I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

Elise is a complex person. And now she has everyone looking to kill her. She could be a huge asset to the plan. But she could also blow the whole thing. Can they trust her? Is it worth the risk?

Thanks to the amazing ladies who constantly try to keep me from writing something stupid. Brickroad, HappyDayz, and Poa have been great. They hardly ever agree, but that keeps me on my toes, lol. Each has had a significant influence. Not only in how I view Chuck, but how I view storytelling.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. If you didn't enjoy it, send Poa a PM (just kidding).

Elise's Choice

- - - -

As soon as Sarah closed the door to the limo, Ellie turned to her. "Are we safe now?" she asked. "Or do we have to keep the act up?"

Sarah flashed a sad smile. "We're safe," she said. "You all did great. Thank you."

Ellie studied Sarah's face. She was convinced that there was something Sarah wasn't saying. "Then tell me what's wrong," she said.

Sarah let out a huge sigh. "I'm worried about Chuck," she said.

Of course, that was the wrong thing to say to Ellie. A look of pure panic appeared on her face. "What's wrong with Chuck?" she quickly said.

Sarah took one look at Ellie's face and mentally kicked herself. What a stupid thing that was to say to her. Of course they had just attended Chuck's fake funeral. Naturally she would be on edge. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "There is nothing wrong with Chuck. At least not physically. He's just down. He's worried about Janice."

That certainly got Janice's attention. "Why is he worried about me?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ellie joined. "Why would he be worried about Janice? Is something wrong?"

"Not really," Sarah said haltingly. She wasn't sure how to tell Ellie without shocking her. "Janice had to do something on our mission last night… Umm… Something that might not… Umm…"

"Oh for goodness sake," Janice interrupted. "Ellie, I had to seduce a bad guy last night so Sarah could plant a bug. It wasn't a big deal."

Ellie just looked confused. "Why would Chuck be worried about Janice flirting with someone?" she asked. "That's not a big deal."

"This went a bit beyond that," Sarah said.

"How far beyond…" Ellie started.

"For crying out loud," Janice interrupted. "Why is everyone dancing around this? I had sex with the man, Ellie. A couple of times actually. I lured him out of the house and had sex with him by the pool so that Sarah could plant a bug."

"Oh," was all that Ellie could say. But the blush rapidly creeping up her neck said much more.

"That's not all," Sarah said softly. "It was Chuck's plan. So he feels responsible. And depending on how the mark responded, it could have possibly been me that had to… umm… lure him. So Chuck feels guilty."

"Sarah," Ellie exclaimed. "You would sleep…"

"Only as a desperate, last resort," Sarah interrupted. "I'm not anticipating doing that. But it is critical that we stop these men. It's important to the country. But even more importantly, it's important to us. They are never going to let us raise our family in peace as long as they are in power. That's why they have to be stopped. And Chuck and I have to be willing to do almost anything to stop them. Wouldn't you do that to save your babies life?"

Ellie just nodded sadly. Then she turned to Janice. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Why do you think that I wouldn't be okay?" Janice asked with a smile. "The sex wasn't all that great. Come on, Ellie, this is what spies do."

"So," Ellie said as she turned towards Sarah. "That means that you've…"

"A few times," Sarah said sadly. "But I always did everything I could to avoid it and not since I've met Chuck." But then she smiled. "But I'm not nearly as good at it as Janice. It's her specialty."

Up to now, this conversation was pretty predicable for Sarah. That all changed when Ellie moved to sit next to Janice with a grin.

"Tell me the truth," Ellie whispered into Janice's ear. "How does it feel? How does it really feel to make a complete stranger burn with desire for you so much that he'll do anything to have you?"

Janice's eyes widened. She wasn't sure what to expect from Ellie. But this certainly wasn't it. "It can… feel," Janice started haltingly. "It can feel good. Very good."

"I want to hear all about it," Ellie said softly. She was obviously trying to keep her voice low so that Devon wouldn't hear. But she didn't need to worry about that. Devon was in the front of the car consumed by his own thoughts. "You have to promise that you'll let me take you out for a drink and tell me about it."

"Okay," was all that Janice could think of to say. After all, she still had some fences to mend with Ellie anyway. But if she was interested… she was part of this world now. She deserved to know the truth. "But it's a long story. It may take more than one drink."

"I can't wait," Ellie said. The sparkle in her eye was clear. "Too bad you can't come, Sarah."

"Why can't I come?" Sarah asked with a questioning smile.

