A/N - Here is the next to last chapter in this arc of the story before we get to Sochi. Thank you reading and to all those who follow, favorite and review. Please let me know what you think. I don't own Chuck, Cutting Edge or the Olympics.
Chapter 21
January 2013
Two and a half years into medical school, Sarah had developed something of a routine to keep her extremely busy life in order and in some semblance of balance. It didn't help that her husband, who she loved and adored with every fiber of her being, had to spend so much time away from her to play in the NHL. Sure, they did everything they could to keep their time apart to as little as possible, it was hard for both of them to not fall asleep in each other's arms every night. Chuck and Sarah took turns flying their plane back and forth between the Palo Alto and John Wayne airports during the hockey season so they wouldn't spend more than two or three nights in a row apart. The only time it was longer was when the Ducks were on a long east coast road trip. When the Ducks were in San Jose to play the Sharks, he got to come home and sleep in their bed. Well, they didn't actually get much sleep. She had considered transferring to UCI Medical School in Orange County, but after discussing it with Chuck, decided to stay where she was. Stanford was the best school for what she wanted to study. Chuck had even talked about quitting hockey and concentrating on his family's computer business so he could be with his wife more. He missed her every bit as much as she missed him. Sarah nixed that idea as she knew how much he enjoyed playing in the NHL and she wouldn't take that away from him.
So, before every new term at Stanford and after the Ducks schedule was announced for the regular season, Chuck and Sarah went away for a weekend and planned their schedules. Their number one goal, which was really the only purpose of this planning weekend, was to keep their time apart to an absolute minimum. This past fall, Sarah needed to attend a conference in New York City for a few days. The best part of it was that the Ducks were going to also be in New York to play the Rangers and the Islanders at the same time. Chuck and Sarah got to sleep in the same bed for three nights in a row at the team hotel, if you could call it sleep. It was also no coincidence that Chuck had a hat trick in both games and led his team to victory. The team knew that Chuck alone was a great player. But Chuck plus Sarah was unstoppable. His teammates loved to razz him when Sarah was in town with Chuck, but were very happy when she was due to the positive effect she had on him. Chuck had the same effect on Sarah. She was the number one student in her class alone. But when Chuck was home, her intuition, insight and diagnostic ability went through the roof. She would spot things that her professors would miss. They always knew when Sarah got her 'Chuck time' as they would secretly call it, and it wasn't just because of the gigantic smile she had on her face.
xxxxx
Sarah, sitting in the doctors' lounge, was musing about her last visit with Chuck while fiddling with the bracelet he had given her that was perched on her left wrist, when the head of surgery rushed into the room. She immediately snapped out of her reverie and looked up.
"Bartowski," Dr. Solomon said, "I need your help."
"Certainly. What do you need me to do?"
"Do you know how to do that surgical technique around the optical nerve made famous by Dr. Arnaldo?"
"He's been a mentor for me and I know the technique. But I'm a third year medical student. Isn't there a full-fledged surgeon available?"
"I'm the only one available right now and I can't operate. The patient is my son. I talked to Dr. Arnaldo a few minutes ago. He says you're the one who came up with the technique and have assisted him when he performed the surgery at least a dozen times. According to him, the technique should be named after you, not him, because you were the one who came up with the idea. The first thing he is going to do after you become a full-fledged doctor is fix that oversight. The surgery needs to be done right away. Can you do it?"
Sarah was stunned for a minute. They wanted her to do the surgery? Sure she had assisted Dr. Arnaldo and he even let her perform it a couple of times and all went well. But to be in charge of her first surgery and on the son of the head surgeon? She started to shake slightly. She needed to call Chuck.
"I can do it. When will it happen."
"He'll be prepped and ready to go in an hour."
"OK. I just need to call Chuck."
Dr. Solomon smiled slightly, relieved. He, along with just about everyone in the medical center, knew the bond Sarah had with Chuck. Although he had come to Stanford only a year ago, he was well aware of the Sarah Bartowski stories and how she was not someone to be messed with, especially when it came to her relationship with her husband. "Thank you. See you in OR 2."
