A/N: Some of you seem to be hinting that I'm building to something…hmmm, wonder what? We need one more piece and this puts that into motion. Do me a favor, when you get to the end, breathe, it's me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Chuck was staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Sarah lay curled against him. Shortly after the hug with Carina, she'd pushed him away, wiping her eyes, and telling him if he told anyone what had happened, she'd make it where he wouldn't need the Internet chastity belt. The other two couples had come back and joined them, and they all enjoyed the party together.

Now, alone with Sarah, lying there, he thought about how each couple had their own challenges. Maybe some had it worse than others, but everyone had something.

"You're thinking awfully loud," Sarah muttered.

"Sorry," Chuck said. "I was reflecting on the past few days."

"Yeah, it's been a lot," Sarah said, sighing.

"Was tonight too much for you?" Chuck asked. "I mean you, an introvert at a big honkin' party, after doing workshops all day?"

"No," Sarah replied. "It was kind of weird. We were with people, but we weren't with the set-up. It was my tribe, though, so it didn't bother me."

"Good," Chuck said, giving her a squeeze. "How many sessions tomorrow?"

"Just one, and I get my favorite IT guy," Sarah told him.

"Lucky guy," Chuck muttered. Sarah lifted her head and looked him right in the eye. "Well, he is."

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Sarah told him, shaking her head.

"Yeah you do," Chuck countered. She smirked at him. "I mean… I didn't mean… that."

"So, that's a no?"

"I didn't say… That!"

Sarah burst out laughing.

}o{

The next morning at breakfast, Chuck grinned at the fact that their table had grown by two. "Not worried about being looked down upon eating with us?" Chuck asked Cole and Bryce.

"If I never have to hear Jill again, I can be shunned for the rest of my life," Bryce told Chuck.

"Last night after you all abandoned us," Cole began.

"That is not fair. We had to present first thing this morning," Carina countered. "Not all of us can roll out of bed, looking like…." She gestured toward the two men. "That."

"It's a curse," Cole said, making Carina throw her napkin at him. "As I was saying," Cole continued, "Jill thinks Bryce should now be the IT guy, because he's professional."

"I mean, I am professional, just not as an IT person," Bryce replied. "I'm an accountant… that dabbles."

"She really must hate me," Chuck muttered. "Doesn't she realize I'd still be here even if you did get my job?"

"First, not taking it… you're the professional," Bryce pointed out.

"Am I?" Chuck asked, chuckling. Sarah smacked his arm. "Hey!"

"Good," Bryce said. Sarah glanced at Bryce. "He shouldn't cut himself down all the time like that."

"Thank you," Sarah said, turning back to her boyfriend. "You keep it up and you will regret it, buster."

"You can't keep it in your pants long enough for him to regret it," Carina muttered, making the whole table, except for Chuck and Sarah, laugh. "I mean it's true," she added with a shrug.

"You didn't have to tell everyone," Chuck told her.

"We knew," Cole said, as Bryce laughed. "Chuck… we all knew." Chuck and Sarah both turned a little red.

}o{

"Are we that bad?" Chuck asked her, as they were setting up the room.

"I mean, you are that vocal," Sarah said with a shrug, making him jerk his head up. She was laughing at him. "God, you're easy."

"Well, not anymore, Missy," Chuck told her. Sarah rolled her eyes. "From now on, I'm going to be a paragon of virtue."

"You already are a paragon of virtue," Sarah replied, smirking. "You're good… loud, but good." Chuck's mouth dropped open, making her laugh even harder. "Baby, people around us see how happy we are. That's all. They're teasing you."

"Well, okay, if you're-" Chuck began, but stopped when he heard a scream. The two ran out of the room, into the main hall to find Jill. She was moving strangely, in a bathing suit, her back red. "What the hell?" Chuck muttered.

"I'M GOING TO SUE THIS PLACE!" she bellowed.

"What is going on?" Guy asked.

"One of their cabana boys put the special hotel suntan lotion on me," Jill began.

"Ma'am, we don't have a special suntan lotion," the hotel manager interrupted. Jill glared at him, then looked around the room, seeing Chuck. Daggers shot from her eyes.

"You," she growled. "You are responsible for this."

"Me?" Chuck said. "I don't even know what's going on."

Guy was standing beside Jill, sniffing. "Is that… Crisco?" Jill growled, and stomped off.

}o{

A knock sounded on Chuck and Sarah's door later that afternoon. Sarah was lounging on the couch, her feet in Chuck's lap, moaning as he rubbed her feet. "I told you you're being too loud, and now someone's complaining," Chuck told her, putting her feet on the couch as he got up.

"Don't care, s'good," Sarah mumbled.

"You're damn good for my ego, you know it?" he asked, walking by her. She smacked his ass, making him high step as he went to open the door. "I'm sorry, I was massaging her feet," he said, as he opened it. He chuckled, seeing who it was.

