A/N: I finished my last workshop yesterday...so let's see if we can get this story going. I have to admit, there's a line in here I stole from my therapist. Is that bad, in therapy, your therapist says something to you and your first thought is, Man, that is SOOOOOO Sarah Walker... yeah, probably is. I give you Ch 7, Too Much Baggage.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

"Enjoy," Sarah said to the group of male teenagers, leaving with their wieners-on-a-stick. She gave one of them an evil-eye that tried to hang back, getting a better look at her. He scurried out the door, almost crashing into the tall drink of water that entered the Weinerlicious.

"Hey," Chuck said, to the kid that took off. "What's with him?"

"I may have given him a look that stated how I felt about him gawking at me," Sarah replied. Chuck moved his hand up to cover his eyes. Sarah chewed on her bottom lip for a split second, and then blurted out with a voice coated with honey, "Chuck, I don't mind you gawking." Chuck lowered his hand, his face in shock. "In fact, I've never seen you gawk."

"I try to be respectful," Chuck admitted, shrugging.

"So, if you're not here to gawk, are you here for lunch, or…?"

Chuck narrowed his eyes at her. "What all does this 'or' entail?"

She grinned at him, and leaned down, her elbows on the counter. "Guess that's up to you," she said softly. Chuck leaned down and matched her pose. "Assuming I agree, of course."

"I was thinking maybe dinner," Chuck began.

"So far, so good," Sarah replied.

"Maybe a little dancing," he added.

"Continue," Sarah encouraged.

"Ending with a night on the beach, watching the waves crash in," Chuck finished.

Sarah was silent. She looked down at her hands and then back up at him. "No," she said softly. "You forgot the part where I tell you about my past."

Chuck shrugged. "I told you whenever, or never."

Her hands took his. "Tonight," she said softly. "On the beach, and then…"

"And then we can watch the waves crash in," Chuck replied, with a shrug.

"Chuck," she began.

"Sarah, I get it, you were a CIA agent," Chuck began.

"I was, and am, more than that," she said, looking down at her hands, sadly.

"Tell me about it," Chuck said, the tone a little breathless. She looked up at him. "You are so much more than your past, whatever it is. But please remember, all I care about is what's in you, in your heart. The woman that is now a mother and didn't have to be."

"I had to be," Sarah insisted. "I couldn't…" she trailed off, not knowing how to express what she felt.

"I know you had to be, but you didn't… do you understand what I mean? Because I barely do."

"I understand what you think you mean, but you're wrong," she said with a grin.

"I'm not," he said, squeezing her hands, and then heading for the door. "Tonight, it's… a date."

"How many is this?" she asked.

"Not enough, by my count," Chuck answered, and he was gone. A smile was on Sarah's lips, until she thought about all she had to tell him tonight. At least she'd get one last enjoyable evening with him, until it wasn't.

}o{

"You know, when I take someone to my favorite restaurant and dance club, it's kind of a big thing," Chuck said, watching the waves collide with the beach. Sarah turned to him, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm really sorry, Chuck, it's just that I'm…" She trailed off, and blinked away tears. She felt him take her hand.

"What is it, Sarah? I promise, you can trust me."

"I'm scared, damn it," she spoke in a tone just above a whisper. She raised her head and watched the waves crash onto the beach. "I'm scared that I'm going to be alone. I'm scared that I don't know how to live this life."

"Sarah, have I ever given you a reason to think I'd leave?"

"But you haven't heard the whole truth," she said, wiping her eyes. "I have so much baggage…"

"Maybe I could be your baggage handler," Chuck said softly. She turned to him, a smile on her face, tears in her eyes. "Tell me. Unburden yourself."

So, she told him. The life of crime her father lived, the acts that she committed with him. She told him of scams, of broken bones because of those acts. She told him of the girl scout scam, the Salvation Army scam at Christmas. She told him how he was arrested, and she came into the CIA. And she told him how Graham had used her, to make her his personal weapon, to eradicate people. She told him of all the bloody missions. And then she told him about Bryce and how they became the Andersons, and how they were the perfect spy couple… until they weren't. She told him about Ryker and how she had to kill him to protect Molly, about how she'd resigned from the CIA, and then how she reconnected with her mom and ran over a cute curly-headed nerd-herder.

When she finished, she looked at him. He was absolutely silent, and she couldn't get a read on him. She swallowed, then asked the question:

"So, how about it, Chuck? Will you be my baggage handler?"

He sat there quietly for a bit, then began to shake his head. "No," he said softly.

She stared at him, stunned. She nodded slowly. It's what she should have expected. It's what she deserved. She started to speak, when he did. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I won't be your baggage handler, because it's not your baggage." She looked at him, confusion on her face.

"Sarah, you're carrying around sins of your father, sins of your Director, sins of your partner, sins of your handler, and they're not yours. You're carrying around so much baggage, and none of it belongs to you. You don't need a baggage handler. You need to let it go. It's not yours to carry, and the weight of it is dragging you down. You need to accept that your father made you do things you shouldn't."

"But I knew-" she began.

"Sarah, your father pressured you. I'm not saying you're 100 percent absolved from everything, but you don't own 95 percent of the responsibility you're carrying." Sarah stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.

"But I've killed people," she insisted.

"At the direction of your boss, who is the head of the CIA might I add, and I'm going to bet you didn't kill anyone you didn't think deserved it."

She looked out over the water. "No one deserved it," she said softly.

"Fine, I worded that poorly, as well," he began.

"You're right," she said, not looking at him, shamed. "There were five I didn't terminate, and showed the Director they didn't deserve their termination order. But only five."

"And the rest?" Chuck asked.

"The worst of the worst," she said softly.

"Sarah, while taking their life is awful, how many of those would have killed innocents if you hadn't?"

