A/N: I finished the last chapter before the end of episode ("Chuck Versus First Class"), so the rest of that episode is carried over into this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews. I know some of you think Hannah is so innocent in the. Well, this one is not like that.

Also, thanks to MarkeyDeSad who kindly beta'd this one for me.


From Paris, With Love
Chapter 2: Nerds


He and Sarah had returned from Paris sitting next to each other. This was so much better than his flight out. Not that Hannah had seemed a bad traveling companion, but, come on, this was Sarah Freakin' Walker! Not only that, she had been holding his hand most of the way back. Admittedly, they both slept through a lot of it, but when both awoke, they had been able to kiss a few times. Of course, they were not the kisses she had suggested if they had stayed in Paris, but so much better than their normal 'cover kisses'.

On arrival at LAX, Sarah had stopped to buy them both mobile phones, 'burner phones' as she called them, so that they could contact each other without others 'listening in.' Of course, if Casey knew about the phones, he could probably use some NSA tools to read their texts, but until then, they were covered.

Chuck then returned to Castle. Sarah was supposed to be away with relatives so she stayed away from this visit.

Casey and Shaw were waiting for Chuck. He walked to Shaw, handing him the device he had retrieved. "Your key, sir."

Shaw took it from him. "Very good, Chuck. Your first solo mission. I am impressed." He did look impressed and probably was happy with the result.

"Well, thank you, but I would be dead if it wasn't for you," Chuck stated, thinking of the distraction in the hold.

Shaw nodded. "You'll have to tell me the details of what happened up there, but first, who wants to see if this key works?" He opened a briefcase and lifted out a device.

Chuck had no idea what this was and obviously neither did Casey, who asked, "What is it, a weapon?"

Shaw replied. "No, it's a lockbox. Belonged to a spy I had inside the Ring. It's all of the intel the agent had." He slotted the key into a hole in the side of the device which slid open revealing its contents. He handed a set of discs to Casey. "With this, we might stand a chance. And one of our best didn't die in vain."

He took out an envelope which was beneath the discs and walked away with it, leaving Chuck and Casey clueless as to what the envelope contained.


Chuck left Casey and headed back to the Buy More. His head was full of questions, not least of which was what Sarah's plans were for the two of them and how they could start a relationship if she was right about Shaw.

His spy mission was seen by Shaw as a success, but Chuck knew it would have been a complete failure if it hadn't been for Shaw distracting Serena and Sarah being there to save him. Maybe he wasn't ready to be a spy, like Sarah had said.

That took him to why he wanted to be a spy. The answer had always been so that he and Sarah could have a chance to be together, so he would be worthy of her. Had that changed with her saying she wanted to be with him anyway?

Then there was Shaw himself. What was in that envelope that he wouldn't let them see? And what were his plans here with the team? Was Sarah right that he wanted to split them up? It certainly seemed that way if he had sent Hannah to 'interest' him, but why?

If Sarah was right about Hannah, she probably would turn up; if she didn't, maybe Sarah got it all wrong. Right?

His mind was swirling with these questions and it was giving him a headache, so he went to Big Mike and got the rest of the day off, saying he needed to clear his head. He called Shaw in Castle telling him the same.

As he was heading home, he called Sarah. "Hi, I'm heading to the beach to clear my head. Wanna come?"

"I'd love to," she replied. "Your usual spot?"

He loved that she remembered it. "Yeah."

"See you soon."


Of course she got there first. She wasn't held back by speed limits.

As she sat on the beach waiting for Chuck, she thought about her decision on the plane. She didn't regret it at all. The only regret was that they hadn't been able to stay in Paris. She knew it was one of the places Chuck wanted to visit, and he'd been so close. Still, when they did go to Paris together, there would be no complication around Hannah.

Then she caught herself. She'd thought 'when' not 'if' they went to Paris together. She shouldn't assume that their relationship would last, but she couldn't help it. After all the rejections she'd given him and the ones he'd given her, along with his sleeping with his ex, she still wanted this to happen and so did he. She was certain this relationship had a chance.

Of course, he didn't know all her dark secrets; for some reason, the Intersect hadn't shown him all of those. It was possible that he would be so revolted by some, causing him to be revolted by her, but she didn't think he would be like that. Knowing Chuck, he'd be calling her a victim as much as anything. That brought a smile to her face.

She was still smiling when Chuck sat next to her. "Hi, Sarah."

