A/N: Hannah's arrival in Chuck's life always seemed too convenient, too contrived. It prevented any reconnection between Chuck and Sarah. An AU exploring this theme. I know it's been done before, but hopefully this is different enough. Of course, being one of mine, it's a Charah story.
I currently have three stories in progress, a partly drafted one that I'd mentioned in my last one-shot, which itself is being extended, and a planned follow-up to another one-shot. So, of course, I decided to rework the Hannah story with this. Frequency of publishing will be as unpredictable as for the other stories.
Thanks to MarkeyDeSad who beta'd this for me.
From Paris, With Love
Chapter 1: Hannah?
Shaw was pacing the floor in Castle behind Sarah and Casey. "I think we can all agree that this team has been dysfunctional the last two years. And I think I know what the problem is." He paused standing between the two seasoned spies. Chuck tensed and looked down, thinking he was about to be put down. Again. Shaw continued, "The problem is them." He pointed at the two agents.
Sarah was shocked, hearing that. "What? What does that mean?"
Casey muttered, "It means he's a moron."
Shaw looked over at Chuck sitting opposite them all. "Chuck, they coddle you. You could be a great spy, but they won't let you evolve."
Chuck was shocked. "Really?" Then he pulled himself together. "I mean, yes, yes, really. He's right." He stared at Sarah, remonstrating with his hands. "Let me be a spy. Let me out of the car. I'm ready."
Sarah tried to squash that, knowing he absolutely was not ready. She didn't look at Chuck, but at Shaw. "No, Shaw, he's not."
Shaw commented, "Duly noted... and ignored." He turned away from her. "Chuck, you're going on your first solo mission, undercover in Paris. Are you ready?"
Chuck initially looked shocked, then a smile crept onto his face. He stared at Sarah. "Absolutely," he said looking a bit smug, but full of confidence.
Sarah saw the look in his eyes. It said, I'm going to prove you wrong. She was filled with fear for him. This was so, so wrong. He was totally unprepared; he was never supposed to be out of Casey's or her sight, but this idiot Special Agent waltzes in and immediately puts the most important person in the United States at risk. She had to talk to Beckman about this.
Shaw had equipped him with a KGN tranq pen and then told him, "Let's go. You're ready." That was it.
Chuck was surprised. "Wh... whoa. I am? I'm ready after 20 seconds?"
"After two years. I just wanted to talk to you privately, Chuck."
Shaw turned away from him, but obviously expected Chuck to walk alongside him. "Listen, you've been on more missions than most spies have been in a lifetime. Trust me, you're ready."
Casey was helping Chuck with his case while Sarah tried to make sure he understood what was going to happen. "A CIA contact will meet you in Paris. You're traveling as Carmichael, a successful businessman."
Casey added two items to the case. "Itinerary and passport."
Chuck was feeling mothered. "Guys, it's all good. I'm ready, okay?"
Casey pulled something out of the case and waved it at Chuck. "What are these?"
Chuck explained, "Nunchakus. You know very well that I don't like carrying guns around. But I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have some kind of offensive weapon, you know, just to have with me. Just in case. And they're supposed to be in the Intersect, so..."
Sarah was horrified at that little speech. "Casey, can I have a second?"
Casey rolled his eyes and walked off leaving the two of them on their own.
Sarah leaned over the table. "Listen, I know you want this to work and you want to impress Shaw, but this is crazy."
Chuck seemed to deliberately misinterpret what she was saying. "Okay, fine, the nunchakus are a little crazy. You weren't supposed to see those. But Shaw... an honest-to-God, real-life special agent for the CIA... Thinks that I'm ready. He thinks that I can do it, and I want to prove to him that he's not wrong about me."
Sarah's heart sank. "I'm not saying that you can't do this, but please... Please just don't go now. Okay? You need more time."
She thought she might be getting through to him, but then Shaw walked in. "He's going. Beckman agrees with me." He passed Chuck his phone. "We set up a subnetwork on your phone. You'll be able to text and call from the plane." He then handed him his ticket. "Your ticket, and your car's waiting outside. You'll receive further instructions in Paris."
