I don't own Chuck. Actually, I don't own much of anything.

This is not new content. In fact, it is almost ten years old.

Look, I get that interest in things Chuck has waned. That's as it should be. So, while I'd always love to hear from you, I'm not doing this for hits or reviews. I'm doing this for me. Hopefully you can enjoy it as well.

Welcome Home

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The debriefing was more like a party than a meeting. Beckman was indeed, very happy. She was practically yelling. "Congratulations to everyone," she said. "This has been an incredible night. I just got off the phone with Agent Larkin who is directing the cleanup. All in all, we captured fifty three Fulcrum agents, including the Elder, General Smith. We killed four others. We suffered a couple of minor injuries. The most serious was that Agent Larkin apparently suffered a broken nose in the battle. We also captured dozens of computers and reams of paper files. Our analysts are just beginning to sift through the information. It's going to take months to get through everything but we've seen enough to be confident that it is going to lead us to other Fulcrum facilities across the country. I think we can safely say that Fulcrum has been eliminated on the west coast. I've never imagined such an effective team. You're becoming so productive that we're going to need to figure out a way to give you some time off. Maybe we can arrange for a trip somewhere nice. You've certainly earned it. Now go someplace and have a drink. If there's nothing else…"

"Excuse me, ma'am," Sarah interrupted. "I have something additional to report."

Beckman was clearly surprised. "Go on, Agent Walker," she said.

Sarah took a deep breath and grabbed Chuck's hand. "I'm very sorry to have to say this," she started hesitantly. "But I feel it is my duty to report that I have become compromised. I'm afraid that I have fallen in love with my asset. I understand that this is a serious protocol violation and is incredibly unprofessional on my part. I just thought you should know."

Beckman was silent for a long moment. She clearly wasn't expecting anything like this. "Agent Walker," she finally said. "This is most disappointing. What do you feel we should do about it?"

Sarah considered the question. At least Beckman was giving her a chance to make her case. That was a good sign. "My hope," she began. "Is that you'll leave me in my current assignment until that becomes no longer necessary. We've proven that we're a very strong team. It would be a shame to break us up. General, perhaps my priorities have changed, he's no longer my asset, but I can promise you that nobody will be more vigilant in protecting Chuck than I will be."

Finally Graham spoke up. "Agent Walker," he said. "Surely you understand normal protocol in this type of situation. What if we decide to reassign you?"

It was time to lay everything on the line. "Mr. Director, General," she said. "I've always been proud of serving my country. I've done it to the best of my ability. I really don't want to stop now. But, I'm afraid; this will be my last official assignment. It's just a question of if it ends tonight or sometime in the future. Respectfully, I fully intend to stay here protecting my fiancé no matter what you decide. If his status changes, I'm pretty insistent that I accompany him. In fact any attempt to separate us will be vigorously opposed. Hopefully, we can resolve that amicably."

Beckman was again silent for a moment. When Agent Walker used that tone, this was serious. There was going to be no talking her out of it. She had chosen her words carefully to stop just short of making a direct threat, but there was no question of her intent. If Bartowski was to go underground, she was demanding to go with him. When Agent Walker demanded something, you took her seriously. She normally followed orders without question, but she was also a warrior. If they pushed her, this would get very bloody. "Major Casey," she asked. "What is your opinion of this situation?"

Sarah turned to Casey. It wasn't fair to put him on the spot like this. "Would you like Chuck and me to wait outside while you answer?" she asked.

Casey didn't hesitate. "No," he answered. "That's okay. You need to hear this. General, frankly my preference would be to have a team that didn't have any personal baggage. But having said that, I can't imagine a stronger team or a better partner than Agent Walker. As you know, I've never been a strong team player. I'm more comfortable on my own. But it's obvious to everybody that we have a secret weapon. Agent Walker is key in making it effective. We've accomplished more in the past year than both Agent Walker and I combined for the past ten. And on a personal level, I have to admit, I'm enjoying it more. I would respectfully request that you leave the team intact."

"Agent Walker," Beckman said sternly. "You're the very last agent that I ever expected to be having this discussion with. I am very disappointed in your lack of professionalism. We have rules in place for a reason. You just violated a very basic one. For me to pretend that it doesn't matter would be wrong."

Beckman just glared at them through the monitor for a long moment. Finally her face relaxed. It wasn't exactly a smile, but it was no longer angry. "However," she continued. "There is no questioning your success. This is the most effective team we've ever had… by an order of magnitude. That has to count for something. We're going to monitor the situation closely but I see no compelling reason to act at this time. We'll leave your team in place. I think it just because more important than ever that we get you that trip and some time off. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," Sarah said.

"No, ma'am," Casey agreed.

"Dismissed," Beckman said as the screen finally went mercifully blank.

