A/N: I'll tell you all my decision on toning it down at the AN at the bottom. *smirks and sips tea*


Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

"The cook is quite upset about the cake, we let it get cold," Sarah said, hanging up the phone. She rolled over, and snuggled against Chuck.

"Is it so sad, it's in teirs?" Chuck asked, grinning, and still looking at the ceiling. Sarah snorted against him. "You know, I'm beginning to think you like me."

"What gave it away? The kisses, the sex, the snuggling, the sex, the quiet comfortable moments… or the sex?"

"It was probably you telling your dad that you like me" Chuck said, with a shrug.

"I don't know why I bother with you."

"It's the sex," Chuck told her.

She didn't disagree.

"So, I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this, and it's going to upset you…" Chuck trailed off.

"You're married, you're pregnant and it's mine; you're pregnant and it's not mine; or you're really five-foot-six," Sarah offered. Chuck gave her a look. "What? There's really nothing you could tell me that would upset me."

"I have to talk to Jeff and Lester," Chuck told her.

"Damn it, you were right," Sarah said, burying her face in his chest.

}o{

They found the pair downstairs, in the dining room, drinking. "Someone has stolen our equipment, Charles," Lester said, on what appeared to be his third or fourth drink.

"No one has stolen your equipment. Casey saw a video of last night, and confiscated it all, in the interests of public safety" Chuck reminded him.

"It's the man trying to oppress us," Jeff said, shaking his head.

"You know what, you're right," Chuck admitted, sitting down across from the two. He looked up at Sarah, who didn't look happy.

"So, you're gonna help us get it back?" Lester asked.

"Nope," Chuck replied.

"Do you really need me here?" Sarah asked.

"I always need you," Chuck said, turning to her. "But, if you don't want to do this, I completely understand."

"Damn," she muttered. "You're good."

"You should know," Chuck replied, making her grin.

"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" Jeff asked. Chuck shook his head at Sarah before she could answer. She lifted an eyebrow, Spock-like, but said nothing.

"And just what do you think I'm talking about?" Chuck asked.

"Cooking pizza rolls," Jeff replied. "There's a certain mystery to them."

"There is, the trick is letting them cool off when they come out of the oven, before you pop them into your mouth," Chuck explained. Jeff's eyes grew large, with that revelation.

"Lester," Chuck said, making the smaller man look at him, instead of shaking his head in disgust about Casey confiscating their equipment. "Who was Manoosh dating?"

"Why do you think I know anything about anyone dating?" Lester asked, taking a drink of his beer. Chuck gave him a look. "Okay, so I knew," Lester said, shrugging. "He was dating the old HR manager, that's why she left."

"That was why she left?" Sarah asked. Chuck quickly put his hand on her leg to try to calm her. It worked, but it made other things in her, that had been calm, that way no longer.

"So, he was dating… what was her name again?" Chuck asked.

"Nancy," Lester said. "And not just dating her, he said he was banging her on the regular."

"A real Don Ho, that one," Jeff added.

Sarah gave Chuck a look, and Chuck just shook his head. "Remind me, Nancy was short, brunette, glasses?"

"Yeah, but she always wore these loose sweaters, and you just knew she had great-"

"Before you say the next word," Sarah cut in. "Remember I already want to kill you."

"…Eyes," Lester said, swallowing. "Her glasses emphasized her eyes." Sarah glared at Lester. "We should go," Lester said. "We really should go."

"Wait, one thing… did they break up?" Chuck asked.

"No," Lester said, standing. "He said he was willing to drive every weekend to go see her. She was the bomb in bed." Chuck heard Sarah growl, and squeezed her leg. The growl changed in tone, as Lester fled.

"I'm going to pay for that, aren't I?" Chuck asked.

"Yep," Sarah replied. "But trust me, you're going to like it."

}o{

"Okay, have I worn you out, or is your mind on other things?" Sarah asked him much later.

"I'm not sure what the right answer is here, so I'm going with the truth," Chuck told her. "I was thinking about Nancy." Sarah raised up from her place in the crook of Chuck's arm. "NancyisreallyAmyandIdon'tthinkshequitbecauseofManoosh!" Chuck blurted out. Sarah stared at him a moment, sighed, and laid back down.

"Damn it," she muttered.

"What? What did I do?" Chuck asked.

"We're gonna have to go talk to Morgan, because he was Manoosh's roommate, right?" Chuck nodded. "Why do you always have to do the right thing?"

"You liked it earlier when I did the right thing," Chuck replied.

"Just call me 'the right thing'," Sarah said happily.

