A/N: Yet Another Fine Mess of Stanford TMI - Geocorner is the southwestern corner of the large building complex in the middle of Stanford's campus known as the Quad. That area of the complex houses Geophysics and Geological Sciences. It is located at the junction of Escondido Mall and Lomita Mall.

Disclaimer: Some enchanted evening you may see a disclaimer! You may see a disclaimer across a crowded room. And somehow you know, you know even then, that somehow, you'll see one here sometime again. Once you have found Chuck, never let him go, even though you don't own him, never make money, no. Eat your hearts out Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Chapter 10 – Blush (Only You)

October 7

Sarah was talking to her suitemates, going over the plans for the day's practice, when the door to Helman Hall was thrown open behind her. She didn't think anything of it, since it wasn't quite time for practice to start and girls were still arriving. Two events in quick succession, grabbed her attention. An instant after she heard the door, the air in the room felt charged with electricity. Then, a gust of wind blew in through the open door, carrying with it the triple delight of Ivory soap, cedar, and him. She immediately stopped talking and her friends saw a dazed expression cross her face before morphing into a warm smile as she turned around. "Chuck!" Sarah exclaimed.

Behind her, her friends giggled. "Our Hero!" they sighed, in unison. Cheers and 'Atta boys' echoed from around the room. Chuck had rushed off after dinner the previous night to study, so the singers were taking this opportunity to continue their praise with a healthy dose of teasing. Chuck rewarded them with a bright blush and an embarrassed, close-lipped smile when he pulled his neck in, like a turtle trying to hide, and gave them all a shy wave causing giggles to flow back and forth across the open space.

"Hi … hi, y'all!" Chuck chirped, his voice cracking a bit, causing his blush to deepen. His smile changed to a mortified frown.

Sarah's smile widened and she couldn't resist looking over her shoulder to her friends. "So, what was that? A level 4 blush up to a 5 or a 5 up to a 6?" She looked back at Chuck, her eyes dancing. Chuck's face continued to redden.

"Speaking scientifically, I definitely think that was a level 4 up to a 5. But now, we've got a level 7, at least. Speaking scientifically, of course." Amy chortled. Calls of "7, definitely", "level 7, yup", and similar expressions came from other, grinning, Songbirds. No one paid any attention to Carina's frown at Amy's usurpation of her teasing moment.

Chuck knew they were teasing him. It wasn't like the teasing he was used to from baseball teammates over the years or from classmates in school, but he'd been around the Songbirds long enough, particularly the CATS, to know what their brand of teasing looked like. He knew enough to know that resistance was futile, so he quickly surrendered. Lifting his hands up and waving them back and forth, he spoke, "Uncle. Uncle. I give." He smiled again. "I'm s—sorry for s—stopping Sarah from 'kicking his ass clear across campus'."

"Fat sorry ass." Sarah corrected, still smiling, but not quite as much. She'd noticed his stuttering.

"Right. Fat s- sorry ass. Got it. Next time, I'll be s- sure to let the Asshat Defense Force's chief enforcer do the ass kicking." Chuck said, humorously, as he lowered his arms. Sarah almost missed the brief hurt look that flickered in his eyes before it was gone. With a chuckle, which to Sarah's ears sounded a little forced, he turned toward the stairs and his preferred perch. "I'd better get on with it and let y'all alone to practice." Her eyes narrowed as she frowned in contemplation of another fact in the disjointed whirl that was Chuck Bartowski in her mind.

John Casey had to admit that Morgan Grimes was more focused than he had ever seen him in the three plus weeks he'd known the hobbit. Maybe having Grimes dating Alex wasn't all bad. Fear was, obviously, a good motivating factor to get the gnome to do what he was told and to concentrate on what he was doing without all the smartass comments and general grab ass tomfoolery. He hadn't had to yell at or correct Grimes at weight training that morning. Nor was he having to prod him to work harder during this afternoon's conditioning drills.

He still wasn't sure about Grimes being a good choice for his Alex, but Kathleen, and Alex, had made it very clear that he was to butt out and let her live her own life and make her own decisions. Crystal clear. After all, they reasoned, Casey had trained her, himself, over the last six years, and she was more than capable of taking care of, and defending, herself. Alex would keep Grimes in line. Of that fact, Casey was absolutely convinced. His issues with Grimes were more specific than that. Every time Casey thought about Alex and Grimes being together, he got an image of little, bearded, hirsute grandbabies running around in diapers and he couldn't get the image out of his mind without some major distractions. Johnny Walker was always available, but Kathleen wasn't and, if she was, she wasn't always willing. He did enjoy a related image of Alex shearing Grimes like a sheep. He smiled to himself as he wondered how fast she could accomplish that onerous task. The image of her hog-tying the little man, the blurring clippers, and Alex throwing her arms in the air when the job was complete, while a hairless Grimes whimpered at her feet, warmed his heart, causing him to grunt in amusement.

The other thing that was warming Casey's heart, that afternoon, was the memory of those two piss-ants, Shaw and Larkin, getting put in their place before the start of this latest practice. They'd had the balls to come to him to try and tattle about Alex and Grimes, breathlessly telling him all about their 'discovery' of them together, holding hands, after the football game on Saturday. As if Alex wasn't smart enough or strong enough to talk to him before now about her and Grimes' situation, knowing full well what kind of childish stunt they'd try to pull. Granted, he wasn't happy about her dating Grimes, but he was proud about how she owned up to it and stood her ground when he pushed back. Proud about how he hadn't raised any shy, fearful, wallflower. Casey had enjoyed seeing their faces fall when he told them that he already knew. He'd enjoyed even more ripping them a new one about how his daughter's life was none of their business and to 'shut the fuck up'. The 20 double poles he'd assigned them almost made him shiver in pleasure. Graham joining in the fun, by reaming them out some more and adding a further 20 double poles, nearly made Casey giggle in delight. That was sort of horrifying. Marines don't giggle. Or shiver in pleasure, for that matter. Unless, of course, they were shivering due to the ministrations of a Grade-A, Number 1, Made in the U.S.A., All-American woman. Like Kathleen. Yes, Sir. Outstanding. Oorah. Say three R. Lee Ermey's and call me in the morning.