"It's those IT fingers, isn't it?" Bryce asked. Chuck just laughed. "Can we come in?"

"Oh, absolutely," Chuck said, opening the door wide in invitation.

"Let's go on the patio," Sarah suggested, standing, a little wobbly.

"Did he break your feet?" Cole asked, grinning.

"Maybe," Sarah admitted. "But keep it a secret, would you? I have enough trouble keeping women away from him as it is."

"Will you knock it off?" Chuck said, shaking his head.

"He didn't notice the waitress this morning, did he?" Bryce asked, shaking his head, as he followed Sarah outside.

"Nope," Sarah replied, plopping down on one of the chairs outside. "Nor the lady in the blue bikini top last night."

"Good Lord, she's not even my type, and I noticed her," Cole replied, taking a seat as well. He noticed Chuck giving him a look. "I'm gay, Chuck… you know, married to a man?"

"No, I get that," Chuck replied. "What I don't get is why you think all these women are noticing me?"

"Because they are, Chuck," Bryce told him. "And, your being charming, your good looks-"

"Stop it," Chuck said.

Sarah shook her head. "He doesn't see it. And the worst of it is, since we've been dating, women think he's playing hard to get when he literally doesn't notice them. So, they try harder."

"Listen, all the waitress was working on was getting a bigger tip," Chuck said to the three of them. Bryce fought off the smile, turning to Cole.

"I'm not touching that," Cole muttered, making Sarah laugh. Chuck turned red. "Let's talk about why we're here." He glanced at Bryce, a slight look of annoyance on his face. "We… Bryce, may have caused you some trouble, unintentionally."

"What happened?" Chuck asked, sitting up in his chair.

"Jill started in on me again today about getting your job. Which she has no ability to do, and no one on the board is going to let you go," Bryce added.

"Okay," Chuck said, a little confused.

"So, I might have paid a guy to pretend to be a cabana boy and put… the special hotel lotion on her back,'" Bryce said, grinning.

"Some type of cooking oil," Cole added, shaking his head at Bryce. Sarah snorted out loud. "Really, Sarah?"

"I mean, come on… if anyone deserves it," Sarah began.

"Oh, she deserves it," Cole agreed. "But, and it's a big but, she thinks Chuck is behind it."

"She has no clue who he is if she thinks he would do that," Sarah told Cole.

"I'm going to go fess up," Bryce told them. "I don't need to make your life worse. You didn't do anything."

"Wait," Chuck said, surprising all three of them. "While I wouldn't do that, would it really hurt to make her think I might?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Sarah asked, surprise on her face.

"Think about it. She's been running roughshod over me, with no… retaliation, from me. It's not in me, vengeance. It's just not. Getting even is not my style, it's not who I am. I just try and do my life, and let others worry about how I look in their eyes," Chuck told her.

"No, you don't do vengeance or payback, you are right," Sarah agreed.

"If she thinks I did do something, she is more likely to leave me alone though, right?" Chuck asked. Sarah glanced at the other two. "Listen, we're all keeping an eye on her regardless, because we don't trust her. Bryce admitting the truth does nothing really but cause him problems. But her thinking I did it… maybe she backs off."

"Maybe," Cole agreed. "It's not a bad plan actually."

"It's okay, Chuck. I don't care to take the hit on this, it is on me," Bryce said.

"I'd rather her think of me what she thinks," Chuck said with a shrug. "Those that know me, know the truth."

"You're something else, Bartowski," Bryce said, shaking his head.

}o{

Chuck grinned at seeing the facetime request, and quickly answered. "Hey, Ellie, how are things on the continental forty-eight."

"I have no idea, Chuck," Ellie answered. "I live in California. You have the same news I do about the rest of the country." Chuck snorted at her. "But more importantly, how are you doing in Hawaii, with your girlfriend?"

"It almost sounds like you expect me to do something stupid, and break up with her," Chuck pointed out.

"Oh, you wouldn't break up with her, but I could definitely see you doing something stupid," Ellie informed him, grinning. "It's Hawaii, Chuck… you two haven't been together that long… it's sort of big."

"I know," Chuck admitted. "We no more get moved into my… our, apartment, and then…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"I'm proud of you, Chuck," Ellie told him. Chuck smiled at her warmly, feeling pride in what she said. "And I really mean that. You have done what's best for you, kept your beliefs and principals, when most would have just accepted things."

"Ellie, all I did was be me," Chuck said with a shrug. "Listen, when I get back-"

"Nope," Ellie said, raising her hand up and shaking her head. "We will talk when you get back, deal with things when you get back. But right now, you are in paradise, and I don't want you to worry about things with Dad."

"Have you met me?" he groused, making Ellie laugh.

"Love you, Chuck. See you when you get home," she told him, pressing her fingers to her lips blowing him a kiss.

"Love you, El," he said doing the same. She smiled as she cut off the feed.

}o{

"She okay?" Chuck asked Sarah, nodding toward Carina. Sarah shrugged. "Carina," Chuck said, making her look up. "You okay?"

