A/N: Bryce is dead and about to be buried. Chuck doesn't have the Intersect. Now what?
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.
They stood silently beside each other at the funeral, their fingers lightly touching. Her fingers slid into his hand and squeezed. He glanced over and saw tears forming in her eyes. He wondered if she was thinking that had she had stayed in the CIA, was this to have been her future?
Bryce was being buried in California to continue a cover. When Chuck asked her about his family in Connecticut, she had simply shrugged and replied she didn't know. Chuck had dug a little online and found out there was no family in Connecticut. How long had Bryce been a spy? Had he been one from the day he met Chuck? Was Bryce sent to get Chuck to join the CIA and had a change of heart, or had they really met the way Chuck had seen it?
Was his body even in that coffin? Was the entire thing a show? Chuck found he didn't really want to know the answers to those questions. What he wanted to know was if Sarah was alright. He squeezed her hand, and she glanced at him, giving him a sad smile. What was the appropriate amount of sadness to feel for an ex-boyfriend? He chided himself for that one. The answer to the last one was simple: As much as she deemed necessary. Bryce was dead, and if his ex wanted to grieve him, that was her right.
He felt her tug his hand, and they left silently. They climbed in the car and drove back to Echo Park, saying nothing. When Chuck got out of the car and walked around to where she was, he simply pulled her into him. She pressed against him quickly, holding him, and the crying began. She had lost someone, whether she wanted to admit it or not, and that may have bothered her more than she'd ever admit. Chuck hadn't known her that long, but he knew enough about her to know that Sarah Walker liked to be in control, and her emotions? They were controlled by no one.
}o{
Later that night, Sarah went to a baby yoga class Emma was taking with Molly. Chuck had to work, and as close as she felt to Devon and Ellie, she wasn't sure she could handle them tonight. She found herself sitting in an old gym, watching the baby yoga class, but constantly glancing over to an older man teaching a self-defense class. A young girl was there training with the group, and Sarah noticed her arm angle was off. Sarah wasn't going to say anything, until the girl walked by a few minutes later.
"Hey," Sarah said. "It's really cool, what you're learning, but on that punch, your arm angle is off a bit." The girl gave her an uncertain look, and Sarah glanced around. Seeing no one, she stood and got into the stance. "This is the angle you have your arm," she said, holding her arm exactly like she had seen the girl. "It should be here," Sarah said, adjusting her arm to the correct angle. "See, now I can make corrections as I throw the punch and keep more power." The girl narrowed her eyes, like she didn't believe Sarah.
Sarah looked into the training room and saw the heavy bag. "Com'ere," she said. The girl followed Sarah into the room. She threw a punch the way the girl had her arm cocked. She then repositioned it and threw a punch in the corrected position. The sound alone made the girl's eyes widen. She quickly ran over beside Sarah and pulled back her arm. She looked at Sarah to make sure her arm was cocked the right way, and Sarah nodded. The sound against the bag made the girl smile and laugh with glee.
"Thank you," the girl said, as she hurried off.
"You're welcome," Sarah said. She felt eyes on her, and saw the older man who had been teaching the class watching her. Sarah nodded at him and headed back to the room she was in earlier. A few minutes later, Emma and Molly came out. Sarah took Molly, and the older teacher came out into the common room.
"Emma, good session?" he asked.
"Yes," Emma said. "Molly and I had a blast."
"Is that your daughter you've told me about?" the man asked.
"Oh, yes!" Emma replied. "Roger, this is Sarah. Sarah, Roger. He owns the gym."
"I like it," Sarah said. "It's got a classic feel," she said with a grin.
"Old, you mean… out of date," Roger said, looking around.
"Nothing wrong with doing things old school," Sarah replied. "Seriously, that's the kind of place I want to work out, not where all the people are at, with their machines."
"You're an old soul, then," Roger said. He shook his head. "You all have a good night, I'm just in a mood." He waved to them and walked toward the back.
"What was that about?" Sarah asked.
"No idea," Emma admitted. "No idea."
}o{
The next morning, a knock was heard on Chuck's front door. He answered it, surprised but happy to see two females.
"Hello, gorgeous," Chuck said. "Nice to see you too, Emma," Chuck said with a wink. He made grabby hands at Molly, and she squealed. He put his hands down and a frown was on her face quickly. Chuck lifted his hands back up, and Molly practically launched herself into his arms.
"I need a favor," Emma began.
"Anything," Chuck said, holding the girl, and blowing raspberries on her cheek. Emma lifted an eyebrow. "Do I get to watch her?" Chuck said, becoming excited.
"You know what, you want this, so I'm going to let you have it," she said, handing him the diaper bag. "Key is in there, I had it made for you. You can tell my daughter or not, I don't care." Chuck's eyes went wide. "Sarah gets off at five, so you're in charge."
Chuck gave the little one another raspberry, making Molly squeal again, and grab his face with her hands. "We got this, Emma," Chuck said. Emma shook her head, gave Molly a kiss, and left.
}o{
"Walker," the voice came from the Weinerlicious door as Casey entered. She turned around and saw him standing there, almost as if waiting for an invitation to come in.