She turned to him and leaned into a kiss. As she pulled away, she said, "Hi, Chuck."

He was beaming at her. "You know, I still can't believe it. You kissing me when you don't have to for the cover."

She nearly pointed out that it would have been happening for a while if not for Prague, but she didn't. Instead, she huskily whispered into his ear. "When we leave this beach, we'll do a lot more than kiss."

He instantly jumped up, so that she had to grab his hand and laughingly pull him back down. "I've been thinking about how we play this, so let's talk first."

He gave her a flat look. "You know how I always hated your 'let's talk' or 'we need to talk' words."

She grinned at him. "But this is a good talk, Chuck. How we can be lovers, just without everyone knowing."

He frowned. This sounded complicated. "Who can't know? Beckman shouldn't object, because I'm not an asset anymore. Is it just Shaw?"

"Shaw and, if she turns up, Hannah. What is her last name, by the way?"

"I never asked," he admitted.

"Well, you should. It probably won't be her real name, but still…"

"Fair enough."

"I'll tell Casey," she said. "No, maybe we should tell him together. Have a video call with the general at Casey's place."

"That's a good idea. Talk about Shaw with them both at the same time?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "Two birds?"

He grinned back and leaned over to kiss her. It wasn't a long kiss, but it still left her lips tingling.

"Shaw still has access to the surveillance, though, doesn't he?" Chuck asked. He was right. They'd need to bypass that to get to Casey's apartment. "Why don't we do it at your apartment?" He stopped when she looked at him as she did. "The call," he explained.

"Casey's set up is better for a group on the call," Sarah told him, then she gave him a sultry look. "But now you've brought up my apartment, that is where 'it' will have to happen until we're rid of Shaw."

His face both lit up and went bright red. "Have we finished this conversation now?"

She grinned. "For now. Race you to my apartment?"

She stood and then ran up the beach, laughing as he ran after her.

She knew she'd have to wait for him at Maison 23, but expected the wait to be less than normal.

She grinned all the way back, but at the same time felt desperate for what was about to happen. It had been quite some time for her, a lot more than him. She had unconsciously been saving herself for Chuck. She knew he'd be worth it, just because of the feelings they had for each other.


Sarah was overwhelmed. That was the best way to describe how she was feeling.

Overwhelmed with emotion, something she so rarely actually felt, except when around Chuck Bartowski.

Overwhelmed with passion and desire, things that she normally squashed down. It had occurred with Bryce occasionally, but looking back that was just the release after a mission and had never felt this strong.

Overwhelmed with the sex which had been so, so good. Sure, it had been nearly three years since last time, but it was so much better than she remembered.

Overwhelmed with need, to stay with him and never leave him, something so strange because she never stayed anywhere, always moving on, as she had since she was seven.

Overwhelmed with Chuck Bartowski in every way.

She had been pushing these thoughts away for some time, all through their first two years together, but not truly together, and certainly since he rejected her in Prague, which still hurt even though she understood it now. She had let her barriers down then and gotten burnt and built them back up again. Then, all it took was nearly losing him on that plane before those barriers were down and she was consumed with all of it.

Lying here next to him as he slept in her bed, she thought about those feelings, particularly the need to be with him, to stay with him. Part of that was her need to protect him, which had gone so far beyond just being the job. However, a lot of it was her own need; needing to have someone who cared for her, who wanted her, to be with her. As she thought about it, she needed to be loved, something she felt she had never had before. Her mom would probably refute that, but she had never fought for her daughter. Chuck repeatedly put himself at risk trying to look out for her. He would fight for her with every breath in his body.

He hadn't actually said it, but she knew he loved her. After sex he had visibly stopped himself from saying something and she was sure that was a declaration of love.

She looked at him, lying there naked under the sheets that were tangled around his body after the afternoon of explosive passion. She felt that passion stirring again, but it was more than that. She knew she loved him, something she hadn't mentioned and scared her somewhat, feeling it made her vulnerable, even though she knew there was nothing Chuck would do to make her hurt like that again.

The big problem was that he wanted this 'normal' and that was something she could never give him. She wasn't and never would be normal. How could she when she was the daughter of a con man, had become the same before joining the CIA and becoming a killer, an assassin. She was so far from normal. Yet that was what he both wanted and deserved.

Hell, he would want kids. She had already proved to herself that she couldn't look after a baby, but it was more than that; how could a killer like her bring up children? Even if she hadn't joined the Company, what did she know about normal childhood? She had been a con artist since she was seven-years-old, not a child.

