A/N: Thanks for the reviews, PMs, favorites and follows, along with the likes and comments on the Chuck FanFiction Facebook group. This is a somewhat different Sarah Walker, so I wasn't sure if anyone would like her. Chuck Bartowski will be different too. However, you'll see some characteristic remain the same as we proceed through the chapters.

Because I now have nine chapters already written, I've decided to release this twice-weekly.

Thanks to MarkeyDeSad for pre-reading and being the beta on this. He really likes this one and is providing me with a lot of encouragement on it, along with great ideas and even some scenes to incorporate into it.

Sarah will meet Chuck Bartowski in this chapter and we'll find out a bit more about both him and Sarah. Read on…


The Novelist
Chapter 2: Tour start


They had been on the plane for three hours and Sarah was glad she had decided to sleep to start, thus avoiding conversation. It wasn't that she didn't like her editor, they were fairly good friends really, although neither knew much about the other's family, so not close, but friendly, certainly. It was just that she knew Ellie would want to talk about this 'love interest' topic, something Sarah wasn't keen on discussing after that trip to the nightclub on Friday night.

She had managed to arrive too late for a conversation in the airport. Not deliberately… oh, ok, deliberately.

However, now she was waking up from her doze and Ellie noticed. If only she had those spy skills her character possessed and could hide her state of wakefulness.

"So, Sarah…" Ellie started. Sarah groaned, knowing what's coming. "How's the new book coming?"

"Well, it would be going better if I hadn't had to come on this damn tour!" Sarah snapped.

"Grouchy!" Ellie accused. "It's only three bookstores, Sarah!"

"And two readings in each!" Sarah grumbled.

"That's hardly any," Ellie reminded.

Sarah remembered the first promotional tour of ten cities. Yeah, that had been worse than this. "How did this end up so few?"

"Cutbacks, so just the three key cities this time." Ellie grinned. "Maybe more for the next one."

Sarah groaned again.

"And you're not avoiding the topic. The new novel?" Ellie asked again.

Sarah knew she couldn't avoid talking about it. "I have a good idea of the plot now, and the locations where it will all happen."

"And this love interest?" Ellie prompted.

God! This bloody love interest!

"Tell me again why there needs to be a love interest?"

"Sex sells," Ellie replied, as if that answered the question.

"I am NOT writing sex in this story!" Sarah replied. "I didn't agree to that. If you want smut, you better hire one of those trashy romance writers."

"Oh, come on, Sarah. Your fast living agent is unlikely to have a sweet romance and even if she did, there would be sex. Plenty of it, I think."

Sarah glared at her. She wished that she had another of her characters traits, that icy glare. She growled, "If… and it is just an if at the moment… if she has sex with her loving boyfriend in this book, it will be behind closed doors and I won't be in there with them."

Ellie burst out laughing. "So, you're not a voyeur?"

Sarah's lips curled at that, but she managed not to laugh. "No." She then signed. "Ellie, I just can't write that kind of stuff. I won't write it. If that is what's needed, I should stop writing now."

Ellie gazed at her in silence for a while then asked, "You have had s-"

Sarah cut her off, glaring once again. "Yes I have, although that's none of your business." She saw Ellie wince and softened her tone. "My college days were as drunken and debauched as anyone else's."

Ellie chuckled. "God, I remember those days." Sarah wasn't so keen on the memories, but kept quiet. "So, no sex, but you are including some male contact? Other than punches and kicks, that is?"

Sarah did laugh at that. Somehow the idea of selecting a male companion by how well he took Rebecca's attacks appealed to her. When she stopped thinking about that, she realized that Ellie was sitting looking at her with one brow raised. She needed to incorporate that look in one of her books. Maybe Rebecca herself would use it, but her expression would carry more threat to it. Although, thinking about Ellie's behavior when she had been late with her second novel, maybe there wouldn't be that much of a difference.

"Hmm?" That brought Sarah's focus back to the woman sitting next to her. She forgot sometimes how persistent Ellie could be.

Sarah replied, "Yes. She will meet someone. Just not decided where."

Ellie beamed at her. "Ooh. What will he be like?" Sarah wasn't sure and didn't really want to say that. Ellie narrowed her eyes. "You don't know what she likes."

