AN- Its time for Ellie to coach Sarah a bit on life and such. A savage little fish also makes an appearance.

Coffee II

"Wait, you actually got Chuck to take up running? Chuck who loves cheeze balls, x-box, and gets winded carrying in the groceries?" Ellie asked, barely avoiding spitting out coffee.

Sarah shrugged and took another look around to be sure they were out of earshot – and that her little jammer was operating. "I didn't give him a lot of choice in the matter. Since I had to come up with a story for our bosses on the fly, and that story included reasons for the various minor injuries… That requires some actual martial arts training. To survive that, he needed to gain some endurance with some cardio. Hence… running." Sarah grinned in a calculated way and Ellie raised a hand and opened her mouth to say something, but Sarah continued before she could. "The endurance and… flexibility have been one hell of an incentive for the both of us. This one time..."

"Dammit, Sarah." Ellie grumbled, interrupting. "I told you not to make comments like that when I don't have hard liquor handy to wipe it clean."

Sarah laughed. "This is like a two for one deal. You and Casey both react almost the same way. I get to use each comment twice."

"I have a feeling John and I will get along just fine if and when you get things setup to include me." Ellie replied. "And speaking of that?"

"Casey and I have reached out and there have been some face to face meetings, more are coming." Sarah said, face automatically closing down a bit. She could tell that Ellie noticed.

"This is going to include something neither I, nor Chuck, will like." Ellie said seriously. "Isn't it."

"Probably." Sarah admitted. "Its just not worth worrying anyone over yet."

Ellie looked at her for, after Sarah started counting, sixty-three seconds before speaking. "Are you open to some advice from your non-spy friend?" she said finally, in gentle tone.

Tensing a bit, because she recognized Ellie in what Chuck called 'deceptively reasonable' mode, Sarah nodded.

In that same gentle, friendly tone, Ellie said, "Sweetie, are you a fucking moron?"

Yep, she's pissed. So glad Chuck gave me the briefing on Ellie's moods. "I'm sorry?" Sarah asked, mildly.

"Sarah, you're doing exactly what led to the blow up with Chuck the first time around." Ellie said, deadly serious now. "You're keeping the unpleasant bits inside, ostensibly to 'protect' someone, often yourself. You're planning like a lone wolf its what you know – even if you're not admitting it to yourself. I've read at least some novels, this seems like the classic left hand keeping things from the right hand situation."

"Hang on though…" Sarah started to say and was overridden.

"And what's worse is that its stupid from a practical standpoint, not just emotional." Ellie continued. "You told me a few things, I've inferred a few others. If you're working against your own agency, or even just a conspiracy, you're facing people who have, well, people. Staff. Support." Ellie reached over and poked Sarah in the arm. "And you're not using the resources you have available to support you. You have a family that will fight for you now, Sarah."

Sarah opened her mouth and then closed it. She forced herself to consider what Ellie was saying on a practical level, because considering it on an emotional level would leave her crying in a coffee shop. And… oh hell. She's right. I have a team, a family, and this time I'm the one... She took a drink of her coffee and then set it carefully down. "I… may have made some errors in judgment."

"Ya think?" Ellie replied acerbically.

"Be nice." Sarah said, wagging her finger at Ellie. "You're making me consider some things I never had to before." She sighed and nodded. "Alright, consider me chastised. How much have you spilled to Devon?"

"Nothing." Ellie said simply.

"Ellie, please." Sarah said.

Ellie shrugged. "Devon, as much as I love him, is as straightforward a person as you will ever meet. He can't lie. Like… at all. So I didn't tell him anything yet. It sucks."

"OK, that's fine for now, but we'll need to bring him in." Sarah said, thinking through it. 'the resources you have available', hmm..."You don't need the stress of lying to him and even if he's bad at selling a story he can at least know more about what not to do or say. We need one more person… someone to cover at the store…" Sarah stopped and groaned. "This is going to suck."

"Please don't tell me you're thinking about…" Ellie trailed off and looked scared.

Sarah nodded. "We need Morgan too. He can help cover absences and it will help Chuck. Emotionally. He hates lying to people, to his family Ellie. Even I know that's what Morgan is."

