I still don't own Chuck. But one good thing. In this story there are no reruns for a week.
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. And even though she likes Cole, I forgive her.
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What She Doesn't Know
- - - -
Sarah was right about one thing. It really did help her to sleep. Chuck had been only able to sleep for about an hour and was now wide awake. It was only mid afternoon, after all. But something about agent training allowed Sarah to sleep when she really needed to. And whatever it was, Chuck was incredibly grateful. Because he was having the time of his life. As Chuck lay still on his back Sarah's head gently rested on his chest. It was softly raising and falling with each breath that he took. It was the most mesmerizing image that Chuck had ever seen in his entire life. So he lay there watching her. He knew that he wouldn't see her for a few days. So he was trying to memorize how soft she felt. And time stopped having meaning for him. He honestly couldn't tell if he had been watching her for one hour or ten. All he knew was that he never wanted it to end. Because once she woke up, she was leaving. Chuck had heard Janice return some time ago. She obviously had brought the car that Sarah would use to drive back to L.A.
Chuck was so into his thoughts that he didn't realize for a long moment that Sarah's eyes were open. Even though she was awake, she was obviously enjoying the moment as much as he was.
"Hi," Sarah finally whispered. Her smile could have stopped traffic on the freeway. "I'm really going to miss you."
"I know," Chuck said with his own smile. "Me too. I have a favor to ask."
"What favor?" Sarah said with a sly smile. "I would think that you would be a little worn out from earlier."
"No," said Chuck as his gaze turned serious. "I need a real favor. This is not a little favor. It is a big one."
"Sweetie," Sarah said as her face turned equally serious. "What is it?"
"I've never interfered with how you do your job," Chuck began softly. "I mean, I know that what you do is dangerous. And there's no way around that. I just need to know that you are going to be careful. That you're going to take care of yourself and the baby."
The smile gradually returned to Sarah's face as Chuck spoke.
"And if you get in a bad spot," Chuck continued. "I want you to promise me that you'll surrender rather than shooting it out in a hopeless situation. I need to know that you're going to be ok."
"Hey," Sarah said with a definite sparkle in her eye. "I want you to know something. My life began ten weeks ago. It did. I was born on the drive to Vegas that night. And I know that it took a lot longer than nine months. And I know it was a long and hard labor and delivery. But there is no way in the world this is going to end now. Please tell me that you understand."
"I understand."
"Good," Sarah said as her smile broadened into a full fledged grin. "Because I've carried that analogy as far as I can anyway."
"I know," Chuck said with his own grin. "I was wondering where you were going next. Somehow I pictured me changing a diaper."
"You're lying to me," Sarah said with a laugh. "I know that whatever you were picturing had something to do with breast feeding."
"You got me," Chuck said as he shared the laugh. "You know me too well."
"Don't worry about anything," Sarah said. "This is a piece of cake. The last place they will be expecting me will be anywhere close to Los Angeles."
With that Sarah raised her head to give Chuck a gentle kiss.
"They'll never know what hit them."
- - - -
Ellie was sitting in the plane waiting for it to land in Denver when Casey came and sat by her.
"There is something that you should know," Casey said as he handed Ellie a paper. "We planted a story in the Denver media about you being arrested."
"You used my driver's license picture," Ellie said as she looked at the paper in horror. "I hate that picture."
"Sorry," Casey said. "The point is that you are likely to be recognized. We really don't want to draw attention to ourselves. So it would be best if we can avoid you being recognized."
"How will we do that?" Ellie asked.
"If we see anyone looking at you," Casey replied. "I'll act like your boyfriend and hug you. You can hide your face in my chest. They will just think of us as a couple and dismiss you."
"Ok," Ellie said with a sly smile. "I guess that will work. How much of my boyfriend are you going to play? Are you going to kiss me?"
"No," Casey said quickly as he was puzzled by Ellie's question. "We're trying to blend in, not draw any attention to ourselves."
"I understand," Ellie said with a wry smile at Casey's obvious discomfort. And she did understand… totally. John was no longer in charge of this particular situation. She now was. As she turned her head to look out the window, she whispered to herself so that Casey couldn't really hear her over the din from the plane.
"Maybe later."
- - - -
Chuck was ready to carry Sarah's bag out to her car when she stopped him.
"Sweetie," Sarah said as she grabbed the bag from his hand. "I really don't want you to go outside. We'll need to say our goodbyes in here."
