Unfortunately I still don't own Chuck.

Chapter 9

"Hi Sarah, how's it going?" he asked from the doorway.

"Hi Chuck!" she replied, looking up from her laptop, pleased to see him. He came for lunch most days, just to "break up the day" for her, but she'd slid into a reasonable rhythm of working for a few hours in the morning and for a few in the afternoon. She was gradually extending her stamina and was nearly up to seven hours.

He'd provided a phone and laptop as promised, and also a table which slipped over her bed, allowing her to work from there. It rolled back when she wanted to get out of bed, as she was now able to do with much less pain. Two weeks into her convalescence at home and she was much happier about life. That was helped by the fact that she was not as bad at the telesales job as she'd expected to be. In fact, she was quite good.

He'd helped her to set up that first morning, explaining the difference between hot, cold and warm leads. He'd showed the company's client management system to her and how to record her interaction with the leads. He'd explained that she should call a mixture of hot, warm and cold leads over her first few days so that she had a chance of making sales and it wasn't too disheartening banging her head against the brick wall of cold leads. He'd also worked with her to understand the products she'd be selling and to put together a script for her calls.

And, glory be, she'd made a few sales. Not as many as she'd have liked, but certainly enough to keep the lights on, and she enjoyed being a contributing member of the company. She had email and phone correspondence with Chuck's assistant in Toronto, Lia, who also helped with HR, and the assistant for the sales team, Dani, both of whom seemed to be very good colleagues and were always helpful when she had a question, and Chuck stopped in for lunch every day and spent most evenings with her and Molly.

She was due for a hospital appointment next week and she was hopeful then she'd be given a clean bill of health on the ribs and be able to get the next stage of her recovery underway. Crutches rather than a wheelchair would ensure that she was much more mobile, and she should be able to finally get out of the apartment. Chuck had taken her out in the wheelchair a few times during the past fortnight, and that was very kind of him, but she craved independence; the ability to go where she wanted when she wanted. And she didn't have that at the moment. Hopefully she would have it soon.

Plus, there was sex. Chuck had been very proactive regarding the no sex rule, and she couldn't fault him. They'd done practically everything that was possible outside the actual sex but even though she loved it when he went down on her or fingered her, or even used a vibrator on her, in her view there was just no substitute for feeling his cock inside her. She wanted that and she wanted it soon. While she'd have been happy to break the rule, he hadn't. She didn't know if he was naturally law abiding or it was because his sister was a doctor, but his insistence on following that one rule was chafing in the extreme!

"How you doing?" he asked again.

"Great," she replied. "Happy to see you," she added. "Got another one in the bag," she announced.

His eyebrows rose. "Another one? That's what – seven – this week?" he asked.

She was having quite a good week and, what was really nice was that she'd made a few sales to cold leads that she'd developed on her own, as well.

"Yeah, another cold lead," she confirmed.

"Sarah, I'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass, but you're really good at this," Chuck said, and she looked up to see him looking at her seriously. "To be making that many sales, including converting cold leads, after only a few weeks in the job is phenomenal," he told her. "I'm really proud of you," he broke into a grin, "both as your boyfriend and as your boss!"

She grinned back at him. "I'm quite proud as well," she allowed, "I didn't think I'd be able to put food on the table with a real job. Maybe I'll stick with this afterwards!"

She'd intended it as a joke, but he looked at her intensely. "If you keep going at this rate Sarah, you could. You could be making two hundred grand a year plus benefits and paid vacation."

She looked at him incredulously. "No way Chuck!" she gasped.

"Yeah, do the math Sarah," he replied. "In fact, you could make more than that, if you keep going at this rate."

She looked at him in astonishment. She hadn't really thought about what this would mean. She'd generated close to ten grand in commission in two weeks. Fine, there'd been some easy wins in there. Some hot leads that he'd passed on and a few warm leads who'd already been called, but if she genuinely could close some cold leads then she could maybe "do" this. It would mean that she wouldn't have to go back to dancing, a job that she didn't particularly like, but could still earn enough to save up for Molly's education and maybe buy a few things for herself as well.

