A/N – I've been blown away by the number of consistently positive reviews I've had for this story, having 100 reviews on what I think of as a bit of fun is a little insane to me. I've struggled a bit when it came to motivation in the last couple of weeks but as someone posted on the Fb page, a group of authors is called a procrastination.

The usual rules apply, I don't own Chuck, and I have no beta, all mistakes are mine. Thanks to Nevr for the offer, but it sounds like Harry is keeping you busy for now.

Chapter 6

Sarah buried her head in her hands, eyes shut tight against the water as she tried to block out the memory of the worst day of her adult life. Her instinct on getting home had been to try washing away the stress of the day, but as she felt the shower consistently beat upon her shoulders, she found it's constant pounding simply added to the relentless pressure that had built within her all afternoon. As she looked down at the water draining through the plughole she wished that her current mood would be consumed by that maelstrom. Resigning herself to what she was sure would be a frustratingly sleepless night, she turned off the water. Drying herself and pulling on the boy shorts and Hello Kitty shirt she usually wore to bed. Completing the ensemble with a large fluffy robe before leaving her bedroom. She padded through the apartment, dropping limply onto the sofa, absent-mindedly playing with the drying tips of her hair.

Sighing listlessly, she realised that for the first time in her life she'd been completely blindsided by the email, conned like one her dad's marks. That blasted email had begun an embarrassing and costly chain of events that culminated in her face and company being front and centre on the local news. One of her staff having 'leaked' the activity to the press. The media frenzy that erupted caused her to send her employees home through the rear exits, seeing a virtual army of reporters camped in front of the building most of the afternoon.

Thinking over the last few days she almost resented Chuck's recent destruction of her internal defences, feeling that her old persona would've coped better with today's onslaught. Knowing how alone she'd felt over the last few months, she reluctantly embraced the newfound vulnerability, longing in that moment for the insanely comfortable energy that flowed between them.

Dropping her hands and catching her reflection in the nearby mirror, she gave a melancholy smile, thinking back to the morning's schedule, how she'd happily daydreamed through the first and second meeting of the day, eagerly waiting to see Chuck's name appear on her phone. The silly emoji's and stories he'd sent had made her chuckle and she'd been equally playful in her replies, enjoying the exchange. He'd made a silly remark at one point that he was looking forward to seeing her tonight, which had made her stomach flutter and a beaming smile to appear, before gloomily remembering that he referred to the interview, her stomach had tightened in disappointment.

Their initial meeting might have been filmed a few days ago but Chuck had immediately fascinated the usually stoic blonde. Thinking back to those wonderful few hours, the intensity of their connection and the unbridled joy she felt looking at his crooked smile, caused Sarah to smile broadly, despite the day's events. Her common sense questioned the timing of airing the interview tonight, wondering if she should have contacted the station for some kind of delay. Seriously doubting they'd give up the chance of more ratings, today's events having inadvertently gotten them the "scoop" on the inner workings of her company. As a child she'd always asked for two scoops of iced cream when her dad had done something bad, and today had been more than two scoops bad. She shook that thought away, instead chuckling grimly at the double meaning of the word 'scoop.'

Flicking on the TV she switched to , and waited. Even if it meant only watching tonight's interview, she'd take whatever reminder of the connection she felt with the tall nerd. As she glanced at the screen, she saw her name scroll across the bottom of the screen, reminding the army of viewers that her company had been targeted by ransomware, and speculating on the identity of the hacker, the name "Neo" luckily still being kept out of the press. At the LAPD's suggestion, only a handful of people had been told that detail. A spark of anger crossed her face as the news anchor, a smug sounding elderly man called Montgomery, said something that sounded more like a personal attack than a professional opinion, she frowned deeply and muted the TV, turning on the subtitles instead. Promising herself that if she got the chance to confront this Roan Montgomery guy, she would.

The reporter continued his segment, most of it appeared pure speculation, but it sounded like they at least had a few facts correct. Sarah frowned in annoyance, understanding that one of her employees must have spoken to them, despite her stern warning to the contrary. Thankfully the report ended quickly and Chuck's name appeared on the screen, making her smile in anticipation.