Well, there was that one time in the Philippines, before he met Kathleen, where that girl had that feather … Casey shook his head, frowning slightly, as he realized his mind had gone off in a direction that was best kept away from the baseball field. Far away. Cracking a brief smile, which, if anyone had been looking, resembled someone smelling something foul while simultaneously stepping on something sharp, he thought back to the pièce de resistance, Graham calling Mark Klein on the carpet. The priggish infield coach had tried to protest the treatment of what he called 'two of his best players'. Graham had shut him down instantly, saying it was his decision who the best players were and that, if they didn't start shaping up and getting with the program, they'd be lucky to ride the bench, much less stay on the team. He'd told Shaw that he had half a mind to take his captaincy away from him, if he didn't grow up and start acting more like a leader and less like a butt-hurt, hormonal middle-school kid. Casey looked forward to regaling Katheen about that little confrontation. Too bad Alex wouldn't be around to hear it, too. Maybe, he'd call her later. She would enjoy that conversation and so would he. That would be a while in coming. First, Casey had to hang around and watch Shaw and Larkin run their 80 poles. He'd be late for dinner, but he had a wonderful excuse.

Sarah thought Chuck was a little down when they all met for dinner. She thought it was due to the hurt feeling she perceived in his eyes when they'd teased him about the Bumper incident at practice that afternoon.

The real truth was Chuck was tired. His day had been hectic with practice and schoolwork. Meeting with the Dean had just added to his cluttered schedule. Spending most of Sunday evening working in Terman, then back in his room before running down all the sniffer program alerts on his cell phone left him exhausted. That was the true source of his tiredness. His little stunt with Bumper Allen had proven more costly than it was worth. More people were curious about him now. No one had searched like Zondra had, but he still needed to track each search down and confirm that fact. Maybe he'd create a program to do the analysis for him. Some kind of A.I. That would help him out, but would just be one more iron in the fire in the meantime. He wasn't sure how many more irons he could juggle. It didn't help that, deep down, he knew time was running out. Sooner or later, the tapestry he'd woven around himself would fall apart. It was already fraying at the edges. It was only a matter of time before someone tugged on the correct thread to unravel the entire construct. An image of him, like the little Dutch boy, with all of his fingers, toes, nose, and … plugging holes in the dike, only for another hole to spring open, formed in his mind. He sighed and shook his head to clear it, knowing that the image would stay there anyway. Sarah heard his sigh and noticed the head shake.

"Are you OK?" she asked, concern in her voice.

It took Chuck a second as he blinked and focused on her face. It took him a few more seconds before a coherent thought sparked in his brain. "Uh … Yeah … yeah, I'm fine." He stumbled.

"Chuck …," Sarah began.

"I'm fine. Really." Chuck assured her when he noticed the concern, and disbelief, growing in her eyes. Those intoxicating blue eyes. He jerked his head up, realizing that he was actually starting to fall asleep. Fall asleep at dinner. With her. With Sarah. "Sorry … sorry. I'm just a little tired. I had a late night last night. A lot of work to do." He tried, and failed, to stifle a yawn.

"More than a little tired there, Chuckles." Carina teased. "You need a pick-me-up." She leered.

"You're right, Carina. That's what I need. I'll grab a big coffee to-go before I leave the hall. Thanks." Chuck smiled appreciatively. Carina frowned. How did Chuck keep side-stepping her traps? Sarah just grinned.

"It looks like you need to forget about doing any studying tonight and just crash. Try and catch up on your sleep." Sarah suggested.

Chuck nodded, tiredly. "If only it was that simple. Too much work to do." He shrugged. "And, you know you can't really 'catch up' on your sleep, right?" Sarah gave him a flat look.

Carina noticed. "You better watch out, Chuckles. Sarah's in Momma-bear mode. Don't poke the bear." She pursed her lips and stared at him while shaking her head. Sarah glared at her.

"Ignore Carina." Sarah commanded. "I know you can't catch up on sleep. I also know that the nodding off and the yawning is your body telling you that you need to sleep more than you have been." She saw, but chose to ignore, the smirks and knowing glances coming from her friends.

"I know. I've fallen asleep at my desk with my face on my keyboard before. When I woke up, my face looked like someone hit me with a waffle iron." Chuck chuckled, tiredly. "I've got more to do tonight. I'll try and make it an earlier night than last night, but there's always more to do." The image of Chuck with 'waffle iron face' generated a ripple of laughter around the Songbird's tables. Sarah glanced over at Morgan, who gave her a 'don't look at me' look.

Morgan left, soon after, for his scheduled movie viewing, without Alex this time around due to her having her own school work to do that evening. Chuck finished his dinner and wrapped up his conversations with the CATS and the remaining Songbirds. He made himself a big cup of coffee before leaving the dining hall. On the way back to his room, to gather his study materials for the evening, Chuck felt the onset of one of his headaches, a clear signal he was tired that he couldn't laugh off or deny. After he got back to his room, he sat on his bed and began his mental routine to curtail the headache.

When Morgan returned from his movie assignment, he found Chuck fast asleep on top of his bed, fully clothed. His backpack was full and ready on the floor. A big cup of cold coffee sat on his desk. Morgan smiled to himself. Mother Nature still held sway over Chuck Bartowski. For the time being, anyway. Shaking his best friend half awake, he encouraged him through his nighttime rituals before guiding him back to bed where Chuck slept soundly until dawn.

October 8

Chuck arrived at Helman Hall wearing his huge backpack and carrying a gift for the Songbirds. Beca saw him coming and held the door open for him, then followed him in, her eyes sparkling at what he was carrying.

"What have you got there, Chuck?" She asked, grinning, as they walked into the hall, side by side.

"Gifts for the gifted!" Chuck chirped. At the sound of the conversation, girls turned in their direction.

"What's that for, Chuck?" Sarah asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Chuck's cheeks reddened. "Today's the one-week anniversary of me barging in on you. I wanted to mark the day and say thank you for allowing me to stay, so I bought a 24-pack of vitamin water in assorted flavors for y'all to share during your practice." He walked over and sat the water on one of the desks in the lowest row and turned back to face the assembled singers.

The girls were stunned. They were touched by his thoughtful gesture. It wasn't lost on them that Chuck had gotten enough for each of them to have two bottles with nothing left over for himself. Even the CATS were speechless. Sarah slowly blinked. Had it only been a week? A week? He'd become that deeply ingrained in their lives, in her life, in only a week? It seemed to Sarah, like Chuck Bartowski had been part of her life forever. Everything before last Tuesday seemed vague and out of focus. Only a week? Sarah swallowed past the lump in her throat, her eyes glistening.

"You didn't have to do that." She said, her voice rasping.

