I still don't own Chuck. But one good thing. Nope, sorry. I've got nothing.

I think I'll end this story as the season comes to a close. Let's hope the TV gods smile on us and we get another season. I still have several sequels that I would like to do. Hopefully, I can work on them over the summer. 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. You've been true friends to me and I hope that survives even if the show doesn't. I would also like to thank everyone who has sent me a review or message. It's the fuel that has kept me going. Believe it or not, I've considered every comment. Also I'd like to shout out to my friends on the ChuckTV, Google Groups, and NBC boards. If I don't get another chance to say it, I've enjoyed our time together. If the show doesn't survive, it looks like I will have a lot of spare time on my hands. I'll be looking for another show to obsess about. Any suggestions?

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.

Ten Times Better

- - - -

Neither Chuck nor Sarah had loosened the grip that they had on each other very much, if at all. But the tension was long gone. And after the tension of the past few days was relieved, not much was left. As a matter of fact, Chuck was sort of losing track of where he was, totally lost in the glow. All he could think about was how good she felt in his arms. At it looked like Sarah was similarly inclined. Finally, after a long moment, General Beckman broke the silence and brought them out of the trance.

"Well, Agent Walker," she said with the beginnings of a smile. "You came in here to shoot me. Is that still your intent?"

"You've cancelled the termination order on Chuck?" Sarah asked tentatively. Her question was directed at Beckman but she was looking directly at Casey.

"Go ahead, Major," Beckman said softly. "Tell her."

"It's been cancelled for some time," Casey said while making sure that he was looking Sarah directly in the eye. He knew how important it was that she believed him.

"Then no, ma'am," Sarah said softly. "I have no such intent."

"Good," Beckman said. "In that case will you surrender your weapon to Major Casey as a show of good faith while we talk about to do next?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said as she handled her gun to Casey.

"Have a seat," Beckman said in a forceful but obviously relieved voice.

Chuck sat on the sofa and Sarah sat next to him. Casey remained standing, obviously uncomfortable being too casual in front of Beckman.

"Okay, Sarah," Beckman said as she studied her carefully. "I'm not eager to take you into custody. But I also can't lose control of the intersect again. What can you do to convince me of your loyalty?"

"General," Sarah began. "I'll not deny that my first loyalty is to my husband and my family. But having said that I'm still a CIA officer. I still take my duty very seriously. I would never betray my country. And neither would Chuck. I would hope that is not in question."

"It's not," Beckman replied quickly. "That's why we're having this discussion."

"Thank you, ma'am," Sarah said with a sigh of relief.

"We will arrange for Chuck to come to Washington in a few weeks for his procedure to remove the intersect," Beckman said. "What do you propose that we do until then?"

"I would hope that we could go back to the status quo," Sarah said hopefully. "Chuck will move in with me to my hotel room. We'll report to the castle on a regular basis to check in."

"I'll agree with the following conditions," Beckman said slowly after a long pause. "That Chuck will wear his watch at all times and you'll answer your cell phone?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said with a smile. "Agreed."

"Very well, Agent Walker," Beckman said with a sigh. "Carry on."

"One more thing, ma'am," Sarah said. "I almost forgot. We need to drive to Vegas for a couple of days."

"Vegas?" Beckman asked with a puzzled look. "Why on earth do you need to go to Vegas."

"You were right, ma'am," Sarah said as she grabbed Chuck's hand. "We're not legally married. That is something we want to fix right away. Someday our daughter is going to want to know that her parents are actually married."

"Is that okay with you, sweetie?" Sarah asked Chuck softly.

"Why Sarah," Chuck said with a smile. "Are you proposing to me?"

Sarah tried unsuccessfully to keep in the laugh.

"Of course," Chuck whispered in reply so that only Sarah could hear. "You know that when you propose to someone, you're supposed be on one knee? Would this involve another wedding night?"

"Major Casey will accompany you," Beckman said briskly, ignoring Chuck. "I assume that will be acceptable."

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah replied as she tried to stop laughing. "Actually I hope there will be several people accompanying us. Chuck's sister and her fiancé. My friend Janice Beckman and Chuck's friend, Morgan Grimes."

