A/N: It's been a bit, hasn't it. Let's see how Carina being fired affects things.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

"So you're telling me, after all the times you screwed over all your teammates, this is what got you fired?" Sarah asked, amazed.

"Came from above the head of the DEA," Carina said, with a shrug. "Apparently, I put Jeff in danger, and that was unacceptable." The door opened, making all three adults turn toward the door. Molly, not wanting to be ignored, grabbed Chuck's face and turned him toward her.

"Da," she said very sternly.

"What?" Chuck asked, a huge grin on his face. "I was just seeing who came in. It's Uncle Casey."

"Com'ere, munchkin," Casey said, holding out his hands. The little girl went to Casey, cooing and laughing.

"Okay, either this is some new kind of torture sh-" Carina began

"Carina!" Sarah scolded. Carina turned to her, eyes wide. "Language."

"I've just died and gone to hell, that's all this can be," she said, throwing her arms up and walking out.

"Are you coming back?" Sarah yelled after her.

"Yeah," Carina said at the door. "I just need to clear my head. I'll be back in a bit. Bye."

"Bye," Molly said, opening and closing her hand at Carina. Carina just stood there, stunned beyond belief. She slowly raised her hand and mimicked Molly. Molly clapped and laughed. Carina just turned and left.

"You broke her," Casey said to Molly. "You have absolutely broken her." She laid her head on Casey's shoulder, proud of herself.

}o{

Carina sat on a bench in the park, watching ducks swim in the pond in front of her. "What the hell is happening," she muttered to herself.

"You're allowing yourself to feel," came the voice behind her. Carina looked over her shoulder at Sarah, who sat down beside her. Looking around, Sarah allowed herself a small smile. "It's always so peaceful here."

"Spend a lot of time here?" Carina asked. Sarah nodded, and pointed to a bench on the other side of the pond.

"That was mine," she said. "When I first got to Burbank, I found this place." She had a satisfied look on her face, as she looked around. "It was there on that bench that I finally figured out what I was feeling. Doing something about it?" She was silent for a moment and then shrugged. "Not until I met Chuck, did I do something about it. But deep down, I knew what was going on."

She chuckled. "It was like a car wreck… a collision." She shook her head, a happy grin on her face looking out over the water. "There was a night early on that she was crying, and I was rocking her, singing to her. Mom was gone to get some groceries, and it was just the two of us." She looked over at Carina. "She took my finger in her hand, and she suddenly seemed at peace."

"How?" Carina asked, and then cleared her throat. "How did that feel, someone completely trusting you, someone that… innocent?"

"We've all had that mark, Carina, the one that fell in love, that wanted something." Carina nodded, knowing what Sarah meant. "Do you know what this little one wanted?" Carina nodded for her to continue. "All she wanted was someone to be with her, that loved her… and I did."

"Listen, I will do whatever you ask, if you'll explain what is going on with me," Carina began. "That little girl is yours, not mine. I haven't fallen in love." Sarah grinned, and shook her head. "Oh, come on!" She huffed, and leaned forward, her head in her hands.

"Love is two parts," Sarah began. Carina lifted her head, shock covering her face. "It's the feeling… and the acceptance. We've loved before; our parents, friends…" she trailed off, leaned over, and bumped Carina's shoulder. "Men."

"You take that back," Carina snapped.

"John?" she asked, and Carina looked away. "Here's the thing: Sure, you felt it, but you did what we were trained to do. Deny the feeling."

"Spies don't fall in love," Carina said, looking over the pond.

"I fell in love with a little girl, and I allowed myself to accept it. I didn't know what the hell to do about it, but I did," Sarah explained, still looking out over the pond. "You have to."

Carina turned slowly toward Sarah but didn't disagree.

"That's the problem," Sarah continued, pulling her foot up onto the bench and wrapping her arm around her leg, resting her chin on her knee. "Once you accept that you can love someone… a child… you begin to wonder… can you love someone else?" She turned her head, laying her cheek on her knee. "Now, you've seen me, the Ice Queen, love. Your foundation is rocked, and there is a little voice in there, asking you a question." Sarah sat there, quiet, watching her friend struggle with what Sarah had told her.

After a minute, Sarah spoke again in a very soft voice. "Can someone else love you?"

Carina slowly let her head fall back, and groaned. "I'm so screwed." Sarah didn't say anything. "I'm benched, I find your daughter adorable…" She couldn't finish the thoughts in her head.

"Casey is here," Sarah said with a shrug.