Chuck looked at the ticket and his eyes lit up and his mouth opened wide; his face basically showing childish glee. "Oh, daddy! First class!" He noticed the straight faces in front of him and tried to imitate them. "That is... probably what you do for everybody. Okay, well, see ya later. I hope."
Sarah felt awful letting him go. She stood for a few minutes, not wanting to see Chuck get in the car, then quietly left Castle.
When she climbed in her car, she made the call.
Beckman answered immediately. "Agent Walker?"
Sarah was nervous, but started, "General, Shaw tells me that you approved Chuck going on a mission on his own."
Beckman replied instantly, "Yes. He said you all approved of it."
"Ma'am. I said he's not ready. I think this is too soon."
There was a slight pause. "Interesting. Maybe you should join the flight. Keep an eye on him."
Sarah felt instantly relieved. "Thank you, General."
"Just don't let him know you're there. If he can do this without your help, I want him to do so."
Much as Sarah would've liked sitting next to Chuck on such a long flight, she understood the reasoning. "Yes, Ma'am. I'd also like to talk to you about Daniel Shaw and why he's with us, but that can wait for another time."
Beckman took a deep breath. "Very well. In the meantime, I'll arrange for the ticket to be waiting for you." She ended the call.
She'd put the green contacts in and was wearing the red wig. She was sure that Chuck wouldn't recognize her. Even though she had stopped to discuss her plans with Casey, she had still managed to get on board before Chuck and, knowing his seat number, had been able to plant a bug behind his seat. Now she was sitting on the other side of the plane. She didn't often travel on a commercial flight, but at least first class was comfortable.
She could also see the brunette who had arrived just after she sat down who had taken the seat by the window.
Chuck arrived later and was his usual slightly clumsy, unsure self. He was desperate to take his pen from his jacket before he sat down. Sarah rolled her eyes. This was one of those unreliable tranquilizer pens. She knew Casey trusted them less than she did, so this must have been given to him by Shaw.
The brunette also picked up on his desperation. "Lucky pen?"
"Huh?" Chuck replied. Sarah almost snorted. Not the smoothest of responses!
"Lucky pen?" the woman asked again.
Chuck was desperate to hide what it really was, and went completely overboard. "No, uh, no, just a... just a regular ol' pen."
"Okay."
"I'm Chuck, by the way. I mean, Charles. I mean, my name is Charles, but my friends call me Chuck."
"I'm Hannah. Just Hannah, Chuck."
"Good, that makes it easy. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
"Yeah."
The stewardess asked them if they wanted a drink and Chuck started to decline, but when this Hannah said she'd have his, he accepted. He was trying hard to connect with Hannah, something he always did.
One of the things Sarah admired about Chuck was how he could strike up a conversation with anyone. He also saw the good in people, something she so rarely did these days. The downside of these two traits was that he trusted too much and took people at the word. That was one of the things that stopped him being ready for the spy life.
Watching him interact with the brunette sitting next to him was torture. That wasn't because she was jealous, she didn't get like that, really she didn't, but because the woman was obviously flirting with him so hard. She could be telling lies and he would totally believe them all.
Hannah then started to scan the rest of the passengers telling Chuck what she thought they all were. Sarah leaned back so that Hannah would not be able to see her. She listened to the woman as she told Chuck what she thought of each of the people she could see. Chuck obviously found it amusing and joined in. Then, she questioned him about what he did. The way she had circled the conversation around to him was impressive.
He responded, "Uh... What about... what about me?" He finally got his act together and stated, "Um, I'm in retail, very high-end merchandise at a very prestigious store."
If she wasn't worried about what was happening here, Sarah would probably have chuckled hearing this. Chuck was trying to make himself sound more impressive to this woman, who was quite obviously reeling him in.