Sarah liked her editor as a person, and thought she knew her quite well, but this aspect of her personality was always a surprise. Ellie was really smart, but this intuition seemed more than that. Or was it that she, herself, was so transparent? "No, I don't."

"We'll just base it on your own likes."

"Mmm," Sarah replied.

Ellie leaned closer to her, and said quietly, "You don't know that either?"

Sarah shook her head slightly as she blushed.

"How long's it been?"

Sarah huffed. This was really embarrassing and if it wasn't Ellie, she'd refuse to answer, but Ellie might be able to offer some advice for the book, she was married, after all. "It's only three years, Ellie. Don't make it sound like forever."

"Was it bad?"

Sarah frowned, not understanding. Was she talking about sex again? "Was what bad?"

"The break-up?" Ellie replied, as if it had been obvious what she meant.

Sarah thought back to the one relationship she had tried since Harvard. 'Tried' was a horrible way to say it, but looking back on it, that was how she saw it. She 'tried' to be a girlfriend for Bryce, but her heart obviously wasn't in it. Everything they had done had been what he wanted; she hadn't made any suggestions.

She thought about Bryce himself. He checked most of those requirements she had drawn up. He was certainly intelligent, maybe a bit full of himself, though. White Caucasian with dark hair and an athletic body. He was taller than her, but only just, so heels always caused him to feel short, which he never liked, so she rarely wore them. He wasn't obsessed with hobbies, but was a bit of a guys' guy and spent a fair amount of his time with his friends, drinking. He was fairly rich, having come from a wealthy family of bankers, and he was one too. Kind and caring certainly did not apply, though. It wasn't that he was unkind, but he never really seemed to care at all about anyone but himself. He was 'there' and she was expected to be 'there with him.' The relationship ended due to lack of interest more than anything, from either of them. That was three years ago now, and she had just thrown herself into her writing and hidden herself away from everybody, especially men.

"No, the break-up wasn't bad, he just didn't excite me and, I guess I didn't excite him either."

"Apathy," Ellie concluded.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"Well, that can't be the sort of relationship your spy gets into," Ellie pointed out.

Sarah focused once again. "Hell, no."

"Still best to base it on your preferences, though. That way you'll relate to him," Ellie commented.

"That's what I am trying to do, Ellie," Sarah said in an exasperated tone.

Ellie wasn't put off by her tone, "So, what is that?"

Sarah rattled it all off, starting with, "An intelligent, clean-shaven, white Caucasian with normal colored hair and an athletic body."

Ellie snorted. "Well, you almost described Devon, but he is a bit obsessed with his body, though."

Sarah grinned. She had met Ellie's husband once, briefly, but that description did fit him quite well. "Don't worry, I'm not after him. You've just hit the next criteria. Not obsessed with their bodies or sports; whether that's the activity or watching their favorite teams. In fact, not obsessed with any hobbies."

Ellie was interested so she kept fishing. "So, not a gamer?"

"Hell, no," Sarah responded, almost immediately. "They are always obsessive characters, aren't they?"

Ellie just smiled, thinking of her brother, but probably more of his best friend. She just said, "Carry on."

Sarah nodded. "Kind and caring and certainly not aggressive or a drunk." She paused and looked at Ellie. "That kind and caring aspect might be too soft for Rebecca. The other thing that we'd probably differ on is where they work; I would want someone local whereas Rebecca might find that stifling."

Ellie looked at her for quite a while without saying anything. Sarah started to get uncomfortable. She wondered if she had described someone so generic that it didn't help narrow the choices down at all; or worse someone who just couldn't exist.

Eventually, Ellie spoke. "What about the job?"

Sarah hadn't mentioned that. "Probably another thing Rebecca and I would differ on. Her job would often take her away for long periods of time, which most men wouldn't like, unless they were the same. Then, when would they see each other. You must remember that I had her try to connect with another agent in the last book, which ended in failure, so I'm not sure about that aspect for her. Would the job really matter?"

"Or for yourself?" Ellie prodded.

"Oh, I wouldn't want someone who left me for long periods of time." She thought about it a bit more. "I'm not so clingy that travel for work would be what broke a relationship, so a couple of weeks or so would be ok, just not months. The job, however, probably wouldn't matter too much unless it took over their life."

"Would Rebecca settle down with the right man?" Ellie asked, switching back to the character.

