A/N:

Greetings, friends! I apologize for the rather long time it's taken me to get this next chapter out. I was having issues with my blood sugar (I'm a Type 1 surgical Diabetic) and I wasn't up to writing. This is a fairly short chapter, but I figured it's better than nothing, right?

I hope this chapter answers some questions, or does it just leave more unanswered? Let me know.

As always, THANK YOU ALL for reading and reviewing. I appreciate all the endless support.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

Bartowski Residence, Ojos Azules

February 26th, 2013

Local Time: 9:10:46 am

Current Outdoor Temperature: 64 Degrees Fahrenheit

Current Windspeed: 13 mph northwesterly

Tides: 6:46 am / 7:23 pm

Wave height: 4-5 ft

Today's Forecast: Mostly sunny, showers possible in PM

Current Security Threat Level: Low

"Chuck Bartowski!"

"What?"

"That is the last time you call me 'woman', whether in jest or not!"

Chuck just nodded and inspected his toes.

They were standing in the kitchen, Chuck on the receiving end of the whiplash caused by a horribly timed quip.

"I'm sorry," Sarah reached out, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "It's just -"

"I know, honey," Chuck bravely interrupted. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Thanks," she smiled.

Chuck worked up the courage to look up, greeted by the calming azure of his wife's eyes.

"Sarah I'm sorry I called you 'woman' on that mission in Morocco. Look - we were in the middle of such a stupid argument and I was, yet again, acting on bad advice. I'm sorry." Chuck blurted it out quickly, like he was prone to do.

She just grinned, glad she could remember how idiotic that fight had been between them - and how easily they ended up resolving it. She realized Chuck was waiting for her to say something - to forgive him.

"It's okay, Chuck," she soothed, wrapping her arms around him. He was more than happy to take her in his arms. "Remember when you had an actual ball and chain attached to your leg?"

Chuck couldn't help but join Sarah in her laughter, both of them remembering being captured in Morocco. Roan on the wall, Chuck and Sarah back to back arguing about everything from their sex life to eloping.

"For the record, I don't consider you a ball and chain," Chuck felt the need to clarify.

"I know," she nodded with a kiss. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Can we get back to what we were doing now?"

"Absolutely, Mrs. Bartowski. Lead the way," Chuck motioned towards the bedroom with a nod of the head.

"You just want to stare at my butt while I walk up the stairs," Sarah smirked knowingly.

"Can you blame me?" Chuck asked, more honestly than sarcastically.

"I guess not," Sarah shrugged, giving him another peck on the lips, just enough to leave him wanting much much more. When he opened his eyes, she gave him her very best smoldering look, and, grabbing his hand, started leading them up to their bedroom.

10:14 am. Chuck and Sarah's bedroom, Ojos Azules.

"Wow," Sarah breathed with a smile. "That was - intense."

"I know," Chuck grinned, "you're going to have to learn how to do that - quieter - soon," he carefully said.

Sarah just grinned up at him from her place on his chest and retorted, "It's a big house. Besides, you're telling me my genius millionaire husband can't finagle a couple security cams for his kids?"

"I guess you're right," Chuck agreed. "But honestly baby, that was really something else."

"I know," Sarah repeated with mirth, "I guess I felt a little guilty for yelling at you," she admitted innocently.

"Ah ha!" Chuck exclaimed. "And the truth emerges!" He said triumphantly, complete with a fist pump. Sarah just giggled into his chest.

"Fine, I won't do it anymore. Don't you want me to?" Sarah asked.

Chuck froze.

"Um - no - I mean - yes - I mean - please?" He stuttered.

"Don't worry," she assured with a giggle. "I'm pretty sure it'll happen. Soon."

She leaned up and they kissed through their laughs.

They cuddled like that for the next few minutes, Sarah staring off into space absently.

Finally, Chuck spoke up softly.

"Okay, sweetheart, what are you trying to work up the courage to talk to me about?"

Sarah turned her head to look at him, and he gasped at the look of fear in her eyes.

"Baby, you know that nothing that happened or will happen can change how much I love you, right?"

Sarah just nodded numbly, her lips quivering. Chuck could plainly see the tears gathering under the cool azure of her eyes, and it simply broke his heart.

He remembered before, when she had been emotional like this. She had asked him to kiss her.

