A/N - I hope you are all well. I've been really enjoying catching up with all of the recently updated fics, there are far too many to list here, but they're all AWESOME.

The usual disclaimers apply, no beta, no Chuck residual cheque burning a hole in my wallet etc.

A/N2 - If you aren't a member of the Chuck Fanfiction page you really should join us over there.

Chapter 13

"Let's just get there in one piece hey buddy?" Chuck sighed and began rubbing his temples.

Thankfully Morgan chose for once, not to 'drive like Miss Daisy' on their way to work and the two men rushed from the elevators, with moments to spare. The reporter's long legs helped him make it into the room just as Casey appeared and Morgan snuck into the back of the growing crowd moments later. Chuck stood in uncharacteristic silence as the former marine passed out assignments and commented on the weekend's numbers. A few minutes later the big man had gone and Chuck was able to escape to his desk in relative peace. He closed his door and dropped onto his chair, appreciating the silence more than the can of caffeinated drink Morgan had thrust into his hand as they travelled to work.

Chuck rubbed his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time as he ducked low behind his monitor in an attempt to hide his lethargy from passing co-workers. Glancing at his monitor sleepily, he spotted the tiny camera attached to the top and his thoughts jumped back to Neo, making him feel jittery. He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a roll of tape, tearing off a piece and covering the lens, it felt a little paranoid, but he didn't want to take the chance.

He sat back down and tried to write the script for tonight's report, but his mind wandered and his tired eyes began fighting him with every blink. Chuck shook his head as another ridiculously paranoid notion struck him and reached deep into his desk drawer, grabbing another can of energy drink and gulping it down to distract himself.

Despite what Morgan proclaimed on an almost hourly basis there WAS such a thing as too much Red Bull and when he'd finished his second can of the sugary drink, his stomach began churning almost as fast as his thoughts. As his mind distractedly searched for a way to deal with the hacker, the caffeine kicked in, burping loudly and mumbling "...excuse me" to no one in particular. Taking a deep breath, he sighed and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

A few seconds later, Morgan walked in and took a perch on the end of his desk.

"You look like hell" the little man chirped, "Go home. …I'll tell Casey you're sick again." he smiled warmly but Chuck didn't move.

"I really shouldn't, you remember what happened with Roan the other day?" He gave a slight smile and leaned back heavily in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a second. "Besides, I'm going to ask him for a few days off…" he looked past his friend to make sure no-one was going to come in "…to stop Neo."

"Is he your problem now?" the small man asked, fidgeting with Chuck's pen holder.

Chuck nodded and ground his teeth "Buddy, he knows who I am."

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise "…what?" he put the pen holder down.

"We talked this morning, when I was doing a favour for Sarah's friend, he hacked my webcam and I'm sure he recorded our little chat." He winced and blew out a deep breath.

"Shit." Morgan exclaimed.

"Sorry buddy, no Call of Duty this week, I'll be busy for the next few nights." he slapped his friend's knee and looked away.

Through his window he spotted Carina strutting into the busy newsroom, pulling a suitcase behind her and looking eagerly around the room. An intern who was hurriedly walking past, stopped when she touched his arm and spoke to him. The poor guy looked terrified of the beautiful redhead and quickly began pointing towards Chuck's office, scurrying away and bumping into an empty desk, as he gawped back at her for a moment. The reporter smiled and waved her over when they locked eyes, her grin beaming back at him as she quickly walked over. Morgan was completely oblivious to the exchange and was muttering something about spawn campers in Call of Duty.

After a few moments she opened the door and stepped in, silencing Morgan, her long legs, copper coloured hair and equally alluring lips appearing to scramble the bearded man's brain, who just stared, as awestruck as the poor intern had been. Chuck snickered at his friend's slack jawed expression and stood up when Carina crossed the room. She pulled the nerd into a tight hug, placing her lips just inches from his ear as she smiled "Thank you" and kissed his cheek.

Morgan was still transfixed by the mysterious red headed beauty and when she stepped back from his friend, he looked at Chuck expectantly. Taking that as his cue, Chuck introduced them "Carina this is my friend, Morgan." He slapped Morgan's knee lightly, making him stand up. "…Morgan this is Carina" she reached out a hand to shake his.

The bearded man took her fingertips and kissed her knuckles instead "Madam Carina…" he smiled warmly and let go as she laughed at him.

"Hi." She replied, smiling back at him. "Chuckles, I'm on my way to the airport, but I had to come over to thank you for last night first, you were amazing." Morgan's brows shot up again and he looked at his friend in surprise.

