A/N: This one is kind of a big chapter…but it will sneak up on you if you don't pay attention. I'm so glad most of you are enjoying this fic as much as I am. We're not done with Jeff, but it's Chuck's fault…it can't be EDC's fault…right? RIGHT?!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

He knew it was a huge moment in their relationship, and yet… yet he did it anyway. "Sarah, I think this is a bad idea. I don't think you're ready, but you know the facts more than I do. Is it safe? If it isn't, we can't, but if it is…"

Sarah stared at him. "You know what this means?"

"Probably not, but I know what it means if you regret in the next day," Chuck replied.

"Oh, for God's sake, we know, Chuck. You think she'll miss her daughter." Sarah pressed her lips together, wanting to argue, but Emma was right. "Why don't I just come with you, so I can watch Molly," Emma said, tired of all the back and forth between the two. Chuck had gone to pack his bag, and while doing so realized this would mean Molly would be away from Sarah for several days, should this take a while. Chuck didn't think that was fair to anyone, and brought it up.

"Fine," Sarah said with a smile. She held her hands out and the little girl came to her happily, out of Emma's arms.

"I'll pack up her stuff while Emma packs a bag," Chuck said quickly, walking into the house.

"Should I point out he's packing a bag for your daughter, and you're not even double-checking it?" Emma asked.

"I think you just did," Sarah retorted. They stood there a second, quietly. "You already had a bag packed, ready for this, didn't you?"

Emma shrugged. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you two realized what this meant." Sarah stood there, knowing there was more.

"Just ask," Sarah said.

"Not to be nosy," Emma began.

"When has that ever stopped you?" Sarah asked.

Emma ignored her and pressed on. "But have you two… you know…"

"NO!" Sarah blurted out. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Have you thought he might realize what this means, being in the same room at night, the closeness, the… moment?"

"No, I really hadn't," Sarah replied shrugging. "In the CIA, if you spent the night with another operative, usually it was so you knew someone had your back. I've slept many a night in a bed with another operative and nothing happened."

"But have you slept in a bed with an operative and something did happen?" Emma asked, grinning. Sarah twisted her lips and looked away. "I see. So… are you telling me that tonight, both of you emotionally vulnerable, both of you insanely attracted to each other, nothing would happen?"

"I guess we'll never know now, will we," Sarah answered.

"Right," Emma said, walking inside to get her bags.

}o{

"Each room has a king bed?" Chuck asked, when Sarah told him the lodging situation.

"Yeah, I guess we three girls could take one room," Sarah began.

"No, you two have work to do, I'll take Molly and we'll sleep in one, you two share the other. It's not like you haven't had to share a room before in the CIA, and this is pretty much CIA business, right?" Emma said as she crossed the room with Molly and her bag. She shut the adjoining door, leaving Chuck and Sarah standing there.

"I can sleep on the floor," Chuck blurted out. Sarah turned to him slowly, an eyebrow raised.

"Don't trust yourself with me?" she asked.

"Oh, absolutely," Chuck said, backing up. His leg hit the corner of the bed, and he spilled over it, pinning himself between the wall and the bed. Sarah rushed to help him, as the door quickly opened between the rooms, Emma concerned about what she had heard.

She studied the two that were looking back at her. "That's not how that works," Emma said to them, both of their jaws dropping. "Come on," she muttered to Molly. "You're not having a brother or sister any time soon."

}o{

"You're thinking too loud." Her voice yanked him out of his thoughts. Neither had slept much the night before, the air filled with tension. Not so much sexual as just… tension.

"Remember how we were supposed to define exclusive?" Chuck asked.

"Yep," Sarah replied. "It was like this big setup last night."

"Right?" he said, turning toward her. "You lost an old boyfriend, I lost an old friend. We have to go to Stanford, place of one of the worst experiences of my life, and there we are with that big bed."

"Comfy," Sarah interjected.

"It was, wasn't it?" Chuck replied. "And what did we do? Pretend to be asleep all night, so we couldn't talk to each other."

"If you had talked, what would you want to say?" Sarah asked.

"You know, I think I just said it all," Chuck admitted. She laughed, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

"I think you said it perfectly," Sarah agreed.

"Where are we headed?" Chuck asked her.

"To see some professor named Fleming," Sarah answered. She felt Chuck tense. "What's wrong?"

"That's the professor that got me kicked out of college," Chuck replied.

}o{

Sarah brought him a cup of coffee, then sat down across from him. They hadn't said anything the rest of the trip. They got to the campus, and he led her to the coffee shop in the student center. It was fairly private, given how many students had in those ear pods, or whatever the kids were calling them these days.

"Talk to me," she said, taking his hand as she set down their coffees. "I mean, short of Jill, is there much more that could have affected you on this mis-… I mean, trip?"

"I really want to beg off," Chuck admitted. Sarah gave him a knowing smile. "This is… God, Sarah, I was kicked out, and I didn't do anything."

"I believe you," Sarah said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a flash drive. "I'm hoping what's on here clears you."

