A/N: To clear up any confusion on the reader's part, Chuck has NO clue what it is that Sarah does or that she's here to purchase Constellation Electronics. Now as for the confusion between Chuck and Sarah….*shrugs shoulders*

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

She could feel the tension in the room, and she knew what it was about; her business dealings with Morgan. She took a sip of wine, went over, looped her arm through Chuck's and led him outside. "Something wrong?"

"No, Devon's just worried I'm going to talk about my line of work, and not enjoy myself. So I decided to take my navigator outside, and figure out what my next steps are," Sarah told him, grinning.

The two sat back down on the edge of the fountain. Chuck was silent for a moment, then glanced over at her. "How real do you want to get?"

She sighed, looked out over the courtyard and then back to him. "This is a test, isn't it?" she asked. Chuck did his best to look innocent. "This is where you get me to admit that I want more than my life, and I have to admit I'm worth it."

"You are," he said softly, leaning over and shoulder bumping her. She giggled and shook her head. The two sat there a second, in silence.

"Chuck, what if I want a real life, but worry that I'll screw it up?"

"Well, isn't that actually everyone's worry?" he asked. "You said something when you walked me out here that has stuck in my head."

"Not enjoying myself?" she asked. Chuck nodded. "I don't know how to, Chuck. I don't."

"If this deal falls apart, will you lose your job?" Chuck asked.

"No," Sarah replied.

"Will your boss think less of you?" Chuck continued.

"No."

"So, who's the person putting pressure on you?" Chuck let that question hang between them, as Sarah squirmed in her seat for a second. "What do you really want, Sarah?"

She looked at him. "You want to know what I really want?" Chuck nodded. Sarah looked out over the courtyard. Her stomach was in knots. She was scared, worried, nervous, and anxiety ridden. "I want more than what I have. I want someone I can trust to share it with… not because I need someone, but because I saw what it did to my dad. I want to not fear being with someone." She paused and looked at him, locking eyes with him. "I want to be with an amazing guy, that I'm not terrified I will hurt by doing something stupid."

There was silence for a second, and a grin grew on Chuck's face. "You got any guy in particular in mind?"

"Maybe," she murmured and gave a shy one-shoulder shrug.

"Lucky guy," Chuck told her. She started to lean toward him, when the door to the apartment swung open.

"Chuck, Sarah," Woody yelled. "Dinner."

"Of course it is," Sarah said, smiling at him. Chuck stood and offered her his hand. She took it and stood. "You really think he's a lucky guy, that I'd want to be with him."

"If I'm completely honest, I might be a little jealous," Chuck told her.

"You say the nicest things, Chuck Bartowski," she murmured, as the two headed into dinner.

}o{

"So, Bro, what are you doing tomorrow?" Devon asked a little while later. Everyone's plates were full, and there was little conversation, with the emphasis currently being on eating.

"Same thing I do every year. Christmas shopping," Chuck said, with a shrug.

"Let me guess, you bought a ton of gift cards, didn't you?" Devon asked. Chuck grinned and nodded. Devon turned to Sarah. "Anyone that waits on the Chuckster, or checks him out, or whatever, he gives a ten-dollar Starbucks gift card."

"Why would you do that?" Sarah asked, turning to him. "They're paid to be there."

"They are," Chuck admitted. "But…" he shook his head. "Nevermind."

"No, no, I feel this is part of my journey," Sarah said to him. She felt everyone looking at her, and she sighed, and turned toward everyone. "So, Chuck has informed me that maybe I'm not cursed."

"What a thought," Honey said, grinning. Sarah shook her head and chuckled, amused.

"Someone," she turned and looked straight at Devon, "told me to be happy, and Chuck… Chuck is showing me how."

"Best person I know to do it," Woody said. Everyone turned to look at him, except Chuck, who ducked his head. "Boy's been through hell and back, just like you, Sarah, and he refuses to let it affect him."

"So, Chuck," Sarah said, looking over to him. "Why do you give people gift cards?"

"When we were kids," Ellie said, cutting in, trying to take a bit of the embarrassment away from her brother, "Mom used to take the three of us shopping on Black Friday. It became a family outing. When Mom left, we didn't have a lot of money, but we still went, because… it was family. It wasn't that commercialized then, but now… now it's become that, so Chuck is torn between going, and not going."

"I don't understand," Sarah told them. "I don't understand what the big deal is about going."

"I guess corporately, it's not a big deal," Chuck said with a shrug. "But, it feels like a family day to me." Sarah sat there, listening intently. "Think about it… some people only get to come home on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and you're going to only have one day? People are working that might want to be with their families."

"Okay," Sarah said, still not quite understanding.

"And, people don't have a holiday spirit on Black Friday," Chuck continued. "I once got shoved to the floor by an eighty-year old woman, just so she could get her hands on a five-dollar DVD."

"Was it a good DVD?" Sarah asked, grinning.