Once they were in flight, the two got up and walked over to the bar for more drinks and some food. Sarah cursed them for moving. She had seen the pocket in which he had his phone, so when she got up and walked past them, she slipped another bug into his other pants pocket. Neither observed her doing it. She walked to the restroom beyond them and listened from there before heading back to her seat.
The conversation was just what she would expect.
Hannah asked him, "You don't fly first class often?" Sarah didn't know what had been said before, but Chuck eventually said, "Of course I do. All the time. LA to Paris. Paris to LA. What about you?" Sarah winced. He really seemed to be overdoing it.
Hannah's reply just hooked him perfectly. "Well, I, uh, I work for a private investor. Essentially, he just flies me around the world, and I fix problems for him, IT stuff. Computers, mainframes. It's terribly boring. And stress, a lot of stress. But I get to travel. And live in Paris. I have a view of the Eiffel Tower."
The fact that she was saying she basically did the same job as Chuck was just too coincidental. She definitely knew exactly what his job was and was definitely playing him. Sarah tensed that bit more.
She flushed the toilet and walked back passed them.
Hannah continued, "Have you been? To the Eiffel Tower?"
Chuck overplayed it again. Hannah must see right through him. "Yeah. So many times. Can't even count how many times. I know everything there is to know about it."
Sarah was glad to be beyond them when she heard that Hannah was scanning the passengers again. "Chuck, what do we think of Mr. Muscles over there?"
It certainly sounded like Hannah was guiding his attention.
"Mr. Muscles? Let me take a gander." Sarah could see his face as he turned around.
Hannah continued as he did, "I'm thinking professional wrestler, maybe."
Chuck quite obviously flashed. Sarah tensed. On the plane? He turned back to Hannah and in a louder voice than necessary, higher pitched too, said, "I don't know. Tough to tell. Kind of nondescript, really. Don't you think? Would you excuse me for just a second? I got to use the little boys' room."
Hannah seemed surprised. "Yeah?"
He jumped up and walked away. "I'll be right back."
She heard him shut the door and seemed to be talking to someone, probably Shaw. "Hey, guys, are you there?"
She wished she could hear the other end as well, but was able to piece it together anyway.
"Yeah. How did you know I'd flash?" Chuck responded, so obviously Shaw had asked if he had flashed.
Chuck next words were just what she feared. "What do you mean, my 'mission is on the plane'?"
Sarah's mind was whirling on hearing this. Shaw obviously gave him the details of what he needed to do. This took a while.
As she waited, Sarah also noticed that Hannah, still at the bar, was talking, even though no one was near her.
Then Chuck spoke and her concentration flipped back. "Yeah, I'm only seeing problems with that plan right now. Hugo Panzer is a bit on the large side."
God, was Shaw suggesting he fight with the guy?
Chuck then said, "The pen. Of course. The pen. Tranq him, get the ticket. No problem." So, not fight him, tranq him with one of those stupid pens!
Sarah knew of Panzer. He was a master at close-quarters combat. If they got into a fight, Chuck would stand little chance, even with the Intersect.
Back in the main area, Hannah was still talking. The barman was serving someone on the other side and paid Hannah no attention, but that wasn't the only thing that set Sarah's senses off, it was the hardened look on Hannah's face and the way she kept casting her eye over her shoulder. She didn't want Chuck to hear what she was saying.
Sarah now wished she'd planted bugs on both of them.
Chuck walked out of the restroom and Hannah stopped her conversation and was just smiling at him in that perky, 'fall for me' way. However, she didn't get his attention as he scanned the area and then walked away from her. Sarah couldn't see where he went, but would listen.
Hannah turned around and started talking again, briefly. Obviously this was about Chuck.
Sarah then heard Chuck's voice, so focused back on that. "Excuse me, sir? Sorry to bother you. The woman that I'm sitting next to is a bit of a nuisance. Will not shut up. So, I was kind of wondering if I could plop down here, if that's okay."
The other man replied, " Fine."
Sarah started to freak out. Shit! That must be Panzer!
Chuck then said. "Thanks. Awesome." Sarah guessed that Panzer must have let him sit.
