This is not an original story. It was written during the middle of season 2. The original story assumed a sequel that never happened. So there will be some brand new content in this rewrite and several new chapters at the end.

I realized that when I changed the rating, fewer people would read the story. It simply doesn't show up in the default list. I guess I'm surprised by how many fewer. But it can't be helped. There was no way to tell the story I wanted to tell and keep it T. You'll see why soon.

Anyway, it's probably now more important than ever that the few of you that remain stay vocal. And you've done great. Keep the comments and reviews coming.

I still don't own Chuck.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It only takes a second – and it really, really makes a difference. That's probably more important than ever now that the series has ended. If you want to keep the Chuck fandom alive and continue to read about these characters, you really need to think about rewarding the people whose hard work make that possible.

The Widow

x-x-x-x-x

It was an odd feeling. Well 'odd' really wasn't the right word. Sarah Walker had never felt like this before, couldn't really believe she could experience such a feeling. Oh her love making with Chuck was the highlight of her life. There was no question about that. And they had plenty of incredibly hot sex. In fact Sarah had a hard time believing how easily Chuck could coax mind blowing orgasms from her.

But nothing had come close to this feeling once she relaxed and allowed Chuck to be in total control. The climax started about the same time it usually did. And the intensity was about the same. The difference was how long it lasted. Well, was still lasting. Chuck's finger had long ago taken over. And the sweet spasms still showed no signs of slowing down. It would have been a little scary if it hadn't been so incredibly wonderful.

Sarah was simply helpless. She could feel Chuck as he continued to gently kiss her. But she really couldn't even kiss back. "Please don't stop," was all she could whisper.

And of course, she knew that she didn't have to say anything. Chuck had no intention of stopping. She wasn't even sure how long it lasted. It seemed like hours… but it probably couldn't have been that long. Finally, slowly, Sarah returned to the living. "Thank you, sweetie," she finally whispered as she placed her hands behind his head and kissed him back lovingly. "That was… that was incredible."

Chuck was clearly proud of the intensity of the orgasm he had inspired. "Wow," he said with a smile. "I've never seen you like that."

Sarah smiled back. "I've never felt like that before," she said. "Not ever close to that. I'm sorry that I checked out on you there for a while. I made you do all the work."

But to her surprise, Chuck's smile faded and he got serious. "Why are you sorry?" he asked softly. "You're always so desperate to take care of me. Would it really be so horrible to let me take care of you once in a while?"

All Sarah could do was to stare at him for a long moment. He obviously wasn't really just talking about sex. And as usual he was exactly right. Agent Walker was trained to take care of herself. She was conditioned to think that way. The only person you could totally depend on was yourself. Even in bed, she always took the lead, set the agenda, and took responsibility for her own pleasure. But the epiphany hit her between the eyes like a ton of bricks. She could depend on him. He would take care of her. It was more than trust. Her happiness meant more to him than anything. He would absolutely take care of her physically and emotionally to the very best of his ability, in all circumstances, including in bed. And all she would have to do was to stop being so damn uptight and let him. If she would only let him, he'd make her feel like that all the time. It was simply overwhelming. "I'm very sorry," she finally said. "It wouldn't be horrible at all. In fact, it sounds pretty wonderful. So I've never asked this of anyone in my life, but would you please take care of me? I'm willing to admit just how much I need you, Chuck."

Sarah probably wasn't aware of how powerful that question was to him. It was what he was waiting to hear, the last step in her, far quicker than expected, transformation from badass Agent Walker to Sarah, wife and mother. So even though the question didn't need to be asked or answered, Chuck answered anyway. "Yes," he said with a grin that lit up the room. "Of course. Thank you for asking. I know that was hard for you."

Sarah couldn't have kept the silly grin off her face even if she had wanted to. "Here's the thing," she said. "It honestly wasn't all that hard. I feel sort of foolish that it's taken me this long. So, I promise that I'll relax and let you take care of me. But I'm not going to be any less fanatical about taking care of you. Deal?"

"We so have a deal," Chuck said. He reached over and kissed her. It wasn't a sexual kiss at all. Neither would be in the mood for that any time soon given the long lovemaking session just concluded. But it was perhaps the most powerful kiss they would ever share, loving, purely electric. Both knew without saying anything its importance. The actual ceremony would now be just that, simply a ceremony. It was just formality, a symbol to the world. The real thing had just happened. Their deal was as binding as any vows ever would be. He had just kissed the bride.