She looked at Chuck who was still smiling at her proudly. "I didn't realize that," she said.

"Well, just see how it goes," he said. "Do you enjoy it more than stripping?" he asked.

"It's a no-brainer Chuck!" she told him. "I don't regard stripping as demeaning, as we discussed, but I don't like it. The hours suck. It's physically demanding and I have to hang out with people I normally wouldn't want to and pretend to like them."

"Like me?" he joked.

"Not like you, you goof!" she returned. "Now you're fishing for compliments!"

He grinned. "You know there's some of that in sales as well, particularly at a more senior level where you may have to meet the client at their site."

"Yeah, but I won't have to be naked," she replied.

"That's true," he nodded sagely. "Although…"

"Don't go there!" she ordered. "Now where's my lunch?"

He grinned. "I got burger, extra pickles," he informed her.

"Did I ever tell you, you're the perfect boyfriend?"


"So I thought you might like to come into the office this afternoon?"

She thought she might kill him. "Chuck!" she said in a warning tone.

"Ah, no on the office then. Maybe we could go shopping?" he grinned at her, and she knew he was teasing.

"Charles Bartowski," she growled. "If you don't take me home right now, and make love to me, you won't like the consequences!"

"I guess we'll go straight home then," he joked.

It had been a great day. Chuck's work visa had been granted by the Canadian government, giving him leave to remain, and her specialist had confirmed that her ribs were pretty much fully healed and had removed the restrictions on her. She'd swapped the wheelchair for a set of crutches and they were now on their way back to his car.

He helped her get in and tossed the crutches in the back seat. The passenger seat was pushed all the way back to accommodate her plastered leg. He leant in and gave her a peck on the lips. "Bet you're pleased to see the back of that wheelchair!" he observed as he pushed the door closed and headed round to the driver's seat.

"You're not kidding," she growled. "Do you think you might drive a little faster than your usual granny speed?" she asked.

"I'll have you know I'm a very safe driver," he grinned.

"Yes," she agreed, "But not a fast driver Chuck, and there's somewhere we need to be."

"Ah, do we need to go see Carina?" he asked facetiously. "Or maybe Ellie?"

"Chuck!" she growled. "Home, now!"

"Desperate much?" he joked, pulling out of the space. "Actually, I do have something to take your mind off the journey," he added, and she looked at him quizzically. "There's an envelope just behind my seat, can you reach it?" he said.

She looked and there was indeed a large manilla envelope. She leaned across and was able to grab it. "Yeah, I've got it," she said, interested.

"Open it," he instructed, "I wanted to leave it til later, but since you're champing at the bit…"

"What is it?" she queried, opening the flap and pulling a card out. She turned it over. It was a certificate.

"Employee of the month" it proclaimed. "S. Walker"

"What the fuck?" she asked, looking at Chuck, who was grinning at her as they stopped at a red light. The light changed and the car behind them honked, causing him to get the vehicle underway again.

"Congratulations Sarah," he replied. "You're the salesperson with the highest number of sales this month. In only three weeks as well. If you keep this up, the rest of them will be running scared."

"Yeah, but you've only got three other salespeople," she exclaimed.

"Yes we do," he agreed, "But, thanks to your help, this is the biggest sales month that the Canadian business has ever had. Anyway," he said, obviously seeing the doubt in her eyes. "I didn't make the award, Doug the COO did. He looks at all the Client Management interactions and said that your work was simply stellar." His face crinkled in a grin as they stopped at another light, and he leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. "So congrats. I'll congratulate you properly when we get back."

And he did. Three times.


"Wow, this is great!" Molly's enthusiasm was touching, and Sarah shared a happy grin with Chuck.

Honestly, the man was full of surprises. Hearing Molly gushing about soccer after playing one Monday a few weeks previously, he'd asked her if she'd ever been to a real match and receiving a negative answer, he'd got a thoughtful expression on his face.

Ten days later he'd announced that LA Galaxy were playing an exhibition game with Toronto FC, and would Molly and Sarah like to come with him? After the enthusiastic response he'd added on that he had contacts with LA Galaxy and they could get in and meet some of the team members after the match. Molly was over the moon, and now here they were, a week after Sarah managed to get rid of the wheelchair, at Molly's first real soccer match.