Chuck, however, would make a great dad. He was everything a child would need. Well, maybe not the sporty kids, but the nerdy ones would love him. That made her think she may have it wrong. Could she be the sporty parent? That thought was not so frightening.

He started to stir and she watched him wake up. The passion rising once again. One last time before he returned home?

She reached across and brushed the back of her fingers against the side of his face and those lovely eyes opened and gazed into hers. Then they flicked down her uncovered body facing him and they flashed with desire. Yes, one last time.

She closed the distance between them, pushing the sheet off of him.


Chuck had told her about his meeting with Casey and Shaw in Castle, making her even more curious about Shaw. Chuck and Casey were working their shifts in the Buy More, so when she entered Castle, she knew she would be on her own with the man.

She walked into the room he had taken as his own. That in itself was irritating, part of his "Special" status. He quickly slipped something into an envelope. She guessed this was the one from the previous day.

Unlike the two guys, she didn't hold back. "What's in the envelope, Shaw?"

He handed her the envelope. She tipped the contents into her hand, a beautiful engagement ring.

"She was killed by a Ring agent five years ago. Her name was Evelyn Shaw. Eve."

This wasn't what she had expected. The ring represented everything she had been thinking earlier. A life shared with someone else.

He continued to make his point. "We both made the same mistake, Sarah. We fell in love with spies."

Was he talking about her and Bryce all those years ago or did he know about Chuck? That made her nervous. She put the ring back in the envelope and placed it on the desk. She looked at him one last time and then walked out. She couldn't handle such thoughts right now.

She knew she would have to talk about what she had supposedly been doing while away and what Chuck had done, but right now neither she nor Shaw were up for that.


Chuck was trying to think about the mission he had been on rather than the amazing sex the day before. The latter would show, so he had to suppress those thoughts.

Casey and Morgan walked up to him. He looked at the two of them; or, more precisely, at their expressions. "What's with the looks?"

Casey spoke first, "He gave me a raise."

Morgan chipped in, "Inflation, buddy. See what happens when you go away for a two-day install? Everything changes."

Chuck certainly didn't want to mention how right that was. "Ah, I don't know. Sometimes I think everything just stays the same. But maybe that's just me."

Morgan looked confused. "Chuck, what happened on the install?"

Chuck replied, "Nothing, buddy. Nothing at all."

Casey almost grunted as he said, "Bored now." He walked off. Morgan shook his head and did the same.

Chuck sat looking at his miniature Eiffel Tower, thinking how he really, really wanted to go there with Sarah.

He noticed movement on the shop floor and looked up. There was Hannah. He had started to convince himself that Sarah was completely wrong, maybe jealous of the woman before.

He stood, with surprise and concern all over his face. Hannah stood and waved at him. He realized he needed to play the part that he and Sarah had discussed. He let a grin appear on his face; he hoped it was convincing.

Hannah smiled, so it either was convincing or she was just continuing to play the part.

Sarah was obviously right.

Of course, now that the two of them were really together, he was sure that any plan to keep them apart would fail.

The situation was going to be difficult, though.


Hannah had turned up on a Friday, so after Chuck had introduced Hannah to Morgan, he had not spoken to her again after getting an install that took him the whole day, so it was now Monday morning. Morgan had told him that Hannah had gotten a job as a trainee Nerd Herder. That figured, but it would mean Chuck would have to spend more time with her than he would choose.

He spent Friday night with Ellie and Devon, and Saturday morning too, but they had then had to go to work at the hospital. He casually wandered out of the complex and then rang Sarah on the burner.

He knew Casey was at home and went and told him the three of them needed to talk and include Beckman. The older man nodded, curtly.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them were facing Casey's monitor. It took Chuck back to those early days when Graham was also on the call. He was glad those days were passed.

Beckman's face had appeared on the screen and Sarah looked at him, thinking he would talk first, but he gestured for her to tell them everything.

Sarah proceeded to tell them about Honeytrap Hannah and how she seemed to know the details of Chuck's Nerd Herd job and recited skills that were a perfect match. The fact that Hannah told him she had lost her job and didn't know where to go, was indeed too much of a coincidence, too convenient.

Casey looked at Chuck and asked, "Did you tell her your job?"

"No," he replied. "It just seemed like a coincidence at the time, but it was, as Agent Walker says, too much of a coincidence."

"If you hadn't told her your job, how would she have known? Who would have told her?" Beckman asked.

