Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, or even just read this story. You guys are awesome! I'm back home now, so maybe I'll be able to crank the rest of this thing out. Here's Chapter Three, and I hope you all like it!

The honeymoon was back on track after their dinner in the hotel restaurant. Chuck and Sarah had filled that night and the following day discovering exactly what married make-up sex was like, and, while they both agreed it was an excellent use of one of their precious vacation days, neither wanted to repeat the need for making up anytime soon. When they finally went to sleep for the night, they slept naked in the satin sheets again, curled into each other's arms.

The next morning, if going by Sydney time, began the day that marked a week from their wedding; due to the immense time difference between Burbank and Australia and the extensive travel time it took to get from their home to their current location, however, it was only the fifth official vacation day for the happy couple. Chuck woke up as the sun poured through the curtains, and he rolled over to find his normally-late-rising wife wide-eyed and looking at him, awe filling her light blue eyes.

"Hey," he said with a smile, a hint of surprise at finding her awake evident in his voice. "Good morning, Mrs. Bartowski."

Rather than respond with her normal retort, she simply said, "You're my husband."

"What? That's not your line," Chuck teased. She grinned.

"No, Chuck. You're my husband," she said, marveling over the words. "I'm your wife…we got married last week."

"It hasn't been a week," he said.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and pulled up the screen to show him the date. "Yes, it has," she said.

"Yeah, but you're using the Australian calendar," he scoffed. "We got married on the American calendar. That's two completely different calendars."

"I think it's close enough," Sarah said.

"I think it doesn't count," he teased with a laugh. "We'll have to have this conversation tomorrow."

"Shut up," she laughed, punching his arm. "You're ruining my moment."

"Darling," he said as he rolled into her open embrace and rested his head on her upper arm. "You're usually pretty quick on your feet, but are you just now realizing this?"

"No!" she said. "I knew that you were my husband and I was your wife…obviously, but…we freaked out a week before; now I can freak out a week after."

"Don't freak out! Why are you freaking out?" Chuck replied. "We're ready for this."

"I know we are," she said. "Maybe 'freak out' was the wrong expression."

"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" he asked.

"I just…I guess I never thought I'd get to be married," Sarah said. "Especially not to someone as incredible as you are, Chuck."

"Come on…" Chuck said.

"I'm serious," she said. "We're married. I guess it's just finally hitting me."

"No offense, but when we met, you didn't exactly strike me as the type to want all of this," he said.

"I didn't," she said honestly. "I said in my vows that you were something I never thought I could want or need, and I meant that. I never even thought about it until I got to Burbank."

"What changed?" he asked with a smile. He knew the answer to that question.

"You," she said. "I starting trying to picture this normal life that you seemed to long for. I even asked Casey if he had ever thought about giving it all up for a family and a different kind of life once. I wanted to figure out what it was you wanted so badly."

"And?" he asked.

"I still want a career," she said. She looked down at him and smiled and said, "But I also want the beautiful house and our superhero kids."

He shot her a huge grin. "Yeah?" he asked.

"No dog, though," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"We can talk about it," Chuck said.

"That conversation will be short," Sarah promised.

"It might be longer than you think," he said.

"We can have fish," Sarah said.

"What if our kid wants a dog someday?" he asked. "You can't say no then!"

"Yes I can. He or she will have been heavily prompted by their father."

"Sarah!" he said in an almost-whine.

She shook her head. "No."

He chuckled and dropped the act. "Well, we may never agree about that, but as for the rest of it…the beautiful house and our superhero kids…you'll get it," he promised.

"I want to wait, though," she said. "I want it to be just us for a while."

"Oh, absolutely," he agreed. "We're not ready for a kid yet. I mean, seriously? We just got rid of Morgan!" She laughed, and he said, "Barring some accident, I'd rather not do it as fast as Ellie and Awesome did."

"Right," she agreed. "I'm not ready to share you yet."

"And as sexy as you'll look with a baby bump, I'm not ready to share you yet."

"Sexy?" she asked with a hesitant smile. "Really?"

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "You'll be carrying our baby, Sarah. It'll be the most amazing thing, and you'll be beautiful."

She leaned down and captured his lips in a tender kiss. "It's things like that that make me think you're so incredible, Mr. Walker," she said.

"Hey," Chuck laughed. "I thought you were ready to be Mrs. Bartowski. What happened to that whole matrimony moment a few minutes ago?"

"I am," she said. "But I'm going to call you Mr. Walker for the rest of our lives."

"Good," Chuck smiled. He pecked her lips softly. "Don't ever stop."

"I won't," she promised.

"Are you changing your name?" he asked.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Sarah Walker is just a CIA cover. It's not like there's any family attachment there."

"But you like it," he said.

She shrugged. "I guess it feels more like me than any of my other names ever have. I've been Sarah Walker longer than I was any of those other names, too…including the one I was born with, and up until a few days ago, I had a few professional considerations to think about. I guess there is a bit of an attachment there."

"You don't have to change it. I'm not going to ask you to do that," Chuck said.

"I know you wouldn't. Part of me likes the idea," she admitted.

