A/N: Last chapter, Barsoft Tech had finished the software development and they were testing the solution, getting nearer to being able to release the product. Chuck had also proposed to Sarah, who happily said yes. We start this chapter with an engagement party.

Thank again for all the reviews. It's great to see people are enjoying it.

LetsGoRed has, once again, sorted out my mess by being my beta. Incidentally, If you haven't read any of his stories, you are missing out; I enjoyed them all, but really liked his most recent addition, an update of an earlier one, with the great title "Chuck and Sarah vs the Hello 2-Point-0"

Disclaimer: I neither own Chuck nor make any money from it. This AU just borrows the characters.

Life After Death
Chapter 13 – Launching

Chuck and Sarah's house, two weeks later

Everyone was coming.

The Woodcomb family had flown in from Chicago and their taxi would arrive soon. Sarah's mom was driving up with Molly. All the staff, other than the one security guard, were already out in the garden. Zondra had accepted. The only other person Sarah would have wanted was still on a mission, so Carina was missing out.

If anyone had asked Sarah a year ago, if she would be engaged by now, she would have laughed at them, but now here she was, with a ring on her finger.

She looked down at her left hand in her lap, at that ring, admiring it.

Chuck really did know her well. He'd not given her the real ring that day in the office, but a temporary one. He knew she would want to choose the ring she'd wear for the rest of her life to proclaim to everyone she was with him. They'd gone to the jewelers the next day and she'd selected what she wanted. And here it was.

Now they were having an engagement party. In a way, a more important launch than the product launch yet to come. This was the launch of their life together.

Sarah and Chuck had decided to greet everyone when they arrived.

Her mom and Molly were the first of the friends and family.

Molly was shy all over again, almost hiding in Emma's arms, but on seeing Sarah, a huge grin appeared on her face and she held out her arms. "S'Ra".

Taking this little beauty in her arms, Sarah whispered, "Hi, Molly. Thanks for coming."

Molly grinned and wrapped her arms around Sarah's neck, or at least, as much as she could.

Sarah looked up at her mom smiling, "Hi, Mom." Chuck had already said hello and received a hug.

Taking Sarah's left hand, Emma examined the ring. "It's a lovely ring, Sarah."

Sarah grinned, "It is, isn't it!"

Emma turned to the little girl, "Look, Moll. Sarah's got a new ring."

As Molly squinted at it, Emma put her hand on Sarah's arm. "I'm so glad he's done this. You deserve each other."

Sarah looked at her mom. "You don't think it's too soon?"

Emma looked at Chuck and then back to Sarah. "It's never too soon if you love each other, and you two obviously do."

Chuck and Sarah responded at the same time, "We do!" All three chuckled.

By this time, Molly had twisted around and held her arms out to Chuck, "Chuck". He took her and twirled around, swinging Molly as he went. She squealed in delight.

Emma was going to take Molly and enter the house, but Sarah stopped her. "Chuck's sister and family will be arriving any minute now. I'd like you to meet them as soon they arrive."

Emma nodded. "But I'll hold onto the little one."

The taxi was just pulling up. Chuck went to greet them, while Sarah held back with her mom. She placed her hands over Molly's ears. "Brace yourself, Mom. Ellie can be quite loud."

Sure enough, as soon as the taxi stopped, Ellie was out wrapping her arms around her brother and squealing. Clara followed her mom out and Devon pulled the car seat out with Liam in it. Clara had wrapped her arms around Chuck's legs.

Once the noise had abated, Sarah walked over. "Hi, Ellie, Devon." She then embraced Ellie, who hugged her and then pulled back so she could see the ring. The squeal started again.

Once Sarah was free, she looked down at Clara who was holding Chuck's hand. "And hello to you, Clara."

"Hi, Sarah. Hold my hand." She reached out.

Ellie turned to her daughter. "What do you say, Clara?"

"Please."

Sarah bent and took her hand. "I've got someone for you to meet."

She and Chuck walked with Clara over to where Emma was standing, holding Molly.