Watching his friend's face with a sly grin, Chuck waved his hand dismissively before replying to her "Carina, it was nothing. It's not like you had me up all night." Morgan sat back down and looked quickly between the two before furrowing his brow. Chuck had a glint of amusement in his chocolate eyes as he chuckled "…Morgan, Carina is Sarah's best friend, she's the one I was helping this morning." Morgan locked eyes with his tall friend, closing his mouth and smiling in understanding, before wiggling his finger in amusement at the nerd.

Morgan's phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket as he watched his tall friend, narrowing his eyes in amusement again before quickly heading for the door. He smiled at the redhead as he walked away, answering the call on his way out. Carina watched as the little man vanished into another room, eyeing him for a second "I'm sorry about him, he's harmless really." Chuck admitted, watching her gaze and chuckling to himself.

She was watching as the bearded man appear and grab a large bag from a nearby desk, putting his phone away and scurrying to another desk, packing up more items. "...and kinda cute" she muttered, smiling and sitting on Morgan's previous perch.

Chuck stopped laughing and stared at her for a second, his amusement curtailed by Carina's surprising attraction to his bearded friend, silencing him. He grinned again at her playful smile and tried to decide if he should mess with his little buddy about it later.

Seeing her smile again, he decided that his exhaustion was worth it, and the reporter was just glad that Carina sounded a little more like herself. Not really sure how else to bring it up, he reluctantly asked "So what are you gonna say to your bosses?" he winced at the seriousness that fell across her face. "…you obviously can't tell the truth."

She shook her head and shrugged "I've spent most of the night trying to work that out. As long as they've got production back up" the redhead lifted her brows "maybe they'll just give me a slap on the wrist. I know the police are involved, and I'm certain they will have lots of questions."

Chuck swallowed loudly "You could always play dumb…" he interrupted, hopefully.

"…I don't think that'll work. They'll have lost a lot of money yesterday and will want someone to blame" she smiled tightly.

He smiled back "…it shouldn't be you. It's Neo's fault" he said, offering his hand in sympathy.

She rested her hand on his for a moment before stepping back again "I know, maybe I should mention the attack on Sarah?"

"You can't mention me…" he panicked for a second.

Carina looked at him incredulously "I know that. I'm guessing that even with my login, some of what you had to do wasn't exactly legal." He nodded in response, avoiding her gaze and looking through his window instead "…besides, Walker would kill me if I got Prince Chuckles into trouble."

"You're probably right" he chuckled. "…there's a direct link from her to you, if it helps, Neo won't be able to get in again" he continued.

She smiled and looked away thoughtfully "…hmmm, that could work, if I played dumb about the attack but said that I got help from my friend's I.T. expert to deal with it."

They both nodded at her plan.

Morgan reappeared at the door and smiled at them both, "I'm heading out, apparently some General, Casey used to serve under is gonna make an appearance at a conference tonight and the big guy wants footage of him arriving at the airport."

Carina grinned at the little man's timely arrival "…which airport?"

The bearded man looked at her strangely, "…LAX." He chirped.

She grinned and stood back up, grabbing his arm "Perfect." Carina declared "…I'm heading that way, and Chuckles" she looked past the shorter man "…I owe you big time."

He shook his head and smiled "You don't owe me anything, remember? You know nothing."

She winked at him and smiled "My lips are sealed" before stepping close and giving him another hug, this one minus the kiss. Taking his bearded friend's empty hand this time, she smiled and turned back, looking at Chuck again "Zondra's right about you. Tell Walker I'll see you both real soon."

A few moments later they were gone. Morgan bombarding her with questions as they walked away. He thought about what Morgan had said and buzzed Daphne on the intercom, checking if Casey was free. When his own intercom buzzed back, he knew that his boss was waiting for him.

The burly station manager eyed the tired nerd curiously for a moment when he appeared at the door "That the hobbit's girlfriend visiting Bartowski?" he asked with a proud tone, as Chuck walked over to his desk, "…I thought you two were, what does he call it? Hetero life partners?" he asked, gesturing for the younger man to sit.

Chuck snorted and pulled out the nearest chair, dropping down lazily. "No! That was my girlfriend's best friend Carina. She needed some, err, tech advice yesterday and came by to thank me in person."

"Hmmm, so the rumours round here are true. You bagged that blonde from the report the other week?" he chuckled to himself as Chuck frowned back. "…Good for you, it's about time" he continued. "And you're already getting to know her girlfriends? Good, those kind of things are important." Chuck looked at him sideways "What? I wasn't hatched, I've been happily married for 20 years" he cleared his throat loudly and mumbled "…I've seen Sex and the City"

Chuck grinned and shook his head "You know what, I zoned out there, did you just say you've watched Sex and the City?" the nerd replied excitedly without really thinking, a broad smile covering his face. It was rare for the big man to let anyone mock him, so he wasn't sure if Casey would let his current tone slide. Seeing his boss grind his teeth a little, he pursed his lips and continued a little more sedately "…sorry Casey, you were saying." He smiled apologetically at his boss, before badly covering a yawn.

