The Nerd Versus the P.I. Family

By Steampunk . Chuckster

A/N: Thanks again for reading and the reviews. And thanks for sticking with this one. As long as you're all game to keep going, I'm game to keep going.

Summary: Sarah Walker has uprooted her life, leaving her job with the LAPD and going it alone as a private investigator, all in the hopes it provides her with less dangerous stakes and a schedule she can control so that she can handle her most important job, raising her toddler, a bit easier. But when the single parent thinks her computer might've been targeted by a criminal, she has to request help from the unlikeliest of sources: The Buy More Nerd Herd.

Disclaimer: I do not own CHUCK, I do not own its characters, I am not making money from posting this.


"What are you so smiley about?"

Chuck finished his omelet, stifling the smile he hadn't realized was on his face as he ate. "Hm? What d'you mean?" he asked around his food.

Ellie gave him a glare for talking with his mouth full, and then shook her head. "Twenty-six plus years we've been siblings and you still try to circumvent my sisterly powers of being all-knowing and all-seeing."

He laughed, sipping his coffee. He loved Norma's diner. It was a staple of his and Ellie's lives growing up together. Norma taken them both under her wing in some ways, letting them do their homework in one of her booths, slipping them free food, especially breakfast, here and there when it seemed like they needed it. Or she sneakily undercharged them for what they'd ordered. They'd noticed every single time but neither of them had ever let her know.

They'd never told her their parents weren't around, and he was pretty sure she'd picked up on the fact that these two kids kept showing up without adults. They grew up walking in and out of her diner, the backpacks getting heavier, until the backpacks were ditched altogether, and instead of kids and teenagers, they were a doctor and a Buy More Nerd Herd area specialist. And not once had they shown up with anyone else, just the two of them, no parents, no adults.

Maybe she didn't guess all of it, their parents walking out, being absent, leaving them to fend for themselves, but she probably knew well enough that they were alone. And she was one of the only adults who didn't push, prod, or ask questions. Like she knew they could take care of each other. Hers was a quiet, non-intrusive protectiveness that he and Ellie would always be grateful for.

All of that being what it was, God, Norma's coffee was so good.

But … it wasn't as good as Sarah's had been last night.

He glanced towards the front counter and saw Norma chuckling with a customer sitting there, gathering her tip.

Sorry, Norma.

He would never tell her that, even if she might understand that a woman was involved.

"You do have powers and it's kind of creepy." She glared. "I said kind of."

"Either way, you're smiling a lot more than usual, which is saying something, and you also have bags under your eyes, so that's a little contradictory. I'll be really disappointed if it's video games, but I don't think it's that. You've done that before and you're usually just tired and grumpy. This is tired and happy. I'm having a hard time with this one."

He chuckled, but sobered up quickly and frowned. "I'm not grumpy after—Okay fine, maybe a little." She gave him a flat look. "Uhhh, maybe I just didn't sleep well last night. Think of that?"

Chuck hadn't slept well at all. He'd tossed and turned, thinking about all of it. Every last second of that date. And sure, some of it was spent agonizing over words he'd said instead of the words he should've said, wondering if he'd made a good impression, all of the usual doubting himself stuff that happened after a first date. But mostly, he was beside himself with just how good it had felt. The easy conversation, the laughter, the warmth. She was funny, and laughed at the things he said. She was smart, and easily the coolest person he'd ever met. A private investigator. A gumshoe. A private eye. So radical.

He'd spent the rest of the night and into the morning just lying there in bed staring at the ceiling with a massive grin on his face, wondering how in the hell he'd really just gone on a date with a private investigator. A real life Jessica Jones… Or maybe someone with less baggage. Laura Holt. Yeah.

Sarah was so cool.

And she kept filling his coffee last night, keeping him there in her apartment, at her table. Honestly, his bladder had been the biggest reason why he'd finally thrown in the towel and left.

Then on top of how long he stayed, there was the fact that she'd kissed him more than once last night.

He really had slept terribly. And it was so worth the exhaustion this morning.

"Why aren't you sleeping right? You having nightmares again, Chuck?" Ellie asked, a concerned look on her face.

He frowned a little and shook his head. "No, no. That hasn't been a problem for a while. It was just…you know, one of those things. We all have nights where we just can't seem to fall asleep."

Ellie gave him a dubious look. "Okay. Sure." She broke off a piece of her muffin and put it in her mouth. And when he reached over to break off his own piece, she slapped his hand. He still came away with a chunk and made a victorious sound as he put it in his mouth, smiling smugly as he chewed. "Why didn't you just order your own muffin, you ass?"