That triggered some thoughts for Sarah. What if Rebecca met someone who didn't travel and wished she didn't either? Would she settle down? That was worth exploring.

Ellie saw the light in Sarah's eyes and knew she had gotten her thinking. She sat back thinking she'd done some good.

She also thought about what Sarah herself wanted. Would Sarah be good for Chuck?

Chuck had been deeply hurt by that rejection five years ago, back in Stanford. Who wouldn't be hurt when, on bended knee, the woman you were proposing to rejected you, in front of everyone you knew? He had been so sure that Jill loved him. How wrong he was. Thankfully, he focused on his studies and got his degree. His start up took off and he was now very successful with a number of employees working for him. He even had clients in the intelligence agencies Sarah had her character working for.

Ellie was very proud of her brother, but also very protective. She had, in those early days, tried to get him to date women she knew, but they had all failed and it had almost caused a rift between the two of them. He had also tried dating other women back then, but failed in that too and he now avoided that aspect of life altogether, or so he claimed.

So, back to her question. Would these two be good for each other? Both were clearly hopeless romantics. Chuck almost fitted Sarah's needs and settling down with someone is what Chuck had always wanted in the past. He did now jet set about a bit, but not enormously.

She had wondered about that woman he saw sometimes, someone from one of the agencies that he liaised with, but he hadn't mentioned whether they were an item or not. That wasn't too surprising, as he had refused to talk about women after their last 'discussion' about them.

She would talk to Chuck about that woman first, but might introduce Sarah to him when they are all back in Los Angeles, not in a pushy way, though. She wouldn't tell Sarah and probably wouldn't mention her to Chuck either until she was sure there was really nothing between him and that other woman, Sandra or something.


Sarah wasn't worried about the book reading aspect. She had always been confident at talking to groups, large or small, and she knew the subject inside out, as well. This, her fourth book was one she was really proud of and she knew exactly the section to read to draw them in, whether they were already readers of her books or not. She'd read it to herself again before going to bed, really just to make sure of timings, but that was all.

What she dreaded was questions that might get asked. Not because she didn't know her character, but sometime people questioned how much she knew about the intelligence agencies; that she only knew from research, so could get caught out. This first stop was probably the worst place for those questions, as it may be that attendees worked for those organizations.

Anyway, Ellie knew this about her and had promised to take her for dinner to distract her from those worries. So, she'd just finished getting ready for that.

Her phone buzzed. That would be Ellie. Who else would call her?

Looking at the time, it seemed a bit early. They weren't supposed to be going out for another twenty minutes.

She answered the call, "Hi, Ellie."

"Sarah, I am so, so sorry, but I can't make it for our dinner tonight. Something has come up."

Sarah was shocked. "Ellie, it's twenty minutes before we were supposed to go. It's a bit sudden."

Ellie sounded apologetic. "I am so sorry, Sarah, but it's something personal. The table is still booked, so you could still go."

"Oh, yeah. Single woman on her own in a fancy restaurant in a strange city. Sounds perfect," Sarah replied sarcastically.

"It's not that strange," Ellie started.

Sarah didn't want to get into that, so asked, "So, are you going now?"

"In ten minutes or so," Ellie confessed.

"Just go to your 'personal thing' and I might go or I might stay and order room service," Sarah replied.

When the call ended, Sarah was still irritated. This was when she needed the distraction more than any of this trip and Ellie had just blown her off for this "personal thing."


Ellie, back in her room, was feeling bad. She'd cancelled because she'd heard from Chuck. When she'd said she was in the city, he'd jokingly accused her of stalking him because that was where he was, helping one of the government's teams with some IT stuff.

She was overjoyed. She'd be able to give him the news in person. They always shared the big news that way and nothing was bigger than this. Of course, Chuck dating would be big news, but he was so tight-lipped about women, Ellie wasn't surprised that he didn't share that. Maybe he would tonight?

The siblings hadn't spoken of seen each other for a while because of Chuck's crazy schedule. His work in Los Angeles seemed busy enough, but agreeing to assist these government people seemed an additional distraction. She wished he didn't have to travel so much, but it made him happy, so she had accepted it. Usually, he was only gone for a week or two, so it wasn't too bad.

