IT'S A WONDERFUL COVER LIFE
A/N 2013: This chapter was originally posted shortly before my niece was born, so if Cover Life was a child it would be walking and talking by now, and cute as a button. I've never understood that expression, or maybe I just buy clothes with boring buttons. Either way, you're not here to read the author's note, so let's get down to business, right after I've thanked Nervert for once again going over this chapter. Much appreciated, buddy.
A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews guys, especially since most of you read this on the blog already, thanks to Frea O'Scanlin's mention on CI. Who knew that outside of Team Bartowski, the CIA and NSA can work so well together? You've probably noticed that the updates here are longer than on the blog, which means FF is going to catch up soon. For those not already aware, I'm going away for a few days and won't have any internet connection or cell phone reception, so between Wednesday and Monday there will be no updates. I foresee one more here before I go and two on the blog. I might schedule a third one to post while I'm away. As before, I'd like to thank my partners in crime for their input – Nervert and quistie64, you guys are awesome.
I don't own Chuck.
5. Good Intentions and Complications
Chuck grumbled under his breath as he logged in another one of Lester's invoices. He didn't know why he was doing the redhead a favor by keeping Lester out of her way, sending him on an outcall that came in ten minutes before. From what he'd seen so far, she wasn't even all that nice. Perhaps, he thought, he was doing his colleague a favor. Either way, he was stuck doing Lester's busy work.
"The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions," he said to himself as he snuck another peek at the double green doors. He entertained the idea of asking Sarah on a date, figuring that the worst that could happen was that she might decline. No harm, no foul.
The doors suddenly opened and Chuck's heart nearly stopped, but it was only Jeff, and by the looks of it the guy had just woken up from a nap. Then again, with Jeff it was hard to tell. The only time the perpetually hung-over nerd showed any signs of awareness regarding anything not laced with alcohol was when he –
"Oh, crap." Chuck's eyes snapped back to the computer screen. He hadn't even thought about that. What if he asked Sarah out and she filed a harassment complaint? Could she even do that? He squinted, trying to remember what exactly Jenkins from HQ had said the last time he'd attended the compulsory annual seminar, but came up empty.
His shoulders slumped as he leant back in his chair. It was probably for the best, he told himself. His life was complicated enough. And, as if on cue, the universe concurred.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"
Chuck jumped up at the sound of his daughter's voice and rounded the desk when he saw her barreling towards him. He hunched down to catch her and only then did he notice the tears running down her cheeks.
"What's wrong, Boo?" he asked gently. All he got in response was little arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed against his shoulder. He rubbed soothing circles across her back and she buried deeper into him.
Ellie, who'd been hot on her heels, mainly thanks to the trainers she wore with her scrubs, had stopped just short of them. Chuck lifted a questioning gaze to his sister and she raised her hands in defeat.
"She wouldn't tell me either," Ellie said. "I'm sorry to bug you at work, Chuck, but she's been crying since I picked her up from ballet class. I've tried everything."
Like him, Ellie hated to see Maggie upset, even though she still had a pretty short attention span and they knew that whatever the incident was, it would soon be forgotten.
"It's okay, sis," he replied. He got to his feet with his daughter in his arms and glanced at his watch. "My shift ends soon, so she can stay here with me."
"Are you sure?" Ellie asked. "Wouldn't Big Mike mind?"
"He's a little pre-occupied at the moment," Chuck said. "So don't worry about it. Go home, take a nice long bath and we'll see you in a bit."
Ellie didn't have to be told twice. She'd just come off a fourteen hour shift and he knew dealing with a crying four year old was no picnic. She leaned in to give Maggie a kiss on the cheek.
"Be a good girl for Daddy, okay?"
The little head nodded, not leaving the safety of her father's neck.
After Ellie had gone, Chuck made his way to the break room with his daughter still clinging to him.
"Do you want chocolate milk?" he asked. "It always makes me feel better when I've had a bad day."