As soon as the screen went blank, Sarah made no effort to hide her relief. This outcome had been far from being assured. She had just taken a huge risk. And if they had decided to make a point and push it, she would have had a serious fight on her hands… one that she might not win. She turned to Casey and threw her arms around him… for probably the first and last time. "Thank you," she said. "That could have gone badly. Your support made the difference."

Probably the last thing that Casey wanted was to have Sarah hugging him. "You'd better be careful," he said as he removed her arms. "Your boyfriend is watching us. You know how jealous he gets."

That got all three of them laughing. "I'm pretty sure that he'll make an exception this once," she said. "My place is too far. We're going to head over to Chuck's and talk. Do you think we could have some privacy?"

Casey reached up on the panel and flipped a switch. "The bugs are off for tonight," he said. "Have fun."

Sarah stepped up to Carina. "Carina," she teased. "Don't let it bother you that your guy chose to hit on me. It happens. It's called karma."

That got everyone laughing. "Very funny," Carina said. "You're seriously not suggesting that we start keeping score?"

Sarah shook her head. "Let's not go there," she suggested. Then she got more serious and threw her arms around her friend. "Thanks for being there. I'm thinking that we'll have some serious things to talk about next time we get together… like maybe bridesmaid dresses."

Carina returned her embrace. "Anytime," she said. "Hopefully next time we talk it'll be me that has some news for you. We are still competitive you know?" She turned to Chuck. "Take care of her. She's counting on you. Don't forget to double down on the tongue thing. She'll never ask, but it's very important to her."

That got the room laughing. Sarah playfully slapped Carina on the arm. "Will you please stop trying to embarrass us?" she asked. She turned to Chuck. "That's not to say that she's wrong," she teased. "She's not wrong. It is… amazing."

As they were all laughing, Sarah took Chuck's hand and led him out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Carina turned to Casey. "Casey," she said. "I know that you're pissed at me about the handcuffing you to the bed thing. I'm sorry. I have that coming. It was just a joke. I'm not trying to say that we have something beyond physical attraction. I don't know yet. And I'm not expecting you to say it either. But do you think we could hang out tonight? Maybe I could apologize in a more physical way."

That got Casey laughing. "Carina," he said. "If I end up tonight handcuffed to my bed tonight, I'm never going to forgive you."

Carina smiled as she handed Casey her cuffs. "Here," she said. "Take away my temptation."

"Maybe sometime tonight you can get your payback."

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Chuck and Sarah walked silently to Ellie's apartment hand in hand. Fortunately, they had the place to themselves. Both Ellie and Devon were working the late shift. As soon as they were in Chuck's room, he grabbed her. "You told me not to worry about Bryce ratting us out. I didn't expect you to rat us out," he said. "You just gave up so much for me. Thank you."

Sarah shook her head. Chuck had been so wonderful making this work. She's the one who hadn't stepped up. She spent all this time worrying about her job. She spent a year living in fear… afraid that if she gave in to her feelings that it would affect her job… afraid that if she told him how much she loved him it would affect her job… afraid that his jealousy would affect her job… afraid that the brass finding out would affect her job. What she should have been worrying about is how her job affected him. "Chuck," she said softly. "Please don't thank me. I feel horrible enough as it is. I really didn't give up anything."

"But you gave up being a spy," Chuck protested. "I know how much you love that."

That actually got a smile. "What I love," she corrected. "Is you. That's a new thing for me. I'm not exactly sure how to handle it. Being a spy was right for me at the time. I don't regret a single second, even the bad parts. I'm proud of what I've done. The truth is, we still have some work to do. And even if we don't go looking for trouble, I hope that we're always going to be willing to sacrifice to do the right thing when it becomes necessary. There is still a lot of evil out there that has nothing to do with Fulcrum."

"Of course," Chuck agreed.

That got an even bigger smile. "I have a new job now," Sarah said. "One that I'm just as passionate about. First, let me get something off my chest. I want to tell you how sorry I am. I put a ridiculous amount of rules in place. You've been so great at making this work. You've been putting me first for a long time now, even when I was pushing you away and acting horribly. You taught me what love really is. I'm ashamed that I haven't been putting you first. This is not an excuse, but I've never been in love before. I discovered that it's simply wonderful. There is no way I could ever go back to the way it was before. It's time to go all in. I promise that you'll be first in every detail of my life from now on. You deserve to feel just as loved as I do. Starting right now, you're going to."

Chuck was still holding her tight. "You don't have to be sorry," he said. "I'm proud of you. You've come so far, so quickly. I can't tell you how great that makes me feel."

"You don't have to tell me," Sarah insisted. "I know exactly because I feel it too." They just stayed holding each other for a long time. "But don't misunderstand," she finally said. "This is still complicated. We won a huge victory tonight, but not a war. There are still huge problems to face before we can ever call ourselves normal. You may not be my asset any longer, but fiancés have responsibilities too. I still have to make sure that you're safe. That's my job and I'm serious about it… even more serious than I was yesterday. If you get in the way of that job, I'm still willing to kick your ass."