"I don't do relationships, Blondie," Carina argued.

"Pretty sure we are doing one right now," Sarah replied. Carina shut her eyes. "Love you, Carina," Sarah said, and then she straightened up, stood, and headed back toward her apartment.

"Crap," she heard Carina mutter. "Love you, Blondie."

}o{

Chuck was working on one of the processors on a treadmill, listening to Grissom. "So there we were, in Afghanistan, in all sorts of trouble, when this woman shows up. She tells me she's former CIA, and she's going to help us get out."

"A woman saved your whole squad?" Chuck asked, grinning. "Was she Sarah's mom?"

"Emma? Oh, hell no, that woman is nothing at all like…" Grissom trailed off, looked away, and smiled. "Nice try, kid."

"So, what happened?" Chuck asked, saving Grissom from having to talk about Emma.

"This woman, she called herself Frost," Grissom continued, looking up as the door opened, seeing Casey and Jeff walk in. "She gets over to the other side somehow, says a few words to those guys, and they quit firing on us. Turns out, they were a private army paid for by a Russian. Some guy named Volkoff or something, and she was his right hand." He looked over at Casey. "You ever heard of Frost, or the Frost Queen, as someone called her?"

"Not off the top of my head," Casey replied. Casey turned to Jeff. "Anything?" Jeff shook his head. Casey turned back to Grissom. "She has to be someone very dangerous, and evil."

"Why is that? She saved his life," Chuck countered.

"Working for Volkoff?" Casey asked. Chuck shrugged. "There's not a worse baddie out there than him."

"But she saved them. Why?"

Grissom turned to Casey, interested to hear the answer on this one. "Where were you, Afghanistan?" Grissom nodded. "Last thing a private army needs is heat for taking out US troops," Casey replied. "Besides, they were probably there for a specific mission, and mercenaries like that tend to be just that: Mercenary. They don't generally kill a single person more than they're paid to."

"He's got a point, kid," Grissom said.

"Maybe," Chuck said with a shrug, unconvinced. "Or maybe it was something else."

"We'll never know, kid. Never know."

}o{

"I thought he was supposed to be keeping a low profile," Chuck said to Sarah a few hours later, as he glanced at the paper. Sarah lifted an eyebrow, and Chuck pointed to a picture in the paper. "Right there is Jeff."

"Sweetie, he's a no one as far as everyone is concerned," Sarah replied with a shrug. "I love that you're trying to protect him, but you have to know, no one knows who Jeff is. No one cares who Jeff is, and we won't let anyone get near Jeff. It's not like he's famous, or anything. Granted, getting his picture in the paper is not optimal, but it's a crowd scene."

Chuck gave Sarah an unsure look. "You know better than I do."

"No, Chuck," she said, getting close to him. "I know about this stuff. In general, not so much. That's why I have you."

"I'm quite happy you do," he said with a grin.

"Bartowski," Grissom called out. "Can you show me how to work this thing?"

"Think he's talking about the printer, or his VCR?" Chuck asked as he headed toward Grissom. Sarah looked down at the paper. This was not good.

}o{

"Casey, what happened?" Sarah asked, pulling him away from everyone else, showing him the picture in the paper.

"Shit, we must have missed that one," Casey muttered. "This op… God, Walker, I thought I'd never say this, but I wish your boy toy would have gotten the Intersect instead of Barnes."

"I thought Jeff was better with the Intersect?"

"He might be, but I have to live with him, and I have to put up with Lester… the beard is a much better alternative than that idiot," Casey groused.

"Casey…" Sarah shook her head. "Do they want to bunker him?"

"They did, but Bartowski talked to them again," Casey said, shaking his head. "Bartowski asked them if they were ready to answer all the questions people would have if Jeff just disappeared."

"Would anyone know if Jeff disappeared?" Sarah asked. Casey gave her an amused look. "What? The only person he seems to spend time with is Lester."

"I asked the same thing," Casey replied. "It appears our Intersect is famous." Sarah stared at Casey, mouth agape. "Apparently, he beat some video game back in the day, and is quite well-known in that community."

"Great," Sarah groused.

"Chuck talked to him." Sarah appeared to be interested in the newspaper article, but Casey saw the grin on her face. "He warned him even Grissom might not be in his corner if he screwed up that bad again." Casey was silent for a moment. "Are we gonna talk about it?"

"About what?" Sarah asked, turning to Casey.

"Miller working here."

"Hell no," Sarah said emphatically. Casey just shook his head. "No, just… no."

"Why not?" Casey asked.