Chuck kept talking, as he does, "Yeah, you know, I think she's an upgrade. It's such a bummer, too, because one of the things I love about first class is the opportunity to really socialize and rub elbows with people that are, you know, like-minded, and not the rabble. Don't you agree?"
Sarah almost laughed when Panzer replied, "Excuse me." He is obviously cutting Chuck off.
Chuck replied, "Oh, yeah, sure. Do your thing." There was a long pause. She knew Chuck's nerves would start him talking again. He always babbled when nervous, it was both endearing and extremely foolish as it drew attention when that was the last thing he needed. Sure enough, he started, "Crossword time! One across, 'ecru'." She heard him clicking his pen. He was obviously trying to use it.
Panzer spoke, "It's the air pressure."
Chuck reacted nervously, "What? Huh?"
"Pens don't always work on planes because of the pressure change," Panzer explained.
"That... that's fascinating."
Panzer said, "Let me try."
Chuck's voice was filled with panic. "Oh, no, please don't..." Then, "Sorry. Sorry about that. Sorry."
Sarah didn't know what had happened but could guess. The contents of the pen must have hit Panzer in some way. His next words confirmed it, "That wasn't ink."
She then heard Chuck choking out, "Sir, this is first class."
She stood up. She needed to get to him.
Panzer was obviously choking him and continued to question him, "Who are you?"
The choked voice replied, "Nobody."
Panzer was getting more annoyed. "Who are you?"
Sarah was now frantically searching for them. She hoped no one could see the fear in her eyes.
Then she heard Chuck coughing and he whispered, "KGB," and he clicked something, obviously the pen.
She relaxed and calmly turned back and walked to her seat. She spotted Hannah, who thankfully hadn't seen her. Hmm. Not much of a spy.
She had just sat down when she heard Chuck talking again. He was obviously shivering too. "Hey, guys. I'm in the cargo hold, and it's friggin' freezing in here."
Whatever Shaw said, it was obviously instructions to do something. She heard Chuck mutter, "Come on." There was a long pause. He must be searching for something. Then he said, "I found it. It's a casket." Another pause, then, "That's kind of disgusting," Chuck commented. Shaw must have told him to open the casket.
He obviously did it, as Chuck let out a long disgusted, "Ohhh!" then, "Hi. Sorry about this."
Sarah could then picture what was happening from his words. "Where are you? Where is it? Ooh! Oh, dead hands. Dead, cold hands. Dead, cold..." Then his voice perked up and he released a happy, "Oh. Here we go." He must have found whatever he was looking for.
He must have struggled to release it. "Ooh, that's disgusting. Gah! Dead skin, dead skin, dead skin…" Then, "Jackpot." Whatever it was, he now had it.
There was a long pause. Sarah assumed he was now coming back to his seat. She relaxed a bit. Then her cell phone rang. She hastily retrieved it from the bag beneath her seat. She heard him quietly saying, "Sarah, pick up. Pick up your phone." It was Chuck. What the hell was he calling her for?
As soon as she retrieved it, she answered it, "Chuck?"
He whispered, "Sarah, I'm on the plane, stuck in the cargo hold."
She quickly rose from her seat. "Ok, Chuck. Where in the hold are you?"
"I am currently trapped in a coffin with a recently deceased elderly man and a very large bad guy trying to find me."
She had to keep up the act. "Aren't you still on the plane?"
"Right, yes, I forgot to mention that part. The mission is on the plane. I have the key, but the Ring operative is right outside. What do I do?"
She groaned. That tranquilizer was as useless as she'd expected. "How did you get into the hold?"
"Sarah, that's not important right now." Then he screamed. Shit!
She didn't know how to get into the hold, but would have to find a way.
Chuck spoke, so at least he was still alive. "I sincerely hope that that's not your father. "
Panzer growled, "You should've taken my watch. My employer demands a certain heart rate when I'm on the job." He paused for a second. "Got a little present for you."
Chuck commented, "They really are a fencing team."
"Why don't you just come here? I'll do this clean. Easy. No pain." Panzer almost sounded please.
