A/N: So, reviewers enjoyed how Chuck and Sarah treated Carina in the last chapter, but also how they reacted to each other as well. Let me assure you, that's not going to stop. Anyway, thanks for all the support folks, I really appreciate it.

Thanks to Captainrick944 for the beta, once again.

I had planned to pause this story after this chapter due to family health challenges, but I have managed to write the next chapter now, so that will come next week.

Steelejay had a great suggestion for the story and I have incorporated that into this chapter. It certainly adds to their relationship when it happens.

As for following the show, the chapter rewrites "Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp." Just thinking about that dish makes me feel sick, but it seems popular to these characters, so…

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Chapter 5: Chinese

'Sarah, can we discuss this new termination order?' Chuck asked as they lay in bed. As he knew she was no longer asleep, he had no concerns about waking her.

After the craziness of the Carina hurricane sweeping through their lives and the fact that nothing would happen for a few months, Sarah had managed to push thoughts of that to the back of her mind. However, Chuck was right; they did need to discuss it and plan what to do about it. Lying in bed, when Casey thought they were asleep, was the perfect time, if it wasn't for the fact that she liked just lying with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling his chest rise and fall.

She didn't move, but replied, 'Yes, let's do that, Chuck.'

'Do you think Graham is in on it or just Beckman and the NSA?' he asked.

'Graham must know about the new Intersect being developed,' she started. 'When I was I picked you up for our first date, I asked him what to do if you ran. He immediately replied and told me to kill you.'

Chuck nearly gasped, but managed to hold it in. 'You'd buried that thought, Sarah.'

'Even then, I didn't want to do it. Not because I was falling for you, but because it just felt wrong.'

'So, you think he'd have me killed rather than letting me loose?' Chuck asked again.

'Probably,' she thought, not liking the idea one bit.

'You don't like it!' Chuck thought. 'Well, surprise, surprise, me neither!'

Sarah suggested, 'I can get you away from here and keep you hidden, but you'd have to leave Ellie, Devon and Morgan. Could you cope with that?'

Chuck hadn't thought about that aspect, but initially he just let Sarah's thoughts about what their lives would be like sweep over him. She'd take him places hidden from any surveillance of any sort. And they'd keep moving from place to place, never staying anywhere for long. He'd stay hidden wherever she'd taken him and she'd get supplies while in disguise. He'd rarely be outside and would have to exercise inside to avoid seizing up. He wouldn't be able to contact those she'd mentioned. It sounded awful, but to add to it, she'd be rogue and would probably be shot on sight for treason.

'Chuck, that's not important. You are,' Sarah interrupted his thoughts.

He already had a hand on her shoulder, so he gripped it. 'Sarah, you're safety is important to me.'

She lifted herself up and cupped his face and gently kissed his lips. 'I can see you think that, Chuck, but it's not true. My job is to protect you, and my life means nothing. It hasn't for many years. I'm expendable.'

'I don't agree, obviously,' Chuck replied. He paused for a moment looking at the woman he'd fallen in love with. 'If running puts you at risk, I'll stay and take my chances,' he declared.

This was the worst scenario. She tightly held his face. 'You're just making me want to take you away. If you'd argued that you couldn't live without your sister, I would have understood, but this shit doesn't work for me, Chuck!'

If thoughts could stutter, his would have then. 'Of course I'd miss my sister but we could keep in touch. Don't forget my Piranha skills. I just don't want you to get hurt.'

She had forgotten about those skills. 'You can create a secure way of contacting your sister that could not be tracked?'

He nodded. 'Yeah, as well as setting up monitors for nearby traffic cameras to detect whether anyone is trying to find us. And… taps on Casey, Beckman and Graham phones to see what they are saying. Their emails would be easy too.'

The kiss she gave him was more intense than the last. Both lost their thoughts as the intensity grew. When they separated, she was able to start her thought again. 'With all that, the likelihood of me being in danger diminishes so much. And with our ability to read minds, I think we could live in obscurity.'

She dived back into a kiss, one which deepened and led to other things that took their minds completely off Intersects of any sort.