"I didn't want my muffin. I wanted to taste your muffin."

"It's the same blueberry muffin it's always been, jerk. You know exactly what it tastes like."

"Right, and that's why I wanted some. 'Cause I know it's good."

She glared, then smirked and shook her head, sipping her coffee. Something must have occurred to her then, because she slammed the mug back down onto the table with a clink. "The car!"

He jumped. "What? What car? What happened? Did somebody jack your car?" He whipped around in his booth to look out into the parking lot. No, both of their cars were still in the lot, parked right next to each other.

"No! Your car. I borrowed your car."

"Yeah, I … know. I gave you permission. Am I missing something?" he asked, blinking in confusion. What was going on with her?

She rolled her eyes. "You made a big point of letting me know you needed me to bring it back to you by yesterday afternoon. Like, a big point. You texted me three times about it."

Oh, boy. He was starting to put the pieces together, just like she was. "So?" he tried.

"So? Chuck, you don't do anything in your free time. You work and hang out with Morgan, but besides that, you just hang around at home. What did you need your car for? Hmmmm?"

He had a feeling she knew, but what she said occurred to him then and he sat up straighter. "Hey! I do stuff with people."

"Do you?" she asked in a flat voice. "Huh."

"You're a butthead."

"You're a butthead! What'd you need your car back so urgently for? Tell me." He just stared at her. "Tell me. You—" And then she gasped, sitting back against her chair, dramatically dropping her fork against her plate. "The constant smiling, the bags under your eyes…needing your car so super badly that you harassed me through text about it until I brought it back…"

"Harassed? Can you be more melodramatic? It was one text."

"Three. But okay." She waved that away with her hand and then leaned in to look at him steadily. "Chuck Bartowski, did you…go on a date last night?"

God, she was good. Granted, they were an hour in on their sibling breakfast. But the only real hint he'd given her was maybe smiling too much.

Chuck pursed his lips innocently. "Whaaaaat? Nnnnooooooo…" But the smile snuck onto his features even as he responded to her.

"No!" She reached across the table and slapped his forearm about five times in excitement, a grin exploding onto her pretty face. "You did! You went out with a woman last night!"

"Well, I didn't go out with a man. You'd know by now if that was the situation."

"Oh, I would've known that immediately. Please. My gaydar is expert. I would've known before you even figured it out."

Chuck made a face. "I have to give that to you. You probably would."

"There were moments when I thought…maybe…" She wrinkled her nose and he reared his head back with a confused sound. "Your whole Indiana Jones kick when you were fourteen was a liiiiiittle…"

"Oh come on. It's Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford. Gay or straight, man, woman, nonbinary, doesn't matter. Indiana Jones is objectively hot."

She giggled. "Okay true, I'm just saying…there were moments."

"Uh, this from the woman who made sure to sit all close to the TV whenever Morgan and I watched Xena."

"I wanted to be her, not do her—You know what? Stop deflecting! You really did go out on a date last night?"

"Yeah, I did." He chuckled as she shook her finger at him, a proud look on her face. "And I did it all by myself, sis."

"You did. I'm very proud." She leaned her elbow on the table. "So that's why you invited me out to breakfast…"

"What? No. I can't just invite my sister to breakfast because I miss our one on one hang out time?"

"Fine, it's both."

"It's both." He laughed, tossing a piece of hash brown into his mouth and chewing.

"Why didn't you lead with this important information? I almost didn't come because I wanted to sleep in." His jaw fell open, offended. "Sorry, brother. I love you dearly, but…my bed was very comfortable this morning. As was the man in the bed—"

"Nope. Don't like the turn this has taken."

Ellie laughed at him, shaking her head. "Okay, so what's her name?" She made a thoughtful face. "That's weird. I just realized in situations like this, our first inclination is to ask what the person's name is, like it makes any kind of difference. It literally doesn't matter, though. Huh!"

"Veraminta," he said after a moment's thought.

She blinked. "What?"

"Her name is actually Sarah, but I wanted to see your reaction if it was a really weird, ugly-sounding name. So I guess the name does matter after all, doesn't it, dear sister?" He gave her a look like he'd won.

"Where the hell did you even get that na—You know what? I don't care. Her actual name you said is Sarah?"

He chuckled. "It's Sarah."

"I like her already," Ellie gushed, propping her chin on her palm. "Where did you meet this Sarah? Oh God, Morgan didn't introduce you, did he?" A look of horror came over her face and he didn't appreciate it.

