A/N1 More of my little noir farce.

I like writing humor much more than angst. But some stories are angsty - and you have to go where the story takes you. This ain't one of those stories. An occasional angsty sprinkle, that's all. Promise.

Don't own Chuck.

Chutes and Ladders

CHAPTER FIVE

Sandbox

Later, Monday, March 27

Chuck navigated the Crown Vic into an empty spot in the Early Education parking lot. It was crowded and it took him a few minutes to find one. He was worried that he would be late. He shut the engine down and waited through the shaking. He patted the steering wheel, hoping it would start when he came back. "Take a nice rest, old girl. I mean, not that you are old. Classic. Classic girl."

Chuck made himself stop talking to the car and get out. He went to the main office, showed his ID and signed next to his name on the checklist. His name was written in a small, neat cursive hand, and he was listed as a guest of Sarah Walker. Even her penmanship is sexy. I am so lost.

He walked down the hallway, sticking his name tag to his shirt: "Chuck". Evidently, the Center divided itself into sections called 'pods'. Sarah's class was in the Green Pod. The hallway to it was painted a little darker than Kelly Green.

Chuck realized it was the same green as the Buy More not far from where he lived. There was even yellow-gold trim in the hallway. Chuck shook his head. He thought about a summer job at the Buy More once but decided he just couldn't be a Nerd Herder. A nerd, yes, but not a herder of nerds. He had no such delusions of grandeur. He ended up working at a small burger joint, flipping burgers and frying fries. Wearing a little paper hat. He grimaced when he thought about it.

He walked down the hallway to Sarah's room. He had a bag of tacos from Alex's truck in his hand.

The classroom door was closed but there was a large window in it, and he could see the kids arranged in a semi-circle around Sarah. She was holding a book. Through the glass, Chuck could tell it was a Dr. Suess book. At one point, Sarah held it up so the enthralled kids could better see the picture, and he saw the title: Please Try to Remember the First of Octember. He knew that one. Not many people did. Chuck loved Suess.

He opened the door quietly, stepped inside, and closed it quietly. Sarah did not stop reading, but another woman in the class, younger than Sarah - college age - noticed him, smiled and nodded. Sarah was talking to the kids about the book, about the months of the year, and about wishes - that some come true and some do not. Chuck watched Sarah as she finished up. She was so beautiful his chest ached as he looked at her. And her way with the kids! They were obviously crazy about her, hanging on every word. He looked at her and thought about wishes himself - that some come true and some do not. Sigh.

Sarah stood and turned, noticing him for the first time. She gave him that smile again, the one from the coffee shop, and Chuck made a wish in its light. Not even as a kid had he wished as he did then. Whatever remnants of Jill had clung to him burned away in that wish, in the light of Sarah's smile. He had known since the coffee shop that Sarah had claimed him but he hadn't really faced it. He did, standing there, looking at her, surrounded by smiling little faces, almost all smiling curiously at him.

"Class," Sarah said, turning from him back to the kids, "this is my friend, the one I told you would visit. This is Mr. Chuck." There was a chorus of small voices: "Hi, Mr. Chuck!" Chuck waved and smiled.

Sarah looked back at him. "The kids are going to have some time to color or work on art projects. Would you join us, Mr. Chuck?"

Chuck nodded. Sarah motioned for the kids to go to their desks and they moved to them and sat down. Sarah pointed at one open desk. She walked over and pulled the tiny chair from underneath it. "Sit here, Mr. Chuck, next to Sasha." Chuck handed Sarah the taco bag and she put it on her desk.

Chuck walked over and sat down. The seat was so tiny and his legs so long that his knees seemed almost even with his ears. He saw Sarah put her hand in front of her face, hiding a grin. "Chuck, this is Sasha Monroe." Chuck looked at the little girl. She had black curly hair and very light blue eyes. She gave him a hesitant smile, clearly a little intimidated by his dramatically folded length.

"Hey, Sasha," Chuck said, careful to keep his tone normal, not to slip into singsong. "What are you working on?"

"I'm coloring this picture of a frog." Sasha held up a page taken from a coloring book. On it was a drawing of a chubby frog on an expansive lily pad. The frog was partially colored green. Its eyes were fiery red.

"That's really good, Sasha. How did you decide what color you wanted for the eyes?"