As they lay breathless and in complete awe of what they'd done again and how it felt, both started to regain their faculties. A couple of things in their last 'conversation' were niggling at Chuck thoughts. 'Sarah, I haven't spent any time with Morgan for some time. Can we, both of us so you can keep me safe, spend some time with him?'

She could see this was related to leaving and not being able to see his friend again. 'Sure.'

He smiled, 'Thanks, Sarah. You're the best.'

'You hold onto that thought, Chuck.' She grinned over at him.

He could see that she didn't mean just at sex, although he thought that was definitely the case, which increased her grin.

'I also want to discuss my hacker,' he informed her.

That wiped the grin off her face. She saw his thoughts. 'He told you not to trust me and you declared, "I trust her more than someone who won't tell me his name." I bet that pissed him off.'

If the topic wasn't important, she'd kiss him again, but that would lead back to what they'd just finished.

'Yeah, but now I'm thinking he, or she, is right about the CIA as well as the NSA.' He looked at her seriously. 'Maybe I should try to contact that person.'

She wasn't keen on that. 'We don't know who it is, who they work for, or what they want. It's too risky, Chuck.'

She was right, of course. He dropped that idea.

Stephen Bartowski wasn't aware how close his son had come to contacting him, so he was following his own ideas.

To get in touch with his son, he'd decided to contact him through Chuck's Buy More account. He'd not done that before because it seemed more appropriate to use Chuck's home account and device, but that hadn't worked out. He would do that tomorrow, but today he was following another thread. He was tapping in to the CIA network to find out who was working on the Intersect project. He'd did the same in the NSA network.

Once he had the details of the senior staff involved, he hoped to find their plans for his son. However, even if that was unclear, he'd find out who the man and the woman with Chuck were. He was less worried about the NSA man than the CIA woman. She'd downloaded the Intersect as well. Could she use it and what about the enhancement he'd added?

Maybe once he knew more about her, he'd tap into her telephone conversations to find out more.

Going out with Morgan and Chuck was an eye opener for Sarah. Morgan's mind was as confusing as Chuck's was sometimes, just all of the time. He rarely followed thoughts through to a conclusion. There seemed to be only three things certain in his mind. Firstly, his love of food and particularly what he was taking them to, sizzling shrimp. Secondly, he really did love and admire his best friend, Chuck. He would do anything for him. Thirdly, and by no means least, he was a gamer; he lived for it.

That last thing was causing him a problem now. Although he was really happy Chuck had found a girl after many years, he was also missing their gaming nights.

Sarah could understand the first two, but not the gaming. Food was both important and pleasurable and she was, after all, with Chuck, but gaming was not her thing. Whatever she did, she wanted to win, so it wasn't that she lacked the competitive nature, it was just that these endless gaming nights that he craved bemused her.

For now, the scent of food was in his nostrils and so other concerns were almost forgotten.

Morgan, walking between Chuck and Sarah, was apparently keen to describe the evening's events. Sarah had already read it in his thoughts, but let him ramble on as the walked.

"'An evening with Morgan' will consist of three acts," Morgan stated. "Act one, dinner."

She knew but felt she should ask, "What are we having?"

Morgan replied with glee, "A little delicacy called sizzling shrimp. That's right. We're going to pack our bellies so full of shrimp you're going to make a seal jealous." He lightly poked her belly as he said this.

Tempting though it was to grab that finger and twist, she resisted. "Wow! Sounds like quite a night."

Morgan continued, "Oh, and that's just the beginning. Dinner will be followed by a screening over at Chuck's of the greatest kung fu film ever made."

Sarah rolled her eyes as Chuck joined Morgan in chanting, "Enter the Dragon." They proceeded to mock fight.

'Really?' she thought at Chuck.

'Hey, come on. This was the closest I'd come to fighting and danger before you guys arrived,' Chuck thought back.

That made Sarah pause. 'Are you wishing I hadn't come to Burbank and you?' she asked.

Chuck thought, 'Absolutely not! You're the best thing that's even happened to me!'

She wanted to hug him, but Morgan continued, "And the third act can only be found here in Chinatown." He pointed across the street. "There he is."

Chuck froze. "No, Morgan! You know how I feel about fireworks!"