Across the room, she heard a tentative knock on her door, glancing at her clock, she pulled her robe tight around her and padded her way to the doorway. Peering through the peephole she suddenly found herself looking at the very man whose name she'd just seen on the TV. The tall nerd looked nervous, as he stood wringing his hands, dressed in dark jeans and a simple white button down shirt, his press pass still hanging from the pocket. Sarah felt conflicted, she wanted to open the door and wrap her arms around Chuck, but the sight of his press pass reminded her of their intrusion, of the incessant calls her assistant endured. "Was he just here to get the story?"

From the moment she'd met the lanky nerd, he'd somehow made her feel safe, protected. Zondra would scoff at her for needing any kind of male support, but Chuck had given her no reason to think he would ever abuse that position. Making the decision to go with her heart and not her head, the blonde opened the door.

As their eyes met, she heard him swallow loudly, noticing with a wry smile that he forced himself to look directly at her face, deliberately avoiding the fluffy robe she only now realised had pulled apart. She subtly pulled the robe a little tighter, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. He quickly averted his gaze from the flash of thigh that her movements revealed. His behaviour brought a subtle smirk to her face, "Wow, an actual gentleman in L.A?"

Shaking her head a little at the revelation, "Hi, why are you here?" she began, leaning her shoulder against the edge of the door. "I thought you'd still be working."

She gestured to his press pass.

"Hi, yeah, well..." he gave her a warm smile. "I called in a favour… Casey's gone home anyway, so that's tomorrow's problem. I figured that I owed you an apology, for not being in touch earlier… and after everything I heard at work, I wanted… No, that's not right, I needed, to make sure you were ok. So…here I am" he shrugged and raised his eyebrows, placing his hand on the doorframe. "…You ok?"

She gave him a tight lipped smile, inwardly relieved as the goofy look and intensely warm tone banished her earlier scepticism. Quietly replying "What do you think?" as she gestured for him to come in. Directing him across the room to the sofa, he quickly saw their interview playing on her TV. Pointing at the screen he chuckled to himself, recognising a particularly cute section where they'd shared their mutual love of the dessert she was famous for.

Sitting himself on the sofa, he turned towards her "I really am sorry I didn't call earlier. I had to leave my phone with security, and then the guy I was interviewing ran late, there was this whole thing…" he was silenced abruptly by her finger pressing against his lips as she sat beside him, pulling her knees up under her chin, the robe covering her legs again.

"Chuck, you're spiralling… It's OK. I understand, you were in Vegas, it's your job. It's not like you're my boy…" she stopped abruptly, looking away and wincing at the slip. As she sheepishly looked back she noticed a look of pure joy sweep across his face, making her heart skip. "…I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have been nice to hear your voice earlier though." She gave him a shy smile as she noticed him wince in return.

Sarah felt him tentatively reach out and place his hand on her shoulder, his gaze softening apologetically "I'm sorry… You've had a really bad day and I'm sure you didn't need me turning up, reminding you about it…" His expression changed to one of joy, adding in a playful note. "I'd be OK with the other thing by the way…" he locked eyes with her, smiling so broadly it crinkled his nose and made her heart soar.

Sarah reached over and gently fiddled with his tie, placing a thumb on his chin, she teasingly pulled his gaze to her lips by gently letting her tongue run along them. Enjoying the playfulness of the moment and the look of awe on his face, she chuckled to herself, lost in his wonderfully chocolate eyes. "I'm glad you came. I was gonna call you after the interview aired, to see if you were free on Friday. Buy hey, you're here and as far as the other thing…"

"You mean the boyfriend thing?" his smile beamed back at her, proudly. The honest intensity of his expression melted her heart, its beat growing so fast that she could hear it drown out everything but the soothingly warm tone of his voice.

"Yes, I mean that. Are you sure you want to be wrapped up in all of this?" her arms flew open dramatically, unintentionally pulling the robe open and revealing the kitten shirt below.

He chuckled at the sight of the childish graphic and then pulled his gaze back to her face, afraid that he'd stared at her chest too openly. "I think that I could force myself…" he chuckled.

"Force? Would it be that bad?" the blonde leaned forward suggestively.

"I'm sure…" he cleared his throat "…that I could suffer through it" his eyes flashing.

"Me too…" she gave him a toothy grin in return.