"No," Chuck said, shaking his head. "Customers can be rude and demanding. People, if they were financially able, would probably want to be with their family. So, anyone who waits on me, I want them to know I thank them. And-and I get it. Some people volunteer for these shifts to make extra money. I get that. Some people cherish the work, so it's not a case of black and white. There's a lot of grey, but that's still… grey, you know?" Sarah nodded. "So, on a day that the shopper believes is all about them, I want to say thank you to those who are there. Those that have patience, that have a kind heart to help. It's who I am." He shrugged, and looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"I've never thought about it," Sarah admitted. "It's really amazing what you do, Chuck. Who you are. You have every right to be cynical and mad at the world, and you still look at the world through the wonderful prism that you do."

"I just do what I think is right by people," Chuck told her.

"You should go with him," Devon told her.

"I don't do Christmas," Sarah said with a shrug. "You know that."

"I'm sorry, you don't what now?" Chuck asked, shock covering his features.

"I don't do Christmas," Sarah said with a shrug. Chuck turned to Devon, who shrugged. He turned to Honey and Woody, who both shrugged. "I mean, I get them gifts." Chuck turned back to her. "I do," she insisted.

"But… but… Christmas isn't about gifts. At least, not physical ones you can buy," Chuck told her.

"It's not?" Sarah asked, looking around the room for help.

"Sorry, girl, you're on your own with that one," Ellie said, waving towards her brother. "Be gentle with her, Chuck."

"I'm not going to say anything," Chuck said. "I was just surprised. I'm sorry."

"Mmm, no," Honey said. Sarah turned to her mom, surprised. "See, I've been around both of you during the holidays. Sarah, you need to listen to Chuck."

"Honey," Chuck began.

"Chuck, give her both barrels," Honey told him.

"Mom," Devon began.

"It's fine, Awesome," Sarah said. "Anything he dishes out, I can take."

"Anything?" Chuck asked, a grin on his face.

"Anything," Sarah replied, putting her elbow on the table, and placing her chin in the palm of her hand. She gave Chuck a challenging look.

Neither noticed the grins that Ellie and Honey shared.

"Sarah," Chuck began. "I'm afraid you have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. You do not believe anything except what you see."

"Oh, boy," Devon mumbled, taking his drink and leaning back in his chair.

"And-and, it's not just you. Most people think that nothing can be which is not quantifiable in their minds. All minds, Sarah Walker, whether they be men's, women's or children's, are little." Sarah's eyes widened. "Hear me out." Sarah nodded. "In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him. As measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge."

"Both barrels," Honey encouraged him.

"Shh, he's doing fine," Sarah said, enthralled by Chuck.

"Sarah Walker, there is a Christmas spirit." Chuck paused, grinned, and continued, his voice low, like he was telling her a secret. "In fact, it's what some would even call Santa Claus." Sarah chuckled.

"Now, I'm not talking about a man in a red suit that drops down chimneys and leaves presents, oh no," Chuck continued.

"Then what are you talking about?" Sarah asked, wrapped up in his voice, not noticing anyone else at the table.

"This spirit, this goodness, this… time of year, it exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist." Sarah stared at him as he continued. "I know you haven't had the greatest experience with those concepts and emotions. But you do know, from the family you have been around, that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy."

"I do," Sarah nodded, looking over at Devon, Honey, and Woody.

"How dreary would be the world if they weren't in it? How dreary would it be if Awesome wasn't… awesome?"

"Not awesome," Devon muttered.

Sarah chuckled at that. "How dreary would it be if there were no Sarah Walker?" Sarah's head whipped around to look at him. "I promise you the people at this table… they would be lesser people if you weren't in their lives."

"You sure you can take both barrels?" Ellie asked. She took a sip of her drink, smirking, knowing that Chuck hadn't even hit the good part yet.

"I'll risk it," Sarah said, never taking her eyes off him.

"With no Christmas spirit, there would be no childlike faith." He paused, and tilted his head. "There would be no poetry… no romance… what would then make this existence tolerable?"

"I don't know how I would make it without them," Sarah said softly. "Keep going."

"We would have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished," Chuck continued. He paused.

"Finish it," Ellie told him. Sarah reached over, and laid her hand on his.

"Finish it," she said softly.

"The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's not proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world."

Chuck paused for a second, and then continued. "You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart."

He straightened and looked her directly in the eye. "The strongest things in our world, our universe, are those things that are unseen. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real?" He paused and chuckled. "Sarah, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding," he said in a low tone.

"That was amazing," Sarah told him.

"If I'm honest, I borrowed liberally from Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus editorial," Chuck admitted. "But I believe everything I said."

"I know," she replied.

"Okay, who wants pie?" Awesome asked, slapping his hands on his stomach. He winced, seeing the smile Ellie gave him, that also managed to say, I will kill you.

}o{

"You going with Chuck tomorrow?" Honey asked later, as she watched the Bartowskis, her brother, and father, put up the Christmas tree together.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Sarah replied, never being more sure of something in her life. One part of her wanted to scream yes, and go with him, experiencing everything Chuck Bartowski, another part… another part reminded her that she was her father's daughter.