"I know." Chuck shrugged. "I wanted to. Y'all've been so nice to me that I wanted to do something in return besides sit up there like a lump." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his perch. "You've let me hang out with you. And eat with you. You've taken me along to a football game."

"Oh, Chuck … " Sarah couldn't help getting choked up. The girls she could see from where she was standing were similarly affected.

Oblivious, Chuck continued. "One of the reasons I wanted to come to Stanford was to make more friends. I know it hasn't been very long, but you're my friends." He stumbled. "At least, I think you're my friends. Or … um … becoming my friends. Or … ah … something … " Chuck's voice tapered off into silence as he blushed again.

That did it. The dam broke. Before he knew what was going on, Chuck was surrounded by twelve crying girls, all trying to hug him at once. He felt warm all over, probably, he thought, because his blush had reached level 9 or 10.

"What'd I say?" He was confused. "I'm sorry. Whatever I said. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Just tell me what I said and I won't say that ever again."

"You're an idiot." A voice sniffled from the scrum.

"That's a given. Ellie tells me that all the time." Chuck tried to shrug but there were too many girls too close for him to move, at all. Wet chuckles from the scrum.

"Chuck, you didn't hurt our feelings." That watery voice belonged to Sarah, whose cheek was pressed against his chest under his chin. "We were just overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness in bringing us the water. And what you said. We've not had boys be that nice or say such nice things to our group before."

"Apparently, there are bigger idiots out there than me." Chuck frowned.

"Plenty." "Many more." "Many, many more." "Absolutely." From various voices surrounding him.

"Soooo? Friends?" Chuck asked, tentatively.

"Yes, you goof. Friends." Sarah said while giving him an electric hug.

"Great. Friends." Chuck said, happily. "Now, which one of my friends is … um … grabbing my butt?" He frowned.

"MEEEE!" Twelve voices warbled in unison. Giggles. The hand hadn't moved.

"Okaaay. Just checking." Chuck knew he wouldn't fight off twelve girls, so he waited embarrassed and blushing furiously for them to let go. And waited. And waited. "Um … don't y'all have practice? I know I have to do school work." More giggles.

"Practice is overrated. So's school work." That was Carina. For sure.

Sarah chuckled and sniffed. "He's right, people. As nice as this group hug is, we have work to do. And so does Chuck." She gave him one more squeeze before letting go. The other girls followed suit.

"Thank you, Chuck. Truly. That was very sweet." Sarah smiled, looking up at him through her lashes.

Chuck beamed. "You're welcome. Anything I can do to help."

More than one Songbird had a few ideas of how he could 'help'.

"He's a keeper," mental mom said with certainty. Sarah nodded to herself, on the inside. He certainly was, but she had no idea what that really meant.

Dinner that night was a jovial affair. The girls were still in a good mood from Chuck's thoughtful gift. Their group cry had a cathartic effect on all of them, releasing some of the tension that had been building from their school work and Songbird practices all quarter. Alex told Morgan what had happened and he'd just smiled. Chuck being Chuck. Nothing to see here. Move along. He knew the story would get out. Chuck had too big a heart to keep it contained. With the good will Chuck always generated, next spring would be wild. They might pack the baseball stadium. If they could keep the jerks like Shaw and Larkin in check. Morgan blinked those thoughts away and enjoyed his mealtime with his girlfriend.

Sarah ate her meal, sneaking small glances at Chuck when she didn't think he'd notice. She, once again, thought back over all the moments they'd been together. He was so open and friendly and such a mystery, all at the same time. Chuck was friendly to everyone he met, whether he knew them or not. At the same time, there were things he wasn't telling them, telling her. Not sharing. Sarah wasn't sure what he was hiding, but he was hiding something. While he'd never said anything or done anything specifically, Sarah knew that they had a connection. She felt it and she was certain that he felt it, too. Well, at least, she thought he felt it. From his reactions it seemed like he felt it. She hoped so. Didn't she? Was there anything there to be hoping for? If she were being honest, she just wasn't sure. If only she knew about her application to physical therapy school. Did she get in or didn't she? Stanford or somewhere else? Or nowhere? Would she be around for another three years or gone someplace else in eight months? Acceptance letters should have started going out at the beginning of the month, but she'd not gotten one here on campus nor heard from her mother about one arriving at home. Sarah hated the waiting and not knowing. A voice calling Chuck's name pulled her out of her funk spiral.

"Chuck! Chuuuckk!" Anna yelled down the table. Chuck looked up. "Guess what?" Anna and Cynthia Rose were bouncing in their seats, giddy with excitement.

"I don't know? What?" Chuck smiled. He was pretty sure what they had to tell them, based on their antics.

"WE GOT A 100% ON YESTERDAY'S HOMEWORK!" They yelled in unison.

"That's great! Congratulations! I knew you could do it." Chuck beamed at them.

"That's not all!" They grinned back at him, still bouncing.

"OK. So, what else do you want to tell me?" He prompted, remembering about the test they had scheduled for today.

"We think we aced our test!" Anna crowed. Chuck's face split into his full Bartowski smile.

"Yeah. We made that test our bitch!" Cynthia Rose nodded. Chuck's smile turned a bit uncertain.

Sarah leaned in and whispered in his ear, "She means they kicked the test's butt. Did good."

"Oh, OK. Got it. Thanks." Chuck nodded. His smile returned in full force. Sarah grinned to herself. Turning his attention back down the table, he added, "Another big congratulation, then. Two for two. Good work!" Chuck gave them a 'thumbs up' sign as he took another bite of his dinner.

"We might need your help again, teach!" Anna enthused. Cynthia Rose laughed and nodded.

Chuck smiled and nodded again. "You know where to find me. I'll be glad to help, if I can."

"Yup, we sure do." Anna's laugh joined Cynthia Rose's. "Thanks, again. For everything." Chuck's smile broadened, once more, before he returned to his food.

"Well. Hello there, Professor Bartowski." Carina marveled. "All you need is one of those tweed jackets with the leather patches on the elbows and you'll be all set. You'll have co-eds dropping at your feet." Sarah glared at her, but she just smiled and winked. Chuck just blushed at the compliment. At least, he thought it was a compliment.

Alex leaned over the table and smirked. "So, Professor, do you know anything about chemistry or is physics your only specialty?" Morgan looked surprised and a little put out by her behavior.

"What about calculus?" Lilly asked, quietly.

"Yeah, I could use some pointers in calculus, too." Beca piped up.

