A/N: Wow, so it's been awhile. But I'm back from outer space and all that jazz. For a little double agent action. If you know what I mean, and I think you do. (Go ahead and imagine me snorting like a doofus.)
So anyone who is still around, still following me, still favoriting this fic, even after all of this time, I really hope this is worth the wait. And thank you so much for coming back and sticking with me. Anyone new? Welcome to the ConVerse!
As always, thanks to dettiot for helping with my first draft and being constructive and seriously helpful. I did two more revamps after you looked at it, friend, so hopefully it's better than it was when you looked at it! Thank you again!
Disclaimer: It's getting to the point now where a girl can't own freakin' anything around here. I don't own CHUCK or its characters. And I'm not making any money off of this story.
And so...onward we sneak...to Con Game Double Agent, Part 1/8
As a lone con artist, Sarah Walker had never found road tripping to be a viable option. Driving thousands of miles alone, with nothing but the radio to keep her company, having to stop every night to keep from falling asleep at the wheel…it wasn't worth it. Especially not when she could hop a plane, or better yet, fly herself to her destination in a matter of hours. Without the sleep deprivation, boredom, and niggling realization that she was completely and horribly and terribly and awfully alone in the world.
It was easy to willfully ignore that during a short plane ride, sitting at the controls, having to pay attention. And it was much more difficult to ignore the emptiness while driving for days and days with nothing but flat landscape on either side.
That being said, road trips had grown on her since that fateful night in London when she threw aside her misgivings and asked the nerdy but admittedly brave, brilliant, and frustratingly enigmatic Chuck if he wanted to join forces. It was very different when someone else was there in the car with her. When there was more than silence, or radio stations that filtered in and out, the scratching of static over the accordion and tuba of mariachi music.
Even her very first road trip with him had been enjoyable, much to her surprise. It had been out of necessity considering they'd had to destroy their identification after nearly being cornered by the FBI, and getting on planes without IDs or passports was impossible, no matter how good of a con artist you were. So they'd stolen a car and busted out of D.C., driving all the way down to New Orleans and barely stopping except to eat and sleep here and there. But it was oddly comforting, she'd found, sitting in the car with Chuck. And it was easy with two people driving, taking shifts to nap and eat, chatting almost by necessity because they were in such close quarters for days on end.
She was perfectly willing to admit now that it had been the most fun she could remember having, even with the FBI potentially on their heels.
After that, she wasn't so quick to dismiss Chuck's road trip ideas in between cons.
Sarah had also gained a few extra talents from all of the road trips they'd been on together. Like knowing, for instance, when the car was slowing down, even when she was asleep. She usually was able to wake up before the car stopped at their destination, whether it was the parking lot of a motel or a diner, or a rest stop.
So it was surprising that she had to slowly stir herself awake at the gentle insistence of a hand on her shoulder. Still groggy from nonstop driving through the entire night, she let out a yawn into the back of her hand and reached down to pull the lever that would straighten the back of her seat. "We there?" she asked, pushing her hair back from her face and peering in the darkness of the car over at her partner.
"In a bit. But I thought you'd appreciate a few minutes to wake up," Chuck answered, his hand still on her shoulder. "Think of it like your alarm went off and you pressed the snooze button."
That made her giggle tiredly, and his hand still hadn't moved she noticed.
In a moment of madness, Sarah reached over and thumped her open palm on top of Chuck's curly head. "Snooze button."
He laughed, appraising her in surprise as she attempted to look like she was proud of what she'd just done, even though she felt a little sheepish. "You must be tired."
"Shut up," she grumbled good-naturedly, curling back into her seat but keeping her eyes open. "So what's the plan?"
"Well, we have two options. We go straight to Echo Park and burst in on Devon and Ellie at ten thirty at night. That's option one. Or we check into a hotel tonight and call on them tomorrow at a more appropriate hour."
Chuck was leaving the decision up to her, and it was cute how he was trying so hard to look like either option was completely fine with him, when she knew what he wanted to do.
So even though it made her feel a little nervous (and honestly, there were so few things that made Sarah Walker nervous), she shrugged and looked out of her window before saying, "Why don't we go straight to Echo Park?"
"Really? Are you sure? I mean, it is late. And tomorrow we could, you know, look all fresh and nice."
She turned and smirked a little at him. "They'll be awake. Especially if we let them know we're almost there. It's not like it's two in the morning."
"Ha! Right." He dug in his pocket and pulled his phone out, handing it over. "Could you text Ellie and ask if it's okay to come over?"
She did so and received an almost instant reply that had plenty of exclamation points. "So we're going straight there, I guess." She flashed the screen at Chuck and he grinned.
His grin was enough to quash most of the butterflies that were currently fluttering about in her stomach. Sarah knew it had been too long since Chuck had seen his sister, especially now that he could see her without the fear of putting her and her husband at risk.
They had missed Christmas, much to everyone's chagrin, and Sarah still blamed herself for that. A con had gone on way longer than expected and though they successfully garnered a small fortune out of it, it had come at a price. And they'd had to go into hiding for an entire month, all the way through Christmas.
It would have been Chuck's first Christmas with his family in seven years and she'd blown it. It wasn't like they'd needed the money for anything in particular, but the prospect of it all had given both of them a thrill. And she persuaded him. Granted, it hadn't been difficult.
Especially with the bonus of the pharmaceutical formula they'd stolen. It had made Chuck's amber eyes light up in mischief. It would garner another two or three million at the very least, but there was something delectable about screwing over a company like Wilson & Poole. They promoted their image as a healthcare messiah—when actually they shoved diet and anxiety pills down people's throats and made billions off of it.