"My wife made me watch it, OK?" the big man growled defiantly, grimacing at Chuck's reappearing smile. "What did you want anyway?" he growled.

Chuck winced at the harsh tone "…I was wondering if I could have a few days off?" the reporter pursed his lips again, hoping that Casey would ignore his previous mockery.

The big man grunted and looked at him sternly, recognising the reporter's usual nervousness return. The big man bit back an obvious refusal, noticing the younger man's drooped shoulders and the obvious exhaustion in his eyes, nodding at the tall reporter instead "Go home kid…"

Not sure if his boss was messing with him, Chuck asked "Are you sure?"

His boss nodded again "…yeah, you look like crap anyway" he snorted.

"I look like this every day" Chuck stated, raising his brows.

"I stand by my previous statement. Go, before I change my mind" he glanced through the window and watched his hard working team proudly "…we got this."

Chuck began to stand and head for the door, "I'll need you back by Friday ok?" the big man said, pulling out his phone and checking an incoming message. Putting his phone down again, Casey whistled low, stopping Chuck dead on the spot "…and Kid, if you tell anyone I've been watching" he grimaced and cleared his throat loudly "…that, then…" the big man gestured with a cutting motion across his neck "I'm serious Chuck" he growled.

"I can see that" the nerd replied, his eyes widening dramatically, more surprised by Casey using his real name than the hopefully idle threat. "Thanks Casey, is there anything you want me to do before I go?"

He dismissed the reporter with a gruff "No. Just, git."

Chuck grabbed his bag from his office and went home after messaging Sarah about Carina's visit, as well as the story they'd concocted. They both wondered what Carina's bosses were going to make of her miraculous defeat of the Omen, and hoped the redhead would somehow come through it unscathed. He also reminded her about their 'family' dinner that evening and arranged to pick her up.

He managed to make it home fairly quickly, and after grabbing a drink, he curled up on his bed to finally try getting a little sleep. Unfortunately, Chuck's mind was wide awake by then and fought his exhausted limbs. Fingering the cool sheets, he realised that on top of everything else, he already missed Sarah lying next to him, who was he kidding? He missed her the second her car pulled away each morning. Noticing her subtle scent around him, he pulled her pillow to his cheek, closing his eyes again. It calmed him almost instantly and his mind finally settled enough to let him rest.

After a few hours' sleep, he'd awoken and spent the rest of the day trying to work out how to fight back against Neo. By the time he'd reached Sarah's apartment to pick her up, he had a workable idea of how to move forward but needed to set a few things in motion first. He honestly thought the hardest part would be not sleeping alongside Sarah for the next few days, his earlier nap had been refreshing but he remembered how empty his bed felt.

The nerd smiled lovingly and watched Sarah climb into his car cradling her contribution to the meal, a fabulous chocolate soufflé. Considering that it was Ellie's second favourite dessert he had a feeling that he wouldn't be the only one telling the blonde that he loved her by the end of the night.

For some reason that Chuck had yet to fathom, Sarah seemed a little nervous on the drive over to Ellie's place and it confused him a little. She'd already met his sister, and Awesome would be exactly that, Awesome, so he began to worry. The wonderful smell of chocolate filling the car distracted him briefly from that train of thought as it made his mouth water and stomach rumble as he drove.

"Honey, what's the matter? Are you ok?" he watched her with one eye fixed on the road.

She gave him a nervous smile "I'm great, this is a pretty big thing for me that's all. I've never really had a family, or been in a relationship where I…" she sighed and smiled at him "…where I felt like part of one, OK?"

"Can tell you something? I'm sure Ellie already thinks of you like a sister, and that chocolate soufflé will get her to love you just as much as I do. She can probably smell it from here." He chuckled and reached out a hand, resting it on her leg and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I love you."

Sarah shifted the bowl on her knee and ran the fingers of her now empty hand through the curls on the side of his head and smiled again "…ditto."

A few minutes, and a few miles later, they arrived.

"You'd better hand me that." Chuck smiled, taking the dessert from Sarah's grip.