"Wow. OK." Chuck put his fork down and leaned back in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. "I'd be glad to help you with all of that stuff. I just need to take a look at your books, like before. And then we need to figure out a schedule. I'd love to help, but I hate to say that I have my own work to deal with." The girls started to look disappointed. Chuck rushed to allay their fears. "I didn't say I wouldn't help, just that we need to figure out a schedule that suits everyone. I can't very well help with physics, chemistry, and calculus at the same time."

"So, you do have some limitations, after all." Carina teased. Sarah tried, and failed, to hide her grin.

"Sorry, but I can't be in three places at once. There's only one of me." Chuck shrugged and held his palms up.

"Oh! Too bad!" Carina closed her eyes and pouted saucily. Chuck blushed, again.

"There we go. A number 6. For sure." Zondra chuckled. Chuck just grinned and shook his head, blushing even more.

"Would you help me too, Chuck?" Morgan posed, tilting his head to the side and resting his index finger on his chin.

Chuck stopped blushing and gave him a flat look. "Morgan, we share a room. You can ask me questions any time." Everyone burst out laughing.

Sobering, Chuck spoke down the table. "Just bring your chemistry books and calculus books to y'all's practice tomorrow. I'll make time to review them then. We can work out a schedule for discussing which classes at what times at dinner tomorrow evening. Does that work for everyone?" Nods all around. "OK, good. That's a plan. Tomorrow then." Chuck didn't notice the CATS sharing a wide-eyed look.

"Are you sure you have time to help all these people in all those classes, Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know, to be honest. I won't know until I get a chance to look at their books and figure out their story like I did with Anna's and Cynthia Rose's book last Sunday." Chuck shrugged as he answered.

"My advice to you is don't get people's hopes up if you can't help them. If you can't, be sure to tell them right away. If you don't have enough time to help them and get your own work done, tell them right away." Sarah advised.

"Oh, I know. Absolutely. I wouldn't keep anyone waiting or pretend that I can help them when I can't. That's not fair to them. Or to me." Chuck agreed.

Officer Joe Riley enjoyed being part of Stanford's Department of Public Safety. Sure, he was a campus cop and not a regular cop, but Stanford was, generally, a good beat. Yeah, college kids could get up to some crazy stuff, especially drinking, but incidents of really serious stuff were few and far between. Officer Riley was just a hair over six feet, but solidly built, after serving five years in the army with the military police (MP). A couple of tours in the middle east had convinced his wife, Sue, that it was time for him to find a safer, less stressful, place to serve his fellow Americans. They both agreed that Stanford fit that bill. The pay was pretty good, the benefits were nice, and the chance to further their education certainly held some appeal. Given his size and no nonsense, but friendly, approach, Officer Riley didn't get much pushback from the students or visitors on campus, most of the time. The students might not have respected him very much as a campus cop, but they didn't cross him either. That's not to say that there wasn't the odd incident or two, because there absolutely was. What he saw occurring in the near distance along Escondido Mall near Geocorner looked to be shaping up into one of those rare incidents. It seemed there was a dark-haired male student accosting a tall, blonde female student. From his vantage point further south on Lomita Mall, Riley observed three other students, a short dark-haired female and two males, one tall and lanky and the other shorter and sporting a full beard, approaching the incident occurring between the blonde girl and the first guy.

Sarah was walking back to the dorm from Green library. It had been a pretty good night and she had gotten a lot of work accomplished. Coming on top of a good Songbirds practice and a nice dinner with everyone, she was feeling fairly pleased with herself. It had been a fairly Chuck day, too. That was icing on the cake, as far as she was concerned. Just being around him lifted her spirits. Sarah wouldn't allow herself to dwell on anything else Chuck related until she had a better idea of how her graduate plans shaped up. She ignored the flutter in her chest when she thought about the tall, awkward, gorgeous man swimming in that suit, but she blushed none-the-less. There was time to figure all of that out. No rush. She'd just enjoy his company in the meantime.

Chuck had been finishing up in Terman Library when he got a text from Morgan that he and Alex were done with his movie and were walking back to the dorm. Morgan invited him to walk back with them and get something to eat from the Late Night at Lakeside in the dining hall. Chuck threw his stuff into his backpack and left the library to meet his friends as they walked south on Lomita Mall. It was a slight detour for him to go back to the dorm that way, but the chance to walk back with some friends, instead of alone, was too good to pass up. Chuck had just found Morgan and Alex and they were resuming their walk when they, all three, saw Bryce Larkin walk onto the Mall from the direction of Terman and accost a girl walking around the corner from Escondido Mall. With a shock, they recognized that the girl was Sarah Walker.

"Oh, look." Morgan said. "Isn't that Limp-dick Larkin? And isn't that Sarah?"

"Yeah, you're right buddy. I wonder what he wants?" Chuck said. He didn't see Alex give him an incredulous look.

Sarah was so deeply into her thoughts of Chuck, that we didn't notice the man approaching from the general direction of Terman Library until he was almost right in front of her. Startled, she looked up directly into the face of someone she recognized. Recognized and despised. Bryce Larkin.

"You!" Larkin exclaimed. "Sarah Walker. Fancy meeting you here."

"What do you want? How do you know my name?" Sarah frowned. "You're not following me, are you? Stalking?"

"Jill Roberts told us who you are, that's how I know your name." Larkin replied. "No, I'm not following, or stalking, you. Don't flatter yourself."

"Fine. You're not stalking. Then let me go on my way." Sarah began to walk past Larkin.

"Hey, wait a minute. I only wanted to talk." Larkin said. Sarah stopped, again.

"OK, so talk." She said, gruffly.

"What's the deal with you and Bartowski? Are you two dating? What do you see in that big geek?" Larkin asked.

"It's not really any of your business." Sarah was indignant and began to walk again.

"Wouldn't you like to be with a real man?" Larkin gave her his best 'studly man' smile.

"When I see a real man, I'll let you know. Now, get out of my way." Sarah retorted and began to move, once more.

Officer Riley was close enough to hear the girl's put down and had to stifle his laughter. That girl was some spitfire.

Chuck, Morgan, and Alex overheard, as well, and snickered, even as they moved closer. Chuck thought that Sarah might need some help. Larkin could really be a jerk when he wanted to be.

Larkin's smile vanished. "Now wait a minute. All I wanted to do was talk for a second." No one insulted his manhood like that. In his anger, he made the mistake of grabbing hold of Sarah's arm.

