A/N: With the introduction to Chuck's "family," Sarah Walker's emotional awakening is almost complete, but an unexpected test forces her to stand her ground and claim what is hers.

This story has a mild T-rating for occasional coarse language, some adult themes, and some violence, but nothing too graphic.

I hope you enjoy it and favor me with following or reviewing. It's the only way I can know if the effort I've put into writing this is giving anyone any sort of joy.

As usual, my thanks continue to go to Nevr for pre and beta reading. Thanks, Nev!

Also, as usual, I don't own Chuck or profit from writing this story.

Chapter 13 – Clash of the Titans:

"There you are! What were you two troublemakers up to?" Ellie asked.

Chuck moved to Sarah, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and took her hand.

"Guys, Sarah and I have an announcement." All eyes turned to the smiling couple. "As you know, Sarah and I met six months ago, and while Sarah was called away for work shortly after we met, we both felt a special connection between us, a connection we want to further develop and see where it takes us. The last six months have shown me that nothing is more important to me than having her in my life, and Sarah felt the same, so unbeknownst to me, she quit her job on the east coast, put her condo up for sale, and drove to LA to find me again and see where our relationship could go. And as of this afternoon, Sarah has agreed to move in with me." Chuck paused as he looked at his friends and family. Morgan and Carina beamed. Devon immediately shouted "Awesome!" while Ellie looked a little confused.

Ellie Bartowski was a force of nature, and in no way hesitant to speak her mind. She was happy for Chuck, but also concerned. After all, what did she know about Chuck's Sarah? What did Chuck know about his Sarah? They met, she disappeared, his business took off making him really wealthy, and suddenly, without explanation, she reappears and moves in? Ellie's maternal instincts kicked in.

"Chuck, no one is happier to see you happy, but isn't this a little fast? No offense, Sarah, but I worry about Chuck, and this all seems so sudden."

"Ellie, it took me less that twenty-four hours to figure out Sarah was special, and by the time we finished our lunch date six months ago, I knew she was the one for me. I've never felt anything like the closeness we felt that day, and the feeling has only deepened while we were separated. And today, when she appeared, it was almost like the last six months didn't happen. Like we just continued our lunch date to its natural conclusion."

"But Chuck, It's still fast," Ellie said with a mixture of concern and frustration in her face.

"Ellie, when did you know Devon was it for you? As I recall, the two of you did it in a broom closet within an hour of meeting at med school? And since then, you two have been practically inseparable, living together while you waited and waited for Captain Awesome to get off his ass and pop the question. So no, this is not sudden, and moreover, it's not up for debate!" Chuck snapped back with some disappointment and a little more anger than he intended to convey. Sarah saw the conflict, and decided to assert herself.

"Ellie, can we talk for a minute?" Sarah turned to Chuck, gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "I love you. I'm going to fix this."

Ellie led Sarah to her bedroom, closed the door and motioned for Sarah to take a seat on the bed.

"Sarah, I'm sorry, and I don't mean to offend you, but I've raised Chuck since he was a pre-teen, and he means everything to me, and I won't stand by and watch another woman shatter his heart or go after his money. I'm glad you seem to make him happy, but we don't know anything about you, and you disappearing without a word for six months, while my brother prepared lunch for you every day was beyond heartbreaking. Then his company takes off and he's making more money than God, and suddenly, you reappear with no explanation. Moreover, you apparently quit your job, so you are financially dependent, and you move in with him. I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable with any of this." Ellie huffed without breaking eye contact with Sarah.

Sarah let Ellie get it all out on the table, and it was a lot. As she listened, she realized that the optics for anyone who didn't know their story would in fact seem rather suspect. Then she realized just how much Ellie loved Chuck and wanted to protect him. Again Chuck's themes of love, passion and intimacy surfaced as Sarah started to smile.

