A/N - Here is the next chapter so I won't keep you on the cliff for too long. Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think. I don't own Chuck, Olympics, Cutting Edge, etc.

Chapter 28

Hans Mueller picked up his phone and dialed a number. After two rings a man answered.

"Hallo."

"Schmidt, Mueller here. I need you to watch over a couple of American figure skaters."

"You want me to be a body guard?"

"It appears as though someone tried to attack them last night at the medal awards ceremony."

"It probably was just a robbery attempt. A one shot deal."

"We have reasons to believe that it's not. I'm investigating. I promised them increased protection at least until after the pairs competition. They called me this morning with their schedule for the day."

"Who are these Americans?"

"The Bartowskis."

"I saw them on TV the other night. She's hot!"

"Yeah she is. And very married."

"At least I can look."

Mueller chuckled. "Probably so, but you better be careful how you look. Her husband took out two large bad guys by himself who were trying to get to his wife."

"OK. Duly noted. Where are they?"

"At the Ice Cube. Get over there right away."

"Be there in five minutes."

Klaus Schmidt left the Security Office and headed over to the Ice Cube at the opposite side of the mall. When he arrived at the entrance he was surprised to find the door locked. Pulling out his pass key, he opened the door to find a large man with his back to the exit looking down at the ice. The man had a large wooden baton in his right hand. Schmidt quickly reached into his pocket and took out his taser.

Ivan was surprised when he heard the door open behind him because he thought he had locked the door. He quickly tried to hide the baton by moving it to the front of his body and turned his head to look at who had come in the door, expecting another curler or maybe spectators. He was shocked to find the intruder to be wearing a badge.

"What are you doing here?" Schmidt demanded. "This facility is not open for spectators yet."

Ivan slowly turned around trying to keep the baton hidden. "I'm sorry sir. I didn't know."

"That's OK. Please leave the arena now. The competition doesn't start until tomorrow." Schmidt stepped back warily to allow the man to go by. When Ivan didn't move, Schmidt said "Sir, you must leave now."

Ivan looked at Schmidt and shook his head. "I can't. I have a job to do." He raised the baton to strike at Schmidt. Fortunately Schmidt had seen the baton earlier when he came in and easily dodged the blow before zapping Ivan with his taser. The big man fell down to his knees and shook from the electrical current. Incapacitated for a few minutes, Schmidt quickly cuffed Ivan to a nearby pole and went to look for the Bartowskis. From his vantage point near the exit he could look down on the ice. Much to his alarm, Schmidt saw another large man also holding a baton in a threatening manner advancing toward the Bartowskis and another man and a woman who looked very much like Karolina Costner. Racing down the steps as fast as he could he watched in amazement as the two couples grabbed curling stones and slid them down the ice sheet toward the attacker. Igor dodged the first one but when he tried to dodge the second one he slipped and fell flat on the ice. Stones three and four then hit Igor on the head, knocking him out.

Schmidt reached the ice when Sarah, Chuck, Cole and Karolina were giving each other high fives for taking out Igor. He hurried past the two couples and put cuffs around Igor's wrists. Schmidt quickly spoke into his walkie talkie and for help to take the bad guys away.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski," Schmidt called out to them as he walked closer to where the group was standing. "I am Herr Schmidt of the Security Office. Director Mueller sent me over to watch over you although from the looks of things you don't need much help." He smiled at them.

Chuck stepped forward and shook his hand. "Thank you for coming Herr Schmidt. I'm Chuck and this is my wife Sarah. These are our friends Cole Barker and Karolina Costner."

Schmidt shook each of their hands but had difficulty prying his eyes away from Sarah, something that did not go unnoticed by her. Sarah turned to Chuck and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body against his and said in a rather suggestive way, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Chuck honey. Let's skip skating practice this afternoon. I'd much rather go back to our hotel and practice something else."

Chuck gulped and asked "Practice what sweetheart?"

Sarah stood on her tip toes and gave Chuck a kiss. "Why making a baby of course."

Having known Chuck and Sarah for several years, Cole was used to this sort of banter between them and he chuckled at her comment. Karolina was very surprised but found it amusing after Cole had laughed. Schmidt on the other hand knew that he was the reason for the comment and was about to say something to apologize when the doors burst open and five additional members of the Security team rushed inside the Ice Cube followed by Herr Mueller.

By this time Ivan and Igor had regained consciousness and were taken away while Mueller and Schmidt talked to the four friends. Mueller said "I am sorry for doubting you Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski. We will double your security detail until you are finished competing. I trust you are unharmed."

"Thank you Herr Mueller" said Chuck. "We're just glad Herr Schmidt arrived when he did."