Again Maggie only responded with a nod.
6. Ballerina's and Chocolate Milk
"I'm telling you, Sarah, this is going to be a piece of cake."
Sarah gave a disbelieving snort and picked up her pace, keeping a step ahead of Carina as they turned the corner near the break room. The spirited redhead might be her best friend, but she had a gift for getting them into trouble, usually leaving it up to Sarah to bail them out. This was the last time, Sarah promised herself. If Carina's scam panned out, the Buy More would be off her hands by Christmas and she'd be free to live her life on her own terms.
When she passed a set of double doors, something caught Sarah's eye and she stopped abruptly before backtracking as soundlessly as possible. She glanced over her shoulder, indicating with a finger over her lips for Carina to remain quiet. The gesture was met with a questioning look that Sarah chose to ignore. Taking a step to her left she was at the perfect angle to see the break room reflected in the glass pane of the half open door.
ooOoo
Chuck searched through the small fridge, careful to avoid the mystery crisper. On a hunch he moved the six pack of Golden Annie and found what he was looking for. Before closing the door he debated whether or not to save Jeff from himself and toss out the beer. Then he shrugged. If Jeff could get past the stench and actually drink that murky swamp water, who was he to mess with one of Koch's few customers?
He crossed the room and sat down in front of Maggie who was perched on one of the round tables. Then he twisted the cap off the bottle and inserted a straw into the milk before placing it in the eagerly awaiting hands.
Maggie took a big gulp.
"Small sips, Boo," Chuck said, knowing from experience how difficult it was to get the brown stains out of a pink tutu. He waited until she'd swallowed and ran the pad of his thumb under her eyes. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"
The little girl nodded, and just when he thought she wasn't going to say anything, she took a shaky breath.
"Miss Easton put me in the back row 'cause she says I'm too tall and I block the other ballerinas." The last word got lost in a sob.
It took Chuck a few moments to establish context. Then he gave her an encouraging smile.
"Can I tell you a secret, Mags?" He leaned forward, touching his forehead to his daughter's. "Real ballerinas are tall."
"Are you sure?" Her blue eyes were wide and serious.
"Pretty sure," Chuck replied. He settled back in his chair, grateful to see his smile mirrored. "And you know what's cool? I'm tall too, and so is aunt Ellie and uncle Devon. We can see over all those other ballerina's in the front, so we won't miss a second of your recital."
Maggie thought it over for a moment and then flung herself forward, wrapping an arm around his neck. His hand shot out instinctively to steady the drink she was holding.
"You are the best daddy ever."
ooOoo
Sarah almost fell over when Carina grabbed her arm and pulled her back around the corner.
"No," she said.
"What?" Sarah asked.
Carina folded her arms and fixed her with a skeptical glare. "You're smiling."
"Am not." Sarah quickly schooled her features, though she knew it was too late to play innocent. "Okay, fine. Do you think he's married?"
"If he's not, he sure got the raw end of the deal."
Sarah wanted to tell Carina that she was being mean, but that would risk another I-told-you-so from the redhead, and she had heard that often enough recently. Carina never let an opportunity pass by to remind Sarah that she had been warned about Bryce Larkin.
"He could be exactly who we need," Sarah said. "I didn't see a ring earlier – "
"You looked?"
" – but many married men don't wear them," she continued, ignoring the question and the fact that the hallway suddenly felt a bit warmer.
Carina started to say something, but Sarah preempted her, not wanting to explain why she'd noticed the lack of said ring as she had no idea why she'd done that.
"Get me his personnel file," she ordered more than asked and walked off before Carina could even close her mouth.
7. Five Year Plans Change
Chuck sank down on the couch and ran both his hands down his face. He was exhausted and it wasn't even eight thirty yet. Ellie sat down next to him and handed him a mug of cocoa.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yeah." He sighed tiredly. "She's so excited about the recital, it's a miracle I got her to sit still long enough for her bath. Of course then she insisted on giving me an exclusive preview while I was trying to get her into her PJ's." He lifted his mug and took a sip of the hot sweet liquid under Ellie's sympathetic gaze. "Oh," he continued once he'd swallowed, "she also stopped me in the middle of her bedtime story to ask me what a plié is. I had to look it up on my phone and ended up doing a demonstration because it was too hard to explain."