"I'll bring a mild sedative for you sometime." Ellie said, seriously. "When you and Chuck tell Morgan, I suggest you give it to him first."

"That's… probably not a bad idea." Sarah replied, then straightened. "I'm… well we know what I do. Chuck's got tech and hopefully some deep background intel. Casey's tactical and surveillance. You and Devon have medical and 'how does the Intersect work'. Morgan will be helping with the covers, and maybe I can train him to run ops. He certainly sounds like an ops guy when he and Chuck are playing Call of Duty. I'll setup some kind of meeting where we can be fairly free to talk. Dinner tomorrow maybe? Did I miss anything?"

Ellie looked uncomfortable and shifted in her seat.

"Are you going to call me a moron again?" Sarah asked. "When you tell me whatever it is you're not saying right now?"

Sighing, Ellie replied. "No… though you're probably going to call Chuck one."

"What did Chuck do now?" Sarah said, with a note of exasperation.

"Its more what he… used to do." Ellie replied.

Sarah sat at Chuck's desk in a chair she'd brought into the room, waiting for him to come home. She'd sent Ellie and Devon out to dinner, on her, as a way of thanking them for their help and keeping them out of the apartment. Neither one knew it, but she'd also arranged for a driver to take them to a relatively nice hotel for the night. She'd been trained by Roan Montgomery, after all, she had some idea of how to setup a romantic evening. Based on what Ellie had said, she wasn't angry with Chuck. Not even really disappointed. More… worried and slightly annoyed that she'd missed it, and that he hadn't shared it. With that in mind, Sarah had given a fair amount of thought as to how to deal with the situation. She could just confront Chuck, lay it out and demand answers. She could be angry. She could be hurt. Or… She'd could have fun with it, because in the end, she realized that Chuck hadn't done anything wrong. She heard Chuck unlocking the front door and did a quick check of her clothing before she settled back and crossed her legs.

"Hey, I'm back." Chuck called out. Then there was a pause. "Where is everyone. Anyone here?"

"In your room." Sarah called back her voice raised and tone flat.

Chuck's voice held a note of apprehension as it came closer. "Hey Sarah, glad someone's here." He came through the door of his room. "What's…" he paused. "Up?" he said, ending on a squeak.

Though she thought it might have been a bit too much, Sarah decided to set the scene – even if it would only be that way for a short time. She'd rearranged, staged, his room. The bed had been pushed to the side to make more room by the desk, and the desk was now turned so that she sat on one side and his desk chair was on the other between it and the door. She'd taken his PC down and put it in the closet. On the table was a laptop she'd purchased with cash, and a hotspot with a burner SIM. Both would be disposed of after this. The lights in the room were off, save the desk lamp which she'd aimed downwards so that only reflected light and shadows showed on her face. She'd gone for a look that she was calling 'angry librarian'. Heels. Black pencil skirt, above the knee. The shirt presented a quandary, too much fabric and he'd be able to focus. To little and… well they'd probably end up in bed sooner than she'd planned. In the end, she went with a fairly tight, form fitting sweater style top, also black. She'd pulled her hair back and wrapped it in a bun. In a nod towards breaking up the severity of the look, she'd used a pencil to hold it in place. It seemed like she'd struck the proper balance to keep him off balance.

She gave him a few seconds of staring at her before she spoke in a quiet, and serious tone. "You've been keeping a secret." She pointed at the chair. "Sit."

Chuck sank into the chair and took in the laptop and hotspot, then he looked up at her. He was sweating. "Wha… what do you mean?"

"You're going to play that game with me?" Sarah asked, raising one eyebrow. "Do I need to remind you who I work for? You didn't think I'd find out?"

"I just came home from the store, did I do something wrong?" Chuck said, still sweating and obviously nervous about the laptop. "What's going on Sarah?"

Sarah uncrossed her legs and stood, stepping around the desk and crowding Chuck just a bit. "I think, just now, it might be Agent Walker." She opened the laptop and it woke from sleep mode. On the screen was a terminal window with no active connection.