Sasha shrugged. "Bobby," she pointed at a redheaded boy on the other side of the room, a kid with a sneaky look, "took the box of crayons and all I could find was a piece of a red one." Sasha took a moment to contemplate the frog, staring into its eyes. "It makes him look sorta scary, doesn't it?" She looked at Chuck, frowning.

ooOoo

Sarah pulled her chair from the reading circle and was sitting in it, listening. Chuck met Sasha's frown with a big, kind grin.

"Nah. Not scary. Intense, you know, like he's letting the other frogs know that's his pad. Bobby Frog isn't going to be allowed to come take it."

Sasha thought about that for a minute, then she gave Chuck a crooked grin. She fished a red crayon out of the box on the table and started coloring, biting her tongue in concentration so that just the tip of it showed, intent on darkening the red of the frog's eyes. Chuck picked a green crayon, a shade or two lighter than the frog, and began to color the lily pad. Sasha noticed him doing it and grinned again. The two of them colored together, concentrating hard. At one point, Chuck began to hum. Within a moment, Sasha caught the melody and began to hum too. Then another of the kids did, then another. Soon the room was humming. Even Bobby. Humming.

Sarah felt something in her chest, deep and warm and liquid, respond to the humming. Her heart was humming. Half-panicked, she got up and walked out of the room. She stood in the hallway for a moment, trying to take a deep breath. The door opened and the TA smiled at her.

"That Mr. Chuck, huh?" Her voice was husky, and she used her hand to fan herself. Sarah liked Jerri, but at the moment she wanted to send her back to campus. A branch campus. Somewhere far away. Sarah took a moment before she responded.

"Something I ate this morning...I guess." Her voice trembled.

"Sure," Jerri said with a barely detectable smirk. "Or something you wish you'd eaten this morning…" she added just loudly enough for Sarah to make it out. She ignored the remark. To acknowledge it would be to think about it, and to think about it would be to kickstart her imagination. It had been busy all weekend without this added stimulus.

They went back inside to a room still filled with humming. "Okay, kids, Jerri is going to take you to the cafeteria." The kids began to put up their art supplies. Chuck helped Sasha put the crayons back in the box. When they finished, Sasha held up the finished frog. "Here, Mr. Chuck, you can have him."

"Why, thank you, Sasha. It's really nice of you. I will hang him right next to my desk at work, so he can keep his eyes on me all the time…" Sarah covered a grin again.

The kids lined up, knowing the drill. Jerri gave Sarah another smirk, then she led the little ones out of the room and into the hall. When they were gone, Sarah walked to her desk and grabbed the bag. She opened it and took a sniff.

"Mmmm…those smell wonderful."

"A friend of mine has a taco truck. Best tacos in town, really. She knows what she is doing."

The same feeling Sarah had in the hallway with Jerri showed up again. "She?"

"Her name is Alex. She's...um...sort of dating my best friend, Morgan Grimes, but he doesn't know it yet."

ooOoo

Chuck noticed that Sarah's smile in response to his Alex comment was colored by a blush. He wasn't sure why that was, but he knew he couldn't ask.

"That's...interesting. So how would you feel about eating on the beach?" she asked.

Chuck wasn't sure what she was asking. He'd love to go to the beach, but first, that was not a client/detective thing to do, and, second, the nearest beach would take them longer to reach than Sarah would have for lunch. And that was if the Crown Vic even started. Chuck wasn't sure he could imagine Sarah in the Crown Vic. Not after seeing her in her Porsche.

"Um, that sounds great, but..."

Sarah grinned at him and walked to the other side of the classroom. Chuck had been so caught up in Sarah's reading, and then in coloring with Sasha, that he really hadn't noticed the Chinese screen standing there. Sarah moved it. Behind it was a small sandbox full of sand. On the walls were childish drawings on poster paper. Water, waves, sharks and fish. Beach scene. Palm trees. A huge yellow sun with a smiley face smack-dab in the middle.

"The kids made it. They wanted to go to the beach." Sarah grabbed a towel from a small table next to the sandbox and spread it on the sand. She gestured for Chuck to sit. He folded himself up again, but not as severely as he had to sit beside Sasha. Sarah opened the bag and pulled out a taco, handing it to Chuck and another for herself. They sat silently for a minute as they opened the wrappers. Sarah bit into hers first.

"Oh, God, Chuck, that is good."

"Told you so," he replied. He took a bite of his. "Mmmm…"

Sarah chewed for a minute. She swallowed. "So, Chuck, what did you make of Sasha?"

"She's a cute one, and smart. I hate to think she's having bad dreams. I can see why you are worried. She doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with her."