Sarah replied. "I can only think of four people, three of whom are here."

"Shaw?" Casey asked.

Sarah and Chuck both nodded.

Beckman looked dubious. "Is that all?" she asked.

"No, General," Sarah continued, "I think she's working with Shaw in some way. I don't think he's told her that Chuck has the Intersect, but the way she guided him on his mission further convinced me she was in league with Shaw; she even pointed out the guy that was the Ring agent to Chuck."

Chuck added, "She did."

Sarah continued, "I also think she is working with, if not for, the Ring."

Beckman and Casey looked surprised. "A double agent?" Casey asked Sarah.

"Probably," she replied.

"What evidence do you have?" Beckman asked.

"That came when Chuck wasn't around. I saw her talking when no one was around, almost certainly with an earwig. I assumed that was with Shaw, but realized that was wrong when he was poisoned."

Both NSA people knew of the poisoning. "How so?" Beckman asked.

"This woman, Hannah, seemed almost gleeful that Chuck had been poisoned, grinning as she said it to him. He rushed to the restroom. I was heading to him and walked passed Hannah. She was talking, again into that earwig; her words were, 'Go. He took it and you've got him.' That was obviously to someone on the plane. When I approached the restroom, I saw who she must have been talking to enter with a gun pointing at him; the flight Attendant."

"Interesting," Casey noted.

General Beckman was silent, obviously contemplating everything she had heard.

Chuck decided to talk at this point. "Shaw was encouraging that Ring agent to let me die. If it hadn't been for Agent Walker, I would be dead."

"General, can we talk about Shaw first?" Sarah asked. The redheaded woman nodded. "I don't trust Shaw at all. Why is he here?"

Beckman looked at the three of them. "He has influential friends. I was ordered to let him in." She paused, then added, "By one of the influential congressmen."

She obviously wasn't going to elaborate. "We need to be careful around him, then," Casey said.

"Why would he be having this Hannah honeytrap Bartowski?" Beckman asked.

Casey answered, "To keep these two apart."

Both Chuck and Sarah shot looks at him then at Beckman. The later, smiled slowly. "We obviously know about your feelings for each other. That was partly why I did the 49B, but after Prague, you seemed wary of each other." She paused. "Why would that matter to Shaw?"

"He lost his wife to the Ring and doesn't think people in this business should be together," Sarah explained.

They all knew that was an incomplete answer, but Beckman moved on. "So, you think this woman will come for a job here?"

"I do, General."

"Hmm. String her along, if she does. If she is also working for the Ring, it might help us against them."

That tackled part of the problem. Sarah asked, "And Shaw?"

Beckman looked at her, sadly. "Stringing her along means you have to do the same with him, Agent Walker. But, and this is important, be careful around him. He obviously cares for no one but himself."

Sarah had been hoping he would be removed, but that was obviously unrealistic. "Ma'am. Chuck and I are now in a real relationship. Just thought you should know." She could sense Chuck's nervousness, but kept her eyes on the screen.

"You'll have to be careful that Shaw doesn't find out then, won't you," the general said.

Both Chuck and Sarah were relieved that was all she said on the matter.


On Monday morning, Chuck was back at work in the Buy More, sitting at the desk. Again.

Although he was on the phone waiting for a customer to try switching on their computer, he was actually thinking about the weekend.

After the conversation with Casey and Beckman, he and Sarah had taken off in her car.

Their beach was becoming a favorite haunt, as there were no cameras, but they also spent most of their time in her room.

He now knew that him having sex with Jill those months ago had hurt Sarah, almost as much as him rejecting her in Prague. They had talked about both and she had opened up about those feelings. It was the most open she had ever been. She also talked about her fears. This was the first time he ever knew she had fears at all.

Sure, the sex was mind blowing, but even more important were those open and honest discussions.

That, however, made him think of their time in her bed.

Sarah Walker, who had seemed so cool, controlled and professional, became a wild passionate woman, almost craving more than he could give. Fortunately, he'd gotten time for his body to recover when he focused on just her pleasure. She seemed to enjoy that as much as coupling and he lapped it up, too.

He knew he was a lucky man having her in his life anyway, but this? This was so much more.

Morgan came and stood next to him, waiting for the call to end.

In the distance, he saw Hannah walking towards them. Chuck really wished that she had not come here. He knew it was important, but Beckman telling him to 'string her along' was not something he had wanted to hear.