Sarah glared at Larkin's hand on her arm before turning her eyes to his face. She frowned. "You have three seconds to remove your hand from my arm." Larkin looked confused. "Three … "

"Wait a minute." Larkin spluttered.

"Two … " Sarah growled.

"Wait!" Larkin yelled.

"One …" Sarah's voice became monotone. "Time's up!"

In the next instant, three things happened simultaneously. Officer Riley shouted and began to cover the remaining distance to the struggling students. Chuck's face darkened in anger and he began running toward Sarah, followed closely by Morgan and Alex. Quickest of all, Sarah hit Larkin in the chest with a Jireugi, punch, to force him back. Then, she shifted her weight to her front leg and snapped her back leg up in a classic Ap Chagi, taekwondo front kick, which connected with Larkin's chin and sent him flying back a few feet to land, painfully, flat on his back. He lay on the ground, dazed.

Officer Riley stopped, stunned, at what he'd just seen. How should he handle this turn of events? Alex and Morgan's own steps slowed and stopped, as they took in the image of the campus police officer arriving at the scene of Sarah's attempt to punt Larkin into next week. What would he do? Was Sarah in trouble? Was Larkin? Both of them?

For her part, Sarah stood glaring down at Larkin's prone figure. That is until she noticed the uniformed police officer standing on the other side of Larkin's body blinking at her in astonishment. Then she froze.

The only person not impacted by Sarah's actions was Chuck. He stormed right up to Larkin, ignoring both Officer Riley and Sarah. In his fury, he reached down and took hold of Larkin's shirt front with his right hand. In one swift motion, he yanked Larkin up into the air so that his feet were dangling off of the ground by a few inches. With his arm extended, he proceeded to shake Larkin like a ragdoll, before pulling the dazed and wide-eyed student close to his face.

"If you hurt her in any way, Larkin, you'll live to regret it." Chuck snarled with his nose almost touching Larkin's own. "First you bother her and her friends at the football game on Saturday and now this? What's the matter with you?" He started shaking Larkin, again. Larkin stared at Chuck, too afraid to say or do anything, although it could be said he was still reeling from the effects of Sarah's perfect kick. Chuck was just drawing his left fist back, when the other people on the scene jolted into action.

Morgan mumbled, "Uh Oh," and began moving to intercept Chuck's arm before his fist could make contact with Larkin's slack face. Alex was right on his heels.

Officer Riley reached out a hand in the classic 'stop' signal and started to speak, "Now hold on a minute there …"

Sarah just put her hand, softly, on Chuck's arm holding Larkin. "Chuck don't. Please."

Chuck stopped. His head slowly swiveled toward Sarah, giving her a questioning look.

"I'm fine, Chuck. Look, he didn't hurt me. At all." Sarah grinned and swept her hands down her body like she was preparing to bow. Chuck gulped and had to admit that she looked OK. Better than OK. His face started to redden.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Fine. Perfectly." Sarah nodded. "Please put him down and let this officer deal with it." She gestured at Larkin and then at the police officer. Chuck nodded.

Chuck put Larkin down, making sure he was steady enough on his feet before letting go. "Remember what I said." Larkin numbly nodded. Officer Riley began to speak to Larkin as soon as he got his attention away from Chuck. And Sarah.

"Are you really OK?" Chuck asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, looking down at Sarah.

"I'm fine. Really." Sarah confirmed.

"It's Larkin who might need examining. You really rang his bell, Sarah" Alex gushed.

"Yeah, that was awesome." Morgan agreed. "I've never seen an actual kung fu fight in real life, only in movies. Real life is so much better."

Sarah wasn't so sure. Not with the police officer questioning Larkin a few feet away. She managed a weak grin and murmured "Thank you. I think."

"I'm sorry for that." Chuck ducked his head in embarrassment.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Sarah wondered.

"Well, you clearly had Larkin in your control. You didn't need me barging in there like some old school movie tough guy. John Wayne or Alan Ladd, I'm not." Chuck shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Sarah reassured him.

"I saw a friend who looked like they were in trouble and lost my temper. I didn't think. I just acted." Chuck frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually like that. If I had taken just a second, I would have realized that you were taking care of Larkin all by yourself. You didn't need my help."

"I could always use your help." Sarah said without thinking. She instantly realized what she had said. So had Alex and Morgan, judging by the looks on their faces. Only Chuck seemed not to see the deeper meaning to her words. He just nodded his head and gave her a thoughtful smile.

Before any more could be said, the police officer came over to their group, after indicating for Larkin to stay where he was. He introduced himself as Officer Joe Riley. He wanted to speak with each of them alone. First, he took Alex aside to get her statement. After a few minutes, Alex came back and he motioned for Morgan to join him and recount his view of the events. While this was going on, the other students quietly talked amongst themselves, speculating on what was going to happen. Once Morgan was done, it was Chuck's turn to talk with Officer Riley.

"Tell me your name." Officer Riley requested.

"Charles Bartowski. Everyone calls me 'Chuck'."

"OK, Chuck. Tell me what happened from your perspective."

Chuck explained how he knew Morgan, Alex, and Sarah and that he and Morgan knew Larkin from the baseball team. He told Officer Riley everything that happened from the time that Morgan texted him, about walking back to the dorm to get some late night eats, up to Chuck's putting Larkin back on the ground a few minutes previously. Officer Riley asked whether there had been any other incidents involving Larkin and any of the four of them, so Chuck recounted the confrontation after Saturday's football game. The police officer questioned him as to why he had gotten involved and picked Larkin up when he, Officer Riley, was already on the scene. Chuck explained that his concern for his friend overrode any other consideration and that he just didn't think it through. He asked what they were going to do to Larkin. He worried about how this would affect Larkin's standing on the team and at school.

Sarah was last. She told Officer Riley about studying in Green Library and being deep in thought on her walk back to the dorm when Larkin confronted her. She repeated Chuck's statements about Larkin being on the baseball team and his part in the confrontation the previous Saturday. Sarah admitted to being concerned when Larkin grabbed her arm, how she asked him to let her go, and how she had kicked him in self-defense when he hadn't. Officer Riley had been interested where she had studied taekwondo and told her that she appeared very skilled. When asked, she didn't want Larkin kicked out of school or off of the baseball team; she just wanted him to leave her alone.

Officer Riley thanked everyone for their accounts of the occurrence. He admonished Larkin to stay where he was and for the other four to remain where they were, as well, and that there was to be no interaction between the two groups while he consulted with his office. Walking away from the students, Riley spoke into his radio and conferred with his superiors. After some time, he walked back to the waiting students.