"In that case," Beckman said. Her voice lost much of its authority. And even though Beckman wasn't looking up at all, Sarah could sense the vulnerability in her face. "Would you mind if I attended?"

"Of course not, ma'am," Sarah said softly as she stood up to leave dragging Chuck to his feet with her.

"We'd be very honored."

- - - -

While Chuck, Sarah, and Casey were waiting for the elevator, Casey turned to Sarah who had her face buried in Chuck's shoulder.

"Here," Casey said as he handed Sarah her gun. "I think you want this back."

"Thanks," Sarah said as she separated from Chuck just long enough to store it in its usual spot in the small of her back.

Chuck saw the redness in Casey's neck and remembering his discomfort in the room decided to have a little fun. And Casey had an obvious weakness. So he grabbed Sarah and kissed her. Sarah's face showed a little surprise but she soon melted into the kiss.

"Good lord," Casey mumbled as he turned away in disgust.

As soon as Chuck saw Casey turn away he started a low moan. Since Sarah knew of Chuck's aversion to PDA she immediately opened her eyes to try and get a read on what Chuck was doing. But Chuck just indicated towards Casey with his eyes. That and the twinkle in his eye was enough to get Sarah to join the sport.

"Umm…" mumbled Sarah as soon as the kiss broke. "I've missed that."

"Ten times better?" Chuck asked with his classic grin.

"At least," Sarah said just loud enough so she was sure that Casey could hear. "Much more of that and I'm going to jump on you right in this elevator."

At that point the elevator door opened. But instead of getting in, Casey turned away.

"You coming?" Chuck asked as he guided Sarah into the elevator.

"I'm taking the stairs," Casey growled over his shoulder as he half walked and half ran away.

"I've taken about as much of this as I can take."

Chuck and Sarah were forced to lean on each other in the elevator to keep from falling as they laughed.

- - - -

Fred Jones sat at his desk drinking his morning cup of coffee. And also contemplating his life. On the one hand, his career had reached the peak. Being named a Fulcrum Elder in charge of the Western Region was something he had worked his whole career to achieve. And, at fifty three, to be the youngest Elder in the history of Fulcrum was something that he was very proud of.

But it was days like this that reminded him. What should have been the pinnacle of his career instead was becoming his downfall. And all because of this stupid intersect. The number of agents that he had lost looking for it was approaching triple digits. And all he had to show for it was the stack of reports documenting failure after failure.

And it was abundantly clear. This was an organization that didn't tolerate failure. They didn't demote you. They ended you.

It was in the middle of that contemplation that his phone rang.

"Yes," Jones answered briskly.

"Sir," his admin assistant answered. "Agent Adams on line one."

Jones knew Skip Adams well. He was a real go getter. Had worked in L.A. up until a couple of months ago but was transferred to the Denver office. He was being groomed to take over that office soon.

"Hi, Skip," Jones said as he pushed the button on his phone. "How are things in Denver?"

"Great, sir," said Adams. "Thanks for asking. But that's not why I called. I just saw a very interesting newspaper article. I just sent you a copy in an email."

As Jones brought up the email, Adams continued.

"Remember last year when we were looking for Bryce Larkin and we identified several agents working at the Burbank Buy More?"

"Of course," Jones said briskly. "We've lost twenty agents trying to figure out what is going on there."

"Well sir," Adams said quickly. "The woman in the picture is almost certainly Sarah Walker,"

"I remember her," Jones said with a sigh. "She's CIA. Very top flight. Assigned to protect someone at the Buy More. But who and why?"

"Well, sir," Adams said with the smile evident in his voice. "I can't help you with the why. But I may know who. The man in the article is Charles Bartowski. We got his name from the Buy More employment records. The woman in the second article is Dr. Ellie Bartowski. She is his sister. It looks like that may have gone rogue."

"That would explain the task force and all the chatter lately," said Jones, more to himself than anybody. "So, you think that the Bartowski's are who Walker is protecting?"

"Yes, sir," Adams said softly. "They must be desperate to find them to publish their pictures like this. Something must be up. They must believe that they are in the Denver area. How would you like me to proceed?"