Chuck smiled. That was Sarah. She was only half teasing. "I'm going to be very careful to make sure that doesn't happen," he said.

That got them both laughing. "Good answer," Sarah said. "Because now that I'm in the real world, I don't have to kick your ass. I have a weapon that real women have been using since the Stone Age. I'll cut you off."

It was an empty threat… and they both knew it. "Wouldn't that cut you off too?" he asked.

Chuck had just called her bluff. "Hey," she protested. "I went without sex for well over a year. Do you really think I couldn't go without it for a while to protect the love of my life?"

Chuck didn't answer. He just grinned.

"Okay," Sarah finally admitted with sigh. "Probably not for very long. Are you happy?" Even that was a hedge. The fire that had started the second she saw him in Carina's room just a couple of hours ago was now burning out of control.

Chuck tried not to gloat. Well, he tried a little. But he failed miserably. "I'm happy." he answered. "I'll be even happier if this new change means that I get to ask more questions."

Sarah took a deep breath. He was only half teasing. Chuck had been fantastic about not pushing her. He knew that this would be the hardest part for her. But to her credit, she looked him directly in the eyes. "It absolutely means that," she said. "I'm not going to lie. That's going to be the hardest part for me. Some of the things that you want to know are painful for me. But you're first in every detail, in bed and out. You deserve that. Getting over my hang-ups and opening myself up to you is part of what putting you first means. I'll tell you anything that you want to know. Try me."

Chuck squeezed her tight. "I don't want this to be painful for you," he said. "We can ease into it. I'm dying to hear the real deal with you and Bryce. But I can wait until you're ready."

Sarah grinned. "Actually, Bryce isn't the painful part… for me anyway," she said. "I don't think that there really is a real deal with me and Bryce… at least one that you don't already understand. I get that you're always going to be a little jealous of him. I can tell you that you shouldn't be until I'm blue in the face. It's going to take time. So ask anything that helps you get over it."

Chuck didn't deny that he was jealous of Bryce. "I'm not trying to start anything," he said. "But I saw you kissing in my bedroom that time. It didn't look like two partners."

Sarah lost her grin. "I suppose not," she agreed. "Chuck, I'll not deny that this is complicated. Bryce was there for me at a low point in my life. I still have a fair amount of affection for him as a friend… when he isn't acting like an ass. He was a great spy… a great partner. I loved working with him. There was a time in my life when a great partner was enough. But that's all it ever was, for both of us. Bryce is pretending there was something more because his feelings are hurt and he doesn't like to lose. You know that we had a physical relationship. I'm not going to try and hide that, at the time, it was important to me. I was even the one who got things started a fair amount of the time. Being undercover can get very lonely and sex with Bryce was my one safe outlet. Surely you weren't expecting that I was a virgin, were you? You had a relationship with Jill that was far more serious than Bryce and I."

Chuck shook his head. She was misunderstanding him. They both had people in their past. So what? That didn't bother him at all. "Here's the difference," he insisted. "You weren't best friends with Jill. She doesn't show up in my bedroom at four in the morning looking for sex. I can't imagine you would take that well."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "You're right," she finally said. "On all counts. It is different… and I wouldn't take it well. It's completely my fault that Bryce had an unrealistic expectation. I've never had a chance to let him know that things have changed. The kiss you witnessed probably contributed to his expectation. I get that. I'm not trying to make excuses, but neither of you seem to realize how messed up I was then. I was feeling things that I knew were dangerous. I was confused… afraid. I was in love for the first time in my life and I didn't know what to do about it. I'm very sorry about all that. You heard me tell Bryce how wrong he was. This is part of what putting you first means. If there is anything else you want me to do to reinforce that, up to and including shooting him, just tell me what you want me to do."

Chuck squeezed her even tighter. "I'm not upset with you," he said. "I don't think that you've done anything wrong. I get that I'm being ridiculous. Yeah, I'm jealous of him. He's everything that I'm not. He always got the great girls."

"Maybe," Sarah agreed. "I agree that he is some things that you're not… shallow… arrogant… manipulative. He can walk into a random bar and quickly have a random woman ready to go home with him by flashing that smile. You probably can't do that. Somehow you think that's a bad thing. Chuck Bartowski, what am I going to do with you? How am I going to get you to start realizing that you have it all over him in every single important way? It's okay to be jealous of him… silly, but ultimately harmless. It's not okay to compare yourself to him and feel inferior. That's just plain wrong. I'm putting my foot down on that one. Maybe Bryce gets the great girls. I'm afraid that you're stuck with this, not so great one."