Ellie's grin lit up the limo. The somber mood from the funeral was now completely gone. "Because, silly," she said. "You can't drink."

- - - -

As soon as Chuck opened the door, she was in his arms.

"I really thought you were dead," Sarah whispered. "I never want to feel that way again."

"Sarah, I'm sor…" Chuck began. But then Sarah smashed her lips against his, and she gripped the back of his neck fiercely. Casey averted his gaze while Elise stared open-mouthed. But Chuck was no longer aware of them; as Sarah's tongue entered his mouth, the world simply fell away. He felt like he could kiss her forever. But then finally, the lack of oxygen overcame Sarah's lack of Chuck, and she was forced to break off the kiss.

"Wow," Chuck said with his classic grin. "I hope there's more where that came from. Where's Janice?"

"We drove separately," Sarah said. "We wanted to divide the tails and make it easier to lose them. She took the long route. She'll be here in a few minutes."

"I ordered lunch," Chuck said as he indicated the tray of food that was sitting in the room. "Do you want to eat? We can't waste this. Casey has already had a fit about ordering from room service. He says it's a waste of taxpayer dollars."

"In a minute," Sarah said. "First I want you to show me around the suite."

"Oh," Chuck said. "Okay. Well, it's a two bedroom suite. We're here in the common area. And there is a …"

"No, Chuck," Sarah interrupted with a grin. "The bedroom. I want you to show me the bedroom."

"Are you sure?" Chuck teased. "Because the master bathroom is very nice. Are you sure that you don't want to start there?"

"Are you sure that you want to tease me?" Sarah asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Or do you want to get in there and let me show you how much I've missed you? Your choice."

"You're right," Chuck said. "I'm sorry."

But just then, Sarah gaze focused on Elise sitting there. Instead of following Chuck to the bedroom, Sarah stomped over to where she was sitting. "Why isn't the prisoner secured?" she growled to Casey.

Sarah didn't wait for Casey's answer. She grabbed a handful of Elise's hair and used it to jerk her head up forcing Elise to look into her eyes. "Did you really think I would let you try and kill him and live to tell about it?" Sarah said harshly.

Elise didn't respond. She just stared at Sarah.

"I'm talking to you," Sarah said as she raised her voice even more. She gave the handful of hair a shake for emphasis.

Elise just shook her head sadly.

Chuck quickly stepped up and grabbed Sarah's arm. "Sarah," he said softly. "Please let go."

"This isn't close to being over," Sarah said as she finally released her. "I'll be back. And then it's you and me. Do you understand?"

Elise could do nothing except nod as Sarah stomped off.

But Chuck flashed Elise a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll bet that she is in a much better mood in a few minutes."

"I hope so," Elise whispered.

Sarah went to the bedroom door and stopped. She turned towards Chuck and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you coming?" she asked.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Chuck turned to Sarah. "Are you upset with me?" he asked.

"Upset?" Sarah asked. "Not really. I'm pissed."

"Why?"

"I'm not saying that I have any right to be pissed," Sarah said with a smile. "I just am. You should know me well enough by now to realize that. I thought you were dead. Then you defend the woman who I thought killed you."

"I'm sorry," Chuck said.

"Don't be sorry for that," Sarah said. "That's not really your fault. But here is something that is your fault. You can't feel guilty about Janice. She is doing exactly what she wants to do. She is proud of what she is contributing. And you have no right to make her feel bad because you're applying your moral foundation to her."

Chuck just looked at her sadly for a while. But then his eyes began to fill with tears. "You don't get it," he said. "I'm not worried about Janice. I mean, I am. Of course I am. But I understand that she is okay. I even understand that you would be okay if you had to do it. That's not why I feel bad."

"Then why?"

Chuck just looked at her for a long moment. "I hate those guys," he finally said. "Jones, Adams, it really doesn't matter. All of them. But don't you see? Now, I'm just like them. I just sent my best friend and maybe even the love of my life to become Fred Jones's sex toy. And I did it for my own selfish reasons. I'm turning into them."

For a moment, Sarah couldn't tell if he was being serious. But when she looked into his eyes, she decided that he was. So Sarah wrapped her arms around him. "Trust me, sweetie," she whispered. "You are nothing like them. And I can prove it to you."

"How?"

"You feel guilty," Sarah said quickly. "That's the proof. Do you really think that Adams or Jones would ever feel guilty? I'll agree that we're in a tough spot and to protect our family we're going to do some distasteful things. But you're not using us, Chuck. We're desperate to do it. You're just showing us how to be effective."

Chuck didn't respond other than squeezing Sarah tightly.