They'd gotten away. Barely. And they'd had to race across the Southern states until they found Sarah's safe house.
Oh well, Chuck said. They'd ended up alone, the curtains closed, exchanging gifts on the floor of the safe house living room on Christmas Day. Ellie will understand. It's no big, Sarah. Don't blame yourself.
Funny how people saying "Don't blame yourself" did absolutely nothing to make you stop blaming yourself.
"Hey." He nudged her arm with his fist and she turned to look at him again. There was a flicker of doubt in his dark eyes. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, waving his concern away. Funny how that never worked, either.
"If you want to regroup and head over to Echo Park tomorrow, we can do that. It's okay, Sarah. I mean, we did just drive a gazillion miles and I know you're tired and I'm tired and socializing right now would probably be kinda—"
"Chuck, I want to go to Echo Park to see your sister. And Captain Awesome. Right now."
He made a show of pointing to the clock on the dash. "Well, we're still, like, twenty three minutes away. So right now isn't really an option—Ow!" he laughed and tried to defend himself with one arm up as she swatted at him.
"Stop being a jerk. I'm tired." And yet she couldn't stop her smile.
"Sorry." His drawl was sincere enough, so she silently forgave him and flipped open the visor to look at herself in the small mirror. It had a little light on it, which was pretty snazzy, and helpful considering it was nighttime.
Sarah knew Chuck was watching her as she pulled her messy hair up into a stylish bun and did a minor makeup touch-up. She was grateful that he didn't say anything about it, even though she knew exactly what he would say. Something like, You don't need to do that, you know. You look beautiful.
But he knew her enough by now to know it wouldn't do any good to say it, so he just let her be. And curse that amused smirk on his handsome face, anyways.
This would be only her third time meeting Ellie Woodcomb, and the first time was tense at its worst, and tentative and hopeful at its best. She and Chuck had stayed for a few weeks, enough time for the siblings to reconnect, enough time for Sarah to really get an idea of what sort of person Ellie was. She discovered that the woman who'd practically raised Chuck Bartowski was not only sweet and filled with dry wit, she was also a force to be reckoned with. Sarah had liked her almost immediately…and even faster than that, she'd respected her.
The second time was a much shorter visit—only a week. And Ellie had worked a good chunk of it, so she hadn't gotten to spend as much time as she'd wanted with the sister of the man she loved. Then again, at the same time, it had been somewhat of a relief and she hated that she felt that way. Coward.
Of course Ellie wouldn't immediately take her under her wing and have inside jokes with her and act sisterly and buddy-buddy. Sarah was still one of the main reasons why her brother was a criminal, why her brother lived a life that was much more dangerous than it would be if he lived here in Los Angeles and worked for a tech company or something, like he'd planned to do when he went to Stanford all those years ago.
All things considered, the fact that Ellie was kind and conversational, on top of being wholly sincere, was much more than Sarah thought she deserved at this juncture of their knowing each other. To expect more than that would be unfair.
But Sarah was still a bit nervous when she thought about seeing Ellie again. And she'd never in her life been the type of person who was intimidated by others. Not for any reason. She was always aware of her limitations (or lack thereof in some cases), and she constantly had full control over every situation. But God, Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was so intimidating.
How someone so sweet could elicit this kind of reaction from someone else—let alone someone like Sarah who'd brushed up against the law and other dangerous criminals on multiple occasions—was just mind-boggling.
Sarah took a deep breath and flipped the visor back up, sinking back into her seat and staring at the road ahead. Yes, she was nervous. No, she probably didn't have any good reason for it. And she knew that. So she would suck it up, and she would do this one tiny thing for the man she loved. Her partner in all things.
That was the point, wasn't it? The point of a long, lasting relationship? Sacrifices?
And since when was hanging out with her lover's family a sacrifice?
Sarah rolled her eyes at herself and reached over to grab his hand. "You excited?" she asked in as normal a voice as she could muster.
Chuck squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. "Honestly? I'm ecstatic. And…also honestly…a little nervous."
"Why nervous?" She tugged on his hand affectionately. "It's your sister.""Yeah, I know. I feel like we're still in that growth period, though. I mean, things are good. We talk on the phone and there's no awkwardness. But I know she still thinks this—what we do—is…mmm I can't think of the word."
"Foolish?"
"Ha. Yes. That."
"Well. Let's be real. It is kinda."
"What? No, it's—" She gave him a flat look and he stopped, turning back to the road with a smirk. "Alright, maybe it is foolish. But it's my choice."
"I thought you two already got that conversation out of the way."
"Yeah, we did. But talking about it only made her see where I'm coming from. That doesn't change her opinion at all."
"Well, it wouldn't, would it? She's your sister. She wants you to be safe."
"I am safe." She gave him another flat look. "How is this any different than if I were a cop?"
"Chuck. Baby. You don't have to explain your choices to me. We're partners in this crazy-ass business, remember?" She pulled her hand out from his and instead slid it across the back of his neck, running her fingers through his hair there in an attempt to cool his rising nerves. "Hey. Don't worry, okay? The second you see them, everything will be alright."
"I know. I'm just so excited that I'm getting nervous, I think."
"Well, don't. Focus on the good." Sarah took a moment to amusedly wonder if she would ever have said that before Chuck. Focus on the good.
"You're right. As always. And we're here."