"You're mean."

"I'm just joking. You know I'm just joking." There was a pause. "But he didn't…right?"

"No! He didn't."

"Oh, good."

He glared, then took a moment to collect his thoughts. He had a lot of them to collect.

Because when he met Sarah Walker, private eye, it was on the job. And not just his job, but hers too. His propensity to jump to movie-like scenarios aside, her career choice did have a dangerous element to it, especially since he had confirmation that she worked alongside both the DA's office and the LAPD. And he imagined she'd prefer he keep the things she told him and the things he saw to himself. Even from his sister. As tough as that would be.

He couldn't tell Ellie the details, so he'd have to figure out how to talk around said details.

"I got a phone call at the Nerd Herd desk the other day and this woman was calling for tech help. She was acting kind of cagey about why she needed the help and it got me super interested in the job, so I took it instead of sending Lester because I wanted to know what in the hell was going on there…"

"You took a job, driving by yourself to someone's place, even when they sounded cagey. In Los Angeles, California. Again… by yourself."

"Um…" He pressed his lips together. "Yes. Yes, I did."

"Oh, to be a man."

She had a point, but she got a look for it nonetheless. "ANYWAY," he emphasized, "you know how my job gets. It's kinda dull, you know? I go to some accounting office to set up their WiFi, I act as a liaison between the Buy More and big corporations who need tech help, blah blah…"

"Remember the days when you literally just sat at that Nerd Herd desk all day long trying to build circuitboards out of stuff you found in your pocket protector?"

He gave her a sassy look for that. "Hey, I'm not saying it's as bad as it was, I'm just trying to give you context. Do you wanna hear or not?" She held up her hands in surrender and mimed zipping her mouth shut, sipping her coffee, an innocent look on her face. He shook his head. "This sounded kind of interesting, especially since she didn't seem to want to tell me what was wrong over the phone. I super wanted to know what she was holding back. So I went to the address she gave me, and I got up there and it was some kind of agency. I assumed it was an employment agency at first, and then this woman was there, and she…" He smiled dreamily. "Ellie, when I tell you she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life…"

"Pretty, huh?"

"Oh, gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. The most gorgeous… I mean, just—"

"Is she gorgeous?" Ellie asked, giggling at the flat look he sent her. "And that's who you went out on a date with?"

"Yes, but—But wait. Stop jumping to the end. There's build up, okay? Let me build it up."

"Fine, fine," she chuckled. "I just saw where it was going."

"I know. But just…let me do this." She zipped again. "Because it turns out it wasn't an employment agency. The gorgeous woman who was there when I walked in, ended up being a private investigator, Ellie. It was a P.I.'s office. She was the P.I.! And I-I helped her with her computer problem, and we hit it off, and I asked her out on a date. What's that look on your face? I swear to God, I'm telling the truth. This isn't a TV show I had on late last night and I didn't dream this whole thing."

He was sure he hadn't. He'd pinched himself a lot just to make sure.

Ellie shook her head and gave him an annoyed look. "I know you're not lying. You have an overactive imagination, but I don't think even you could dream up that lie. You went out on a date with a private investigator…" she enunciated slowly.

"Yeeees…" He wasn't sure where this was going.

"And you actually survived the date?" He blinked. "I mean, you didn't just combust on the spot?"

Oh.

He cracked up and held his hands out to the side. Ellie Bartowski knew her brother all too well. "Yep. Are you proud of me or what? I came close once or twice. I won't lie. Isn't that the coolest thing, though? I mean, she solves mysteries! As her job!"

"And she went out with you!"

"Okay, hey, hey. Whoa now."

They laughed together and she reached across the table to take his hand. "So it was a good date, then? That's why all the smiling—Oh wait God no, I just put together the bags under the eyes plus the smiling dear God I don't want to know."

"EW! Ellie, come on!"

"Ew gross I don't want to know," she rushed on, pressing her fingers to her forehead, a look of agony on her face.

"You freakin' weirdo. That isn't why… That's not why I didn't sleep, okay? Jesus Christ. I didn't sleep because I was thinking about the date and my mind was going a mile a minute." He gave her an annoyed look. "God."

"Oh. Oh, okay. I mean, if you had—That's great for you, Charles Irving, but I don't need to know about my baby brother—"

"Nope."

"—and his sexual exploits."

"Fuuuuck me. Ellie, you're sounding more like Captain Awesome every day. Can you please spend less time with him?"

"No. I cannot."