Ellie saw the smile and decided to challenge Sarah. "Sarah, I'm not sure what the hell you are smiling about. This is not funny, and I could not be more serious about things when it comes to my little brother." Sarah schooled her expression and looked up at Ellie. It was time to assert herself and make things clear.

Sarah stood and locked eyes with Ellie. "Sit!" Sarah commanded a little more sharply than she intended, shocking Ellie. Sarah softened her glare and her voice. "Ellie, please sit. I want to tell you my story."

Ellie, cautiously moved to sit on the bed without taking her eyes off Sarah, who had suddenly become intimidating. "Ok, Sarah. I'm listening."

Sarah moved to the bed and sat next to Ellie. She cleared her throat and dove in head first.

"Ellie, first I want to make something clear to you, and then I'm going to tell you some things that you are never to repeat. Do you understand?"

"We'll see, Sarah," Ellie responded defiantly. "But you are not endearing yourself to me right now."

"Fair enough, Ellie. So let's get started I love your brother more than you can imagine, and in a minute I am going to tell you what I did to get here, but before I do, I want to be clear. Chuck is mine. I went through hell for six months to get to him, and with all due respect, I don't really care if you don't approve. I love him, and by extension you, Devon and Morgan, but I am not letting anything come between us again. And unless he tells me to go away, I'm not going to leave him. Ever. I know you don't know me, yet, but when I set my mind to something, well, I have a history of seeing things through. I know how much Chuck means to you and how much you mean to him, and I hope you will see me as a friend and hopefully as family, but you are not getting between us."

Elli started to interrupt when Sarah cut her off. "Ellie! Please stop talking and listen." The force with which Sarah spoke rattled her.

"Ellie, for your safety, for Chuck's safety, and for mine, you cannot repeat what I am about to tell you. To anyone. Ever. Is that clear?" Sarah again sharpened her gaze. "Ellie, please tell me you understand."

"Ok, Sarah, I understand. I won't say a word to anyone," Ellie spoke with a slightly derisive tone, which Sarah accepted.

"Ellie, for the last ten years, I've been in the employ of the Central Intelligence Agency as a field officer. In fact, up until my resignation just a few days ago, I was widely regarded as the best of the CIA's covert operatives. It is the reason I was gone for six months and could not make contact."

Ellie gave chuckled sarcastically. "Really? What a convenient story. I'm sorry Sarah, but this is quite enough for me." Ellie moved to stand when Sarah's hand shot out grabbing Ellie by the elbow, and with surprising strength forced her back down.

"Ow. Let go of me, Sarah."

Sarah paused. "You are a doctor, right? I'm going to show you some things and you are going to tell me what they are." Ellie gasped as Sarah stood and pulled her sweater off as Ellie looked on in shock.

"Ellie what is this?" Sarah pointed to a circular scar just below her collar bone.

Ellie moved closer to inspect the scar, then gasped. "Is that a gunshot wound?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nine millimeter, four years ago in Bolivia. That's all I can say. What about this one?" Sarah unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down to reveal a scar that looked like an exclamation point above her hip bone.

"Looks like a stab wound."

"Stab wound. I was slashed, then stabbed. Three years ago in Tehran. This one?" Sarah pulled her jeans off completely and pointed to another circular scar on her calf.

"Another gunshot wound? What the fuck, Sarah? And what the fuck are those?" Ellie pointed to the small leather holster fastened around Sarah's ankle that held her hand polished throwing knives.

Sarah reached down and slid one of the blades out of the holster, while looking at Ellie. She then flipped the blade in the air, caught it, twirled it between her fingers, and then with a lightning quick flick of the wrist fired it across the room. Ellie gasped as the blade struck the Christmas advent calendar square in the center of the 25th box of the month. As Ellie looked from the calendar to Sarah in shock, the door opened and Carina stepped in and saw an almost naked Sarah Walker standing in front of Dr. Ellie Bartowski.