He pulled into a parking spot alongside the Echo Park complex where the Woodcombs rented a large apartment. The same apartment where Chuck reunited with his sister after seven years of estrangement. The same apartment where Sarah had eaten at least a dozen meals or more and had developed a bit of an obsession with the cooking of one Ellie Woodcomb.
Sarah stole herself and got out, suppressing the need to look at Chuck in the darkness of the car. She wasn't walking into a lion's den or a room full of spiders. She was walking into Chuck's home. His ex-home. Still sort of home. And she was going to be spending time with two people who loved Chuck. There was nothing frightening about that.
Ellie didn't hate her. That had already been established during their first full length conversation all those months ago. The ice had been broken. There was just a bit of thawing left to do still. That was all.
And so Sarah Walker found herself standing next to Chuck, holding onto his hand tightly and pretending she was just doing it out of affection instead of a last minute effort to siphon confidence from her man's touch.
Ellie Woodcomb opened the door and just stood there for a second, the hugest smile already plastered on her face, as though she was already smiling when they knocked. "Hi, guys! Come in!"
Sarah went first as Chuck stepped back to let her and she went in for a hug. There was no reserve, no tentativeness, no pause from Ellie as she moved to hug her back, even going so far as to squeeze her. "So good to see you," Sarah heard herself say, and it was true. It was very true.
And as Ellie stepped around Sarah to give her brother a hug, the young con woman spotted Devon moving out of the kitchen and zooming towards her. "There they are!"
His hug was just as suffocating as it always was and she found she was a little breathless as he pulled back to hug Chuck.
Ellie shut the door behind them, offering them drinks, and it wasn't long before the two couples sat together around the table, catching up.
Sarah warmed up a little a few minutes into the conversation, able to put in a few words here and there about their journey from Louisiana.
"Why don't you two fly?"
"We like road tripping," Chuck said. And when Sarah didn't say anything, a secret smile on her face, she noticed that Ellie caught on immediately and matched it. "Wait, what's that? Devon, did you just see that? They shared a look."
"They did share a look, bro. I saw it with my own two eyes." The doctor nodded solemnly.
"Chuck, you've always like road trips," Ellie said, swirling her wine in her glass.
"Yeah. They're fun." And then he spun on Sarah. "Wait, Sarah, do you not like road trips? Oh my God! You don't! I feel like my whole life is one huge lie now!"
That made Sarah laugh, rocking forward. "Chuck, road tripping with you is great and I love it. But I don't love it as much as you do. That's all it is."
"Don't cry, Chuck. But I'm not a big road tripper," Ellie added, reaching across the table to pat Chuck's hand. "I'd take a plane over a car any day."
"We could have flown, Sarah. You just have to say the word."
"No. A plane isn't as…" Safe. But she realized that might not be the best thing to say in front of Ellie.
"Safe?" Ellie asked.
Sarah decided she really needed to make a mental note not to underestimate Ellie's people-reading abilities. All she could do was shrug in response. It was true, after all.
"Well, why not?" Ellie asked, finishing her wine. She seemed legitimately curious.
"Um…" was all Chuck seemed capable of, so Sarah decided to take the reins.
"Well there's the whole security issue. There are certain things that won't go through security very easily. I mean, I can get around it, sure, but it's a hassle. And then there's the identification. You need your passport or ID, and that's all fine except that if there's…" She paused and rubbed her hands down her pant legs before clenching them into fists. "If there's someone looking for us, flashing ID, having any of our names run through databases…it would be like a beacon."
"So you use another identity, right? One you haven't used before," Ellie shrugged.
This was getting a little weird now.
"It takes awhile for that to happen, El," Chuck put in. "And we really wanted to get here to see you as soon as possible. Especially after we missed Christmas."
Sarah spotted the tiniest of frowns on Ellie's features at that, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. She liked to fancy herself a pretty talented people-reader, too, and she was certain Chuck's sister was still sore about her brother missing Christmas.
"Oh, stop fretting about it. You guys had to lie low. Better late than never and all that. I get it."
But Sarah could tell she really didn't get it. Ellie was at least making the effort, though.
"It was my fault," Sarah said apologetically. "I thought we could finish the con with time to spare. And things happened…"
"The shit hit the fan, as it were…" Chuck interrupted.
"And we had to go into hiding. We should have just come early and spent Christmas here and we didn't and it was because of me—"
"Not just you, Sarah. It was both of us. I mean, I could have said no."
Sarah stopped and turned to look at him, raising both eyebrows. "Is that so?"
There was a snort from the other side of the table and when Sarah looked for the source of the sound, she saw Ellie with her hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes shining with laughter. The hand wasn't enough to keep it in, and a giggle erupted.
Chuck fixed his sister with a flat look as Sarah grinned, shrugging.
"Whoa. Bro, I think you met your match in this one, huh?" Devon reached across the table, holding his hand up and Sarah slapped his palm.
"I know, Awesome. I know. For the record, I really could have said no. Whether I would have been listened to or not is another story."
Sarah giggled. "I would have listened to you. Whether I would have done what you asked or not is another story."
Her boyfriend rolled his eyes, dropping his forehead to the surface of the table with a dull thunk. She tutted with a pitying pout and gently rubbed his back as Ellie and Devon looked on with laughter.
"So…what exactly did you guys do on Christmas, anyway?" Ellie asked, pouring another round of wine. Sarah wondered if she was doing it to distract from the hint of a frown beneath the wide smile. She could feel Chuck's unease and she rubbed his back again, this time lower where it was out of the sight line of Ellie and Devon.