"You're taking quite a chance," Janice said with a smile. "You're leaving me here alone with him with a whole day left. You must really want me to tie up the score."
"No, I'm not taking any chance at all," said Sarah with a smile as she turned to face Janice directly. "I've been being stupid. There is no way on earth that Chuck would betray me. I appreciate your taking care of him for me. But take your best shot. You're going to strike out."
Then Sarah walked up to Chuck and put her arms around his neck.
"I'll be back in three days," Sarah whispered. "I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen. I might be alone. I might have Ellie and Devon with me. Or I might have Beckman."
"Beckman," Chuck whispered with his eyes wide.
"It'd be nice to have a roommate who isn't trying to sleep with my husband," Sarah responded with a grin as she kissed him goodbye. And while she didn't look at Janice, her meaning couldn't have been more clear.
"Wouldn't it?"
- - - -
Casey was walking through the concourse of the Denver airport with Ellie. Per his request, the local FBI office had provided him with an unmarked car. Suddenly Casey felt Ellie grasp his hand.
"If we're supposed to be a couple," Ellie said with a smile in response to Casey's questioning look. "We should be holding hands. Don't you think?"
Now it was Casey's turn to rack his brain trying to think of any instance where Ellie might have gotten the wrong impression. To tell the truth he had never even thought of Ellie as anything except Chuck's sister. He had always tried to be respectfully friendly. But he had always avoided any more contact then absolutely necessary. That was his style after all. Never draw undue attention to yourself.
As they continued to walk hand in hand, Casey reexamined his view of Ellie. Naturally, the first thing that hit you was how truly beautiful she was. And it was not in an overtly sexy way. Not at all. More like a girl next door sort of way. Assuming that you were incredibly lucky in your choice of neighbors. But you didn't get very far in thinking about Ellie without realizing how truly brilliant she was. To get through medical school was hard enough for anybody. To do it with no parents while raising a younger brother was nothing short of phenomenal.
But Casey knew that he and Ellie could never happen. For so many different reasons that he lost count. First and foremost, Casey was a spy. There was no way he was going to consider getting involved with someone from his cover. Look at the mess that Walker had gotten herself into. And that was another thing. Chuck would have a cow if he thought there was anything between Ellie and him. And given Walker's relationship with Chuck, when he had a cow, she was the butcher. And there was no way that Casey was going to intentionally provoke that particular butcher. But really the main reason was Devon. They were not friends by any stretch of the imagination. Just a few hours ago Devon had offered to fight him, after all. But the truth was that Casey knew Devon and liked him. And you didn't go after another man's woman. It just wasn't honorable. And that, for Casey, was the biggest show stopper one could think of.
No, Casey knew that there could never be anything between Ellie and him. It just wasn't possible. But having said all that, what would be the harm in letting Ellie think that he was interested? If it kept her controlled, after all, that would be a good thing. He just had to make sure that he didn't let things get too far. The last thing that he wanted was to break her heart. But he had to admit; it would be nice to be in control.
"Yup," thought Casey as he flashed a smile at Ellie and noticed how quickly and sweetly it was returned.
"That might work."
- - - -
Sarah had only been gone for a couple of hours. And Chuck was already depressed from missing her. It was pretty obvious. He hadn't moved from the couch since she had left. And, of all things, he was watching a sappy romance on the Lifetime channel. With nothing else to do, Janice was forced to sit on the couch and watch it with him. But as the credits rolled Janice could finally take no more. She picked up the remote and turned the television off.
"This is way too depressing," Janice said with a sly smile in response to Chuck's look. "Can't we find something more fun to do?"
"Janice," Chuck said with a sigh. "Didn't you hear Sarah? There is no way I'm going to betray her."
"I know," Janice said with her own sigh. "You two really have something, don't you?"
"We really, really do," Chuck said softly as he blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "I'm not sure what she sees in me. But I'll be counting the minutes till she gets back."
"That's nice," Janice said with a half smile. "But you have to know how much I hate to lose. How about if we just never tell Sarah? At least I'd know."
"I really am sorry that you have to lose because of me," Chuck said in a near whisper as he looked at the floor. "Maybe there is something more fun that we can do together. Can you promise me that Sarah will never find out?"
"Of course," Janice said as her mood brightened. "It would just be between us."
"Good," said Chuck as he looked up for the first time. "I really want to surprise her."
Janice's eyes turned puzzled as she struggled to figure out Chuck's meaning.
"Can you help me find Sarah's dad?"
- - - -