"You're actually being silly," Sarah continued. "For a second I even thought that you might be teasing me. Come on, sweetie. There's no way. A few days ago, you had one of the most beautiful women in the world convinced that she was in love with you and willing to do anything to prove it. Tell me, Chuck. What would Fred Jones have done in that situation? We both know. What did you do?"

"I did what I wanted to do," Chuck said sadly.

"Exactly," Sarah said. "And what you wanted to do was help her through it. And that's what you did. Sweetie, you're so far away from Fred Jones that I'm surprised that we're even having this conversation. I couldn't be more proud of you. I couldn't."

Sarah paused for a moment to compose herself. "When I was sitting in the morgue," Sarah said as her voice broke and she was forced to whisper. "And I was scared to death. Who was thoughtful enough to leave me a note with your vows? Do you realize how wonderful that made me feel? Would Ben Adams ever do something like that? Would Fred Jones? You're my hero, sweetie. You really are. I love you. That's what makes this so awful. When I see you hurting, I hurt. And there is no reason to hurt, Chuck. None. You should be as proud of yourself as I am of you. As Janice is of you. And even though he'll never admit it, as Casey is of you."

"I'm sorry," Chuck said. "You know that I never want to hurt you."

Sarah put her arms around Chuck's neck and put her head on his chest. "Then don't," she said softly. "The worst part about this is we're wasting time talking about this crap instead of getting naked, climbing into this bed, and showing how much we have missed each other."

"I've really missed you," Chuck said with a smile. "I love you."

"Talk is cheap," Sarah said with a grin. "You don't tell someone that you love them with words. You show them with your actions."

Chuck flashed his own grin. "Now, you're just sounding like Casey," he said. "Did you have some particular actions in mind?"

- - - -

Janice was as nervous as she could ever remember standing in the hallway waiting to knock on the door to the suite. And why? Janice was in the worlds most dangerous profession. She was an undercover intelligence operative – one of the best. She had been in incredibly tense situations -- life and death situations and remained calm. That's what spy training was all about. So why was she now so freaked out -- over a guy?

One thing that she knew for sure, she didn't want to blow this. It was too important to her. But how should she act? She wanted to let Casey know that she was interested. And even more than interested. But she didn't want to scare him off. And Sarah was absolutely no help. All she could do was smile and tell me that it would work out. Work out? That was easy for her to say. She was already in love with her guy. And he was already in love with her. Wait a minute. Did she really just go there? Is that what she was after? Love? It was way too early to be talking about love. She didn't love Casey. Did she? Oh crap. Now she had just talked herself into being even more nervous.

Finally, Janice had no choice but to dry her sweaty palms on her pants and actually knock on the door. And when Casey answered, she took full note of the warm smile that he flashed. More than took note. It took her very breath away. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. That looked hopeful. He even hugged her as he showed her into the room. But she didn't really know what to do. And she just knew that he would be able to see that doubt written all over her face. Janice was panicked. CIA training was great at teaching you how to get them into bed. But it didn't do a damn thing to teach you how to make them fall in love with you. She really cared for this guy and she didn't know what to do. She was going to blow it.

So in a weird, ironic, sort of perverse way, Janice was almost grateful when she looked over Casey's shoulder and noticed that Elise was pointing a gun at them. That couldn't be good. Wasn't she supposed to be the prisoner? But at least it was a situation that she was trained for.

- - - -

All was now right in Sarah's world. Or at least it would be once she could suck enough oxygen into her lungs to keep her chest from exploding. One look at Chuck lying there told her that he was fighting his own battle to catch his breath. But it felt so great. To have her head in this familiar position on his chest. She knew that she had missed this for the past couple of days. But even she wasn't aware of how much. Only now did she realize that the ache that had been in her chest was gone.

And even though Sarah was still trying to catch her breath, she had to feel his lips again. So she turned towards him and pressed her mouth to his. Naturally, he responded as she would have expected. He wrapped his arms firmly around her head. They were so locked into their own world with their tongues dancing that neither noticed Elise enter the room until she was next to the bed.

Once Sarah saw the gun she immediately knew that her position was defenseless. She was naked, tangled up in bed with Chuck, and facing an adversary with a weapon. And her own gun was lying on the floor, buried someplace in that mound of clothes. So Sarah did the only thing she could do. She placed her hands on the top of her head in a show of surrender.

Elise tossed a pair of handcuffs on the bed. "Cuff your hands to each other," she said.