Ellie chuckled. "I would've loved to see that."
"Sorry, sis, it was a one time performance."
They fell into silence as they finished their cocoa and then Ellie gave him a pat on the knee. "It's going to get easier, you know."
Chuck shook his head as he returned his mug to the coaster on the coffee table.
"It's not that, I love every moment I get to spend with Maggie."
"So work?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah, Big Mike was a real slave driver today."
"Ah, I guess the boss stopped by."
"Yup," he replied. Deciding it was for the best to leave it there he turned sideways, propping his elbow up on the back of the couch, resting his head in his palm. "I did the math again."
"And?" Ellie asked.
He shot her a smile. "We're almost there. Another seven thousand dollars and I'll have enough for a sizeable deposit on a new place and startup capital. If I pick up an extra three shifts a week I should have the money saved up in no time."
"Chuck, that's going to take you at least ten months, and you're going to see even less of Maggie than you do now."
That thought had crossed his mind, but he didn't have any other options. Not that that stopped him from feeling guilty. Maggie was growing up so fast and he didn't want to miss a second of it, but he had to focus on the bigger picture.
"It's going to be over before you know it. Once I'm my own boss I can work around her schedule and my office will literally be next to her room."
Ellie wanted to protest, but Chuck raised a hand to cut her off. He knew exactly what her suggestion would be.
"I know you and Devon want to lend me the money and I'm grateful for the offer, but I can't accept, El. It's for your wedding. Besides, the two of you have done so much already, letting us stay here and helping to take care of Maggie, but I need to step up. I'm her dad and she's my responsibility. Pretty soon you and Devon will have your own munchkins to raise."
"Not too soon," Ellie said, "and we love having you here. And the offer stands. You just say the word."
Chuck knew better than to argue. Ellie could be relentless, so he quit while he was ahead.
"Thanks, sis."
"That's what family is for."
She gave him a smile and got up and collected the empty mugs. Chuck followed suit and started to gather the toys scattered throughout the living room.
Ellie quietly called his name and when he looked up she tossed a pink pig over the kitchen counter. He caught it in one hand and crammed it into the toy chest on top of the wooden building blocks, making a mental note to take it out first thing in the morning. Maggie had recently developed an issue about animals in cages, stuffed ones included, since she'd watched Madagascar, and she insisted that they should be free to roam. Of course they'd only become aware of the new quirk after a very eventful trip to, and subsequent two year ban from, the local zoo.
Chuck closed the lid and pushed the chest into the corner next to the entertainment system. He rolled back onto his haunches to get up, but froze when he heard a knock. His eyes widened and he launched forward, opened the toy chest and stared down at Mr. Oink.
He was losing his mind, he thought as he stared down at the lifeless toy. Shaking his head he dropped the lid back down. Almost immediately there was another knock. With a small yelp he yanked the lid open and freed the pig.
"Chuck," Ellie said from the kitchen, barely stifling her laugh. "I think that's the door."
8. When a Proposal Comes Knocking
Maybe she should've listened to Carina, Sarah thought, but there were only so many bad interviews she could handle in a day. Carina's argument, that using someone so close to the Buy More could backfire, held water, but they were pressed for time and none of the actors they'd seen had panned out. Either way, it was too late for Sarah to change her mind. She'd already knocked and the doorknob was turning.
She released her bottom lip from between her teeth when she realized she'd been biting it and consciously loosened the death grip she had on her purse strap. It was purely business, she reminded herself, and she had no reason to be nervous. She took a deep calming breath anyway.
