I still don't own Chuck. But one good thing. This story will never be preempted by a presidential news conference.

Thanks to Happydayz for the ideas and for holding my virtual hand through all the angst on the show. And, of course, thanks to BrickRoad for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

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Closing In

- - - -

Sarah had insisted that they move the car into the garage even before they unpacked. Only after the car was safely in the garage with the door closed would Sarah allow Chuck to bring in their bags. Once the bags were in the house Sarah announced it was time for a nap.

When Chuck opened his eyes, it took him more than a moment to even remember where he was. But the sight of Sarah's head lying on his chest immediately calmed whatever nerves he had. Then he remembered. They had been so exhausted that they just stripped down to their underwear and went right to bed. Since Chuck had slept in the car, he was a little more rested. Not wanting to wake Sarah, Chuck just lay quietly and watched her sleep. There was absolutely no thought of complaint since that was one of his favorite things to do anyway.

It was only a few minutes until Sarah's eyes started to stir.

"Hi, sweetie," Sarah whispered with her classic smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling like it's our honeymoon." Chuck said with his own smile as he pulled Sarah into a kiss.

"Chuck," Sarah said softly as she returned the kiss. "It is our honeymoon. Let's get something to eat and let me check the news. Then I'll prove it too you."

- - - -

Casey was lying on a cot in the back room. It wasn't very comfortable. But, after all, he had slept in worst places. And he needed to get some rest. He knew full well that once Beckman got there nobody was getting much rest. It seemed like he was just shutting his eyes when someone was shaking him. When Casey's eyes popped open, he was looking at the director of the L.A. FBI office.

"What's up?" Casey said with a yawn as he struggled to clear the cobwebs.

"Sorry, sir," the Director said excitedly. "They've been spotted."

That quickly snapped Casey' attention to full alert.

"Where?"

"Just outside Twin Falls, Idaho." the director said as he walked out of the room.

Casey quickly followed the director into the conference room where a group of men were gathered discussing the events.

"They've been spotted?" Casey said loudly enough to get the men's attention.

"Yes, sir," one of the men responded. "We got lucky. They stopped at a gas station way off the beaten path. The owner's brother is the county sheriff. So, when he saw the BOLO that we posted, he thought he recognized them. When they ran the surveillance tapes, and we got them."

"Are we sure it's them?" Casey asked.

"Yes, sir," the man responded as he handed Casey a picture. He could clearly see both Chuck and Sarah as they went into the station to use the facilities.

"How long ago?" Casey asked as he walked to the large map that was posted on the wall.

"About four hours," one of the men replied.

"Do we have any info on the car?" Casey asked eagerly.

"Yes, sir," the man said with a smile as he handed Casey another picture.

Casey's face lit up into a huge grin as he could clearly see the California license plates on the car.

"They are headed for either Salt Lake City or Denver." Casey said as he studied the map. "Alert the locals in both cities. Make sure that they understand how dangerous Walker is."

"There's one more thing." one of the men said softly with a smirk. "We got something more from the truck driver. It seems like our couple got really friendly in the back while he was driving."

"Good for them," Casey whispered under his breath.

As Casey was studying the picture of Chuck and Sarah he couldn't help the grin that was overcoming his face. Unfortunately, whatever enjoyment he was taking from the moment was interrupted by a string of profanity.

General Beckman had arrived.

- - - -

Chuck was sitting at the kitchen table finishing his eggs. Who knew that she could cook? Ok, so maybe scrambled eggs didn't qualify her for chef's school. But man, did she look sexy cooking them in her underwear. It was almost enough to make him forget how hungry he was. Almost.

"Do you want some more eggs?" Sarah asked as she took a bite.

"No, thanks," Chuck said with a grin. "I would like to see you cook some more, though. Will you promise that you'll wear that same stuff every time you cook?"

"Stop," Sarah said as she playfully slapped Chuck's chest.

"Come to think about it," Chuck said with his trademark smile. "It might not work too well having Ellie and Devon over for Thanksgiving dinner. Devon might not mind. But I don't think Ellie will go for it."

But instead of smiling at his joke, Sarah just turned away.

"Don't worry." Chuck said with as soothing a voice as he could. "I know that you miss Ellie. But we'll get through this."

"I know." Sarah said sadly. "That's not it."

"What's the matter then?"

"It's just," Sarah began with a sigh. "On Thanksgiving, I'm going to be fat and ugly."

"You're kidding, right?" Chuck asked incredulously.

Sarah simply shook her head sadly as she carried the dirty dishes to the sink. Chuck quickly followed her and stepped up to her back and put his arms around her.

"Listen to me." Chuck said softly as he nuzzled her neck. "I understand how you feel. I mean you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. And I can see how that would become a big part of how you see yourself. I'll admit; that's how I first saw you. But now I'm so happy that I got to know you. Now I understand that your good looks are your least important quality."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked in a half whisper.

"Trust me," Chuck said with a grin. "On Thanksgiving, when you're almost ready to have our baby, you'll never be more beautiful to me."