They were now married.

x-x-x-x-x

This was it, the meeting that would decide their long term future. Sarah sat in Peter West's office very calmly. Well, she appeared calm anyway. It was the training, after all. It was the first thing they taught you, how to be calm in crises. Nerves got you killed. Besides, she was ready for this. Chuck's planning had her ready.

West looked across his desk at Sarah intently. He just couldn't get over the change in her persona. Long gone was the dumb blonde pouting sexpot. In her place was a cool determined professional agent. Maybe she wasn't feeling 100% yet, but she was clearly ready to proceed. He wasn't even sure which Sarah he found more attractive. But he sure was willing to give both an equal chance to get naked.

"Well, Sarah," West said calmly. "I understand that Agents Roberts and Carter are waiting in the reception area. Are you ready to complete your assignment?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah replied crisply. "I am. But before I begin, I have a bit of a confession to make."

"Confession?" West asked in a confused tone.

Sarah knew that this part was key to him buying this. "Yes, sir," she said. "Laura thinks that we're going to fake Seth's death."

"Fake?" West asked. "Why would you do that?"

"She is in love with him, sir," Sarah said softly. "She begged me to set this up to look like we were killing him. I agreed at first."

"That would be almost impossible to pull off," West said with a smile. "How were you going to do it?"

"I have blanks in my gun, sir," Sarah said without an expression. "Seth is wearing an exploding bag of blood in his jacket. I was going to make it look like I had shot him."

"Why are you telling me this?" West asked.

"Full disclosure, sir," Sarah said with a sigh. "If I'm joining Fulcrum, it's important that you know where my loyalties lie. I let you down last night. I honestly feel horrible about that. You need to know that I'm in this one hundred percent."

"So," West said as a smile came to his face. "Are you still planning on completing your assignment?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah said firmly without any hint of emotion. "In fact it's already done."

"Care to explain?" West asked as he leaned forward in anticipation.

"Yes, sir," Sarah said coolly. "The CIA developed a secret drug several years ago. It has a very long technical name but the agents call it Instant Heart Attack or IHA for short. It works by causing a massive coronary attack that is untraceable in an autopsy."

"Okay," West said. "I've heard the rumors."

"Just before I came in here," Sarah said calmly. "I gave Seth a dose of IHA in a stick of gum. Any second now, he is going to die of a massive heart attack."

As Sarah was speaking they could hear a loud commotion in the reception area through the door.

"Very resourceful," West said with a grin. "Sarah, this is most impressive."

"Thank you, sir," Sarah said without any emotion. "But there is going to be one serious problem."

West raised his eyebrows. "Problem?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Sarah said sadly. "Laura is going to see this as a personal betrayal. She is going to hate my guts."

West calmly got up from his desk and walked to the office door. Sarah remained in her seat with no emotion registering on her face. When West walked into the reception area he found Seth stretched out on the floor. He was totally unconscious. Laura was franticly trying to administer CPR while she regularly paused to breath into Seth's mouth.

West noticed the tears running down the face of his secretary who was obviously shaken. "He just collapsed, sir," she said nervously as she watched Laura work. "I called 911. The paramedics should be here any minute."

'Oh, God," Laura said in a panic as she continued her rhythmic chest compressions with tears streaming down her face. "Please come back."

West knelt down and grabbed Seth's wrist to check for a pulse. Satisfied that there wasn't one, he let Seth's hand drop back to the floor.

Just then the paramedics burst into the room. Laura reluctantly moved to let them have easier access. She simply sat on the sofa and watched them work. They quickly checked Seth's vitals and started an IV. As they worked to load him on a gurney, West turned to them. "How is he doing?" he said with clearly fake concern. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm very sorry," one of the medics answered flatly. "He's gone. We can't legally declare him dead. That would take a coroner. So we'll take him to the hospital but he's gone."

"You bitch," Laura screamed as she stormed into West's office where Sarah was still sitting emotionless. "What in the fuck did you do?'

Sarah stood and faced Laura assuming a defensive posture. "I completed my assignment," she said firmly. "I'm sorry. I know that this is painful for you. I tried to make it painless."