Sarah was getting more and more frantic. Panzer was obviously going to kill her Chuck.
Chuck muttered, "Please be in the Intersect." Then, after what must have been a flash, "En garde."
Panzer muttered, "What's the matter with you? You know you're gonna die."
When she heard metal clashing on metal, she guessed there was a sword fight going on below her, Even though he must have flashed, it didn't stop the knot in her stomach forming.
Panzer muttered something she couldn't hear then there was a crash followed by silence.
She talked into her phone, "Chuck, Chuck, what's happening?"
"I'm still alive, and my first solo mission was a success."
She hadn't felt so relieved in a long time.
"Thank God, Chuck. You scared the hell out of me."
"Hey, trust me. I'm a real spy now." He sounded so cocky that she wanted to kick his ass. She hadn't told him about her final test before becoming a spy, but maybe Beckman would let him skip that.
She walked back to her seat shaking her head. Hannah was still at the bar, but was looking a bit nervous. Sarah walked passed and ignored her.
= ! = =
"And I know it sounds outrageous, but the Eiffel Tower's most amazing engineering feat is the elevator itself... And with that, I realize I'm the most boring person in the world." Sarah was really wishing Chuck would stop flirting with this dangerous woman.
Hannah, back to being bright and perky and so, so interested in Chuck, replied, "No, no, that was an amazing story. And-and I really like your model."
Sarah tuned out. She was trying to work out what to do about Hannah.
Then she caught what he was saying, "Uh, the truth is, I work at the Buy More in Burbank. You know, the... Uh, in the Nerd Herd department. I did a home theater install at this guy's house in LA, and, uh, he liked it so much that he wanted me to do the same thing in his home in Paris. So here I am. His ticket... I'm just along for the ride. I don't really belong in Paris, or... first class, for that matter."
Sarah couldn't help smiling. He had abandoned pretending to be an executive. Are you just trying to win the girl with your charm, Chuck? Trouble was it probably would work, but with what Sarah now felt she knew about this Hannah, it was much more worrying.
Hannah spoke and Sarah knew what she was going to say before she did. "I just got fired from my job. I thought I'd actually convinced them to let me stay, but... I am now officially flying to Paris to empty out my office."
He was sucked in, just like Sarah expected. "I'm so sorry."
Hannah then went for the throat. "It's okay. Meeting you almost makes it worth it."
Sarah knew she had a big challenge now. Chuck wouldn't believe her about Hannah and he was in more danger now than he had been with Panzer.
Sarah was still thinking about this when the pair returned to their seats and the talking went on and on. She perked up when it sounded different.
"What is it?" Hannah asked.
"Uh... Uh, that-that, uh, that drink, I don't remember... ordering it. It just kind of appeared out of nowhere."
Sarah quickly looked over. Hannah was smiling. "And you drank it. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. Just tasted a little... a little funny."
Sarah was now paying very close attention. Hannah grinned as she said, "Yeah, you look like you've been poisoned."
He laughed, nervously and after looking at someone in a seat on Sarah's side of the plane, got up and seemed to be heading for the bathroom.
Her phone rang again. "Chuck? Is something wrong?"
He hissed, "I've just been poisoned! Someone just poisoned me! I think it was Hugo. I tied him up downstairs in the cargo hold, but somehow he escaped!"
She was panicking, but tried to keep both of them calm, "What did it taste like?"
"It was very complex. It had a strong nose, with hints of apple, and then a very sour finish."
She knew what that was. "Chuck, you have to throw up." She got up and headed that way.
As she passed Hannah, she heard her say, "Go. He took it and you've got him." Hannah is in on this!
Chuck replied to Sarah. "That's disgusting."
"Just do it right now."
There was a knock on his door. "Busy!" he replied, then into the phone, "It's Hugo... He is coming for me."
There was another knock and Sarah finally saw a stewardess who said, "Sir, are you okay? Do you need any help?"
He opened the door. "Sorry, Mexican food. You do not want to come in here."