"Do you remember when Sarah first walked into the Buy More? What was it like? Was it love at first sight?" He didn't know why Morgan was asking these questions.

He cast his mind back and knew that it was, but he wasn't going to say that right now. "I don't know, but whatever it was, it changed my life forever. Why?"

"No reason," Morgan replied. Then he looked up. He saw Hannah approaching and smiled. Chuck noticed. Is Morgan feeling that way about Hannah? I hope not.

Hannah was grinning at them. "Morning, guys."

Chuck responded, "Hi."

"Hey. Morning." Morgan suddenly focused away from Hannah and rushed off shouting, "All right, everybody, back to work!"

Chuck was worried about his friend, but had to play that off. "Real taskmaster, that, uh, Morgan."

Unfortunately, that left him talking to Shaw's assistant and Ring agent. She responded, "Yeah, I can tell. So, my first day as a nerd herder... any advice?"

Get right out of here? Leave us all alone? Leave me alone? Chuck obviously couldn't say any of those things. Instead, he said, "Let's see, well, let's start with the five-cent tour, shall we? I like to consider myself the Jack Hannah of this untamed wilderness. Me, safe; everyone else, very dangerous."

She gazed around at the Buy Morons, all of them looking at her. "Yeah, a little creepy. But I am sure that you will protect me."

Lester and Jeff had crept up behind her and Lester chose this moment to step forward. "Indeed, indeed. You stay by us, sister; You'll be safe. Charles?"

Jeff was now standing the other side of her.

Chuck looked at the three of them . "Hannah, Lester and Jeff; two of the finest members of our Buy Moron staff."

Lester muttered something as he kissed Hannah's hand and Jeff leaned in close and breathed on her, "Nice."

Much as Chuck felt like leaving her with these two, he said, "All right, why don't we give Jeff an opportunity to realize that he's in public?" He guided her away to start the tour.

Hannah started talking immediately. "So, I was going through the Nerd Herd manual last night, and I have a few questions about how to file an install."

If nothing else, this showed she was a spy, brushing up on details for her mission. "Let me get this straight. You went over the Nerd Herd manual in your off time? Are you gonna be a problem employee?" Yes, she was.

"Look, I know this isn't my dream job, but I thought that while I'm here, I would be the best Nerd Herder you have."

He didn't have to think before replying, "Well, as you probably saw, that's not an insurmountable goal."

She commented, "You must be pretty committed, going to Paris on an install?"

He stopped her. "Yeah, you know, about that whole Paris thing... Can we just keep that between the two of us? I don't want everyone else getting jealous..."

She seemed to buy that.

A large hand landed on his shoulder and Casey said, "Yogurt time."

This was great giving him a chance to get away from Hannah. "Oh, is it... is it yogurt time already?" He looked at Hannah. "Don't worry, I will give you the full Chuck Bartowski tutorial when I get back, I promise." He ran after Casey to make sure she didn't follow him.

She looked like she might for a second, but then frowned and turned away.


Walking down the steps into Castle, Chuck scanned the room, only seeing Sarah sorting through some papers. He managed to control himself and not smile. "Hey, where's Shaw?"

"Off grid on a covert mission," Sarah replied.

"It's not your concern where Agent Shaw is, Mr. Bartowski." He hadn't realized General Beckman was already watching them over the video link. He paid attention. "We've traced a large sum of money from an offshore Ring account into a civilian account. I want to know why. What's the money for? The civilian's name is Manoosh Depak. Trained as a computer engineer, dropped out of MIT after his freshman year."

"Classic geek tragedy," Casey muttered looking at Chuck. "Sound familiar?"

Beckman continued, "We sent a virus that destroyed the CPU of his custom computer and bought up every series eight CPU within 30 miles. He'll come into the Buy More to replace it."

Chuck thought, how can a virus destroy a CPU? That made no sense. However, Beckman continued, so he had to stop thinking about that. She looked at Chuck. "I'm aware you are not yet an agent, Mr. Bartowski, but I need you to develop him as an asset. Find out what he's doing for the Ring."

Chuck immediately pointed out a problem, "But what about the other Ring agent, now working as a Nerd Herder?"

Casey replied, "I'll show her around the store, then pass her to Anna Wu, who can assign her some work."

Chuck thought about the suggestion. "Yeah. That would work, I'll have the mission sorted by lunch."

Casey snarled at him, "Don't get cocky, Bartowski."