Molly had been excited all week, talking about this player she was excited about seeing, or that one. And she'd asked how Chuck managed to get them privileged access?

"You asked me about the homeless work I used to do," Chuck replied. That must have been while Chuck was living in with Molly because that wasn't a conversation that Sarah had been privy to.

"Yeah," replied Molly.

"Well, I also used to volunteer as a coach at a soccer club for homeless people," Chuck revealed. "If we saw a player with potential, often we'd feed them into the Galaxy scouting network. So I know the head scout, Adam, and you'll meet him on Saturday. He's the one that'll take us in to meet the players."

"That must have taken up a lot of your time," Sarah had suggested. Every new thing she heard about Chuck suggested he was too good to be true!

"Only a night a week," Chuck replied. "It's not like I was doing anything else," he gave a self-deprecating grin. "Actually, they did me a favor. It was fun to hang out with the kids, it got me out of the apartment and gave me something to do."

"And were you a good coach?" Sarah enquired facetiously.

"Analytical mind here," Chuck replied, pointing at his head. At her questioning look he continued. "Unbeaten last season in sixteen games, top of our league. And the season before."

Molly's eyes had practically bugged out at that, and Sarah had been shocked as well.

Back in the present, Sarah tried to settle her plastered leg. Despite Chuck's longer legs, he'd offered her the seat next to the aisle so that she could relax her leg into it. He was sitting next to Molly, rather scrunched up in his seat, and they shared a grin.

Molly was decked out in new gear. Chuck had cautioned against buying too much Toronto gear because they were meeting the Galaxy team later, so they all had scarves which had both team's names on, and Molly had a Toronto ball cap as well which she could tuck in her bag after the match. Chuck was wearing a Galaxy shirt, but it was an older one with a different sponsors' name to the current one.

"Who do you think'll win?" she asked. She didn't really follow soccer that much, any sport in fact.

"Toronto!" cheered Molly, loyally.

"Galaxy should," replied Chuck a little more quietly, "But they're playing a weakened team, so Toronto might nab the win. We'll have to see."

And see they did, as the game started up. Toronto got off to a strong start, but Galaxy's greater fitness began to tell in the second half. Watching the game with someone who coached was an interesting experience for Sarah. Chuck pointed out all sorts of tactical issues which would have gone over her head if he hadn't been there, and she'd seen Molly looking at him with renewed respect.

Molly's preferred position was right back, and Chuck had singled out the Toronto right back, who was almost totally defensive, and contrasted him against the Galaxy right back who was much more attacking.

In the end Galaxy won three goals to two, but it had been a fun match and Sarah enjoyed it. Molly was sad that her team had lost but excited to meet some of the Galaxy players and, thanks to Chuck's contact Adam, she was able to meet some of the top players, including the superstar English player David Beckham, whose accent and high-pitched voice made them all grin. All the players were really kind to Molly though and explained a little about what a professional player did on a day to day basis. Chuck and Sarah thanked all the players copiously for their time and Sarah thanked Adam, who bemoaned Chuck's absence and wondered where he was going to find new players now.

It was a great day out and, on the way home, Molly asked Chuck if he could come to the last game of the season for her team and watch her play and make suggestions as to how she could improve. As Sarah expected, Chuck was happy to help.


"What's up Sarah? You look worried." It was unlike Carina to pick up on other people's moods, so she must have looked very worried, Sarah thought.

Carina had been in to see her a few times in hospital and while she'd been laid up at home, but now she was mobile she could at least get out and see her friend and, since they didn't see each other at the club for now, they'd instituted a regular coffee on a Tuesday morning.

"I'm just waiting for something bad to happen, like the other shoe to drop," said Sarah.

"You mean something bad like nearly getting killed and ending up in plaster for three months?" Carina asked sarcastically.

Sarah couldn't help but smile. "Maybe not something like that," she replied.

"Then what's up?" Carina asked.