Morgan tried to pass that off. "To defeat fear, one must embrace fear." Sarah could see that he really had no idea about his friend's fear of fireworks. She was surprised about that fear, and made a mental note about it.

Chuck responded, "I'd rather embrace my limbs. Specifically, all of them. No fireworks. No sale."

Morgan was clearly disappointed but accepted that. "We've still got our shrimp on, though."

However, when they reached their destination there was a sign saying, "Closed for private party."

Morgan was beside himself. "No, no, no, no. You got to be kidding me. They can't be closed. 'An evening with Morgan' has to at least include sizzling shrimp."

Sarah tried to calm him. "Morgan, it's okay. We'll do it another time."

Then both Chuck and Sarah 'heard' Morgan's thoughts. He had a backdoor way in to get to the food. "No, no. I got this. I got this. Lucky for us, I got connections," Morgan told them.

Sarah wasn't keen on them sneaking in the backdoor, but went along with it. After entering, Morgan told the other two to wait at the back of the kitchen while he went further in, to get the food. Sarah was happy with that; she didn't want the thoughts of the kitchen staff to filter into her head.

Chuck, however, was bombarded with a combination of Chinese words being thought and feelings and images which did. Then he spotted one of the waitresses and flashed. Sarah noticed and flashed on her too. Chuck muttered what he saw in the Intersect although it was totally unnecessary. "That waitress. She's Mei-Ling Cho, Chinese Intelligence. Never stepped foot on U.S. soil before."

Sarah had received the exact same information.

"Sizzling shrimp, anyone?" Morgan interrupted their thoughts waving the food in front of them.

'I have to report this, Chuck,' Sarah thought. 'We might even have to deal with it tonight.'

'Can't I just have this night with Morgan and Ellie?' he thought back.

'Not if we are ordered to take her,' Sarah replied.

Chuck could see her thoughts about this dangerous woman. His shoulders slumped.

Morgan obviously saw his reaction. "What's up, man?"

Chuck turned to his friend as Sarah walked out to make the call. "Morgan, I think Sarah may have a problem. If she does, we won't manage to do the 'Evening with Morgan.'"

Sarah quickly returned. She looked upset, but Chuck could tell that was for Morgan's benefit. 'Graham says to capture her,' she told Chuck. As they walked out the way they entered, she spoke to the man carrying the food, "I'm sorry, Morgan, I've just had some bad news from DC. I don't feel up to shrimp or Bruce Lee."

Morgan actually took it quite well. "Ok, but Ellie still needs feeding." He scampered off leaving Chuck worried about his sister.

Sarah held his hand, still looking upset until Morgan hailed a taxi. Then, she tightened her grip. "Come on, Chuck. I need you to distract Mei-Ling,"

He knew she'd kept the door from closing. They slipped back in. What she wasn't making clear was what he should do. 'How?' he thought, as he was sure that talking wouldn't be a good idea in here.

She smiled at him. 'You really don't know how distracting you are when you look at a woman, do you?'

He really couldn't understand this. 'So, I just look at her?'

'No, talk to her. Look confused. Hold her gaze as you do that,' she replied.

'Talking ok in here?' he asked.

'Quietly.'

Chuck approached Mei-Ling and caught her attention. He couldn't understand the jumble of thoughts in Chinese, but, as before, he did understand he feelings, basically concern that an American was talking to her and whether she should run.

He spoke, in English, "I've gotten myself lost in here. You seem such a nice person. I hoped you could help me."

She looked at him for a couple of seconds, obviously deciding whether to help or not. That was all it took for Sarah to be able to walk behind her and press a gun to her back.

Sarah read Mei-Ling's immediate thoughts and suddenly her presence here seemed much less concerning. She leaned in to her and whispered in her ear, talking in Mei-Ling's own language, "We want to help you find your brother, Mei-Ling. Please come with us. You are not in trouble here."

Mei-Ling looked shocked and whispered back, "How do you know about my brother?"

Sarah hadn't thought about how they would know, but Chuck had read her mind about why the woman was here. 'Tell her the CIA knows he's been abducted and we can assist her.'