"Our gift exchange," she said. "Stayed inside, really. For the most part we laid around." Sarah hadn't meant anything outside of the literal meaning, but she could see by the almost identical wide-eyed looks of both Bartowskis that there was a hint of the truth beneath her words.
"Way. To. Go." Captain Awesome had a way of making everything worse, didn't he? It was, as he would say, Not awesome.
Thankfully, Chuck did the polite thing and speedily accepted his brother-in-law's high five. And then he rushed on as though what had just happened, well…hadn't happened.
"We couldn't really chance going out on the town or anything. Not that there was a town nearby. Not really at least. I mean, what was closest? Baton Rouge? And we would've had to drive three hours to get there from the safe house."
"What constitutes a safe house?" Ellie asked, twirling the wine in her glass again.
"Babe. Come on," Devon chuckled, dropping his arm over the back of her chair. "It's a house that's safe."
"Is it?" she asked in a dry voice, the look on her face incredibly flat. "Thank you, Devon."
He just shrugged.
"I own it," Sarah answered. "I bought it under a fake identity, paid it all off, and it's basically been wiped off the map for the most part. I have a few of them all over the world. Places we can hide if we need to. I've got a system."
Ellie must have realized belatedly that she was gaping and sat up a bit straighter, shaking her head. Sarah tried not to allow herself to feel sheepish under Ellie's gaze. This was part of what made her so good at what she did. She had safeguards, safety nets, whatever you wanted to call it. She had a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and every so often a Plan D and E.
"That's actually awesome," Devon said, and Sarah had to take back what she'd thought earlier about him having a way of making everything worse.
And then there was something in Ellie's face—a spark of respect perhaps? Or was she grateful? Either way, it was something warm, and it left Sarah feeling better than she had all day. The wine was certainly helping and she wondered if she'd had too much to be able to drive to their that thought, she checked her watched. "Actually, Chuck…do you think we should get to a hotel? We don't want to keep you up all night," she added, turning back to their hosts.
"Chuck?" Ellie frowned in confusion at her brother. "I thought you texted me earlier today that you were staying in your old room tonight."
Did he now? Sarah turned and looked at Chuck, making sure not to offend Ellie and make her think she didn't want to stay. She could tell by the way her boyfriend squirmed in his seat that he had purposefully kept this from her all day. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said in her friendliest tone.
"It's all the way down the hall from our room," Ellie said. "Lots of privacy."
"Ellie. Please," Chuck whined, and Devon just laughed.
"I didn't mean it like that. God, Chuck!" She leaned forward to ruffle his hair and Sarah decided she was getting a prime example of what this place must have been like before Chuck went off to college. Ellie teasing Chuck about girls, Devon joining in, Chuck pouting and whining…
"No, seriously," Ellie said, still smiling sweetly. "I washed the sheets and tidied up the room a bit. There are extra towels on the bed if you want to take showers."
"Or a shower. Am I right, babe? Huh?" He paused as everyone gave him a different look, all of them some form of not being amused. "What? Are we suddenly not teasing Chuck anymore?"
Chuck dropped his forehead to the table again and began thumping his head against the wood repeatedly. "Oh." Thump. "My." Thump. "God." Thump.
"Devon," was all Ellie said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Um. Thank you, Ellie. You didn't have to go through all that trouble, though."
"Nonsense. It was easy. I am gonna hit the sack, though. I don't want to be half dead when I wake up tomorrow. I don't have a shift 'til one, but you know how it is…"
Chuck sat up straight and stood from the table, gathering up the glasses. "Let me clean these, sis. You and Devon can go to bed."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely." He was already in the kitchen.
They said their goodnights then, Devon and Ellie leaving Chuck and Sarah alone in the kitchen as Chuck scrubbed at the wine glass in his hand.
Sarah leaned back against the counter next to him and crossed her arms, simply staring at him until he stopped attempting to ignore her gaze. He finally sighed and shut off the sink, setting the first glass in the drying rack.
"Ellie invited us to stay the first night since we'd be getting in late."
"Why didn't you just say that when you made the plans? I wasn't about to go all She-Hulk on you, you know."
"I didn't want you to be nervous about it all day."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She walked around him and picked up a dish towel, drying the glass he'd just finished washing as he started on the second one.
"I know you were nervous, Sarah. I mean, I get why. I was a little nervous, too. This is really new for both of us…having people to visit. Visiting my family, no less. As great as it is, it's also just really…different…from what we're used to." He shrugged. "I should have told you earlier and I apologize."
"It's okay." And it was. She understood. It was more amusing than anything, and maybe a little sweet. If he'd told her, what was the worst that could happen? She obviously wouldn't say no and make him call Ellie to tell her they were refusing to stay.
Her Chuck. Always getting caught up in the most trivial of emotional situations.
She dried the last glass as he turned off the water and put his arm around her, kissing the side of her head. "I'm going to take a shower. I'd ask you to join but—"
"Um, no?" She gave him an Are You Kidding Me look and he laughed.
"That's what I thought you'd say. I'll be quick." This time he gave her a peck on the lips and disappeared down the hallway with their luggage.
While Chuck showered, she strolled through the kitchen, down the hallway, and to the room where she'd be staying for the night, pushing the door open to look inside. She'd seen it before. She'd even been in it. But she had never taken the time to really study it.