"Let's let the CIA find them," Jones said thoughtfully. "You know that they will. And as soon as they do, we'll arrange for a little chat with Dr. Bartowski. She looks like a very intelligent lady."

"Yes, sir," Adams said with the smile obvious in his voice. "I'm sure she'll be able to tell us something, starting with who is her brother. Maybe you'll even get her to play a little doctor with you. That might be fun."

"It might be a lot of fun," Jones said to himself as he hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. "Well, things might be looking up."

"I deserve it."

- - - -

Chuck and Sarah were lying in bed in Sarah's hotel room. Even though it had been a few days since they had been there, it was by far, the place they felt the most comfortable. And that comfort, combined with the relief that their situation was no longer life and death led to a new hotness record. As Chuck held Sarah in his arms he was reluctant to speak for fear of ending the glow which enveloped them. So he just gently rubbed her back as she lay with her head on his chest like always. And they stayed that way for several minutes. Chuck couldn't even tell how long it had been. Finally it was Sarah who surprised him by breaking the silence.

"Ok, sweetie," Sarah said with a soft smile as she turned her head to look at him. "Care to tell me what's wrong?"

"What makes you think there is something wrong?" Chuck replied with his own smile.

"Chuck," Sarah said as she picked her head up from Chuck's chest for additional emphasis. "Do you really think that I can't tell when something is bothering you?"

"I'm just thinking about the future," Chuck said with a sigh. "I'm just a little worried that you're going to be happy."

"Okay, Chuck," Sarah said with a warning in her voice. "If you're worried again about me being in love with you…"

"No," Chuck interrupted with a laugh. "I'm actually pretty secure in that area."

"Thank you," Sarah said with a sign of relief. "Because I'm running out of ways to prove it to you."

"Yes," Chuck said with his classic grin. "You did just make a great effort. Thank you."

"My pleasure," Sarah said with her own grin. "And I mean that quite literally. So tell me what is bothering you?"

"Please don't take this wrong," Chuck said slowly as took his hand from around Sarah's back and softly rubbed her stomach. "I know that you're excited about this baby. Just as much as I am. I'm just concerned that going from Super Spy to wife and mother might be a little overwhelming. I just hope that you don't miss the excitement too much."

Sarah didn't respond. She just snuggled into Chuck's chest a little closer.

"I understand," Chuck continued. "That you don't want to talk about it because you think I'll feel threatened. But, trust me, I won't."

"I loved being an agent," Sarah finally whispered after a long pause. "I did. I do. Knowing the good thing that we did, knowing the difference we made makes me feel good about myself. And the honest truth is that I might miss some things about it a little someday."

Chuck just nodded to let Sarah know that he understood.

"But understand something," Sarah continued. "I've never wanted anything in my life before as much as I want to have this baby with you. I can't wait until she says her first word, when she takes her first steps, her first day of school."

Chuck's smile told her to continue.

"And you're the one person in the whole world," Sarah whispered. "That I want to share this with. And if I miss my old life, I'll just go pick a fight with her teacher or the neighborhood bully, or the mechanic who doesn't fix our car right."

"How about you try and not throw a knife at that teacher, bully, or mechanic?" Chuck said with a grin. "That's frowned upon in the real word."

"Duly noted," Sarah said with her own grin.

"Promise me one thing," Chuck said softly. "I know that you don't like to talk about your feelings much. And I keep pressing you. I'm sorry about that. But if you are ever missing the action, please promise me you'll talk to me. I'll promise to understand. And I'll try and help. I want you to be happy."

Sarah simply reached up and captured Chuck in a gentle kiss. It started off gentle anyway but quickly intensified. As soon as the kiss broke Sarah smiled.

"Do you want to talk?" Sarah said with a sly smile. "Or something else?"

The hunger in Chuck's return kiss was all the answer that Sarah needed.

"You know," Sarah said with a sly smile. "We have a wedding night scheduled tomorrow. You might want to rest up."

"Duly noted," Chuck whispered as he pressed his lips to Sarah's again, this time with a little more urgency.

"By the way," Sarah whispered as soon as the kiss broke.

"I promise."

- - - -

The End