That wasn't strictly true, but she'd try it. Sarah passed the message on, but Mei-Ling doubted her words of assistance. Sarah read her mind and recounted what the woman knew and thought about her brother. She emphasized that the Chinese government was doing nothing to get him back, basically abandoning him, and that she'd gone rogue.

Mei-Ling thought briefly about what she considered her government's betrayal. Sarah sensed regret that went beyond her brother being taken, but then Mei-Ling buried that thought.

Chuck, however, had seen the images in her head and sensed her feeling of betrayal. He asked, in English, "Would you defect?"

Mei-Ling stared at him, immediately imagining doing just that but replied, in English, "I would never-"

A Casey-type comment came to Sarah, "Why? Too much loyalty to your government? The same one that left your brother for dead?"

"If I defect, I can never go back to China. I will never see my brother again," Mei-Ling replied.

"After this, why would he go back? China has left him for dead," Chuck pointed out.

Mei-Ling was wavering. Sarah gave her another push. "You aren't going to be able to take on the many people on your own, Mei-Ling." She thumbed at Chuck. "He and I can help you. Then, you can consider defection, together."

Mei-Ling saw the logic in that and her tenseness eased. She looked at them both. She recognized she needed help and started to wonder about living here. "Maybe."

Chuck nodded furiously and commented, "It's really not that bad here, you know. The Chinese food's pretty good. Have you tried the sizzling shrimp?"

Sarah shook her head, but the daft comment actually helped a bit. Mei-Ling appraised him, smiling. Sarah sensed her interest in this tall American. 'He's mine!' Sarah thought. She wanted Chuck to dial back his charm, but it was helping win this woman over.

'You know you're the only woman for me, Sarah.'

Sarah smiled at him and nodded, then looked back at the Chinese agent. "So, you'll let us help?"

Mei-Ling nodded and ushered them to the back of the kitchen to talk further. She explained that the restaurant was closed while the local triad leader, Ben Lo Pan, ate there. He had her brother, Lee, in with them prior to taking him to his compound.

"So, you think rescuing him here would avoid that and be a whole lot easier?" Sarah asked.

Mei-Ling nodded.

"How many are in there with him?" Sarah questioned.

Mei-Ling didn't immediately answer, but the number did appear in her thoughts. 'Six.' She answered, "Probably too many."

Sarah told her, "If there's less than eight, you and I can take them."

Mei-Ling frowned and pointed at Chuck. "What about him?"

"He's my eyes," Sarah replied.

Mei-Ling's frown deepened. "So, one agent is all that was sent to help me?"

Chuck answered her. "No, the CIA's best agent."

Mei-Ling looked at Sarah. "Who are you?"

Sarah pulled out her CIA card, which showed her as Sarah Walker. Of course, that meant nothing. She'd only had that name since being here with Chuck. She had to explain. "I'm Langston Graham's top assassin." Sarah hated having to say and think that in front of Chuck, but he knew this already.

Mei-Ling knew of Graham. Her eyes widened slightly before she accepted Sarah for who she was.

Sarah said, "If you want to go get your brother, I'll cover you and he…" pointing at Chuck, "… can spot the threats."

The three approached the dining area. Both Chuck and Sarah scanned the room and did a mind sweep as well. Chuck having the greater range, detected more. He whispered to Sarah, "In addition to the six you can detect, there are two by the front door, guarding it, and one off to the far left. If she's right about the number, that's all of them."

Sarah turned to Mei-Ling who was on the other side of her. "He's spotted three more, in addition to those we can see. Two by the main door and one off to the far left."

Mei-Ling gave him a look. "How-"

"We should try not to kill any of them. Don't want to trigger a reprisal," Chuck commented.

Mei-Ling replied, "I want them all dead."

Sarah replied, "He's right. We can't have the CIA implicated."

"So, stay out of it," Mei-Ling snapped, but still spoke quietly.

Sarah recognized that it would be very hard not to kill anyone, so she focused on screwing a suppressor onto her pistol.

"I'll take their food over. When I get there, I'll grab Lo Pan. Take out as many as you can," Mei-Ling said before picking up a tray, hiding her gun underneath it. She walked out and headed over with the food.