Sarah gnawed her lip. "It's just…everything's going so well with Chuck and I'm kinda waiting for something to go wrong," she explained.

"Yeah, he is pretty unreal," Carina agreed. "He was fantastic with Molly when you were hurt. And I don't know anyone else who would just drop their life and fly out to be with someone they'd only been going out with for a few weeks. You must be magic in bed Sam!" she ended with a little bit of sass.

"Well, I've not had any complaints," Sarah sassed back, "But the fact is he's fantastic…at everything," she grinned at Carina so her friend understood what she was talking about. "But I can't understand why he's with me?"

"Me neither," Carina replied, deadpan. "But seriously Hun, you deserved to find someone like him. You've had a tough few years. Why not just enjoy it for what it is, rather than worrying about how it's gonna end?" She smiled. "You worry too much Sam, just live for the here and now. You never know what's gonna happen in the future, after all."

Sarah studied her friend. Carina really did know her well. They'd met early on in Sam's prison sentence. Carina had been convicted for assault after a long con she was involved in had fallen apart. While she was good with her mouth, she wasn't that good with her fists and that had led to her using a saucepan on the target of the long con when he'd reacted rather nastily to discovering the con, and to her having the shit kicked out of her when over-using her mouth in the prison yard.

Sam had ended up rooming with the mouthy woman and they had grown close. She'd helped teach Carina some basic kickboxing and self-defense and, in return, Carina had become a close friend, Sam's only one. It was she who had coined the Sarah nickname. She had simply said that Sam didn't seem like a "Sam" and had started calling her Sarah. There were so many bad memories attached to the name Sam by then that Sarah had been happy to adopt the new name.

Sarah grimaced. "You're right. It's just…"

"Yeah, I know," replied Carina. "But just trust yourself. You never know – he might surprise you, and you might surprise yourself."

It was good advice and Sarah resolved to take it.


"What do you think?" Chuck asked, gesturing into the open-plan office space, the hub of Carmichael Industries in LA.

It had been Chuck's idea to invite them to LA. After the arrival of his Canadian work permit he had signed a lease on an apartment a little closer to town than Sarah's place but within easy walking distance. The fact that it was next to a park where there was a women's soccer team that Molly was interested in playing for was neither here nor there! Chuck had invited Sarah to check out his two final choices and this one, in both their opinions, was by far the best. It was a top floor apartment in a relatively low rise building with a beautiful enclosed roof terrace and good views towards the park and the rest of the city. It was much bigger than Sarah and Molly's apartment, as befitted Chuck's position as CEO of a successful company, but Sarah didn't begrudge Chuck that because he'd worked damn hard.

But, with the new apartment lease starting, it was time for Chuck to pack up his apartment in LA and ship it to Toronto. Ellie and Devon had volunteered to help, along with Chuck's friend Morgan, so there'd be a group of them and the removal team would do the heavy furniture. Chuck had asked if she and Molly would like to come to LA for a long weekend with him.

The trip had involved getting permission for Molly to miss school for a Friday and Monday, but since it was close to vacation and she'd taken her exams, this hadn't been too much of a problem. The surprises had started when they'd got to the airport. Chuck had checked them in at first class, explaining that his frequent flyer card entitled them to check in there, and then he'd taken them through to the first class lounge as well. Sarah and Molly had loaded their plates with the free food and Sarah had poured champagne while Chuck looked on in an amused way.

Then they'd come to board the plane. Chuck had held onto their tickets so she'd had no idea where their seats were but when they'd turned left after boarding the plane, she'd begun to get an inkling. Chuck had booked them in first class. It was like nothing she or Molly had ever experienced. Molly had enjoyed lowering the seat into the flat bed and both had enjoyed the hot and cold running food and drink. And the movies.

But that hadn't been the end of the surprises. Claiming that his guest beds were already packed, Chuck had put them up in a hotel in West Hollywood, within half an hour's drive of his apartment. After clambering out of the Uber which had brought them from the airport, they'd checked in and Chuck had escorted them to a top floor two room suite which had an amazing view towards LA.