He had told her he was leaving tomorrow evening, on a business trip to Tokyo for a couple of weeks. When she asked if that involved the government as well, he had categorically denied that, saying it was for his business only. She positively glowed at the thought of his company expanding into other countries like that. They could discuss that tonight, as well.

So, tonight was her only chance to see him and she'd arranged to meet him for a drink and dinner, at his hotel, well away from where Sarah would be.

'Oh well,' Ellie thought. Sarah would cope.

She also decided she would seize the moment while she was with him and ask more firmly about this Sandra woman.

She finished applying her make up in the bathroom mirror and headed back into the bedroom to find her shoes. She needed to get over to Chuck and would get one of the cabs outside the hotel just as she'd planned for the dinner with Sarah.

She winced again, thinking about letting Sarah down, but really felt she had no choice.


Sarah wondered what this personal thing was. It seemed very suspicious. How could something come up so suddenly.

Devon, Ellie's husband, was still back at work in Los Angeles, so it wasn't him turning up.

Her curiosity peaked, she decided to follow her editor and find out.

She hastily put on her shoes and headed for the elevator. She'd get to the lobby bar where Ellie wouldn't see her as she left.

She got to the hotel bar and sat at one of the empty tables near the exit.

It was only five minutes before Ellie came rushing through. Sarah crept out and followed her.

Ellie was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't turn and see Sarah who was now kicking herself for hiding earlier. If Ellie saw her then, just as now, she'd say she was going to check out the other restaurant and decide when she got there whether to stay or not. All of those thoughts were academic; Ellie never turned and saw Sarah.

"Follow that cab," she said as she climbed into hers. She grinned at the cab driver as she said it and he grinned back, both of them enjoying the comment.

He replied, "You know George might spot me following him and tell his passenger."

She just leaned forward and noted his name, then said, in a conspiratorial voice, "Well, Abdul, don't be too obvious, then."

Abdul grinned again, nodded and then set off.

Sarah just sat back and watched the cab Ellie had caught. Abdul held back. Usually there was one car between them, but sometimes two.

Sarah was enjoying this, just as she had expected she would. Tailing a mark! It felt like the sort of thing Rebecca would do, although in that situation she wouldn't have been in a cab, but driving the tail car. Sarah pushed that thought to one side and just enjoyed the thrill of "the tail."

In a way, she was sad when the journey came to an end. George's cab, with Ellie in it, stopped directly outside a hotel. Abdul pulled up a little way back. "Thanks, Abdul. Can I wait until she's gone in?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

They didn't have to wait long as they watched Ellie climb out of the cab and walk up the steps into the hotel. Her cab left, so this was obviously the final destination.

Sarah asked the fare and rounded it up, adding an extra ten dollars. "Thanks again, Abdul."

Sarah followed Ellie and reached the entrance just in time to see her editor greet a tall curly brown-haired man in an Armani suit. She was surprised when they embraced and she kissed his cheek. He must be a very close friend!

They turned into the bar within the hotel as she expected, so she quickly entered and walked forward, looking in. They were getting drinks at the bar, so she held back, out of sight.

She checked out the guy Ellie was with, or at least what he looked like from behind. His shoulders were broad, almost like a swimmer's; he was really tall, taller than Ellie who was wearing what looked like four-inch heels. Ellie was just a bit shorter then Sarah herself, so that would make him at least 6' 3". She found her fingers were itching to run through that lush, curly brown hair and pushed those thoughts back. She couldn't see his face from where she sat, but the quick glimpse earlier had been good. Quite a hunk.

She didn't have to wait long before the couple were seated and chatting. Ellie seemed quite animated.

Suddenly, Curls reached across the table and grabbed Ellie, giving her a huge hug, Ellie hugged him back equally tightly.

This seemed too much to Sarah. Devon, Ellie's husband, seemed such a great guy with model good looks and happened to be doctor, a heart surgeon, if she remembered correctly. She couldn't believe that Ellie would leave him back at work and cheat on him, even with that hunk. So, she resolved to burst in and break up the affair. She really hated the idea that Ellie seemed spoiled for choice in the romance department, while she, and her inhibitions and fears, had none, but that wasn't the reason for her action, this just wasn't right.

She stormed over to them, still embracing over their table. They separated and both looked up at her, Ellie with surprise in her eyes. "Sarah?"