"We don't have to go talk to him right now," Chuck pointed out.

"Yes, we do, because I'm greedy, and want you to one-hundred-percent focus on me," Sarah said. She paused a minute. "Although, whatever percent that was, you did good there, Chuck."

"Thank you," Chuck said.

}o{

"So he's on the floor below us?" Sarah asked. Chuck nodded. "I kinda wish this place had an elevator."

"Oh, I don't know," Chuck replied. She looked at him. "I have a fear of elevators."

"Really?" Sarah asked.

"But I've started taking steps to avoid it," Chuck told her.

"Don't push your boyfriend down the steps, Sarah," she muttered to herself.

"Of course, I don't trust stairs either," Chuck continued.

"Jesus," she muttered, chuckling in spite of herself.

"They're always up to something," Chuck finished, grinning at her.

"You're lucky I… like you," Sarah told him. Chuck grinned at her.

"I am," Chuck agreed. Her hand flew out, and he stopped. He turned to her. "What?"

"This," she said, gesturing between them. "This doesn't end when we go back home, right? This isn't just some fling?"

"I mean, I will fling myself at you all the time if you want me to. But I don't know if you noticed; I've dropped the fake from the fake boyfriend moniker," Chuck told her.

"Good," she said, grinning at him. "Very good."

"Nah, it's great," he told her. He saw her fighting something in her eyes. "We really need to go talk to Morgan and Casey."

"I know, but after that…"

"After that, I'm all yours," he told her. The smile on her face made his heart race, and his mouth go dry, all at the same time.

}o{

"Come in, we were having a cup of tea," Morgan said, letting Sarah and Chuck enter the room.

Sarah gave Chuck a look. "Morgan is currently binging Downton Abbey, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Doctor Who, and several BBC Britcoms, so he feels he should be drinking tea."

"Stuff is good," Casey said, sipping tea at the table. "Why are you two here?"

"He's been doing your job," Sarah told him. Casey grinned. "You knew that he would though, didn't you?"

Casey put down his cup. "Everyone here says Bartowski is the heart and soul of this place. Everyone here trusts him. So, I knew if I let him, he'd probably be able to talk to everyone, and find out everything." Casey looked proud of himself. "So, what did you find out?"

"That the person we need to talk to, is right here," Chuck said turning to Morgan. "You didn't have a roommate last night, did you?"

Morgan cleared his throat and looked away. "In fact, you were told that I was going to be staying here, because everything changed last minute when Lester screwed up the sleeping arrangements."

"That might be correct," Morgan admitted.

"Who told you Bartowski would be sharing a room with you?" Casey asked.

"Manoosh," Morgan said. "He told me he had his own place to sleep. But what does that have to do with Manoosh being murdered?"

"What was Manoosh working on?" Chuck asked.

Morgan laughed. "It was this thing that was supposed to be a teaching tool. Supposedly, you could upload instructions on how to do things into your brain. I think he called it the Interact."

"I see," Chuck said. "You said supposed."

"Yeah, it didn't work. But Manoosh told me he found a buyer for it, even though it was non-functional," Morgan admitted.

"Who was the buyer?" Chuck asked.

"Well, it turns out he couldn't sell it directly, because of a confidentiality agreement he signed," Morgan said. "So, he was going to get his girlfriend to do it."

"How the hell do you know all this?" Casey asked.

"Nacho Samplers," Morgan said, like Casey was crazy. "I mean, we bond over them every Thursday night, and he's a lightweight when it comes to drinking."

"Uh, Morgan, you drink grape soda," Chuck reminded him.

"Yeah, twenty-four cans a day," Morgan replied.

"Twenty? Four?" Sarah asked. She shook her head. "So, who was his girlfriend?"

"Some chick who interviewed him a while back," Morgan said.

"Oh?" Chuck asked. "At CIA?"

"No, Roark Industries," Morgan said.

"Let me get this right; Manoosh interviewed at CIA's chief rival, and came to work here, where he developed something, to have his girlfriend sell, who works at Roark Industries?" Chuck asked.

"And works here on the weekends," Morgan added. Chuck looked at Casey.

"Damn," Casey muttered.


A/N: So am I going to tone it down….*peaks at what I have for next time*

"To have that kind of friendship…." She shrugged as she trailed off. "I'm a little jealous."

"You have me as a friend if it helps," Chuck pointed out.

"Oh, I have, had, and am going to have you," Sarah replied, walking past him to get some food. Chuck didn't dare move, he was afraid he would trip and fall if he did.

That's gonna be a big negatory. PMS, reviews, yada yada.