"Are we were doing Christmas physicals? If I'd known, I would have scheduled my appointment." Carina asked with a concerned expression as she saw the shock in Ellie's eyes and followed them to a knife embedded in the advent calendar. "Chuck was getting worried and asked me to come check on you. I see a knife was thrown, but now one seems to be bleeding, so are you guys ok?" A giggle escaped her lips at the strange scene before her.

"Come in and close the door, Carina." Sarah commanded, motioning for her to sit next to Ellie. "Carina, please tell Ellie what I did for a living."

Carina looked at Sarah confused for a moment then spoke. "Sarah is a cultural attaché for the US State Depart….." Sarah cut her off.

"No, Carina. Tell her what I really did. It's ok. I promise."

"You sure, Sarah?" Carina gave Sarah a pleading look, but Sarah nodded affirmatively urging her to speak freely.

"Ok. It's your funeral." Carina turned to Ellie. "Sarah is, excuse me, was, the CIA's top field operative for as long as I have known her, though I'm not quite sure how long she has been doing it because I can't quite square the math. We met about four years ago in Bolivia. I was working a case against a cartel, and things went about as wrong as you can imagine. And just when I thought it was all going to end badly, Sarah showed up and saved my life. She took a bullet saving me, and we have been friends since. No, that's not right. Sisters is probably better, or half-sisters or something. I've probably said too much, but I definitely can't say more."

Ellie was too stunned for words as she tried to reconcile how in the world two beautiful women could be involved in the kind of insanity they were describing. Then Sarah brought them back to focus.

"Thank you, Carina. And please stay, I want you to hear this as well. Some of this you already know, but not all of it, so the same rules apply to you. No one outside this room can ever know. Got it?" Carina nodded.

Sarah then went back and told Ellie the story of when she had to kill her partner and the existential crisis that hit her. She recounted, much to Carina's embarrassment, how she met Chuck, how they spoke, and ultimately connected on their lunch date. She expressed the depth of feelings she experienced in his arms only to have them shattered by a phone call that sent her on a dangerous mission, far from Chuck, and the devastating sense of loss she felt. She then went into some detail about the mission in Afghanistan, and when finished she picked her jeans up off the floor, reached into the back pocket, and pulled a heavily creased envelope with Chuck's name on it. She held it reverently for a moment, then handed it to Ellie.

"Ellie, I wrote this before we completed the mission. As I explained, it was extremely high risk, and for the first time in my life, I worried about not making it out alive. Because for the first time in my life, I had something to lose….someone to lose. I wrote this for Chuck, and handed it to a member of my support team with instructions to secretly to deliver it to him in case I didn't make it. I was going to give it to him tomorrow, as I've not had a chance to buy him a Christmas gift. Please read it."

Ellie took the letter, opened the envelope carefully unfolding the three pages of neatly written words. As she read, her eyes welled and tears started to fall freely. She twice had to stop to dry her eyes and quickly wipe the tears that fell on the paper. The moment Ellie finished, she slumped, gently folded the letters and set them on the bed next to her. She looked down at the floor for a moment, then sheepishly looked up at Sarah, and in a whisper, she spoke.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. You must hate me." Her voice trembled with emotion.

"Ellie, I don't hate you. How could I possibly hate the woman who made my Chuck all that he is? How could I hate you for trying to protect him? I Love him, Ellie. I love him with every fiber of my being, and I want all of him in my life, which includes you, and Devon, and Morgan." Sarah then pulled Ellie up into a hug.

"Are we good now, Ellie? Because I really need for us to be good." Sarah looked directly into Ellie's eyes.

"We're good, Sarah. Really good. And again, I'm so deeply sorry for going all "mama-bear" on you. I think we are going to be great friends. No, great sisters." She smiled timidly and re-embraced Sarah.

"Hey can I get in on the sister action?" Carina laughed as she slid into a group hug and all three women felt tears falling from their eyes. After a quiet moment, Ellie realized they had left the men alone for almost an hour. They took a minute to clean up their streaked mascara and straighten their hair, then the three emerged holding hands.