Sarah got up and went to the locker room to put on her scrubs. When she got there she called Chuck.
"Hi honey," he answered.
"Hi sweetheart. I miss you."
"I miss you too. I sense something is worrying you. What's up sweetheart?"
Sarah had stripped down to her bra and knickers and took her scrubs out of her locker. She sat down on the bench. "Dr. Solomon wants me to perform the Arnaldo eye surgery technique on his son."
"You mean the incredibly awesome, smartest, most beautiful, sexy, wonderful, fantastic woman in the world who happens to be married to the luckiest man on the face of the earth Sarah Bartowski eye surgery technique. Oh, and I love you. You can do this."
Chuck's words of love and encouragement sent shivers down her spine and she was covered with goose bumps. "I love you too, Chuck. How do you always know what I need to hear?"
"I'm your husband. I get the great privilege to know you and once in a while I get it right."
"Oh, you get it right almost all the time. I'm the lucky one."
Chuck smiled to himself at her words and wished he was there for his wife. "I wish I was there to put my arms around you. What time is the surgery?"
"In about 45 minutes. I wish you were here too. I'm cold."
Chuck, with a little concern in his voice said "Why are you cold? You aren't getting sick are you? Where are you?"
Sarah chuckled a little. "I'm fine sweetie. I'm in the locker room getting changed into my scrubs. I'm only wearing my lacy black bra and matching knickers right now. I wish you were here to keep me warm."
Chuck pictured his gorgeous wife in his mind from the last time he saw her wearing only those items. He audibly gulped.
Sarah giggled a little. ''Chuck? Sweetheart? Are you still there?"
"Oh, sorry honey. My mind just melted there for a minute."
"I better go. I've got to scrub up."
"Do me a favor and get dressed first."
"Don't you think it would be easier to scrub up if I was wearing less?" Sarah teased.
"Only if I'm the one doing the scrubbing and if that was the case, you would be naked." Chuck teased back.
It was Sarah's turn to have her mind melted.
xxxxx
Sarah walked into the operating room after scrubbing up and took charge like she saw Dr. Arnaldo do. She pictured in her mind the technique and how everything should go. She looked at her patient, a young 16 year old boy who was hit in the eye by a baseball and was filled with compassion. This was why I went into medicine, to help someone like this. She said a silent prayer to help calm her nerves and thought of Chuck. It also helped her to know that she had his love and full and complete support.
After taking one more look at the X rays and scans, she confirmed in her mind exactly what she wanted to do and went to work. Every time Sarah got nervous, she thought of Chuck and immediately calmed down. Each incision was precise and perfect and the operation was a complete success. Dr. Solomon's son would keep his eyesight and be able to live a normal life. Dr. Solomon and the heads of the medical center watched from the observation area and were amazed at this young woman's skill and technique.
While she was washing up after the surgery, Dr. Solomon came in and thanked Sarah. "That was extremely well done Dr. Bartowski. Thank you for saving my son's sight."
Sarah was momentarily stunned. She was still a medical student, not a doctor. "You're welcome. Glad I could help. Doctor?"
"I know you haven't completed your four years yet, but you have shown a skill and knowledge base far above doctors I have known for many years. If there is anyone I have ever met that deserves to be called doctor, it is you."
Sarah was rendered speechless by his kind words. "Really?" is all she could manage to say.
Dr. Solomon smiled at her and said "Really. If it's OK with you, I'm going to petition the school on your behalf to have your residency start in the fall instead of next year."
"Wow, Dr. Solomon, that would be great. Thank you."
"You're welcome. You've earned it. Why don't we check on my son and your patient?"
xxxxx
June 30, 2013
For their third anniversary, Chuck and Sarah decided to rent a small yacht and cruise through the Mediterranean Sea for two weeks followed by a return trip to Vail Colorado and skating with Diane Beckman. They flew into Nice, France and went into Monte Carlo for two days before they stated their cruise. Walking hand-in-hand along the harbor after checking into their hotel and changing into their swimsuits, Chuck and Sarah walked onto the beach and took off their shoes. Walking along the shoreline, the water came up around their feet, cooling them off from the warm summer afternoon. Looking around, Chuck noticed all of the topless women sunbathing and swimming in the sea.