"I have a favor to ask," Chuck began.

"Anything," Sarah said quickly.

"Now see, if I was that guy… Never mind, we never figured out if telling you what I would do is as bad as being that guy or not."

"Chuck," she said, squeezing his hands until he looked into her eyes. "You are most definitely not that guy."

"If I cry later tonight in bed after all this is over, don't break up with me," Chuck blurted out.

"Not only will I not break up with you, I'll hold you tight," Sarah said.

A grin came to his face. "Maybe I should fake some tears, if I don't feel like crying."

"Maybe you should just ask me to hold you tight," Sarah countered.

"It might become a daily habit," Chuck said, standing, and offering her his hand to help her up.

"Maybe that's a habit I'd like to get into," she said, bouncing a shoulder.

"You always have to have the last word, don't you," he said, grinning at her. She stepped right up to him, pushed up on her tiptoes, and brushed his lips with hers.

"Yes," she said, less than an inch between them. She turned and left him standing there.

"Dude, your super-hot girlfriend is leaving," A guy from the next booth said.

"Right," Chuck replied, shaking his head.

"Lucky dude," the guy said watching them leave, and shaking his head.

}o{

Chuck stared at the door in front of him, twice raising his hand to knock, twice stopping. He felt his other hand squeezed.

"I got this, okay?" she said. Chuck nodded, and Sarah stepped in front of him and knocked. A "come in" was called out, and she entered with Chuck behind her.

Professor Fleming looked up, and his mouth dropped. "Chuck Bartowski," he said softly.

"Professor Fleming, I don't mean to bother you, but Bryce Larkin is dead. His last wish was for the three of us view this," she said lifting the flash drive.

"What's the code of the day?" Fleming asked.

"I have no idea," Sarah admitted. "I've been out of the company for a few months, but Bryce gave me his spy will." She looked over at Chuck, and then back to Fleming. "Chuck… well, he-"

"He never went into the CIA because of me, and Bryce," Fleming said. Chuck's jaw dropped. Fleming motioned them forward and reached out for the flash drive. Sarah was reluctant. "Miss…"

"Walker… Sarah Walker," she said. "How do I know you won't destroy it?"

"He won't Sarah," Chuck said. "Will you Professor?"

"No, son," Fleming replied. "It's time you knew."

}o{

Sarah hung up the phone. She wasn't thrilled, but Graham had taken her call, and asked her for a favor. She had a few demands of her own. An agent was coming to collect Fleming… Zondra. Sarah had protested, but Graham told her the only other option was for her to come back and bring in Fleming herself. Sarah refused quickly. She still wasn't 100% sure why Fleming was coming in. Graham had said something about if Bryce was rogue, Fleming could be in danger, since Bryce was Fleming's only contact.

Fleming had begun to tell them about a drop spot, but Chuck quickly jumped in, telling them both he knew exactly where it was. Chuck had been quiet, except for that. Sarah discussed Chuck's situation at length, demanding that he be awarded his degree, but Graham had denied the request. He did concede that the expulsion should be lifted, and he would look into another way to get Chuck the credits he needed to complete his degree. But that could wait until everyone was back in Burbank.

The handoff happened with little fanfare. Chuck picked up on the coolness between Sarah and Zondra, but he said nothing. That in itself scared Sarah. Chuck going silent was something she wasn't sure she knew how to handle.

"I wonder if Morgan has anything in his book for when your friend gets you thrown out of college to stay out of the CIA?" Chuck said softly, after they had retrieved the disk from the dead drop in the library. They had given it to Zondra as well, and she was speeding away.

"You two know each other."

"Use to be my best friend, until she betrayed my team," she said with a shrug. Chuck did a slow turn toward her. "What?"

"The irony is strong with this," Chuck said, using his best Vader voice.

"It's late… think we should stay here, or drive back?" Sarah asked. Chuck just shrugged. "So, I offer to let you sleep with me, and all you do is shrug?"

Chuck grinned at her, hearing the teasing lilt in her tone. "I'm worried the walls might be thin, and however that worked out, Emma would judge me the rest of my life," he admitted.

Sarah threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, I needed that." She looked around. "You know what, we need a burger and a shake. Anything like that around here?" Chuck just grinned.

}o{

"What if we were wrong?" Chuck asked, just as Sarah was about to bite into her burger. She paused and looked at him. "We said Bryce went rogue, but what if he didn't?"

"Chuck," she began, and paused. "You didn't know him, not really."

"Really?" Chuck asked, grinning. "So, I don't know you?"

"Well, it's different," Sarah began.

"Is it?" Chuck countered. Sarah studied him. "Yeah, he's dead and a part of me wants to find the good in him right now, but answer me this: If he was rogue, why did he send the Intersect to me?"

"I…" Sarah paused, and sat back, considering what he said.

"Look, while it was a dumbass and patronizing move on his part, his getting me kicked out of Stanford, it was for my protection. Or-or at least what he thought was for my protection. And the way it sounds, that class was a feeder to get the Intersect. So why protect me from it, only to send it to me?"