Sarah's response disturbed Chuck. "Chuck, you-you can't take this lightly. Developing an asset is very tricky business. You need to insinuate yourself into their life and have them trust you completely, knowing that one day you're probably gonna have to burn them." He stared at her for a second or two. Would she have burnt me?

Casey expanded, "The trick is to find the hole in their life and fill it. With this Depak loser, he's a loner, friendless. And the asset has entered the store. Showtime, Bartowski."

They both looked at the monitor showing the feed from the Buy More entrance and there he was, walking in and looking around the store.

Sarah was pacing the floor. She said to Chuck, "You're not ready for an asset. This is too quick. I'm worried."

Chuck was about to reply, but Casey got in first, "Your job's not to worry, it's to train." Then he noted, "Three o'clock. He's with the newest Buy Moron."

Sarah looked at the monitor showing the inside of the store. Hannah was talking to Manoosh. "Shit! She's Ring and will be stalling him while other agents come to get him."

"I'll separate them," Chuck announced, "I'll get Morgan to take her for the tour." He ran up the stairs.

Casey nodded. When Sarah looked at him questioningly, he commented, "Grimes has been slobbering all over her anyway."

Sarah looked at her partner. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Chuck collared Morgan and told him what was needed. Morgan looked panicked for a second, then straightened his back and grinned. "I'll do it."

Chuck ran to Hannah and Manoosh. "Can I help you, sir?"

Hannah looked annoyed, "Chuck, I got it."

Chuck replied. "No, really, let me help." He looked at Manoosh. "She's new here, still in training."

Manoosh said, "Actually, I'd rather have her help me."

Hannah tried again, "No, Chuck, I'm ready. I can handle a simple sale. It's okay."

Chuck gave her a sympathetic look. "Hannah, no sales are simple. But don't worry, you will get your chance to shine as soon as you are ready."

She gave him a flat look, but then looked at her watch and said, "Okay." She started to walk off, when Morgan intercepted her and took her down one of the aisles.

Chuck placed a hand on Manoosh's shoulder. "Ah, sorry about that. Alone at last. What can I do you for?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. Chuck seemed to be hitting on the guy rather than trying to help him. Before she could say anything, Manoosh did. "Nothing. Now that you ruined my flow with that hottie." He turned to walk away from Chuck.

Chuck turned as well and slipped his hand to the guy's other shoulder. "Let me ring you up personally. Uh, are you from around here? Is that a Burbankian accent I detect?"

Sarah groaned. This was embarrassing.

He ignored her and they heard Manoosh reply, "Woodland Hills."

Chuck stopped the guy, who turned to face him. Chuck continued what he thought was chummy banter. "See? I knew I heard the familiar twang of the San Fernando valley."

Sarah couldn't stand any more of this. "Chuck! Stop flirting with him!"

Chuck took his hand off of the guy, but the damage was already done. Manoosh pushed the device into Chuck's hands. "You know, I think I'll just get the CPU somewhere else."

Chuck stopped him leaving. "Wait, wait, wait! No, no. Uh... You-you should just take it, you should take it."

Manoosh narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Chuck gushed, "It's on the house, for the inconvenience earlier with the hottie."

"You sure? I mean... isn't that illegal?"

Chuck replied, "It's on me. My pleasure."

This was getting ridiculous. Sarah said, "Chuck, you have to ease up ... you're coming on far too strong."

Chuck was, however, on a roll now. "Here's my card, just in case you have any other computer problems, or if you want to chat, you know, rap a little."

Manoosh gave him a strange look, but said, "Thanks," and started towards the door.

Casey said, "Idiot."

Chuck's over top behavior hadn't stopped, though; he called out, "I'm not trying to pressure you, you know. No biggie. You have my card. If you call, you call."

The door alarm went off, because Chuck hadn't scanned the product and disabled the sensor. Manoosh looked back at Chuck, fear in his eyes.

Chuck waved him off. "It's okay! Keep going! I'll hold them off!"

Manoosh left the store.

Chuck was tempted to follow, but was accosted by Devon because Ellie had found the Paris plane ticket. Chuck had put down the case and was telling him he'd deal with it, when Ellie walked in.

Sarah shook her head. Their timing couldn't be worse. She then watched Chuck lie to his sister.

Ellie stood in front of him, while Devon hid behind a rack. "Chuck, look, I know that we're older, and we don't have to tell each other everything, but I found out about Paris. And I just... I don't know. When did we start keeping secrets from each other?"