"I guess it's cheaper for women to buy swimsuits in Europe." Chuck said.
"What do you mean?"
"They're only wearing half a swimsuit Sarah."
Sarah chuckled. "If it bothers you, you don't have to look."
"I'm trying not to look. It's just they're everywhere."
"You don't like women's breasts, Chuck?"
Chuck turned bright red. "Of course I like women's breasts. It's just I only want to look at yours. And do other things too." He gave her the Bartowski eyebrow dance.
Sarah looked at him coyly for a moment and winked. "Would you like me to take my top off for you right now, sweetheart?"
Chuck stammered for a moment. "Wha wha what?"
Sarah stopped, took his hand and moved it to the string on her white bikini top. "Just pull the string if you want sweetheart. That way you can look at my breasts all you want and not some strangers."
"I don't know how I feel about other men looking at your breasts honey."
"What are you thinking when you see another woman's breasts out here?"
"Nothing, really. I try not to look."
"Let's try an experiment. Take a look at that woman over there." Sarah nodded toward a young woman who looked like she was about twenty years old and was sunbathing topless on the beach. "What do you think of her breasts?"
"She's pretty and has a nice figure."
"What about her breasts, Chuck?"
"Do I have to?
Sarah laughed. "No, you don't have to. I'm just trying to show you something. I don't mind you looking at someone else's breasts out here because I know you love me and only want me. Oh, I'm sure there are some out here who may be ogling her and may ogle me, but I don't care about that. I just care about you. Now that I've thought about it some more, I'd rather you be looking at my breasts rather that hers. Please untie my top."
Chuck looked at his wife in the eyes and said "Are you sure about this?"
Sarah took Chuck's right hand and had him grab the end of the string behind her neck and had him grab the end of the string behind her back. She smiled at him and said "Go ahead and pull sweetie."
Chuck cocked an eyebrow and held onto the strings.
Sarah smirked. "Chicken. Don't let go." Sarah abruptly turned and ran into the surf. Doing so, her bikini top untied and Chuck was left stand there with her top in his hands. Chuck looked up dumbfounded and saw his beautiful wife going deeper into the water. She stopped and turned around with her hands on her hips. "C'mon sweetie," she called out. "The water's great."
Chuck looked at his hands and saw her bikini top and looked up again at his gorgeous wife standing there almost naked, except for a small white string bikini bottom that didn't cover up much. He looked around a little and saw that everyone else seemed to be minding their own business. He finally headed out in the water and an idea popped in his head. Seeing that Sarah was about fifteen feet away from him and had turned around after seeing that he was finally joining her in the water, he ran up to his wife and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Sarah shrieked for a second before she started laughing hysterically as Chuck carried her farther out into the water and then dumped her unceremoniously in the surf. Sarah came up spluttering and started splashing her husband and turned and swam deeper in the water. Chuck dove after her and swam to catch up. Sarah splashed him again and he dove after her one more time, just missing her with each attempt. After doing this multiple times and swimming out about fifty yards away from everyone else, Chuck dove after Sarah and this time reached out and caught her bikini bottom. Sarah pushed off the sea floor to get away again, but this time without her bikini bottom as that remained in Chuck's hand. Sarah came up out of the water realizing she was naked, and very turned on. Chuck stood there in the water about ten feet from her, held up her bikini and said "Missing something sweetheart?"
Sarah looked wickedly at her husband and said "If you want me to put it back on, you'll have to catch me." She turned and swam farther away from shore and everyone else. Chuck dove and swam after her. After they were quite a distance from everyone to the point they were effectively alone, Sarah stopped swimming and stood there in about chest high deep water. Chuck caught up to his wife and stood about five feet away, catching his breath. He held out the bikini toward her and said with a wink "Would you like this back?" Chuck, knowing that his wife was completely naked and standing just a few feet away from him, was also very turned on. Sarah raised an eyebrow and smirked at her husband. "Throw me my top please."