"There you are. I was getting worried about you guys," Chuck smiled tentatively while focusing his eyes on Sarah.

"We are all good, Chuck." Sarah smiled and winked at him.

"Better than good!" chimed in Ellie as she pulled both women in for an additional hug.

"Group hug….Awesome!" Devon shouted as he jumped up off the couch and joined the women followed by Chuck and Morgan.

"Oh my God, we've been gone so long the pies must be cold." Ellie moved to the table to discover that most of the pies and half the coffee had been polished off by the men. She turned and glared at Devon.

"Don't look at me, babe, I only had one slice of pecan pie. It was Morgan. He ate almost everything." Devon put his hands up defensively then pointed at Morgan.

"Et tu, Brutus…. Et tu." Morgan shook his head. "So much for the bro code, Devon….so NOT awesome!" Morgan exclaimed, breaking the tension and giving everyone a good laugh. Once the moment passed, the girls helped themselves to some coffee and dessert, and before anyone realized, it was time to call it a night. As the three couples bid each other Merry Christmas and good night, each knew there would be a lot of talking to happen before anyone got to sleep. Tomorrow was Christmas, and everyone agreed to arrive at noon, wearing sweats or comfy PJ's for a relaxed Bartowski Christmas.

= ! =

"Sarah, I'm so sorry. It didn't occur to me that Ellie would go off like that. I should have seen it coming, and I didn't. I'm sorry." Chuck spoke the moment they closed the door to his, no, their apartment.

"No apology necessary. I loved that she wanted to protect you, and that you immediately stood to defend me. Made me warm all over!" Sarah smiled seductively, then schooled her expression. "You know, it was a little uncomfortable, but it needed to happen, and I'm glad we talked it out right away. I mean what if Ellie had remained silent and harbored bad feelings. It would have effected your relationship with her, and therefore our relationship. So we had it out, and now we are in a good place."

"Can you tell me how you actually did it? What you said?" Chuck was desperate to know how Sarah was so deftly able to turn Ellie from the dark side. Then, over the next twenty minutes, Sarah regaled him with the story highlighting the more humorous elements like the physical, and Carina's intervention as Chuck alternated between laughing, shaking his head and smiling. Then he paused for a moment looking into Sarah's blue eyes.

"Sarah, can I read the letter?"

"Of course you can. I was going to give it to you as my gift, but it's yours, so." She reached into her back pocked and handed it to him. "Today was a lot for me, Chuck, so I'm going to take a shower and get ready for bed. You come join me when you are ready." She gave him a kiss and left Chuck in the living room holding the letter.

Chuck sat on the couch and carefully extracted the three handwritten pages. When he finished, he wiped his eyes, put the pages back in the envelope and placed the envelope on the dining room table. He then went to his, no, their bedroom. Sarah was still in the shower, so he disrobed, walked into the shower with glassy eyes, and kissed Sarah as deeply as he could. "I love you, Sarah. Don't ever leave me. Never leave me."

They made love all night long, and after a few short hours of sleep made love again in the morning. Their urges momentarily satisfied, they showered together, then dressed as a Bartowski Christmas required. Once dressed, Chuck made a quick egg, bacon and toast breakfast, which they enjoyed silently, stealing glances at each other as they ate.

"Sarah, I have something I want to give you, but I don't want to wait until we go to Ellie's." His eyes fixed on hers as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small black silk pouch. "This belonged to my mother, and it was her good luck charm. I was thinking that as we make our lives together, you can add charms for those special events, you know, like one for each baby, or one for…" Chuck caught himself. He hadn't intended to suggest they should be having children, but it innocently slipped out. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be intense or force anything, Sarah."

She gave him a warm smile. "Chuck, I love the idea. I'm not ready right now, I mean after all, we have so much to discover about each other first, but the idea of having children, having your children excites me….when the time is right."

"Right, Pffft. Of course, Sarah. When you're ready."