Sarah added "We will be at the practice rink and then the Ice Palace right afterward for the finals of the team competition. If you could have your security detail escort us back to our hotel afterward, that would be great."

Herr Mueller nodded. "I will have Herr Schmidt and three others escort you back to your hotel. Please call me in the morning with your schedule for tomorrow."

xxxxx

Chuck and Sarah enjoyed cheering on Davis and White and Gracie Gold in the last night of the team competition. The Russians had built a commanding lead and although Davis and White won the Dance program and Gracie Gold finished third, Team USA finished just behind Canada for the silver medal and had to settle for a bronze. Karolina had skated well for Italy and finished second, but Italy was well out of the medal hunt before she skated. Cole was there to cheer on Karolina and was happy for her skate.

After the competition, Chuck and Sarah went out with their teammates to head to the medal ceremony and receive their bronze medals. While heading out, Sarah was talking to Gracie Gold, giving her some advice on controlling her emotions during the Olympics when Cole came up to her to say hello.

"Hey Sarah. Congratulations on another Olympic medal."

"Thank you Cole." She glanced at Gracie and looked back at Cole, remembering that he wanted to meet her. "Cole, I'd like to introduce you to my teammate and friend, Gracie Gold. Gracie, this is my friend from the United Kingdom Cole Barker. He's on the curling team."

Cole took Gracie's hand and kissed the back of it. "Enchantee, mademoiselle."

Gracie giggled and said "Pleased to meet you Cole."

Just then Karolina walked up and said "Ready to go Cole?"

Cole looked up at Karolina and back at Gracie. He made a decision in an instant. "Pleased to meet you Gracie. Good luck in ladies singles, but I must admit I'll be cheering for Karolina here."

Karolina smiled and Gracie looked relieved, not wanting any distractions. Gracie thought that Cole was a ruggedly handsome man but not someone to get involved with during the Olympics.

Chuck, who had been talking to Bryce rejoined his wife in time to say goodnight to Cole and Karolina.

Sarah looked relieved. Chuck asked "What were you talking to them about honey?"

"As you know Cole had been wanting to meet Gracie and I introduced them. Thankfully Cole made his decision to stay with Karolina."

Chuck nodded. "They seem good for each other. Hopefully it will work out."

Sarah smiled and said "Hopefully." Sarah kissed Chuck and whispered in his ear. "Take me back to our hotel as soon as the medal ceremony is over. We have some practicing to do."

Chuck smirked at his wife and whispered back. "Are we practicing for a boy or a girl?"

Sarah looked at her husband coyly. "Does it really matter?"

xxxxx

After eating lunch with their families, Chuck and Sarah headed over to the Ice Palace for a short practice session and an interview with Bryce before the short program. Diane watched her charges skate flawlessly around the ice, amazed at how well they skated together. They skated as one, in perfect unison, totally in tune with the other. That, combined with their excellent skating skills as individuals, made them, in her mind, and unbeatable team. The only thing that could stop them would be something that would break their cohesion which is what it appeared as though someone was trying to do.

After finishing one last run through of their short program, Sarah and Chuck skated over to where Diane was standing by the boards. Diane smiled and said "Just go out and skate like that and you will be in first place heading into the long program. How are you feeling?"

"We're great Diane." Chuck looked over to where the security detail was standing. "Although we're starting to feel a little like presidential candidates being followed around by the secret service."

Diane chuckled. "It's been a while since you practiced the Pamchenko. I think you should try it now."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Now? In front of the security detail?"

"I'll ask them to wait outside for a moment."

Diane escorted the security men to the door and instructed them to wait outside while guarding the door herself. Sarah and Chuck went back on the ice for a short warm up before giving the Pamchenko a try. They completed the move successfully but were a little wobbly on the catch at the end. A slight adjustment to the catch point and they flawlessly completed the move. After two more flawless completions Diane called an end to the practice, inviting the security team back in.

As they headed out, Diane said to Chuck and Sarah "You are ready for anything. Just have fun from here on out." Chuck and Sarah smiled at her and nodded. "Thanks Diane."

xxxxx

A little while later, Sarah and Chuck sat across from Bryce in the interview room. To begin the interview Bryce asked "How has your Sochi Olympic experience been so far?"

Sarah looked at Chuck before returning her focus back on Bryce. "It's been great so far. Winning a medal in the team completion was great as we don't usually get to be part of a much larger team in figure skating." Chuck and Sarah had decided to keep quiet about the attempts to hurt them until after the pairs event.

"What about you Chuck?"

"I love being here with my wife skating together. It's different from being on a hockey team. My partner here is a lot prettier than the guys on the hockey team for one."

That got a chuckle from Bryce and Sarah. "How did your practice session go this afternoon?"