"Thanks," Sarah whispered as she turned to face him.

"And I'll finally have a chance to be able to outrun you." Chuck replied just before their lips met.

So, instead of a kiss, Chuck got something much better. He was able to make the love of his life laugh.

"What's this I heard about a honeymoon?" Chuck said as soon as they had both stopped laughing. "Does that still apply?"

"Absolutely," said Sarah with her eyes still shining with laughter. "Just give me a minute to get on the computer and let Ellie know that we're ok."

- - - -

Ellie was home alone making dinner. It was actually the second night in a row that Devon and her were going to be able to have dinner together. Ellie couldn't remember the last time that happened. So she fully intended to take advantage of the situation. Where last night had been about the quick passion of two lovers that hadn't had much time for each other, tonight Ellie wanted more romance. And Ellie knew that when she wanted something it was up to her to make it happen. So the rack of lamb was just about to come out of the oven. Devon's favorite custard pie was already cooling on the counter. The finest china was set on the dining room table and the candles were already lit.

Devon was due home any minute so Ellie quickly changed into Devon's favorite dress. A tight fitting burgundy number that had a high slit and a low neckline. When Devon walked in the door his jaw dropped at the sight. Fortunately, Devon had a meeting with the Head Surgeon today so his usual scrubs were replaced with a sports jacket and tie.

"Hi, babe," Devon said as he took in the sight of the rack of lamb sitting on the candlelit table. And the topper, Ellie poured into his favorite dress. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion." Ellie said softly. "I just figured it was time to treat ourselves to a nice night."

"I thought that last night was pretty nice." Devon said with a smile.

"It was." Ellie replied as her face blushed a little. "It was very nice. I just thought we'd go for a little romance tonight."

And it was totally romantic. They say at the table and talked and ate and connected on a level that they hadn't seen in a long time.

"Babe," Devon said. "You look awesome in that dress. Why don't you relax for a minute while I clear the table and then maybe we can find out what you look like out of it?"

"That's sweet." Ellie said. "I think I'm going to check my email."

So Ellie turned on her laptop. One of the first things that she always did was check the Lost forum. That's where Sarah would post any messages in the code they had set up. She knew that it might be some time before she heard from them. Sarah had warned her against that. So she was very surprised to see a post from ILovNerds. That was the handle that Sarah had given her. With her hand shaking so badly she could barely type, Ellie opened a word document and keyed in the words from the post using the sequence that Sarah had specified. Ellie immediately took the laptop over to where Devon was working.

"Babe," Devon said softly. "What's wrong? You're shaking."

Little did Devon know that his romantic evening was about to take a dramatic turn for the better. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Ellie turned the screen so that Devon could read the five word message.

Arrived Safely. All is well.

- - - -

Beckman, as was her custom, took charge immediately.

"What are we currently doing?" she demanded.

"Well, ma'am," Casey began. "We have issued a BOLO for a five hundred mile radius. We have published a description of the car and its plates. Hopefully Walker wasn't counting on us finding that tape so quickly so she is still confident. Maybe she'll make a mistake."

"What about the local media?" Beckman said.

"Yes, ma'am," said Casey. "We have planted a story in the Salt Lake City and Denver media similar to what we ran in San Francisco. We altered their pictures to be in line with their current appearance. It's the same story. They're wanted for robbing a convenience store and killing the clerk. That should motivate the public to keep an eye out for them."

"They won't be able to last long." Beckman said. "If they travel, we find them. If they stay in one place they will become familiar."

"Yes, ma'am," Casey sighed. "I think we have them now."

Casey about fell over when he saw the smile on Beckman's face. She was reading the report from Earl, the truck driver.

"They made love in the semi while they were on the run?" Beckman said softly, more to herself than to Casey. "I guess they really are in love."

"Yes. Ma'am," Casey agreed. "They did a good job at hiding it. But they must be."

Casey wasn't sure if he saw tears in Beckman's eyes or not. And she quickly turned away so that Casey couldn't tell. But when Beckman's voice actually cracked, Casey knew for sure.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," Beckman whispered.

"But we can't have the intersect walking around the streets."

- - - -

Chuck was lying on his back in his usual position. Round one of honeymoon action had just finished.

"You know," Sarah said softly as she picked her head up from Chuck's chest to look into his eyes. "I hope you're pacing yourself. We're going to be stuck in this house all day with not much to do."

"Really," Chuck said with a grin. "A prisoner in paradise, huh?"

"Exactly," Sarah said with a laugh. "Be careful what you wish for, mister. You might just get it."

"I'll tell you what." Chuck said with a laugh. "If I ever get tired of this, we might as well turn ourselves in. I'm dead anyway."

"True," Sarah said.

"When are you going to tell me about how this house is so livable?" Chuck asked. "I know you haven't been here in almost two years. How could there possibly be fresh fruit?"

Suddenly Sarah's face fell and lost its glow.

"Ok, sweetie," Sarah whispered sadly.

"I knew that I was going to have to tell you sometime."

- - - -