"I… can explain?" Chuck said. From the look on his face Sarah knew he wasn't certain what he'd be explaining.

"This is a clean laptop, on a cellular connection using a burner SIM. You will break into SIPRNET and then into the secure archives at Langely. Your target is my un-redacted personnel file." Sarah said, her tone just one side of chilly. She took her phone out and opened a timer. "You're on a clock, and remember. Don't get caught."

Chuck spluttered. "I'm not a hhack…" he trailed off as she leaned over and spoke into his ear with her lips just brushing.

"Tik. Tok. Chuc-k" she said in a breathy voice, emphasizing the K sound. Then she tapped the start button on the timer.

He froze completely for a second and then his hands sought out the keyboard and began to move. Sarah wasn't technologically illiterate by any means. She could use satellite radios, bypass an electronic lock or alarm, disarm explosives, and hotwire a car. Hell, she was qualified on multi-engine jets. She was trained to use the CIA's various systems to work on her daily tasks, reports, and research. Nearly any surveillance system was something she could puzzle out in minutes. She could get online, use email, do searches, make orders. She was even fairly sure she knew a bit about security, using complex and changing passwords and protecting her account information. What Chuck was doing was familiar only in that it was taking place on a computer screen. OK, so Ellie's revelation that he was in fact a hacker is true. The crack about the movie Swordfish had to have been a joke, but… She pulled the pencil out of her hair and shook it out, keeping her head near his and placing the pencil on the desk.

"Is this distracting you?" she asked in that same breathy voice.

His response was a kind of choking noise and his fingers stumbled for a moment before resuming their blurring motion. OK, time to up the ante.

She crouched beside him. His eyes flicked to her once or twice but he kept working. Resting one hand on the back of his chair, leaned into his space again. She put her other hand quite deliberately on his belt buckle. He lost his focus again for just a moment. "You keep losing your focus, Chuc-k" she whispered. "So was the scene in the movie all just hype?"

"IT WAS CREATIVE LICENSE!" he yelped and she leaned out of his way as he raised his hands. "Done! There's the file." Chuck was breathing hard. Sarah reached over to hit the stop button on her phone. The timer read 00:00:59.34

Sarah put a pout of disappointment on her face. "I never even got to the good part."

"So… you did cover your tracks? I'm not going to have to explain to internal security that we conducted an unscheduled audit of their system?" Sarah asked, some time later, as they snuggled on the bed. They'd never made it under the covers.

Chuck, now somewhat less tense, nodded. "Yes, I even wiped the router logs…" he looked at her and changed what he was about to say. "Yes I covered my tracks."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sarah asked gently. "Did I give you some reason not to trust me or…"

He interrupted her with a quick kiss. "No, not at all. Its just… I haven't really done anything like that since Stanford. I gave it up, promised Ellie I'd leave it alone." Then he shrugged. "Plus Casey's NSA. Sort of the hacker boogeyman. I wasn't about to start hacking again with two federal agents spending the majority of the day with me."

"I get it. I'm a tiny bit hurt that you didn't trust me with this – even only as background." Sarah said, hugging him closely. "Since my job is actually to protect you, knowing this would have prepared me if it came back to haunt you."

"It was buried so deep it really didn't even occur to me. I'm still sorry though." Chuck said, tracing a random shape on her back. "How did you find out?"

"Ellie gave you up." Sarah replied, shuddering slightly. She wasn't ticklish, or so she kept telling herself.

"If she told you, why the production? Fun as it was, it also kinda freaked me out." Chuck asked.

Sarah grinned. "What? You don't like when your seduction, interrogation, infiltration, and assassination trained CIA agent girlfriend trots out her skills to get something out of you?" She stretched and practically purred. "Don't the results speak for themselves or did you forget the past hour or so?"

"So, it was all the spy equivalent of a nice bottle of wine and rose petals?" Chuck grinned back at her after his brain unlocked.

"Well, kind of." Sarah admitted, then sitting up. "I actually did want a copy of that file. I also wanted to know how you worked under pressure – without making it too unpleasant. And I couldn't resist the prank aspect given what Ellie said about the movie." She kept her smile because, well she was happy, but she also grew more serious. "There is something we need to talk about."