"Laura, sit down," West said sternly. "Both of you. Agent Anderson just did what I assigned her to do. I know that this assignment was painful. But you need to understand that this organization does not play games. It demands totally loyalty. I expect the same from both of you. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir," Laura said numbly as she made no attempt to wipe the tears from her eyes. "We are very clear."

"Yes, sir," Sarah said.

"Laura, are you going to be able to continue?" West asked more pointedly.

"Yes, sir," Laura said softly after a moments pause. "I will do my duty. No matter what. That can never be in question."

"Good," West said calmly as he handed each of them an envelope. "Welcome to Fulcrum. Here is the location of tomorrow's party. This is for your eyes only. There will be about fifty guests. There will be no attempt to identify any of the upper echelon organization leaders since their identity is top secret. And there will be men there who can boost your career significantly. So I would suggest that you act very, very friendly to any man who approaches you. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah said calmly. "How friendly? Are we talking about sex?"

"This is a party, Sarah," West said with a smile. "Not an orgy. Your goal will be to make these men to feel good about themselves. Dance with them, flirt with them, and make them feel like a beautiful woman desires them. Now if you want to make a date to meet someone later, that's your call. It might help your career but I'll leave that up to you."

"What style of dress?" Laura asked numbly.

"Evening gowns," West said with a smile. "Lot's of cleavage. I like that. You both have amazing figures, why hide them? I would tell you to take extra care to make sure you are most attractive. But that would be silly, in this case. It's hard to imagine either of you being anything else. You're dismissed."

As they got up to leave, Sarah turned to Laura. "Come on, Laura," she said softly. "I'll take you back to the hotel. I know that you're hurting."

"Go fuck yourself," Laura spat out as she stormed out of the room. "You and I are done."

West watched her with a fair amount of amusement plain on his face as she stomped out of the room. "Well, Sarah," he said with a laugh. "One thing is for sure. She isn't going to be watching your back for a while."

"No sir," Sarah said with a slight smile. "The truth is that I never liked her anyway. Maybe you could take over for her for a while. Go fuck myself? Where is the fun in that? How about after the party, we hook up?"

"I'd like that," West said with a broad smile of his own.

"I'd like it too," Sarah said seductively. "I promise you a night that you'll never forget."

As Sarah left the office her smile turned decidedly sinister.

You'll never, ever forget.

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah and Laura were in the conference room at the FBI office quietly waiting for Beckman to come online.

"Agent Carter," Beckman said as she appeared on the screen and began the conference. "I just want to reassure you that Agent Roberts is fine. The fake CIA paramedics were able to revive him using the antidote. The CPR that Agent Carter administered and his slowed metabolism caused by the drug made sure that he suffered no long term affects. Another corpse was taken to the hospital and pronounced DOA. The substitute is scheduled to be cremated this afternoon. Seth Roberts is officially dead. Agent Walker, you are now legally a widow. I've had a copy of his death certificate added to your file."

"Thank you, ma'am," Laura said with a sigh. "That's a relief. Where is he?"

"He is waiting for you in his room," Beckman said. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to say goodbye until the mission is complete. He's going to stay in his apartment in Washington. It is vital that he not leave Washington for any reason until we've wrapped this up. I plan on checking in on him personally. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said quickly. "It is very clear. Don't worry, ma'am. I'll make sure that he stays put."

"Good," Beckman said. "He asked to speak to Agent Walker as well. Did Peter West buy all of this?"

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said with a laugh. "Chuck's plan worked perfectly. He bought it hook, line, and sinker. Having Sarah confess the plot to fake his death really sealed it. That was brilliant. I have to say that I was starting to hate Sarah a little myself. She played the stone cold bitch to perfection. Something tells me that she's had a fair amount of practice."

"What do you mean?" Sarah said in mock horror. "I'm pretty sure that I felt a cool breeze of my own when you told me to go fuck myself."

That got them both laughing. "Seriously, ma'am," Laura said as her mood suddenly turned more somber. "I want to express my gratitude for your help. I know that you didn't have to do this."

"Well, Agent Carter," Beckman said softly. "You're welcome. We ask a lot of our agents. It's nice to be able to do something in return. But you should really thank Chuck. It was his plan."