Sarah was close enough to see the gun pointed at his head as the woman moved in with him, saying, "Scream, and you're dead."
Sarah wasn't close enough to stop her, so said into her phone. "Chuck?"
He muttered, obviously to the woman, "I am so writing a letter to the airline about this."
"Shut up. There's only one antidote for that poison, and I have it. Now, right now, you're feeling queasy. In an hour, you'll be in more pain than you could possibly imagine."
That stopped Sarah. Maybe it's not the drug I thought.
"Okay, fine. What do you want?" Chuck asked.
"The key! Now!"
He tried to act strong. "What key?"
Sarah heard a blow and the phone disconnected. The woman had obviously punched him. "Ooh! Oh, th... the key."
"You have it; I want it. Give it to me. And don't lie. I'll kill you right here."
Chuck said, "I have the key, but I don't have it on me... I hid it down in the cargo hold."
Smart move, Chuck.
Sarah didn't want to cause a scene on deck, so she watched the code the woman put in before pushing Chuck into the elevator.
Sarah still didn't understand how someone would be stupid enough to use a gun on a plane.
She watched them disappear down the elevator before walking to it. After half a minute, she heard Chuck being hit. That sounded more than a woman would do, so it was probably Panzer. She keyed the code in. Hold on, Chuck!
Then she heard him again, "Antidote first."
The woman asked, sounding incredulous, "Is this your first mission?"
He responded, "Maybe."
Sarah heard a phone ringing, Chuck's phone. She wasn't calling him, so it must be Casey or Shaw.
"All right, I work for the CIA, okay? And that's my boss. I cannot give up the key without his authorization first."
The woman said, "Answer it. On speaker."
Chuck said, "Hi, guys. If you're wondering, I'm doing just dandy. Aside from being captured, poisoned and repeatedly socked in the gut!"
The woman said, "I have your agent. Order him to give me the key."
The person on the other end was Shaw. He asked, "Who is this?"
She said, "I work for a third party, and my employer doesn't tolerate failure. Now, your man..." She paused.
Chuck added, "Oh, Chuck. Seat 2B."
"Chuck here will be dead in an hour. But I'm in a rush, so he gives me the key or I kill him now."
Shaw just said, "Okay."
That flustered the woman. "O... okay?"
Chuck was obviously unhappy about this, but was now slurring his voice, so harder to understand. "Did he just say? Did you just say? I think you meant to say, 'Please don't kill my good friend Chuck'."
Sarah had reached the cargo hold, but waited as she could see the woman facing her, and pointing the gun at Chuck.
Shaw asked, "What type of poison are you using?"
The woman got frustrated. "I'm not bluffing. This is a cyanide hybrid."
Shit! Definitely not what I'd thought.
Chuck slurred out, "Cyanide hybrid!"
Shaw continued, calmly, "You've used it before in Berlin."
The woman burst out, "What?"
"Serena, you used that same poison to take out the Syrian ambassador, and I know you work for the Ring."
How the hell does he know that?
Serena turned away, taking the phone with her. "How do you know this?"
Sarah took that opportunity to quietly open the door and enter. Unlike Chuck's pen, the plastic pins in her hair were laced with a more reliable tranquilizer. Stabbing one of those in Panzer's neck worked perfectly. His body slumping to the ground attracted Selena's attention, just as Sarah had expected. The knife thrown both knocked the gun out of her hand and pierced it.
Sarah quickly rushed to her and swiped the phone out of her other hand, disconnecting it in the process and threw it behind her. There was another knife at Selena's throat before she could react.
Sarah noticed the earwig Serena was wearing. She snatched it and crushed it underfoot.
The fear in Selena's eyes pleased Sarah. "Walker!" she gasped.
"Yes, and if you want to live I need the antidote," Sarah hissed.
Serena reached into her pocket. Sarah advised her, "You know I can slice your throat faster than you can stop me or hurt me, don't you? So that better be the antidote and you better bring it out slowly."
Serena did as she was told.