Sarah knocked on the door, her now empty hands fidgeting a little as her boyfriend watched the portal with a sly grin. The large wooden door swung open, revealing the beaming smile of Chuck's sister Ellie, as she virtually lunged forward and gripped Sarah in a tight embrace. The blonde froze briefly, she was usually wary of people being so handsy, her father had drilled into her that it was the perfect time to pick someone's pocket, thankfully she quickly shook off that remnant of his influence and simply enjoyed the woman's friendly embrace. If anything, she gripped the woman back even tighter. "Come in Sarah" the doctor chuckled and let go, grabbing both her hands instead. "You can come in too little brother, as long as you bring in that gorgeous smelling soufflé."

"Thanks…" he said sarcastically. Sarah tried to speak but was cut off when the brunette almost literally yanked her through the doorway into her home. Chuck followed a little behind the two women and laughed at Sarah's expression. "Sis, Ellie, let go. I don't want us to spend the rest of the night in the E.R." he snorted at the stink eye Ellie shot his way, but the older Bartowski let go anyway and placed her arm around his girlfriend's shoulders gently as she began showing the blonde around the open plan apartment.

Off to the right of the large sofa was a well-appointed kitchen complete with an accompanying breakfast bar. The wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen were making Sarah's mouth water in anticipation. "Ellie, you have a lovely home. I can't wait to try some of that delicious smelling food."

The brunette smiled warmly "Thank you, it won't be too long" she gestured as though it was nothing special "…it's only a pot roast."

Chuck put down the bowl and appeared behind Sarah, placing his hands on her waist "Ellie, it's YOUR 'post roast." He said enthusiastically over the blonde's shoulder before moving his lips a little closer to Sarah's ear and whispered "…it should be in a food group of its own, it's that good." Ellie watched with the long suffering look of an older sister and laughed.

Devon appeared from their bedroom and greeted the couple warmly "Hey bro" the muscular surgeon reached over and bumped Chuck's fist before reaching out that hand to Sarah "…I'm Devon."

The blonde pursed her lips in a thin smile briefly, catching Chuck's "told you so" smirk in the corner of her eye and shaking her head at his amusement "Hi, I'm Sarah" she said, shaking his hand back.

"Oh I know, Ellie hasn't stopped talking about Chuck's new best gal…" the brunette nudged him in the ribs "…ow. What?"

"You know what, its ok. I'm just happy my brother has met someone as amazing as you." Ellie looked at her warmly as he grinned broadly at Sarah.

"Sis, you'll always be my best gal" the nerd looked at her warmly but she just shook her head at him.

Looking Sarah in the eyes, Ellie responded "…no offense little brother. I'm glad that I'm not, it's about time too."

"You're the second person to say that to me today." Chuck began shaking his head as Sarah smiled at the brunette.

Devon stepped away and began grabbing drinks for the group, handing them out quickly as the group moved into the living area.

Ellie finished her drink first, as Chuck and Sarah were telling Devon about the night out and she sat quietly, enjoying the way her brother lit up when he looked at Sarah.

Chuck laughed brightly for a second "…remember sis?" she shook her head, not really paying attention at the moment and he chuckled in return "you really should stay away from Mimosa's, you'll forget med school one of these days" she slapped his arm affectionately and leaned back into Devon's side "…you really don't remember? When we dropped you off after the club, Devon here, had to carry you over his shoulder from the limo."

She began shaking her head and eyeing them curiously "Oh my God, that was real? And Carina?"

Sarah watched the two men nod as Ellie's cheeks flushed "I'm sure Carina was just kidding when she said that she wanted to 'test the Chippendale's wood" she teased.

Devon laughed and rubbed her back "I've never had anyone think I was a stripper before" he admitted with a broad grin "She was pretty funny."

Ellie slapped his chest accusingly "…I've told you not to walk around outside without your shirt on so much."

"El, I'd just got back from the hospital and had a shower. You're lucky I was wearing more than a towel" he teased. "Besides, you were the one taking them off…" she looked at him in shock and covered his mouth quickly, an embarrassed flush appearing in her cheeks.

"I'm begging you, DON'T finish that sentence" Chuck interrupted, squirming and looking anywhere but at his mortified sister.

"Ok bro." Ellie looked at him sideways "…anyway, how about we eat? Mangia, mangia" he took Ellie's hand and they started heading to the kitchen together. "I've been fasting all day for this, just as well, or I'd need to find a way to burn off all these calories before bed" he teased the siblings again, chuckling at the awkward glances between Chuck and Ellie.

Ellie shook her head at him "Devon, stop it, or you won't get any of Sarah's magnificent soufflé." She moved her hand away and frowned at Devon until he got the hint and just chuckled to himself quietly. "…how are Carina and Zondra doing? Any after effects of our night out?" the doctor asked.

The blonde shook her head and replied "Zondra's fine and Carina's gone back to San Francisco for a few days, trouble at work." She noticed Chuck glance at his sister nervously.