Chuck reluctantly did so with a disappointed look on his face that his wife noticed. Good. Sarah stood on her tip toes so that her breasts were just above the waterline and Chuck could see her erect nipples. She made a show of straightening out her top and raising her arms over her head so that Chuck would have a really good look at her beautiful breasts. Chuck stood there mesmerized at his wife's beauty and was very pleasantly surprised when, instead of putting the top back on, used it to tie her hair back in a ponytail. Chuck gulped loudly as he watched her run her hands over her breasts and down her naked body. Suddenly, Sarah dove underwater and Chuck wondered where she went so he could go after her. Before he could move, Chuck felt hands, Sarah's hands yanking down his swimsuit and he stepped out of it. Sarah came up out of the water right in front of her husband with his swimsuit in one hand and his very erect manhood in the other. Smiling mischievously, Sarah said "Missing something sweetheart?" Sarah let go of her husband, wrapped her legs tightly around him and smashed her lips against his. Her chest was pressed tightly against his. Chuck, not wanting to wait any longer put his hands under his wife's perfect ass and lifted up to allow him access. Sarah gasped slightly as Chuck entered her and she moaned with pleasure. "Chuuuuck." They started moving together, slowly at first but then faster and faster until they came together in a very intense climax. Holding each other tightly and panting against each other's lips, they slowly came down from their high and their breathing evened out. "I love you Chuck," Sarah whispered in his ear. "I love you too, Sarah. I'm never letting you go." Sarah smiled. "Better not."
xxxxx
During their cruise around the Mediterranean Sea, they stopped at the Island of Corfu and docked in port. Following a recommendation, the Bartowskis went to Ambelonas Cofu, a family owned vineyard with a panoramic view, gardens and wildlife. While at the vineyard, Chuck and Sarah did some wine tasting and ate lunch before walking around the gardens. They spotted a young couple enjoying the view and speaking an Eastern European language. As Chuck and Sarah got closer, Sarah recognized the language they were speaking. It was Polish. Sarah's grandmother on Emma's side was from Poland and she taught Sarah to speak some of it when she was little. Unfortunately, Sarah had become quite rusty with the language and didn't think she remembered that much. Sarah listened to them for a while as Chuck and she stood there enjoying the view. She was surprised that some of it was coming back. The young couple turned toward Sarah and Chuck and they noticed that she was pregnant. They smiled at them and said hello. They young couple said hello back with a British accent.
Sarah spoke up. "Excuse me, but were you speaking Polish a few minutes ago? Are you from Poland?"
The wife spoke up. "Yes, we are from Krakow. Have you ever been there?"
"Unfortunately, no. My grandmother was from Warsaw originally."
"You are American?"
Chuck spoke up. "Yes, we are from California. I'm Chuck Bartowski and this is my wife Sarah."
The man spoke up. "Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs.. Bartowski. We are the Dudeks. I'm Damian and my wife is Kasia."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Dudek. Please call us Chuck and Sarah."
"By all means. Likewise, please call us Damian and Kasia."
"What brings you to Corfu, Sarah" asked Kasia.
"We're on vacation. We are celebrating our third anniversary. How long have you been married?"
"It will be one year come September. Our baby is due in about four months."
"Congratulations."
"Do you have any children?" asked Damian.
"Not yet," replied Sarah. "I'm going to medical school so we're waiting until I finish."
"What do you do, Chuck?"
"I play ice hockey with the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL and I design and write computer games."
"Wait," said Damian. "Were you in the Vancouver Olympics?"
Chuck said "Yes, we both were."
Kasia spoke up "I thought you looked a little familiar. Are you the Sarah of Walker and Larkin that won the gold medal?"
Damian asked "Were you on the US gold medal winning ice hockey team?"
"Yes to both." replied Chuck. "Sarah and I met at the Olympics."