The door swung open to reveal the man she'd met earlier and had shamelessly spied on. He was disheveled, wearing sweatpants and a long sleeve t-shirt splattered with water and soap, and the curls around his ears were sticking out in all directions. Again she thought maybe she should've taken Carina's advice and auditioned more actors, no matter how sweet Chuck had been with his daughter.
The last thought caught her off guard, but she quickly shook it off when Chuck's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.
"Miss Walker?"
"Sarah," she said, apparently adding to his surprise as he stood speechless for a moment.
"Oh, I, uh…hi."
"Hi, Chuck."
His flustered demeanor put her at ease for some reason.
"Is there an emergency at the store?" he asked. "Please tell me Jeff and Lester didn't burn it down for real this time. I really need that job and I've told them how many times not to stick avocados in the microwave, because some websites claim that they'll explode, but Lester is convinced – " Chuck abruptly stopped himself and cleared his throat. "How can I be of assistance?"
Sarah couldn't help the amused smile she flashed at him when he'd gone from babbling geek to super professional in six seconds flat. She cocked her head to the side, giving him an opening to invite her in. He didn't take it. Instead there was an awkward silence and she realized that if she didn't push the conversation forward, there was a good chance that she'd be standing on his doorstep all night.
"I'm sorry for intruding," she said, "but I was wondering if I could speak to you about something?" She heard voices from inside the apartment and quickly added "In private."
"Sure," Chuck replied, though he sounded anything but. He glanced over his shoulder. "My sister and her fiancé are home, so perhaps – " He trailed off, gesturing to the fountain.
Sarah nodded and led the way, still debating with herself whether or not she should make the offer. Chuck kept a respectable distance when he sat down on the edge beside her and that made up Sarah's mind. None of the male actors could keep their eyes out of her cleavage, and she wanted to focus on closing the deal, not fending off unwanted advances. The children had been even worse – real spoilt brats that had made her want to strangle more than one of them.
On paper Chuck was perfect. He was single, his daughter was cute and according to his performance evaluations he was loyal, hardworking and trustworthy. He was just what she needed to pull off the con.
"I have a proposition for you," she said before she could change her mind again. "There's this project I'd like you to be involved in. It would take about two days, three at the most, and you'll be more than compensated for your time. How does twenty thousand sound?"
Sarah cringed inwardly. Nothing she'd said came out as she'd rehearsed it on the drive over, but then, it wasn't every day that she tried to buy herself a fake family.
"Dollars?" Chuck choked out.
She nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"Wow." He blinked. "Okay, uh, I assume that includes hardware?"
Sarah's jaw dropped in shock. Of all the responses she'd prepared herself for, that was definitely not one of them. How could he think she would have to pay for that? She snapped her mouth shut, looking for the right words to tell him off when she realized she'd hadn't exactly been specific. He'd managed to jump to his own conclusion and she was curious.
"Hardware?" she asked.
"Yeah, you know, I usually do installations and repairs, and at eleven dollars an hour you'll be overpaying if it's just for services rendered. Plus you probably qualify for the staff discount, but you own the store, so I guess you don't have to pay if you don't want to because it's your profits anyway, but that's up to you of course."
"It's not an installation job or anything relating to electronics," she explained, relieved that Chuck's mind hadn't gone where she'd thought, and a little disturbed that hers had.
He scratched the back of his neck, his face a mix of disappointment and confusion. "In that case," he said, "I don't think I'm your guy. My skillset is fairly limited."
"No, you're my guy."
As soon as the words had left her mouth she balled her hands into fists to avoid slapping them over her mouth. Chuck seemed to have noticed her faux pas too because when she snuck a glance at him he was a few shades pinker than seconds before. Thankfully he didn't say anything.
Reminding herself that she wasn't an amateur and had actually negotiated deals before, Sarah decided to get straight to the point, which she should've done in the first place. She opened her mouth to clarify what she needed from him, but all that came out was "I need you to be my husband."
A/N: Useless trivia – Chuck's daughter is named after my car :) Have a great Sunday!