"If its serious, put a shirt on!" Chuck said, tossing a t-shirt at her.

She laughed and pulled the shirt on. "Well, at least I know how to get things out of you when I need to."

He smiled at her warmly and spoke seriously. "You just have to ask, no special technique needed." He paused a moment then held a finger up. "Not that I'm saying you shouldn't use special techniques on me…"

"So… no secrets anymore? No lies?" Sarah said, taking his hand. He nodded and she squeezed his hand before continuing. "OK then. Ellie and I had coffee, you know that. She… set me straight on something. To be honest, she called me a fucking moron – and she was right."

"Did she do her 'deceptively…" Chuck started to say.

"Deceptively reasonable? Yes." Sarah said. "Its true that Casey and I have been working behind the scenes. Its also true that its…" she trailed off, not exactly afraid, just sort of pausing before taking a bite of something she knew wouldn't taste good.

"Not the whole truth?" Chuck said, squeezing her hand. "Sarah, if the worst thing that you did was hold back some of what we might call 'operational' information… its not the end of the world – or more importantly us. You didn't kill me for not telling you I was the Piranha, I'm not going to get upset with you for this."

"Piranha?" Sarah's mouth dropped, eyes wide. Even she'd heard that name. "Holy crap, so much makes sense now. You're like number two on the NSA's most wanted domestic list? That… complicates things."

"Number two?" Chuck squeaked. "I didn't know I was still on their radar."

"Yeah, right behind Orion. Who's number one on the CIA's 'find this guy and bring him in wrapped in bubble wrap and totally secure' list as well. You are not, at present, on that list. If they find out about what you can do… it might be something of a bidding war with guns between the NSA and CIA." Sarah said, smiling at him. Then she took a deep breath. "OK, so that just means we have to add official legal protections to the 'to do' list." She shook her head. "Anyway, back to me being a moron. I've been planning a series of face to face meetings with people. Including Graham and Beckman. My plan is, essentially, to bully everyone into a few things. First, keeping you alive after this project ends. Second, getting this thing out of my boyfriend's head. Third, distantly, possibly keeping this team going and making it more effective."

"That sounds oversimplified." Chuck replied, after a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Sarah sighed. "Yes. I was fully prepared to threaten and possibly kill a number of them to make this happen. I was… holding back on the plan because it has me leaving town for a few weeks – which neither of us will be happy about, and because of the other aspects. Like potential murder."

Chuck tilted his head and looked at her. "I'm not going to say either of you were wrong. It is kind of dumb to keep things from your team. You know, the team with the Intersect in it." He smiled. "On the other hand, you're not wrong about how I feel about you contemplating more deaths – mostly because of what it does to you."

"Well… I agree with her, because I was lone wolfing it, her phrase – but it works. She reminded me I have more than Casey. I have her, and you. Devon and even Morgan. We have a family that can and will fight for each other." Sarah blinked to keep from tearing up. "Its… been a while since I had anything like that." She took a calming breath and counted a few seconds. "So. With that, I'm expanding the team. Officially or not, we're going to stop being reactive and start actively working on our goals. Maybe one of those can be that I don't have to murder anyone."

"And the Piranha has a part in that?" Chuck asked.

Sarah nodded. "You had a part before… but now. Look, they have no way of knowing how effective you are with the Intersect… or just how much data it has or can accumulate. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to conceal your activities."

"So, I go database diving and we say it came from flashes?" Chuck said, musingly. "That could work. Heck, I could see some synergistic effects potentially. I'm not CIA so there is a lot I don't know… but the Intersect does know." He winced. "I'm going to need a lot of Advil."

"That brings up another point." Sarah said after a moment. "Ellie."

"Oh no! She an I had a deal, Sarah. She got to 'practice' on me in med school but after that I was free! No more guinea pig for her." Chuck said stubbornly.

Sarah put every bit of sincerity into her tone. "When you hurt, babe, I hurt. I don't trust anyone else with your head."

"Babe?"