Sarah snatched and pocketed the antidote with her other hand. Then with that hand snatched the other pin from her hair and stabbed that in Serena's neck.
Sarah pushed Serena away and turned to Chuck.
He had propped himself up and had watched Her. "Sarah. Thank you. I couldn't take two of them."
Sarah thought about words she heard on the way to him. "Three, but we need to string one along."
He looked closer than an hour away. She took out the antidote. Wondering how to administer it, but guessed it would be the same as the poison. She brought it to Chuck's mouth and said, "Drink."
He did and he started to revive almost instantly. "Who's the third?"
She explained all that she had seen and heard. He had been there for some of it, but with a completely different perspective.
"So, you've been spying on me and Hannah all flight long?" She could see that upset him. "You don't trust me at all." The disappointment and hurt evident in his tone.
She gripped his hands. She looked into his eyes wanting him to see the truth in hers. "Chuck, I didn't trust her and I know you still don't see when a woman might be deceiving you. I wanted to make sure you were safe."
"And you trust no one and think everyone is against you," he accused.
She pointed down at the crushed earwig. "When you weren't with her, she was talking into one of those, to her." She pointed at Serena.
He frowned. "How do you know?"
"She was talking, even though no one was near her, and then when I walked passed her just after you left for the restroom, she said, 'He took it. He's yours.'"
His shoulders slumped. "What should I do."
"When you see her, act as if she's your best friend. I think she is angling for a Buy More job if this doesn't kill you."
"What?!"
"Come on, Chuck. Think about it. She happens to sit next to you. She claims to do the same job as you, she has just lost her job and needs one. That's all too much of a coincidence. Add the flirting and she's trying to get her hooks into you."
"No… No… Really? Why would a Ring agent be interested in me?"
Sarah had been thinking about this. She had initially not known the Ring angle, just saw an experienced woman snaring an unsuspecting guy. She recognized those skills, she'd been taught them too. All she could think was that someone else had set this up, but didn't know who. It seemed too subtle for the Ring and they didn't know about him anyway.
The only people who knew he was the intersect were Beckman, Casey, Shaw and herself. She instantly discounted three of those. Why would Shaw want Hannah to snare Chuck? The only thing she could think was to keep Chuck and her become a couple; keep them apart.
She looked at the man who she had dreamt about for some time. Until the last couple of weeks, she'd been trying not to do that after he rejected her in Prague, but they'd been getting closer again. She didn't think it would be long before they declared their feelings for each other. Again.
If Shaw was trying to keep them apart, was her going to try with her? Well, that wasn't going to happen.
She brought her face within a few inches of his. "I think she's also working for Shaw and is to keep us apart."
"Us?"
"Us," she whispered, then closed the distance between them and kissed him, putting all her feelings for him into that kiss, just as she had the one in the warehouse.
It took him a few seconds to react, but then he wrapped him arms around her neck and kissed her back, enthusiastically.
They were both breathless when they separated. They looked into each other's eyes, seeing the feelings swirling there, then dived back into another kiss.
He finally pushed her away. "But… what… w- why?"
"Why not?"
He pointed his finger. "Them."
"They'll be out until we'll after we land," she replied.
"No, that's not what I mean. Does Shaw know you are here?" he questioned.
Sarah realized what he was thinking, then considered all of it. "Hmm. Give me the pen."
He did and she walked over to Serena, opened her mouth and shot some in. Then, she lifted the woman up and bashed her head hard on one of the metal struts causing it to bleed. It would also bruise significantly.
Sarah walked back to Chuck who was gawping at her. She smiled. "My tranquilizer not only lasts longer but also makes the victim forget the last minute or so. She won't remember me. You tell Shaw that you tranq'd her and she hit her head when she fell. She pointed at Panzer. "He won't want to admit you overwhelmed him twice."
"What about the stab wounds from your pins?" he asked.
She looked at him. "You were fencing down here, weren't you?"
"Well with swords," he clarified.
"Get me one," she told him.