"Everything went great. Our coach Diane Beckman pronounced us ready to go and we have to agree."

"Do you feel any added pressure this time around?"

Chuck laughed. "What pressure? No one expected us to be here and the only pressure I feel is when I've got my wife over my head in a lift. The last thing I would ever want to do is drop the woman I love and hurt her."

Sarah smiled at Chuck before leaning over to give him a kiss. "Don't worry sweetie. I trust you completely and don't worry at all that you'll drop me."

"What about you Sarah? Do you feel any added pressure being the defending Olympic champion?"

"None at all. Of course we like to win and hope to do so here, but I know my husband here will love me just as much if we win as if we don't. I love him just the same."

"Who do you view as your stiffest competition?"

"The two Russian pairs and the German pair will be tough, but we believe in focusing on what we can control which is our skate. We can't control what anyone else does or the judges, so we don't even think about those things." Chuck answered.

"Will we see you in the World championships this year?"

Sarah and Chuck just looked at each other and back at Bryce with their mouths open.

"From the looks on your faces I think I've caught you by surprise."

They nodded. Chuck said "We never gave it a thought. I guess we had hoped I'd be back in the NHL shortly after the Olympics and Sarah back at Stanford."

Sarah said "Exactly. We've never even considered it so we don't know."

"Just like you don't know if you'll do the Pamchenko?"

That got grins from both Chuck and Sarah.

Bryce turned to the camera and said with a smirk on his face "There you have it. Chuck and Sarah Bartowski still dodging the question on whether they will do the Pamchenko." He looked back at them and chuckled. "Just kidding folks. They are my friends after all."

Chuck and Sarah smiled and nodded. "Thanks for having us Bryce."

Bryce signed off and after removing their mics gave Sarah a hug and shook Chuck's hand. "Good luck out there and come back to talk to me after you win."

"Thanks Bryce," they said in unison before heading back to the locker rooms to get ready for the short-program.

xxxxx

Chuck and Sarah were scheduled to skate second to last in the short program. Volosozhar and Trankov, the favorites coming in to the Olympics were scheduled to skate last. The Russians were in the very back of the waiting area pacing back and forth, watching the television monitors for the latest results. There were few surprises and it came closer to when the Bartowskis would take the ice. Chuck sat calmly in a chair with his wife in his lap, equally as calm. Chuck pulled Sarah down for a kiss which she eagerly returned. Diane stood a few feet away looking at them in amazement. Here they were, just about the skate before a worldwide audience and they were acting like they were on a date at a skating rink. Chuck smiled up at his wife and gave her the Bartowski eyebrow dance. "Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Bartowski?" Sarah winked. "Always, Mrs. Bartowski." Chuck winked back. Sarah laughed and stood up, pulling Chuck to his feet. "Let's do this and then go back to our room so you can really seduce me." Chuck gulped and grinned back at her. "I can hardly wait." He said.

Sarah and Chuck took their positions at the center of the ice. Chuck leaned down and gave his wife a quick kiss and they exchanged an 'I love you.' The music started and they began to skate around the ice. The Russians watched intently on the monitor in the back wondering how well their last major competition would do. After executing perfect side by side triple axels and a throw triple axel, the couple raced around the ice using flawless footwork before a terrific split triple twist. The crowd was cheering wildly and the commentators were exulting at their performance. After the remaining elements were performed exquisitely, Chuck and Sarah stood in the center of the ice enjoying the adulation of the crowd. Sarah pulled Chuck down for a kiss and they skated over to the kiss and cry area to await their scores.

Diane beamed at Chuck and Sarah, telling them that is that performance didn't get a record score she would file a protest. Their starting point value was five points higher than anyone else and they skated flawlessly with passion. When the scores were finally posted, it was a record total of 94.01 points, giving them a ten point lead before the final pair, who were warming up on the ice.

Volosozhar and Trankov skated the best program of their lives, spurred on by the pro-Russian crowd. Their score was 90.78, which was really inflated as the start value was five points lower than Chuck and Sarah and there was no way they performed better. Still the Bartowskis were in the lead heading into the long program the following night.

The Russian coach followed her team out of the kiss and cry area. Happy that her team had skated so well but scared knowing that even their best was not good enough to win if the Bartowskis skated well. If they did the Pamchenko and succeeded it would be no contest. Her team had tried it and failed repeatedly to the point she knew it to be impossible, but she saw the video. The video had to be doctored. The attempts to attack them failed and now they were heavily guarded. Their only hope now is to have her team skate their best in the hope that the Bartowskis try the Pamchenko and fail. The schedule fit into her plan as the skating order would be reversed with the Bartowskis skating last. Maybe a little encouragement sent the judges way will help her team. Yes, she will have to be on the phone tonight.