Molly was watching Clara intently.

Sarah bent down to Clara. "Clara, this is my sister, Molly."

Clara beamed. "Hi, Molly."

Molly said nothing but grinned.

"She takes a while to feel comfortable with new people," Emma explained to Clara.

"S'ok. We'll be friends in no time."

Ellie and Devon had joined them by this time. Chuck made the introduction and led them around the house to the garden where the food and drink was set up.

Ellie held Sarah's hand to stop her going with the others. "Sister?"

Sarah smiled, "Adopted. Having to rescue her was one of the things that disillusioned me with the spy life. I'll tell you about it sometime."

Sarah spotted someone else arriving. "Go ahead, Ellie, I'll be with you all soon."

She turned back to see her friend, Zondra approaching. "Hi, Zondra".

"Hi, Blondie. So, where's the person who thawed the Ice Queen?" She grinned evilly. She knew Sarah hated that name, but always teased her with it.

"Out back. He'll be round in a minute. You already know him."

Zondra frowned. "Not a spy?"

Sarah laughed. "Can you think of any spy that I would be interested in?"

Zondra smiled, "No. That's why you've kept that title for so long."

Chuck then walked around the corner. Zondra's jaw dropped and spun round to her friend. "Chuck? From the gym?"

Sarah grinned. "Yup!"

"Oh. My. God!"

"Don't think I'm worthy?" Chuck asked, but Sarah could see the twinkle in his eyes.

Zondra turned to him. "Chuck, I've not known you long, but a couple of the guys that come into the gym recognized you as being the successful guy who owns Barsoft Gaming. You're apparently quite the catch." She paused. "But I've also read you don't date well!"

Chuck snorted at that. Sarah was starting to look angry, so he jumped in before she said anything. He shrugged and said, "Well, that's true." He grinned at Sarah. "Until recently."

Zondra turned to her friend. "And you, Blondie. Never been interested in men, or women, at all. Always loyal and trustworthy, but so, so cold."

Sarah, like Chuck had, just shrugged.

Zondra shook her head. "Oh, God! Two broken people! You're obviously perfect for each other!"

Grinning, their response was simultaneous, "We are!"

Zondra rolled her eyes, "I need a drink!" Sarah led her through.

After a few more minutes, their final guests arrived. "Last as always, Morg."

"Hey!" Morgan replied, looking offended.

"Sorry, Chuck. I had to drag him away from the computer," Alex chipped in.

"Traitor," Morgan muttered.

The celebration was now in full swing.

Everyone had eaten and were working their way through the drinks.

Chuck and Sarah were dancing, a slow dance. Sarah was enjoying it, but also couldn't help observing the others. Spy habits.

Zondra, Ellie and Emma were laughing together. Devon was chatting with Morgan and Alex while keeping an eye on Liam crawling around. It was way past his bedtime, so that would probably be a problem later. It was also past Clara and Molly's bedtimes too, but they were happily playing together, so no one was going to interrupt. All seemed happy in themselves and all were obviously very happy for the two hosts.

Sarah closed her eyes and leaned into her guy as they continued to dance.

Chuck pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Sarah Walker."

"And I love you too, Charles Bartowski."

"I could dance like this with you forever, "Chuck admitted.

Sarah smiled and replied, "I'll hold you to that."

"What, like this?" Chuck tightened his hold.

"Sometimes," she replied, "But also sometimes with a lot less clothes."

He stumbled and she knew she'd broken him again.

Hotel room, San Diego, two months later

The last two months had been hectic.

There were so many people involved in the final stages. All the developers, testers and linguists worked together so well, but it was still a lot of people that were contributing. The café supplying the food coped, but they'd also been working hard.

Sarah had been almost run ragged. She'd had to split her time between the testing, reviews with the design agency for the graphics and the manufacturer for the packaging and contacting distributors and retailers for the on-site product demonstration they'd planned. All of this had drained her, but she was still smiling. It had all been worth it. Now it was coming to an end.