He frowned playfully, eventually nodding as a wide smile overtook his face. "So what does all this mean? Tonight, here… us?"

"It means, that you and I are dating…" she reached over and kissed him briefly, the feeling of their lips touching again making them both elated. Eagerly leaning into the kiss for a few seconds, she briefly pulled back, looking deeply into his eyes hungrily "…exclusively?"

"I'm good with exclusive. Sooo, sooo good." He beamed, glancing at her lips with longing. Deciding to follow his instinct to be a gentleman and not grab her face with both hands and kiss her as deeply as his body obviously wanted. 'Sarah Walker, My girlfriend' he thought ecstatically as he pulled her close, kissing her blonde hair.

"That's sweet, Chuck." The blonde's serene smile was buried in his chest as she breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent.

"I wish that Casey had asked someone else to go to Vegas today. That way I could've been here…" He buried his face into her blonde hair, tightening his arms protectively, surrounding her lithe figure completely in his embrace. The nerd briefly closed his chocolatey eyes, frustrated with his boss' terrible timing and unsure if he should continue his current train of thought.

"What? Come on Chuck, talk to me." Sarah asked, concerned as she felt his body stiffen.

"Sarah…" he swallowed nervously, suddenly serious. "What if I could have? Stopped this guy. I mean…"

"Well for one thing I'd be a little worried that you were into something illegal…" Sarah's brow furrowed, worried that she'd misjudged the tall nerd.

"Yeah, I get that." He offered quietly, looking away sheepishly. "…but what if?" he muttered, looking away from her surprised expression.

"You could've prevented my company getting held up? Stopped Neo?" she grimaced as she spoke the name, her hatred of the anonymous hacker bursting out. Shaking the thought away quickly "forget about it…" she said as she ran a hand though her slightly damp hair, looking intensely at his furrowed brow.

The nerd scoffed inwardly 'Seriously… Neo?' this guy was a loser if he really thought he was 'the One'.

Chuck cringed as he inwardly wrestled with revealing the extent of his 'other talents' to the beautiful blonde. The way she looked up at him, making his heart melt and his ire grow, thinking of the pain this guy was causing her.

'No secrets, no lies Chuck'

The nerd took a deep breath and began in a hushed tone "Well no, I couldn't have stopped him before… But, you know that I have a love for computers, I mean… look at my job, I talk about this stuff every day."

"Ok? So you're good with computers." She smiled a little at him, reassuringly.

"…let's just say that I'm more than just 'good' with this stuff. I really could probably find this guy for you." He looked away nervously as Sarah's brow lifted in surprise.

"You could really do that? I mean the LAPD said…" the blonde's cobalt eyes flashed a sapphire hue for a moment, her anger growing at their failure.

"For you, anything…" he admitted quickly, his candour popping the balloon of indignance that grew in her chest, shocking the blonde.

"Are you sure it's not illegal?" she asked, reigning in her mood finally, beginning to grow afraid of the repercussions for him, despite his sudden confidence.

"Let's just keep that our little secret…" he wiggled his eyebrows and winked at her, making her snort.

"Chuuuck, I don't want you getting into trouble." She smiled tightly at him, a budding joy conflicting with worry for the nerd's well-being.

"Oh please" he snorted, before leaning close to her ear and whispering "I've done way worse than this, but let's keep that between US." The way he said "Us" made her heart begin to flutter again, the confidence he showed beginning to lift whatever was left of her nerves.

"How long will it take to do it?" she asked, looking into his deep brown eyes. The intensity of his now confident gaze causing the blonde's heart to race even faster and her breath quicken again. She really liked this version of Chuck.

"Well, you probably don't want to know the details but…" she gave him an apprehensive look, worrying again. "…not long" he offered.

Noticing the way she looked at him, he leaned forward and touched her cheek tenderly, "I could have a look right now…Do you have a laptop?"

Shaking her head slowly "I left it at the office. I didn't even want to think about using a computer tonight. Not even my personal one… and my I.T. guy said it'd be safer if I stayed offline anyway."

"Ok… so I could go get mine from the car." He leaned forward, placing a hand on the arm of the sofa.