"Thought I'd try it on, too much?" Sarah asked.

"No… just didn't expect it." He sighed. "OK, just my head. Just related to the Intersect. Nothing else?"

"Well… I thought Devon and Casey might keep working with you on the running and such if I have to go out of town?" Sarah said, trying to see if she could squeak a bit more in.

Chuck closed his eyes for a ten count then opened them. "Fine. But none of those 'shakes'?" He grinned suddenly. "I have to draw the line somewhere, woman!"

Alright, if he's going to make 'woman' jokes like that… I have to mess with him. She leaned towards him and let the shirt ride up some. Still need to teach him how to recognize these techniques. Like, after I do a full court press though, I have yet to make him pass out. That's just a personal goal. Then I can teach him about this stuff. "Yes, of course." Sarah bit her lip in the way that she'd seen him loose his focus over before. "I wouldn't want to overstep my bounds… sir."

He gulped. "Oh boy." he said in a slightly frightened tone.

The next day was Sunday and, as she'd hinted to Ellie, they'd do the meeting today. Sarah prompted Ellie again, and Ellie called, cajoled, and outright threatened until both Casey agreed to show up for dinner. Morgan, Ellie had explained, would show up regardless. This would not flag as too strange for anyone who might observe them, they were often gathered for dinner at the Casa. The difference this time was the short notice. Ellie, in retaliation, forced Sarah to help. Which is how she found herself measuring, cutting, chopping, and other arcane tasks. Sarah didn't mind, she was trying to put together the immediate plans. Trying being the operative word. She'd felt so confident after talking to Ellie, and Chuck. Like opportunities had opened up. Then she'd considered… opportunities had opened up and that was frightening.

"Ellie, I am good with knives I'll grant. I can even do fairly well with breakfast food. It just seems like you're placing a lot of responsibility on someone who's greatest cooking achievement was poisoning a group of French assassins." Sarah said to distract herself, as she arranged vegetables in the dish around the meat. She was shooting for a precise geometric pattern having been given no other hints. Its kind of like an Irish flag. Celery, potato, carrot.

Ellie was at the stove, apparently working three pots at once. She paused in her activities and turned to look at Sarah. "Two questions. First, what about that souffle? And second, is that why Chuck flipped out and destroyed it?"

"CIA substation has a staff chef." Sarah replied and frowned at the dish, adjusting a carrot. "And yes. That was what I was talking about before at the beach."

"Stop fiddling with that and get it in the oven. Then stir this." Ellie directed, then she took a pot of noodles and poured them into a colander. Which she then dumped into a baking dish. "Poison? Isn't that like cliche for a woman to use?"

Sarah took the baking dish and slid it into the oven when Ellie held the door down for her. She turned to the indicated pot and began stirring. "They'd actually been planning on using it themselves in a diplomatic dinner. It seemed fitting. Plus, 'Hello pot? This is kettle. We're the same color.'" She waved a hand at their current activities. "How many RPM?"

"What?" Ellie said, confused.

"The stirring. How many RPM?" Sarah asked.

Ellie looked at her as if she'd gone mad. "Um… you're doing fine." She paused. "Are you fine?"

"Hmm?" Sarah asked as she stirred.

"You spent almost ten minutes arranging vegetables in a pot roast in a very, very precise pattern. You're stirring that cheese sauce with a concentration I would be proud of during surgery." Ellie said. "So… what's going on."

Sarah dropped the spoon and turned towards Ellie. "I should be thinking about the plan. About talking to everyone and getting the team going. I should be. And I'm not."

"What are you thinking?" Ellie asked as she gently pushed Sarah to the side. She turned off the heat on the sauce and the vegetables. Then she took the sauce and poured it into the baking dish with the noodles she'd drained. Stirring the them together in another baking dish, she then it slid into the oven next to the roast. Ellie picked up her wine glass and pulled out a chair to sit and look at Sarah. Then she waited.

Glancing around and seeing nothing else to do, Sarah let out a small groan of frustration and threw up her hands. "Why can't I get the words out when I'm around him? What if I can't do normal? What comes next after the immediate danger is past?"