"Sweetie, we all know you've fallen for him," Honey said, taking a sip of her coffee. Sarah's head turned quickly, staring at her mom. "And we all think it's wonderful."

"You know me," Sarah said.

"Yeah, I do," Honey agreed, nodding. She reached up and affectionately ran her hand down Sarah's hair, the way she used to all those years ago. "Do you know you?"

"I am nothing like him," Sarah told her mom.

"God, who is?" Honey asked. "You think I'm anything like Woody?" Sarah turned and watched the man who she called her father, smiling, hanging ornaments on the tree. "That man… we're nothing alike, at all, and yet… he's my everything."

"I don't know what to do," Sarah admitted.

"Do what makes you happy," Honey told her. Sarah's phone began to ring.

"Sorry, I have to," Sarah said, reaching for her phone.

Honey gave Sarah a sad smile. "I know you think you do," Honey said. Sarah gave her a look, and Honey shrugged. Sarah sighed, answered the phone, and told the person on the line one second, as she walked across the apartment and out the door.

"You didn't have to answer," Graham said.

"You didn't have to call," Sarah countered.

"Fair," Graham replied. "But, I did need to talk to you about something."

"Look, I'm sorry I haven't got the deal done yet," Sarah began.

"Sarah, I don't care about the deal," Graham reminded her. She heard something in his voice she had never heard before. "Your father is getting a parole hearing on Monday."

"Oh," Sarah replied. "I… I…"

"I'm sorry, I've known for a while, but I didn't think you wanted to know. But then I thought you deserved to know and…"

"No, no, it's okay," Sarah told him.

"Sarah, you are not him, okay? I know what is going through your mind," Graham insisted. "I really think you should stay there with your family through Christmas."

"I can't hide from him," Sarah replied. "I am who I am."

"Yes, you are," Graham told her. "And your work does not make you who you are."

"But I can't do this job if I'm not like this," Sarah replied.

"So, you're finally admitting it," Graham said. Sarah heard his voice change, almost a relief.

"Admitting what?" Sarah asked, but deep down knowing what he was going to say.

"Sarah, your whole life, your… sperm donor," and Sarah snickered at that, making Graham pause and laugh himself. "He talked about how you had to succeed, about how coming in second place is being the first loser."

"The world doesn't give participation trophies," she said softly.

"Sarah, business isn't always a zero-sum game," Graham reminded her. "Sometimes, when things don't work right, we learn things, to use the next time. People are impressed with our processes." He paused. "Sometimes not acquiring a company actually works out best."

"It's all I know," Sarah said softly. Graham snorted. "What? It is!"

"No, it's all your comfortable with," Graham told her, his words hitting her in the face. "Here's the truth: You can do anything. You can take one of these companies and expand it, you don't have to live this life. Not that there is anything wrong with this life. But if you don't want it, and you can't separate it from your personal life… well… that can be a problem."

"But I'm my father's daughter," she protested weakly.

"You are, but your path in life, your place in life isn't decided by his blood," Graham told her. "Your actions are what decides your path in life. It's your life to choose."

There was silence for a second. "So if I continue to choose the path I'm on?" Sarah asked.

"Then you probably already know where it's going," Graham replied. "And, if that's what you want, then fine."

"But if it's not? If there's something different?"

"Then you follow that path," Graham said gently. "You try the path that you haven't taken. What's the worst that can happen?"

"I could get hurt, or I could hurt someone," Sarah said, shrugging.

"Sarah," he began and paused. "Sarah, aren't these deals starting to hurt you?" She couldn't answer, but he was right. She was tired of her life. She turned back and looked at the apartment door, knowing that family was inside. Knowing that someone who would gladly show her how to take this untaken path.

"Maybe… maybe I'll stay here past Christmas," she said softly. Graham didn't answer, but she could feel him smiling. She could feel him happy… for her.

"Shall I keep you updated on your father?"

"Please," Sarah said. "As for this deal…"

"You do what you think is best, Sarah," Graham told her. "I believe you'll make the best choice. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Graham," Sarah replied, and hung up the phone. She stared at the apartment door in front of her. She took a deep breath, walked to it, opened it, and went back inside.

A/N: Boy things are going well…..*hehehehehehe* Next time:

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Sarah told him. "I was trying to think what I could get Devon for Christmas. Something that would mean a lot, you know?" Chuck pushed his food around on his plate with his fork, obviously thinking about something. "Just say it."

"I think the best thing you could give Devon for Christmas is just being here," Chuck said with a shrug."

Sarah grinned. "Awesome," she replied. Chuck laughed and shook his head. "I'm staying," she said softly. Chuck looked up at her. She put her elbows on the table, put her hands together, making a fist, and gently rested her chin on top of them. "I'm staying through Christmas."

"Well, you've made a lot of people happy." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You know, Devon." Sarah nodded. "Woody." Sarah nodded again. "Honey." Sarah nodded one more time and an amused smile covered her face.

"Anyone else?" she asked. Chuck tapped his lip with his finger, mimicking thinking. "So, no one else."

Y'all just waiting for the trainwreck, aren't you? It's a comin'…..