Chuck shook his head. "That's not true," he insisted. "When it comes to great girls, you're the grand prize. You're kinda a big fish. Sometimes I almost wish it was true. Then every man, including Bryce, from here to Jakarta wouldn't feel obligated to take a shot at bagging you. So thank you for your offer. That would really help me. When are you planning on shooting him?"

That broke the tension and got them both laughing. "You don't get it, do you?" Sarah asked. "You might not be able to walk into a bar and pick up the random hot girl. But you can always make me laugh. That's way more important. I'm the most loved woman in the world. None of Bryce's conquests can say that. In fact, they don't even understand what it means. Now that I understand what it means, it's the most important thing in my life. I could never give it up."

They just held each other for a long moment. After a couple of minutes Sarah stirred. "Will you do me a big favor?" she asked.

"Name it."

"Our little girl that we talked about last night," Sarah said softly. "She's all that I can think about. I really want her more than anything. We really need to make that happen."

Chuck kissed her. "It's going to happen," he said. "I won't let the Intersect cheat us out of that. I won't. I'm going to get it out of my head, and live the life I want with the girl that I love."

Sarah smiled. "That's nice," she said. "It would help me a lot more if you told me exactly how you were going to do that."

"Tell me about it," Chuck replied. "I wish I could."

"That girl you referred to," Sarah teased. "The one that you love and are going to spend your life with. That's me, right?"

Chuck took full measure of her teasing. "You're ready for this?" he asked. "This is a big change for you. You know there are some things that have to happen first?"

Was she ready? It was an excellent question… one that she didn't have a fully reasoned answer for yet. But she was confident in one thing. He'd make this easy for her. "Like what?" Sarah asked.

Chuck ticked off his points on his fingers. "Well, first we have to get married," he said. "Of course, I'll need a better job. That means I'll need to finish my degree. Oh, and we'll need to defeat Fulcrum and resolve this Intersect thing. I need to get very serious about that five year plan."

"Married?" Sarah asked. "You want to get married?"

Chuck was surprised at her protest. She had asked him to propose just this morning. "Don't you want to get married?" he asked. "I know that wasn't a very romantic proposal. I promise I'll do it again the right way soon but…"

"Chuck," Sarah interrupted. "I'm teasing you. We've been dating for ten days and you're proposing? What took you so long?"

Chuck grinned at her so blatantly making fun of him. That couldn't be allowed to stand. "Very funny," he said. "Well?"

Sarah was confused, and said so. "Well, what?"

"Come on, Sarah," Chuck lectured. "When someone asks you to marry them, it's only fair to respond… even after only ten days."

"Good point," Sarah said. "For the record… yes, I will marry you. I just think you need to condense that five year plan into something smaller… like say a nine month plan."

Chuck's eyes got wide at her reference. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked.

Sarah realized how he had heard her. "No. Oh no," she said. "I didn't mean that. I just picked nine months out of the air. I'm in a hurry, but I get that some things have to work out first. I think nine months is a good target."

"You do realize that the first one might come out a boy?" Chuck asked with a grin.

Sarah stood and considered the question. "We'll keep trying," she said. "You asked if I was ready. I'll be honest. This is all still a little scary for me. But I'm going to set that aside. Don't worry about me. When the time comes, I'll be ready. I want it too much."

"I want it too," Chuck replied as they kissed.

"I've never had a home," Sarah sighed. "Spies are taught to never put down roots. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a home. I learned something about myself in the past ten days. You're my home, Chuck. You always have been."

Sarah had a tell when she was massively aroused. That, by itself, was unusual for a spy. She insisted that it wasn't true ten days ago. That was a nice thought. Chuck could currently feel her tell poking into his chest. He wasn't nearly as experienced as Carina at getting women naked. On balance, that was probably a good thing. This time, Sarah did feel her zipper. But the results were basically the same. Her dress was quickly pooled at her feet. Chuck looked at her chest knowingly. "I can see how turned on you get when I make the first move," he teased.

Sarah was past the point for any teasing. Maybe she should have told him that their new deal also meant that they were going to be ratcheting up the lovemaking a few notches. "You know it," she said, with a hint of annoyance, as she kissed him, this time with much more passion. "Not to be critical… but the future mother of your children has a known low tolerance for frustration. A word to the wise… maybe it's time that you stopped with the incessant talking and did something about it."

When she was right, she was right. Chuck scooped Sarah up, carried her to his bed, and sighed. It had been a hell of a week. The most beautiful woman in the world was lying on his bed, wearing only her sexy stockings, making no move to cover any of her amazing body. She was literally trembling with desire, but also, not so patiently, waiting for him to take control. It was almost surreal. And the best part? This was something that she wanted more than he did, something that he could look forward to repeating every day for the rest of his life. So as soon as he had his own clothes off, he smiled at her.

"Welcome home, Sarah Walker."

The End

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