Chuck replied, smoothly, "Well, the thing is I was, I was gonna tell you. Um, it was a business trip. This very eccentric customer came into the Buy More and insisted that I do a home theatre install in his flat in Paris."

She asked, "So why keep that from me?"

"Well, because I did such a good job, he said I could use his flat for free for a week. And I figured, well, you know, maybe you and Devon could use a proper honeymoon. And I wanted it to be a surprise."

Sarah swallowed listening to this. Ellie questioned, "Are you serious?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Chuck, that is the sweetest thing!" Ellie hugged him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I thought you were keeping secrets from me."

Casey was back and standing behind Sarah. "Told ya he's ready. Kid's a good liar. You taught him well, Walker."

Sarah looked on is dismay. Casey was right. Chuck, the one who hated lying, especially to his sister, had done a perfect job and he continued, "Please, Ellie, brother-sister, there are no secrets between us."

Ellie walked out of the store.

Devon stood. "Bro, that was so cold-blooded. How could you just lie to her like that?"

Chuck said, "Ellie and I aren't kids anymore, all right? There are some things she's better off not knowing." Chuck turned and walked away from Devon. He had nearly reached the Nerd Herd desk when Manoosh ran in again.

Chuck called Sarah, "Have you seen what's happening? What should I do?"

Casey pointed to the screen, at two men that also entered the store. "They're after Manoosh and he's seen them." They saw Manoosh run to the back of the store, obviously heading for the back exit.

Sarah stood, ready to run up the stairs. She talked to Chuck. "Stay there. Do not follow him."

Then she kicked herself. Of course, Chuck will follow him now that I've told him not to!

Casey then called to her. "We're too late. They found him."

She turned back to the monitor. Manoosh Depak was out the back of the store, with four men surrounding him. They had let him open his case and take out a pair of sunglasses first. Sarah frowned. Sure, it was sunny, but why let him do that?

Suddenly, this weedy guy was fighting them. Hitting, kicking, tearing guns from them. In less than thirty seconds he had taken them all out.

Chuck had been collared by Hannah asking what was going on. He had to stop to say he was trying to apprehend a thief, but she should stay where she was and not get involved.

She started to follow and he had to stop her. "No, Hannah. You can't get involved at this stage in your time here."

Hannah reluctantly sat down, huffing, obviously not wanting to blow her cover any further.

Chuck continued out the back. When he got there, he saw what Sarah and Casey now saw in the monitor. Four men lying on the floor. He rushed around the store and got to Castle.

When Chuck watched the recording, he said, "Manoosh is the weapon. He built a new Intersect." He was stunned. How could this happen?

After some time, Chuck looked at the others. "How did Manoosh build an intersect? I thought my dad was the only one who knew how to do that."

Casey replied, "Well, after 2. 0 Intersect was destroyed, the Ring must have lifted burnt components from a CIA warehouse, then Depak reverse engineered it."

Sarah was on the computer, but commented, "We need to find Manoosh before the Ring does." Then she said, with a smile, "I got something. He just used his credit card to book a flight to Dubai. He's not very bright."

Chuck was confused. "Why? What's in Dubai?"

Casey opened a brochure. "Weap-con. The greatest weapons convention in the world. I go every year. I find it incredibly relaxing. Looks like I'll get to write this year's off as a business trip."


Getting away from Hannah was tricky. However, Beckman decided that Manoosh was more important. Chuck left Hannah in Morgan's hands, worrying that he was putting his friend in danger. Beckman assured him Morgan was in no danger.

When they got to Dubai and watched Manoosh's demonstration, they discovered that the sunglasses were Intersect glasses. The wearer took on the required skills as they wore them.

Chuck, Sarah and Casey followed Manoosh to an area behind the stage.

"He'll be my asset. I'll handle this," Chuck said, pushing past the two of them.

"Don't get soft on him, Bartowski. The only way any of us are safe is if he's under lock and key," Casey told him.

"Well, fine. I'll control him."

"Then do it."

Manoosh looked up as Chuck approached him. "You're that guy from the Buy More. What are you doing here?"

"I came to protect you, okay? To stop you from making a very horrible mistake. I know about the glasses. I know about the new Intersect that you're building."

"Who are you?" Manoosh asked, totally confused.

"I'm an Agent with the CIA."

"So, you're not a Buy More Nerd Herder?" Then he saw Sarah walk to them and asked her, "Wow! Are you with him?" He turned back to Chuck. "Working for the CIA means you get girls like her?"