He sighed. "Okay, that's fair."

"So were they good thoughts you were thinking? You were kept awake because it was a good date, I hope…"

"El, it was great. I can't tell you just how great. I mean, I felt this…" What? Could he even put it to words? "I don't know, things clicked when I was in her office helping her with her laptop." He was purposely as vague as possible about that. "The conversation was easy and it just felt good talking to her. I wanted to know more about her."

"Well, yeah, she's working your dream job."

"Twelve year old Chuck's dream job, thank you."

"It's still your dream job."

"Okay, maybe. One of them. She's just… She's a good person and she's so brilliant. And funny. And I already told you this, but I really need to emphasize just how stunning she is."

Ellie giggled. "I'm so glad. I am very proud of you, that you worked up the guts to ask her out on a date in the first place. Good work, Chuck."

He shrugged, feeling a glow in his chest from seeing the genuine pride on his big sister's face. He knew this was important to her, that she worried about him ever since his college girlfriend dumped him right on his head and left him in tatters.

"Thanks, sis. Pretty proud of myself too, not gonna lie. She's better than anyone I could've dreamed up, I think."

His sister's green eyes sparkled as she smiled at him. "And she's coming over for dinner immediately so I can meet her." Chuck's face must have shown abject panic because she burst into laughter, thrusting a hand out placatingly. "I was kidding. Oh my God, Chuck. You must like her; you went white as a sheet. Don't worry." She held up her hands. "We'll talk about that when everyone is ready. But she sounds…"

"Radical?"

"I was going to say…responsible. Grown up."

God, Ellie really had no idea. Not only was she responsible, she was responsible…for a child. A two and a half year old little boy named Max to be precise. That was something he'd have to work into the conversation at some point. He really wasn't sure what Ellie's response would be to the fact that the woman he'd just described to her was a single parent.

"She is both of those things. But hey! So am I!"

"I know you are. That's why you deserve that in the woman you're with."

Chuck's eyes popped. "Whoa. Hey now. Simmer down there, El. One date. I've only been on one date with her. I'm not…with her. Don't put that kind of bad joojoo on this."

"Bad jooj—I'm not saying it," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I almost got you to, though."

"Whatever you need to cling to, brother. How am I jinxing it by saying you're with—?"

"Shh! Shhhhh!" Chuck gave his sister a pointedly critical look. "I'm trying to set up a second date with this woman, okay? Putting expectations on this whole thing is the last thing I need."

"Why? Didn't you say she's great? Radical? Stunning? Like, you want to be with her, don't you?"

Chuck couldn't explain it if he tried, but something about Ellie labeling this thing between him and Sarah made him feel nervous, even unconsciously. He'd gone on one date with her. He'd like a second, and a third, and…

He really just didn't want expectations, especially in his own mind. And Ellie had a real knack for giving him expectations about things. He trusted her more than anyone else in his entire life, and there was precedent for that. He couldn't let expectations settle in his mind, though, because that was asking for trouble.

"Yes," he said. "But it isn't that simple."

"Oh God," she groused, rolling her eyes. "I love you, Charles Irving, but sometimes you can be so melodramatic. You're twenty-six years old. It isn't the end of the world if you just…date someone and enjoy being with them without overthinking every last thing about it. Just have fun."

It wasn't as simple as she was making it out to be, and she didn't know that because she didn't know that Sarah Walker had a son. And that made just enjoying this and having fun with her a bit more difficult, didn't it? He couldn't just pop by and take her out to dinner spontaneously. He couldn't call and invite her out on a date and expect an immediate answer, because she had a child relying on her. And he wondered how different being in any kind of relationship, but especially a romantic one, might be for a single parent. He couldn't even begin to know how things were for her.

"I did. I-I mean, I am. But it isn't…the same." She furrowed her brow in confusion. "I mean, this is different from…Jill."

"Right, because Jill was a piece of shit and this girl sounds nice." Chuck gave his sister a flat look. "What? Don't give me that look. Fuck her." Ellie's eyes darted to the side and widened. Chuck followed her gaze and saw an elderly woman frowning at his sister while sitting across from a smirking kid who had absolutely heard Ellie's colorful language. "S-Sorry," she breathed, before giving Chuck an oops look.

He chuckled and then he sobered, taking a deep breath. "No, I mean, it isn't like Jill or any of the other women I've gone out with. Okay? She's different." Ellie propped her chin on her palm, her elbow leaning on the table, and she pouted a little, smiling. "No, El, I mean really different. She has different priorities. I mean, she has to. And that's why this second date is—What I mean is, it's gonna be harder."