"I remember your story. You were a big hit back home. Isn't Bartowksi a Polish name?"
"I think so, but we lost track of our family history."
"We're big fans of winter sports and love the Winter Olympics. Are you going to compete in Sochi?"
"We don't have any plans to do so. I've retired from figure skating. Chuck may get invited to the hockey team, but that remains to be seen. What brings you to Corfu, Kasia?"
"A combination of business and pleasure. Our families have business interests in this area and Damian is meeting with them in a few days in Athens."
"We've rented a yacht for two weeks and our next stop is Athens. If you would like, you can sail over there with us. We have plenty of room and the captain won't mind."
Kasia and Damian looked at each other and smiled. "That sounds delightful. When are you leaving?"
"We're flexible. We were thinking about noon."
"Sounds perfect. What's the name of the boat?"
"The Neptune. It's docked in the port."
"If you don't have any other plans, please join us for dinner tonight. We're staying at a villa on the other side of the island. It's really quite lovely."
Chuck and Sarah looked at each other and nodded. "Sounds great. Thank you."
xxxxx
It was a lovely, warm evening with a gentle breeze blowing, The Bartowskis and Dedeks were sitting on the terrace overlooking the west side of the island and the sea beyond. Chuck held Sarah's hand while he looked out over the beautiful view. A bottle of red wine was on the table and three goblets were filled to the brim. Kasia was drinking mineral water since she was pregnant. A tray of assorted cheeses and fruit were on a tray in the middle of the round table.
Turning back to their hosts Chuck asked "This is a lovely island. Do you come here often?"
"This is the first time for us. A family friend owns this villa and was kind enough to let us use it for a few days. What about you? Have you been to Greece before?"
Sarah took a sip of her wine and answered "This is a first time to Greece for us. We've been having a blast sailing around the Mediterranean seeing all the history and islands."
Chuck added "Sarah's done a lot more travelling than me going to figure skating competitions around the world. I went to Europe for the first time for our first anniversary. Have you been to the United States?"
Damian answered "We've been to New York and Washington DC but have never gone as far as California."
"It's a big country," Chuck agreed. "I'm seeing a lot more of it since I travel with the Ducks to play games. I've discovered I like to travel, but it's only special when Sarah is with me." He looked at his wife and squeezed her hand. She grinned back at her husband.
"I know what you mean. Travelling is part of the business but I too hate being apart from my wife. I'm glad she's here with me now." Kasia smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek.
They chatted amiably until it was getting late. "We better get going back to the boat. Thank you so much for your hospitality."
"Why don't you stay here with us tonight and we can head over together in the morning."
Sarah looked over at Chuck and shrugged. "We didn't bring a change of clothes or a toothbrush."
Kasia smiled. "Not to worry. There are extra brand new toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom. We're about the same size. You can borrow something from me."
Since Chuck was significantly taller and more muscular that Damian, he was stuck with his own clothes. "That's very kind. I'll make do with what I'm wearing. I'll call the boat captain and let him know we won't be back until morning."
They gave Chuck and Sarah a large bedroom on the opposite side of the villa with its own bathroom. As promised, the bathroom had all of the necessary items for their comfort, brand new. Sarah borrowed a sundress from Kasia for the morning and after brushing their teeth tandem style and washing up, went to the bed and pulled down the covers. Chuck sat down on the bed and took off his shoes and socks. After removing her sandals, Sarah came over and sat on Chucks lap. She gave him a seductive grin and said "I need help with the clasp on my dress." After lifting her hair from her neck, Sarah turned slightly to give her husband easier access and Chuck eagerly heeded her request. Reaching up and unhooking the clasp of her sleeveless blue summer dress that stopped mid-thigh on her long beautiful legs, Chuck then lowered the zipper to the bottom and slid the dress off her shoulders and it fell to her waist. Sarah shivered slightly as Chuck began to pepper her back and shoulders with kisses and she stood up long enough for her dress to fall to the floor, leaving her in her matching lacy light blue bra and knickers. Picking up her dress, she walked over to the armoire and hung it up, wiggling her hips on the way. After walking back to her husband the same seductive way, she quickly removed his clothes and had him crawl under the covers. Stepping back from the bed, Sarah decided to put on a little show for Chuck and danced a little for him while removing her bra and knickers before climbing in bed next to him. Sarah climbed on top of Chuck and began peppering his face with kisses. One thing led to another and soon they were out of breath panting after a passionate round of lovemaking. "I think I rather like Greece, don't you?" Chuck asked. Sarah gave Chuck an amused grin. "I think I like Greece too."