Sarah had no choice. She was careful not to make any sudden moves. She slowly reached down and fastened the cuff to her right wrist. Then she reached over and secured the other cuff to Chuck's left wrist.

Elise motioned with the gun in her hand. "Let's go," she said. "Out into the living room."

"We're naked," Chuck protested. "Can we put on some clothes?"

At first, Sarah had hope. If Elise would let her grab some clothes, her gun was there.

But Elise dashed that hope when she shook her head. "Sorry," she said. "I can't risk it. Grab the sheet and wrap it around you."

When they walked into the other room, they could see Casey and Janice were sitting on the same chair where Elise had been secured earlier. Their arms were fastened to each other in a similar way as chuck and Sarah. But their hands were fastened to each other through the arm of the chair, effectively securing them to it. Sarah could see the gun that Elise had taken from Janice sitting on the counter. But it was too far away to make a lunge for it. Janice sat on Casey's lap as they watched Chuck and Sarah walk in. Chuck was obviously trying to keep the sheet in place but was having a hard time. Elise indicated that they should sit on the couch and they immediately and silently complied.

"I want to talk to you," Elise said.

"Elise, please…" Chuck started.

"I intend on doing all of the talking," Elise loudly interrupted. "Is that clear?"

Chuck just nodded his head.

"It's funny how quickly things can change in this business," Elise said. "Isn't it? Ten minutes ago, I was a captive, wondering who was going to kill me first. Sarah Walker or Fulcrum. And now, thanks to your carelessness, I find myself in quite a different position. For the first time, I actually have options."

Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand under the sheet for support.

"There are several things I could do," Elise continued. "The most obvious choice is for me to shoot you all in the head and run. That would probably work. After all, they would assume that I'm dead and stop looking for me. But I actually think it might work out even better for me if I were to turn you over to Fulcrum. I'll bet they would be so happy that they would let me live. And once they found out about your plan, I don't think they would be very sympathetic towards you. Imagine, Sarah, what that Elder would have you do when a gun was pointed at Chuck's head. You'd do anything that he asked. We all know it."

Sarah knew better than to respond. But Elise was right. The defense against Fred Jones had always been that he needed her. His ultimate goal was to have Sarah work for him. So he was careful not to push her too far. But once they found out about the plan to take him down… that was out the window. He would be looking for revenge. And she didn't have to guess how that would play out. Elise was right. She would do anything to protect Chuck. And, more importantly, Fred Jones would know that. It was the worst case scenario they had discussed when they first developed the plan. Modeling lingerie would be the tamest thing he would demand. And it would all happen in front of Chuck. The odds of Jones being merciful were almost non existent.

Sarah began to think about ways to attack. She had to admit that her choices were very limited. Elise was a trained agent. That meant the chances of surprising her were not good. Sarah knew that there was no way to get to Elise before she shot. But anything was better than being Fred Jones's helpless plaything. If she took the first bullet, maybe Chuck could get to her before he was shot. Casey and Janice were secured to the chair. It would be several seconds before they would be able to drag it over and be any help. Could Chuck hold out that long? And being fastened to Chuck was going to make any attack much harder. Especially since they were naked and wrapped up in this stupid sheet that wasn't really hiding anything anyway. To have any chance, they would have to move together. Sarah was trying to make eye contact with Chuck to let him know to be ready to move when something strange happened. Tears started to stream down Elise's face.

"I've made some huge mistakes in my life," Elise said softly. "I didn't think some things through. I'm really not making excuses. There is no one to blame except myself. I've made some decisions that I'm not proud of. I need to fix that." She then tossed the keys to Sarah. "I'm sorry about pointing the weapon at you. But I wanted to make sure that you realized that I have a choice. So you'll realize that what I'm doing now is what I truly want to do. Maybe that will allow you to trust me a little easier. I understand that I have to earn that trust. I'm not demanding anything. I have to pay for my sins. I realize that. But I would be truly grateful for a second chance. If you would give me that chance, I promise that you won't regret it."

As soon as Sarah had released Chuck and herself, Elise walked over and handed her the gun. "I'll do anything that you ask me," she said.

Sarah took the gun from Elise but didn't point it at her. She just sat it on the sofa.

Elise took the keys and unlocked Casey's cuff. As she reached for Janice's wrist she leaned in to speak to her. "By the way," she said softly. "As long as I'm on a roll here, I might as well tell you something. He's in love with you. He was so excited about seeing you just now that he left his gun sitting on the table. I guess that's why spies shouldn't fall in love. He's too chicken shit to tell you. But I figured you'd want to know."

- - - -