"Why? Did she not have a good time or something? Do you have some persuading to do? Should I talk to her?" He glared at the teasing look she gave him to accompany her annoying ribbing.

"No." He crossed his arms at his chest and looked away. "She told me to call her. And if I didn't, she said she would call me."

Ellie sat back against her chair and crossed her own arms to mimic his position. "Really? Keep talking. The more you tell me about her, the more I think I'm really going to like this…Sarah."

Chuck smirked, his nerves fading to the back of his mind for a moment. "You will like her." Then he gave her a look. "Eventually. When I get to that point." He huffed then. "If."

Ellie growled in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why are you acting like it's over before you even get to a second date, Chuck? When she is obviously interested in more in a way other women haven't been." He looked at her, offended, and she winced. "Not all of them," she added weakly.

"Rude," he groused. "It's just that she's…incredible, Ellie. And I really like her. She's not like anyone else I've ever dated, though. Like, really not like them."

"Well, that's good news."

"You set me up with half of them!"

"That is not true. Two at the most."

"Three."

"Fine, three." She rolled her eyes. "What's your point?"

"She…has something the other women don't have."

"Ooookaaaay," she drawled dubiously. "And what's that?"

Well, here goes…

"A son." Ellie's eyes snapped open and she just stared at him. "A two and a half year old son, to be exact."

Ellie was silent for a good fifteen seconds. And then she muttered, "Actually, Lila has an eight month old son. Right after her date with you, she met her soul mate, they got married, and now she has a son. So what you said…it-it isn't exactly true."

Chuck frowned. "Wh-What? Wait. Really? Lila had a baby? Wait. Wait, right after her date with me? There can't really be a correlation there."

"Oh, there isn't. I just didn't say that in the nicest way. Chuck!" He jumped at the way she snapped his name so suddenly. And then she leaned across the table, talking through tight lips. "You're dating someone with a kid?"

"Technically he's still a toddler. Erm…"

"Chuck…"

"What do you want me to say? I didn't know about him the entire time I was in her office and then I found this…toy block thing on the floor and said something about how nice it was that she had stuff for her clients' children, and she said it was for her child, and I about fainted." Ellie just pressed her lips together. "I cannot tell you how upset I was. I'd felt this chemistry between us and the whole time, she was married and had a freaking child."

Ellie nearly fell out of her chair, then hissed, "She's married?"

"No! I just thought she was at that moment! When I found out she had a kid! And I left the place without asking for her number and then I realized…like, what kind of an idiot am I that I'd walk out of there without at least making sure first?"

He couldn't read the look on Ellie's face. "So she's a single parent…"

"She is. I went back, found out she's not married, that she's single, and I asked her out."

His sister sighed and smiled a little. "It's all clicking now, I guess. What you said about it not being that simple…" She paused. "Are you rethinking a potential…relationship with her because she has a child?"

Chuck shook his head vehemently. Then he paused and realized how much he meant that. And he shook his head again, slowly this time. "I'm not. At all."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "Sorry," she said wincing. "I realize how that sounded now. It's just that…dating someone who already has a kid…doesn't seem like something you'd be particularly…" She nibbled on her lip. "…into."

"It isn't something I ever thought about much. If at all. Which I guess is sort of naïve, considering plenty of people have kids around my age."

"Oh, sure they do. But…"

"I know. Not something I saw coming. I didn't see Sarah coming. At all. But she did and she knocked me right onto my ass, El. Flat on my ass." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Setting up a second date with her is gonna mean…I dunno…" He shook his head.

"Deciding you want to date a single parent?"

"No, I've decided. I want to see her again. I really, really do. But I can't just call her up and say 'Let's get dinner tonight!' because she needs to find a sitter for him. And that's not so easy. So actually getting on that date is gonna be a little more difficult."

"You're really doing this…"

"Whatever happened to 'Just enjoy and have fun without overthinking?'" he asked wryly.

"It ran into a giant brick wall shaped like a two year old boy," she replied with an extra amount of dryness to her voice.

He had to give her that.

He sighed.

"He's cute." Ellie tilted her head. "Yeah, I met him. I picked her up last night and he was there with her friend who babysat. He's really, really cute. And she seems like a good mom which is why she made no promises about the second date being…soon."

Ellie stared for a few long seconds. And then she shook herself.

"This is nuts. Like, are you sure?"