"Eleanor Faye Woodcomb! You should be ashamed of yourself!" she hissed at her editor. "Devon doesn't deserve this...t- t- to have you carrying on with this two-bit lothario!" Sarah stuttered out that last bit, shaking her pointed finger at the hunk.

The guy had developed a stunned expression on his face as she started, joining Ellie with that look. Then, he smirked, of all things! Ellie also looked amused! Sarah was about to lash out again, when the guy reached his hand out to her.

"You must be Ellie's author, Sarah, right?" She nodded, taken aback by this. "I'm Chuck, 'two-bit lothario.'" He gave a quick glance at the woman he'd been hugging. "Oh… and El's brother."

Sarah was in a bit of a daze as she shook Chuck's warm hand, but she also felt the heat as the flush rose up her neck to her cheeks. "Oh, my God! I am so sorry!"

He grinned at her and quickly glanced at his sister, obviously communicating without words, as she nodded. He turned back to Sarah, who was still holding his hand. "Join us," he said quietly, but to Sarah it felt like a command. Then, he asked, "What would you like to drink?"

She came out of her daze and released his hand. After she told him what to get, he walked to the bar and she had to face his sister. She slumped into the chair to her side. "I am so sorry, Ellie." Somehow she kept her focus down at her hands in her deep embarrassment, not daring to meet Ellie's gaze.

"You followed me?" Ellie asked, with an amused tone, thankfully. "Sorta spy like, huh?"

That helped. Sarah looked up, nodded and admitted, "That part was fun, Ellie."

Ellie burst out laughing, which set Sarah at ease, joining her friend in laughter.

Chuck walked back with Sarah's drink. "Laughing at me now?" he asked, but didn't seem too put out.

Ellie replied, "No. Sarah's a spy now."

Chuck looked sharply at Sarah. "And that's funny, why?"

Without thought, Sarah placed a hand on his wrist, just exposed beyond his cuff. She found she liked feeling the warmth of his bare skin. "I write spy novels, but tonight I tailed Ellie and she said it was spy-like."

She saw realization set in and his features shifted into a smile. "Ahh. Not a real spy, then?"

She chuckled a bit more. "God, no! I'd be rubbish at that."

"Don't put yourself down, Sarah," Ellie chipped in. "I hear people in that business are impressed with your plots and how your character solves them."

"Really?" she asked. "And when do you talk to these people?"

"After book readings," Ellie replied.

"You're here to do book readings tomorrow, aren't you?" Chuck suddenly asked. When she looked at him, he flushed slightly. "El said on the phone that was why you're here."

She liked his features and his voice. His features looked even better with that hint of redness. His eyes were an unusual brown, almost chestnut, with flecks of chocolate. She was almost entranced by them and realized she was starting to stare, so shook herself slightly and replied. "Yeah, two readings and associated signings, if any join that queue tomorrow."

"When and where?" he asked.

Sarah didn't actually know. She just went where her editor took her. She looked over to Ellie to provide that information, which she did.

"Well, I can't make the morning one, but I can be there for the one at six. My flight out isn't until nine," Chuck stated.

Sarah was surprised. "Do you know my books?"

He shook his head and smiled at her. "No. You can wow me with your words tomorrow."

Ellie was shocked at her brother. He was never like this around women, normally so nervous, and yet here he was, flirting! She sat back to see what happened, with a smile on her face.

For the next two hours, around getting their order delivered to their table, Ellie took little part in the conversation, just observing, her eyes flicking between her brother and the woman she had brought to the city. Both of them chatting far more than she had ever seen either do before, both more animated too. It gave her tremendous pleasure to watch them connect with and enjoy one another so much.

Of course, she knew that her brother wouldn't realize what was happening, but he seemed to be more interested in Sarah than she had ever seen him interested in anything since his Stanford days, even his work or his gaming, which was saying something. Sarah looked the same.

Sarah didn't talk much about herself, Ellie noticed, and wasn't too surprised because she had always seemed reticent to do so. Just getting words about her for her profile had been hard enough.

Chuck, on the other hand, was more vocal than she had expected. Obviously not talking about Jill, she'd coached him on the foolishness of that, how no one really wanted to hear that, least of all other women. She smiled at the thought of him actually asking Sarah out on a date. So unlikely, given his success rate, but quite an amusing thought all the same. Imagine her little brother with her favorite author!