"Fine," she snapped. She moved her dinner around her plate. Chuck started to say something when he saw Sarah sit up and her eyes widen. Chuck followed her gaze to a tall, muscular man.

"Miller," he said, a few feet behind her chair. Carina spun around.

"Johnny?" she replied. She jumped up and ran over to him. She grabbed his face, pulled him down and kissed him hard.

"Who had Carina acting like that on their scorecard?" Chuck asked. He looked around the table and saw everyone watching them with an aww expression on their face. "Really?"

"Shut up, Chuck," Zondra muttered, smacking him in the arm. Chuck smiled, happy for Carina… surprised, but happy.

}o{

"I mean, it's nothing major," Molly told him. The six found themselves on Chuck and Sarah's patio, watching the sun set over the ocean. "Her parents would get into some awful fights, and Carina just swore she'd never let someone get to her the way her parents got to each other.

"Then, Casey did," Zondra continued. "And… she's not known what to do about it. Carina wanted to keep it casual, but every time she went out with someone else, she felt like she was cheating on Casey."

"And Casey was okay with all of this?" Bryce asked.

"Lord, no," Zondra said, chuckling. "It was killing him, but he knew she was never gonna be serious. At least he thought he knew. After last night… well, let's just say I suggested he get here ASAP, because she was missing him. Bad."

"So, the whole thing with his mom?" Chuck began.

"Oh, it's real, but Carina couldn't really commit. She could," and Zondra paused, then continued "fake commit, but she couldn't be in a real honest-to-God relationship."

"Except she had been for a while," Sarah said, taking a drink, and shaking her head. "And Casey… there was never anyone else."

"He knows better than to let her use the chastity belt, right?" Chuck asked. Bryce snorted in laugher. "Long story."

"So, now what?" Cole asked.

"No idea," Zondra admitted. "Those two could get married tomorrow… or…" she shrugged.

"Do they love each other?" Chuck asked.

"Yes," Zondra said. "It's weird, it's complicated, it's messy… but they do."

"Zondra, who's love life isn't weird, complicated, and messy?" Chuck asked her.

"What the hell are you doing to my sister in that bedroom?" Molly asked, making Chuck turn red.

"He told you: Weird, complicated, and messy," Sarah shot back.

"OH!" Zondra said, her mouth open. "OH! Sister-on-sister crime right there!"

"Damn," Cole muttered.

"I don't buy it," Bryce said, grinning as he took a pull of his beer. "Chuck seems like the sort that cleans a lot."

"Not a word," Zondra said to Molly. "I don't know what you're about to say, but I do not want those thought or ideas in my head. Ever."

"Master Chuck always says the Bartowskis are a cleaning type of people," C3PO chirped up. Chuck ran his first two fingers up his forehead as if to massage a headache away.

"Three-Pee-Oh," Chuck said in a strangled tone. "Keep it up I'll leave you in Carina's room tonight."

"Oh my word," C3PO chirped. "Powering down."

"How did you get Anthony Daniels voice on your phone, and what kind of app is that?" Bryce asked.

"He made it," Sarah said.

"Wait, what?" Bryce asked, sitting up.

"This is what I was supposed to create for Orion Industries," Chuck told Bryce.

"Your dad wanted you to make it?" Bryce asked.

"No," Chuck replied. "Remember when I told you someone paid Jill to date me?" Bryce nodded. "This is what he was after. Apparently, Jill had told him my vision of it."

"I bet that would make a lot of money," Bryce said, nodding.

"Probably," Chuck replied.

"Out of curiosity," Bryce began. Cole furrowed his brow at his husband. "How much could he legitimately make off of it?"

"I mean, given the popularity of Orion products, and securing the rights from Anthony Daniels… I don't know… tens of millions?" Chuck said with a shrug.

"So, I wonder how much he paid her?" Bryce asked.

"Bryce, it's none of your business," Cole told him.

"I'm sorry," Bryce said to Chuck. "Remember when I told you about how my dad kicked me out, and would have me arrested?" Chuck nodded. "Apparently, things haven't gone well for them, and they are in some trouble. I know that, because my Dad called me today."

"What?" Cole asked, sitting up.

"He told me that all would be forgiven, if I could do one tiny thing for him," Bryce continued, staring at Chuck's phone. He raised his eyes to Chuck. Bryce reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. "This was express shipped to me. All I have to do is copy the program onto here, and my dad's money problems would be solved. And I'd be accepted back into my family." Bryce wiped a tear from his eye. "Cole would be accepted." Chuck nodded as the whole table sat there in stunned silence.

Chuck held his hand out, his phone offered to Bryce. "For family, Bryce," Chuck said softly.

A/N: I had hoped I'd have the next chapter done. I do not. I will work on it as quick as I can, pinky swear. Hope you're all staying safe and if you're in the southern US…that white stuff falling from the sky, don't try and drive 100 mph on it.