He hadn't really expected this, honestly. He'd expected her to be ecstatic he had gone on a date with someone she hadn't literally shoved him onto. But if he really thought about it, a two and a half year old was kind of a big deal and he was sure that was what his sister was thinking about.

She wasn't wrong to think about that. He'd been thinking about it a lot too.

"Yeah. El, she's really…something else."

She smiled at him then, after a long unreadable look. And then she cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "Well." Her hand closed over his and she squeezed his fingers in hers. "Then you've got me in your corner. Get yourself that second date, though. And if you really want to do this, one thing I will say—just for a little unsolicited advice because it's what I do—is that you need to take that little boy seriously. Take the fact that she's a mother seriously." He gave her a questioning look. "Because she does," she explained. "It sounds like she takes it very seriously. If she's a good mom, at least. You're right about what you said earlier. This is going to be different, and you need to come to terms with it. Kind of ASAP. Especially with how young her son is? You're going to be dating more than just a nice, stunning woman. She's a nice, stunning woman…" she paused dramatically, "…who has priorities different from yours, and you'll have to be understanding in the future if you get sidelined."

Chuck pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. "You're right. I've thought about that. I'm just…trying to get a second date at this point, though. The rest of it… Well, I guess we'll see." He smiled at his sister and leaned in. "Thanks for the candidness, sis. I do get it. This is different."

"You ready for different?"

"I'm ready for her."

Ellie smiled, and it grew slowly, until she was beaming. "I can see that. Step lightly, brother. There's an extra sparkle in those eyes of yours. It's been a long time since I've seen that."

"I believe it," he said, chuckling.

They sipped their coffee together, a comfortable silence between them. And Chuck let his big sister's truth bombs settle in his gut. He let them percolate. This was different. And he'd have to understand and come to terms with it. In every sense.

}o{

Casey looked up from Zondra's computer screen as she approached, and Zondra's gaze followed.

Sarah Walker took a deep breath and straightened her spine, lifting her chin. She hadn't seen any of her former peers since she turned over the jump drive with the copy of the keystroke logger and came clean about what the I.T. guy found. Sure, she wasn't kicked off the team, but she was on shaky ground. She felt it in the way Casey and Zondra exchanged a look.

"Walker."

"Hey," she said, stopping at Zondra's desk. "You do analysis on what I gave you off of my laptop yet?"

Casey pushed to his full height and nodded. "Yeah. We aren't exactly done yet, but whoever you got to do this work did good work. But let's continue this discussion behind an extra door."

As he walked away, Zondra raised her eyebrows at Sarah and pushed up to her feet, leading the way into the small conference room where they'd set up their case board.

Sarah didn't want either of them knowing that she'd filled Chuck in on even the smallest details of the case, so as she shut the door behind her, she said, "The guy who took it off of my laptop and put it on that jump drive said there are people who can trace where to find where the logger originated. I don't know if your guys have that kind of skill or what, but…it sounded like it could be a lead."

Casey shook his head. "Whoever did it was good. Really good. This wasn't some random dickhead they found in his grandma's basement. It's someone seasoned. Someone who does this shit all the time, and for people like…the guy we're most likely after. But don't worry, I've maybe got someone who can track 'em down. If it's possible."

Sarah nodded. "So what you're saying is so far we got nothing out of this except fucked." She made a fist at her side and slammed it onto the nearby table.

"Whoa, Walker. I get the anger, but what'd the table do to you?" Casey snarked.

She sent him a glare, missing the searching look on Zondra's face as she surveyed her. "I can't believe this shit," she groused. "I mean, how did I let this happen? They got one over on me."

"Technically it was a little more than just one, considering all the docs they got eyes on." When she glared again, Casey smirked. "But we can lump it all together and call it one if it makes you feel better."

Sarah decided to ignore John Casey for the time being. If she lashed out at him, that put her already fledgling connection to this case in even more danger, and she couldn't afford that.

Literally.

She needed this money.

"Stop acting like this shit hasn't happened to all of us, Captain," Zondra said. "These bastards get the one up on us all the time. You know that, too, Sarah. Hitting tables, being a sarcastic jerk, none of that does shit. What does shit is…actually doing shit." She made an annoyed face and crossed her arms. "Whatever, you get what I mean."

"You're right," Sarah said, pointing at the police detective. She was grateful for the slightly awkward but sincere attempt from Zondra to steer things back to the case. "Do we know how they gained access to my laptop, at least? Have we gotten that information?"

"It was done remotely, we know that much," Casey said with a shrug.

Yeah, Chuck had already figured that one out.