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said with a glance towards Sarah. "I've never met anyone quite like him. He really is a genius."

"I think that I can safely say that none of us have ever met anyone like Chuck Bartowski," Beckman agreed quietly with an audible sigh. "But please tell him that in private if you must. His head is too big as it is, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, ma'am," Laura said with a laugh. "I think that I understand."

"Do you think," Laura said as she turned to Sarah. "That I could give him a physical expression of my gratitude without you going postal on me?"

"Maybe," said Sarah softly. "It depends on what you mean by physical. I'm thinking a hug. Your hands stay above his waist and it lasts no more than ten seconds. There will be no repeat of the casino nonsense."

Laura knew that she was only half kidding. She was a natural flirt. Sarah knew that. But she should have been more sensitive this morning. They were just starting to make some legitimate progress. It would be stupid to allow a misunderstood hug to screw that up. So maybe she should tread lightly from the casino earlier. "Duly noted," she said softly. "I'm sorry about earlier. It wasn't anything like that. I promise."

That got Sarah laughing. "I know," she said. "I was just teasing. Chuck made me see how incredibly stupid I was being. The fact is that I trust him totally. Give him as many hugs as you want. Just make sure you stay dressed. Besides… I hear that you've turned to women."

That got them both laughing so hard that they couldn't talk for a while. "It's true," Laura finally said as soon as she could stop laughing. "She tells me that my technique was getting quite good. Maybe later today I can get him all crazy jealous when I hug you. After all, turn about is fair play, right?"

Beckman was clearly trying to make amends with Sarah, because she uncharacteristically allowed them to enjoy their inside joke and giggle in her briefing for a few moments. "If we could get back to business," she eventually said softly but firmly. "I've made the decision to share some information with you. There are only eight people in the world with this knowledge. The authorization to tell you comes directly from the commander in chief. And this information is to never leave this room. Do you understand?"

Laura immediately recognized the tone of her voice and snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "It sounds important."

"Terribly," Beckman said. "I hesitate to tell you because the last time that I shared this information it didn't work out too well. But for you to be effective on this mission, you'll need to know. I'll bet that you're wondering why we've assigned our very best field agent to protect an analyst, even one as bright as Chuck."

Laura smiled as she recognized Beckman's second very plain overture to Sarah in the last minute. Calling her the very best field agent? Sure, it was true, but also something that was never said out loud. She was clearly trying to mend some broken fences from this morning. If Sarah was affected at all was unclear. She showed no signs of wanting to make up. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "The thought has crossed my mind."

"Chuck is not an analyst," Beckman said. "He is the human intersect. That makes him the most valuable intelligence asset in the world."

"Chuck is a computer, ma'am?" Laura asked in confusion. "I don't understand."

"No," Beckman said with a smile. "For some reason that we don't totally understand, Chuck was able to assimilate all of the intersect data. He can identify that data when he is properly stimulated."

Suddenly the realization of what that meant hit her. "Wait a minute," Laura said in amazement as she turned to Sarah. "He's your asset? Your relationship is a cover?"

"It started off as a cover," Sarah agreed with a smile. "But it is real now. Laura, I love him more than I could ever say. Chuck and I are going to be married as soon as possible, maybe today if I can talk him into it. And he will be my last assignment."

"I've tolerated this unusual circumstance," Beckman said firmly. "Because of my high regard for Agent Walker and the unbelievable success that they have had as a team. But let me be clear. There is no higher priority then the safety of the intersect, I mean Chuck."

Now the intensity of this morning's argument made sense. "Yes, ma'am," Laura said firmly. "You can count on me."

"Now that we know the location of the party," Beckman said. "We'll work on a plan to infiltrate. Let's all get together tomorrow at five. We'll go over our plan at that time. Until then, go have some fun. You've certainly earned it. You're dismissed."

As soon as the screen went blank Sarah turned to Laura.

"I guess we need to go shopping for evening gowns," Sarah said with a smile.

"Yup," Laura agreed with a laugh. "With lots of cleavage to please our soon to be dead pervert. Look out Forum Shops."

"It's too bad that Seth is leaving you all alone," Sarah said with a smile. "We're in the party capital of the world. How are you going to have any fun tonight?"

"Don't worry, Sarah," Laura said with a sly smile.

"I'll think of something."

x-x-x-x-x