"Chuck?" Sarah put on her seductive voice and blinked her eyelids a few times. "Are you suggesting that you're ready now?" She loved her ability to make him freeze or spiral virtually on command.

"What? Yeah, I mean no. I mean I want kids. I definitely want kids with you, but I'm barely on to solid foods myself, and I'm a bit of a spaz, so I probably wouldn't trust myself with a goldfish. So no, not ready yet. I think. Yes, no. Not ready. I'll stop talking now."

Sarah leaned over and kissed him deeply. "What I think we are more than ready for is practicing how to make children." She winked as Chuck stood, threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to the bedroom for round three of their first Christmas together. They were snuggled together wrapped in the afterglow of their love making when Chuck's phone vibrated announcing a text message.

"SHE SAID YES! - MG"

Above the text was a selfie of a smiling Morgan and Carina with her hand proudly displaying her engagement ring. Chuck smiled and responded.

"CONGRATS YOU TWO. WE ARE OVER THE MOON FOR YOU. SEE YOU AT NOON. MERRY XMAS – CB"

"Who is that?" Sarah asked as Chuck gave her a warm smile and handed her his phone.

"Oh my God. If anyone told me that Carina was going to be engaged within six months, I would have bet everything against it. I guess there is something about you software geeks that remains the world's best kept secret, huh?" Sarah giggled.

"Nerds. We prefer nerds."

= ! =

At noon, Cuck and Sarah were warmly greeted at the door by Ellie, who gave Sarah an extra-long and tight hug. Less than five minutes later, Morgan and Carina arrived to the joint squeals of Ellie and Sarah as they raced to pull Carina aside, demanding to hear all the details of Morgan's proposal.

Sarah stepped back momentarily thinking to herself 'Did I just squeal and jump up and down? I don't squeal, and I certainly don't jump up and down clapping my hands like an overexcited thirteen year-old.' She looked over at Chuck who had pulled Morgan into a long and deep hug and it warmed her. Chuck sensed Sarah's eyes on him, and he turned to face her, locking eyes with her. The warmth she felt was overwhelming and undeniable. 'I guess I do squeal and jump up and down' she smiled inwardly and refocused on Carina's recounting of the engagement proposal.

After a few more minutes of congratulations and story-telling, the men and women regrouped around the table for a full Christmas breakfast. Once the table was cleared, the three couples moved to the living room area for the exchange of gifts. Given Sarah's last minute and surprise arrival, there were no presents under the tree for her. However, Ellie noticed Sarah consciously holding her wrist as the gifts were exchanged. Then as Sarah placed her mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table, Ellie saw it. Her mother's bracelet. It looked so right on Sarah. She looked lovingly at Chuck and Sarah, snuggled into each other, and a tear of joy escaped her eye.

"Are you ok, babe?" Devon asked, confused by the tear running down her cheek.

Ellie turned and pulled him into a hug. "I'm just so happy Devon. So impossibly happy. Merry Christmas baby. I love you." She gave him a kiss savoring the moment and what would become an ongoing Bartowski Christmas tradition.

After a few more minutes, the gift giving and subsequent cleanup of wrapping paper finished, the three couples settled in for a Bartowski movie marathon. Sarah remained snuggled into Chuck's side, enjoying the loving warmth he exuded. She had never felt safer or more comfortable. She let her eyes take in her surroundings and all she saw was family, and an undeniable feeling of…..love. She smiled to herself and snuggled deeper into Chuck who tightened his grip around her body. Christmas with the Bartowski's was magical. Christmas as a Bartowski must be even more so.

Once again, Sarah caught herself thinking in ways and about things as she never had before. She was turning into a real girl, Chuck's girl, and she had never been happier. 'Merry Christmas, Sarah!' she thought to herself before allowing her mind to relax and be completely sucked into the movie they were watching.

Two chapters to go...please let me know if you have enjoyed this chapter!