There were only two eating. Lo Pan and Mei-Ling's brother, Lee. She placed food in front of the older man first, then walked to her brother. As she placed the food in front of him, she whispered to him to duck in five.

She quickly walked back to the old man and leaded toward him, asking if he needed anything else. As he shook his head, she dropped the tray and held her gun to his neck. Lee dropped to the ground, as Sarah shot two of the four easy targets that were raising their guns.

'The hidden two are closing in on you, Sarah,' Chuck advised her. 'The other two on Mei-Ling."

Sarah shot those two with Mei-Ling before diving to the floor. She could now sense the two who had moved closer to her. She quickly shot the nearest of the two coming from her right, then was twisting to get the other, but knew she'd be too late, when the man's mind went blank. She looked over at him. He was down on the ground.

"I couldn't let him shoot you, Sarah," Chuck said from behind her. She read his mind. He'd grabbed a plate and spun it at the man. The glancing blow had knocked him out.

Sarah was surprised that he wasn't feeling ill at all the blood spilled. It saddened her, but hoped he wouldn't get used to it. Fortunately, she'd not actually killed any of her targets, just incapacitated them.

Before getting up, she had to lighten her own mood. 'Saved me again?'

He grinned and nodded. 'Protector. Is that not my role here?' he teased.

Sarah pulled out a collection of zip ties from her bag. She used them on the downed men's wrists and ankles. Chuck was impressed that the ones she'd shot were still alive with just bullets in shoulders and hands. She then walked over to Mei-Ling and the remaining two men, Ben Lo Pan and Lee Cho.

Mei-Ling nodded to her. "Impressive."

Sarah wasn't going to take all the credit. "! Would've died if it wasn't for my spotter here," she said, thumbing Chuck.

Mei-Ling looked at Chuck. "Guess you make a good team." She stared a bit more intently. "Thanks for the intel, but I still don't understand how you knew where they all were."

"Just good at my job," he replied.

Sarah leaned in to him and, just before she gave him a kiss, commented, "He is."

Mei-Ling chuckled. Both could see that she understood the message given. Chuck was good in many ways but he was also taken.

Sarah had called Casey and they waited for the gang members to be taken away by federal agents.

While they'd been waiting, Mei-Ling and Lee had been quietly discussing what to do. Chuck only understood part of it, but Sarah filled him in on the gaps. "They both want to leave their government. I think you your suggestion is becoming reality. I'm impressed."

When Casey and the Feds arrived, the decision had been made. The Lo-Pan and his men were taken by the Feds and the Cho siblings went with Casey. However, before leaving Mei-Ling embraced Sarah and thanked her for her help. As she stepped back she looked enquiringly at the blonde. Even without reading her mind, Sarah knew what she was visually asking. She smiled and nodded.

Mei-Ling embraced Chuck and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she said.

Sarah had 'told' him to expect the kiss so he wasn't embarrassed by it or fearful that Sarah would react. He replied, "Hey, don't mention it. You're welcome."

Mei-Ling gazed at him again. Both sensed regret and Sarah 'read' the thoughts of an American boyfriend. Mei-Ling said, a little bit louder to make sure Sarah heard it, "I hope there are more men like you here."

"A dime a dozen," Chuck replied dismissively.

Both women snorted, not believing that.

Chuck called Ellie on the way home. "Morgan will be arriving with the sizzling shrimp soon. Don't panic. Sarah and I were just delayed a bit. You won't have to spend the evening alone with him."

Sarah chuckled. Morgan's crush on his friend's sister was very clear. Ellie's feelings on the subject, just as clear.

Chuck called Morgan as well, who seemed disappointed. He'd thought that with Devon at work, Chuck and Sarah being unable to come made him think he'd have Ellie all to himself. "Not gonna happen, buddy," Chuck commented.

The four of them enjoyed the food and the evening, even though "Way of the Dragon" was not watched.

Much as Sarah wanted to thank" Chuck for saving her, both had eaten too much for sex, but they just crawled into bed and snuggled before drifting off to sleep, thinking of the sex they would have in the morning.