"What can I do for you, Casey?" Sarah asked.
Casey strolled up to the counter, with a folder in his hand. "I… I need your help."
Sarah's eyes went wide. "Okayyyy, you know I'm out, right? I'm not CIA or anything."
"I know that," Casey snapped. "Sorry," he said with a shake of his head. "This has all… well…."
"Casey, why don't you tell me what's going on," Sarah suggested.
"Fine," Casey said, opening the first folder. Sarah saw a familiar face. "Colonel Roger Grissom, USMC, retired." Sarah recognized him from the gym the previous night. "He was my former CO in another life." Sarah nodded, pretty sure she knew what he meant. "He is the only person that I know now that knew me… well, before."
"Understood," Sarah replied.
"He's about to lose the gym," Casey said, frustration on his face. "He's so old school that even I think he needs to update a few things." Sarah snorted laughter. "He's a good man, Walker."
"Okay, how can I help?" Sarah asked.
"He has an opportunity, but it is complicated," Casey began. Sarah nodded for him to go on. "You know we have a lot of agents here on the West Coast, watching for different threats." Sarah nodded again. "If we had someone here who could re-certify agents, it could speed up the process."
"Why do I feel like this is where I fit in?" Sarah asked.
"Look, he was very impressed with you last night," Casey admitted. "He knows he should have corrected her, but he's…"
"Angry? Hurt?" Sarah asked. "He thought he had his dream, and now he's losing it?" Casey nodded. "Okay… so what do I do?"
"I have already cleared everything with Beckman. Your qualifications are off the chart, Sarah. You could teach regular classes for a cover, and when someone comes in needing a re-cert, you could be their personal trainer," Casey explained. "And it would pay well."
"And that would save the gym?" Sarah asked. Casey pressed his lips together.
"No," he admitted. "But without you agreeing to the first part, the second is a no-go."
"Let's say I'm thinking about it, and I like the idea," Sarah said, crossing her arms. Casey blew out a breath, opened a second folder, and laid it out in front of her. Sarah studied everything and blew out a low whistle.
"Now before you go getting-" Casey began.
"I'm not seducing him," Sarah said, looking up at Casey. Casey had an annoyed look on his face. "What part of 'I'm out' are you not getting?"
"He's your boy-toy; would it actually be a seduction?"
"Listen, if I ever choose to seduce Chuck Bartowski, it will be for something stupid like me picking the movie we watch that night. However, unlike seduction, there will be follow through on my end."
"Great, that's a win-win for everyone," Casey said, almost gleefully. The happiness dropped from his face when he saw Sarah's face. "Except the nerd, who's getting coerced."
"Casey, is Roger even going to agree to all of this?" Sarah asked, waving her hand at the new machinery, the Bluetooth that would allow the info to be recorded and put in the agent's files. "This looks like exactly like something he would hate."
"He would have nothing to do with it," Casey admitted.
Sarah's eyes went wide. "You want Chuck to do this part?" Casey nodded. "Wow, so you want the guy you make fun of being a nerd to…"
"Be a nerd," Casey admitted. "It took everything in me to convince Roger that Chuck would be good at it."
"So, if we both accept, Roger gets to keep his place?" Casey had a wince on his face. "Oh, come on! What else?"
"He needs to meet Chuck, make sure that he can work with him," Casey explained. Sarah just stared at him. "Yeah, it's a doomed plan," he said dejectedly.
"No," Sarah replied. "Let me talk to him, and at least let us check it out, okay?" Casey shrugged.
"I'm just trying to help him out," Casey said. "Keep me in the loop," and with that, he turned and left.
"This could be interesting," Sarah muttered, leafing through the papers. "But he's got to like Chuck." Sarah shut the folder and sighed. She was crazy about Chuck, but she knew people like Casey and Roger would require a lot of time to warm up to him.
}o{
She had seen the text earlier, and a smile was on her face as she drove home. She didn't have a key to Chuck's apartment, not that she needed one with that window to his bedroom. She parked, then walked over to his window. She popped it open and walked into the living room. He was on the couch, Molly asleep on his chest, and the TV on. She silently went around the couch, a smile on her face, and it fell. She saw him, asleep, his hand protectively around Molly, holding her. Something in Sarah lurched, and she put her hand to her chest.
She could feel her heart pounding. Seeing him, like that, with Molly… The door opened behind her, and she spun, seeing Ellie. Ellie had an inquisitive look on her face as she walked over. She looked at Chuck and Molly, and then to Sarah. A grin grew on Ellie's face. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just seeing them… like that…" She shook her head. She couldn't even look Ellie in the face. She felt her cheeks getting hot.
"Come on," Ellie said softly, leading them outside. Sarah followed her, and the two sat on the edge of the fountain. "Never thought much of having an actual family, have you?" Sarah shook her head. "I'm really kind of surprised," Ellie admitted. "Although maybe I shouldn't be… he's been cleaning up after Morgan for years."
"He just looks so… domestic, and so…"
"Sarah, let's be real; if you were a lion, you would have eaten him for dinner." Sarah nodded, her gaze far away. "So, what are you gonna do about it?"