She'd looked at him in astonishment as he'd shown them the rooms and he'd given a small smile. "When's the last time you went on holiday?"

Her face must have shown the fact that she'd never been on holiday. She didn't think Molly had either.

"Let me do this for you?" he said. "Please? My treat for two of the most important ladies in my life?" he flirted his eyebrows and gave her a goofy grin.

Faced with that she'd backed down. She hadn't put up too much of a fight. The hotel was amazing, with its own gym, pool and spa. The bathroom was to die for; easily better than the hotel that Chuck had stayed at in Toronto. She just wished she could fully make the best of it. With her leg still in plaster, pools and baths were still out of bounds.

They had had a quick lunch and then headed to the office. Chuck had offered Molly to stay at the hotel but she'd gamely said that she wanted to come, so he'd hailed a cab to take them to the converted warehouse which was the headquarters of Carmichael Industries.

Everyone had been excited to see Chuck but she had been surprised that, when he had introduced her to Doug, the COO, he had recognized her name and congratulated her for her sales record. Chuck had then taken her to meet some of the original members of the team.

"This is Jeff," he said, introducing her to a man with mad sandy-colored hair who looked like he'd just stuck his finger in a power socket. Jeff gave her a welcoming smile and stood to greet her.

"Jeff and I worked at the Buy More when I was at Stanford," Chuck explained. "He came to join me when I set up Carmichael Industries." Chuck had previously explained to her how Jeff had been considered batshit crazy but, after the van in which he'd been sleeping had to be repaired, it had been discovered that he'd been suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Chuck had offered him a place to stay and Jeff, through Carmichael Industries, had been able to get his life back on track.

"Sarah," Jeff said in an unexpectedly deep voice. "Delighted to meet you. Chuck said that you were beautiful, but I honestly didn't think you'd be this beautiful." He smiled, then turned to Molly. "And you must be Molly," he greeted the teenager. "We're just testing a game. Would you like to come and help us?"

Molly looked at Sarah hopefully and she nodded at the younger girl, allowing her to head off with Jeff.

"This is Skip," Chuck continued, now speaking to the other man. "What happened to your hair man?" Sarah couldn't see anything wrong with the guy's hair. It was short and brown.

The guy didn't say anything and a young Asian-looking girl answered for him. "He lost a bet with Mary from accounts!" Skip glared at her but didn't contradict her.

Chuck grinned and turned to the woman. "And this is Anna," he explained. "I poached Skip and Anna from the Buy More when I set up here. They kind of balance each other out. Skip barely talks but Anna more than makes up for it!"

"Fuck you Bartowski," the woman said, though grinning at Chuck. She gave him the finger and then reached out to shake Sarah's hand. "Anna," she introduced herself. "Good luck with keeping this one in order! But thanks for taking him off our hands," she grinned. "I was wondering if I'd need to give him a pity-fuck to get him back on the wagon again!"

They both grinned as Chuck's ears went red. Sarah automatically liked the other woman. "You wouldn't have regretted it," she told the other woman quietly.

The other's eyebrows lifted. "Really?" she asked equally quietly. "Damn, I'm kinda sorry I didn't now!"

"Standing right here you know," Chuck reminded them. "I should have known that you two would form an unholy alliance! Anyway, we've got to go, but you guys'll be there for the party tonight?" he asked, receiving affirmatives from the team. He continued with the tour, introducing her to everybody she'd likely come into contact with for her sales role, then picking up Molly from the games room where she was playing against a small bearded man.

"Chuck!" the man called, when he saw Chuck. "How are you my heterosexual life partner?" then he noticed her. "Woah! Stop the presses - Vicky Vale!"

Sarah looked at Chuck in bemusement. "Heterosexual life partner?" she mimed to him.

Her boyfriend grinned. "Morgan, I see you've already met Molly. I'd like to introduce you to Sarah."

Now she understood. Morgan, Chuck's best friend who had such "mad" work avoidance skills that he still worked at the Buy More and didn't want to work for Chuck's company apart from as a games tester on an if and when basis.

"Morgan," she greeted, holding out her hand. "I've heard so much about you."