"I know. I can't figure it out. Maybe you can, though."

Chuck shrugged but did not suggest hopelessness. "We'll see. I will do my best for you, Miss Sarah."

"Thank you, Mr, Chuck." Sarah bumped his shoulder with hers. She nodded toward the sun on the wall. "It's beautiful here, isn't it, Chuck?"

He snuck a look at her and held it as he answered. "The most beautiful place I've ever been."

They finished their tacos and their consultation and Chuck left the classroom. The Crown Vic started. He took that as a hopeful sign.

ooOoo

Sarah shook the sand out of the towel gently, careful to keep it above the sandbox. She did not know if that had gone according to plan. Yes, other than the shoulder bump, she hadn't touched him. Other than the smile that escaped her when he first showed up, she kept her expressions within bounds. Maybe the shoulder bump was on the line...

But that feeling when he was coloring with Sasha! That feeling when her class was humming along with him. When she was, inside. His clever little kindness to Sasha about her frog's eyes. She had never felt anything like that, so strong, so deep, so complete. There was desire in it, real, burning desire, but there were so many other things, many of them future-tensed. Her normal worries about the motives and intentions of the guys who were interested in her had not shown themselves yet. She...trusted...Chuck. That was new.

She made herself shift gears. The kids would be back soon and she would have to get them ready to leave, always a hectic time of day. Backpacks and missing shoes and pulled hair...

She shifted gears but the longing in her chest remained. She really wanted to kiss Chuck. Kiss, kiss, kiss...

ooOoo

Chuck spent the early afternoon on the computer in his tiny office. His one window let in the afternoon sun and it shone on the only thing in the office he really cared about, a small cactus in a blue pot. He poured a little water into the pot and turned the cactus a little clockwise. He really wanted a dog, but his living arrangements and the bizarre hours he kept when on cases made that impossible. The cactus would have to do. He got a piece of tape from the dispenser on his desk and carefully taped Sasha's frog on the wall above the cactus. Its angry eyes glared at Chuck and he laughed out loud. He really liked that picture.

He intended to dig deep into Sasha's background. Sasha Monroe. Daughter of Matthew and Virginia Monroe. But he came up with almost nothing. And for a hacker of his skill, that meant something. As far as he could tell, the entire family simply popped into existence less than two years ago. They had no previous history. It was like they had lived off the grid, then moved back onto it. Chuck made a few notes in his notebook, then sat, idly chewing on the end of the green golf pencil, trying to work out the non-pattern. After a few unproductive minutes, he got up and headed out of the office. Before he did, he got his gun and shoulder holster out of the file cabinet. He left them behind, of course, when he visited the school.

He sailed the Crown Vic toward the Monroe's address. It was in a very nice section of town, and their house turned out to be one of the nicer houses in a nice neighborhood. Chuck had a vision as he shut down the Crown Vic and waited for her shudder to end: a vision of himself and Sarah, a kid and a dog, in a nice neighborhood. Funny, he thought Jill was the one, for a while, but when he did, he never had a vision of a future life with her at all, much less one of such bell-like clarity, one that felt so right. He thought he heard bells in his head.

He stopped himself. I am wrong to think about it. She is my client. Sandbox or not. Is it really possible to fall in love at first sight? I have no idea.

Some detective I am, I can't tail my own heart.

Chuck got out and walked along the sidewalk. He passed the Monroe house without changing speed and without obviously studying it. Up close, it was still nice. He noticed nothing odd - except the front door. Heavy, bolted. The lock looked impressive. Then he noticed that the home security system, although made to look like the average pay-by-the-month system, was far more high-tech, extraordinarily pricey, high-end stuff. Chuck knew electronics. He liked to hang out at the 'spy store' near the Buy More. He just never had any money for work gear he couldn't buy at the army/navy surplus. He walked to the end of the block, looked around like he was lost, pretended to notice the street sign and then to shake his head at himself. He walked back to the car. He hadn't been able to tell, but he thought it likely the house windows were made of special glass.

Sasha lived in a fortress. A house prepared to resist invasion or to ride out a siege. Sarah's instincts were true. There was more to this story.

Chuck got in the car. It started. He patted the steering wheel and pointed his ship downtown.

ooOoo

Chuck walked into the police station steeling himself for the onslaught. The policemen there treated him as a bit of a joke. They liked to call him…

"Dr. Watson! How are you?" It was Barney, a massive beat cop who looked a little like the purple dinosaur, minus the purple. He grinned with mischief under his large, flat-ended nose. "How is the world's best detective sidekick? Ever find a detective to...sidekick?"