Ellie looked at her and then pointed at the other chair. She grabbed the bottle and poured a glass, passing it to Sarah when she sat. After taking a drink of her own, she finally spoke. "I'm going to guess, from things you've said, your childhood was even more different than mine."

Sarah nodded, mutely, and took a drink.

"When was the last time you lived in one place?" Ellie asked. "I'm going to guess you were pretty young?"

"Eight." Sarah replied. "I've lived out of a suitcase, for the most part, since I was eight."

Ellie nodded. "And your longest romantic relationship?"

"Not quite a year." Sarah replied. "Even I can see where you're going with this."

"Maybe, maybe not." Ellie said, smiling. "That relationship was with…"

"Bryce." Sara said, somewhat more curtly than her other answers.

"If you know where I'm going with this…" Ellie trailed off.

Sarah said, with some bitterness, "I've got no background in normal? No ability to cope with a home and family? No idea of how to have a real relationship? Thanks, I'm aware."

Ellie put her glass down and leaned forward. "Ah, then you had no idea where I was going with this."

"What?" Sarah blinked.

"You're being too damn hard on yourself, Sarah." Ellie replied. "You're what, twenty-six? You've been in your first healthy-ish relationship for less than six months? Sarah, putting all of my joking about weddings and rings with you aside – you're doing fine from what I see. Chuck's happy. You seem happy. What's the rush? Apart from being an obsessive cleaner, my influence, Chuck isn't really super put together either."

"You are." Sarah said with a tinge, just a tinge, of jealousy.

"I had to start taking over when I was like fourteen and by the time I was seventeen I was basically Chuck's sister and mom." Ellie shrugged. "I grew up fast and, to some extent, I'm making up for it on this end. This?" Ellie waved at the work they'd done together to make dinner. "This is basically habit at this point, learned behavior. I'm still trying to let go some, to try to have a bit of fun again. Its why I go out with you, and friends from work. Its why I throw holiday events and go with Devon and his frat buddies to games." She smiled at Sarah. "You and I, we're both still learning to live. Just, say, freshman vs junior in the school of life."

"So I should cut myself some slack?" Sarah asked, considering.

"Yep." Ellie replied. "You don't have to plan out the next fifty years tomorrow."

"Just the next fifty days or so." Sarah said firmly, nodding. "Thanks" she finished softly.

"Now, back to what we talked about at breakfast… can I please just slip a sedative into Morgan's drink?" Ellie asked, plaintively

Dinner had gone well, if quietly. Ellie had gone for straight up comfort food with pot roast, baked macaroni and cheese, and instead of a salad as was her usual – fairly heavily buttered mixed vegetables. There was some conversation, but people sensed that something was different and the mood was subdued. After the dishes had been cleared away, when people would normally have split off or gone home, Sarah called them back to the now cleared dinner table.

"This shouldn't take long, but there are things that need to be discussed. Some of you are aware of all of the facts, some of you only have a partial picture. Tonight I'm going to read everyone here into the full situation." Sarah raised her hand and pointed at Morgan without looking. "Don't say anything. One word before I'm finished and I'll have Ellie sedate you. She wanted to do it up front but I assured her you could be an adult for a few minutes." She looked at the rest of the group and smiled. "Chuck, myself, and John are all part of…"

Sarah proceeded to lay out the facts, leaving out only some specific mission details. She did not attempt to hide or gloss over the fact that both her and Casey had killed people in the past and likely would in the future. There was no attempt to excuse their deceptions, simply to explain the necessity. The existence of the Intersect was revealed and Casey had looked at her in shock before growling 'Walker' in a warning tone. Chuck's activities were discussed without embellishment and he seemed embarrassed by the looks he received from the group. Even Casey, when he heard them all listed at one time, gave Chuck an approving nod.

"That's the background." Sarah said, after sitting back down and taking a drink of iced tea. "John knows all of this and probably more. Ellie had pretty much the full picture. I'll explain why we're talking tonight in a bit. However, I know that there are probably some questions from you two." She pointed at Devon and Morgan. "So?"