The smaller man seemed lost for words, "It is an honor to meet you my lady," he said shaking her hand gently, and then pulling it to his lips. Sarah's eyebrows rose. "I am delighted to meet the woman that has stolen my best friend's heart."

Chuck flirted his lips in a grin. "Well, this saves time. Are you guys ready to go?" he asked, looking at Molly and Morgan. "We should head back to the apartment and start doing some packing."

They both agreed, bidding farewell to Jeff who confirmed he'd be at the party tonight, and heading outside to pile into an Uber.


Sarah had fallen in love with Chuck's apartment in Echo Park immediately. Chuck had pointed out the apartment that had been Ellie and Devon's just across the courtyard from his. She'd loved the courtyard and fountain.

As they drew up to the door, Molly and Morgan chattering away about the game they'd been playing as they had been all the time in the cab on the way over, a feminine voice issued from within.

"Sarah! Chuck!"

"Brace yourself," murmured Chuck as hurricane Ellie threw the door open and wrapped Chuck up in a hug. She released him and then bestowed a slightly gentler one on Sarah, obviously aware that, with her crutches, Sarah wasn't quite as robust on her feet as Chuck.

"How are you doing?" Ellie asked her, pulling back but holding her shoulders. "What do you think of LA?"

"I like it," replied Sarah as Chuck and Devon shared a bro hug, before Devon moved onto her, as Ellie went to greet Molly.

"Hi Sarah, how are you doing?" Devon greeted her, wrapping her up in a gentle hug.

"Doin' well," she returned, hugging him too. She really liked Devon. "Better than when you last saw me!" While she had seen Ellie a few times over the past few weeks, she hadn't seen Devon since the hospital.

"Great to see," he replied, pulling back and looking down at Molly. "Hello Miss Molly," he greeted, pulling her into a gentle hug. Sarah saw Ellie glaring at Morgan and had to smile. Chuck had told her about Morgan's crush on his sister. She felt Chuck's hand slip into hers.

"Shall I give you the tour?" he asked. She nodded as he led her into the apartment, taking his time to allow her to navigate the already substantial number of boxes with her crutches. She liked the apartment, although on the inside it wasn't a patch on his new apartment in Toronto, and she guessed it reflected different times in his life. When he'd moved here Carmichael Industries had still been young; now it was a highly-successful company and he was doing very well for himself. The penthouse apartment was much more in line with his new standing.

They shared takeout for a late lunch and then spent the afternoon packing up his gear and then preparing for the party that would take place here later. Ellie was annoyed, but Chuck had had the party catered. He told Ellie that even though her food was great, she couldn't cook for fifty or sixty which was how many they were expecting between the staff from Carmichael Industries and Chuck's, Ellie's and Devon's friends from LA.

The party was a great success. Towards the end of the night Chuck drew Sarah into his room.

"Are you OK?" she asked, a little tipsy. Molly had crashed on the sofa in the sitting area about an hour ago.

"Yes," he replied. "Couldn't be better." He drew her into a hug.

"Sarah," he started. "I'm ready to go now. I'm ready to leave LA and build a new life with you and Molly in Toronto." He paused and she looked at him. His dark eyes were brimming with love and she leaned forward to kiss him.

"I'm ready too, Chuck," she told him.

He reached behind him and snagged something off a chest of drawers. "I know we've only been together for a relatively short time," he said, "But I genuinely care about you. I know it's too early to go all in, but I wanted to give you something, so you'd know how serious I am about you." He presented her with a square black jewelry box.

"What is it?" she asked, opening the lid. It was a charm bracelet.

"This is my mom's charm bracelet," he explained. "My dad gave it to her when Ellie was born. I'd like you to have it."

She stared at him, understanding what a huge thing this was for him. His mother who had disappeared. It was a family heirloom, and he was giving it to her. "Chuck – thank you," she murmured. "I love it."

"And I love you, Sarah," he whispered, leaning in for a kiss. She tried to show him how much this gesture meant to her. It may not be a ring, but it was the nearest thing to it.

"Love you too," she murmured, kissing him again.


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