Chuck stopped stroking her arms soothingly like he'd been doing and moved them to cup her cheeks as he pulled them together. Sarah was momentarily stunned at his aggressiveness. Their previous modus operandi always included talking issues out, followed by the physical stuff. Chuck was pouring emotion into the kiss, dominating it to reassure her. The initial shock passed, and Sarah gave as good as he was giving, frantically yet tenderly meeting in a loving embrace.

They eventually parted, resting their foreheads together as they caught their collective breaths. Chuck finally opened his eyes, and saw that Sarah's were still closed.

She felt his gaze on her, and spoke with her eyes still closed.

"Let me just bask in this for another moment," she pleaded.

Chuck didn't so much as answer as just accept, and didn't say a word. He closed his eyes and joined his wife in the moment.

"Thank you," Sarah breathed after a minute. "I need to tell you about a mission, Chuck."

His eyes popped open, and they made eye contact. She really didn't' know what to expect from Chuck. His reactions could range, and had throughout their relationship. Both of them had different ways of reacting to all sorts of situations. Yet, when she looked into Chuck's eyes, all she saw was concern and love. He didn't push or prod, he just waited.

She took a deep breath, and looked him straight in the eye.

"Operation Icewagon."

As Sarah spoke, Chuck felt the Intersect activate, using the voice recognition software to pull up the flash for 'Operation Icewagon'.

Chuck saw the mission plan, surveillance footage, the post mission briefing, and the medical reports. He was utterly shocked to find some portions redacted. He rarely if ever stumbled on redacted data in the Intersect, and was always able to locate the un-redacted versions.

The flash was fairly quick, but Sarah still was able to notice it, being in such close proximity to Chuck. She felt his body tense as he was obviously reviewing the mission files. Sarah started to freak out a little, knowing she wouldn't really be able to get through this if she wasn't firmly ensconced in Chuck's arms.

"You were captured?" Chuck asked quietly.

"Yes," Sarah nodded slightly. "Chuck, I'm sorry I never told you about this mission. It's just - it messed me up, and it's not something I like to revisit."

"You don't have to apologize baby," Chuck assured her. "I understand. I've always known that you would eventually tell me everything, Sarah. I know that. Some things are just tough to talk about, I get it. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

"No, we have to," Sarah quickly said. "I need to. Chuck, I'm going to be the mother of your children. I love you, and I want you to know everything."

"Okay," he acquiesced.

"Okay," she repeated,"what do you wanna know?"

"How did you end up being captured?"

"It was a long deep cover mission. As you probably saw in the flash, it was about a year and a half before I met you. The mark was a terrorist who went by the name 'Faisal'. We never knew his real name. Anyways, my cover got blown by no fault of mine and he got the drop on me pretty easily, considering I was in the middle of his house."

The mere implication of what came next was overwhelming Chuck. The little he had seen of actual torture during his time as a spy had quickly convinced him of the horror associated with being captured by your enemies. Even having to imagine his wife in that situation was simply too much for him to contemplate.

The tears came fast and hard.

"Chuck, what's wrong? Did I say something? We can stop-" Sarah blurted out when she saw Chuck sobbing.

"No, Sarah," he interrupted through his tears. "Please, let's help each other through this. I'm not upset with you, baby. I just can't handle thinking of you being hurt. It's my worst fear, nightmare, phobia, weakness, downfall. I just can't stand it."

"I know," Sarah agreed. "I know exactly how you feel, Chuck. When you were in Thailand, and I had no idea where you were or even if you were still alive-"

"But you saved me," Chuck interrupted again. "Remember? My girl came for me, like I knew she would."

"Of course I remember," Sarah chuckled despite everything, "I fought a death match in a pit with a Thai kick boxer and a King Cobra to get your location."

"What! A King Cobra? Sarah!"

"It's okay, Chuck," she soothed. "I won, remember?"

Chuck had to smile, and nodded enthusiastically at his warrior woman.

"Getting back to the mission, Chuck…," Sarah prompted. He nodded again. "So, he captured me. He brought me down to the basement and tied me up to a wooden chair using ropes. He knew that I was lying to him and trying to play him somehow, but he had no idea about my real job."

"So what happened next?" Chuck asked tentatively.

Sarah took another shaky deep breath before she slowly spoke.

"He beat me," she said softly. She felt Chuck tense immediately, but she soldiered on. She needed to get this out. "Obviously, I didn't budge."

"Oh baby," Chuck sobbed, tears pooling in his eyes.

"And when you're in captivity, and you don't talk, it just gets worse," Sarah continued.

"Sarah," Chuck stopped her. "Did he - did he -" Chuck couldn't even speak the words.