"Really?" he asked with a hint of surprise. Truth be told, he didn't really expect her to take his name. He just enjoyed teasing her with it and calling her Mrs. Bartowski. She snuggled a little bit closer to him.

"You made me Sarah," she said. "You loving me made me Sarah forever. I kind of like the idea of your family making me Bartowski, too."

"Our family," he corrected.

"Our family," she said with a smile.

"Sarah Bartowski," he said, testing it out. "I think it works."

"It does," she agreed. She sighed again. "I'm thinking about it."

"Okay," he smiled. "Whatever you decide…it's up to you."

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate that."

"I don't care what your name is. You could change your name to Princess Consuela, and I'd still love you. I might still call you Sarah, but I'd still love you," he said.

She laughed out loud. "That's absurd. Why would I change my name to that?" she asked. He grinned, and she shot him a look. "That's a pop culture reference I'm not getting, isn't it?"

"We'll work on it," he said, pecking her lips again. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I kind of want to know what's going on in the world," Sarah said. "I'm beginning to feel a little sequestered. Can we turn on the news for a few minutes?"

"No danger of flashing," Chuck realized. "I don't see why not."

They continued their early morning snuggling as Chuck grabbed the remote and turned on the bedroom's flat screen. He flipped on the news, only to find they really hadn't missed anything terribly major in the world during their first week away. A weather report began several minutes later, and the newscaster reported that Sydney was having an usually hot weekend as they headed into the winter season. Sarah looked at Chuck with interest.

"What?" he asked.

"Beach day?" she asked. "We haven't been yet, which is kind of ridiculous considering it's literally right outside the hotel."

"Did you bring the green bikini?" he asked. She nodded.

"It's your favorite, isn't it?" she replied.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

After putting on bathing suits and lathering on sunscreen, their first stop was a small beachside café about a block from the hotel. They sat on the café's small patio, and, when the waiter came to take their order, Sarah conveyed both their orders to him in her perfect Australian accent. Chuck hid behind his menu laughing, which was revealed to Sarah as the waiter tugged the menu out of his hands.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked in her American voice.

Knowing he'd been caught, Chuck scrunched up his face and pointed at her. "You weren't supposed to see me laughing."

"Why are you laughing at all?" she asked.

"Honey, do you know you're doing that?" he asked with a grin.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Ever since we've been here, you've talked to everyone other than me with an Australian accent," Chuck said. "A pretty good one, too. It's impressive, really."

"I have not!" she laughed.

"You have," Chuck fought.

"Why would I do that?" she protested.

"Well, I don't know! That's what I'd love to find out!"

"You're hearing things," she said, shaking her head. "Though…maybe tonight I can talk like an Aussie…if you think you'd like that." She winked at him.

"Yeah…okay…" he muttered. "But, back to the point, you've been talking like that since we got here."

"I don't think so," she said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"You know, on second thought, that looks pretty good. I think I'll have a glass, too," Chuck said. "Do you see our waiter anywhere?"

"Oh, sure," she said. She flagged the waiter down, and, as he approached the table, she said, in her Australian voice, "Can we get another glass of orange juice, please?"

"Sure thing," the waiter said.

"Thank you," she said. The waiter had barely left the table when Sarah gasped and covered her mouth.

"Told you," Chuck said.

"You set me up," she realized, speaking in her American voice again.

"Maybe a little," he admitted.

Embarrassed, she finally lowered her hand and asked, "Have I really been doing that the whole trip?"

"Every single time," Chuck confirmed.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she exclaimed.

"Because it's been hilarious!" he said. "And a little confusing."

"I guess you can take the girl out of the spy life, but you can't take the spy out of the girl," she said with a wistful sigh.

Chuck gently caressed her hand. "Don't think about that right now."

She nodded. "You're right. I shouldn't."

"But you are," Chuck sighed.

"The CIA fired me, Chuck. Me!" she said as if that were entirely unbelievable. "I was one of the best they had! I mean, sure, some people think I've gone soft since I fell in love with you, but that's just crap."

"So…just so I'm clear…we're mad at the CIA today?" he asked.

"Yes!" she confirmed.

"Okay, just checking," he said. "But, you know, Sarah, we did an awful lot of talking about running away from the spy world…"

"But that wasn't what either of us really wanted," Sarah said.

"Well, no, but now that it's what we've got…would it really be so bad?" he asked.

"I want more, Chuck," she said. "I love you, and I want to meet our superhero kids someday, and I know we have enough money now that you and I and everyone we love could never work another day in our lives, but being a spy was part of who I am. That doesn't mean that you and our marriage aren't enough for me. That just means I need something for me. That's okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Chuck said. "I want the world for you, Sarah."

"And I for you," she said.

"Then I promise we will figure it all out," Chuck said.

"You keep saying that," Sarah said.

"Because it's true," he said. "You know how it is. It always seems hopeless when you're looking for a job, but eventually, something good…or at least something good enough comes along." She gave him a blank stare. His mouth dropped a bit in realization. "You don't know how it is because you've never had to look for a job."

"That's right," she said.

"Well, then, just…trust me," he grinned.