She felt a little ridiculous for thinking about it in this way, but it was almost like a relic of Chuck's past. His life before the con game was in every last detail. From the dark brown duvet and tan pillows, to the record player and his record collection. The blue drapes. The Comic Con mugs, posters…
Action figures?
With a tiny giggle, she walked over to his bookshelf and leaned in to get a closer look. She knew people could go a little nuts over their collector's items, so she refrained from touching it. But she couldn't help picking up the plastic Han Solo figurine on the shelf above it.
This makes so much sense.
Still smirking, she glanced around the room again, letting herself get lost in images of what Chuck must have been like as an eighteen year old preparing to go off to college. Or was he seventeen? His September birthday left her on the fence on that one. Was he older or younger than the students in his year?
Playing it safe, she imagined sixteen year old Chuck, maybe just brushing six foot, his hair unkempt and ultra curly, sitting at his desk and playing some sort of video game on his computer. Or maybe hacking into his high school database to give the school bully an F in physical education. Or lying on his bed reading a comic book.
Nothing's changed there, she mused, chuckling softly to herself.
It was sweet that Ellie had left it untouched after all of this time—and yet, it also made the con woman sad. Because she imagined Ellie Bartowski the med student standing in this room while her brother was three hundred and sixty miles away. And then she imagined Ellie Bartowski a few years older, still standing in this room. Only this time instead of wondering whether her brother would find a job in Palo Alto and stay there rather than moving home, she was wondering if he was safe, what he was doing, whether he'd ever come back…maybe even wondering if he was dead.
Swallowing the lump in her throat and cursing herself for being such a depressing blob, she turned back to the shelf and let her eyes roam over his books. A lot of them were comics, then there were scifi novels, fantasy, a few classics (probably things he'd had to read in school), and some physics books. She hoped those were for school, too, otherwise, her boyfriend might have some screws loose.
"You found my Han."
Sarah looked down and realized she still had the Han Solo figure in her hand. "Oh. Yeah, sorry." She turned to smile at him as he shut the door behind him. "I know I'm probably not supposed to touch these things."
"Nah, s'okay. As long as you don't run it over with a car or something, I think you're fine." He grinned and reached up to vigorously rub at his hair with a hand towel. "Actually, my buddy Morgan has the other half to my Han."
"There's another half?" She realized what he meant as soon as she asked. "Oh. Chewie, huh?"
"Yup."
"So you have no problem walking around this apartment wearing nothing but a towel?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she set the Han Solo figure back where she'd found it.
He smirked. "They're asleep. And I forgot my pa-yamas. Therefore…towel."
Sarah rolled her eyes and went to her suitcase, taking out her own "pa-yamas" and snatching the extra towel from the bed on the way towards the bathroom. "Don't wait up."
And as she swept past her boyfriend, she ended up leaving the room with his towel in her hand. "I'll hang this up for you," she chirped as he made a high-pitched squeak.
She shut the door behind her without looking back, barely holding back a giggle as she strolled down the hallway to take her shower.
}o{
It had been years and years since Chuck had slept in this bed. He expected it to be so comfortable, and he'd known instinctively that he would sleep like a baby. Like coming back to your own bed after seven years of sleeping on pavement.
But he apparently hadn't remembered how hard his mattress was. Or the pillows that were way too floppy and thin.
The only good thing about it had been falling asleep with Sarah half draped over his body. And that had nothing to do with the bed and everything to do with her.
Chuck gingerly sat up and grumbled, turning to glare down at his ineffectual pillow. His eyes shifted over to Sarah, cuddled up into a ball and facing away from him. He laid back down, ignoring the uncomfortable mattress and scooting closer to gently sweep her hair away from her face and prop himself up over her to kiss her cheek.
He thought he'd been gingerly enough about it so that he could sneak out of bed and get dressed without waking her, but she shifted around with a groggy hum and blinked up at him. "What the hell you want?" she rasped.
Chuck laughed so hard he ended up burying his face in her pillow to muffle it. Then he propped himself up again. "Daaaamn, baby! I know you aren't a morning person but that's a little harsh."
Sarah chuckled tiredly and rolled over to pin him down. "What do you mean I'm not a morning person?"
He snorted.
"Shut up! I am too!"
"No. You're many things, Sarah. But if there's one thing you are not it's a morning person. The first words out of your mouth are a growl. Or a snarl. Or both at the same time. A growrl." He almost choked on the word.
"You are my boyfriend," she said. Or rather…purred. And then her lips were on his chin, moving down his jaw, and brushing against his ear. "Isn't it kind of your job to make sure I don't wake up grumpy?"
"I don't know what you mean." He worked incredibly hard to keep a straight face.
Sarah pulled back and narrowed her eyes. "You do, and it's not as hot if I have to explain it."
That made him laugh. "Touché."
She pushed herself up to sit in his lap, straddling him and crossing her arms. "Well?" She was wide awake now, her long blond hair unruly from sleep, her t-shirt a little crooked.
"Well what?"
"I'm not playing that game this morning, you doofus. You know what. You're falling behind on your job, boyfriend."
"Now that's a flat out lie, Walker. I'm very good at my job and you know it."
"Not today I don't."
"Ohh ho ho!" He laughed and grabbed her, turning them so that she was pressed against the mattress and he reached up to pin her hands by her head. "This is not happening here…" He paused, wondering if he should say the next part or if that would be giving her too much power. Screw it. "As much as I want it to."
She bounced her shoulders. "Why not? Like your sister said, they're all the way down the hall. And you did lock your bedroom door…" He didn't say anything and the coy look fell a little. "Wait, you did lock it, right? Should I go lock it? I'll just go lock it."