Sarah shook her blonde head and grasped his arm quickly, stilling his abrupt movement "Chuck… it can wait 'til tomorrow, right now I just want you to hold me. Is that ok? Just be here."

"As you wish..." He smiled at her, leaning back and placing his arm across the back of the couch, gesturing with his head for her to lean in.

Taking his offer of comfort, she moved closer and leaned into his side again, burying her head against his shoulder. Sarah's body hummed with excitement as he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight, lazily stroking her hair. Feeling safer than she had in years, she pondered for a moment what it was about Chuck that gave her such strong emotions, before simply accepting it and relaxing into his embrace. His company, and offer to help blew away any residual frustration at the day, the whirlwind of positivity he brought, more effective than any shower. Over the next few minutes she simply listened to his breathing as they sat in silence, the only sound being the TV. Her eyes eventually closed, drifting away to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

The nerd tenderly held Sarah's now slumbering form in his arms, her breathing slow and even as he glanced around the room. Taking in the stark décor and harsh green hue of the wallpaper, he thought it looked more like an expensive hotel, than a home. To the nerd, it seemed almost sterile. He was much more used to expensive clutter, movie memorabilia and gaming paraphernalia agonisingly organised over every surface of his own room. Gazing down at the tangle of honey blonde hair that hid her face, he wondered if she'd lived here long, or if the beautiful, funny woman in his arms was simply not here often. It must be the latter as her business demanded so much of her time. He realised as he looked around that there were also no photographs, nothing personal to her. The idea that she had no memories to celebrate, shook him to the core, inwardly vowing to rectify that.

He kissed the top of her head briefly, turning his body slightly to avoid disturbing her. His arm was growing numb but he'd accept any amount of discomfort to ensure his girlfriend, he chuckled again at the thought, slept peacefully. Eventually finding a comfortable position, he rested his head on the cushion above hers, drifting into a restful slumber.

Sarah's eyes fluttered gently under her eyelids, feeling a warmth through her body that suffused her slumbering form in light, happily blinding her to the outside world. She heard a gentle breath from behind her, awakening her mind to Chuck's presence. His body wrapped around her from behind, a sleepily placed hand on her leg intertwined with her own. The slight movement of his fingers across her knuckle letting her know he was awake. She smiled brightly as she remembered the very same hand tenderly running through her hair as she fell asleep. The blonde subtly shifted her fingers along the back of his, enjoying the playful excitement that thrummed within her as his fingers responded. Sarah felt his body shift a little, his chin moving from her shoulder, their still entwined hands becoming more sensitive to his touch as she sensed the loss of heat at her back. Opening her eyes completely, she turned to face him, noticing that he quickly opened himself to the movement. She glanced into his honey brown eyes as they looked down at her, lost in the sudden passion she saw within. Chuck placed his hand gently onto her cheek, stroking it gently before enthusiastically grasping her face and kissing her deeply. Sarah responded in kind, eagerly clasping his neck and deepening the kiss further. Soon they were a tangle of limbs as each sought to grasp every ounce of pleasure they could from the kiss. After a few glorious seconds they separated to get air, each giving the other heated looks. As they crashed their lips back together, he leaned over, clambering passionately over her now writhing form. A few moments later he slipped, twisting his hand painfully down the back of a sofa cushion, causing him to yelp. Sitting them up for a moment she saw that he'd gashed his hand.

Pulling the now bleeding appendage away from her, he pouted, gingerly holding the hand to his side, trying to sit up fully.

"It's ok… don't move…" he stood up quickly, touching her shoulder reassuringly with his uninjured hand, quickly wrapping his tie around the wound.

"OK" she breathed out, "…bandages and plasters are in the bathroom cabinet, top shelf."

He nodded quickly in assent "Don't move, don't breathe… just don't move" he breathed out a little desperately as he scanned the room, having never been told which door was the bathroom.

Understanding his dilemma, she ran a hand through her hair and pointed "second door on the left." The blonde called, sitting up finally and straightening her t-shirt, the robe laying on the floor, long forgotten.

"Stay… just stay." He turned then and rushed to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. The nerd quickly washed his injured hand, opening the cabinet and clumsily rummaging through the shelves as he found a bandage, dropping a number of things into the sink with a clatter. Winding the fabric around his injured palm expertly, having been Ellie's practice dummy during her training.