They made their way down to the beach after their meal and laid out two towels side-by-side on the sand. Sarah tied her hair into a messy lump on the top of her head, placed sunglasses over her eyes, and lay down on her back. Chuck joined her, lying on his towel and lacing his fingers through hers against the warm sand. She opened her eyes and sat up a little.

"I thought you wanted to read?" she asked. He squeezed her hand; she lay back down.

"This is nicer," he said.

Sarah smiled and closed her eyes again. They lay on their respective towels for a while, silently holding hands against the sand. The warmth of the sun, the rush of the waves, and the gentle breeze on the beach was just about to lull Chuck to sleep when he felt Sarah slip her hand from underneath his.

She rolled onto her stomach, wanting each side to get equal time in the sun, and laid her head down so she was facing her husband. Chuck's eyes widened when she reached up and pulled the tie holding her top in place loose. The tie around her neck was still intact, but the sides of her bikini slumped against the towel, revealing the round side of her breast to his eyes.

"What are you…what are you doing?" he asked.

"Tan lines…" she muttered. "Relax."

Chuck let his eyes linger over her back. That side of her body was now practically bare, save for the small scrap of green fabric covering her ass. He looked her over, admiring the way her skin glistened in the sun. She opened one eye and stared up at him.

"Stop it," she muttered.

"What?" he asked.

"Staring at me," she said.

"Wh…I can't help it!" Chuck said. He leaned over, kissed her shoulder, and whispered, "You're so pretty."

"You tell me that a lot," she said with a smile.

"I think it a lot!" he said.

Unable to move much, she puckered her lips, indicating her desire for a kiss. Chuck leaned a little further, touching his lips to hers for a brief kiss. She settled back onto her towel, and Chuck flipped onto his stomach, pulling out a magazine to read. After a while, he put it down and leaned into her again.

"Think we can go check out the water now?" he asked.

"Tie me back up," Sarah said.

Chuck quickly tied the delicate strings of her bikini top back together, and Sarah rolled onto her side, pulling him to her for a sexy kiss. Chuck was like a little kid at Disneyland as they headed for the ocean. He held Sarah's hand, and she had to jog to keep up with him. She freed herself from his grasp, however, as soon as her feet hit the water.

"Why is it so cold?" she gasped.

Chuck, who was up to his knees in water by that point, splashed around a bit and said, "It's not cold!"

"Yes, it is! I am not swimming in that," Sarah said.

"Fine. Suit yourself," he shrugged, thinking she would eventually change her mind and join him in the waves.

She stood on the shore watching as Chuck happily floated and splashed around in the ocean. She looked down at her feet every once in a while, and Chuck took the opportunity to admire her from afar. He frowned when he saw another man ogling her on the beach, and he frowned even harder and began making his way to the shore when he saw that man approach her. It took mere seconds for Sarah to flash her rings at him, and Chuck smiled proudly. While her back was turned, Chuck crept up behind her and wrapped her in a backwards hug.

"Oh my god!" Sarah gasped. She recognized the feel of Chuck's body against her back, but the cold water covering his skin sent chills through her veins. She turned and punched him. "That was mean, Chuck!"

"How are we supposed to have our big romantic From Here to Eternity moment if you won't let the water touch you?" he asked. She simply shot him a look and rose to her toes for a simple kiss.

They had a nice hand-in-hand walk along where the ocean met the shore, and Chuck made another unsuccessful attempt to get Sarah in the cool ocean, and then they headed back to the hotel. Chuck decided to check his email again while Sarah was in the shower. After reading a short, vague, and rather depressing email from Morgan, Chuck decided to check in with his best friend.

"Australia, huh?" Morgan asked when Chuck called. "Ellie told me where you are. Nice!"

"Yeah, we were feeling a little spontaneous," Chuck said. "You okay, buddy?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Morgan said. "That email came after a long first day of new job hunting. It is brutal out there. Plus I'm kind of bummed that I have to look for a new job anyway."

"Yeah, we're dealing with that here, too," Chuck said, recalling Sarah's sudden CIA-related outbursts over the past day or two.

"The Buy More is officially up for sale on Monday," Morgan said. "It's the end of an era, man."

"It really is," Chuck sighed.

"I just keep wondering if the new owners will ever find Castle, you know?" Morgan said. "They'll never know what a great spy base the place has been or any of the great things that have happened because of it."

After a couple more minutes on the phone with Morgan and a couple minutes of silent contemplation, Chuck headed into the bedroom just as Sarah walked out of the adjoining bathroom in a bra and panties.

"Hey," she said, noticing the look on his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah," he said. "I was talking to Morgan. The Buy More is officially for sale come Monday."

"Oh," Sarah said. "Well…I guess that was inevitable."

"Yeah," Chuck sighed, lowering himself to the bed. "Sarah?"

"Yes, Chuck?" she asked.

"I want to buy it."

I've never been to Australia before, so I had to look up the average temperatures/water temperatures for this time of year since I know it's winter there right now. The website I was looking at said "some" people would feel comfortable swimming at Sydney beaches in the Australian winter. Hopefully the beach stuff in this chapter (or future chapters) isn't completely wrong.

Thanks for reading! Now how about a review?