"No, you won't!" He dove in and playfully nuzzled his stubble against her neck. He liked to think Sarah had a love/hate relationship with that particular representation of affection. She hated it and loved it in equal measure. Sarah squealed quietly and giggled, struggling against him quite easily actually, and turning them both over so that she was on top again.
Her hair fell over their faces to create something of a curtain around them and she readjusted herself on his lap.
Chuck admittedly went a little cross-eyed at that.
"Did high school Chuck ever bring a girl in here?"
His chin would have dropped to his feet if he weren't horizontal. As it was, he could only gape. "Uh…what?"
"Did you ever bring any girls into your bedroom? Or am I the first one?"
God, this woman was such an enigma. Last night she had been so nervous about staying there, seeming a little uncomfortable about it when they'd climbed into bed together, wondering if they should unlock the door and leave it propped or something…just to keep Devon and Ellie from getting any ideas about what might or might not be happening inside.
And now here she was this morning, very blatantly seducing him.
"You do realize I was definitely one of the biggest nerds ever, right?"
"Was?"
"Haaaa." He made a face. She just grinned down at him. "There is no way I could ever get a girl at my high school to look at me, let alone have one of them step foot in here. You gotta be kiddin' me."
She hummed and tilted her head. "They were missin' out."
"Ha! No. No they weren't. High school Chuck was not the sex machine you see before you now." She chuckled. "I was, like, almost six foot and one hundred and thirty pounds. They called me Stringbean. That was before they tripped me into the nearby planter. Usually in the morning, right after the sprinklers had been on."
"Awww." She leaned in and kissed him, and when he thought she might pull back, she didn't, and instead lowered all of her weight onto him and even deepened the kiss a little.
He finally found the strength of will to pull back a little. "Gah! Sarah, not here…"
"Come on. You have to get laid in here someday."
"You are way too excited about this, you know that? It's a little weird."
"I've got a question. A serious one." She propped her elbows on his chest.
"Okay. What?"
"Am I your first girlfriend? Like, was I your first first? Were you a virgin before we did—"
Chuck growled and flipped them over again as she squealed, burying her face in his shoulder and cackling as he tickled her mercilessly. He finally stopped when he figured she'd had enough, feeling an overwhelming amount of glee at seeing tears of laughter pooling in her eyes. "For the record, you were not my first. Girlfriend or…the other thing."
"Sex? Are you talking about sex?"
"Shut up," he chuckled.
"Come onnn, Chuck. This bed is comfy. We can just do it real quick and then pop out for breakfast."
He furrowed his brow at her in a What the fuck look and shook his head. "What?! Do it real quick and pop out for breakfast? First of all, it ain't gonna be quick, woman, no matter what you say—" He thought he heard her mumble "Cocky" but he ignored it completely and continued. "And secondly, I won't be able to look my sister in the eye all morning if we have sex right now. In the bed where I spent my…puberty years."
She guffawed. "Oh my God, you really just said that."
"What? It's true."
"Come on. We're just wasting time now.""I smell bacon, though. That means they're up and making breakfast. They might hear."
"No."
"No?"
She laughed and leaned up to kiss his chin. "I'm just messing with you. Mostly."
"Good." Then he stopped. "Wait a second, did I hear you say this bed is comfy?"
Sarah pulled back and pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows. "Mhm."
"You're full of shit."
"Oh okay. So first you rebuff my advances and reject me, and then you tell me I'm full of shit. And you say you're good at boyfriending?"
He chuckled. "I'm sorry. You're not full of shit. I'm just surprised, because I found it super uncomfortable." He leaned in to give her an apologetic kiss, both disappointed and glad that she didn't pull him closer and make the kiss last longer.
And then he extracted himself from her embrace and sat up again. "I swear this was more comfortable ten years ago." He thumped it with his fist for good measure.
"I've slept on cement, Chuck. And on museum steps. And on roofs. Et cetera."
Chuck turned to stare at her for a moment, then smiled softly. It wasn't fair to say that he'd forgotten her past had been much rougher than his per se…because he'd never forget everything she'd told him up until now, everything he knew she'd gone through. He cherished the tidbits of her difficult past that she'd trusted him with. But she seemed so content and happy about where she was now that all of that sometimes got pushed to the back of his mind. "Well, I'm obviously just a diva then."
"The nerd princess and the pea."
He rocked forward with laughter and reached back to grab her hand, hoisting her up against him and kissing her. "Unending wit, I swear," he drawled when he pulled back, before kissing her again and leaping out of bed.
By the time they dressed and Chuck unlocked and opened his door, he almost ran straight into Ellie who looked to have been lingering in the hallway at his door, probably deciding whether she should knock on the door or not.
"Oh! Hi! Good morning. Hi. Breakfast is ready, but we didn't want to inter—You know what? Breakfast is ready. Just gonna go ahead and leave it at that. Okay!" She turned on her heel and flew back to the kitchen.
Chuck turned to give Sarah a look and nearly laughed when he saw that she was clamping her lips between her fingers to keep from cracking up. "I told you you're the only girl I've brought here," he drawled, and then she did laugh.
"Yeah, apparently."
They walked out to enjoy breakfast with Devon and Ellie, Chuck having almost forgotten what it was like to eat a leisurely breakfast at this table, with these people, and this great cooking. And then he remembered that breakfast used to be his favorite meal. Even when he only had time for cereal.