"No," she quickly assured him. "He didn't get that far. He did touch me though, Chuck. I had clothes on, but it was still disgusting, inappropriate, and something I'd really rather not think about."

The tears that had pooled now streamed down Chuck's face as he gave her a light kiss on the lips, reminding her of his love for her no matter what.

"How did you get out of there alive?" Chuck asked.

Sarah just gave him a small smile.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" She asked incredulously. "I fought my way out."

"I knew it," Chuck smiled back. "You made them pay."

"You got that right baby," she nodded. "They thought they'd tied me up tight, and I guess they did. But while they…..interrogated….me, the ropes loosened with all the movement. One time when I was left alone, I finally wormed one of my arms out. From there it was easy to release myself. I hid by the door, made a ruckus to get the guard outside to come in, and then I was armed. From there, I quickly made my way to a vehicle and drove straight out the front gate."

"What happened to Faisal?" Chuck asked.

"Well, his office was kind of on the way to the garage. I stopped by for a chat."

"This chat did not end with him breathing, did it?"

"No, sweetheart, it didn't," Sarah said as she suddenly couldn't make eye contact.

"Hey," Chuck said as he raised her face so they could lock eyes. "I'm glad he's dead. If he wasn't I'd go hunt him down right now and kill him for what he did to you. Nobody deserves to be hurt like that, especially the love of my life. So don't think for a second that I'm in any way mad or ashamed of you for doing it. In reality, I'm incredibly proud of you."

"Thank you," Sarah whispered as she joined him in tears. They were odd tears - half sadness, half some kind of weird joyous catharsis.

"How long were you there for?" Chuck asked softly.

"Three days," Sarah admitted. "I was lucky, Chuck. I only came away with a couple broken bones, some really bad bruises, and a few cuts that needed stitches. It's usually a lot worse for female operatives."

"I know," Chuck said. "And i'm so thankful that you did get out of there when you did. But you know that no matter what happened on that mission, it could never change how I feel about you? If your answer to that question had been 'yes', I would still sit here and tell you that I love you with everything that I am."

"I know," Sarah repeated. "Thank you. I needed to tell you that story. I don't know why I never did before - I guess I was afraid of how you'd react. And that's unfair to you, Chuck. I'm not giving you enough credit. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Hey, hey, hey, enough of that. There's absolutely nothing to forgive. I know that even though you've changed a lot since we met, that was still incredibly hard for you to tell me. I accepted when we first got together that our lives would always have obstacles, but I knew and still know that together we can overcome them all."

Sarah just sat on his lap in stunned silence, her jaw slightly open.

"Too cheesy? I'm sorry honey, I get carried away when I ramble, you know that-"

He was interrupted by his wife's soft lips on top of his, relaying her appreciation for his actually endearing ramblings.

"Thank you," she breathed as their lips parted. "I really needed to tell you all that. I realized when you told me you had my un-redacted medical file that the report was in there, so I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Thank you," Chuck said as he gave her a kiss. "It really does mean a lot to me, Sarah. Thank you for sharing that with me. Are there any other surprises?" He asked teasingly.

"Well, there was that one guy I married in Vegas…," Sarah said as she looked away, hiding her smile.

"Sarah Lisa Bartowski!"

"What?"

"Don't you dare joke about that!" Chuck yelled in mock anger. The glint in his eye and the smile on his face gave him away though.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said quickly as she turned back to Chuck. "You're just too easy sometimes." She leaned down and kissed him. He resisted a little at first, trying to show his unhappiness with her teasing. That didn't last very long, however. She knew he could never stay mad at her for too long, especially when he knew she was just joking around.

"You'd better be sorry," Chuck lectured.

"Or what?" Sarah asked innocently, biting her bottom lip. She knew it drove him wild.

"Or I'll have to teach you a lesson, Mrs. Bartowski."

"What lesson would that be?" She asked.

"Who your husband is," is what Chuck came up with.

"Hmm…that's okay I guess….I'd rather get a lesson on initiating the family couch," Sarah pouted. "Besides, don't we have rings to remind each other?" She joked, holding up her left hand.

"Ha ha, very funny, Sarah," Chuck grinned. "I guess we could go upstairs to the family den, although, we are already in our bed…"

"Yeah, but I didn't say initiate the bed. We did that our first day here. I said the couch," she again pouted, folding her arms across her chest for emphasis.

"As you wish," Chuck acquiesced, picking her up in his arms before she had time to react. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her upstairs.