She thought about the other taboo topics for Chuck. His lack of success at dating was right up there with Jill and, again, another off-putting topic they'd discussed. However, he wasn't trying to ask Sarah out, so none of that was a problem anyway.

What he did talk about, quite animatedly, was his company and Sarah seemed to lap it up, hanging on his every word.

She was surprised he didn't mention that he had the government agencies as clients and wondered about stepping in and mentioning it, but was enjoying seeing the existing interaction too much for her to raise it.

The only thing hanging as a cloud over the evening, for Ellie, was the other woman in Chuck's life, Sandra or Zondra or something like that. If he was in a relationship with her, and interested in Sarah as well, then this could cause problems. That relationship, if real, would also set Sarah into a mood that might stall writing at all, but certainly would put pay to any chance of the character in her next novel developing a love interest.

So, what she was observing could be very, very good or very, very bad. She needed to persuade Sarah to leave so that she could ask her brother about that other woman.

When there was a slight pause in Chuck talking about his company, Ellie dived into the conversation. "Sarah, are you okay with staying out like this? You normally want some shut eye after the flights and time to prepare for the readings."

Sarah actually glared at her. ""Ellie, it's only 9:48. I don't need that much rest!"

Ellie wasn't sure how she knew the precise time like that, but felt chastised. However, Chuck chipped in, sincere concern seeping into his voice. "Oh, plane travel takes it out of you, even if you sleep. It always takes me a while to adapt to new time zones. You should get your rest."

Ellie smiled to herself and watched Sarah who looked upset at being advised by both siblings to leave. Ellie thought Sarah was going to go, though, which would give her a chance to talk to Chuck on his own. Well, talk to him at all really.

Sarah picked up her phone to call for a cab, but Chuck stopped her. His eyes flicked between both women and he said, "You should both go. You'll be tired as well, Ellie. Not only that, if you go with Sarah, you can expense the fare, right?"

Damn him! Ellie thought. She couldn't argue with that. "But I didn't get a chance to talk to you," she whined.

"Oh, Ellie! I'm so sorry! I monopolized all of his time here," exclaimed Sarah.

Ellie looked at her and replied, "You did." The knowing smile that accompanied those words took the sting out of them, though.

"We can catch up some other time, can't we, El?" Chuck stated. "At least I heard the good news."

Sarah was puzzled. "Good news?"

Ellie nodded. "I'm pregnant."

Sarah was stunned. "I didn't know."

Ellie looked at her brother. "I had to tell Chuck before telling anyone else."

Sarah leaned over and hugged her. "Congratulations, Ellie. When?"

"Oh, I'm only ten weeks, so, as your mom might say, early days."

"Well, you better get going, girls," Chuck said. "I've booked a cab in your name, El. Should be arriving any minute."

He hugged his sister. "And congratulations again, El. Tell Devon congrats from me too."

Then he turned to Sarah and looked uncertain. She could tell and stepped in and hugged him, thinking, what the hell!

He was tentative, but then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. They held each other for longer than was probably appropriate, but neither wanted to release the other.

Thankfully, Chuck had put the drinks on his room tab and Ellie had already paid for the meal, so there was nothing outstanding.

Sarah set off for the door after finally releasing Chuck, but she waved to him before leaving the bar completely.

Before she walked away, Ellie whispered, "I wanted to talk to you about Sandra. We'll have to do that by phone now."

"Sandra?" Chuck asked, then realized who she was talking about. "Oh, Zondra."

Ellie nodded. "Yes, her. I want to know about your relationship with her." Before he could say anything, she saw Sarah waving to her to hurry up and rushed to do so.

Chuck was left standing, nervously wondering what that was all about. Had Ellie worked out what Casey and Zondra did? What he did for them? That was troubling and he'd talk to Zondra about it. He would mention nothing to Casey as he wouldn't like the reaction.


A/N: So, Sarah and Chuck have met, and get on well. However, there is this other woman working with Chuck and Ellie is thinking their relationship may be more than just professional. She'll be wrong though, won't she?

Hang on, though! Zondra? Casey? What's Chuck doing with them?

Drop me a line to let me know what you think of this chapter.