Digging his freshly bound hand into a pocket, he removed his old beat up leather wallet, pulling it open and hopefully feeling around inside. He found a folded piece of paper within and read the six words scrawled across the page, "I owe you one condom, Morgan" The nerd howled inwardly in frustration and anger at his so-called friend, quickly wadding up the paper and throwing it angrily into a nearby trash can.

After a few seconds he heard a gentle tap on the door.

"Are you OK? You find the bandages?" she asked, genuine concern flowing through her.

Chuck strode across the room and opened the door. "All good…See." he waved the injured hand in front of her, before gesturing with his head and turning back to the sink, wincing at the mess. "Sorry about that."

Shaking her head at his clumsiness, she realised that for now, their lustful interlude was over. She looked past him for a moment, spotting a small box of condoms that had thankfully fallen unnoticed from the cabinet. Sarah stepped past and quickly placed all of the items back on their shelves, hiding the condoms swiftly behind a bottle of mouthwash. The tall blonde winced at the lost opportunity, but she'd happily return to the feeling of comfort she'd found as she woke in his arms, knowing that they'd get there, and he'd still be a gentleman afterwards, she knew it.

As he stood in the doorway, she realised that she'd never allowed another man in this room. Let alone into something as personal as her bathroom cabinet. They'd only just got together, and she knew that he wouldn't ever judge her over such silly things as her choice of teeth whitening kit, or the baby shampoo that reminded her of her mother's scent, but it was still a very personal thing to her.

"So, breakfast? You want coffee?" she closed the cabinet and walked back towards him.

"Yeah, black, one sugar." He leaned down and tenderly kissed her cheek as she passed, following her to the kitchen.

She pulled a number of ingredients from the fridge and began to assemble the meal, cutting a few veg swiftly before throwing them in the pan. Chuck stood at the door, looking awestruck as she perfectly chopped the green onions.

"What?" she eyed him warmly, noticing the goofy grin fixed to his face.

"Nothin'" he answered quickly, folding his arms across his chest. "…it's just funny, I never pictured you doing this."

Sarah raised an eyebrow, giving him a broad smile "What can I say? I'm versatile… Sit." She pointed at the chairs set a few feet from the door. Crossing the room quickly, he sat down in front of her, eyeing the dish hungrily. She lifted the pan a few seconds later, moving from the stove and quickly putting the warm omelette onto his plate, noticing a look of pure pleasure take over his face as he took the first bite.

Remembering the badge she'd seen on his bag during the interview she eyed the nerd teasingly "So… are you going help me Obi-Chuck? You're my only hope…"

Hearing the quote, he clumsily dropped a piece of omelette from the fork onto the counter, making her wince. His eyes widened in pure ecstasy. "…as long as you don't put on Leia's metal bikini before I leave, I should be able to do it this morning. It really depends on whether Neo used top level countermeasures… I mean, if he hid the rootkit in the…" he stopped himself from boring the blonde with any more techno-babble, having seen her eyes instantly glaze over. "I'll have to pick up some Chardonnay on the way home." Sarah looked at him as if he had grown a second head, glancing at the nearby clock. "You know what? I should be fine… It is a bit early" he admitted sheepishly.

He finished his food and went to wash the plate, seeing her shake her head at his obvious domesticity. "What can I say? At home, the cook never washes. That was always the rule, it doesn't really apply these days… Now that I'm living on my own, but when I lived with my sister…"

"Ellie, right?" Sarah looked at him curiously, looking forward to meeting the doctor, having heard from Chuck about her strength and tenderness.

"Yeah…" he breathed out, suddenly nervous as he realised that he'd have to tell his enthusiastic sister about this new relationship. "I'd better go. I'll get started when i get home and call you later, just don't let anyone call the cops if your computers do something squirrely. You should have your network back pretty soon…"

With that, he reached over and gently kissed the blonde, reluctantly pulling away before they got carried away again. Standing up slowly, he reluctantly headed for the door and left, humming to himself as he stepped into the elevator.

A/N – I'm going to stop here. It's almost time to unleash the Piranha. Hope you've enjoyed my scribblings. Please R&R, they're much appreciated. Until next time, take care. D.