"I'll be filing an incident report back at the Public Safety office. Copies will be sent to Dr. Beckman for you, Miss Walker, and Coach Graham for you, Mr. Bartowski, and you, Mr. Larkin. Mr. Grimes and Miss McHugh, you will be listed as witnesses in the report, but otherwise, you are free to go. The rest of you need to remain here for a few more minutes."

"We'll wait for you at Lakeside, Chuck. Sarah." Morgan said as he and Alex walked away.

Officer Riley turned to the remaining students. "What happens next is that my report will be reviewed. If any further action is required, you'll be notified. Any actions from your club advisor or baseball coach are up to them and will be handled by them, separate from anything from the university." All three students nodded, chastened. "Mr. Larkin, you are free to return to your dorm with this warning. You are on notice. Any more stunts like you pulled tonight or anything remotely resembling it will be dealt with most severely. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Larkin looked and sounded more than a little fearful. His college career at Stanford could very well be on the line.

"OK. Now go on back to your dorm. And stay out of trouble." Riley commanded. Larkin nodded and started walking toward his dorm further east. The police officer held up his hand indicating Chuck and Sarah should wait until Larkin was out of earshot.

"Now." Riley began, looking at Sarah. "Miss Walker, I believe you have a fairly clear case of self-defense, from what you and Mr. Larkin told me and from what I saw for myself. We'll have to see what the higher ups say, but that's what I think, for what it's worth." He turned to Chuck. "Mr. Bartowski, your situation is a little more complicated. While it is true that you didn't actually hurt Mr. Larkin, you did grab him and hoist him into the air. And you did verbally threaten him and shake him, although he says that your shaking didn't hurt him. I don't know what the outcome of the review will be in your case. Nothing may come of it, but who knows with the people upstairs. In the meantime, my advice is to stay as far away from Mr. Larkin as you can, outside of baseball practice. And direct your strength toward your schoolwork and getting ready for baseball next spring. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Sarah and Chuck said, in unison.

"OK, now go on back to your dorm and get some of that late-night food your friends were talking about." Officer Riley smiled reassuringly as he waved his hand in the direction Morgan and Alex had gone. They nodded their thanks and walked off, more than a little shell shocked at the evening's strange turn of events.

Morgan and Alex walked back to Roble Hall in a daze. Were Chuck and Sarah in trouble? Would they get expelled? The two of them had no idea.

"Stupid Larkin. What is it with some guys?" Alex fumed as she walked beside Morgan, who wore a worried expression thinking about his friends.

"I have no idea. Some guys are just jerks, I guess. Born that way." Morgan shrugged.

"I mean, Sarah didn't do anything wrong. Larkin grabbed her and wouldn't let go when she asked, so she kicked him. It was pure self-defense all the way." Alex insisted.

"I agree. Self-defense." Morgan nodded. "Man, was she awesome. She's a badass. What a kick." Alex eyed him briefly, but decided he was commenting on her martial arts skill and not anything else about her.

"Did you see, Chuck? I mean he held Larkin in the air with one hand. Talk about amazing."

"Oh, I know. I saw." Morgan noticed Alex looking at him. "Alex, it was his right arm."

"So?"

"Chuck's left-handed. His right arm is his weaker arm."

"Holy shit. That's nuts. He must be crazy strong." Alex said. Morgan sucked in his lips and nodded, wide-eyed.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When Chuck was holding Larkin up and getting ready to hit him, you said 'Uh Oh'. What did you mean? Has Chuck been in that situation before?"

"Oh yeah. He has." Morgan nodded. Alex motioned for him to continue. "Chuck's a great guy. The nicest guy you'll ever meet. The kind of guy that would do anything for you."

"Like helping Anna and Cynthia Rose?"

"Yeah. And Sarah. And you. Me. Anyone who asks him to help, he'll help, if he can."

"OK, so he's a nice guy. What's that got to do with why you said 'Uh Oh'?"

"Well, Chuck is a great guy. But he is also a bully magnet. Don't know why. Always has been." Morgan shrugged and held his palms up. "It kinda made sense when he was little. You know, nerdy, geeky, little guy. The tough guys just want to punch your face in. We didn't like it, but it made sense. Law of the jungle, you know?" Alex nodded. "Well, then Chuck grew. And grew. And grew. And we figured he'd outgrown the bullying thing. Boy, were we wrong. The bullies were still there, maybe even worse."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. Maybe, they wanted to test themselves against someone so big." Alex gave him a dubious look. "Or … or maybe, him getting so big and strong upset their worldview. How could a nerdy, nice guy be so big and strong? Like they believed he wouldn't fight back even though he was so big. A gentle giant kind of thing."

"And did he fight back?"

"Oh yeah, he fought back. Eventually." Morgan shook his head, remembering. "They'd push him and push him. He'd take it and take it because he is so nice and patient. They really couldn't hurt him, but he wouldn't push back, either. And that made the bullies mad."

"So. what'd they do?"

"What they did was decide to pick on Chuck's friends. Or teammates." Alex pointed at Morgan and he nodded. "Yeah, I got picked on a lot. But not just me. There were other little kids or people who couldn't defend themselves against the bullies. All of this was during the summer when we had baseball and kids were just kind of hanging around. Bored and looking for trouble." Morgan snorted. "They would start in on someone smaller than them and Chuck would watch it happen. He'd slowly get angry and, finally, step in to get them to stop."

"What did he do?"

"He usually didn't hit anyone. He'd just pick them up and throw them off of whoever they were bullying."

"Didn't he get in trouble?"

"For sure. He got in trouble. But he would explain what was going on. Adults would start to watch, too, and see for themselves what was going on." Morgan nodded. "Once they saw, the adults would kick the bullies out of the parks. Get them banned. Usually, the bullies would hang around in the parking lots, looking to get some poor kid alone. Or outside the park on the street for the same thing. Sooner or later someone would call the cops and chase the bad kids away."

"So, Chuck turned out to be the hero. Eventually."

"Yeah, eventually. Problem was, he wasn't always around. And when he was, he couldn't be everywhere at once. So, the bullies returned or new ones would show up. It never ended. Finally, the various travel baseball teams had to chip in and help the ballfields and parks hire security to keep the bullies away. The fact that most of the bullies were also looking for things to steal made it easier to convince everyone to go in together to solve the problem. Took time, but now it's a lot better at those parks."

"So, back to Chuck? What were you trying to do, just now?"