Sarah turned to her, confusion on her face. "What do you mean? We're dating, and we're together."
Ellie pressed her lips together, and gave Sarah a flat look. "Let me ask you something, and I'm going to do this tactfully: Are you as together as you want to be?" She raised an eyebrow as Sarah realized what was being said. "That's what I thought. He's not going to rush you. You have this crazy life, and he doesn't want to upset the way things are."
"But he's in this relationship as well, and he should, if he wants to…" Sarah trailed off. "Who are we kidding, it's Chuck."
"It's Chuck," Ellie agreed. "Now, come on, if he sleeps too long, he'll never go to bed tonight." Sarah snorted. "And remember, you might have to be very blunt about what you want."
"I can be blunt," Sarah said, and then went red as she realized to whom she had said that. Ellie was too busy laughing to even notice.
}o{
"You okay?" Chuck asked. They were in the car a little while later, headed to the gym.
"Yeah," Sarah answered. "Just… I keep thinking it would be nice to get away from the Weinerlicious, and do something I like, but I gotta make sure it's right for me… you know?"
"Oh, I get it. Quitting one job and jumping into another is no good if you aren't going to enjoy the new one," Chuck said with a shrug, and then a yawn.
"Not enough of a nap?" Sarah asked, a grin on her face.
"Maybe too much. I might be up all night," Chuck said.
"Maybe I can keep you company," Sarah offered.
"That's kind of you, but I might be looking at an all-nighter," Chuck replied.
"That's not nice, teasing me like that," Sarah said. She pulled into the parking spot. "We're here," she said, as Chuck looked at her, wide-eyed as he put together what she had said. She gave a little shrug, bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I really appreciate you coming along and watching Molly."
"It's no problem," Chuck replied, getting his sense back. "I'm not sure why you need my opinion."
"Honestly, Chuck, yours is the only one I care about," she said, as she started inside. Chuck got Molly out and followed Sarah into the building. He found Sarah talking to an older man.
"And this is my boyfriend, Chuck, and my daughter, Molly." Grissom looked at Chuck and the baby.
"Too scared to marry you?" Grissom asked.
"I adopted Molly," Sarah said. Grissom looked over at Chuck, holding the little girl. "Chuck has been there for me every step of the way since I met him."
"Maybe it's not my place, but what business is it of yours if Molly was my child, and we weren't married?" Chuck asked, irritated. Grissom turned toward him, a scowl on his face. "As long as she and I are good with what she and I do, how do you figure in?"
"Gotta question a man's commitment, if he doesn't marry someone he knocks up," Grissom said.
Chuck straightened up. "Or maybe you're compounding one mistake with another." Grissom walked up to him and looked Chuck right in the eye. Chuck held his ground, but he wondered if he hadn't just gotten himself an ass kicking, and if he had blown the job for Sarah.
"You don't look like much," Grissom began. "But you got moxie, and I like that." Grissom held his hand out, and Chuck had to shift Molly and the diaper bag to take it. He swore he heard a bit of a giggle coming from Sarah as he shook the man's hand. "Any man that can try to help raise a child that's not their own… well… that takes commitment."
"He's incredible with her," Sarah said. "And he's a huge part of my life."
"I can see," Grissom said.
"I'll just watch Molly, while you two talk," Chuck said, heading over to get a seat. He saw the look, first on Grissom's face. and then Sarah's. "What?"
"He doesn't know," Grissom said, grinning. He turned to Sarah. "You're good."
"What do I not know?" Chuck asked.
}o{
"Shhh, sweetie," Chuck said, standing and rocking Molly back and forth in a swaying motion. Her head was on his shoulder, her mouth close to his ear, she was quietly babbling, fighting sleep. "Go to sleep baby, I'm here." Sarah looked at him and took a deep breath. Chuck continued to study the plans as she walked over to Grissom.
"Someone's got it bad," Grissom said with a grin. "Did you get out because of him, or find him after?"
"After," Sarah said. "I can't really talk much about why I got out, but I did, and had Molly and… well… crashed into him."
"He's different," Grissom said. "But he's a good one."
"Yeah, I'm kind of partial to him," Sarah admitted. "If he can do this…"
"Oh, hell, I'm all in with you two," Grissom said. "I don't like the changes, but he can handle that part, you can handle your business, and I'll take care of everything I used to do."
"You know, you like to pretend to be a hard ass, but you do have a baby yoga class," Sarah pointed out.
"My daughter-in-law and granddaughter," Grissom said, a grin on his face. "It required no real set-up, everyone brings their own mats…" He trailed off and shrugged. "It was really just a way to have my granddaughter here." Grissom looked around. "This is all I have, Sarah. Can he do this?"
Sarah smiled at Grissom. "If anyone can, he can," Sarah admitted.
A/N: Next time on…Chuck vs The Collision…
I know you can do your part, but… Sarah…" he turned to her. "We're gonna be close in this."
She sat the wine glass on the table, sat back, and leaned toward him, her hand going to the back of his neck, making his eyes flutter. "You mean closer than the Weinerlicious and the Buy More?"
"Closer," Chuck said, in a low tone that made her shiver.