Chuck was still amazed that that was true, but wasn't going to say that here. "We can't let you do this. These are bad people you're selling to."

Manoosh waved the glasses at Chuck. "Well, you can't stop me. Not when I've got these." He ran off and suddenly the three were surrounded by men pointing guns at them.


The usually shenanigans proceeded, but eventually they escaped and found the Ring team still surrounding Manoosh with guns pointing at him. A crushed pair of sunglasses could be seen by his left foot.

Casey entered the room, armed with two guns. "Drop your guns!" he shouted.

No guns were lowered. Casey nodded, "Yeah, well, I'd rather kill him, too, than let you have him, so I guess we're on the same page."

The lead Ring agent, older than the rest, said, "Looks like Manoosh dies, then."

Chuck tried to intervene, but had bought the wrong pen weapon. A small blade rather than the laser pen he had claimed to have. Casey snarled, "Just like Bartowski, bring a knife to a gun fight."

The lead Ring agent said, "Now, where were we?" He turned to Manoosh. "Oh, I know. We were going to kill you."

However, Chuck flashed and then threw the knife into the leader's hand which gave the distraction Casey and Sarah needed.

The older Ring agent ran out and Manoosh cowered.

Chuck saw that one of the Ring agents had Sarah cornered and down on the ground; the man was advancing on her. Chuck tipped food off of a plate and threw that, knocking the man out. Sarah smiled her thanks at him.

Casey ran after the lead Ring agent. "He's getting away. You secure Depak. He cannot walk out of here knowing what he knows."

Manoosh stood and looked at Chuck, who was helping his girlfriend up. "Wow. That was awesome. Incredible, just incredible!" Then his tone changed, "However, I'll leave you with this babe and head out now."

Chuck stepped in front of him. "Manoosh, I cannot let you go."

Manoosh pleaded, "I'll disappear. I swear. You have to let me go."

Sarah was holding back, letting her boyfriend handle the situation. Both of them knew that if he didn't, she'd take over. However, Chuck was firm. "No, Manoosh, you have to come with us." He gripped the Manoosh's wrist and twisted the arm behind his back, pulling the other arm too. He held them as Sarah cuffed Manoosh.

Sarah could see the pain in Chuck's eyes. He felt he had failed, but he really hadn't.


Casey had killed the lead Ring agent and they now had Manoosh on the plane to take him home. Those two sat together at the front of the plane. Sarah took Chuck to the back and sat him down. This was their first chance to talk since capturing Manoosh. "You did a great job, Chuck. It's a win," she started.

He looked bleakly at her. "Did I? I am taking a guy just like me into custody. He'll be put in a bunker like Graham and Beckmen threatened to do to me. How is that a win?"

She felt sorry that he was having to experience what often upset her. "Because of the lives you'll save, Chuck. This job isn't about easy choices."

He looked down and nodded.

She looked forward. Both Casey and Manoosh were facing away from them. She leaned towards Chuck and pulled his chin up. "And you saved me, Chuck. Thank you." She kissed him, putting all her thanks into it.

His tense muscles relaxed and he kissed her back, before realizing where they were. "God, Sarah. I so want to kiss you."

She tenderly brushed his face. "Me too, Chuck. When we get back, we can." Her eyes took on a flirtatious look. "And more."

She chuckled as he froze.


Chuck was sleeping next to her, still at the back of the plane.

Sarah couldn't sleep as she was thinking about Hannah.

The woman had clearly advised the Ring agents of Manoosh's presence in the Buy More; they hadn't seen her do it, but her watch appraisal before agreeing to let Chuck have the guy was a sure sign.

She had also delayed Chuck getting to Manoosh later. That was actually a good thing as Chuck would probably have been hurt if he'd gone out the back. Was Hannah protecting him? Or was she trying to keep him for her purpose here? Or was it to help the Ring team?

Would things have been different if Shaw had been there? Would he have gotten Chuck hurt?

This whole situation was a terrible mess and Beckman didn't seem to know how to take it forward.

She and Chuck not only needed their night of passion when they got back, but they needed to work together to plan their own approach to Hannah and Shaw.

Unable to do any more at that point, she settled back in her seat to try to get some sleep herself.

As she drifted off. She thought about that night ahead of them, a smile creeping onto her face.


A/N: So, Hannah, the Ring agent, interfering with the team's mission. They did manage to complete it, though. We will have to see what happens when Shaw returns.

I'd love to hear what you think of this in a review or PM.