A/N 1:

Chuck and Sarah continue on their journey to become whole individuals, who can fully embrace a committed relationship. Chuck is a little further along in the process, thanks to his newly rediscovered parents. Sarah is embracing her rebirth.

A/N 2:

Don't own Chuck, not making money from this, but hopefully making our community a little better.

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In life, tears are unavoidable, sadness will be forced upon you. But, life merely provides the opportunity for happiness. You have to meet it halfway.

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"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" Chuck exclaimes, as he suddenly steps into the doorway.

"What?" is Sarah's thoroughly confused reply.

"Exactly!" Chuck proclaims. "You weren't expecting the Spanish Inquisition were you?" He grins, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What. The. Hell. Are you talking about?" She replies, in mock annoyance, grinning in anticipation of whatever silliness is about to come.

"Sarah, you need to go to Monty Python U. You need to embrace the absurd, to revel in the weird, and to turn your view of the world completely upside down. You say you're wanting to learn who you are. Well we need to expand your view of what the possibilities are. Do you want to be normal or do you want to be weird?" He declares, grinning broadly, a wild look in his eyes, as he pulls at his hair, messing it up, and making it stand on end, going full mad scientist.

Sarah, tosses her head back in full throated laugher. "If it is with you baby, bring on the weird."

"Oh yeah, you know it. It's gonna get weird in here, baby," Chuck teases back, in a bad Austin Powers accent."

He continues, grinning, "And I also brought you a bunch of dark comedies. You see, dark comedies reveal who you are. Standard comedies make it obvious when you should laugh. Standard dramas make it obvious when you should cry. And it's easy to fall into the conformity of emotion that those types of movies lead you to."

He continues, impassioned. "You've been conforming your emotions to what your Dad and Graham wanted for years and years and years. You were trained when dealing with marks to put on the face that was appropriate for the situation. As you tried to please both your father and the father figure of Graham you put on the face that you thought they wanted you to see. We're trying to find Sarah's face, Sarah's true feelings and emotions."

He catches himself and calms himself, not wanting to overshadow the intention of his words, then continues.

"A place where it's hard to hide what you feel is in the world of dark comedy. Because you don't know when you're actually supposed to laugh. Dark comedies show us situations that normally would make us cry, but something in the situation could also elicit laughter. What you laugh at will tell you a lot about who you are."

He smiles at her, and she returns the smile, appreciating that all this crazy silliness springs from his caring about her happiness.

"This isn't about being judgmental, right or wrong, good or bad. Everybody laughs at some kind of dark shit. It just varies what that is, from person to person. Let's laugh together and find out what kind of weird you are." He pulls her to sit by him on the couch, nestled at his side, and he starts the movie.

And thus, Fair Sarah, The Bold, was introduced to the Knights who say "Nee!".

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After the movie, popcorn finished and tears of laughter wiped from eyes, they cuddle on the couch, in quiet contentment.

Chuck spoke into the stillness, keeping his voice quiet and gentle.

"I hope you are getting used to allowing yourself to honestly feel whatever it is you feel. Now I want you to get comfortable with sharing your honest feelings, starting with me."

He squeezes her, reassuringly.

"Here, behind closed doors, with no one watching, I want you to feel free to be yourself with me. I love you. Full stop. No conditions, no requirements, and irrevocable. I know what you have done and I accept you for it. I don't forgive you, because it is not on me to forgive you, it is on you to forgive yourself.

I want you to feel safe here, in this room, and more importantly in my arms. It will be the greatest joy in my life, to discover you, as you discover yourself, and I will love you every step of the way.

All of the love and goodness of his heart, unhesitatingly offered up, overwhelmed her. I keep thinking that this is as good as it gets, and try to reassure myself that I can trust it will be this way in the future, he keeps making it better! How is this possible? She was speechless and words would have been inadequate, so she used her lips to convey her appreciation for what he was trying to do for her, as she pulled him into a deep kiss.

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The next day, Casey steps out of the kitchen, broadly smiling, and slaps Chuck on the shoulder, as they pass. Chuck, entering the kitchen, sees Carina leaning back against the counter and looking somewhat flushed. Chuck grins at her, taking in the scene. Carina, slightly flustered, looks at him, widening her eyes, non verbally challenging, "What?" as she returns his grin.

"So you and Casey are an item now?" He inquires.

"Well, yeah, let's just say we're having fun together." She responds with a smile that turns into a concerned frown. "Does that bother you? Does it make you feel weird?"

Chuck smiles easily and reassuringly at her. "You know Carina you've always made me feel weird," He teased, chuckling. Weird in a good way."

He explains, "Like when you are learning to surf, the butterflies you get as you are waiting to catch that first wave. The stability of the shore, willingly left behind, at the mercy of the ocean, just a passenger on its ride. But you know, when you catch that first wave it is going to be a transformational experience. You are that kind of force of nature, and I had no more expectation of taming you, of controlling you, than I would have trying to control the ocean."

Chuck looks deeply in her eyes and softly smiles at her, stepping forward to take a shoulder in each hand. "I care about you. I don't regret anything about being with you. I might be embarrassed about some of what I did, kind of like when I tried to be goth, for about a week in junior high. Nothing against the Goth kids but, that's not who I am."

He hugs her, "I will never forget our time together. You always had my six out in the field and you always took care of my heart here at home when everything overwhelmed me. I will always appreciate that."

He steps back, putting some space between them. "So how do I feel? What do I think? I think that you should be you and I will always have your back, and if you and Casey can make each other happy that's all the better."

"You guys are always family. I love you, Carina, and if that's with a little L not a big L it's all good. I wish you all the best."

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Chuck, as the Intersect, had hidden himself in plain sight. When he fed the intel of what he had learned from flashing, he would present it to the American teams as being a joint effort of the European teams, and reversed the situation for the European teams. He just seemed to be the middleman, just a middle manager, cog in the wheel. So making his participation less visible wasn't a problem. Now that he was in constant consultation with the Agency heads, most of his intel was just passed down the chain, with all the other data they collected. Only the most critical missions were handled directly, by the core trio, the true Intersect team of Carina, Casey, and Chuck.

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A/N 3:

Ok, we've had 3 quick views into Chuck and Sarah's minds and world. I am going to step away for about a week to go write some Charina. Hey, it's a big and varied multiverse. Chuck Fanfiction on Facebook can introduce you to some of the other AU, to be found here.

Reviews reassure my fragile ego that you like what I am writing. Or, tell me it sucks. It's all good.