"Yeah, he just rushes in to help, when others won't. But being a hero usually ends up costing him, in the end. I was trying to get him to stop for a second and think. He's really great at thinking, you know?" Alex smiled and nodded. "His good guy streak gets in the way of that." Morgan shrugged, again.

"You really are his best friend." Alex smiled and hugged him, giving him a warm kiss.

Chuck and Sarah arrived at Late Night at Lakeside to be greeted by some amount of commotion. Apparently, people had overheard Alex and Morgan talking about their run-in with Bryce Larkin. A few girls even came up to Sarah wanting to shake her hand. They admitted to having been the recipients of Bryce Larkin's tried and true pick up methods and they were happy to hear he'd gotten some payback for his lechery. Something told Sarah that they wouldn't be the last girls to voice their thanks. Fewer people commented about Chuck's involvement and he hoped it stayed that way. He could do without another late-night chasing down sniffer bot hit reports. Due to his unique situation, Chuck knew he'd have to compose another email about the incident to Graham, the Dean, and the President when he got back to his room later on. Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah tried to enjoy their late-night snack. The uncertainty about the final outcome of the incident made that a little difficult.

October 9

There was a buzz in the air of Helman Hall besides Chuck and Sarah's usual electric connection. By now everyone had heard about Sarah kicking Bryce Larkin's butt. All day there had been a steady stream of girls coming up to her, wanting to shake her hand. She was amazed that one person could piss off so many girls in so short a time. Larkin was an ass and he gave her the creeps, but she had to give him some grudging respect for his work ethic. Sarah had already spoken to Dr. Beckman about the incident and been assured that there would be no disciplinary actions forthcoming from the club advisor. Dr. Beckman felt it had been self-defense and that was all there was to it.

Dr. Beckman had other news to impart to Sarah. Contribution checks had started arriving. Some small checks, but some bigger ones, too. Sarah was convinced that they were the result of Chuck's phone calls the previous week. Fifteen hundred dollars in one day! Both women agreed it was good fortune the day Chuck Bartowski had entered their lives. She had just finished telling the other girls when Chuck walked into the hall.

"Chuck!" Sarah and a number of other girls hollered.

"Hi, y'all!" Chuck waved.

"We started getting contribution checks today! $1,500! In one day!" Sarah beamed at him.

"That's great! I'm so happy for y'all!" Chuck gave them a full Bartowski smile. "I hope they're the first of many more."

"Thank you, so, so much for making those calls and asking those people to help us!" Sarah danced a little jig of excitement.

"Chuckles bringing the mo-nay!" Carina laughed. Cheers from Amy and Zondra.

Chuck sidled up to Sarah and spoke softly. "Did you talk to Beckman? What did she say?"

Sarah nodded, knowingly. "Yes, I did. She said, I'm not in trouble with her. And she doubted if I would get in trouble with Stanford, either."

"That's great news." Chuck gave her a crooked grin. "I'm glad for you."

"Fingers crossed for you." Sarah smiled, feeling his buzz.

"Thank you. Yup, fingers crossed." He nodded. Turning to the room, he raised his voice. "OK, who has a chemistry book and a calculus book for me to review?" Alex gave him her chemistry book and Lilly walked over with her calculus book. "Thanks. I'll look these over and get them back to you at the end of your practice." Nodding to them and bouncing his eyebrows at Sarah, he turned and retreated to his perch up the stairs.

Chuck spent the next thirty minutes reviewing the two textbooks. Once he had them fixed in his mind, he turned to the load of work he was carrying around in his backpack. The remaining practice time flew by.

Coach Graham took Chuck and Bryce aside, along with Coach Klein, infield, and Coach Bradbury, pitching. What followed was a good, old fashioned, ass reaming. Graham was livid. Larkin got most of his ire, but Chuck received his fair share. No good deed goes unpunished, he thought.

"Larkin, that's two strikes. You've got two strikes. After that bullshit last Saturday, I thought you'd have enough sense to wise the hell up." Graham shook his head in disgust. "Apparently, I was wrong." Graham turned to Chuck. "Bartowski, what were you thinking? Jumping into the middle of this nitwit's nightly shit show? I thought you were smarter than that. Again, apparently, I was wrong."

"Fine. Here's the deal." Graham glared at Bryce. "Larkin, this is it. No more warnings. You're down to your last strike. Any more of your bullshit and you're off the team. You got me?" Bryce swallowed and nodded. "Good. So, you're going to be squeaky clean from now until June. You got that? That's a long fucking time. Are you sure you've got that?" More nodding. "You're going to be a regular goody-two-shoes. In fact, you're going to be the best damn goody-two-shoes since Goldilocks screwed all three bears and came back for seconds. Are you hearing me clearly?" Nodding. "Don't nod this time. I'm tired of hearing the wind whistle past your empty ears. Answer me. Do you understand me clearly? No more chances?"

"Yes, sir, Coach. I hear you." Larkin's voice was shaky. Coach Klein didn't look happy.

"No more bullshit. And you leave Bartowski the fuck alone. You don't want to piss him off, believe me. Same goes for Grimes and those girls. Stay the hell away from them and get your head screwed on straight."

"I will, sir."

"Good. Now go run poles. Don't stop until I tell you to. Get out of my sight." Larkin ran off as fast as he could, heading for the outfield poles. Graham turned to Coach Klein. "Klein, you go with him. I'll call you back in a minute." Klein was scowling when he jogged after Larkin. Graham eyed Coach Bradbury and turned to Chuck.

"Bartowski, you fucked up. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Coach. I know that."

"What were you thinking? Are you trying to get kicked out of here?"

"No, Coach. I'm not trying to get kicked out of here. I wasn't thinking. I thought my friend was in trouble and I just acted." Chuck looked contrite. Graham surprised him.

"Chuck, you did something stupid. You did it for a good reason, yes, but it was still stupid. Steer clear of Larkin and Shaw. Let me handle them. You handle your training and your school work. OK?"

"Yes, Coach. School work and training. Steer clear of Larkin and Shaw. Got it."

"Chuck, stay focused. Trust me, when the time comes, everyone is going to know all about you and what you can do. They'll finally learn what Coach Bradbury and I already know. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Coach. I can do that for you."

"OK, good. Go join your group for practice. 20 double poles at the end of practice. Like I said, you did something stupid. Stupid gets punished. Now go." Graham waved his hand dismissively and looked over at Bradbury shaking his head. Bradbury chuckled and shook his head, too.