Once she had one, she nicked each of them where the pin caught them and did the same on the chests of each as well. Blood oozed from the wounds. She looked back at the stunned man while cleaning her prints off the weapons. "Well done, Chuck." She grinned at him. "Call Shaw and tell him you have taken them out. He will be insufferable claiming he was right to do this to you, which he absolutely was not, but at least he won't know we are onto his scheme."
He frowned. "Can you clarify his scheme again."
She sat in his lap and whispered into his ear, "To stop us from becoming lovers." She bit his earlobe. "You do want that don't you?" she huskily asked.
"God, yes!" he replied and brought her into a deeper kiss.
Afterwards, Chuck was flushed, but she told him he needed to continue as if this hadn't happened. "How the hell do I do that, Sarah?"
She held his face in her hands. "Chuck, we've only kissed. A lot, maybe, but only kissed. We haven't had sex."
He choked on hearing that. "How does that help?"
She kissed him again. "Neither of us would be able to hide that, but once your lips recover, this won't be noticeable. You have to go back to Hannah as if you've just been ill all this time."
O- okay. I can do that."
She smiled. "We can have some time in Paris before the flight back. Maybe find a room somewhere?"
"Please stop, Sarah, that's not going to help."
"Just remember me when you are flirting with her, Chuck," she told him.
He looked longingly into her eyes. "I will." That sent a shiver up her spine.
"How are you feeling?" Hannah asked, looking concerned.
"Um, much better, thanks. Sorry about that whole airsickness episode. It wasn't my finest hour." He hoped that was believable.
"No, it's okay. Chuck, I'm gonna be here for a couple of days clearing things up. I would love it if I could show off the Eiffel Tower to you. What do you say?"
Sarah was right. She was flirting. "Absolutely. That would be amazing," he replied, while thinking, no way, I'll be with Sarah.
"Great," she replied with a huge grin.
Chuck's phone rang. "Hello."
Once again, Sarah could only hear Chuck's side of the call. "That is great news." So, that must be Shaw. Her heart sank a bit, knowing what was coming.
Sure enough, she heard him say, "Uh... Really? I can't... ?"
He ended the call and looked to Hannah who said, "What is it?"
"Um, the install job I was gonna do here in Paris has been canceled, so Buy More needs me back immediately. I have to stay on the plane."
Sarah was as disappointed as the two the other side of the plane.
Hannah asked, "What about Paris?"
Being Chuck, he replied, "Don't worry about it. It's... it's no big deal. I'll get back here eventually." He had obviously remembered having to string her along, as he retrieved a business card. "And, uh, and furthermore, uh... Hannah, if, um, if you ever find yourself in Burbank, and I don't know what the chances of you finding yourself in Burbank are, but if you do find yourself in Burbank, and you're still without a job, my assistant manager owes me about a million-and-a-half favors. Although, I have to warn you, you will be terribly overqualified for the job."
He handed her the card. Hannah was facing away from Sarah, but she could imagine the woman's happy expression, whether real or not. "Thank you."
He replied, "You're welcome." Sarah believed he meant it, so she was sure Hannah did too. He shook Hannah's hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Hannah."
Hannah said, "It was great to meet you, too, Chuck. Bye."
He replied, "Au revoir."
He sat looking sad as Hannah left the plane, then he looked over where he knew Sarah was sitting. She rose and walked over to him. "I'm sorry about Paris, Chuck. Another time?"
"I so wanted to see Paris, and seeing it with you would have made it so much better."
She stroked the side of his face. "I know."
She sat next to him and called General Beckman. She needed a seat on this upcoming flight too, one next to the seat Shaw had gotten for Chuck, but she also needed to bring the general up to speed on all the recent events. After doing that, she added, "And General, that discussion about Shaw seems more urgent now."
"Indeed," Beckman replied.
After the call, she held Chuck's hand and looked into his eyes. "You know we're still going to be together, right?"
The smile that crept over his face makes her heart flutter. "God, yes!"
A/N: I am going to run with this one for a while.
Let me know your thought in a review or PM.