They'd be doing the main launch at one of the education conferences. Chuck had been amazed at her skills negotiating that. It wasn't just being there with a stall, like most suppliers, she'd managed to get a thirty-minute presentation slot.

Now she sat here wondering what she'd been thinking. She'd spent her life hiding in the shadows. Now she was about to come so far out of the shadows, she'd be completely exposed! As if that wasn't bad enough, she was going to present to however many showed up. She had confidence presenting to agency directors, generals and even presidents of other countries, but not to hundreds of people in an open presentation!

She was trying her best to hide this from Chuck. He was in a bad enough state as it was, pacing up and down the room rehearsing his presentation. A bag of nerves on two long legs! She shook her head. God, we're a mess!

Chuck watched as Sarah got up and, calm as anything, sauntered into the bathroom to take her shower. How does she stay so calm?

He was all over the place. He'd never been like this for game launches, but then he knew the products were great and, as Morgan was a gamer and totally believed in his solutions, he had more confidence in them. This was uncharted territory for him.

Admittedly the copy they'd sent to Harvard for 'evaluation' had received praise from them. More than praise, actually. A ringing endorsement that they'd managed to get to the graphic designers and then on to the packaging team in time to be visible on the outer cases. Sarah had felt that was what they needed, but he worried that that would make some people think it highbrow and not for them. Was he worrying too much? Maybe.

He needed to stop thinking these negative thoughts and get his act together. He started pacing again.

Sarah was out of the shower and sitting with a towel around her body.

She looked in the mirror.

She knew men found her attractive. It had been part of her success as an agent. However, she didn't want to distract them from what she and Chuck were promoting. Something to remember them by, maybe, but not for them to miss who they were and what the product could do.

So, she needed to look memorable, but not overpoweringly so. That applied to her makeup, her hair and her clothes.

For thirteen years, she'd had help with this, but now she was on her own. That made her smile. Now she was in control!

She started applying foundation, humming to herself.

She'd come out of the bathroom with the towel still around her. Chuck had passed her on his way in.

She smiled to herself. He really was distracted. Normally he would stop and just look at her long, bare legs. Today, he hadn't even noticed her! Tonight, I'll make him notice!

She started putting on her clothes for the show.

They were now both ready.

He was looking very smart in his suit. She couldn't stop herself from straightening his tie, even though it already looked perfect.

He pointed his elbow at her and she put her arm through his. With her high heels, she was almost as tall as him. Looking in the mirror as they left, she thought they looked perfect together.

Show time!

Hotel bar, that evening

The presentation had been a great success.

Sarah had wanted to just mull it over for a while, in silence. Chuck was almost bursting. He wanted to talk about it so much, but tried to hold it in.

He tried to sit thinking as well.

He wasn't at all surprised that Sarah had been amazing. She always was, in his opinion. Of course, everyone watching hardly watched him. She looked sensational, obviously, but it wasn't just her beauty that grabbed everyone's attention; she had a magnetism that just drew people in, hanging on her every word, whatever the language.

She seemed surprised at this. Part of why he wanted to talk. She needed to understand that what she'd done had played so much into the response they got. Obviously the product was good, but would people have been as interested? He thought not.

As she sat there thinking, she could feel Chuck almost bouncing in his seat. She had to ignore him and come to terms with what had happened.

She'd expected some male attention as she walked on the stage. It happened a lot when she entered a room, after all. Well, that definitely happened, but then, thankfully, the audience turned to Chuck who approached the lectern to start the presentation.

Chuck had described why they had decided to create the product, then what it could do that made it different from other similar products. He described how it could be used by families, teachers and even higher educational sites. This was just as they'd planned.

She had stepped in then, to cover how Harvard had both helped and approved it. She was surprised at how they seemed to soak up every word she said. Men and women seemed captivated.

Having hidden in the shadows all her life, this seemingly rapturous attention was disconcerting, at least at first.