Sarah didn't say anything, she just turned and left.

}o{

Sarah prepared for bed that evening, preoccupied, thinking about Carina working with them. She was pacing the floor, several times nearly asking Chuck what he thought about Carina, but remembered each time that he was brushing his teeth. The frustration built in her until she couldn't take it, and she and walked to the bathroom door, starring at her hands she was rubbing together.

Chuck had heard Sarah pacing the entire time he was brushing his teeth, and it was messing with his rhythm. He turned, headed out of the bathroom, and crashed right into Sarah.

"Are you okay?" Chuck asked, wondering where his toothbrush had gone.

"I'm fine," Sarah said, looking up at the toothbrush now lodged in her hair. She pulled it out, and gave him a look. "So, what does this crash mean?"

"Well, you're not grossed out and running away so… I have no idea," he admitted, making her giggle. They both got up, she handed him the toothbrush, and he cleaned it as she got the remnants of the toothpaste out of her hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked, having cleaned up, and feeling a little stalkerish for watching her clean her hair.

"I feel like the spy world is coming at me," Sarah said, looking up into her boyfriend's eyes. "I feel like it's not letting me go, and I want to get away."

Chuck nodded. "Bullshit," he said gently, making her eyes go wide. "Sarah. What's. Wrong."

Sarah looked down at the sink and then back to Chuck. "How'd you get so good at seeing through me?"

Chuck shrugged. "I just know when you try to… hide isn't the right word, more like… shield, me." Sarah grinned at him. "Are you worried about Carina being near me?"

"I worry about Carina being near me," Sarah said, in a very small voice. Chuck was taken aback by that. "She has a way of painting what we did with these magnificent flourishes, and it sounds like so much fun, but it wasn't." Chuck stood there quietly. "What if…" She paused, and looked away, shame on her face.

"Hey," he said, rubbing her shoulder with his hand. "You can tell me anything."

"What if I fall for it, and want to go back?" Sarah asked, looking up at him, tears in her eyes. Chuck gave her a soft smile. "What?"

"The fact you even worry about that, or recognize what she could do to you… it takes away any fears I might have," Chuck explained. "Sarah, I know you, I love you. And you, my amazing girlfriend, love your daughter, me, and our life. This isn't about any fear of being tempted to return."

"You're right," she said with a huff, looking away. She turned back to him, and faced him, the way they promised they would. "It's about me worrying about resenting you, and Molly."

"You're scared you'll resent us?" Chuck asked. Sarah nodded. "What brought this on, or has it been something that you've been building up to?"

Sarah shook her head. "I had a talk today, with Carina, about love," she explained. Chuck crossed his arms and leaned back against the door frame, a grin on his face. She slapped his shoulder. "Nerd," she muttered. "I told her that you have to choose to accept love, to be in love."

Chuck nodded. "So, do accept being in love with me?"

"I do," she said softly. "Do you accept being in love with me?"

"I do," he replied. "Sarah Walker, by the powers vested in me by your love, I now pronounce you free." She had a look of confusion on her face. "You are hereby free to love freely. You are hereby free to love unconditionally. But most importantly, you are free to accept all love that is given to you."

She took his hands in hers. "But what if…" She was silent for a few seconds. "No," she said, looking up into his eyes. "I made the choice to accept, and only I can make the choice not to." Chuck grinned at her. "How'd you get to be so smart?"

"Getting hit by a car jarred some stuff loose in my head," he deadpanned. "That, and the love of a good woman."

"Molly?" Sarah asked, smiling at him.

"And you," he said, leaning toward her. She put a hand on his chest, stopping him before he kissed her. "What?"

"Those words we used…."

"Yeah? What about them?"

"Did you do that on purpose?" she asked.

"Practice," Chuck said. Her eyes went wide, and he shrugged. "What can I say, I've made some decisions of my own."

She kissed him, and when she pulled away, she grinned up at him. "Okay, one bad dad joke, for practice."

"Do you know why vampires bite people and suck their blood?" Sarah shook her head, bracing herself. "For the vitamin D, since they can't go out in the sunlight."

Sarah stood there a few seconds, silent. "That is awful."

"I'm aware," Chuck replied, as he leaned in and kissed her.

"That's not," she said against his lips. "Can Carina come work with us?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Chuck replied, kissing her again. "Bed," he croaked after a few seconds. She took his hand, and led him out of the bathroom… so he wouldn't crash into anything.

A/N: Did I just….Did you see…uh oh….Did a plot just walk in?