"Oh God, nothing too bad I hope." The doctor rested her hand on Sarah's sympathetically.

"Just a little computer issue, I think." Sarah shrugged and pursed her lips, looking at Chuck proudly, he gave her a slight shake of his head, obviously wanting her to change the subject.

Ellie carried on "…oh, I'm sure Chuck could help." He choked and nearly spit out his drink.

"It's nothing" Sarah interjected, watching as Chuck bent to clean up his mess.

Moving them over to the dinner table a couple of minutes later, they sat down and enjoyed a wonderful meal. Sarah told a few funny stories about Carina and Zondra, and the others shared some interesting tales of Westside Medical and respectively. At the end of the meal, Chuck and Sarah bid their good byes and he drove them back to her apartment.

"I can't stay tonight, I've still got some stuff I need to take care of…" he said as he walked through her door.

She pouted in response "Are you sure? …it's late." she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You have no idea how much I want to" He placed his fingers on her cheek, stroking them down to her jaw "…but I still have to deal with HIM."

Sarah's eyes widened "…Neo? I thought you'd stopped him."

"Oh I did, but he's still out there" he swallowed loudly and gazed into her deep sapphire eyes.

Sarah smiled back, looking at him warmly "Can't you just leave it to the police? I'm sure they will catch him soon." she almost whined.

"The police have been trying to catch him for years, they're no closer to catching him than they are me" he winced "…and for some reason he's made this personal" he admitted, frowning a little at his own assumption.

She looked at him in puzzlement "How do you know that?"

He cleared his throat nervously "Don't you think it's strange that he's attacked your company and then your friend. It definitely sounds personal to me" he admitted, when she nodded in reply he continued "…and then there were a couple of things he said to me."

She pulled out of his embrace and stepped away, "You spoke to Neo?" she folded her arms and looked at him accusingly "…why didn't you tell me?"

"It was only for a minute this morning." He replied, looking abashed as she moved back a little more and continued frowning at him. The nerd reached out his hands to her "Sarah, I know I should've told you, but somehow he found me and…" she suddenly stepped closer and placed her own hand across his mouth, silencing him.

"Chuck, do you love me?" he nodded "…good, because I love you too. I don't want you keeping things from me, you've got to talk to me, OK? No secrets, no lies, remember?" she admonished.

His nervous gaze settled on her lips and he nodded again, taking her hand from his face and kissing her knuckles "…I'm sorry." He saw her sapphire eyes flash in approval as he continued "I love you."

She smiled back at him warmly "I love you too, and you're right, it does sound personal. So what are WE going to do?

"We?" he asked, seeing her eyes turn serious again "Well, WE have a plan to bring Neo out of the shadows, WE put a trace on his connection to my computer this morning, so WE need to check on that. If we're lucky, then it'll already have his location." He smiled and moved his arms lower to her waist.

"Can you do that from here?" she asked, leaning into his chest, still not wanting him to leave as he moved a tender hand up to her long neck.

He shook his head and leaned in to kiss her cheek "Sorry, it's all setup on my computer."

She nodded resolutely and smiled at him "OK then, let's go to your place, because one way or another, I'm staying with you tonight."

He smiled at her serious tone "…Ok, but WE might not be getting much sleep."

"Well I was planning on that anyway" she quipped, winking at him and moving away to grab her purse as his jaw dropped. "…I'm sorry, I had a whole thing planned to thank you for helping Carina."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her soundly "Casey's right, I'm a moron." She giggled at him "…I should forget about Neo, stay right here, but there'll be our whole lives to do that." She gasped in surprise at his slip, they'd barely been together for two weeks. She held his gaze, the certainty in his eyes making her heart flutter wondrously.

Sarah smiled into the next kiss and pushed him against the wall, a few seconds later, she asked breathlessly "…do you think of things like that often? Us? Our future?"

He smiled back "To be honest, no, but when I'm around you, my mouth isn't often connected to my brain, and I know it'll probably get me into trouble one day, but..."

"Oh, then we're both in trouble, I don't usually talk about my feelings, or tell anyone about my past, but something about you gets me to open up" she admitted, making him smile. "And Zondra's told me more than once that you're a keeper." His eyes widened in surprise that the stern brunette was in his corner, but he smiled lovingly back at his girlfriend. "Let's go…" she said, taking his hand and pulling him out of the apartment, before locking her door and heading down to his car again.

A/N2 – I'm glad you're still with me. This took me a bit longer than usual to get to a place I could stop naturally. I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to Please R&R if you can, it'll be much appreciated. Take care and stay safe my friends.