"To keep it from someone else?" Sarah asked. Chuck snapped his fingers. "He looks like a rogue agent…" She stopped and looked at Chuck. "No, he looks like a double agent."

"Sounds like he's spying on the bad guys, knew something was happening, and sent the Intersect to me. But why?"

"He trusted you," Sarah said, looking away and then back to Chuck. "Sorry, I mean… I was sleeping with him, and he still trusted you. I had his back in firefights, and he still trusted you."

"You've been in the CIA," Chuck said softly. "Do you blame him?"

She sat there quietly, then gave a small shake of her head, after a few seconds. "Those of us in the field are trained to make sure to trust no one but ourselves."

"And if you see something that looks wrong, no matter how inconsistent it is with everything else?"

"You believe that they are untrustworthy," Sarah said. A troubled look crossed her face. "Zondra."

"Wasn't that the agent we passed Fleming off to?"

"Yeah, I thought she was a traitor. She was a member of my team." Chuck stayed silent, just listening. "I found something on her, and she swore it wasn't hers."

"Sounds like someone used that paranoia the CIA breeds, and used it for their own gain," Chuck said softly, reaching over and taking her hands.

"It does, which means it was either Carina or Amy," Sarah continued. "I can't see it being Carina." She huffed out a laugh. "Carina is in it for herself, there's too much work being a double agent and trying to rise up the ranks in both organizations."

"Should you call it in?" Chuck asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No, I'm out. If I were to see Zondra or Carina, I'd warn them, but…" She huffed out a breath, and squeezed his hands. "I'm so glad I ran over you in the parking lot." Chuck smiled at her. "Another thing about being a spy; you never talk with someone outside the organization, and get a fresh perspective."

"I've got all types of perspectives," Chuck said. "But the one that I keep seeing that sort of blows my mind… is you." She tilted her head, confused. "All this paranoia, this secrecy, this following orders, and you managed to keep… well… you. You're a marvel, Sarah Walker. You're kind of my hero, and I want to be like you when I grow up."

She ducked her head shyly, then looked at him through her lashes. "I don't know about all of that, Chuck."

"I do," Chuck replied, with a shrug. "You are amazing, and you need to know that." She bit her bottom lip as she grinned at him.

}o{

She went to open her front door the next afternoon, when she heard a familiar voice call out. "Walker." Sarah turned and there was Zondra.

"It wasn't you, and I know that now," Sarah blurted out, surprising Zondra. "I'm learning a lot of things about that life now that I'm away from it." Her eyes glanced over at Chuck's bedroom window and a smile came to her face.

She had kept her word, and started out holding him, and he her, the night before. But after a bit, she asked him if she could roll over, and he hold her. The grin he gave her was all the answer she needed, and a few minutes later, they were both asleep, her spooned by Chuck. It was a position in which she had never found herself in bed.

She awoke the next morning to their fingers lightly teasing each other's hand. She thought how nice it would be to wake up that way from now on. A kiss planted on her neck below her ear would have ignited any sexual tension, but the past 24 hours with all they had to deal with had buried that. For now, they both knew the other had their back, and there was something between them, something huge. But right now, in this moment, just being held was all that mattered.

Emma had knocked on the door and asked if she could come in. When she did, she looked at them, still having not moved. Smiling, she turned to Molly, and told her perhaps she'd been wrong yesterday.

"Walker?" Zondra said, snapping Sarah out of her daydreams. "Jesus, that smile… what were you thinking about?"

"The future," Sarah replied. She shook her head, trying to come back to the present. "I'm sorry I ever accused you," she said. "Maybe one day you can forgive me."

Zondra stared at her. "I came over here to tell you I've been assigned to this current project here, and we'll be seeing more of each other."

"Wait, you'll be working with Jeff, and… and…" she was trying to hold back the laughter. "Casey?" Zondra glared at her, but it wasn't a full Zondra glare. She recognized the insanity of the whole thing.

"Yeah," Zondra said. "Anyway, I'll see you around."

"Maybe we could get a drink some night," Sarah offered. Zondra gave her a look and headed out of the complex. Sarah watched her go, then walked over to Chuck's window. She looked around, popped it open and climbed inside. She headed toward the hallway and crashed into Chuck, who was walking into his room. She shook her head and got her bearings. "What is it with you always running into me?"

"I find you irresistible," Chuck replied, and then his eyes widened. "Damn it," he muttered.

"I feel the same way about you," she said softly. "Wanna come over and hang out tonight?"

"Love to," Chuck replied.

"Good," she said. "Thank you, Chuck."

"For what, coming over?"

"No, for helping me realize that real life can have its own interesting adventures."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, a slow grin covering his face. "I need to thank you for including me in your adventures."

"Play your cards right, and we'll have a lot more adventurous adventures," Sarah teased. Chuck's eyes went wide, and Sarah just grinned at him. She was right; Burbank was better than she ever imagined.

A/N: *Checks cell* Yep, we're all good…..all good.