"Which makes us think they'll try to do it again."

Was this the look she'd seen pass between Captain Casey and Det. Rizzo when she first arrived a few minutes earlier? They were cutting her off of the case, or at least making the unilateral decision not to let her access their files anymore. Which was essentially the same thing.

"The I.T. guy who got that keystroke logger off of my laptop and copied it for the LAPD to analyze wrote up instructions to keep it from happening again. I've already done a check on my laptop twice since the other day when he did the work. I did it this morning even. They're the instructions I sent you, Casey."

"Yeah, I got the fax. He's right. We all need to keep a close eye on our devices. The point Rizzo's making here is that…" He paused, a long pause, a long pause that made her think this was probably it. She had to steel herself. "We think we're dealing with a bigger player than we assumed at first."

Sarah blinked. And then she moved to sit on the edge of the table she'd just punched. "Bigger player than we…? We assumed pretty big," she said, eyes widening.

"Exactly," Zondra said, shrugging. "Bigger than that."

A thrill went through her, and not exactly in a good way. "Like…government big? Politician power player?"

"Maybe that. Maybe the banks. Something big like that."

"Shit," she breathed. "Does that mean bringing in the feebs?"

"I've got an agent's ear but they won't get involved unless we find something concrete enough for them to deem it necessary to come in on the case."

"So we find something concrete," Sarah said resolutely, pushing to her feet again. "I hate to say this 'cause we hate the FBI, but…we need their big guns, so to speak." She turned to look at the board. "The guy you had arrested was dealing in insurance fraud, right?"

"That's right."

"We dig deeper on him, bring in his contacts, everyone he ever did business with, we find out every little thing he did in his free time, where he went, who he was with. There has to be something more to this. If he's just a smaller player in a massive game, we need to find out who his contact was, whoever worked over him, and then we'll find who that guy worked for, and work our way up to the top."

"Thing is, Walker, that's…that's the idea we've got too. But I was just thinking about how big this could get and, um, well with Max and all…" Casey shut up the second she turned blazing hot anger on him. "Or not."

"It's already dangerous, Casey. You don't think I don't know that? That I haven't weighed the danger? That I'm not constantly thinking about my son when I take risks? Signing on with the LAPD as a contract P.I.? Helping the DA's office? These fuckers hacked onto my laptop, they invaded my privacy, they got access to things I had no intention of letting anyone else see. I'm going to be here when they're brought in and locked up, and I'm talking about who hacked my laptop all the way to whoever the powerful honcho bastard is running this thing, whatever it is." She took a deep breath and unclenched her jaw. "Sorry," she breathed then. "I know you mean well. But I can take care of my son. And I can do my job. Both."

"We know you can," Zondra said. "Let's focus on figuring out more on Travers, since we already have him in custody. And the hacking shit is still a lead. We're gonna get our guy on that, stat. For the time being, Walker, I want you to come with me."

Sarah took a deep breath, glaring at the board, wanting anything to stick out to her. Anything at all. Sometimes that had worked back in her LAPD days. It didn't work this time, though, as she felt Zondra give her arm a tug.

"Where you going? We got a case," Casey groused as they went to the office door without him.

"Girl talk," Zondra said over her shoulder.

}o{

Sarah landed the blow solidly, sending the other woman crashing to the pads beneath them. She winced. "Shit. Sorry."

Zondra just laughed, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with her glove to make sure she wasn't bleeding. She wasn't. "Jesus Christ, you still got it."

Smirking, she reached down to help the brunette detective up to her feet. "Yeah, I know." She glanced at the clock on the wall. They'd been at this for half an hour. Zondra had let her borrow some clean gym clothes, they'd gone down into the training room beneath the ground floor of the precinct, and had been sparring ever since. "Thanks for this, Z. I, uh, needed it."

"Yeah, I could tell. Girl, your tension has tension."

Rolling her eyes, she jabbed at Zondra, letting her block it. Then she jabbed again, a lot lighter this time, before she brought her other glove around to swipe across her face. Zondra was good, and fast, and she ducked it cleanly.

"I know. The fact that they were able to get to me so easily has me on edge. And pissed." She took a step back and thumped the gloves together, shifting her feet, hopping a few times to keep loose.

"Well, yeah… They got into a place that's private. It's invasive. Intrusive. Those hacker assholes get off on that shit. Making people feel powerless and violated. That's the only way they can get it up."

"Jesus," Sarah groused, frowning at Zondra. "That's disgusting."

