I still don't own Chuck. But one good thing. In this story there are no reruns for a week.

I just read the synopsis for Chuck vs The Colonel and it looks like the show has thrown down the gauntlet. It looks like I am really going to have to ramp up the fluffy Charah goodness if I want to stay ridiculously ahead of them. Needless to say, I accept this challenge. Thanks to Happydayz for the ideas and for holding my virtual hand through all the angst on the show. It looks like we may have weathered this storm. And, of course, thanks to BrickRoad for keeping me on the straight and narrow. And even though she likes Cole, I forgive her.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It's the only reward that we get for putting ourselves out there. I want to thank everyone who has sent me a review. I really appreciate the support that you've given me. It really helps me stay motivated.

If you're a Chuck fan (and if you're not, boy are you reading the wrong story), join us in the forum on this site. We would love to hear your thoughts on the show and where it's going. Since we've talked about every possible outcome, someone is sure to be right.

Won't Hurt Her

- - - -

Sarah was driving down I-70 being very careful not to exceed the speed limit. Under normal circumstances, this would be a drive that she would have enjoyed. Sarah had always enjoyed driving through the mountains. And the terrain that she was currently driving through was some of the most picturesque in the whole world. But these were anything but normal circumstances. She was actually grateful that it was starting to get dark. The one thing that she couldn't afford was to get distracted by the scenery. She was already distracted enough as it was.

"What am I doing?" Sarah said to herself. As an agent, she knew that going after Ellie like this was a mistake. That is exactly what Beckman was baiting her into doing after all. Into making a foolish mistake. It was more than obvious that her main mission was to protect Chuck. And Sarah knew that if she was captured or worse, Chuck wouldn't last a week. Even Janice wouldn't be able to keep him from doing something stupid and getting caught. But she knew that protecting Chuck meant much more than just physically. If something happened to Ellie, Chuck would never be quite the same. And Sarah couldn't live with herself if she ever let those brown eyes lose their sparkle. And who was she kidding anyway? She loved Ellie, no question. She would do anything for her. But right now that was overshadowed by her hatred of Beckman. She looked so forward to seeing the expression on her face as Sarah pointed her Glock directly between her eyes.

But first, she had to get there. And that's why she was being careful not to exceed the speed limit. And that was unusual. Sarah never worried about things like speed limits. For one thing, she knew that her smile could get her out of any ticket. Especially with that one extra button on her blouse open. Okay, so there was the one time when the cop turned out to be a woman. But in this case Sarah knew that she couldn't risk getting pulled over so close to Denver. Since the story was in the Denver paper, Sarah was sure that they were looking for her there. Normally in that situation Sarah would just pick the fastest car and follow them at a safe distance. But that wouldn't work now. There was no traffic. So even though Sarah was dying to get there as soon as possible, she was driving the speed limit. But she sure wasn't happy about it.

There was one thing that she was very happy about. She owed Janice. Big time. How did she ever find her a car with California plates so quickly? And a quick check of the trunk revealed enough weaponry to fight a small war.

"There are some things you're better off just not knowing," Sarah smiled to herself. One thing she knew; Janice would do anything for the mission. And now her mission was evening the score. A week ago, Sarah would have been frantic with this situation. But not now. She knew that Chuck was in a bad spot. But he would die before he betrayed her. That simply wasn't a question. It had only been a few hours, but man, did she miss him. Sarah found herself smiling as she thought of what torture Janice was putting him through right now.

"Poor Chuck," Sarah actually laughed out loud as she drove down the mostly deserted freeway. "Sweetie, I'll have to find a way to make this up to you."

And that was something she was becoming somewhat of an expert at.

- - - -

When Casey and Ellie finally made it through the airport to the car, Ellie was grateful. She was actually starting to get a little winded. Ellie was in good shape. After all, she was engaged to one of the world's top fitness freaks. But John was a faster walker than even Devon was. And it was usually all she could do to keep up with Devon for very long. And they didn't call Denver the mile high city for nothing. The lack of oxygen in the air was starting to make her feel a little light headed. She was becoming so tired that she was finding it hard to keep up the sweet smile that she had placed on her face. She was so looking forward to plopping into the car and resting that she was very disappointed to see a man in a business suit leaning against the car. And Casey obviously shared her disappointment, judging from the look on his face when they got close enough to recognize the man.

"Major Casey," the man said sternly. "I thought that we had an agreement that you would stay away from Denver."

"Trust me," replied Casey with a growl. "This is not in my top ten list of places where I want to be."

"The last thing we need here," the man said as he pushed away from the car and squared his shoulders to Casey. "Is any more of your shootout at the OK corral bullshit tactics."

"And the last thing that I need," Casey said as he squared off towards the man. "Is a group of local pussies getting in the way of some real law enforcement because they might be late for taking their wife to the opera."

"How dare you bring up my wife," the man quickly responded.