xxxxx
Chuck and Sarah spent a very pleasant three days with Damian and Kasia on their cruise to Athens and getting to know them. They found out how they met and a little more about Krakow and the businesses their families owned.
"We own some transportation companies and oil pipelines in Ukraine and Bulgaria. We have other businesses in Asia, Scandinavia and Italy, as well as Greece and of course Poland. We're looking at a few businesses on the US, but my father is reluctant to buy anything right now due to the economy."
"Are you concerned about unrest in the region? Chuck asked.
"Very much. That's the main reason for the meetings. Our families have received threats from separatists in the region, wanting control over the pipelines. We really appreciate the very pleasant cruise with you and Sarah. We love the peace and quiet for a change."
"It's so nice to make new friends," Kasia added.
Sarah smiled and said "Yes it is."
Once they reached port, the two couples exchanged contact information with the promise to come visit each other soon. They each got in separate cars and headed off to where they wanted to go. Chuck and Sarah went off to sight see. When Damian and Kasia arrived at their meeting, they were surprised to see Damian's sister. Speaking rapidly in Polish she said "We must return home immediately. There was a bomb and father was killed."
xxxxx
Chuck and Sarah returned to Vail after their Mediterranean cruise and had their now annual three week training session with Diane. Diane started working on a long program for them and they continued to perfect the Pamchenko. When doing the long program, Sarah was having the most trouble with stamina as she wasn't getting the same amount of training as Chuck. Studying, walking around the hospital, skating for fun once or twice a week and lots of sex with Chuck didn't help her cardio vascular conditioning as much as she needed. But, she was retired and wasn't going to actually perform, it really didn't matter.
Diane had secretly invited several members of the US Figure skating federation come and watch Chuck and Sarah skate. After seeing them first hand land the Pamchenko, one member was shocked. "I heard rumors of that move a few years ago. I thought it was impossible."
"Apparently not." Diane said amusedly.
"They would instantly be the best team in the world. Tell me again why they're not competing?"
"As I told you before, Chuck is a real life NHL hockey player who has won league MVP twice in a row and has won three straight Stanley Cups. Sarah will be starting her residency at Stanford Medical Center in the fall. Why would they give that up?"
Diane decided that since Chuck and Sarah could do the Pamchenko, she would petition the International Federation to make the move legal for sure and give it a point value in case one of her other teams could pull it off.
xxxxx
October 2013
Chuck was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal and reading the morning newspaper when Sarah came down stairs to head off to the medical center. Chuck had flown up to Palo Alto to be with his wife for a few days as there was a break in the Ducks' schedule and the next game was in San Jose. Sarah took a sip of the coffee Chuck had poured for her and kissed him on the lips. "Are you going to be able to meet me for lunch today sweetie?" Sarah asked.
"Of course honey. Is noon still a good time?"
"Perfect. We should still have time after we eat to inventory the supply closet. I think there are some new items in there."
Chuck smirked "New items are fun. But I hope they added some pillows."
Sarah slapped him gently on the arm. "Softy." She grabbed a piece of toast and chewed slowly before taking another sip of her coffee.
Chuck suddenly looked up from the newspaper and said "Sarah, listen to this. There was a plane crash in Germany. The plane was taking the US Figure skating team to an event in Berlin. The pilot and co-pilot were killed. Everyone else was severely injured but are still alive."
A/N 2 - Everything is now set up for the final chapter in this arc, which will take us to Sochi. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.