the worst thing that you could do. Remember his addiction? If he thinks that his sister is threatening you in any way… it might do some serious damage to both of them. Do you want another scene like what happened with Casey? And Ellie isn't Casey. Bartowski Intersect fighting Bartowski Intersect would not be pretty. I'm afraid that this is one decision you're going to have to make without Chuck."

When Joan looked into her eyes, Sarah noticed for the first time how exhausted she looked. "You look terrible," she said. "You need to get some sleep."

"There's no time for sleep," Joan said sadly.

"We have to safely get rid of this thing before it does some permanent damage."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Morgan walked in the door, Ellie was all over him… quite literally all over him. "Wow," he said as soon as his mouth was free. "That was some welcome."

"I missed you," Ellie said.

"I was only gone for ten minutes," Morgan said with a laugh. "I see that you got fully dressed."

"Sarah's coming over," Ellie said. "Step one in my seduction plan. It would probably shock her if I answered the door in the bikini I wore at breakfast. But we have a few minutes. Do you want me to strip for you? I could use the practice. I'll do a better job this time. Maybe it will inspire something."

Morgan ignored her question… for now anyway. "Can I ask you a serious question?" he asked. Without waiting for a response he asked anyway. "Last night," he began tentatively. "When you said that you wanted to run away together and never look back… were you serious?"

Ellie's response was quick and sure. "I've never been more serious in my life," she said. "Say the word and we'll leave right now. Don't worry about money. The Volkoff fortune is as much mine as anyone's. I put a hundred million into a Swiss account. We could live the rest of our lives in luxury."

"So," Morgan said, even more tentatively. "Are we talking marriage? Family?"

"Can we wait to think about that?" Ellie asked. "For right now I don't want to worry or even think in those terms. I've spent my life living up to other people's expectations. Now I just want to live for me. And that means spending my days fucking in any wild way you can think of. We're young. We have plenty of time for that other stuff. Let's spend some years just enjoying pushing each other to the edge. The future will take care of itself."

Morgan looked at her for a long time weighing what Joan had told him versus the look on Ellie's face. She wanted this. He almost couldn't believe that the sound was his own voice. "Okay," he finally said. "Let's do it."

Ellie's grin positively lit up her face as she threw herself back into his arms. "We probably have to show up for the meeting with the President this afternoon," she said. "He is going to give us all medals. It will get people thinking if we don't show up. And I promised you a shot at Sarah. I keep my promises. So can we leave tonight after everyone's sleeping?"

Morgan pulled her close and held on tightly for a long time. "We can leave tonight," he finally said. "Where are we going to go?"

"Wherever you want," Ellie said. "Thank you, sweetie. I'll make sure that you never regret it."

"I'm going to have to change tactics to keep my promise."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah gave herself a short but to the point pep talk before she knocked on the door. You are here to help your friend. So put the soft smile on your face and keep this light no matter what you see. If she was expecting some sex crazed version of Ellie to answer the door she was… well disappointed really isn't the right word. At least she was fully clothed. They were hugging. But then, they always hugged.

Ellie got right to the point.

Sarah knew that she needed to make this a joke to keep it as light as possible. "You want me to have sex with Morgan?" she asked, laughing. "First off, eww."

"Is there something wrong with Morgan?" Ellie asked in a quiet voice.

Sarah was stunned at Ellie's reaction. This was worse than she expected. So she quickly backpedaled. "There's nothing wrong with Morgan," she said. "Of course not. Come on, Ellie, I was just teasing. It's just that he's not exactly my type."

That got Ellie's grin back. "Stop being such a snob," she scolded playfully. "Chuck wasn't your type either and that worked out. I hear what you're saying. At first blush he's not my type either. But compare him to Devon. You'd have to admit that Devon is your type. Hell, he's every woman's type. But here is the honest no bullshit truth. Morgan Grimes is ten times better in bed than any other man I've ever been with, Devon included. He's taken me places I've never imagined were possible. So how can you possibly knock something before you've tried it? Do you really want me to treat you like you're six? I'll tell you what. Take one bite of the peas and if you don't like them you don't have to eat the rest."

"I'm sure that the peas are delicious," Sarah said playfully. "How about I take your word for it?"

"Just try it once," Ellie pleaded. "Everyone else on the island has agreed to live an open lifestyle. You and Chuck are bringing us down. It's going to be hard to do this and dance around you guys all the time. Sarah, I never ask you for things. But I'm asking you now. I think I'm owed more than one favor. Try it once. If you don't have the wildest time of your life, I'll never ask again. Please? Will you do this for me?"