Ellie had been around enough macho guys in her past that she could read the body language. These guys were getting ready to go at it. As she dropped John's hand and stepped out of striking distance, Ellie wondered to herself which one she would root for. This guy was obnoxious, no question about that. But she also wouldn't mind seeing Casey take a few punches in strategic areas. It would let her be the doctor, after all. And using that to control the situation was much better then what she currently had working. Being the doctor beat playing doctor hands down. So Ellie was a little disappointed and more than a little surprised when, instead of throwing a punch, Casey threw his arms around the man.

"Speaking of the wife," Casey said laughing. "How is Amy doing? She hasn't come to her senses and dumped you yet?"

"Mean as ever," the man replied with his own laugh as they embraced. "I don't know about dumping me. But I do keep the guns locked up at home. She can't wait to see you."

"Brian," Casey said as he broke the embrace. "I would like you to meet my friend Ellie. Ellie, this is my ex partner Brian. Brian is now the Chief of Police here in Denver."

Actually Casey struggled what terms to use. Describing Brian as an ex partner was telling Ellie more about himself than he was really comfortable with. And describing Ellie as a friend was surely going to cause Brian to make some false assumptions. But both of those were necessary to keep Ellie where he wanted her. And Casey had to admit, he didn't mind that Brian was thinking that he and Ellie were a couple. After all, Amy was the greatest girl he had even known. Normally Casey would be uncomfortable knowing that someone had stopped serving the greater good for a woman. But in this case, he couldn't argue. Brian was the luckiest guy he knew. And besides, the Chief of Police of a major city wasn't a total sell out.

"Ellie," Brian said warmly as he extended his hand. "I hope you're not letting this big lug get you into any trouble. It follows him around, you know?"

"It's nice to meet you, Brian," Ellie said as she flashed her sweetest smile and took his extended hand. "It nice to know that if we get into trouble, we at least know some people in high places to get us out." Ellie could tell by the look that Brian flashed Casey that he approved. And for some odd reason, that made Ellie feel good. Much more good than it should have.

"Come on, kiddo," Ellie said to herself. "You can't afford to be competitive here. Keep your head in the game. Chuck's counting on you."

But if Casey picked up on anything, he didn't show it.

"Brian," he said softly. "I need a big favor."

"What a surprise," Brian said with a sarcastic laugh as he slapped Casey on the back.

"When don't you?"

- - - -

Chuck was sitting on the couch. He was trying to keep his eyes on the television. Trying was the key word. Because Janice was doing everything in her power to fill his field of vision. And the funny thing was, she wasn't doing all that much.

"Isn't Sarah's dad still in jail?" Janice asked while leaning forward to ensure that Chuck had an unobstructed view down the front of her shirt.

"No," replied Chuck. "He's been out for a while. The problem is that he's on the run. If they catch him, he's going back."

"Why do you want to contact him?" Janice asked. "Sarah doesn't really have a good relationship with him, you know?"

"I know," Chuck said with a smile. "She really misses him though. He means a lot more to her than she lets on. And it would mean a lot to her if he could come through for her once."

"But what makes you think he will?" Janice asked. "He never has before."

"Just a hunch," Chuck said with a smile. "Something about being a grandpa changes people."

"That's true," laughed Janice. "Now all you have to do is find a baby."

"Didn't Sarah tell you?" Chuck asked softly.

Janice's confused look told Chuck to continue.

"Sarah's pregnant."

"No way," Janice finally whispered after a long pause. "Sarah Walker, pregnant? How long?"

"Actually, it's Sarah Bartowski now," Chuck said with his trademark grin.

"I'm not really sure how long." Chuck continued with a laugh.

"But if it's over ten weeks she and I are going to be having a serious talk."

- - - -

As soon as Casey and Ellie got into the car, Casey turned to her.

"We're going to have a long day tomorrow," Casey said as he started the car. "We really need to get some rest. I'll give you an option. I'll take you to the city jail and let you spend the night in a cell..."

"I don't know what the other option is," Ellie interrupted quickly with a wince. "But whatever it is, I'll take it."

"The other option," Casey said without looking at her. "Is that we get a hotel room for the night."

"Here it comes," Ellie thought to herself. "For someone who is using their position of authority to get me in bed, he is acting pretty bashful about it. I guess I have to go along for now. Otherwise I'll lose control. But how do I keep from sleeping with him? No way that's happening. I'll have to come up with something."

"Ok, John," Ellie said with a sly smile. "I suppose I'm still in your custody. Are you going to cuff me?"

"Oh my God," Casey thought to himself. "She is flirting with me. This is getting totally out of hand. How am I going to avoid her expecting me to sleep with her? There is just no way that can happen. I'll have to think of something."

"No," Casey said as he stumbled to speak. "No cuffs. You just can't leave my sight."

Ellie smiled at Casey's obvious discomfort. It felt good to be back in control, after all. As she looked out the window she whispered to herself more than to Casey.

"Maybe later."

- - - -