She blinked away the tears. "I-I have no idea, all of them I suppose." She turned to him. "But, Chuck-"

"Sarah they were bad people, that would have been killed by another agent if you hadn't. You saved the lives of innocents. I get you feel like blood is on your hands… but I promise you, there are people out there that will never know that they had a superhero save them."

"I'm no superhero," she said, shaking her head.

"Tell that to Molly," Chuck countered. She whipped her head toward him. "You told me how you saved her; if that's not a superhero, I don't know what is."

"Chuck," she began to argue again.

"And as for Bryce… that guy is a moron to let go of one of the most amazing women I've ever met," Chuck continued, refusing to let her beat herself up.

"I wasn't exactly invested in that relationship," she admitted.

"I've got news for you, Sarah," Chuck began. "There are a lot of men and women that enter relationships and aren't all that invested. There are a lot of people that have a relationship that's convenient. People are social creatures, and they become lonely, and God, your job… who are you going to date? Who can you say, 'Hey, honey, did you have to kill anyone tonight? Did you have to steal that thingy?'"

"I've never said thingy," Sarah grumbled.

"Ooooo, someone's irritated because she knows I'm right," Chuck teased.

"You do know I know an obscene number of ways to kill you, right?" she asked.

Chuck's face went sober. "And you know that I completely trust you, and know you won't, right?" She looked down at the sand, and sighed. She ran her hand through her hair, and huffed as she stared at the waves crashing onto the beach.

They sat there quietly for a few minutes. No tension in the air, Sarah trying to process everything Chuck said. Chuck gave her time, just enjoying being near her.

"You know," he said a few minutes later, his voice soft, with Sarah turning her head to look at him as he stared at the waves. "That stupid book of Morgan's… 'Perspectives affect our view of life and the collision itself. Take a wave for example; one might see it as a violent action of water crashing into the sand on a beach. While another might hear that same action as something soothing, calming, and safe. The collision can be both things. As we share our experiences, and see them through the other's eyes, only then can we understand what those in the collision have gone through'."

"But have you seen it through my eyes?" Sarah asked.

"A life of not being good enough?" Chuck asked.

"I was the best, Chuck," Sarah said in a matter-of-fact-voice.

"Why did you leave the CIA?" Chuck asked.

"Because I couldn't be an agent and keep Molly," Sarah reply with a shrug.

"You were the best, why did you leave the CIA?" he asked again. Sarah swallowed.

"Because I hated what my job made me do. I felt I was trapped in it, defined by it," Sarah replied. Chuck nodded slowly.

"You were hidden from the real world," Chuck said. She nodded. "So have I."

"You stay at the Buy More because it's safe?"

"Who's coming in the Buy More?" Chuck asked her. Sarah chuckled, and looked away. "I mean, let's be honest, it's kind of the Land of Misfit Toys."

They were both silent. "To answer your earlier question, I'll be your baggage handler, or whatever you need me to be. But you don't have to carry all of what you are carrying."

"You're right, I don't need you to be my baggage handler," Sarah admitted. "I just need you to… be there."

"Done."

"Done?"

"Do I still get to be your boyfriend?"

"Absolutely," she said with a smile. "Do you have any more deep words about this, or the beach, or the waves?"

"I do," Chuck admitted.

"Let's hear it."

"'It isn't a mountain that wears you out, it's the grain of sand in your shoe'," Chuck quoted to her. "Robert Service said that." She shook her head and snorted at him. "Basically, the little things wear you out. Save your energy for the big things."

"So what little things are wearing me out?" she asked him.

"Your belief that you aren't worthy," Chuck replied with a shrug. "Sarah Walker, you are a certified badass, with an emphasis on badass." Sarah snorted. "But you worry about things that are in the past. I've told you where I stand on all of this. I'm here; you'll have to actually run me off, and let's be honest… if you wanted to, you could."

"Yeah, but then you'd sneak around and follow me," Sarah retorted.

"Yeaaaah, I would," Chuck admitted. "And I know it sounds creepy, but admit it, I'm adorable."

"God, you are, and it's sooooooo annoying," she said, standing and brushing sand off her pants. "You've given me a lot to think about, and I miss my girl," she began.

Chuck hopped up. "Say no more."

They walked back to the vehicle, and as Chuck began to round the front bumper to his door, he was paying attention to Sarah and not where he was walking. He ran right into the SUV, smacking his knee and hitting the ground.

"For crying out loud, Chuck, I didn't even hit you this time!"

}o{

Sarah walked Chuck to his door, but he tilted his head towards Sarah's. They walked slowly toward Sarah's when she spun, a flashlight illuminating them.

"Casey?" Sarah asked.

"Walker?" Casey replied. "Oh, hell, please do not tell me that I am living in the same complex as you."

"Evenin' John," Chuck said, nodding.

"Walker, really, you're gonna let him do the walk of shame in the morning?" Casey quipped.

"Oh, no, he's going back to his place tonight. Which is right across the fountain from your place," Sarah said.

"Christ," Casey grumbled.

"Wait a minute, if you're here, where is Jeff?" Sarah asked.

Chuck closed his eyes, prayed, and looked across the courtyard, finding his prayers not answered. "Hi, guys," Jeff said.

"You're rooming with Jeff?" Chuck asked. Casey just glared at Chuck. "You're rooming with Jeff?" Chuck began to laugh as Casey stalked back across the courtyard and dragged Jeff inside with him.

"You know he knows hundreds of ways to kill you, right?" Sarah asked. "Not as many as I do, admittedly, but still…"

"Worth it," Chuck said, still laughing.

A/N: David, did you give Jeff the Intersect just to torment Casey? Tune in next time to find out. What happens to our couple now? I have ideas….hehehehe BTW next several chapters are written and already at beta.