"What? It's true. Probably." Zondra swiped at her and Sarah stepped back to dodge. "I get how you're feeling right now. It's a shit feeling. Especially since you have a kid. But you made this decision to keep your feet in this business. And like you said, you made your choice to start that agency with your eyes wide open. So now—"

"What, so now I have to deal with the consequences?"

"That isn't what I was gonna say. Jesus, let me finish my sentence."

Zondra landed a blow and Sarah staggered a bit with a grunt. That was probably gonna leave a bruise on her jaw, she thought. Damn. Oh well.

"Okay, finish your sentence. I'm listening." She thrusted her arms out to the side as if saying go ahead then.

"So now you deal with it. You strap the fuck in, look this case in its eyes, and say 'Not fucking today' and you kick its ass."

Sarah snorted, smiling at the detective. "I like the way your brain works. A little intense, but effective."

Zondra smirked and shrugged. "That's my middle name."

"Zondra 'A little intense but effective' Rizzo," Sarah chuckled.

"Exactly." She pointed as well as she could with her glove on, and then she came at Sarah fast. It surprised the private investigator, but she held her own, putting up a series of blocks, ducking a roundhouse, and then giving Zondra a push to her stomach to force her a few feet back. "Nice, Walker."

Sarah shrugged modestly and got back to business. "And Max?"

"Cap got under your skin with that, huh?"

"A little. Maybe." She shrugged. Then she let her arms go limp at her sides, standing down altogether. "Am I a terrible mother?"

Zondra lowered her fists too and shook her head. "You're a person. You're a P.I. and your job is dangerous. Detective Platt has five kids, for fuck's sake. His wife pops out one a year just about, and you don't hear anybody wondering if maybe he's in the wrong line of work for a dad. Nobody calls him a terrible dad." Sarah raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. That was a really good point. "Can you protect Max? Can you keep him safe?"

"Of course I can. He's never been in danger. I've always kept him out of my cases."

"See? How easy is that?" Sarah tried to punch her but she blocked, smirking. "Almost got me with that one."

"Z, they saw things nobody else was supposed to see. I keep that laptop with me at all times practically for that exact reason, to keep it from being stolen, to keep the important information on there from getting into the wrong hands. And they managed it anyway. I don't even know where they were or how they got in. I only know it was remotely, and that's so much scarier. They didn't even have to steal the device or get near it. Shit! What else can they get into? I'm…"

"Vulnerable?"

Sarah didn't want to admit that. But it sent chills through her hearing Zondra say it.

"Look, you just take care of that cute fuckin' kid, okay? That's all I'm saying. Don't get your head so wrapped up in this that you slip up where he's concerned. I know! I know he's your first priority, that you won't do that. But… step lightly, I guess is all I'm saying. Proceed with caution." She blew some hair out of her face that escaped her messy ponytail. "That's something all of us have to do now. If this player is as big as we fear they are, we're all in some danger. We all have to be careful who we trust and who we talk to."

It took a while for Sarah to realize they were both just standing there on the mat awkwardly, and she finally shook herself and nodded. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right."

And she unleashed a fury of attacks that Sarah had to beat back, distracting the P.I. away from her thoughts about what that meant for other aspects of her life, specifically the date she'd just gone on the night before.

It wasn't until she got into her car an hour later and sat there that she was able to really think on the words Zondra had said. This might be a big player, perhaps elected official in the government big. For an insurance fraud racket? What was the missing piece there?

Whatever it was, things were a lot more dangerous with this case than she'd thought. But she couldn't pull out now. She had to be careful, and Zondra was right, she also had to tackle this case as a private investigator operating at her absolute best.

She needed her head in the game.

The only thing was, Sarah Walker didn't know what would happen to everything else if she narrowed her focus to include Max and this case. It wasn't lost on her what "everything else" was—or who everything else was. A pair of amber-colored eyes, dark brown curly hair, a brain that could take out a criminal hacker, and a ready smile.

They'd only gone on one date together so far, an incredible date, and she was still wondering if Chuck Bartowski would be a distraction, a gift, or… She didn't know.

She started her car, wondering what to do about it. If she even should do anything about it. He hadn't texted or called her since he'd left her apartment the night before.

She took a deep breath and left the precinct lot, slowly guiding her car around the city, stressing over her priorities, her responsibilities, and the possibility of fulfilling all of that while also having what she wanted. The odds felt stacked against her. And she moved her hand to her phone and held it for a while before she finally dialed the number.


A/N: That's some girl talk.

Please review. Thanks!

-SC