Graham called after Chuck. "Bartowski!" Chuck stopped and turned back. "This friend. It wouldn't happen to be a girl, would it?" Graham knew, of course, he'd read the report. He just wanted to see and hear Chuck's reaction.

"Uh … Yeah, Coach. It's … I mean … she's a girl." Chuck stumbled and blushed.

"I might have known." Graham was grinning now. "Go on, get out of here." Chuck ran off.

Graham and Sam Bradbury were still chuckling when Casey walked over to join them. He'd been close enough to overhear the exchange with Bartowski.

"My daughter, Alex, knows the girl. They're in that Songbirds acapella group together." Casey said.

Graham gave him a look. "Yeah? And?"

"Alex says she's a looker. A real stunner. And Alex doesn't bullshit around."

"That poor kid doesn't know shit from Shinola. He's in big trouble." Graham chuckled.

"The biggest." Casey said. All three men laughed, having been there once themselves when they were younger.

Graham sobered after a minute and looked toward the outfield where Coach Klein sulked. "Now, I've got another issue to deal with." He sighed and started walking.

Sarah was almost finished with her daily run around Lake Lagunita. It had been a good run. She'd enjoyed the exercise and she'd enjoyed replaying the day over in her mind. Good day in class. Good Songbirds practice. She wasn't in trouble with Beckman. She hoped she wasn't in trouble with Stanford for defending herself. Checks were arriving. Maybe their money worries were a thing of the past. Chuck had come through. Not that she doubted that he would, but it was nice to get the tangible proof anyway.

Sarah couldn't get over how he'd rushed in to help her last night. Heedless of any danger to himself or concern about getting in trouble. He always was looking out for other people. Hardly a thought for himself. It was obvious that he was running himself close to ragged. And still he kept on. Actually, he stepped up to help even more people. She'd never met anyone even close to him. She knew she was a broken record, but it was all true.

She was deep into her daily analysis of Chuck. Maybe that's why she didn't notice the unopened, green pinecone laying in the middle of the running trail. Sarah's foot came right down on the unstable pinecone. Her sudden weight caused it to shift and her foot slipped off. The sharp pain she felt told her that she had twisted her ankle. How bad, she didn't know. She hissed in pain and sat down on the edge of the trail. Lucky for her, she ran with her cell phone so she could listen to music while she ran. She called Carina, who picked up after a couple of rings. Sarah explained her situation and Carina promised to rally the troops.

About five painful minutes later, Carina and Zondra jogged up to her.

"Shit, Blondie. You really stepped in it this time." Carina grinned.

"Really, Red. You want to mess with me now? C'mon. This really hurts." Sarah grumped.

"Ignore her, Sarah. Amy's got her car and she's driving around back of the dorm. Just over that little rise north of us here." Zondra pointed back toward Roble Hall. "Red and I will help you get to the car. We'll take you to Vaden Health Center. They'll fix you right up."

"Guys, I twisted my ankle. Maybe badly." Sarah was worried.

"If you did, fine. Wrap it. Elevate it. Ice it. And stay off of it. The Songbirds will survive for a few days while you heal up." Zondra said, confidently. Sarah gave her a flat look. "What? My mom's a PE teacher. What do you want? She deals with kids and sprains all the time."

With Sarah grumbling the whole time, Carina and Zondra assisted her in getting to Amy's car. Once Sarah was safely in the car, her friends piled in after her. The ride to the Vaden Health Center wasn't very long. Amy took Lomita to Mayfield before turning onto Campus Drive and following it east. Arriving at the center, Zondra and Carina helped Sarah back out of the car and into the building, while Amy located a parking place. Luckily for them it was still before 5pm and the center was still open for regular hours.

After getting Sarah to sit down, Zondra and Carina went up to the main desk to explain the situation. They got the clipboard of paperwork for Sarah to fill out. When that was completed, a wheelchair was provided to get her back to an examining room. The CATS left her in the room, while they returned to the waiting area. Sarah was alone for only a few minutes when a nurse and two other people entered the examining room.

"Hello. My name is Abby Simmons. I'm a nurse here at the health center. What seems to be the problem?" Nurse Simmons smiled gently.

"I'm Sarah. Sarah Walker. I was running around Lake Lagunita and I stepped on a pine cone I didn't see. I think I've sprained my ankle." Sarah said worriedly.

"OK, let me take a look at it, so I can give the doctor some information when he comes in. I'll need to take your vitals, too. OK?" Nurse Simmons spoke softly with gentle reassurance.

"OK."

"Oh, where are my manners?" Nurse Simmons shook her head. "These two, fine people behind me are first year medical students. They are here today observing our work at the medical center. Is it OK for them to be here?"

"Sure. I don't mind." Sarah shrugged.

"OK, that's great." Simmons smiled. "The tall surfer dude is Devon Woodcomb." She joked.

He grinned and waved. "Sup?"

"And this beautiful, brunette, brainiac is Eleanor Bartowski." Simmons teased.

The tall, brunette waved. "Hi!" she said, brightly. Sarah thought she was gorgeous. Then the name registered in her brain.

"Wait. What?" Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Bartowski?"

A/N2: Chapter title comes from the song by Plumb. I thought the lyrics are perfect for what's going on inside Chuck, even if he hasn't figured it out, yet. Fits Sarah, too, but without as much blushing.

A/N3: If anyone doesn't know who R. Lee Ermey was, he was a real-life U.S. Marine Corps sergeant (retired) and actor known for Full Metal Jacket (drill instructor), Toy Story (green army men), and many other roles. He also hosted a number of history programs on various cable channels over the years. There was even an action figure that swore like a drill instructor modeled after him. He's buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A/N4: Shinola was a popular brand of shoe polish in the 1940s. The expression 'don't (or doesn't) know shit from Shinola' dates from that time. It's a vulgar way to call someone clueless, ignorant, or stupid. In this case, Graham is referring to Chuck's not knowing what he's getting into with Sarah. Like we didn't already know that.

A/N5: WillieGarvin gets another shout out for his stellar beta work on this chapter. Rah, rah, sis, boom, bah! Go WG! For anyone who's not from the USA, it's American football season over here. That was sort of an old school football cheer.

A/N6: Thank you for reading. Please drop me a PM or leave a review. Let me know what you think.

A/N7: If you enjoy Chuck fan fiction here on the fanfic site, go over to Facebook and join the Chuck Fanfiction group that's there. You'll find nice folks who share your interest in our favorite spy couple. You are not alone.