As they chatted, their dirty plates stacked in the sink, Chuck marveled at how much looser Sarah seemed this morning. Her playfulness upon waking up aside, she was involved in the conversation, more so than she'd been the night before.
And there was even a bit of a connection between the two most important women in his life. He'd seen a hint of it last night, but now it was much more apparent. Small moments of them meeting eyes and smirking. Sure, a lot of it was at his expense, but he couldn't even pretend to mind it. They could tease him to death as far as he was concerned—as long as they did it together.
}o{
Sarah folded her arms under her head and blinked through her sunglasses up at the overcast sky. Admittedly, going to the beach when it was still winter hadn't seemed like the greatest idea to Sarah, but Ellie had insisted that they used to do it all the time. The tourists usually swarmed the LA beaches in spring and summer, even fall, but winter left only a few locals and the surfers.
A breeze swept over her and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin, even under the sweatshirt she'd zipped up over her bikini.
It had been a pleasant morning, even though they didn't get to enjoy the typical SoCal beach weather of mid seventies and a nice sea breeze. Instead, clouds stretched across the entire sky and it was in the lower sixties all morning.
Sarah didn't mind it. And she'd worn her bikini anyways. She'd spent winter in Russia, after all.
"Babe. Let's get a sailboat."
She heard Ellie laugh and turned her head to watch as Devon's damp figure trotted over and slumped down to the towel on Ellie's other side. The doctor lifted her head and made a face. "Right, because you know how to sail."
"No, but he'd actually be…Captain Awesome," Chuck chimed in as he walked up from the water behind Devon.
"Oh ho! Yes, Chuck!"
"No, Chuck. Not at all. Neither of you knows how to work a motorboat, let alone figure out a sailboat," Ellie said, lying back down as though the subject was over.
"Yeah, but Babe, that's what sailing lessons are for!"
"Yeah, El, that's what sailing lessons are for," Chuck said, sounding a little like a parrot.
"Sarah. Please help me."
She laughed and shook her head. "I'm not getting involved in this."
"It's settled. I'm buying a sailboat."
"I'll pitch in." Chuck landed next to Sarah. The way he didn't seem to mind the sand all over his wet body reminded her of kids she'd always seen on the beach with sand covering their skin and trapped in their suits, and the hassle she was sure their parents had to go through cleaning the kids before putting them in the car to go home.
"You're not pitching in," Sarah said, shaking her head lazily.
"Why not?"
She belatedly realized that his towel was still tucked under her head as a pillow because he hadn't been using it while frolicking in the ocean with his brother-in-law. But he wasn't asking for her to give it back, so she shrugged to herself. "Because you aren't a sailor, Chuck."
He actually looked a little offended, though Ellie laughing probably didn't help much. "I am too a sailor!"
"Yeah, Chuck. You're a regular Popeye," Ellie said dryly, and Sarah had to bite her cheek to keep from giggling. The woman hadn't avoided getting the Bartowski sense of humor.
"Hey! I'd be awesome. Devon, wouldn't I be awesome?"
"We'd be an awesome team."
"See? Captain Awesome, I will be your first mate. I'll be the Bo'sun! Bo'sun Bartowski." He saluted at Devon, who saluted back. Ellie and Sarah turned their heads to give each other flat looks as their men repeatedly saluted each other on either side of them.
"Why are we still having this conversation? Devon, if anything, we're going on a trip to Europe with the money it would cost for you to buy a sailboat. Europe beats sailboat. Hands down. All the time. And when would you have time to take sailing lessons anyway?"
"Okay, okay. I'm just saying. It would be cool."
"Well, it's a moot point," Chuck added, flopping onto his back, caking sand all over his shoulders and hair. God, he is a little boy. "Because not a single one of us knows anything about sailing. Lessons aside, that's a problem."
Sarah propped herself up on her elbows. "That's not entirely true. I do."
Chuck mimicked her position, his eyes wide. "What?"
"I've been on a sailing crew. It was pretty good pay."
Her boyfriend narrowed his brown eyes at her, the breeze playing with the curls on his head as he studied her. "You're just saying that."
Sarah laughed. "Why would I make that up?"
"Did you really?" Ellie asked.
She turned to the doctor. "Yeah! I was one of four crew members. It was an eighty footer, went through the Caribbean and up along the Eastern coast, then back down to Brazil." Everyone was silent and she shifted a little uncomfortably. "What?"
"Were you a pirate?"
She spun on Chuck and then laughed so hard that her elbows folded beneath her and she thumped back to her towel. "Was I a pirate?" she asked through peels of laughter. "Are you serious?"
Chuck pouted. "Well you have a thing for pirates. I know this for a fact."
Her giggles died down and she wiped at her eyes with the pads of her fingers. It was, however, pretty adorable that he remembered that. "Oh, Chuck. Baby, no. No, I wasn't a pirate. Do you know how incredibly dangerous that is these days? I would never ever do that. Even though these guys with too much money on their hands who buy sailboats to 'sail around the world' when they have no experience are seriously stupid. No offense, Devon."
"None taken."
"Well, I stand corrected, then," Chuck said. "We should go sailing sometime!"
"Naaah." She shook her head and rolled onto her stomach, nuzzling her face in Chuck's towel.
"Why not?"
"I like having you in my life," she mumbled. When Ellie snorted, she knew Chuck's sister had picked up on her meaning before he had. It made her smile. Ellie had missed out on the clueless gene, then. Unlike dear sweet Chuck.
"That's sweet, Sarah, but I don't—Oh, are you saying I would die? That's so messed up."