Devon looked around the table before settling on looking at Chuck. "Chuck… awesome." he said quietly, then pointed back at Sarah. "Do you trust them, her?"

There was no hesitation. "I absolutely trust Sarah. With everything." Chuck replied.

"Then, so do I." Devon said, shrugging. "I'm not sure why you're telling me, or what you need but whatever it is… I got your back, bro."

She didn't let anything show in her expression, but Sarah was struck by how similar Devon's response was to Ellie's original response and question. What mattered to him was what Chuck thought about the situation.

Morgan had been sitting very still this whole time. He looked scared, which was understandable as he was sitting next to Casey. Sarah was impressed at his self control, for not being... Morgan.

"You alright buddy?" Chuck said, looking at his friend.

Shaking himself, Morgan then stared at Chuck. "You're a spy?"

Chuck waved his hand at Sarah. "She's a spy. I'm a 'high value asset'." he said.

Sarah sat up straighter. "No." she said firmly. "You were an asset. You're much more than that."

"Walker's right, Bartowski." Casey said, surprising everyone. "They were wrong to classify you that way to begin with. Even if they could make the argument to coerce you into service… hell, drafted soldiers had rights and training. What they're doing to you is just wrong. We gotta draw the line somewhere." He looked at Sarah. "Thanks for the reminder." Casey fell silent then, looking a bit disgusted with himself for the outpouring of ladyfeelings.

Morgan watched the interplay and he looked serious, which was frightening. "Chuck, my man, I knew you were meant for more. Just wish it wasn't dangerous… I'm in. Tell me one thing though, Sarah. You and my boy here…" he trailed off.

Sarah blinked, still a bit surprised by Casey's comment. He hadn't said anything about it in the past few weeks, though his work had spoken volumes. She could be excused, then, for her distracted response to Morgan's question. "I love him, of course. Now, there's a reason I br…" Sarah stopped, recognizing what she'd just said in front of the whole group.

A high pitched squeak came from Ellie as she clamped a hand over her mouth. Devon just murmured, "Awesome.", while Casey looked constipated. Morgan, who'd prompted the response, sat back and looked smug.

Chuck was staring. Sarah finally shook herself free and stood. She quickly walked around the table and took Chuck by the upper arm, hauling him out of his seat. "Excuse us, we'll be back in a moment." she said, and then pulled Chuck along behind her to the bathroom. She shut the door, and whirled to look at him. "I'm sor…" she started to say and had the wind knocked out of her by the impact of a hug.

"Don't you dare apologize for that." Chuck said. "I love you so much it hurts sometimes, I've been afraid of scaring you off."

She relaxed and put her head on his chest. "Not happening. Like I said, you broke a perfectly good spy. You break it, you bought it mister." she said with a contented sigh. "I just wish I'd had the guts to say it earlier without being tricked into it by Morgan."

"I'm buying the little man a case of grape soda for that." Chuck replied.

"We should get back out there." Sarah said, planting a kiss on his cheek. "If I kiss you anywhere else, or we stay here much longer, we're never going to get to the plan."

Chuck released her and pulled back with reluctance. "Right."

Struck by a sudden thought that she hadn't actually told Chuck directly yet, she stopped herself in the midst of turning to the door and turned back. "Just so we're one hundred percent clear… I love you, Chuck Bartowski. You should have been the first person to hear it… but there it is."

His grin was practically blinding. "Well, to avoid any possibility of misunderstandings. I love you, Sarah Walker."

They managed to leave the bathroom after only a few minutes more and some maneuvering to get down the hall while holding hands. When they came back to the table, everyone noted the hands and then Devon pushed two chairs closer together for them.

"Sorry for the interruption." Sarah said when they sat down. "I… will admit that I have a number of issues with emotions. Morgan? Intentional or not… thank you. I should have told Chuck a long time ago." She looked around the table. "Now, as I was going to say before. I have the outline of a plan, but it was before I was reminded that I had people who would help me. Knowing that, we're starting from scratch. I'll listen to any reasonable ideas. We have two goals in the short term. First..."

AN- I bet you thought that was coming with or instead of the 'bomb kiss' scene.