When they started the demonstrations, she noticed that few watched Chuck. All attention was on her. She tried to act like that wasn't the case, but knew she was the focus of their attention. This was NOT what she'd wanted. Was she too distracting? Did they even care about the presentation and the demos?

After the presentation, they'd had difficulty getting out of the hall to let the next presentation get set up. It felt like no one had left, but all rushed to the front to talk to them. Thankfully, they hadn't just converged on her; many were trying to get to Chuck as well.

She'd breathed a sigh of relief at that point. She hadn't been the distraction she'd feared. So, why all the attention during her part of the presentation and all through the demos?

Chuck watched Sarah. She'd been frowning a lot as she sat there. He wanted to both find out why, but also do what he could to take it away.

Then her gaze turned his way and her eyes focused on him. That was his cue.

"Sarah?" He didn't want to push her, but did want to know what was going through her head. He thought a very, very open question might be the best.

"Chuck!" she replied with a smile.

He barked a laugh. "I guess you need more in that question!"

"Yep." She grinned at him.

He smiled. "You were frowning. I didn't want to break your train of thought, but it worried me. Are you okay?"

She reached out and held his hand. "I'm fine, Chuck." Seeing he wanted more, she gave in and said, "I was just trying to get my head around how the presentations and demos went."

"Yeah?"

She looked down. "I've never been the center of attention like that. I used to lurk in the shadows most of the time."

Chuck grinned. "I can't see anyone missing you unless you wore head to toes in black, a ninja outfit!"

Noticing her nodding, he gasped, "You wore something like that?"

"I did. Often."

He took on a glazed expression. "I bet you looked sexy in it."

She swatted his arm. "You would think that!"

He dreamily replied, "I would!"

She smirked, "I still have that outfit and an orange catsuit! I could show you when we get home."

That seemed to break him. It took several minutes for him to collect his thoughts again.

When he could focus again, he asked, "So, they paid attention to you. I expected that. You didn't?"

"I thought I might be a distraction. I do get attention from some men, but didn't want to draw people away from the purpose of the presentation, Chuck," she said earnestly.

"You weren't a distraction, Sarah. If anything, you drew people to pay attention to what we were saying."

"Really?"

"Sarah, those people were drawn to you. You have a magnetism. It wasn't just your beauty, they were captivated and hung on your every word. You have a flare for that sort of thing."

He could see she was doubtful, so he placed a hand on her arm and continued, "You did see how they mobbed us afterwards, didn't you?" She nodded. "They were fascinated. They wanted to know more about the product."

She had seen that, witnessed it.

Chuck decided to take a slightly different tack. "How many asked you out?"

She gasped at him. "What?"

"Oh, come on. You must get a lot of guys propositioning you in bars!"

She smirked, "Less so now I have a protector!"

"Ha. Thank you, but the point is your beauty does attract that sort of attention."

She blushed.

He asked again, "So, how many after the presentation?"

"None," she conceded.

He continued, "And how many asked you product questions?"

She groaned. "It felt like hundreds!"

He smiled. "So, were you a distraction? Or were you instrumental in getting the product attention?"

"But, Chuck, the product is great. It shouldn't need me being eye candy!"

He grinned. "You're my favorite candy, sweet stuff!"

She huffed, "Sweet stuff?"

His grin didn't slip. "Yep, sweet stuff! Makes me want to lick you all over."

She blushed again, but decided to respond. "Well, maybe later!"

He blushed, but tried to continue, "Sarah, we are a new company to this group. I hadn't thought about you being "eye candy." In fact, if I had, I would've probably not wanted you on that stage, but as it was, you really helped launch the product!"

Taking a swig from the beer she held, she decided she had to concede that one.

"Okay, Chuck. I'll give you that." She then put her drink down and looked into his brown orbs. "Want to go lick your sweet stuff?"

She laughed at the blush and his jaw dropping. She grabbed his right hand and pulled him up, and over to the elevators.

A/N: So, their engagement launch (the party) and the product launch both successful. They are both happy. Next steps, taking the product to the public and the wedding. That will be the last chapter, with only an epilogue to follow.

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