"You'd get your foot caught on something and pitch over the side and that's a fact. Or you'd hit your head on the boom. Or fall off the rigging. Shoot yourself with a harpoon gun…"
Chuck spun on her. "What?!"
"…Any number of things."
"I don't have to listen to this," he said, climbing to his feet and dusting sand off of his shorts, sending it cascading over her. She squealed and reached out to smack at his leg repeatedly, giggling as he rubbed his hands over his hair and sent more sand onto her back. "I'm getting shaved ice."
"I'll go with you," she chirped, making both Ellie and Devon laugh as she pushed herself up to her feet.
"Um, you're not invited." He leaned over and pulled a wad of cash out of the lining of the beach bag they'd brought.
"Nonsense. I want some shaved ice, too."
"No, you don't. You just don't want me to go by myself in case I trip and fall into a trash bin or something." The image made her chuckle. "Nothing doing."
He turned and walked away from her, a small smile on his face.
"Bye, you guys. Getting some shaved ice," she said, waving at Ellie and Devon as she followed as though she hadn't heard him. "Either of you want something?"
When they replied in the negative, she turned back to Chuck and hurried after him, linking arms with him and tucking herself close to his side. The breeze was picking up a little, whipping at the wisps of hair that escaped her loose braid at the back of her head. "Are you really getting shaved ice?"
"I am indeed."
"It's not exactly shaved ice weather."
"It's always shaved ice weather." And when he leaned in to press his lips to her sandy temple, she knew her teasing hadn't actually done any harm. Just to make sure, she tugged him in for a better kiss, halting them just before reaching the sidewalk.
But as she was getting ready to thread her fingers through his hair and pull him even closer, she felt a chill go through her that had nothing to do with the weather. Her lips still pressed against Chuck's, she tugged herself out of the moment (very reluctantly) and opened her eyes, tilting her face a little so that she could glance behind him.
She shut her eyes again when she didn't see anything but a few families enjoying the beach. But the feeling didn't go away.
She pulled back from the kiss and patted Chuck on the chest, smiling up at him.
"Well, that was kinda hot," he murmured, bouncing his eyebrows. "All the more reason for shaved ice."
"Oh God, that was bad."
"Was it?"
"Yes."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, glancing over her shoulder as she pretended to fix her hood, instead sweeping her eyes over every single person in her line of sight. No one was even there by themselves, let alone watching them.
And yet the feeling continued.
Like someone was following her every move.
Shit.
They'd better make the shaved ice trip quick. She could take care of Chuck and herself, but Ellie and Devon were out on the beach alone. What if whoever it was…?
Sarah shoved the thought out of her mind. She was overreacting and that wasn't her usual response to knowing she was being watched. She had to be coolheaded, calm. Collected. Smart.
"Why don't you get the shaved ice? I'm going to head to the restroom."
"You got it, pretty lady. What flavor?"
"Anything but grape." She broke off from him.
"What do ya got against grape?" he called.
"It tastes fake."
"It's all fake, Sarah."
She bit her tongue before she snapped at him not to say her name out loud. In case whoever was watching them was in earshot. But it was a stupid impulse. He'd already said it. And why risk freaking Chuck out if this was just her being paranoid?
As she ducked into the bathroom, she knew she wasn't being paranoid. After years and years of being in the con game, honing techniques of survival, building an existence that meant always being on her guard, Sarah had acquired a sixth sense for when she was being watched or followed. And she was being watched, at the very least. Anything more than that, she wasn't sure.
She went about her business, washed her hands and left again, this time through the door on the other side of the brick building. Eyes subtly combing the parking lot, the biking and jogging paths, the beach, Sarah decided whoever was watching her before wasn't watching her anymore. And at that realization, she felt a spike of nerves, wondering if they'd switched their efforts to her boyfriend once she'd disappeared into the bathroom.
With a silent curse, she hurried her step and rounded the building, looking for the tall figure of Chuck Bartowski, his broad shoulders, his bright orange swim trunks. He was at the shaved ice vendor, standing beneath the hokey straw canopy that tilted down over the other beach-goers standing in line.
She reached his side just as he stepped up to the window, and she cast another surreptitious glance over first one shoulder, then the other. Chuck ordered, paid, and gathered their shaved ice, all while she grinned, pretending she wasn't concentrating on figuring out whether or not they were being watched still.
For the rest of the day, the feeling didn't return, even when they climbed into Devon's "Awesomobile", as Chuck had named it, a few hours later. And as difficult as it was to do without alerting Chuck, she even watched for a tail, turning to reach over the seat and fiddle with her bag while looking out the back window.
In spite of the rest of the day being thankfully without the creepy feeling, the hair standing up on the back of her neck, the goosebumps, the strange tingling in her fingertips…Sarah was nervous. She was nervous on the drive back to their hotel, nervous when they climbed into the elevator, and nervous in the shower.
And as she finally climbed into bed and crawled close to Chuck, laying her head on his chest and snuggling into his side, her last conscious thought was that there was someone keeping an eye on them. She didn't know who. But as she teetered on the edge of consciousness, she prayed to whatever God was listening that whoever it was didn't have designs on harming her family.
A/N: Stick around a bit longer, Sneakers, because Part 2 is coming soon!
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If it suits your fancy, please let me know what you thought of it by reviewing. Please?
Thanks, gang!
-SC (Although I thought I heard ESC-the evil one-lurking somewhere nearby. Odd, that. Mehehehe.)