Sarah knew that this was getting into dangerous territory. With Ellie making this personal she had just dropped the big one. An outright refusal would probably be bad on multiple levels. Maybe a stall would work. "You know that I would do anything for you," she said softly. "Please don't ever question that. You're right. I do owe you a ton of favors. I'm just worried about Chuck. We've talked about the open lifestyle thing and have agreed to some very strict rules about sex with other people, including getting the other's honest permission first. Surely you can understand that I don't want to violate my deal with him. I'll tell you what. I'll talk to him about it."

"So," Ellie said with her grin back in full force. "If Chuck says okay, you'll do it? Put Morgan in charge? Nothing off the table? Promise?"

Sarah was having a hard time hiding her relief. At least she now had the conversation back on track. First off, there was no way in hell that Chuck would say it was okay. Even if he did, contemplating the actual idea of sex with Morgan Grimes controlling the agenda with nothing off the table was honestly starting to turn her stomach a little. But now she could safely stall. "Yes," she said. "If Chuck says it's okay, I'll do it… wild sex… nothing off the table… one time… but only for you."

This time Ellie's hug was a little… off. At first Sarah couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then she felt the needle. At first she cursed herself for not being more aware of the speed the Intersect gave her. Sarah Walker Bartowski was an experienced spy, the very best. She knew that the last thing to do in a crisis was to panic. But this was bad. "What was that?" she asked as calmly as she could. She really didn't have to ask. It had been ten years but it might as well have been yesterday. The familiar warm cloud of a cocaine high was already enveloping her being.

Ellie's grin was back with a vengeance. "I'm helping you," she said. "You just said you'd do it if Chuck is okay with it. I'm getting things started. Don't worry about Chuck. I've got this one. He'll be okay once I talk to him. So there's no reason to wait, is there? I'm holding you to your promise. Morgan is now in charge with nothing off the table."

Sarah tried to fight it. But she was already in a fog with her head swimming. It was like floating on a fluffy cloud. She knew that she had to be careful in how she reacted. So she fought to keep her voice calm. "I'd really rather wait until I hear from Chuck if that it is okay," she said.

"I know," Ellie said. "Here's the thing. You two will dance around this for weeks. So I'm making it happen. Don't worry. I'll make sure that Chuck is okay. I promise. Just unclench your butt cheeks and have fun for once."

Sarah was fighting to stay alert, but it was impossible through the drug-induced cloud that was consuming her. She was vaguely aware that she was being guided to sit on the sofa. Ellie was trying to kiss her. So she turned her head away and struggled to her feet. "Please," was all she could get out of her mouth.

Sarah was barely able to feel the second needle. But quickly she could feel the effects.

"I really didn't want to do it this way," Ellie said. "But you're really not giving me a choice. I made a promise. So did you. I'm holding you to it."

Now the cloud was overwhelming. Ellie had no problem pushing her back unto the couch. "I'm going to make sure you have a good time," she said. "He really is that good. You'll see. When this is over you'll thank me. You'll be begging for another round."

So now when Ellie stated kissing her, Sarah couldn't turn her head to resist. Yes, someone was definitely kissing her. She could feel the tongue pass by her lips, probing, searching for hers. There was a hand under her shirt massaging her left breast. She was vaguely aware that Morgan was now in the room.

"Did you call me?" Morgan asked.

Ellie broke the long kiss. "Hey, sweetie," she said with a huge grin. "I told you that I always keep my promises. Do you want me to help you unwrap your present?"

In her drugged state, Sarah could hear the voices. She just couldn't quite make out what they were saying. It was like they were talking in slow motion. At the end of the day it really didn't matter. Morgan was standing there watching. She knew what was coming. It was no surprise to feel her shirt being lifted over her head. She tried to keep her arms down to keep it from happening but it was hopeless. Quickly enough she saw Ellie playfully holding the shirt up for Morgan's approval before tossing it to the floor.

By instinct more than anything else she knew that her shorts and panties were next. She tried to keep her hips on the couch and make it hard, but again she was physically no match as she felt them slide down her legs. This time Sarah was ready for the kiss and tried to keep her mouth closed. But again it was hopeless.

Ellie finally broke the necking and reached down to firmly pull her knees far apart. Sarah knew that she was now wide open to Morgan's gaze. She simply no longer had any ability to resist. Through the fog all she could think about was how to explain this to Chuck in a way that wouldn't devastate him. She just sat there on the couch, naked in that helpless obscene submissive position staring straight ahead, waiting for the inevitable.

Ellie stood up from the couch and went to hug Morgan. Quickly enough her party dress hit the floor leaving her in the same state of dress as Sarah. "We're all yours, sweetie," she said. "This is going to be wild. This is what you wanted. Go for it. She told me that there was nothing off the table. We're both on fire. Look at how hard her nipples are."

"What do you want us to do first?"

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