Maybe it was their shared thoughts as they drifted off to sleep that gave them a new experience that might. Thankfully, it wasn't immediate or their full stomachs would have been a problem.

Sarah's thoughts of post-mission coitus had also crept into her thoughts.

The alcohol that evening may also have played a part.

Whatever caused it, they slipped into a "mutual" dream state where they start sharing a "spicy" dream. They were insatiable and Chuck ravaged her body while she urged him on. Their bodies took over and they started acting out that dream in reality, without consciously realizing it until both experienced the rush at the end.

Sweating profusely, they stared at each other. "Wow!" they said simultaneously.

'Consciousness not suppressing us there, Chuck,' Sarah thought at him. 'It was amazing, but we can't let that happen when we're away anywhere.'

'How can we stop it?' he asked. 'Besides, I'm not sure I want to.'

She felt the same. She kissed him, all those feelings in that kiss.

'Again?' he asked.

She hadn't been thinking that, but now she couldn't not think it. 'God, yes!'

'You'll have to give me some time before I can,' he pointed out. She chuckled and nodded. 'But how do we stop the dreams taking over again?'

'Well, it's not happened before and easily could have, even before we actually did. Unless it's a deepening of our connection, which I doubt.' She guessed, "I suspect it's a combination of the success tonight, the alcohol and the fact that we didn't have sex before going to sleep.'

Chuck's grin had been widening as she thought that. Her matched it. They both thought simultaneously, 'We'll have to have sex every night before sleep!'

That 'conversation' alone worked wonders on Chuck's body. Their love making after that was gentler that the unbridled passion stemming from the dream, but still as satisfying.

Sarah hadn't said or thought it before, but she was sure that she felt more than just desire for Chuck Bartowski. Nothing else could describe her feelings for him. 'Chuck, I think I love you, too.'

His embrace and thoughts showed how he felt about that. She gripped him as tightly.

The only think that spoiled the moment was them remembering that they had to hide this from Casey, Graham and Beckman.

"Devon's away again tonight, but we'll still have our Mother's Day, won't we, Chuck?"

Ellie's question and the associated thoughts surprised Sarah. She could read it from both their minds, but as Ellie had said this in front of her, she asked, "Mother's Day on October 22nd? I thought that was on the second Sunday in May."

Ellie answered, "He obviously hasn't explained. We have our version of Mother's Day. It's the anniversary of the day our mom left us. Our dad was still here, but he was never really 'with us,' so, Chuck and I were effectively on our own, even before Dad left as well. So, every year we celebrate the day we learn how to take care of ourselves. And rely on each other. We never miss it."

"I should leave you two alone, then," Sarah stated. She wouldn't go far. Just over the courtyard.

"NO!" the two siblings shouted.

"It's about us and our loved ones being together," Ellie explained. "Devon would normally be with us and you should definite be there."

'She knows you love me!' Sarah asked Chuck. She'd read it in Ellie's mind.

Ellie saw the surprised look on Sarah's face. "Oh, come on, Sarah. Everyone can see how much he loves you." She paused there. She held back saying it, but her thoughts went further. 'And you, Sarah Walker, love my brother just as much.'

'I didn't think I was that obvious, Chuck, and I really hope it's just your sister that can tell.'

Chuck wrapped his left arm around his girlfriend and his right around his sister as he pulled both into him, kissing both heads. "The two best women in the world."

"I love you, little brother, but not like this one does," Ellie stated, while patting Sarah's shoulder.

Sarah wanted to avoid volume conversation out here were the surveillance was active. However, she was going to respond, "I hope not!" but Chuck got in first.

"Ellie! Not appropriate!"

Ellie chuckled and left it at that.

'You know I want sex with you now,' Chuck thought at his girlfriend.

'Save it for after Ellie's gotten drunk on all the champagne she plays to drink,' Sarah replied.

Chuck agreed, but added, 'We should keep the noise down, though. Can't have it come up on the living room audio.'

Sarah thought about the dream-fueled sex the night before. It made her tingle all over. They really needed to find some way of repeating that without it affecting their 'cover relationship.'

A.N: Obviously thanks to Steelejay for the shared dream idea. I hope you liked that, and the rest of the story.

Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts about this chapter.