Chuck ignored the final question. "Fine, Barney. How's my favorite dinosaur sensation?" Chuck threw in a few hummed bars of the Barney theme song for good measure.

Barney scowled. "That ain't funny, kid."

Chuck smirked and walked on. He found Casey at his desk, talking to his sometime partner, Rhonda Sumner. Rhonda was a blunt, fast-talking woman, African-American, with sharp eyes and a kind smile. She was not just Casey's sometimes partner, she was his full-time girlfriend. They kept the relationship secret, although Chuck suspected everyone knew but that everyone pretended that they didn't. Chuck was very fond of Rhonda. He suspected that he and Morgan were only still alive because she whispered kindness into Casey's ear. Rhonda had been trying lately to get Casey and Alex to come to terms, but so far even she had not had much luck.

Rhonda looked up and saw him coming. "Dr. Watson, I presume." She said it with so much obvious affection Chuck let it slide. She grabbed Chuck and gave him a hug. "Be careful with him. He's in a mood."

Chuck whispered back. "So, normal?"

Rhonda shrugged. "Gotta go. Court appearance on a bust." She walked out and Chuck watched Casey watch her walk away. A softness crept into Casey's eyes that vanished when he turned to Chuck.

"What's up, Bartowski. You twice in one day is about as welcome as a lilac bath bomb in my tub." Casey chuckled at himself, and Chuck let him do it alone.

"Not much. Just a question. Imagine that there's a family in town. Obviously well-to-do. Small daughter. Just in school. Family doesn't seem to have existed for more than two years though. No internet records going back in time. Just family ex nihilo. What would you make of that?"

Casey tipped back in his desk chair. It made a sound a lot like the chair in Chuck's office when Casey was in it. Chuck thought Casey had tipped back so far the chair would topple, but, miraculously, it didn't. Chairs went the extra mile for the big detective.

"Lots of possibilities…" Casey began after a moment, "...but almost all of them require government involvement. That kind of erasure or creation requires deep electronic reach, official ties. I mean, it could be done by a gifted hacker," his eyes flicked to Chuck, "or organized crime…But it would not be mob style, really, and the hacker would have to have serious equipment and lots of cash, I'm guessing…" his eyes flicked to Chuck again, and Chuck nodded. "Whatever the explanation, something big would have to be in the story, something to motivate effort on that scale. Doesn't sound like any casual con, for example."

"That's what I thought. Well, I'll let you get back to work. No need to bath bomb you."

Casey tipped his chair forward and wheeled it toward Chuck. "Say, kid, you asked this morning about…" he dropped his voice, "the work you were doing for me. I will tell you more when we are alone, but the thing is...I have reasons to be suspicious of Larkin. But, given his position, I can't easily do anything about them until I have proof. Rhonda just told me something that may turn into something...I know that's vague, but be ready, I may need more of your help."

"But you think I can't do this work, Casey." Chuck kept his voice a whisper too.

Casey gave Chuck a funny look. "I said you weren't cut out for it, kid. Didn't say you couldn't do it. I trust you. Gotta go. Talk more soon."

Casey strode away. Chuck stood there, feeling heartwarmed, until Jessup, another detective, walked by. "'Scuse me, Dr. Watson."

ooOoo

Chuck drove to the putt-putt course. He wanted to tell Morgan about Sarah. See if he could figure out how to cope with what he was feeling while remaining within professional bounds. More trips to the beach, sitting with her beneath a smiling sun - probably not a good idea. He blamed the smiling sunlight for his earlier vision. Too much Crayola sunlight.

He was surprised to see Alex's truck out front. He had talked to her before he went to see Sarah, but she had been parked in her usual weekday spot, on the side of a gas station parking lot.

He noticed the side door of the small building was standing open. He got a strange feeling. He thought about his gun but left it in his shoulder holster. He could hear shouting.

He slipped through the door. There, on the floor, amid a spill of stubby pencils and scorecards, was Morgan. He was on his back. Alex was on top of him, yelling.

A/N2 This story's version of a cliffhanger.

Tune in next time. Larkin and Jill make speaking appearances. Sarah begins to wonder about her plan. Chapter 6, "Dodgeball."

I head out of the country for a while. Postings may continue apace or not. I am now finishing the final chapter of (Mis)Ed's New Traditionalists story.